Ben Long

Despite his mismatched socks, we still trust this week's guest, photographer and author Ben Long, to be our resident expert on travel and photography, and doing the two well together. In the time I've known him, Ben has taught photography in Florence, been on assignment in Africa, and ridden his motorcycle numerous times across the Great American Southwest. I think Deke actually met him on a cruise ship. The guy is everywhere. This week's show is full of terrific tips for shooting on the road---whether you're just driving up the road to your favorite watering hole, hiking out in the wilderness, or traveling to exotic lands in search of interesting local beverages.

Here are the key areas to think about next time you're headed out on the open road: Read more » 

No we didn't overindulge on cocktails to the point of spilling our darkest secrets on air (which would probably be way more boring than it sounds), rather we spent this week's Martini Hour talking about sharing photos with two of our photographer friends, Ben Long and Mikkel Aaland.

Oh, sure, "sharing" has a bit of a group-hug vibe about it (and of course we did plenty of that), but it's really the best catch-all word we could come up with to describe that last phase of the digital workflow---actually getting your work off the computer and out where others can see them. And this week's conversation is about the myriad ways you have at your disposal these days for letting your images go out into the world---whether the purpose be making people happy, communicating your important message, or bringing home truckloads of cash (yes, Deke added that last one...twice). 

Here's what we have to share this week: Read more » 

We've returned to our groovy tech-talk chill this week after the ruckus that was caused by inviting Russell Brown last week. And as promised, a winner from our martini hour visualization exercise will find his or her work featured as the lead graphic for this week's show. We'll start with Steve Newton because he paid the "I live across the Atlantic" tax and didn't get all the kitchy tradeshow castoffs that I sent to Gale solely because she lives in Canada.

Is anyone but me wondering if this picture is listing slightly? Meanwhile, here's the skinny on this week's installment of the world-famous Martini Hour. Read more » 

1. Make sure time and budget constraints require you to hire yourself.

2. Make sure the author of your latest book is not only a great photographer but also a kickasss Photoshop retouching genius.

3. Cover wrinkly bits with camera.

Voila (new from O'Reilly):

Read more »