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I started this list when my children asked for Christmas ideas from me. They want to get me something for my photography “habit”, hopefully under $25. As I started to come up with ideas, I thought that other photographers might find these ideas useful to pass on to family members who want some gift ideas from you…other than that new camera body or lens. I started looking on B&H to get an idea of prices, some of which I’ve added to give an idea of the price range. Of course you may want to be pretty specific to make sure you end up with the “right one”. (Hint: B&H has a great Wish List option that can be emailed to friends and family)

So in no particular order, here’s my list of ideas, all under $25, some even in the “stocking stuffer:” category:

Wireless remote <$15

Gel Sheets $5 each

USB thumb drive $5 – 20

Lens caps (replacements) $5- 20

Camera Strap $10 and up

Extra batteries (both AA and camera specific)

LCD screen protectors $20

UV lens filter $5

USB 2.0 Card Reader $5 – 20

Gray Card/target $10 – 25

Long USB cable (for tethered shooting) $7 – 20

A clamps $5 each, also sold in sets

Memory cards

Memory card holder

USB hub (there’s never enough USB ports on a laptop) $5 – 20

Photo paper

Head lamp flashlight (for the pre-dawn landscape shooters)

Cleaning Kits <$25

iTunes gift card (to buy photography apps)

Do you have other ideas? Please add them in the comments – just keep them under $25 (it’s harder than you’d think)

Brook Shaden 

Jamie inbarra

Serena Star

Emily Soto

Maria Stromvik

TWiT Photo, the premier photo show in the industry, has launched TWiT Photo Guest Quest, a search for the hottest emerging photographer. The flagship photography show on the TWiT Netcast Network is offering a chance to be a guest on a Winter 2011/2012 episode.

The contest will provide explosive exposure for a phenomenal photographer – the winner will share the spotlight with illustrious guests such industry legends as CreativeLive pioneer Chase Jarvis, NAPP President and No. 1 bestselling author Scott Kelby and Pulitzer Prize winner Vincent Laforet. Similarly distinguished past guests such as Art Wolfe, Colby Brown, Tamara Lackey, Frank Doorhof and Zack Arias have signed up to be a part of the TWiT Photo Guest Quest judging panel.

To enter, emerging photographers with 5 years or less professional experience will submit a portfolio of 15-20 images based on a cohesive body of work that is a strong representation of their visual style. From Oct. 25 to Nov. 22, participants must submit their entries to a preferred social media platform: Google+, Facebook, 500px, or Flickr.

The winner will be announced on the December 6 episode of TWiT Photo, as well as on host Catherine Hall’s blog (catherinehall.net/blog).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Entries must be from emerging photographers who:

• Have 5 years or less professional experience and

• Earn less than 51% of their total income from their photography career

TO ENTER:

1. Submit a portfolio of 15-20 images based on a cohesive body of work that is a strong representation of your visual style.

2. Entries should be submitted to one of the following social media platforms (duplicate submissions will result in the entrant being disqualified):

Google+

500px

Flickr

Facebook

Back in 1983 I was pursuing my chosen career of Sport Administration, working for the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association. I was given the task of laying out the association newsletter (type the articles on an IBM electric Typewriter, send them to a typesetter and cut and paste onto cardboard layouts). After that I worked for the Canadian Volleyball Association and once again my “sport administration” job included the creation of publications. Around the same time, in my first entrepreneurial venture, I launched my own newsletter for professionals in that industry, called The Sport Administrator. It was a labor of love, with me up to my elbows in typesetting, letraset and letratone (google it) and cardboard layout sheets.

After my first issue (with an international subscriber list of 26), someone suggested that I talk to my ex-boss Ian from the Volleyball Association because he was now running a company selling these things called Macintosh computers. Whatever! I had no experience in computers (other than a COBOL class in Junior College) but I went to see him anyways.

Ian had one of his staff give me a one-hour lesson on everything from turning on the Mac Plus to using this new program called PageMaker. And then to my shock, he packed it up in a carrying bag and let me take it home for a weekend. At the end of the weekend – with no previous knowledge of the Mac or PageMaker – I had created the same newsletter that it took me two weeks to create “by hand”.

That Monday I brought back the Mac and he printed my pages on his LaserWriter. I was floored! The quality was amazing! I was able to take those pages to my printer and have them use the prints to print my newsletter. I was beside myself, and kept gushing to Ian about how incredible this was.

So much so that he offered me a job. His thinking (apparently) was that someone with some background in traditional page layout could help sell this new technology called Desktop Publishing. With only a slight hesitation over changing careers, I accepted.

(Side note: I look back at that first Mac-created newsletter and cringe. I used every single font that was available – because I could. I later learned this was referred to as the “ransom note” style of typography).

Well, to make a long story slightly less long, I worked for Up & Running Systems for 5 years, becoming totally immersed in the world of technology, and began teaching the software that I used every day. I’m actually quite proud of the fact that with exception of PageMaker, every product that I taught (and still teach today), I started using in version 1.

In 1991 I started my own business providing technology training to the creative world and haven’t stopped. I quite literally would not be doing today – what I LOVE doing – if it wasn’t for that first experience with the Macintosh.

So thank you Steve Jobs for pursuing your dream and changing the world. You most certainly changed mine and I will be forever grateful.

First a little background. Although I am not what I would call a handyman, I’ve done my share of projects, so I do know my way around a toolbox. And my Dad was quite the woodworker and over the years we had worked on several building projects. (A number of times I could imagine his voice and some of his woodworking words of wisdom).

The idea
In my studio we have set up two corner sets, and I wanted to have another “corner” to shoot in, but no other corners are available (one corner is the storage room/graffiti wall, the other is the white cyc wall corner). So I came up the idea of creating a wall-on-a-hinge that I could swing out to create a corner, and move back when not in use. Then I had the “inspired” idea to have a window in the wall to allow for interesting lighting.

So I sketched out the basic idea – and by sketched out, I literally mean a Joe McNally type sketch on a napkin. From the very basic sketch I figured out the supplies I needed. I decided to go with 2 x 3 lumber to make the frame, and thin wood (apparently called Lauan plywood) to cover the wall (my plan was to cover the moveable and fixed walls with wallpaper). As an aside, why is it called 2 x 3 when it’s not 2 inches OR 3 inches? But I digress.

Lesson 1: Plan better
Although my basic sketch was a good starting point, I should have put a bit more into my plan. For example, when I was putting the frame together I just arbitrarily put cross braces “here and there”. That caused problems later when I tried to nail the Lauan onto the frame and the cross pieces weren’t in the right place. I also choose to buy smaller panels of Lauan simply because they fit in my car, but that meant more joints that showed when it came to the wall papering step. I tried some good-old duct tape but it didnlt really help.(more on that later)

Lesson 2: Choose wisely
Although I thought I was being pretty careful in choosing my lumber, when I eventually tried to mount the frame to the wall, it didn’t fit properly because the piece of 2 x 3 on the outside of the frame wasn’t quite straight. Same applies to the Luan: As I mentioned, I grabbed smaller panels since they were easier to transport but that ended up causing me grief.

With the supplies in hand I jumped in and started building. I laid the lumber out on the floor and started nailing it together.

Lesson 3: have proper tools
This would have been so much easier with a nail gun! Or, using screws and my power drill – why didn’t I think of that until I was finished? As I literally hammered in the last nail I remember thinking “geez, I could have used my power drill”.

I also wish I had a square to help make sure my corners were, well, square.

Lesson 4: Measure twice, cut once
Boy, the number of times my Dad said that to me over the years. Apparently I sort of listened because most of the time, my measurements were bang on. But a couple of my cross pieces were just a tad short, so I could have done a better job of measuring before cutting.

Lesson 5: some great ideas are not so great
Now that the wall is finished and I’ve taken a couple of shots through the fake window, I’m really happy with it. But that part of the project caused me so much pain anD suffering as I attempted to figure out how to attach the plexiglass. I finally did (with super glue and sand bags), only to find that covering the outer edges with the Luan became a challenge. After all that effort I wondered that since blinds covered the window, did I really need to add the Plexiglas? The jury is still out on that one.

Lesson 6: Sometimes you need a little help
So at one point I was holding my new wall precariously up against the existing wall, trying to figure out how to reach the pencil I left sitting on the floor. After many (many) attempts I finally was able to hold up the wall, keep it level and mark the spots for the hinges. That was just one of several time when I could have used another pair of hands. (At one point I remember thinking, what if the wall falls on me and pins me to the ground…and my phone is way over there playing music through my speaker.

Before mounting the wall to the existing wall I decided to wallpaper it. For some reason I though it would be easier to do this while the wall was lying down, but it actually was harder. I ended up leaning the new wall against the exiting wall and wallpapering on an angle. Kinda hard to do (see lesson 6)

The other problem I ran into was wallpapering over the Lauan – not a problem except for the areas where there was a joint between the panels. It showed more than I would have liked through the wallpaper. (see lesson 1)

Lesson 7: The best-laid plans…
My original plan was to have the moveable wall on the left side, this way.

But just as I went to mount it to the exiting wall I discovered that the 2 x 3 on that side wasn’t straight, so if I attached it to the wall the bottom wouldn’t rest on the casters. So at the literal last-minute I had to completed change my plan and mount it to face the other direction (which meant taking off all the hinges and putting them back on the other side). Luckily I had the room to do this and I hadn’t started wallpapering the exiting wall yet or I would have been a little um, “disappointed”.

Lesson 8: Be prepared… for multiple trips to Lowes
I swear by the end of my 2 day build the folks at Lowes were like “Hey Dave, back again?”. I kept realizing that I need this screw, or one more hinge, or some super glue, or… Luckily my local Lowes is only minutes away.

I added casters to the bottom so I would easily swing the wall in and out. This created a gap between the bottom of my wallpapering and the floor, but I expected that and solved it with a wide piece of trim.

My finishing touches included trim around the window and adding blinds.

Here’s a couple of my first test shots with this set up. In the first, I had the light much too close to the window, while in the second zi moved the strobe further away and higher.

Total cost for the project? Something like this:

Lumber, Lauan, nails, plexiglass, casters etc: $180
Wallpaper: $55
Blinds: $22
Frustration, anger at my own stupidity, blood sweat and tears: priceless.

Next I want to finish the other side of the wall with something that will let light come through the window to create a cool glowing background effect. I’ll let you know how that goes.