Yanik’s Photo Blog

I’m an animal lover. That’s one of the reasons we moved out to the country last year. And since then, I’ve been blessed by having the best neighbors in the world: animals! Of course my camera’s been going crazy shooting anything that moves around here. I’ve often been asked, “Yanik, how do you get those lovely bird shots?” and I thought I would share with you a few tips to help you shoot birds or any other critter from a distance. Here we go.

1 - Patience. Yes, that’s right! Patience. These aren’t models in your studio that you can just direct… “move a little more to the left”, “tilt your head to the right”…. you have to wait for them. And once they’re there, you have to wait for the right pose, the right branch, the right light. I can take hundreds for chickadee shots a day but only have Continue Reading »

My favorite review Website for cameras, lenses and photo software, DPReview.com recently posted an in depth review of one of Nikon’s pro lenses; the Nikkor 70-200mm VR f2.8. You won’t find a more detailed review! My good friend and pro photographer Martin Perreault owns this lens and I did have the chance to play with it a few times even doing “non-scientific” test shots. It’s a great lens. I would strongly recommend it for anyone looking for a top quality FAST (f2.8) telephoto lens. If you’re planning on getting a Nikon full frame (FX) eventually, then this lens will compliment the Continue Reading »

Here’s my latest Photoshop (TM) video tutorial on how to quickly create a rich dark blue sky. It’s a video “quicky”.

If you’ve missed my other video tutorials, you can view them here.

I would also like to share a few images of my wonderful experience at Bleue Lavande. If you’re in the Continue Reading »

Website: Strobist.com

Owner: David Hobby

Main subject: Off Camera Flash Education

Target Audience: All levels of photographers looking for creative lighting techniques

Content Theme: Technical

What is Strobist… (quoted directly from the Website)

“This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about how to more effectively use your small speedlights. There are more than 1,000 articles about Continue Reading »

I was approached last week by Lee Torrens, the owner of the popular blog MicrostockDiaries.com, to give my perspective to the microstock evolution over the last 4 years. As some of you might know, I’ve been a microstock contributor since May 2004 when only IstockPhoto existed at the time. As new, promising agencies took off like ShutterStock, Fotolia and Dreamstime, I expanded my portfolio to them.

I was honored to be asked about my perspective and I thank Lee for giving me this opportunity. You can read my complete interview here.

Hello once again!

Here’s a Photoshop ™ tutorial on Dodging and Burning with a twist. Doing it a a separate layer so as to not alter or “degrade” the quality of your original image. This technique is especially useful for stock photographers that go through severe quality control at certain stock agencies. Enjoy and Continue Reading »

Book Title: The Moment it Clicks
Author: Joe McNally
Publisher: New Riders
# of pages: 256
Format: 9″ x 9″ soft cover
Target Audience: All photographers & general public
Content Theme: Technical - Autobiographical - Color Photography
Price: click here for info

One of my favorite magazine photographers of all time, Joe McNally, recently published a book called “The Moment it Clicks” published by New Riders and, of course, being a fan, I scooped one up ASAP. I never thought I would be doing a review on it since the book seemed to target the professional photographer rather than the Continue Reading »

Did you know that since I’m a professional photographer and teacher I know everything about photography? I’m sure you do! So much so that I often get asked for help and my “professional” opinion in choosing everything from small point-and-shoot to pro body cameras, to lenses and.. well… just about anything related to photography. I’m always glad to help! But I figured that today I would let you in on one of my secrets to helping you choose photo gear better. When you ask me whether you should get this Canon or that Nikon, the first thing I do is go to my favorite Continue Reading »

Hello everybody

Here’s a review of and online photography contest site that’s a lot more than it appears to be! Read on…

DPChallenge was born in January 2002 by 2 young guys (Drew Ungvarsky and Langdon Oliver). The original idea behind the site was for it to be a place where the two of them and a couple of our friends could teach each other to be better photographers by creating weekly challenges. The idea quickly took off and became much more in the months that followed. And now it has 92 738 registered users that have submitted a total of 178 373 images to 849 challenges! It was also rated in the “Top 100 sites you can’t live without” by PC Magazine!

Main focus: the contests

Each week new contests pop up on the main page. Non members (free registration) have 2 themes to choose from for that week (open challenges). Paying members (a measly $25/year) get an extra contest theme which starts at a different date in the week and a monthly “free study”. The open challenges have Continue Reading »

Hello everyone. It’s time for part 2 of my video walkthrough of Photoshop Express! If you haven’t seen part 1, you can view it here. You can also see my review of this free online photo editing software here.

Now, sit back, grab a cup of green tea and Continue Reading »