One of the "regulars" over at dpReview has posted a bunch of presets for Adobe Lightroom!  AND THEY ARE FREE! (My kind of pricing!)

There are 27 Presets in all. There is also a link to view samples of before and after images with the Presets applied so you can see the effect each Preset will have.  Click on this link!

These Presets provide you with a range of different photo processing opportunities and possibilities, from dramatic black & whites, creating a frozen appearance in your shots, to giving your images an autumn look. They were all hand-created with the Lightroom user in mind.  They work with both PCs and Macs.

Enjoy!
- Tom

From our friend Wayne Potrafka at the Riverview Gallery in Portsmouth:

This coming Saturday, August 16th., the Chesapeake Bay Art Association is sponsoring a day or outdoor painting at the High St. Landing in Portsmouth, Va.  Over 20 artist from throughout the region will be setting up easels to "paint the Elizabeth River".  This event is in support of the Elizabeth River Project.   The art work started this Saturday will be offered as part of the silent auction at the organizations RiverFest  Gala in September. Visitors are encouraged to come and interact with the artists, and families in particular will find this an entertaining and informative experience.  The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  There is no cost and all are welcome.

All of these artists are volunteering their time and talent to make this a successful event. I would like to personally encourage you to give them your support by coming and visiting and showing an interest in what there vision of our river might be.  While in our "front yard" , please take a moment to stop in and visit us at the Riverview Gallery.  We are presently featuring the work of local artist Susan Clark, and it is a beautiful show. Hope to see you Saturday.    

Wayne Potrafka
CBAA VP (www.chesapeakebayartassociation.com)
Riverview Gallery (www.riverviewgallry.biz)

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A number of VBPC members shot this event last year and it yeilded some interesting photographs.  Come on out, bring some memory cards, and have some fun! (And remember to bring some note pads and some model releases!)

-- Tom

Back up my files?! Are you kidding? Is that a real thing you have to do? I always thought that that was just like... you know, a figure of speech.

--"Strong Bad" of Homestar Runner

Yes, you should be doing some type of backup.  Of course, in today's world, you have a lot of options, but the main thing is, find a system that you can depend on and is reliable, and hopefully your files will be there for you when need them.  In this article I will talk about some different options available today and hopefully convince you that you should be doing backups.  I will also point out the advantages and disadvantages of the different options so that you can make an educated decision when it comes to deciding how to protect your data.  Are you ready?  Then click here to continue.

The August 2008 edition of "The Cable Release", the club's monthly newsletter, is now available for download.

It can be downloaded Here.

Well, the 4th of July ones, anyway!  With the holiday fast approaching, I know many of us will be formatting the memory cards and getting our gear ready for some fireworks shooting.  A very good, informative article on FIREWORKS PHOTOGRAPHY can be found at NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY's website at http://www.nyip.com/ezine/holidays/digfirewks.html  There are some related links at the end of the article.

Let's seem some great shots this year!  Remember, stake out a good shooting place well before the show!  And remember to post them in the galleries here!

- Tom

The June 2008 edition of the Cable Release is available for download.

Please download Here