Digital Mastery: The home of everything Ben

Work, Travel & Vintage Bus Progress

Posted by admin in Blog on May 20, 2013

Hi gang! This is going to be a short update, because there’s actually not much to report from the last week. I’ve been spending a lot of time working with the guys at Paradise Coach in Eugene, OR, on my vintage bus project. The mockup of the interior is close to being finished, and once Karen and I approve everything, the “fake” interior will be taken out and the real materials will be put in. If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, you know that we’ve been “parked” up in Oregon for a really long time now. It’s unusual for us to stay in one area for a while, but it’s been important for me to be around for the mock-up/decision-making period. We’re getting to the point where we can finally get out exploring again, and this summer, we’d like to visit Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.

Aside from hanging out in Oregon, I did make a short trip to Columbus, Ohio, to present my Kelby Training Photographic Artistry Seminar. I am flying out again this week to teach the same seminar in Boston, so if you’re a Boston local, I hope to see you there!

In one more bit of news, there are still a few spots available in my Iceland workshop this summer, and I’d love to have you join me! This is by far one of my favorite places to photograph and the workshops are always spectacular. You can visit the Iceland page for more info.

As I mentioned above, I’ll be traveling to Boston this week, and then meeting Karen back in Portland on Wednesday (She’s been spending some family time in NJ). From there, we’ll decide where our summer adventures will take us. More to come!

Another kick-butt creativeLIVE course in Seattle

Posted by admin in Blog on May 13, 2013

A little pre-show goofiness. Here I am with my studio audience, about to kick off my Color & Tone class.

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a good a week, and for all the moms out there, that you had a great Mothers Day! For me, it was another week and another city. This past month has just been crazy travel-wise. We’ve hit all four corners of the country and the middle as well! This week, it was Seattle, as I was presenting my Photoshop Mastery: Color & Tone class at creativeLIVE. This was a two-day course that is part of a larger series designed to make you efficient in Photoshop. The first part of this series, which I presented last month, is called Photoshop Fundamentals, and is designed to give anyone a solid foundation with the program. This week’s Color & Tone class, covers just that: How to enhance, and even fix, the color and tonality of your images. If you missed the live broadcast and would still like to see it, you can purchase it HERE. When you buy the class, you also get the training materials, including my practice images and the handbook that goes with the course.

If you’re not familiar with creativeLIVE, here’s how they work. They broadcast all kind of classes live, every day, and while you watch them live, they’re free. If you decide that the class really resonates with you, you can purchase it to watch any time, and you will also receive the bonus material that comes with the class. I’ll be returning to creativeLIVE next month to present the next part of this series, Photoshop Mastery: Retouching & Collages. Click here for more info or to register for the free broadcast.

As always, my time at creativeLIVE was excellent. They’re such a fun gang to work with, and Karen and I really enjoy being there. We also really lucked out with the weather in Seattle while we were there. It was in the 70s and 80s, and the sun was out! For some of you, this might not seem like a big deal, but if you’re used to rainy Seattle, it’s huge!

Karen and I on the creativeLIVE set

After wrapping things up at creativeLIVE, I flew back to the bus in Eugene, Oregon. It had been nearly a month since I’d last been “home.” Since my vintage bus is also being restored near Eugene, I was able to collaborate a bit with the shop that is working on creating the interior of that bus that we will eventually call home. Unfortunately, I must have caught the bug that seems to be going around, so the last part of my week was shot. I feel tons better now, which is good, because tomorrow, I need to fly to Columbus, Ohio to present my Kelby Training seminar, Photoshop Artistry. If you live near Columbus, I hope to see you there!

And last, but not least: This week, the schedule for this year’s California Photo Festival was posted! The California Photo Festival is five days of digital photography immersion. Intensive workshops, seminars, lectures, shooting, parties, and more with over 15 industry leading photographers and digital industry gurus designed to boost your creativity, spark your passion, and take your photography, art, or business to the next level. This year, it’s Oct. 7-11 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Learn more about the festival and schedule here.

The perfect summer photo adventure: Join me in Iceland!

Posted by admin in Blog on May 6, 2013

This is for all my fellow photographers and photo enthusiasts. I’ve got some spots open in my Iceland photography workshop and I’d love for you to join me! The dates are August 11-17, 2013 and this is a great time to be visiting the “Land of the Midnight Sun.”

Not sure if this would be the right trip for you? Here are my top reasons for coming to Iceland with me this summer:

To take amazing photographs: The country of Iceland is just plain stunning. There is a photo to be made everywhere you turn. From waterfalls, to sweeping landscapes, to storybook horses, to glaciers and icebergs, you are guaranteed to go home with some incredible images.

To hone your photography and post-processing skills: This workshop will combine photography instruction in the field with post-processing instruction in the classroom to ensure you have the most control over your photographs.

To get one-on-one, personalized training: We keep the group size small so that the whole experience is more personalized. This allows us to have students of all levels, getting the one-on-one attention they need. During our last Iceland trip, we had absolute beginners as well as advanced shooters and everyone went home happy.

Iceland is so accesible!: Iceland is much more accessible than most people think. It’s only a 5 to 6-hour flight from New York and just about everyone in Iceland speaks English and is very welcoming to visitors. With most other exotic locations, you’d be looking at some REALLY long and expensive flights.

For the adventure!: For one week, you will be an explorer, venturing into some of the most unique, breathtaking, and sometimes even bizarre territories you have ever seen. We travel in heavy-duty, all-wheel drive vehicles that can drive over pretty much everything. This way, we can get to the “off-the-beaten-path” locations.

For fun: Because these trips are so intimate, it allows everyone involved to really get to know each other and create new friendships. In between all the shooting, exploring and learning is a lot of laughing, chatting and storytelling.

For more information on this upcoming trip (as well as some more photos), visit the “Discover Iceland” page. It’s going to be a blast, and I’d love for you to be there!