Achieved these shots last night while in downtown Tampa at the annual Channelside fireworks display. Lucky for us photographers we were treated to a large lightnings storm right behind where the fireworks were being set off.
I will have a post to come in the next few days on how I achieved these shots, well all of the details besides luck 
Things have been crazy so far this summer, from gradauating grad school, moving halfway across the country, getting married, going on a honeymoon, and finding a job, I have done it all and in less than two months.
I finally found a job here in Tampa as an urban planner with the firm Jacobs Carter-Burgess, it is truly a great opportunity to start my career as a planner at this firm! Not to mention it is also a big relief for my wife and I to finally have another income, which means I can start saving for new photography gear, my old Olympus E-300 and 14-45mm lense just aren’t cutting it anymore.
It has been a great camera to learn with however I think my photography has progressed as far is it can with that camera now it is time to turn to more professional equipment.
In the next post I will give a rundown on the gear I plan to purchase later this year!
As you might have realized it has been a while since I posted here, about two weeks to be exact. I have a really good excuse I promise. I recently got married on June 7th and then was in Belize until the 14th for the honeymoon. I am going to try and start posting here gain regularly. In the meantime please visit this link to read my guest post at one of the most visited photography blogs on the web digital-photography-school.com.
For your visual delight here are a few images I took while in Belize.
More and more these days people are turning to the web when purchasing their photography equipment. Why? Well being the avid online shopper that I am, the prices are simply better all around and it’s extremely convenient. It’s no surprise that the amount of consumer scams out there especially on high quality consumer products like cameras, computers and other high end electronics. Remember, if it seems to good to be true then there is a 99.9 percent chance it is. Additionally if you do your research you will realize that a Canon 40D should be priced around $900 to $1,000 not $400 to $500 like some sites advertise.
The goal of this post is to give you the reader a list of some of the best photography equipment retailers on the web. Trust me when I say paying the suggested retail price is a lot better then being ripped off and losing that hard earned cash you have been saving for new glass.
B&H Photo Video is perhaps one of the best sites on the web, while their prices leave more to be desired the sheer volume of product they carry makes up for it. I don’t hesitate when I say you can find almost any piece of photography equipment on their site. I purchase my Manfrotto tripod as well as other products from them and have had nothing but good results.
Adorama is another excellent site, their prices are similar to those of B&H and their inventory is comparable as well. While I have not personally purchased anything from them I have friends who have and will continue to do so if the great results continue.
NewEgg as I am sure most of you tech junkies now has a reputation which proceeds itself. You can find almost anything tech related on their site, from sticks of RAM to Canon L glass they leave nothing to be desired. Not to mention their prices are great and they offer daily specials. In fact I just bought a 4gig CF card for my upcoming trip to Belize for $25. While it is not as fast as my high dollar CF cards it gets the job done. Keep NewEgg if mind if you are working with a tight budget.
Amazon, surprisingly is a worthwhile spot to shop for your photography gear. They have a large inventory, fast shipping, and have great prices. I bought everything from books an DVDs to computer monitors from them. Have not yet bought photography equipment from them but may in the future.
Price Grabber is a good starting point for any product search. If you have not used it before it utilizes a search engine which grabs all of the prices of a certain product from online retailers and lists them from least expensive to most expensive. It also rates each retailer according to customer satisfaction. I often use Price Grabber for larger purchases as prices can vary more on more expensive products like cameras and lenses.
You didn’t really think I would fail to mention the almighty eBay did you? Well I almost did and I can tell you I will not be purchasing a camera or a lens from eBay anytime soon. However if you are looking for a great deal on a camera package which includes almost everything a beginner needs then look no further than eBay. Many sellers on eBay offer camera packages which include the camera itself a number of lenses, memory cards and many other accessories for very competitive prices. In addition to the camera packages ebay is a great place to find such accessories like camera bags (in fact I purchased my LowePro Slingshot from ebay), flashes, tripods, and many other less expensive accessories.
While these are only a few of the many online retailers out there, they each offer a great starting point. Happy Shopping!!!
As past readers might know I recently submitted photos for stock consideration at istock.com. Unfortunately each photo i submitted to istock.com was denied, those posts can be seen here and here. In an effort to get my photographer out there I went on a search for other stock photo agencies. One of the best I have found thus far is photoshelter.com.
Photoshelter.com defines itself as a global stock photographer marketplace, they pride themselves on being a place were accomplished professionals as well as hobbyist can submit their work in an effort to create a fresh and diverse collection of stock images and videos. According to photoshelter.com photographers keep 70% of every sale!
Photoshelter provides a very user friendly submission system called a personal archive. The Personal archive provides tools for image storage and protections as well as allowing the photographer the ability to create personal galleries to showcase and sell their work, it also offers very easy website integration.
So far I have submitted eight photos to photoshelter for consideration and received a response on four of them within five days. Two images were rejected while two were accepted.
If you interested in testing the stock photography waters, I would highly recommend photoshelter.com. It is very user friendly and a good source of inspiration. Not to mention they often hold competitions open to photoshelter members.