Showing posts with label B and H. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B and H. Show all posts

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Photography on TV


Photography on TV

I have been lucky to be a regular contributor on a daily morning show here in Tampa, Florida. As a monthly guest for the past 2 years on Studio 10 I give some quick tips on making your photographs better. We have also held a photography contest with their help awarding a $400 gift certificate to B and H Photo in New York.

Whether on TV or other means there are so many ways to advance your photo skills. There are books, DVDs, online schools, college courses, seminars, workshops, apprenticeships, You Tube, and camera clubs. There are so many I probably left something out.

There is a lot of good and once in a while not so good instruction out there. Some is free and some you have to pay for. My opinion is that if you walk away with 2 or 3 ideas or techniques you walk away a winner. Even if you knew the rest of what was taught look at it as a review or refresher course.

Terry Quinn, a fellow photographer, once said to me, "If we both walk into a room with one dollar and we exchange it we both walk out with one dollar. Neither is any richer than when we entered. If we both walk into a room and we each exchange one idea we each walk out with two ideas. We have each doubled our knowledge".

What is truly important if you want to learn quickly is to immerse yourself in photography. You have to learn from all of the above and then practice over and over.

If you have not yet seen our instructional DVDs go to Amazon.com and search "manny pontoriero". Read the reviews and see if our DVDs can help you.

Friday, September 18, 2009

What's been happening!







Just got back from B and H in New York City, September 14. I gave 2 presentations to a packed room. Below is a video I took of some of the attendees waiting to get in.



The folks at B and H were very gracious and allowed me to sell the Instructional DVD's that Ken Cherry and I produced.




Our Tampa seminar was also a real success. We ran out of DVD's! Some people drove 3 hours one way to be there. That really is very humbling so I strive to make sure it was worth it for them.

I have to say that I always seem to get the most attentive audience no matter where I lecture.

When we first decided to do seminars, or one day classes, the first fear I had was, what if people fall asleep during my presentation? Our seminars are 5 hours and if you have attended one you know we go over because of the interest.

I read somewhere; If the student falls asleep it is time to wake up the teacher. I try very hard to give precise information but in a fun and interesting format. Anything that keeps the energy level high.
This Thursday, September 24 I will be on Studio 10. A Tampa Bay TV show at 10AM. talking about pet photography. If you miss it you can go to their website after 4 and watch it on your computer. It's things like this that really make me love computers!
Monday, October 5 I will be a guest speaker at Photo Arts Group of Charlotte County.


October 18 is the Boca Raton Seminar. If you are signed up for our Newsletter all this will be in greater detail plus at the end of the week I'll send out the article on Better Pet Photography Made Easy.
This is an exciting time! So go out and take some great photographs!
Manny

Saturday, August 1, 2009

A Day In New York City and B & H


No trip into New Jersey would be complete without crossing the Hudson River and taking in the sites of the Big Apple, a.k.a. New York City.


I took my Canon 5D, a 15mm Fisheye lens,the 24 to 70 Zoom, and the 70 to 200 Zoom lens with me. What is great about the 5D is it has a full size sensor.


Unlike most digital cameras that crop the image the 5D gives you the full viewing angle of the lens. No where is this difference more noticeable than when using the 15mm fisheye.














Look at the photo on the left and note how wide the angle is. The photo on the right is cropped because of the smaller size sensor found on most other cameras. It's just not the same. Two words to describe New York City are "tall" and "busy". All the buildings are tall and the streets are very busy. These are two things you don't want to crop out.


I especially like the busy streets. Where I live in Florida is great but people stay indoors. When we need to go to a store we get into our cars and go into the store. Then, we get back into the car and go back home. In a city like New York everyone walks everywhere because everything is fairly close at hand. You don't have to walk very far to find what you are looking for. In addition, there is something interesting on every block so even a long walk becomes pleasant.



For instance, look at some of the nice people I met on my way to B and H Photo. New York is truly the melting pot. As you can see in the photo on the left. These to guys owned an English pub of some kind and wanted me to go in for a drink. I think I upset them when I told them I didn't have time. Oh well.



When I got to B and H Photo I had to stand across the street to get the whole store in the photo. Wow! They occupy 4 floors in this building, 6 floors in a building across the street and 1 million square feet of warehouse in Brooklyn. Yeah, 1 million!



They have a doorman to open the door and greet you. When you go inside They have everything you can think of and things you would not have thought of.

The store is called B & H Photo Video. However, they also have everything in audio, surveillance, telescopes, binoculars, projectors, computers, screens, and more. If they don't have it here chances are it hasn't been invented yet.


They also have the Event Space. This is a meeting room that holds about 100 people. Free seminars are conducted here. Some really big names have and will lecture on every topic related to every product they sell. All FREE to the public.
As a matter of fact, they have scheduled me for a speaking engagement on Monday, September 14. Be there or you will miss out.
Their philosophy is that they are here to "inform" . Each rep is an expert dedicated to a specific section. They don't pull someone from audio to help a customer with a camera. This means that the person that is helping you really can help you.
I could write so much more because I was totally blown away with my whole experience. I have bought many things from them in the past and have no dought that I will by many things from them in the future.



Gotta love the Fisheye. I went outside and got a photo in front of the store with the 15mm lens.

What is New York City without the pigeons? These birds are afraid of no one. Don't mess with them cause they are tough. The one on the right kept giving me a dirty look. The one on the left kept saying something about giving me the "drop".
I didn't know what he was talking about but I figured I better leave.
Your probably wondering why I have this photo in twice. I mistakenly loaded it twice and can't figure out how to erase it. Oh well.
What's the next blog going to be about? Get tready for Boston!