Exciting things are afoot for Catherine Hall Studios! Look out for the latest news and announcements on Catherine’s editorial work, events, awards, causes, partners and more.
From The Studio
Happy Holidays!
From The Studio 
3
Fri 12.23.2011
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
May you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope,
and a new year filled with happiness and success.
xo Catherine, Trish & Ryan
Thirst Relief Mentor Auction – Last Day to Bid!
Causes, From The Studio 1
Thu 11.17.2011
Today is the last day to bid in the Thirst Relief Mentor Auction! I’ve signed up this year as a Mentor, donating 90 minutes of instructional time to the highest bidder. Bid now to win a one-on-one session with me via Skype or at WPPI, and you can help save lives while improving your photography!
As the winner, you can use the time however you want. Are you a beginner seeking tips to take your images to the next level? With extensive experience as a photography judge and educator, I can give your portfolio a critique as a whole in addition to critiquing individual shots. But the opportunity goes way deeper than that.
Maybe you know you’re a great photographer, but just can’t seem to break into the market? I can offer valuable time- and money-saving advice, gleaned from years of figuring out this industry, to help get your business off the ground. I’ll help dissect your business model to find the areas where you could be saving or making more, and I’ll assess your website and marketing materials to offer feedback on how you’re reaching out to potential customers.
Act fast! Bidding ends tonight at 11pm EST.
All of the proceeds of the annual Mento Auction benefit Thirst Relief International‘s efforts to provide humanitarian and disaster relief to those in need worldwide through the provision of safe, clean drinking water. The mission of the auction is twofold, to save lives and change the world, and to create better and more successful photographers.
Look at these numbers: Last year, the sponsors and 90 mentors who participated in the Mentor Auction raised more than $40,700 which directly provided 8,147 people with clean water. Add to that the incredible wisdom and talent that is being shared through these mentoring sessions to create more successful photographers and entrepreneurs, and it’s truly a win-win for everyone involved
Start bidding now: http://bit.ly/uH5PH6
Worldwide Photowalk SF 2011: Here’s What You Missed
Contests, Out + About 3
Thu 10.20.2011
Ever since I got on Google+, which is a great platform for photographers and a great way to admire a plethora of crisp and large images, I’ve caught on to the Photowalk bug. A few weekends ago, my team and I organized our first Photowalk at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco – part of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk initiative – and we had a great time exchanging pointers on photography as well as getting to know all our participants. We ended the day feeling really good about the event, but imagine our surprise when we logged into Google+ and saw all the exceptional photographs that resulted from our walk. As promised, we selected two winners for our Photowalk contest – Father-Photographer-Realtor-Golfer-Geek-Author-Fly Fisherman Keith Cuddeback (image, top) and New Media Designer Karaminder Ghuman.
See 12 honorable mentions below and visit our Photowalk album to see other entries. In addition, Rohith Thumati , we will be sending you a Lowepro strap as a token of our appreciation for being such an awesome contributor. Don’t forget to scroll down to see a summary of the events of the day ☺
When we pulled into the winding roads of Golden Gate Park, my lighting director, Ryan, studio manager Trish, her boyfriend Mark and I were all pleasantly surprised at the ease with which we were able to find a parking spot. Right then, I knew the day was going to be fabulous! For days leading up to my first Photo Walk ever, we were concerned about all the possible odds that were stacked against us that coming weekend. There was the Strictly Hardly Bluegrass Festival, which reportedly expected 700,000 people blocks down the same park. There was the possible fog so famously celebrated yet dreaded at the same time in San Francisco. And, yes, there’s the parking situation – or perhaps more appropriately, the lack of parking in the city, especially at the weekends.
Against all these odds, we enjoyed a few hours of gorgeous, sunny weather, starting at the Japanese Tea Garden, where we had a fun group shot taken by contest winner Keith Cuddeback and everywhere you turned, there was someone with a camera! At the De Young Museum, I gave an unconventional portraiture lesson using Trish as my model and Ryan also gave a lighting lesson nearby at the Music Concourse Bandshell, where we shared our tips on our favorite California Sunbounce reflector. It wasn’t just all lessons on photography of course; everyone had a blast getting to know each other over drinks at The Little Shamrock just outside of the Golden Gate Park – see more images by superb photographer Carl Costas here. Thanks to everyone for coming out this year and to my team for putting this awesome event together – until next year!
Join My First Photowalk at Golden Gate Park!
Out + About 1
Mon 09.26.2011
Along with excellent Bay Area photographer and educator, Doug Kaye, I am thrilled to be leading my first Photowalk – yes, in my 5 years working as a pro photog!
Join us for a scenic walk through and around Golden Gate Park, one of the most visited city parks in the U.S. and home to gorgeous architecture and picturesque naturescapes. This will be an easy trail meandering around famous city landmarks, such as the De Young Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden.
You will get wonderful opportunities to capture a diverse range of images of fine architecture, buildings, flowers, trees, people and nature. Of course, Doug and I will be on hand to dole out tips on technique and style and share our real world experiences.
MEETING LOCATION & TIME
Sunday, October 2nd (03:45pm – 06:00pm)
Location: At the entrance of the Japanese Tea Garden
After the walk, meet at: Drinks at Little Shamrock on 807 Lincoln Way!
ROUTE
• Japanese Tea Garden. We will meet at the entrance at 3.45 p.m. There is an admission fee of $5 to enter the garden.
• De Young Museum complex
• Music Concourse Bandshell
• California Academy of Sciences
• Shakespeare Garden
CONTEST
We will select exceptional photographs taken during the Photowalk based on their technique, composition, impact, creativity and visual appeal. The winning images will be published on Catherine Hall Studios blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!
CLOTHING
The weather in San Francisco can change at the drop of a hat, so be sure to dress in layers or to bring a jacket just in case. Wear comfortable shoes that you won’t mind getting dirty (there’s a chance we may go off the path in the park for a bit). You also may want to wear sunscreen, and bring a hat and/or a pair of sunglasses as we will be working with the evening light and sunset.
GETTING TO GOLDEN GATE PARK
Parking can be a challenge in the weekends in San Francisco. You may wish to consider carpooling with another participant of our Photowalk or commuting to the Park via public transportation.
For more information, visit my Worldwide Photowalk page.
Another Coup by Scott Kelby
From The Studio 7
Wed 08.24.2011
When Nancy Masse of Kelby Media Group shot me an email to personally invite me to a press conference, she basically got me at “Hello Catherine.” Getting an invitation from Scott Kelby is akin to a musician getting an invitation from Mick Jagger – Scott is that cool.
The subject of the press conference? A new digital, iPad-only lighting magazine called Light It. I downloaded it last night, expecting to see a high-quality magazine full of star photogs’ contributions – and honestly, a slew of glorified digital PDFs (sorry, Scott!). But when I started playing with it, Light It literally blew my mind.
Flip, zoom, swipe, zoom, double tap, tap, hold – I couldn’t put it down. Holy sh*t, I thought, this thing is going to change the way photographers learn – and read.
Light It looks and feels like a print magazine – but with crisper and sharper photos. I’m totally geeking out right now; get this, you can double tap on individual photos to see them in full-screen mode and watch embedded videos within the article. It’s a treat for visual learners.
The Medium is the Message
Scott is one of the most inspiring and innovative educators in our industry and this venture proves that he is way ahead of the game – again. The magazine is revolutionary because the iPad’s mad graphics and interactive capabilities allow for learning via varied content that’s delivered in different ways. If the content were available via the web as a digital magazine on Zinio, it would be a glorified string of PDF pages restricting viewer engagement.
Why the iPad and not other devices, you say? Some have conjured up an Apple conspiracy to explain Scott’s choice of publishing on the iPad. As he mentioned in the press conference, it’s a purely business decision and any smart business person developing an app for a tablet would release it for the most popular platform. It is also not realistic to release an app on multiple platforms out of the gate – even if you are Scott Kelby. Anyone who has ever developed an app knows exactly what I am talking about.
Here’s Why I Love Light It:
1) Seamless navigation
Light It has an intuitive pagination screen that allows you to see all the pages of the magazine.
If you hate ploughing through piles of magazines and tearsheets, you will love the archive. Looking for that Joe McNally article in issue 12? Easy – just pull up this space and access all current and past issues.
I always fumble to get to an article from a magazine’s contents page (assuming I can find it). In this digital wonder of a magazine, tapping on a title on the Contents page takes you immediately to your desired read.
This might be silly, but you’ll find yourself besotted with this pagination scroll bar at the bottom of the screen. It allows you to navigate seamlessly between pages – and even shows a pop-up thumbnail image of each spread. How cool is that?
2) Enhanced Visual Learning Experience
Often wish you could enlarge an image in a magazine? Now, you can – just tap on the screen to zoom into the article or image.
Double tap on an image in the article to see it in full-screen mode. Since you can zoom and enlarge the image, it creates an enhanced learning experience. Here, for instance, you see the nuances of rim light in photographer Jason Groupp’s images. Nice work, Jason! ☺
Sharper and crisper graphics allow you to see more accurate comparisons of before and after images.
Embedded videos allow readers to engage with the photographer on a whole new level. You can now watch “articles” as photographers talk about their work – or even a live demonstration/video tutorial of technique.
Ever flag a link in a magazine – only to forget about it after? As a final touch to an already awesome interactive magazine, embedded hyperlinks take you directly to external webpages.
Without Risk, There is No Reward
Normally, when I get to the end of a magazine, I feel a sense of relief – with Light It, I found myself on the last page, scrolling through the pagination bar, wishing there were more articles to “experience.” What makes this magazine so revolutionary is that it is flawlessly designed for the iPad, allowing varied content to be presented in the best, most engaging way possible. To those of you naysayers, Scott Kelby could have released a magazine in print and digital versions and it would have been a mere success, not a revolution. It is far riskier for him to decide on a digital-only publication on just one platform. Having the foresight to capitalize on the expanded capabilities of the iPad technology shows that Scott is a passionate educator who pushes the confines of current mediums.
I’m super excited for the next issue, Scott. I’ve already played… I mean, read, this issue ad nauseum.
Read Ibarionex Perello’s review of Light It here. [Click on Photo Blog]
