Friday Shout-Outs, Gold Stars, and Glass Clinks

by Grover Sanschagrin

This week we’re shouting about floods, fighters, fires, super fine customizations, and a few other things.

We do this every Friday, and you’re encouraged to join in on the fun. Send us your shoutable bits and we’ll help you spread the word.

NASHVILLE FLOODS
Photographer Chris Mackler has been covering the recent flooding in Nashville, Tennessee, where the water level reached to over 20 feet in some areas of the Nashville suburb of Bellevue, which was evacuated by boat on Sunday, May 2, 2010.

Nashville Flood Recovery – Images by Chris Mackler

Operation Photo Rescue, a service that restores personal photos damaged in natural disasters, is planning to help victims of the Nashville flooding.

If you are a photographer skilled in Photoshop retouching, you can volunteer to help out. They are currently building a special team that will handle restoration images damaged during the Nashville flooding. The team should be fully assembled within the next few months – so contact them today if you’re interested.

If you are a resident of Nashville, with damaged photos, the folks at OPR would like you to keep them safe for now, because they may be able to restore them for free in the coming months. An announcement will be made on their website when the Nashville project begins.

FOUND ON TWITTER
Ivan Gonzalez, a photojournalist based in Caracas, Venezuela, shot a really nice story on Venezuelan boxer, Lorenzo “Lencho” Parra. I spotted it on Twitter, and it’s been retweeted many times. Really nice stuff!

Lencho Boxer – Images by ivan gonzalez

SWEET CUSTOMIZATIONS
Each week we see more examples of customization brilliance, and this week was no exception. Here are a few of our recent favorites. It’s really amazing what some people can do with the PhotoShelter customization tools.

Alexandru Vita – He designed this website himself, and is using WordPress and PhotoShelter. Click on the “Portfolio” link to see how he customized his PhotoShelter account to match his design.

Martin Bailey – He is using a Graph Paper Press theme for WordPress. Check out the little “Notifer” popup at the bottom. Pretty cool.

Matt Brandon – His site, called The Digital Trekker, is loaded up with really amazing images. He is also using a combination of WordPress and PhotoShelter to pull it all off. Looks incredible.

GETTING INTO DETAILS
Photographer Dave Ettinger created a really detailed description on his website that tells clients exactly how to download images. Although it may seem like a simple topic for you, many of his clients appreciate this approach.

“Every now and then one of my clients has some trouble accessing digital images online, so here is the complete and detailed walk-through for downloading images,” he said. “When I say “detailed,” I really mean “detailed,” so forgive me if it’s too basic for you. There are really only 3 steps, but if things aren’t working right these instructions should help you get it all sorted out.”

This is a great resource, and a great idea for any photographer who is looking to make the process foolproof for their clients.

PHOTOG’S CAR ON FIRE, HE TAKES PICTURES
Thankfully, no one was injured when photographer Billy Suratt‘s car caught fire while he was photographing a political campaign event. But Billy gets a “Hardcore Photojournalist Shout-Out” because, instead of freaking out, he started shooting as his car burned, and continued as the fire department arrived – even documenting the aftermath.

WEBINAR: HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE IMAGING AND ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5
Photographer Jack Howard, a PhotoShelter user, author, and Director of New/Social Media at Adorama Camera, is giving a FREE webinar on HDRI and Adobe Photoshop CS5 as part of the marketing campaign for the 2nd Edition of Practical HDRI, due out late August.

Interested in HDRI? The webinar is on Friday, June 11, 2010 at 1pm ET. Here’s your chance to learn from a master.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER MAGAZINE ARTICLE ON SEO
Congrats to photographers Hunter Harrison, Craig Mitchelldyer and Lincoln Barbour for being such awesome case studies in an article on SEO that appeared in Professional Photographer Magazine. The story was written by PhotoShelter CEO Allen Murabayashi.

BROOKLYN STUDIO TOURS
Photographers and artists in the New York City area who are looking to put their work in front of more paying customers may want to consider checking out the opportunities available with Brooklyn Studio Tours.

They recently announced their Spring Open Studio Tour in Red Hook & Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn on Saturday, May 22 & Sunday, May 23 from 12PM until 6 PM.

From their website: “Our objective is to assist in forming new relationships and exposing your work to a greater public audience.”

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I am always looking for things to include here in our Friday Shout-Outs – so if you have anything you think is worthy, let me know.

Or, better yet, post a note to Twitter with my name in it (@heygrover) or “friend me” on Facebook, and that way I won’t forget it later.