PShizzy: The Blog

AdoramaPix is at it again with their big print sale. Running through March, 4.95 gets you a 16×20 Kodak Endura Matte or Lustre print, and 7.95 for a Kodak Metallic. And like last time, you can purchase prepaid prints at these prices, and use them after the sale ends. This is great for anyone who prepurchased the metallics last time, as they’re still paying 4.95 for those.

Not only that, but if you’re signing up for the first time, you get 25 4×6 prints free.  And if you happen to do that, please consider dropping my name as a referral (my email address for this is msimbron at gmail dot com). I’ve accrued a bunch of 4×6 prints and plan to do something (don’t know yet) with them.

If you read my previous article on this, “Big Print Giveth,” there are comments from users who purchased large prints from AdoramaPix and were quite happy with the quality.

Feel free to add any thoughts or queries in the comments.

Tags: business // 1 Comment »

After the huge success of the Lynda.com seven day trial, which was on again off again, I received an interesting email from another e-learning source, the Virtual Training Company, or VTC for short. I was interested for two reasons.

First, VTC has been around a while. They offered training cd’s over a decade ago, when the concept was still new. So VTC definitely has a solid background in application training. But the second reason is what caught me: The email was from Mark Vernon,  the founder of VTC.

vtc.com is an online learning library similar to lynda.com, but with 80,000 tutorial videos. We started in 1994, delivering online in 1997, so we’ve been around a bit longer than most.
Check out the library using a 7 day free pass, using promo code “twitter”, at vtc.com/promo
cheers

Mark Vernon

The Virtual Training Company

So please, feel free to sign up and give it a whirl. Read on for a short review of the material as well as my overall opinion. (more…)

Tags: business, general, photoshop // 3 Comments »

UPDATE 2/17/09: The trial is back on. I believe it will alternate on and off, so try it. if you’re in a rush, try the day pass in my other post. Remember, each one requires an email address.

The week long pass that I posted about last week expired. It was a very popular post on this blog, so I contacted Lynda.com to see if there were any other trials available or coming up. It took a few days, but they responded.

As I mentioned in my other post, Lynda.com is a good resource for training, and the monthly or yearly cost is a boon to anyone who has an interest in learning more than one application. For my review of the service, read last weeks blog post

Click more to read on about my response from Lynda.com customer service, and the link to the 24 hour pass. (more…)

Tags: business, general, photoshop // Add Comment »

Canon announced that they are offering a free repair for anyone with a 5D that may be suffering from a loose mirror box due to a weakening of the adhesive that holds the mirror in. More on that over at

PDNGearGuide article on 5D Mirror Detachment

The notice is also available on Canon’s website. The repair is free, as is shipping, from user comments on other forums. I will be calling them tomorrow to send in my 5D.

Canon 5D Notice: Main Mirror Detachment

If I send it in and get any paperwork, I’ll scan it and do an update thread.

Tags: equipment, lighting // Add Comment »

Backing up your drives is important. I don’t have any fun stories or anecdotes to recount about dead drives. There’s nothing worst than losing data because of a drive failure. Worse yet is when it’s at the most inopportune time. For example, the night before a big event, or a trip, your laptop decides that stage a coup against Windows XP. Now what?

Let’s install Windows. Where was that disk again? Countless reboots and hours later, you have Windows. But no updates. Reboot more, like it’s going out of style. Ok SP3, here we are. But no Photoshop. No Photo Mechanic. Crap, even my email hasn’t been set up yet. Oh and if you run Vista, you may just be better off going without a computer until Windows 7 shows up.

The last time my computer went out on me, I reasoned that it was old enough to not be worth saving, so I went and got a Mac. That’s how much I hate reformatting. Also, to be honest, I was simply unprepared. So how could having software like Acronis True Image have saved me? More on that, and the link to the article and info after the jump. (more…)

Tags: business, general // 3 Comments »

UPDATE: The trial offer has now expired. I will do my best to find a new one.

UPDATE 2/17/09: The trial is back on. I believe it will alternate on and off, so try it. if you’re in a rush, try the day pass in my other post. Remember, each one requires an email address.

Lynda.com has always been a great resource for a variety of training. In my experience using them for two years, I find that Lynda offers the best bang for the buck when it comes to training for creative tools. at 25 dollars a month, or 250 for a year, it’s hard to beat their offerings. They have training for all the Adobe apps (which do include the former Macromedia apps), as well as Apple’s own creative suites (Final Cut, Aperture, etc). I could spend another few paragraphs listing it all. Instead, just look at their online training library master list

So, is Lynda.com is a clear choice, a must have? Not necessarily. Read on for the link to the free trial (really, the best way to figure out if you want it), and my opinion on Lynda.com (more…)

Tags: business, general, photoshop // 11 Comments »

A buddy of mine clued me in on this a few days ago. ThinkTank Photo, maker of photography bags and accessories, has started an affiliate program. Here’s the deal: Purchase anything from their site over $50 using an affiliate and you will get a free bag (note the image) with your purchase. Using my affiliate code means I get a commission on the purchase, 10%, sent to me twice a year. Here’s how:

• Go to http://www.thinktankphoto.com/affiliates.aspx?code=AP-208
• Enter my affiliate code: AP-208
• Fill out your purchase order
• When you hit “Review Order” a new window will open, resembling the image on my blog. Select your free bag, and continue on.

ThinkTank regulates the prices on their equipment sent to distributors, so prices do not vary greatly from store to store. Buying from them direct means you get a free bag and pay the same you would anywhere else. So, naturally I should recommend that you all go out and buy some ThinkTank gear, right? Well, sort of.

Read on to hear about my personal experiences with ThinkTank, including their equipment, and customer service. (more…)

Tags: equipment // 4 Comments »

Tomorrow, November 18th, starting at 6am PST, you can get a free copy of Zonealarm 2009 Pro for free. Lifehacker, a favorite site of mine, has more info. As soon as the link is available, I will edit this post and include the direct link. For now, check out the article at Lifehacker, or the Zonealarm site.

Note, this is Windows only, which makes me a sad Mac. Not really though, because I have a PC laptop.

EDIT: Link is up. Click on the links above, or HERE.

Tags: business, general // 1 Comment »