René Payán added to Mighty Imaging

René Payán's work is a departure from many of the artists in our Shop for Art gallery. At first glance you may think you are looking at a shot of Phoenix at sunset or Monument Valley on a pristine day. What may take you a second to register is that these images are digitally created. Many of Rene's images are so photo realistic that part of you thinks you may have been there before. Other images are definitely part of a world created solely by Rene's design. They are imaginative, captivating, and look amazing when printed.

The artistic components of color, form and composition dominate his images, which combine Arizona’s natural beauty with the height of computer technology. As the volcanoes imposed their magnificence in the midst of modern life in the busy city of Puebla, home of his youth, so does René Payán propose to blend the natural beauty of the Arizona desert with the image making methods available through high tech design. The result is over 300 virtual landscapes inspired by the awesome vistas of our amazing Arizona countryside and desert.

Take better pictures with your phone

Many people have already converted to one unit for all their audio and visual communication needs. Cameraphones have improved dramatically over the past couple of years. Companies consistently add cameras with larger megapixels and better lenses to their latest models. I recently saw an image by an amateur astronomer of Jupiter taken with an iPhone. Granted, it is not the most detailed shot, but still a big leap for the capabilities of a cameraphone.

If your phone has also become your camera Photo Industry Reporter has some tips on how to capture better shots.

10 Tips for Taking Better Cameraphone Photos:

Middletown, CT— Wireless Zone reports that cameraphones are increasingly becoming the picture-taking device of choice. According to a recently published study, the company says about 1 in 5 consumers already use a cameraphone as their primary camera.

Mark Asnes, vice president and COO of Wireless Zone (wirelesszone.com), shared some wireless wisdom that can help consumers take better cameraphone pictures.

1. Good lighting is key. The ideal is natural light, but you can still get good results inside by turning on a few lights.

2. Adjust the white balance. Select your setting based on the type of lighting. If the lighting is mixed, stick with the auto setting.

3. Just say no to digital zoom. The picture quality will be reduced drastically. Optical zoom is OK if the phone has it.

4. Get ready for your close-up. In place of digital zoom, get the cameraphone closer to whatever you’re taking a picture of.

5. Stay very, very still. To prevent blurring, hold the cameraphone with both hands and brace your arms against your sides or lean your elbows on a stable object.

6. Get accustomed to the shutter lag. For better timing, get a feel for how long it takes between the moment you press the button and the moment the picture is captured.

7. Don’t get trigger-happy with the delete button. An image that looks grainy on your phone could look just fine on your computer screen.

8. A clean lens takes clean pictures. Use a glasses or lens cleaning cloth to avoid scratching the lens.

9. Turn up the resolution unless the sole purpose is for picture messaging.

10. If at first you don’t succeed . . . just keep experimenting with different angles, lighting and settings.

Jeffrey Welcker at Pita Jungle

Jeffrey Welcker takes a unique perspective on desert landscape photography. The result becomes a surrealistic abstract of design and form. Jeffrey prints his work on Metallic paper and then second surface mounts them to Plexiglas. The effect is stunning. Viewers get lost in the gorgeous detail, and can't help but examine all the intricacies of the image. His current exhibition will be on display at Pita Jungle's Scottsdale location until January 1, 2009.

Jeffrey Welcker native to Arizona has been photographing "the Desert Rocks" in the North Scottsdale and surrounding areas for close to a decade. The project started out as an attempt to capture the desert before it would no longer be accessible. Shooting in the Monsoons, the heat and the Chill of a desert snow. The results are, vibrant color photographs of sculpted granite, printed on metallics, that stir the imagination and bring out the desert mystic.

Vermillion Studios grand re-opening

Dan Vermillion is a internationally renowned commercial photographer located right here in Phoenix. Dan heads up the studio space that he shares with three other very talented photographers; Mark Peterman, Nicky Hedayat-Zadeh and Jesse Rieser. They recently updated their studio space and are throwing a party to celebrate the grand re-opening. We had the privilege of printing some really beautiful large murals of Dan's work to adorn the walls in their newly remodeled space.

Come by the studio Friday November 21st starting at 5 PM for the festivities. Hope to see you there!

Clients and friends: The Photographers at 124 W McDowell Rd
(Dan Vermillion, Mark Peterman, Nicky Hedayat-Zadeh and Jesse Rieser)
would like to invite you to a Studio Party on Friday night November 21, 2008.

Festivities will begin around 5pm with food, drink and music. We hope to see you here. Feel free to bring co-workers who want to start the weekend on a good note, drop by after work or come by a bit later.

Jim Cowlin's US Route 89 exhibit

Jim Cowlin is a diligent evangelist for his project, the US Route 89 Appreciation Society. Nothing tells the story better of the beauty along this historic stretch of road than Jim's photography. Jim recently had a show of his new portfolio of work at the Saans Downtown Fine Art Photography Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah. Although it was a little too far away for us to attend the event, we were happy to help Jim out with the prints.

Last August when we were in Salt Lake City we were introduced to Shalee Cooper, the curator for Saans Gallery. In the course of the conversation I mentioned that I had a new portfolio of prints from the US Route 89 project. Her response was enthusiastic and we immediately started planning for the show.

As of October 17th, it is a reality. There are twelve limited-edition prints now hanging in the Saans Gallery as well as a group of smaller prints of scenes on the highway. The opening was held during the monthly Salt Lake City Gallery Stroll. I had a good time meeting people and talking about our travels on the highway. One of the gallery strollers even joined the US Route 89 Appreciation Society.

The Saans Gallery is located at 173 East Broadway in Salt Lake City. For more information about Jim's work or the Route 89 Appreciation Society you can visit the project website.

Photoshop classes for photographers

Scott Condray of Visualville teaches Photoshop classes specifically designed for photographers. Since Photoshop is such a complex software, many new users become overwhelmed and do not know where to begin. Scott focuses on the tools that are specific to image editing. He keeps his class sizes small to ensure that every student fully grasps each session. Past students have told me they learned a great deal from Scott's instruction.

Scott has a 5 week course starting next Tuesday night, with spots still available. You can go to the Visualville's website for more information on how you can attend.

Our classes are designed for photographers, but are not limited to photographers. They are open to all who need to learn how to incorporate the power of this amazing software into their creative process.

• All of our classes are designed to meet the needs of photographers, both professional and amateur.
• Each class is designed to introduce students to key features of the program that can benefit both their creativity and productivity.

• Students learn at their own Visualville computer . In person instruction is supported by a class workbook of step by step exercises, and real world example images.

Teri Terasaki at Gallery 8

This Friday will be the second to last First Friday art walk of '08. A perfect opportunity to check out the Phoenix art scene and perhaps purchase some artwork as a one of a kind holiday gift.

Teri Terasaki will be showing a collection of her work at Gallery 8 along with Craig Wactor. Teri's work is a unique combination of collage and photography. She created a series of 'outfits' out of plastic molding of a female form, each one contains a different themed collage. The series is entitled Waste Reform. As you can see from the image displayed, it is a play on words and content.

Gallery 8 is located on 3rd Street and McDowell in downtown Phoenix. The opening will be from 6-10 PM Friday November 7th.