Finally we have a new Focus-Ring Episode online! It’s #18 with a new concept. Four participants from the Focus Ring Network as before, but now with one topic for all of them. This time it’s “Light & Shadow”. Contributors Chris Marquardt (Tips from the Top Floor), Jeff Curto (The History of Photography and Camera Position), Martin Bailey (Martin Bailey Photography Podcast) and Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame & Shooting with Alas) join together to discuss the importance of shadow in the creation of a successful photograph. And to make the point, each of them presents two images.
Ibarionex Perello
Chris Marquadt
Jeff Curto
Martin Bailey
I haven’t heard it yet but it sounds promising!
“Meet the GIMP” is just stuck a bit in the production pipeline. I recorded a show twice about my try to contribute in the Challenge of the Digital Photography School – but it was simply not good enough. I’ll try do a piece about snow later this day, but I have some work for school still sitting on my desk. They simply pay more than you, so I have to set priorities. 
How much would the donations need to be raised in order for you to always put the show first? Maybe it can be arranged?
The photos are incredible. Although they are on flickr and I cannot look at them (my isp blocks flickr) they still look fabulous even as thumbnails. Wonder how long it takes to become that good.
Factor 100 at least.
But it’s not only the amount of money, it’s also that I have got tenure (“Beamter auf Lebenszeit”). And that is hard to beat with unreliable donations. 
If you had provided a valid mail address, I would have packed up the images and mailed them to you.
Nice link. That was one of the best focus-ring talks I’ve heard.
On MTG videos, I think you should take vacations from it whenever you wish. Another thought[1] is that you might be able to get some leverage out of teaching others to do some of the production work. Is that possible?
[1] ..he proposes hesitantly, for fear of being asked to “put-up or shut-up”!
~jim
Ok, _that_ is really hard to top. Near impossible. Would need a really big amount of donations…
But how did you get that? You are a school teacher for natural science, right? I live in Potsdam and even university professors do not all have that. What did you do? Did you fix a dyke in time or something? Or are you famous in Bremen?
I am not at home right now. My own computer is in for repairs. I never enter my email on another computer. I had to have a very bad experience with this. I will send you mail when I get it back to me.
Well, that is one difference between our older and younger states (in their current form). Besides, I’m quite sure Rolf is not just an ordinary teacher. He’s definitely involved in the school’s management, according to his many comments on that topic. He could very well even be the pri… Ah, no, that’s unlikely
Him being famous: Within the last month I’ve met three people who independently told me about him: Two from France I met in the zoo and one from Austria I met on top of the tower of our new city hall, she even had a Meet the GIMP sticker on her camera bag.
I started my career path just after the fall of the wall and in western Germany. And so I still got into the old system of tenure. I am just an ordinary teacher (Studienrat, A13) now but were involved with school administration a lot over the years. For some time I even were an Oberstudienrat in Hamburg. I got the promotion for organizing the building of a network at my school by kids, parents and teachers, keeping it up and training the teachers. But I wanted to go to Bremen and had to go back one level in rank and pay. But these 300€ less a month were more money in the pocket because Hamburg is way more expensive in costs of living than Bremen.
@nachbarnebenan; Cool – a MTG-Sticker! I want one too!
I hope the English can be read.
I have this idea inside my head for a time and now I decided for me. I will get a camera for my holiday in june in greece. Ten years before I did my last foto on film with my old Pentax. It broke in two and I had not time for fotos in the years. Sometimes I use my handy to make fotos but just a few.
Now I have back work giving me more time for fotos. I will new start.
That question is what camera to buy. I know nothing over digital cameras so I ask. From friends three are on the list. One is canon 5d m2 it has video recording. Two is nikon d700 with no video but more woman like that. Three is sony a850 as is litest. The price is near same and all are full size. I cannot buy a pro camera like nikon d3, needs to much money.
Can I get tip what is better or has advantages? Is there another like them?