At the moment, our family is safe on a ridge in Bennett Valley. We're lucky in the sense that we didn't have to go to an evacuation shelter, although there were moments yesterday when we thought that might change. Meanwhile, the fires in Santa Rosa are as dangerous as ever.

I'm fairly certain that my brother-in-law (and one of my best friends) lost his house. He and his wife are staying with her mom in Forestville. They had to leave with the clothes they had on, and nothing else. They are going to need our help in the coming days.

My sister-in-law may have lost her place as well. We can't know for sure yet, because all of our places are located in a mandatory evacuation zone in the North of Santa Rosa. When the fire blazed south from Calistoga, fueled by 50 MPH winds, we were in its path. She is staying with friends right now.

We don't know about our place yet. Yesterday, we stood outside the border of the evacuation zone, patrolled by officers, and looked at the treeline and the roofs of places we knew. There's a chance that we may be the luckiest of our family. But it's too soon to tell, and the fires are still burning.

At the moment, our only connectivity is through our iPhones. Comcast has been down. And there's no power through large areas of the city. The smoke is choking, and it's unsafe outside. The air is still right now. There's no visibility.

As most of you have already figured out, there won't be a TDS Podcast this week. In so many ways, there just isn't enough bandwidth. But I'll keep you posted. Be sure to follow on TDS Facebook page and via my Twitter feed.

No one loves mobile photography more than me. But my toolset goes beyond the iPhone, even though it remains an integral part of the workflow.

The Olympus PEN-F on location. Photo by Derrick Story

What I also like is the act of rotating knurled dials, pressing physical buttons, and looking through a viewfinder. I like the way a well-designed camera with a half case and wrist strap feels in my hands. It makes me want to use it.

And thanks to WiFi, I can still quickly send the picture to my iPhone and publish on Instagram in just a minute or two. The fact that maybe I can enjoy a cup of coffee during the process just makes it all the better.

I just returned from 3 days of driving around Silicon Valley covering events and taking pictures. I used my iPhone all of the time. At moments, it was my camera, and other times it was my publishing conduit.

But when I could, I also reached for the PEN-F. And in the end, I captured more images with it than my smartphone. And I love those shots.

My point is, we don't have to limit ourselves to smartphones, no matter how wonderful they are. There are moments when I want photography to be more than simply tapping a screen. And that's what keeps me enthused about this craft.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

I've had a number of projects stack up where I needed photo subjects to demonstrate image editing and organization for online posts, videos, and my next Photos book. I had grown weary of my other sources for models, and had read an article about tapping Craigslist for new talent. So I decided to give it a try.

Molly - She replied to my ad on craigslist, and we had a terrific shoot.

One of the things that I was after was more of "the person next door" look. I didn't need, or even want, what many consider the model look. What I did want were subjects who were enthusiastic, punctual, and had a presence in front of the camera. In the case of Molly, she has beautiful eyes. So that's where I focused my work.

I think it's very important to be upfront with potential creative partners. I run my ads in the "talent" section, and I state clearly who I am and what I am seeking. I include my website for reference, as well as my name so people can Google me to learn more about my work. I'm very clear about my positive intentions.

In return for posing in front of my camera, I offer experience in a professional setting, a gallery of pictures that they can use, plus money for travel expenses and their lunch for the day. I have them sign a model release before we start working. And I keep the sessions between an hour and 90 minutes, during daylight hours. Most importantly, I treat them with the same respect that I would any professional that I'm collaborating with.

So far, so good. I've had about a dozen responses that led to two shoots. That's actually not a bad success rate. I've had to rule out a few candidates because of their age. My suggestion is to only work with photo subjects who are 18 years or older, and be sure to verify that.

As for "the person next door look"... I'm definitely getting that. And I'm loving it. It's what I call everyday attractive. These amateur models are really helping me with my projects. And I think they're enjoying the work as well.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #604, Oct.3, 2017. Today's theme is "The Joy of LED Lighting." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

I'm working on a series of studio portrait shoots for a project, and have been leaning heavily on my LED lights. They have been serving me well both in the studio, and on location, and I thought now would be a good time to revisit this affordable, versatile, lighting solution.

The Joy of LED Lighting

My current favorite LED light is the Genaray LED-7100T 312 LED Variable-Color Light for $189. The kit includes the light, two batteries, a diffusion panel, a charger, and a nice case.

It's portable enough for location shoots, yet powerful enough to use in a studio softbox. So I thought I would share five reasons why I'm preferring the LED array to traditional strobes.

• Continuous Lighting with a Broad Source - What you see is what you get. And the bigger panel with diffuser means I don't always need modifiers.
• Color Adjustable - All I have to do is turn a know to adjust the temperature of the output. And it's so easy to calibrate them to the ambient lighting in the scene.
• Long Battery Life - I charge the set of duo batteries before the shoot, and they last for the entire session without having to change them.
• Cool to the Touch - Even though the lights are always on, the room doesn't heat up.
• More Affordable than Most Strobes - A dedicated flash can cost $350 or more. These LED panels are less than 200, including batteries.

I still carry a flash in my camera bag with an extension cord. Because there are those times when I need the power or portability. But given a choice, I tend to reach for my LED lights whenever possible. And I love them!

ILCP WildSpeak Coming in November

Conservation photographers from all over the world will gather again at WildSpeak 2017 in Washington D.C. I covered this event last year, and it was one of the most important conferences I've ever attended.

WildSpeak will once again take place at Carnegie Institution for Science on November 14 and 15. Presenters include top naturalists, biologists, and nature photographers who have been immersed in their particular specialities. They share their findings in a series of presentations over the two days of the event.

Plus, you'll learn how you too can participate in the world of conservation photography. Be sure to allow enough time during your visit to explore places in D.C. such at National Geographic headquarters and the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian.

You can learn more and register by visiting the WildSpeak site. I'll be there again this year. If you plan on attending, be sure to let me know so we can say hello.

How to Shoot an Annie Leibovitz-style Group Portrait with Affordable Gear

Petapixel published this article that explains how to create amazing big group shots by breaking down the subjects into smaller groups, then compositing them together.

One way portrait photographers like Annie Leibovitz light large-scale group photos is by lighting smaller groups by themselves and then compositing everyone together into a large group. Photographer Barry Harley recently employed this technique with relatively affordable gear for a group photo with friends while on vacation.

The group had brought along outfits specifically for the photo shoot, and upon arrival, Harley decided to shoot the portrait on the main entrance stairway of the castle.

The article walks you through all of the steps with photos. It's really kind of amazing.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Those interested in learning about the state of Unmanned Aircraft Systems should follow the news out of Drone World Expo, opening in San Jose, CA on Oct. 3.

As the conference organizers explain it, "Drone World offers real-world solutions to your business and environmental challenges. UAS/UAVs provide the capability for you to capture data in a way that will have a tremendous impact on your business. Applications including imaging, photography, video and film, precision agriculture, construction, security and public safety, mapping and surveying, inspections, research and conservation, communications, parcel delivery, and humanitarian efforts."

Speakers include high ranking U.S. government officials such as Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the President and the Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer at the White House; tech specialists such as Eric Mueller, Aerospace Engineer, NASA; plus business leaders and enthusiasts.

If you're in the San Jose area, you may want to attend in person. You can register here. Otherwise, I'll be on the ground and will share the tidbits that I find interesting.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

I've used the Elgato Cam Link for my last two Nimble Classroom events, and it has performed like a champ. In fact, after the last class, one participant even commented on how good the live action video looked.

What is it? It's a $129 interface about the size of a thumb drive that converts HDMI output from your camera to USB for your computer. In my case, I'm using an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, which has an HDMI port (the mini size), then connecting the camera to my MacBook Pro via an HDMI cable and Cam Link.

I chose the E-M5 Mark II because is has terrific video controls and clean HDMI output. In other words, it will send just the feed without menu icons and other distractions. Plus, it doesn't automatically shut down after just a few minutes like some cameras do.

I'm using mimoLive by Boinx Software to produce my live classroom. It allows me to seamlessly switch among live action cameras, audio sources, and screen capture. Plus it can record to disc at the same time it's streaming live to my audience. And Cam Link works perfectly with it.

The main gotcha with Cam Link is to pay close attention to the hardware requirements for your computer. It requires a 4-core Intel processor and USB 3. Compare the specs of your potential computer to the minimum system requirements published by Elgato. Other than that, all you have to do is get the correct cable, then start streaming.

Elgato Cam Link was the missing link for my live action classroom. For a $129, I consider it a terrific value.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Conservation photographers from all over the world will gather again at WildSpeak 2017 in Washington D.C. I covered this event last year, and it was one of the most important conferences I've ever attended.

WildSpeak will take place at Carnegie Institution for Science on November 14 and 15. Presenters include top naturalists, biologists, and nature photographers who have been immersed in their particular specialities. They share their findings in a series of presentations over the two days of the event.

Plus, you'll learn how you too can participate in the world of conservation photography. Be sure to allow enough time during your visit to explore places in D.C. such as National Geographic headquarters and the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian.

You can learn more and register by visiting the WildSpeak site. I'll be there again this year. If you plan on attending, be sure to let me know so we can say hello.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #603, Sept. 26, 2017. Today's theme is "Take a Hike." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

I've always had a love/hate relationship with the news, which is ironic for someone trained as a journalist. But there are times when I hear and see things of which I have no control, and as a result, I become disheartened. Bad news seems as intense now as ever. There are a lot of folks that I'd love to tell, "go take a hike." But maybe it's me who should hit the trail. And that's the topic for today's TDS podcast.

Go Take a Hike

One of the headlines I read today referred to The Cultural War that's going on in America. That is so deflating to me. Other troublesome words right now include North Korea, hurricanes, earthquakes, protests, acerbic tweets, healthcare, foreign intervention, and intolerance. A few of those words I can do something about. The rest of it is out of my control.

Thinking about this reminds me of something that I've learned about relationships in general. We often don't have control over the actions of others. But we do have control over our reactions to their behavior.

So, if I'm going to be useful to others, then I need to stay as balanced as possible. And the best way for me to do that is to exercise in nature. It's the perfect activity for photographers. Here are a few tips to get the most from this experience.

• Get Up Early - There are many benefits to getting out the door early. From a photography standpoint, the light is good. Beyond that, the world is quiet in the wee hours of the morning, and that soft energy is very soothing for soul. A hike a 7am is a completely different experience than at 1pm.
• Be Safe - I often travel alone. But I'm over 6'7" and weigh over 200 pounds. Not everyone has that physical advantage. So be sure to compensate accordingly. Carry a whistle. It is the most efficient communication and emergency device in nature. Dogs and friends make great trail companions. Take the necessary precautions so you can enjoy your experience outside.
• Travel Light - If I'm not just a little bit cold when I start the hike, then I know I'm going to be way too hot when I finish. Light layers, nimble camera bag, enough water to stay hydrated, are all you need for most short day hikes.
• It's Not a Race - You can go fast if you wish, but you will miss many shots, birds, flowers, and much of the joy of nature. Allow yourself to stop for pictures, admire vistas, and have a sip of water. The idea is to break the pace of our daily lives, not simply move it out to the trail.
• Keep Your Phone in Your Pocket - Unless you're using your smartphone as your camera, keep it tucked away. The Do Not Disturb feature will let calls through from your favorites, which should be friends and family. Let everything else stay on hold until you're back in civilization.

If you're lucky enough to have access to outdoor walking trails, then embrace that activity. Taking a hike won't automatically solve the world's problems. But staying healthy and balanced will put you in a better position to contribute to the solutions we need.

ILCP WildSpeak Coming in November

Conservation photographers from all over the world will gather again at WildSpeak 2017 in Washington D.C. I covered this event last year, and it was one of the most important conferences I've ever attended.

WildSpeak will once again take place at Carnegie Institution for Science on November 14 and 15. Presenters include top naturalists, biologists, and nature photographers who have been immersed in their particular specialities. They share their findings in a series of presentations over the two days of the event.

Plus, you'll learn how you too can participate in the world of conservation photography. Be sure to allow enough time during your visit to explore places in D.C. such at National Geographic headquarters and the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian.

You can learn more and register by visiting the WildSpeak site. I'll be there again this year. If you plan on attending, be sure to let me know so we can say hello.

Cascable Transfer with Lightroom "kas-ka-ball"

Cascable Transfer will let you copy your selected images directly from your WiFi camera to Lightroom.

I have two tips for doing this. First, set up a masters folder ahead of time called Cascable Transfer. Then import some images into it, just a few to get the wiring in order. That way you can transfer your masters to that folder when you use Cascable.

Second, if you get the runaround with the Lightroom plugin not being installed, even after you've installed it via Cascable Transfer, just open Lightroom, go to the Plugin Manager, and enable it there. Everything should work fine after that.

Cascable Transfer is a $15 app that supports WiFi enabled Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus, Sony, and Panasonic cameras. It makes it easy to transfer RAW, Jpeg, or RAW+Jpeg to the Finder, Photos for macOS, or Lightroom (which I'll cover next week).

Each RAW+Jpeg pair took about a minute to transfer. Once the process was completed, my images were waiting for me in Photos. The procedure is easy. First, turn on WiFi in the camera, then connect to the network on your Mac, then launch Cascable Transfer and browse the images on the card.

This is a wonderful safety net for those times your card reader isn't available (or working) and you want to copy pictures from your camera to your laptop.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Photographers who have been patiently waiting to see the final version of Photos for macOS High Sierra should get their opportunity today. We anticipate the latest OS from Apple to be available by 6PM.

Changes to the Photos app include a refreshed UI with persistent sidebar, new filtering options to find your images faster, new editing tools (curves and selective color), and a host of minor refinements.

In my testing with the beta version of the new Photos, I found it to be a good iCloud citizen with no disruption to my multi-Mac and iOS workflow. In fact, in general, High Sierra feels like an upgrade that you can embrace sooner than later. Some exceptions include those with Fusion drives and older versions of Final Cut, who should to do some research first.

I'll report more on the upgrade process as soon as Apple posts it, and I have a chance to go through the standard process.

Book or Videos: Photos for macOS

Explore the world of modern photography with my The Apple Photos Book for Photographers that features insightful text and beautiful illustrations.

And if you'd like to cozy up to a video at the same time, watch my latest lynda title, Photos for macOS Essential Training

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

My client work typically requires a lot of moving around during the shoot. So I pack my gear as lightly as possible. And when I saw the new Think Tank Spectral 10 shoulder bag, I thought it might be useful on location.

I chose the Spectral 10 (the middle size of 3 models) because of its nimble dimensions (13.8" W x 10" H x 6.1" D - 35 x 25.5 x 15.5 cm) and light weight (2.2) pounds. Because the bag isn't too thick, it hugs my body nicely while working. This is important to me because I had bulky bags swinging around as I'm navigating a shoot.

Inside I have my DSLR, backup body, two zooms, two primes, flash, and accessories. All of this fits wonderfully in the Spectral 10.

Think Tank created a clever latch they call the Fidlock that enables on-handed access to your gear. And if you don't overpack the bag, it naturally locks when the flap goes down. This is very handy on location. Because then you can use the top handle as well as the shoulder strap to pickup the bag without worrying about spilling the contents. The Fidlock is also silent, so there's no embarrassing velcro noises on set.

External pockets are kept to a minimum, retaining the slim design of the bag. There are lined sleeves for a tablet (up to 10") and a smartphone. A stretchy side pocket for your water, and a back pocket for paperwork, or in my case, a Rogue FlashBender. There's also a trolly sleeve on the back for sliding the bag over the extended handle of roller luggage.

Inside is a zippered top that protects your gear during travel and inclement weather. The main compartment has plenty of dividers to organize camera bodies, lenses, and lighting. It's easy to grab my camera during the shoot, then secure it in the bag when I need my hands free.

Accessories include a set of tripod attachment straps for the bottom, which is a waterproof tarpaulin base, by the way, and a separate rain cover.

You can buy the Think Tank Spectral 10 directly from Think Tank for $119.75, a reasonable price tag for a stylish (great for client shoots), well designed, and easy to use shoulder bag. I worked a long assignment with it yesterday, and I was comfortable and organized the entire time. This one is a keeper.