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Tony Donaldson is a freelance commercial and editorial photographer based in the Los Angeles area who specializes in personalities and sports images. People are his passion, whether they are top athletes or celebrities or timid executives. His past and present clients include Lincoln, Buick, Chrysler, The New York Times, ESPN The Magazine, The Wall Street Journal,Scholastic, Zero Motorcycles, Razor, and many more. He has written two books on BMX, was a regular contributor to Xtreme Video magazine and consults and speaks around the country on sh...
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Ah, the puritanical double standard strikes again.
By Tony Donaldson | November 03, 2009
ESPN the Magazine recently published their "Body Issue" on October 19, 2009, celebrating the incredible bodies of some of our favorite athletes. The work was beautifully shot by several amazing shooters, including James White, Sarah H. Friedman, Patrik Giardino, Sheryl Nields, Olugbenro Ogunsemore, James Dimmock and others. The work is incredible, a truly stunning portfolio celebrating the beautiful form of the athletes we all admire.
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By Tony Donaldson | October 26, 2009
I recently photographed Courtenay Semel for Curve Magazine. The magazine interviewed her for the next issue, and they hired me to shoot the cover and inside spread.
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The first helmet camera to market featuring HD
By Tony Donaldson | October 18, 2009
As a photographer, motion photography interests and fascinates me as a medium as much as still photography. Small, easily mounted cameras make camera-mounted images so much easier.
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Shhhhhhhh... Be vewy, vewy quiet!
By Tony Donaldson | October 15, 2009
A sound blimp is the perfect thing for shooting in virtual silence on movie and TV sets, PGA games, anyplace where you need silence. You can rent or buy the professional ones, like Jacobsen, for just over a thousand dollars. They're purpose-built and fantastic. But I've built my own for a few of my digital bodies, and they're a lot less expensive.
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Thinking about not going to save money? Think again.
By Tony Donaldson | September 28, 2009
I'm just finished with Interbike, the big bicycle trade show in Las Vegas. I try to go every year to catch up with industry friends and keep in contact with those that can and do hire me to create images for them. It's important, especially in this economy, when the dollars to hire photographers are being held onto tightly by some companies.
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An addendum to my previous podcast entry.
By Tony Donaldson | August 05, 2009
I've found a new podcast that I really enjoy. This one also interviewed me for the current interview on Adorama Camera's site.
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I shot the X Games for the 12th time. It's good to have an idea of what to expect, but there are always surprises.
By Tony Donaldson | August 04, 2009
This year was X Games 15. I've been fortunate enough to cover a dozen of them, starting with the second year. I was recounting this with Chris Stiepock, Vice President & General Manager of the X Games. I've known Chris all that time, since it was called the Extreme Games and had "sports" like bungee jumping and sky surfing. The latter was people skydiving with special snowboard-type apparatus that allowed for some crazy aerobatic maneuvers.
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Wired.com has posted the supposedly leaked Nikon 2009/2010 product roadmap, with some really exciting rumors.
By Tony Donaldson | July 09, 2009
These are all rumors, though they do seem credible and/or possible. They come from Czecch forum Grafika On-Line, supposedly from the UK from an anonymous source at a company that provides Nikon UK with IT services.
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A peek into a recent photoshoot with Actress Clementine Ford.
By Tony Donaldson | July 02, 2009
I recently photographed actress Clementine Ford ("The L Word", "The Young and the Restless", also Cybill Shepherd's daughter) for Curve magazine. I love working for Curve, they interview interesting people and give me the opportunity to create whatever images I feel like. I never see the interview first. And usually I don't talk to the personality before the shoot, as it's all done with their "people".
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You know, a little feedback can go a long way in a relationship.
By Tony Donaldson | July 02, 2009
I've worked with a lot of photo editors and art directors over the years. Some I've been with for ages, others use me a few times and then I never hear from them. No feedback, good or bad, to help me understand why? You've probably had the same thing, too. Constructive criticism or simple explanations, like perhaps they felt they couldn't afford you, help both sides understand and perhaps retain a good relationship.
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Easy to use and versatile big storage.
By Tony Donaldson | July 01, 2009
If you're like me, you have a lot of external hard drives on your desk. Some are there to back up others. And it's a messy tangle of wires and cables, between the power cords and their various transformer parts (often wall-warts that have to use a Power Squid or similar because they're too big for UPS power strips). Sure, they're cheap. And you keep buying more and bigger drives. Some of us replace the drives inside the cases with larger drives as we need to, saving a precious buck or two. But it gets confusing. Which file is where, and just how many duplicates do we have of what, where?
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The video shows how I ducked just in time!
By Tony Donaldson | June 02, 2009
I've been hit a few times while shooting extreme sports. Some have knocked me on my butt, some have ruined cameras. I used to joke that my middle name is "Impact Damage" (term from Nikon repair) and the truth is that I've broken more cameras than most photographers will ever own. This particular story is no exception.
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That hard place was another rock!
By Tony Donaldson | June 01, 2009
Getting the shot you want isn't always easy. I'm working on a few war stories to illustrate that, including this one. I wanted to create an unusual image for a client highlighting their product. I had one of their sponsored, professional riders at my disposal. But not just any rider, this guy is the world champion downhill mountain bike racer.
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Here are a few of my favorite photo podcasts out of all of the good and bad out there.
By Tony Donaldson | March 23, 2009
I drive a lot. A LOT. Often on my way to shoots, meetings, the airport. I keep a TON of good podcasts on my iPod, many are photo-related. Some have video or embedded images, some are just great interviews. These are all available on iTunes, free of charge. Many can also be downloaded from other sites, but my preference is iTunes. It automatically downloads the new episodes when available, and syncs them with my iPod.Here are some great podcasts to keep you inspired and always learning:Adobe ® Photoshop® Lightroom™ - Not just information about Lightroom, but interviews with some of the greats. Gregory Heisler, Pete Turner, Jeff Schewe, Steve McCurry, Jay Maisel, tons more.The Candid Frame: A Photography Podcast - Ibarionex Perello interviews often lesser-known and fascinating photographers, as well as some well-known ones.Creative Lube - Leslie Burns-Dell'aqua's podcast on creativity and marketing.Dekepod - Deke McClelland's podcast on all things digital imaging. Deke is ALWAYS entertaining, ALWAYS informative. Great tips with video.Digital Photography Tips from the Top Floor - Chris Marquardt's podcast on all things photography. It's heavily skewed toward beginners, but he's a fantastic teacher and very entertaining, often interviewing interesting experts (ok, I've been interviewed twice, so I had to say that!) and giving tips that even seasoned shooters can learn from. This was one of the first podcasts, and Chris and his guests have introduced me to other podcasts along the way.History of Photography podcasts - Jeff Curto, a professor of Photography at the College of Dupage, records his class each week and the podcasts include the images he's discussing from pre-Niepce to present day and the relevence of all of it. It's like getting a free semester of his class. I've repeated it a couple of times, he sometimes adds something new.Jeff Curto's Camera Position - Again, Jeff Curto, this time talking about the why of photography through his own eyes and experiences. Lightsource Studio Photography Podcast - mostly amateur stuff, but they do talk to industry heavy-hitters from manufacturers like Phil Bradon from MAC/Pocketwizard to working shooters like Michael Grecco. Photoshop User TV - News and tips of all things Photoshop, in a video format.The Russell Brown Show - If you like tips from Russell Brown like I do, free videos to watch any time is a good thing.I do also subscribe to a variety of others on a large variety of topics, but these are the core photography podcasts that keep me juiced and creative. If you know of other good ones, send them along!
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By Tony Donaldson | March 04, 2009
I had a couple of days open and decided to head to Las Vegas to see some of the newest photo goodies for myself. I found a huge variety of interesting stuff, from the stuff I want to the really oddball. The economy hasn't hampered the innovation much.
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If you've been a professional photographer for any length of time, your clients have probably asked this. Especially after paying you a lot of money for what you make look easy.
By Tony Donaldson | February 21, 2009
If you're good at what you do, you make it look easy. I've been shooting for 20+ years, and have gotten really good at creating good images even with extreme time crunches, and sometimes tight budgets, too. But it leads to clients, and especially their accounting departments, thinking they might be paying you too much.
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Why you should be very careful with your content.
By Tony Donaldson | February 16, 2009
The social networks all have a "Terms of Service" that you have to agree with. Read carefully.
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By Tony Donaldson | February 04, 2009
Image Trends, Inc. produces plugins for a variety of Photoshop needs. The two here are for whitening teeth and eyes, and for removing shine from skin. It's taken quite a bit of custom masking and work that I normally do by hand, and literally makes it happen with a couple of clicks.
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By Tony Donaldson | December 21, 2008
Shooting winter sports is fun, especially if you're prepared. I've compiled a few tips to keep you warm, dry and creatively capturing the action in some extremely cold, high-altitude conditions.
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By Tony Donaldson | November 12, 2008
I've used a lot of carts over the years to transport my gear from my truck to the location. I finally found one that handles it all better than the rest.
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DBA Createasphere