RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Darlene’

Introducing our New Managing Editor – Darlene Hildebrandt

19 Nov

Today I’d like to introduce you to the new editor of dPS. But first… a little backstory.

The Evolution of dPS

Back in 2006 when I started Digital Photography School I did so because I was ‘that guy’ in my friendship circle who friends came to for advice on how to use their digital cameras (and to bring my camera along to every party, wedding and other gathering).

Our first day on dps back in 2006.

Our first day on dps back in 2006. Yes, our first design was ‘Maroon’!

While I’d done a few weddings and other paid photography gigs I didn’t consider myself a pro – but wanted to create a place online to share what I did know to help those at the beginning of their photography journey.

In 2008 we went through a bit of a 'blue' stage with our design.

In 2008 we went through a bit of a ‘blue’ stage with our design.

The content in the early days was unashamedly for beginners but in time we began to explore more intermediate level teaching. Early on I did all the writing myself but as the site grew I began to approach more experienced and professional photographers to write more and more of the content.

In 2009 we did a major redesign and expanded the site with new sections on 'camera reviews' and 'post production'.

In 2009 we did a major redesign and expanded the site with new sections on ‘camera reviews’ and ‘post production’.

Today at dPS

Fast forward to 2013 and we now have a team of 15 regular writers in our core team and a group of almost 20 other semi-regular writers submitting guest posts.

While in the early days I published 2-3 posts per week we now post two tutorials per day.

While I was happy in the early days of the site to get 100 visitors in a day, today we regularly see over 100,000 in a day!

As of today we’ve had over 158,934,066 visitors to the dPS blog and forum area since we started! I can hardly believe where dPS has grown to and feel like the luckiest man in the world to have been a part of it.

You will have noticed some changes here on the site in the last couple of months. The blog area had a complete redesign (and the forum will be redesigned shortly to match), we’ve been hard at work on delivering you a much requested mobile friendly theme too – but behind the scenes there have been many changes of late.

6 weeks ago we launched our brand new design.

6 weeks ago we launched our brand new design.

A lot of the backend of the site has been reengineered but in the last couple of years I’ve been developing our team also and have recruited a number of people to help take dPS to the next level. These include:

  • Jasmin who produces our eBooks and other products
  • Simon who works on customer support and moderating the forum
  • Jade who helps with our social media accounts – she’s the one curating our popular Pinterest Account
  • Shayne who works on marketing but also heads up our dev team. He also helps with our SnapnDeals and SnapnGuides sister sites
  • Luke and his team who works with site advertisers/sponsors to help us keep the site free
  • Mario and 3 other developers to work on the back end of the site (they did the redesign but are also working on numerous other behind the scenes technologies to streamline what we do but also help our servers to work faster and more reliably).
  • Lastly we’ve engaged the services quite a few great professionals who have helped us with authoring, editing, design and production of our eBooks.

Most of the above team have come on in the last 2 years (our end of year Christmas party suddenly is becoming a little more fun…) so we’ve seen some significant changes around here – however I’ve also been on the look out for some help with the editorial aspects of the site.

While our writers have consistently had great feedback I know that there is always room for improvement and am very aware of my own limitations as a photography educator. I’ve been blogging for 10 years and so have experience in that – but lately I’ve been on the look out for a Pro Photographer to help us develop our editorial strategy.

Introducing Darlene Hildebrandt

Today I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Darlene Hildebrandt as our new editor. I feel a little strange ‘introducing’ her to you as regular readers will know her work already as she’s been one of our regular authors for 18 months.

Darlene headshot May13 162 web 2Darlene has been a professional photographer for over 26 years having worked in many different genres in the industry including: commercial, food photography, portraits, weddings, fine art, and travel photography. She still does portraits by referral, and special events for charities on a volunteer basis.

Her fine art work is shown and sold in a local gallery in her city, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and she’s participated in many group and solo art shows and exhibitions over the last eight years. Since 2011 she has turned her focus towards teaching photography, and sharing her passion for the craft with others. She teaches weekend classes locally, as well as photography weekend workshops in Alberta and Washington state (USA).

New for 2014 she will also be leading photography travel tours with a fully booked trip to Cuba scheduled for January, and Nicaragua in February/March that is quickly filling up as well. Her tours will have emphasis on interacting with and helping out the locals in that country, and a schedule that is flexible and adaptable as the participants see fit. Photography at optimal times of day will be one of the goals on the tours and photography coaching in the field will allow Darlene to assist tour members in getting their very best images.

In April of 2012 Darlene started writing for Digital Photography School. Her articles quickly became popular, consistently among the top articles each quarter, and she became a regular author on the site. You can view Darlene’s author page here.

NewImageIn July last year I spent a little time with Darlene in Portland Oregon at a conference (that’s us on the right) and in the last couple of weeks Darlene flew out to spend time with the rest of the dPS team here in Melbourne Australia.

Today, Darlene comes on board as the Managing Editor to help us take DPS to the next level.

A Few Words From Darlene

You’ll no doubt continue to hear from Darlene regularly here on dPS but I asked her to say a few words today!

From Darlene:

“I am really happy to be joining the dPS team as Managing Editor! Working with Darren and the team has endless possibilities for the future, one that it is exciting and inspiring to me.

Being a photography teacher and writer allows me to share my passion for photography with liked minded people like you. I thrive on comments from students and readers who have break through moments and create images they never dreamed possible. These moments drive my energy and enthusiasm for teaching photography. Through you, the valued readers of DPS, I will be able to connect with more people and spread creativity through photography, a subject which is so close to my heart.

There are some great new things coming soon for dPS and I’m really excited to be a part of the team bringing them to you. I look forward to connecting with you soon and seeing your images for the weekly challenges and articles!”

The Future of dPS

I’m really excited about the future of dPS. Darlene coming into the team will continue to lift the quality of our tutorials but will also enable us to do some new things.

I can’t say too much about what’s coming yet but you can expect some new types of teaching and content to start appearing on dPS in the coming months! We’re also hard at work getting our popular 12 Deals of Christmas together for next month!

Darlene coming onto the team will also free me up to work on improving other aspects of the site too. I’ll still be very hands on with all areas of dPS but am also very excited to have a little extra time to work on some new related projects that I’ve been wanting to get my teeth into that I think will make dPS even more useful to our community.

That’s enough from me for today – please welcome Darlene!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Introducing our New Managing Editor – Darlene Hildebrandt

The post Introducing our New Managing Editor – Darlene Hildebrandt by Darren Rowse appeared first on Digital Photography School.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Introducing our New Managing Editor – Darlene Hildebrandt

Posted in Photography

 

Meet The Photographers Who Write For Digital Photography School ~ Darlene Hildebrandt

21 Feb

You’ve been reading their articles for months or years, have you ever wondered “Who are the photographers who write for dPS”? Today meet photographer Darlene Hildebrandt from Alberta, Canada.

maritimes06-339f-680

1. How long have you been shooting?

I graduated from a 2 year photography program in 1988!  So over 25 years now, mostly as a professional.  I’ve been in the industry in many forms including: doing commercial studio work; had my own portrait/wedding studio for 12 years; was a trade rep for an album company and coached my photographer clients on business; some editorial work; travel photography; and the odd image sale for stock.  I’ve also done tons of art shows and sell my work in local galleries.

2. Do you have a full time job or are you a full time photographer?

I have a part-time job at a camera store, in the accounting department of all things. Mostly because I’ve done my own accounting for years and I needed something to get me out of the house after a 6 month extended RV trip around Canada and the US. Camera discounts are also a bonus, and it has connected me with teaching photography classes which I do here at the store as well as with two other local photography schools.

The photography that I do now is mostly for myself and my articles and classes.  I make most of my living teaching classes, doing private tutoring (in person and virtually using skype), leading workshops and photo tours.

RV-03957-680

3. If you had to limit yourself to one genre of photography, what would it be and why?

Tough question.  I’d have to say travel photography, which to me encompasses fine art, urban, landscape, HDR, night photography, and people.  I find joy in all those areas so I’d find it hard to pick among those.  If I had to I’d say travel photography with people.  Those are the images I find I want to see first when I download after a long trip.  But I also love night photography and HDR, both of which I teach.  Okay I can’t pick, so can I say I’d pick – “general”!

4. When did you start writing for dPS and why?

May 2012 was the date my first article was published with DPS.  I wanted to teach to a wider audience than I currently had on my own site and share my knowledge with more people.  DPS allows me to do that in a big way.  I love hearing the comments from readers who have enjoyed my articles. Seeing their resulting images after applying my tips, and hearing how excited they are about photography is why I do this.

5. What do you shoot with and what is your favorite lens?

I’m a Canon shooter, I have a 5D MarkIII.  However, not to get into a flame war here, I believe the camera is just a tool and whatever you use is just fine, be it Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony or something else.  It’s about learning how to use it and this is the right place to do that!  Not sure I have a favorite lens, but I’d say the extremes.  I love either really wide angle images, or long lens tight shots.  I tend to live in the 17-20mm and 150-200 range more so than I do in the middle.  My wide is a Tamron 17-35mm.  I also really love my 85 f1.8 for portraits.

6. What would be your number one tip to any new photographer?

Invest in education before you invest in gear.  I’ve had several students want to jump from an entry level DSLR into a full frame one, thinking that it will magically make all their photos better.  While there are some advantages of full frame (better at higher ISO, can get better shallow depth of field, etc) in my personal opinion mastering some of the other aspects of photography first will take you further. Things like getting the right exposure; what IS the right exposure; metering; controlling contrast; composition; lighting; choosing the right lens for the job; white balance; lighting; working with people; confidence; shooting in manual and RAW modes, and more.  A full frame SLR is a big investment, but I suggest you invest in yourself first.  An experienced, great photographer can do more with a crappy camera, than an inexperienced photographer can do with great camera – in my opinion.

7. What’s your next big project?

I have two projects in the works right now.  First is a virtual photography class I’m collaborating on with another photographer, still hammering out the details as I write this but by the time this is published it will likely be available.  It will be an 11 week (first one is free so you can try it out with no obligations, no money down), 15+ hour, live class which will incorporate lecture, Q&A, image reviews, and weekly assignments.  The topic is two fold – Lightroom mastery and Image mastery, so a marriage of technical (image processing) and artistic (shooting and processing).

The second is an ebook that I’ve had in my mind for a while.  It’s 75% written, now I just need to find time to finish it and process all the images.  It will feature photo tips, things I learned along the way on my 6 month RV journey to reinventing myself as a photographer, as well as inspirational images.

8. Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?

My main hub is my website Her View Photography,  where you can get my FREE ebook “10 Challenges to Help you Take Better Pictures Without Buying More Gear” and find out more about my upcoming photo tours, workshops  and photography tutoring – both in person and virtual using Skype or Google Hangouts.

You can see some of my images on my portfolio site. My social media links are: Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and Pinterest. Contact me here or by commenting on this article.

Drumheller-Sept-2012-0124_5_6_7-680

HDR-FT-Sept2011-0044_5_6_7_8-680

Drumheller-test-0113-Edit-680

SanFran-2012-0868_69_70_71-680

Photowalk-07_29_2012-0195-680

TrainWkshp2011-0009-680

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Meet The Photographers Who Write For Digital Photography School ~ Darlene Hildebrandt


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Meet The Photographers Who Write For Digital Photography School ~ Darlene Hildebrandt

Posted in Photography