Act now through April 30th. Because you all have spent most of your money paying your taxes we thought we would extend a $200 savings on any Premium template.

Simply:
a. chose a template here
b. enter the code 'aprilshowers' when signing up
c. see $200 taken off your set up fee
d. start working on your site today

Reed Market Street, based on our TEN Bricks Template 3 design, is quite similar to the Charlton Template with differing navigational features and additional slideshow options. Check it out.

Port San Luis Obispo is hot. Check out the oversized thumbnails in the portfolio. This one is going to be a favorite.

Owned and operated by Ben Becker, Becker Photo is fast becoming a recognized name in the greater North West region of the US.

What is your primary camera body?

My primary camera body is the canon 1D Mark II. I also love the 5D as a secondary camera.

Two lenses you use the most

The canon 24/70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8and 20 f2.8. I love the 85 f1.2 for a romantic feel.

Do you shoot RAW?

Yes

How would you describe your photography style?

Illustrative. Its a blend of the fun "photojournalistic" look with small amounts of direction. Putting subjects in great lighting and environments, then letting them do the rest!

Do you normally employ assistants or 2nd shooters?

My wife Linda is the brains on the wedding day. She keeps the day flowing on schedule while I have fun with the couple.

What do you remember about your first (or one of your first) wedding?

I remember realizing that my old Nikon D100 could only pop off a RAW shot every 22 seconds, so I traded in everything for new Canon gear and never looked back.

If you were getting married this year, who would you want to shoot your wedding?

I would have to go with Jim Garner on this one. He's my mentor and teacher. I look up to he and his wife Katarina a ton. They are finally getting the recognition they deserve for their profound style!

What advice would you give to someone just beginning their career as a wedding photographer?

I would say be a yes person and take every opportunity, be humble and learn from others.

You may have noticed the blog has been acting a bit flakey yesterday and today. We're on top of things and working to fix a bug that is crashing the blog server.

Expect a better, more stable blogging experience this week.

Thanks for you patience.

We just patched a couple BIG Show bugs that were effecting Windows users. Some Windows users were not able to create BIG Shows via the .zip file option. BIG Show was trying to verify the file type and some .zip files created in Windows were getting punted.

We have corrected the problem: you should now be able to use the .zip file option (and create QuickShows) in Windows.

If you have an open support ticket related to this issue, we will be updating it shortly.

Thanks.

If you attended WPPI and are still undecided about a new website, remember: the WPPI promotion ends this weekend.

In order to receive half off the setup of a premium template or free setup on a standard setup, you'll need to sign-up before midnight on Easter Sunday with the promotion code on the BIG Folio postcard.

So, dig out that postcard from your goodie bag or shakedown one of your friends for that coupon code.

It is the time of the year to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We will all be out of the office all weekend. Please be patient if our responses are slower than normal (there actually will be no response on Sunday).

We will still be on top of emergencies like normal.

Have a joyous weekend.

Mike Caston CEO

We just released some updates to the BIG Folio blog. All users should see the updates immediately. Here's a quick rundown of what we did:

Bigger Images

Pictures uploaded to image and collage posts were resized to fit within 700x400 pixels. We increased the size and images now fit within 825x550 pixels. Based on our research, 90% of browsers will accommodate this size without scrolling.

Better Images

Uploaded images were being saved with a JPEG quality level of 70. Sorry, we were being stingy. We've increased the quality level to 88. Don't ask how we came up with that number. The important part is, your images will look better.

Collage Descriptions

Several users requested the ability to add a description to a collage post. Now you can.

Edit Post Dates

You can now modify the date of any post when creating or editing. You can even set a future date and the post will not appear until that time. It's like blogging from the future.

RSS Updates

We fixed some minor bugs in the RSS feeds. Mostly technical stuff.

As always, feedback is welcome. Special thanks to Jose Villa, Brad Barr, and everyone else who provided feedback and suggestions for these updates.

It's contest time again. However, here at BIG Folio, you have to work for your prizes–just sending in a picture isn't gonna cut it.

This contest is all about our new BIG Show updates. To enter this contest, all you have to do is contribute to the new BIG Show Support Wiki. Our BIG Show wiki can be edited by anyone, and we want you to help. Of course, if you've never used BIG Show, you probably won't have anything useful to contribute.

How to Enter

1. Check out the new BIG Show features and make an account if you don't have one (your first show is free)
2. Play with the new features and make a show or two
3. Visit the BIG Show Wiki and edit a page or create a new one

Here's the important part: When you edit a page, make sure to put your name next to the Save button. Like this:

What's a Wiki?

First, welcome to 2007. A wiki is a website that anyone can edit. Don't worry, every version is saved so you can always go back in case you mess up. We put the BIG Show support information in a wiki so everyone can contribute their knowledge and tips (and cuz we're lazy).

What will I win?

Ah, the good part.

Grand prize is a copy of Adobe Lightroom 1 OR Adobe Photoshop CS3 Upgrade (Your choice)

Two runners up will receive an iPod Shuffle in the color of their choice

We'll end the contest on Erik's birthday (about three weeks from now). If you have any questions or want to add an image to the wiki, email Mike at mike[at]bigfolio[dot]com.

Now get to work.

We just took the wrapping paper off of several new BIG Show updates. We encourage you to poke around and make some shows. If you haven't created an account yet, your first show is free when you do.

Be careful, there's still some bubble wrap lying around. If you find something wrong, please let us know with a support ticket.