Painted Hills and Mist, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon
Canon 5DMKIII, 185mm, f/11, 1/4th sec. 100 ISO, Singh Ray CC Polarizer, Lexar Digital Media

It has been a 18-month journey from concept to reality, but my new website is finally live! If you’d like to check it out, then click here: Don Smith Photography

But hopefully, you’ll be back to read all about it how it came to be!

Let’s rewind a couple summers back. I had returned from a trip to Europe with my family after having visited and photographed Paris, London, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews (yes, even got to play golf at the Old Course)!

I had met and became friends with Ivan Makarov, who works for SmugMug. Ivan is a huge San Jose Sharks fan and is also an awesome photographer. He had sent me an e-mail inviting me to tour the SmugMug offices and meet the staff and president Chris MacAskill.

We finally got together for lunch at the SmugMug offices a few weeks later and I had the pleasure of meeting many of the staff along with Chris. I was immediately impressed with the professionalism of everyone. They all made me feel right at home.

Chris is an accomplished photographer also and I was given a tour of the facility. SmugMug’s walls are decorated with backlit (Duratrans) images from various pros and staffers – in short – it was awesome. I felt as if I was in a high-end gallery!

After the tour, I ended up in Chris’s office. I remember he had just purchased the Canon 1DX. We spent the next 30 minutes talking about photography and he had mentioned that if I ever wanted a site built, that his staff could handle it. He also told me the story of how SmugMug was started. They are a true Silicon Valley success story and he and his son built the company a step at a time with a ton of hard work!

Chis also had mentioned that he had seen an image that I had captured of the Eiffel Tower during my trip and asked if I would allow them to make a very large Duratrans. I was honored!

The image was/is so memorable for me because my son Aaron came along and shared the experience. We were both exhausted from a full day of sightseeing, but I also knew we would be leaving for London in a few days and the weather was cooperating, so off we went. This image was captured from the top of Paris’ Montparnasse near sunset (thanks to a tip from Bay Area resident Mike Brazil).

The Eiffel Tower and Sunset Sky, Paris, France
Canon 5DMKIII, 52mm, f/22, (7) bracketed exposures combined with luminosity masks in Photoshop, ISO 100, Lexar Digital Media

I left the SmugMug offices thinking, hey, this could be cool. Yet, as time passed and schedules once again ramped into high-gear, the idea got placed on the back-burner.

That was until Ivan e-mailed me an invitation to attend the press conference unveiling the new SmugMug redesigned websites. Again, my schedule was too tight to attend, so Ivan sent me a link to watch it live via my computer.

Within 5 minutes, I was hooked. The more I watched and learned, the more I knew that this would be the website for me. It was all there: eye-popping designs, clean looks, exceptional image display, a plethora of templates for a personal look, easy navigation, integration with mobile devices, helpful tutorials, friendly staff, security, e-commerce – it had it all!

Fast forward to this past February. I was contacted by SmugMug’s Steve Mills. Steve made an offer to have SmugMug build me a website. Within a few days, I was contacted by another SmugMug employee, Tomasz Nowicki.

I remember sheepishly telling both that due to my workshop schedule, travel, and my commitments to the San Jose Sharks (I’m co-team photographer), that I did not have time to think about a new website. I was literally working 7 days a week, with extremely grueling hours.

It was all there: eye-popping designs, clean looks, exceptional image display, a plethora of templates for a personal look, easy navigation, integration with mobile devices, helpful tutorials, friendly staff, security, e-commerce – it had it all!

Tomasz and I set a date to get back together once my work schedule slowed a bit.

We re-connected on April 1, and after a phone consultation (Tomasz lives in London and I live in California) as to what I was looking for, Tomasz took the reins and ran with them. We would talk about once per week and exchange e-mails, but he was amazing. He basically merged my existing site with my new SmugMug site – he’s a pure genius!

Turns out Tomasz is also an accomplished photographer. Check out his site: Photom.me

Are you seeing a pattern here? Everyone I’ve mentioned is not only a SmugMug owner or employee, but also a passionate photographer. That means they get it from a photographer’s perspective because they think like a photographer.

As we neared the finish line, I realized that my existing site was set to expire if not renewed by this past Thursday. Tomasz went into another gear and had my site ready to go within a week. He contacted me last Saturday with final instructions, and the site went live this Wednesday!

With even more help from Tomasz over the past week, I have been working non-stop adding new Galleries and images, checking and re-checking links and information, and setting up security.

Moonrise Through Teardrop Arch, Monument Valley, Arizona
Canon 5DMKIII, 70-200mmL II, f/11, (2) images focus-blended, (5) exposures masked using luminosity masks in Photoshop, ISO 400

Through all this, Steve Mills, had been working with me on test prints to BayPhoto.com (my personal lab) and the one I selected to handle my customer’s print orders. I’m now confident that my potential customers will be thrilled with the quality of the prints they order.

NOTE: Though you will see my copyright over my photos while browsing galleries, it will not appear on an actual print.

I also thought long and hard about print pricing. As you know, fine art images are usually priced extremely high. After much discussion with my wife Beri, we decided to offer my prints at a price we think will be affordable to anyone interested.

We offer a bevy of sizes and finishes (even framing and cards). It’s all there with a few simple clicks of the mouse. The cool thing is that your image will be printed and shipped within 2-5 days (depending on size and surface – canvas taking a bit longer). Regular prints are shipped within 24 hours of you placing the order.

So a heartfelt thanks to everyone at SmugMug for making this all happen. If you have been considering a new website, please check out what SmugMug has to offer. I think you’ll be thrilled – I know I am!

Order My New Instructional Video Series :: A Simplified Method to Workflow (26 videos, 6 1/2 hours instruction, only $75.00)!

Free Video Sample :: Chapter 19 – Introduction to Luminosity Masks

A Simplified Method to Workflow – 3-minute preview of before and after RAW images processed with Don’s workflow!

2014 Photo Workshops – Complete List

5th Annual Kauai Workshop – Garden Isle and Tropical Paradise – June 20-24, 2014 (Hurry – Only 2 Spots Remaining)

2nd Annual Monsoon Photo Workshop – Workshop #1 – Grand Canyon National Park – August 9-13, 2014 (co-taught by Don Smith and Gary Hart – WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

2nd Annual Monsoon Photo Workshop – Grand Canyon National Park – Workshop #2 – August 15-19, 2014 (co-taught by Don Smith and Gary Hart – 2 spots remaining)

3rd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – Workshop #1 – September 23 – 27, 2014 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

3rd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – Workshop #2 – September 28 – October 2, 2014 (6 spots remaining)

6th Annual Arches/Canyonlands National Parks and Monument Valley :: Full Moon Over Red Rock, Arches, Canyons and Monument Valley’s Mittens – October 4-8, 2014 (3 spots left)

4th Annual Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks :: Bryce Canyon Hoodoos and Zion Fall Color – November 1-5, 2014 (4 spots left)

2015 Photo Workshops

6th Annual Magic Light, Moonlight, and Pfeiffer Arch Workshop – Winter in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – January 4-7, 2015 (7 spots remain)

7th Annual Northern Arizona Workshop – Grand Canyon (full moon), Page (Horseshoe Bend and Upper Antelope Canyon) and Sedona – March 20-24, 2015 (8 spots remain)

8th Annual Springtime in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – Wildflowers, Misty Fog and Headland Color – April 3-6, 2015 (10 spots remain)

Oregon/Washington’s Columbia River Gorge -Don Smith & Gary Hart – Wildflowers and Waterfalls – April 14-17, 2015 (1 spot available)

Software Discounts

Photomatix Pro 4.2 type in code at checkout: donsmithphotography 15% discount

Topaz Software type in code at checkout: SMITHPHOTO 10% discount

Helicon Focus click on link to receive 15% discount

Hardware Discounts

Check Out The New May offerings from our friends at Think Tank (receive a free product when placing an order)!

MindShift Gear rotation180° Panorama rotating day hiker backpack

Robert’s Distributors – 10% off any regularly priced camera bag and a free memory card wallet with any purchase. Call John or Nick at 800-726-5544 and reference you saw this posted on my blog site.