Hmmmm ... what does this pic of my workspace tell you about me?

From left to right:

Macbook Pro
Thinkpad X60S
Kensington Expert Mouse
1080p Benq second monitor (for MacPro Workstation)
Eizo CE240W 24" monitor (for MacPro Workstation)
Plantronics wireless headset
Contour ShuttlePro v2
Wacom 4x6 Intuos Tablet
QuiKeys!! (of course ;))
Cirque Smart Cat Touchpad (not shown)

Bonus Geek Points for those who know what HUI stands for ;)

Hi Dave and Quin,

Brooke

Thanks soooo much Brooke! It's so rewarding for us to hear unsolicited feedback from QuiKeys users :)

Happy QuiKeying y'all!

Yo Aga & Marcin!! Thanks for making the trek from New York and for trusting us to infuse your business with the info needed to create the win-win-win you've always wanted.

We've got BIG expectations from you two, and after a good cry at Foundation Workshop you guys should be ROCKIN IT!

Blessings and success in business AND life!

Your friends,

dq

Public Broadcasting
Porky Backside
Pretty Butler
Pink Bunnies
Pine Beetle
Purple Boat
PlayBoy
Peanut Butter

mmmm ... Peanut Butter ...

Without fanfare we've educated dozens of photographers who've invested the time, money and effort to travel from all over the world to our studio for private one-on-one business training.

For the first time ever, we're taking the DQ Private Business Workshop on the road!

We'll share all that's allowed DQ Studios to become one of the world's most successful wedding studios by creating win-win-win relationships in artistry, client satisfaction and profitability.

Topics include philosophy of wedding photography, business and sales structure, detailed analysis of your current business practices and the creation of a pricing and business plan specifically tailored to the needs of *your* studio.

We'll be in Vegas manning our QuiKeys booth at WPPI's tradeshow, so before or after the show works great for us!

One day. One studio. DQ & you.

Give yourself the gift that keeps on giving and email us for more details.

Snack Time!

We've already made a list of some of the cool new features coming up the pipe in the upcoming RAW Module release. Below is a video showing two different modes of working the QuiKeys to maximize your efficiency that wowed everyone at iUSA.

Mode 1: 2-hands on QuiKeys and no mousing around. Quick global adjustments and application of presets.

Mode 2: 1-hand holding a pen, the other on the QuiKeys pad. Perfect for finish your images to an amazing degree right within LR.

Bonus: we also show a new two-screen mode where we can choose discontinuous images and apply changes to them all in real-time. Sweetness!!

Can you tell I'm really really excited about this release? Would love to hear your feedback after watching the video below :) Oh yes: sorry about the audio. It's distorted and LOUD cuz I used the built-in mic on my webcam which has zero controls.

On an iPhone? You can watch the Youtube version.

Sunshine, toboggan, tire tube and some crazy peeps make for a really fun Sunday afternoon :)

Thanks to friends old and new who stopped by our booth and made it a huge success!

We enjoyed the great feedback and kind words, but one of the most humbling things is to have friends and peers choose to invest their hard-earned cash in QuiKeys. Thank you, to everyone who did just that. We're committed to exceeding your expectation in what it can bring to your business and profitability, so be sure to keep an eye out here for news, updates and maybe even a little education on all things QuiKeys :)

Here's a few pics of random people and things from our time in Phoenix.

One traveling indulgence: eating chocolate bars you can't find here in Canada. Haven't had a Whatchamacallit in a looooong time :)

Was great to run into David Jay on the Light Rail ...

Thankfully our booth is simple to setup.

If you build it they will come ...

And another reason I talk so fast ...

Special thanks to Sam for taking these pics and the help at the booth; Ken for introducing us to various, um, variations of bowling and Hollye & Eric for always being such great friends and company :)

Just back from a GREAT ImagingUSA QuiKeys show and pushing orders out the door.

Just wanted to make a quick post letting you know I'll be doing a live webinar on gear and light hosted by the Foundation Workshop Forum.

Why did we switch? Pros and cons of each system? How do we light? I'll try to make up believable answers to all these and any other questions you can throw at me.

It won't be recorded, and is scheduled for FRI Jan. 16 at 11 AM - Central time, so find out how to sign in here.

Not a FWForum member? Email Huy for a trial membership into one of my favorite forums.

Hope to see you there!

Honest: we're not jet-setters to this degree *most* of the year. It just happens that we're traveling waaay too much for the next little bit of life.

Just landed in Phoenix to setup our QuiKeys booth to wow the photographic world at Imaging USA.

Why check it out? We'll be showing off soon-to-be-released updates to both the Album and RAW Modules that are shedding even more time off our workflow.

ALBUM MODULE UPDATE

How about tighter integration between Photoshop and Bridge? No longer do you need to open every image in PS before adding them to a page; just find your image in bridge and hit a key and presto quikeyo: the image flies in, sized and placed to perfection. Bonus: those with big screens or, better yet, dual monitors can keep both PS and Bridge open and view the entire spread while choosing which images to place. Makes album creation even more intuitive and Fast!

How about automated tracking of images used? Sure: the new Album Module automagically labels all used images with 5-stars in Bridge. Of course it also places the images in the Photoshop spread on a separate layer with the image namesake. Makes image swaps a breeze and keeps everything neat and tidy :)

RAW MODULE UPDATE

Where to begin?

How about removing the need to keep your mouse over Fill Light? Check.

How about getting rid of any lag when selecting basic adjustment tools? Check.

How about adding even MORE powerful targeted adjustment tool options, including direct-key access to under and over-exposure presets? Check.

How about adding direct-key access to presets? Well ... ok.

How about you throw in DQ's favorite presets? You drive a hard bargain, but we'll do it.

How about a show discount worthy of the seeming recession we're in? Oh man ..... alRIGHT already!!

How about giving all current module owners the upgrade for free? FREE?!?! Are you NUTS!?!?

(sigh) .... alright all current album and raw module users will get the update for free (grumble)

See: we've been busy ;)

We'll be demoing the upcoming updates at booth 324 from January 11-13. Be sure to stop by and say, "Hi!" if you're in the neighborhood :)

We had 8 hours to kill before heading to the airport, and since our hotel was situated in Palermo Soho's excellent shopping district, we couldn't resist but check things out. Boy are we glad we did :)

Shops didn't open till noon, but it was great to venture into boutique shops selling the wares of up and coming designers. We were pleasantly surprised to be served in one store by the designer herself. To find out the piece that Quin had picked out was the very piece the designer was wearing was too cool.

We loved this district's street appeal. I guess this is as Christmas-y as South America gets when it's 30 above :)

We couldn't help but notice several stores that had vintage cameras on display.

The jeans store above was one such store. It was cool cuz they let us try out the cams for size too ...

Great service too: they didn't have my size in store, so they had it biked over from another location.

Anyone who knows us knows we're foodies. We didn't have time to checkout Chowhound for recommendations, so had to rely on our concierge. Thankfully, she had great taste and recommended Bar 6.

It had a great feel. Cozy, kid friendly but hip and relaxed. I love big open spaces.

Looking at the space, you can see it's a great space to chill and people watch. What you can't see is how great to food tastes.

It was only lunch, but as our last meal of in Argentina, we splurged a little :) We started with beef carpaccio, then moved onto what was the best seafood risotto I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and perfectly cooked lamb and smashed potatoes.

Unbelievably we were too full for dessert. Never one to pass up on such an important food group, we decided to continue shopping, then return for a proper dessert before jetting on our insane flight home. Brave, I know, but we were feeling a little crazy :)

The iced capps were delicious, and I actually ordered three more desserts (yeah: sucker for punishment for a lactose intolerant guy), but thankfully, the kitchen makes one at a time and we ran out of time after dessert #2.

Ate the desserts too fast to take pics. Sorry. I'll be sure to get it the next time we're there ;)

Ahhhh ... nothing like great shopping and a meal to match to end of our Argentina Adventure.

We woke on New Year's day in paradise again: birds were singing their chorus' while streams of sunlight poured through the windows with a slight breeze to cool the air.

Boy did we fall in love with Argentina!

After a trip to the spa, skyping with our boyz, and a leisurely brunch on the patio, we hunkered down to do something we'd never done before: we converted and retouched 100 images to create a surprise viewing for Rosalind and Jonas to enjoy only only hours after the wedding had finished. We're thankful we brought a set of QuiKeys!

Sure we could have been soaking up the sun by the pool to enjoy the last day in Cafayate with the rest of the crew, but Ros and Jonas are special. They're generous to everyone who's life they touch and we wanted to gift this little treat to them to enjoy while still in the amazing place they had so successfully shared with us all. It was so worth it to just be there with them when they had a private viewing of this micro-story of their amazing Argentina Adventure.

With their blessing, we're honored to share their story with you ....

Ros and Jonas: you two will forever have a very special place in our hearts. We love you guys ...

dq

We've got lots more images from Argentina which we'll be sharing. Just landed at home after 30 hours of travel and need to catch up on life before we jet for Imaging USA on Friday. Yikes!

We had the good fortune of celebrating not only New Year's Eve but the wedding of Rosalind & Jonas on the same day!

We're always honored when we're hired to capture and create imagery for an event. But this NYE was very special in many ways.

Start with a bride who happens to be a *very* successful Chicago-based wedding photographer. To be commissioned to shoot a fellow photographer's wedding is a huge honor in itself. But to be flown 10,000 miles around the globe to Argentina to be among 30 of their closest family and friends, and to be treated like one of their own and included in all events from wine tastings to extravagant meals ... how could we not think we have the best job in the world with clients to match?

Forget the perfect backdrop and wonderful people: did I mention how absolutely gorgeous Rosalind is?

Ros & Jonas: your "Argentina Adventure" was so much more than that and a dream come true. It was the pouring out of two hearts to make one. Thank you for allowing us to bear witness to such powerful love and for not only trusting us, but calling us friends and treating us like family :)

With much love and respect .... xoxoxoxo

dq

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You gotta know there's more coming from this shoot: more images and an assessment on how our new Nikon gear held up under some pretty crazy shooting scenarios. But before that we gotta take a bus, 3 planes and 2 taxis over the next 48 hours to make it back home. Ciao! for now.