August - a New Month
/Hello fellow macro enthusiasts! It is Monday, the first Monday and the third day in August. This means that last Friday was both the 31st day of July and the fifth Friday of that month. While it may not be immediately obvious, this creates some scheduling confusion during the first half of the new month. I thought it might be a good idea to explain the timing of our upcoming events so that you can plan your participation in thex programming that matters to you.
All of our programming revolves around two fixed weekly events, Macro Talk and Macro Talk Too. Macro Talk is a Livestream that takes place every Tuesday evening at 8pm. It is a one hour long YouTube event during which I present a block of content related to macro photography and, often, related also to the second Livestream of the week, Macro Talk Too, from 2-3pm on Thursday afternoons. In the last few weeks I have launched an ambitious year-long program in which I will present a 50-chapter series of individual discussions that were selected to represent most of the key concepts relevant to macro photography and familiar to anyone who has followed my work over the last decade. Each topic will be presented in a way that gives me ample opportunity to make corrections or add clarity, with the goal being to create a more complete, accurate and user-friendly macro photography resource, an AI-managed, searchable collection of updated content - for you.
This first week in August will be a slight deviation from the programming used over the last two week, in that I will be presenting two separate topics, in their entirety, without a companion piece. On Tuesday, August 4th, we will cover the critical subject of “Diffraction” - what it is, why it matters, and how we can learn to avoid the ruinous impact of this phenomenon on our images?
Two days after that, on August 6th at 2pm, Macro Talk Too will focus on another vitally important concept in macro photography - “Depth of Field”. It is the relationship between increasing magnification and decreasing depth of field that lies at the heart of many of our core macro photography techniques, like focus stacking and focal plane manipulation. Between Tuesday’s and Thursday’s discussions we will cover a large chunk of the theory that underpins our technical approach to macro photography.
Another monthly event that is fixed on the schedule is our macro photography competition - specifically, the results announcement and feedback content. The competition ends at midnight on the last day of the month and the judging process starts immediately thereafter. It is my goal to get the results finalized and have the results content ready to publish as early as possible within the first week of the following month. This can be a real challenge, depending on the scheduled programming, with this month being a good example of such a challenge.Many of you may not beff aware of the steps involved in publishing the contest results. The judging is done in two sessions, whether or not I have a guest judge, and it usually takes about 4 hours. The next step is creating the results content, typically a video. Between writing, researching, reviewing and recording the material, this can easily become a full 8 hour day. There is nothing that relentlessly gobbles time quite like video editing, the penultimate step (prior to uploading, documenting, and posting the finished product - usually about an hour in total) and the most inflexible.
I learned to edit video using Premiere Pro, about 10 years ago and I think that I have achieved a reasonably acceptable proficiency - certainly greater than I would have expected, based on my first few attempts. I am efficient and use a solid workflow that wastes very little time. I am not sure how I could speed up my editing, without making it a full-time job. With that said, I cannot realistically see the day when one minute of finished video will take less than 30 minutes (and usually closer to 60 minutes) to produce. A results video, 30 minutes long, will take one full workday, plus 6 hours of overtime (that’s a joke - my boss is heartless and doesn’t pay overtime. Or regular time either, come to think of it.) to get it posted on YouTube. Let me hasten to add one very important fact - I absolutely LOVE making and editing video content! It is super challenging but it is also extremely satisfying when done right. I’m not complaining, just explaining why it may be a little later in the week before the video is released.
The next scheduling priority is the face to face meeting, every other Saturday, that I have for my wonderful Patreon Supporters. The gatherings have become known as Pzooms and occur every other Saturday, from 10am until noon (Central Time). Every active Patreon donor, at any level, is welcome and these meetings have become a very important part of our macro community. The time belongs to the group members and it is my priority to ensure that everyone in attendance is given the time needed to give updates, share news, show off new gear, suggest new techniques or bring up whatever else they wish to discuss. I always bring content to discuss, whether we get to it or not. The Pzoom meetings follow a continuous cycle of alternating Saturdays resulting in some months (like August 2026) where we have three gatherings. If this sounds like a resource that you might find useful, please visit https://www.Patreon.com/allanwallsphotography for more details. The upcoming Saturday is the second in August, but as we met just three days ago, on August 1st, there will not be a Pzoom this Saturday. This is important because all our other events are planned around the Patreon schedule.
For example, we have a free event, AfterStack, on the first non-Pzoom Saturday of the month. The event is a round table/editing workshop on post-production for macro photographers, co-hosted by myself and Bud Perrott. The meeting starts at 10am and continues until we are done - usually by around 11:30 AM. It costs nothing to attend but we do ask you to bring a photograph, one you need help with, as this will determine what we discuss during each session. You will need an invitation to attend and these will be published early in the week of the meeting. Here is the invitation for this week’s AfterStack …
Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Allan Walls’ AfterStack with Bud Perrott
Time: Aug 8, 2026 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=86401701732
Meeting chat link
https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/86401701732
Meeting ID: 691 680 2815
Passcode: 678122
Join by SIP
• 6916802815@zoomcrc.com
Join instructions
https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/86401701732/invitations?signature=h5KAvpmA9V_4wUkgk1ujIZN2D1t0dOAoCZ6HZzNy4QY
Another monthly event that is quite unique and tremendous fun is “Tangent”, a 3D modeling and printing workshop, hosted by me and Larry Strunk. It was conceived as a way to help photographers learn those basic engineering skills required to turn a clever photography gadget idea into a real working prototype, and beyond. This event is also free and welcomes individuals of all skill levels. Almost everything that I have learned about product design, 3D modeling and using a 3D printer has come from Larry and the Tangent group. What I have learned has added a remarkable new dimension to my photography. We meet on the second Saturday (without a Pzoom), from 10am until 11:30, or later if needed. This month, our next Pzoom falls on Saturday, August 15, making 8/22/26 the second non-Pzoom Saturday. You need an invitation to join the meeting, so here it is …
Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Allan Walls’ Tangent with Larry Strunk
Time: Aug 22, 2026 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=81028263583
Meeting chat link
https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/81028263583
Meeting ID: 691 680 2815
Passcode: 678122
Join by SIP
• 6916802815@zoomcrc.com
Join instructions
https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/81028263583/invitations?signature=iiz2Sl3W_7RBAHVzFphxYUYBIxGNyNYjN5CPWswG1cw
So what am I forgetting? “Crystal Art” of course! This fascinating monthly event is hosted by myself and Harold Hall and it falls on the second Friday of the month, starting at 2pm and wrapping up at 3:30. It also takes the form of a workshop, focusing on the creation of birefringent crystals and on the imaging thereof. We spend as much time discussing techniques for growing and plating the birefringent material as we do talking about the photography, but either way it is a fascinating discussion that is well attended and quite inspiring. The second Friday in August is not until the 14th, two weeks from now. It costs nothing to attend but you will need an invitation to come. Here it is …
Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Allan Walls’ Crystal Art with Harold Hall
Time: Aug 14, 2026 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=86722132695
Meeting chat link
https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/86722132695
Meeting ID: 691 680 2815
Passcode: 678122
Join by SIP
• 6916802815@zoomcrc.com
Join instructions
https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/86722132695/invitations?signature=rydR9huPX10FqqxXw9zeV7WSmBjzH6jTd_mHqkpUpHc
And that, my friends, is how I get my schedule organized at the start of every month. There are other events that aren’t on my public calendar but need to be planned for nonetheless. We won’t worry about any of that for now. What I will worry about this evening is getting the judging, recording, editing, and publishing for the July contest under way, without delay.
Finally, let me close by announcing the theme for the August competition and introducing you to the Guest Judge for that contest. The theme for August 2026 is “Magnificent Minerals”, a celebration of the beauty found in both naturally occurring minerals and in those that have been fashioned into works of art by skilled human artisans. In keeping with the theme of beautiful minerals, your entry will be judged by a gifted mineral photographer whose primary interest is in the aesthetic properties of his subjects - Ralf Richter - a photographer with a unique appreciation for the magnificence of minerals! I cannot wait to see what this amazing group of photographers will produce in answer to this challenge! You have 28 days remaining.