A Great Blog

My iPod Apps

2010-08-03T17:37:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted anything; so it's about time!

I recently gave a talk to the Macintech Multimedia SIG about apps for photography for the iPod. This post is about my favorites that are more general in nature.

First, there's ShoppingList for $1.99 from HenSoft (http://www.intended.de/). This is my general-use list for everything from gasoline to booze to groceries to prescriptions.

Another that I use and like very much is Gas Cubby (free or $4.99) from http://www.appcubby.com/gas/index.html I got the paid version because it adds more features that I wanted.

I just got Toshl from http://toshl.com/ (free!) The free version Toshl lets me enter all of my expenses and get some overall information. I'll decide later if I really want to get the paid version for its additional charts and other info.

Well, that's all for now. I promise to make my next post in less than a year from now!

Denver C-C Bldg. Xmas 2008

2008-12-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

I've posted some of the photos I've taken at the Denver City and County Building this year. Many of the shots are ones where I zoomed during part of the exposure. This technique gives a surreal effect, when it works. Of course, you won't see the ones that failed. Most of the shots were made with a Sigma 18-200 mm lens, although a few were made with a Canon 75-300 lens.

The technique works like this. First, I decide whether I want to zoom from a short focal length to a long one or from a long one to a short one. Then I evaluate the exposure time at the ending focal length. Next, I get the focus at the ending focal length and turn auto-focus off. That last is important and, when forgotten, creates a throw-away. Next, I go to the starting focal length, set the exposure duration at the measured exposure plus four or five seconds, trip the shutter and zoom for the time I decided. Sometimes I hesitate for a couple of seconds before starting the zoom, especially if the total time is more than ten seconds. Note that the focal length recorded in the metadata is the starting length, not the ending length.

I suggest that you might enjoy taking zoomed photos. It takes some practice; but when you're shooting digitally, you just trash at no cost the ones that didn't work. Incidentally, I've found that my zooms are smoother when I use a lens whose focal length is changed by rotating the barrel rather than sliding it. The technique is certainly worth a try when Christmas lights are available.

Handout for RSS Feeds

2008-10-23T14:00:00.000-06:00

My notes for my talk on RSS are now in my Public Folder.

Goodbye to a Friend

2008-10-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

One of the last photos I took of my little friend

Thoth, a purebred Abyssinian cat
Born: 4 July 1994
Died: 2 October 2008 of liver lymphoma
Named after an Egyptian deity, he was everything an Abyssinian cat is supposed to be: intelligent, gentle (except to bugs), affectionate, loyal and playful.

The last photo

Photoshop World Aftermath

2008-09-10T23:32:00.000-06:00

Well, I've recovered, more or less, from the trip. The car is mostly unpacked. So here're a few thoughts about Photoshop World West, 2008.

I went to a pre-conference workshop, the Canon Live Shoot. I chose that one because I have so little experience working with models in a studio setting. Eddie Tapp and Jack Reznicki are among the best teachers of photography I've ever met. I learned a lot about lighting as well as how to work with models. I was able to work with two of the three models, one young lady who was a very experienced model and a young man who had less experience, but was eager to please. Clearly, there're different approaches to male and female models. I got some fairly good shots among some that I shouldn't have taken. Oh well, at least it was all digital.

The conference keynote session was mostly hoopla with some substance. It was great to see Martin Evening and John Nack inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame. Martin's books are the first ones I buy for new versions of Photoshop and Lightroom. John Nack's blog is refreshing, insightful and just plain enjoyable to read. Even though I subscribe to his RSS feed, I still visit his blog site almost every day. Kudos to Adobe for giving him free rein.

I attended some great sessions and some that were not so good. Among the really good ones in addition to Tapp and Reznicki were those by Joe McNally, Julieanne Kost, Jeff Schewe, Matt Kloskowski, Frank Cricchio and Jim DiVitale. The presenter who surprised me the most was Joe Glyda. Who is Joe Glyda? He's the Digital Imaging Manager at Kraft Foods. So why did I even attend his session on photographing food? Well, I'd decided to attend the entire Live Studio track because I have so little experience in the studio. I expected to find Glyda's presentation less than inspiring. I was wrong! Joe's a good speaker and a great manager of people who knows how to assemble and manage a team. Not only that, he's a damn fine photographer. I'm not very likely to do a food shoot; but I don't regret attending his session. As for the sessions that I didn't like, I'll just say that some people are good at what they do; but they're not very good at presenting it.

I made some friends among the attendees and the vendors. I'll post more about the vendors later.

So, was it worth it? Yes and no. I enjoyed the sessions, even the weaker ones. As I expected, I found the casino atmosphere repulsive. There was a section on the full conference evaluation form that asked for suggestions for locations for future Photoshop World conferences. Of course, I suggested Denver with the comment that if it was good enough for the Democrats, it should be good enough for Photoshop World.

Preparing for Photoshop World

2008-08-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm getting ready for Photoshop World in Las Vegas (aka Lost Wages) next week. At first, I though I could drive to LV in one day; but then after looking at the distance involved (764 miles), I decided to stop in Page, AZ, both going to LV and returning. That'll give me a chance to see Antelope Canyon in the late afternoon if I can manage to leave early enough. Also, stopping there on the return trip will give me a chance to clear Las Vegas from my system.

Las Vegas—Yuck! In so many ways, it's the epitome of what's wrong with the USA: excessive use of power and water, emphasis on form rather than content and the "spend, spend, spend" mentality. Even at the PS World "special" rates, I'll pay an average of more than $180/night to stay at the conference's main hotel, the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. No, I'll not ever be in the casino or in the likely over-priced restaurants there. So why am I going?

Well, first of all, PS World is a great opportunity to learn about things. I'm probably going to concentrate on going to sessions that cover areas of photography where I have little experience. That's studio photography, especially. So I'm going to a pre-conference workshop that'll be five hours of intensive work with models and the photos I shoot. It's sponsored by Canon; so I'll be able to try some lenses I don't own (yet). I'm also planning to attend some sessions that cover studio lighting and posing of models.

Of course I'll go to the Lightroom sessions that aren't aimed at beginners in LR2. Since I'm planning to take the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) exam for Lightroom 2, I need to be sure I get info beyond what I know and use now in LR2. I'm also going to get a "portfolio review" of around fifteen prints.

Finally, while others are throwing their money down their chosen black holes inside the casinos, I'll be outside taking some photos at night that I hope will be interesting.

Craig

About "Feeds" (RSS)

2008-08-30T17:00:00.000-06:00

I've gotten more than a few blank looks when I told someone that they could subscribe to my RSS feed if they wanted to know when I'd added a post to this blog. "RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is an easy way to disseminate information. Some of us may remember seeing predictions of "Tomorrow" many years ago that showed a robot (or a robotic voice) telling its master (or mistress) who had just arisen for the day that it had found some news and information that he might like to read. Well, we're not quite to that point (yet); but RSS feeds come close. I subscribe to over 70 feeds for photography, general news and Mac-related news.

What software do you need to receive and read RSS feeds? Many browsers can be set to receive your feeds. Apple Mail in Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) can be set to receive feeds. There are many free standalone readers. I've tried both Safari and Apple Mail to receive feeds. However, I've settled on a free standalone from Newsgator. They make readers for many platforms and seem to be well-regarded in all communities.
How do you know if a site offers a feed? One way is to look for the RSS feed icon or . It's often in the address bar of your browser. Some sites, such as DP Review, offer many feeds, allowing you to choose the ones that are most important to you. Others, like John Paul Caponigro, offer just one feed. After you've subscribed to a feed, you'll usually see a summary for each item. This can help you decide if you want to read more or continue with whatever you were doing.

You can subscribe to feeds for this blog by clicking on "RSS Feed" or "Comments Feed" on this blog's page. What will happen then will depend on what, if anything you've set to receive the feed.

If you want more information about RSS, take a look at these sites:

Wikipedia Article on RSS

Harvard Law Article on RSS 2.0

Getting Started

2008-07-25T15:53:00.000-06:00

Well, here’s the first post to my new blog. (Actually, that’s not a correct statement because it implies that I’ve had other blogs, which I haven’t.) The opinions expressed here are my own and are the result of being taught at an early age that there’s no sense in having an opinion on anything unless you’re willing to share it with the rest of the world. However, I’ll try to stay away from controversy and merely comment on things that I like in the general area of digital photography in this blog.