(continued from Part 1)
I'm actually quite comfortable working with my Nikon D80 with its vertical grip, and our Tamron zooms and Nikon prime lenses. The Tamron SP 17-50mm F2.8 has pretty much become my every day lens, unless the situation clearly calls for a different focal length. My wife is using the Tamron 18-200mm that was initially purchased with the Nikon D50, and frankly, I continue to be blown away by some of the images she is able to capture with that lens. I would have no problem taking it on another trip to Nepal & Tibet. It’s an excellent walk-around lens. We also have the Tamron 70-300mm which she acquired with her Nikon N65 (aka F65) film camera and its 28-80mm kit lens some years ago. (We keep thinking we're going to shoot more film, but we never seem to get around to it.) The Tamron 70-300mm is a fine lens for the price. Neither of us do a lot of longer telephoto work here in the SF Bay Area, though I might bring it along on an overseas trip, even though it's not that fast. Our Nikon primes (50mm F1.8 & 35mm F1.8) are tack sharp, and have more than proven themselves on multiple shoots, when using flash was not appropriate.
Then Nikon introduced the D300s. True, it's just an evolutionary progression from the already very popular D300, which already has some very nice improvements over the D80, and the D300s added even more. Based on the reviews, there were at least 6 features that would be very, very nice to have. In the meantime, my need for an external flash continued, if not increased...
We're blessed with an excellent pro shop nearby in Palo Alto, with a great rental department. Their amazing array of gear, total expertise and ready advice, makes renting lenses from them a very worthwhile experience. I've also been renting one of their two Nikon SB-800 speedlights for various event shoots. And even though they've always had one available, I wondered if the day might arrive when they didn't, and the event that really required a flash?
So a couple of weeks ago, I arrived at the pro shop, credit card in hand, ready to buy an SB-600. Yes, it doesn't have the reach of the SB-800; I've already discovered that, but it was also close to half the price of the SB-900. And there's always one of those two rental units, which could also open up the possibilities of using a second flash. Something my older son Tim was doing 5 years ago. (He was also, by the way, the one that encouraged me to move up from my point & shoot to a DSLR.)
Based on a couple of other podcasts, I also purchased the Gary Fong LightSphere Universal flash diffuser, and the secondary Chrome Dome disc for rooms with higher ceilings. I also ordered Joe McNally's Hot Shoe Diaries, Big Light from Small Flashes. I'm really enjoying this book!
Needless to say, all of this has added a whole new dimension to my photography. More in subsequent posts...
So there's much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, just in my photography world!
26 November 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving—already! Time really flies by these days — everyone seems to be noticing this.
A couple of interesting changes have been developing in my photography lately. I did a Halloween-engagement party shoot. It was a fun party, and another excellent learning experience. While there were plenty of good images captured, I realized how much more I could have done using an external flash. I do occasionally rent one (as explained more below) but there really wasn't time for this event, due to another project earlier during the day.
Last Spring, at my high school reunion near Solvang, California, I was able to have an in-depth conversation about my work with one of the teachers — a graduate of the well-known Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. It was very illuminating (pun intended). I was making an argument for avoiding the need for flash by using low light photography, perhaps even moving up to a Nikon D700 someday.
The teacher listened patiently, and then politely indicated the limitations of my strategy, particularly for shooting events, people shots & portraits. Even using a camera with excellent low light capabilities, he noted, there will still be times when there just isn't enough light, and potentially good images won't be captured, or not captured as well as they could be. He further suggested that having my own flash would also mean I'd really learn how to use it, as opposed to just putting the rental flash on auto, and hoping that it all just worked.
IAnother concept began to develop in my mind. In one of the regular podcasts I listen to, the two photographer-hosts mentioned that when they travel, particularly on long or overseas trips, it is so much easier to bring along their crop-sensors cameras, since those lenses are smaller and lighter, making a much easier, lighter "kit" to transport and use. They also like the additional reach with telephoto zooms, thus avoiding the need to bring the longer "big glass" lens along. It occurred to me that almost half of my photography already, in fact, involves travel, and hopefully will in the future. And most of my future trips would be candidates for a crop-sensor camera and their conveniently smaller & lighter lenses. Additionally my experiences using "big glass" have been less than positive — these lenses are too heavy and unwieldy to be much fun, especially for the types of shooting I like to do! So what would be the point of moving to a full frame camera, if I wouldn't use it traveling? Another podcast mentioned that there aren't many third party lenses for the full frame cameras, making such a transition even more expensive. Bottom line: I'm just not a full-frame/big glass photographer. Maybe if I were 20 years younger...
(continued in Part 2)
A couple of interesting changes have been developing in my photography lately. I did a Halloween-engagement party shoot. It was a fun party, and another excellent learning experience. While there were plenty of good images captured, I realized how much more I could have done using an external flash. I do occasionally rent one (as explained more below) but there really wasn't time for this event, due to another project earlier during the day.
Last Spring, at my high school reunion near Solvang, California, I was able to have an in-depth conversation about my work with one of the teachers — a graduate of the well-known Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. It was very illuminating (pun intended). I was making an argument for avoiding the need for flash by using low light photography, perhaps even moving up to a Nikon D700 someday.
The teacher listened patiently, and then politely indicated the limitations of my strategy, particularly for shooting events, people shots & portraits. Even using a camera with excellent low light capabilities, he noted, there will still be times when there just isn't enough light, and potentially good images won't be captured, or not captured as well as they could be. He further suggested that having my own flash would also mean I'd really learn how to use it, as opposed to just putting the rental flash on auto, and hoping that it all just worked.
IAnother concept began to develop in my mind. In one of the regular podcasts I listen to, the two photographer-hosts mentioned that when they travel, particularly on long or overseas trips, it is so much easier to bring along their crop-sensors cameras, since those lenses are smaller and lighter, making a much easier, lighter "kit" to transport and use. They also like the additional reach with telephoto zooms, thus avoiding the need to bring the longer "big glass" lens along. It occurred to me that almost half of my photography already, in fact, involves travel, and hopefully will in the future. And most of my future trips would be candidates for a crop-sensor camera and their conveniently smaller & lighter lenses. Additionally my experiences using "big glass" have been less than positive — these lenses are too heavy and unwieldy to be much fun, especially for the types of shooting I like to do! So what would be the point of moving to a full frame camera, if I wouldn't use it traveling? Another podcast mentioned that there aren't many third party lenses for the full frame cameras, making such a transition even more expensive. Bottom line: I'm just not a full-frame/big glass photographer. Maybe if I were 20 years younger...
(continued in Part 2)
26 August 2009
Some dinner time inspiration from Ansel
Ansel Adams 400 Photographs — want to argue about something positive over the dinner table?
When I was around 10 years old, my mother, my older brother and I stopped in at the gallery-store in Yosemite, and the great master was there. My mother made a connection with him through her friends Brett Weston and Gus Bundy. I was spellbound looking at the superhuman sized prints on the wall behind him. Somewhere in this process, he noticed the Brownie camera around my neck, and my fascination with his images. He asked me what I thought about one. Not knowing what else to say, I was bluntly honest: "I really like the sky and clouds in that picture." There was a twinkle in Ansel's eye, and he admitted, "I spent a lot of time on that sky." Then I heard him softly share with my mother, "make sure he keeps taking pictures".
Fifty years later, I continue to draw inspiration from his images. You can, too. If you think of yourself as an artist, if B+W strikes a deep chord in your soul — this is a wonderful book. Considering the number of images (400), and the history and descriptions, it’s well worth the price!
Some people say that my New Mexico images remind them of Ansel’s work. I would add Brett & Edward Weston, as well.
When I was around 10 years old, my mother, my older brother and I stopped in at the gallery-store in Yosemite, and the great master was there. My mother made a connection with him through her friends Brett Weston and Gus Bundy. I was spellbound looking at the superhuman sized prints on the wall behind him. Somewhere in this process, he noticed the Brownie camera around my neck, and my fascination with his images. He asked me what I thought about one. Not knowing what else to say, I was bluntly honest: "I really like the sky and clouds in that picture." There was a twinkle in Ansel's eye, and he admitted, "I spent a lot of time on that sky." Then I heard him softly share with my mother, "make sure he keeps taking pictures".
Fifty years later, I continue to draw inspiration from his images. You can, too. If you think of yourself as an artist, if B+W strikes a deep chord in your soul — this is a wonderful book. Considering the number of images (400), and the history and descriptions, it’s well worth the price!
Some people say that my New Mexico images remind them of Ansel’s work. I would add Brett & Edward Weston, as well.
23 August 2009
Flickroom — an LR interface for Flickr
I've been trying out Flickroom. I started out on Flickr, and then moved to Smugmug, initially for the interface — hey, all those white pixels are really eye-fatiguing after a while! And, I didn't see much reason to go back. Well, actually, the groups on Flickr are cool.
Flickroom is an Adobe AIR app, and to be honest, part of my curiosity was to test out AIR, on something that I might be using. I've since shown and emailed it to several friends and colleagues, and their actions have been similar: why didn't Flickr do this in the first place! It's true, it's a nice front-end, especially for those of us that prefer less fatiguing darker interfaces.
It's been quite a while since I uploaded anything to Flickr. My first digital SLR purchase coincided closely with the public beta for Adobe Lightroom, and I started with Smugmug not long after that. I've done two uploads with Flickroom so far. It's a significant improvement. Not quite as responsive as a local app, but the performance is close. My problem, I guess, is the back-end. Flickr and Smugmug are worlds apart for me now. The analogy of bicycles & airplanes comes to mind.
Well, to each, his or her own, I guess. If you're a Flickr user, be sure to check out Flickroom.
Update 4/15/2011: Glad to see that Flickroom is alive and well, and continuing to be improved! The link changed, and has been updated.
Flickroom is an Adobe AIR app, and to be honest, part of my curiosity was to test out AIR, on something that I might be using. I've since shown and emailed it to several friends and colleagues, and their actions have been similar: why didn't Flickr do this in the first place! It's true, it's a nice front-end, especially for those of us that prefer less fatiguing darker interfaces.
It's been quite a while since I uploaded anything to Flickr. My first digital SLR purchase coincided closely with the public beta for Adobe Lightroom, and I started with Smugmug not long after that. I've done two uploads with Flickroom so far. It's a significant improvement. Not quite as responsive as a local app, but the performance is close. My problem, I guess, is the back-end. Flickr and Smugmug are worlds apart for me now. The analogy of bicycles & airplanes comes to mind.
Well, to each, his or her own, I guess. If you're a Flickr user, be sure to check out Flickroom.
Update 4/15/2011: Glad to see that Flickroom is alive and well, and continuing to be improved! The link changed, and has been updated.
NiceNames on Smugmug
This is a really exciting new feature on Smugmug. Take a look at the URLs in the previous post. We used to be limited to domain/category. Now the NiceNames will automatically pick up the gallery names (this is editable), and the old NiceNames will be remembered if one is changed, so links won’t break in the future.
Here's an example: http://www.chriswesselmanphotography.com/Nature/CA-bays/
Update 4/15/2011: Smugmug also has sub-sub-categories now, too. In this case “CA-Big Sur” is the edited NiceName for the sub-sub-category called “Big Sur Coast“: http://www.chriswesselmanphotography.com/Travel/CA-Big-Sur/Labor-Day-Weekend-2009/
Here's an example: http://www.chriswesselmanphotography.com/Nature/CA-bays/
Update 4/15/2011: Smugmug also has sub-sub-categories now, too. In this case “CA-Big Sur” is the edited NiceName for the sub-sub-category called “Big Sur Coast“: http://www.chriswesselmanphotography.com/Travel/CA-Big-Sur/Labor-Day-Weekend-2009/
Spring on Hwy 1, finally done!
This was a serendipitous trip in late April 2009. I decided to drive down and back up the Big Sur Coast (Hwy 1, aka PCH, Pacific Coast Highway), and caught some interesting light both times; and another dawn shoot from the Skyview Motel in Los Alamos (near Dunn School, Los Olivos and Solvang). This year's dawn shoot was even better than last year's with some interesting mist in the hills. Here is the gallery. My Big Sur shots on the way down and back are here.
I like to push the envelope on digital photography, trying to capture low light, dynamic range, interesting light, things like fog and mist that can present some challenges. I'm also playing with B+W film emulations — Fuji Acros, Rollei R3, and of course Kodak Tri-X. As part of this, I've decided to keep my B+W images separate, i.e. start from the RAW image and make those images only B+W. Otherwise, it gets into this guessing game, at least for me, of OK, do I like this better in color or B+W? With those images finished now exclusively B+W, that guessing game goes away. Yes, there are some similar images, but they're actually separate images. There's something timeless about B+W — maybe it's about that (analog) darkroom I always hoped for.
And, yes, I'm still thinking about shooting some of these films in my wife's Nikon N65 (aka F65 outside the USA). I'm also very impressed with what I'm reading and hearing about the Mamiya rb67 and rz67 medium format cameras. My younger Chris and several friends and acquaintances are experimenting with these. Some impressive stuff. Check out this link of my friend Allan Chen's shots. Some really rich shots here. Here’s another page that's really impressive, discussing digital sensors vs film resolutions. I guess I need to get out Sue's N65 first, and see if I'm willing to go that extra mile.
I like to push the envelope on digital photography, trying to capture low light, dynamic range, interesting light, things like fog and mist that can present some challenges. I'm also playing with B+W film emulations — Fuji Acros, Rollei R3, and of course Kodak Tri-X. As part of this, I've decided to keep my B+W images separate, i.e. start from the RAW image and make those images only B+W. Otherwise, it gets into this guessing game, at least for me, of OK, do I like this better in color or B+W? With those images finished now exclusively B+W, that guessing game goes away. Yes, there are some similar images, but they're actually separate images. There's something timeless about B+W — maybe it's about that (analog) darkroom I always hoped for.
And, yes, I'm still thinking about shooting some of these films in my wife's Nikon N65 (aka F65 outside the USA). I'm also very impressed with what I'm reading and hearing about the Mamiya rb67 and rz67 medium format cameras. My younger Chris and several friends and acquaintances are experimenting with these. Some impressive stuff. Check out this link of my friend Allan Chen's shots. Some really rich shots here. Here’s another page that's really impressive, discussing digital sensors vs film resolutions. I guess I need to get out Sue's N65 first, and see if I'm willing to go that extra mile.
22 May 2009
Mini-review: "Motionless Journey" — an extraordinary photo book
Motionless Journey: From a Hermitage in the Himalayas by Matthieu Ricard:
Preface: This collection of photographs is an account of a motionless journey, the fruit of something that most photographers (including myself) rarely have the chance, the time, or even the inclination to do: to sit for a whole year, waiting for the right light.
Nor, indeed, was that my goal. I did not go into retreat to take photographs. Nevertheless, as I contemplated that sublime landscape from the early hours of the morning, well before dawn, until after nightfall, every now and then an extraordinary light would illuminate the vision evolving continually before my enchanted eyes. The scenes in this book, all taken from the terrace of my hermitage or within a few dozen yards from it, are the fruits of that long 'wait without waiting', and of the joy of witnessing the harmony of nature blending closely with the delight of meditation.
Introduction: From the terrace of my retreat hut, I can look out over the almost perfect circle of the horizon. Dominating the spread of the foothills, the majestic chain of the Himalayas stretches over 200 miles. To the east are the massifs of Everest, to the north those of Gaurishankar and Langthang, and to the north-west, far away, the Annapurnas.
Each of Matthieu Ricard's images is accompanied by quotes from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (to whom the book is dedicated), Shantideva, Milarepa, and others.
In addition to the extraordinary scenery in his images, the author pushes the limits of available light photography far beyond where many of us would venture forth. For those entranced by low light shooting, this is a portal into the possible. Matthieu's images are a feast for the eyes, and his paired quotes, a teaching by themselves.
Acknowledgments: ... The author's share of the proceeds of this book has been entirely donated to various humanitarian projects in Tibet, Nepal, India and Bhutan. To find out more about this work, please contact:
Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship
...
www.shechen.org
karuna-shechen.org
The photographs in this book are available as signed limited-edition prints.
For more details, please go to www.shechen.org
Available at Amazon and other fine book sellers.
Additional links:
Matthieu Ricard's website
and his gallery there.
Preface: This collection of photographs is an account of a motionless journey, the fruit of something that most photographers (including myself) rarely have the chance, the time, or even the inclination to do: to sit for a whole year, waiting for the right light.
Nor, indeed, was that my goal. I did not go into retreat to take photographs. Nevertheless, as I contemplated that sublime landscape from the early hours of the morning, well before dawn, until after nightfall, every now and then an extraordinary light would illuminate the vision evolving continually before my enchanted eyes. The scenes in this book, all taken from the terrace of my hermitage or within a few dozen yards from it, are the fruits of that long 'wait without waiting', and of the joy of witnessing the harmony of nature blending closely with the delight of meditation.
Introduction: From the terrace of my retreat hut, I can look out over the almost perfect circle of the horizon. Dominating the spread of the foothills, the majestic chain of the Himalayas stretches over 200 miles. To the east are the massifs of Everest, to the north those of Gaurishankar and Langthang, and to the north-west, far away, the Annapurnas.
Each of Matthieu Ricard's images is accompanied by quotes from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (to whom the book is dedicated), Shantideva, Milarepa, and others.
In addition to the extraordinary scenery in his images, the author pushes the limits of available light photography far beyond where many of us would venture forth. For those entranced by low light shooting, this is a portal into the possible. Matthieu's images are a feast for the eyes, and his paired quotes, a teaching by themselves.
Acknowledgments: ... The author's share of the proceeds of this book has been entirely donated to various humanitarian projects in Tibet, Nepal, India and Bhutan. To find out more about this work, please contact:
Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship
...
www.shechen.org
karuna-shechen.org
The photographs in this book are available as signed limited-edition prints.
For more details, please go to www.shechen.org
Available at Amazon and other fine book sellers.
Additional links:
Matthieu Ricard's website
and his gallery there.
21 May 2009
Quotes on photography
A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.
Ansel Adams
In wisdom gathered over time, I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.
Ansel Adams
There are no rules for good photographs; there are only good photographs.
Ansel Adams
You don't take a photograph, you make it.
Ansel Adams
Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.
Edward Weston
The camera makes you forget you're there. It's not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.
Annie Leibovitz
You don't have to sort of enhance reality. There is nothing stranger than truth.
Annie Leibovitz
Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
08 May 2009
Spring on Hwy 1
Two weeks ago, I did the (now) annual pilgrimage down to my high school reunion in Los Olivos, CA. This year, I was driving by myself, in a nice new Toyota Camry with an in-dash audio-in jack for my iPod (to listen to podcasts and awesome tunes). To be frank, that car probably has as good a sound system, as I've ever owned, including the whacky big speakers and 100 watt per channel stereo amp I had in the 70's and 80’s.
I had decided to drive down Hwy 1, beginning with Laureles Grade into Carmel Valley, accessed off Hwy 68 between Salinas and Carmel. Hwy 1, or PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, as it used to known), is one of the more amazing roads on the continent! This year it was totally magical, with wildflowers and Spring finery, courtesy of the late rains. I'd have to say, it was as good as I've ever seen the Big Sur Coast.
Since I was shooting photos at the reunion, I needed to divide my 700+ shots from the trip into People and Places. Now that the People shots are done (in a private gallery for the school alums), I can turn my attention to the Places shots. I hope to have those posted in a public gallery on my website very soon. (I'll link them in my Big Sur and travel galleries.)
For those of us fortunate enough to live in Northern California, it's an amazing year for Hwy 1 and most likely the Sierras, as well. Wanderlust abounds — why wait? Grab the camera, and go...
I had decided to drive down Hwy 1, beginning with Laureles Grade into Carmel Valley, accessed off Hwy 68 between Salinas and Carmel. Hwy 1, or PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, as it used to known), is one of the more amazing roads on the continent! This year it was totally magical, with wildflowers and Spring finery, courtesy of the late rains. I'd have to say, it was as good as I've ever seen the Big Sur Coast.
Since I was shooting photos at the reunion, I needed to divide my 700+ shots from the trip into People and Places. Now that the People shots are done (in a private gallery for the school alums), I can turn my attention to the Places shots. I hope to have those posted in a public gallery on my website very soon. (I'll link them in my Big Sur and travel galleries.)
For those of us fortunate enough to live in Northern California, it's an amazing year for Hwy 1 and most likely the Sierras, as well. Wanderlust abounds — why wait? Grab the camera, and go...
22 April 2009
Updates to Links
TWIP has evolved into This Week in Photography with the old podcasts, and Photofocus with the old blog. Please see both sites (now in the Links here) for more info. Bottom line, in my mind, this is two, two, two for the price of one! These are awesome sites, and podcasts!
The My Twitter link went away, since it became redundant with my Twitter updates here. And there's a link now to soup2nuts, which is a photo journal of sorts, based on the journal gallery layout that Smugmug offers. In a nutshell, it's an expanded (and expanding) caption field, which allows room for further discussion on shots that I really care about. More info there in the initial posts.
The My Twitter link went away, since it became redundant with my Twitter updates here. And there's a link now to soup2nuts, which is a photo journal of sorts, based on the journal gallery layout that Smugmug offers. In a nutshell, it's an expanded (and expanding) caption field, which allows room for further discussion on shots that I really care about. More info there in the initial posts.
20 April 2009
Singapore-Nepal-Tibet trip 2001
In the Spring of 2001, I made what I then considered to be “the trip of a lifetime” to Tibet!
To put this in perspective, in 1973, I was taking a Hatha Yoga adult education class at Merion High School outside Philadelphia. At the end of the last class, I shared with the instructor (Don Wesley) that if I wasn’t back after the holiday break in January, that I’d be on my way to Tibet. I wasn’t back...
Somehow I remembered this, embarking in March 2001, to a land I’d heard about from my parents in the 1950’s. And more recently, I had been encouraged to go there and bear witness by the president of San Francisco Zen Center.
My son Tim had offered me his Canon SLR, but declined, saying I didn’t want to see Tibet through a viewfinder. He thought it was a good answer. It seems, indeed, silly in retrospect. Actually, I wouldn’t do a trip like this with borrowed gear (rented maybe), and only if it was insured.
What I did take along was my 5 year old Canon SureShot 80, a point-n-click film camera. The results are here.
I re-discovered these rolls of films their CDs with basic scans from Wolf Camera a few months ago. The scans are 1440x900 jpegs, so post-processing now is limited, although I do have the negatives, which could also be scanned some day.
I imported them into Adobe Lightroom and subtracted all the recognizable people shots. Was there anything left of value? For me, yes, some wonderful memories of sights and energies — extraordinary people and places.
Perhaps it will be my good fortune to return some day with our current Nikon DSLRs! Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them...
To put this in perspective, in 1973, I was taking a Hatha Yoga adult education class at Merion High School outside Philadelphia. At the end of the last class, I shared with the instructor (Don Wesley) that if I wasn’t back after the holiday break in January, that I’d be on my way to Tibet. I wasn’t back...
Somehow I remembered this, embarking in March 2001, to a land I’d heard about from my parents in the 1950’s. And more recently, I had been encouraged to go there and bear witness by the president of San Francisco Zen Center.
My son Tim had offered me his Canon SLR, but declined, saying I didn’t want to see Tibet through a viewfinder. He thought it was a good answer. It seems, indeed, silly in retrospect. Actually, I wouldn’t do a trip like this with borrowed gear (rented maybe), and only if it was insured.
What I did take along was my 5 year old Canon SureShot 80, a point-n-click film camera. The results are here.
I re-discovered these rolls of films their CDs with basic scans from Wolf Camera a few months ago. The scans are 1440x900 jpegs, so post-processing now is limited, although I do have the negatives, which could also be scanned some day.
I imported them into Adobe Lightroom and subtracted all the recognizable people shots. Was there anything left of value? For me, yes, some wonderful memories of sights and energies — extraordinary people and places.
Perhaps it will be my good fortune to return some day with our current Nikon DSLRs! Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them...
17 April 2009
Adding Twitter here, too & great music
It's all interconnected, right? Jeez, I’m finding folks on Twitter I haven't seen or talked in 10 years.
Listening to the new Indigo Girls Poseidon and the Bitter Bug — providing inspiration. The Deluxe Version has some terrific acoustic versions. Memories of Apple Austin circa 1993, when System 7 ruled, and the Apple Assistance Center was started at Ridgepoint.
R.E.M., Indigo Girls — Shady Thangs at Shady Grove, Sara Hickman recognizing Carl, as we're walking down the street next Shady Grove’s outdoor stage, and her asking us to come in for a drink, and getting us seats up front. Good days...
Listening to the new Indigo Girls Poseidon and the Bitter Bug — providing inspiration. The Deluxe Version has some terrific acoustic versions. Memories of Apple Austin circa 1993, when System 7 ruled, and the Apple Assistance Center was started at Ridgepoint.
R.E.M., Indigo Girls — Shady Thangs at Shady Grove, Sara Hickman recognizing Carl, as we're walking down the street next Shady Grove’s outdoor stage, and her asking us to come in for a drink, and getting us seats up front. Good days...
04 April 2009
Camera Dojo
Cameradojo.com I'm relatively new to this site, but I'm very pleased with the content, approach, and value-add, including Lightroom Presets. I'm checking out their podcasts. A little long for the bus, maybe good to listen to while working on photos.
Delicious.com (aka del.icio.us)
Delicious.com (aka del.icio.us) For me, this is one of the bigger Web 2.0 leveraging sites. It all began when I got my iPhone, and a friend cratered his, trying to import 400 Safari links. Yes, there is a better way, and this is it! Currently, after close to 2 years, I have 851 tags. Here's my top 10: photography 107, Apple 43, lightroom 38, iPhone 29, Adobe 24, osx 22, photoshop 21, smugmug 21. Like United used to say, "it's the only way to fly..." Here's my photog stuff: http://delicious.com/waldo647/photography
Twitter there's a lot of buzz about Twitter, both pro & humorous. How the heck can you say anything in 140 characters? That's what I said. Then the light went on: I'll just pick awesome photographers and follow them. So, he's my recommendation: don't bother following me — my posts are few & far between. But do check out the folks I'm following, because they're really on top of what's happening in Photography.
See also...
See also...
Links: Alltop — the online magazine rack
Alltop Guy Kawasaki was showing this off at MacWorld in 2009. It was my great privilege to sit down with the Grand Master and see his demo. I used to see Guy at Apple from time to time. He was already a legend, well before then. Check out my link for Alltop's online magazine rack on photography. There are dozens of sites feeds there, and a bunch that I could have listed here. Check their index of subjects, too, and consider requesting one, if it's not already there. And... now you can make your page, too!
Links: Nikonians
Nikonians.org If you shoot Nikons, you really owe to yourself to join up. Someday, if & when I retire, I'm going to spend a whole lot more time here. Don't miss the Image Doctors podcast (aka Nikonians Talk Road) every two weeks. I've been listening for the past two years. I also archive their podcasts to reference back to them. For instance: want to know how to use the AE-L button for AF-on, instead of focusing with the shutter button? (Short answer: it'll change the way you shoot pictures with a lot of the Nikon DSLR models.) Lots of good forums on Nikonians, too!
Links: TWIP (This Week in Photography)
TWIP Their weekly podcasts offer IMHO some of the best content available on photography. I learn at least one valuable thing, each week, and sometimes several. The participants all have really interesting ideas and suggestions, worth following up on. They also have an excellent blog, and more. Despite trying to cut-back on their jocularity, I find their humor refreshing, lively, interesting, and worth following with a laptop open with live web access. The show notes will include all the useful links, but why not follow it live? Any serious photographer should have some familiarity with TWIP. Lots of good content here. And then there's the blog. Check it out!
Links: The Digital Story
The Digital Story Derrick Story is a local guy (well sort of, Santa Rosa). I've met up with him several times at MacWorld, missed him a bunch of times at Stanford (unfortunately), bought and read a couple of his books cover-to-cover (be sure to check out his latest one The Digital Photography Companion), and I listen to his podcast every week. Sue and I try to participate in his virtual camera club, as much as possible. As a one-man band, Derrick does a super job! Great blog entries, and fun Twitter posts (including his trip to the Beijing Olympics last summer) are really worth checking out on a regular basis. You can't miss him at a conference, since he's about 6 foot 6, and you'll probably find he's one of the more interesting, and nicer guys there, too. I've learned a bunch from him and his site, and you can, too!
Moving the Useful Links page over here
I'm testing out yet another concept... Recently, I created a Useful Links page in my Google Page Creator space. This allowed me more control, and I was able to write short intros to each link that I was adding. I also ended it with a cool story about sitting on Carl's deck in Austin, drinking Shiner Beer, pondering the future of the web, circa May 1995. That story has since moved over here as a blog entry, and I've also set up those links over here, in a new Links section. The thought occurs to me that I can move the link intros over here, too, totally replacing the Useful Links page. It's making more sense to hang these links of this blog page, than have a separate page on the waldo•647•images site. I may change my mind about this later on, but right now, I'm thinking one less menu item there may be a good thing. As more photo shoots get added, the blue NavBar may get a little crowded. So we'll see how it goes...
02 April 2009
The future of the Web, circa May 1995...
I'm sitting on Carl de Cordova's deck in Austin, Texas. We're drinking Shiner Bock beer and pontificating about the future of the web. Carl put the first Apple home page on the web in early 1993, using the UNIX version of Netscape, and the second page was his resume. This is the God's truth. Carl knew anyone and everyone who was anything on the web then, and they knew him. And back then, his home page included links to, you guessed it, every single web page there was. And there'd be about 10-20 new ones a day. Carl followed them all.
So back to his deck... it's already hot — maybe early May. The kind of hot that deodorant was invented for. The kind Texas is famous for, along with incredible BBQ, great people, bluebonnets, and of course, Shiner Bock beer. So Carl says, "You know, I'm afraid the web is going to die. There's just not enough content. We're going need a ten thousand-fold increase in content to make this work. I sure hope we get it, or all this work will go to waste."
Well, the rest is history — there was a millionfold increase in content, and then it really started growing from there... And that was well before Google. So the next time you're pulling up your latest restaurant on Yelp or Urbanspoon, or checking out the Links here, say a little "thank you" to Carl and all those early pioneers whom you probably haven't heard of, who spent collectively zillions of hours making the real Information Super Highway. It was (and continues to be) the game changer of all game changers...
It's not about your computer hardware, or even the software — it's about all the people, who did all that work. Most of them didn't get rich, but like Steve said, they "made the world a better place."
So back to his deck... it's already hot — maybe early May. The kind of hot that deodorant was invented for. The kind Texas is famous for, along with incredible BBQ, great people, bluebonnets, and of course, Shiner Bock beer. So Carl says, "You know, I'm afraid the web is going to die. There's just not enough content. We're going need a ten thousand-fold increase in content to make this work. I sure hope we get it, or all this work will go to waste."
Well, the rest is history — there was a millionfold increase in content, and then it really started growing from there... And that was well before Google. So the next time you're pulling up your latest restaurant on Yelp or Urbanspoon, or checking out the Links here, say a little "thank you" to Carl and all those early pioneers whom you probably haven't heard of, who spent collectively zillions of hours making the real Information Super Highway. It was (and continues to be) the game changer of all game changers...
It's not about your computer hardware, or even the software — it's about all the people, who did all that work. Most of them didn't get rich, but like Steve said, they "made the world a better place."
01 April 2009
Follow me, don't follow me (on Twitter)
These words from the R.E.M. song Orange Crush actually make sense here. I've been on Twitter for about a year now. My use of Twitter is almost totally focused on photography. With the exception of a few friends, everyone I'm following is a photographer and generally making really useful contributions to Twitter (given the 140 character limit). So you don't need to follow me specifically, but do check out the folks that I'm following.
31 March 2009
The blog is official
The blog is now online! And it's connected to the waldo647images.com home page, under the About menu. This has been a long time coming. In the past, I've typically decried the reverse chronological format of blogs, because I was working on things like FAQs. Now it looks like wikis are filling that need more these days. I may look into a wiki some day, too...
Closer to (my) home (page) — my bio page (an outgrowth of the My Bio section on Smugmug) was beginning to get longer and longer with updating paragraphs. As these paragraphs continued to accumulate, they starting looking more and more blog-like.
So, another experiment — waldo647images has a blog! The trick here is to tease the blog apart from the bio page.
Starting this process today, creating posts retroactively going back to December 2007, it's occurs to me that these paragraphs were kept somewhat sparse to avoid their adding excessive length to the bio page. Over time, these entries may get beefed up a little, depending on my memory and cooperation from the creative muse. I may also re-craft the bio page to make it more cohesive, perhaps even shorter; and, well, more like a bio of my photographic efforts.
For the time being, comments are turned off. Frankly, I don't have time to deal with them. Maybe later I'll turn them on. Links may also move here from the Useful Links page. The only issue is that I kind of like how I'm treating them on the Useful Links page now, including a descriptive paragraph for each one. My concluding story about Carl de Cordova would probably make a better blog entry, though.
One thing: this blog is going to be content-driven, not frequency driven. In other words, it may go 10 days or even a month without a post, and then have a whole series of them, as the need arises.
A final note: I haven't figured out how to put this under the roof of my domain yet, so it's staying on blogspot.com, created with Blogger. That may change in the future, and if/when it does, it will hopefully be transparent.
Update 4/12/2011: This blog now has chriswesselmanphotography replacing waldo647images, but I’ve left the blogspot.com — not enough reason yet to change that.
Closer to (my) home (page) — my bio page (an outgrowth of the My Bio section on Smugmug) was beginning to get longer and longer with updating paragraphs. As these paragraphs continued to accumulate, they starting looking more and more blog-like.
So, another experiment — waldo647images has a blog! The trick here is to tease the blog apart from the bio page.
Starting this process today, creating posts retroactively going back to December 2007, it's occurs to me that these paragraphs were kept somewhat sparse to avoid their adding excessive length to the bio page. Over time, these entries may get beefed up a little, depending on my memory and cooperation from the creative muse. I may also re-craft the bio page to make it more cohesive, perhaps even shorter; and, well, more like a bio of my photographic efforts.
For the time being, comments are turned off. Frankly, I don't have time to deal with them. Maybe later I'll turn them on. Links may also move here from the Useful Links page. The only issue is that I kind of like how I'm treating them on the Useful Links page now, including a descriptive paragraph for each one. My concluding story about Carl de Cordova would probably make a better blog entry, though.
One thing: this blog is going to be content-driven, not frequency driven. In other words, it may go 10 days or even a month without a post, and then have a whole series of them, as the need arises.
A final note: I haven't figured out how to put this under the roof of my domain yet, so it's staying on blogspot.com, created with Blogger. That may change in the future, and if/when it does, it will hopefully be transparent.
Update 4/12/2011: This blog now has chriswesselmanphotography replacing waldo647images, but I’ve left the blogspot.com — not enough reason yet to change that.
25 March 2009
IE6 bug with NavBar
I've become aware of a bug in Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) on Windows, which causes my NavBar (that blue menu bar) to double up with the Purchase menu appearing under the Home menu. There are some comments in Smugmug's forums (Dgrin.com) about what a lousy browser IE6 is, and asking everyone to update to a better browser (IE7 or Firefox, etc). That's all fine, but I know a lot of public computers are on IE6, and there may be no compelling reason to update them. So I've moved the sub-menus from the Home menu to the About menu, and everything should now show up relatively well in IE6. The important thing is the color balance, and it's not bad, even on uncalibrated monitors. This is far more important for me, from the creator/artist side of the fence. Drop me an email, if your experience on IE6 — or any other browser — is not up to your expectations. There's a lot of thought & effort going into all this; so meeting your expectations is actually quite important to me.
15 March 2009
soup2nuts — a journal gallery
Something new in mid-March 2009: I've added a journal gallery in Smugmug, allowing me to using extended captions, much like journal entries. I'm actually copying images and moving them from other galleries; so, yes, there is some duplication. Prints can still be ordered from either one*. My goal in this journal, entitled in tech fashion "soup2nuts", is to have some fun talking about the creative process, and what's driving it from behind the viewfinder. Hopefully, there are some comments and ideas, worth checking in on, from time to time — as both text and images are prone to change...
* Update 4/12/2011: I’ve turned off the printing capability here, to make sure prints are ordered from the gallery with the originals. Some images have been updated with the later versions of Lightroom and the new 2010 CameraRAW converter. They may not have been updated here.
* Update 4/12/2011: I’ve turned off the printing capability here, to make sure prints are ordered from the gallery with the originals. Some images have been updated with the later versions of Lightroom and the new 2010 CameraRAW converter. They may not have been updated here.
18 January 2009
Nikon D90 at MacWorld
In January 2009 at MacWorld, I spent a good 20 minutes with a Nikon D90 — quite a compelling camera! I'm also tempted by the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8, a very fast ultrawide lens for event shoots in smaller rooms and limited spaces.
And then, there's the Nikon D700, with it's FX (~35mm) sensor and excellent low-light capabilities. So there's lots of room to grow on the equipment side of the equation, especially as new projects come along. Equally important, of course, is the creative side of equation: being there, recognizing, and capturing outstanding images. It's a lot of fun...
Update 4/12/2011: Last December, I bit the bullet and got the Nikon D7000. It’s a game changer. Please look ahead to 2011 for a post about this...
And then, there's the Nikon D700, with it's FX (~35mm) sensor and excellent low-light capabilities. So there's lots of room to grow on the equipment side of the equation, especially as new projects come along. Equally important, of course, is the creative side of equation: being there, recognizing, and capturing outstanding images. It's a lot of fun...
Update 4/12/2011: Last December, I bit the bullet and got the Nikon D7000. It’s a game changer. Please look ahead to 2011 for a post about this...
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