Shutterbugs

A great addition to my photography kit...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 12:30:49 +0000

I recently received the Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT Aluminum Tripod with SBH-100 Ball Head for review via the Amazon Vine program. Having a nice tripod for setting up shots is always a good idea, and this one looked to be in the professional range of tripod offerings. To give it an even better trial, I decided to see what one of my friends could do with it. He's a professional photographer, and I figured he would give me some insights I might miss on my review. In short, he (and I) loves it!

The Vanguard Alta Pro was his first foray into professional-grade tripods. He had gone with "box store" tripods before in an effort to save money, but this tripod had him spoiled in short order. He loved everything about it, but he did offer up some thoughts for someone who might be in the same situation he was in terms of using a cheaper tripod on a regular basis.

The Vanguard tripod, being a professional model, is heavier than consumer grade models. That's understandable given the quality of the materials and need for solid stability. He found it to be something you just need to keep in mind when you're putting your kit together for a photo shoot. He also noted that you wouldn't try and use this for unplanned shots. It takes a bit of time to set up, so it's more geared for planned shots where you have the time to make sure to get everything "just so". He noted that the movement of the head was *very* fluid, which made it nice for setting up difficult angles. On the other hand, you have to make sure you're used to the different knobs that are used to tighten up the head in the various angles. It's not a bad thing... just one of those "learn beforehand" things. The only other thing he found off was the leg releases stuck a bit when extending to the maximum height. He wasn't sure if it was just this particular tripod or if it was something that would affect all of them. Regardless, it could make for some precarious juggling if you had your camera attached and you were fighting with the legs.

Overall, we both liked the Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT Tripod with the SBH-100 Ball Head. There may be minor things to nitpic at, but you have to get pretty picky to come up with any substantial "defects". This is well worth the money.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review Program
Payment: Free

Less of a toy than I thought it would be...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:42:45 +0000

Sometimes on the days I select from the Amazon Vine review program, there's nothing that really stands out as a "must have" choice. Occasionally there's a "OMG I MUST HAVE THAT!" selection, and other times there's the item that sends you down memory lane. The Tasco 120x USB-Equipped Digital Microscope falls in that last category. Mind you, I never had a USB-equipped digital microscope growing up, never mind the computer it would have taken to run it. But I did have a regular microscope, and I remember spending many an hour looking at things I couldn't see in any other way. The Tasco took me back to those more innocent days...

Priced and designed as it is, it's probably best to think of this as more of a toy than a serious research tool. But it's a toy with touches that make it pretty useful for kids and adults alike. The red viewing tube comes away from the grey stand and can operate independently from it due to the USB plug being part of the tube rather than the stand. The magnifying sources are 10x, 20x, and 120x, but I've found the 10x and 20x to be the most useful. Lighting is done well, with options to light from above the sample, below the sample, or from both sides. The viewing is one on your computer screen, as the tube contains the viewing camera, thereby saving you the hassle of squinting into the top of the viewing port. The software that comes with the USB camera is bare-bones, so nothing to get excited about there. You can take videos and still shots to load up on your computer, but don't expect to do anything of interest from within the provided software.

So far, the best use of this item for me has been as a replacement for a magnifying glass. I broke my regular glasses a short time back, and I've been waiting for the replacement pair. In the mean time, I was trying to replace a light bulb in a flashlight I own. The specs of the bulb were engraved into the base, and trying to read the specs was impossible. But with the Tasco, I popped the bulb under 10x magnification and I was off to the races. That's probably not a standard use case for a microscope, but it certainly worked for me...

The Tasco 120x USB-Equipped Digital Microscope is best described as a toy, but it's something that could be much more in the hands of someone with a little imagination. Admittedly to my surprise, I think this might actually end up getting more use over the long term than I thought it would.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review Program
Payment: Free

What's your story?

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:46:14 +0000

Photography is the mastery of a science with an eye for artistic impression. It is not necessary a science nor is it an art. Instead, it is a process, one which involves story telling.

Why do we all take photos? We mortals love to share stories. For some (minority), perhaps they want to create art. Although art is only art after the public acknowledge it as one (either during or after the creator's life).

With technology at the forefront of our lives today, everyone or anyone can be taking snapshot of photos. Although, when it comes to the term photography, it tends to be associated with some degree of technique and creativity rather than mere photo taking (just as a 5 year old can learn to do). At least that's how I perceived the term photography. There ought to be some skill and talent involved...

There are many approaches to photography. In the past, the subject matter was mostly landscapes. Then with the advent of digital photography where many things can be "manipulated", the tendency now appears to be for people and animal images. Nature still is a favorite for those who are endowed with an abundance of national parks and beautiful landscapes in their backyards. For many who work and live in the cities though, due to its limitation, some prefer to focus on people and architecture instead.

With the introduction of Facebook, I found myself taking more of photos of people and food. Yes, food is a BIG hit. One can almost guarantee viewership when it comes to sharing food. People simply love food! This is quite a new theme. In the past, when it comes to films, I don't recall seeing as many pictures of food as today. I tried googled for food images and I found a massive 9.84 billion! Curious, I tried people and it returns a result of only 1.37 billion while the word landscape generates only a mere 16.8 million images! So, yes, we are fascinated and obsessed by FOOD!

With the spreading of social medias, sites like Facebook and Flickr have brought photography to the forefront of human interactions and relationships. Social media is shaping the life cycle of photography and even our voice communication! Many 5 year old surprisingly take decent photos. However, the more of it we have in our current world, the less of us can make a decent living out of it. Standards and demands for professional photography (as well as amateur) have improved tremendously. The question though is... what set a photo out from the rest? What's your view on this? I'd be curious to find out!

To me personally, it's one that involves patience and focus in the creator as well as a work that tells an appealing story; one that induces an impulse, emotional response or a lifestyle association which I am compelled to act on. That's true photography to me! It doesn't have to be professional or commercial, it does has to be one that has some form of meaning we as individual can attached to. Thereby, my conclusion that it is now a wonderful form of story telling.

Alphabet Photography Gifts for Environmentalists

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:45:06 +0000

Well, I don’t usually do this as the focus of this blog is green tech, but I’ve stumbled upon something cool that is definitely pro-environment but not necessarily high tech. Now, I’ve seen many different kinds of alphabet photography that focus mostly on industrial design, which may not be all that environmentally friendly.

However, this kind of alphabet photography focuses on photos of beach foam. Now, this seems a little peculiar until you see the images for yourself. What has happened is that the photographer of the Words from the Sea website has taken months to put together a collection of letters and shapes made from the sea washing against the shore.

For just one barely discernable moment, the seafoam will form a letter and the photographer shoots this in the water. None of the images has been Photoshopped, manipulated or doctored. Besides the ABC’s in seafoam letters, there are also interesting shapes like that of a whale, a heart, and an exclamation point.

The letter art can be arranged as desired to spell out whatever words one desires. For instance if you want to decorate your child’s bedroom you can with this seafoam alphabet photography and you can arrange the letters on the website to see what you’re getting before you buy.

One motive of course is profit. But behind this motive is one of ocean conservation. The photographs, papers and canvasses are made with environmentally friendly materials. In addition a portion of the proceeds of the sales is donated to ocean conservation organizations such as the San Diego Ocean Discovery Institute.

So, you see the alphabet photography from Words from the Sea is fun, environmentally-friendly and helps to promote ocean conservation. What’s a better green gift to give this holiday season or any other time for that matter?

It doesn't get much better than this...

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 22:17:22 +0000

Via the Amazon Vine review program, I got the Vanguard Alta Pro 283CT Carbon Fiber Tripod with SBH-100 Ball Head as one of my items. I'm not a professional photographer, but I'm in awe of this tripod. I used to use one that my dad gave me many, many years ago. Needless to say, it was pretty bare bones. This one has everything I could ever imagine that I'd need at my level (and then some!)

The carbon fiber tripod legs extend quickly with little effort, and they are rock solid once tightened down. The center support extends with the flip of a switch, and also detaches so you can mount it horizontally should the need arise. The ball head is a work of art. Bubble levels to check both horizontal and vertical alignment, full rotation, easy camera mounting, the works. It even comes in a great carrying bag that you can sling over your shoulder along with your camera bag. It's got a little heft to it, so it's not something you'd want to carry around "just in case". I'd think you'd want to make sure you were going to use it before you decided to take it along to your next shoot.

The Vanguard isn't cheap, and wouldn't be the first thing on my list as an amateur photographer. But if you wanted to buy one tripod that would last you a very long time and that you'd never outgrow, this would be it.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review Program
Payment: Free

Simply Beautiful Book

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 17:35:17 +0000

I have spent the past two weeks mesmorized by National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs.

Award-winning photographer Annie Griffiths takes readers on a visual journey through some of the most stunning photographs to be found in National Geographic's Image Collection.

Images were selected to reflect her theme of beauty. Chapters are organized around the aesthetic concepts that create beauty in a photograph: Light, Composition, Moment, Time, Palette, and Wonder.

The photographs speak for themselves. They are enhanced by quotes from scholars and poets.

This book is a rare find. Purchase it for any photographer on your list. They will treasure it for years. It is perfect for lovers of beauty, of photography and the world around us.

Craig L. Howe
The Pointed Pundit
www.craighowe.com

Flickr Quick Tip by KristiSauer

Sat, 4 Dec 2010 21:22:28 +0000

Flickr is one of the best websites out there for picture sharing between photographers. Only down-side is paying to have a Pro acct which is absolutely necessary

Good All-round Guide On General Photography Techniques

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 20:18:56 +0000

The Digital Photography is targeted at both the beginner and intermediate photographer. It contains about 200 tips on how to make you photos look like the pros'. It is a 218-page book with each tip occupying a page (plus a few pages of ads placed unintrusively at the back of the book). Each tip is accompanied by a high quality picture.

There are over 120 tips related directly to shooting:
Flowers (11 tips)
Weddings (21 tips)
Landscapes (29 tips)
Sports (17 tips)
People (14 tips)
Urban Shooting (16 tips)
General Tips/"Recipes" (14 tips/recipes)

The rest of the book are primarily tips on equipment (e.g. lenses, tripods, cable release), operating your equipment (e.g. ISO, exposure, tripoding), post-processing (e.g. sharpening, RAW processing, organizing), printing (e.g. print size, paper choice, color profiles), and other topics of interests (e.g. selling your photos as "stock", monitor calibration, megapixels).

The Digital Photography serves as a book that offers a solid, all-round view of general photography techniques. You can benefit from this book even if you're into a particular niche, such as landscape photography.

As an intermediate photographer, I already know many of the tips and tricks covered in the book, so I feel the book is perhaps best suited for a person who is just starting to venture into the world of SLR photography. With that said, I did learn some very helpful techniques from the book. I also found many helpful tips for taking more creative shots. All in all, I'd recommend this book for both the beginner and intermediate photographer.

A Great Tribute to a Great Artist

Tue, 5 Oct 2010 15:48:44 +0000

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Ansel Adams' birth, John Szarkowski has selected what he considers Adams' finest works and offers a critique that ranks the photographer as one of the great artists of our time.

Szarkowski, Director Emeritus of the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, often selects unexpected and unfamiliar prints in his collection. The book is great in every way. It was printed in tritones at Meridian Printing on paper made in Toulouse, France. The plates are scaled to reflect the relative size of the original photographs; the book and slipcase are bound in a linen cloth made in the Netherlands. It is a fitting tribute to Ansel Adams' art.

Adams' pictures define for me what the term landscape means. This is a great collection of his work and should serve provide a firm foundation for Adams' elevation from a photographer to an artist.

Simple System Eases Wildflower Identification

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:04:16 +0000

The author's system allows even amateurs like me to quickly and accurately identify wildflowers.

It is as simple as answering five questions which point the user to the appropriate page in the book where the flower is described and pictured. The text is great. The first sentence of each description distinguishes that plant from all others in that group.

If you are looking for a wildflower guide, they do not get better than this one.

Is Photoshop CS5 Worth The Upgrade?

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 06:02:56 +0000

The Answer to that question is a resounding YES! CS5 is Aaa...Mazing! It is light years ahead of its predecessors (including CS4). This new version of Photoshop has packed a number of exciting new s and enhancements that help make photo editing quicker, easier, and an absolute delight! With CS5, image editing tasks that used to be painstaking and meticulous work can be accomplished with incredible ease. I'll touch on just a few of these new features that I consider the most useful:

Edge Detection for Selections

Edge Detection saves you time by making selections incredibly easy. CS5 has made major enhancements on the Refine Edge Tool (first introduced in CS3) by incorporating the new Edge Detection feature into it. Edge Detection lets you effortlessly and accurately refine your selection after you've made an initial rough selection, say, with the Quick Selection Tool.

Feature In Action: After a rough selection is made, click on Refine Edges on the toolbar. As in CS3 and CS4, this brings up the Refine Edge dialog box. CS5 has the new Edge Detection feature that helps you fine tune your selection. By using the new Touch Up Brush, you can "paint" over the edge of your selection and CS5 will almost magically remove any extraneous bits of selection and add to the selection areas you might have missed. If required, you can use the Decontaminate Colors (also a new feature) to remove any bits of background that might have spilled over into your selection.

How well it works: Edge Detection is one of the most, if not the most useful new feature in CS5. It works extremely well when there is a good contrast between the subject to be removed and the background. It makes selecting intricate regions such as the edges of hair or fur (which used to be a real pain!) almost effortless. With some practice, Edge Detection can save you a lot of work and time! It's no exaggeration to say that this feature alone is worth the upgrade!

Content-Aware Fill

Content-Aware Fill fills in a deleted subject with the background. Traditionally, after a subject is removed from the foreground, you have to fill in the deleted area by painting it with cloned pixels. But with Content-Aware Fill, CS5 does this job for you.

Feature In Action: After an area to be deleted is selected, press the delete key. This will bring up a dialog box that gives you the type of fill to use: Content-Aware, Foreground, Background, etc. With Content-Aware selected, click on OK. Presto! CS5 automatically fills in the deleted area with the background for you.

How well it works: Content-Aware Fill doesn't always realistically fill in a deleted area. It all depends on the type of background the removed subject is in front of. The Content-Aware Fill works best with a landscape backgrounds like a beach or a meadow. It will probably NOT work very well in an urban area full of buildings, for example. With the "right" background, you can get away with deleting fairly large objects/subjects. For example, I was able to use Content-Aware Fill to successfully remove quite a bit of undesired foreground (mostly people and railings) in my Grand Canyon shots to produce convincing and natural-looking images.

Puppet Warp

Puppet Warp lets you place control points on a subject and warp it or move parts of it as though it were Play-Doh (Fun stuff!).

Feature In Action: From the edit menu, select Edit/Puppet Warp. You can then click to add control points to manipulate your subject, such as a person (which would have to had been extracted from a picture). You can then bend, stretch, or warp your subject by moving any of the control points. Alternatively you can press the Alt key to make a point act as a "pivot" point, which would then act as a "joint" of sorts.

How well it works: Puppet Warp may seem like a toy at first sight since many of the demos use this feature for moving or manipulating the limbs of a person or animal - but Puppet Warp can be used for much more. When used on a person or an animal, if your intent is to create a realistic image, moderation in the transformation is key. However, if your intent is to create a goofy looking picture (much as you would with the Liquefy Tool), you can do some really wacky transformations in Puppet Warp. Puppet Warp has some serious applications too. It can be used to correct non-uniform distortions, which is a common problem in stitched panoramas. (For a demo, search for the "Puppet Warp Sneak Peek" video.) You can also use it to tweak the popular "smoke," "halo," or other layered effects that are commonly used on subjects in portrait photography. I personally find Puppet Warp an invaluable tool for this purpose.

Faux HDR

Normal HDR requires 2 or more source images. CS5 lets you create a faux HDR with just one image.

Feature In Action: Go to Image/Adjustments/HDR Toning. CS5 immediately applies a default set of settings, which you can change to suit your preferences. There is a separate lightening/darkening setting for Shadows and Highlights. Other settings include color Vibrance and color Saturation, Exposure, Gamma, etc.

How well it works: The faux HDR is a great tool for salvaging photos where subjects are under-exposed because of backlighting. By using the tool to lighten the darker areas, you can make it seem as though you have a fill light on your subjects! However, lightening darker areas will inevitably introduce some noise. No matter, CS5 actually has a new noise reduction feature that does an amazing job. This HDR feature can really help you create surrealistic images.

Miscellaneous New Features & Enhancements

CS5 has many niceties such as improved layer pasting called Paste In Place (pastes layer in the same coordinates as the source image), Lens Correction (corrects distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting), Mixer Brush and Bristle Tips (tools for blending colors and painting on your picture/canvas - not quite as complete a suite of tools a Corel Paint, but very impressive nonetheless!), Mini Adobe Bridge (a "mini" Bridge in-program), Adobe Repoussé (creates 3D objects from text layers, paths, and selections), and much more...

Additional Notes

A lot of operations in CS5, such as Content-Aware Fill, is memory (RAM) intensive. Memory usage can easily run up in the GB range. On 32-bit systems, there is a limit on the amount of memory that Photoshop can use. Here's information about RAM usage taken from the adobe site:

Photoshop Version / Windows Version / Maximum amount of RAM that Photoshop can use
32-bit / 32-bit / 1.7 GB
32-bit / 64-bit / 3.2 GB
64-bit / 64-bit / as much RAM as you can fit into your computer

I use Windows XP (32-bit) and ran into a problem where the area I selected for Content-Aware Fill was too large. I got the message "Could not fill because there is not enough memory (RAM)." If you are using a 64-bit system, insufficient memory will not be a problem. CS5 is optimized for systems that use 64-bit addressing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the many new features and enhancements in CS5 will help you do more with your images to help you create great looking images in less time and with greater precision. There's no question in my mind that CS5 is well worth the upgrade.

Stunning Wildlife Photography, Undisciplined Storytelling

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:26:24 +0000

For someone with as much photographic talent as Andy Rouse, I was shocked by his lack of editing skills.

Concepts of Nature is an inspiration for those aspiring to wildlife photography. The photographs illustrate what can be achieved with skill, patience and an eye for the dramatic. Rouse gets close his subjects. Lions, elephants in Africa, penguins in Antarctica and birds in flight: the resulting shots reveal a passion for the light. His portraits create a sense of awe and wonder. They tell a story; they depict a scene.

Unfortunately the copy that accompanies the photographs lacks editing. Numerous spelling and grammatical errors detract from the book's impact. If I were rating the book on its verse alone, it would rate a "1" or a "2."

It is divided into three parts. First, "Visions," photographs, that Rouse believes feels are the landmarks of his career. Next, in "Expression," he illustrates the techniques that enable him to create themed portfolios devoted to a single species or ecosystem. Finally, in "Inspiration," he turns to the work of other wildlife, photographers who have inspired and influenced him.

If you aspire to capturing striking wildlife photographs, this is a book you have to view. Just don't plan to read it. The unedited copy fails to do justice to Andy Rouse's prodigious photographic eye.

Be a spy for Henry VIII!

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:42:39 +0000

“The Tudors” is a hidden object- adventure game based on the television drama of the same name. Although the environments and hidden objects are authentic to the sixteenth century (no hotdogs or computer mice) the human renditions are a bit ludicrous and are not authentic. Why is the red-haired Henry already becoming obese and lame from an ulcer in his leg portrayed by a handsome dark haired young man? Why is the exceptionally plain Jane Seymour rendered as a gorgeous babe with long blond hair? Thomas Cromwell with his piggy eyes and double chins has a complete metamorphosis, too. Ah well, I suppose most people would rather look at beauty rather than the beast, but my sensibilities are attacked. Henry just isn’t Henry with black hair and lean, sexy face and Jane is so far off base I put her in the category of a fairy princess.

You are the intrepid girl Elena Sedgrave who becomes ensnared in palace intrigues because of your insatiable appetite for adventure. Henry VIII has killed off Anne Boleyn and has married Jane Seymour. Elena saves the life of one of Henry’s courtiers so the king asks Elena to accompany her father William Sedgrave while he acts as ambassador to various courts in Europe including France and Italy. Elena is to go along as Henry’s personal spy, and is ordered to keep her eyes and ears open and uncover nefarious plots against England.

As King Henry's spy, you'll quickly become enmeshed in a tangled web of political intrigue, poking your nose into old clammy castles, heaving ships, beautifl gardens and even the Vatican. You exercise your most unmaidenly skills such as picking locks, constructing a ladder, and unraveling and deciphering cryptic letters while you navigate the treacherous waters of political intrigue, alliances, and scandals. This is a world of lies, murder, conspiracies and deceit (just like today).

The artwork in the game is top-notch, including both the backgrounds where the hidden objects are concealed and the characters. Although I do not approve of the game designers’ interpretation of the real life people as noted above, the graphics are beautiful. And prepare to really scrutinize the settings because the hidden objects are often minuscule, camouflaged in dark scenes lit only by candle light. The mini-puzzles are fun: you’ll be mixing potions (tricky and hard to figure out what you’re supposed to do) comparing scenes for differences (devilish, tiny differences) doing jigsaws, and in one environment swapping expensive items for cheaper ones, rather a neat wrinkle. The mini -games are all optional but you'll enjoy doing them even if potion-mixing isn't your bag, There are 18 chapters and this game takes a long time to play out.

The beautiful environments and music will help propel you into Henry’s world. Great for Tudor buffs if you don’t mind Henry’s metamorphesis into a dark handsome man and Jane’s amazing transformation into a femme fatal.

Adorama Step-Up Adapter Ring 72mm Lens to 77mm Filter Size Quick Tip by Beasimer

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:45:35 +0000

Step-up filters are a great money saving way to get more use from your lens filters.

How to "photoshop" photos with Photoshop - a useful guide, with a few minor problems

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Photoshop is an extremely versatile tool, that allows you to enhance the quality of images to show exactly what you want to show even where the original conditions of capture were imperfect. Refining images in this way is not "cheating" - it's more a matter of "finishing" or completing the image, refining them to the point where they better reflect the reality as the photographer envisioned it when it was shot. Sometimes, though, you want to do more than just enhance what's there, and Photoshop has gotten better and better at allowing you to create things that don't exist, or to combine things that were never combined in reality. There's a word for that. It's called "photoshopping." When we say an image has been "photoshopped" we mean that someone cheated. But that's not at all a bad thing. It's a great thing, and it's the ease with which Photoshop allows you to manipulate and invent with images that makes it an indispensable tool for designers and artists. The aim of this book is to show you how to take advantage of that tool, starting with the basics, but moving quickly into some very cool stuff.

Steve Caplin's "How to Cheat with Photoshop" is easy to read and easy to follow. Rather than get bogged down in specifics, and telling you exactly how to do a specific thing, he lists the steps for how to do a certain kind of thing, but then he gives a specific example that you can follow along with (using photographs included on the dvd that comes with the book, or your own photographs) to be sure you get the concept. For the most part this works great - even though for a couple of examples I wanted him to be a bit more specific, since it took me a moment to figure out how to do what he suggested, the process of figuring it out helped me to gain a better understanding of the principles. So this is a good teaching guide, and taught me several new things, even though I'm not new to Photoshop.

One nice feature of the book is that each section is clearly marked as to who can use it. There are chapters that apply principles possible with every version of Photoshop and others that make use of features specific to CS3, CS4 or CS5, for example. This makes the book usable for those who don't have the latest version, and in principle those with the latest version should be able to make use of every feature. In practice that's not quite right, though. Even where he adds in new features, he keeps old things intact and doesn't always explain that some of things he describes are obsolete or inaccurate for CS5. For example, where he gives instructions for how to use the "Revise Edge" feature of the selection tools, he illustrates these with the "Revise Edge" panel from CS4 even where it has been changed for CS5. Occasionally, the diagrams are just wrong (for example on p. 81 he shows the black slider moved for the underlying layer, but he says to move the white slider, and that's what works). Also, sometimes the shortcuts he identifies are no longer functioning in CS5.

Still, this is a very helpful guide to manipulating images in Photoshop and creating realistic photomontages. I haven't mastered all of its exercises, but expect to have it on my desk and it's a great reference guide for a wide range of the very cool things you can do with Photoshop. Unfortunately, it gives me the impression of having been hastily revised to reflect changes in CS5, without having been thoroughly checked to be sure that all sections are up to date and accurate. Still, most of the mistakes are minor, and on the whole I learned a lot from working through this book. It should be said that this is not really an introduction to Photoshop and presupposes that its readers have a basic familiarity with how it works (with layers and masks and adjustments, etc.).

Celebrate Earth Day everyday... by using Rechargeable Batteries!

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:51:28 +0000

As you may already know... another Earth Day is almost upon us. And while it's fun to celebrate it by having an outdoor BBQ, Sing Songs about Mother Earth, and eat lots of Organic Foods on Earth Day... It's even nicer to put things into practice and start living more 'green'. With this in mind, I decided to write a special review to remind everyone how easily they can start living in "greener pastures" :)

How? Well, you know all those "AA" batteries you use once and throw away? Well, there are amazing batteries out there now which last as long as normal Alkaline batteries you throw away... but you can recharge them and use them again... Up to a thousand times! Yeah, you heard right... it's one single battery you can use up to 1000 times. And how much will these miraculous batteries cost you? Well, how does $30 for: 8 "AAs", 2 "AAA", an included Battery Charger which charges 4 Batteries at a time, and adapters so that you can use your "AA" batteries in devices which use "C" and "D" batteries? If I've peaked your interest... Read On:

I've always been a fan of rechargeable batteries... every since I was a kid. It just seemed like a great idea which saves money, waste, and time. Old rechargeable battery technology suffered from a myriad of problems including the "memory effect", few recharge cycles, and fast battery depletion (even while not in use). The great thing is that all of these issues have since been addressed. I'm not saying that they're 100 percent fixed... but rather that they are no longer big issues. These new Eneloop batteries use "hybrid" rechargeable technology, which means that they will not drain like older rechargeable batteries do. The regular Nimh batteries drain quickly... even when they are just sitting around in a drawer. These Eneloop batteries have a very slow drain rate, so that even if they're sitting around within a whole year, they're still about 80% to 90% charged. Here are some pros and cons about this battery bundle:

Pros:
-Great Value for this amount of batteries, adapters, and charger.
-These batteries are among the best modern rechargeable batteries money can buy... quality wise.
-Charger takes AA and AAA batteries.

Cons:
-The charger will only charge batteries in pairs. Some chargers let you charge single individual batteries.

Conclusion:
This is a great kit to have for anybody who uses lots of batteries. The Battery Charger will charge any type of Nimh rechargeable battery , including batteries from other brands. Using rechargeable batteries is a great way to start "Going Green", and each battery can be recharged about a 1000 times. Just imagine how much less waste there would be if everyone used rechargeables instead of disposable one-time use batteries.

Note: Right now (as of April 2010) you can get this power pack at Amazon for only around $30 with free shipping. So, what are you waiting for? Oh, one more thing, these batteries work fantastic for high drain devices like digital cameras. Now, get moving!

photobucket Quick Tip by ariajuliet

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:31:02 +0000

Photobucket is beat.

Picasa Quick Tip by Sharrie

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:19:15 +0000

Picasa is great for storage & showcasing while Flickr has the advantage of an active community & interactions.

Flickr Quick Tip by mweber82

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:38:52 +0000

Flickr has been growing on me... as the web becomes decentralized I love this as my photo utility. Rocks Facebook anyday...

Some helpful tips, some pretty pictures -- but not really aimed at those who only have a compact camera

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:00:00 +0000

In the spirit of confession encouraged by the title of this book, allow me to make a confession of my own: I've never owned a DSLR. Given that I mostly only share images online, the ease of use and handiness (not to mention affordability) of my inexpensive compact has outweighed for me the flexibility and range of artistic control of an expensive DSLR. Still, I'd like the images I shoot with my compact digital camera to be as good as they can be. What I was hoping for with this book was a guide, starting with the basics, for how to make the most of an inexpensive setup. That's not really what this is, though.

"Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter" is not really aimed at those of us who only own an inexpensive compact, like the one depicted on the cover. Rather, it is aimed at those who, like the author, are used to shooting on DSLR's but like the convenience of shooting on occasion with something smaller, and want to be sure they get the best results when they do. While there are lots of camera-neutral bits of advice (some quite useful, others fairly obvious to anyone who's been shooting on and off for a while), some of the most helpful advice is aimed at those who own high-end compact cameras, cameras that can shoot in the RAW format (most of the photos in the book were shot on the Canon G10) and that have a number of other advanced features. As the author reminds us, several times, they don't call him "Rick 'Raw Rules' Sammon" for nothing. He likes it RAW, and that's great, but the problem is that only very high end compact cameras (unlike the one depicted on the cover of this book) shoot in the RAW format. Most, including every compact digital camera I've ever owned, shoot in the much more lossy JPEG format. The book also presumes access to photo-editing software, like Photoshop Elements (and he's probably right that Elements or something like it is pretty indispensable if you are serious about digital photography), and gives a fair bit of advice that is specific to a few other software programs he likes to use.

Still, while this is a bit of a grab bag, and a bit jumbled, I did find it to be full of useful pointers, and I learned several things from reading it. He suggests, for example, that sometimes getting the white balance wrong can make the picture right. On a sunny day, for example, you might set the white balance for "shade" and it will have a warmer look than otherwise. For those who do have Photoshop Elements, he gives a few helpful tips about the kinds of easy adjustments can improve a photo while maintaining its realism. None of this would be new to advanced users of Photoshop, but it is a useful reminder that amongst the wealth of tools available in Photoshop there are only a few that will be necessary most of the time. In fact, none of the advice given here is really all that novel, and most of it comes across as common sense, but the kind of common sense that comes from someone who lives and breathes his craft. That kind of common sense is worth something. Above all, the unifying message of the book is that you should always take the best possible picture, not by any means necessary but by whatever means are available, and I think that's a very good reminder, especially when the ease of use tends to push us in the other direction of just taking any old picture and focusing solely on content rather than composition and aesthetics. Reading this has made me pay more attention to how I shoot and not just what I shoot.

Highly readable, extremely useful - leads you through a series of projects that highlight the range of Photoshop possibilities

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I've read a few other Photoshop guides, but none are as useful as this one for introducing the wide range of possibilities for creative manipulation of photos. This doesn't really start at the beginning, with the most basics, but aims to give you a sense of what is possible in a very hands-on way. What you really need to get started with Photoshop Elements is not a list of the various things you can do with it but a clear sense of why you'd want to do them and how. In other words, you need to get your hands dirty, and this book shows you how.

What this book does is explain, step by step, a set of progressively more complicated projects, that each teach a few new skills and that each give a heightened appreciation for the creative power of this remarkable software package. I was sold after the first chapter, that introduced several ways to use the sophisticated selection tools in Photoshop. I'd used some of them, but never thought to combine them in the ways the chapter suggested. Other chapters show how to distort perception, to create seamless backgrounds using repetitive patterns, and to combine elements of various photographs to create fantastic images like the one on the cover. While some of the projects build on elements learned in the previous ones, many of them could be followed on their own, and each reads more or less like a "recipe" but with tips on how to vary the effect for different circumstances. The CD includes several useful goodies, including styles and shapes that can add to the functionality of Photoshop Elements.

In short: a practical and easy-to-follow and highly readable guide to making the most of Photoshop Elements and to creating some pretty astonishing images.

Note: while the book is aimed primarily at users of Photoshop Elements 8, most of the "recipes" are described in ways that are version-neutral and could be applied to Elements versions 3 through 8. The book is also designed to be as easy to follow for Mac users (like me) as for Windows users.

Nikon COOLPIX S570 Digital Camera Quick Tip by badbonz007

Sat, 3 Apr 2010 14:13:28 +0000

For the money this is excellent and even a child can point and shoot this camera.

Cool, $130 And Easy To Use. Basic Point And Shoot.

Sat, 3 Apr 2010 14:11:41 +0000

One of the main reasons that you may decide to purchase one of these cameras is for the compactness of the camera. We have a large D40x Nikon and you have a big bulky bag and two lenses to carry around with you at all times, not to think about also losing this it is very cumbersome to lug about on your vacation. My spouse is going on vacation in Italy for a week and I thought that it would be very nice to have a lightweight camera that could be shoved into a fanny pack instead packing it in her purse, which is also very cumbersome just like the camera bag. We did a lot of searching the internet and found for the money and the fact she is only going to use this for one week this would be the perfect size and weight for our purpose. We found this camera, the Nikon Coolpix S570 on a site called www.adorama.com for only $130 and free shipping. This only took one week to finally reach us, you will also have to remember to purchase a memory card, because this camera does not come with one. We priced this camera at Best Buy and found that we had gotten an exceptionally good deal. They wanted close to $200 for the same camera, and by getting this from www.adorama.com , we never had to even leave the house to get it.

Description
This camera does not come with very much, and that is what makes this the perfect camera. This only comes with a rechargeable Li-ion battery (EN-EL 10), a charger and a power cord, a small strap (which will probably never get used), plus a software disc and three user manuals. One in English and one in several other languages, plus a quick start manual. You will also get a USB sable and a audio video cable, to allow you to hook this up to your computer. I have found that even though this camera is very simple to learn and operate, it can be a little difficult to remember at times, so I would highly recommend keeping the quick start manual around for a while.

This camera is very compact and it has the most megapixels that I have ever used and that is 12.4, the size of the screen is a gargantuan 27", there is 5 times optical zoom and a 4 times digital zoom. With all of this in mind you would think that this would have to weigh a lot but it only weighs ¼ of a pound, and measures only 4" wide across x 0.8" thick x 2" in height from the top to the bottom. The battery is very small and even though it is an Li-Ion battery, you will only be able to take about 220 pictures until you need another charge, therefore I suggest that you purchase another battery for your trip. The lenses are not interchangeable because you cannot remove it and the 5 times optical zoom has a 35 mm zoom lens that can range from 28 to 140 mm and its focus range is from 17" to as far as the eye can see. The macro focus range starts at 1.2" all the way to infinity, and both of these can be done in the wide angle.

With this many megapixels you will have quite a few of different resolutions settings to choose from and they are; 640 x 480, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, 4000 x 3000, and 3968 x 2232. The ISO speeds can change from starting in the automatic position to the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200, all of which you will have to learn which one you will need for what. This cameras does not have a view finder but the LCD screen is very crystal clear as far as small screens go. The screen resolution is 230,000 pixels, and that is a heck of a lot of pixels. This also has a couple of different types memory cards that you can use and along with the built in one that this has, you will have to purchase an extra one so that you can take a lot of pictures instead of carrying a pc or laptop around with you while you are on vacation, and they are the SD card, and the SDHC card, You can purchase the largest GB that you can find, because they are fairly cheap right now. When these first came out they outrageously expensive but now you can find them at dirt cheap prices. The one thing that I should stress about these cards,( which I did not know until recently) is that they come in different classes and the higher the class the better it will get read by your device when trying to copy your pictures. So check out the little number that is in the little circle on the face of the memory card this will tell you what class that you are getting.

You can purchase this from Best Buy in black, but if you order on line you will be able to choose a different color. We chose pink and silver. There are eleven important things that are visible when you first see the camera, they are the on/off power button, the shutter release button, the zoom control, you will be able to choose the shooting mode that you want, play back button, the multi selector, the ok button, menu button, delete button, the battery charger and memory card slot cover, and of course the 2.7" monitor screen.

There is a lot more to this camera than what you will actually see when you pull it out of the box. The zoom control has several operations from wide, telephoto, thumbnail playback, playback zoom, and a help spot. There is also a self-timer lamp and an AF assist illuminator, a built in flash, a lens, and a built in microphone and speaker. Included in all of this, this camera has a pin and lens cover, a tripod socket, a battery and memory card chamber and slot cover.

On the monitor there are several functions that you should get acquainted with. All of these different modes will help you take better and clearer pictures once you learn to use them. The modes include regular shooting mode, macro mode, zoom indicator, AE/AF-L indicator, focus indicator, flash mode, battery level indicator, motion detection icon, electronic VR icon, date not set indicator, travel destination indicator. Other options that you will be able to take advantage of is the date imprint, the image mode, movie options, along with this you will be able to see the internal memory indicator, there is also a smile indicator, aperture, skin softening, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, exposure compensation value, a regular focus area and a priority face area focus, color options, white balance, self-timer, blink proof icon. All of this is on the screen to help you remember to look into the manual before you take your picture.

Experience
We have had this camera for several weeks and have take over 1000 different types of photos, this way when she is ready to go to Italy she will have no problems using this camera. Even though this is just a point and shoot camera, we have noticed that there is a lot more to this little package that meets the eye. Speaking of eyes, this also has a nice option that helps eliminate the dreaded red eye on all of your photos, this also has an image stabilization protection. But, if you are still really shaky while you are taking your photos, then I suggest that you purchase a small tripod to help you out.

We were amazed at how easy it was to use this camera and the clarity of the photos that we were taking. We were taking pictures of the outside, inside and even at night, they all turned out like a professional was taking them. We had went to a wedding and used this camera and some of them were better than the professional photographer pictures were. We set it for that personal touch and a soft touch background and they came out beautiful.

For the most part this was perfect, because we tried to emulate what it was going to be like while on vacation and basically it was just point and shoot photos. This was the easiest way to use this camera and a lot has to depend on how good of a printer that you are using while you are printing out your pictures. If you have only a small PC that will also slow down the process. But, if you have a sufficient PC and printer that will make all the difference in the world. When we took photos of flowers you could see the droplets of dew when we took a close up and when we used this camera at the top of the Sears tower or as it is known now as the Big willy (Willis Tower) we could see the cars on the street down below as clear as we were standing next to them.

Warranty
This camera comes with a one year warranty, but by the time that that runs out they will probably have a better model out there that we will purchase.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 130.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts

The BizCATS REVIEW: Go On a Photo PICNIK!

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:44:43 +0000

Here’s a tip that can help you spice up your website, your blog, or your marketing materials and might be a bit of fun at the same time. So let’s talk photography and specifically a pretty slick online product called PICNIK (www.picnik.com).

Photos can be a real asset to your website or social media marketing. They might be pictures of your company in action, your location, customers, or even your products. The more interesting and “real” they are the more they can engage viewers – and that’s the point of our marketing materials. The challenge however isn’t just taking photos, it’s doing all the adjustments to get them looking good. No matter how good your camera is – and mine are professional quality – photos still often need a tweak or two. Maybe cropping out a hand sticking into the picture or a bit of sharpening or some little adjustments to the exposure. Or maybe you want to add some text, or create a collage, or apply some special effects to make something dramatic. It hasn’t always been that easy to do and often required complex photo editing software that could be expensive. Unless you were really “into photography” it was probably more effort than you would really want to expend.

And that’s why I absolutely love PICNIK – a 100% free online photo editing service that is fast, elegant, drop dead easy, and give you just about every tool you’ll ever need to produce marketing photography. Online means you upload a photo into their editor, do your editing, and then save by downloading back to your computer. This whole process is fast, fast, fast – I was amazed! In the free version you don’t store anything on their site. In fact, you don’t even have to register to use it.

PICNIK gives you all the basics – a quick auto-fix, crop and resize, adjustments to brightness and contrast, etc., etc. Where they shine, however, is in the “creatives” where you can create everything from framed photos, to special effects, to collages, and greeting cards. So give it a try (and it’s also great for pictures of the kids!).

Bring a BizCATS Speaker to your Event at http://www.thebizcats.com

What is your favorite biz technology product?

What product would you like the BizCATS to review?

Tell us your experience with this product!

Canon PowerShot SD750 / IXUS 75 Digital Camera Quick Tip by Juhnay

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:14:21 +0000

My Canon and I have been together for 3+ years and we're still going strong!

OXX Digital Classic Quick Tip by lansingit

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:10:32 +0000

Great sound

Canon PowerShot SD750 / IXUS 75 Digital Camera Quick Tip by devora

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:22:00 +0000

Had this camera for 2 years now & still think it's amazing! Used it to take all the pics in this review: http://lunch.com/t/yms

A deep photography book for new photographers

Sun, 10 May 2009 12:00:00 +0000

This is a nice beginning photography book that covers many important aspects of photography. I was expecting it to be very "technical" because it was labeled a "reference" textbook, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was written more casually and went much "deeper" than many beginner photo books. I think this is because the author concentrates a lot on covering artistic concepts in addition to technical explanations. Coming from an Art background, I enjoyed reading this book because it illustrated many important concepts that aren't just important in photography but are important in learning how to "see" differently. Photography isn't just about capturing exactly what your eye sees or about what shutter speed or exposure setting to use in specific situations. It goes much deeper, and this book does a very nice job of explaining how different aspects such as light, focus, perspective, composition, visual weight can affect the outcome of the photo and it's impact on the viewer.

On the other end, it does get into the technical details that you'll need to understand how to manipulate settings in order for you to get the image you want. For example, how aperture settings can affect depth of field.

Although many of the photographs in this book are amazing, I felt that many others in the book were pretty ordinary. Also, I thought that the print quality of the photographs could have been better because the colors in many of them are a bit dull or muted. Other images seemed too dark.

Here are some quick pros and cons:

Pros:
-Great job at explaining complex and important art/photo concepts
-Many photos in the book showed camera settings used for the photo
-Easy to read and chapters are organized well
-Illustrates a great number of concepts in a small book
-Great variety of photos taken from all over the world

Cons:
-Some photos in this book are pretty ordinary.
-References Photoshop and post editing too much.
-Some photos have muted color... others are too dark.

Conclusion:
This is a great book for people who are just beginning to dig deeper than the "auto" mode on their cameras and want to start messing around with "manual" mode. It's also great for photographers who have not taken any formal art or photo classes because it covers important Art concepts that will help train people to "see" in ways they may not have "seen" before. As a beginning photo book, it's pretty deep but not overly complex. I would not hesitate to recommend it to any beginning photographer or student because it covers so many important things. However, I think that this book could be better if some of the photos in it were better examples and if the print and color quality of some of the photographs were better.

A VERY VALUABLE GUIDE WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 12:00:00 +0000

As an amateur photographer who specializes in flowering plants (and small critters), I tend to carry quite a few field guides with me on my very frequent wonderings with camera and dog. Newcomb's guide has been in the past, and continues to be one source I continually turn to when I come across a flowering plant giving me "name that plant" problems. The book is well designed, easy to use, has wonderful drawings and wonder descriptions. I personally feel the many black and white drawings add to the usefulness of the book as they are much more exact and detailed than many of the guides I use with actual color photographs. The book is compact and fits well into my field kit with the other guides I carry. I would hate to be without it. Highly recommend this one.