Monthly Archives: October 2009

Photoshop.com on iPhone

Posted on by

Adobe has released an iPhone app for Photoshop.com, their online editor. There are some cool things that you can do with the app, such as the sketch filter that you see on the left here.

There are also some other filters such as the soft vignette that look neat, but the rainbow filter that modifies all the colors on your image so that it looks like a rainbow is a little odd. I suppose my 5 year old would think it was pretty cool.

Anyway, it looks like a neat app. You can send your images to Photoshop.com, or save them back locally. The app creates a new image at the end of your camera roll, so your original picture is not changed. You can choose to take a picture right from the app too.

It is free, and looks like it is worth playing with a bit. Search the app store for Photoshop.com.

10 is 5$ Photography Class

Posted on by

TENI have had “10”, an e-book by David duChemin in my iPhone for a little while, and will read a chapter here and there when I have time. It really is worth giving the time to sit down and absorb it though.

One of the great things about this e-book is that instead of just giving a list of tips, he tells you why each one is important, and a bit about how to use it. At the end of each chapter is also a practical assignment you can do to drill each of these 10 ways to make your photography better into your photography “muscle memory”.

Read the text, look at the great photographs, complete the assignment, improve your craft. Not bad for 5$.

iPhone wont make or take calls

Posted on by

iPhonePicI am starting to get pretty annoyed with my iPhone. It all started after I did the carrier update to get the MMS capabilities. What happens, is that I lose the ability to send and receive calls and messages. I can still get email at least.

My wife tries to call me, and the phone goes right to voice mail. Then she emails me. If I am checking email, then I power down the phone, then power it up again. This works for awhile. If I leave it for a period of time, or charge it (that could be just time) it stops working.

The weirdest is when I try to call out. The phone gives the Calling… screen, but it never makes the call. Weird.

I have tried to reset the phone, by wiping it out from iTunes, and doing a reinstall. That didn’t seem to help.

This is not an isolated incident. I know two other people that have had the same problems. The fix? Get a new phone. I guess I need to make an appointment with the “Geniuses”.

UPDATE (10/08/09 9:00PM): I am installing the 3.1.2 iPhone update, and a “new carrier update”. That makes me nervous. We’ll see what happens.

the WAR of ART

Posted on by

cover_war_artI finished The War of Art (Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles) by Steven Pressfield a couple of days ago. I wish I could quote a few things, but I had to return it to the library. So this will be some thoughts from the book.

First of all, I don’t think I would have picked this book if it hadn’t been recommended to me by David duChemin. I should clarify that. First, I was certain that David had recommended it, but it was actual recommended by another of Davids blog readers on the previously linked post. David then commented that he was currently reading it. I then reserved it at the library, and a few months later, it was my turn. It is either popular, or someone had “lost” it for awhile.

So why wouldn’t I have picked this book? Well, I don’t really like “self help” type books, and I would have pegged it as one of those. Even when I got the book and glanced over it, I thought “oh crap”, not one of those. In the end, I was wrong to be wary of the book. First, it doesn’t seem so “self help” like. To me a self help¬† book would be about looking at the past, or even looking at what you will do in the future. This book is all about the present. The biggest take away I got from this book is asking myself the question “What am I doing right now that keeps me from my art?” Substitute for art: photography and goals.

I don’t have the page right now, but there was somewhere towards the end of the book where it hit me: I had let resistance overtake me. It took me quite awhile into the book before I finally figured it out. I remember commenting on blogs about not understanding how people could be worried about how their photographs were perceived, or how they could be so critical about themselves and their work, and how they could get into a creative funk.

That was before I decided that I was a photographer. Now I wanted to make money at this. Now I have a website. Now I wanted everyone to like my pictures, and feared that no one would. Now I have doubts. It was while reading some of the later parts about the difference between amateurs and professionals that it hit me. I am not doing this full time yet, but I was trying to make money at it, and much of the stuff he wrote about resistance felt true. I was surprised wen I realized it, both because I hadn’t thought that resistance was something that applied to me, and also because I had got something out of a “self help” book.

Other than examining your battle with resistance, there are many quotes in here that relate to photographers. Lots of material that can provide you with at least one take away. For such a short book, it is a no brainer to recommend.

I have my Camera Manual on my hip.

Posted on by
d90

D90 Manual

I am now using the iPhone app Good Reader. Scott Kelby had posted about this in September, but I hadn’t got around to looking at it until now. This app is a great way to view and manage pdf files. It was really easy to get the pdf files onto my iPhone. You can point to a web url, and it will download as I did with one of the files, or you can set up a file server with one button press on the phone. This is really easy. All you have to do on your computer is connect to the displayed IP address in the finder with the Go/Connect to server… menu option. I then dragged the other items to the finder window, and they transfered over. Very simple. It works well. This is what I have on my iPhone so far.

  1. My Nikon D90 camera manual
  2. My SB-800 camera manual
  3. My SB-900 camera manual
  4. 10 By David duChemin (eBook)
  5. 10 More by David duChemin (eBook)
  6. DLWS participant packet

It works pretty well. You can easily read, zoom, change pages, even navigate directly to a page. I like it. I haven’t used the manuals yet, but I like the idea of having them sitting on my hip within reach.

New Gear for DLWS

Posted on by

dlwslogoIn two weeks I will be at the DLWS in Traverse City Michigan. I am pretty psyched. I picked the location because it was the only event near my birthday they had, and I picked DLWS when I found that two photographers that I read a lot about, Moose Peterson, and Joe McNally would be there.

So, there were a couple of things that I wanted to get. I have been going back and forth on what to do with my Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. In fact, I blogged about that here. I decided that for the trip, I was going to get the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8. Part of my hesitation is when I might move up to full frame, would I still want this lens? Well, I figure that I will keep the D90 as a backup, so I will either need it as a lens for the D90, or I can sell it for not that much less than I paid for it. Now that I have a paying job again, it seemed like a good time to get it.

This lens, and the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 that I have, both take 77mm filters, so I got a Tiffen polarizer for them (was going to get the Nikon, but the store didn’t carry it), and a Lee 4×6 .9 graduated soft ND that Moose claims to hand hold. I still don’t get that. We go to the trouble of putting the camera on a tripod, using a cable release, and then hold a filter up to the lens? I’ll have to ask him about that.

Last item was the MB-D80 battery grip. I have wanted this for quite awhile for taking portraits when hand holding. Not sure if I really need it now for the trip, but I figured I would get it.

I ended up at West Photo for this stuff. I had intended to order from B&H, because they had the lens for a fair bit less. The other stuff seems comparable, but the Nikon stuff seems to go for less in New York. Well, as luck would have it, both B&H and Adorama are closed for Succoth for another week. I was nervous that even with paying for two day shipping that by the time they open, and get to my order, there might not be enough time to get it to me.

Anyway, I will probably have more on the gear as I use it. Anyone want a very good condition Tamron 17-50 f/2.8?

Bike Polo

Posted on by

Bike Polo 

At McCrea park were my daughter plays soccer, they have paved the bottom of a hockey rink for roller hockey. But, they let some bike polo people use it too, which is nice. These guys are pretty cool, and it is an interresting sport to take pictures of. I was trying to take some panning shots to show some movement, but they change speed so much, it is difficult to capture a smooth pan.

Click on the picture to follow to flickr where I have the individual pictures up too.

I had the image above printed in 8×10 by WHCC on metalic paper. Wow, very cool. I had copies made to bring down to give to some of the riders. Hope they like the idea.