Category: Announcements

A marriage made in Heaven – FTP and Raw

JasonLeave a comment

Yes, that’s right, I am taking a pretty drastic departure from the alliterative titles for posts, but today the two topical subjects are so widely divergent, the title seemed rather amusing. As most of my readership knows, I have been working for some time no on a variety of articles discussing how to create and publish your photos in an online web gallery. For those of you that missed the first few articles, check out the first two articles here and here. Well, today is the unveiling of the 3rd chapter – FTP software. I give a short comparative explanation of a few interface options for both Mac and Windows. That article will be downloadable at the end of the post.

For the other half of the post today, I’d actually like to give some kudos to Scott Kelby over on his blog Photoshop Insider, where he gives an excellent summary of the differences between how Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) functions in Photoshop versus Bridge and versus Lightroom. I know quite a few people (myself included at least initially when LR first came out) had some trouble grasping the differences between each of these uses, and Scott really gives an good post on clarifying this. Plus, it’s Scott Kelby, so there’s always some humor thrown in for good measure! Check it out when you have a minute.

We’re probably not going to get the needed count of 100 votes in the poll for this cycle, but if you haven’t yet, register your category today (see right hand panel for options). I’ll hopefully have a more thought-provoking poll available in May. I’m sure there’s more news to report, but what with getting the photo site (www.jasons-photography.com) more inline and presentable, as well as getting some actual business cards made up and starting to advertise and promote things, I’ve not read much on the web lately. For a good web resource on many of the latest happenings, stop over at Jason D. Moore’s site. He gives an excellent wrap-up every Monday, and has links to a lot of the more popular blogs and photo outlets on the net. He’s linked on the side panel too as I am a member of his blogroll (I actually had the honor of helping out and sitting in on a weekly P&P a week or so ago… *waves to Jason in case he’s reading*…)

Finally today, an amusing shot of the dog from messing around with ambient light earlier today on our afternoon walk (and I am starting to include larger sized images to share so if you click on the pic, be prepared for a pretty large image (1023×646):

maggie.jpg

So, with an article, a web link and a potd, I bid all the reading and viewing audience a good evening and wish you happy shooting tomorrow. Remember to watch those apertures! 😉

Additions to the TOP Test!

Jason2 Comments

It’s kind of a no blog Wednesday for me here at CB, but I’ve made a few additions to the TOP Test today!  Now at 23 questions, it requires more right answers to get a 90% or better.  Do you remember your score from last time?  Stop in again and see if you can improve!  Do you remember the questions from last time?  See if you can tell which ones are new!  Share your thoughts, scores, and ideas for new questions here in the comments or via email.

Feel free to add the page to your browsers or link to your blog:  http://toptest.canonblogger.com

Some more are on the way, and I’ve also got another article on the Web Gallery setup that may be of interest that I’ll put out tomorrow:  FTP software.  Last but not least, don’t forget the poll going on how many cameras you own featured here on the blog.  It ends on the 30th, so as they say in politics:  Let your voice be heard!  Until tomorrow then, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

No blog Thursday – smelling the flowers (and shooting the moon!)

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Sorry all – after my Jalbum tutorial hit on Wednesday, I spent the better part of my afternoon and evening talking with some of their folks – and they want me to do a few more videos for them. I excitedly started talking logistics, and details before putting together a few short versions for use on the website. At 11:30, I realized – egad – I’ve not done my Thursday Thoughts yet!

So…rather than try to cobble something together at the last minute, I’ll make this a no blog Thursday, and suggest that if you are still up, go outside and look at that moon! Man it’s gorgeous!

moon.jpg

Another weekend shot to….heck

Jason2 Comments

First it’s the teeth, then it’s the toes – anyway, another weekend of hopefully getting out and shooting for a change of pace (I really do prefer to be out taking pictures, rather than in PS or LR editing them, or even be inside on a computer, but being in the IT industry as a profession, well, that’s the fallout…anyway I digress).  As it is, I am stuck inside again, so after a day of actually walking around on my feet, I am trying to post with one leg sticking out to the side (left) and leaning back to write.  Needless to say, it’ll be a short post.  As a kind of wrap-up of the various projects I have in the works, here’s a week in review:

  1. Work is almost finished on the web gallery articles.  I have one more video tutorial to record on JAlbum, and two articles to share with the readership.
  2. My magazine cutting frenzy continues as I shred through stacks of almost two years of photo magazines.  The binder is getting thicker and the magazine stack is getting smaller!
  3. I’ve launched a beta for a new idea on a sub-domain for Canon Blogger, The Online Photograph Test (or TOP Test), which has already seen a few corrections and improvements, so thanks to those that wrote in and emailed…keep ’em comin’!

In other news around the photo world:

  1. Adobe launched their new “TV” service…it’s really a flash-based online multimedia portal to all types of content, naturally with much of it focusing on Adobe products.  Seems like a cool enough idea, and probably intended to compete with YouTube, but on with a more professional and polished approach.  We’ll see if it catches on – my guess is yes with the poster boys talking it up all over the web.
  2. Adobe makes the weekly news twice as they re-released Camera Raw 4.4 that were previously pulled.pulled, have since been re-released by Adobe.   This link is for the Windows version of CS3, LR and Mac versions are also available from the download site – just use Google as needed to find the version you are looking for.
  3. In case you missed it earlier this week, Donny did his last episode (my guess is “of the season” in another hysterical segment of You Suck at Photoshop -careful with kids around…’nuff said.  Well, it ‘s been followed up by a “honorarium” of sorts where you can vote for the DIY’er in both Photoshop and comedy categories.  Kinda funny, but not the same as Donny – so go watcfh, then vote to bring Donny out of hiding!
  4. What The Duck makes it’s Friday appearance below, which means my leg is getting numb and the hour is getting late, so it’s time to bid a hasty adieu!  Good night, have a great weekend, happy shooting, and watch those apertures!

What The Duck - Friday, April 11th

How well do you score?

Jason2 Comments

First off, let me state that I am aware I missed a post and did not really give much advance warning.  Now that it’s done, and at least ready to see a beta response, I guess I can announce it here.  Well, before I make any announcements, let me back up a little bit.  Since inception about 6 months ago, I have endeavored to put forth meaningful and thoughtful comments and ideas on this blog – mostly about photography.  Sometimes I have presented things from as professional a perspective as I can muster, and at other times, I have been admittedly personal in my expressions.  Either way, it’s probably fair to say that I have been putting a lot of time, thought, and energies into posting articles, content, and interesting materials for all to enjoy.  This got me thinking about the constantly changing nature of blogs.  Something new each and every day – the time and energies to putting new and fresh content out on such a regular basis can be overwhelming, to say the least.

So, with that little nugget, I was thinking – what if I were to put together something more constant, but still with the ability to change and improve?  Not articles mind you (and my set of web gallery articles is still progressing – almost there, I promise!)…but an online, interactive approach to sharing and offering resources to help people learn more about photography.  Now that would be cool, right?  Well, here it is!  It’s the brand, new, just been born, never-been seen before:

The Online Photography Test

That’s right – I’ve been putting some time into setting up a site that can give people a place to go and see how they are doing with their photography.  Right now, it’s in a beta form, with only 20 questions, but I am hoping to add more with time, and also to add various types of tests.  Eventually, I see the site as having a set of metrics where people can go to see where they’ve improved, what they need to work on, and where they are pretty solid in their knowledge base.  Naturally I am starting with the basics and intermediate material here, with more advanced stuff to come later.  There will hopefully also be a comment section eventually, where people can submit ideas for new questions, and discuss the material or see some dialog there within the photographic community.  That clearly is “just a dream” right now, but should be fairly easy to implement if there is sufficient interest.

So, without further ado:  stop over at the beta test site and take what I am affectionately calling the OPT Test.  Take the test and see how you score!  Did you do well?  Any material you would like to see added?  Dropped?  Changed?  What do you think of the wording and format?  Since comments aren’t enabled there – please come on back here to CB and share your thoughts on the newest and latest addition to the CB set of resources.  I’ll put forwarding on at the final site once things are more cleaned up and there are various versions for people to explore.  So, take the test, and see how well you score!  Happy shooting and see you back here again tomorrow (watch those apertures!

Monday Madness: Some news and Making Money ideas for Small Timers

Jason1 Comment

Hello again all, and first off, let me apologize for not making my typical Friday appearance, some stuff came up here that called me away from the blog on short notice. I’m back today though, and I’ll give a Friday Funny at the end, courtesy of WTD, but for the time being, I have a few exciting things to share:

  1. I am almost done with my photo gallery articles! – I will likely have another podcast or two on using other apps like Jalbum, but would like to finish out the written version first before devoting time to that. More to come this week on that subject.
  2. As my photo friends return from PSW chock full of their own tips and excitement at the show, I saw two of them throw a few trackback links to some stuff from here at CB, so thanks and shout outs to Mark and Jason!
  3. As if I don’t have enough things to do on my plate, I also started yet another project that I had been meaning to pick up. I am ditching all my photo magazines! I have been a regular subscriber to Popular Photography, Shutterbug, Rangefinder, PC Photo, and Photoshop Insider for some time now, and they are now all going in the garbage can. Read on for more info on that!

Continue reading “Monday Madness: Some news and Making Money ideas for Small Timers” →

Lightroom 2.0 Beta – First look at the dual monitor! (A preview video)

Jason4 Comments

lrsplash.jpg

Just before I hit the sack last night, I saw that Adobe went and released Lightroom 2.0 in its beta form. I’ve already downloaded it and checked out some of the key changes. Until this release, I had used a trial version on my one desktop, and decided I’d tr it for 30 more days just a week or so ago on this main one. Well, right after recording a tutorial on creating web galleries in LR 1.x Adobe goes and does this! I shoulda known better.

The NAPP staff was clearly in on the development as they’ve got a page already set up with a first look on a lot of the key items. Great info and the features are definitely the ones I’d been waiting for – guess it’s time to buy! In my earnest to see everything I noticed though, that Matt K. does not show the dual monitor display on his first look. Was rather disappointed, so….in the interests of showing to others what I just saw, I did a little brief first look of my own. The resolution is super huge (1024×768), and it does look a little “off”. The reason here is because my one monitor is a 19″ and my other one is a 15″. So, on Windows it looks a little funny. But, it does get the gist across for those interested in seeing what’s there for the latest version. Check it out in the Quicktime download attached to this post.

As for the nuts and bolts of changes, I’ll leave those details to the pros over at NAPP and other blogging venues. Some of the more salient and interesting ones I saw today are here:

Only a few wishes…I didn’t immediately see any support for tethered shooting…but I guess that’s could go on a wish request since it’s still in beta. Also, it looks like the second monitor support means just 5 view options: loupe/grid/live loupe/locked loupe/compare/ and survey. I was hoping the 2nd monitor would be customizable with the LR panels (like Photoshop), but I’ve not figured out how to do that yet. If anyone knows whether that is something I am missing, or if it’s not been added…let me know.

Anyway, that’s the big news today – LR 2.0 beta was publicly released during the keynote at Photoshop World! With Photoshop Express, and tons of other R&D stuff coming out of Adobe – it’s a good time to be a fan! SO, without further ado, here’s my first look at LR 2.0 dual monitor setup options! Quicktime only version today (renders faster than the flash version and has wider viewing from those that visit the blog).

Creating Web Galleries using Lightroom

Jason2 Comments

As Photoshop World is starting tomorrow, I imagine most are watching the pros blogs to see what news, events, and info is forthcoming from that semi-annual event. Something tells me I will be ponying up the $500 to go to the September one in Vegas. (Benefits of NAPP membership notwithstanding…) In looking at the classes that they are offering for this Spring I guess two things caught me as surprising – first that there are so MANY classes to choose from. In a way a lot of options is a good thing, but it also has downsides. The upside is there are lots of choices. The downside is that sometimes the subject matter is so compartmentalized, you really have to pick a path and stick with it. In other words, if you pick one subject, you are also conversely choosing not to go to other subject matter. Case in point, I would like to have seen Painting With Photoshop by Bert Monroy on day one, but that conflicted with the Top 10 Photoshop Techniques by Matt K. – and since very few classes are repeated, there’s no chance to catch the other class later during the event.

In light of that – one small suggestion for future shows (like anyone is even listening to me)… offer fewer classes but repeat them more – that way you give everyone a chance to see everything. I realize it sounds kinda cheap, but for the price tag of entry, I really would rather get to learn from everyone rather than 3 or 4 instructors only.

The other thing that surprised me is that the head honcho himself, Scott Kelby, is teaching very little this go around. One of the things that has made Scott so endearing to so many is his supremely effective teaching style. yet for this Spring ’08 show, he’s only teaching three classes (and one of them is basically his 7-point system which can be gotten from Amazon for a mere fraction of the cost for Photoshop World entry. I’d rather spend my time learning stuff I can’t get from a book. As kind of the “front man” for NAPP, Photoshop World, and leading pitchman for Adobe products, it would have been nicer to see more classes with him up front. Maybe that will change for Fall ’08.

Although I should also note that Scott just busted up his leg the other day, so is heading out on crutches, and that may have mandated some scheduling changes. He is also delivering the keynote speech, which I am sure took a great deal of time to prepare, so there are possible mitigating circumstances involved with his decreased participation in the instruction. Since I hopefully will have saved enough to go to the Fall ’08 one in Vegas, I’ll look forward to seeing if he’s doing more instruction.

In other, more directly related news to Canon Blogger, I’ve finished the tutorial for this week a little early, so will post it here now. Last week I went over some of the basics of how to create a web gallery using teh automated feature of Photoshop CS3. This week, I look at another product in the Adobe family – Lightroom. Setup and generation is pretty quick and easy, just a couple pointers on what to avoid and precautions to take in putting everything together, from both the perspective of the photographer and the viewer. A little shorter than last weeks tutorial, but still hopefully useful. The flash version is linked, and the Quicktime version is attached for those tuning in via feeds, iTunes, and with iPods.

Web Galleries II (Lightroom)

Happy shooting and watch those apertures! For those going to Photoshop World, have a blast!

Here we go again…another round of web galleries!

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It’s Monday again, and I’ve been working on the first round of revisions to my set of articles on creating a web gallery. As the age old saying goes, if you really wanna learn the nitty gritty of how to do something – try teaching it! To take that to the next level, try teaching it without an audience!

After sharing my first rough draft of the Introductiion and Chapter 1, I saw some areas where improvement was (and possibly is still needed.) I tapped away at that over the weekend, since the weather turned out to be such a downer (cloudy with a chance of rain and just blustery and cold – bleah!). So, no shots to share today, instead it’s a revision of the Chapter 1 for the new set of articles. Also, I am pleased to say that Tuesday’s tutorial is finished and should be prepped for early release, so it should be available after work today. In the meantime, here’s the edited Chapter 1. Feel free to share your thoughts, feedback and discussion in the comments section. Until this afternoon then, hope all your snaps are good ones! Happy shooting and watch those apertures!

Bright and Early Tuesday News for Canon Blogger

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Changes are underway here at Canon Blogger.  When traffic started to ramp up a bit after getting a mention on a couple of other popular blogs like Photoshop Insider, The Digital Photography Show, and Tips from The Top Floor, someone mentioned to me that I really should be monetizing the site.

Monetizing the site?  What the heck is that?  They told me about banner ads, Pay-per-clicks, and referral profit sharing through companies like Google, Amazon, and even B&H.  I love these companies!  So, after looking into the programs, thought I’d give it a go.

Well, after a month or so of banner ads, text-link ads, and not-so-sublte hints about their presence, last night I made my Monday post and in previewing it was finding it difficult to find the content through all the ads.

I don’t know about others, but I have something of an automatic filter – when I see ads, I just tune them out.  If I come across a site where the content is hard to find through the ads – I just tune the site out.  I could not, in good conscience, expect any readers I may have to go through what I hate to deal with myself when reading through online photography material and content.  So, the ads are all but gone.  With the exception of a footer ad that will simply change from its current layout to one that shows the company logos for products that I enjoy, they will not come back.

This is not to say that I will not refer people to companies that I purchase and find good deals from – on the contrary, B&H, Amazon, and Google are still excellent companies – it was CB that was not so great in its implementation of “ad-supported” content.  I promise, that will never happen again.