I got a great question via email while I was en route home tonight about the pending photo shoot in RMNP tomorrow, asking “What and how do you pack for such environments?” Great question and since I was packing tonight anyway, I figured this would be a good opportunity to put a little video together to share with the viewers and readers exactly what I pack for this type of shoot! So, here’s a bonus post for Friday – what I pack for a cold weather shoot:
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I’d been waiting for the time to put together all the videos, audio, and pictures for this review for a while and I’ve finally caught up on other projects so am getting this out for the listening and reading audiences to enjoy! For those that subscribe and read via RSS, sorry because this is a video-heavy post and you’re just going to have to visit the blog to get the content today! Trust me though, it’s worth it as I take a look at how the Drobo performs in a real world environment with hot swapping drives, and the perils and pitfalls that surround storage area networks…
Enjoy!
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You know these things, right? The hourglass in Windows, the spinning color wheel on the Mac – all signs that your computer is doing important stuff, right? Well, it happened to me last night in the middle of, well….nothing really, I was just surfing the web, reading some of my daily hits. Continue reading “Please stand by…optimizing”
As the popularity of this theme continues to grow, I am really having more fun culling through my own archives, and have several ideas for actually getting out and shooting even more “themed” sets. However, today, I present to you (courtesy of my wife, who astutely remembered that I shoot a lot of…):
Bridges
In the most recent podcast Erik and I talked about several upcoming trade shows, including PMA, WPPI, PSW, and GPP to name just a few. Lots of acronyms though and it can leave many questions open about which ones to attend. While we tried to cover the nuts and bolts of each, one thing was not really discussed to a great degree, and I thought I would share my own thoughts on the future of trade shows here today. To do that though, there are two key news nuggets that tie into today’s post to kind of set the stage:
This may be the tip of an iceberg or a coincidence, but my guess is that it is a hint of things to come. With technology changing more quicky than many can even keep up, the trade shows of yesterday are not going to be the trade shows of the future. I hate to sound like an old fogey, but back in the day, trade shows were the platform that vendors used to announce new products that spent years in R&D. Not anymore, as the window for R&D has dropped significantly, and tailoring your development to an annual trade show could lead you down many dangerous routes as a vendor…
So why attend trade shows? I don’t think they will last much longer as venues to “pimp new products”. Sure there will always be secondary and tertiary players that introduce new gear, but I think the trade show will turn more toward a networking show where professionals can network with one another and with possible vendors. From a personal perspective, I’ve already talked to several contest sponsors from previous contests that have asked if I will be attending show X or show Y so we can talk about new sponsorships.
The face time and interaction between the working folks and the vendors is what gets deals done. Vendors get evangelists that talk up their products and pros get gear and software deals at pretty good discounts (and sometimes free). It’s a win-win situation for both, and the larger community can also put a personal spin on the gear they want and/or like. It also comes down to the 6 degrees of separation mentality that people associate themselves with. They associate with another photographer or a professional who uses a certain kind of gear, and they see the results of that, and it’s only natural to think that the gear may have something to do with it (and sometimes it does…). Here’s a few good examples of the line of thinking:
You get the idea…Scott Kelby is a pretty big name, and while we’re not as “well-known” as Scott, we do have an established set of followers or regulars that read our material. Photo walk leaders also carry weight in their messages too, and Alex is no exception. He is a great photographer, a super friend, and when he recommends a product, you can bet I will listen to what he has to say.!
So, I think the networking and social connection aspect of trade shows will really be the impetus for the future. It always has been to a certain degree, but not nearly so much as I think it will in the future. That’s just my two ¢ though, and you know what they say about opinions – they’re like…..haircuts (everyone has one).
Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on the next phase for trade shows? Will more big names bow out? Or is it just the economy and as soon as we’re back on solid ground they will come back into the mix? Having not attended any, I gotta say I am kind of guessing from the outside looking in, so if anyone has attended trade shows themselves, feel free to chime in here.
Which ones have you attended? What did you gain or get from the show? Positive experience or worst thing ever? Sound off in the comments. In the meantime though, there’s only a few days left in the Flickr contest for February, and the theme is Height!
Hmmm….seems I have a new series theme going on here – people keep asking when the next series will be posted and are also asking me for specific series sets of photos. I am not sure I have the library of images to accommodate everything, but that just gives me motivation for subject matter whenever I go out shooting again! So, if you have a series that you’d like to see from me – suggest it in the comments or via email! For the time being, here’s another popular set from the library of yours truly:
Rocks
There’s the latest “set” for everyone’s viewing enjoyment. Feel free to leave feedback in the comments with your thoughts as we are always learning from one another! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
So, the weekend was spent on lots of photography stuff – we had the February edition of our Creativty Workshop Series here with the Denver Photo Meetup group and that was a lot of fun. The theme for this outing was contrast, and the group came up with a lot of great examples. For a peek at some of the member shots, be sure to stop over there and look at the photo gallery: Denver Photowalk Creativity Workshop Series Continue reading “Traveling and Photography – Episode #40”
Many times I have been asked what kinds of software I use to do various things for the blog, especially things like videos, screen captures, audio recording, and all that sort of stuff. One thing that I’ve never really talked about is screen captures…not the videos but actual still shots of things as seen directly on my screen. There are many programs available to do this, some paid for, and some open-sourced, with some being Mac or Windows specific, and a few scattering that cross both platforms.
Well, today, I am going to give a little nod to a Windows-only program, called Printkey. Specifically titled PrintKey2000, and under specific note that this is a freeware program (meaning it is not supported – to use at your own risk.) While I have never had problems with it, the mentality of “let the buyer beware” should always be a consideration when downloading applications, especially freeware.
Those in Apple-land know that there are keyboard shortcuts to do a screen capture of either your entire viewing area, or a specific window, and these can either be copied to the clipboard memory for inserting in an application like Photoshop, or saved outright to your desktop. While in Windows you can always use the Printscreen and ALT+Printscreen to copy either a full screen or active window to your clipboard, the ability to save directly to your desktop does not exist natively. Instead, you have to capture the screen to memory, paste into an image editor, and save out as a JPG if you want to use it. What PrintKey does is fill that void of directly saving to the desktop. This is especially handy if capturing things for posting in a blog, in creating documentation, and other useful learning resource outlets.
To use Printkey, simply download the free application from here, run the executable, and let the program start in your system tray. The entire packaged zip file is half a megabyte, so the footprint is super for those that are space conscious. Here’s a capture of the software itself in action (don’t ask me how I got it – that took a few minutes to figure out! LOL):
While there are many features wrapped up in this handy little application, the ones I use most often are the Save, Rectangle, Print, and then the dialog screen at the bottom of the screen (click the image above to see a larger view). These should be pretty straightforward to those who are familiar with the concepts, but here we go regardless:
The last one is the bottm details area…I am talking about this little section here:
It’s very handy because it will tell you the dimensions of the image, how large the file is in terms of storage space on your computer, and how much free memory is left out of the total memory. While some many not need all this info, the geek in me likes to have this!
So, there you have it, Printkey2000 in action. I feel that I should also mention another really good counterpart and that is the program, SnagIt from the folks over at TechSmith. With that handy application, you can not only capture images on both Windows and Mac, but you can edit them on the fly, including inserting text, arrows to call out an area, and other fun stuff. Alas, it’s not free though – 30 day trial is allowed before you gotta cough up the $50! (Which for me is not worth it for something like this. I have some friends that use other applications too, especially for video screen captures on both Mac and Windows platforms which include names like IShowU, Camtasia, and much more. Here though, was just a little scoop on a little known application for the Windows crowd out there.
Got your own favorite little unknown program? Have you used PrintKey? Like it, love it or hate it? Sound off in the comments as new little handy utilities are always welcome. Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow! 🙂
One last thing all – don’t forget the Height themed contest for the month of February – get your photos in while the gettin’ is good! Deadline is a week from Friday!
I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to talk about my Rapid R Strap. This is a very cool camera strap developed by the folks over at Black Rapid. I had been wanting one for a while, and made it known to everyone prior to the holidays over a year ago (think pre-Christmas 2008). Thankfully, my wife saw the writing on the wall, and I ended up with one on Christmas Day!
So, let me tell you what makes this camera strap unique. First off, it’s unique design has a built in “stop” so that you just let your camera slide down to that point and it just hangs there, conveniently out of the way, but immediately accessible when you want to bring it up for capturing a shot. This strap is the perfect accessory for going on photo walks whether in an urban environment, wildlife, or other setting. The fact that your camera is hanging out of the way makes it much easier to do things like climb rock walls, interact with others (getting signed model releases, passing out business cards, etc.), or anything else that you may need both your hands for.
Another nice feature set on this is that the front of the strap has a Velcro section where you can throw a cell phone in (probably not an iPhone though), and a zipper section where you can store things like spare memory cards, business cards, and other accessory items (I was able to fit a spare battery in there…)
There was an awkward adjustment for just a little bit, getting used to a camera not only dangling from this strap, but also dangling upsidedown! It was a very short adjustment though, and I quickly adapted to the nature of how it works. What was super cool for my setup is that I was able to utilize my quick release place as the “hook” for the clip, so if I wanted to quickly go from shooting on the go, to setting it in a tripod, it was simply a matter of releasing the clip, mounting in the tripod and lining up the shot.
These straps come in a variety of sizes, with one even offering dual straps for a two-camera setup (I know a few guys that do this, with one body holding a long lens and the other holding a wide angle…ready for anything!). The size I ended up getting was the RS-5 (medium), and it fit my 6’1″ just about perfectly. Choose the option that works best for your frame and gear setup, but this is definitely a purchase worth getting, especially if you go on a lot of photo walks.
Got any of your own gear predilections or preferences? Want me to review something you’ve not seen here yet? Do you own a Rapid R Strap? Like it, love it or hate it? Sound off with your own thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, keep on shooting as we have another contest underway for a free 16×20 canvas print of any picture you have in your gallery from the talented Rich Charpentier! Check out his printing services and you’ll be glad you did! The contest page on Flickr is here, and is also linked in the content menus at the top of every page (the theme this month is Height). Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
Yes, that’s right, I am looking at the T2i, but like everyone else, my look is virtual rather than real, so for those expecting a hands-on review, you’ll have to wait until it ships. For what it’s worth though, here’s some initial thoughts on looking through the specs that Canon released. First off, their PR description from the landing page on their website: Continue reading “The Canon Rebel T2i – A First Look”
