Thursday, May 31, 2007

Bill & Steve on D5

Interesting Interview... Wish I was there ! For the videos, go to http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/d5-gates-jobs-interview/

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

On Shutters Inc. Podcast again...

Wohoo, got mentioned on Shelton's Podcast (again) for this picture of Melissa Bastin. If you want to hear it, download Episode 75 from http://www.audio2u.com/shuttersinc.htm, he has a little joke about "Gungadoo" at around 00:16:40. Thanks Mate !

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

New Nikon D3x

Now, there's a camera to write home about: 19 MegaPixel, Full Frame, ISO range 50 - 3,200 (see http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3x.htm)

Sunday, May 27, 2007

The Seven Levels of Photographers

Found this article funny: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/7.htm
  • Artist
  • Whore
  • Amateur
  • Snapshooter
  • Professional
  • Rich Amateur
  • Equipment Measurbator

Friday, May 25, 2007

Strawberry picking...

...at a farm very close to our home.
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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Details of the Manfrotto 190 Limited Edition

Ok, my (initial) studio gear is complete now with the Manfrotto 190 ProB tripod. (and not just any Manfrotto; as a supporter of Italian Soccer, I had to get the limited edition (413 of 2006 that Manfrotto made) commemorating the Italian victory of the Soccer World Cup in 2006... It won't take better pictures than a standard Manfrotto 190 Pro but it will ignite conversations. Great Birthday Gift, thank you all who contributed !
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turning 35... @ Work

Monday, May 21, 2007

Johannie in the studio

Studio shot with Film Emulsion (using Onone's FramePro, in Photoshop CS3)

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Daryl's new Photo Studio !

Finally, I've got a 3-spot lighting system + a proper backdrop to call myself a Studio. I can now kick-back and relax (not). The only other thing that I need to get for a wedding shoot (coming up in a month) is a Manfrotto 190 Pro (I'd be happy with the 055 as well) tripod.
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my Studio Lighing equipment...

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Landscape --> Portrait $£

I've been more of a landscape photographer, but the money is in Portraits... so, here's one from my new studio setup (3-spot light configuration: 1 Box Light (strobe) in TTL mode @ 5500k to the left as my key, 1 400w (constant) gold umbrella light to the right as my fill, and one Nikon SB600 Creative Light System in TTL mode at the rear-right as my back light for depth)... These photos are as-is from the Nikon D200 Camera, no photoshop...

Why is Gill pulling her hair ?

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Saturday, May 19, 2007

Lemurs-o-plenty

I hate it for not having taken my 70-200 VR f/2.8 lens with me to the Zoo... I would have gotten even more stunning pictures !
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Serengeti National Park

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Steam engine... on the road !

Have you ever seen a Steam engine (locomotive style) driving around on a road before ? On our way to Whipsnade zoo...
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Friday, May 18, 2007

Photoshop CS2, slugish on Intel-Mac...

I got a Mac, thinking that it would be faster for graphics... but didn't realize Photoshop CS2 was not optimized for Intel Macs, and Rosetta (the translator of PowerPC code) makes it run so slowly, making Photoshop perform Much much faster in Windows XP or Vista ! (source: http://www.barefeats.com/bootcamp.html) So I bit the bullet and upgraded to the CS3 Suite... and now we're talking ! Thankyou Adobe. When it comes to video editing from a Sony HDD Camcorder, what a nightmare, Apple Aqicktime and iMovie don't understand MUXed MPEG2 Video files (see http://www.sparkplug9.com/bizhack/2007/04/22/sony-camcorder-mac-os-x-not-happy-together/). This makes sense as Sony wants to promote their PC line, which is Microsoft- OS based. So I'm having to use 3rd party software to convert the video...

Monday, May 14, 2007

Photo Workflow change...

This past weekend's photoshoot (4000+ photos in 8hrs) streamlined my current workflow process. Although I appreciate the speed of Photoshop Lightroom, I actually prefer the workflow in Apple Aperture combined with Nikon Capture NX's U Point technology (and Photoshop CS 2), so Goodbye Lightroom... (shamefully) I actually still use Google's Picasa (via Parallels, running Vista) on the MacBookPro for blogging.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

EuroVision '07 !

Italia, where are you this year ? (http://www.eurovision.tv) I think that the song from Romania really needs to be the winner as it reflects most "Europe". Germany, 2nd best !!! England, what's up with the air attendants ? Bulgaria, nice drums ! Greece, nice choreography. Spain, cool rhythm. Ireland, catching tune. Macedonia, it's not a ballet. Lithuania, I love the shadow effects. Sweden, don't hypnotize people. Russia, do you know what the words mean ? France, disappointing... Ukraine, learn how to count in German . Oh and Jaana Pelkonen, I love your hair !

Monday, May 07, 2007

Congrats D & V !

Sophia M. born on May 1, 2007 !
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Thursday, May 03, 2007

Vai Luna Rossa !

Dopo 150 anni la Coppa America ritorna in Europa; Viva Luna Rossa !!!

Armenia Studio setup

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