Strawberry & Cream (Cheese) Santas

A cute Christmas treat, slight variation on the age recipe. I just didn't make enough of them.

The Hoots

A family of Tawny Frogmouths [Podargus strigoides] having an afternoon seista.

Stop motion ... that moves

A Google+ MOTION* Autoawesome

This animated gif produce by google+ had me a bit mystified. Waves just don't rebreak like that!
The I realised I was panning along a breaking wave with a telephoto taking this set. So the series should stack together like the series for a panorama. What has seemed to have happened is the images have been matched up on the white wash of the broken wave, setting this as a fixed point, If you look at the wave in the foreground you can see it breaking shape is moving to the left.

Flickr has a rethink on Wall Art

There has been a bit of a kerfuffle around the new flickr feature called Wall Art, which was a curated collection of images from flickr, you can order canvas or board mounted prints. The original description said that “Licenced Artists” would receive 51% (which appears considerably more generous that red bubble and similar services). A real problem was flickr had include a lot of Creative Commons images, without regard to the licence type, and the submitting photographer Many of the flickr community where understandably upset  and flickr has wisely decided to remove any creative commons works, for the moment and refund on any purchases.

I think the scheme is fine but it should be based on an opt-in or at least and invitation to participate for selected images (it is supposedly curated after all). The good outcome is flickr reacted quickly and in tune with their community.

Are you listening google+ and facebook?

The Trial ...that slipped away

My eye issues interrupted my trial of OnOne's Photo Perfect Suite 9, the only photo I got to process in earnest was this one, to submit to PhotoFriday's theme last week. Somewhat ironically I ended up using just the tools/features I have come to like from version 8.5. Such is Life. I did notice the big improvement in the browser speed.

So Suite 9 is a serious contender to run in the browser mode before importing into lightroom, to add metadata, select and star the best and cull the duds. Unfortunately I didn't get to play with the smart photo edits (which supposedly lets you revisit past edits)

Original: imageo.withknown.com/2014/the-trial-that-slipped-away

Instant Photos (in a digital age)

I notice target are promoting the very cute little Fujifilm instax mini 8 camera,(its also available in other chain stores like JB HiFi and even officeworks and comes in a range of colours not just pink) which use a polaroid like style of instant picture development system. It is not digital and uses special film (which is freely available and not prohibitively expensive) to create small photos,  …but almost instantly.

Most kids today will not know of the excitement of watching a polaroid develop for the first time and the thrill of getting the physical picture immediately. So there will me a period of wide eyed wonderment! However these one-off small pictures may not be what a modern kid wants since you can’t upload them to instagram, doesn’t come with a phone app etc…

So what has happened to instant photography in the digital era? Most significantly Polaroid (and Kodak) famously stopped production of their instant films. A dedicated group of enthusiast banded together, the are now called the impossible project, bought the polaroid equipment and now produce a range of film (albeit expensive, it works out at about $2 per shot), So the charm of those white bordered prints lives on, at least for some. There is a nice summary of the Status of Instant Photography in the blog post by Cameron Knight.

The other way to get an almost instant prints is to pair up your phone or digital camera via Bluetooth or WiFi to a suitable printer (not all camera and printers allow this but many of the most recent models do). The difficulty is finding a suitably portable printer and this is where polaroid are currently betting their future, they have teamed up with Pogo, which have been producing portable printers that use Zink technology (it stands for zero ink and use special paper impregnated with dye crystals that start transparent but change to colours when heated)

PhotoFriday :: Blue

Flight into the Blue Yonder

For PhotoFriday‘s topic blue

Update on Christmas gift ideas for Photographers in Melbourne

I was visiting the mga gallery, the Monash Gallery of Art (it has specialised in Photographic collection and  I am a member of the friends of gallery) and browsing through their small shop. When I realised I had overlooked a great source of christmas gifts in my previous list, So if you are still looking for a gift for a keen photographer and you live in Melbouirne, the  MGA gallery is worth a visits. It has an amazing range of things in their smallish gift shop; photo centric badges and button, through the fisheye keyring (shown on right) that can snap onto your smart phone (and they also have the macro lens version), through a range of classic plastic film cameras to a very comprehensive range of the best photo books and well as other refined but less photographic gifts. A stop off at the mga Cafe is a way perfect to keep this all low stress shopping and enjoyable. If you live out on the east side of Melbourne you might also consider a gift of a Friends of the Gallery Membership, they organize plenty of activities to interest almost everyone.

The Patch :: Leading Lines & ‘tis the Season

My eye problems over the past couple of weeks means I have not been carrying my camera or out taking photos so this next the patch has come quickly. Today I saw this composition in a local shopping mall so I only had my trusty old HTC/Wildfire Phone to get a photo.

Whilst I did try a HDR Camera image (it takes and processes the image in your phone). I liked the simple phone photo more and have used Perfect photo to clean up the noise, used dynamic tonal adjustment and warmed the colours as my leading lines composition.

Apologies to Cliff, for being so similar, but maybe its the problem of having such generic shopping “temples” .

Duplicate Duplicity

I’m getting very puzzled by the number of duplicates turning up each month. I have the Exclude duplicated clicked when I load anything via Picasa, but I have noticed that sometimes the other default to delete photos after loading in the after copying selection, is changed to leave card alone and so the picture might remain on the card for reloading another time (normally exclude duplicates then puts a cross against those images (so I avoid loading them twice)


So the problem remains why is it happening now? Also it seems to be far more common when loading from my Canon EOS DSLR than any other cameras., Further it is often only a few photos that are duplicated in a batch. So I’ve tried out loading with picasa and then overloading with a few other software and it seems that the most likely suspect is ligfhtroom. Perhaps it happens to be running when I insert a card but because it is so slow it only gets a chance to load a few images. However the problem is I don’t have lightroom set up to autoload images.

I’d be interested if anyone else has seen this lately.
So for the moment its back to checking as backup I my images and move them to the archive.

Photocentric Personal Gifts :: Last Call

I realise this post is probably getting a little late because the time has almost run out to have this delivered from overseas (unless you are happy to pay for priority frieght). However there is still time if you act this week and look for a local source. You can get your photos reproduced on almost anything today but there are a few favourites, like calenders, photobooks and wall canvases, but a few things like T-shirts, Photo Mugs and Mouse Mats that have probably become passé. Here is a list of some newer items, old favourites and the services that offer them online (just click on the icons to get to their sites). Big W and Ted’s offer on-line ordering and in-store pickup.Tthe photo processor in your local shopping canter may also offer similar gifts.

Photo Christmas Cards

This is one area you will need to get your act together straight awa,, to get the cards back in time to post before Christmas. A number of the offerings are just flat (postcard) style so check that the cards are folded style and perhaps include envelopes.

Home Decor

While many of the items offered in this category have been around for a while it has become a popular grouping in services offering photo gifts

Wall Art

The generally means canvas print, but can cover a wide range of photo blow ups and frequently includes framing (which is usually expensive).  The following services are all Australian based, but check delivery dates & freight options and costs.

Cushions

Sorry, Throw Pillows!, this could be a fad but the products on offer do look good and could easily become loved.

 

Calenders

These are perhaps wall calendars are a little over used as gifts but I know one’s I have produce in the past have been well appreciated. I have prepared more thus year as gifts, Keep to the simpler formats and show off your photo skills so the calendars are more personal and unique. Some services offer desk calanders, perfect gifts for working proud parents.

 

Photobooks

Whilst these have been around some time and ideal for personal gifts. They have been a bit complicated to prepare and expensive to have produced. The Cost and easy of set up have improved along with the general quality. Although it is still true that good quality costs a little more. The key Item in choice now will be delivery times.

Cases & Skins

Quiet a few services now offer Phone and Tablet “covers” (normally a vinyl or plastic sleave/skin for the back) The level of protection these offer may not be much but they can look good. Given all the models and sizes you will need to double check what’s available. The Iphone, Ipad models Samsung Galaxy models seem to have the most services offering such customisable products.

 

Before you order check the deliver dates. You will probably have to join, set up an account, to use the on-line services.

Photocentric Stocking Stuffers

The past few years I have had a look around at the paraphernalia and small gadgets photographers (and aspiring photographers) may like. I try to keep the price down so they are good stocking fillers or perhaps a gift into a Kris Kringle or for a relative. Well the things at the cheaper end are pretty much the same as previous years,sorry but that’s life. So I have added a couple of more expensive things you could consider

True Stocking fillers for photographers

Well outside the usual suspects, mugs that look like lenses, lens cleaning kits and lens pens , or USB Memory Card Readers I can’t see much in the under $20 range that might excite a photographer anymore.
The one possible exception is memory, SD cards are getting larger capacity (but not all cameras can use the high capacity SDHC cards (so check camera make model, most older cameras will be able to handle the Straight Sd models with come in 1 & 2GB capacities). In simple terms an 8 GB (gigabyte) card will be large enough for any photographer, perhaps except for those taking high Definition movies. After capacity, the faster the card the better (its show as the the number inside the @ symbol or called class, larger numbers are faster, again make sure the camera can read these newer cards). Well known brands like Scandisk and Lexar are a little more expensive but likely to be more reliable. (~AUD$9.99+)
If you are considering giving SD cards perhaps include an SD card Wallet as well.

Slightly More Expensive and Just for Fun

Selfie Poles, (and monopods) seem to me the big new toy this year. Frankly I’m not so sure they are necessary but there are a lot of damn selfies these days all disturbing close up and distorted, and all so similar. So anything to change the view (ie get a bit further away and thus less distorted) could be an advantage (ie give you more views on Social media). The extender pole shown here with the butterfly bracket caught my eye. Importantly it has a remote trigger in the handle (you do need to plug in a cable to your earphone jack) and no (expensive) app to have to download. (~$30 to AUD$100)
The Photoshop Fridge Magnet set is a bit pricy and I can not find any Australia Distributors, but it is available from Photojojo (who have a good reptuation delivering here but you’ll need to add priority UPS delivery to get things by Christmas). It looks like fun, you get magnets that are Abode PS menus, toolbars and Pop-up Dialgue box. Stick your photos to the fridge door (or a magnetic noticeboard and create the illusion that your are a mater photoshopper! (~USD$25 plus frieght)

More expensive but likely to be useful/appreciated

Vouchers are often seen as a cop-out but giving the voucher for a photo book can be the right trigger for the lucky person receiving the gift to produce something they will be proud off. If you know someone that takes hundred of photos but they all just sit on their computer or cloud account consider giving them a photo book voucher (starting in the range AUD $50 to $100 should get you a decent 20 page book). You may find cheaper offers around but you probably want to make sure that doesn’t come with an extra and expensive deliver and or too few pages
Stylus pen for Ipad (or Android Tablet), most of the hype for these is around Paper for IPads app and I gather its been a bit of a hit and miss affair. What I have heard first hand is that wacom’s bambo or intuos stylus have better drivers/compatibility for a whole range of applications including many photo editors, making tasks that are difficulty for fat fingers a breeze. (~AUD$30+)
A simplie fun drawing app (free or low cost) or itunes voucher to get such an app might be a nice addition so the pen can be used straight away.
Speaking of tablets and pens, I can strongly recommend having a pen tablet input for most photo processing software. These can be expensive but a simple system to start with is the bamboo fun pen & touch. Which comes bundled with both Adobe Photo Shop Elements (Mac or Windows) & Corel Painter Essential (windows only) and by looking around you will probably get this at a good price (~AUD$ 220+).
Finally a word of warning. if you intend  buying camera gear, like new cameras, lens, or even tripods for an existing photographer. It is important you check with them that it is firstly suitable/compatible and that they would actually use it. To avoid a very expensive present that sits on the shelf.

PS If you are in Melbourne the mga gallery has a great range of photographically oriented gifts 

Google+ Photo Playing with itself

I tuned on google+ photos autoback a couple of weeks ago (and forgot to turn it off) so google+ has been not only auto-enhancing my images It has now also been adding auto-effects (in this case a grotty border), Then awarding them as autoawesomes. I have no idea why this phone photo of an incomplete clay sculpture I was working on (taken just for my own reference) would get such auto-attention!

Stop it Google+ your just embarrassing yourself.

My Autoawesome Blooper Album is getting very full (but remains still largely unviewed)

PhotoFriday :: Park

Threatening Rain

For PhotoFriday‘s topic Park

The Little Black Cormorants arrive in force

These little black cormorants [phalacrocorax sulcirostris] have turned up in force to investigate (and feed from) the extra living activity in the reeds and edges of Jell Park Lake which is higher than normal from recent rains.
 

Which digital camera should you buy?

I have steered cleared of doing camera reviews, mainly because I think any digital camera these days are good enough to take decent pictures. However there is a such a range of camera available deciding where to begin is quiet a challenge. I notice on the flickr blog, they are tackling this very question, and they are in the wonderful position of seeing millions of photos loaded with a wide range of camera. They have a neat summary table of the main classes of camera versus the type of photo you wish to take. I have added colour to highlight the great, versus good versus ok. This is the first in a series of articles planned for the flickr blog so make sure you visit them again and follow the series.

I have to admit I own cameras from 3 of these 4 classes (I don’t own a mirrorless/micro 4/3rds. camera;yet!) Smartphones can be expensive, but the camera will seldom be the key purchasing criteria, the other cameras get more expensive as you move to the right. The interesting observation here is that the micro 4/3 cameras are satisfying the more common photography generas, their reasonable pricing probably make them a better choice these days than the compact style cameras, and if you haven’t already invested in the larger and heavier DSLRs they are probably an obvious choice of a new photographer (in training/aspirations).

If your getting down to the purchase decision it might also be worth checking out the Flickr Camera Finder, you get to see not only the cameras popularity and technical specs but importantly you can get to see a range of photos taken with that camera.

The Patch :: Falling back on joiners

I had been scouting around for a photoworthy urban landscape and whilst I live in a “vibrant” city I really don’t fine it so attractive (infact this week I was more confronted by the ulgy side of the urban aspects), So whilst I took many photos of buildings and motorways, the only ones that even inspired the idea of a worthwhile landscape for me was a group of shoots I took hand held looking back on Melbourne at dusk.  However rather that try and work up a panorama I felt there was extra charm in leaving them as a stack of images.

Whilst photo collages have been around a long time its is the joiners developed by David Hockney that can bring a rich artistic feel of personality and being an original work. His original joiners where just polaroid images (lots of them) assembled and stuck down to make a larger image. Not necessarily taken from the same vantage and often deliberately not quiet matching. I have found the collage maker in picasa is an idea place to build similar joiner style collages. However there is plenty of software out their to do a similar job (Hockneyizer is a wonderful “filter” style app,originally for flickr photos but you can upload any photo to it directly, that will take a single image and break it into a hockney style collage)
In picasa you just need to select the photos you want and the select the collage builder tool (either the Create/Picture Collage menu item or collage button if you have one on the bottom toolbar).  The first step is to select the picture pile format which is as if you are just scattering the photos on your desktop. under that is a series of border templates (the collage above has the polaroid frames, in homage to Hockney but they are not what I wanted for the final image. I prefer borderless option.) However I like to using a drop shadow which emphasis (rather than hides) the join between photos. The next step is to move around and possible resize and reoriented to photos. When you select a given image a control circle if overlayed on the photo click on in and moving your mouse slides the photo over the surface. You can resize the photo with the mouse wheel (or clicking on the orange dot on the little control button on the edge of the circular tool and moving it in and out (horizontally). To rotate the image again click on the orange dot and now move the mouse vertically and you will see the image rotate. the controls are very easy to master and you will soon be able to rotate and resize at the same time.
One of the bigger charms of Hockney’s later joiner work is that he did not try to fill the whole space and left ragged edges and some gaps but he did take time to judge a suitable background colour, something that could bring the whole together. I like this approach and so I used the eye dropper tool to select the dark blue of the sky as my background, Then a bit more rescale and realignment of all the photos together (press select all at the top of the workspace and all the photos will be outlined and can be reoriented and scaled as one). You must then hit the create collage button, which creates the composite image and puts them in a separate album called collages. You can then work on this as any other photo in picasa so I did a fraction more cropping. The advantage of the picasa’s tool is you can return and re-edit the original collages in the collage album at any time.

There should of course be some “art” applied to your selection and arrangement of the images but if you are lost for inspiration you could always try the scramble and/or shuffle button at the bottom of the collage workspace (remembering that any alignment of images will be lost)