Durian is good stuff!

Long Beach shopping.

Snow Summit

This is an iPhone photo experiment using Autostitch to create a panoramic photograph. I also adjusted the white balance and sharpness with Photoforge. This is how I entertain myself while keeping an eye out for the kids.

Laguna Beach Sunset

Tonight’s view from the hotel balcony at Laguna Surf and Sand. Nice!

Seven Must Have Accessories for Your New DSLR

I’m putting this here so I can refer to it later, because I really enjoyed looking at each of the items on the list.

Seven Must Have Accessories for Your New DSLR: “

So you got a cool new DSLR as a holiday gift. For those of you who are upgrading from point and shoot to DSLR, here’s a list of accessories you need to finish your leap to the next level.

1. Tripod

Okay, it doesn’t have to be a $1000 Gitzo carbon fibre tripod, but some sort of tripod really helps when you first move to a DSLR. That new camera is probably significantly heavier than your old compact camera. It’s added weight makes camera shake a problem. If you stabilize your camera on a tripod you can greatly reduce the blur caused by camera shake.

Some of my favorite solutions include:

a. Joby GP3 Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod with BH1 Ball Head with Bubble Level

b. Induro Carbon 8x Tripod C-114

2. Extra Battery/Charger

If you shoot often, as in all-day, you will need a backup battery. My advice is to buy the one designed and sold by the manufacturer of your camera. It’s also not a bad idea to have a backup charger. This allows you to leave one at home and carry a charger with you on the road so you know you’ll always have one, no matter where you go.

3. Additional Memory Cards

It’s likely your DSLR came with a small memory card, or no memory card at all. Whether it’s SD or CF memory, it’s affordable and there’s no reason to go cheap here. These cards can last a lifetime and you don’t need to replace them like film, so buy the best you can afford. If your camera supports UDMA, buy UDMA-certified cards.

Some of my favorites include:

a. Lexar Media Professional Series UDMA 8GB Compact Flash 300x

b. SanDisk SDCFX3-004G-A31 4 GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card (Retail Package)

c. SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro CF memory card – UDMA 90MB/s 600x (SDCFXP-032G-P91, Retail Package)

4. Memory Card Reader

While we’re talking about memory cards, do yourself a huge favor and buy a memory card reader. This will save you a bunch of time compared with connecting your camera to your computer with the included USB cable. Downloads will be much faster.

I like:

a. Lexar Dual-Slot USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader RW035-001

b. Lexar Compact Flash FireWire 800 Reader, RW034-001

c. Hoodman Raw USB2.0CF Card Reader USB2.0 CF Card Reader

5. Editing/Organizing/Post Processing Software

Once you capture all those great images from your DSLR what will you do with them? How will you organize them?

If you have a Mac, you already have iPhoto and for non-pros, this is probably sufficient for the basics. But if you want to step up to the next level, try:

a. Aperture – http://www.apple.com/aperture/

b. Lightroom – http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

6. Camera Strap

Yep, your DSLR came with a strap but it’s probably not the most comfortable thing in the world. A neoprene strap with quick release is a much better option. You can take these straps on and off with a minimum of fuss, and they are more friendly to your body.

Here is my favorite camera strap: (Note: Make sure that you purchase a recent version. While I never had any problem with it, the original version of strap was recalled for new fittings. I assume that purchase of the strap any time in the last six months will be safe.)

a. Kata KT A91E Reflex E Camera Strap

7. Camera Bag

You’ll need a bag to carry your new camera and lenses and accessories, etc. Unfortunately, if you’re like most photographers you’ll end up with several. There are bags for storing gear, transporting gear and working with gear. I have dozens. But a few basic bags worth considering are:

a. Think Tank Urban Disguise 30, Plain Looking, Fully Functional Saddlebag Size Shoulder Bag for a Pro SLR & Two Lenses up to 70-200mm f/2.8

b. Think Tank Airport International 2.0, Medium Size Airline Carry On Photo Roller Luggage

c. Domke F-2 Original Bag (Black)

d. Gura Gear Kiboko Camera Bag

e. Boda Dry Jr Fully Weatherproof Ballistics Cordura Lens System Case (6.5

There are many, many, many more accessories you can buy (and probably will) for your new DSLR, but in my opinion, these are the most important.

“

(Via Photofocus.)

Phaly during Christmas week

Playing with filters on my iPhone

True Confessions of a “Nerdfighter”

True Confessions of a “Nerdfighter” (hats off to Charles White who kindly introduced me to the VLog Brothers on YouTube): I’ve already accomplished two of my New Year’s Resolutions and I was able to do them simultaneously.  I spent an entire day this week watching all three extended editions of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (a long-time dream of mine – over 12 hours of video viewing pleasure) while concurrently performing a “slash and burn” format and reinstall of OS X and all of the software programs I actually use on my MacBook Pro (almost two years of cruft cleared away!) and retired our ancient “desk-lamp” iMac G4 (which my kids refuse to use anymore because its so slow) to it’s new home as a file/print server on the home network.  This will have to satisfy until I can talk Phaly into letting me get a new computer (Oh Puh-leeeeeeezzzzzzzz! . . .  Well . . . maybe in another couple of years.).   ;-P

One Negative of Purchasing a DVD with a “Digital Copy” Included

I was at my local Sam’s Club today and picked up a copy of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”. This was a 2-Disc Special Edition that proclaimed in all caps that it included a digital copy inside. I’ve been willing to pay the additional $2 to $10 such “special” versions demand over the plain-vanilla DVD because I like having the digital copy and I like the convenience of not having to spend two to three hours ripping the DVD and converting it to a format that I can use with iTunes to transfer to an AppleTV or my iPhone (great when my son latches onto a disc or when I want to watch a movie while traveling but don’t want to carry a bunch of discs with me).

Later this evening, I opened the package with the expectation of copying the digital copy of the film into my iTunes library. Much to my disappointment, there was no insert in the package with the required authorization code. I couldn’t fine the code anywhere else in the packaging either. In the end, I had to make a trip back to Sam’s Club and ask to exchange the disc for another copy. The first new copy I pulled from the shelf and opened at the customer service desk had the same problem, there was no insert included in the box with an authorization code to gain access to the digital copy. It required another trip tot he middle of the store for a third copy before I finally got one that included the required code.

This is my first time coming across this highly inconvenient set of circumstances, and I hope it’s my last. Otherwise, I’ll have to weigh the time and trouble of returning to the store against the time and trouble of just ripping the DVD and converting it myself. Buyer beware, you don’t always get what you pay for, even if it’s posted on the box in 40-point font.

My Niece Madison

Happy birthday Madison! I’ll see you at your birthday party today.

Truck Accident

10 freeway in Fontana. around 10 am on Saturday 10/10/09. yikes.

My sis-in-law done with the chemo

Last night we had a brief celebration with my sister-in-law and her family to commemorate completion of her her final scheduled chemotherapy treatment. She is one tough lady and we are giving her all the love and support we can figure out how to give.

— Posted from my iPhone