Taking in early morning light in the Owens Valley is a magical experience. Drab grey rocks come to life in a variety of colorful hues as the sun’s first rays of light are filtered through the atmosphere. The success of capturing my now favorite photo of Mobius Arch, taken back in 2006 and the subject of one of my first podcast episodes, hooked me on repeatedly visiting the Alabama Hills in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately such great light and scenery does not go unnoticed these days…
Photo Details:
Canon 1DS Mark III, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/13, 115 seconds, ISO 200
Venturing out to Mobius Arch is seldom a solo event. The tight space that one can capture this photo is often filled with numerous photographers clamoring to get the perfect angle shutting out other photographers. On this morning it was the most crowded I’ve seen with at least 5 photographers in the area.
Photographers stake their ground to photograph Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills
In this day and age its nearly impossible to keep a good photo location under wraps. Given the popularity of this arch I wonder when the BLM will take action to preserve the area or regulate access. During this visit it would seem the BLM was more interested in making it as easy as possible for folks to find the arch with a freshly marked trail being in place. Given these circumstances its no wonder the likes of Marc Muench keeps his Unknown Arch location quiet. As the popularity of this area grows I do hope that photographers take care of this special location and stay civil to each other.
Mobius Arch Crowd of Photographers
Technorati Tags: photography, California, arch, Mobius Arch, nature, landscape, stock photo, Alabama Hills
Posted by Jim on 09.02.2010 at 1:27 am -
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Tagged: California, Daily Photo, Landscape, Locations, Nature, Photography, Stock Photo , Landscape, Nature, Photography, Stock Photos
Having the opportunity to see the Golden Gate Bridge become shrouded in fog is always a treat. The irony of course when photographing the bridge is that when you want it to be clear it seldom is and when you want to photograph the fog its usually clear. I suppose that’s the joy of micro-climates. Even though I live with in a 5-8 minute drive to the bridge the weather can be drastically different at my house versus at the bridge. I suppose if photographing the bridge under a blanket of fog were easy it would not be as fun. Then again perhaps such fun is masochism to everyone else.
View more photos of the Golden Gate Bridge
Technorati Tags: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, fog, sunset, stock photo, photography
Posted by Jim on 12.23.2008 at 3:10 am -
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Tagged: California, Locations, Photography, San Francisco, Stock Photo , Photography, Stock Photo
In my previous post All Eyes Are On The iPad. Are Yours? I noted how the iPad was setting the stage for a publishing revolution with its transformational user experience. How have I come to this bold prediction? Three key signs have led me to the belief we’re on the cusp of a publishing revolution in short order.
- Tablet computers are currently the next must have device.
- Touchscreen interaction / navigation will be spreading to traditional computers
- Touchscreen interaction / navigation is defining an entire new branch of user interaction & user experience
Must Have Device
If you haven’t noticed already there are iPad giveaways around every corner. Apple’s iPad has captured the imagination of millions of people by changing how they interact with content on the web. This same fervor hit consumers in the 80’s with the mouse and here in the 2010’s touchscreen technology is making online viewing less abstract and physically more interactive. Apple’s ability to hit it big with the iPad, as with their other successful product launches, inevitably results in competitors releasing cheaper takeoffs. Odds are if you know someone who wants a gadget for Christmas they’ll be asking for an iPad. If an iPad isn’t in the budget you can bet that your local retailer like BestBuy will be selling a variety of competitors to fill the void.
Expect Touchscreen Interaction on Your Computer
Mobile devices are an intuitive place to utilize touchscreen technology. Mobile devices with their small footprint must be compact for portability while walking a fine line to provide an easy to view screen with easy navigation capabilities. Ask a child to view something on a computer and their first reaction invariably will be to point to the screen. This exemplifies the simplest navigation tool available… our fingers. As mobile devices become ubiquitous amongst younger generations such navigation is not only going to become intuitive, but expected.
The difference between a 3.5 inch (9 cm) and a 9.75 inch (24.5 cm) diagonal touchscreen of an iPhone & iPad may seem less than notable, but the increase in real estate to present text, images and video is huge. Everything (navigation cues, graphics, buttons, etc.) becomes easier to identify, touch, and move. Larger screen sizes also create greater opportunity for new and innovative navigation and presentation layers. This type of content interaction is not likely to be lost on traditional computers with even larger screens, as recently surfaced Apple patent filings of a touchscreen iMac confirm we’ll be seeing more of this style of interaction on future computers.
Evolution of Web Use & Design Standards
In a recent edition of Wired magazine it was prognosticated that the web is dead.
Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen). The fact that it’s easier for companies to make money on these platforms only cements the trend. - The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet
How the data is parsed to come to this conclusion is questionable in my book (video is not considered the web? really!? What about YouTube?), but this Wired article in general raises an interesting premise and should make you think twice about how you’re experiencing the web today and how you & your audience might be experiencing it in the future.
The iPad, being the first out of the gate, will have a disproportionate amount of influence on design standards and user experience trends for the touchscreen oriented content. Knowing these standards and understanding how users are interacting with online content is critical whether that content resides in a web page, app, peer-to-peer site, etc. The question then raised is how does your web site translate to a touchscreen device like an iPad? In case you were unaware iPadPeek is a great way to see (just be sure you disable Flash on your browser first). The even bigger question is how will your audience be viewing the content you produce and publish online?
Will traditional web sites hold up? Will apps be the dominant channel of online publishing? Will mobile viewing overtake traditional computer viewing? I have a notion of how things will play out in the future and it centers on a maturing model of revenue generation, but details to this thought will have to wait for the next post in this series. Stay tuned…
Technorati Tags: photography, Apple, iPad, publishing
Posted by Jim on 08.31.2010 at 1:48 am -
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Tagged: App, Hardware, Photography, Technology, Web, iPad , Apple, Photography, Technology, Web
The 35th episode of EXIF and Beyond has been released (duration 38:09 min.)
This episode of EXIF and Beyond features an interview with Tom Hogarty product manager for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, the Adobe Raw Converter plugin and the DNG file format. Discussed is Lightroom 3 vs. Lightroom 2 improvements, new features in the recently released Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Raw Converter 6.2 and great conversation surrounding performance, scalability and hints of future Lightroom functionality.
Tom provides an insiders perspective on video support, the return of Sticky Filters, custom lens profiles above and beyond Lightroom 3.2’s 120 new lens profiles that automatically correct for undesirable distortion and aberration effects, how and why Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Raw Converter are tied at the hip in their releases, the benefits of new publishing capabilities to SmugMug and Facebook, and an overview to many of the major bug releases included in Lightroom 3.2.
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Download: EXIF and Beyond: Tom Hogarty
If you enjoyed this episode please be sure to rate and comment on the EXIF and Beyond podcast on iTunes.
Technorati Tags: photography, podcast, Tom Hogarty, Lightroom, Photoshop, Lightroom 3, Lighroom 3.2, Adobe Raw Converter 6.2, Adobe, photography, EXIF and Beyond
Posted by Jim on 08.30.2010 at 9:47 pm -
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Tagged: EXIF and Beyond, Photography, Podcast , Adobe, EXIF and Beyond, Lightroom, Podcast
In 2004 I stumbled upon an incredibly interesting area of White Sands National Monument while hiking out into the 360 square miles park, an area I can only describe as an ancient dune field. When I first discovered this area I photographed one of the many yardangs I found in this isolated area (see photo #2 in My Top 5 Favorite Photographs and Accompanying Stories), but upon my return in April of 2010 the formation I originally photographed had been eroded into oblivion and was gone forever. I have to admit I was really bummed the formation was no longer present, but that disappointment soon transformed into an adrenaline fueled high as I discovered yardang after yardang the farther I hiked out.
Snakehead Yardang, White Sands National Monument
One of the more fascinating yardangs I found and photographed was one that resembled a snakehead emerging from a 60 foot dune. I took care to photograph various compositions of this fragile sand formation and cherished the fact that no one would ever see this formation in the exact same way. As I discovered while visiting the area of my last yardang photo these formations are here one day and gone another. The winds of the Tularosa Basin simultaneously shapes and destroys the landscape providing a unique experience with every visit. It is for this reason that every visit to White Sands National Monument is as exciting as the first.
Photo Details:
Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II, 16mm, 1/200 sec, f/16, ISO 200
Technorati Tags: Photography, Fine Art, New Mexico, White Sands National Monument, Landscape, Nature
Posted by Jim on 08.27.2010 at 1:34 am -
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Tagged: Daily Photo, Landscape, Locations, Nature, New Mexico, Photography, Stock Photo, White Sands National Monument , Fine Art, Landscape, National Monument, Nature, Photography, Stock Photos
It’s ironic and sad that only when we lose something does it become treasured. Muir Woods is a perfect example of this. These majestic Redwood trees were nearly wiped out to build and rebuild San Francisco (after numerous fires and the great earthquake of 1906). This last stand of local Redwood trees was saved by rough terrain that made logging difficult if not impossible and the donation of the land by William Kent.
Muir Woods National Monument Visitors
Muir Woods National Monument is among the most popular destinations in the San Francisco area. Just the other weekend my wife and I drove through Marin to see large crowds gathering at a shuttle stop to visit Muir Woods. The small parking lot there is quickly filled by early arrivals and numerous tour buses. I think it’s great that people now see the value in the serene beauty of this oasis of Redwood trees, but I can’t help but feel sad that it took their near destruction for others to appreciate their existence.
God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. – John Muir
Redwood Canopy, Muir Woods National Monument
Technorati Tags: California, Muir Woods, National Monument, Redwood, nature, stock photo
Posted by Jim on 08.26.2010 at 1:23 am -
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Tagged: California, Daily Photo, Locations, Muir Woods National Monument, Photography , Muir Woods, National Monument, Nature, Photography, Stock Photography, Stock Photos
In early April Apple launched the iPad. Since that time not one day has passed that you’ve not heard the word iPad. Why? Apple sold 3 million units in the first 80 days of it’s release. Initial estimates were that Apple would sell 1 million iPads in 2010 and now the 2010 forecast is much higher:
iSuppli, a market intelligence company, also raised their forecast of iPad sales. The company believes Apple will ship 12.9 million iPads by the end of 2010, 36.5 million in 2011 and 50.4 million in 2012. – iSuppli
For many the iPad is the savior of a stagnating print industry and for others its a great gaming platform. But what should it mean to photographers? No it’s not going to change photography (Why the iPad Doesn’t Matter, Yet Matters), but it is going to provide a great publishing opportunity. In fact it’s more likely to create a publishing revolution, a revolution that could possibly turn publishing upside down.
I noted in my iPad review that I was initially unimpressed at the time of Apple’s announcement of the iPad, but sometime later I understood why the iPad would make a lasting impact (5 Reasons Photographers Should Take Note of the iPad). In a nutshell “transformational user experience”.
Not unlike the early days of PC’s when the mouse was first introduced, it was tough for people to envision the possibilities the new technology provided. It was tough to appreciate a computer that used a mouse when there was little to no software that utilized a mouse. Fast forward to 2010 and we’re in the same predicament. The main difference is that we’ve been graced with a soft introduction to the touch screen thanks to the iPhone. Yet the larger real estate of the iPad screen gives developers and users more to experiment and play with. It’s an exciting time to ponder the possibilities.
I know I have and over the coming week or two I’m going to share a post or two on the iPad to go deeper into my thoughts on the opportunities it provides and how I think photographers can benefit from this new publishing medium. Stay tuned!
Technorati Tags: photography, Apple, iPad, publishing
Posted by Jim on 08.23.2010 at 12:08 am -
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Tagged: Photography, Technology, iPad , iPad, Photography, Technology
