Today Microsoft announced the launch of HD Photo (formerly Windows Media Photo).
Microsoft Launches HD Photo - Engadget
I had seen info on this sometime ago (HD Photo 1.0 Specification) and was less than impressed namely because its a proprietary Microsoft file format. No format is immune to “proprietary”ness, given past patent issues with JPEG, but Microsoft is notoriously bad with “open” formats. They’re never truly open. Time will tell if this is the file format of the future or another failed image file format. My initial take is that it will be the later.
See here for more thoughts on Microsoft HD Photo:
Microsoft HD Photo: Thoughts On Acceptance & Adoption
A larger version of an image highlighted in my most recent podcast episode: EXIF and Beyond: Wildlife Photography In The Arctic
click for a larger version
The fifth episode of EXIF and Beyond has been released. This is video podcast and can be viewed or downloaded via iTunes:
EXIF and Beyond: Wildlife Photography In The Arctic
Photographing wildlife in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). An amazing glimpse into the United States most beautiful and controversial wilderness areas. (Part I of II)
For the non-iTune listeners a streaming version of this podcast can be accessed here.
Enjoy and by all means feel free to pass on feedback.
For those unaware this subject was chosen by EXIF and Beyond listeners via the survey found on the EXIF and Beyond web page. Let me know what you’d like to hear next and if interested previous podcast episodes can be found there as well at EXIFandBeyond.com
11
Mar
Posted in Links & Articles, Photography by Jim |
Ever see an upside down rainbow or the sky ablaze with a fire rainbow? Well neither have I until now. Here are two articles with images with just that…
An upside down rainbow with an explanation [straight to the image]
A rainbow that set the sky on fire (circumhorizon arc) [straight to the image]
The tail end of my wildlife photo weekend ended with a very common, but no less exceptional view last week… the southbound view of the Golden Gate Bridge through the Waldo Tunnel.
In late December an amazing event happened. The Bush Administration proposed “listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, putting the U.S. government on record as saying that global warming could drive one of the world’s most recognizable animals out of existence.” This was quite an about face considering the history of this administrations staunch denial of Global Warming.
U.S. Wants Polar Bears Listed as Threatened - Washington Post
Today it was revealed “Internal memorandums circulated in the Alaskan division of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service appear to require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they are not designated to do so.”
Memos Tell Officials How To Discuss Climate - New York Times
U.S. accused of silencing experts on polar bears, climate change
Scientists told not to speak officially at conferences - SF Chronicle
Considering the track record of this administration to distort and raise doubt across the general population about Global Warming I don’t find this surprising. It’s tough not to think that this is a primer to an about face on the proposal to list the Polar Bear as an endangered species.
If I didn’t see the retreating ice first hand I might be more likely to discount articles like this. When I traveled to the Arctic this summer I wanted to capture the grand scale of the terrain and share as best as I could the environmental changes occuring there. See the retreating polar ice yourself in the following panoramic. More panoramic photos of the Arctic can be found in the various articles I’ve posted on my web site.
click to enlarge |
Day 11: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Coastal Plain View (1.1 MB)
(180 Degree View / Made From 20 Vertical Images)
Background: The coastal plain here is at its narrowest point, approximately 20 miles. The visbility is likely 35-50 miles as you can clearly see Arctic Pack Ice. To the Right (East) is the canadian portion of the Arctic Coastal Plain and extending to the Left (West) is the Alaskan Portion of the Coastal Plain. This Photo was taken From an Elevation of 2300 feet.
For a sense of scale look to see if you can spot the ship in Demarcation Bay. |
| MORE PANORAMIC PHOTOS OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE |
This past Sunday started off early. I was on the road with my friend at 3am to look for and photograph harbor seals. Getting to our destination, a coastal region north of Bodega Bay, well before sunrise we waited out first light only to find that there were no seals in sight. Disappointed we ended up traveling farther north to Salt Point State Park. There we found harbor seals, but not quite how we had hoped.
Not wanting to leave empty handed we set up to take a few shots and head out looking for other wildlife (See Part I). Setting up quickly I took a few photographs of the seals sleeping and sunning themselves in the early morning light while my friend set up her camera and 400mm f/2.8 rental lens. Just as I turned to jokingly take photos of her, her camera and rental lens slid off her tripodhead into rocks at her feet. The sound of cracking glass and crunching plastic was a sound worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. Fortunately her camera was fine, but her flash and teleconverter were damaged beyond use. The lens appeared to be a loss with a cracked front element. The whole accident was a real downer. All was not lost though as we did salvage the day later with some scouting of surrounding areas and miscellaneous wildlife encounters.
Far from what I was hoping for I did get a few decent shots…
Read more… »
For those that enjoy great photography I wanted to pass on a link to a photo blog that I have been enjoying quite a bit as of late:
Mystical Photography by Frederic Larson
For those of you unfamiliar with Frederic Larson, a photographer I deeply admire, consider this your lucky day. Per his bio where this is most eliquantly detailed… he is best known for “intimate photos of nature - particularly of the sun, moon and fog - at play with San Francisco monuments and icons”. He currently shoots for the San Francisco Chronicle and has a great book out titled “Mystical San Francisco”. If you haven’t seen it check it out and at the very least see his latest work via the photo blog link above.
