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August 17, 2010
Tags:
Sally's entries, PC World, Cloud computing, Dropbox, software reviews, XMarks, backup, sync
It’s inevitable. You have a computer, you’re going to have computer failures. And the closer a project deadline looms, the greater probability that the crash will happen, sooner rather than later.
Of course, with various reviews due, our report on our eReaders comparison testing nearly finished, and a big test project for a DigitalBenchmarks client starting within days, Daniel’s computer knew it was time for its scheduled crash. (more…)
July 23, 2010
Tags:
Photography, Pentax, Camera, Digital cameras, 645, Infrared, Steve Rosenbaum, Sally's entries, Image sensor, Optics, Resolution, Megapixels, iPhone, DSLR, Medium format, HP Designjet Z3200
Our friend Steve Rosenbaum creates some amazing infrared images using his iPhone. In terms of artistry, composition and impact, they are as good as many IR pictures we’ve seen. All he does is hold a filter up in front of the camera’s lens. But that simple technical fact doesn’t take into (more…)
June 11, 2010
Tags:
e-Books, e-Readers, e-publishing, Publishing industry, Kindle, Sally's entries
One of the great simple pleasures is to carve at least a half hour out of the day, draw a hot bath, add some fragrant oils and read a good book. It's a quiet, transporting time, separate and apart from the real world, which I've evolved to a fine art over the years.
(more…)
November 28, 2009
Tags:
Sally's entries, Nikon, HD Video, Contest, DSLR
In Daniel’s blog entry “Coming Soon to a DSLR Near You," he predicted that serious filmmakers will be using the HD video capabilities of professional DSLRs to make feature films. Just days after posting that on here on our Lab Notes Blog, Nikon announced a DSLR video contest. Now, Nikon isn’t talking about feature films. In fact, the entries need to be 140 seconds or less. However, we do believe it is a sign of things to come.
You can find the contest details at Nikon Film Festival .
November 2, 2009
Tags:
Sally's entries, Photo Plus East, Trade show report, Nik Software, OnOne Software, Epson papers, Gallery wrap, Hahnemuhle, Camera Bits, Color management, xrite, ColorChecker Passport, Unified Color, HDR, Athentech Imaging, American Hands project
As Daniel said in his post, the PhotoPlus East (PPE) annual trade show in New York City is filled with all kinds of photographer-pleasing toys and tools. Here are some that I found particularly interesting: (more…)
September 20, 2009
Tags:
Blue Screen, USB ports, troubleshooting, Software reviews, Sally's entries, PC World, System Mechanic, VueScan, Legacy Scanner, HP xw4600 workstation, Sally's photography
It was a reviewer’s nightmare.
All our test computers were busy with various projects, and we had a PC World software review due. My imaging workstation was volunteered.
It’s a basic common sense rule to not use a personal system to test any software or hardware. Who knows what problems you might introduce, messing up the works? That’s why DigitalBenchmarks Lab has several designated test computers, which we can clean after every project, and not be overly concerned if, in worse case scenarios, (more…)
July 1, 2009
Tags:
Topaz software, Software reviews, Sally's entries, PC World, Photoshop plug-ins, xrite, ColorMunki
With so many Photoshop plug-ins available, it is easy to overlook good ones. I suppose that's why we never really looked at the Topaz Software plug-ins. But when x-rite sent Joe Brady to our DigitalBenchmarks Lab to demonstrate their ColorMunki calibration workflow (which I'm now using to great effect for my exhibit prints), Joe mentioned the great high dyanmic range photos he was getting with Topaz Adjust. (more…)
June 26, 2009
Tags:
Gigatribe, file sharing, Social network, Sally's entries
I just had a phone briefing on Gigatribe. It’s an interesting service that allows people to share specific folders on their computer over the Internet with invited friends and family.
The idea is simple. As Stephane of Gigatribe said, “It’s like a local network over the Internet.” You designate a folder to be shared, and only that folder’s data (pictures, videos, music, etc.) can be seen by your “tribe,” just as you can see their shared folders.
I can’t help but worry about (more…)
June 6, 2009
Tags:
American Hands project, HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer, HP xw4600 workstation, Film versus Digital, Fine Art Photography, Sally's entries, Sally's photography, Silver Efex Pro
A few years ago, Daniel and I were writing profiles of prominent professional photographers for Lexar Media’s Website SayCheese.com (which has since been discontinued). They were feature stories (illustrated with my photographs) about the photographers' philosophy, style and adventures, with some tips and tricks thrown in. The pieces were a delight to do because of the people we got to spend time with and watch at work.
At the time, I was at a trade show party (I think it was PhotoPlus in New York City), when someone said, “You absolutely must profile... [name withheld to avoid his embarrassment]” for SayChesse. I didn’t know the photographer being recommended, but he happened to be present at the party, just on the other side of the room. So, I went over to him, introduced myself, and asked him what he shoots. His reply was an energized discourse about his camera equipment! When he finally took a breath, I smiled, told him how nice it was to meet him and walked away. Daniel and I never wrote a profile on him for SayCheese or any other publication.
What that photographer had lost sight of (more…)
May 13, 2009
Tags:
Photoshop plug-ins, Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop, Software reviews, Sally's entries, Nik Software, Silver Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, PC World
I wouldn’t even venture to guess how many hundreds of Photoshop plug-ins there are, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, the freebies to astronomically priced (with the two spectrums of price and usability/value not necessarily related). I do know that Daniel and I have tested and reviewed many scores of them over the years. But only a handful make it from our test systems to my personal imaging workstation.
Two that I have installed on my system and which I use with some frequency are: (more…)
May 8, 2009
Tags:
ISO, Dynamic Range, Image Quality, Digital Cameras, Sally's entries, DxO, Useful Weblinks
DxO, the folks who the press and other technocrats turn to for low-level testing and analyses of lenses, image sensors and digital camera systems, are now making all kinds of data available to the public.
Check it out at (more…)
May 1, 2009
Tags:
Sally's photography, Sally's entries, Adobe Photoshop, PC World, Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Creative Suite 4, American Hands project, Software reviews, AsukaBook Maker, BuyThisImage, LicenseStream, ImageTrends Pearly Whites, Tintii, HP xw4600 workstation, Lenovo w700ds
Although I was away from our studio for the past several weeks (family business), I still had several software reviews due. On top of that, I needed to process hundreds of images from my recent shoot of traditional tile makers at the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works (Bucks County, PA) for my first American Hands exhibit, which opens in June at Muhlenburg College in Allentown, PA.
Unfortunately, my old standby laptop (more…)
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