Events

Another of my favorite Bills: I want to try out some new techniques on this and a few other shots I took tonight, but I won't have time until the weekend. For now, here's a gratuitous statue photo.

This morning we had weather about as perfect as a human could hope for, 26°C and sunny by the lake, with a gentle breeze out of the southwest. I hopped on my bike for an actual workout, complete with heart-rate monitor, for the first time in a couple of years, then came back, grabbed my camera, and walked the dog. Some results: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/640, 225mm ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/500, 55mm As I continue to evaluate Adobe Lightroom, I'm trying to figure out how best to use it. Since about 2000, I've kept the...

(This is the 2,500th post on The Daily Parker. And now back to our current thread, already in progress.) Version 1, pretty much as it came out of the camera: Version 2, processed from the raw camera file: 8 April 2011, 18:16 BST, 1/1000 f/5.6, ISO 100 Subtle differences—but noticeable. OK, walk the dog, thence bed. I feel like I learned a lot today, including that I have to learn a lot more.

I'm continuing to play with Adobe Lightroom, and it turns out I've been doing a lot wrong for five years (i.e., since I first started shooting with a digital SLR). It looks like I'm going to shoot a lot more raw photos, because they allow modern software (like Lightbox and Photoshop) a lot more control over the final image. And, of course, I discovered this using Parker as a subject. The results don't completely suck: 50mm, 1/60 at f/2.0, ISO 3200. 50mm, 1/15 at f/1.8, ISO 3200.

A few days ago I experimented with photo processing to try out a technique a photographer suggested. I neglected the most obvious transformation of the photo in question: I've also downloaded Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, though I may want to go full-bore Photoshop in a couple of weeks. Lightroom looks like a fabulous way to organize photos, which would be helpful as I've got north of 25,000 right now and that doesn't include about 170 rolls of negatives I've yet to scan. It has some basic editing...

The 30-park geas can resume now that I'm done with school. Here's my progress so far: City Team Park / First visit Last visit Next visit Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field 1977 Jul 24 2011 Aug 6 Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium 1980 Jul 28? 2001 May 12 New York Mets Shea Stadium [4] 1988 Sep 15 [1] 1997 Apr 19 [3] Houston Astros Enron Field Minute Maid Park [2] 2001 May 9 [3] 2009 Apr 7 [1] Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park 2006 Jul 29 [3] 2008 Aug 11 Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium 2008 May 28 2008 May 28...

Via Bruce Schneier, evidence that the Centers for Disease Control have a sense of humor: There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency. This is a lot more entertaining than Internet Information Services configuration, no?

Problem: I have multiple websites on a Windows 2008 server (using IIS7), and I need to enable SSL (i.e., https:// connections) on more than one of them. Generally, secure websites get their security certificates from trusted providers. Most modern browsers verify that the third-party certificate came from the purported vendor and are attached to the purported website, and give you a nice warm feeling when your address bar turns green. (I have used Comodo most of the time, though because of some...

Generally, I prefer to learn new things by reading first, then doing. I mentioned Wednesday that I've grown dissatisfied with my photography skills, so naturally, I'll go first to Amazon. You know: read about a technique, try it out, post the results online, rinse and repeat. So it seems somewhat odd to me that most of Amazon's top-rated books on photography—like this one on Photoshop—have Kindle editions that cost almost as much. Because nothing will help someone understand how to do advanced photo...

I'm slowly coming around to the notion that no matter how perfect the composition, digital photographs almost always benefit from some post-processing. Back when I shot hand-rolled Tri-X from bulk and printed everything myself, I routinely changed papers and printing filters, dodged, burned, cropped, and distorted, in search of the perfect print. (I have a great before-and-after example that I will post when I receive the subject's permission.) Ansel Adams, recall, did most of his work in the darkroom....