Didn’t do as poorly as what I had thought this month. Only loaded a couple images into ShutterStock and IStockphoto. My computer is currently getting rebuilt so that hasn’t been very helpful either. Hopefully I didn’t lose many pictures.
I just finished an interesting article describing the differences in shooting between JPG and RAW files which gives the pros and cons of each type. I actually decided soon after I got a camera that could shoot in RAW, that it was the way I wanted to do most of my shooting. I like the fact that all the data is stored and so much manipulation can be done after the fact if the data is there. With JPG so much information is lost as well as introducing artifacting I just don’t use it until the final step of editting.
I use Photoshop Elements currently as my editing tool which does everything I need right now. Although I would like to move up to a higher end product at some point. Elements does have the ablity to export lots of files to various file formats, like LightRoom, which is nice. I can do all my editing then just go to organizer and select all the finished photos and export them to JPG files. The ability of LightRoom to apply standard edits to groups of files would be real nice. I don’t do big enough batches right now to warrent something like that but as I increase my microstock shooting I can see the appeal.
The digital negative format is nice for longevity of the file format. I can understand the desire for something like this but don’t see a lot of photographers adobting it in a hurry. It’s just an extra step required in most post processes that people probably wont do. Now if/when Nikon or Canon, etc comes out and says they’re dropping support for a particular RAW format there may be a rush of people converting files to it. I know I’ll be looking into it if/when I see waning support for the Nikon D80 RAW format from Nikon and/or Adobe.
I don’t know if any cameras save straight to the DNG format yet or not. Not sure if camera makers would really want to do that, their proprietary RAW formats are one of the things that seperate them from on another. It still would be a nice option.
I just came across a post on this swedish designed wind turbine. Why is it that we always think wind turbines have to look like air plane propellers? I like the look of this turbine. I’ll have to look around for a translator so I can read the manufactors page, http://www.homeenergy.se. I’d be particular interested in the minimum wind speed rating. Our areas is just borderline for most of the typical style units which kick in around 12 mph. If I’m deciphering the swedish properly I’m think this unit is probably similar at 2 meters / second so that makes it of questionable value.
Ease of installation would also be another consideration. Some of the units I’ve looked at only require a single pole which greatly increase the astectics of a wind turbine. With the possibilities of an increase of 20% – 60% on the cost of electricity some form a electrical generation is looking very appealing.
I hope to see thisbeing available locally in the United State before too long. It is amazing how much further ahead acceptance of a lot of these ideas are in Europe than in the US. Of course they’ve had much higher energy costs for a lot longer the we have in the US.
On a related note, the Coulson Energy Blog is up and running now and his first experiment is very interesting to me. I may well have to work on a similar system for heating some water to add some warmth to a worm bin over the winter. I’ll be sure to post periodic updates on the project if I do.
I have recently begun to make some of my photography prints available for purchase on ImageKind.com. Most prints are available in sizes from 10 x 6.7 to 36 x 24. There is a selection of 6 different paper types for the prints as well as many custom framing and mat options. You can order the image and have it ready to hang on the wall as soon as you option the package (well, you might need to add hangers to the back of it). The mats and frames are wonderful options to get a stunning piece of artwork right out of the box.
For the ulitmate piece of of artwork they offer printing on canvas that can also be custom framed. Or they offer a gallery wrap for the canvas is you are interested.
Cards are available for as low as $2.29 / card in packs of 24.
If you are interested in selling some of your own prints or just getting some of your own images made into high end prints they have several levels of accounts available.
