Photography Gear

News & Features February 17, 2011

Beauty is Skin Deep and Some Retouching Away

You know the saying that “beauty is only skin deep”? Well it is not quite accurate. More fitting might be, “Don’t believe everything you see.” Why? Because Photoshop or some other method of retouching images can have a lot to do with how things looks and the distance between “the final image” and “reality” can be great. How great you ask? Well, the above picture actually looked like this before it was “worked over”. Now don’t get me wrong, the woman in the second picture is far from unattractive but from picture number two to picture number one is a…

Reviews February 4, 2011

TrueHDR for iPhone Review

I have been a fan of HDR photography for a few years. One of my first projects when I purchased a DSLR was to learn the basics of taking these kinds of photos. High dynamic range photos are a combination of a range of different exposures to make the entire photo look as if it is lit properly. With my camera, I take three photos. One that is under exposed, one is over exposed or blown out and a third that is the normal photo the camera would take. The photos are then sent to a computer application that combines…

Events, News & Features January 11, 2011

CES: SanDisk Meeting

By now you have likely seen that at CES, SanDisk announced their amazing new 128GB Compact Flash Card, a size that still boggles my mind. Available later this quarter for a MSRP of $1499.99, this card isn’t for the feint-hearted. But when you consider that it wasn’t too long ago that a 5GB PCMCIA card retailed for $500 plus, the realization is staggering that this amount of memory is available in something so small. While meeting with SanDisk, I had the opportunity to take a look at their new CRUZER Slider which along with other features also has “error-proof insertion”,…

Events, News & Features January 7, 2011

Casio- “Viva LaRevolution”; Us “Revolution? What Revolution”

What do you do when you have nothing of substance to say but it’s the biggest technology event of the year? Why you hold a press conference of course! And then you use words like “digital revolution” and “create fantastic works of art” over and over and over and over again. That was the experience we had yesterday afternoon at the Casio press conference. Yes, the company that first brought digital photography to the world had nothing of substance to offer today but that didn’t keep them from holding a press conference and talking for a seemingly endless period of…

Reviews December 31, 2010

ToonCamera for iPhone/Touch Review

The iPhone 4 has a really good camera and it shoots HD video. I have come to be pretty dependent on the phone as a camera device as well as my only video device. I have collected quite an array of camera and video apps. In fact, I have started my third folder full of photography apps. One problem with these apps is that they rarely qualify in price for the Blue Plate Special. I recently came across ToonCamera which happens to be a simple, yet fun app for both video and photos. Let’s take a look. ToonCamera is exactly…

How to Do It Yourself! December 21, 2010

iPhoto Is More Than an Image Browser – It Moonlights As One of Santa’s Elves!

I read an article recently about self-publishing photo books. I have quite an archive of images on slides, black and white and color negative film and digital. My collection spans more than 25 years professionally and I even have some images I shot as a youth. The article got me to thinking about perhaps sitting down and pulling some of my best work and putting together a photo book that I could be proud to display or give as gifts. My usual holiday procrastination for gift shopping led me to find a note on the Apple website that states if…

How to Do It Yourself!, Reviews November 15, 2010

iPhone 4 Jazzin’ Up Photography

All images by author I finally upgraded to the iPhone 4 from Apple and my “hand-me-down” 3GS went to my new bride Tish. When Apple first began to release details of its latest phone I was eager to test the higher resolution 5 megapixel camera (versus 3ish of the previous phone). And with the last iOS update this new device now has the capability of HDR or High Dynamic Range photography. What a pleasant surprise. What is HDR? An easy explanation would be to think of it as “high-def” photography as the range of colors and tones displayed is greater….

Reviews August 18, 2010

The Vizit Mobile Network 10.4″ Touch Screen Photo Frame Review

The premise behind the Isabella Products Vizit 10.4″ Touch Screen Photo Frame is simple: You use it to “view and share photos with anyone, from anywhere, instantly over the mobile network.” The Vizit has a 10.4″ touchscreen and it can send or receive pictures over its 3G connection. Photos sent to the frame’s email address are stored in their original resolution at vizitme.com, scaled appropriately and sent to the frame for display. This eliminates the tedious task of swapping out memory cards, as well as makes it easier to keep photos updated via the cellular network. Since the Vizit experience is as…

How to Do It Yourself! July 26, 2010

Photography in the iPhone era

Let’s finally get to it. Photography in the iPhone (smartphone) era. A couple of years ago I wrote a column of how I was choosing my 5mp Nokia cellphone camera over carrying my Nikon D-SLRs each and every day for my photography needs. In all honesty, I had been leaving my Nikons behind for several years in favor of a Canon SX-IS series point and shoot digital camera. Aside from sporting events, the Canon satisfied my image-making needs and I still carry a Canon with me at work and on most vehicle shoots for my reviews. But I am never…

How to Do It Yourself! July 13, 2010

Photography in the iPhone world, part II

Images are recorded every moment of every day from a multitude (plethora, if you will) of recording devices ranging from cellphones to traffic cameras to the Hubble telescope spacecraft. Photography, in form or another, is all around us. Given the basic definition of the process, photography can be accomplished with any device made for the purpose of recording images – moving or still. Video cameras are basically just still cameras with very, very fast motor drives and longer record times. Most cinematic features are shot at 24 fps or frames per second. That is 24 images each second, repeated until…

How to Do It Yourself! July 4, 2010

Fun on the Fourth and fabulous fireworks photos

While preparing for part II of my ‘Picture This’ digital photography series I discover the calendar has turned to Independence Day here in the States. Many of you will be heading out to catch your local fireworks displays this evening, and some may have already been treated to early celebrations that lit up the night skies. This is not intended to be the definitive authority on fireworks photography, but I hope to assist you in getting better images with some advice I have learned over the past digital decade. First, and perhaps foremost especially given my new series covers photography…

Editorials July 2, 2010

Picture this: Photography in the iPhone world, part I

pho·tog·ra·phy (f?-t?g’r?-f?) n. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition defines photography as: 1)The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces. 2)The art, practice, or occupation of taking and printing photographs. 3)A body of photographs. A photograph is merely defined as “an image, especially a positive print, recorded by a camera.” Photography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It started as it did in most families with dad snapping the shutter at all major holidays and events in our lives. I remember my first camera…

Reviews May 4, 2010

iPad Camera Connection Kit Review

Unlike many of Apple’s devices, the iPad has seen a host of accessories released along with it. In the past Apple has relied mostly on its third party manufacturers to create cases and other peripherals for the iPhone, iPod etc. For the iPad Apple is offering a case, a power adapter, a dock, a keyboard dock, a display adapter and the camera connection kit, the last which we’re going to look at today. Right about now you’re probably asking yourself, “what do I need the camera connection kit for?” And I did the same thing as I stood in the…

News & Features April 30, 2010

Truth in Advertising Meets Photopshop

We all know certain pictures, like the mouth-watering shot of Cocoa Puffs on the box, are retouched to look better. But do you ever think about the shot of that bargain hotel you found through Google? Does it really have an ocean view, or is it just bordering a street called Ocean View? Apparently, this is a fairly widespread issue, so much so that there’s an entire travel site devoted to giving you the unvarnished truth about your prospective accommodations. Hit up Oyster and they’ll give you what they promise is an unretouched shot of the hotel and the honest…

Reviews April 26, 2010

The Lenovo ThinkCentre A70z 1165 as a Digital Picture Frame With Benefits; Why Not?!

At the end of 2008 I bought my first digital picture frame, the Gigantor 15″ from Think Geek, which at the time was one of the largest available without getting into astronomical amounts of money. I paid about $200 for it, which I thought was a pretty good deal considering that many 10″ and under frames were selling in the ~$150 range. Everyone who comes into our house will generally stop dead in their tracks when they see the massive photo display; they want to know who people are, when photos were taken, and where they were taken. It’s as…

Reviews March 27, 2010

Review: Digital Foci 8″ Portable Digital Photo Album PBK-080

It has been a while since I reviewed a product form Digital Foci. I liked the Photosafe II and I decided, when offered, to check out their new product, the 8 inch Digital Photo Book.

News & Features January 14, 2010

Quirky Cable Caps

Quirky, who use a community-driven process to determine which products to bring to market, and brings many products to market very quickly, have released their latest effort – Quirky Cable Caps. These caps, in 6 different styles, are designed to protect the (male) ends of USB cables and wrap up any excess cable as well. They each have a wild-looking head which slides over the cable end, and a rubber band type of body used to tie up the excess cable. The six styles available are: Printer Man, Phone Dude, Camera Gal, Eye Baller, Egg Man, and ‘Da Bulb. They are…

Reviews January 13, 2010

ProCamera Basic for iPhone Review

One of the lacking points of the iPhone is often the camera. Even though there have been improvements made with the 3GS camera, it is still lacking. Many apps are available to change the camera UI, edit photos or improve the experience. I have used many of these apps with mixed results. One problem with the camera is getting clear shots without blur from shaking. Lets face it, holding the small phone still enough to get a great shot is not like bracing yourself with a nicely weighted DSLR. ProCamera Basic proves to address some of the basic photo taking…

Reviews December 10, 2009

Joby Launches Gorillacam iPhone Camera App

I’ve been using my GorillaPod flexible tripod more and more. It works great with my iPhone and came in super-handy when I was using a number of iPhone camera apps while on vacation last week. Well Joby, the company behind the GorillaPod has released a free iPhone camera app. It is free, offers some nice features, works great and… did I mention… it is free!

News & Features December 4, 2009

Make Collages Quickly with Photovisi

If you like to make photo collages, but don’t necessarily want to futz around with getting those photos to overlap just so, then Photovisi may be a good option to consider. Photovisi offers free collage creation and makes the whole process quite easy. You pick a template (there are 18 from which to choose), upload your photos, crop them if needed, and bingo… you’re done. Just save the image to your computer and enjoy. Photovisi’s downloads are free and sized for use as desktop wallpaper. If you want something a little more tangible on which to show your handiwork, Photovisi…

eBooks, News & Features October 2, 2009

Make Memories Last with Picaboo Photo Books

Do you have summer photos just hanging around on your hard drive, abandoned now that fall is here? (Well, or almost here if you live in Texas!) Don’t let them get forgotten–upload them to Picaboo! Picaboo is a service that allows you to create photo books and cards from your digital photos, starting at just $9.99 for a softcover book. They offer easy-to-use software that guides you through the creation process with tons of layouts, backgrounds, fonts, and sample albums to help spark ideas. Possibly the coolest feature of the software is the ability to auto-create a photo book in…

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