"All science is either physics or stamp collecting."--Ernest Rutherford
There's nothing a photographer likes better than ripping the shrink wrap off a new software tool, image-editing program, or plug-in. The expression on their face reminds me of kids opening brightly-colored boxes during the holidays. While these kind of toy-like tools allow us to...
"The still must tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told." --Cindy Sherman
Two quotes again this month: The first by Ansel Adams, the second by Cindy Sherman. There are six photographers in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential artists and entertainers of the 20th century: Henri Cartier-Bresson, W. Eugene...
"Only the mediocre are alwlays at their best." --Jean Giraudoux
Two quotes this month: The first by Alan Kay was on my mind while replying to the editor of my book The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography--I didn't choose that title. He asked: "If I want to emulate the look of color IR film is a plug-in or (digital)...
"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." --Isaac Asimov
I've tried to dump my Windows computer many times over the past few years, but the reality of writing Digital Innovations dictates it should be cross platform. So when my eMachines motherboard was fried, it was easier and cheaper to replace...
"There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept." --Ansel Adams
It could be that the sainted Adams meant a fuzzy image of a brilliant concept, but we'll never know. This month's column looks at using imaging software to blur an image and was inspired by a letter from reader Carol Baker. As a movie buff you gotta know...
This month's column contains practical and creative software from around the world, including something new from Greece's gift to the imaging world, Panos Efstathiadis. It's rare to see artists working together, but Efstathiadis' Stamp, that appears at the end of this column, is part of Frank Hatcher's WZ2K Cork Board Photoshop Action set. Some of...
"You might as well do your holiday hinting early."--Anonymous
Submitted for your approval: A list of gizmos, gadgets, and gear for the digitally-minded who maybe thought they had everything but didn't know that they really needed lots more stuff to produce the ultimate image. You can use this month's column as a shopping list for your...
"I always have a quotation for everything, it saves original thinking." --Dorothy L. Sayers
Color filters for photography are often identified by their Wratten numbers, but who is this Wratten guy? Wratten & Wainwright made photo materials for commercial printing and by 1909 had established the Wratten system and published The Photography...
"The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive." --Robert Heinlein
After 100 years, Eastman Kodak has stopped making black and white photographic paper that the Associated Press called "a niche product for fine art photographers and hobbyists..." I don't think there is any such thing as "fine...
"There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are."--Ernst Haas
Whenever I rant about how it's the photographer's vision not the hardware that's important for creating memorable images, I'm reminded of when I was younger and shooting pictures with a well-used...
"All power corrupts but we need the electricity."--Anonymous
Those people who tell me they capture everything in raw format remind me of those photographers who used to shoot "everything on Velvia." Heck, I don't even shoot everything on CompactFlash. My Canon EOS-1D Mark II takes both CompactFlash and Secure Digital cards. Well Bunky, if...
"Nothing travels faster than the speed of light except bad news, which obeys its own special laws."--Douglas Adams
A digicam's infrared capability is a feature that's sometimes overlooked when cameras are reviewed in Shutterbug and other publications. Lest you think digital IR capture is an esoteric pursuit, a Google search turned up...
"Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one's chosen form." --Stephen Nachmanovitch
The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free open source photo retouching and image authoring program. While some of its fans claim it's just as good as Adobe...