Entries tagged with “photography” from O'Reilly Digital Media Blog
iPhoto '09 appears simple on the surface. But there are sophisticated brains clicking away beneath that pretty face. I've discovered lots of things that I think you should know about iPhoto '09, and I'll show you as many as I can.
Every year the cherry trees flower in the cultivated areas of the hills of California's coastal range, and of course I am impelled to photograph the blossoms. This season the cherry trees are flowering a tad early, like everything else in California in 2009. My thought was to create a simple image of cherry blossoms against a white background. The...
As a Photoshop instructor and author, I need to be skilled at using both Mac and Windows machines. And like most of my Photoshop instructor friends, I use a stylus and a tablet for maximum brush control. For my Mac, I use a Mac Book Pro, and I tote my WACOM table everywhere I go. For my Windows machine, I use the Lenovo W700 Think Pad. What's especially cool about this machine is that is has a built-in tablet and stylus. How cool is that.
Since the world is always changing, photography is largely about capturing states of things---scenes, objects, or people---in the process of change. A single image can intimate the before, and the after, and resonate with events to come. This sense of time is what gives many photographic images their power. My process of working on photos after they've been taken is...
Between committments at Macworld at the Moscone Center I wandered over and indulged my dome photography habit by photographing the dome in the Westfield shopping mall in downtown San Francisco. I believe the dome itself is antique, but it's placed in an entirely modern shopping mall. Cameo, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger. It's easy with most domes...
What do Flickr, Blurb, and multiple sclerosis have in common? How can the combination contribute to the fight against MS, and maybe change the face of publishing at the same time? Several months ago I was contacted on Flickr by Sophie Addison, and asked to share my image Spirals in a book Sophie was creating titled It's a Beautiful World....
The current AirPort base station combined with iTunes, Apple TV, the iPhone, a handful of printers, and powered speakers have enabled me to configure an "upstairs/downstairs" network complete with printing and remote-controlled music streaming. Here's an overview.
What is the appeal of black and white photography? After all, we see the world in color, and a gray day is emotionally perceived as depressing and monotonous. Historically, black and white is easy to understand. Monochrome photographic processes were invented long before color. Even once color arrived on the scene, it was largely "yellow box": you snapped the photo,...
The Macworld keynote today focused on three basic new products: iLife '09, iWork '09, and an updated MacBook Pro 17". Within the iLife suite resides the new iPhoto. It has some refreshing technologies, such as Faces and Places, and has added a new twist or two to the Adjust panel. Here's a closer look at those features. Adjust Panel Improvements...
The intelligent, engaged crowd at fabulous old-school bookstore Book Passage in Corte Madera (Marin County) got a preview Sunday of an upcoming Macworld event. Derrick Story moderated a panel of our digital imaging experts, Lisa Snider-King (Photoshop CS4 Missing Manual), Mikkel Aaland (Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure) and Deke McClelland (Adobe Photoshop One-on-One and Photoshop Channels & Masks One-on-One.) Hot topics...
We've put together a killer line-up of speakers for this year's Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Here's an overview of the things you can do with just an Expo pass. And don't forget that great library of O'Reilly books to browse.
Pity poor Oakland. Playing Newark to San Francisco's New York across the water, Oakland definitely gets no respect. This is the city that gave the "no there" to there, a gritty and high crime urban wasteland. In real life, Oakland is a vibrant place of great variety, from beautiful hills to wildlife to sleek downtown skyscrapers to a controversial new...
It's a good observation that a difference between professional and very serious amateur photographers on the one hand, and snapshooters on the other, is that those in the pro group are always trying to create thematic links between their photos. This kind of grouping can imply a narrative, or revolve around a common technique, or involve the subject of the...
The number one question I get from photographers about Photoshop CS4 is, "Why should I bother to upgrade?" If you haven't seen the application, it's a totally reasonable query. So, we've put together an introductory package that will show you the highlights (for photographers) in CS4. It's a great plan, and here's how it rolls out.
Variety is the spice of life, and it is certainly part of what I enjoy about photography. Having a camera is an excuse for being anywhere and examining anything. Those of you who follow my blog or my photostream on Flickr will know that my subjects range from kids and flowers through the night landscape. I'm also intrigued with the...
I'm just back from one of the most incredible photographic experiences I've had - photographing the "blastoff" at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico with my friends from Naturescapes. I'm working on an article that will be posted on my site soon. It wiill also be posted on the Naturescapes site. Here is an expert - the prelude to the photo tech talk.
AMERICA AT HOME is extraordinary book created by 100 of the worlds leading photographers and tens of thousands of amateurs over the course of one week. You can create your own custom cover for the book this holiday season.
We all know that shooters are some of the most difficult people to impress with an affordable holiday gift. If they really need it, they already have it. If they don't have it, it's probably too expensive for them -- so that means you can afford it? I think photographers deserve good gifts just like everyone else, even if that...
Winter morning in Yosemite dawned cold with flakes of snow and remnant fog, but the promise of a possible clear day with blue skies. Provided you carefully archive your files, digital means never having to say you're done. This image is a re-processed version of Golden Wonder with the saturation taken down a bit. Indomitable, photo by Harold Davis. View...



