My New Favorite Photo

20090119CannonBeach07

The Ultimate in Protection

http://www.skforlee.com/independent_work/lunch_bag.html

Wow! I just created my first "open in new window" HTML link.

The New Internet(s)

Well, I am finally coming around to the new web 2.0 concept. I just made a twitter account. It seems like "The Wall" on facebook, but you can embed the feed into multiple venues. I put my twitter feed on my blog. You can notice it off to the right of this page up in the corner. You can also embed it into facebook, but my attempt crashed like the stock market on Obama's inauguration day. The concept with the new web is that you update things very quickly across a load of diverse media access points. That means you can spread you message instantly, tailored to the viewing habits of your subscribers. Cool, but how to use it effectively?

Cannon Beach Rocks!!!

Here are some of the photos I took on my mini vacation with my wife to the Oregon coast. The new Nikon D60 did an amazing job, as did Lightroom. The weather was in the 60s with very little wind and zero clouds. An absolutely perfect weekend.

Notes on Adobe Lightroom 2

Adobe's Lightroom 2 is a fantastic tool. I love it. My photography has jumped up a level in terms of quality and style. The learning curve is a little more difficult than I expected, but once I was around the application for a few weeks I found the interface paradigm easy to use. Lightroom breaks down the workflow into separate modules: Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print and Web. The only two I ever use are Library and Develop. The Web module looks a little pointless as it generates web galleries of photos, something that most only photo site do already. They are pretty nice looking though, but why embed all of your content in a Flash movie when you can grab the photos from an externally located server.

For me, Lightroom 2 gets rid of three applications I was previously using: Adobe Bridge, Adobe DNG Convertor and Adobe Camera Raw. It combines the metadata templating functions of Bridge, the conversion of camera RAW images to DNG and non-destructively color corrects the DNG image. The Develop module is worth the price of admission. It is simply the best application for processing photos. Everyone can see how much better their photos will look with a minimal of color tweaking. The presets are also spectacular. While looking through flickr photos I always wondered how the great photographers got such strong color. Now I know, they use the presets in Lightroom!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my birthday. I am 39 today. I wish it was more exciting, but I think I am past the age of enthusiasm. I decided to go to Golden Corral for dinner. It is the only place where everyone can be mildly pleased by the selection of food in the heated troughs.

In Line at the DMV

There I was last night watching a lovely rerun of some Discovery Channel show when it hit me that I have to renew my Driver's License. Crap... my birthday is only two days away. The last time I forgot to renew my license I had to take the written and driving test over again. It was a total pain. That was fourteen years ago. The internet was born and everything in life was supposed to be better. The online renewal process died when it found out I needed glasses. So I was out of luck, I had to set foot in the DMV or as they call it in Washington state the DOL. It's funny how similar DOL and SOL are.

The process wasn't too complicated, except I didn't expect 75 people to be there when it opened at 8:30 am! I waited in line with my number "29" digitally printed and time stamped. The lady whose window I was summoned to by the red LED readout above her head was especially nice. She sported two long dark brown braids that made her look about 14. The first question she asked was about my drug use. I thought it was a little too personal of a question coming from a teenager, but I answered "No, I do not use drugs that can impair my ability to drive". The vision test was a piece of cake... "H, R, N, C, S, red, green, red, blue, yes I see the flashing lights." After parting with $25 I headed toward the dreaded photo session.

My photo turned out alright. I hurts to see what little hair I have left shuffling off the back of my head. I thought to myself when I saw the photo that I sure look 40.

Unholy Warcry-Misheard Lyrics

This is a video I made about three years ago. It involved about 80 hours of work to create. It is a parody of the Italian Metal band Rhapsody. Their lyrics are unintelligible but I believe they center around epic fantasies. I, for the life of me cannot figure them out. Their over-the-top production values and a cameo by Christopher Lee make this piece video gold.

My Family flickr Slideshow

Martin Hall

Originally uploaded by ewuphoto

This is the eastern entrance to Martin Hall on the Cheney campus of Eastern Washington University. The cirrocumulus clouds just popped on the day that I shot it. It is one of my favorite photos.

My first blog

I've finally done it. I've set up a blog. Now the question is what to say.