Details can be found at the following sites:
Nikon has unveiled its new flagship Pro DSLR the Nikon D4.
Nikon Announces Release of D4
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New Icon for Cambridge – Cambridge Biomedical Campus
The new Cambridge Biomedical Campus at Addenbrooks, Cambridge, UK. Gallery here Always pass this on my cycle ride to Cambridge, and love the way the light falls on the metal cladding. Looking forward to seeing it completed and all the fencing disappear.
Addenbrookes Biomedical Campus
Addenbrookes Biomedical Campus
Merry Christmas
Switching to Mac OS Lion: My experience testing on a separate drive.
For anyone who is contemplating switching to OS Lion and has been delaying this update. Due to the many negative reviews or for fear of losing important software. I have decided to post my experience with testing the new OS on a separate drive. This is by no means meant to be a definitive guide, review or in depth look at the changes to the new OS. I just thought it useful for those that do not know how to test and install on a separate drive or just want to hear a positive reaction to the experience. I strongly recommend testing the OS first before installing on a mission critical drive.
The steps I took before downloading the new OS were the following:
• Update all software to latest versions
• Create 2 bootable backups of the main volume. (I use SuperDuper which is very easy to use and straight forward)
• I used an external volume lacie 500Gb hard drive. Connected via firewire to test the new OS.
• After creating the clone or bootable backup on the Lacie drive I then restarted the Mac to boot from the Lacie drive. To do this you just need to hold down the Option key ⌥ while restarting. When prompted I selected the volume I wanted to start up from which was the Lacie clone.
• Once the computer had restarted using the Lacie drive I then used the App store to purchase and download the new OS Lion 10.7.2. I did the download overnight as its about 3gb and would have taken about 3 hours.
• When I returned to the computer there was a window asking me if I wanted to install the new OS. I clicked install and selected the clone Lacie drive to install to. Installation took 30mins.
I could see straight away in the dock software which was no longer going to work (icon covered with no entry symbol) this included:
Dreamwever MX
Epson Scan software for the 3170 model scanner
The following is a list of my critical software which all appears to be operating well (latest version unless stated);
Filemaker Pro
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3
Epson Print Driver for the Stylus Photo 2100
Epson Print CD
Word 2008 v.12.3.0
Expression Media v1.0.3
Omni Focus
Colour Navigator 6
Overall the finder seems snappier and quicker when changing views. Its also less intrusive all icons now seems to be the same colour for folders, buttons etc.
All my settings have remained intact. Although one noticable chgange is that the sidebar on windows is now reveresed that where before I had all my devices at the top then folders below that and then favourites. This is now reversed which was little annoying at first. It is possible however to drag devices into the favourites area so actually this is an improvement over the previous design. I also notice that scrolling up/down using the wheel on my Wacom mouse and wireless Apple mouse has reversed. Apparently Apple believe that this is more intuitive way to use a mouse. It is possible to change this via System settings > mouse settings.
So far this is as much testing as I have done, but I feel confident that I will not have problems using the new OS. I have also not looked closely at new features.
Drop me a comment if you have any questions or suggestions!
Curious Ceramics Handmade in England
I had the opportunity earlier this year to work with a great British ceramic designer Indigo Moss. Taking photographs of a small sample of new designs for their website.
Indigo Moss Ceramics
A profile of artist, Andreas Gursky. Director Ben Lewis
An interesting profile of photographer Andreas Gursky by director Ben Lewis.
Ben Lewis – Gursky World from TofuTasties on Vimeo.
#Hash key on Apple Mac Keyboard
This post is for anyone who is new to using a UK Apple mac keyboard and is searching for the hash # key on your apple keyboard. You wont find it…..as its not there. But you can use a shortcut.
Hold down the alt/option key then press 3
For anyone who is an avid Twitter user the # hash key is becoming an important character.
If you don’t get a hash appear, open the Keyboard Viewer if you don’t see any other character changing when you press the alt/option key. Try this:
Open system preferences > Keyboard > Select the ‘Modifier Keys’ button at bottom right > you will see a list with the Option key and a drop down list next to it. It should say ‘Option’. If it says ‘No action’ change this to ‘Option’
Iphone App “Phocus”
There are many Depth of Field apps available for the iphone but this one is unique. Phocus has the ability to calculate depth of field based on selecting your optimum aperture or minimum and maximum focus distance. These options are useful for composing images where focus is critical between two key areas or where you need to know what will be in acceptably sharp focus at a given aperture.
The ability to calculate this used to be available with most manuel lenses. Now with autofocus lenses the depth of field calculator has gone and you only have the distance scale available, at least on Nikon lenses this is the case. I don’t tend to need this kind of tool
for most of my work. However occasionally its useful for critical work or when working close to the subject.
Monkey Business Illusion Test
This is an interesting video for anyone interested in testing their visual awareness.
Fascinating blog from the authors.
Attention to detail – Lighting for an award portrait
The brief was simple, capture a striking portrait of a staff member with their award for leadership, for an internal company publication. The person in question worked across a department involved in creating maps from geological data. I settled on creating two different images. The first a simple headshot of the subject with award and the second a portrait involving other staff members and some action. For the purposes of this post I am using the example of the basic headshot portrait with award to show how using lighting and background can create an effective and engaging image, of what is usually a fairly standard shot of someone holding an award.
With this type of assignment it is preferable to be able set up without causing to much disruption and to be able to do this quickly, especially if planning multiple shots. As such I travelled light for this assignment I had with me x3 SB800 flash guns, x 2 stands, 1 softbox brolly, 1 translucent brolly
For the first shot, the headshot I new I needed a background which I could either blur using a long focus lens wide open to isolate the subject or I could create a backdrop which was tied in a little more to the story of where the subject worked and could also serve as a background to the second shot involving some action. After a quick scout of the open plan office I settled on the option to create a colourful and striking backdrop using the many maps found in the office. The map we selected was pinned up over other maps already covering the wall to create a large area of map and colour which would provide a large enough background to fill the frame.
I made sure that the space I was going to use would provide enough depth to allow me to light for both the background and the subject as well as allowing me to throw the background out of focus slightly. I set up 2 lights on stands one with the Softbox and the other with a shoot through brolly. The softbox was placed high and close to the subject on camera left so that light would fall on background, as well as creating quite hard shadows on the subjects face. I took the first test shot to see how this looked.
Award Portrait for internal publication - lighting test
This has created quite a punchy image, but I felt that the shadow created on the subject’s left side was little dark and needed fill. I also noticed the background seemed a little dull. To overcome these issues, I placed a light with shoot through brolly on camera right, close to my position and high. For the background I placed a 3rd light on a box low down behind the subject on camera right. I left this third flash bare without a gel or any light modifier. The other 2 had green and orange gels, the purpose of which was to match the flash light with the white balance setting on camera and the ambient overhead flourcesnt of the office and also contrast with the bare background light. Shooting with my chosen white balance setting with the bare SB800 meant the background took on a subtle bluish colour. After some tweaking by aiming the light away from the background slightly the light fall off was enough not to be distracting and gave the maps more life.
Award Portrait for internal publication - Final shot