Mozy: Online Backup, Easy

For the last few days i have been playing with Mozy, an Online Backup service. Its pretty easy to install and setup: It has built in backup templates, and you just select the ones you want to use, and it just backs up in the background. And not only that, its FREE. Well, you get 2Gb of online storage, for nothing, or unlimited storage for $4.99 a month! Very cool stuff. Perfect for storing your most valued photos!

Sign up now!

Adobe LightRoom 1.1 released

Adobe Lightroom 1.1 has been relased. Inside Lightroom has the details. I might try this out over the next few days on Windows and see how it fares on the Mac Pro with 5Gb ram and 4 processing cores...

Lots of new HP point and shoot cameras...

All budget ones. Right, usually i would perfer posting about higher end point and shoot cameras, and nice SLRs, but, Engadget has a list of 9 HP budget cameras just released. Now, why would i be interested, when i have a grand worth of SLR and Glass in the house? Well, you cant really bring them to the Pub, or a birthday party with Drink and drunken people, especially if you will be drinking too. These are the kind of cameras which you dont mind accidentally dropping... So, check them out. cheapest is $80, most expencive is about $300.

Video: Photo Tourism: Exploring Photo Collections in 3D [2006]

Video: Photo Tourism: Exploring Photo Collections in 3D [2006] [via Microsoft Photography Blog

GigaPixel photos

Docbert.org has some very cool photos, some of which are in the Gigapixel range, and very high mega pixel counts too. there are 3 in total: Chicago by night, at a Gigapixel (tech info here), Machu Picchu, at a staggering 1.5GP (again, info here) and Sydney by night, at 720MP (tech info here). This is pretty interesting stuff. in the info pages, the photographer says how the photo was generated, but there are no details about if there was a special tripod or anything used to take the photos. Very cool stuff though.

Custom Photography Laptop Case

Check out this video over at Chase Jarvis' blog showing you his custom laptop case for photography. This is very cool! 1 or 2 things though:
1: will it hold a 17" Mac Book Pro?
2: Would be cooler if it could hold a camera too...
3: I want one! :)

What does CS3 mean for Aperture users

I never really likes Adobe Photoshop. Too bulky for what i wanted. Thats why i love Aperture. Everything is a lot easier and quicker (well, depends on your defination of quicker) then photoshop. But, anyway, this article over at Oreilly's Inside Aperture goes into some of the new things in CS3 and what they mean for Aperture users. Check it out.

Drobo: Worlds first storage robot

Now, this rocks! Drobo is a storage robot which allows you to not have to think about storage any more. One of the problems I have is my photos being stored in places. I have 2 300 GB external hard drives, which both store my Aperture vault. Then I have the original data stored on my main hard drive in my Mac Pro. Now, with Drobo, in theory, I could store the aperture library just on Drobo, and not have to worry about it. It's not a RAID array, as such, but it does do mirroring, migration of data, and other cool features.

It connects via USB, takes SATA Drives, and just automates your storage needs.

Couple of things I want to see:

1. Support for more drives (say 8 or 16)
2. NAS/iSCSI support. Linked in with above. My thinking behind this is if you have one of these with 16 750 GB HDDs, you would make images (think VHDs) of drives, which would be mountable over iSCSI or connectable via SMB or NFS. The reason I think iSCSI would be to allow Media Center to connect to it, and actually record to it. Also, Exchange could have a chunk of storage, same with SQL. I am thinking of my own network here, but it should work with everyone's... or at least guys with as many machines as I have.

I have read about this before, but this post over at Inside Aperture made me want to post this.

[This post is being posted on both my main blog, for the techie content, and my photography blog because of the Aperture stuff].

Looking for an Aperture solution

So, i have 2 macs: My PowerBook G4, which, after some tweaking will be my on the road photography machine, and my Mac Pro, which is my main Aperture machine. At the moment, the PowerBook is not being used in the workflow (it was up untill i got the Mac Pro) but what i want to be able to do is take a PowerBook with me (say a wedding or anywhere for that matter) and shoot on the 350D with direct to memory card or Tethered. then, after the shoot (or during with tethered) i want to do my keywording, small modifications to the images, rating, etc. once all this is complete, i want to be able to leave it alone. When i get home, i want to then add the project that is in the PowerBooks library to the MacPro's library, with modifications. since the masters are not touched, my thinking is copy them over, with the XMP side car, but also what ever changes are used to make the version. Has anyone done anything like this? anyone have a workflow i can "Borrow"? [update] i think i found it. in aperture you can export projects. now, i dont know exactly what it does, but you can also import one. So, if i can do that, and if it works, then cool beans man! now to try it out... :)

Tethered workflow in Aperture

Check out this Apple.com tutorial showing you how to setup a Tethered workflow in Aperture. You might be wondering why you would want this and what a tethered workflow actually is. Well, with a tethered workflow, your camera does not save its photos to the memory card, but sends them via Firewire or USB to the computer directly. This allows full screen previewing of the photo a lot quicker then shooting a few photos, poping out the memory card and then uploading to the machine. and that kind of answers the why too. i have been playing with this today for a few minuites, and it seems to work well. Ideally, this should be done on a Laptop (my PowerBook may do the job well) but while trying it out im doing with on the MacPro. Anyway, check it out. Very handy for Studio shoots.

100th post!

Well, its been a while since the first post (back on the 11th may 2006) but i have managed 100 posts, and this is it!

First look at the Canon 1D Mark III

Rob Galbraith has a review of the new Canon 1D Mark III. this is the fast one, which does 10 frames per second for something like 13 seconds. pretty impressive. definatly an impressive camera, but me thinks a bit over the top for what i want (Now, a 5D, thats different! :) I Want! :)

What is a fast lens?

Digital Photography school answer the question: What is a fast lens. A very good question, and a very informative answer.

Kodak: the winds of change

Its camera related so its going here: Kodak: the winds of change. Booya!

RAW workflow: A pro's approach

Check out this Digital photography school article explaining a Pro's Approach to a RAW Workflow. I have to fine tune my RAW workflow at the moment, as i am having problems (like my Aperture library taking up roughly 30Gb, and i dont even know of what!) so once i do, i will have my workflow listed here, but lets give a high level overview: Camera -> Aperture -> external backup -> top rated go to my SmugMug page.

Learn better photography with Kris Krug

Check out this video over at the Scoble Show: Learn better photography with Kris Krug. Very cool video. I learned some stuff, especially the idea of bringing your camera with you all the time. I defiantly want to do this!

Aperture Video tutorial

Check out this video over at Digital Photography School showing you details about Aperture. This is not Apple Aperture, but aperture of a lens. Very cool stuff!

SmugMug

After some thought and playing with Phanfare i decided to open a SmugMug account ($5 off link). I have installed the Aperture Export addin which makes uploading a lot easier, and there are some photos up there now. I will be adding more over time, So, check it out! I have not given up on my dream of one day building a complete, self build photo sharing site, but it will be on hold. im currently fairly busy, and insted of building the photosite, i want to take photos! [update] it would have been a good idea to include a link to the new site tiernanotoole.smugmug.com.

Phanfare

So, as you probably know, i have developed this photography site, pretty much from scratch. The only problem with that is time to add new features, and because of the way it was developed, it takes a fair amount of time to actually upload new photos. So, the interium solution to this problem is my phanfare site. I have uploaded some photos today, and more will be coming over the next while. Its got some nice features i want to add to my own site, but that might be a while. Anyway, check it out!

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Aperture Users Profesional Network

If you use Aperture in your Photography workflow, you might want to check out the Aperture Users Profesional Network. Lots of interesting articles, so check it out.

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HDVew: Gigapixel photos!

Check out this Microsoft Research project called HDView. The idea is take a load of photos, and stick them together so you can zoom in to differet parts of it, but still have full quality on the zoom. Very cool and interesting project. [via Rob Burke]

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Camera Armor

I like taking photos. and i like to bring my camera places to take photos. i only have 1 problem: Weather. When it rains, my camera does not like it. i dont mind me getting wet (i can get dry in the car) but if the camera gets wet, thats a whole different story. it might not want to work after. Well, i dont know how much weather protection this supplies but if it does, and they make one for a Canon 350D, i want one! :)

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Photobook sites

in May of last year, my Sister turned 21. as a gift idea, my mum asked me to build a photobook for her. After scanning a load of photos, i then realized that i couldent work out how to get it printed. I ended up using Apple's iPhoto, which worked well, but wasent great. I wanted to get some photos printed up for a friends wedding, but, as i said, the iPhoto book dident look profesional enough. Well, here are 3 different sites that could help if your in the market for a photo book:

Blurb: Looks like more then just a photo book. very interesting. you can also sell your books on their store. I havent used them, but im thinking about it

PrintMyPhotoBook: again, havent used them, but looks good.

MyPublisher: looks simular to the iPhoto books, but not sure since, again, havent used them.

Hopefully this helps! :)

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$10 macro photography studio

This is cool. a $10 macro photography studio. might come in handy for taking photos of gadgets.

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Selling your digital photos

The interestingly named blog "Get Rich slowly" has an article on how to sell your digital photos. i might try this one of these days...

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More new cameras from PMA

Hands-on with Panasonic's SDR-S10 camcorder
BetterLight intros 416-megapixel digital camera back
Hands-on with Panasonic's line FX12, FX30, FZ8, LS70, LZ7, and TZ3
Hands-on with Pentax's A30, M30, T30, and W30
Agfa joins the PMA action, unveils DC-630i point-and-shoot
Checking out GE's new digital cameras


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Lots of new cameras announced today

Lots of cameras released and announced today. lets start:
GE unveils 8 new digital cameras

Hands-on with Sigma's SD14 DSLR

Hands-on with Sony's DSC-W80, W90, W200, H7, H9, W35, W55, S650, and S700

Hands-on with Casio's EXILIM EX-Z1050, Z75, and V7

Hands-on with Olympus's E-410 and E-510 DSLRs

Pentax's 645 Digital is real, too good for us

Hands-on with Nikon's P5000

Hands-on with Nikon's D40x

Sony shows off Alpha DSLR "Flagship" and "High Amateurs" models

Hands-on with Canon's SD750, SD1000, A560, and A570

Hands-on with Sony's DSC-T20 and T100 compacts

Hands-on with Canon's TX1 hybrid still-camcorder

Hands-on with Sony's DSC-G1 WiFi featurecam

Hands-on with Canon's EOS 1D Mark III DSLR

New cameras from Kodak and Olympus

Both Kodak and Olympus have some new cameras today.

Olympus's EVOLT E-510 and E410 live LCD DSLRs

Olympus's Stylus 780

Kodak Easyshare V803 reviewed

You need a prime lens

Photocritic has a post about Prime lenses, entitled "you need a prime lens". This is interesting, because i am buying one of these in the next week or so. I got to play with one of these lenses, a Canon F1.8 50mm prime lens and they are very fast and nice to use.
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Lots of new cameras released today, or at least announced, from Canon and FujiFilm

So, this morning we have no less then 8 Cameras released, 5 from Canon, and 3 from Fuji. So, without further ado, here are the links:

Canon's EOS-1D Mark III DSLR with live LCD
Canon debuts SD750 and SD1000 Digital ELPH cameras
Canon's compact PowerShot TX1 captures 7.1 megapixel stills and HD video
Canon's new PowerShot A570 and A560
Fujifilm's FinePix A820 and A900 for consumers
Fujifilm's FinePix S5700

Of them all, the most imporant one for most photographers will be the EOS 1D Mark III, even though most could not afford it. The specs are interesting. 10 frames a second for up to 110 photos in JPEG or 30 in RAW. thats 11 seconds continous shooting in JPG! it also mentions something called a "Live LCD". From what i have read, it seems to be the same thing you get on a low end digital camera, but better. i can actually see this being handy (Tripod shooting, or if your shooting with your camera heigher then you, but it does sound strange.

Also, the TX1 is very interesting. this is what i want to carry around with me. HD Video, 7MP photos, and its a Canon (not literally a canon that shoots people, but you know what i mean. Sorry, its early, ish, in the morning. my head doesent work correctly at this time...) Sounds interesting. could be handy for the shots where a Full SLR is too big (eg, Pub, Partys, some family outings, etc)

New Nikon Cameras

Well, Nikon has been busy and has released no less then 8 new (non SLR) digital cameras. Ranging from low end consumer, to ProSumer cameras, they look like they could be interesting. Linking to the Engadget articles here, since they have more commentry and photos:

Nikon announces S50, S50c, S200, and S500
Nikon's new L10, L11 and L12 Coolpix take it low-end
Nikon's P5000 10 megapixel prosumer cam

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Adobe PhotoShop LightRoom now available

Adobe has just released PhotoShop LightRoom 1.0. I played with the beta before, and was impressed, but it was still beta. I will try this out tonight and see how things go. [Via TUAW]

howto: Profesional HDR photos

I have seen a few of these "HDR" photos around, but never actually figured out how to take them or make them. Well, hopefully, with the help of this tutorial over at Backing Winds, I will have some HDR photos for you to check out later on. And if not, at least you have the tutorial! :)

rebuilding the photography site with SQS, Serialization and more

[update] removing from my photography site, as it was to be posted on my techy geeky site... :) Original post here.

Some updates to the blog

So, its been a very busy time for the last few weeks, and that's the reason I have had very little posts here, or, for that matter, time to take photos. The last time I took my 350D out to take photos was last week when I got my new phone. Photos are here (WARNING: these are extremely geeky photos!). The other thing is I'm using Flickr a lot more for my photos, and not my own, custom in house built gallery system. this is probably due to the features I can do with Flickr at the moment. I will start adding some of these to my gallery system, but it might be a while.

Now about the photos of the phone. these where taken with a Sigma 10-20MM lens I borrowed from a Co-Worker. Very nice lens. I would have liken to take more out side shots, but with rain, snow, darkness and lack of time, this did not happen. hopefully I will get out at the weekend, and we see what happens!

Tags: photography 350D Sigma

Photography Shop now open

Ok, its not perfect, but its a start. The Tiernan OToole Photography shop is live. Not a lot on it at the moment, but we are getting there! :)

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Backing up Aperture with Amazon S3

Micah Walter has a blog post over at Oreilly's Digital Media blog about using Amazon S3 to backup your Aperture Vault. Interesting theory, and would be very cool for working with photos on the move. Mind you, if your on the move, you may need one hell of an internet connection for uploading all your photos... considering I shoot in RAW (which weigh in at anywhere from 4-8mb each) and then what ever changes I do to the photo (if any) plus the preview images, etc, you talking, for an average 6mb RAW image, to have about 10mb of files, total. so, you shoot 100 photos, that's 1gb that needs uploading. you wont want to be doing that on a 56k dialup connection. Actually, that would take over 4 and a half hours to upload on a 512k internet connection! EEK!

[Reposted from the main blog here]
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New Photography site, Some minor issues

Ok, so my new photography site is now Live! Check out the Galeries and see what i have been working on for the last while. most photos arent great (like my spelling) but there there for testing. More will be done over the next while. The one issue i am having is DNS. I have moved servers around a bit, so you may still be looking at the old site. Hopefully this will be fixed in the next few days.
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