There she stands in full glory!

I just had to share this awesome photograph from Kaj Bjurman

There she stands in full glory!

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Lightroom 2.6 is out

Lightroom 2.6 is out. [ http://tinyurl.com/yflbful ]

Here is the update list:

Support for the following cameras has been added in this update.

Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

Canon EOS 7D

Canon PowerShot G11

Canon PowerShot S90

Leaf Aptus-II 5

Mamiya DM22

Mamiya DM28

Mamiya DM33

Mamiya DM56

Mamiya M18

Mamiya M22

Mamiya M31

Nikon D3s

Olympus E-P2

Panasonic DMC-FZ38

Pentax K-x

Sigma DP1s

Sony A500

Sony A550

Sony A850

Important File Format Support Exceptions (Formats not supported):

• CMYK Files

• PSD files saved without a composite image. (Saved without “Maximize Compatibility” setting)

• Files with dimensions greater than 65,000 pixels per side (512 Megapixel Total)

• All video files, including those acquired by digital still cameras

New in Lightroom 2.6

The goal of this release is to address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Lightroom 2 and provide additional camera raw support. A comprehensive list of issues fixed in this release is included below:

Lightroom 2 Bugs - Fixed

• The crop tool would unlock a locked aspect ratio after a rotation adjustment

• For Mac OS X 10.6 customers, visual artifacts could appear when panning an image viewed at 1:1 in the Develop module.

• For Mac OS X 10.6 customers, the 10.6.2 update included a correction that prevented Lightroom 2 from opening more than two files using the Edit-in-Photoshop functionality.

• Lightroom 2.6 provides a fix for an issue affecting PowerPC customers using the final Lightroom 2.5 update on the Mac. The issue, introduced in the demosaic change to address sensors with unequal green response, has the potential to create artifacts in highlight areas when processing raw files from Sony, Olympus, Panasonic and various medium format digital camera backs.

• Lightroom 2.5 and earlier did not support the updated Panasonic DMC-LX3 aspect ratio modes added with the camera’s latest version 2.0 firmware

Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough
Originally uploaded by Jim Hawksworth

Here is a recipe for some really great pizza dough and it is very easy to make.

1 package active dry yeast (or 2.25 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour or whole wheat.

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in remaining ingredients; beat vigorously 20 strokes. Let it rest about 5 minutes and roll out into the shape you want!!! Enjoy.


Photo info: Taken with a Blackberry Tour 9630
Color corrected and uploaded with Lightroom 3 Beta

Sanctuary (TV Show)

I have really been enjoying the Canadian TV show 'Sanctuary' [ Wiki entry ]



The show synopsis is: Sanctuary's story takes place in a world that is different from our own, yet feels familiar. In Sanctuary, monsters move secretly throughout the world, both threatening and threatened, while one woman and her team search them out.

I find the gist of the show is kind of like Ghostbuster's meets X-Files. I have been streaming the Season 1 on Netlfix

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New Theme

I have changed my Blog Theme, and am going to change my website theme before the year ends. I must get ready for 2010!

Added new photos to Flickr

Midway through 2009 I wiped out all the photos I had on Flickr, and it was very refreshing to do. I have just recently added some new photos, starting fresh with better organization. I think it will be more fun.
Jim Hawksworth Flickr

New Personalied Google Search

Confirmed. The rumors about Google's redesign are true, and you can try it for yourself with a very simple method.

1. Go to Google.com.
2. Once it loads, enter this code into your web browser's URL address field:

javascript:void(document.cookie="PREF=ID=20b6e4c2f44943bb:U=4bf292d46faad806:TM=1249677602:LM=1257919388:S=odm0Ys-53ZueXfZG;path=/; domain=.google.com");

There shouldn't be any http://google.com in front of that. Just that code.

3. Hit enter.
4. Reload or open a new Google.com page and you will have access to the new user interface.

It's fast and sweet, although the changes don't affect all the available sections. [Thanks Matt Karolian]

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Test Post from Flock

Just installed Flock 2.5 and am setting up services

www.flock.com

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I'm exhausted and taking a long break from electronic social networking
bis später...ich weggleiten (see you later...I slip away)

Learning

f-stops, apertures, bokeh, dances of light, sources...
There is so much to do, so much that changes, so many ways to make a difference and many more to be the same. Let there be light.

What I have found that matters is to always be in a state of learning, no matter how much knowledge is thought to be known. Knowledge is like a library, that can be withdrawn when sought upon, but knowledge is also a barrier to creation. Only in naivete is the innocence of sight truly realized and expressed.

When art is a burden, bury it.

I love the myth how a Phoenix burns to ashes and rises yet again.

EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro

This is without a doubt on my list as a sleeper lens in the Canon line-up. Not only does it completely own up to the MACRO specification, it also performs excellent as a portrait lens. It is also very good for just walking around. It is light to carry, has excellent build quality, and goes down to f/2.8. The bokeh is very creamy, and sharpness probably only bested by the EF 135mm f/2.0 prime. I highly recommend the purchase of the ET-67 lens hood (pictured)

This particular shot was taken with my trusty Canon SD450 pocket camera at 4 exposure values and merge and mapped with Photomatix.

It's all happening at the Zoo

I went to San Francisco Zoo last weekend and that was a blast. The weather was outstanding, although abnormally warm for January. I did get some great photos of all kinds of animals. Merkats (pictured) are really fun to watch and photograph. They are so playful and curious.

The Zoo itself is quite large although, buy a lot of the old zoo areas are run down and cages empty. The newer areas are excellent and provide viewing on two levels. The Children's Zoo area was very good my favorite part being the Birds of Prey. I have never been that close to a Golden Eagle or Great Horned Owl. 

I think I will go to Oakland Zoo next.

Lag

It has been 3 months since my last post. That is bad. A blog should be daily.
I have been busy with all kinds of things I should have written about. So much can happen in so little time.

I have really been learning a lot, and developing new ideas, and yet it is always hard to find the time to really create and concentrate the way I would like to.

Where I am at:
I think the digital medium is a huge sandbox that has opened up photograhy to the masses. This is good overall, but it has also brought a lot of issues and one for me that is very hard to deal with is simply 'Art', or 'the moment'. I struggle with how I can simply shoot a litany of frames and deal with issues later, things that can be 'fixed'. While this is truly a good thing, it is also a very bad thing in my humble opinion. For me the whole desire and attraction of photography is the timing, capturing that dance of light on something at that perfect moment. In my time with digital and all it's amzaing tools I find the moments are still captured, but they tend to be altered in development. For the sake of my eye and the later viewing, I have switched to shooting black and white JPG on my Canon 30D. This gives me serious limitations, that I will have to say are producing better results because I am more thoughtful of the frame. Typically shooting RAW leaves a lot of areas for a lot of correction. Typically shooting color leaves a lot of area for opinon in the mind. Black and white is very focused.

All is well, life is alive.