The Apaxvn Times

Sony SEL50F18 E50mm F1.8 portrait lens

2012-01-19T18:22:00.001Z

Just wanted to share some information on the Sony SEL50F18 E50mm F1.8 portrait lens for the NEX system.

You can learn more about this lens on the Sony website; if you're interested in this potentially wonderful prime lens and how it performs then check out this link for some excellent samples and the beautiful bokeh...dreamy.

Black & white photography to enjoy

2012-01-10T13:30:00.001Z

As an avid (correction...fanatical!) follower of Digital Photography Review, I stumbled across a good example of some black & white photography.

Click here to visit the forum thread.

Flexslider - a jQuery slider plugin

2012-01-10T12:02:00.000Z

Today, I stumbled across this rather nice jQuery slider (I know, another one!): Flexslider

Check out the advanced options page, as it has a nice looking version there, as shown in the above screengrab...good stuff!

The Slidorion - a combination of image slider and an accordion

2012-01-05T11:11:00.000Z

We've all seen countless wonderful JQuery image sliders and accordions but rarely do we come across one that does both! Introducing Slidorion - a combination of image slider and an accordion.

The author sums it nicely: A combination of an image slider and an accordion, the Slidorion displays beautiful images along with a variable length description. With slides linked to each tab, and accompanied by a large array of effects, the Slidorion is a great alternative to the traditional jQuery slider.

Paper Camera for Android

2011-12-11T12:40:00.001Z

My friend Marcin took this awesome photo with his Android handset, using an app called Paper Camera.

Concrete5 Subscriptions Add-On

2011-11-27T22:29:00.001Z

For those of you using the excellent Concrete5 CMS framework, here is an add-on for handling subscriptions; it's called Simple Subscriptions. In summary, and I quote: "Want to require a recurring payment to access certain parts of your website? This is the easiest way to get from a standard Concrete5 website to a subscription service! Great for membership sites too."

http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/simple-subscriptions/

Modx, eForm and form validation

2011-11-10T21:18:00.001Z

For those of you using the excellent CMS Modx, here's a snippet of information you may find useful. A website I created, with Modx, also has a contact form, utilising the eForm snippet and parser. I enabled Captcha in the settings and added the necessary calls to invoke the Captcha on the contact form. However, whilst the Captcha did appear to be working, and checking for validation on submit, the Captcha image wasn't being rendered. I figure the server the website is hosted on doesn't have the necessary libraries installed to do so, so another method was called for.

I stumbled across an article which describes how to use a built-in eForm technique, and a tiny bit of CSS (one line actually), and I'm happy to report that it works! Visit the link below to learn more:

http://bigbuddymarketing.com/eliminate-spam-in-modx-eform-without-captcha

Manufacture dEssai

2011-11-03T12:38:00.001Z

I really like the fashion photography on this website, check it out.

http://www.manufacturedessai.it/it/

Recent photography by Theo

2011-10-21T15:58:00.001+01:00

Here is a collage of some photos I've taken of my beautiful wife. A Canon 5D MKII and a Canon EF 70-200 2.8L IS lens were used to take the photographs.

Post processing involved Canon RAW software, Adobe Photoshop and Snapseed on the iPad.

Enjoy.

For more of my photos please visit www.arachni.co.uk

Canon EF 24-70 mm F/2.8 L USM lens for sale

2011-07-08T09:15:00.000+01:00

I'm selling my wonderful Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L USM lens on eBay - check it out!
The lens is in MINT condition, no marks or scratches. It comes with a UV filter in place, for extra protection, a Canon carry case, and lens caps. I've looked after this lens, so it is like new.

Click here to view my lens on eBay

Canon EF 70-200mm f 2.8L IS USM lens for sale

2011-07-08T09:12:00.001+01:00

I'm selling my wonderful Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM lens on eBay - check it out!
The lens is in MINT condition, no marks or scratches. It comes with a UV filter in place, for extra protection, a leather Canon carry case, and lens caps. I've looked after this lens, so it is like new.

Click here to view my lens on eBay

Compare game prices and more...

2011-03-24T15:09:00.001Z

Check out these websites for comparing game prices, and an online shop a friend recommended to me.

http://www.shopto.net

http://www.best-game-price.co.uk/

Photography and more. Enjoy.

2011-02-18T09:49:00.000Z

http://www.organicgrid.com/#/home

Slides: a rather nice JQuery slideshow plugin

2010-12-10T17:28:00.000Z

If you're a fan of JQuery and slideshow components, then take a look at this cool example:

http://slidesjs.com/

JQuery Featured List component

2010-12-10T10:15:00.000Z

Check out this awesome JQuery "Featured List" component; easy to configure and setup, and looks great too.

http://www.bitrepository.com/stylish-your-featured-items-using-an-interactive-jquery-widget.html?awt_l=DK3Pp&awt_m=JTK4MVez8KYCLV

Source: http://jqueryglobe.com/article/feature-list
Demo: http://jqueryglobe.com/labs/feature_list/

// UPDATE
The links above no longer work, as at October 2011, so I've found another featured list JQuery component.

http://webdeveloperplus.com/jquery/featured-content-slider-using-jquery-ui/

Convert Adobe Photoshop PSD files into Wordpress themes

2010-12-10T10:05:00.000Z

Convert Adobe Photoshop PSD files into Wordpress themes using Divine Free Edition, you can read about it here:
http://www.bitrepository.com/divine-free-edition.html?awt_l=DK3Pp&awt_m=JTK4MVez8KYCLV

And visit the site proper here: http://www.divine-project.com/

Enjoy!

Din fotograf

2010-11-16T13:57:00.000Z

Some excellent photography here:
http://www.fotofashion.no/

Drupal tutorial

2010-10-14T18:01:00.000+01:00

A very good tutorial here from Sean Hodge (from aiburn.com and Connection Cube)

http://www.gomediazine.com/tutorials/create-a-killer-band-site-in-drupal-part-5-drupal-admin/

AJAX iPhone and iPad goodness

2010-10-14T17:59:00.000+01:00

Check out these great demos of how AJAX, CSS3 and XHTML can be brought together to create iPhone and iPad websites:

http://www.dmxzone.com/demo/sbb/ipad/

http://www.dmxzone.com/go?17564#Overview

http://www.dmxzone.com/go?17527

http://www.dmxzone.com/demo/slidingpanels/styles_demo/

Visual Lightbox jQuery and Prototype image galleries

2010-10-13T11:32:00.000+01:00

A rather cool and customisable gallery system using jQuery or Prototype:

http://www.visuallightbox.com/

Free Adobe Photoshop shapes and brushes

2010-10-08T21:56:00.003+01:00

Browse and download these awesome Adobe Photoshop shapes and brushes!

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/handy-photoshop-custom-shapes/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/ultimate-roundup-photoshop-brushes/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/free-abstract-smoke-brushes/

SONY BDVE870 3D READY BLU-RAY/DVD HOME CINEMA SYSTEM

2010-09-27T13:26:00.000+01:00

I stumbled across this awesome kit, so here it is in all it's tech loveliness!

And to partner this, here's the wireless module:
SONY WAHTSA2 S-AIR WIRELESS REAR SPEAKER MODULE

iPod, iPhone, iTouch speaker systems

2010-09-16T10:12:00.000+01:00

For all you iPhone, iPod and iTouch fans out there who want to plug your device into a speaker system, here are some useful links:

The Register has a round-up of premium iPod speaker systems, but be warned, most of these puppies are costly:
http://www.reghardware.com/2010/07/19/ten_essential_premium_ipod_speakers/

Play.com (Lenco Tower 1 iPod Docking Speaker):
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/12963847/-/Product.html

Packager for iPhone

2010-09-14T16:46:00.003+01:00

Learn more about this awesome software from Adobe, which enables you to create native iPhone applications using Flash and Adobe Air:

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/packagerforiphone/

Modx: loading pages using AJAX and JQuery

2010-09-14T16:42:00.002+01:00

Learn how to use jQuery tabs to load Modx Resources via AJAX. This tutorial will show you just how easy it is to accomplish this in MODx Revolution.

http://rtfm.modx.com/display/revolution20/Loading+Pages+in+the+Front-End+via+AJAX+and+jQuery+Tabs

Other links:
Modx CMS

Adobe releases Photoshop Express for iPad & iPhone

2010-08-13T23:49:00.000+01:00

Adobe has released an updated version of it's image editing software for mobile platforms, specifically the iPhone, iPad and Google Android.

Click here for more information and to download the app.

More iPhone development resources

2010-08-13T23:45:00.000+01:00

Sencha
Your First Mobile HTML5 App
Build an iPhone-Optimized Website with iUI
iUI: iPhone User Interface Framework

iPhone iOS Reference Library

2010-08-13T09:27:00.000+01:00

Useful resources for Apple iPhone development, with sample code downloads and how-tos.

Visit the Apple iPhone iOS Reference Library

Beautiful wedding photography by

2010-08-02T13:21:00.000+01:00

http://www.meninenuotrauka.lt/2010/olga_jaroslav/

JQuery slider examples

2010-07-12T12:20:00.002+01:00

Some very useful JQuery slider examples here:

http://webdesignfan.com/jquery-slider-tutorials-and-plugins/

Internet Explorer hacks and fixes - hasLayout

2010-07-09T09:51:00.000+01:00

For all you web developers out there, here are some interesting articles relating to Internet Explorer and rendering fixes and hacks:

http://www.satzansatz.de/cssd/onhavinglayout.html

http://positioniseverything.net/articles/haslayout.html

http://positioniseverything.net/css-dropdowns.html

Plupload

2010-03-30T09:45:00.000+01:00

Allows you to upload files using HTML5 Gears, Silverlight, Flash, BrowserPlus or normal forms, providing some unique features such as upload progress, image resizing and chunked uploads.

http://www.plupload.com/index.php

New photo added to my website

2010-02-15T21:29:00.001Z

Just a quick update: I've added a new photo to my website, you can check it out here:

http://www.arachni.co.uk/index.php?id=7

Very cool wedding photography from Aleksandras and Irina

2010-02-11T17:13:00.000Z

http://www.meninenuotrauka.lt/en/index.php

New photos added!

2010-02-08T21:52:00.000Z

I've added a few edited photos of the gorgeous Bernadeta onto my Facebook profile, and other modelling and photography profiles; please see links below for more info:

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000624131215

Purestorm:
http://www.purestorm.com/profile.aspx?psid=Apaxvn

Model Mayhem:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1280265

Joel Grimes - Photographer

2010-01-17T16:03:00.000Z

Great work here by Joel Grimes, a photographger based in Los Angeles, California.

http://www.joelgrimesworkshops.com

Arachni.co.uk is launched!

2010-01-08T22:35:00.003Z

After many weeks of hard work, my new website is launched. Focusing on my photography, with more in the pipeline, check it out here: www.arachni.co.uk

Awesome photography by Robert Alvarado

2010-01-08T22:33:00.000Z

Check this out, fantastic photography, with a hint of post-processing ;)
Robert Alvarado

Canon - Back-button autofocus explained

2009-10-18T21:22:00.000+01:00

Here's a very useful article by Canon on how using another button to achieve focus, other than the shutter button, is useful.

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2286

JQuery carousel slider

2009-09-22T09:42:00.000+01:00

A very nice JQuery example of a carousel slider, can also be dynamically driven using PHP and Ajax:

http://sorgalla.com/jcarousel/

Varial - visual artist and photographer

2009-09-22T09:06:00.001+01:00

Some really well executed post-processing and photography from Varial, a French and Canadian creative visual artist:

http://www.varialstudio.com/

Derek Cooper | Photographer

2009-09-17T18:25:00.000+01:00

I stumbled across a wonderful photographer today, his name is Derek Cooper.

His work can be found on several websites, and here are a couple:

http://derekcooper.com/

http://www.modelmayhem.com/86603

http://www.derekcooper.com/blog/

PHP MySQL Database Class

2009-09-02T14:58:00.001+01:00

Here's a useful set of classes for executing basic MySQL functions, like insert, update etc.

http://www.micahcarrick.com/04-19-2005/php-mysql-database-class.html

JQuery Slideshow - Anything Slider!

2009-08-24T16:55:00.003+01:00

Here's a really nice JQuery slideshow, includes dynamically generated navigation links, and auto-play functionality. Check it out here:

http://css-tricks.com/examples/AnythingSlider/

21 useful business tools brought to you by Smashing Apps

2009-07-28T20:10:00.002+01:00

Here are 21 useful business tools brought to you by SmashingApps.com.

http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/07/08/21-free-business-web-apps-that-can-make-your-lives-easier.html

My favourites are:
https://invoice.zoho.com/
http://timeglider.com
http://apps.onyaka.com/
http://www.deferredsender.com/
http://www.syncplicity.com/
http://www.zapproved.com/
http://www.curdbee.com/

Enjoy!

How to move your Modx site to your server

2009-07-21T23:49:00.004+01:00

At the time of writing this article, ModX v0.9.6 was used. I believe the procedure has altered somewhat since that version so please check the official documentation if in doubt.

I've been working with Modx recently, and it's a cool CMS system. One area that I initially struggled with is getting a local site working on a hosting server. So here are my observations on what to do, or try, to get it working for you:

1. Create the database on your server
2. Upload all the site files to your server
3. In 'manager/includes' folder, make sure the 'config.inc.php' file is amended to suit your server database details
4. In 'assets/cache' folder, delete the 2 (probably) 'siteCache.idx.php' and the 'sitePublishing.idx.php' files.
5. Login in to the manager.
6. Go to 'Tools / Configuration' and select the 'Interface & Features' tab.
7. There, amend the 'Resource path' value to reflect your servers site path to the 'asset' folder. Then save.
8. Once saved, click the 'File Manager' tab
9. There, amend the 'File Manager Path' to reflect your servers site path to the web folder. Then save.

Your website should now work.

Nice tabbed JQuery tabs

2009-07-01T12:05:00.000+01:00

This is cool:

http://cse-mjmcl.cse.bris.ac.uk/blog/jQueryNestedMenus/nested.html

Michael Jackson, 50, dies after suffering a cardiac arrest

2009-06-25T23:47:00.003+01:00

Still hard to believe this, but I learnt this evening that Michael Jackson has died! First Farrah and now Michael on the same day. This is a sad day.

Whatever has been said and thought about Michael over the last few years, no one can deny his music has touched us all in some way.

From me, I can only say "Thank you Michael, for the great music you gave us all for many years".

Farrah Fawcett, 62, dies after 3 year battle with cancer

2009-06-25T23:37:00.003+01:00

Today, I am shocked and sad to learn that Farrah Fawcett has died after a 3-year long battle with cancer.

Rest in peace Farrah.

JQuery and PHP | Drag and drop

2009-06-25T16:11:00.004+01:00

Check out this useful code; using JQuery to enable drag and drop, but it also uses PHP to store the order state into the database. Look here for more info:

http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/dynamic-dragn-drop-with-jquery-and-php/

Louise Cliff - model

2009-06-25T10:44:00.001+01:00

Great look from model Louise Cliff, see more of her work here:
http://louisecliffemodel.com/

Cool form validation

2009-06-21T20:14:00.001+01:00

Here's some nicely executed form validation using JS, check out the demo here:


http://tetlaw.id.au/view/javascript/really-easy-field-validation

Nick Vidler : Photographer

2009-06-19T16:20:00.002+01:00

Good work from Nick Vidler, check out his work here:
http://www.nick-vidler.com
http://www.purestorm.com/profile.aspx?id=Nickcv

IE8 and IE7 compatibility mode

2009-06-12T14:08:00.004+01:00

If you are experiencing problems with IE8 rendering a website correctly, then you may find that forcing the browser to use IE7 compatibility mode may be the solution.

I recently tried this on a website and it works; simply add the following code into the header:

meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7"

NB. the opening < and the closing /> have been removed to allow posting.

This code will force IE8 to run in IE7 mode even if the browser is set to run in IE8 Standards mode.

JQuery Tools : the missing UI library for the web

2009-06-05T15:21:00.002+01:00

Here's a great supplement to JQuery, and it's only an additional 5.8Kb! Check out the website, and in particular, the demos page.

Click here to visit the JQuery Tools website

Internet Explorer tester software

2009-05-26T11:14:00.003+01:00

For all you web developers out there, a friend recommended some software which allows you to test your web pages in several flavours of Internet Explorer.

It's called IETester, and is free to use. Click here to visit the website.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and Favourite icon

2009-04-12T18:45:00.002+01:00

If you're looking to add a favourite icon beside the domain name in your browsers address bar, then this works for Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox:

Simply add it between the HEADER tags in your web pages (between the < and > characters)

link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="images/favicon.ico"

Note:
For some reason the ico file must go into the 'images' folder for it to work; anywhere else and IE doesn't show it.

Photoshop tutorials for digital photography

2009-03-09T23:35:00.003Z

Here's a great selection of tutorials for any digital photographer - everything from how to change the colour of hair to adding eye make-up, great stuff so be sure to check some of these out.

Click here to go to the tutorials

2009-02-19T13:05:00.001Z

I really like this chaps photography - stunning work:

http://www.richardbakker.com/

Canon EOS 5D Mark II .MOV files and VLC Media Player

2009-02-13T23:57:00.003Z

If you use VLC Media Player to view HD videos recorded with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the playback is jerky, then this may fix your problem (works for me and many others judging by feedback in various forums):

Quote:

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC playback is too slow

You can speed up the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC playback by disabling loop filter for H.264 decoding. To do this go to Tools -> Preferences... (set Show Settings to All) and Input / Codecs -> Other codecs -> FFmpeg and in the drop-down box for Skip the loop filter for H.264 decoding change it to All. Remember to press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled.

Wonderful photographer - afashionshooter

2009-02-02T20:47:00.002Z

Love this photographers work, simply stunning.

Click here to visit www.afashionshooter.com

Oh, and here is more of his work...

A better bounce card

2009-01-30T14:33:00.001Z

The classic better bounce card by Peter Gregg...

- Youtube link

Studio lighting tutorial for Maya 2009

2009-01-28T23:18:00.002Z

If you use Maya and have an interest in replicating studio lighting, check this out:

http://www.sohipitmhz.com/tutorials/studio-lighting/

Cool CGI Artist

2009-01-26T22:43:00.003Z

Just a quickie, stumbled across Dan Platt's website today - awesome Maya work. He's worked on movies, including i-Robot.

http://www.danplatt.com

Plogger - PHP gallery system

2009-01-26T15:04:00.003Z

Quote taken from the website:
"Plogger is the next generation in open-source photo gallery systems. A web application not bloated with superfluous features or complicated configuration settings. Plogger is a simple yet powerful tool — everything you need to share your images with the world. Plogger is your photos integrated into your website, a fully featured photo sharing package with an attractive and easy to use administrative interface that makes managing your galleries a breeze. Integrating our gallery software into your website is as easy as inserting three lines of PHP code. And did we mention the price? Absolutely Free. Plogger requires a server setup with at least MySQL v3.23, GD1.0, and PHP4."

Visit their website to download Plogger and learn more:
http://www.plogger.org/

3D architectural scenes to learn from

2009-01-18T23:39:00.003Z

If you're an avid 3D Studio Max user, along with V-Ray, you may find this learning material useful. This product provides you with 10 ready to render architectural scenes which, judging by the images on the website, look brilliant. It's called Archinteriors Vol. 1 and it comes from Evermotion. At the time of writing it costs 120 Euro plus shipping.

Click here to visit the website and learn more.

CSS Menu Generator

2009-01-16T09:35:00.001Z

A handy online CSS menu generator with loads of samples and code for you to play with.

Click here to visit CSS Menu Maker

Samantha Buxton - Glamour model

2009-01-14T22:46:00.005Z

Based in the UK, Samantha Buxton is a gorgeous glamour model. Whilst going through some photography websites I stumbled across her profile. Would love to work with her one day...

Visit her website here

Cool iPhone wallpapers

2009-01-14T19:06:00.001Z

I stumbled across these wondeful wallpapers for the iPhone, enjoy:

View wallpapers

Adobe Flash email links

2009-01-09T14:51:00.005Z

When invoking an email link from within Flash (using the getURLmailto:email@somewhere.com) you may find that Internet Explorer opens a new blank window. This doesn't happen in Firefox. To resolve this issue simply remove the target parameter, see below.

ActionScript code before:
on(release){
getURL("mailto:springheadpark@cpplc.com","_blank");
}

ActionScript code after:
on(release){
getURL("mailto:springheadpark@cpplc.com");
}

IE 6 PNG fix

2009-01-05T15:32:00.002Z

For those of you out there still developing for IE6 (eek!) then this may help with providing PNG support. The cool thing about this implementation is that it supports background-repeat and background-position in CSS.

Here's the link:
http://www.dillerdesign.com/experiment/DD_belatedPNG/

New content added to my iStockphoto portfolio

2008-11-22T15:52:00.011Z

New business orientated photographs have been added to my iStockphoto portfolio. If you are after some low cost quality stock photos, please check it out.

Click here to visit my portfolio on iStockphoto.com

Lightbox alternatives

2008-11-22T15:48:00.004Z

For anyone that's used the excellent Lightbox image viewer script, here is a link to many alternative versions. Enjoy.

View website

Canon EOS 40D firmware update released

2008-04-09T17:09:00.004+01:00

Canon has released firmware v1.0.8 for the excellent Canon EOS 40D DSLR.

"This firmware update (Version 1.0.8) incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Fixes a phenomenon in which Image Stabilization operation emits a sound when certain buttons are pressed, with the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens attached to the camera.
2. Fixes a phenomenon in which the Image Stabilization operation emits a sound from the lens when IS lenses are attached to the camera.
3. Fixes a phenomenon in which a part of the image looks unnatural when reviewed on the LCD.
4. Corrects errors in the Spanish and Norwegian menu screens."

[Get the firmware here]

Iryna Stevens photo shoot

2008-02-19T23:47:00.009Z

Update: some of the photos from the shoot are now on iStockphoto. Click here to view my portfolio on iStockphoto.com.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I had planned my first photo shoot and I am pleased to say that it took place over the weekend. It was a fantastic experience; I learnt a lot in those two hours, made some mistakes, and took 479 photos! Sure I was nervous, I didn't have any experience of using studio lighting equipment, but it wasn't like the model was a wannabe model either - it was Ukraine model Iryna Stevens! I mean, this girl has done it all, and here's me with the opportunity to photograph her.

It will take some time to go through all the photos, so check back soon, but for now here's a sneak peak at one of the photos from the session.

I think the shoot went well considering it was my first time (darn, was trying so hard not to say that!); I'm not sure yet, but I reckon I got some cool photos and hopefully a few that I can add to my iStockphoto portfolio.

So what did I learn from my experience?

Being a little nervous I completely forgot some of the things I should have been checking as the shoot progressed. For starters, check and double check the lighting - without a properly lit model all that effort is for nothing. I temporarily messed up the lighting, where they were pretty much pointed in all the wrong angles - I can't believe I did that, but that will teach me not to rush next time.

Secondly, and without my realising, I must have turned a dial by mistake and the shutter speed was lowered from 250 to 160! I hadn't noticed until about 100 photos later. :(
To be fair, most of the photos are sharp anyway, so it was mostly the exposure that suffered a little. Messing up the overall lighting was much worse.

And finally, I took along some gray cards to use as my benchmark for proper white balance later - and did I use one? No! It completely slipped my mind and I only realised once I was packing up. Note: it was used before the session though...when I arrived at the studio I heard Iryna behind a set of doors and curtain give out a little scream when a wasp found it's way into the studio. I offered the gray card pack I took along as a means to remove the little beast!

So what about the camera and lens?

The Canon EOS 40D and the 24-70mm f2.8 L USM lens were perfect. Nuff said.

Canon EOS 40D hands on, sort of

2008-02-06T23:25:00.000Z

It's been an interesting fortnight for me in the photography area; firstly, I've traded in my trusty Canon 400D for a Canon EOS 40D, which launched back end of 2007. Secondly, and following on from my previous post about the Nikon D300, I've now got my hands on a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens.

So why did I settle for the Canon 40D and not the (just announced) 400D replacement - the Canon 450D? There are many reasons, too many to list here so, briefly, here are just some of the reasons:

1. improved AF system - cross-type AF points for F5.6 or faster lenses
2. new Digic III processor
3. 14-bit A/D converter and 14-bit RAW
4. interchangeable focusing screens
5. a larger LCD monitor (now 3.0")
6. live view - great for studio photography
7. faster continuous shooting (6.5 fps)
8. bigger and easier to handle than 400D/450D
9. partial weatherproof body
10. magnesium alloy body
11. superior noise control at high isos
12. a larger and brighter viewfinder

I could go on, really, but for an in-depth review make your way over to the excellent dpreview website to find out all there is to know about the 40D.

As for my own experiences, I've yet to run it through a thorough test - although I am looking forward to a trip to Europe soon so that will be a great opportunity to see use the 40D extensively. More on that soon, remember to check back for an update!

For now, I find the 40D to be the most complete camera I've ever used - simple as that. Everything from the handling to the custom functions 'feels right', solid and reliable. It's like the best friend you've always had but you've only just met! Partnered with the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens it is a true pleasure to use and once you pick it up you will find it hard to put down again.

Looking to the future, I promised myself I would make every effort this year to get out there and take tons of photos, and in particular, portrait photography - so with that in mind, I have taken the leap of faith and plan to book a session with an experienced model over the coming weeks, so check back soon to see how I got on. Nervous? Yes! Excited? Yes! Can I wait? No! :)

Nikon D300

2008-01-08T23:55:00.000Z

As an avid digital SLR photographer, I've had my eye on the new Nikon D300 for a while now. If the specifications are anything to go by, it may convince some photographers to jump ship from Canon altogether (unlikely I know, but stranger things have happened) or new users will be buying Nikons (not Canon, or other make) from the outset.

I started with the Canon 350D, and then upgraded to the newer Canon 400D DSLR last year. You don't need me to tell you it's a fantastic camera and I am very happy with the camera and results, especially if you invest in quality glass.

With the D300 I feel that Nikon have struck a big blow to Canon in the semi-professional photographer market. The D300s feature list alone surpasses those on Canon's top of the range models, the 1D, which can cost as much as 5-6 times more, let alone the mid-range cameras Canon offers. I mean, 51 AF points are better than 9 as found on the Canon equivalent! 51! But in the back of my mind, I always felt there was something lacking with the D300, almost as though it is trying too hard to impress with it's shiny new features, if such a thing is possible for a camera! Looking beyond the features, and based on the many reviews I've seen, I feel that the D300's image quality is not up to the same quality as a Canon DSLR equipped with a quality lens. Canon still beats it on noise control and produces sharper images.

So, I'll be keeping my Canon 400D for a while longer yet and invest in my first L series lens in the near future. In the meantime, I eagerly await news from Canon on their next line up of digital SLRs. Game on.

YouTube monkeys?

2007-12-11T22:37:00.001Z

I was browsing YouTube this evening, when an error occurred on the server and a message came up on the screen, which read as follows:

500 Internal Server Error
Sorry, something went wrong.
A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation. Etc.

I couldn't help laughing at that ... I like the response Google have shown, like ... hey, websites don't always behave and when they don't it's OK because it is being looked at and it will be up as soon as possible. If only everybody was as laid back as that when it came to website/server errors (within reason of course!).

Just remember folks, there are no guarantees that something won't happen to your website at some point in it's digital lifetime, because no matter how wonderful that SLA agreement looks on paper, it is just paper ... it's the mechanical bits, and the server software, you need to worry about.

Screenshot:

America - You can do magic

2007-12-04T18:03:00.000Z

My thanks to Radio 2 for playing this classic from 1982, by a band called America, otherwise I would never have heard of it. This song always cheers me up, so here it is.

Learn more about America on Wikipedia

Mozilla fix Firefox update...

2007-11-30T23:37:00.000Z

...with version v2.0.0.11 update. It seems there is a problem with the previous version of Firefox (v2.0.0.10) and this latest update has been released to address that.

As usual, you should update sooner rather than later.
Link: Get firefox

John Byrne ... a legend!

2007-11-30T21:30:00.000Z

John Byrne. There's a name that I don't often think of nowadays, and it makes me sad.

As a kid, I grew up reading comic books, as many kids do I guess. Realising I had artistic skills I found myself eventually trying my hand at drawing the superheroes I read about every day. From that moment on I wanted to be a comic book artist! I wanted to do what my favourite comic book artists were doing...especially John Byrne, he stood out for me.

The crazy thing is I don't even know what it is about his style that I love so much. I can feel it, but I can't describe it...I can see it, but I can't describe it. That's the very nature of great art though isn't it?

Anyway, at some point I approached Marvel Comics, in the UK, in the hope that I could introduce myself as an up and coming comic book artist, and see what happens. I must have showed some promise as someone decided it would be a good idea for me to write my own short story and draw it. So I did. It featured Spider Man and the plot had something to do with some alien race, teleportation, etc. Hey, at the time I thought it was pretty cool, gimme a break. :)

Anyhow, I gave the story to Marvel and waited for the issue with my story in it to be published. I waited some more. And a little more. Eventually I learnt that that particular comic was cancelled, so my short would never see the light of day. I was gutted.

In between then and now, I got into computer game development in a big way, got married, had kids, and so on. At some point, without realising it, comic books stopped featuring in my daily life, and my life as a grown-up, responsible parent quickly overshadowed my passion for the art of comic books. I didn't mean to forget, it just happened. My collection of comics are stored away, out of sight, and therefore out of mind. I miss them.

And then I have the odd day, like today, when something triggers me back to the 1980s and John Byrne. Today that trigger was a web bookmark in my temp folder. The bookmark belongs to John Byrne's website, Byrne Robotics. Why the bookmark is in my temp folder I have no idea, but I'm glad I found it...it's my very own time-travel machine!

John, if you're reading this (very unlikely I know) I just want to say THANK YOU for being you and crafting all of those gorgeous comics, especially the X-Men Phoenix saga...pure clarity and perfection! From when I was just a kid, to this day, I am in awe of the work you did not just on X-Men, but on Alpha Flight, Fantastic Four, Superman...oh, way too many comics and characters to mention!

My best wishes to you JB, and thank you for the feel-good memories that will be with me forever.

Mozilla Firefox Update Released

2007-11-27T21:57:00.000Z

Mozilla have released an update to their popular web browser Firefox. Version 2.0.0.10 addresses a few security issues so make sure you update now.

Link: Get firefox

Not tonight darling...

2007-11-22T23:00:00.000Z

...I'm washing my hair...tomorrow night I'm rearranging my sock drawer...and the night after that I might have a headache!

What's this all about? Well, in passing, I mentioned to my wife that I have a blog and asked if she wanted to see it...it turns out that was not a good thing, as you can see from her various responses above. I had a chuckle it has to be said, although I shouldn't have been surprised either. You see, my career, and lots of my spare time, involves technology...whether that's with my PC, or my son and I playing on the gorgeous Sony PlayStation 3. My wife is at the other end of the spectrum.

I must admit, there are times when I wish I didn't have to use computers or emails...who hasn't? I mean, you become so obsessed about checking the various email accounts you hold, getting rid of junk mail, moving legitimate email out of the junk folder!, and then there's the increasing number of social websites that you wish you didn't join. It's never ending.

My wife is the lucky one as she doesn't need to rely on using a computer as much as I do, and that is a blessing I think. Consider the benefits...no more staring at a screen all day, no need to check your email every 10 minutes, and you get to interact with other humans face to face... remember that?

Ok, I guess it's not that bad for us heavy computer users, but sometimes it's nice to think about how life could have been if things were different. I wonder if my local supermarket is looking for shelf stackers...

Google sitemap

2007-11-21T12:17:00.000Z

I recently decided to find out how to go about submitting an XML sitemap file to Google. It all kicked off when I received an email from DMXZone.com telling me about some of their new extensions. One of them is a free extension called Google Sitemap Generator.

I promptly downloaded the extension and set to work, and here's how things went:

1. Install the Google Sitemap Generator extension.
2. Fire up Dreamweaver and run the extension.
3. Enter your URL in full, e.g. http://www.yourwebsite.com
4. Enter your home page, e.g. index.html
5. Click Generate and your done.

I then discovered in a users comment on DMXZone that the header information in the XML file was out of date, showing this info:

xmlns="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap/0.84"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap/0.84
http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap/0.84/sitemap.xsd"

I did some more digging on the net, and found out this is what the above data should have been:

xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9
http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9/sitemap.xsd"

So I replaced the data, moving onto the next step, which is to submit the sitemap file to Google. But first, I uploaded the file to the root of the website. At the same time, I created a robots.txt file specifying the sitemap file, like this:

Sitemap: http://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml

It turns out there are several ways to submit the file, or at least make search engines aware of it. The method I used was to ping it to Google, like this:

http://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=http://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml

Google notifies you via the browser that your submission has been successful, and that it will crawl it soon.

Now wait...

Updates to Apaxvn website

2007-11-21T00:09:00.000Z

I've been making some changes on my website: Apaxvn. Granted, it's not a major overhaul by any stretch of the imagination but it's a start isn't it?

So what are the changes? Well, in an effort to retire to somewhere hot and chilled (yeh right), I added a widget from Amazon, and Google Adsense to present related, relevant ads to visitors.

The Amazon widget is pretty cool if a little unsightly - basically it's a horizontal Flash product scroller. For now I added a few cool products, like the lovely new hi-fi from Sony called the *Giga Juke, the very nice *Canon 40D DSLR camera, and the awesome *Call of Duty 4 for the Sony Playstation3 console.

Further reading:
* Sony Giga Juke
* Canon 40D DSLR
* Call of Duty 4