New content added to my iStockphoto portfolio

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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...

...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!

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

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...

...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

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

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