seyDesign releases bloop! for RapidWeaver
And all of the sudden, bloop! seyDesign released a new RapidWeaver theme! In the midst of a trying schedule of site design, icon design and custom theme design (I’m sorry for the delays, you know who you are), we we’re able to squeeze a new RapidWeaver theme into the store at seyDesign.
You might ask, “Why now?” Truth be told, we have been sitting on the theme for a while (it’s actually part of another project altogether) so it wasn’t a stretch to put this RapidWeaver theme out. But more importantly, it is vital to our survival to maintain a degree of freshness. If we go stale, we get forgotten and that hurts our bottom line.
To those of you who are being patient… thank you. I am working VERY hard on all of you jobs and you will see the fruits of that shortly.
Alphabet for bedtime
A is for all my kids who I tuck into bed, B is for best wishes and a kiss on the head.
C is for cuddles at night when you fret, D is for a drink of water you’ll get.
E is for every time you get scared in the night, F is for fearless when I ward off your fright.
G is for giggles when I tickle you tummy, H is for the hugs that you give to your mommy.
I is for the interesting stories you tell, J is for just one more story you’ll tell.
K is kidding with a smile and a wink, L is for laughing when I stare and don’t blink.
M is for many miles travelled in a book, N is for noticing how tired you look.
O is for overtired when your day has been long, P is for “please won’t you sing me a song?”
Q is for “Quiet! Your sister is sleeping.” R is for resting your tired eyes from peeping.
S is for sleeping the whole night away, T is for tomorrow, a brand new day.
U is for upset when I turn out the light, V is for very upset when I tell you good night.
W is for wishing on an evening star, X is for ‘xplaining what those stars really are.
Y is for “Yes dear, it is now time for bed.”, Z is for the ZZZZZZ soon to be filling your head.
Artistic impressions
Catch our very own Merrifield Photography mentioned on seyDesign’s Site of the week. We have an inside on this one since we know someone who knows someone… you know what I mean?
It's a polar subject
This week on Merrifield Photography is an interesting article about the use of polarizing filters in photography. From contrast enhancement to increased saturation, learn what polarizing filters can do for you. Read more here.
Are you feelings polar about polarizing filters?
I feel like the benefits of polarizing filters has been overshadowed since the massive boom in digital SLR popularity. Truth be told though, there is nothing in modern computer technology that can equal the effects of polarizing light at the moment of capture.
I have written a brief article on what polarizing filters can do for you. Take a look.
A beachin’ wedding
There are a few opportunities in a photographers career where it seems the gods are shining down and granting you this one chance to shine. This past weekend was just such an opportunity as my wife and I made the two hour journey to the beaches of Southampton to photograph what was arguably the best wedding I have ever been to, let alone worked at.
Here is just a sampling of the beach portion of the day…
{ Though barely audible over the crashing surf and strong winds, no one can deny that the presence of the musicians was a touch of class. }
{ To see both the bride and the father of the bride walking down the palm leaf aisle in there bare feet was warming and relaxing. }
{ Themselves beautiful, the bride and groom were fortunate to surround themselves with a beautiful bridal party, such as these two, and beautiful guests alike. }
{ The formals having been done earlier in the day at another location, I took this last opportunity to snap this informal shot while the bride and groom posed for a family member. }
Polarizing filters are still relevant
Something you don’t hear about much from up-and-comers is polarizing filters. Long since considered the HDR of a simpler era, polarizing filters can offer a glimpse into a more natural world than what a frame of film or sensor can detect on it’s own.
What a polarizing filter does mechanically can be summed up easily; a polarizing filter converts an unpolarized or mixed-polarization beam of electromagnetic waves (e.g., light) into a beam with a single polarization state (usually, a single linear polarization). (source wikipedia) However, what polarization does to an image at time of capture is a little tougher to explain. In essence, a polarizing filter cuts out the haze, the glare, the shine from just about everything, whether you are aware it’s reflective or not. It more or less does the filtering that your brain and eyes do in the field. It helps make images as vivid as your mind likely remembers them.
Probably the most dramatic effect obtained with polarizers is the darkening of the sky and increased contrast it provides for the subjects in the frame. Normally, a properly exposed image of clouds in the sky would offer perhaps a 1/4 to 1/2 stop difference in range from cloud to sky. With a polarizing filter you can get up to 3 1/2 stops or more (depending on your film stock or capture format) leaving clouds to literally pop out of the surroundings.
By dialing in how much or how little effect you want you can control the reflectivity of elements like bodies of water. In the image above I wanted to show some reflectivity from the sky above but not so much that the water simply mirrored it. I was able to adjust the polarization to give some depth to the water while at the same time reflecting a hint of the clouds above.
Take a minute to give polarizing filters a try. How you choose to use them and what you choose to shoot can be as varied as the effects that they can have in the end, but one thing is for sure, you images will take on a closer rendition to what your mind will remember seeing in the field. For the best effect, try underexposing you shots by 1/2 to 1 full stop as I have done in all of the above.
You Blog Like A Girl!
No seriously, you do. Julie and her site, youbloglikeagirl.com are taking the inter-tubes by storm with a fury of blog posts of glamour and gadget geekery. What’s this got to do with seyDoggy? We made the theme. Julie is using a custom made RapidWeaver theme built to order to her exacting specifications.
You Blog Like A Girl has been listed on seyDesign’s site of the week, and has also made an appearance on DesignSnack. We suspect that this won’t be the only places she gets recognized.
nutMac speaks iMac
That’s almost a tongue twister isn’t it? On the nutMac site, I give my views on the new-ish iMacs and their keyboards. It’s an interesting look that goes beyond the hype of the new Apple Inc. machines.
The new iMacs; my view
So it’s been a week or so since the new iMacs and their respective keyboards were introduced and I have been intentionally quite about the matter simply because I don’t like to fuel unfounded rumors and complaints when I have no solid proof or experience. So I just kept my mouth tightly closed until I got to my local Carbon Computing to actually put both of these new Apple Inc. offerings to the test.
Here is what I can tell before even walking in the door; Apple Inc. seems hell bent on ripping off a much larger chunk of the market share than previously enjoyed in years past. Why? Who offers more, MUCH MORE, for that much less? Lets put it this way, to get the fastest mac mini at 2.0 GHz with the most amount of storage (160 GB) available to it and a 23″ Cinema display will run you about $1773. Now have a look at the base model 24″ iMac; more processor power, twice the storage, the ability to run multiple monitors on a graphics card that far exceeds the sad excuse for video output on the mini, built-in iSight… for $1799. I don’t know about you but that is the best way to spend $26 no matter where you come from!
Now I am all for cheaper computers and better savings and all, but where are the savings coming from? Not off the profit margins! Apples shareholders are not known for taking a hit an keeping quite about it. Granted many of the components come down in price over time, but with all the components they’ve added to the new iMacs I really wonder how they managed to drop the price so far. I hope it’s not been in shoddy manufacturing processes.
My thoughts after physically touching and seeing the iMacs side by side with their white predecessors? WOW on looks! The new iMacs look stellar by design and function. The new, glass covered screens are true and brilliant. Not enough good can be said about that improvement from flat to glossy (actually makes me jealous just owning a regular HD 23″ Cinema). The ports are still a bitch to get at but it’s all about keeping the visible faces clean so I fully understand there, but just on USB on the side would have been nice. Though the guts aren’t all that different from the previous iMacs, and it’s hard to gauge when simply opening the basic apps and such, but the new iMacs seem to be zippy enough. Keep in mind that I come from the Mac Pro world so it’s hard for me to be a judge of that sort of thing.
But that keyboard… mmm I don’t know. My impression of laptop keyboards is that the feel cheap and flimsy, so to model a desktop keyboard after that of a laptop seems wrong to me. I gave the new keyboards a spin and just could get behind the feel. Now I have read a lot of reports on the new keyboards improving peoples typing speed and reducing arm fatigue so I am sure I will end buying one for those reasons, but I have serious doubts that it’ll hold up to my regular key bashing abuses. It’s pretty sharp looking though, and very light weight. If I were one to care about this sort of thing, it would honestly suite my setup better; aluminum Mac Pro, aluminum Cinema display… aluminum keyboard perhaps?