In Photos dot org

You may have thought that a fashion photographer had an interesting life and job, but wait until you get a load of Sheffield Quigley. The one and only Myspace photographer in the whole world. I so want his job!

OMG! During a test flight of the What the Duck balloon for a parade it broke it’s tether and the wind blew it away! Yikes!

Hehe. Yes, yes. it’s fake. Good video though! Via TOP.

If you don’t read xkcd you’re missing out

Leaked photos of the the as yet unreleased Canon EOS-0 have surfaced on the ‘net and are sure to make their way around all the usual blogs in no time but I got my hands on them early just for you.

Details are sketchy but from the photos it appears to come in different lens mount flavours to support Nikon, Olympus, Sony and Sigma as well as the usual Canon EOS mounts. The inspiration button should come in handy for all those tired hacks who are too bored with their “yet another school fete” assignments.

Coming around to the back of the camera, Canon have filled every square inch with new functionality and a super wide touch screen. I can just hear the Apple iPhone owners gasping with delight. I’m not so sure about running Windows Vista on it. Can I put Ubuntu Linux on it? Is that Photoshop running on it? I would like to see Walter run Pixenate on there if the new camera has wireless support. Tom reports it works on the Apple iPhone and Walter has created a Facebook photo editor out of it so I don’t see why not.

I think Mike Johnston may require breathing space and a respirator when he hears that this new Canon camera is the first to have a built in image stabilizer. In camera image stabilization is one of his pet loves and I’m sure he’ll be signing up to buy one. Exciting times!

Other notable features are the three hard drives, the HDR function and the capability to shoot ISO 12800. Hopefully they’ve solved the noise problems! I’m not sure if I’ll use the TV feature but I’d happily listen to the radio or MP3s while out shooting. Should be plenty of capacity on all those drives.

Image credit: Emin, via

Beware the giant duck!

If you come down to Blarney today you should watch out for the giant ducks, and if you sit on a bench look behind you, there’s a good chance a tree is reading over your shoulder.

Don’t get me started on the dastardly Parking signs!

Yes, walking around Blarney can be quite dangerous especially if you meet some of the little people. The leprechauns are out and about these days. If you go to kiss the Blarney Stone, you’re almost guaranteed to see them in the grounds of the castle. Unfortunately due to the high cost of living and the price of property, their crock of gold has been sadly depleted to the extent that they are forced to entertain tourists. ’tis a sad day!

Just remember, always look out for the giant ducks!

PS. on a more serious note, the August issue of Digital Journalist is out now!

PPS. Alex Shiels, who I work with at Automattic, has a photoblog called Flight Path hosted on WordPress.com. He’s done a nice job of making a photoblog theme out of the Sandbox css theme! He’s already posting photos from San Francisco. His latest shot, street level 2 is a dark foreboding image taken over there. I’ll have to start working on some of mine, but the last few days have been hectic. I don’t know how Alex managed it!

Some people find the name of the most popular open source and GPLed image manipulation program slightly funny or rude, others as a derogatory term, while others just see it as the acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Programme. I think a lot of English speakers fall into the first or second camp unfortunately.

Wikipedia has all bases covered, from the sadomasochism definition to the more familiar GIMP definition.

Gimp is a usually derogatory term used to refer to a (male or female) sexual submissive person, typically dressed in black leather (or rubber), often in a gimp suit, and wearing a bondage hood or mask of the same material. This apparel emphasises sexuality by drawing attention to the crotch and chest, and also sexually objectifies the wearer. Sadomasochistic practice often features in the notion of the gimp, with a partnership of power exchange between gimp and dominatrix or dominant. It can also imply that a male has a smaller than usual penis.

Yeah, I use the Gimp to draw everything…

Wow! A super hero!

This is for all the fans of Marvel and DC Comics publications! Super heroes do exist. They live in Cork, and hand out leaflets on Patrick’s Street in front of Dunnes Stores!

Jim posted his 5 most common digital photography mistakes and I knew I could come up with a further five, so here goes:

1. I’m not ready!
   How many times have I missed a shot because my camera was at home or in the bag? Lens covers can be a nuisance too.
2. Leaving the camera in timer mode.
   I can’t remember how many times I’ve left the timer mode on after taking a self portrait, a group shot or a long exposure shot.
3. Flash photography in AV mode
   This usually happens when I’ve come from an area where flash photography is not allowed and I’ve shot in AV mode because of the low light conditions. Canon cameras expose for existing light in AV mode so you get a long exposure with a flash. Jim already covered not changing ISO rating, a related topic.
4. Help! My flash is dead!
   I have a fancy pants Canon 580EX flash. When I bring it out at public gatherings people look at me as if I’m a pro, and they ask what newspaper I’m with. It really shatters the illusion when the batteries are dead.
5. Deleting or formatting camera media before everything is copied off.
   It has happened a few times. Out in the field I’ll review my images, and sometimes delete ones I don’t want. Sometimes my finger nudges the next photo button and I delete the wrong image.

Not all strictly digital photography mistakes but I make them all the time. It’s a wonder I have any photos to show here at all. What’s your number one annoyance about digital cameras?

PS. Thanks Jacinta for reviewing this post! (via Photographyvoter.com)

Cameras get easier to use all the time, even a pig could use them! Pearls Before Swine on May 8th featured this comic strip.

Not quite in the same league as What The Duck for photographers but a very funny comic for everyone else!

Choosing the right equipment for the job is half the battle. If you don’t choose carefully you could be making a lot of extra work for yourself as you battle with your tools.

Actually, I don’t think this is one of those situations because he handled that camera rather well and didn’t try to use classic street photo techniques. Loading the film on a busy street is a bit awkward looking however, and forget about shooting from the hip! (via auspiciousdragon.net)