Save instead of Export in GIMP 2.8

Version 2.8 of GIMP saves images as .xcf files by default when you hit CTRL-S. I remember a development version did this years ago but it was reversed before final release due to user feedback AFAIR.

I can understand the reasoning behind this decision but I hate it. It really, really bugs me. I don’t think it’s going to change in the future but if you must have your CTRL-S “save as a bloody jpeg because I said so” there is a way around it. You’ll use keyboard shortcuts.

Go to Edit->Keyboard Shortcuts and then search for export. Now change the shortcut to CTRL-S for either “Export…” or “Export to”. The former shows a save dialog, while the latter overwrites the file you have loaded. I prefer the save dialog.

You’ll still get the “close without saving” dialog. If it really bugs you (and I think it will) there’s a checkbox in the preferences asking you to, “confirm closing of unsaved images”.

*sigh* what a mess.

Waiting

Waiting for the bus, Patrick’s Street, Cork. January 2012.

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 200mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/250s

Trafalgar Square Fountain

Part of one of the fountains in Trafalgar Square, London. The Wikipedia page for the Square has an interesting note about the fountains.

When the square was laid out in the 1840s, the fountains’ primary purpose was not aesthetic, but rather to reduce the open space available and the risk of riotous assembly. They were originally fed by water pumped from an artesian well by a steam engine sited behind the National Gallery. In the late 1930s it was decided to replace the stone basins and the pump.The new fountains were built to a design by Sir Edwin Lutyens at a cost of almost £50,000 The old fountains were bought for presentation to the Canadian government, and are now in Ottawa and Regina. The present fountains are memorials to Lord Jellicoe (western side) and Lord Beatty (eastern side).
Further restoration work became necessary and was completed by May 2009. The pump system was replaced with a new pump capable of sending an 80-foot (24 m) jet of water into the air. A new LED lighting system was also installed during this restoration to reduce the cost of lighting maintenance. The new lighting has been designed with the London 2012 Summer Olympics in mind and for the first time will project many different combinations of colours on to the fountains. The new lighting system has a much lower energy requirement and will reduce its carbon footprint by around 90%.

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/160s

Padded bag inserts for camera equipment

Wow, I’ve been looking for something like this for years but I never knew what keywords to use to search for it. I have a backpack for my laptop and when travelling usually carry my camera gear wrapped up in clothes or paper but this should fit (with a little squeezing) into my backpack. I hope I can fit a Canon 40D and Sigma zoom lens in there with enough space for my Sigma wide angle too.

The flash can sit outside, it already has a padded cover.

I’ll update this post in a few weeks time with photos. You can find loads of these on Ebay.