Digital Innovations
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New Vistas For My New iMac; A Delicious Assortment Of Utilities And Digital Goodies
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Sep 01, 2008 • 0 comments

"But some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality..."--H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

Instead of "starting up" my Windows computer recently greeted me by sitting there and just beeping, something I know spells trouble. Having suffered far too many slings and arrows of...
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New Year’s Resolutions; What Santa Should Bring You
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Jan 01, 2007 • 0 comments

Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in the world that just don't add up. --James Magary

I 've been working with all kinds of computers since 1964. When I purchased my first personal computer in '80 people asked, "What do you need a computer for?" That seems like a funny question today, doesn't it?
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No April Fool’s Trick; Hardware & Software For Today’s Digital Imagers
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Apr 01, 2009 • 0 comments

“The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.”—Mark Twain

The history of April Fool’s Day may be unclear but many scholars think it began in France when the Gregorian calendar replaced Charles IX’s in 1582, creating confusion with some people celebrating New Year’s Day on what was now April 1st. These people were...
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On The Digital Road; Tips, Tools, & Techniques For The Traveling Photographer
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • May 01, 2008 • 0 comments

"Best wide angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the `ah-ha.'"--Ernst Haas

One of my favorite tools for capturing different-looking travel images is digital infrared photography and e-mails from Shutterbug readers show many of you are interested in IR capture, too. If that describes you, take a look at the League of Creative Infrared...
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On The Trade Show Circuit; Springing Into New Digital Imaging Products
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • May 01, 2009 • 0 comments

“I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.”—A. A. Milne

The beginning of the year is a busy one for trade shows, ranging from the huge Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that showcases everything from the latest vacuum cleaners to digital cameras. On top of that, there’s the classic Macworld Expo in San Francisco that while a shell of its...
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People, Places, And Things: The Right Tool For The Right Job
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Jul 13, 2011 • Published: Jun 01, 2011 • 1 comments
As I write this, the temperature outside my office window is -11˚. It’s at times like this when my thoughts go to my favorite (warm) place to kick back and relax. Acapulco is different from other Mexican resorts because it’s a city with a wonderful history first and a resort second, and then there’s that old Hollywood connection. You can see some of my Acapulco photos in the self-published book Acapulco, Paradise of the Americas (www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/196617) with text by my friend Don Bain. For examples of my travel photography, you can preview the first 15 pages and see why I love Acapulco so much. If you would like a copy, I’ve removed all markups from the softbound edition so Shutterbug readers and their friends can purchase it for just the cost of production and shipping.
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Personal Project; Playtime
Digital Innovations
Barry Tanenbaum • Feb 01, 2011 • 1 comments

Here’s the thing: the dogs aren’t fighting; they’re playing.

When they run, jump, growl, and tussle in canine versions of tag, wrestling, and catch me if you can, it often looks like fighting. It can make people uneasy.

Michael Crouser took these photographs, which have been selected from his book, Dog Run, over a two-year...
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Photo & Imaging Accessories; It’s A Three-Dimensional World, Why Not Digital Photos?
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Sep 01, 2010 • 1 comments

“I don’t have a photograph, but you can have my footprints. They’re upstairs in my socks.”—Groucho Marx

Recently I saw an impressive demonstration of Samsung’s (www.samsung.com/us/learningresources3D) three-dimensional television and while not inexpensive, it was far less than...
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Power To The People; Enlightening Experiences
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Nov 01, 2010 • 3 comments

“All power corrupts, but we need the electricity”—Anonymous

It was a dark and stormy night… Mary and I were watching a DVD when the house was hit with a massive power surge. For a second I wondered about my computers but quickly forgot about them until turning them on a few days later. My Mac Pro and peripherals that are connected to a hefty APC (

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Pro Gear That Unlocks Your Inner Creativity; In The Digital Darkroom And On Assignment
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Nov 01, 2009 • 0 comments

“Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.”—Isaac Asimov

One possible answer to the proverbial question “what is pro gear” might rightly be answered in this month’s Web Profiles (I don’t want to ruin the surprise), but a more conventional answer will be found in...
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Proper Exposure Is The First Step: Tips & Tools To Improve The Photographic Experience
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Oct 21, 2011 • Published: Sep 01, 2011 • 8 comments
Dick Stolley, who many consider Time-Life’s best managing editor, once told People magazine photographers that a successful image elicited a “Gasp Factor” from the viewer. Stolley believed that if the image stopped the reader, forced them to take a second look, read the headline, and perhaps the rest of the story, the photograph passed his test. Often the best photographs—those “Gasp Factor” ones—are made under less than ideal lighting conditions. These images are made on stormy days, at the crack of dawn, sunset, or in the dark of night when getting the proper exposure can be a distinct challenge. It is those precious fleeting minutes when the quality of light provides photographers with images that separate photographs from snapshots.
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Shootin’ And Scootin’; Products For Wedding And Other Photographers
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Apr 01, 2010 • 0 comments

“Now join hands, and with your hands your hearts.”—William Shakespeare

There is more to wedding photography than capturing the image. Afterward there’s more work involved getting all of those images sorted, edited, and prepared for the web or albums for the happy couple and their parents. This month, I’ll introduce you to a few software and hardware tools that...
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Software & Hardware For Your Inner Photographer; Black & White And Read All Over
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Feb 01, 2009 • 0 comments

“I used to hate doing color. I hated transparency film. The way I did color was by not wanting to know what kind of film was in my camera.”—Helmut Newton

Basking in a post-photokina gizmo haze and with dreams of PMA sugar plums still dancing on our dreams amid echoes of “Auld Lang Syne” and Wallace Shawn shouting, “Beware evildoers, wherever you...
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Software From Around The World; Image-Processing Options
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Mar 01, 2010 • 0 comments

“A photograph is a secret inside a secret. The more you see, the less you know.”
—Rian Johnson from The Brothers Bloom

As digital imagers in a worldwide economy we have lots of image-processing options available, not only from this country but also from software designers located all around the world. This month I’ll show you some of the latest examples of...
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Software Power Tools From PMA 2007; Plug-Ins & Presets, Oh My!
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Aug 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?"--Ernst Haas

Power tools are small bits of software, be they Photoshop compatible plug-ins, Photoshop Actions, or software utilities that can make a digital photographer's life a little easier for creating practical or special effects. Much...
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