“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”—Pablo Picasso
I’ve attended many photokina shows since my first in 1978 where I met two men whose work affects me to this very day. One was Norman Rothschild who wrote a popular magazine column called “Offbeat” and the other was Jean Coquin who had just invented a modular...
“A Dream is where a boy can swim in the deepest oceans and fly over the highest clouds.”—Joanne K. Rowling
From time to time I like to use this space to introduce you to computing trends that affect digital imaging. This month Web Profiles is brought to you from the clouds. Cloud computing refers to computing resources that are accessed and usually owned and operated by...
“Something you threw together in crafts class, Princess?”—Buck Rogers in the 25th century
As a kid during the 1950s, I had one of the last Buck Rogers ray guns produced. These were actually flashlights made by Norton Honer but were designed to look like Buck’s ray gun. It’s only fitting that ExpoImaging’s Ray Flash ringlight converter projects light as...
“The night we met I knew I needed you so…”—Ronnie Spector & The Ronettes
If you like having fun with distortion and soft focus you already know about Lensbabies, but did you know that, like the three bears—Cornelius, Alice, and Muffy—there are now three Lensbaby lenses and they are called Composer, Muse, and Control Freak? (I’ll let you figure...
“At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.”—Thomas Tusser
Submitted for your approval: Here’s a list of gizmos, gadgets, and gear for the digitally-minded who may have already believed they had everything they wanted but didn’t know they really needed lots more stuff in order to produce the ultimate image. Feel free to use...
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” —The Buddha
Italian publisher FMR recently produced an art book called Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano which, I believe, translates into “You ‘da Man, Mike” or “The Wise Hand” for...
“Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done and why. Then do it.” —Robert Heinlein
Is writing a blog too time-consuming for you? Try micro-blogging. That alternative lets you write brief (usually less than 200 characters) text updates and publish them, so they can be viewed by anyone or by a group who is restricted by the original...
“There are no rules here—we’re trying to accomplish something.”—Thomas A. Edison
I’ve always felt the most important photo accessory you can own is the bag that holds your gear. That’s why I worked with Adorama (www.adorama.com) to develop the Joe Farace Reporter Backpack and the smaller Mary...
I have been using Westcott's light banks and umbrellas for glamour, fashion, and portraiture almost since the company entered the photographic business and have always been impressed by their quality and value. Previously I used their rugged and flexible Spiderlite family of hot and cold continuous lighting products and now they've introduced a line of monolights built...
"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."--Coco Chanel
My method for selecting websites for this column is no secret; I've talked about it here before and in case you missed it here's how it goes: I look at all of the sites suggested by Shutterbug readers but that doesn't mean they'll make the cut. I...