the Imperfect Pixel

Allison & Aaron: Engagement session

2011-04-20T16:20:00.001-06:00

Allison and Aaron are getting married this September. They were in town recently, for tastings, arrangements and such; so we scheduled their engagement session while they were here. They brought Aspen along so we could get a complete family picture.

I have to admit, it was a little 'different' to have parents lurking about (they were on their way to the airport) while you are trying to get romantic with your fiancee - but, kudos to Allison and Aaron, they managed to mentally 'slip away' for awhile and made some lovely, relaxed pictures for their guest book.

Hit the jump to see a small sampling of what happened on the way to the airport.

I can't wait to see the wedding at a little chapel, followed by a reception at the Garden of the Gods Club. Hurry September!

If you want to see more of the pictures, contact Allison or Aaron for the link to the complete gallery.

Sleeping with the Finalists: continued

2011-04-14T21:01:00.001-06:00

Well, I hadn't planned on this being such a long task. Sorry, but I want to document my thoughts and feelings as a technical person for the past 40 years, now making a decision on my own computer - trying to keep it separated from my technical needs, while acknowledging and providing for them.

So, I finally settle on the Samsung QX410 as a laptop that gives me a lot of the same user experience I have found on the Macbook Pro. I pick one up for a side-by-side comparison.

This series of blog posts is being written on both computers. I work for awhile on one, then switch to the other and continue what I was writing. I am looking at how it is to work on each one. I am trying to take note of the real differences and how they matter to me. I have to admit that the Mac is very appealing, but the Samsung is cheaper and has a bigger hard drive. They are both about the same size (they fit my criteria for portability), the Samsung is a little bigger, but has a slightly larger 14" screen. Both have wonderful touchpads - I have not used a mouse in all this. I am keeping up with email, paying bills, and even doing some light photo work, etc. on these computers - while working from a variety of places around the house.

Well, the screen IS important on a portable computer. I don't want to bring along a separate monitor everywhere I go, so the screen should be as easy to read and work with as possible. After working with both these machines; in a variety of lighting conditions; I have to give the nod to the Macbook screen.

Why? I looked at them side-by-side (for WAY too long) and I notice the Macbook screen has a much wider viewing angle. I also notice the Samsung screen tends to show fingerprints and glare a lot more than the Macbook. But the biggest thing was noticing that I was constantly adjusting the Samsung - trying to get the best view possible. On the Mac, I noticed I was doing that FAR less, almost never. With the machines side-by-side on the table, I could easily read both from a standing position, but the Mac screen had more contrast and brightness - making it easier to read.

The keyboards are both great, both have a fine typing feel, and good spacing. The Mac's keyboard is backlit, which means less eyestrain when working in darkened environments (lecture halls, corners of dark coffee shops, evenings near the TV, mornings in bed, etc.

I also notice that after using the Mac for awhile (like I said, I'm working on both machines), I am slightly annoyed by the blue flashing lights that have been part of my computer experience for so many years. I find this another interesting point to ponder. It's a tiny thing, but if I am concentrating on the screen, why do I want these blue flashing lights in my field of vision - a small but constant distraction.

The Samsung touchpad is wonderful - just about the equivalent of the Macbook in smoothness - and better than in Macbook in some functionality. I love using a good touchpad as it reduces the need for a mouse to almost zero for most computer tasks (one less thing to carry and set up).

A lot of very frustrating research has shown me that most Windows machines have really poorly-implemented touchpads. The Mac seems designed around the touchpad as the primary interface, with the keyboard as the primary text-entering device. Windows has wonderful keyboard shortcuts and seems to have the touchpad as a backup for when the mouse is not available. Just a matter of preference, but I prefer the touchpad for most interactions. So the QX410 touchpad is the only one I have found that matches what the Macbook can do. I find I only use the mouse for detailed photo-editing work - everything else can easily be done without the mouse (usually quicker too!)

The Samsung has better connections. An extra USB port, standard VGA and HDMI ports, separate jacks for microphone and speakers. I don't need to buy the $25 connector to hook it to my TV. The USB connectors are behind a little flap door (which makes no sense) and are a little annoying to get at, but they are available - just not well thought out. There is no need for the flap door, it just gets in the way when you want to use the ports (to plug in the external drive or CF card reader, or mouse, or keyboard light). Another little annoyance the Macbook doesn't give me. But, the connections are all there - more than the Macbook has.

For the Mac, I need to buy an adapter for my large monitor (VGA, mine is 5 years old) and another for a modern monitor (HDMI). If I want a third USB port (rarely, but possible) I need to buy a USB hub. These are all small parts, but they add up - and they use brain space. The Samsung would be easier to tote around to various locations and be ready to connect to whatever was available.

I also ran some speed tests - just to be sure that I wouldn't be frustrated when I needed to run a long computer-intensive job. Both machines are MUCH faster than what I was using - no problem - but the Samsung was faster at importing several hundred RAW images and creating 1:1 previews of them. It was also faster exporting several hundred edited images to final JPG form. The Samsung is just faster at large tasks like that. Not by a huge amount, but I was only using 500 images.

The Mac seems faster at smaller tasks. Start the email program, switch to that window, start the word processor, etc. After watching and working with both for a week, I came to the unscientific conclusion that the Mac operating system is just not as "busy" as Windows - and that is why the touchpad works so smoothly and things just seem to be so "quick". In fact, I just left the PC running while I went and started dinner. I came back about 20 minutes later and the blue flashing disk light was still flashing. I remember thinking "it's not been doing anything for 20 minutes, but it's still 'busy' - doing what?" Now the Mac OS may also be constantly reading and writing to the harddrive, it just doesn't flash a light at you every time it reads/writes - so it doesn't seem as "busy". I notice it goes to sleep and wakes up significantly faster than the PC, and perhaps this lack of "busyness" is why things seem to get started quicker on the Mac. I have had many times where I have clicked on something on the PC, only to have a significant delay before my request was honored. And this is a new machine! I remember that one of the reasons I am getting a new machine is that the old one was responding so slowly it was a regular source of errors - as I would click again, or move the mouse and try something else - then suddenly a flurry of activity would take place as the machine "caught up" - leaving me to sort out what all just happened (wasted time).

So far, I have had the Macbook do that delay thing once - the Samsung does it regularly (though not nearly as much as the old machine it's replacing). Windows just seems busier than OS X. Another hint at that came from a review I read (anandtech.com) of running Windows on a Macbook. Windows worked fine on the Mac, but the testers noticed that the battery life was HALF of normal! They re-did the test to be sure and confirmed their findings - I would tend to attribute the battery drain to how busy Windows remains even when there is nothing going on, no applications running.

More later....

Sleeping with the Finalists: The Backstory

2011-04-12T12:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I promised you the backstory.

January 31st held the promise of a major winter storm. The grocery store was full of folks stocking up. Gas stations had lines. In addition to taking care of those basics, I decided that this was a good time to lock myself in with candidates for a new laptop computer.

My old H-P laptop is dying. It still works, but the screen has started flickering, the keyboard drops characters with regularity, the hard drive is full, it's old and slow, the battery is practically dead - which means it's not really portable, and it is just too big (a 17" screen) to be comfortably portable.

So, I had ordered a new 17" H-P Envy and when I went to pick it up, I told the salesperson I would REALLY like to take home two computers and be locked down comparing them during the storm for the next few days. No problem, she said, I had two weeks to bring them back with no re-stocking fee. Wonderful! So I picked up a Macbook Pro (I've always admired their style) to see what all the fuss was really about.

Well, unpacking the H-P Envy, it was quickly apparent that it was NOT a portable computer. despite being 17". it had a separate optical drive that I would have to take with it if I wanted to burn a CD while I was away. The power 'brick' was also huge and weighted nearly a pound! But the screen was said to be simply amazing, so I went ahead and set it up.

I am a photographer, so the screen simply HAS to be color calibrated for photo-production work. I could get by with almost anything for office work and web work; but for photo production, I had to have a color calibrated monitor. I downloaded my color management software and plugged it my puck to calibrate the screen. The software simply wouldn't load. It just came up with an empty window - really, just a blank window! Hmmm, a setback, but let's move forward and get it resolved before making any rash decisions. I'll uninstall the 'junkware' and call tech support tomorrow, since it's already late.

I then unpacked the Macbook Pro 13". It was immediately apparent what all the fuss was about. The attention to detail was apparent from the first moment opening the box. Minimalist design, done very nicely. The overall effect is one of quality and care, you know you're opening something special. Apple even included a screen cleaning cloth - nice touch. No junkware to uninstall - nice. In a few minutes, I am connected to my wireless router and am browsing the web; and I have put a couple of my email accounts into the email program that comes with Mac OS X. Hmmm, that really WAS easy!

The operation of the touchpad is very smooth on the Mac. I notice how the H-P touchpad is "jerky" and hesitant by comparison. The Macbook is also very small. The Power brick is tiny and can be operated with just one cord that wraps up with it (you can also extend it if you need, but generally you don't need the extra cord extension to re-charge the battery). Overall, the Mac is a machine that was designed to be portable - the 17" H-P was not designed to be portable.

I am beginning to formulate ideas as to my requirements. Portability is a big issue, I want to be able to easily move about and keep working on the computer. I know the screen and keyboard are big factors in daily useability - now I am starting to think that the touchpad is important for portability as well.

Interesting.....

So, I spent two days on the phone with tech support, trying to get the H-P Envy to load my color management software (EyeOne Display, really a basic standard). They even did a remote screen connection to try to resolve the issue. All to no avail. Finally, they gave up (I was getting impatient) and said they couldn't explain it ("unstable operating system" was the label used) and suggested I return the unit - it was a refurbished unit, maybe still had "issues".

By then, it was fine with me, as I had by then decided that it wasn't the machine for me anyway. Too big, loud, and unwieldy for my new portable. By now I had started to form some guidelines for what was needed. For example, I have never had a backlit keyboard. All these years of struggling to see the keys in low light (remember, I am a photographer, color work is done is low light conditions), tilting screens to see the keys had just become a habit. I never thought about it until one evening when the keyboard on the Macbook lit up - nice.

So, I pack up the H-P Envy for return, and continue researching other makes and models. I have begun to develop my list of requirements, but there are still about a million candidates. More time spent trying to get details, as most manufacturers are deliberately vague in their descriptions and many reviewers are not looking at what I am looking at. I read about a bazillion reviews while the winter storm rages on outside. And playing with the Macbook helps me further refine my ideal criteria. It begins to be a valuable process for me - internally as well as externally.

After a few days of this feverish activity, the storm passed, the H-P Envy had been sent back as requested, and I had a great start on a list of criteria:

* Small and portable. No larger than a 14" screen. No more than 5.5 lbs.

* Screen. The Macbook has an excellent screen, so it set the standard.

* Keyboard. simple and uncluttered. Backlighting would be a big plus.

* Battery. Must have at least 5-6 hours of battery life to be portable for me.

* Well-made. I want to find something that is well-designed and implemented. It makes a difference. It's my soul speaking here. I really appreciate things that are "well-crafted."

I notice that performance is not high on my list. almost any current computer will meet my needs afor photo-production. I have certain needs for specific software, but otherwise, I'm pretty easy to please. The web won't go any faster than my internet connection; office work (email, word processing, spreadsheets, etc.), won't be any quicker; as long as I have a decent mid-range processor, it will be able to run several processes at once (downloading a file while browsing the web and working on a document.).

I also notice that I have begun to place great value on the "user experience". By this I mean something that is designed for use, rather than for specifications. I find myself responding to the latest iPad 2 ad - the one that talks about the technology getting out of the way. I am starting to feel that a computer should be pleasurable to work with - after all these years of being someone who labored to help make technology "touchable" to non-technical people, I am finally looking at it for myself as well.

This is bringing up some interesting feelings ..... more later.

Sleeping with the the Finalists

2011-04-08T13:39:00.000-06:00

Some days all I can do for the world is breathe.
----------
Okay, my laptop computer is actively dying. It's old, like 5-6 years old I think. Anyway, it's really slow, and is really not adequate for what I am doing anymore.

I also have a desktop machine, though it actually sits on the floor (a floortop) and is connected to a 37" monitor, it usually runs music during the day, occasional Netflix or DVD, slideshows when I have clients in, and it is where I do photo-editing.

I am trying to get all photo-production work off of the Floortop, and consolidate everything onto a single modern laptop. I know I can do this. This is my adventure.

Well, another part of my adventure involves having admired Apple computers for a long time. They have always been 'different' - a bit exotic, very well-designed, etc. I would like to give a Macbook Pro a good look as part of this process. I would need to get everything I am doing to work on the Mac, but that would be part of giving it a good look; right?

So, I went to the friendly local Best Buy and got 2 computers (these were the 2 finalists after the qualifying rounds): a Samsung QX410 and a new MacBook Pro 13".

Sadly, only one of these can be the winner. I plan to eat/sleep/breathe with these two finalists and pick one to be my champion. I'll try to give you my thoughts as I work through this process.
---------------

The Romantic journey of Lynne and Bert

2011-03-02T16:36:00.002-07:00

Imagine. . .

You are in Paris with your lover.

He is working with the Mariah Carey tour. (Imagine!)

You are staying in Pablo Picasso's Paris apartment. (Wow!)

You decide to get married back in your hometown. (Aw)

You plan an intimate family gathering from across the U.S. and Canada. (Sweet!)

You ask me to photograph your intimate wedding (Ok, that is a shameless plug, but hey, I love this job!)

Bert and Lynne met in Las Vegas - which is where they currently live - and discovered that they had both gone to Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs!

They discovered that they had attended during the same years!

They came to realize they had lockers just across the hall from each other!

How had they never met before?

Well, further investigation shows that Bert was in the "Artsy Fartsy" crowd; while Lynne was in the Cheerleader crowd. They reasoned they simply didn''t take note of each other. Such is the high school life (sigh).

Bert works with Las Vegas acts, and Lynne describes herself as his"groupie". They were actually engaged in Paris, while Bert was travelling with the Mariah Carey show and staying in Pablo Picasso's Paris apartment. How is THAT for romance?

And so we gathered from around the country and on into Canada. We gathered in lovely weather (for February) at the historic Briarhurst Manor in Manitou Springs. We gathered for the wedding of Bert and Lynne.

Lynne shares a laugh with her mother and sister.

Bert shares a laugh with "the guys." (does the period go inside or outside the quote marks?)

Bert's family is French-Canadian, so there was LOTS of wonderful expressiveness :)

As guests gathered downstairs, I caught a few moments of Lynne as she waited.

Bob Thomas (Lynne's father) giving a short and touching toast.

As the night deepened, and the families laughed away, we slipped outside for a picture with the lights - they were engaged in Paris (City of Lights) after all; right?

Congratulations Lynne and Bert!

Aleena & Chris: engagement session

2011-01-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

A while back I had a lovely engagement session with Chris and Aleena (plus Isabella and Charlize). We took advantage of Chris' limited time home and picked the best weather day for the photo session.

In addition to pictures of Chris and Aleena, we took the opportunity to get some pictures of the girls and of the whole family together. Great fun!

Isabella is old enough to be curious about pictures. She also had a great time playing with some of my photo equipment.

The ducks at Monument Valley Park were a big hit with both girls. They were walking on water!

Isabella shows her style! Much to the delight of Chris & Aleena...

And finally, ... here's "the smoulder".

The Imperfect Garden - the saga continues

2010-10-07T13:46:00.000-06:00

So last year - too late last year - I (along with the help of my son and some friends) started this long time dream of a garden that would grow food for the nearby soup kitchen.

Well, last year we harvested 'learning opportunities' for this year. But getting a reasonable start this year, we actually grew vegetables - totally organic - from this little mid-city garden!! Cool, eh! Especially for someone, like me, who continues to have little idea of how to do this. To me its all "cow poop, water, sunshine, and magic."

We found all sorts of interesting "Heirloom varieties" (stuff that used to grow here in the U.S., but has been displaced in the grocery stores by a few commercial varieties) and thought it a good idea to work with those. We purchased a bunch of seeds (my son could tell you what, to me they were "seeds") over the winter and stated planning the beds we'd built during the summer.

We started planting in late April (as I recall). I learned about watering (more, Colorado is really dry) and weeding (it could be a fulltime job, or just let nature take care of most of it. Guess which one I chose). Here is what the garden looked like.

Long story short, 5 zuchinni plants produce a LOT of zuchinni! The soup kitchen got the vast majority, but I kept some to give away and eat, and freeze, and make zuchinni bread, and ... OK, all the stories you've heard about zuchinni - all true. Wow, it was overwhelming!

But the greater surprise for me was the various types of yellow squash. Those things produced about twice the output of the zuchinni plants! Then we had too much basil, too many Anaheim peppers (from just one plant!), and more oregano than I know what to do with (also from one plant). Here's what a typical day's harvest looked like.

That's a round zuchinni on the right - yummy! See what I mean about the yellow squash? Its called "Prolific Yellow Squash" and certainly lived up to it's name. Here is how it looks on the vine.

This was a typical morning's harvest during the summer! Occasionally, a few tomatoes and bell peppers. The deer and squirrels got all the corn just before it was ready to harvest. Another "learning experience". And the broccoli was first infested with Mountain Flea Beetles, then got a bad case of aphids - another "learning experience". Surprisingly, we still got a few heads of broccoli from them.

Then, there was also a Boston Marrow squash. This one was harvested too early (like I said, I don't know what I'm doing), but after sitting on the table for a month, Q made a wonderful curry from it.

That's a 12" iron skillet its sitting in. There is another one growing out there that is about twice the size of this one. Anyone know when you harvest these things? Is there a guideline somewhere?

All this, plus giving the Marian House soup kitchen a huge amount of food - mostly squash. It feels like a productive garden, and I am starting to feel like a gardener! Way cool!

Right now Ray, my wonderful neighbor, is out there digging up some of the finished beds and re-sculpting the garden for next year. We'll try to incorporate the lessons learned from this year and do even better next year.

Wish us luck!!

Behind the scenes with a new teapot.

2010-10-02T12:54:00.001-06:00

My good friend, and fellow shooter, Dave Barnes recently introduced me to a new ARC store in town. I love to browse the ARC stores every once-in-awhile, but this trip was specifically looking for tea stuff - David is starting a series of images of tea.

Well, I love tea as well. I took the opportunity to scan for a cool teapot - and bingo! There was this nicely shaped Alladin-style teapot for $5!! Cool, a traditional pot to contrast the modern one I had paid good money for recently. Neat. Maybe I'll replace one of the older pots. Probably not, but maybe. Oh, BTW, David also found some Victorian stuff that he was looking for. The plan was for me to assist him in producing his image ideas.

Anyway, as fate would have it, our planned shoot didn't happen that afternoon. I went home and later woke up with an idea for an image in my head. This often happens to photographers - it's maddening, but I suppose, necessary.

It was still fairly light out and I wanted a black background for the white teapot. So, kill the ambient with shutter speed - no problem. Edge light to make the teapot into a more abstract form - a couple of small speedlites set to minimum power still gave me plenty of power for an f/8 aperture. A textured cloth for contrast with the smooth teapot. I'm shooting with a Canon G-9; it's great macro mode and abundant DOF make it a good choice (plus, its so easy to see the image without all that bending and squinting :) ). Here's the setup picture.

And here's the shot it produced.

Okay, but that shape could also look good with a reflection image. I simply removed the textured cloth and used the glass tabletop. Here's the final image.

Finally, I also have a pink teapot that has a more modern shape. I thought the reflection could produce another interesting image, especially if I really emphasized the red in the clay.

The Colorado Balloon Classic!

2010-09-24T22:04:00.048-06:00

Every year, around Labor Day, Colorado Springs hosts two important events: the Firefighter's Memorial Ceremony and the Colorado Balloon Classic.

The Firefighter's Memorial is an international event honoring those firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty during the last year.Each name is read aloud and inscribed on a wall in Memorial Park. It is a gorgeous, solemn ceremony of honor. Bagpipes and drums, the families of those being remembered, and representatives of fire departments from the U.S. and Canada.

This year though, a friend and I decided to attend the Balloon Classic; one of the largest hot air balloon gatherings in the country - I think only the New Mexico event is bigger, but I'm not certain of that. This is also held in Memorial Park (it's a BIG park) with liftoffs at dawn (weather permitting) and food stands and such.

Well, the night before the first liftoff, my friend called with a strained back - can't walk around carrying camera gear. Poop! That ruins a fun time hanging out with a fellow shutterbug. I go to bed thinking "I've got plenty of other work I should be catching up on anyway."

Well, I'm awake well before dawn, do a little editing work, but eventually gather myself (and a cup of good strong coffee) and decide to see if I can venture out into the crowds alone. The coffee helped a lot. I found a parking spot only a block from the park and found myself comfortable in the rather large crowd that always gathers for this event. There must have been nearly as many cameras as people - because for every person I saw without a camera, there were photographers with multiple cameras strapped on. The announcer was going on about a photo contest that would win a hot air balloon ride next year. I ignored it, I'm just here for the experience - and some pictures of hot air balloons getting ready for flight.

Here are a few examples of what I captured. It was really pretty cool; I got in, got my shots, and got out before the crowd drove me crazy (sometimes crowds make me really nervous).

Walking into the park I felt a part of this throng of families gathering for this event. I saw the chance for this beautiful flare and took it. We're all walking towards the light.

The scene as you approach the main staging area.

Deep inside the staging area. A swarm of people, all trying to get close to the balloons as they are being inflated.The balloon crews are really laid back and accomodating of people trying to get a peek inside the balloons.

I LOVE this shot! The interplay of light and shadow, the colors, the other-worldliness of it. At this point the crew are blowing air into the balloon to get it into shape. Next, hot air is blown into a balloon. The balloon crew let me get in really close to the blowers with my fisheye lens for a few pictures. My camera is only like 3 inches from the blowers - wow! This kind of access is what makes the Balloon Classic such a great 'photo op'. Then, I ran back to catch the sun peeking through a balloon's basket just before lift-off.

Then, suddenly . . . FLIGHT! The gentle giants rise amid cheers and waves to fill the morning sky. Where are they headed? Who knows. I know that coffee is no longer needed - colorful balloons are filling the sky! The scene brings out the child in everyone present.

So, I walk back to my car and start to leave. Looking up I see the Energizer Bunny looming over the launch field like Godzilla. All I need is to add is a bit of flare to keep with the unreal nature of this scene - "Bunnyzilla, emerging from the forest (imagine the screams, etc.)."

See you here next year? Don't forget to bring your camera. Oh, almost forgot to include my favorite photos of the morning! Here are my picks:

I love the shadow figures in this shot. I think they gives it a sense of mystery.

The shadows, the patterns, and ... that little girl entering this land of wonder and mystery.

The Marine Corps flag and the National Flag - remembering. Shot with a fisheye lens about a foot from the Marine flag.

Okay, here I have the camera right next to the blower to catch a ball of flame headed towards the canopy of the balloon. With all the colors pouring in from outside.

Shannon + Jake

2009-05-21T12:42:00.005-06:00

were married late last year in Phoenix, AZ. Shannon's step-mom is a photographer friend and asked me to fly down to photograph the wedding - so that she could play more of the Mom role. Good idea!!!

The wedding was held at a place called The Boojum Tree Gardens. Jake is a ranch man, and when we were introduced he said "I don't get into town much, so make me look good." As you can see, that was not a problem. Shannon is a nurse and was living out her dream day, full of romance and Jake. We had a lovely day (November in Phoenix, rather than July-August in Phoenix) and made some sweet images.

To see the album I designed for Shannon and Jake, click here.

Spring arrives at the home/studio!

2009-05-05T10:36:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I've succumbed to spring fever. My good friend Lise Hunt stopped by with flowers and we spent part of the afternoon planting them - then had tea.

Lise is a good friend and local photographer. She thought I needed some color for the entrance to the home/studio. It was great fun getting hands dirty and adding splashes of color - looks good.

Here's what the entrance looks like now.

And we left one of the windmills from winter - the only one that survived the spring winds (up to 70mph last month!).

As a horticultural newbie, I can tell you that these are reddish flowers and blueish flowers. They are nice for adding color to an entranceway.

Okay, enough technical jargon, here are a few more pictures of the flowers that now grace my place. Feel free to stop by and visit, I'm always up for a nice cup of tea :)

Tea anyone??