I am in love… with Sound Studio, my new Mac podcasting software. I want everyone to know!
2.
Corner Stone
It’s damned hot. And the suck factor is high.
3.
Pogonip
Not here!
4.
Corner Stone
Got another 1/2 inch of rain an hour or so ago and it has tightened the vice of heat and humidity over this fair city.
Something like 60% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow so should be lots of fun.
5.
BGinCHI
Finally beautiful weather here in Chicago after a cool and very, very wet June.
Happy holiday weekend to all.
6.
Corner Stone
B Crack, when do you plan to tour with your wine foil art exhibition?
7.
Tommy
@WereBear: Yes. I did the reverse switch from a Mac user from 1987 until 2009. Sound Studio was what I used for years and it was a wonderful piece of software.
8.
RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac)
I finally figured out how to make animated GIFs from videos I’ve collected. I’ve stuck with Adobe Photoshop CS1 forever but never used the accompanying application ImageReady. A few clicks later, I got it down. Wish I’d known about it a few years back.
9.
Rob
It’s not too hot in the DC suburbs, even though it’s warmer than yesterday. And surprise! even more rain is on the way.
Two thoughts sprang immediately to mind when I read this: “Love is blind” & “Love is a many splendored thing.”
The weather here (upstate NY) is sunny & 78F. Rain on Saturday.
11.
Tommy
@BGinCHI: Downstate from you and a wet June would be an understatement. But mild temp now for this time of the year.
12.
raven
It rained all fucking day and further delayed our addition by at least four more days. I got out and swept 2 inches of water off of the new 3/4″ tongue and groove subfloor.
13.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: We have the same weather here. It’s been so nice the past couple of days!
@Tommy: It took a GarageBand meltdown to get me to seek out other software, but it was worth the angst and effort.
15.
Tommy
@RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac): Well of course Photoshop went to a cloud based app. I was pretty pissed off about it but have to admit the service is pretty nice. You might give it a try.
Figures. That’s the tent fete and fireworks day my neck of the woods.
17.
trollhattan
My 12ish dog is slowing down and her eyes aren’t what they once were either, but that didn’t stop her from getting her fourth (that I know of) rat last evening. And goddamn it, as proud of her as I am I hate shaking the damn thing from her jaws before she eats it, which she will.
Blecccch.
Took the kid to “Inside Out” last night. Highly recommended, and just see if you don’t end up “cutting onions” before it’s done.
@Tommy: I consider it better than the price-of-a-used-car tag on that giant Suite you had to buy to get any of the component parts.
19.
Tommy
@WereBear: I have searched high and wide for a Windows app like Sound Studio and can’t seem to find one that is even close. I have since moved everything from iTunes to Google, if for no other reason then my phone and tablet are Android. There are a ton of things I don’t like but getting used to it.
20.
WaterGirl
@raven: I was late to a thread where you talked about all the delays – and Baud, I think it was, suggested that perhaps your property is an old indian burial ground.
Two inches of water on the new tongue and grove subfloor? Eek!
Building and repairs can be so frustrating to go through, as I learned 2 years ago. I’m sure you have many moments when you take it all in stride and then other times you may want to scream. None of it will matter at all once you have your lovely new addition and a normal life back.
21.
geg6
A lovely 79F here in southwestern PA. Only a 30% chance of rain this evening, so July, so far, has been a major improvement over the cold and wet June we had. John and I are not agreeing on dinner tonight but as long as I have a bottle of wine, I’m not going to argue about it. And I will get that bottle if nothing else.
22.
p.a.
Beautimus here in RI. Put my Thai basil in mid-May and it’s just starting to flourish. It’s usually bullet proof compared to sweet basil, but not this year.
Got a beach house invite for tomorrow. If I leave by 7am I still might have to take backroads to avoid traffic.
currently in the DC area, enjoying trips to Gettysburg and Ft. McHenry. Happy 4th!
P.S. wtf are my Rays doing, falling apart like this? I’m gonna cry.
24.
Xenos
It is hitting 100 degrees tomorrow in France & western Germany. Sure would be nice to have air conditioning. Damn.
At least there is no water shortage so we can hose ourselves off regularly.
25.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
I’m clinging to my religion&gunsCS6 collection for now, as they’re still supporting it and it’s paid for, but I don’t use the apps enough to warrant shoveling money at Adobe every month. Lightroom is still for retail sale and has enough features to have me 95/5 LR/PS, so I may never need to actually lease Photoshop in the future. InDesign, Dreamweaver and Illustrator are a whole other topic.
26.
jackmac
Perfect day here at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sunny, game time temp of 71 and a gentle breeze off Lake Michigan.
27.
Tommy
@WereBear: Yes my mind changed. Like once in a blue moon I might need an Adobe app. I am generally speaking old school as it comes to software. I want DVDs in my hands.
But if I need Premiere I can buy it for a month, get the project done, and move on not paying hundreds of dollars.
28.
Monkeyfister
Here, in Armpit, TN, it is a very uncharacteristically cool 75-degrees, with a bit of rain occasionally moving through. Windows are open, and I am THRILLED at the not-95+ degree weather we normally get this time of year. June-September, I am usually forced to stay indoors, today. This is BLISS!
29.
trollhattan
@jackmac:
That combination could actually get me to a baseball game. Officially jealous (even if it is the Cubbies).
but I don’t use the apps enough to warrant shoveling money at Adobe every month. Lightroom is still for retail sale and has enough features to have me 95/5 LR/PS, so I may never need to actually lease Photoshop in the future.
I hate that F’ng business model and have to believe that shortly someone will create a suite you can pay for once and then own as long as you want, excluding upgrades. Who the hell uses the software enough to justify +$100 a year, each year for a couple apps?
31.
Tommy
@trollhattan: I do web sites for a living and I only pay for Photoshop. I only need InDesign and Dreamweaver once in a blue moon and just buy them for a single month when I do. If I had to buy the entire CS it would be pretty darn expensive.
32.
Randy P
We’ve had a couple of pretty violent thunderstorms in the Philly area the last couple weeks. Last week, one knocked out power all throughout the area, that took days to restore. We had to wait a week for help with our lower-priority issue: a huge fallen limb tangled up in the power lines but not for some reason affecting the power.
Then earlier this week was a sudden downburst that flooded practically every street in the neighborhood and made driving home… interesting.
That said, Lightroom is way better than Corel PaintShop, which I unfortunately tried to use for years.
35.
opiejeanne
it is hot here in the PNW. 92 is the prediction for today but it has exceeded every predicted high this week and we are getting health alerts from NOAA because of the heat. Way too early for this misery, and most of us don’t have AC because in the past there were so few days like this; I am now tempted to put in a unit. Outside, if you are in the shade, it’s nice because there is a breeze.
@Tommy: I have searched high and wide for a Windows app like Sound Studio and can’t seem to find one that is even close.
Maybe it’s simply the kind of work I do on computers, but it’s been my experience that I can find lovely things, for free or cheap, for the Mac, and they work, and they have an elegance to learning them, and I’m happy at the end.
The PC is a nightmare. Their shareware is just junk. There’s virus traps every few feet, they want to stack on toolbars and bandwidth sucking widgets just to install the thing, and once you finally get it working it’s lacking some vital element… which you then must pay for to make it work.
Just another reason for me to stay Mac. But then, I don’t have a smart phone, so I’m not torn that way. I have a dumb phone, and an iPod touch.
37.
Tommy
@Corner Stone: It is kind of messed up. I bought a decked out Dell a few months ago. $3,000 just for the CPU. Came with MS Office but no disks. I was like WTF. I paid for the darn software how do I not get the disks?
38.
Poopyman
A reasonable 80 degrees in Swampy Southern MD, where the dewpoint has gone from a nasty 74 to a reasonable 66, for no apparent reason.
No matter, there’s an 80% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow, so today’s anomaly will be corrected.
Question for photography buffs. What is a good starter DSLR/SLR camera kit. Any suggestions appreciated.
40.
NotMax
Repeating for the daytime crowd.
So what’s on tap on TCM for the 4th? The usual, expected stuff. But one lesser known film in the mix is The Devil’s Disciple. Story from George Bernard Shaw’s play of the same name taking place during the Revolutionary War, airs at 1:30 p.m (Eastern) on July 4.
Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, and more. There’s a fight scene very late in the movie during which Lancaster gets to strut his athletic prowess as well as showcase his sly comedic side.
I’ve tried it at work, a digital printing business. I vastly prefer CS1.
Until I went Intel in September of last year, I stuck with CS1 on every PowerPC Mac I owned. It has never failed me when I’ve put it to use.
I knew ImageReady was for web applications, but after reading a summary during a Google search, I gave it a spin. Pretty nifty.
42.
Tommy
@WereBear: I swore I’d never go to a smart phone. I am already on a computer close to 24/7. I didn’t need one in my pocket. But when I did I realized I was wrong in that thinking. Or at least for me. I restrict the apps I put on it on purpose. No games. No time sucking stuff. Phone. Weather. RSS feeds. Directions. GPS. Music for my walks. Shopping lists.
43.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
Definitely. Because I’ve taken application classes at the local college I’ve been able to get the suites at student price, which makes them quite a bit less expensive and the oddball unused apps are not a drag on the wallet. (“Fireworks? What the heck is Fireworks and why do I own it?”)
ETA Adobe made CS2 a free download a couple years ago. The whole Magilla.
44.
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: Have you ever seen “Flesh and Fantasy” (1943)?
Interesting anthology film with Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings
I saw it on late-night tv back in the ’70s and it stuck in my mind for years.
45.
Tree With Water
The war party in congress stands ever ready to hurl the rest of us into wars at the drop of a hat. “We are all Georgians now” said presidential nominee John McCain just seven years ago. “We are all Greeks now” (or Grecians, as GW would have it). This weekend I’d like to hear someone on our side declare, “We are all Greeks now”. Because as near as I can figure it, that’s pretty much where it’s at.
46.
raven
@schrodinger’s cat: I bought my used Canon T3i here and am very pleased. The have a really good rating system and return policy.
@Tree With Water:
“Watch out for that Greek urn!”
“What’s a Greek urn?”
“About fifty bucks a day.”
48.
Tommy
@RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac): Yes ImageReady is really cool. Years ago when I figured out how to make an animated GIF, back to your first comment, I was stunned how easy it was.
I used to work on the account service side of things at ad agencies. I am self-taught with Adobe and always felt I was like using 1% of the program.
But there is this thing called YouTube and I find anything I want to learn I can head there and find this amazing video.
It’s 88 here in Miami with 58% humidity giving us a heat index of 94. Good thing I didn’t do anything more strenuous than hose off the patio and do a crossword puzzle today.
51.
trollhattan
@schrodinger’s cat: Suggest looking at mirrorless interchangeable lens rather than DSLRs. Smaller body, smaller lenses, just as many features. A couple starter models are the Olympus E-M10 and Panasonic G7. TimF’s Max pics are taken with mirrorless (unless he’s since switched; photographers are finicky sorts).
52.
JPL
@Randy P: My son and his s.o. are visiting friends in Philly for the long weekend. I hope you have decent weather for the fireworks.
53.
Tommy
@trollhattan: Just an aside. I pay for software. I know I could steal it but that is wrong. Microsoft is on the record saying if you say you are a student and you are not a student they don’t care. So keep that in mind the next time you might buy Office :)!
54.
Tommy
@schrodinger’s cat: I still use my Nikon N70. A step down from a professional grade. It is almost 20 years old but you can get one dirt cheap and spend more money on lenses.
55.
Rob
@Redshift #49
I know what you mean. Plus, work kept me so busy I didn’t go outside for the longest time and when I did, it wasn’t too bad (for July in DC that is).
Right now I’m listening to the group Warpaint which has a low-key sound, good for ending the work week.
The Internet is being really stupid today. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Even the Takei thing is being handled stupidly by everybody. And I have to work. Didn’t think I’d have to but my co-worker ended up getting a thing I needed to me after lunch, after all :(
The Rubio’s and Christie’s are having a sleepover at the Romney’s in NH this weekend. Under/over odds on the coverage this receives compared to the Girl Scouts camp out.
I don’t think this is good news for Jeb, but I could be wrong.
59.
SarahT
Pretty nice here in NYC today, but it would be more fun with these ladies around:
@JPL: After hearing how Romney treated his pregnant daughter-in-law, (he changed the rules for Family Olympics after she beat him) it sounds like spending a weekend with the Torquemadas.
Open thread? It’s the blog’s one-year anniversary, so Iggy has the day off. Instead, Muppet goes for a car ride.
65.
SarahT
@Germy Shoemangler: LOVE “Flesh & Fantasy” – it’s not shown nearly enough. Yeah, the New Orleans segment is particularly memorable.
66.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
I’m in a pretty good position–am able to get MS Office through my employer’s enterprise license at a good discount, while the Adobe student discount applies to part and full-time students, so everything I have is on the up-and-up. Lightroom I just buy at street price when there’s a sale.
Since you’re self-employed (yes?) PCs and software are a standard business expense, but that’s not as helpful as a discount. Adobe’s new pricing model essentially abandons the hobbyist and small businessperson. They evidently didn’t consider those an important part of their customer base. Offering CS2 to everybody was a nice thing to do, I’ll give them due credit for that. For photography, the main shortcoming is the lack of RAW codecs for any camera released since CS3 came out, but there’s a free DNG converter that can fill in.
67.
tom
Way too hot (for the PacNW) but hey, weed is legal now so that makes it that much easier to kick back, put on some good tunes and slide into the weekend.
68.
trollhattan
@JPL:
Time for a nice Fourth of July meteor! Can Scott Walker be a party crasher?
@schrodinger’s cat: I have the Nikon D5200. I’ve taken a few months of classes, and haven’t run across anything that’s made me regret my purchase. It’s an older model — I think they’ve released two more in the D5xxx series since — so if you’re buying new, I think it’s the D5500. Or get a used/older model for a good camera at a decent price.
Of course, there are others that I’m sure are just as good — but I’ve had a good experience with my Nikon, so there it is.
70.
Germy Shoemangler
@SarahT: I love those movies from the 1940s. The lighting, the set design, the dialogue… I’m a sucker for that stuff. I also like early ’30s screwball comedies.
71.
JPL
@Karen in GA: The first time Finch went for a car ride he rolled down the windows and hung out his head. Now he’s okay but I do lock the windows.
Since you’re self-employed (yes?) PCs and software are a standard business expense, but that’s not as helpful as a discount. Adobe’s new pricing model essentially abandons the hobbyist and small businessperson.
Yes. The price point for one app is seemingly fair. But if you buy what was known as the CS you are paying more than $100/month. That is a fair amount of money to say the least.
Heck I just got the bill from my city. Power, water, sewage, trash. It was $138. When I almost have to pay the same amount for apps that is outrageous.
75.
SarahT
@BillinGlendaleCA: Hope they’re having a lot of fun walking around today, because tomorrow looks like more of a museum weather day. Fireworks forecast not so promising right now. Sigh…
76.
Ruckus
@Karen in GA:
I picked up a 5300 and am very happy with it. Last job I used both Nikon film and digital for micro technical pics and they were great, so I went with Nikon for my own stuff. Friend I used to work with went with Canon and told me that there really isn’t a lot of difference these days. Considering pics I’ve seen out of both I’d agree. On every price level they are competitive so really figuring out how much you want to spend and then whatever fits your hands seems to be a good way to chose. If you have lenses then that might obviously make that decision for you.
77.
Tommy
@Karen in GA: If “schrodinger’s cat” has a local camera store head there. I swear by Nikon but my father loves Cannon. It is my experience if you head to a local store they will hooked you up. Spend time with you and help you understand your best options.
@schrodinger’s cat: @raven: I second Raven’s recommendation — I’ve bought used stuff from KEH several times. Most of the time the equipment was in better shape than their description led me to believe. The one time I got a broken lens that they had advertised as being in excellent condition, their customer service rep was very helpful — he was more unhappy about the lens than I was — and the exchange process was easy.
I loved their sales around Thanksgiving and Christmas last year — it felt like hitting the lottery.
No, I don’t work for them.
82.
Gin & Tonic
@Ruckus: Ken Rockwell is what you’d call an acquired taste.
83.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: Lightroom is a pretty amazing program. I use Photoshop if I want to crop or optimize a photo, but Lightroom is stunning if you take a lot of pics and want to be anal about organization.
84.
Gin & Tonic
@BillinGlendaleCA: Lightroom is great. I’ve been using it since V4. If you have a non-trivial collection of photos you won’t regret it.
85.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
I’ve just glanced at his site a couple of times. He seems to be rather straight forward and his remarks do jibe with my experience.
That and 5 bucks will get you a cup of marginal coffee.
@JPL: I actually just finished a 90 minute drive up to the mountains with Muppet in a harness in the back seat. About an hour into the drive she threw up all over the seat, then managed to get out of her harness, which she left on top of the mess she horked up. Then she wandered around, tracking the mess all over the car for the last part of the trip. I was driving up 129 at the time — pretty twisty, and not many safe places to pull over, so I had to just let her do her thing.
She seemed proud of herself, though, so at least it was a confidence builder for her. The little freak.
87.
Another Holocene Human
Just rained in Gainesville.
88.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: @Gin & Tonic: So it excels in organizing the pics? Windows(especially win10) seems sufficient at doing that. I’m more interested in optimization, I use PaintshopPro right now. It’s good, but a bit clunky and buggy.
89.
Steeplejack
Pretty nice day here in NoVA. It’s 77° now, dunno if it got much above 80° earlier. It was cloudy all day, but, hey, this time of year, anything under 90° is a blessing, everything else is secondary. And there was (relatively) low humidity—67 percent! Should be good weather for bro’ man’s cookout on Sunday—85° and 20 percent chance of rain—and there are only two days in the 10-day forecast where the high nudges 90°. I’ll take it.
The Tour de France starts tomorrow (7:00 a.m. EDT on NBC Sports), so I’ll be changing up my background TV wallpaper. Even if you don’t care about cycling (and I don’t, much), the scenery is great, and it’s fun to see the fans cheering by the roadside as the peloton (mass of riders) goes by.
Also, film noir alert! Fritz Lang’s White Heat (1949) is starting right now on TCM. Shout-out to Gogol’s Wife (I think): this is the one with “Top of the world, Ma!”
Thanks guys for all your great suggestions. My current camera is a Canon, so that’s the brand I am gravitating towards.
91.
Gin & Tonic
@Ruckus: He’s been a visible blogger for a long time, so he’s garnered his fair share of detractors. He does tend to be extremely opinionated, to the point that anyone who disagrees with him is an idiot. I know, unheard-of in the blogging world. But his opinions change very dramatically, too, so that whatever he is enamored of *right now* is the greatest thing ever, and he’s never uttered a word to the contrary (although, of course, he held the opposite position just as vehemently last year.)
Some, maybe most of his advice is good for beginners. I think some pros look down on him, but he’s not writing for them anyway.
92.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: It is a picture organization machine. As to optimization it is just not the program I use so I would differ to others. I am a Photoshop guy but I use it for business. Other than Photoshop you have Paintshop and GIMP. I would strongly suggest Photoshop but then do you want to pay $15/month for it?
@Karen in GA: Reminds me of the time some friends of ours from Brooklyn were driving out “into the country” to pick up their mastiff puppy. We volunteered to go with them, and it’s a good thing we did.
They were in the back with the puppy, and we were driving. The poor little (thirty pound) guy got carsick .He was like a puppy fountain… both ends.
At the end of it all, they loved him anyway :)
94.
Gin & Tonic
@BillinGlendaleCA: It’s good at organizing, yes, using a variety of tags/categories/etc. But it also does a lot of optimizations very quickly and “automatically” (as opposed to PS) and it stores them non-destructively, so if you want the unmodified version of the photo, you always have that. The changes are stored as a sort of database, which you apply to the image and “develop” it in a sense to produce your final printed image. It does RAW conversions, it does lens corrections, all sorts of things.
I think it costs around $150, but I also think you can download a demo/eval version from Adobe.
95.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: Oh the Abobe Cloud which is where you have to buy the app now has a trial period. You can try it for free and if you don’t like it not buy it.
@Major Major Major Major: I’m on #TeamTakei. Is calling someone an Oreo nice or advisable? No. Did Clarence Thomas earn it? I don’t think anyone who has a heart left can listen to Mr. Takei talk about what happened to his family and not end up with a boiling ragegasm over Thomas’ flippant dismissal of the notion of personal dignity. Is it right for someone who isn’t Black to call out Clarence Thomas that way? I don’t know, that’s not for me to answer.
99.
p.a.
@schrodinger’s cat: if you are a long time photographer you might want to look for one with a viewfinder as well as a screen, whether optical or electronic. It took me a while to get used to a viewscreen. I still prefer a finder.
100.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
LR has expanded and expanded to the point it can handle most image editing tasks. Photoshop is a bitmap image editor of phenomenal power and far beyond what typical photography editing calls for. My dividing line is when I need to use layers–then I switch from LR to PS.
Very importantly, as noted above LR is also a photo database and batch editor. I use it to import and tag my images–LR copies from card to hard drive (and saves an optional duplicate set) and at the same time it applies camera and lens profiles plus whatever presets I may want (e.g., automate noise reduction and white balance correction for a set taken indoors at ISO 3200). It has all the Camera RAW editing tools and all edits are non-destructive, as they’re recorded to a sidecar file. Original images remain intact, including crops.
Apple Aperture basically did all this stuff too, but it’s discontinued.
Can someone sort out Lightroom vs. Elements for me? Are they either/or, or do they do different things? I sort of get that Elements will probably do everything that I would ever use from Photoshop at much lower cost, but I don’t know how Lightroom fits into the grand scheme of things.
@Karen in GA: No, it was quite a long drive into real country. We just felt they did not realize what could go wrong with a petite woman who could not drive trying to wrestle with a mastiff puppy alone. They were very grateful we had the logistics nailed down more than they did.
104.
Tommy
@Steeplejack: That would take thousands of words. My father takes a ton more photos then I do and totally happy with Elements. My gut is if you are happy with what you are using and have to ask the question then the answer is keep what you have and know.
If you have the time, The Big Clock (1948) on TCM at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Taut little thriller. Charles Laughton as a tightly wound neurotic publishing magnate is quite the studied characterization. And Elsa Lanchester turns her ditziness factor to 11.
@Steeplejack: From my limited experience, it appears that Elements is good for editing individual photos — very powerful, basically offering a lot of what the full Photoshop can do. Lightroom is more designed for batch editing — warming up the tone on a bunch of shots from a portrait shoot, etc. — and great for organization.
107.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
That’s pretty much my experience as well. Don’t know of him other than his site. When I was looking for current advice most of the sites could give me a bunch of technical info but not much else other than the latest is the best, spend all the money you’ve got and you will be happy. 12-15 yrs ago as I stated I was using Nikon upper end and very happy with them. For my personal camera about 10 yrs ago I bought an Olympus point and shoot. Not a horrible camera but rather limited in what it will do. When I wanted to get back to DSLR I had no idea what was out there. Friends who are professional photogs were not a lot of help because they are all specialized in one area, sports action or set shots. I needed to catch up and his was one site that kept coming up so I checked it out. He is not fixed on one thing for 40 yrs, that’s true, but he also doesn’t seem to follow trends like some sites either. And I didn’t follow his exact advice either so there is that.
For purchasing I used B&H and have been delighted with them.
108.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
I tried following him very early in my digital days (circa a decade ago) and found his fact to fantasy ratio not good. But since, he’s harvested a vast array of critics. In any case there are many excellent resources.
DP Review is the web’s biggest resource for camera and lens reviews. They basically won that war and there is no greater repository of technical gear reviews. The user forums are vast and basically cover every possible brand.
My favorite photography blogs are The Online Photographer and The Luminous Landscape.
My favorite working pro is Kirk Tuck at The Visual Science Lab. I don’t think he sleeps.
My favorite lunatic is Steve Huff. He’s a controversial as Rockwell, but I like his work (ahem) and he’s very brand-agnostic (also, ahem).
Thom Hogan is the go-to guy for reading camera industry trends, and rigorous gear reviews. His sites are a little hard to navigate.
I could go on endlessly. Sorry for no links, but FYWP.
109.
Tommy
@Karen in GA: Lightroom as I mentioned in another comment is more of a batch organization program. With Photoshop you open individual photos. With Lightroom you start the app and see all the images processed.
110.
trollhattan
@Karen in GA:
Like Lightroom, Elements doesn’t do layers, which is their big distinction from PS. Only important for folks who need it (such as putting text on an image).
@NotMax: An excellent thriller. The claustrophobic sequence with Ray Milland near the end is a little gem.
113.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
Bridge can handle some of the batch stuff, but it’s pretty clunky compared to LR (for those wondering, Bridge is like Windows Explorer only with some editing and sorting tools. It ships with Photoshop).
114.
Tommy
@trollhattan: And to be honest using layers is a tough concept for many intelligent people.
115.
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: I am without cable tv. I can see if my local library has it on dvd.
Don’t have either, that’s why I’m asking. And I am starting to take more pictures, so I’ve been thinking about this.
117.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: How does Lightroom store it’s tags? Is it in the standard Exif? The problem I had with PaintShopPro is that it was good at tagging who was in the photos, but stored it in a proprietary database. This is of little use if I have the photos on another device that doesn’t have the program. I ended up buying a program that ONLY edits tags.
ETA: It seems that Samsung also used a proprietary location for it’s tags as well, this kind of crap really pisses me off when I move from platform to platform(in my case Windows to Android, no fruity devices here).
Thanks, that’s a good summation of what little (I think) I know so far. So maybe I’m on the right track.
119.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Yeah I just wanted to buy a decent camera and a couple of lenses and needed to know what’s current without spending 6 months starting all over. I searched a number of sites and they all seemed like any true enthusiasts sites no matter the subject, overburdened with minutia and a LOOK AT US, WE KNOW MORE THAN YOU or BUY WHAT WE TELL YOU AND LIKE IT demeanor. As you may be able to tell, I’m not a fan of either.
@Tommy:
True. To be perfectly honest, I was doing layers for a couple of years without knowing I was doing layers. I can’t recommend taking a Photoshop class highly enough for anybody interested in truly learning the program. I was using it as though I was pounding nails with a locked toolbox for a hammer.
Adobe does have a vast training video library for folks who can learn outside a structured classroom environment. They’re quite good.
Irfanview will easily put text onto an image. Free and powerful little photo editor (though with a much lesser choice of functions than the Adobe stuff). Been happily using it for more than a decade with no complaints about it at all.
123.
Tommy
@Steeplejack: You can try Photoshop for free for 15 days. That is where I’d start. I’d say it might be overkill for somebody that doesn’t use it for business. I’ve been using the app for almost ten years and I bet I only use about a few percent of what he can do. I would argue it is one of the most complex programs out there for consumer use.
@Ruckus:
I hear ya. Luckily, the industry has sorted itself out and produces uniformly good cameras and prices are amazingly low compared to a decade ago. Heck, not so long ago a “decent” DSLR and a couple lenses was once the better part of ten grand.
Today picking a camera is more like speed dating–first figuring how you want to use a camera and for what, then finding the right fit from the gear that does it best within your budget. I’m in the transition phase of DSLR to MILC, since I really want to downsize my stuff. The newest cameras are so very good now.
126.
Tommy
@trollhattan: I totally know what you mean. Same here. If you want to use Photoshop you have to understand layers. I would argue it is what powers the program.
127.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
On that job 12-15 yrs ago I had a great fellow employee who was a wiz at PS and AI. Learned a lot from her and used the programs in editing photos/drawings that I had to use in publishing sports rulebooks. Trying to lean them effectively by yourself would idiotic. I’m sure someone could do it but at what cost in time and effort and could one be effective? Adobe videos were helpful but there were still tricks that only a heavy user would know.
128.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
LR edits are stored in a sidecar file associated to the image. The EXIF remains intact as shot. LR builds a database file that expands with time and added images. Separately, it builds image previews to speed up viewing and editing.
129.
Tommy
@trollhattan: Yes. I just did a Google search for the Nikon I got back in 1996. I paid $750 for it. You can get it for $45 now, used. An SLR camera is dirt cheap these days and as you noted the quality is good across the board.
130.
Germy Shoemangler
@Steeplejack: thank you! Didn’t know that; I will.
131.
Aleta
@Aleta:
“Among the top-level executives of United States Secret Intelligence was a widely traveled scholar and soldier of fortune Robert Emmet Sharkey of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Master of five languages and one of America’s foremost athletes Bob Sharkey was twice captured by the Germans in World War I, and both times escaped with a brilliant record of achievement behind enemy lines.”
Meaning Cagney.
(No cable, no TV necessary.)
132.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
Yup! “Hey, did you know that you can do this in one step instead of twenty?” “No” [headdesk, headdesk, headdesk….]
133.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Ahhhhhh, the Adobe learning curve. Many twists, turns, blind alleys, back doors, shortcuts, frustration out the wazooo…… I at one time wondered if Maalox owned Adobe and brought out the entire line in an effort to expand sales of antacids.
@trollhattan: Thanks, guess I’ll just stay with PaintShopPro and my EXIF editing program.
136.
PurpleGirl
@NotMax: TCM is showing two of my favorite July 4th movies — 1776 and Yankee Doodle Dandy. I explored their schedule a bit, hoping to find Abbot and Costello’s The Time of Their Lives But, sorry to say it isn’t on the schedule. Maybe I’ll try to stream it or find it on YouTube. I’m happy to have the two movies anyway.
Plus, as mentioned on earlier threads, The Devil’s Disciple with Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster and Laurence Olivier in Revolutionary War times.
As the years have passed, more and more find Yankee Doodle Dandy too cloying.
138.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I should probably add that images are exported for use, whether distribution or web display or print or whatever, and all edits are “baked in” to the exported image. That way the originals stay untouched.
139.
Linnaeus
Looks like Seattle’s gonna be hot for the next week at least. A bit too hot for me.
140.
Randy P
@PurpleGirl: Yankee Doodle Dandy has been on my Netflix queue (yeah, some people still use the DVD service) forever. In his autobiography, Cagney keeps saying he’s a hoofer, a song and dance guy, and so I always thought it would be fun to see him in what he regarded as his true milieu.
@NotMax: Yes, YDD can be cloying but there are just certain scenes I really like — Cagney didn’t get to dance in enough movies for me. He was good dramatic actor but he could dance. The scene with him tap-dancing down the staircase at the White House still amazes me. It’s said he did it with no rehearsal and in one take.
ETA: Randy P: He began dancing as a chorus boy on Broadway. He put one brother through medical school with his dancing.
143.
WaterGirl
@JPL: In my twenties, before I had a car with air conditioning, I took my cocker spaniel for a ride. Windows were down because it was hot. She decides to jump out of the car in the middle of the busy campustown intersection. Holy shit, that was scary!
She was okay but it was a tricky few minutes, as I recall.
Something which cannot recall ever seeing in any Western movie was someone taking a dog onto a stagecoach and seeing the dog elatedly poking its head out the window as the stagecoach moved along.
It must have happened in real life, though.
147.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I wonder if people had pets that were like members of the family back then. Or maybe just leave them behind when they moved or traveled?
@BillinGlendaleCA: I haven’t looked lately, but I would bet Lightroom has a trial. It’s really matured into a nice all-in-one catalog + basic editor.
Scott Kelby has a nice straightforward book for beginners.
The cataloging is a really great way to organize tons of pics.
Maybe take it for a spin.
150.
J R in WV
I was into multi-lens DSLRs for a long time. More recently, though, I bought a Panasonic Lumix with a Leica lens, fixed, because it was 30x from widest to longest.
Then I found that in very low light scenes it would take multiple exposures in the dark, and combine them for a final photo that looked like it was taken in normal light levels. I don’t think I’m going to ever look back.
So now I have a big bag full of Nikon that I don’t use much at all, and a single camera/lens that I pick up whenever I want to take pictures. Museums, caves, dark train platforms, closed factories, fields of flowers, you name it, it just works.
Any Panasonic with Leica lenses will be great, and any Sony with Zeiss lenses will be great. So much of a camera is in the glass!
And I also recommend B&H as a great mail order place with good prices AND they sell high end used tools too…
We will be watching the new Blu-Ray directors cut of “1776.” There’s a good chance that TCM will be showing the same directors cut because they recently showed it at the TCM Film Festival. There aren’t any big changes, but it’s tightened up and flows much better than previous “restored” versions.
152.
Bonnie
It’s way too hot here in Tacoma, Washington. Most of us who grew up here can’t take it either. But, I am glad I am not in Maryland any more.
Yup, they’ll be showing the longer version with more than 20 minutes of footage previously thought lost. And the entirety has been color corrected as well.
Here’s a video snippet (not the greatest visual quality) of a recent stage production with some actors you may recognize (who were probably still children during the Bicentennial).
154.
Tree With Water
Well, I have always heard that a bad plan is better than none at all. And admittedly, I had no idea that the POTUS could issue “religious liberty orders”.
“..Huckabee mapped out a three-pronged approach, which he said would be carried out on the first day of his hypothetical administration. It involves signing religious liberty orders that protect businesses, churches and other organizations for “exercising their religious beliefs,” particularly where their marriage views are concerned; directing the attorney general to prosecute attacks against people of faith—including those who oppose gay marriage—as hate crimes; and preventing military chaplains from having to carry out same-sex marriages”.
There’s A longer version that’s been out for a while where they put “Cool Considerate Men” back in, but with this new version they had the director take the found materials and do the cut he wanted (Jack Warner had final cut on the original and had made lots of small decisions that the director hated). Just so it’s clear that this version is not the same as the “restored” version that was already available — it’s a new cut.
We got to see the almost-completed new cut and hear the director talk about it at the American Cinematheque last year. Really fascinating, but by the time the 3+ hour movie and hour-long discussion was over, every restaurant in Santa Monica had already closed except for one 24-hour deli. Oy.
156.
PurpleGirl
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I’ve loved movie/stage productions since I helped a friend with the “Scenes from 1776” that he staged as fundraisers for Masonic lodges. I took care of the props and set up of the “stage” area in one of the lodge suites in the 23rd St. headquarters building.
G is worried that I’m overselling the differences between the “restored” version and this new version, but it really did seem to flow better than the “restored” version. So I probably need to add that YMMV.
IIRC, the Blu-ray contains the 165 minute director’s cut and also a 168 minute version. Film aficionados are nearly unanimous in preferring the longest version.
The original home video version touted as restored used lesser quality recovered footage. It was only with the unearthing of cinema quality footage later on that the full movie could be pieced together properly.
WereBear
I am in love… with Sound Studio, my new Mac podcasting software. I want everyone to know!
Corner Stone
It’s damned hot. And the suck factor is high.
Pogonip
Not here!
Corner Stone
Got another 1/2 inch of rain an hour or so ago and it has tightened the vice of heat and humidity over this fair city.
Something like 60% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow so should be lots of fun.
BGinCHI
Finally beautiful weather here in Chicago after a cool and very, very wet June.
Happy holiday weekend to all.
Corner Stone
B Crack, when do you plan to tour with your wine foil art exhibition?
Tommy
@WereBear: Yes. I did the reverse switch from a Mac user from 1987 until 2009. Sound Studio was what I used for years and it was a wonderful piece of software.
RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac)
I finally figured out how to make animated GIFs from videos I’ve collected. I’ve stuck with Adobe Photoshop CS1 forever but never used the accompanying application ImageReady. A few clicks later, I got it down. Wish I’d known about it a few years back.
Rob
It’s not too hot in the DC suburbs, even though it’s warmer than yesterday. And surprise! even more rain is on the way.
eta: I see it is pretty hot in your state, Betty.
Felonius Monk
@WereBear:
Two thoughts sprang immediately to mind when I read this: “Love is blind” & “Love is a many splendored thing.”
The weather here (upstate NY) is sunny & 78F. Rain on Saturday.
Tommy
@BGinCHI: Downstate from you and a wet June would be an understatement. But mild temp now for this time of the year.
raven
It rained all fucking day and further delayed our addition by at least four more days. I got out and swept 2 inches of water off of the new 3/4″ tongue and groove subfloor.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: We have the same weather here. It’s been so nice the past couple of days!
WereBear
@Tommy: It took a GarageBand meltdown to get me to seek out other software, but it was worth the angst and effort.
Tommy
@RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac): Well of course Photoshop went to a cloud based app. I was pretty pissed off about it but have to admit the service is pretty nice. You might give it a try.
WereBear
Figures. That’s the tent fete and fireworks day my neck of the woods.
trollhattan
My 12ish dog is slowing down and her eyes aren’t what they once were either, but that didn’t stop her from getting her fourth (that I know of) rat last evening. And goddamn it, as proud of her as I am I hate shaking the damn thing from her jaws before she eats it, which she will.
Blecccch.
Took the kid to “Inside Out” last night. Highly recommended, and just see if you don’t end up “cutting onions” before it’s done.
WereBear
@Tommy: I consider it better than the price-of-a-used-car tag on that giant Suite you had to buy to get any of the component parts.
Tommy
@WereBear: I have searched high and wide for a Windows app like Sound Studio and can’t seem to find one that is even close. I have since moved everything from iTunes to Google, if for no other reason then my phone and tablet are Android. There are a ton of things I don’t like but getting used to it.
WaterGirl
@raven: I was late to a thread where you talked about all the delays – and Baud, I think it was, suggested that perhaps your property is an old indian burial ground.
Two inches of water on the new tongue and grove subfloor? Eek!
Building and repairs can be so frustrating to go through, as I learned 2 years ago. I’m sure you have many moments when you take it all in stride and then other times you may want to scream. None of it will matter at all once you have your lovely new addition and a normal life back.
geg6
A lovely 79F here in southwestern PA. Only a 30% chance of rain this evening, so July, so far, has been a major improvement over the cold and wet June we had. John and I are not agreeing on dinner tonight but as long as I have a bottle of wine, I’m not going to argue about it. And I will get that bottle if nothing else.
p.a.
Beautimus here in RI. Put my Thai basil in mid-May and it’s just starting to flourish. It’s usually bullet proof compared to sweet basil, but not this year.
Got a beach house invite for tomorrow. If I leave by 7am I still might have to take backroads to avoid traffic.
PaulW
currently in the DC area, enjoying trips to Gettysburg and Ft. McHenry. Happy 4th!
P.S. wtf are my Rays doing, falling apart like this? I’m gonna cry.
Xenos
It is hitting 100 degrees tomorrow in France & western Germany. Sure would be nice to have air conditioning. Damn.
At least there is no water shortage so we can hose ourselves off regularly.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
I’m clinging to my
religion&gunsCS6 collection for now, as they’re still supporting it and it’s paid for, but I don’t use the apps enough to warrant shoveling money at Adobe every month. Lightroom is still for retail sale and has enough features to have me 95/5 LR/PS, so I may never need to actually lease Photoshop in the future. InDesign, Dreamweaver and Illustrator are a whole other topic.jackmac
Perfect day here at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sunny, game time temp of 71 and a gentle breeze off Lake Michigan.
Tommy
@WereBear: Yes my mind changed. Like once in a blue moon I might need an Adobe app. I am generally speaking old school as it comes to software. I want DVDs in my hands.
But if I need Premiere I can buy it for a month, get the project done, and move on not paying hundreds of dollars.
Monkeyfister
Here, in Armpit, TN, it is a very uncharacteristically cool 75-degrees, with a bit of rain occasionally moving through. Windows are open, and I am THRILLED at the not-95+ degree weather we normally get this time of year. June-September, I am usually forced to stay indoors, today. This is BLISS!
trollhattan
@jackmac:
That combination could actually get me to a baseball game. Officially jealous (even if it is the Cubbies).
Corner Stone
@trollhattan:
I hate that F’ng business model and have to believe that shortly someone will create a suite you can pay for once and then own as long as you want, excluding upgrades. Who the hell uses the software enough to justify +$100 a year, each year for a couple apps?
Tommy
@trollhattan: I do web sites for a living and I only pay for Photoshop. I only need InDesign and Dreamweaver once in a blue moon and just buy them for a single month when I do. If I had to buy the entire CS it would be pretty darn expensive.
Randy P
We’ve had a couple of pretty violent thunderstorms in the Philly area the last couple weeks. Last week, one knocked out power all throughout the area, that took days to restore. We had to wait a week for help with our lower-priority issue: a huge fallen limb tangled up in the power lines but not for some reason affecting the power.
Then earlier this week was a sudden downburst that flooded practically every street in the neighborhood and made driving home… interesting.
raven
@WaterGirl: yup
Corner Stone
That said, Lightroom is way better than Corel PaintShop, which I unfortunately tried to use for years.
opiejeanne
it is hot here in the PNW. 92 is the prediction for today but it has exceeded every predicted high this week and we are getting health alerts from NOAA because of the heat. Way too early for this misery, and most of us don’t have AC because in the past there were so few days like this; I am now tempted to put in a unit. Outside, if you are in the shade, it’s nice because there is a breeze.
WereBear
Maybe it’s simply the kind of work I do on computers, but it’s been my experience that I can find lovely things, for free or cheap, for the Mac, and they work, and they have an elegance to learning them, and I’m happy at the end.
The PC is a nightmare. Their shareware is just junk. There’s virus traps every few feet, they want to stack on toolbars and bandwidth sucking widgets just to install the thing, and once you finally get it working it’s lacking some vital element… which you then must pay for to make it work.
Just another reason for me to stay Mac. But then, I don’t have a smart phone, so I’m not torn that way. I have a dumb phone, and an iPod touch.
Tommy
@Corner Stone: It is kind of messed up. I bought a decked out Dell a few months ago. $3,000 just for the CPU. Came with MS Office but no disks. I was like WTF. I paid for the darn software how do I not get the disks?
Poopyman
A reasonable 80 degrees in Swampy Southern MD, where the dewpoint has gone from a nasty 74 to a reasonable 66, for no apparent reason.
No matter, there’s an 80% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow, so today’s anomaly will be corrected.
schrodinger's cat
Question for photography buffs. What is a good starter DSLR/SLR camera kit. Any suggestions appreciated.
NotMax
Repeating for the daytime crowd.
So what’s on tap on TCM for the 4th? The usual, expected stuff. But one lesser known film in the mix is The Devil’s Disciple. Story from George Bernard Shaw’s play of the same name taking place during the Revolutionary War, airs at 1:30 p.m (Eastern) on July 4.
Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, and more. There’s a fight scene very late in the movie during which Lancaster gets to strut his athletic prowess as well as showcase his sly comedic side.
RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac)
@Tommy:
I’ve tried it at work, a digital printing business. I vastly prefer CS1.
Until I went Intel in September of last year, I stuck with CS1 on every PowerPC Mac I owned. It has never failed me when I’ve put it to use.
I knew ImageReady was for web applications, but after reading a summary during a Google search, I gave it a spin. Pretty nifty.
Tommy
@WereBear: I swore I’d never go to a smart phone. I am already on a computer close to 24/7. I didn’t need one in my pocket. But when I did I realized I was wrong in that thinking. Or at least for me. I restrict the apps I put on it on purpose. No games. No time sucking stuff. Phone. Weather. RSS feeds. Directions. GPS. Music for my walks. Shopping lists.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
Definitely. Because I’ve taken application classes at the local college I’ve been able to get the suites at student price, which makes them quite a bit less expensive and the oddball unused apps are not a drag on the wallet. (“Fireworks? What the heck is Fireworks and why do I own it?”)
ETA Adobe made CS2 a free download a couple years ago. The whole Magilla.
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: Have you ever seen “Flesh and Fantasy” (1943)?
Interesting anthology film with Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_and_Fantasy
I saw it on late-night tv back in the ’70s and it stuck in my mind for years.
Tree With Water
The war party in congress stands ever ready to hurl the rest of us into wars at the drop of a hat. “We are all Georgians now” said presidential nominee John McCain just seven years ago. “We are all Greeks now” (or Grecians, as GW would have it). This weekend I’d like to hear someone on our side declare, “We are all Greeks now”. Because as near as I can figure it, that’s pretty much where it’s at.
raven
@schrodinger’s cat: I bought my used Canon T3i here and am very pleased. The have a really good rating system and return policy.
https://www.keh.com/
trollhattan
@Tree With Water:
“Watch out for that Greek urn!”
“What’s a Greek urn?”
“About fifty bucks a day.”
Tommy
@RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac): Yes ImageReady is really cool. Years ago when I figured out how to make an animated GIF, back to your first comment, I was stunned how easy it was.
I used to work on the account service side of things at ad agencies. I am self-taught with Adobe and always felt I was like using 1% of the program.
But there is this thing called YouTube and I find anything I want to learn I can head there and find this amazing video.
Redshift
@Rob: It’s not to hit in the DC area as long as you don’t try to do anything. If you do, the humidity gets you.
I put in a couple of hours starting to clear the jungle in my back yard, and I was dripping within minutes.
Mustang Bobby
It’s 88 here in Miami with 58% humidity giving us a heat index of 94. Good thing I didn’t do anything more strenuous than hose off the patio and do a crossword puzzle today.
trollhattan
@schrodinger’s cat: Suggest looking at mirrorless interchangeable lens rather than DSLRs. Smaller body, smaller lenses, just as many features. A couple starter models are the Olympus E-M10 and Panasonic G7. TimF’s Max pics are taken with mirrorless (unless he’s since switched; photographers are finicky sorts).
JPL
@Randy P: My son and his s.o. are visiting friends in Philly for the long weekend. I hope you have decent weather for the fireworks.
Tommy
@trollhattan: Just an aside. I pay for software. I know I could steal it but that is wrong. Microsoft is on the record saying if you say you are a student and you are not a student they don’t care. So keep that in mind the next time you might buy Office :)!
Tommy
@schrodinger’s cat: I still use my Nikon N70. A step down from a professional grade. It is almost 20 years old but you can get one dirt cheap and spend more money on lenses.
Rob
@Redshift #49
I know what you mean. Plus, work kept me so busy I didn’t go outside for the longest time and when I did, it wasn’t too bad (for July in DC that is).
Right now I’m listening to the group Warpaint which has a low-key sound, good for ending the work week.
Major Major Major Major
The Internet is being really stupid today. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Even the Takei thing is being handled stupidly by everybody. And I have to work. Didn’t think I’d have to but my co-worker ended up getting a thing I needed to me after lunch, after all :(
raven
@schrodinger’s cat: Here’s Steve’s Digicams for EXHAUSTIVE reviews.
JPL
The Rubio’s and Christie’s are having a sleepover at the Romney’s in NH this weekend. Under/over odds on the coverage this receives compared to the Girl Scouts camp out.
I don’t think this is good news for Jeb, but I could be wrong.
SarahT
Pretty nice here in NYC today, but it would be more fun with these ladies around:
https://youtu.be/E1d_dmKBiiI
WereBear
@JPL: After hearing how Romney treated his pregnant daughter-in-law, (he changed the rules for Family Olympics after she beat him) it sounds like spending a weekend with the Torquemadas.
NotMax
@Germy Shoemangler
That one does not ring a bell.
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: Barbara Stanwyck is in it. One of the segments is based on an Oscar Wilde story. One takes place during Mardi Gras.
I found it haunting.
BillinGlendaleCA
@SarahT:
Good to hear, the kid and her sister are there for the weekend.
Karen in GA
Open thread? It’s the blog’s one-year anniversary, so Iggy has the day off. Instead, Muppet goes for a car ride.
SarahT
@Germy Shoemangler: LOVE “Flesh & Fantasy” – it’s not shown nearly enough. Yeah, the New Orleans segment is particularly memorable.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
I’m in a pretty good position–am able to get MS Office through my employer’s enterprise license at a good discount, while the Adobe student discount applies to part and full-time students, so everything I have is on the up-and-up. Lightroom I just buy at street price when there’s a sale.
Since you’re self-employed (yes?) PCs and software are a standard business expense, but that’s not as helpful as a discount. Adobe’s new pricing model essentially abandons the hobbyist and small businessperson. They evidently didn’t consider those an important part of their customer base. Offering CS2 to everybody was a nice thing to do, I’ll give them due credit for that. For photography, the main shortcoming is the lack of RAW codecs for any camera released since CS3 came out, but there’s a free DNG converter that can fill in.
tom
Way too hot (for the PacNW) but hey, weed is legal now so that makes it that much easier to kick back, put on some good tunes and slide into the weekend.
trollhattan
@JPL:
Time for a nice Fourth of July meteor! Can Scott Walker be a party crasher?
Bet Willard sells them pizza by the slice.
Karen in GA
@schrodinger’s cat: I have the Nikon D5200. I’ve taken a few months of classes, and haven’t run across anything that’s made me regret my purchase. It’s an older model — I think they’ve released two more in the D5xxx series since — so if you’re buying new, I think it’s the D5500. Or get a used/older model for a good camera at a decent price.
Of course, there are others that I’m sure are just as good — but I’ve had a good experience with my Nikon, so there it is.
Germy Shoemangler
@SarahT: I love those movies from the 1940s. The lighting, the set design, the dialogue… I’m a sucker for that stuff. I also like early ’30s screwball comedies.
JPL
@Karen in GA: The first time Finch went for a car ride he rolled down the windows and hung out his head. Now he’s okay but I do lock the windows.
Ruckus
@schrodinger’s cat:
Here is a professional photog who does camera reviews. Seems pretty down to earth.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
Nooooo! (Rockwell is the Erick Erickovitch Erickson of the camera blog world.)
Tommy
@trollhattan:
Yes. The price point for one app is seemingly fair. But if you buy what was known as the CS you are paying more than $100/month. That is a fair amount of money to say the least.
Heck I just got the bill from my city. Power, water, sewage, trash. It was $138. When I almost have to pay the same amount for apps that is outrageous.
SarahT
@BillinGlendaleCA: Hope they’re having a lot of fun walking around today, because tomorrow looks like more of a museum weather day. Fireworks forecast not so promising right now. Sigh…
Ruckus
@Karen in GA:
I picked up a 5300 and am very happy with it. Last job I used both Nikon film and digital for micro technical pics and they were great, so I went with Nikon for my own stuff. Friend I used to work with went with Canon and told me that there really isn’t a lot of difference these days. Considering pics I’ve seen out of both I’d agree. On every price level they are competitive so really figuring out how much you want to spend and then whatever fits your hands seems to be a good way to chose. If you have lenses then that might obviously make that decision for you.
Tommy
@Karen in GA: If “schrodinger’s cat” has a local camera store head there. I swear by Nikon but my father loves Cannon. It is my experience if you head to a local store they will hooked you up. Spend time with you and help you understand your best options.
Mike J
Too hot? A fan will help you cool down.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Really?
Please tell me more. Not saying you are wrong, but his info on cameras seems OK.
BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: I’ve been seriously thinking about trying lightroom.
Karen in GA
@schrodinger’s cat: @raven: I second Raven’s recommendation — I’ve bought used stuff from KEH several times. Most of the time the equipment was in better shape than their description led me to believe. The one time I got a broken lens that they had advertised as being in excellent condition, their customer service rep was very helpful — he was more unhappy about the lens than I was — and the exchange process was easy.
I loved their sales around Thanksgiving and Christmas last year — it felt like hitting the lottery.
No, I don’t work for them.
Gin & Tonic
@Ruckus: Ken Rockwell is what you’d call an acquired taste.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: Lightroom is a pretty amazing program. I use Photoshop if I want to crop or optimize a photo, but Lightroom is stunning if you take a lot of pics and want to be anal about organization.
Gin & Tonic
@BillinGlendaleCA: Lightroom is great. I’ve been using it since V4. If you have a non-trivial collection of photos you won’t regret it.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
I’ve just glanced at his site a couple of times. He seems to be rather straight forward and his remarks do jibe with my experience.
That and 5 bucks will get you a cup of marginal coffee.
Karen in GA
@JPL: I actually just finished a 90 minute drive up to the mountains with Muppet in a harness in the back seat. About an hour into the drive she threw up all over the seat, then managed to get out of her harness, which she left on top of the mess she horked up. Then she wandered around, tracking the mess all over the car for the last part of the trip. I was driving up 129 at the time — pretty twisty, and not many safe places to pull over, so I had to just let her do her thing.
She seemed proud of herself, though, so at least it was a confidence builder for her. The little freak.
Another Holocene Human
Just rained in Gainesville.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: @Gin & Tonic: So it excels in organizing the pics? Windows(especially win10) seems sufficient at doing that. I’m more interested in optimization, I use PaintshopPro right now. It’s good, but a bit clunky and buggy.
Steeplejack
Pretty nice day here in NoVA. It’s 77° now, dunno if it got much above 80° earlier. It was cloudy all day, but, hey, this time of year, anything under 90° is a blessing, everything else is secondary. And there was (relatively) low humidity—67 percent! Should be good weather for bro’ man’s cookout on Sunday—85° and 20 percent chance of rain—and there are only two days in the 10-day forecast where the high nudges 90°. I’ll take it.
The Tour de France starts tomorrow (7:00 a.m. EDT on NBC Sports), so I’ll be changing up my background TV wallpaper. Even if you don’t care about cycling (and I don’t, much), the scenery is great, and it’s fun to see the fans cheering by the roadside as the peloton (mass of riders) goes by.
Also, film noir alert! Fritz Lang’s White Heat (1949) is starting right now on TCM. Shout-out to Gogol’s Wife (I think): this is the one with “Top of the world, Ma!”
schrodinger's cat
Thanks guys for all your great suggestions. My current camera is a Canon, so that’s the brand I am gravitating towards.
Gin & Tonic
@Ruckus: He’s been a visible blogger for a long time, so he’s garnered his fair share of detractors. He does tend to be extremely opinionated, to the point that anyone who disagrees with him is an idiot. I know, unheard-of in the blogging world. But his opinions change very dramatically, too, so that whatever he is enamored of *right now* is the greatest thing ever, and he’s never uttered a word to the contrary (although, of course, he held the opposite position just as vehemently last year.)
Some, maybe most of his advice is good for beginners. I think some pros look down on him, but he’s not writing for them anyway.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: It is a picture organization machine. As to optimization it is just not the program I use so I would differ to others. I am a Photoshop guy but I use it for business. Other than Photoshop you have Paintshop and GIMP. I would strongly suggest Photoshop but then do you want to pay $15/month for it?
WereBear
@Karen in GA: Reminds me of the time some friends of ours from Brooklyn were driving out “into the country” to pick up their mastiff puppy. We volunteered to go with them, and it’s a good thing we did.
They were in the back with the puppy, and we were driving. The poor little (thirty pound) guy got carsick .He was like a puppy fountain… both ends.
At the end of it all, they loved him anyway :)
Gin & Tonic
@BillinGlendaleCA: It’s good at organizing, yes, using a variety of tags/categories/etc. But it also does a lot of optimizations very quickly and “automatically” (as opposed to PS) and it stores them non-destructively, so if you want the unmodified version of the photo, you always have that. The changes are stored as a sort of database, which you apply to the image and “develop” it in a sense to produce your final printed image. It does RAW conversions, it does lens corrections, all sorts of things.
I think it costs around $150, but I also think you can download a demo/eval version from Adobe.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: Oh the Abobe Cloud which is where you have to buy the app now has a trial period. You can try it for free and if you don’t like it not buy it.
WereBear
@Steeplejack: White Heat is one of my all time favorites and it gets quoted around the house almost as much as The Big Lewbowski.
“If that battery’s dead, it’s gonna have company.”
“I’m not afraid of Big Ed.”
And, of course, the correct quote is, “Made it Ma! Top of the world!”
Germy Shoemangler
Shameful Dawn by Antonin Scalia.
His best book yet.
Another Holocene Human
@Major Major Major Major: I’m on #TeamTakei. Is calling someone an Oreo nice or advisable? No. Did Clarence Thomas earn it? I don’t think anyone who has a heart left can listen to Mr. Takei talk about what happened to his family and not end up with a boiling ragegasm over Thomas’ flippant dismissal of the notion of personal dignity. Is it right for someone who isn’t Black to call out Clarence Thomas that way? I don’t know, that’s not for me to answer.
p.a.
@schrodinger’s cat: if you are a long time photographer you might want to look for one with a viewfinder as well as a screen, whether optical or electronic. It took me a while to get used to a viewscreen. I still prefer a finder.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
LR has expanded and expanded to the point it can handle most image editing tasks. Photoshop is a bitmap image editor of phenomenal power and far beyond what typical photography editing calls for. My dividing line is when I need to use layers–then I switch from LR to PS.
Very importantly, as noted above LR is also a photo database and batch editor. I use it to import and tag my images–LR copies from card to hard drive (and saves an optional duplicate set) and at the same time it applies camera and lens profiles plus whatever presets I may want (e.g., automate noise reduction and white balance correction for a set taken indoors at ISO 3200). It has all the Camera RAW editing tools and all edits are non-destructive, as they’re recorded to a sidecar file. Original images remain intact, including crops.
Apple Aperture basically did all this stuff too, but it’s discontinued.
Steeplejack
@Gin & Tonic:
Can someone sort out Lightroom vs. Elements for me? Are they either/or, or do they do different things? I sort of get that Elements will probably do everything that I would ever use from Photoshop at much lower cost, but I don’t know how Lightroom fits into the grand scheme of things.
Karen in GA
@WereBear: Ha! Being from Brooklyn myself, I’m guessing “the country” was a small city with a six-figure population.
WereBear
@Karen in GA: No, it was quite a long drive into real country. We just felt they did not realize what could go wrong with a petite woman who could not drive trying to wrestle with a mastiff puppy alone. They were very grateful we had the logistics nailed down more than they did.
Tommy
@Steeplejack: That would take thousands of words. My father takes a ton more photos then I do and totally happy with Elements. My gut is if you are happy with what you are using and have to ask the question then the answer is keep what you have and know.
NotMax
@Germy Shoemangler
If you have the time, The Big Clock (1948) on TCM at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Taut little thriller. Charles Laughton as a tightly wound neurotic publishing magnate is quite the studied characterization. And Elsa Lanchester turns her ditziness factor to 11.
Karen in GA
@Steeplejack: From my limited experience, it appears that Elements is good for editing individual photos — very powerful, basically offering a lot of what the full Photoshop can do. Lightroom is more designed for batch editing — warming up the tone on a bunch of shots from a portrait shoot, etc. — and great for organization.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
That’s pretty much my experience as well. Don’t know of him other than his site. When I was looking for current advice most of the sites could give me a bunch of technical info but not much else other than the latest is the best, spend all the money you’ve got and you will be happy. 12-15 yrs ago as I stated I was using Nikon upper end and very happy with them. For my personal camera about 10 yrs ago I bought an Olympus point and shoot. Not a horrible camera but rather limited in what it will do. When I wanted to get back to DSLR I had no idea what was out there. Friends who are professional photogs were not a lot of help because they are all specialized in one area, sports action or set shots. I needed to catch up and his was one site that kept coming up so I checked it out. He is not fixed on one thing for 40 yrs, that’s true, but he also doesn’t seem to follow trends like some sites either. And I didn’t follow his exact advice either so there is that.
For purchasing I used B&H and have been delighted with them.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
I tried following him very early in my digital days (circa a decade ago) and found his fact to fantasy ratio not good. But since, he’s harvested a vast array of critics. In any case there are many excellent resources.
DP Review is the web’s biggest resource for camera and lens reviews. They basically won that war and there is no greater repository of technical gear reviews. The user forums are vast and basically cover every possible brand.
My favorite photography blogs are The Online Photographer and The Luminous Landscape.
My favorite working pro is Kirk Tuck at The Visual Science Lab. I don’t think he sleeps.
My favorite lunatic is Steve Huff. He’s a controversial as Rockwell, but I like his work (ahem) and he’s very brand-agnostic (also, ahem).
Thom Hogan is the go-to guy for reading camera industry trends, and rigorous gear reviews. His sites are a little hard to navigate.
I could go on endlessly. Sorry for no links, but FYWP.
Tommy
@Karen in GA: Lightroom as I mentioned in another comment is more of a batch organization program. With Photoshop you open individual photos. With Lightroom you start the app and see all the images processed.
trollhattan
@Karen in GA:
Like Lightroom, Elements doesn’t do layers, which is their big distinction from PS. Only important for folks who need it (such as putting text on an image).
Karen in GA
@WereBear: Yikes. Yeah, that’s not something I would have tried alone. 10 pounds of adult poodle mix was challenging enough.
Glad all went well for humans and mastiff.
WereBear
@NotMax: An excellent thriller. The claustrophobic sequence with Ray Milland near the end is a little gem.
trollhattan
@Tommy:
Bridge can handle some of the batch stuff, but it’s pretty clunky compared to LR (for those wondering, Bridge is like Windows Explorer only with some editing and sorting tools. It ships with Photoshop).
Tommy
@trollhattan: And to be honest using layers is a tough concept for many intelligent people.
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: I am without cable tv. I can see if my local library has it on dvd.
Steeplejack
@Tommy:
Don’t have either, that’s why I’m asking. And I am starting to take more pictures, so I’ve been thinking about this.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: How does Lightroom store it’s tags? Is it in the standard Exif? The problem I had with PaintShopPro is that it was good at tagging who was in the photos, but stored it in a proprietary database. This is of little use if I have the photos on another device that doesn’t have the program. I ended up buying a program that ONLY edits tags.
ETA: It seems that Samsung also used a proprietary location for it’s tags as well, this kind of crap really pisses me off when I move from platform to platform(in my case Windows to Android, no fruity devices here).
Steeplejack
@Karen in GA:
Thanks, that’s a good summation of what little (I think) I know so far. So maybe I’m on the right track.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Yeah I just wanted to buy a decent camera and a couple of lenses and needed to know what’s current without spending 6 months starting all over. I searched a number of sites and they all seemed like any true enthusiasts sites no matter the subject, overburdened with minutia and a LOOK AT US, WE KNOW MORE THAN YOU or BUY WHAT WE TELL YOU AND LIKE IT demeanor. As you may be able to tell, I’m not a fan of either.
Aleta
US spy noir:
13 Rue Madeleine – James Cagney 1947
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DNaFetWdgY
good quality ‘print’
trollhattan
@Tommy:
True. To be perfectly honest, I was doing layers for a couple of years without knowing I was doing layers. I can’t recommend taking a Photoshop class highly enough for anybody interested in truly learning the program. I was using it as though I was pounding nails with a locked toolbox for a hammer.
Adobe does have a vast training video library for folks who can learn outside a structured classroom environment. They’re quite good.
NotMax
@trollhattan
Irfanview will easily put text onto an image. Free and powerful little photo editor (though with a much lesser choice of functions than the Adobe stuff). Been happily using it for more than a decade with no complaints about it at all.
Tommy
@Steeplejack: You can try Photoshop for free for 15 days. That is where I’d start. I’d say it might be overkill for somebody that doesn’t use it for business. I’ve been using the app for almost ten years and I bet I only use about a few percent of what he can do. I would argue it is one of the most complex programs out there for consumer use.
Steeplejack
@Germy Shoemangler:
You can stream it at TCM’s website.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
I hear ya. Luckily, the industry has sorted itself out and produces uniformly good cameras and prices are amazingly low compared to a decade ago. Heck, not so long ago a “decent” DSLR and a couple lenses was once the better part of ten grand.
Today picking a camera is more like speed dating–first figuring how you want to use a camera and for what, then finding the right fit from the gear that does it best within your budget. I’m in the transition phase of DSLR to MILC, since I really want to downsize my stuff. The newest cameras are so very good now.
Tommy
@trollhattan: I totally know what you mean. Same here. If you want to use Photoshop you have to understand layers. I would argue it is what powers the program.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
On that job 12-15 yrs ago I had a great fellow employee who was a wiz at PS and AI. Learned a lot from her and used the programs in editing photos/drawings that I had to use in publishing sports rulebooks. Trying to lean them effectively by yourself would idiotic. I’m sure someone could do it but at what cost in time and effort and could one be effective? Adobe videos were helpful but there were still tricks that only a heavy user would know.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
LR edits are stored in a sidecar file associated to the image. The EXIF remains intact as shot. LR builds a database file that expands with time and added images. Separately, it builds image previews to speed up viewing and editing.
Tommy
@trollhattan: Yes. I just did a Google search for the Nikon I got back in 1996. I paid $750 for it. You can get it for $45 now, used. An SLR camera is dirt cheap these days and as you noted the quality is good across the board.
Germy Shoemangler
@Steeplejack: thank you! Didn’t know that; I will.
Aleta
@Aleta:
“Among the top-level executives of United States Secret Intelligence was a widely traveled scholar and soldier of fortune Robert Emmet Sharkey of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Master of five languages and one of America’s foremost athletes Bob Sharkey was twice captured by the Germans in World War I, and both times escaped with a brilliant record of achievement behind enemy lines.”
Meaning Cagney.
(No cable, no TV necessary.)
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
Yup! “Hey, did you know that you can do this in one step instead of twenty?” “No” [headdesk, headdesk, headdesk….]
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Ahhhhhh, the Adobe learning curve. Many twists, turns, blind alleys, back doors, shortcuts, frustration out the wazooo…… I at one time wondered if Maalox owned Adobe and brought out the entire line in an effort to expand sales of antacids.
opiejeanne
@Mike J: It does not work.
BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: Thanks, guess I’ll just stay with PaintShopPro and my EXIF editing program.
PurpleGirl
@NotMax: TCM is showing two of my favorite July 4th movies — 1776 and Yankee Doodle Dandy. I explored their schedule a bit, hoping to find Abbot and Costello’s The Time of Their Lives But, sorry to say it isn’t on the schedule. Maybe I’ll try to stream it or find it on YouTube. I’m happy to have the two movies anyway.
NotMax
@PurpleGirl
Plus, as mentioned on earlier threads, The Devil’s Disciple with Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster and Laurence Olivier in Revolutionary War times.
As the years have passed, more and more find Yankee Doodle Dandy too cloying.
trollhattan
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I should probably add that images are exported for use, whether distribution or web display or print or whatever, and all edits are “baked in” to the exported image. That way the originals stay untouched.
Linnaeus
Looks like Seattle’s gonna be hot for the next week at least. A bit too hot for me.
Randy P
@PurpleGirl: Yankee Doodle Dandy has been on my Netflix queue (yeah, some people still use the DVD service) forever. In his autobiography, Cagney keeps saying he’s a hoofer, a song and dance guy, and so I always thought it would be fun to see him in what he regarded as his true milieu.
WereBear
@Randy P: You’ve never seen him dance?
He IS a hoofer.
PurpleGirl
@NotMax: Yes, YDD can be cloying but there are just certain scenes I really like — Cagney didn’t get to dance in enough movies for me. He was good dramatic actor but he could dance. The scene with him tap-dancing down the staircase at the White House still amazes me. It’s said he did it with no rehearsal and in one take.
ETA: Randy P: He began dancing as a chorus boy on Broadway. He put one brother through medical school with his dancing.
WaterGirl
@JPL: In my twenties, before I had a car with air conditioning, I took my cocker spaniel for a ride. Windows were down because it was hot. She decides to jump out of the car in the middle of the busy campustown intersection. Holy shit, that was scary!
She was okay but it was a tricky few minutes, as I recall.
NotMax
@PurpleGirl
Trivia: He also was fluent in Yiddish.
WaterGirl
@WereBear: “At the end of it all”? Sounds to me like one of the ends was part of the problem!
NotMax
@WatergIrl
Something which cannot recall ever seeing in any Western movie was someone taking a dog onto a stagecoach and seeing the dog elatedly poking its head out the window as the stagecoach moved along.
It must have happened in real life, though.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I wonder if people had pets that were like members of the family back then. Or maybe just leave them behind when they moved or traveled?
Karen in GA
@trollhattan: Elements actually does layers.
JCT
@BillinGlendaleCA: I haven’t looked lately, but I would bet Lightroom has a trial. It’s really matured into a nice all-in-one catalog + basic editor.
Scott Kelby has a nice straightforward book for beginners.
The cataloging is a really great way to organize tons of pics.
Maybe take it for a spin.
J R in WV
I was into multi-lens DSLRs for a long time. More recently, though, I bought a Panasonic Lumix with a Leica lens, fixed, because it was 30x from widest to longest.
Then I found that in very low light scenes it would take multiple exposures in the dark, and combine them for a final photo that looked like it was taken in normal light levels. I don’t think I’m going to ever look back.
So now I have a big bag full of Nikon that I don’t use much at all, and a single camera/lens that I pick up whenever I want to take pictures. Museums, caves, dark train platforms, closed factories, fields of flowers, you name it, it just works.
Any Panasonic with Leica lenses will be great, and any Sony with Zeiss lenses will be great. So much of a camera is in the glass!
And I also recommend B&H as a great mail order place with good prices AND they sell high end used tools too…
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@PurpleGirl:
We will be watching the new Blu-Ray directors cut of “1776.” There’s a good chance that TCM will be showing the same directors cut because they recently showed it at the TCM Film Festival. There aren’t any big changes, but it’s tightened up and flows much better than previous “restored” versions.
Bonnie
It’s way too hot here in Tacoma, Washington. Most of us who grew up here can’t take it either. But, I am glad I am not in Maryland any more.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
Yup, they’ll be showing the longer version with more than 20 minutes of footage previously thought lost. And the entirety has been color corrected as well.
Here’s a video snippet (not the greatest visual quality) of a recent stage production with some actors you may recognize (who were probably still children during the Bicentennial).
Tree With Water
Well, I have always heard that a bad plan is better than none at all. And admittedly, I had no idea that the POTUS could issue “religious liberty orders”.
“..Huckabee mapped out a three-pronged approach, which he said would be carried out on the first day of his hypothetical administration. It involves signing religious liberty orders that protect businesses, churches and other organizations for “exercising their religious beliefs,” particularly where their marriage views are concerned; directing the attorney general to prosecute attacks against people of faith—including those who oppose gay marriage—as hate crimes; and preventing military chaplains from having to carry out same-sex marriages”.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@NotMax:
There’s A longer version that’s been out for a while where they put “Cool Considerate Men” back in, but with this new version they had the director take the found materials and do the cut he wanted (Jack Warner had final cut on the original and had made lots of small decisions that the director hated). Just so it’s clear that this version is not the same as the “restored” version that was already available — it’s a new cut.
We got to see the almost-completed new cut and hear the director talk about it at the American Cinematheque last year. Really fascinating, but by the time the 3+ hour movie and hour-long discussion was over, every restaurant in Santa Monica had already closed except for one 24-hour deli. Oy.
PurpleGirl
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I’ve loved movie/stage productions since I helped a friend with the “Scenes from 1776” that he staged as fundraisers for Masonic lodges. I took care of the props and set up of the “stage” area in one of the lodge suites in the 23rd St. headquarters building.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@PurpleGirl:
@NotMax:
G is worried that I’m overselling the differences between the “restored” version and this new version, but it really did seem to flow better than the “restored” version. So I probably need to add that YMMV.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
IIRC, the Blu-ray contains the 165 minute director’s cut and also a 168 minute version. Film aficionados are nearly unanimous in preferring the longest version.
The original home video version touted as restored used lesser quality recovered footage. It was only with the unearthing of cinema quality footage later on that the full movie could be pieced together properly.
redshirt
I doubt this will get read, but it was 57 outside this morning and a crisp 62 in my house with no AC.
I’m wearing a sweater.
Maine!