Rumors...

The rumors of our disappearance can be put to rest.  We've been in Yosemite and Death Valley where we've had little to no cell coverage and almost no internet access.  We'll be posting information and images from both places in the coming days so stay tuned.

We just learned that after having snow in both Yosemite and Death Valley our neighbors report we had 3" this past weekend - go figure...

Sandy & Don

Pigs In A Blanket (PIAB) 2011 (Part I)

2011 is the third year for the gathering of the Pigs which has turned into something similar to the running of the pigs - okay you just have to be there to understand...

We normally get together for several days to shoot, eat, discuss photography, learn and eat.  The first year we had Chris Lawrey, then last year Dave Gallagher and this year we were very fortunate to have Doug Peterson, all from Capture Integration.  This is also the third year in a row that Ken Doo opened his home and studio for the PIAB.

This year we could only devote one day to PIAB due to scheduling conflicts and weather. However that one day was crammed with the traditional PIAB breakfast at the Wagon Wheel in Carmel then over to Ken's studio where Doug spent several hours giving an in-depth overview of Capture Pro 6.1. Doug also took the time to update several attendees Phase One newer equipment. All too soon it was time for dinner at Massaro Santos restaurant in Monterey.

 
Ken and I will be shooting in Monument Valley and Page this summer so stay tuned for updates to what may become PIAB 2011 Part II.




Don

Underwater Ballet

Leica M9 Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 1/30 ISO 250

I've been busy these past couple days getting ready for the next trip as well as getting ready to replace the floor in the studio. And to top that all off I've ordered a new workstation and chairs and upgraded the computer again. It's been a busy past couple weeks and in no order we've:

• Added a second 30" monitor so I now have 2-30" monitors to work with.
• Replaced the 2-nVIDA 295 video cards with 1-Quadro NVS450 thus freeing up space in my computer and hopefully making it run slightly cooler.
• I've updated/graded various software to include Capture One Pro 6.1 which runs great.
• Upgraded my monitor calibration to the Spyder 3 Elite which is also running great.
• And lastly I've added another 32GB of RAM to the main studio computer which now gives me 52GB total and allows me to have 45GB memory for CS5.

Most of these upgrades have been long-term and very well worth the time it took to have completed.

I am constantly blown away with the resolution of the monitors and feel that it's a combination of the new video card, Spyder 3 and of course the monitors themselves. The ability to work in 2560x1600 is just stunning.

As I get ready for this next trip I remember the all too short visit Ken Doo and I took at the Monterey Bay Aquarium last year. I shot inside the aquarium with a brand-new Leica M9 that I had for all of weeks and was astonished at the level of images I was able to capture. Thinking of the upcoming trip and last year's trip got me thinking of the Aquarium and revisited the images taken - thus "Underwater Ballet".

I'll be writing from the road so stay tuned for news from Monterey, Yosemite and Death Valley.

Don

An iPad in a PC world

We bought an iPad last year after our return from Jackson Hole. The reason besides simply wanting one was having a device to show/share images. I've been busy the past couple weeks with final processing and printing several images from Jackson along with finalizing the next volume of our DVD collection aptly named "Iron Creek Photography Volume III".

I use ProShow Producer to produce the DVDs adding video, images and music and have been very pleased with the software and the resulting files it produces. Taking a break in image processing I went on-line and wanting to see what app I could find for the iPad I ran across a small entry addressing a plug-in for ProShow Producer and the ability to run our shows on an iPad. The plug-in cost less than $20.00 and after entering the license key into ProShow I was able to save Volume III into a set of files that could then be loaded onto an iPad.

There's 3-files which I copied into a new directory then plugged in the iPad. I placed the directory containing the 3-files in my iPad folder and as soon as I plugged the iPad into my Dell M6400 it synced placing the file called Volume III into Photos where it shows up as a video.

We've been offering the DVD's for $20 each or $36 for 2 and $55 for all three volumes. I'm uncertain if we'll actually start offering Volume III as an iPad download however I just proved to myself that it works.

Getting ready to head out to California to meet up with Ken Doo and Dave Gallagher and hopefully Doug Peterson first for a full day of in-depth training in Capture One Pro 6 then later on shooting in Yosemite and Death Valley by myself.

Please contact me if anyone is interested in obtaining Volume III for their iPad.

Don