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Spending A Day with Glyn Dewis at his Workshop

Events, Photography, Travelling 26 Jul 2011
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A Composite with Steve

A Composite with Steve

This weekend I have been over in the lovely UK to catch up with my buddy Glyn Dewis, combining the visit with attending his From Concept to Print workshop. I’m sure I am no where near alone in thinking that Glyn does some seriously cool stuff. The workshop is a full day, split into a photography part and then a Photoshop part.

Myself, I was definitely most interested in the photography half since studio photography is just so darn fun and something that I don’t get to do a lot of. However, what is great about the Photoshop part (in the afternoon) is that since Photoshop is such a huge program with many ways to achieve the same technique, you always learn a lot from watching another educator teach Photoshop. Indeed, I discovered quite a few new ways of doing things that I wouldn’t have thought of.

We were joined for the day by Steve who’s just a really good guy. Great personality and great to work with. His character does also lend itself very well to shooting some more unusual shots for some fun composites. Composites were of course the whole thing about the workshop and of course, really fun to do.

The day was spent in a great studio in Wokingham (just outside London) run by Gareth Davies, another great guy (although I am a little scared for what he keeps in his locked closet…). Large place with all sorts of lights and backgrounds. If I ever need a studio in the London area, I’m sure to go to Gareth now.

Workshops, webinars…more from Glyn!

Glyn does his workshops a little now and then and you will hear about them on his blog, where he also posts photos from shoots as well as tutorials on his techniques.

Here is a scoop for you though. I have managed to get Glyn on board to do a series of webinars with Bernskiold Media so you definitely want to keep an eye out for those coming soon. Very excited about that.

Thoughts On Mac OS X Lion

Technology 26 Jul 2011
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Mac OS X Lion

On Wednesday, Apple released its new version of OS X, namely Lion. By now, there are plenty of websites to read what is new in Lion so I won’t be covering that here. Instead, there are a few things that I find particularly interesting about Lion.

iOS-ification

Many refer to Lion as the iOS-ification of the Mac. While this certainly is true for quite a few parts of Lion, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Setting aside the computer geek side of me, I think Lion is certainly more polished in the areas of the consumer market, with some of the features that are truly popular on the iOS devices.

Going back to being a computer geek, these changes are not necessarily bad either, they are just a bit different. However, development in operating systems have come to the point where it is a requirement to do things differently. the iOS devices have certainly managed to show quite a lot of new ideas that could successfully be implemented into a desktop OS.

Interface Tweaks All Over

Interestingly enough, I find that most of the new features in Lion deals just with the interface. Sure, there is built in versioning control and other, more developer and power user friendly features, but what Apple is touting happens to be the interface for Lion.

While the new Launchpad is nice, it isn’t the most wonderful feature (dropping the Applications folder in the dock works much faster). Mission Control is nice, but not that nice.

It is interesting to note that what Apple is releasing, based on the marketing, is the iOS-ification of the desktop, laying the foundation for years to come. However, looking at the upgrade from a neutral perspective of the computer geek, you are left wondering why the upgrade is truly necessary (apart from the bug fixes).

Should you upgrade?

Heck yes! There is no reason not to upgrade, apart from applications not being fully supported at the moment. There is no reason to be afraid of the interface tweaks that are so different to what we are used to. In my eyes, it is better to adapt early than being forced into it late. Given that the upgrade is also cheap, it should be a no-brainer to get a piece of new technology now.

Get With It – Everyone’s A Public Figure Online

Web 29 Jun 2011
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There was a time when the expression “public figure” meant a big celebrity, someone who was a star or writing in the press. This time is long passed. Nowadays you are a public figure the moment you step on the internet, not just when on Facebook or Twitter, but of course when blogging.

I am by no means suggesting that this is a negative change. Personally I am thoroughly enjoying being able to connect with like-minded people all around the world and am thrilled to be able to reach people with my thoughts and writing. Instead of a daunting way to “fame”, whatever that is, it is much easier for everybody to voice their opinions and have them heard. In every regard, this is a positive change!

Given my opinion on this, it is very tiresome reading articles in the local newspaper on this topic. The reason is the narrow-minded focus that is presented. It seems as though the web is generally regarded as dangerous because of the potentiality for fame and publicness. This should be compared to writing about in the web as something enhancing because of the same potentiality for fame and publicness.

Letting the focus lie instead on teaching the risks and benefits with the goal of making them easy to compare and drawing a conclusion. This is what is truly important, being aware of what you are doing when you enter the internet, publishing anything. Being aware of what consequences will follow once you have made the decision to be a public figure, and dealing with them.

Camera Gear: Just Because You Can, Do You Have To?

Photography, Technology 28 Jun 2011
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A few days ago my buddy Glyn Dewis tweeted a link to a story about the “first wedding ever to be shot entirely with the iPhone 4″. In the article, the photographers in question are quoted as following:

“We proved that the iPhone technology is advanced enough to handle an event like a wedding, and simple enough that it doesn’t take a lot of experience or extra equipment to shoot high-quality video and pictures,” said Adams. “The user still has to have some creativity and a good eye, but this gives them a great tool.”

At the end of the article, they pose the question: “Would you rather have a great photographer shoot your wedding with an iPhone 4, or a mediocre photographer shoot using professional gear?”

This has two questions popping up in my mind. Firstly, do you really have to do everything because you can and secondly, what is this even good for?

I’ll leave the first question more or less as a rhetorical question and tackle the latter one. I find it quite fascinating that the gear debate has come down to this. While this “experiment” might prove that the iPhone actually has a camera, does it say much more? Even if you could shoot a wedding with an iPhone 4 does not mean that it is even remotely a good tool for the job. All it is, is a tool for the job.

The concluding question in the article is questionable. It is not relevant to ask whether you would rather have a professional use an iPhone 4 or a “mediocre” photographer with professional gear. The statement implies that the only important role in photography is the compositions and not the actual image quality. Weddings in particular are difficult situations that require much of the camera gear.

In the end, I think the gear discussion has wound up properly off-track in this case. Just because you can shoot a wedding with an iPhone 4 does not mean it is even relevant to begin making the points that it is a good tool for the job. Something worth thinking about.

Special InDesign Magazine Offer!

Software 27 Jun 2011
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InDesign Magazine

InDesign Magazine is a very nice magazine that comes in six issues every year in PDF format to my inbox. A while ago they offered a big discount drive where you would get one year’s subscription for $25 instead of $59 including their “Type Super Guide”. Now they are doing it again but only until June 30th so if you want to subscribe, act fast!

Personally, I really enjoy this e-magazine as a source of InDesign goodness coming to me every two months. Perhaps you would like it too? You can get a free issue to see how it is before you buy.

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