photos: What Will YOU Learn From Flickr's New Photo Stats? - 12/13/07 10:01 AM
Things That Don't Get Measured, Don't Get Changed.I don't know who said it first, but it's a truth that can't be denied. I'm reminded of it every time I ask someone what advertising vehicle they are using is bringing them the most business. The most common response I hear is, "I don't know. We don't really have a good way of tracking that information." So, since it doesn't get measured, it doesn't get changed. Businesses continue to do things they've always done, whether they're effective or not.
Flickr Steps Up To The Stats Plate
So, I was pleased to see Flickr launch … (12 comments)

photos: Fires In Southern California - Some Photos - 10/22/07 09:55 AM
Unless you've been living in a cave, you probably know we're on fire alert here in Southern California, specifically here in Santa Clarita.
John Evarts was forced to evacuate his home last night. He and his family are staying next door at the home of Martin Rodriguez. We could have a small ActiveRain gathering on our street right now. :) My family is all packed and ready to leave, IF NECESSARY, but we don't feel in danger right now. There is an aggressive air attack happening overhead right now. The fires are about 3/4 to 1 mile away, but the wind is … (161 comments)

photos: Mobile Photo Blogging With Your iPhone - 08/09/07 06:20 AM
Sometimes Solutions Are Right In Front Of Your Nose.In my review of the iPhone, I wrote this: "Can't photo blog with it. Why? No MMS. Why no MMS support? There are some good reasons posted here, but I'm missing the point."
Well...
Stumbling around the web this morning, I found this post about the new iMac - Can't be too thin. I might have skipped merrily on by, if it weren't for these words at the bottom of the post: Sent from my iPhone. That's the default signature that is set on the iPhone and this was a Typepad blog.
Hmm... I … (21 comments)

photos: Light Poles and Advanced Imaging Technology - 06/23/07 10:14 AM
For some reason I've got photos on my mind this week. I wrote about how far we should take digital photo retouching earlier in the week and last night about Autostitch and three inexpensive apps built on it's imaging technology.
On my way to the donut shop this morning (maybe that's the real cause Ed!), I saw a home for sale up ahead that looked like it might be the perfect marriage of the two posts.
Here is what I saw:
From the best vantage point for seeing the entry and landscaping for the home, there is a huge light pole in the … (33 comments)

photos: Brain Dead Simple Panoramas - Autostitch - 06/22/07 06:05 PM
I've been casually following Autotstitch for a long time. It was experimental for some time, not available on the Mac and the claims they made were pretty bold. "Autostitch is a breakthrough technology for panoramic photography, VR and visualisation applications. This is the first solution to stitch any panorama completely automatically, whether 1D (horizontal) or 2D (horizontal and vertical). Autostitch is built using cutting edge research from the AI lab at UBC, but it's incredibly simple to use! Just select a set of photos, and Autostitch does the rest: digital photos in, panoramas out."
The first time I read about Autostitch they … (80 comments)

photos: How Far Is Too Far With Photo Editing? - 06/16/07 12:49 PM
Just because you CAN digitally retouch a photo, it doesn't mean you should.Some digital retouching is obviously overdoing it. I'm a fan of photo retouching in general. Because a great deal of digital photo editing is perfectly appropriate and certainly would not be misleading the consumer. It's a life saver for dark rooms, for example. I received a spam email this week from a company offering digital photo editing for real estate. You may have received one too. The text of the email seemed innocuous enough.
Do you have Real Estate Photos that could have been better if only...?A car wasn't … (148 comments)

photos: Flowers and Bugs: Shooting Up Close With The Kodak V705 - 05/14/07 03:14 AM
I hike every weekend with my kids. We've got lots of great places to hike around Southern California. 
It's a good workout. It gets me alone with my kids for hours at a time. And it allows me to take some photos, which I love to do. I usually focus on the big picture - panoramas, the mountains and trails. Yesterday, I decided I'd test my favorite little point and shoot out on the details.
The photos below were taken during a hike at Placerita Canyon Natural Area using the automatic preset for flowers that is built into the Kodak V705. I … (86 comments)

photos: Flickr-ing Local Photos: You Engaging Others (YEO) - 04/24/07 07:01 PM
The one thing I told Julie Ferenzi I wanted her to concentrate on this week is making connections with  living, breathing human beings in Plainfield, Illinois. It's about YEO She's going to be venturing out of the house to make contact with local organizations to encourage them to use the Event Form on her Living In Plainfield blog, and she's going to be following up with some people she has already blogged about.
But I also want her to make an attempt to meet new people via the Internet as well and add quality content to her blog at the same … (48 comments)

photos: Free Photos At The Flickr Of A Mouse - 04/07/07 07:14 PM
Because of a brilliant movement called Creative Commons, you can be creative on your blog and still live guilt free.
The subject of copyright abuse has come up many times here on ActiveRain. I know others have probably written about this exact topic, but I have never given it much thought, since I subscribe to some pricey stock photo services and like to write my own stuff.
The Project Blogger effect: how to videos 
When the Project Blogger process began, Julie Ferenzi wanted to know where to find good, free, stock photo content for her Living In Plainfield Illinois blog. She's not alone. We … (75 comments)

photos: Your Kids Will Think You're Cool... For About 15 Minutes - 12/09/06 09:48 AM
I've been using Photoshop since Photoshop was created and I'm probably more than just a little proficient. But I still don't like to work harder than I have to work. I love doing composite images, but composite images can be a bear to get right, especially if the lighting in each photo used is not just perfect or if there is no easy masking solution. I HATE TO MASK IMAGES! So I use a technique that requires just the basic Photoshop skills to master and lets me and the kids have some fun.
Here's what you need:
A Digital CameraA TripodAny photo … (24 comments)