2009 in Pictures

Inside Chris's Head, Photography No Comments »

I was inspired by CC Chapman’s 2009 in Pictures post to document this year… and what a year it has been.

This year included:

  • 3 trips to Mexico – one paid for by Amateur Traveler, one blogger trip and one volunteer trip
  • Conferences like Blog World, MacWorld and TBEX
  • Trips to Arizona, Chicago, Colorado and Las Vegas
  • A Trip to Paris, Geneva, Berlin and Prague
  • A new podcast – This Week in Travel – bringing the total to 4
  • A great niece
  • A 30 year high school reunion
  • A decision to start my own company

It has been quite a year

Happy New Year and my best wishes for an awe inspiring 2010!

Eye-Fi – Make Your Digital Camera Magical

Gadgets and Inventions, Internet, Photography No Comments »

The new 2Gb Eye-Fi secure digital memory card, like memory cards for your digital camera, can hold your pictures. That is not too surprising. The surprising part of the Eye-Fi is that it won’t just store your digital masterpieces but will share them. When you first get the Eye-Fi you program the card with your favorite photo upload site like smugmug, flickr, shutterfly, facebook, etc. After you take your pictures, when the card detects a wi-fi network it uploads your most recent photos. Just make sure that you only take pictures you are willing to share.

Kodak Embraces Digital, booyah!

Photography No Comments »

The person who posted this video to YouTube says:

This is a commercial that was produced for internal use. But it has become so popular, especially with employees, that Kodak has released it for external viewing. It demonstrates that Kodak not only understands it’s changing business but also has a sense of humor.

Photo taken With and Without Flash

Humor, Photography No Comments »

I did not realize quite the difference that taking a photograph with and without flash makes.

read more | digg story

Stunning In-flight Photography (by commercial airline pilot)

Photography No Comments »

Rare shots of airplanes, birds, land and sky; “spy” shots of Saudi Arabia villas, lightning storm, etc.

read more | digg story

World's Smallest camera

Medicine, Photography No Comments »

Some stories about technology are hard to swallow. This story about a camera that is small enough to swallow would be an exception.

The camera is designed to work as part of a pill which can be swallowed and flow through your digestive system, or for firing from a rather large syringe.

Time Lapse Life

Photography No Comments »

Photographer Diego Golberg and his family took pictures every day on June 17th, every year, since 1976

Camera Mail

Internet, Photography No Comments »

Here is an interesting experiment that documents the path of a package through the postal system:

On the 22nd of December 2004, Kyle Van Horn taped a disposable camera to a piece of black foamcore and inscribed upon it the following message: “ATTENTION POSTAL WORKERS! Please help us with our project. As this camera travels across the country we want photos of all whom it encounters. Please take a photo before you pass it along. Thank you!”

Nikon and Konica/Minolta withdraw

Photography No Comments »

Digital photography continues to shake up the photography landscape. Today Konica/Minolta announced that they are withdrawing from the camera business and the photo business.

Konica Minolta has long been a leading company in photo imaging business covering wide range of imaging from input to output. In addition, we have provided inspiring products and services by fusing our unique technologies.

In camera business, we have expanded picture-taking opportunities by developing innovative technologies such as the world’s first autofocus cameras. In 1962, our camera, well-accepted for its high reliability, boarded on the US’s first manned spaceship “Friendship 7.” Also, ever since introduction of the world’s first body-integral autofocus SLR camera, Maxxum/Dynax series, in 1985, SLR cameras have become more popular among picture-takers, and we have succeeded in selling 16 million units of interchangeable lenses since then.

However, in today’s era of digital cameras, where image sensor technologies such as CCD is indispensable, it became difficult to timely provide competitive products even with our top optical, mechanical and electronics technologies.

This comes shortly after Nikon announced that it was going to stop making analogue cameras:

Japanese camera equipment maker Nikon said on Thursday it will focus on digital photography and stop producing most of its film cameras, except for a few professional photographer products.

“Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories,” it said in a statement on its British website.

Will the last camera manufacturer to leave, please shut off the light.

Digital Camera meets Wi-Fi

Gadgets and Inventions, Photography No Comments »

I saw this in New York Times recently.

New digital cameras now have more extras than a Ridley Scott epic. Nikon’s latest Coolpix digital cameras, for example, have a built-in Wi-Fi feature aimed at eliminating bothersome wires.

With the Coolpix P1 (eight megapixels) and P2 (five megapixels), users can point and shoot and then wirelessly transfer their pictures to a computer or printer from a menu on the cameras’ 2.5-inch L.C.D. screens.

The cameras transmit images up to 100 feet over 802.11b and 802.11g-compatible wireless networks and use a Nikon wireless printer adapter to link to any PictBridge-enabled printers, said Bill Giordano, general manager of marketing for Nikon.

In Shoot and Transfer mode, users can share pictures on a computer monitor almost as soon as they are taken. Another mode sends pictures to a computer’s hard drive. Included software can display the pictures in a slide-show format or automatically print pictures as they are transferred to a computer.

The Coolpix P1, which costs $550, and the P2, which costs $400, is now widely available in stores. The wireless printer adapter (PD-10) will cost $50.

The idea of shooting a picture and having it show up on the computer almost immediately is cool, although probably of limited use to me in practice.