The last update to this web site was a year and a half ago, which makes me wonder what I've been up to.

Update to Drupal 5.1 complete. We hope.

Some modules I use aren't available for v.5, so let's see how it goes. I might shift back to 4.7.6.

More update.... It took some doing to get the image toolkit working. After installing the image module, trying to change that setting would show me that there were no toolkits avaialble, so drupal would use it's built-in GD. Of course that didn't actually happen; no toolkit was used, so trying to upload an image resulted in no thumbnails.

I updated drupal with all the latest security stuff. So basically some stuff will look different for a little while, and some stuff may not work at the moment.

If you depend on this web site for anything, please let me know so I can thank you and maybe send you some flowers or something. But sorry for the inconvenience.

Some software for photographic freelancers:

FotoBiz looks pretty comprehensive, with a FotoQuote stock pricing module. It's written in FileMaker and is extensible. $229.

An index of software for photographers over at stockphoto.net. Not a very focused list, but maybe worth a look if you can't find anything else.

I've been trying to find some relatively easy software solutions to the problem of tracking photography submissions to various publishers. There are a bunch of options for freelance writers, but none I can find for photographers.

However, I did find this nifty run-down of IMS (Image Management Systems) software, at the Technical Advisory Services for Images, an academic standards group.

I doubt whether it's right to call them 'cult classics,' but this web page does a great job of telling you which third-party lenses are worth checking out.

Of particular interest to me is the Tamron section, which exposes me as a fraud; maybe I am part of the Cult Of Tamron.

The Tamron Professional Learning Center isn't so professional as you might think, but it's also a whole lot of useful information.

A Simplified Zone System For Making Good Exposures

Norman Koren walks you through the basics.

I'm a sucker for a DIY project:

Build a Pentax Cable Release F out of spare parts.

And to replace the CS-205:

Making an electronic cable release for use with DSLR's.

The latter project has the benefit of being useful for non-Pentax cameras, as well.

I'd like to find a kit for making a timer device. Anyone know of any?

Over on craigslist I found an ad for an online outdoor adventure magazine called Stellar, calling for submissions.

But the reason I'm linking to it is because they produce tiny documentaries about people living that life. And one of those people is Ace Kvale, noted ski and adventure sports photographer.

The most interesting thing about all the different profiles is that these people choose to be outsiders (pun not intended), so their stories are told from the outside in. This kind of perspective can't help but lend itself to a certain view of the way people live their lives. So, for instance, Kvale says that when he travels, the culture shock comes from coming back to the US.