I've recently been learning a lot about the L*a*b (or Lab) color space, for image manipulation.
To see why, here's a simple experiment you can do: Open up an image in Photoshop and convert it from RGB mode to Lab Color mode. Add a Curves effect layer (or just edit the curve) and tweak the a and b channels. Choke them down so that a 90% input equals a 100% output, and a 10% input equals a 0% output.
Now compare the original image to the tweak. You can't do this by simply turning up the saturation, either...
So here's some stuff dealing with L*a*b color. More to come on this topic, for sure.
The Tamron Professional Learning Center isn't so professional as you might think, but it's also a whole lot of useful information.
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.
Photographing Flying Insects shows how a guy home-brewed a rig, and got some beautiful images of bugs flyin' around.
Go to the last page to see the best specimens.
Here's a page which describes how to change GTK themes under fink.
The fink project doesn't include GTK Theme Switch, which I hope to remedy immediately after posting this 'blog entry.
Lately I've been thinking about porn.
Not like that, no.
But as in: Porn is the one thing that always makes money. And I've been curious about how to break into it, what kind of money one could make, and so forth.
This is no different than any other market for a working, non-fine-arts photographer. I'm not planning on doing it, but who knows what's down the road.
The point is that I've considered selling stock photos of trees and birds and mountain ranges, so why not nekkid women?
Well, here's something amusing I found doing my research: BuyModelPhotos.com. It's an online royalty-free stock agency (using the term 'agency' in the loosest possible sense) for the kind of photos you find advertising 1-900 lines in the back of alternative newsweeklies.
