The Digital Photo Guy

Hi All,

My apologies but it appears a spammer/scammer may have hacked my e-mail. If you receive suspicious e-mail from “marylou” at The Digital Photo Guy, please delete it and notify me. Thank you.

Otherwise, I wish everyone on my mail list a Merry, Merry and a Happy, Happy. Best wishes for 2012.

Captain Ed Freeman, USA (ret), Medal of Honor recipient

I received the following from a former manager, friend and fellow Vietnam veteran
(upon further research, Major Ed W. Freeman died August 20, 2008, this is another bit of Internet flotsam, sorry)

You’re a 19 year old kid. You’re critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam.

It’s November 14, 1965, LZ X-ray, Ia Drang Valley.

Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense from 100 yards away that your CO has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in.

You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you’re not getting out. Your family is halfway around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then  - over the machine gun fire – you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter. You look up to see a Huey coming in. But… It doesn’t seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it.

Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you.

He’s not MedEvac so it’s not his job but he heard the radio call and decided he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway. Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come. He’s coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 3 of you at a time on board. Then he  flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety.

And, he kept coming  back, 13 more times, until all the wounded were out. No one knew until after the mission that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm. He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Army, died August 20, 2008 at the age of 81, in Boise, Idaho. May God Bless and Rest His Soul.

I bet you didn’t hear about this hero’s passing but we’ve sure seen a whole bunch about Lindsay Lohan, Herman Cain and the bickerings of congress.

Medal of Honor Recipient Captain Ed Freeman

Shame on the American media!

New Video Posted

I’m swamped so I repurposed one of my old videos and posted it below. It’s hosted on a free account so only about 35 more people can view this video before it exceeds the bandwidth. If you prefer videos to webinars, please leave a comment on the video page.

Retouch Eyes Part 1

What Can I Say? I’m a Little Slow!

I never understood the fervor over tablets. Who the heck wants to pay $500 to play games or watch videos on a tiny screen? What advantage does a soft keyboard offer over real keyboards? How can I run Lightroom on such anemic hardware?

Nevertheless, I knew my target audience was buying them so I had to understand their appeal. When Costco reduced the Vizio VTAB1008 tablet to $189, I rolled the dice. After playing with it for a few weeks, I finally understand the tablet’s role. This is the new TV, stereo, newspaper, map, GPS, Yellow Pages and Post Office, all rolled up into one device. In other words, it’s strictly for entertainment and info lookup. Instead of looking in TV Guide, use the tablet. Instead of watching TV, watch YouTube on the ’net. No more Yellow Pages, order take out Chinese on-line.

If you want to do serious work such as enhancing and editing photos in LR, PS or PSE, you still need a real PC. Analyzing the genetic makeup of a killer rhinovirus outbreak in Hong Kong ain’t gonna be on a tablet! The catchy phrase of the day for tablets is “information consumption.” The whole idea is to sell you more “stuff,” ie, e-books, videos, music, games, anything to entertain. Bottom line, tablets aren’t really computers.

I found the tablet useful during a recent roadtrip for checking diesel prices, reading e-mail and, in general, entertaining myself. But, when it came time to download, review, rate, enhance, optimize and store nearly 200 photos of bighorn sheep, my big honkin’ laptop was, and still is, the tool of choice. Writing even simple e-mails is a chore on a soft keyboard. Teens with overly developed thumbs, typing in pidgin Textglish, might like it but if you type in complete sentences with proper grammar, soft keyboards are abysmal.

I have, however, discovered tablets are wonderful portfolios. My print portfolio weighs about 10 pounds while the Vizio weighs 1.2 lbs. Of course, an 8″ screen doesn’t have near the impact of a 17″ x 25″ print from an Epson 3880. A tablet is essentially a toy, albeit a fun toy, and there’s no way it’s worth over $250.

Photos from Pt Loma Lighthouse

After all, this is a photography blog so here are some rcent photos. The San Diego Photography Collective had a Meetup at the Pt Loma Lighthouse during its 156th anniversary celebration. The very top of the lighthouse, which is normally closed, was open to the public. I used Topaz Labs Adjust and B&W Effects because those were prizes for a photo contest we concocted for this Meetup.

Given the age of the lighthouse and the docents in period costumes, it seemed appropriate to process these in B&W. The left photo above is Jimmy and a docent. Jimmy is from Quebec and he flew down to San Diego for this event! He had never been to California and thought it might be fun. He’s a great guy and a talented photographer. This was a first for us, no has ever flown in from a foreign country for one of our Meetups.

The middle photo is a docent and the right photo is the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse. Notice the ghost on the landing below! All three were processed in Topaz Labs B&W Effects. The first is an antique sepia preset while the middle is an opalotype preset. I don’t remember what I used for the right photo but I believe it was a classic B&W effect.

On the Snake Oil Salesman, I cranked up the grain and simulated an old daguerreotype. Topaz has a daguerreotype preset but it was too refined for my taste. I wanted this to look like one of the old west posters processed in chemicals long past their useful life. The last one of a gargoyle on the lighthouse roof was processed in Topaz Labs Adjust 5. Afte applying a preset, I pushed it over the top to create a photo appropriate for slasher movies. TA5 was just released and has over 130 presets to get you started.

If you’ve never used Topaz plug-ins, click this LINK and download the fully functional trials. Best of all, Topaz offers FREE upgrades. I bought the entire Topaz suite about 3 years ago and have upgraded most of the plug-ins at least once and some have been upgraded 2 or 3 times.

Long Ago and Far Away…

Why are we still repeating the same mistakes? The names and places change but not the finality. I grieve for the those who didn’t return.

Less Than 400 Peninsular Bighorns Remain

2011 was a banner year for Peninsular Bighorn Sheep in the United States. Over 325 were counted in and around Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a huge increase from the 255 spotted in 2010. Given that so few of these majestic animals remain in the US, it was a thrill to see a small herd of about ten this weekend at Whitewater Preserve.

All photos were made with a Canon 7D and 300/2.8L IS on a Gitzo 3530LS, Markins M10 ballhead equipped with a Wimberly Sidekick. I was able to get within 100 yards of the sheep so the average sheep filled about 1/3 of the frame. A 400 would have been ideal and a 500 would have been overkill unless you wanted to see up their nostrils.

I plan to go back the first part of December so if you want to join me, keep an eye on my Meetup site. I’ll post an announcement as soon as I work out the details.

Just a Few Seats Left for the Best Lightroom Training

Next weekend, November 12 and 13, George Jardine will be in San Diego to teach his outstanding LR3 Workshop. The Workshop is regularly $395 but, if you hurry, you can get into this class for just $245. That’s a whopping $150 off. To get your discount code, email George at georgej@gmail.com. Tell him you’re an FOL (Friend of Lee.) I hope to see you at the workshop.

FYI, I’m paying the same price as everyone else. I have no financial interest in this class, just a desire to help my readers get the best Lightroom training.