Cooliris makes a couple of neat browser plug-ins. One of them allows you to preview a photostream, such as Flickr, SmugMug, Zenfolio, etc., in a 3D "photowall". It makes previewing a large number of images much easier and quicker. The thumbnails can be larger, plus it will display the photographs in full screen if you want. It will even pick up the title and caption information from the photo-sharing sites. Very cool plug-in if you look at large photo galleries on the web. There are plug-ins for both IE7 and Firefox. However, I can't seem to get it to work on IE7. However, it works beautifully on my Firefox 3.
They also have another plug-in call Preview that allows you to preview the page that a hyperlinks links to in a small window. Very nice little feature for browsing the web. Preview doesn't work with IE7, but does work with Firefox 3.
Check them out at their website; Cooliris
Read more!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Cooliris Browser Plug-in
Friday, August 22, 2008
Photosynth
A couple of years ago, Microsoft presented a public demonstration of a new technology they were working on called Photosynth. What it does is analyze a collection of photographs from one particular area and then combines them into a psuedo-3D presentation. It is almost a combination of a slideshow, a gallery, and a 3D model. You can "move" around an area, and the system will then display the photographs of that area. When you zoom in, it will zoom in to any photographs taken of the details of that portion of the area. It is a very cool idea and implimentation.
Earlier this week, I saw a new video presention where the research team explained some new features they had added recently. Those features included maintaining an object's position as you rotated around it so that it didn't jump back and forth. They added an "on-the-fly white balancing" feature so that photographs taken by differnt photographers and cameras would blend in together better. Plus, they added the ability for the system to distinquish between night-time and day-time photographs so you could select one or the other to view.
What took me by surprise yesterday, is that Microsoft has rolled Photosynth out as part of their Live web services. In other words, you can now make your own "synths" as they call the 3D presentations. Currently, Photosynth requires a download that installs two components. One component is a browser plug-in that allows you to view the synths. The other is a small applet that starts the process of making a synth. There is no client-only version yet as the process requires the server power to generate the synth presentations. Another downside is that it seems to be limited to Widows XP and Vista at the moment.
If you are interested here is a link to the Photosynth website. It has been quite a bit more popular than Microsoft expected, so the site has been up and down with heavy traffic loads. Once that gets ironned out, I do plan to give it a try this weekend. So, look for a post with my first attempts in a couple of days.
This technology has the potential of changing quite a few ways of displaying and presenting our photographs.
As always, keep shooting.
Read more!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Favorite Links
I realized that I needed a centralized place to list my favorite and recommended links. I didn't want to use a link sidebar as those tend to get really long and distracting. So, here is a running compilation of my favorite photography related links. I will link to in at the top of the sidebar and will be adding to it as I find sites to recommend.
Photon Links
1001 Noisy Cameras is a blog that tracks the happenings among the camera manufacturers on the web. It is an excellent place to go to find the latest rumors as well as links to leaks and compilations of sales statistics.
bythom is Thom Hogan's blog and website. He is a professional landscape photographer. His site also is packed full of information about Nikon photography products. If you are a Nikon shooter, checkout his site.
David Tejada: A commerical photographer's blog with stunning photographs and excellent behind the scenes videos.
digial Photography School blog: A great resource for people learning photography or brushing up on their skills. Check out the forums while you are there.
Digital Photography Review is one of the quintessential websites for camera reviews. They have recently started reviewing lens as well. Their forums are very active and a good source of information and at times amusement.
Digital ProTalk: A reknowned wedding photographer with lots of photography, business and Photoshop tips.
FlashFlavor: Another wedding photographer that uses small flashes extensively in his work. Trash the dress!
Joe McNally: Lighting Guru, National Geographic/Life/Time/Sports Illustrated photographer, writer. One of the good guys.
Lighting Essentials: A lighting resource for both studio and location portraiture. He works mainly with models ... lots of pretty models at that.
Moose Peterson : A wildlife and research photographer. Great landscapes and wildlife shots here.
Pro Photo Life: Jim Talkington's excellent blog that discusses the business of photography as well as the technical side of it.
Photozone is a one stop place for lens reviews. If you are looking for a new lens, they have probably tested and reviewed it.
Rob Galbraith: Digital Photography Insights is a professional's observations on the industry and trends.
The Strobist: The quitessential site for learning how to use small strobes quickly and effectively.
Pixel Links
Dave Cross: One of the Photoshop Guys.
Epic Edits Weblog: Brian Auer's photography and Photoshop blog.
Photoshop User TV: The link to see the Photoshop Guys' shows. Great tips on using Photoshop and some of the other Adobe products.
Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider: One of the Photoshop guys and author of Photoshop and photography books.
Project Links
DIYPhotography.net: A good resource for do-it-yourself projects to try and save some cash on photographic equipment.
Lighting Mods: Another good place to search for DIY ideas.
Presentation Links
Flickr: The most popular photography sharing and social site.
Mpix.com: An excellent print lab. I love the Kodak metalic paper.
Pbase: A photograph hosting service which is a bit more upscale than Flickr.
SmugMug: A photograph hosting service which is a bit more upscale than Flickr.
Zenfolio: Another upscale photograph hosting service and the one that I use.
Read more!