Friday - October 27, 2006

 Today I have published two reviews the first on the latest release of Bibble 4.9 which features a new tool for Cloning and Healing.

The second is on the Panasonic DMC-FX50.  Back in August I published a review of the FX01 which was my pick for the best
 small shirt pocket camera.  The FX50 along with the FX07 are replacement models for the FX01 and I like all three
of these cameras.  Along with image stabilization these cameras feature a quality 3.8X zoom lens that also does true wide angle.




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Friday - October 13, 2006

 I have had the chance to look at the new Panasonic DMC-FX07 which replaces the FX01 that I reviewed
at the end of August. My comparison and review is now published.


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Friday - October 06, 2006
My review of compact super zoom digicams is now on line.  Prompted by a friends request for a recommendation, I look at
three of the most popular models from Canon Kodak and Panasonic.

I now have had the opportunity to spend a few days with the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07, which is the replacement
model for the DMC-FX01 that I reviewed recently.  I will have an update available soon giving my summary of the differences between the two models.

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Wednesday October 04, 2006
I have put up a new home page photo and hope to publish another review later today on
three compact super zoom digicams.  STAY TUNED!



Friday September 22, 2006
Released today,  just in time for Photokina,  Bibble Labs has announced another update, Bibble Pro 4.9.
In this latest release is included the much anticipated Spot Healing Tool, Sensor Defect Correction and
support for the recent camera announcements, the Sony Alpha a100, Nikon D80 and the Canon 400D XTI.

With this release Bibble ads yet another notch to it's impressive list of features as the most full
 featured Raw Conversion software available anywhere.  Bibble also keeps the reputation
of supporting the newest cameras almost as soon as they are available.  The upgrade is free
to existing users of version 4.x. I have downloaded my copy and will report on my thoughts in the near future.


Friday September 15, 2006
Hawk Fest is this weekend at Lake Erie Metro Park.  It looks like I will not be there this year
and will be taking advantage of another photographic opportunity.
I am sure this will be another year with lots of interesting exhibits and information about
hawks and other birds, if you can, make the trip and see what it's all about.
Update: A friend found a colorful spider today called a Venusta Orchard Spider
I photographed it and have it posted.


Sunday September 3, 2006
I have posted another review, this time on a simple flash accessory from LumiQuest called the Soft Screen.
The Soft Screen is a folding popup flash diffuser that works on most cameras with a built in popup flash.
Read the review for the full story.

I have not published any new Recent Work images since May so today I have published
Gallery IV


Tuesday August 29, 2006
My friends and family never know what new pocket camera I will be carrying with me
because I am always trying something new out.  Today I have published my short review
of the Panasonic DMC-FX01, which is my latest discovery and my current choice
for a pocketable digicam.  As is often the case this camera is soon to be outdated
by the new replacements from Panasonic the FX07 and the FX50, but these two new
cameras are not shipping yet.  Stay tuned as I like the FX01 enough that I am anxious to
get the new model and will report on it here.

Thursday August 24, 2006
Coming September 16 &17 is the 17 Annual "Hawk Fest" which is held at Lake Erie Metro Park
This is a great event to learn about Raptors and enjoy bird watching and photography.  Read more about
the event and a see a slideshow of last year's Hawk Fest on my Lake Erie page.

In other additions to the website, I now have the search link working  and there are currently
about 250 Google indexed pages on this site.

Sunday August 13, 2006
Just some functional updates to the site today, I have added a Contents page to allow me
to keep an index of Articles and Reviews up to date and sorted alphabetically. 
The home page image today is from my recent trip to Petoskey MI.  Check
back soon for my review of my current pick as best shirt pocket digicam.

Friday August 4, 2006
Canon's 70-200mm f/2.8L, both the Image Stabilized and the non IS version, have been
one of the most coveted of all Canon zooms because of their renown sharpness.  I have been
asked several times if one should go with the IS or the non IS version.  I recently upgraded
my own non IS version to the Image Stabilized one and  I made a response to a potential buyer
about this very question.  I have posted the question and response here for the benefit of others.



Wednesday July 19, 2006
Adobe Lightroom Beta for Windows is finally available for download, announced today in an
e-mail from Adobe.  There has been a lot of anticipation for windows users since the
announcement of Lightroom Beta for Macintosh back in January.  I had the chance to play around with an early
release of the Mac version but at that time it was lacking many features that ultimately are
supposed to be in the product.  Lightroom is supposed to integrate many features that now require several
software packages and Photoshop to handle. Everything from file management to raw conversion and printing.
I will be downloading the Beta version and checking it out over the next few days.


Tuesday July 4, 2006
I have add some images today to Recent Work and to my friend  Ron Parkers Page
and for family I have added some new photos to the family page.


Sunday July 2, 2006
Breeze Browser Pro 1.5 has been released and is available for download from www.Breezesys.com


Friday June 30, 2006
Since I recently have acquired the Canon 28-300mm IS I decided to put my longtime friend the Sigma 50-500 up for sale. 
But before it left I have published my comments on this worthy lens in a mini review.
Sigma 50-500mm Review


Friday June 23, 2006

I have been quite neglectful at updating the website lately but there is new news today about the latest version of Bibble with again
new and unique additions that we have not seen available in RAW conversion software before.  The complete press release
can be found here.  I also have had a review  in the woks about the previous exciting Bibble addition called "Perfectly Clear"
I have it about 90% complete but yet to publish it.  Rather than making promises to publish at a given time and not have it
come to be let me just say that I will get it up soon!

Update:  I have published today my review on Perfectly Clear for Bibble


Thursday May 18, 2006
Adobe has released an update for Photo Shop CS2  that fixes some bugs, the update pages
are linked here:  Mac Windows


Friday May 5, 2006
Now online are the  pictures of the Owl Banding at Metro Beach on April 23, 2006


Tuesday May 3, 2006
For Family and Friends there are new pictures on line today.


Sunday April 30, 2006
I have been withholding my comments on Perfectly Clear till I had the chance to test the latest version of
the Bibble program ver. 4.7a, where they have made improvements from the original release
which "Clearly" had problems.  Look for my report sometime this week.

Check back also later this week to see some images  taken during the banding
of two Great Horned owl chicks at Metro Beach Park.

I have posted a few new images today on my Recent Work page.


Friday April 7, 2006
Bibble has announced another partnership with a new and dramatic image enhancement technology from
Athentech Imaging  called Perfectly Clear.  This module is supposed to automatically correct the image for appearance
giving the viewer a truer to life image.  I have download my copy of the upgrade and done some limited experimentation, what
I have seen so far looks very intriguing.  It may well be that I can obtain the type of image that much of my manual
corrections aim for with a single button click.  I intend to put this to use big time in the
 next week and will keep you up to date on my experiences.
This release is downloadable as Bibble Ver. 4.7


Monday April 3, 2006
Canon has released 3 new firmware updates today as follows:
1D Mark II N
30D
5D
I will be downloading and updating the firmware for the 1D Mark II N however there does not
appear to be significant changes in the new version.;


Sunday April 2, 2006
Today, as promised, I have published a short commentary on how heavier lenses aid
in obtaining steadier shots when hand holding.

Friday March 31, 2006

Unfortunately it again has been almost a month since I have posted anything, but today I have added
a new Home Page image and have started a new Recent Work gallery III.   
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Minolta 5D
Back in the mid 80s my family purchased a Minolta Maxxum 7000,  the first auto focus SLR.
Recently I acquired a Minolta 5D which has allowed me to make use of the Minolta lenses that I have.
You will notice that the current batch of images in the Recent Work gallery are from a Minolta 5D.
The Minolta 5D is a fun camera to use and there are some real benefits to the built in image
stabilization.  The Minolta 5D can give new life to an old camera system that had some nice glass.
Anyone that owns a few decent Minolta Maxxum lenses should consider this inexpensive body.
Minolta has always been innovative and it is a shame that they have disappeared. Hopeful, now that
Sony has acquired Minolta, they will continue to support this system.
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  Sunday I will publish a short commentary on how heavy lenses aid in hand holding for sharper images. 
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Migratory bird season is just about on us, here in Michigan,
In the next two months look for images from local outings.


Monday February 27 , 2006

Picture updates have been finally made to Recent Work and the Family pages.


Sunday February 26 , 2006

Bibble 4.6 has been released which now includes the integration of Noise Ninja advanced noise reduction software.
To my delight Bibble has not only added Noise Ninja but also made a significant improvement to the user
interface with the addition of four tabs on the docked toolbar pane with a new "Basic" set of adjustments.
The toolbars maintain all of there original ability to be customized but offer easy identification
and a more intuitive way of selecting tool sets.

A basic version of Noise Ninja has been integrated which works far better than Bibbles own, although
the original Bibble version is still offered.  For those who have a Noise Ninja license a
more advanced version of Noise Ninja can be activated allowing more adjustment parameters.

These additions have made Bibble a RAW conversion power house.  It seems like I have just had to make the
wish and wait for the next release (so if any body is listening how about a dust spotting tool and better tagging for 4.7)
See the end of my review for details about the new features.



Friday February 17 , 2006

Hot News! Bibble Labs Licenses Noise Ninja noise reduction technology

Unbeknownst to me, when I published my Bibble review several days ago, Bibble Labs was in the
 process of reaching agreement with PictureCode to integrate Noise Ninja , the highly acclaimed noise
reduction software, into Bibble. This integration should take an already strong product and boost it's power
 and desirability significantly. Noise Ninja is extremely well respected and I expect it's integration
 into Bibble will give many a lot of incentive to become Bibble devotes. If Bibble can strengthen a few of the
other lacking's, especially in regards to tagging and image organization, plus bring a dust spotting tool
to the program this will be a very strong productand will be the closest competitor to Adobes Lightroom,
which looms on the horizon. The Version with the intergrated Noise Ninja is not yet available
but will be soon and will be a free upgrade to 4.0 and later users.

Monday February 13 , 2006

Today my Bibble Review is finally published.  I am trying something new with this review and am
planing to publish a companion  video demonstrating how I use Bibble and my workflow.  In order to make this
possible I am using screen video recording software called Cam Studio.  I do not have the video done
yet so be patient and baring technical difficulties I will have the video ready by mid week.


Friday February 10 , 2006

I have updated the home page image today.  Look for my review on Bibble to be published the first of the week.  For
family looking for new family images I hope to have a brand new slide show up within a few days. 
Thanks for looking, comeback and check again soon!


Tuesday January 17 , 2006

It has been a long time since I added any images to the Recent Work page so today I took the time
to go though some of my December images and pick  some to add. 

I have  been using the new firmware for the Canon 1d Mark II N for almost a month now and am happy to say
that the increased LCD brightness this update provides, is truly an improvement.  This
LCD finally lives up to it's potential and provides good visibility in daylight.

Monday January 9 , 2006

Already 9 days into the New Year! Wow! 
Adobe has today announced the launch of a new software program Lightroom - Beta One according to the press release
the new product is designed specifically for handling, importing, developing, presenting, and printing of image files
 with direct support of over 100 raw file types.  This release is supposed to be a free Beta release first for Mac OS X
 with a windows version to follow in several months.  This new product comes on the heels of Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia.
The download of Lightroom and more information is available at the new Adobe Labs AKA Macromedia website.

A "first look" at Lightroom can be found on The Luminous-Landscape by Michael Reichmann click this link for the article.


 Sunday December 25 , 2005

Blessing and Christmas Greetings!

One item of interest is the release of Bibble 4.5 which fixes a number of bugs and improves processing of Canon CR2 files.
The press release can be read here.  I have withheld my conclusions and review knowing this release
was eminent.  I have now downloaded my copy and within a few weeks will be able to finish my review.



Wednesday December 21, 2005

Busy Busy!  I have not posted any updates, save a Home Page image, in about a month.  I hope to be posting some
new items soon.   I have a few reviews planned that I hope to get published just after New Years.

Canon has released a welcome firmware update for both the 1D Mark II N and the 5d .  As I commented in my Report , the
brightness of the 1D Mark II N LCD left much to be desired and while the new LCD was supposed to be an improvement I found it troublesome to view in broad daylight.  I am very happy that Canon was able to address this in a firmware update. 
I have downloaded the new update and it does indeed seem to improve brightness and I am anxious to us my camera out of doors.
Now if only they would fix the mirror lockup and allow it to be activated with the 2sec timer!




Tuesday November 22, 2005

announcing the availability of Capture One 3.7.3 (PRO, DB, LE) Release Candidate. 
This release supports several new cameras including the Canon 5d and 1D Mark II N.  
I have already downloaded my copy and I expect to find the familiar C1 with added camera support.


Thursday November 17, 2005

In a report called the The Emperor's new "Color Engine" I have published my findings and
comments on the new release of color profiles for Raw Shooter.  I have placed this report as an update
to my original report on RawShooter Premium  Go to the bottom of the page to read it and be sure
to check out the samples by using your mouse pointer to roll over the picture and text.


Tuesday November 15, 2005

While on the subject of RAW conversion, I have been using the new release of Bibble 4.4 over the last few weeks,
for my regular conversions, and found many things to like about Bibble particularly the color rendering and the new
 highlight and shadow recovery features.  With the current offerings of RAW conversion software, save for the new
updates today for RSP as well as the now available Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 Beta,  Bibble has proved to be the current
software of choice  and produces excellent output with a very customizable interface making for good workflow capabilities.
 I have enjoyed using Bibble and will be publishing a review shortly.


Friday November 11, 2005
Phil Askey of DPReview has published his complete review of the Canon EOS 5D.  I must say 
this review is outstanding in it's coverage and depth of information.  This latest review of Phil's
is the best to date in my opinion, he has done a fantastic job with this one. 
The only thing that I would like to have seen is more comparison between the 1D Mark II N and the
5D in terms of resolution and noise.  Since the image chip of these two cameras appears
 to be the same, except for the physical size being larger on the 5D, I would expect
these results to be virtually identical.


Friday November 11, 2005
Today there is a new image from my friend Ron on the Guest Photographers page. 
I have put a new home page photo up and added images to the Galleries.


Sunday November 6, 2005
After I published my Mark II N report I had some readers asked some questions which has lead me to published a
short article on Canon DPP in addition I have put an update on the end of the 1D Mark II N report. 
Also check out Recent Work for some new images.


 November 1, 2005
I have published my report on the Canon 1d Mark II N.  I also have added an update to my article on Raw Shooter to answer some criticism about my statement, that RSP extracts more detail.  I redid the tests and found that I will stick with my statement.

Friday October 28, 2005
Yesterday Pixmantec released their Premium version of RawShooter.  I had high hopes that this software would replace
 my use of Capture One but am still disappointed with the color output see my thoughts on the new release.

Friday October 21, 2005
Today I have posted a short article and a download for sharpening actions in Photoshop. 
There are also new photos in Recent Recent Work

Thursday October 13, 2005
My review is now online for the Olympus Evolt E-300

Friday October 8, 2005
Finally I have had the chance to update both the Recent Work and Family galleries.
Next week beginning on Sunday I will be posting some new reviews as well as my thoughts on
 the new Canon 1d Mark II N.  So keep checking throughout the week and till then enjoy the photos!

Friday September 30, 2005

I will try to get some updates to the galleries and other news posted yet today. 
Watch for a report on the Canon 1d Mark II N that I have just taken delivery on.
Also over due is a slide show of this years Hawkfest at Lake Erie
Update: I did not get the time to post anything more than a new Home Page image today so look for more on Sunday

Friday September 16, 2005
 Lake Erie Metro Park will host  the 16th annual Hawkfest this weekend click the link for more information.
 Hopefully we will bring you some images on Sunday from this event.
Correction:  I have put a new homepage image up of a  juvenile Least Sandpiper.


Friday September 9, 2005
 I have added 75 new pictures today to Recent Work and 27 new pictures to the Family Photos
I also have finaly have posted my review of the Acratech Ultimate Ball Head.
 I have been using it now for almost 4 months and find that it meets all my needs.

Sunday August 28, 2005
A new home page photo of a lily covered with dew is the only addition today.

Monday August 22, 2005
Today Canon has released the latest evolution of the DSLR the new EOS 5D. 
The most outstanding feature about this new camera is that it is full frame
(has a sensor the size of a 35mm frame of film) with a 13 Megapixel sensor,
in a body just slightly bigger than the current 20d. 
You can read an excellent overview of the new Canon EOS 5D by Michael Reichmann at The Luminous Landscape


Friday August 19, 2005
For those of you that are family/friends and have been looking for updated family photos I have put a new batch on line today.  The promised Recent images have also been added.

Tuesday August 16, 2005
We are now back from a 3 day trip and I have a new home page photo up. Also look for images added to Recent and the Family area's.

Wednesday August 10, 2005
I have posted short review of the Canon 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6 L lens today

Thursday August 4, 2005

Sunday July 31, 2005
My friend Ron has sent me a bunch of really great pictures recently and I have had a tough time determining which ones to post,  but the new puppy "Penny" won the day so take a look at Ron's Page.
Today I also plan to publish the Flying Boats gallery.
Flying Boats NOW ONLINE!
Update!  Kodak Z740 review posted

Friday July 29, 2005
Not much new except a home page photograph and some new Recent Work pictures.
 Take a look for more coming features on Sunday.  Hopefully some more equipment reviews will also will appear in the next week.

Friday July 22, 2005
I was asked to make a recommendation to a friend for the best and most versatile digicam under $500.  Due to this request I hands on tested two cameras the, Konica/Minolta DiMage Z5, and the Kodak Z740.  Today I have put the first of two mini reviews online.

There is also a new image from my friend Ron and a new home page photo.

New images have been added to the Recent Work and Family galleries.

Update!  The American Water Lotus are in bloom at Lake Erie Metro Park click the link and check out my updated page.


Sunday July 17, 2005
Things have been busy for me the last few weeks and I have not had the chance to update the  galleries.  Today I have added new images to  Recent Work , also a few to the Metro Beach Recent Pics  and a Deer photo to the Metro Parks page. 

In the coming weeks I hope to get out to the Lake Erie Metro Park and area and get some pictures which I will post on the Lake Erie page.

Friday July 8, 2005
I have been out of town much of the week and haven't had the chance to add  to the site.  I have posted a new home page photograph of a beautiful iron stairs taken last month.  This image seemed to speak best from a Black and White so I converted it with Convert to B/W Pro  plugin for photoshop.

Friday July 1, 2005
There is a special 4th of July slide show up today. The pictures are from a local fireworks display last week.
I will leave it active on the home page for a week or so.  Follow the prompts and press the GREEN play button for automatic play.
 Enjoy your summer get togethers with family and friends!
Update!
I have added a picture from my friend Ron Parker to the Guest Corner page

Wednesday June 30, 2005
New images have been added to the recent work gallery and the family photos.  The home page photograph has also been changed with one from a recent trip my wife and I made for a private tour of the Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Detroit Mi.  This Church is richly adorned inside with exquisite stained glass and I had to feature one.

Thursday June 23, 2005
Canon today has released another firmware update for the Canon EOS 1D MKII and the Canon EOS 1Ds MKII
apparently due to some bugs in the May update.  I will be updating mine today!

Sunday June 19, 2005
Due to a special request I have added several images to the Still Life page.

Friday June 17, 2005
It has been out for several weeks but I just had time today to upgrade my Canon 1D MKII firmware to the new 1.2.2 version. It went without a hitch. I don't expect to see any operational differences but will let you know if I notice anything unusual with this update.


Wednesday June 15, 2005
Today after reading reviews I have decided to place an order for an Acratech Ultimate Ballhead .  It looks very promising and I am looking forward to trying it out.  They offer a 30 day trial period and I will put a report online once I have an opinion. 
New pictures have been added to Recent Work

Sunday. June 12, 2005
I now have my photographic essay of the Belle Isle Aquarium online.  Keep looking for a short review of digicams which I hope to publish in a week or so.

Wednesday. June 8, 2005
I have been busy the last few days however managed a trip to Metro Beach Tuesday Morning for a shoot. I have added some new images to Recent Work but most are older dates so you will have to scroll through them to see where the new ones are. A new home page photo has been put up, nothing of great artistic interest but an image that depicts a small town scene that is fast disappearing.


Friday. June 3, 2005
New images have been added to family photos and I have added some pictures from the Selfridge Air Show to the Recent Work. The weather was not very good that day and the skies were grey but nonetheless a few interesting images were to be had.

Thursday. June 2, 2005
Pixmantec has released a new update, ver 1.1. 3 for RawShooter Essentials The new version boast faster speed in several areas

Another image has been added to our guest Ron Parker's page
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Several days ago Canon released new firmware updates for the Canon EOS 1D MKII the Canon EOS 1Ds MKII
as well as the  EOS Dgital Rebel XT (350D)  These updates are to fix lockup and file loss problems with some Compact Flash cards.  I have not installed the new update on my 1D MKII yet but will do it hopefully later today.  Clicking the links will take you to the respective firmware pages.
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 Wednesday. June 1, 2005
On Sunday my family was out in Howell MI. where I spotted a pair of Sandhill Cranes with a  baby I have posted some pictures on my Sandhill Crane page and in my Recent Gallery
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Friday. May 27, 2005
I have made a great discovery about how to restore my EXIF data after I do RAW conversions.  The fact that after using Capture One, or other third party software, to convert my images, all of the camera specific information is lost in the EXIF data, has been a great annoyance.  In searching to remedy this I discovered a feature built into BreezeBrowser that makes restoring this information quick and easy.  I have written a small article about this and have it online entitled

"Is There EXIF After RAW Conversion"

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Tuesday. May 25, 2005
Today I have added lots of images to my Family Photos page.

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May 20, 2005
We have just returned from a 5 day visit to the west side of the state and in the next week or so I will have some  photos from that trip online.  Photos have been added today to the Family Photos and also to the Recent Work page. 

Currently I am  in the process of checking out some of the latest shirt pocket digicams.  I hope to prepare a small report and have it on line soon.