Photos in RSS feeds vs. Hotlink Blocking

To create an RSS feed is easy for many. You just need to understand HTML and you'll most likely understand enough to do a cut-and-paste from someone else's RSS file to create your own file. No idea on HTML? Well then, start a blog because several blogging tools automatically generate RSS files.

According to the article posted last December 23, 2004 at blog.photoblogs.org, a certain MattB commented that thumbnails in RSS feeds are a must. He also said that it’s unnecessary to use an RSS feed for a Photoblog if it doesn’t give you any idea of what the new photos look like. Caitriona, the one who posted the blog, checked out on the problem on how to have thumbnail images show up in RSS feeds and still blocked hotlinking using .htaccess after receiving MattB’s comment. Some of the codes were also included in the article.

Know what, Caitriona, what you posted in here is truly a great solution. With it, I'm glad that the issue of thumbnails in RSS feeds has been brought to the forefront. Regarding the people who had problems with hotlinking before, it can really slow things down. I can see it as a better way instead of changing the filenames of the photos to solve the same problem.

I salute you for your effort in solving the problem. Also, what you’ve shared to us will surely help those who’ll encounter a problem similar to what you’ve mentioned here. That’s something that you should truly be proud of. Two thumbs up, Caitriona!!!

Reference to this trackback article

Flash Burns in Digital Photos

Since the introduction of the digital camera, it has been widely accepted in this modernized world. The demand for this great technology continues to rise. It has evolved from the simplest to the most advanced digital camera in the past years. We still expect more developments to happen to the digital camera world in the future. However, further enhancements of the digital camera don’t mean that we are always assured of better photos from this device.

According to the article posted last September 17, 2004 at photoshop911.typepad.com, photographers do encounter some problems using a digital camera. Usually, you’ll see some hotspots created by the flash. If flash burns occur, minimize the overexposed areas from electronic flash too close to the subject using Photoshop CS. Open the image in Photoshop CS, then go to Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlight. Further instructions were included in the article.

With this, it is necessary for us to always consider other factors when we take pictures. We should be aware of our distance to the subject. In taking pictures, remember not to stand so close to your subject when you are using a flash or use a flash that automatically compensates for the distance to the subject. Another thing is that we have to make sure that the subject stands in front of the light not against it so that the subject will not appear dark and blurry in the picture. After all, in most cases, it is not the fault of the digital camera when we get terrible photos upon using it.

These are only some pointers to consider in digital photography. We can never expect to get perfect photos every time we use a digital camera. However, the good thing is that we already have software programs such as Photoshop CS where we can manipulate images to make it look at its best and the way we imagined it.

Reference to this trackback article

Fading Photos

Feathering is today's software term for the conventional technique known as vignetting: a soft edged border around an image, which blends into the background which appears to be tiny feathers. The more motion, the foggier the edges are. It's analogous to "burning in" an area of the photo.

It should be well remembered that selecting the right photo is important to your montage. Size, shape, tilt and attitude are all important considerations when choosing photos.
First you can use a Feathered Selection in the Photoshop then simply delete - or fill with White. You could also use a Layer Mask. Click the "Add a Mask" button at the bottom of the Layers Palette (Gray square, white circle) and observe the addition of the Mask icon to the active layer.
Also remember that black masks and hides the image and white opens the mask and allows image to show through. Adjust your Gradient by changing the starting point, ending point and distance you drag the tool across the window. Drag out gradients as many times as you like until you have it the way you want it. To Modify the actual image, click on its Icon in the layer, and to re-edit your mask, click on its Icon in the layer.

Once you're satisfied you can commit your vignette to file. First, click the New Layer button in the Layers Palette so your vignette won't disturb the original photo. Now, set the foreground color to the desired color you want. The background fills with white, and the photo becomes nice and softly vignetted or feathered.

For photo montage, there are a number of ways than we can experiment with feathering for similar effects in variation with shapes. We just have to take the expert’s advice that a bit of raggedness makes your art more human and friendlier to the viewer!

Reference to this trackback article

Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw: Access "Raw" Image File

A picture speaks a thousand words. It conveys a lot of messages. The ones who will look at a picture can have different interpretations. However, a good subject, better resolution and quality printing imply if a picture is a good one or not. Professional and amateur photographers, who are not satisfied with the way a picture turns out, constantly look for means on how to improve the appearance of the image but still, maintain the original “raw” files. Today, there are already software applications which can help us manipulate an image to get our desired output. The release of Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in in February 2003 has been much anticipated by professional photographers. Its great features and latest camera plug-in made it a big hit. The functionality of this software provides lightning-fast and easy access within Photoshop software to the "raw" image formats produced by many leading professional and mid-range digital cameras from Canon, Nikon. Minolta, Olympus and Fujifilm. Also, it can now support more digital cameras thus making it more valuable to digital photography enthusiasts. The Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in allows photographers to directly manipulate the original data captured by a digital camera sensor which then produces images with superior tonal range and the maximum amount of detail. With this, we will be able to practice both our creativity and imagination in making our pictures more appealing and attractive. With Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw, you can now achieve the best results that you want with greater artistic control and flexibility by working with these "digital negatives". Congratulations and more power to the developer of this great innovation! We still hope for best things to happen to digital photography through Adobe. Kudos!!! This article can be viewed in this link.

Photo Moral Dilemmas

I once thought that photography was just a simple endeavor. As long as you have a nice subject, you’ll have your desired image in one click of your camera. I never realized that being a photographer entails a big responsibility, more so, a MORAL responsibility.

I was once the photojournalist of our school publication way back in my high school days. During press conferences, where student writers compete in different areas such as editorial writing, feature writing, news writing, and photojournalism (of course!), we are asked to go around the streets to take photos for the contest. What I do then was to take pictures of everything that I came across in the streets, mostly beggars who pleaded for coins and foods and the undressed little children who were not aware about the dangers that might happen to them in the streets.

I prefer these subjects because they are obviously good subjects for the contest – they never lack the needed “spice of life”, they even have much of it. But, what comes out in the pictures is really pathetic. I should have considered if what they would feel if they see those pictures. Are they going to be happy? Are they going to be proud? No, I don’t think so. I should have practiced a little empathy within myself. I may found it interesting but this can already be a simple exploitation, in other people’s perspective.

In terms of your photo, I think it makes a world of difference that the photo is of your brother. It's a wonderful photo that captures the true heartfelt emotions in that situation. You were emotionally invested in that event, it was happening to you as much as it was happening to your brother, you have every right to use your camera to help yourself to understand it. You caused no harm and you did not impede aid to the injured person. You shouldn’t be guilty of anything.

After all, photography is all a matter of choice. The way a photographer, either an amateur or a professional, photographs someone could make others feel pity, remorse or even attracted. Remember that if someone gets mad at you for making a photo, it doesn't automatically mean your act was immoral. Indeed, being a photographer is not simple. With this great ability comes a greater responsibility.

Reference to this trackback article

Evaluating a Good Design

A net surfer? Most probably you are. So how is your surfing experience? Do you get what you need when you need it? A good website addresses the basic needs of its target audience and provides factual and up-to-date information. Your goal when searching the Web is content, information on a given topic. To know whether you can trust a site's content, take a critical look at the site for certain characteristics that will make it worthy of your trust. The two points of your critique will be design (stability, clarity, navigation) and authority. If you arrive with positive impressions of the site's design and authority, then you can be more confident in the site's information content. A good design should be able to provide you with a stable address, meaning the URL should be the same as you expect it to be and not require you to exert extra effort to look for it again. It should present its information clearly so as to facilitate your faster use of the site. A goal of good design is to save the time of the user. Moreover, the site has to present the user with easier access to needed data through appropriate links and friendly navigation buttons to further enhance the user’s surfing experience. It would be very ideal if the site is able to provide the user with a variety of download formats be it in PDF, HTML or Plain Text format. Versions in other languages would be a welcome addition. A site should give enough information about the author for it to be a reliable source of information. To determine the authenticity of a web information, you should know the relationship of the author to his topic. The more familiar he is with what he is talking about, the more reliable is the information he presents. Also, you need to decide if the author is sincere with what he says. Value will be added if pertinent information regarding the author’s personal background and affiliations is clearly provided in the site. Content Once the site is accepted as responsible and reliable, you can get to the purpose of the visit: the retrieval of information. Your checks of authority and effective design imply that the information on the site is likely to be reliable. But, as with any other source, you should ask a few questions about content to be sure. · Scope: is the site's scope or its contents clearly indicated? From what you know independently, or can verify from other sources, is anything obviously missing from the site's content? Does the site place its information in the context of a broader field of knowledge? Is the information provided enough to satisfy the needs of a typical user? Does it provide adequate depth and detail? Is the information supported by sufficient evidence? · Audience: is the site's intended audience evident from the first page? Upon further inspection, is the information content of the site appropriate to that audience? · Consistency and Balance: is the information provided consistent with other known sources in the field? How did they get the information? Is a bibliography or citation provided? Is a balance of viewpoints on the topic presented? If the topic is controversial, is the bias of the site/author identifiable? Is the information free of racial and gender stereotypes? · Factual Information: is the information in the form of facts or data? Can you verify their accuracy? If the subject matter requires currency, does the site indicate how old the information is? A good web site should be able to provide the user with a hassle-free surfing experience and it should be designed to cater to the needs of the target audience. View this article here.

Printing Forecast 2005

The printing industry has really come a long way. It did well in the year 2004 by giving printing companies unprecedented gross in their sales and profits. This industry was very much alive in 2004. The growth of digital printing, offset printing, custom printing, silkscreen printing, and many more continued to rise till the end of 2004. All of these had already set their own places in the commercial printing marketplace. However, much is still expected from this industry in the coming years, especially in the year 2005. According to the article posted on December 6, 2004 at creativepro.com, it is believed that the print business will continue to improve or be steady in 2005. Overall, most printing markets expect that business will be about the same as it has been. Yet, we would hope that some in the industry would expect more room for improvement. On the flipside, there is a sense by some that the good times they're experiencing now are as good as they're ever going to get. This is good to hear, folks! After all, we all enjoy the services that the printing industry offers. It eliminated most of the hassles that we encountered in our printing jobs before. That is why we all love commercial printing because it made our tasks easier to handle and manage. More expectations in 2005, we can equate it to an increase in sales of printing and heatset presses. This is definitely good news for developers of printing equipment. Indeed, stiff competition is expected to rise between print and prepress firms. In 2004, printers already realized that there’s more sales opportunity in adding printing capabilities and they’ve become one of the healthiest of the printing markets. It happened largely by providing better services, as well as new technologies such as digital printing, color copying, and non-print services such as cross-media services. In the year 2004, the web has become great information and communication portals for us. And with its large part in the development of the printing industry, to broaden the digital color variable printing jobs is an opportunity. To build a networked, digital infrastructure is another great thing. After all, year 2005 will definitely be a good year for commercial printers. It will be as good as or better than 2004. This article can be viewed here.