Wow.. this must be the year of change since I have decided to move my blog over to Google's Blogspot/Blogger. The reason for this move? You can't backup your blog posts on Vox. So if Vox ever decides to go down, all the posts that you have been doing since day one will be lost (unless someone comes up with a backup tool).
Also another reason is because there is a LOT MORE customization that you can do on BlogSpot. Also, there are no advertisements on BlogSpot, which is always a good thing. I'll see you on BlogSpot!
http://samofsiam.blogspot.com/
So within days of posting my rant about SmugMug, a person named Andy Williams contacted me regarding my issues that I had about the website (the high contrast/low brightness issue) and offered to help me fix this issue. During this time, I did notice that the coloring issue was limited to just my computer and it was fine on my work computer. We are troubleshooting it right now. What awesome service! I'll record what the outcome of the troubleshooting session on this website for everyone else that might be having the same problem as me. I have not dismissed SmugMug yet, just simply for their customer service. Now only if they could be Web2.0 compliant.... okay okay.. one issue at a time! =)
I realize that smugmug has a few shortcomings:
1. If you upload a lot of pictures at one time, it takes some time before you can actually see it in your gallery. You are left with a "Please Wait" icon while the servers are rendering your pictures.
2. The post processing error mentioned above.
3. SmugMug is not 100% Web2.0 compliant. What does this mean? For example, when I want to show a picture in this blog entry, I don't have to upload the picture I want to show. I am able to use Web2.0's ability and pull the picture from my flickr account. Web2.0 allows you to share information between websites. Another example of Web2.0 is the fact that when I upload my pictures on flickr, my facebook profile automatically posts up that I have uploaded pictures on my flickr account, allowing everyone to know when I have updated content. Can't do that with smugmug.
4. I use picnik for my post processing. Flickr and smugmug have this tool available online for members. However, Smugmug puts an advertising banner on top of your screen when you are editing your pictures. This reduces your editing desktop in picnik by at least 20% or so. Flickr does not have advertising when you are post processing. Why should I have to have an advertisement take up valuable editing real estate? I paid for my smugmug account? I only expect to see ads when I am using a free service, NOT when I am a fully paid user!
These are the big things that have made me decide to go back to flickr. The only thing I will miss from smugmug is the customizability (I love having a black background!!), but I can overlook that for all the features that I'll be gaining!
So I have decided to bite the bullet and move over to smugmug.com. I've been eying that website for a while now. I really like it because of the cleaner layout, the easier interface, and the customization you can do to your website. You also get a customized subdomain name as well... simiar to vox. Check it out: http://samofsiam.smugmug.com
So my lens collections comprises of the following:
- Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DX lens
- Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DX VR lens
- Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens
- Nikon 12-24mm f/4 DX lens
- Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens
- Nikon 50mm f/1.8 E-Series lens
Having these 6 lenses, I thought I have completed my lens collection.... until today. Today, Nikon has announced the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX lens. I know I am lacking a wide angle fast lens. Before this lens, I was thinking of getting the Nikon 35mm f/2D lens. This lens was around $350.00 which was a little out of my range, but the 35mm f/1.8 lens is only $200.00 and it AFs on my D40, instead of being manual focus like the 35mm f/2D lens. I do not think I will ever get a full frame camera since they cost an arm and a leg, so this new lens is very appealing to me. I can't wait until this lens comes out. =)
I will be going to Lake Tahoe this weekend and plan on taking some pictures there. I will keep this blog posted. Just wanted to not let this blog die.
This is how it works: I would get my GPS receiver (my Gamin nuvi 780) and put it in my camera bag and start taking pictures with my camera. I come home, extract the GPS information from my nuvi (which has tracked my location while I was taking pictures) and gPicSync takes the timestamp from my GPS file and matches it with the pictures that I took and inserts the corresponding longtitude/latitude coordinates in the picture. Uploading these pictures on flickr (or any other EXIF - GPS aware site), flickr will automatically put these pictures on a map, so I know EXACTLY where I took pictures. Of course the time on my GPS and camera have to be synced for gPicSync to be accurate, but it sure beats spending money on a Nikon GP-1 and a compatible camera, which can cost boatloads of money.
I will try to insert location information on all my pictures from now on.
Okay... so I did it. Thanks to Microsoft and eBay, with their live.com 20% cashback promotion, I bit the bullet and purchased the lens that I have wanted for a while. I purchased the the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens and got lucky and acquired a Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR. My collection is nearly complete. All I need now is a wide angle fast lens. I was thinking of getting the Nikon 35mm f/2.0D since I would like to have a 50mm equivalent for my DX sensor. I have yet to take any pictures with my new lenses, but that day should come VERY SOON! Was actually going to take pictures today since I am on a photo safari weekend, but my girlfriend had a huge dose of food poisoning on Friday, and I am taking care of her today (Saturday). There's always time for the Wild Animal Park. Maybe the next photo op will be Disneyland since my girlfriend and I will be getting annual passes. So I have updated my wishlist and I think the 35mm lens is the only one left on that list. Loving photography so far!
It's amazing how you can interpret lighting differently than a camera. I was taking pictures of a basketball game for my girlfriend's friend. I swear to you that it was bright, so I took out my Nikon 17-55mm f/4.5-5.6 thinking that it would be good enough for the game. Boy was I wrong! To get decent shots, my shutter had to slow down to 1/60 sec. which ends up blurring during the game. I saw the blurs and switched over to my "night" lens, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens and it performed well. I was amazed on how I had to put my camera settings to ISO 800, 1/125 sec, f/1.8. I thought I would be able to do that shutter/aperture combo with ISO 200 since in downtown (which I thought was totally darker) I was able to ISO 200, 1/60 sec, f/1.8 setting. I mean the 1/60 sec shutter speed brings in a little more than twice as much light as the basketball settings, but the ISO setting means that there was LESS light in the basketball court than there was at the downtown Los Angeles picture? Just in case you are wondering what downtown picture, here it is:
Another note: taking sports pictures with a manual 50mm lens under the net was a real challenge. I had a split second to focus on the athletes and take action shots. This was pretty hard because the focus point was always changing since I was at the end court and they would always be either within 15 feet from me or 40 feet away and turning that focus ring on my manual focus lens was just as challenging as keeping my camera on the subject at such close distances. But I think it turned out well. I really want an auto focus fast lens!
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[this is good]i think i'm going to learn a lot from you bull! it all sounds pretty technical if you ask me.... read more
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