Caring for your DSLR Body
by | posted in: About The Author, Photography | 1

Really, it’s about dust and keeping it out of your camera, but, let’s be honest, that really is the biggest issue in keeping your camera clean.
As part of their “photography 101” series, The Photo Argus recently ran a story titled “Caring for the DSLR Body and Lenses“, but it primarily focused on cleaning the body of the DSLR, including the sensor, and keeping dust out of the body going forward.  And, to be fair, dust in the body, especially on the sensor, is the most common problem with modern digital cameras, especially those with interchangeable lenses.

Read the article to get a good idea of the basics, but check out more detailed tutorials for sensor cleaning, like this one from YouTube.  Just remember, cleaning the sensor can be potentially hazardous to your sensor if you do it wrong, so be careful!  Personally, I prefer to just use “air puffer” method and to be careful when changing lenses.  The Photo Argus article lists some things to do to help prevent dust from getting into your camera and I have to say that prevention is better than having to fuss over cleaning delicate equipment often.  Personally, I always try to change lenses in as dust-free a location as possible and I try my best to change lenses with the open DSLR body facing down, to let gravity work to my benefit in keeping dust off the sensor.
For lens cleaning, check  your manuals for the officially recommended cleaning procedure, but also this tutorial on YouTube for some great, common sense advice for cleaning those expensive lenses.

I have to admit, I didn’t used to think that dust was a big deal on modern digital cameras, thanks to the built-in cleaning routines, but it can make a huge difference in your images, especially if you’re trying to sell them or are competing at the professional level in any way.

Also, a side note, I try to have monthly themes to these Friday posts, but this month is probably going to be pretty random because I’m so crazy busy and my girlfriend moved in just under two weeks ago.  Real life fun and games trump blogs no matter what!
So have fun this weekend cleaning  your gear, but then get out and use it!

Two Random Blog Design Tools
by | posted in: The Tools | 1

Are there really any websites that aren’t essentially blogs?

Okay, I know there are, but, considering that some people estimate about 1 out of every 5 sites runs WordPress, it amounts to the same thing.
In any case, these two tools I’m about to share can actually be useful to any website design.

First, there’s the graphic “place-holder” generator, lorempixel.
Using their tool, you can find and download “place holder” images that are generic, in either color or b&w, and the size you need for your example design.  If you have some particular theme in mind, you can select that, too.  For on-line design, you can use their code to pull random place-holder images every time your design is refreshed!
Oh, and remember, these are all free to use and licensed via Creative Commons!  How cool is that!

The other tool is really a learning aid called the Interactive Guide to Blog Typography.
This beauty guides you through pretty much everything  you need to really know about text and layout on your blog or website.  It takes you through, step by step, all the different aspects of typography on your site, from line-height to paragraph formatting to font styles to, well you name it!  What’s more, it does it all with interactive examples and even some of the CSS available to copy and add right into your design, so you can see how the changes effect how you read text and integrate the changes you like!
And, I think this is important because so many non-professionals seem to forget how important text and how it’s presented is to even the most basic designs.

So, now you’re set with some great basics to get started on updating your own design!
Go have fun with it!

Color Scheme Designer
by | posted in: On Creativity, Red Herrings, The Tools | 1

I am not a designer.

This may be painfully evident from the look and feel of this website, which, I did not code myself.  It is a WordPress-based website which, at best, I have “themed” myself, but with lots of help from code “borrowed” via Google and other sources.  In fact, there are so many code sources it would be hard to link to them all or list them all or thank them all.  It’s the way of the web, I’m afraid.
But, all that aside, I like to think of myself as a kind of artist.
Perhaps a stunted, repressed, frustrated artist, but, still, a sort of artist.  And, as such, I find myself easily obsessed with things like texture and color.  The hitch is, however, that I have no training, which may, or may not, be obvious.  I don’t know the first thing about color harmony and subtones and all those other bits of esoterica.  So, I tend to rely on utilities.  Free utilities, if I can find them, possibly even ones that run from the web and I don’t even have to install.  The Color Scheme Designer is one such utility.
This utility lets you create a harmonized color scheme for your project via a sliding spinner color tool and then gives you the resulting colors in formats that graphic programs can use, or that you can enter into your style sheet, in the case of a website.  It’s handy and free and even includes options for the color blind, which I swear I am NOT in spite of some of the color choices I’ve made on websites over the years.

So, go play with color and color schemes today, while you’re pretending to work.  Trust me!  It’s fun!

Naming Your Systems
by | posted in: Marginalia and Notes from the Editor, Red Herrings | 0

Naming kids is easy, but naming systems is hard!

And, no, I don’t mean giving your phone a pet name.
I have gone on at length in the past about the importance of naming systems.  It’s a big, big deal, especially if you ever have to go back and change any of those names!  Granted, it’s not as bad now as it was in the old days when you had to manually update dozens, or sometimes hundreds, of host files or…
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Adding Style To Your Webpages
by | posted in: On Creativity, The Tools | 0

I am NOT a designer or web programmer.
Sure, I’ve dabbled with Perl enough to be a Level 11 Perl Monk on Perlmonks.org, but I’m not really a programmer.  And I’m sure not a designer, either, even though I can appreciate really good design work.  In fact, my ex-wife used to say that I was from the “big orange button” school of design, because I was more interested in the technology behind the button you pushed on a website than making the button itself look pretty.  I know I’m not alone, at least if some of the websites I’ve seen over the past ten or fifteen years are any indication.  Still, there is hope.
Thanks to some very diligent folks at the W3C, we have standards for the web, including a way to class them up a bit.  The way I’m talking about is cascading style sheets, or CSS.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is, they can be really complicated.  But, I have a link for you all that can help with that.
The fine folks of at Land-Of-Web.com have gathered together 30 of the most useful CSS3 generators I’ve ever seen.  So, now, you can go to one of those beauties and custom generate CSS code for making your webpage, or WordPress theme, a whole lot more stylish.  I’m talking about generators that use CSS to do everything from drop-down menus to boxes with rounded corners to, my personal favorite, boxes that are at an angle.  (That last trick can be found at CSS3 Please! and is pretty incredible, I think!)

So, go check them out and see what sort of code you can get into for the weekend!
Have fun, y’all!

Ramen Info
by | posted in: Personal Care | 2

Readers from my other blog will know that I love both ramen noodles and infographics.
It’s almost a kind of sickness, I’ll admit, but I really love ramen.  I don’t care that they aren’t necessarily the healthiest thing for me to eat, because I know there are worse things, and I love them.  The past two weeks I’ve linked to things that will help you eat healthier and help you eat less.  This week, I figure you’ve about given up on your New Year’s Resolutions and I’m going to just go ahead and link to something that glorifies my favorite junk food; ramen noodles.

Over at Daily Infographics some time back, they had a wonderful infographic titled Some Facts about Ramen Noodles, which I just loved.
I was fascinated to learn that Nissin, the company which originated instant ramen with their Top Ramen offerings, has 29 manufacturing plants in 11 countries run by 21,900 employees and generating about $3.2 billion in sales every year.  But, beyond the amazing facts about ramen and the Nissin company, there are healthier recipes for preparing your instant ramen, all of which seem to start by discarding the included flavor packet!  Also, of course, ramen is relatively cheap and they estimate that eating 13 cent ramen three times a day for a year would only cost about $142.65.  Amazing!  And, that little statistic is probably why a startup companies that are only profitable enough for the founders to eat are known as “ramen profitable”.
Finally, before you write off instant ramen as too unhealthy to eat regularly, use the infographic to compare it to other fast food items.  It’s really not so bad after all!

Most of all, go take a look at that infographic and have a good laugh this Friday afternoon before enjoying your weekend!

Vitamins from Food
by | posted in: Personal Care | 1

A healthy mind is a creative mind!
And, let’s face it, a healthy mind is supported by a healthy body.  Exercise is one aspect of that, but at a more fundamental level, properly fueling our bodies and minds is, I think, the most important first step.  Last week, I linked to a site to help you put your diet on autopilot.  This week, I’m suggesting that you maximize your vitamin intake.  Not through taking supplements, though that’s not a bad idea really, but through good eating.  I know supplements have been pushed for years, but I have always felt that getting our vitamins from what we eat is better.  Granted, I take supplements, but with “More Than Supplemental” infographic, I hope to do better.

This graphic clearly breaks down what foods contain thirteen of the most essential vitamins so that you can maximize your healthy food intake.
I know this doesn’t seem like it’s connected to creativity, but, trust me, it is.  When I’m overweight and eating junk food, I cannot think clearly at all.  When I was on chemotherapy and eating that hospital food served out of a cafeteria, if I could manage to eat at all, I could feel my brain power reduced to almost nill.
So, trust me on this and make sure to eat your vegetables, and salmon and fruits and all the other healthy things you see on this chart.  Remember, if you have a deficiency, this can point you in the right direction to balance out your essential vitamins.  But, of course, always consult with and pay attention to your doctor’s suggestions regarding nutrition and supplements.

Like I wrote before, a healthy body, and mind, is a creative mind!  So eat healthy and enjoy healthy creativity, too!

Put Your Diet on Autopilot
by | posted in: Personal Care | 1

So, we’re eleven days into the New Year.  How are  your resolutions holding up?

If you’re like most people, you’ve made a personal commitment to eat better and lose weight in the coming year.  But, like most people, that little resolution won’t last through the end of the first quarter.  Well, the good news is that this is easier than committing to adding exercise to your daily routine!  No, the answer isn’t to go out and buy Tim Ferriss’ books, the [amazon_link id=”030746363X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]4-Hour Body[/amazon_link] and the [amazon_link id=”0547884591″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]4-Hour Chef[/amazon_link], either.  (Well, okay, it might be the answer for you, but I’m betting it’s not for the vast majority of us.)  No, the answer is to use an automatic meal planner based on how many calories you want to consume in a day.  And, that’s what Eat This Much does for you; it puts your diet on autopilot.

You can set up an account for additional features, but you don’t need to if you’d rather not.  You just go to the site, input your daily calorie limit and the number of meals you’d like to eat and hit “generate” and they do the rest.  Your daily mean plan will be automagically generated for you.  And, if you’re not sure how many calories you need to consume to meet your goal, just click the “Not Sure” button and the pop-up Nutrition Calculator will help you figure out your correct calorie consumption based on your eating goals.
There is also a tab at the top with recipes if  you need help with that, too.

So, if you’re struggling with eating better, and healthier, then check this site out!  Remember, a healthy body will give you a healthy creative life!

Creativity Exercises
by | posted in: On Creativity, Photography, Stimulus and Production | 1

Specifically, Creativity Exercises for Photographers.

One of my “problems”, it seems these days, is “inspiration”.  I know, it’s kind of a classic “champagne problem”, as a friend of mine calls them.  I work a day job that pays for, well, pretty much my entire life.  Digital photography is just a hobby of mine.  For that matter, so is just about everything on the web, including this blog!  But, photography is a hobby about which I am passionate.  The thing is, when I’ve been away from it for a bit, or, conversely, when I’ve been filling many, many hours by staring through a lens, I find that I start to get stale.  So, what to do?  Well, a musician practices scales.  A writer might work through any number of writing exercises, hundreds of which may be found in books or on the web.  But, what about photogphers and other visual artists?  Good question!

Early last year, Scott Bourne, the amazing photography blogger behind Photofocus, wrote a blog entry titled Creativity Exercises for Photographers.  But, I’d say they’re good for anyone who works creatively in a visual medium.  And, you know, I suspect that they might help out writers, too, if they find themselves stuck in a rut!
Check them out!  And, while you’re at it, even though Scott has “semi-retired” from the blog, check the rest of it out, too.  Everyone who writes there is pretty brilliant about photography and most of what they talk about would be of benefit to a photographer no matter their skill-level or the intensity of their interest.

And have a great weekend, y’all!

Day One
by | posted in: Marginalia and Notes from the Editor, Stimulus and Production | 1

On this day, in 1660, arguably the most famous diarist in history, Samuel Pepys, made the first entry into his personal diary.
He kept his diary for approximately nine years, detailing everything from his personal life to the news of the day to even what he ate.  Although he clearly kept his diary purely as a personal exercise, he must have suspected that it may eventually prove interesting to future generations based on the care he took to bind it and preserve it in his library.  He was, in fact, correct in that assumption and his diary has proven an incredibly valuable resource for historians.  His very personal, intimate look at every day life at the time, as it turns out, is one of the most valuable and, I think, interesting aspects of his daily record-keeping.

And, I think, journaling, or, yes, even blogging, today can serve the same purpose.  My first blog, Diary of a Network Geek, has been running for more than ten years.  Granted, the past several years of that have been somewhat less personal and, sadly, somewhat less frequent than it was in the early days, but it is still running and I do still add entries.
I have also kept written diaries, on and off, and, while I’ve enjoyed that, it hasn’t always been as easy to keep them up as the blogs have been.  Still, there is something attractive about that format, and there are seemingly limitless ways to keep a written journal.  You could get a [amazon_link id=”B00069DKYI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Moleskine[/amazon_link] and make entries as you feel called.  I know that that’s a pretty popular method, though certainly, any cheap [amazon_link id=”B0006SVBOU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]spiral bound notebook[/amazon_link] will get the job done, too.
I have to admit, I’ve seen a couple other, pre-printed options that have a certain appeal to me.  For instance, [amazon_link id=”0977648192″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]simple, five-year journal[/amazon_link] is one option.  Another one that struck me as possibly easier than a more free-form journal is the [amazon_link id=”0811870197″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]One Line A Day, Five Year Memory Book[/amazon_link], which would keep my writing tight with the exercise of summing up each day in a single line or sentence.  Possibly a little easier than that would be the [amazon_link id=”0307719774″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]”Q and A A Day” Five Year Journal[/amazon_link] that would prompt me with a question to answer every day.

But whatever way someone decides to make note of the events of their daily life, by blog or written journal, I think the exercise is always valuable.  Even if the journaler doesn’t intend for their work to ever be read, the act of examining one’s life and writing about it is theraputic in some way.  I also think the discipline of writing every day is beneficial, regardless of the content.
So, today could be the first day of your ten year journal.  Are you up to the challenge?  Can you keep a journal going for ten years?  How about one year?  Why not try?  I think the results could be worth it!

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