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John Watson is the original founder of Photodoto. If you're interested in what John has been up to, you can browse his personal blog.

Review: The Flip Mino Video Camera

By John Watson
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The Flip Mino video camera (www.theflip.com) could be the perfect complement to your digital still camera. I received a review copy of the Flip Mino this morning (sorry, no giveaway—it’s going back to Pure Digital soon) and within minutes I was making videos. See gallery and sample video at the end of this review.

Just about every consumer digital still camera I can think of has the ability to capture videos. And videos from the Mino aren’t going to wow you with their quality. What sets the Mino apart (I think it’s pronounced “minnow”) are it’s ease of use, size, and that it can capture up to 60 minutes of television quality video (640×480 @ 30 frames/second) onto a 2GB internal memory. It is a device laser-focused on doing one thing and doing it well: creating video for viewing on the internet. Think YouTube and mailing videos to grandma.

My Nikon D70 has no video capability at all and our Canon Elph, while respectable in the video arena, doesn’t have the juice to record a lot of video on a single charge. Plus, since video shares space with stills on the same memory card,

… Continue reading Review: The Flip Mino Video Camera

Review: Images: Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon

By John Watson
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Images: Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon is another photography book in a series from Arizona Highways. Unlike the Arizona Highways Photography Guide (reviewed here) which is instructional, this book is a work of art.

This 11-inch square book begins and ends with essays by non-fiction writer Charles Bowden and geologist and author Wayne Ranney, respectively.

Bowden’s opening essay describes the canyon with an almost holy reverence. It’s a beautiful tribute to a place the author describes as timeless. A place not for worship but for exploration and meditation that nourish the soul.

The closing essay by Ranney gives us a geologist’s view of the Canyon. It’s less poetic than Bowden’s but no less interesting (at least to me) as he shares insights into the formation of the canyon that made me marvel at the time and energy, virtually beyond human comprehension, required to form it.

And in between these short essays the book is filled with beautiful color photographs of the canyon by Jack Dykinga. From snow-covered plateaus, storms,

… Continue reading Review: Images: Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon

Another package from ZipLens

By John Watson
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Click to enlargeMy nephew is getting married this weekend and despite my protests I was roped into doing some of the photography. I had originally intended to actually put my feet up and enjoy the ceremony and ensuing festivities… you know… like an actual guest. It’s too late for me but know this ye ignorant unwed: wives wield a fearful persuasive power that cannot be explained, only experienced.

Anyway, I took the opportunity to rent some lenses from my favorite online rental shop: ZipLens.com. I’ve rented from ZipLens in the past (see our review) and the experience this time was just as good as it’s always been.

I decided to get a 17-55 f/2.8 and an 85mm f/1.4 for the weekend so about a month ago I put in my order with a specific reservation for this week (you can make a reservation request in the notes when you place an order). ZipLens responded that day telling me that the lenses were reserved. And lo and behold they arrived today as promised. Rental of both lenses for the week including shipping was $160 total ($105 for the glass,

… Continue reading Another package from ZipLens

“Photoshopped.”

By John Watson
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My photo blog (shameless plug: lightproofbox.com) has been getting some traffic from StumbleUpon lately which brings with it little waves of attention. 99% of it is positive. But invariably there are a few people who don’t seem to have anything better to do than to say trite, mean things (anonymously, natch).

Hey, I’ve been around long enough to know there are jackasses out there who, while not doing anything risky or creative of their own, will always be willing to bash what everyone else is doing. I let it roll off my back.

But the one that makes me laugh is when they claim a photograph has been “photoshopped.” Well, duh. That’s like looking at the ocean and denouncing it by saying, “Wet.” Photoshopped? Let me think… Um, yes, please!

I modify 99% of my published photos. Of the thousand I’ve posted to Flickr there are maybe a half-dozen that I posted as-is from the camera. My earliest photos had the least “work done.” Later, as I became more experienced with digital post-processing, I edited quite heavily (probably too heavily in many cases).

… Continue reading “Photoshopped.”

Review: Light and Exposure for Digital Photographers

By John Watson
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Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers by Harold Davis (published by O’Reilly) is a new book that teaches basic but important lessons: understanding light and how to capture it creatively with a digital camera. The author sums up the philosophy of the book in the introduction: “Today’s photographer is one part digital artist and one part photographer.” But he also warns that “it is fundamentally flawed to assume that incorrect exposures can be corrected in Photoshop.”

Read on to learn more about the book and find out how you can get a free copy.

Light and Exposure then proceeds to reintroduce the basics of exposure, the exposure “equation,” and how exposure can be used creatively. From there he devotes an entire chapter each to aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and noise. For $20, it’s the cheapest Digital Photography 101 course you’ll find. The topics are covered in depth and the author uses an approach grounded in understanding concepts rather than telling you exactly which buttons to push (which would be practically impossible since everyone’s camera is different).

I agree with the approach.

… Continue reading Review: Light and Exposure for Digital Photographers

Orphan Works bill introduced in US

By John Watson
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There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of fear among photographers regarding potential orphan works legislation.

A major problem with current copyright law is that it does not provide a way to use a creative work that has been abandoned (no entity can be found to claim ownership). The premise behind an “orphan works” addition to copyright law is that it would provide a means for anyone to make use of copyrighted material that no longer has an owner.

It works by limiting damages that can be claimed if the work truly falls under orphan works protection. If a person wants to use a work they must ask permission from the copyright holder just as they do now. Under the current law, if they can’t find the owner they are out of luck. With the orphan works bill in effect, they could use the work after conducting a diligent search and failing to find the copyright owner. Later, if the original owner shows up, he must be paid fair royalties for the use of the work. It does not limit or change Fair Use.

… Continue reading Orphan Works bill introduced in US

Poll: What software do you use to edit your photos?

By John Watson
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As one of our most recent polls shows we have photographers of all skill levels here from beginners to experts. We all have different reasons for taking photographs and a different workflow. Part of virtually every digital photographer’s workflow is editing photos in software. So I’m curious what software you use (primarily) to edit your photos. If you don’t see your favorite app in the list, click the link to add it.

{democracy:3}

… Continue reading Poll: What software do you use to edit your photos?

Screencast: Easy exposure blending tutorial with GIMP

By John Watson
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This 2 minute screencast shows an easy-to-use technique for blending multiple exposures (or in this case, two versions of one exposure) to increase the dynamic range of a photograph.

GIMP is free photo editing software for Windows, Mac and Linux.

I published the final version of this photo at Flickr.

Music by Pitx.

… Continue reading Screencast: Easy exposure blending tutorial with GIMP

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