May 13th, 2010
This is a test…
I recently updated to Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection. It’s cool. Seriously cool. Mostly I use Photoshop, but having the suite gives me access to a host of additional applications and it makes sense to learn how they can be useful.
One of the new apps is Adobe Contribute, which allows me to update my blog and website in a consistent and effective way that doesn’t require me to be logged into the site/blog itself. It should be very effective, and this is the first little test.
As to what’s coming up? Well, I thought a little blogging about the process I went through to create a final printed photograph. I’m going to cover choosing a subject, composing the shots, choosing which shot to use and then working on that shot until I’m happy and ready to print.
The idea will be for less experienced photographers to gain some insight into the process, for more experienced photographers to provide me feedback on what I do, and for those of a similar level to do either or both.
If nothing else, it should be a useful blog exercise and help me to reflect on the technical and creative process involved.
This weekend, though, I’m helping my friend Mark with his display at the Sydney Home Show. It promises to be a busy and tiring weekend, but rewarding and a great learning experience for all involved.
Posted in Personal, Photography | No Comments »
May 11th, 2010
ephemera
plural noun things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time. DERIVATIVES
ephemerist
noun ORIGIN
C16 (originally (as singular noun) denoting a plant said to last only one day, or an insect with a short lifespan): plural of ephemeron, from Greek, neuter of
ephemeros ‘lasting only a day’.
So, here we are. A blog. I remember when the term was coined. Wikipedia tells me it was in 1997 and I have no reason to doubt it. It was later that the term became pervasive, though. At first I recoiled against the wave of enthusiam for the new format. New? Hardly. The concept existed on the net back in the mid 90’s but it wasn’t until 1999 that it was embraced by the netizens at large. I urged my technorati friends to avoid using the term and not to fall for the popularist terminology, feeling instead that if something already existed and had a name that it didn’t require reinvention to make it valuable or useful.
Alas, I was all but alone – possible numbering even less than those misguided individuals who think that “interweb” is a cool term. Today, blogging is undoubtedly the most public and obvious example of Web 2.0 – users modifying the web in real time.
Since I’ve decided to upgrade and update my web presence (which started with a web page created in Word – really – back in 1996) I’ve decided that I would give myself a small outlet for my random and considered thoughts alike.
Given the nature of the web, that even a minor, almost insignificant corner of it will likely pass through dozens of computers or perhaps even hundreds as it is replicated and produced and served to users around the world, it’s entirely false to call anything on the web ephemeral. Even when you actively try to remove content, most of the time someone or something, somewhere, has a copy of it meaning that it will certainly last for quite some time.
Perhaps, though, in the other concept of being used or enjoyed for a short time we can have web based ephemera and that is the basis for the name of this blog. In the unlikely event that I ever key something remarkable and profound, I will do my very best to remove it from here and place it in a far more worthy location, where ever that may be.
So please stay tuned and please enjoy. Feel free to register and to leave comments and to enter into discussions or ask questions
Posted in General, Personal | No Comments »