By DK Wilson
Google makes some pretty cool toys. And invests in those which catch their eye.
When they saw Picasa, they saw potential. And planned or not, the potential for photographers and artists alike are mind-blowing.
Google bought out Blogger, Picasa and by default, Hello and then unveiled an incredibly feature rich publishing tool for anyone that likes to showcase their work online. Seamless integration between the three elements, or each as a standalone item, gives the ‘publisher’ complete control over what they display, when they display it and how it looks.
The interfaces are all seamless, user friendly, and bold, without being too simple. Bold parallels in colour scheme over the ‘skin’ of both Picasa and Hello give the impression of structure – and graphic displays of progress keep users abreast of what it’s doing, without leaving too much to the imagination.
Processing is also fast, with a healthy transfer rate matching your internet speed quite handily.
Picassa is a streamlined photo organisation tool – with the ability to now edit lightly without the need of taking your images into your favourite photo editing software, a great way to store and organise your works, and most importantly, search capabilities, Picasa is a great, lightweight piece of freeware for all of your graphic needs.
Paired with Hello, it gives you the ability to select a ‘tray’ of photos and send them to anyone else with the Hello software. It’s also got built in chat capabilities, allowing you to discuss what the other party is viewing.
Picasa for beginners
Most digital photographers have a hard time dealing with the workflow of getting their images onto their computers and off to the final destination from their memory cards. Thankfully, there IS another way.
It does require the download and installation of Picasa (from Google) but it’s well worth it.
Plugging your device into your computer, Picasa should be offered as a download option – simply allow it to grab the images from your device, name them, rotate them, crop them, and delete any you don’t require, in the import preview interface and then let Picasa create the folder of images.
It’s default save path stays with your ‘my pictures’ folder, handy, if like me, you save images wherever the computer happens to be saving to.
Once imported there are several cool features that Picasa offers. From viewing your images in a slideshow, to editing lightly, you can preview, review, and ‘repair’ minor issues with each image before moving to the next, though, most importantly, Picasa preserves the original – it doesn’t save your edits until you export, always leaving you with the first image intact.
Exporting is also easy – either to a brand new folder, a current one, or to Hello, to send onto friends or Blogger.
It also features the opportunity for users to upload images and order prints, subject to local availability.
High quality gift CD’s, backup, printing…this is a complete productivity suite rolled into one and makes owning a digital camera as effortless as keeping your prints in a box by your PC.
Combining all three
Picasa and Hello together have the ability to post images from your computer, direct to your Blogger powered weblog.
Simply select the images you want to publish, send them to the Blogger bot, add optional captions, and just like sending a message, hit return.
Blogger does the rest, uploading, storing and optimising the images to your setting sizes.
So the next time you despair creating a gallery, consider Picasa, Hello, and Blogger.
Make a photo collage and share it online!
Picasa allows users, among its numerous features, to create images made up of several others. Photo collages, grids, contact sheets and ‘multi exposure’ options make for fun multi image creations – and allow for extra expressionism when using Blogger, Hello, and Picasa in conjunction with one another.
Try it – create the collage, send it to Blogger via the button on the bottom interface.
It really is that simple, and cutting the html out of publishing an online gallery, it puts a sense of fun back into sharing portfolios.
And given Blogger CAN be configured to FTP to your own site, it’s a perfect option for anyone with a little web savvy, a little time, and a sense of adventure.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Fun With Toy Cameras
I am a film school graduate. I specialized in cinematography so I know how to compose a photograph. I know many cameras inside and out. I develop and print photos in my own darkroom. Heck, I’ve even built my own camera. So why then, would a cheap, plastic $20 camera appeal to me? In a word: Fun.
I missed the days when I would just pull out the camera and push a button. The days spent as a kid when I would effortlessly shoot anything and anyone. Sometimes I wouldn’t even look at what I was shooting. It was fun. Then there was the great surprise of picking up the prints at the drugstore and seeing exactly what I had done.
Lately, I had been getting caught up having the latest and greatest equipment. I’d lug around ten pounds worth of camera equipment to take a snapshot of my dog. It would take ten minutes or more to get everything just right. Frankly, it was getting to be a bit much. I had forgotten why I was interested in photography in the first place: the beauty of good photographs, the simplicity of the cameras and the joy of taking pictures.
At its most basic, a camera is a black box with a hole in it. The very first cameras (or camera-obscura) have been around for hundreds of years. The lenses help to make the pictures sharper, among other things, but they are not critical to a cameras most basic function - to produce an image. The film is really just a recording device like videotape or a compact disc. I had to remind myself.
I told myself that I would try to find the most basic camera I could, so that I could get back to taking the fun sort of pictures that got me interested in taking pictures in the first place. At the same time I wanted to try something different. I found a camera for $20. It isn’t like other point and shoot cameras but it does have the “basic” requirement in spades. The price was right, but what about the camera?
I picked up something called an Action Sampler. It’s very similar in size and shape and feel to a disposable camera, the kind you’d find in a tourist trap. It does have its faults, but for $20, what should you expect? The biggest problem I have with this camera is something that others might consider it part of its charm. The body is made of clear plastic, meaning that there are light leaks. Ironically, the camera has to be used outdoors in bright sunlight for any decent results – so there are light leaks galore. You get what you pay for.
By far the best and most interesting feature of the Action Sampler is that it has four lenses. The shutter rotates around the four lenses taking four separate pictures a fraction of a second apart. When the prints are developed, there are four separate pictures on every print. No special processing is required. The four shots are caught in a sequence, so it’s great for catching action, hence the name.
The “viewfinder” on it, if you can call it that, is a red plastic square mounted to the top of the camera. I never even used the thing. I just pointed the camera at something that was moving and clicked away. You can spin and shoot. Click the button and run, click and throw, anything. A roll of professional film and developing can cost as much as the camera did, so why not experiment? Just have fun.
The Action Sampler is a fun, lightweight little point and shoot camera that’s easy enough for kids to use. The fun thing about it is that each shot is a surprise. Some will have light leaks. Some will miss the action entirely. Some might not turn out at all. You just never know what you are going to get. For me it was a breath of fresh air. It’s something I can fit in my pocket and take anywhere. I can shoot anything, anywhere, at any time. Just like when I was a kid. Imagine that, freedom for the bargain-basement price of twenty dollars.
I missed the days when I would just pull out the camera and push a button. The days spent as a kid when I would effortlessly shoot anything and anyone. Sometimes I wouldn’t even look at what I was shooting. It was fun. Then there was the great surprise of picking up the prints at the drugstore and seeing exactly what I had done.
Lately, I had been getting caught up having the latest and greatest equipment. I’d lug around ten pounds worth of camera equipment to take a snapshot of my dog. It would take ten minutes or more to get everything just right. Frankly, it was getting to be a bit much. I had forgotten why I was interested in photography in the first place: the beauty of good photographs, the simplicity of the cameras and the joy of taking pictures.
At its most basic, a camera is a black box with a hole in it. The very first cameras (or camera-obscura) have been around for hundreds of years. The lenses help to make the pictures sharper, among other things, but they are not critical to a cameras most basic function - to produce an image. The film is really just a recording device like videotape or a compact disc. I had to remind myself.
I told myself that I would try to find the most basic camera I could, so that I could get back to taking the fun sort of pictures that got me interested in taking pictures in the first place. At the same time I wanted to try something different. I found a camera for $20. It isn’t like other point and shoot cameras but it does have the “basic” requirement in spades. The price was right, but what about the camera?
I picked up something called an Action Sampler. It’s very similar in size and shape and feel to a disposable camera, the kind you’d find in a tourist trap. It does have its faults, but for $20, what should you expect? The biggest problem I have with this camera is something that others might consider it part of its charm. The body is made of clear plastic, meaning that there are light leaks. Ironically, the camera has to be used outdoors in bright sunlight for any decent results – so there are light leaks galore. You get what you pay for.
By far the best and most interesting feature of the Action Sampler is that it has four lenses. The shutter rotates around the four lenses taking four separate pictures a fraction of a second apart. When the prints are developed, there are four separate pictures on every print. No special processing is required. The four shots are caught in a sequence, so it’s great for catching action, hence the name.
The “viewfinder” on it, if you can call it that, is a red plastic square mounted to the top of the camera. I never even used the thing. I just pointed the camera at something that was moving and clicked away. You can spin and shoot. Click the button and run, click and throw, anything. A roll of professional film and developing can cost as much as the camera did, so why not experiment? Just have fun.
The Action Sampler is a fun, lightweight little point and shoot camera that’s easy enough for kids to use. The fun thing about it is that each shot is a surprise. Some will have light leaks. Some will miss the action entirely. Some might not turn out at all. You just never know what you are going to get. For me it was a breath of fresh air. It’s something I can fit in my pocket and take anywhere. I can shoot anything, anywhere, at any time. Just like when I was a kid. Imagine that, freedom for the bargain-basement price of twenty dollars.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Make Your Own Family Calendar
For the last few years I have been going online to Shutterfly to make a family calendar. Each calendar has what I consider to the the best pictures from the prior year.
Within our family, these calendars have become highly sought after. At christmas, they are a huge hit with the grandparents. Even better, I (dad) get huge points with mom. Heaven knows, I have to get these points when I can, cause I'm sure to need them later.
Anyway...
Making these calendars is a snap. Shutterfly makes it easy to upload photos to albums. For me, given that I regularly submit photos to shutterfly to print out and send to me on photo quality paper (sure as heck beats doing it yourself), this is that much easier, as it simply involved browsing among and selecting from the albums I have already submitted.
Regardless, it is still easy, as you can quickly and simply upload any photos to any album folder you create at Shutterfly, and then work from there.
Take my word for it. You'll be a huge hit.
Within our family, these calendars have become highly sought after. At christmas, they are a huge hit with the grandparents. Even better, I (dad) get huge points with mom. Heaven knows, I have to get these points when I can, cause I'm sure to need them later.
Anyway...
Making these calendars is a snap. Shutterfly makes it easy to upload photos to albums. For me, given that I regularly submit photos to shutterfly to print out and send to me on photo quality paper (sure as heck beats doing it yourself), this is that much easier, as it simply involved browsing among and selecting from the albums I have already submitted.
Regardless, it is still easy, as you can quickly and simply upload any photos to any album folder you create at Shutterfly, and then work from there.
Take my word for it. You'll be a huge hit.
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