Digital Innovations

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Joe Farace  |  Feb 01, 2008  | 

"There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don't."
--Robert Benchley

After asking what digital point-and-shoot camera I use people are often surprised when I tell them it's a Canon PowerShot S500 Digital ELPH. "Isn't that obsolete?" is usually...

Joe Farace  |  Jan 01, 2008  | 

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat."--Lily Tomlin

The American Customer Satisfaction Index conducted by the University of Michigan showed consumers rated their satisfaction with their computer's maker 3 percent worse than last year. Apple leads in terms of product satisfaction but its overall ranking...

Joe Farace  |  Dec 01, 2007  | 

"A good conscience is a continual Christmas."--Benjamin Franklin

Submitted for your approval: A list of gizmos, gadgets, and gear for the digitally-minded who thought they had everything but didn't know that they really needed lots more stuff in order to capture, enhance, or store the ultimate image. Use this month's column as a shopping list for...

Joe Farace  |  Nov 01, 2007  | 

"I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor's office was full of portraits by Picasso."--Rita Rudner

I n more than 50 years of making images, I've never photographed a resolution chart. I have always judged a lens or camera's performance by how much I liked using it and how the photographs looked. I care about how...

Joe Farace  |  Oct 01, 2007  | 

"Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time."--Charles M. Schulz

On October 2, 1950, the first Peanuts comic strip appeared in a daily newspaper. Coincidently, October 2nd is also my wife Mary's birthday, although she's a bit younger than Snoopy and the gang. As a lifelong Peanuts fan, it's kinda fitting that...

Joe Farace  |  Sep 01, 2007  | 

"No problem is so formidable that you can't walk away from it." --Charles M. Schulz

After recently acquiring a Canon EOS Rebel XTi, I was able to retire (thanks, Gary) the EOS D60 I've been using for digital infrared photography and start using a camera with a 2.5" LCD screen that delivers 10.1-megapixel resolution. To convert the...

Joe Farace  |  Aug 01, 2007  | 

"A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?"--Ernst Haas

Power tools are small bits of software, be they Photoshop compatible plug-ins, Photoshop Actions, or software utilities that can make a digital photographer's life a little easier for creating practical or special effects. Much...

Joe Farace  |  Jun 01, 2007  | 

"...for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill." --J. R. R. Tolkien

People often ask me, "What digital camera should I buy?" They then typically ignore my advice after I answer them. A person, let's call him Steve, asks me which of two cameras to purchase. Based on his needs, I suggest...

Joe Farace  |  May 01, 2007  | 

"There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis."--Malcolm Gladwell

The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize in mathematics (www.improb.com /ig/ig-pastwinners.html) was awarded to Dr. Piers Barnes and Ms. Nic Svenson of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific...

Joe Farace  |  Apr 01, 2007  | 

"Life is like a 10-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use."--Charles M. Schultz

Retouching Tools
One of the biggest challenges facing aspiring portrait photographers is retouching. Few of us are perfect. In fact, Cindy Crawford once said, "Even I don't look like Cindy Crawford when I get up in the morning!"...

Joe Farace  |  Mar 01, 2007  | 

"You haven't even touched your food."--Inga in Young Frankenstein

According to Metrocurean (http://amandamc.blogspot.com), a blog aimed at epicureans in the Nation's Capitol, it is OK to play with your food but taking pictures of it in restaurants is verboten. The story (posted in the...

Joe Farace  |  Feb 01, 2007  | 

"No good deed goes unpunished."--Clare Boothe Luce

Editor & Publisher recently reported that Charlotte Observer Editor Rick Thames apologized to readers when a staff photographer "inappropriately altered" an image of a local firefighter. The original photograph had a brownish-gray sky, while the enhanced image featured a deep red sky and a...

Joe Farace  |  Jan 01, 2007  | 

Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in the world that just don't add up. --James Magary

I 've been working with all kinds of computers since 1964. When I purchased my first personal computer in '80 people asked, "What do you need a computer for?" That seems like a funny question today, doesn't it?

Joe Farace  |  Dec 01, 2006  | 

"A turkey never voted for an early Christmas."--Old Irish Proverb

It's time again to write my annual "stocking stuffers" column in which I collect a list of goodies that make perfect holiday presents for your favorite digital photographer. The ideal stocking stuffers are inexpensive, useful, and small enough to fit inside a sock...

Joe Farace  |  Nov 01, 2006  | 

"He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it."--Douglas Adams

In the April 2006 issue of Shutterbug I recounted a story about methods used to rescue image files from a corrupted memory card. In response I received a couple of useful suggestions from readers: The first was from...

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