Author: Joe Wilcox

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 9, 20157:13 am

Flickr a Day 160: ‘Every Little Piece of My Heart’

I came across the photostream of Lotus Carroll about a month ago. There was never a doubt that she would be featured but more question: “Which piece of art?” For weeks, I kept her Flickr open in a browser tab as reminder. Had intellect triumphed over intuition—post immediately rather than wait—I would have missed delightful self-titled “Every Little Piece of My Heart”, which she shot on May 18, 2015.

Lotus used Canon EOS 5D Mark III and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (gotta love Canon L) to capture today’s selection. Vitals: f/4, ISO 640, 1/200 sec, 88 mm. You might think she performed some Photoshop montage magic, but this is a clever natural shot—a backdoor selfie with focus on her eight year-old. The self-title punctuates meaning. Visual storytelling is rarely this good…unless it’s another pic from her fabulous Flickr.

Music by Joe WilcoxJun 8, 20157:44 pm

Tidal fixes Android App Bug

On June 3rd, music streaming service Tidal updated its Android aop, which in my extensive testing over the weekend resolves a catastrophic bug that skips songs. The previous version jumped tracks before they finished playing on my Nexus 6 or 9. Last week, the lossless listening provider acknowledged the problem. The fix is in, and I am satisfied.

Tidal delivers HiFi streaming—1411kbps Free Lossless Audio Codec—at the premium price of $19.99 per month. For a music streaming charging more, about double other paid service competitors, the glitch was inexcusable. I first reported the erratic behavior nearly a month ago.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 8, 20157:27 am

Flickr a Day 159: ‘Fruit Stand around Gulou’

Although self-titled “Tiger the Dog” appealed to be selected, cuteness could not prevail over composition and color. “Fruit Stand around Gulou” takes the Day, also for lighting and being interesting. Jens Schott Knudsen captured the moment on Nov. 8, 2014, using the Sony Alpha ILCE-7R, a magnificent full-frame mirrorless compact that is primped for street photography. Vitals: ISO 1600, 1/160 sec. He may have used a manual lens, which would explain why f-stop and focal length were not measured.

Jens lives Beijing, China, which is where he captured today’s selection, but he is from Haderslev, Denmark. For a real treat, and to get some insight about his photographic heritage, click through to his November 2013 blog post “50 years Ago“.

News Media by Joe WilcoxJun 7, 201511:30 pm

Responsible Reporting Section 2 ‘The New Journalisms’: Chapter III

It must be Sunday, because here I write another introduction to a chapter from my ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers. Section 2 introduces five journalisms—contextual and process were presented the previous two weeks. Next up, conversational journalism applies community concepts from local newspapers to the expansive Internet audience, which is actively engaged wherever and on whatever device it may be.

Please also read the other excerpts: Foreward and from Section 1, Chapters, I and II, III and IV, V and VI to grasp the logical flow. Reminder: The book releases into the public domain soon after the serialization completes.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 7, 20159:00 pm

Apple Harvests its Logo

If Apple’s streaming music service launches tomorrow at WWDC and is branded with the company’s name/logo, look for broad naming changes ahead. My guess, and it’s only that: the lower-case letter before products like iMac or iPhone will disappear; over time. Under CEO Tim Cook, the branding strategy differs from Steve Jobs. That’s sensible considering where the company is today compared to 1998 when the cofounder introduced iMac.

Apple Watch foreshadows the new nomenclature. Contrary to months of iWatch rumors before launch, the device is identified by sound as Apple Watch, but what you see is the company’s logo, which is one of the most recognizable brand icons ever created. If Apple Music turns out to be more than just streaming, but the replacement for or displacement of iTunes, consider that as sign of future naming conventions to come. If I am mistaken—well, Apple should do what I predict.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 7, 20157:23 am

Flickr a Day 158: ‘Rugby in Olimpico Stadium, Rome’

Picturesque best describes the photographic style of Antonio Cinotti. Perhaps this explains why: “I am very lucky to live in a natural paradise”, he says—”40 Years from Siena, Tuscany, Italy”. He loves “Crete Senesi, Valdorcia, […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 6, 20156:19 pm

Caturday Siesta

Neko and Cali snooze on my daughter’s bed. What better place to be for Saturday slumber? I shot the photo using Fujifilm X100T and editing using Google Photos. Conceded, I worked from a JPEG rather than […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 6, 20157:28 am

Flickr a Day 157: ‘Lost’

Three words describe the photography of Roland C. Vogt. Stark. Somber. Sad. Colors and hue evoke how I often imagined Eastern Europe looked like before the Wall fell in Germany, where he is from (Freiburg […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 5, 20156:45 am

Flickr a Day 156: ‘Street Lads’

Some pics jump from the photostream and demand to be chosen, as is the case with today’s selection. Simon Evans shot self-titled “Street Lads” on Sept. 20, 2014—around the time that he started blogging—using Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon XF 27mm F2.8 lens. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 800, 1/450 sec, 27mm.

The pancake lens makes the Fuji mirrorless camera a relatively smaller shooter—well, compared to bulky dSLRs—while offering dramatic benefits of hybrid optical and digital viewfinder. Motion more typically describes Simon’s street shots. The Day Maker is rare exception. “This is what happens when you give in and ‘spare a bit of change'”, he jokes.

Events by Joe WilcoxJun 4, 201512:42 pm

Coachella 2016 Presales Success

My daughter can attend Coachella for the third time, but Weekend Two. I snagged Weekend One tickets for this year and last but not next. Pass presales for the 2016 music festival commenced at 11 AM PDT today. The advantage of buying now is making monthly payments rather than one sum up front.

Timing and luck make the difference securing any pass, particularly the earlier (April 15-17). Last round, I got in three minutes before official start time. Ironically, or not, at 10:57 the Coachella app on my Nexus 6 popped up a notification that sales had started. But every time I clicked the purchase button for Weekend One, Coachella redirected to the sales start at 11 page.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 4, 20156:58 am

Flickr a Day 155: ‘Still Life–Shoes’

Some of the best photography, and post-processing around it, illuminates the everyday—that which we see but don’t necessarily regard with perspective. The P word also is essential to getting the shot that matters. At events, […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 4, 201512:15 am

Apple’s Moral Marketing Charade

Nine years ago, a NPR interviewer asked me about Google and other U.S. companies censoring search results in China. The question was one of morality—to which I gave an answer she didn’t expect. That response, or my recollection of it, is appropriate for rather ridiculous and self-serving statements that Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly made three days ago.

“We believe that people have a fundamental right to privacy”, Tim Cook said, Matthew Panzarino reports for TechCrunch. “The American people demand it, the constitution demands it, morality demands it”. Oh? What is moral? The answer I gave NPR in 2006 applies: There is no moral high ground in business. The high ground is quagmire, because all public companies—Apple surely among them—share a single, moral objective: Make profits for stockholders. Plain, pure, and simple.