If not for the Nike, this photo could easily be the 1940s rather than the 2010s. Look at the woman’s outfit to the left and those sunglasses on the lass to the right. This ambiance […]
What I Don’t Like About Apple Watch
About two weeks ago, I shared how Apple Watch tickles my fancy. From likes, we go to dislikes, and keeping with the other I purposely limit the number to five. Quick recap: I bought the aluminum model on June 18, 2015 from the local Apple Store. Seven days later, I exchanged for the stainless steel variant. Except to charge or to shower, I’ve worn it constantly since.
Broadly, my feelings about the smartwatch are mixed. The delivered benefits are excellent, but they aren’t enough to justify the lofty price. If not for using MacBook Pro and iPhone 6 Plus this summer, Android Wear and iOS incompatibilities, or the promise of watchOS 2 coming early autumn, I would not have purchased the device. I’m not dissatisfied with Apple Watch, but want more from it. As I explained on July 18, the measure of success or failure isn’t sales but returns. I kept mine. How many early buyers didn’t?
Flickr a Day 216: Ghoulish
I look at the photostream of Matthias Lueger and think “horror movie stills”. The pics are so damn evocative, and they capture a mood don’t they? Hehe. Our selection purposely contrasts yesterday’s pretty portrait. There’s […]
Flickr a Day 215: ‘Do You Know What a Model Test Is?’
The question that Alba Soler poses, but more importantly answers, matters to anyone interested in fashion photography. A brand ambassador for Profoto, the fashion and advertising photographer works from London and Spain.
She posted self-titled “Do You Know What a Model Test Is?” to Flickr on Jan. 8, 2014, stripping out camera info from the EXIF. She uploaded the portrait to two different accounts—one associated with her “The Thinking Hat” website. That one is All Rights Reserved. The other version, which I selected, is Creative Commons. Hehe, she has yet a third Flickr, too.
Responsible Reporting Section 3 ‘What You Must Do’: Chapter III
The next several chapters of my ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers are among the most important for reporting responsibly, ethically, and without conflicts of interest. The themes are recurrent on my website, and any regular readers should immediately recognize them.
Today’s installment explains the importance of audience trust, and builds from previous chapters, particularly I and II from the same section. But to best follow the logical flow, you should start at the beginning: Foreward; Section 1, Chapters I and II, III and IV, V and VI; Section 2, Chapters I, II, III, IV, and V.
Flickr a Day 214: ‘Happy Birthday’
We pause from the recent run of black and whites—but not yesterday’s colorful Cecil the lion—to calmly celebrate. Today, my daughter turns 21, as did Scott Ackerman when he shot this photo on Jan. 23, 2011, using the Pentax K-x. Vitals: f/4.5, ISO 3200, 1/50 sec, 42.5mm.
Scott expresses something my daughter does: “I’m mainly celebrating this birthday because I can now go out to bars with friends and not have to worry about being carded even though I don’t drink alcohol”. I worry she will imbibe. Scott joined Flickr in June 2008. You also can find him on Tumblr and Twitter.
Flickr a Day 213: ‘Cecil’
There are few events to take the Internet’s attention hostage like this week’s outrage over the death of a 13 year-old Zimbabwean lion. Vince O’Sullivan photographed the proud animal one year ago today—Aug. 1, 2014. He updated the caption to add context better coming from him than me.
“This is, of course, ‘Cecil’—the lion famously shot and wounded by crossbow fired by American dentist Walter Palmer in July 2015 and then shot, killed, skinned, and beheaded for trophies two days later”, Vince explains. “Living in a nature reserve, Cecil was completely inured to people in vehicles that didn’t interfere with him or his prey. So approaching him closely was never difficult, a daily occurrence for him and something he paid no attention to”.
When the Crowd Roars
The Internet backlash against dentist Walter Palmer for killing Cecil the lion is one of the best examples of mob journalism ever. The narrative spreading across the InterWebs is some ways well-meaning but in many more is destructive. Meanwhile, the force of collective-will tempts too many journalists to join the mob opinion, when they should stand aside and offer objective and responsible reporting.
Before writing another word, I must praise National Geographic for the best reporting about this event. The magazine offers broader perspective and, more importantly, puts big game hunting into larger context, while taking an objective tone. The raging mob’s perspective is myopic, and news sites supporting it fail the public good.
Flickr a Day 212: ‘Old Man and His Sheep’
July ends with a local photographer, here in sunny San Diego. Paul Sapiano takes the Day for a poignant photo from the petting zoo. “I found it quite touching that some comfort was being provided […]
This is How the Economist Looks on My iPad Air 2
Do you see anything missing? Nothing essential other than most of the content per page. At times like these my paranoia meter rises and I resist, often with difficulty, giving in to conspiracy theories.
This problem started with installation of iOS 9 Beta (second now). The operating system makes changes to the Newsstand, which future role is questionable. Apple is prepping a new Flipboard-like News app and content deals with it. I always wonder who exerts pressure on whom during the licensing negotiations process.
Shopping for a Windows 10 PC
My brother-in-law’s Dell laptop, so old it shipped with, and still had, 1GB RAM, died last week. He emailed asking my buying advice about a Windows 7 replacement. Reasoning: He would move up from XP. But his dad stepped in, offered to pay, and I, acting as agent (being the more knowledgable about computers), suggested $400 budget. By coincidence, shopping day coincided with Windows 10’s launch.
Timing couldn’t be better, with the rush of new 10s, discounts to clear out old inventory, and typical back-to-school season sales. I expected to grab good gear. Choosing for my brother-in-law is quite different than for myself. I prefer something smaller and lighter, with high-resolution screen. He wanted a larger screen (we agreed on 15.6 inches), full-size keyboard, DVD player, and WiFi. Meaning: Roomy and backward-compatible with what he has already. I confidently looked for something within budget.
Flickr a Day 211: ‘NYPD’
Candid street portraits rarely capture as much character—eh, from cops—as today’s selection, which Brett Sayer captured on April 22, 2013, using Nikon D7000 and 50mm f/1.8 lens. Vitals: f/2, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 50mm. The […]