Waiting for the Baby ...

A girl and a boy hugging and kissing their mothers belly in anticipation of the sibling that is inside.

Rant: October 2008 Mac Book [Pro] Screen and Keyboard

Usually, I buy at least one Mac per year. Since my Mac Book Pro is about two years old, I was keen to upgrade to the new model. However, I will not be buying this generation (October 2008) of Mac Book Pro (or Mac Book, for that matter) for two simple reasons:

1. The glossy display is hard to see under the best of conditions. With only moderate levels of ambient light it turns into a mirror reflecting all kinds of things instead of showing what I want to see on screen. There is also the problem that glossy screens are much worse in a color calibrated environment due to color shifts with the viewing angle. Unfortunately, there is no option to select a non-glossy screen.

2. The keyboard is a piece of junk. Sorry for the blunt words, but fast touch typing is simply not possible on what feels like the cheapest and nastiest keyboard I have touched in years. A $5 keyboard bought at the supermarket is better than this.

So for my two most important applications, digital photo editing and typing text, the new Mac Book Pro is much worse than what I currently have, so I will refrain from updating and Apple looses the sale.

I hope that despite the strong words about the keyboard Apple take this as positive criticism and - perhaps - improve their product. I really would like to buy a new Mac Book Pro once I can justify the purchase. ;-)

Book Review: Mastering Landscape Photography

There are a few contemporary photographers who's work I find truly inspiring. Alain Briot is one of them. I know many of the places he photographs and his pictures capture their essence. I wish that I could transform what I see into a picture like he does.

So I was quite excited when I saw that Alain Briot has authored a book on his way of photographing landscapes.

Book Review: face to face

Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Photographing People is just that: a comprehensive, in-depth look at how Rick Sammon takes pictures of human beings on his travels.

Rick starts by explaining that the camera looks both ways, which means that there is always an emotional connection (or lack thereof) between the photographer and his or her subject. This connection is at least as important as the technical aspects of taking the photo, since it determines the content. I believe that it is far too common for photographers to become far too focused on the technical aspects of photography instead of the content, so I like being reminded of this simple fact.

Mountains and Contrails

While in the mountains last weekend, I could not help but notice the white contrails of airplanes in the crystal clear blue sky.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Mountains and Contrails"][/caption]

Ice Crystals

Snow had recently fallen in the mountains, probably no more than two days ago. On the north side, just below the summit, no sunlight had yet reached the freshly fallen snow, so no melting had occurred yet.

Close to the ground the snow crystals on the pines created a wonderfully sculpted landscape.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Snow Crystals V"][/caption]

The blue tinge is caused by ice filtering light as it passes through or is reflected. I decided not to correct it because I quite like the effect.

Alpine Panorama

Last weekend I spent some time in the mountains. The weather was unusually perfect for this time of the year: clear blue sky, sunshine, a slight breeze. I really should have brought my DSLR, but I was too lazy to carry so much weight, so the G9 was my tool of choice.

Image quality is a compromise, of course, but more than good enough for web use or up to medium print size. Sometimes, it is better to have a good time than to get the ultimate in image quality. ;-)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Alpine Panorama XV"][/caption]