To those who have been avidly following Photosynth, this isn’t a surprise. But to those who have initially glossed over this technology or didn’t hear about it at all, watch this video of Microsoft Live Labs Architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas demonstrating an early version of Photosynth in May 2007.
Photosynth analyzes a group of digital photos and combines them into an interactive 3D model. The demo above uses images taken from flickr, though you can create a model with just your own photographs, too. This technology was released to the public in August 2008, though unfortunately (but predictably) only to PC users. Microsoft claims that Mac access is currently under develepment. This powerful technology is definitely worth following!
As a freelancer, or anyone who has side projects knows, promoting yourself and your work is one of the most important aspects to exciting and sustaining work. Check out Spoonfed Design’s list of 15 websites to promote yourself. Not bad, and reminds myself that I need to update all my portfolios.
Posted by Kyle Wiebalk on Oct 27, 2008 in photography
Read this interview by dpreview.com with one of Canon’s highest ranking executives at Photokina 2008 to find out what direction they may be going in the future. Good stuff that we don’t normally have access to: everything from Powershot to EOS 5D Mark II to the quality of their lenses.
If you haven’t read The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, then stop now and read it. It will change the way you do business and approach your own time management, among many other benefits. It has helped me correct many productivity-sucking habits that formed seemingly on their own.
Too many to explore in one blog post (that’s why you read the whole book), writetodone recently posted an interview with the creator of this concept, Timothy Ferriss. Speaking about just a taste of his lifestyle design “guides,” although they apply to more traditional publishing there, they can be applied to any product–or yourself–that you’d like to promote. His viral/social marketing approach is equally applicable to those promoting their own work like photography and filmmaking, but also to anyone needing a career refreshment.
I’ve been recently exploring Adobe Lightroom 2 after working exclusively in Adobe Photoshop since I started using version 7 back in 2002. For those of you wondering what the differences (and similarities) are, check out NAPP Photoshop User’s extensive resources here:
Here is the movie Reverie, by Vincent Laforet, the Pulitzer prize winning photographer. It was created with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which many of you know by now as Canon’s latest digital SLR camera. The crazy part of this project is that the footage looks much better than most other cameras in the semi-pro price range, and this isn’t even a video camera! The sharpness, focus, and color are all excellent (especially since this is the RAW footage, it hasn’t even been through DI yet).
Learn more about Vincent Laforet and see his photographs by reading this interview by Canon. Be sure to read more about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera here at DP Review. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of this camera and its footage in the very near future.
Posted by Kyle Wiebalk on Oct 15, 2008 in products
Yes, we’ve all heard: the Apple event announcing several new laptop product refreshes is now over: skim the video of the 2008 MacBook announcements here.
The whole point to my following these developments was to research replacing my aging Dell laptop with a more suitable alternative that actually works when I need it.
Posted by Kyle Wiebalk on Oct 13, 2008 in products
I would love a new MacBook Pro. Yeah, along with everyone else over here in the Los Angeles media industry, or anyone else that just wants to use a computer rather than spend 30% of your time maintaining it.
My 6-year old Dell laptop just doesn’t cut it anymore. It takes well over four minutes just to boot up, not to mention asking it to do anything more. Forget about Photoshop, let alone any editing. Since college, more and more of my co-workers and colleagues have been using Macs. The best part is that I’m already familiar with Mac OSX since I’ve been using it on and off for the past decade, mostly on Final Cut Pro.
It’s been awhile since the last MacBook update, and its initial product release back in November 2002. Reading articles like this Computerworld review speculates what the new product might feature, and it all sounds way better than my old Dell laptop. There’s even speculation of a new dock for Apple laptops that make it easy to quickly move between work and home, which is exactly what I’ll be needing.
So I’ll be watching the special event this Tuesday (10/14) to check it out and seriously consider buying one to go with a new job.
Modifying desktops makes for a more efficient digital space, and more productive workflow. This can range from picking a pleasing background image, to keeping your desktop icon-free, or even adding useful widgets.
, then stop now and read it. It will change the way you do business and approach your own time management, among many other benefits. It has helped me correct many productivity-sucking habits that formed seemingly on their own.
after working exclusively in 
since I started using version 7 back in 2002. For those of you wondering what the differences (and similarities) are, check out 
since I’ve been using it on and off for the past decade, mostly on Final Cut Pro.
