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Showing posts from 2014

Holidays++

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shot with Nikon D5300

Script to Automate Backup of Memory Cards on Windows

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@ECHO OFF SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION REM All cards to copy from. List them all, separated by space REM on my system, SD Card is E: REM on my system, CF Card is G: REM and I back up both of them SET BACKUP_FROM_CARDS=E: G: REM All drives to backup to. List them all, separated by space SET BACKUP_TO_DRIVES=I: REM Since I shoot JPG and NEF, I backup both (yeah, I know, it is crazy!) REM All file types to backup from the card/s to drive/s. List them all, separated by space SET FILE_TYPES=jpg nef REM separator between year, month, and date (also used between hour, minutes, and seconds) REM if not modified, directory files will be copied into will be appended with yyyymmdd_hhmmss SET SEPARATOR= REM set it to 0 if you do not want to shutdown Windows after backup is successfully completed SET /A SHUTDOWN_ON_SUCCESS=1 REM 60 seconds after backup is completed, system will be shutdown if SHUTDOWN_ON_SUCCESS=1 above SET /A SHUTDOWN_AFTER_SECONDS=60 REM ======

Digital Camera Memory Card Backup System With Inexpensive Windows Tablet

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shot with a Panasonic Lumix point & shoot with its built-in flash triggering an off-camera Yongnuo flash . A backup system based on an inexpensive 7" Windows tablet to automatically copy images on memory card in a digital camera to one or more hard disks. Seen in this picture: HP Stream 7" tablet running Windows 8.1 HooToo UH-003 USB Hub (w/ a USB charging port) 2 x WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 portable drives Nikon D5300 DLSR (To reduce clutter, USB cables to connect various pieces are not shown. So is the power cable to power the USB hub.) Although these hard disks support faster USB 3.0, this Windows tablet only supports slower USB 2.0 but gets the job done. If one has access to laptop computer, this backup solution should be avoided or adapted for laptop. More about my script to automate backup of memory cards here I use this lighter tablet when I do not carry my laptop on trips. I haven't been able to get my iOS devices to do this type of backup.

Nikon D5200 at Sunset

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shot with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED AF-S on Nikon D5200

Photography Books on my Bookshelf

My Photography Books: Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 While I like all books in the above set, this is my favorite: The Digital Photography Book: Part 1 The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott kelby The Adobe Photoshop CS6 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott kelby Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers Using Photoshop by Scott kelby Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image by Scott kelby Photoshop for Lightroom Users by Scott kelby Focus on Lighting Photos by Fil Hunter and Robin Reid Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting by by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fuqua Photographing Shadow and Light: Inside the Dramatic Lighting Techniques and Creative Vision of Portrait Photographer Joey L by Joey L Kevin Kubota's Lighting Notebook by Kevin Kubota William Christenberry by Franç

Visiting Death Valley? Five Locations to Consider Photographing

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shot with Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S on Nikon 1 J1 fitted with Nikon FT-1 F-Mount Adapter Death Valley is an amazing place to visit but not all of us have the time/means to take in everything this incredible landscape has to offer. Even if one gets a chance to wander around here for only few days, one should feel blessed. Just like all National Parks, Death Valley has its share of iconic landmarks that most landscape photographers try to have pictures of in their portfolios. Each of the following (except the last one) is a short distance from Furnace Creek: Zabriskie Point (sunrise) Artist's Palette (sunset) Salt flats at Badwater (sunrise) Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes (sunrise/sunset) The Racetrack (sunrise/sunset) The Racetrack is about 70 miles from Furnace Creek. The last 25 miles takes two hours or more of (cautious, slow) driving on a dirt road. Although a high clearance vehicle is recommended, do not let that stop you from going there if all you have is a car (as l

What Camera Should I Buy?

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shot with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED AF-S on Nikon D200 with multiple off-camera Yongnuo 560 ii and Yongnuo 560 flashes triggered by Yongnuo RF-603 N1 Transceiver s. I've been asked " What camera should I buy? " so many times, I decided to post my answer here. Warning: If you're expecting a specific answer to this question, I am sure you will be disappointed. Please feel free to click away. My answer is a bunch questions that will, I hope, put you on a path to informed decision. (I am assuming you're looking at getting a digital camera, not a film camera.) If you have a phone camera, isn't it helping make images you're trying to make? What do you find lacking in your phone camera? Is this going to be your first digital camera? Or, an upgrade from your current one? If an upgrade, what is lacking in the camera you already have that is preventing you from making images you wish to make with it? How important is compactness ? (Notice I did not use po

My Pi

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shot with Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S on Nikon D200 with an off-camera Yongnuo 560 ii triggered by D200's pop-up flash dialed all the way down I know I'm dating myself here when I say I still remember my first PC with these specifications: Windows 95 running on an Intel Pentium 100MHz processor with 32MB RAM, max RAM upgrade possible on the motherboard. Had a whopping 2GB hard disk and a 17" monitor. I think it had a (fast!) 28.8 kbps modem to connect to the internet through some dial-up service. The whole thing cost more than $2000. How technology has improved and costs have dropped! The little toy computer I recently put together is more capable, much smaller, yet cost only a small fraction: Raspberry Pi Model B Raspberry PI 5MP Camera Board Module Samsung MicroSDHC 32GB Class 10 Plus UHS-I Memory Card : An 8GB card was working perfectly fine. Updated to 32 GB card when I upgraded this computer system with the camera board module. Tontec New Raspberry Pi Boar