The magic hole maker

>> Wednesday 31 January 2007

050416-196-9695(Perhaps I need to point this out - this head line is actually a "subtle" reference to a very funny sketch done by some famous Swedish comedians in the 1970s... That's the way it is, no one ever understands my jokes unless I explain them...)

Drill used to make holes in the hard and stony ground to make it possible to plant new vines. Vincent Paris, Cornas, Ardeche, Ardèche, France, Europe.

At Domaine Vincent Paris in Cornas, a young and very ambitous new producer in this up and coming district in the nortehrn Rhone valley.

Do you have picture needs?
Currently scheduled visits: Languedoc, Bordeaux, Chablis, Sancerre, Loire...
Let us know if you have any specific photo requests.

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How not to do marketing - Or, Victor by Hasselblad

Just received a flyer promoting a new magazine called Victor by Hasselblad, that will be published by Hasselblad for professional photographers. It contained so many what-not-to-do:s-in-a-marketing-campaign that it was quite amusing. The leaflet promised a free copy of the first issue of Vicotr to the first 500 people who registered on their site. Here are some of the brilliant mistakes done by the Hasselblad (?) marketing people:

- To register you have to enter a 38 character long URL. Have they never heard of automatic redirects or short and simple urls?

- To get my free copy I actually has to register for a paying subscription. What a brilliant deal! I pai for my subscription first and then the give me one free issue. Only, it actually turned out theat this paying subscription that I had to register for was actually a single issue subscription and it was free. Talk about confusing messages! How many people do you think just left the site when they say that they had to register for a paying subscription first...??


- To get my free issue I had to type in an offer code, a code that was more complex than a Microsoft license code... 36 characters long. What on earth is the point of this? Are they out of their minds? Or perhaps it's just a ploy. Perhaps just any code works? Here's my code: 9567c049-4f95-4c18-850b-749f7c5759b. (Well, actually it's not. I left out one character, just so as not to annoy the Hasselblad people too much)

- To register you have to go through a short (good) survey. One question: How much do you spend on equipment per year? And they did not have the option "decline to answer". I personally don't like telling unkown people about my finances. Do you?

- The web site seems to use a font type that does not manage to disply correctly French accented characters... (Admittedly, this may, just may be an issue with the browser, but I think not.)

Perehaps the Hasselblad people should recruite some more customer friendly marketeers.

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Durand-Durand

>> Tuesday 30 January 2007

050416-195-9595A long line of bottles for tasting in the tasting room, Cornas, Saint Joseph, Syrah,... Domaine Eric et Joel Joël Durand, Ardeche, Ardèche, France, Europe

Domaine Eric et Joël Durand, Châteaubourg
The two brothers are based in the southern part of Saint Joseph and also make wine from the neighbouring appellation Cornas. Dense, rich wines is the style ever since the start in the early 1990s when they started bottling their wine themselves.

Do you have picture needs?
Currently scheduled visits: Languedoc, Bordeaux, Chablis, Sancerre, Loire...
Let us know if you have any specific photo requests.

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Yves Cuilleron

>> Monday 29 January 2007

050414-191-9150Yves Cuilleron, owner and winemaker. Tasting a glass of wine. Domaine Yves Cuilleron, Chavanay, Ampuis, Rhone, France, Europe

Do you have picture needs?
Currently scheduled visits: Languedoc, Bordeaux, Chablis, Sancerre, Loire...
Let us know if you have any specific photo requests.

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Domaine du Colombier, Mercurol

040514-110-CRW_1006_JFRFlorent Viale from Domaine du Colombier.

Wines full of character, especially the cuvée préstige Gaby (named after Florent's father). Florent Viale is a master at making Syrah show its character in the wine. Until 1992 the family sold their wines to the 'négoce' but when they thought that Crozes-Hermitage was becoming sufficiently well known on its own they decided to make the wine themselves. So they invested in all necessary wine making equipment and the have never regretted it. Crozes-Hermitage, northern Rhone, France.

Do you have picture needs?
Currently scheduled visits: Languedoc, Bordeaux, Chablis, Sancerre, Loire...
Let us know if you have any specific photo requests.

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Old vine Chenin Blanc

>> Friday 26 January 2007

20030523_1_835_0094A very old vine Chenin Blanc on schist soil at Domaine du Closel, Savennieres, Loire, France

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Trimming the bush - or, getting rid of those suckers

>> Thursday 25 January 2007

20030522_2_596_0068 20030522_2_596_0069The vine grows a lot of leaves. You have to remove the twigs and leaves that are at the base of the vine. This is the same vine as on the previous picture, after having removed the leaves close to the ground - a lot of manual work. Epemprage, removing the pampres, in French. In English it is called 'desuckering', or simply suckering. I guess those little branches must be the suckers then. A Chenin Blanc vine at Domaine du Clos de l'Epinay, Vovray, Loire, France.

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All kinds of visitors

>> Wednesday 24 January 2007

031004-1-k99-27-0010Buy your wine by the litre or by the kilo.

Mas Sainte Berthe, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence. A wine domaine beautifully situated at the foot of the Les Baux-cliff. Today one of the best wine estates in the appellation Les Baux de Provence (previously Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence-les-Baux). They have made great progress based on sound investments wine making facilities in recent years. They also have 4 hectares of olive grooves.

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And the other: Gratien & Meyer

040626-118-1879The "other" big producer of sparkling loire wine, based in Saumur, Gratien & Meyer. The chateau at Gratien & Meyer, originally built as a hunting lodge but now used as offices and for receptions.

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Book Review: The Art of Photoshop CS2 Edition

The Art of Photoshop CS2 Edition
Daniel Giordan
Sams

[Have not yet read it but it has been highly recommended. It is on my "Wanted" list.]

It has been highly recommended: "one for pure pleasure and beauty". It certainly looks very interesting judging from the description. This is what Amazon says about it: "Look over the designer's shoulder while learning advanced Photoshop CS2 techniques with vivid, full-color photography. Inspire your design skills with award winning design and layout for the visual artist. Learn the new tools and techniques of Photoshop CS2. [...] The Art of Photoshop" teaches a process for creative exploration; it teaches people how to make digital art that follows their own sensibility and aesthetics."

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

Read more best book reviews here.

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Sparkling Loire wine from Saumur - Ackerman

>> Tuesday 23 January 2007

040626-118-1808The Ackerman cellars are in an impressive old quarry. Today production has moved to modern facilities but you can still visit the old cellars.

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Book Review: Photographs That Sell and Sell...

Photographs That Sell and Sell...
Roger Antrobus
Collins & Brown

[Have not yet read it but it has been highly recommended. It is on my "Wanted" list.]

This is what Amazon says about it: "Have you ever wondered if it is possible to make money from taking photographs 'on spec.'? Many amateur photographers are capable of producing images of a professional quality but are unsure of how to market them. Even professional photographers who normally work to specific commissions are often uncertain how to market their own work. Photographs That Sell and Sell...tells you exactly how to do this. What are the best images to look for? Do I need prohibitively expensive equipment? How do I assess if my pictures are of a commercial standard? All of these questions, and many more, are answered in clear, jargon-free language including the most important of all, How do I approach an agency and present my work to them? Profusely illustrated with a wide variety of Roger Antrobus's best-selling images, from climbers on a snow-capped mountain to a semi-abstract image of car lights at night, each image is fully captioned with explanations on how it was shot, of why it was taken and the reasons for its commercial success."

Buy this book on Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

More best book reviews here.

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Coulée de Serrant

040626-116-1668Coulée de Serrant, the most famous property in the tiny appellation Savennieres, is owned by Nicolas Joly who is famous for his almost militant position of "biodynamie" (organic growing according to Rudolf Steiner). Coulee means a small valley. Savennieres, Loire, France.

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Domaine Jo Pithon

>> Monday 22 January 2007

040626-119-1943The patch of land in the front was planted in 2000, 10 ares (0.1 hectare), and the rest in 2004. 2.5 hectares planted in total on this newly acquired parcel. (Pithon had to buy 70 distinct pieces of land from 25 different persons to create this 7 hectare plot!). Coteaux du Layon, Anjou, Loire.

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Book Review: Adobe Photoshop Restoration and Retouching

Adobe Photoshop Restoration and Retouching
Katrin Eismann
New Rider

[Have not yet read it but it is on my "Wanted" list.]

This is what Amazon says about it: "Fully updates edition of the No. 1 selling book on using Photoshop for restoring and retouching any photograph..."

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

Read more photography book reviews here.

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Why Choose the Narrow Path when you can Choose the Big Road?

>> Wednesday 17 January 2007

040305-1-k467-0012Emmanuel Floutier of Domaine du Grand Chemin.

Domaine du Grand Chemin, Vin de Pays d'Oc

Domaine du Grand Chemin is a beautifully situated wine property at the foot of the Cevennes. Emmanuel Floutier, the wine maker, continues a 300-year old family tradition of making wine in the small village of Savignargues. Emmanuel is quite happy not being on AOC-wine territory since it gives him more freedom in making the wines the way he wants and choosing the grape varieties he prefers. Such things are much more strictly controlled for AOC wines.

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Grape worm

a0614-212-1209The grape bunches can be attacked by an insect called "ver de grappe" (grape worm, cochylis). It attacks at flowering and can destroy the harvest: you can see a small flower (with the little white things on it) and a grape worm with a black head along the edge of the nail Champagne Francois Seconde, Sillery Grand Cru , Montagne de Reims , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France.

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Book Review: Photos That Sell: The Art of Successful Freelance Photography

Photos That Sell: The Art of Successful Freelance Photography
Lee Frost
David & Charles

This is a book that gives you glimpses and pointers. Lots of interesting stuff and ideas on how to develop your photography business but perhaps not too much depth. Frost shows with some real examples from his own photography what pictures sell - and for how much and how often. He gives a number of such (entertaining) examples. There are also a number of sections called "Expert View" which read almost like interviews with successful photographers. Also very interesting. I find it less interesting with the series of chapters that reads like "one business idea is to take pictures of flowers and try and sell them" (or business situations, or animals, or...). That's perhaps a bit too obvious. And on the side of digital photography and computers it is distinctly dated... But overall it is definitely a book worth reading for some inspiration (and for some nice pictures in it).

This is what Amazon says about it: "Aimed at both full-time freelancers looking for inspiration and part-time photographers wishing to build up a business, this work combines advice on markets and marketing along with photographic tips, techniques, set-ups and compositions."

Buy this book on Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

More best photo book reviews here.

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The other Dom

>> Tuesday 16 January 2007

a0617-220-2009A statue in the courtyard of Dom Ruinart (1657-1709) writing in a book with a bird quill feather pen, who has also given his name to a prestige cuvee "Dom Ruinart". Champagne Ruinart, Reims, Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France.

Well, you knew who the first Dom was, didn't you?

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I'll go down to the cellar and pick up a bottle. I'll be back in two hours.

040923-139-3934Bottles, bottles, bottles. Maybe some 110 million bottles in total at Moet & Chandon in Epernay. The stock represents 5-6 years of sales. Have a party! Epernay, Champagne, Marne, France.

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Software Review: Backup and Storage

With all pictures saved on digital media backup and storage becomes of vital importance for the photographer. Give it a though: How many pictures do you have on, say, a 250GB external drive? Perhaps 13,000 (250GB divided by an average file size of 18MB) How much work do you have invested in that hard drive? Over one year's worth of work perhaps! (Say you spend 10 minutes preparing each picture (for example "developing" it from a raw file to a finished tiff or jpg plus adding keywords): 10 minutes times 13,000 makes 2166 hours. How many hours do you work in a year?...) So you see, it makes sense to make sure you don't loose that information. I have had three external disks fail on me over the last six months (all LaCie Design by Porsche 250GB USB drives by the way. I have since moved to Western Digital). If you don't have a backup of your finished pictures you may well end up loosing a year's worth of work. So is it worth spending that additional 100€ for a backup drive? (Or even better, buy two.) Some day I will write a piece on storage and on backup strategies, but not today. Here are some software that will help you manage your data.

Genie BackupManager Pro
Genie Soft

Their tag line is "Always have a backup plan", which is a good start. They have different versions of the GBM program: Pro, Home and Server. I know the Pro version. The program is quite easy to use. You go through a wizard to define what data you want to backup (there's no point in backing up the whole hard drive. Only backup your own user data.), where to save the backup (disk, HD,...), what type of backup to do (incremental, full, compressed,...), how many versions of the backup your should save etc. And finally you can schedule automatic backup. A good idea is to schedule a daily backup job and then perhaps less frequent ones too.

Buy it: www.genie-soft.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

SmartSync
SmartSync Software

SmartSync is a bit simpler than Genie and does not let you do all the things that GBM does. Nevertheless it is a very useful and good program. I find it particularly useful if you have large volumes of data that you want to "backup" (in quotation marks since this is not what I'd really consider a backup). Say you have a large disk with lots of pictures (or other files). Perhaps 200 GB of data. There is no way you will be able to do "real" backups of that regularly, i.e. make a copy of the data and store several (successively older) version of the data. A) It takes too much time to copy that much data regularly, and B) it takes too much space to have, say 10 copies of that data. So what do you do? You make one (or better, two) copies of that data and then you make sure that the copy (the "backup") is constantly kept "synchronised" with the original. This is really more of "synchronisation" or "mirroring" than backing up, in my opinion. But it is in practice the only thing you can do with that kind of volumes. So, what I do with my "develops" is: I have one "original" disk which is the one I store the "operational" tiffs on. I then have a "backup" copy of that which is synchronised every night. In addition, I have a second "backup" copy which is synchronised less frequently and stored off-site. SmartSync manages that kind of situation perfectly.

Buy it: www.smsync.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

More software and book reviews here.

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The ice plug - degorging

>> Monday 15 January 2007

030926-3-k294-0032If you look closely, you can see the ice plug that has formed in the neck of the bottle. It contains all the yeast cells from the secondary fermentation in the bottle. It is this ice plug that is removed ("shot out") at the degorging (degorgement). At Champagne Michel Lenique, Pierry. (A small grower with 9 hectares, primarily Chardonnay. Some good value champagnes, in particular Réserve Blanc de Blanc and the vintage champagne.)

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Champagnes André Jacquart & Fils, Mesnil

030926-1-k298-0036A house making great progress, best known for its 11 hectares in Le Mesnil in the Côte de Blanc where you find the best Chardonnay.

Madame Jacquart.



031122-2-k607-0016Winter pruning, finished on the right hand side, not yet done to t the left.

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Book Review: Photoshop Masking Compositing

Photoshop Masking Compositing
Katrin Eismann
New Riders

[Have not yet read it but it has been highly recommended. It is on my "Wanted" list.]

This is what Amazon says about it: "Takes readers through numerous step-by-step examples, highlighting the tools and techniques used for masking and combining images. Featuring work by leading artists and photographers, this book focuses on the techniques used to create compelling compositions."

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

More book reviews here.

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Champagne house Maison Giraud-Hemart, also called Champagne Henri Giraud, Ay (Aÿ), Vallée de la Marne

>> Saturday 13 January 2007

a0617-219-1967Oak aging champagne is unusual. Krug does it and a few others. But even more unusual is to use local oak (instead of the traditional Vosges, Alliers, etc oak). Giraud-Hemart does that though.

Henri Giraud taking a barrel sample of wine with a pipette and pouring it into a tasting glass. With a ray of sunlight coming through the roof. Champagne house Maison Giraud-Hemart, also called Champagne Henri Giraud, Ay, Vallée de la Marne , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France , low light grainy grain.

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Book Review: Photographier dans les lieux publics

Photographier dans les lieux publics
La Documentation Française (12 mars 1998)

[Have not yet read it but it has been highly recommended. It is on my "Wanted" list. Unfortunately it seems to be out of print. Couldn't get one from Amazon. Anyone has a copy to spare?]

This book deals specifically with the rules and regulations of taking pictures in public places in France. It has been recommended to me by (another) foreign photographer living in France. It's published by a government body and unfortunately out of stock with the publisher, but it seems you can still get it through Amazon.

Buy this book: Amazon.fr

More photo book reviews and recommendations here.

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Chateau de Boursault

>> Friday 12 January 2007

030917-1-k293-0008Chateau de Boursault - one of the few champagne producers called "chateau".

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Software Review: Noise Reduction

Indispensable when you shoot in low-light conditions. You can do it in Photoshop with filter and some manipulations. I have found it easier (can't say better, since I have not done any tests) to use a dedicated sw to do it. (BTW, if you are going to use noise reduction, you should do it at the very beginning of the development process.)

Noise Ninja
Picturecode
www.picturecode.com

Exists in a stand-alone version and as a plug-in to Photoshop. I like the stand-alone better, and it has a batch function that works well. User instructions aren't always obvious though. It turned out (if I understood things correctly) that the sw can not choose a built in noise profile based on EXIF from a tiff file (but you can do it with jpg I believe) even though you are given the impression it works. I resorted to always letting the program auto-generate a noise profile. Works pretty well.

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The woman in black in Champagne

>> Thursday 11 January 2007

a0617-217-1740A woman in black and white looking out over (taking a photograph) of the Vallee de la Marne river and vineyards and the village Cumieres, the village of Hautvillers in Vallee de la Marne , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France.


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Stock Photo News

A bit off topic, or perhaps not. At least not the usual daily picture:

If you are interested in stock photography industry news, here's an interesting newsletter: Photo Archive News, http://www.photoarchivenews.com/

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Oxymoron

>> Wednesday 10 January 2007

a0617-221-2102A round sign outside a wine shop saying champagne discount , Reims , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France.





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Book Review: Photoshop CS2 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies

Photoshop CS2 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies
Barbara Obermeier
Hungry Minds Inc

This is a heavy tome. Just over 800 pages (for the previous "CS" edition). It goes through most of the functions and features you need to know about Photoshop basics and Photoshop medium-advanced. It is a bit short on "theory" and background but tells you step-by-step how do do both the basic things and a bit more advanced things. Personally, I find the "Dummies" layout and structure of the book more confusing than helpful. I would prefer a more straight forward way of presenting the information. But the book is full of it (information, that is). For me, it was a good way to get to grips with Photoshop and take me a step beyond the first trial-and-error by myself (which with Photoshop doesn't take you very far at all). Not specifically for the photographer but for the one who wants to have a desk reference of Photoshop. But you can also read it from start to end as an introduction to PS. Similar to Adobe's own book but far more "popular" in the way it presents things (which is both good and bad). Still, certainly recommended.

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

More photo book reviews here.
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Champagne Krug

>> Tuesday 9 January 2007

a0615-212-1283A sign at the entrance to Champagne Krug on the closed iron gate , Reims , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France. Not the most welcoming or elegant entrance, but I guess they don't need to.

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Book Review: Le Photographe - Guide Pratique et Juridique pour le Professionnel et l'Amateur

Le Photographe - Guide Pratique et Juridique pour le Professionnel et l'Amateur
Alain Cabrit
Edition du Puit Fleuri

Legal issues are a problem for photographers in France. Taking pictures (or to be correct, using pictures taken), even in public places, are governed by laws that are not very kind to the photographer. You can get into trouble even for taking a picture (and using it) of a house in a street. This book explains in reasonably easy terms what the laws say, and what you need to think of as a photographer in France. It also talks about the different legal status a photographer can have and the differences they make (independent, employee...).

Buy this book: Amazon.fr.

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Louis Roederer

>> Monday 8 January 2007

a0615-212-1257A polished brass sign at the winery of Louis Roederer , Reims , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France

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Software review: Upsizing your picutres

You may find that your "developed" file is not big enough and therefore that you need to upsize it (scale it). There are different tools for that:

Genuine Fractals
onOne Software
www.ononesoftware.com

Recommended by many. Also referred to as Genuine Fractals PrintPro. From a workflow point of view the current version of GF is much better than the older one. However, it does not have any real batch function. (They have an interesting GF/PS comparison on their site, but I would rather trust my own tests than their marketing material...)

Buy it: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

pxl SmartScale
onOne Software (yes, them again)
www.ononesoftware.com

Also recommended by many people. I found the work flow much better than with Genuine Fractals, but again, it does not have a proper batch function. (And neither of the two onOne products can be made to work in proper batch mode with e.g. Photoshop actions even if you can create actions with them. They still require manual intervention for each image.)
Buy it: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Photoshop
Adobe
www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/

Photoshop has built-in functions for scaling (both up and down). When you use it for up-scaling you will supposedly get the best result with "bi-cubic smoother" whereas for down-scaling bi-cubic sharper is supposed to be better. Anyway, for up-scaling many people now say that PS (in recent versions) are as good as, or better, than the stand-alone tools. My small tests of it showed that PS does indeed give just as good results. But the really big advantage is that it works in "real" batch mode. That makes a big difference if you are processing 1000s of images...
Buy it: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

BlowUp
AlienSkin
www.alienskin.com

This is recently (Nov 2006) launched and I have not tried it. "Better than Photoshop", "Scale up to 3600% without obvious distortion",... Perhaps.

Read more reviews here.

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The best restaurant in Epernay?

>> Friday 5 January 2007

a0615-213-1357A champagne glass flute being filled with Gosset Grand Reserve champagne against a backdrop of a white table cloth , at Restaurant Les Berceaux, Patrick Michelon, Epernay , Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France.

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Book Review: Color Management for Photographers: Hands on Techniques for Photoshop Users

Color Management for Photographers: Hands on Techniques for Photoshop Users
Andrew Rodney
Focal Press

[Have not yet read it but it has been highly recommended. It is on my "Wanted" list.]

This is what Amazon says about it: ""Color Management for Photographers: Hands on Techniques for Photoshop Users", by Andrew Rodney, addresses the difficult subject of color management in a way that can help you get real work accomplished. This is the first book that moves beyond esoteric color management theory and detailed explanations of how things work to explain how to achieve a desired effect with step-by-step instructions so you can get on with creating and printing successful images..."

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

Read more about my selection of the best photography books here.
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Pinot Noir in Irancy

>> Thursday 4 January 2007

030811-1-k077-0034Irancy is a not so well know district in northern Burgundy.

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Book Review: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera
Bryan Peterson
Amphoto Books

Perhaps I should start by saying that I thought this book was about something that it is not. I thought it was about exposure, as in light and balancing lightness, darkness and colours. But the exposure referred to in the title is, simply, the picture. And there are a lot of pictures in the book. Great pictures - that Peterson explains how he has done. The book goes through some basic picture taking principles and also some more advanced ideas. It talks about how to think about exposure (as in getting the picture not too dark or too bright), about aperture, about shutter speed and lots of other things. Some basic stuff and some very useful ideas. But in the end I was a little bit disappointed. It is not quite a book for beginners, and it is not a book for people who understand the photographic fundamentals, but somewhere in between. (And perhaps it's the perfect book for you if you're somewhere in between.) It reads a bit like a collection of articles from a photo magazine (maybe that's what it is?). And perhaps that's how you should read it - in chunks, when your not looking for too heavy reading but looking for a little bit of inspiration. And you can get a lot of inspiration. There is, as I mentioned, a lot of good pictures in the book.

This is what Amazon says about it: "More than 100 vivid, graphic comparison pictures illustrate every point in this classic and can help any photographer maximize the creative impact of his or her exposure decisions. Peterson stresses the importance of metering the subject for a starting exposure and then explains how to use various exposure meters and different kinds of lighting. The book contains lessons on each element of the triangle and how it relates to the other two in terms of depth of field, freezing and blurring action, and shooting in low light or at night. A section on special techniques explores such options as deliberate under-and over-exposures, how to produce double exposures, bracketing, shooting the moon, and the use of filters. Understanding Exposure demonstrates that there are always creative choices about how to expose a picture - and that the decision is up to the photographer, not the camera". It was highly recommended by some photographer friends.

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

Read more about my selection of the best photography books here.
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Talk about terroir

>> Wednesday 3 January 2007

030811-1-k077-0004Some say "terroir" is all, some say it is nothing (like Malcolm Gluck of SuperPlonk fame in his latest book) . One part of terroir is the soil - but the soil is not all. Here's an example from Chablis in Burgundy:

A cross section of the soil on the grand cru hill: a thin topsoil and then Kimmeridge - limestone and clay.

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Book Review: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book
Anita Dennis
Adobe Creative Team

I have read the CS (without "2") version and would think this new edition is pretty much the same but including the new CS2 features. Rather boring "class room"-like, but full of information. I would certainly recommend it for its thoroughness and since it comes from Adobe. But not specifically focused on photography. Very useful though.

Buy the book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | AdLibris | Bokus

Read more about my selection of the best photography books here.
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Stainless chablis

>> Tuesday 2 January 2007

040923-141-4135 The shining clean stainless steel fermentation tanks at Michel Laroche in Chablis, Burgundy.

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And if you still have some left, now is the time to drink up

>> Monday 1 January 2007

040923-140-4020_filtered_sc1st of January. Hopefully you kept a little bit of champagne in the Fridge from last night. It may make this first day of the year more cheerful.

This picture is from Moet & Chandon in Epernay. Moet is part of the LVMH empire (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy) owned by Bernard Arnault. LVMH produces a very big part of all champagne made. I don't remember if it is 30% or something else, but it is very dominant. But you wouldn't know it since the champagne is sold under many different brand names.

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