Category Archives: Life

Anton Aylward

What happened to ‘Storybook’?

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storybook-iconThis last weekend I started my copy of Storybook 4 Pro and got the message that my pro version is no longer valid, and the software changed back to the free version. I could no longer access the Pro facilities, which included the ability to print and export the work I had done.  It turns out that the internet addresses of Novelist.ch/Intertec do not work any more. It seems that the licensing mechanism ‘calls home” to verify the license and the site being down it can no longer do that.

I’ve tried updating/reinstalling Java and reinstalled Storybook from the zip file. Zilch.

So what is Storybook?

Essentially, the software allows you to organize, track, and chart your book’s characters, locations, plots, and chronology (among other things). The Pro version also lets you chart various plot pieces to ensure that nothing remains unresolved or forgotten.  It lets you keep track of characters and plots and scenes: which characters appear in which scenes and which scenes belong to which plot-lines.

I found it well developed, reliable to use and very comprehensive.  For example, Pro, offers some export and print tools that include .txt, .pdf, .html, .rtf, .odt, and .csv.

I’m sorry its gone.

Later:
Now the domain ‘Novelist.ch’ is back up, or at least there is a notice there.  Its in German and I’m unsure whether its a ‘for sale’ sign or as some people are saying, a notice that the site has been shut down for unpaid taxes.  So the message when starting Storybook does not appear any more, because the site is up again, but it is not doing the licence verification. Obviously, the software has been discontinued.  I say ‘obviously’ because there is no trace of the source on SourceForge any more.  I’ve tried contacting the author via Google+ but got no response.

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Anton Aylward

Five Reasons why I haven’t used my DSLR for months: Digital Photography

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Fujifilm-FinePix-F600-EXR

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/4296660253/5-reasons-why-i-havent-used-my-dslr-for-months

Interesting thoughts here.

There is no doubt that a (D)SLR is bulky and heavy, and the nature of the beast is to carry accessories.
But if you are doing ‘professional’ photography or specialized shooting, its a necessity.

“Street Photography” is another matter

I decided to invest in a ‘shirt pocket camera’ and bought a Fuji F600EXR via Amazon.
More on that in other threads.

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Anton Aylward

My Fuji F600EXR Arrives!

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I collected the Fujifilm Finepix F600EXR that I had ordered via Amazon from the post office this evening.

There’s a bit of a back-story:  I had won a Amazon gift certificate at a trade conference and decided to use it to buy a small camera.  I talk in terms of a ‘shirt pocket’ camera, but in fact the F600EXR is a bit bulkier, a bit thicker than some that could be termed that. The lens mount is not flush with the body, as you can see in the illustration.  I did however have a few key requirements when I was searching for a small camera.  Key among them was that the camera could handle RAW format.  I’ll discuss the why and wherefore of that in another posting.  It does. however, reduce the set of candidates quite considerably.

The F600EXR is not available in Canada, but then the gift certificate was for Amazon.COM not Amazon.CA so that didn’t matter.  The one drawback was the hefty shipping fee.  To address that, I sent the certificate to a friend in the USA who buys enough from Amazon so that he has a ‘free shipping’ discount 🙂

So, I was left with having to pay the duty when I picked it up earlier this evening.  The duty and taxes amounted to C$20.30 and there was an additional $$9.95 “handling fee”.  Bummer that!  All the same, its a fine camera for $30.

Amazon reviews are here.

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Anton Aylward

A photographic study in light, Rembrant style and others

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http://tysonrobichaudphotography.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/a-photographic-study-in-light-rembrandt-harmensz-van-rijn-style/

The Night Watch by Rembrandt, c.1642 (or The M...

The Night Watch by Rembrandt

This is important, but it isn’t quite what I want to say.

Lets leave it at this is an excellent first order approximation.

Where I differ is the ‘studio‘.
If you’re in a studio everything changes vs being on the street.
Its the ONE situation where a fixed lens is so superior to a zoom lens that nothing else count. Its the one situation where having plenty of aperture doesn’t count since you’re supplying all the light and in the place you want.

But I picked up on the Rembrandt because of the light and the dark.

I’ve seen these pictures at the Tate in London and at the Met in NYC I’ve seen others, one in particular in a private collection that is almost all dark black and brown except for the pinpoint of light catching the cheek the eye and the nose. Its fabulous.  It was position in a ‘dark corner’ with a pin-spotlight on the face — all to enhance the dramatic effect of the light and dark.

Rembrandt: Self Portrait (Altman)

Rembrandt: Self Portrait

The point here is Light and Dark.
It has TEXTURE.

And that’s not something most studio shots have … any way, any how.
All to many look like the shots of the the author on the back flap of a hardback book or something from a fashion magazine. Oh, and that includes the you-can-never-get-it-to-look-like-that pictures of food in adverts and on packaging.

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Anton Aylward

Playing with colour settings on the GF-1

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Today I tried out various colour settings.   This wasn’t as systematic as it should have been.

I got a small whiteboard, the one I keep on the fridge for noting shopping items, and some coloured pens, as well as a few brightly coloured objects from around the house, and set them up in the sunlight on the picnic table on the patio.

Perhaps this wasn’t the best of situations as the wind kept blowing the board down and some of the objects fell off, and, once again, I was foolish in not using a tripod.

But here are the shots.

#1: Create Date : 2012:07:24 17:12:41
Shutter Speed : 1/250
ISO : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Expressive
 #2:Create Date              : 2012:07:24 17:13:00
Shutter Speed : 1/320
ISO : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Retro
#3: Create Date  : 2012:07:24 17:13:10
Shutter Speed : 1/320
ISO : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode: Retro
#4: Create Date : 2012:07:24 17:13:20
Shutter Speed : 1/160
ISO : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Pure
#5: Create Date : 2012:07:24 17:13:49
Shutter Speed : 1/320
ISO  : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Elegant
#6: Create Date : 2012:07:24 17:14:00
Shutter Speed : 1/200
ISO : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Monochrome
#7: Create Date : 2012:07:24 17:14:41
Shutter Speed : 1/400
ISO : 400
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Dynamic Art
#8: Create Date : 2012:07:24 17:14:51
Shutter Speed : 1/400
ISO : 100
Shooting Mode : My Color
Metering Mode : Center-weighted average
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Color Mode : Normal
Advanced Scene Mode : Silhouette

 

Anton Aylward

Not the lens I thought it was

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When I read this  I realised that the lens I had with the GF-1 was not what I thought.
In reality its “90-400” in 35mm SLR terms.

The article says

This is the traditional portrait lens focal length. However, with f/4
as the maximum aperture at 45mm, the lens can hardly be called a true
portrait zoom.

Well, I thought of a 85mm lens as being a for portraiture.
The “Portrait Zoom” I bought for my Canon is a Soligor 80-200mm F4.5, but I normally use the 35-70mm F3.5.
Both are FD breech mount and both have macro capability.

Call that 17-35 and 40-100 in Four Thirds.

On the Minolta I normally use the 35-105 F3.5 but also have a 75-300
F4.5. Again, both have macro capability. These are AF mount lenses.

Call that 17-50 and 37-150 in Four Thirds.

An adaptor for the Canon FD lenses to the GF-1 does exist but the Canon lenses of that era are not automated.
One review  is quite positive, but makes it clear that this is a MANUAL lens.
There’s a forum that picks up on using Canon lenses with cheap adaptors.
The results look satisfactory but I don’t know about the handling.

Another review was not so positive.

One reviewer suggest an alternative
This warns against using Minolta Maxxum lenses on a four thirds camera.

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Anton Aylward

Macro? Well, No

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All the lenses for my Canon and Minolta have Macro capability.  There’s something about zoom lenses, it seems, the lends then to being able to be macro lenses without the need for an extension tube or bellows.  In macro mode the zoom function now becomes a sort of focusing mechanism.  I don’t now the details.

But the 45-200mm lens with the GF1 doesn’t seem to have a macro function.

Typical close-up lensYou can also do close-up work with a magnifying “filter” lens at the front of the camera.  I have one of these but its a 58mm thread and the lens on the GF-1 is 52mm. Continue reading →
Anton Aylward

I Acquire a Panasonic GF-1

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Subash RamanLast weekend I paid a visit to my friend Subash Raman.  He has returned recently from a trip to California and is staying with friends in King City.   Unlike Toronto where there’s a coffee bar at nearly every intersection, you really need a car to drive a few miles to the nearest gas station or even a mall to get a coffee out there in the boonies.  So we headed out to Upper Canada Mall at Younge and Davis.  Starbucks – ah well.  They also do juices.

There’s a Sony Store in Upper Canada Mall and Subash goes in there for something to do with his cell phone, and Sony-Ericson Experia.  I forget what, but later he ended up with a screen protector, but that’s by-the-by. We walk out of the store an hour later and Subash is now the proud owner – and I do mean proud, his grin splits his face – of a Sony NEX-7 digital Camera.

WOW! Continue reading →