Photografica Blog
Carl Sagan
The Pale Blue Dot (click the small play button at bottom left to watch the video here, or click the large one in the middle to go to the youtube site) Carl Sagan was an amazing astronomer who also happened to be a gifted story teller. His passion and eloquence [...]
PMA Australia 2008
As I write, there are no doubt a lot of people getting drunk. It’s Sunday night, and the PMA Australia 2008, held in Brisbane, is finally over. I was only there for two of the four days, and I didn’t even go to a single paid conference event. I was [...]
The Perfect Backup Strategy
Backup man! I’ve been deliberating lately about data backup, and how to design a solid strategy for both OS and data. All on a tight budget of course… 🙂 Being a photographer and avid net user, I can fill up hard disks with the best [...]
Location, location
Sometimes location is not very important at all in photography. For a lot of portrait photography for instance, the main ingredients are nice light and interesting colours in the background. With the lens opened right up, the background disappears in a lovely blur of colour and bokeh, and so any [...]
Windows Vista and the need for patience
Vista has not had good press since its release. And I can see why. Despite the eye candy Aero interface, it’s what’s under the bonnet that counts, and a lot of reviews certainly point to deficiencies in Vista when compared to its immediate predecessor, XP. I ran XP Professional from [...]
The Blue Nile
For those who have never heard of The Blue Nile, I can only encourage you to go and listen to their music. They are a three piece band from Glasgow with a penchant for taking their time to make records. In the 27 years since they formed, they have released [...]
Canon’s 40 Millionth Lens
In March 1987, Canon produced the first EF series lens. In November, they followed up with the industry’s first Ultrasonic Motor powered lens - the EF 300mm f/2.8L USM. Then in September 1989 came the EF 50mm f/1.0L USM. Yes, that right, f/1.0. Now it has reached the incredible milestone [...]
Is America really that prudish?
Is America really as prudish as it sometimes appears to be? It’s really hard for me to tell. Particularly as I’ve never been there. Judging a country solely on their cultural exports is clearly fraught with danger. I mean, I have seen American films from every degree of separation of [...]
Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is on the agenda. BIG TIME! ISPs are already making decisions in their daily practices that completely go against the principle of net neutrality. For a couple of years now they have been throttling torrent and other P2P traffic. And I can almost understand their point of view. [...]
The Ruddster
If you haven't seen him on your television yet, you ain't watching. The Ruddster, a.ka. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has been on a whirlwind world tour, meeting every leader that will shake his hand. This is his first major overseas trip as Prime Minister, and he has a lot of [...]