May 2014

May 29, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Camera Comments. Thom’s quick comments about the gear used on the trip. Today’s entryThe full workshop blog. Hope you’ve been enjoying the blog, and remember, it’s not too late to join my next Galapagos trip, scheduled for late 2015. 


May 27, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Fifteen. Today’s not really a shooting day; it’s a transfer back to the mainland day. Today’s entryThe full workshop blog

Iridient Mimics Fujifilm Styles. Iridient Developer has been experimenting with trying to create look-alike styles that emulate Fujifilm JPEG settings. Article on sansmirror.com


May 24, 2014          

Panasonic GX7 and Olympus E-P5 Firmware Updates. Article on sansmirror.com

The S ModelsWith all the rumors of a D800s update appearing in June, it’s time to remind people what Nikon usually means by an “s” update. Article on dslrbodies.

Latest Software UpdatesArticle on dslrbodies.com.


May 23, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Fourteen. We’re on our grand finale day, and the two islands we visit today are excellent windups to our tour. Today’s entryThe full workshop blog


May 22, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Thirteen. Today is less about animals than scenery, though we certainly have a few animals to shoot, too. To wit, penguins. Today’s entryThe full workshop blog.


May 21, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Twelve. We’re anchored back at Academy Bay on Santa Cruz this morning. The boat has some maintenance work that needs to be done in port while we’re off exploring. So it’s back up to the highlands again, this time to Cerro Mesa (Table Hill). Today’s entryThe full workshop blog


May 20, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Eleven. Once again we tried to be on the islands at the first possible moment. Here at Punta Cormorant—which ironically, doesn’t have any cormorants—there’s a short trail from the panga landing spot across an isthmus to a second beach frequented by green sea turtles. Today’s entryThe full workshop blog.


May 19, 2014          

Nikon Management Change/Unchange. As usual after the shareholder’s meeting, Nikon announced executive management changes. What’s different this time is that there’s a large structural change being made. Article on dslrbodies.com.

What’s the Plan. A photographer I talk with regularly had the following comment recently: “I don’t see a coherent plan from any of the Japanese companies.” What does he mean? Article on dslrbodies.com.

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Ten. Early this morning the Letty pulled into Punta Suarez on the island of Espanola. This is the motherlode of photographic targets, and we’re attacking it with a plan.  Today’s entryThe full workshop blog.


 May 16, 2014          

Cloudy with a Chance of Storms. Starting Wednesday afternoon and lasting for as long as 18 hours Adobe Cloud had a widespread outage that seriously impacted some Creative Cloud users and showed just how vulnerable Adobe’s new required playing field can be. Article on dslrbodies.com.

How to Churn Correctly: Sony RX100 III Announced. Sony today introduced the third iteration of their popular RX-100 compact camera. Article on gearophile.com.

Sony announces price for the A7s: US$2500 (sponsor link).

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Nine. This morning’s location is Punta Pitt, at the Northern end of San Cristobal. This is a location I visited 20 years ago, but was closed afterward for almost 15 years.  Today’s entryThe full blog


May 15, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Eight. We’re back at our starting point, Puerto Moreno, because the boat needs to get restocked and readied for our second week of cruising, this time through the Southern Islands of the Galapagos. Today’s entryThe full blog


May 14, 2014          

Nikon Introduces 400mm and TC-14E Updates. Long lens users got a bit of news from Nikon today. Article on dslrbodies.com. Data page for lens.

Galapagos Photo Workshop Boats Sites Guides. A brief respite from animals to talk about some of the other aspects of the Galapagos. Today’s entryThe full blog


May 13, 2014          

Nikon Sees Corner Ahead. Let’s start off with the good news: despite downturns in overall sales of their two key products, Nikon managed to finish their year with increased profits. Article on dslrbodies.com.

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Seven. Our choppiest night navigation yet took us to Puerto Ayora, the largest of the three towns in the islands. The first time I came here, the population was less than 1000. The last census apparently showed 21,000 permanent residents, and the differences between 1990 and 2014 are deep and broad. Today’s entryThe full blog


May 12, 2014          

Hypothetical Minimum Set, Part Two. Today I want to propose a different hypothetical case. Article on dslrbodies.com.

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Six. After another choppy night on the water as we moved through a storm system (it’s the end of the wet season here), we arrived at yet another of the Galapagos’ unique features: a red sand beach at Rabida. Today’s entryThe full blog


May 9, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Five. Since we anchored at nearby Punta Espinoza overnight, an early wake-up and breakfast got us onshore at the earliest possible time, plus there were no other boats anchored with us, so we had the site to ourselves for quite some time this morning. Today’s entryThe full blog. We’ll be taking the weekend off, but the blog will resume with Day Six on Monday.

Be Careful What You Wish For. You don’t have to look far to see what the Japanese camera makers are doing about North America. Article on sansmirror.com.

Where to Hide Depressing News. It’s gogatsu-byou time in Japan. Article on dslrbodies, now updated with Olympus financial news.

Cameras Aren’t Secure. With all the camera makers exploring NFC, WiFi, and even Ethernet connections, the question has always been how secure those are being programmed. Article on dslrbodies.com.

Olympus Financial Results. Posted on sansmirror.com.

Note: This week I announced that Tony and I will be doing another Galapagos workshop in late 2015. Details are on the workshop page. Also, a number of folk haven’t figured out that this is a “delayed” blog. The workshop finished last month; I’m just rolling it out day by day this month.


May 8, 2014          

Samsung Introduces the NX3000. A modest update of the NX300 model. Article on sansmirror.com. Data page.

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Four. Yesterday I left you with a mystery: what would happen to our little crew when the tsunami hit? Today’s entryThe full blog.

Note: Monday I announced that Tony and I will be doing another Galapagos workshop in late 2015. Details are on the workshop page. Also, a number of folk haven’t figured out that this is a “delayed” blog. The workshop finished last month; I’m just rolling it out day by day this month.


May 7, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Three. The beach here was in pristine form when we hit it, and we could clearly see turtle tracks up to the top of the shore dunes, where the females dig holes and lay their eggs. Today’s entryThe full blog.

Note: Monday I announced that Tony and I will be doing another Galapagos workshop in late 2015. Full details are on the workshop page.

The Cost of 4K. Now that some 4K video cameras are entering the market, I’m amused at some of the comments that are coming along with the reviews. Article on dslrbodies.com.


May 6, 2014          

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day Two. Sure enough, just before the wake-up call at 6am, I heard the boat slow and the Captain drop anchor. We’re awakening this morning in a bay created from a collapsed volcanic crater, the site of all of today’s activities. Today’s entry. The full blog.


May 5, 2014          

Kodak Film Prices Going Up? Kodak film prices will be going up on June 1st, at least in Japan. It’s unclear whether this is a global price increase or just a delayed response to the yen’s slide against other major currencies. Article on filmbodies.com.

Hypothetical Minimal Nikon Kit. I’ve been thinking a bit about what I’d keep and not keep in terms of camera gear lately. Article on dslrbodies.com.

Galapagos Photo Workshop Day One.  Even though yesterday wasn’t an official workshop day (a few of our group were still arriving), I spent a couple of hours yesterday in the Hotel Colon’s excellent conference facilities doing some photographic teaching with the majority of the students. Article on bythom.com. Full workshop coverage.


May 2, 2014          

Nikons DX Problems, 2014 Edition. Seems like I write this article about this time every year, though the problems are getting more acute as competitors probe for weakness. Article on dslrbodies.com.


May 1, 2014          

Nikon Answers About Capture NX-D. Nikon posted a number of answers to questions about the final version of NX-D on their site. Here’s Thom’s analysis. Article on dslrbodies.com.

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