The Value of a Small Sensor

This article is huge to me. I shoot with digital 35mm sensors, super35, Micro Four Thirds, iPhones, and more. There is nothing more irritating than scuttle between photographer arguing about sensor size, equivalencies, etc. A small sensor is just as valuable as a large one.

My experience in cinematography is one where I value the background as much as the subject and foreground. You'll find that in many films, the background is very prominent and not just a blurry field of color. Many discuss ultra shallow depth of field; razor thin where only the subjects eye is in focus but their nose isn't. There is no doubt that in some situations that is important but I find the challenge and fun of finding an excellent background, working with the background, and making it part of the image so valuable that I wouldn't want to blur out such details.

I encourage you to read Why I Shoot with a Small Sensor. 

Photos gets Extension Support in OS X El Capitan 10.11

Many have been disappointed with photos for the Mac. I, on the other hand, have been using it for several months and find it very pleasing. It is better than iPhoto, not quite as powerful as Aperture, but overall it's a solid application.

This week, at WWDC 2015, Apple announced OS X El Capitan. The next generation of Apple's operating system for the Mac brings a new version of Photos. The application that mirrors the Photos app on iOS has many great editing tools but it does not reach the level of something like Aperture or Photoshop. With extension support, however, new tools can be developed by third parties to make Photos a powerful editing application while continuing to use the organizational tools and iCloud.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

New editing extensions let you go further with your photos. OS X El Capitan supports third-party tools that will be available from the Mac App Store and accessible right in the Photos app. Use multiple editing extensions from your favorite developers on a single photo, or use a mix of extensions and the editing tools built into Photos. From adding subtle filters to using beautiful texture effects, you can take your photo editing to a whole new level.

This is a major improvement for Photos. I have been very much looking forward to this update. I'm glad that it is coming along so quickly with Photos.

Concorde

The Concorde

Travel is a key to creativity. It opens many doors. Sometime, however, a lot of what one sees is the "tourist" part of the world. 

While visiting New York City, I had the chance to visit the Intrepid Naval Museum. They have one of my favorite inventions: The Concorde. While it sadly no longer flies, it's innovation and triumph of aerospace remains.

This tourist trap was hard to photograph but a unique perspective on an over-shot item makes for an interesting view.