Go watch the video - very cool!

DEMO.com D’FUSION® - Total Immersion

Hasselblad - the ultimate high-end camera maker - have released their new medium digital camera, the H3D-31. Photographyblog (appropriately enough) covers the Hasselblad press release, and gives us some specs. (Thanks to Engadget for linking)

It’s a 31 megapixel (no, there’s no decimal place in there)  digital, with a 48mm (full-frame for medium-format) sensor. It’s slightly cheaper than it’s 39 Megapixel bigger brother, at around USD$25k.

In related news, A-Data have released a 128GB solid-state disk with a SATA interface. (Via Engadget, too) Small enough to whack a dozen or two in a photography lab server, coupled with some rediculously fast SATA-RAID controllers.  I’m practicly drooling at the thought.  ‘Course, it could also be integrated into a smart-phone device. 

Hello, Nokia, are you paying attention? Yes, you need to put one of these and a nice fast processor (like an XScale @ 624mhz?) in your next smartphone, thanks.

Actually, my ideal smart phone would be having an upgraded version of Windows Mobile 5 (with WPF and .NET Compact Framework 3.0 support built in) an XScale or similarly fast processor, dedicated video hardware, 8GB+ storage, 3-4Mpx Camera + VGA Video Camera, and WCDMA (3G on 850Mhz) support.  Then they could set-loose some smart developers & designers and really kick some major backside in the smartphone department.

Microsoft and the National Australia Day Councils are running a promotion called “Look up and Smile“. (via MSDN Australia)

Basically, Microsoft is purchasing a bunch of satellite time on Australia day, and taking large snapshots of Australia for their Live Maps service. People are being encouraged to do things that’ll be visible from space (so - I expect there’ll be large banners, and writing on the sand etc).

As part of it, there’s a photography competition - but make sure you read the fine print before you submit an entry.

“By submitting an entry, each entrant grants to the Sponsor and the National Australia Day Councils an exclusive, irrevocable royalty-free, transferable worldwide right, in all media (now known or later developed) to use, publish, alter or otherwise exploit their entry.”

So, if someone submits an entry - they can never: Publish the photo on their web site, print/sell/give the photo away to another party (friends, family, or the school newspaper). Even if Microsoft and the National Australia Day Councils decide not to use it/give you a prize.

Most people probably won’t be concerned about the fine print - after all, Microsoft and the National Australia Day Councils are hardly going to sue you for putting the photo up on flickr or sending it to your friends via email. Then again, stranger things have happened.

Also - how would you feel if Microsoft decided to use your image, or part of it in a major worldwide campaign (or distributing it in Windows or another product as a “sample” image), even if you didn’t win a prize.

Thanks, Microsoft, but no thanks.

The Men of Podtech   Hosted on Zooomr

This photo is from CES 2007, taken by Thomas Hawk. Does anything strike you as… strange/out of place? 

No, not the geek wearing dark glasses. How about the finger gestures being given by the woman on the left?  Smiling whilst saying “F….. you”.  Subtle.

Well, I’ve fiddled with the images in Adobe Lightroom (very very cool app - highly recommended) - and l’ve created 1920×1200 version of the lizard wallpaper.

Feel free to resize/resample.  If you want it in a larger res - give me a shout, I’ve got this particular image in upto 2658×1661, or I could re-crop it out of the 16:10 ratio and get up to 3504×2336. (All 8.2 Megapixels)

While I was in Sydney, we (Mitch and I) went to the Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour.  It’s not my first visit, but it is the first time I’ve had the camera with me.

There’s a stack of different animals living around the gardens - turtles, lizards, and ofcourse - tons of Chinese carp.

I could see this little sequence unfolding — the girl moved faster than the lizard.

 I picked up this book at a book sale while I was in Sydney. The cover image (left) is what caught my eye initially.

The book contains a number of interviews with (as the title suggests) War Correspondents and Photojournalists, many of whom should be well known to anyone who’s watched/listened any amount of ABC News over the last 50 years. Monica Attard,  Marie Colvin, and many others.

It’s a really interesting read (for me), and brings to light a lot of the things I really hadn’t thought about, that went on behind the scenes.

If you can, check it out. 
ISBN: 9781740512602 / 174051260X

 For the observent/stalker types, you’ve probably already noticed the photos I put up last night of the NYE fireworks. 

I’m off to Sydney for a few days — taking photos etc.

Back some time after 1st Jan, so - see you then.

Saw this in the backyard. More fiddling with Adobe Lightroom (very cool, btw - Thanks Adobe).

I think they’re breeding or something, ’cause I was buzzed a dozen or so times whilst walking around (they’re native wasps, and don’t have a stinger)

This is… rather dark, partly to do with the colouring weirdness.