Category Archives: Photography

The home for my photography related internet activities.

Technology

Guttenburg

This was a plaque in the German city of Kaiserslautern commemorating Johann Gutenberg, the man generally credited with inventing movable type. The book which, for mass consumption at least, would not have been possible without him has done more to spread knowledge and advance technology than just about anything else in the last thousand years.

I think it is, therefore, a fitting entry to this weeks “Technology” theme on PhotoFriday.

Red

Che Guevaras influence shows everywhere, this time in Camag?ay, Cuba
Che Guevaras influence shows everywhere, this time in Camag?ay, Cuba

red
n.

    1. The hue of the long-wave end of the visible spectrum, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 630 to 750 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation and whose hue resembles that of blood; one of the additive or light primaries; one of the psychological primary hues.
    2. A pigment or dye having a red hue.
    3. Something that has a red hue.
    1. often Red A Communist
    2. A revolutionary activist

(From dictionary.com.)

I score points for it being in a Communist country (2a) and containing a poster of Che Guevara (2b) if not for the quality of the picture itself.

I like the way the old, colonial building is colourful and well maintained while the Communist-era building looks drab but has the heroic poster adorning it.

iPhoto 6 Cards

As you may have seen, I was generally quite impressed with the photo books that the previous version of iPhoto was able to generate. I was therefore quite keen to try the new cards that you can buy using iPhoto 6, the version included with the recently released iLife ’06. (Am I the only person that thinks that “iLife” is a really naff name? First that, then “MacBook Pro” rather than “Powerbook.” What next?!)

The first real opportunity was Valentines Day. I picked a picture of the two of us and poked around trying some of the various options. There are about twenty themes, ranging from very plain to unusably gushy (to my eyes). You can then customise the theme, modifying the way the picture is displayed (full page, drop-shadow, etc.) and adding text to the front and inside. It’s a nice, polished interface. Easy to use and just like the photo book process.

When ordering a single card, as I did, postage is more than the actual card! On the expensive side, I’d say, but well within the bounds of acceptability.

So what’s the verdict? What’s it like?

The short answer is that I still don’t know. I clicked the order button a full week before the 14th and now, a week after Valentines Day, it has still not arrived.

I don’t think I’m being unreasonable in expecting a card to take less than two weeks to print and be delivered. I realise that a card is more complicated than a few prints, but I have had my snaps delivered the next day a number of times after ordering through PhotoBox (no affiliation, I am just a satisfied customer!). Apple really need to improve their service in this area if they are to avoid alienating their customer base.