Adobe's Angela Drury, Photographer by Night, on Adobe TV

New on the Photography channel on Adobe TV, Angela Drury, Customer Support Manager at Adobe, share's her story behind her passion for photography, including her experience with the Lightroom team in the 2006 Lightroom Adventure in Iceland. You can follow along with Angela and the Team right now as they're in Tasmania on the latest Adobe Lightroom Adventure 2008.

After Hours at Adobe - Angela Drury
By day, Angela manages a team of product support engineers for Adobe Customer Care. After hours, she's an award winning photographer.

  Adobe Lightroom Adventure 2008 in Tasmania

Wow, did I miss the boat on this one! (or the plane as the case may be)

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Team is happily clicking away as I type this in the luxurious landscape of Tasmania this week and next, corresponding with the release of Lightroom 2.0 Beta.

This is the sequel to the very successful Adobe Lightroom Adventure 2006 in Iceland which produced copious gigabytes of beautiful images to herald the launch of the first version of Lightroom.

You can follow their daily blogging from Tasmania on the O'Reilly website here. Among the crew is a friend and colleague Angela Drury, frequent contributor to Photoshop User magazine, award winning photographer, and manager of Dreamweaver Support at Adobe.

  Photography Web Utilities and My Recent Work

The holiday season has come and gone with little blogging on my part, but there's a few photography utilities for the web that I've wanted to mention. Its been a busy season with a couple weeks in Barcelona and a regular evening schedule at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at BU. It won't get less busy for me, so now's the time to share...

Lightroom SDK: Flickr Export Plugin

The SDK (Software Developer's Kit) for Lightroom provides software developers a way to build custom plugins for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. An example plugin to Export photos directly from Lightroom to Flickr comes with the SDK, so download the Lightroom SDK to get it. Even if you don't care about the SDK and aren't a software geek, download it anyway just to get the plugin to make your Flickr workflow even easier.

SlideShowPro for Lightroom

Speaking of Lightroom (yes, it is my favorite piece of image software right now!), for just $25 you can buy an excellent plugin for Lightroom to export stylish and sophisticated Flash-based Web Galleries for your website. Its very easy to use and provides an intuitive panel of gallery styling options. Previously, to use SlideShowPro you had to understand the Flash Authoring tool in order to get started, but with Lightroom its now incredibly simple to use. Here's where you can check out a Web Gallery example of the SlideShowPro plugin for Lightroom

FlickrEdit: Backup Your Flickr Library

And speaking of Flickr, I've recently read some recommendations for FlickrEdit, free utility that permits you to backup all your images on Flickr to your local desktop, among other things. I haven't used it yet, but it seems like a very useful safety net to have around.

Photographic Storytelling with Soundslides Plus

Moving back to the topic of Web Image Galleries, I've just stumbled across a remarkable Flash-based tool from Soundslides geared towards photojournalists that enables you to easily synchronize digital audio recordings with a collection of photographs. Check out this newspaper article Through the Artists' Eyes to view two wonderful examples.

HDR and Tone Mapping with PhotoMatix

Although Photoshop CS2 and CS3 have a built-in automation tool for generating HDR images from multiple exposures, I've been giving Photomatix a test drive because it has been touted to have better fine-tuned control over the Tone Mapping process. In fact, I find that when using Photomatix I have had more success with HDR, just take a look below for some recent examples. There's lots of detailed knobs and sliders during the Tone Mapping process in Photomatix, and to save time later when I produce a satisfying result Photomatix allows me to save my settings. Later, when working on a new image I can try on some of my previous settings to quickly see if any produce a pleasing effect.

There we have it... I hope you find some of these useful as I have. Now, since I've got your attention, here's some of my recent work both from the studio at CDIA and from my recent trips to Barcelona and San Francisco. Enjoy!

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  Faces of India - A Photography Project

As a student at Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts, my first photography assignment was given in the second class, Camera and Workflow II. The assignment was called The Faces Project, and the goal was to take at least 100 photographs of faces, to be narrowed down to 50 for sharing in class, and finally to 2 for large format printing. Ideally, the student would narrow down the project to a particular theme, such as people laughing, people over 60, people jumping, or even (yes) people blowing their noses. While one of the project lessons was to get students to become comfortable with the camera and to quickly navigate and make best use of the exposure controls, the underlying lesson was a social one rather than technological one. As future professional photographers, the ability to confidently interact with and among strangers should not be overlooked. In fact, many of the students expressed a feeling of dread when given the assignment because, like myself, many are introverts or not highly social, and the thought of blindly walking up to strangers to ask for their photo made many a butterfly spin around our stomachs.

As I travel to India for work on occasion, I decided to choose the theme of Faces of India, since I was to be in Bangalore for a short while. At first, I thought the Faces project would be an impossible one. At times I was overcome with fear when contemplating photographing people in a foreign land, but at the same time I knew that I could accomplish this task that the results would likely be fantastic because of the diversity of culture and people found there.

Faces of India Project

The project got off with a few fits and starts, and I warmed up by photographying those with whom I work in the Adobe office in Bangalore. I'm very grateful for their cooperativeness while I fumbled around with positioning them, taking shots, and retaking more shots. They had a lot of patience with me. Soon a few key concepts emerged that I would quickly adapt to which would progressively help make the Faces of India project more successful. I didn't learn them all at the same time or in this order, but here's a few important ideas that became very useful:

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  Video: The Streets of Bangalore India

You'll never complain about the traffic in your town again! Driving in Bangalore, India is not for the faint hearted. Bangalore has undergone an extreme population explosion in the last decade with the growth of the IT Industry. In my experience, Bangalore has unparalleled traffic congestion and chaos compared to anywhere in North America or Europe.

The first 3 minutes of this video are the last stretch in our daily commute from the Leela Palace Hotel to the Adobe office on Bannerghatta Road along the IT corridor. Starting at 4 minutes into the video is a backseat view from a ride inside one of those yellow-capped auto rickshaws from the office to the nearby Forum Mall. It was as much fun as an amusement park!

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  India Travel Warning: Hit And Run is a must!

While researching health and travel requirements for my upcoming trip to Bangalore, India I stumbled across this little factoid from the US Deptartment of State that instills oh so much confidence that this will be a pleasant journey:

If a driver hits a pedestrian or a cow, the vehicle and its occupants are at risk of being attacked by passersby. Such attacks pose significant risk of injury or death to the vehicle's occupants or at least of incineration of the vehicle. It can thus be unsafe to remain at the scene of an accident of this nature, and drivers may instead wish to seek out the nearest police station.

Ok, let me get this straight... In between taking my malaria pills, seeking out bottled water only, eating at only "American" restaurants, and looking 10 times before attempting to cross the street, now I've got to worry if my driver will smack into a cow at the risk of conflagration and death... the car's conflagration and my death. Yikes! Hit and Run is mandatory!

Driving in Bangalore video clips on YouTube.

  Long weekend in Zion National Park

This past October my wife and I had the opportunity to vacation in Zion National Park in southern Utah, following the Adobe MAX conference in Las Vegas that month. This was my first time in the Southwest USA, and while I'm not inclined to return to the Las Vegas Strip, I would love the opportunity to spend at least a couple weeks visiting Bryce, Arches, and the Grand Canyon. I've been very satisified with the photos I've taken in Zion over the brief three day immersion, so I anticipate photographing much more from that region.

The Wikipedia article on Zion National Park begins with the following:

Zion National Park is a United States National Park located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature in the 229-square-mile (593 km²) park is Zion Canyon, 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River... A total of 289 bird species, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), 32 reptiles and numerous plant species inhabit the park...

Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans; the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Anasazi (300 CE) stem from one of these groups... The Kolob section was proclaimed a separate Zion National Monument in 1937, but was incorporated into the park in 1956.

The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes nine formations that together represent 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation. At various periods in that time, warm, shallow seas, streams, ponds and lakes, vast deserts and dry near-shore environments covered the area.

We rented a Chrysler Sebring convertible at the Las Vegas airport, and made the trip to Springdale, Utah in just 3 hours. The highway from Vegas to St. George is largely desolate and uninteresting, but as soon as you get past Hurricane the scenery begins a dramatic change. I won't be renting the Sebring again because my eye level was the same height as the visor and the top of the windshield, forcing me to turn my neck and slouch down in the seat in order to get a good view, and even with the top up I couldn't get past the visor's annoyance factor.

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  I've been Schmapped!

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  Summer in St. Michaels, on Maryland's Eastern Shore

Photo Gallery of St. Michaels, Maryland, including the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Patriot Cruises, The Crab Claw Restaurant, and an authentic Maryland skipjack.

www.flickr.com

Related Information:

• St. Michaels, Maryland (Sun Travel Article)
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (Sun Travel Article)
• St. Michaels' Attractions
• Voyage of Capt. John Smith
• Patriot Cruises
• Skipjack.org
• Hooper Strait Lighthouse
• The Crab Claw

  Video clips of Valle de Benasque and Llanos del Hospital in Spain

Here are a couple short video clips from a valley in the central Pyrenees, or Pirineos, in Spain. These show the mountainous region close the border of Spain and France, within the Valle de Benasque. My wife and I were married in a small church in this region, since her father and his ancestors lived in and farmed the valley using traditional, non-technological tools and practices.

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  Photographs of the Maine Coast, and My First HDR Image

www.flickr.com

My wife and I spent this past Memorial Day weekend driving through mid-coast Maine, stopping in Camden, Rockland, Pemaquid Point, Damriscotta, and South Freeport. The Maine coast incredibly beautiful, and we loved the not only the winding tidal channels that spill out into the rocky shore but the many rolling, green meadows that blanket the horizon with lush grass and wildflowers. We took some time to photograph Camden, which seemed very cozy and friendly, and not much different than Rockport, Massachusetts. The next day we had a photo session at Pemaquid Point, best known for its lighthouse and bell house with its Stephens Striking Machine to sound the bell in foggy conditions.

My Photo Gallery of Coastal Maine

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  Traditional Maryland Crab Soup

While waiting at BWI airport this past Friday evening, I stumbled into an old favorite, Bill Bateman's Restaurant, to find this delicious bowl of soup on the menu. I could not resist. Just look at the chunks of backfin in there!

I grew up in Maryland and lived there until I moved to Boston twelve years ago. There's so much about that great state that I miss, and I think Maryland crabs in any form top the list. Crab soup, crab cakes, fried softcrabs, ... I can't get enough! I even worked on a real commercial crab boat in the lower Chesapeake Bay.

Bill Batemans was an old hangout on Cub Hill Rd in Carney, but I've heard he's had a lot of success and expanded with a chain of restaurants. His crab soup was so good, I topped it off with a crabcake sandwich, but it looked so good I forgot to take a picture :) Darn it, I'll just have to return for another .

The traditional spice for Maryland crabs is Old Bay, from McCormick, so of all the recipes I've found for crab soup, I'll recommend theirs: OLD BAY Maryland Crab Soup. Although, they suggest that other types of crabs might be healthier, I assure you they do not taste nearly as good as the Maryland Blue Crab.

  Recommendation for BodasDVD Wedding Photographer of Barcelona

I highly recommend Bodas DVD wedding photographers in Barcelona, Spain. They met with us on several occassions the year of the wedding to coordinate the plan and requirements, and they were very accomodating to our wishes. They even traveled 4 hours to the wedding without charging us, although we did provide a hotel room for them. Carlos and his collegues were very helpful and patient throughout our wedding day. The result was a one hour interactive DVD movie of our wedding and a beautiful, leather bound wedding album of 20"x30". Everyone to whom we showed the album commented that they've never seen such a beautiful and unique album, and they all complemented the photographer's skill and style. Carles de Gispert also runs the multimedia business of Inédita and InéditAleph, and regularly uses Adobe image and video design products.

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  Film of the day: Concord, MA by Matthew Grant

Turn Here: Short films, cool places
A short vignette of historic Concord, Massachusetts.

Hop a train to Concord and explore the nexus of the American Revolution and revolutionary philosophy.
By Matthew Grant and Andy Vermouth

I found this short film among the sites linking to my blog. A warm and friendly look at some of the characters of this town.

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  FloridaVacationAuction.com -- Hey, I know that guy!

After some late evening blog reading I put away my laptop and decide to catch the last half of the local news. Channel 5 then begins a web site review in a section they call The Click, and they begin to highlight a website where you can compete for Florida vacation packages. I snag the Tivo remote and hit rewind three times before my wife starts to give me the eye, so I hit record and risk rewinding one more time. Finally, it hits me... I think to myself, that's Doug Hughes' new site, and blurt out, "Hey, I know that guy!". So I get out my laptop to start blogging this - at least its warmed up already.

You know Doug, too. He's the Alagad guy who makes ColdFusion-based software including Captcha and Image CFCs, as well as the new Reactor framework. :)

Turns out that you can watch the video segment on WCVB's website:

The Boston Channel, The Click:
Bid On Your Next Florida Vacation

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