The evolution of an image

I know I've been somewhat obsessed with this photo I took the other night...It was one of those magical moments and I was lucky enough to have my camera there with me and hit the shutter at the right time. It's definitely one of the best images I've made. Here are the basics of how it was processed:

The photo on the left is the original capture, after I cropped it to square. Then the following adjustments were made in Snapseed (damn you Google, for killing off my favorite app): decreased the exposure, increased the contrast, pulled down the saturation a bit, and added structure and sharpness. Back in Aperture I retouched the image a bit to remove a couple of light spots (e.g., that dot at the left hand edge of the image; the series of little green X's in the upper left), which yielded the middle image (the version I posted yesterday). Then using the Nik Silver Efex plugin in Aperture, I did a basic conversion to black and white (no filters, little, if any, fine tuning the exposure/contrast), which resulted the final image on the right.

Photo of the week - March 26, 2013

The David Bromberg Quartet (Mark Cosgrove, David Bromberg, Bob Taylor, and Nate Grower, L-to-R) at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA, March 24, 2013. Fuji X-Pro1 @ 3200 ISO with 60mm lens @ f/2.4. Processed with Aperture and Snapseed (Mac version). Here's the same image in black and white (which was posted by the band on David's Facebook page).

What recognition matters?

On the left is a screenshot from David Bromberg's Facebook page; I took a photo at his concert last night at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA, and sent it to my friend Mark Cosgrove, the guitar/mandolin player in David's band. Mark asked me if they could post it on their Facebook page. I gladly agreed; I'm honored that they liked the photo.* In the first 5 hours, 165 strangers had "liked" the photograph, 18 people had "shared" my photo on their Facebook walls, and there were a number of very complementary comments.

On the right is the PsycInfo information on my most well-cited article (Le & Agnew, 2003...Our Investment Model meta-analysis; PsycInfo is the primary database for psychology journal articles). This paper was published a decade ago (coincidentally, exactly 10 years ago this month), and to date has been cited 153 times. I haven't gone through to talley up how many of those citations came from (a) me (probably about 10-15 of those are me citing that paper in my newer work), (b) colleagues I have done research with (maybe another 40 of those citations?), or (c) researchers in my field that I know personally (another 40 of those?). My guess is that there are about 50-60 people in the world who have stumbled upon that paper in their own research, without knowing me, and decided they like that paper enough to cite it in their own work.

Fifty people in TEN YEARS. Or 165 people in 5 hours? It's no surprise which one is more satisfying...

Update #1: In the time it took me to write this post, 7 more strangers liked my photo, but, to my knowledge, no new papers citing my article were added to PsycInfo.

Update #2: After a couple of days, the photo has been shared around 35 times and liked over 345 times (as far as I can see). 

*As an aside, at the last minute, on the way out the door, it dawned on me that taking my camera might be a good idea. I didn't know if photography would be allowed at the Colonial, but after seeing all of those people trying to take shots with their phones, I realized that with my X-Pro1 I'd be much less annoying/disruptive than everyone else trying to snap shots...

Random thoughts on Fleetwood Mac

As I'm sitting here watching a recent Fleetwood Mac concert on TV, here are a few of random thoughts about the band: 

• I can't think of many vocalists I like better than Stevie Nicks. She has such a distinctive voice; you know it's her immediately (I feel the same way about Natalie Merchant...There's an intoxicating richness to both of their voices).
• For a 60+ year old guy, Lindsey Buckingham still has great hair. And he can play the hell out of that Turner guitar.
• Mick Fleetword still has those crazy eyes. I bet he's a trip to hang out with.
• I don't have much to say about John McVie. I'm not sure anyone does.
• I love the Rumours album, but I could do without most of the Christine McVie songs. They just don't do it for me. I wish that "Silver Springs" would have made the album instead of being buried as an outtake for 20 years.

George Carlin on "stuff"

This cracked me up because I've been tagging recent posts with "stuff" lately. I'm admittedly a hypocrite because I both agree with the sentiment of this bit and also want more guitars.

"These are a few of my favorite things" #2 - Drybox wallet

This is an odd choice for a "favorite thing" in that it has been replaced by the previous item in this series, but my last wallet was awesome too. These little dryboxes are meant for kyakers/boaters to keep their ID/cards dry, but they makes for a perfect little wallet for a few cards and bills. There's also the benefit of the lanyard, so that (a) if you have no pockets you can wear it around your neck or (b) if you're paranoid about being pick-pocketed you can strap it to your belt. This one will probably come back during the summer at some point. The only downside to these is that they only last about a year before the hinge breaks, but $10 a year isn't bad for a groovy wallet.

"These are a few of my favorite things" #1 - DODOcase iPhone wallet

In the spirit of good old American consumerism and materialism, I was planning on writing a post listing my "Top 10 Favorite Things" or something along those lines. But generating the list became overwhelming, so I figured I'd just do a series of short posts with individual items that I find indispensible whenever they popped into my head...So here goes #1:

The DODOcase iPhone Durables Wallet is a sleeve for your phone and wallet all in one. This has effectively combined two pockets full of stuff into one. A few cards and a couple of bills* slip into the side pockets (one on each side) and your phone goes in the middle. If they could figure out how to get my keys in there too, I'd be down to one thing to grab on my way out the door each day. Simple + functional + quality = awesome.

*This works well because I'm almost at the point where I don't use cash for anything these days. I can go weeks with the same $20 bill in my wallet.

Things I'm waiting (impatiently) for...

1. Summer vacation. That's a no-brainer.

2. A trip to Europe; either Barcelona or the UK. Unfortunately, that might not be the same as #1 above. We had a trip to London and Edinburgh planned a few summers ago, but at the last minute our flight got canceled due to the Icelandic volcano ash cloud. Come to think of it, put Iceland on the "to go" list too.

3. Fuji's forthcoming 10-24mm f/4 lens. The recently released 14mm f/2.8 is tempting, but I'd be willing to trade one stop for the zoom range of the 10-24mm, especially given the impressive high ISO performance of the X-Pro1. I'm moderately tempted by the 55-200mm lens that is also on the roadmap; I'm not sure how much it would get used, but I can imagine it would come in handy once in a while. The other planned lenses are interesting too (23mm f/1.4, 27mm f/2.8, and 56mm f/1.4 f/1.2), but I'm not sure if I'll have a need for any of them, and the 18-55mm zoom looks like a nice kit lens, but I'm not interested in it with the primes that I currently have. Update: broke down and got the 14mm and 55-200mm lenses, but still want the 10-24mm! Update 2: I'm committing to the Fuji X system for my primary shooting. I got the X-E1 with 18-55mm kit lens when it went on clearance, and along the way have picked up the 27mm, 56mm, and 10-24mm lenses.

4. The backordered GateKeeper straps from F-Stop, to enhance the flexibility of the Kenti pack that I just got. Update 1: still no GateKeepers, but I've added a Loka pack and found an alternative to the Gatekeepers that should suffice in the meantime. Update 2: Gatekeepers have landed. Still waiting on the rain cover for my Loka...It's been almost 6 months.

5. The next iPad ("iPad 5"). I somehow put a small crack on the screen of my iPad (not in the viewable area, but annoying nonetheless), and rather than pay to get it fixed, I'm waiting for the new model. Hopefully it's spring 2013, not fall. Update: The iPad Air was announced in October 2013. I'll be queuing up to get one, unless I decide to downsize to the new Retina Mini instead...

F-Stop Kenti: First impressions

My F-Stop Kenti arrived yesterday (see my post on deciding to order the Kenti here); here are some first impressions (sorry for the crappy iPhone photos, but my cameras were in the bag!): 

• It's really well made, and I like that it comes with a storage bag to keep it clean when stuffed in a closet (although hopefully I'll be able to use it often enough that it doesn't get tossed into the closet).
• The laptop sleeve is advertised to fit a 13" machine, and the 13" MacBook Air that I tried was a perfect fit. A 13" MacBook Pro would probably do okay, but it would be tighter. The slot is well-padded and a 13" laptop in its own sleeve would likely not fit.
• The back slot that is intended for a hydration bladder fits an iPad nicely.

 

• If you take out the interior dividers (two of them, held in place by velcro in a T-shape to create the top compartment and two side-accessed compartments), a 15" MacBook Pro in a sleeve fits in there. Of course, then you lose the well-designed area for camera gear, but in a pinch you can carry a larger laptop in the Kenti if you don't need to carry camera gear (or if you have a small amount of gear in its own padded cases). But it makes me think that the Kenti could have been designed to hold a 15" laptop without increasing the overall depth of the pack by more than an inch or so (at some point I'll post more on why I'm fixated on this point...it boils down to fact that I've got a 15" MacBook Pro although I'm trying to get to the point where I'm traveling with only an iPad and not bringing a laptop. My laptop is only a year old; if it was older I'd plan on replacing it with a 13" MBAir).
• Although I don't have any trips planned, I wanted to test it out with some gear. In addition to my iPad in the back slot, I loaded it up with my Fuji X-Pro1 and three lenses (35mm attached, 18mm and 60mm in small LowePro lens cases) on one side (with room to spare), and Fuji x100 and Nikon 10.5mm fisheye (with attached Novoflex Nikon to Fuji adaptor, in a lens case) on the other side (with room to spare; nothing in the top compartment) and walked the few hundred yards to work with the pack on my back. The Fuji gear is admittedly very light, but basically it didn't feel like there was any gear in the pack. I can imagine that even with a heavier kit (my D90 and a few lenses like my Tokina 11-16mm, Nikon 105mm micro, 50mm prime, and the fisheye...what has become my standard travel kit), it would be very comfortable. Update: See my new post on fitting my Nikon gear in the Kenti here.

 

• "Foliage green" = medium grey (with very slight green tint). I knew that when I ordered it (based on the pictures online, with are true-to-shade) and really like the color, but I don't think I'd ever say that this bag is green.
• One thing I wish the that Kenti included was a place for a water bottle, although I don't really know how I'd change the design to accommodate one. I know it has the hydration bladder slot, but I don't have a hydration system (and don't plan on getting one...it seems more trouble than it's worth, at least for my uses). I suppose what I'll end up doing is strapping a pouch for a water bottle somewhere on the pack (either the hipbelt or on the back using F-Stop's Gatekeeper system).

On big guitars and (past) shoulder pain

Since high school I've had on-and-off trouble with my right shoulder. I attribute it to playing too much whiffle ball as a kid. Trying to throw a plastic sphere that weighs about an ounce as hard as you can for hours on end can't be good for one's rotator cuff. Baseball as a teenager, volleyball in college, and softball in grad school didn't help things. I remember being tested by a doctor when I was in my early 20s, and he showed me that my left (non-dominant) shoulder was significantly stronger than my right.

One place this began to manifest itself was in playing guitar; I found I'd get an achy shoulder if I played a big guitar (e.g., a dreadnought or jumbo) for any prolonged period of time. This led me down the path of a few smaller bodied guitars, like the Taylor koa 414 grand auditorium, Larrivée LS-05, Larrivée parlour, and Collings OM2HA (all now departed) that were part of that phase. 

The other day I realized that, amazingly, this problem seems to have worked itself out. I've been playing bigger guitars almost exclusively for the last few years without any shoulder pain or issues at all. How could that be?

I think there are two factors: 

1. A few years ago I retired from playing softball (where I had always been a left-side infielder); I haven't thrown a ball since, and also haven't had shoulder pain. A coincidence?

2. I've playing guitar standing up (with a strap) much more since I started participating in bluegrass jams. No more being slumped over the guitar while seated, which puts stress on one's shoulder. I can play for hours at a jam with no shoulder trouble at all. It's amazing what a little bit of good posture will do! I'll get a sore back from standing in one place that long, but that's another problem (that can alleviated with stretching and movement).

Although I recently have jumped back into the small guitar world with a Martin 00-DB, that was not a reaction to shoulder pain (like with past small guitar purchases). I'm happy to learn that a 30-something year old body can still heal (my experience with going over the handlebars of my bicycle at 40mph a few years ago, with hardly a bump or bruise to show for it, also was encouraging as a sign of prolonged youthfulness, but that's another story).

Almond extended joy

We moved into a huge house in the fall, and one unforeseen downside to a big house is that our wifi signal doesn't make it from one side to another, upstairs to where we have our home offices. Yesterday I read David Pogue's review of the Almond router and wifi extender and thought that this might be a solution to our problem. Two minutes after opening up the box the Almond was configued and broadcasting our extended signal. So far, so good. Hopefully this will fix our problem...Stay tuned!

We also have an increasing number of wireless devices in the house pulling from the signal: three laptops (and only one is mine!), a Mac Mini media center, an Apple TV, three iPhones (one is my old one that is basically functioning as an iPod touch and bedside alarm clock), an iPad, and a Samsung Galaxy Note. I wonder if we need more bandwidth too? First world problem!

When I move to Australia, I'm going to live in one of these

F-Stop Kenti preview

(also see: F-Stop Kenti: First impressions | F-Stop Kenti: What's in there?)

In the lead-up to summer vacation, I figured it was time to look into a camera backpack. In the past I've used:

• The F-Stop Brooklyn SlingF-Stop's Brooklyn Sling, a nice solution for walking around town with my Fuji X-Pro1, a couple of lenses, and iPad. On recent trips to California and New Orleans this worked really well. But for a bigger kit, laptop, and more substantial hiking (i.e., carrying a bit more non-photography gear; more flexibility and support), this isn't the right solution due its modest size. I should do a proper review of it at some point in the future, but for now see a video of it here.
• An older 40 liter LoweAlpine daypack that I got in Alaska more than a decade ago. This worked okay, although it's a little bigger and bulkier than necessary, and my gear got a bit soggy when we were caught in a storm in Rome a few years back.
• A light-weight backpack (the Mountain Hardware Scrambler 30) with a Crumpler Haven (large) camera insert when I was in Amsterdam, Bavaria, and Italy last year. This was mostly a function of wanting something light and packable that could be stuffed into my bigger backpacking pack for when I was traveling from city to city, and could be unpacked, filled with gear, and used as a daypack once I reached a destination city. This was an okay solution, although not the most comfortable pack when stuffed with lenses and access to gear was limited due to it being a top-loader.

Mountain Hardware Scrambler 30 and Crumpler Haven

Here's what I'm looking for in a pack (at least for this summer vacation, which doesn't include living out of a large backpack and could have some nice hiking opportunites; update: check out pictures from Silver Falls State Park in Oregon here): 

• Room for and convenient access to a camera body and ~4 lenses (my bigger Nikon kit or smaller Fuji system), along with space for a bit of non-photography gear.
• A slot for a laptop...Not because I plan on carrying a MacBook everywhere, but for the flight to/from the west coast I'd like to keep all my gear in one carry-on. This is assuming that I take my laptop. I've started to travel only with an iPad...not sure what I'll do on this trip yet. A place for my iPad is also a must.
• Comfort and load-carrying functionality of a good hiking daypack, including a real hip belt and compression straps for keeping the load strapped down. A rain cover is a plus too, since we're headed to the Pacific northwest.
• Flexibility to strap a lens case, water bottle, or jacket to the outside of the pack if necessary.
• After having to gate-check my "carry on" due to overhead space running out on a couple of flights in the last few years (and thus having to scramble to keep my camera gear from going into the belly of the plane), I'd love a pack that's small enough to fit under an airplane seat if necessary.
• It shouldn't look like an ugly camera bag; an understated hiking/backpacking vibe is preferable.

Given my positive experience with the Brooklyn Sling, I began looking at F-Stop's other offerings. I was very tempted by the Loka and Guru. The Loka meets every one of the above criteria other than fitting easily under an airplane seat (at least when it's fully packed). I love everything about it, but it's a bit more bag than I need (update: okay...maybe I do need it). The Guru seems like a great solution, very flexible and just about the right size. But, and I know it's shallow, I don't love the looks of the bag as much as the rest of F-Stop line and it's currently out of stock anyways. And although it's smaller (in volume) than the Loka, it is not as slim as the smallest bag in F-Stop's Mountain series: the Kenti.

The Kenti meets all of my stated criteria, with one minor exception: it does have a laptop compartment, but it's limited to 13" machines and I currently have a 15" MacBook Pro (but do have access to a 13" MB Air that I could use). But it is perfectly sized for my needs (I hope!), has side access, and is built like "pro" backpacking gear. So I've got one incoming in "foliage green" (the medium grey in the photos below). I'll try to do a review once the Kenti is here next week (or once I've taken it on a trip).

Update: F-Stop Kenti: First impressions | F-Stop Kenti: What's in there?

Summer plans, revised

I've been gearing up to write about my planned trip to Beijing for six weeks this summer, where I was scheduled to teach two sections of introductory psychology. I was going to muse on a variety of (the usual) topics, including thoughts about teaching psychology to Chinese students, how I anticipated surviving there when I don't particularly like Chinese food, some ideas for travel and what sorts of touristy things I was planning on doing, and, of course, thoughts about the photography opportunities.

But...I just found out that the program I was supposed to be participating in had to cancel its Beijing program due to some new policies that have put a damper on enrollments. So I'm bummed and now have to think about other plans for the summer (and other things to write about here). 

It's my parents 40th anniversary this summer, and I've be planning on that for a while; in fact I had them move their party so that I could leave for China right afterwards. So now I'm still planning on going to their celebration, but can take more time on (and getting to) the west coast. Some ideas: 

• A drive out there, including seeing friends in the Twin Cities (although I haven't asked them yet...yes Abs, I know you might be reading this) and Denver on the way.
• Hitting some of the parks out that way (Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glancier, Waterton, etc); we visited some of those in 2007, but it would be nice to go again.
• Doing a jaunt through the Olympic Penninsula and up to Victoria Island and Vancouver. And just because my favorite psychology study was run there, the Capilano suspension bridge.
• Exploring eastern Oregon...I've never really been more than a few miles east of I-5.
• Spending more time in Portland, including seeing my brother, nephew, and niece.

 More to come as our plans develop!

Ryan Adams @ Abbey Road (2011)

Okay, now I sort of want a red/white/blue Buck Owens 'American' guitar...

A window into Kevin Kopp's craft

I'm a big fan of the guitars that Kevin Kopp builds, and brace-shaping is one of the most interesting steps in guitar building, so this video really grabbed me.

Photo of the week - February 19, 2013

At the Saint Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans. Fuji X-Pro1 with 35mm lens @ f/1.4. Processed with Snapseed (Mac version).

It's the busy time of year for relationship scientists...

See the rest of the cards I made here.

Martin 00-DB: Overcoming preconceptions

A couple of weeks ago I commented on the conservative nature of guitar players and their preferences in materials and construction techniques. Exotic tonewoods. Ebony appointments. Dovetail neck joints. Traditionally X-braced tops. And I started thinking about the use of sustainable materials in lutherie. What guitars out there have been designed and constructed with environmental concerns in mind? I started digging around and ran across a guitar that I had vaguely been aware of previously, but hadn't thought about at the time: Martin's 00-DB Jeff Tweedy signature model. I'm typically not a fan of artist-sponsored models, but this one has an understated elegance to it, and is FSC certified, fully using sustainable materials. Plus, it's got some other attributes that make it an interesting guitar...Mahogany top, sizes, and back, 00-size, deep body, 1.75" nut with a V-shaped profile. And Wilco is one of my favorite bands.

It does buck some traditional construction choices, at least by Martin standards. In particular, it doesn't use Martin's standard dovetailed neck joint; it's built with Martin's "hybrid X-bracing" rather than the bracing design that has been used by the company for a hundred years; it sports a synthetic fretbroad and bridge made of Richlite rather than ebony or rosewood.

I've been interested in a small-bodied guitar with a mahogany top for a while, so I issued a challenge to myself (as if a guitar purchase can be considered a challenge!): could I get over my preconceptions about guitars and be open to these non-traditional features? I like the idea of supporting environmental causes with my wallet; that's not a particularly difficult challenge. But I found myself slipping back into old ways as I did my internet research...What about moving up to a Santa Cruz 00 1929, a modern guitar with its fair share of vintage features? Maybe small-bodied Collings with a mahogany top? A custom mahogany-topped Martin? After a couple of weeks of cognitively chasing these options (and mentally doubling the cost of an eventual purchase), it dawned on me that I had lost the point of this guitar: The 00-DB is cool guitar that makes use of modern design and construction choices and is a statement about environmental sustainability. So here it comes...I'm looking forward to it arriving.* Here are the specs (PDF) and an article about it in Martin's The Sounding Board newsletter (PDF; #33, July 2012).

*I did play a 00-DB Jeffy Tweedy for a few minutes at a local "big-box" store where I refuse to spend money. It seems to me that this guitar is exactly opposite to the big-box store mentality. I don't understand why people shop at places like this; the prices are higher than what you can find at good independent shops and they aren't cool places to hang out. I can't comment on the sound of this guitar yet, although I enjoyed the one I played.

image source: http://thedailywilco.tumblr.com/post/20658381160/jeff-tweedy-playing-his-new-signature-series

Photo of the week - February 12, 2013

At the Saint Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans. Fuji X-Pro1 with 35mm lens @ f/8. Processed with Snapseed (Mac version).