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Archive for December, 2008

It’s only a few hours away now so it’s time to lock the workstation and head out for some dinner and drinks. It’s been a heck of year. Lots of great events, plenty of memorable pictures (some I hope to actually get printed and framed) and lots of new things learn both in technique and software.

But now is the time to reflect on the accomplishments and make note of the mistakes, if for no other reason than to not do them again. But the slate washes clean today and its time to start anew. A new year lays ahead full of possibilities and goals to be set.

Work is done early, it’s time to pack up and head out. So to everyone out there, here’s to a wonderful New Year, full of excitement, prosperity and happiness! Thanks to everyone for letting me attend your events and for worming my way into your hobbies. I’ve enjoyed it immensely!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

A little over two years ago I put together a web server to host my blog and images. That little server has been running non-stop for almost two and a half years now and during that time it has come to host several different blogs, forums and picture galleries. Although underpowered (by modern standards) it has been a trooper and has served me admirably.

But over the Christmas break I put together a new server, using a more powerful even though somewhat dated machine. The original machine is a PIII 700mhz with a gig of ram.

Go ahead and laugh. The machine was kick ass back in 2000 when I built the thing. Dual processors and 1GB of ram was a rarity in those days. Now cellphones and DVD players have as much processing power.

I have leftover machine parts all over the place, so it was easy to bring up another machine. I chose an Intel Celeron 2.5Ghz machine as my new server. Go ahead and laugh again, but I’m not trying to build some crazy scalable datacenter used by hundreds of people. I just want a blog and a place to host images, so this will be more than adequate.

Since the machine is EIDE, (you remember that format right?) I have several extra drives which I can use with it. The boot drive is 80GB and I gave it a backup drive of 120GB. And since I can buy old EIDE drives for the cost of gum, I have plenty of hardware for this rig.

It was light on the memory so I ordered up 2GB of ram which just arrived last night. I spent the break installing Windows 2003 Server Web Edition (same as the current server) and transferring everything over.

Windows 2003 is already several years old so it would be cool to use Windows 2008, but since I don’t actually have Windows 2008 yet I didn’t use it. And since the hardware I’m using is closer to 2003 vintage it seemed a better idea to match up the hardware with the OS. No reason to get the sexy new OS and put on old hardware. That would be like sticking a hot bikini model in a Pinto. You might be able to make that word, but what are you going to get out of the deal?

While it may not be uber powerful with quad or even dual cores, I should get at least two years worth of service out of this rascal before I feel the need to upgrade again. The server has actually been running or a couple days now and it looks like things are going pretty well. And by well I mean nothing has crashed.

2009 will kick off with a brand new server that has 4 times the power of the original machine. It may be old and certainly won’t raise any eyebrows for it’s processing power, it will keep things running along very nicely. And I did all of this with about 1 minute of downtime as I switched the network cables over and put the new ram in last night. Didn’t notice anything did ya? I’m stealthy like that!

Ahh, the New Year’s Resolution. That non-binding promise we make to ourselves so that we can better ourselves for the upcoming year. Amidst glasses of eggnog and champagne we promise to change and do things differently.

So what are my resolutions for 2009? Well, I have been pondering that for a few days, trying to think of what I want to do, what I don’t want to do and what I would like to do better. Keep in mind we’re talking about photography here.

I think one thing I need to work on is being consistent with taking photos. I go weeks or even months without touching the camera, then an event comes along and I fire off 3,000 photos no problem. I feel I need to work on that in between time. Taking the daily photos or that slice of life style snapshot. But not those typical and quite frankly boring shots of posed people making silly faces and giving the thumbs up, but something with a little more substance and style. Maybe it would be taking the time out to create one “studio” photo a week like the classic shot of the bottle of wine and poured wine glasses, or popcorn popping in a skillet. Or maybe something less technical like capturing a heavy rainstorm or a classic sunset. I would like to try and look for a picture to take rather than just waiting for something to happen.

The track photos are fun to take, but I would like to try and put myself in a place to take more pictures, more frequently. There are still dozens of places I would like to that are only a short drive from where I live. If anything I need to make the time to go there and see what’s there. Overcoming the idleness will be the first thing. Once I get moving there should be plenty to do.

As far as equipment goes, there is always something to want, but I don’t think there is much more I need. I have a good variety of lenses I just need to get out there and make use of them.

When it comes to graphics software, I barely use it. I really need to take the time to sit down and learn the functions and techniques of Lightroom. While everyone says they want to learn Photoshop, I think that might be a bit too much. I think if I get comfortable with Lightroom, Photoshop will make a lot more sense. I certainly understand the concept of layers, masks, etc, but I very rarely put them into practice. I think that honestly comes down to the fact that I don’t take many pictures so I don’t feel there is anything I should be working on, then I take a few thousand and it’s too overwhelming to work on. If I take a few pictures per week or a handful a month it would seem more natural and less frustrating to work on them and nring out the best in the photos.

Where to go for 2009? Well, the beach is first on my list. There just seems to be so much to take pictures of, with the sea, the sand, the lighthouses, the sunsets, the quirky shops and the boats that a treasure trove awaits if I would just make the time to get there.

So there it is, a pretty simplistic list – take more pictures and try to take them at the beach. Well, it’s not a take your breath away sort of list, but there is a lot of potential there. Plenty of opportunity to try some new things see some new places and actually get some pictures worth printing.

The New Year is only a few hours away now so it’s time to make up some party plans, grab some food and margarita mix and let this crazy year slip away. It’s been a pretty good one and I’m anxious and excited about this next one. There is a lot I want to do, I just have to get out there and force myself to do it.

So what do you have planned for the New Year?