Heath McConnell

Kayak Fishing

2010-09-03T22:20:19Z

My wife said, “You said you would never get in a kayak, what changed”? I have really been getting into fishing this summer more than ever in my life. The reason for the change? My son. My oldest son is now at an age that he always wants to go fishing. So, seeing how he is hungry for the fun, I started getting excited too. We have fished quite a lot from shore and by canoe.

One evening we were fishing around Fern Ridge reservoir by canoe. We happened to be getting out while a guy in a sea kayak was loading up. I talked to him a while and realized I want to try this kayak thing out. I began looking online for kayak fishing info and found that it is quite the flowering sport. There are guys catching Marlin, shark and 70 pound Yellowtail in kayaks. I don’t know that I can do the ocean thing, but I love bass fishing. I figured I could get into the cover a lot easier in a kayak.

I began to watch Craiglook and finally found something on Craigslist in my area. It was a no name brand fishing Kayak that the guy was willing to trade a camp stove for. So last week sometime I acquired this Sit-inside fishing Kayak, a Future Beach Trophy 144. I was pretty excited as it would be a lot easier to manage than a big-O canoe.

I have been out a few times now and have found that it is very stable, I can stand up in it, and was surprised at how easily I could paddle up the Willamette in it. Next up is a camping trip in it. I will be adding more images to this slideshow as I take them.

Here are my recent images…

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There is are two types of kayaks, sit-on-top and sit-inside. The sit on top type are very hard to flip and can carry as much gear as a barge. The sit inside type, which is what I went with keeps you dry, really, that is the only advantage. I Oregon, I thought it was a good Idea to be protected from the rain.

For more Fishing Kayak info visit:

http://www.outdoorplay.com/Fishing-Kayaks-Kayaking

http://kayakfishingtv.oncourss.com/

http://www.canoekayak.com/

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/

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Coastal Waters

2010-09-03T23:44:58Z

My son and I took a trip to Newport, Oregon today. Here a few shots from the day. I was very amazed at how quickly our time flew by. From this trip I have learned the difference between shooting with a point and shoot…and using a Canon 7D. I like the dSLR myself…what do you think?

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How to shoot fireworks

2010-07-04T07:24:05Z

I thought it to be a good idea to repost this “how to shoot fireworks” post from last year.

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How To Photograph Fireworks
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How to unscramble DVD chapters on your DVD backups

2010-07-02T18:56:02Z

So if you have ever used Handbrake to back up your DVD collection, you really want to read this. This post helped me with one of the most frustrating issues of backup…the chapters being scrambled on the backup.

This post Here, tells how to overcome it. Just make sure you log in to see all the example screenshots.

Rock Voice Demo

2010-07-01T17:48:16Z

So, I had a friend ask for a very quick demo of a rock voice…Here it is dude! Strong Tower-

Like A Stone-

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Towers Of Love

2010-06-25T01:41:04Z

My dog was running through very tall grass. I wondered what it must be like to him, getting hit in the face by it all. I got down to see what he sees and took this…

Seeds Of The valley

2010-06-24T16:20:47Z

I was supposed to have band practice the other night. It turned out that everyone cancelled on me. So I went fishing. I needed the relaxation. At one point I could only focus on capturing images with my phone. This is one of them. This area of the valley is the grass seed capital of the world.

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Band Practice

2010-06-11T21:50:21Z

Wednesday night we had band practice, just like any other wed. This time we actually started working on an original.

Jon had a song on guitar and we all went over it a few times. We recorded the whole night and then recorded just the main guitar to put online so we could practice and come up with parts for next practice.

All in all, it was a good time…nice to be playing music again outside the walls. :0)

Protected: Practice-100609

2010-06-10T15:57:52Z

For Sale | CyberSync Flash Trigger Set

2010-04-28T23:39:32Z

I have a Paul C. Buff CyberSyncs which includes the Transmitter CSRB and Receiver CST. I am selling them as a set only. These units have actually only been used for about 3-4 shoots. They are excellent units that never failed…ever. I moved to TTL transmitters and need to sell these. I am asking $110 but will take the best offer.

The CST Transmitter: This small hotshoe mounted flash trigger transmitter responds to the camera sync signal and sends the radio signal on one of sixteen selectable frequencies (Banks). The use of selectable frequencies provides increased integrity in the presence of interference signals over other systems that use a single frequency and merely vary the encoding to determine operating channels or banks.

The transmitter contains a lithium coin cell type battery in a convenient slide out tray for easy replacement. Battery life is in excess of one year in typical use, without requiring an on/off switch. Inexpensive replacement batteries are commonly available at drug stores such as Walgreens, etc. There are no wires or cords involved as the transmitter simply slides onto your hotshoe and is always ready to go. A Test button is provided for firing the system manually.

CST’s other features:
flush-mount test button
10 fps capabilities

CSRB Receiver:

The CyberSync™ transmitter/receiver pair may be used to trigger all Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ studio flash units as well as most other flash brands employing a standard phone jack or mini phone jack sync input. Connection to flash units using “H” or “PC” style connections is possible with suitable adapter cables.

It is generally advisable to use a separate receiver for each flash unit in your system, though it is feasible to use only one receiver connected to one of your flash units and allowing additional flash units to fire via their flash-sensitive trippers. This method, however, will not result in freedom from tripping by flashes from other photographers who might be shooting in the same area. If you are using our LG4X or RC1 wired remote system it is possible to connect one receiver to the wired remote control and to allow the connected lights to fire from the remote wiring without interaction with other photographers.
REPEATER MODE
Assume you are lighting a scene several hundred feet from your camera location. Position a CSR or CSRB midway between the camera and the scene and place it in repeater mode. When you fire the camera the repeater will receive the camera signal, then regenerate it for transmission to the more distant receivers. If a flash unit is connected to the repeater it will fire normally from the camera signal. The more distant flash units may also fire from the camera signal if they are close enough. If not, they will fire from the regenerated signal of the repeater.
Using a repeater delays the signal by an additional 1/4000 second. The resulting latency of 1/2000 second total is still fast enough to allow the camera exposure time to be set one click below the camera’s maximum sync speed in most uses. It is not generally advisable to use more than one repeater in a setup. If two repeaters are used and both receive the same transmission, both will regenerate at the same instant and interfere with one another. There is a piece of velcro on the side for attaching to strobe.

Original packaging and manual included.

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For Sale: Pro Tools Mbox 2 mini

2010-06-02T20:09:15Z

I am selling an Digidesign Mbox2 mini I purchased for a job and never used again. The unit is in mint condition and comes with the original packaging and all its included items. I am asking $200, but will take the best offer.

Specs (from Sweetwater’s site):

Digidesign’s Mbox 2 Mini is one of the smallest, most affordable Pro Tools LE systems ever! Whether you’re a singer/songwriter who’s new to recording or a seasoned pro on the go, Mbox 2 Mini packs professional features into a robust, ultra compact, easy-to-use audio workstation to record and mix music wherever your inspiration takes you. And with its compact size, Mbox 2 Mini literally puts the power of Pro Tools in the palm of your hand. It comes with award-winning, easy-to-use Pro Tools LE software, which provides you with many of the same tools the pros use on major recordings and in films. And because Pro Tools is the industry standard, you can use your Mbox 2 Mini-recorded sessions in any Pro Tools-equipped studio around the world!

The USB-powered Mbox 2 Mini gives you two channels of Pro Tools recording, so it’s ideal for the singer/songwriter, podcaster, or anyone with basic recording needs. Just a plug a microphone into the first channel and your acoustic guitar or keyboard in the second channel, and you’ll be ready to record at better-than-CD quality! The Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini features stereo outputs, so you can listen to your creations through a pair of studio monitors. And you can always plug your favorite pair of headphones right into the handy front-panel headphone jack.

All in all, this streamlined interface is ideal for desktop production and on-the-go projects… no wonder, the Mbox 2 Mini is one of Sweetwater’s best sellers!

Of course, the heart of the Mbox 2 system is the powerful Digidesign Pro Tools LE software — the same software used in countless professional recording studios and post houses across the world (just like any other DAW). The tracks that you create in Pro Tools LE can be instantly opened and used in those same pro studios — take your sessions to a Pro Tools|HD-equipped studio and have them mixed by a pro, or enjoy having your entire body of work be fully compatible and usable whenever it’s time to make the move into a larger system — with Pro Tools LE, you become a part of the largest community of digital audio workstation users in the world — right from the moment you open the box!

Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Features at a Glance:

Professional sound quality (up to 24-bit/48 kHz)
Two simultaneous analog inputs and outputs
One XLR analog input for connecting a microphone
Two 1/4″ line-/instrument-level (DI) analog inputs for connecting guitars, basses, keyboards, synthesizers, drum machines, and more
Zero-latency monitoring
Compact, rugged metal enclosure for maximum portability and durability
Powered by USB (USB 1.1 connection, cable included)
Front-panel volume control and monitor mute switch
Two 1/4″ analog monitor outputs
Stereo headphone output
48-volt phantom power
Kensington Security Lock

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Migrating from Lightroom to Aperture 3

2010-04-18T00:38:14Z

So I have decided to switch to Aperture 3 for all my imaging library and adjustment needs (those not requiring “deep” editing in Photoshop). There seems to be a lot of debate over this kind of thing. There are a lot of irrational claims to fames and all sorts of jim crackery, however, I went with what makes my workflow not only fun, but easier and faster. I will begin with some issues I had with Lightroom, then things I like about Aperture and finally on to the HOW. Take the jump to find out more…

When I started looking for an image library management system and a way to make non-destructive edits I did a side-by-side comparison of Aperture 2 and Lightroom 2. The only reason I went with Lightroom was due to the tight integration between Lightroom and other Adobe products, especially Photoshop. Lightroom, however, was a very slow learning curve compared to Aperture.

A few things bugged me about Aperture. any image I created in Photoshop showed up in Aperture in some weird, “what the heck is that”, kind of thumbnail (even with the “compatability” choice checked), and still does. The other thing was integration between Photoshop. Lightroom has an export as “Photomerge”, “Layers”, and “HDR”. At that time, This was an important feature to me and still is, but not a deciding factor any longer. Lastly, I felt Lightroom was highly regarded among the Photography profession, of which I say…”who cares” now.

Those were all fine and good things, however, I started getting tired of things in Lightroom, pertaining to my workflow. I can’t stand having to go to some other “module” to do different tasks. It stifles my workflow. If I am going through images and want to make some adjustments, I have to open the “Develop” module and do my work in there and then return. It is the same with “Slideshow”, “Web” and “Print”. It just didn’t work for me.

I also hated the four bars around the working area. Sure I could hide them, but it was always a hassle when I didn’t want it to be. I simply love the Full-Screen window in Aperture 3. I can hear people arguing now, but it is about MY tastes. I love it.

I think the feature I am MOST excited about, next to the simple, fast workflow enhancement, is the Set Compare Item feature. I shoot a lot of events and have found this simply enjoyable. So lets say I have 25 shots that are VERY similar of something, whether a scene in a play, a group, a wedding party, etc. Basically I pick the first one, set the compare mode (option+o). The chosen image pops up on the left, outlined in green, and the images to compare are on the right. I then use my left and right arrow keys to speed me through the images. When I see one better, I choose the Set Compare Item or the return key. That image now moves to the left and I compare it to the rest. Love this feature and how it works for me.

Next on the list of things I love in Aperture is having all my albums, slideshows, books and smart albums under the actual project. Albums are the same as collections in Lightroom as show below.

As you can see, everything is there under one project. This example is of a structure I created that I use as a template. When I add a new wedding, all I need to do is right click on the project titled “date-client name” and choose “Duplicate Project Structure”. This creates a new project that only needs renamed. Cool!

There is another feature I like… Vault. Basically, Vault is a backup. You plug in any type of external drive you plan to use for a backup and give the new vault a name. You can have many vaults. One for monthly, weekly or daily. I have one for the studio and one I keep off site.

If you have a managed library, everything is backed up to the vault. If you have a referenced library then you will have to use Time Machine or Backup (an update came out today for Backup) to back up those Originals.

Next of loves…Editing. I love the ability to add or remove any brushes or adjustments I choose without having to undo everything back to that adjustment. Adjustments in Aperture are called bricks. You can just undo any adjustment you did and only that adjustment is undone. There is a lot more that I simply LOVE in the Aperture adjustments over Lightroom, but we need to move on. I will say that I miss the Gradient filter in Lightroom. It is a real shame not to have that in Aperture!

There are some other features that I love like the video/audio, slideshow and book creation, but I need to get to the point of the post…How to Migrate from Lightroom to Aperture.

So now I have two libraries Aperture and Lightroom. How do I get all me edits, ratings, keywords, etc into Aperture WITH the images. This turns out to be a tough topic. You can’t just import your RAW files and have Aperture read the metedata adjustments you made. So what do you do. Here is what I had to do.

Since I have my Lightroom drive, including the library, backed up, I had to make a decision that I feel sucks. Bake the changes into the images from Lightroom on export or recreate them in Aperture. I couldn’t fathom all the lost time doing the latter so I chose to bake.

The next choice is in what format to bake too. I chose PSD in 16 instead of 8. I chose this because I felt it was better than TIFF and JPG due to the fact I use Photoshop. I felt JPG would degrade my images, even if ever so slightly.

I then decided to move a folder at a time instead of the entire library into Aperture at once. On my first folder, which was the “Project”, I chose to filter by metadata in the Lightroom library. I then set it up to be able to choose two choices…”Develop Preset” and “File Type”. This gave me the option to choose all the images that I actually edited. I used the File type so I didn’t include any JPG’s, which would have been 900px-72dpi or less for web. All the images under this filter where then exported as PSD-16′s to a folder and imported into Aperture. Everything came across. I had all the metadata, keywords and ratings as well as edits like adjustments and cropping. The only thing that didn’t come across was color labels. Next I chose to export all the rest of the images that had no adjustments done to them as DNG files. I selected both sets of exported images into Aperture and it seemed to work perfect. Doing this in increments has allowed me to check for errors that may have happened in the process.

Finally, I love this version of Aperture enough that it was a no-brainer for me to migrate despite the work to do it. it really brings me back to not hating post and it makes my workflow easier, which in turn benefits clients.

There where only two posts I found helpful to my endeavor… http://shootraw.co.uk/blog/migrate-aperture-lightroom-aperture/ and http://www.bokehbrothers.com/2010/03/17/migrating-from-lightroom-to-aperture-3/

I hope this is helpful to someone out there. If I find any interesting things in my migration I will add an update to this post.

NOTE:Follow this post at your own risk, I am not responsible for anything you do.

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Printing only the events you want in iCal

2010-04-11T20:28:49Z

For as long as I can remember I have been keeping track of things in iCal. iCal’s printing function simply put…it sucks. One problem I have always had is being able to print ONLY the topics that came up from an iCal search.

Lets say I have an iCal group called “Photography”. now lets say that within that group I want to print all Events with a keywords “initial client meeting”. You simply cannot do it in iCal, so I created an action, which I offer here ( iCal Print select events (44) ).

When you first open the action, it asks what iCal “group” you wish to choose from. It then asks for a filter such as a keyword, date, or whatever you want to use for your criteria, just enter the criteria. Next it compiles the results and slaps those results into a TextEdit document for you to print or save.

You should play around with the various workflow items to get EXACTLY what you want.

Hope this helps someone.

Firsts | Backpacking and Hammocks

2010-08-26T06:17:08Z

I was typing a post over at the Hammock Forums when I started to get lost in nostalgia. It was my first official backpacking trip out in the Mojave Desert and my pack was 60+ pounds… OUCH!

Scene from the top of "Sawtooth"

The place was known to us as “Sawtooth”, because of all the jagged rocks. I somewhat grew up out in the Mojave Desert and this place was our equivalent of “Being out there”. You had to scramble up Boulder mountains similar to Joshua Tree, CA but much bigger mountains and more jagged.

I love the outdoors (20 years of Land Surveying probably helped that). I loaded my first pack late in my life…1992. I had an external frame pack loaded to some astronomical proportion, making me wish I had astronomical propulsion… I think it was like 60 pounds or so. I headed out through the Mojave Desert to climb the mountains at Sawtooth, as we called it. This place was in between Barstow, CA and Big Bear, CA. Despite the weight, I was hooked on the wild freedom of bushwacking where no man has been.

First Backpacking Camp

I climbed until I finally found a flat ledge that fit my tent and a 3 foot area for a fire. It was perfect. I set up camp, made a fire and enjoyed the evening. After going to bed, I was rudely awakened by a wind storm…not uncommon in the desert. What was so alarming about this was that the wind was blowing so hard on my cheep-o, two-man, Costco tent that the wall had me smashed against the opposite wall. I tried my best to push and hold that wall back, but eventually the heavy fiberglass poles snapped. I had to pack up and walk out of there by the light of my little REI candle lantern…but I digress.

Not sure how I found out about hammock camping, but I did and I bought a Hennessy Backpacker Ultralight A-Sym. Not knowing what to expect, as I had never really been in a hammock before, I decided to try it out while car camping with the family.

We camp a whole lot and I always wake up a million times through the night with sore shoulders. I brought the hammock on one of our trips and tried it out. I was amazed at how comfortable it was. I decided I would never sleep on the ground again.

First Hammock Camp

I have used the hammock since 2008 and have got my son into it as well. I have also decided there are some things about the HH I really don’t like and am gearin’ up to hop into the DIY’er arena to make what I want (removable netting, simpler suspension and a top entry).

I never realized there where that many hangers or the cottage industry until I found the Hammock Forums. That is one place FULL of useful info. I have also noticed, or so it appears, that the majority of people on there are East coasters… or at least people from THAT side of the Rockies.

I am looking forward to getting others hooked on “hanging” in the woods as well as hooking up with some PacWest hangers for events & etc.

Hammocking in the Waldo Lake Wilderness…

Flash the double-edged sword | How to remove Flash pop-up ads

2010-03-02T20:57:01Z

Are you like the rest of the population and sick-n-tired of all the popup ads when you are browsing? Do you wonder why you still get popup ads even though you have set your browser, Safari, Firefox or Chrome to “Block Popup Ads”?

So…double-edged sword huh? Yes, There are a lot of nice things flash has done to the web experience, however there are also some bad things as well. Ads and security issues versus pretty.

All ads are annoying, however, animated or pop-up ads are the equivalent of someone ramming a dead, dry and golden christmas tree branch into your eye. You know what I am talking about. You thought you took control of this blinding experience and chose to “Block pop-up ads” only to find that your browsing experience is more and more riddled by pop-up ads. Let me let you in on a secret… it is Adobe Flash. that’s right. the ads are added into the ad (he he). let’s look at an example shall we…

The annoying popup

http://backpacker.com and a reason I hated the site until now. When you load their page you are greeted with what seems a normal magazine theme website and then all of a sudden… BAM!… your hit with a “subscribe to our magazine”ad. This is a slap in the face to those of us who already subscribe, and the reason I stopped visiting the site. The following screen shot shows what I mean (There are also non-pop-up ads that are Flash animations as well out there).

There may be hope. There is a program I found out about on the TUAW blog called “ClickToFlash”. Basically, this is actually a plug-in for your browser… and if I am not mistaken, only for Safari. You can turn this little sucker on and CHOOSE, yes YOU choose whether or not you want the Flash to display. The settings page and an example of how a page will be viewed are shown below.

ClickToFlash Settings

What it will look like

All you have to do is click the little gear icon in the corner of the Flash content and you will get an options menu similar to the on in the image titled What it will look like.

I also wondered if this would stop the stupid pop-ups within the YouTube videos themselves. Since I have my settings set to view the H.264 versions, that is the choice I am given to open. So I clicked on the little “H.264″ text (as opposed to the “Flash” text) in the middle of the RANDOM video I chose. Low and behold, the pop-up ad that played in the Flash version of the video did not show up in the H.264 version. That is sweat!

So, where do you get this tasty morsel filter? Right HERE.

As a side note, I am told there is also a healthy dose of security risks through Flash

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Aperture 3 Feature for Backpackers and Photography

2010-03-03T19:56:41Z

Here is a feature in Apple’s Aperture 3 that I ALWAYS wished I had…visual map reference of all my outdoor and backpacking adventures tied to all my images and GPS tracks for cataloging my adventures. I take Landscapes as part of my love for backpacking in the wild. Not only that, but as I journey around the backcountry I come across places I really want to remember AND find again. Aperture 3 makes that possible.

Let’s say I hiked a section of the PCT and at some point I went off trail for a few days to a place I chose on a map. Let’s say I found a beautiful, crystal clear lake and a very secluded private camp. I took LOTS of pictures all over the area for my journal, as well as a few beautiful Landscapes for my portfolio. My camera does NOT have GPS capabilities so what can I do?

Once the images are loaded into aperture, I take out my GPS unit I was using to track my adventure and hook it to the Mac. I then import the “Track” into Places. If you know anything about GPS at all, you know it is all based on time (I could explain but it would take a lot more time than I have). So now that your track is in Places, You can drag your pictures that you took, while on that track, to the track in Places. Now for the “magic” part… because GPS is time based and so is your track, all your pictures are added to the correct place on the track. How? The pictures are all time stamped, are they not? The track is time generated and all the math is done by Aperture.

Very cool!

I could use this for car camping too. We hate going to campgrounds or paying to camp, so we head out on logging roads and 4×4 to places way out in the woods. All the pictures of camp are now referenced so that we can find them AND remember what the camp was like (big, small, water, sites are all cataloged). Even if we are camping somewhere else and come across a great camp site, we now put it in the “Campsites” project for future reference.

Here is Apples videos on the feature:

Importing GPS Locations from a GPS Tracker or iPhone

Jim Richardson on Places

If you liked this please retweet

UPDATE 02-03-2010:

So I import my GPS track from the Garmin, it places it, but I get no “assign photos” dialog after dragging the first one. I then drag the rest and they all go to one point. I go back and look at the track log and find every time stamp is set to 5pm. There is no way for the photos to align, because none of them were taken at exactly 5pm.

After working this over a few times, I have found that any time I clear a GPS track in my Garmin GPSmap 60 (after saving internally of course), Garmin has made it so that all timestamp information is stripped. How dumb is that. This means that the 12 tracks I currently have saved in my GPS unit have NO time stamps and this feature will not work.

The only way to get timestamp information is from the “Active” track. So, let’s say I turned my unit on at the trailhead, and tracked all the way to the camp 4 hours away. Let’s also say that I want to track, for safety reasons, my bushwacking adventure for the day to a small lake. You could go on and on with this for as long as your out there.

Unfortunately, Garmin has made the saving of individual tracks useless in this case. You have to keep all your travels as one LONG “Active” track. Once you get home and download the track, using your program of choice, you can split the tracks usually within the program.

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Photographer on top of the Empire State Building

2010-02-26T18:40:24Z

I am always amazed at the great heights and lengths photographers will go to to create that image they see in their minds eye… their art. I found this video on Syl’s site, Pixsylated.com. This crazy guy, Joe McNally, working for National Geographic, climes up the needle on top of the Empire State Building. See joe’s AMAZING pictures and story on his blog here.

Aperture 3.0.1 Update Available

2010-02-26T06:10:48Z

Today Apple came out with an update to Aperture 3 via Software Update that fixes a lot of items. Note that if you are currently testing Aperture 3 in Demo mode, the update will not show up in Software Update, or at least it did not for me. I used the method below to get the download, however it will not work. It says, “Aperture 3.0 or later is required to install this update.”

demo users are outa luck

Standalone Installer

Apple Downloads offers a standalone installer that you can use instead, if you wish.

More information is available here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2518

What I had to do was remove the demo version of Aperture 3 and install the demo version Aperture 3.0.1 in its place. What a headache.

UPDATE 2/25/2010:I was over at the Flick Aperture group and found a very simple way to do the upgrade, I haven’t tried it, but user Theoden said, “Go to Library > Preferences and delete “com.apple.AECT.plist” then re-run the installer.” This is WAY easier!

Beautiful

2010-02-19T21:17:06Z

Beautiful (spontaneous song)- I love creating on the spot, especially in music. To be able to do this you need a band that is led by The Spirit, which is what you get at Life Bible Church. There is a strong value in seeking His presence. This piece came under an incredible atmosphere of His presence in the room. There was a long stretch of silence after this where all were in a state of awe of Him, face down.

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The Three Sisters BW

2010-02-19T20:57:31Z

After the first of the year, I was in need of a much anticipated break from everything. I decided to head out wheeling and camping in the Coburg hills. I took our new puppy and off we went. From the top you can see the Willamette Valley from Eugene to Albany on the West side and all the way to the Cascades on the East side. I came around a corner on one of the trails and this view opened before me. It gave me a sense of tranquility and peace and I marveled at the wonder of creation.

Changing The Oil

2010-02-19T00:04:37Z

I was heading home after dropping my son off and needed to add some oil to my thirsty International Scout. I pulled over and while I was waiting for the oil to pour in I saw this image. It was as if the the oak tree had a magnetic field drawing the lightrays down from the sky.

Will the iPad be useful for photographers

2010-02-03T22:46:30Z

The looooong awaited Apple tablet has been announced. The iPad. So, what will this device mean to photographers if anything?

I think there could be a lot of great use potential in it’s small form factor. I think it could be great tethered. What about showing images to a client.

It is possible that the iPad is all you may need to stay in touch while on the road, no need for the large 17″laptop. It seems that it will be a great new device, however, only time will tell. What are your thoughts?

Easiest Way To Download YouTube videos

2010-01-14T23:06:50Z

For all you Mac users out there, here is the simplest way to download videos from YouTube. All you need is Safari, a YouTube video and a double click of the mouse. Lets check it out.

Open YouTube and pick a video. Once your video has started playing,

open the Activity window (Command-Option-A, which shows the Activity window), it is under “Window” in the pull down menus.
Now look for the YouTube website listed. When you find it you may need to expand it by clicking the flyout triangle next to it.
Look through the listings under the YouTube website and find the largest file size. The file size should be larger than 5MB.
Double click that link and Safari will download the file, probably called Video.flv.

Now you can play it with VLC or with QuickTime (only if you have Perian installed).

Spotify

2010-02-19T00:09:16Z

Have you heard of Spotify? You have had to of by now if you listen to music at all and aren’t an oldster. Spotify is the bomb! Have you ever wanted to listen to a song by an artist you never heard? how about listening to an entire album? How about listening to over 6 million songs in there entirety? Spotify rocks!

That is what you can do. You can listen to any artist in their entirety. For example… If you did a search on Radiohead, which I am listening to right now, there are 515 tracks available for me to listen to in their entirety. There are 35 albums of Radiohead or albums they have appeared on. The service really rocks.

The program is similar to iTunes. You have a column on the left that lists your searches and playlists. So lets say I wanted to create a Belly playlist. I search for bands similar to Belly like, Lush, Ride, Silver Sun Pickups, Teenage Fanclub, etc. I then drag and drop them to the playlist. I could also drag and drop anything to the desktop or an email to provide a link.

So, you ask, whats the catch? First, it is not available in the USA (unless you are hacker/tech savvy), which mostly has to do with the fat cats at the labels. The other catch is ads. Yes there are ads, but what did you expect for free? An add comes on about as much as on Pandora. If you purchased a subscription, assuming it was available here, there would be no ads and you could use the service offline, which is where it would shine. You would also have access to the mobile version.

There is also a “Radio” feature, however, I have found it sucks compared to Pandora, which I absolutely love for that purpose. When I chose the Radiohead station it played some pretty lame bands. Lets face it… online radio like Pandora is for discovery. You don’t want to have to listen to sucky music. There is way to much of that already. From my experience, Pandora picks the best selection of artists that fit each other than any other service I have ever used (LastFM, Slacker, etc). But with Spotify, I can make my own radio station.

One last thing… you can purchase tracks just like any other service, however, they are yours to keep. No limitation on what you can play them on or how many times you burn them. Due to the fat cats, you can only download the purchase 5 times. Might be an issue to some, but I don’t see it as one.

Don’t forget to reTweet to get the word out so that it will be legal here soon. In case you missed it, there is a link showing how to get the service here, but who knows how long the hack will work.

Update: There is even Karaoke versions of tunes… trippy.

Apple Updates Logic Pro and Mainstage

2010-01-13T04:26:37Z

Apple has just updated Logic Pro to version 9.1 and Mainstage to version 2.1. There are a number of numerous fixes and updates to the programs. Finally Apple has added 64-bit support. Not only has it fixed and updated, but there are also a number of things that are no longer working due to the 64-bit.

According to user “shivermetimbers”, at the Logic Pro Help forum, the following features are not currently available when using Logic Pro 9.1 in 64-bit mode.

Firewire streaming of video
Digital Cinema Desktop
AAF import and export
EuCon control surface support
Automap of parameters with control surfaces
OMF import and export
Conversion to MP3
Recycle (REX) file support
ReWire support
Vienna Symphonic Library Tool
Logic Node processing
AKAI format sample import

Interesting, to say the least.

Not sure how this is going to work for me, since Mainstage 2 had already doubled the resource usage on my Macbook Pro. Hopefully all goes well. I will keep you up to date in the comment section on what I find in my use of the new release.

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The Eponymous Album Update #6 | A Blessing

2010-01-11T22:26:02Z

My prayers for a miracle have been answered!

Well, as you may know from recent posts, I had a hard drive crash. The hard drive circuit board fried and it caused some damage to the physical disc. I sent the drive to DriveSavers because I get a discount for being a Professional Photographers of America member and they offered free shipping both ways as well as a free estimate.

Once DriveSavers had gone over the drive, they called and gave me a quote. My oh my, I could not afford the cost they quoted me…$1700. That is a lot of clams for me. So, how important is the data on the drive? That data was irreplaceable. The hard drive was full (320GB) of images and audio. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money, so I told them to send it back. Some one from DriveSavers called me back later and said they will not ship it back until I call PPA. The guy said that PPA may have a program for me. So, I called PPA.

It turns out that as part of your membership to PPA you are covered for hard drive failure. You are allowed a certain amount per year (contact PPA for details). All you have to do is come up with the $200 deductible and they cover the rest, up to PPA’s specified amount. I had no idea I had this coverage. My data was saved! I was instructed to call PPA’s lawyers, who told me this was an indemnification case, and they dealt with all the issues.

I finally received my hard drive, as well as the backup drive I sent. Everything all intact. If there is ever a lesson to be learned, it is backup, backup, backup. With Apples Time Machine, there is absolutely no excuse for loss of data. You can seamlessly and effortlessly backup your main drive and any connected drive without even having to think about anything. I have found nothing like it anywhere.

The only challenge is finding a large enough reliable storage configuration. That is a topic all its own, however, I am eyeing the Drobo product line.

A New Band | Hobby or Profession?

2010-01-12T06:15:11Z

Friday night I met with 2 other worship leaders, (Jon Green and Michelle Lind) and one wacked out drummer (Josh Heidrick), for what may be the beginnings of a new band. Josh had suggested we all get together to see what happens. After a little conversation via Facebook, we all agreed on Friday night.

The practice was interesting considering there were a lot of things I wasn’t used to, and I am sure they were thinking the same thing. We went over a few songs and there were some nice harmonies spicing up the dish every here and again… I love harmonies. Practice went well, but it was obvious we all tried very hard to be polite and not step on any toes. Now that the FIRST practice is out of the way maybe our next practice will involve a potluck and the 14 kids we have between all of us so they can get acquainted.

This has all generated some questions… or should I say, this has amplified some questions I have about this band thing that I really want to work. I can see potential if we will focus and aim at a target as soon as possible. What do I mean by, “…aim at a target…”? Just like the others, I want to see this thing succeed. Not only do I want to see it succeed, but I would like it to be more than a hobby. It is to late in life to be dividing my time between family and ANOTHER hobby. To avoid that I can only participate in things that are focussed on two disciplines within my life goals, music and photography, which are my two arenas of gifting and anointing. Anything outside of these two areas is aiming at a chicken when I am hunting elk, or trying to make three baskets with one basketball and one shot, or trying to be an airline pilot while trying to be involved in your 3 YOUNG kids lives. I have to focus, but this is a rabbit trail from what I REALLY mean about, “aim at a target”. To answer that question, I need to know if this new band thing is desired to be a…hobby or profession?

What WILL it be? It is never to early to decide and the sooner the better. To find the answer to that we have got to think about the future, where we plan to go, where we want to go, and how we will get there. Without such thought I think we will fizzle out like every other band that hasn’t realized it is a business first and art second. I know when I say that word “business’, it can generate all kinds of thoughts like, “I don’t want a business, I want to jam and have fun”, or how about, “I already have a profession and I don’t want to switch”. I want both (For me I do not want to give up my photography business, but I want the music/band business. I believe I can balance both)! These kind of thoughts are heading off on a rabbit trail from the reality of success though. It is about it being a hobby or a profession.

I could say simalar things of myself as a photographer. I just want to take pictures and create art. But you know, if I don’t force myself to realize I am actually running a “business”, I will never go anywhere. I have to determine what type of photography I want to focus on, what niche. I have to figure out how to let people even know I exist (marketing plan). I have to have a business account and think of taxes (whether I like it or not). I have to look at competitors and make sure my pricing is appropriate for my skill set, products offered and my “target”. I don’t want to do any of this, however, photography will just be a hobby if I do not deal with the business side of things. You can never support a family on a hobby! So why would it be any different for a band, especially where you have four or more “owners” involved? There has got to be a road map so that it is definitely NOT a hobby.

Like I said about my photography, I want to just have fun and see where it goes, but I know it will not go as far as I dream unless there is a certain business “understanding” of what the goals are, short and long-term, and a million other things like that. I tend to be a “fly by the seat of my pants” kind of guy so this advice is mostly for me, because I know it is true and will make for a solid foundation and a target to aim for. It is simply smart. Will we think or discuss this? I have no idea, but one thing is for sure… it will determine my involvement/commitment level. I will say once again that I want this to work because, for me, it is the other half of my goals to balance the scales.

UPDATE (1-11-2010 10:02pm): What about a worship band? Now you have a whole new set of thought processes and we get deeper into a web of thoughts on what is right and wrong, etc. After pondering all I rambled here, reading some input from my wife, and carefully weighing things out, I think for now I would like to relax a bit, feel things out, make some new friends, worship my God the way I worship and see what happens.

Anyone out there have any comments to this? We are open for discussion.

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Happy New Years 2010

2009-12-31T23:34:51Z

Tomorrow is the new year and I wanted to wish every one a Happy New Year. May your year be blessed and full of increase.

I have many things to do this new year. I need to redesign some of our website, design a few Album layouts for the purpose of offering wedding albums, offer a more focused Senior Portraits package, find a space for studio work, utilize social media more efficiently and more.

Once again, thank you to all of you,

Heath

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I Am Undone By You
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I Am Undone By You

2009-12-11T20:21:27Z

by Heath McConnell
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
You have given so much!

You have given life
You have given breath
You have given Love

We are consumed by you!

You have given shelter
You have given food
You have given healing

We are consumed by you!

You have given freedom
You have given power
You have given grace

I am consumed by you.

I have set my heart apart
All my desires I surrender to your name
I reach to you with my face on the ground
I am consumed by you

You have given me your life
you have given me your heart
you have given me your love

I am consumed by you!

Language flows, a language from deep inside
Words I do not know, feelings I cannot find words to
you are glorious, so glorious
you are my king and I am in love with you!

all you have given to me…
Here is my heart…
you can have it all…
Because…
I am Undone by you

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The Eponymous Album Update #6 | The Verdict

2009-12-01T22:48:12Z

I thought I would offer an update on the situation since I just received word on my drive situation.

Well, I just got word back from DriveSavers. The hard drive had electrical failures and damaged some of the disk. They said they were confident that they could retrieve all of the data for $1500-$2160. Unfortunately I am an artist and can’t afford such a price at the moment.

I guess my only option is to RE-record everything I have ever done…Every track, every EQ, every plugin setting, every crossfade, every automation, every master, every spontaneous song, everything. It really changes the importance of data management and backups in particular.

Looks like I will NOT have the album out by December 31st.

I am now thinking of recording this album live if I can find some “work for pizza and liner note attribution” musicians… any takers?

The Eponymous Album Update #5 | The Crash

2009-12-01T22:36:21Z

Today I set up the gear as usual to begin recording the last couple songs. I plugged in the external drive to the power supply but didn’t hear any startup noises. I thought it was strange. I tried a few thing and decided to investigate. I unplugged the eSATA wire and tried it… nothing. I then tried a different power supply… nothing.

I was beginning to worry now. You see, that was everything I had ever done. It had live sessions… it even had Pro Tools sessions-I stopped using Pro Tools years ago. The drive was basically my backup of all musical data. I had been feeling the need to back up lately, however, I am an artist, I have no money for things like that-or so the thoughts went. I then popped open various other external drives and put this drive in…dead! nothing. There is no sound, nothing. As you can imagine, I just about crapped soiled my pants.

I called DriveSavers ( being a PPA member gets me a 20% discount). They were nice enough until I got the quote… $700-$2700. Yikes! The fella said that the evaluation is free. He said they would send a box via Fedex Next day. He informed me that they pay for shipping to and from, even if the free estimate is rejected by you. All you do is put the drive in the box, add a drive to have them put the data on in the box as well, and send it off.

I really can’t pay the kind of money they quoted me. My prayer is that it will be something simple enough in the inspection that there is no charge. It really sucks, but basically you need two spare drives for every main drive. the two drives should be rotated and one kept off the premises. That is expensive, especially considering the rate I fill up hard drives with data.

I have learned enough to have my main Mac (Macbook Pro) set up with Time Machine. It is so simple! The problem is every time I dig into either of my MacBook Pro’s and change the hard drives to a bigger size, I have to change the Time machine drives to a bigger size. It is a crazy thing… data.

It was suggested I take donations to help ease the pain of the repair. Should you choose to donate to the recovery, an account has been set up for “Hard Drive Recovery”, you can do so here:

The Eponymous Album Update #4 | Recording Workflow

2009-11-05T07:23:25Z

I thought I would post an update on the status of my Eponymous album. I have been working really hard on getting this project done before the end of the year – completing at least one song per day. With this schedule I have recorded 10 songs so far and have three or four more to go. The album will be available worldwide in stores like iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, LaLa, etc. I am trying to find a reputable disk maker and am wavering between Oasis and Diskmakers (any other suggestions?) for the disks which will be available at my website, CD Baby and a few select stores.

For those that have asked for more details on my workflow I will give a quick numbered list of what’s up with that.

I use Logic Studio 9 (Logic Pro) as my DAW of choice. I absolutely love it!
I create a new session and name it. I also make sure that it stores absolutely everything, from impulse responses to sample files to notes in the project folder.
Next comes the tracks…
1. I set up a drum track with Ultrabeat as a metronome.
2. I setup three tracks for the acoustic guitar
3. I take a split stereo signal from both of my guitar pickups, using a stereo-to-dual-mono cable and record them on two separate tracks
4. I create two VOX tracks… one for melody and one for the BV if any.
I set the bit rate and tempo
Everything in items 1-4 are set up in a template so all I have to do is open the template, arm the tracks and record.
I then will setup my marker text so that the lyrics are on screen and change as per verse, chorus, bridge, etc. I really like this feature.
I then begin hardware routing
Vocals go through a Mojave Audio MA201-fet Microphone
1. The mic plugs straight into a MOTU Traveler – I don’t have the funds for the Universal Audio mic pre I want, so, unfortunately, I must plug straight into the Traveler.
The acoustic guitar is recorded by a AKG c1000s and fed straight into the Traveler.
1. I also have a sweet stereo pickup system on my acoustic that I record at the same time. I use an L.R. Baggs iMix internal mixer that mixes an M1 and a iBeam.
2. This signal is split at the stereo end pin jack, where I plug in a stereo-to-dual-mono cable. The cable is then plugged from the guitar into the LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI, which is fed to the Traveler.
3. as a side note… this custom pickup system cannot be beat for live playing. It far surpasses Taylor’s Expression System or any other system I have tried.
The MOTU Traveler is connected to an Alesis HD24XR for track backup ( I use it as main recording media for all my live playing) and to a MacBook Pro via Firewire.
The sessions are recorded to an external hard drive via an eSATA Expresscard.
I lay down the tracks
comp the best takes if needed
create a rough balance/mix
Send an MP3 to iTunes with all the ID3 tags set and title it [Title]-[mix#]-[date] so that I can check it out on different listening devices.
1. For those that don’t know, there is a huge difference between mixes and listening environments. What sounds good in your headphones will not sound the same in the computer speakers, which will sound way different than the home theatre or car stereo. This is important. Not every one listens to music solely on an iPod through earbuds.
Use the “Notes” window in the project, for the project (not the track notes), to enter the date recorded and what needs to be done next, which is mixing.

This has been my basic workflow/setup for the last 10 songs. The next step, once I feel I have all the tracks that are candidates for the album recorded and roughed mixed. I will begin the mix down process, which is another topic all together.

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Life Bible Church – Wyatt – Harrisburg, Oregon – 11/19/09 – Corporate Deliverance (lead worship)

2009-11-01T21:56:11Z

Activity	Corporate Deliverance (lead worship)
When	Thursday, November 19, 2009 7:00pm - All Ages
Where	Life Bible Church - Wyatt (map) 21211 Coburg Road Harrisburg, Oregon, USA 97446
Other Info	Deliverance class

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Life Bible Church – Wyatt – Harrisburg, Oregon – 11/05/09 – Men On Fire (lead worship)

2009-11-01T21:54:02Z

Activity	Men On Fire (lead worship)
When	Thursday, November 5, 2009 7:00pm - 21+
Where	Life Bible Church - Wyatt (map) 21211 Coburg Road Harrisburg, Oregon, USA 97446
Other Info	Men on fire is for the gathering and building of men.

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The Eponymous Album: Update

2009-10-31T22:18:58Z

Just paid the fees…It’s Official… The album will be available worldwide on all download services. Now to choose which songs are added to that album.

The Eponymous Album: Update

2009-10-31T22:15:39Z

In an attempt to actually get my material out, I have opted to offer an album that the songs are not so much stripped down versions as they are the beginnings of each song… How they started… Each song has began with an acoustic guitar and an Idea (or spontaneity). I tried to capture that feel of “beginnings” on this album.

The Eponymous Album: Update

2009-10-31T22:12:57Z

Spent the day recording a song called Refreshment for the new album.

Track your Tweets with Google Analytics

2009-10-27T01:49:04Z

I came across a great article on tracking Tweets with Google Analytics tonight and thought I would share it. Check it out here: http://www.epikone.com/blog/2008/09/02/tracking-twitter/

I have implemented the suggestion on my tweet of this post. We will see how it fares, if at all. I used URL builder for the URL.

Life Bible Church – Wyatt – Harrisburg, Oregon – 10/28/09 – FOH Sound Reinforcement

2009-10-22T20:34:02Z

Activity	FOH Sound Reinforcement
When	Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:00pm - 21+
Where	Life Bible Church - Wyatt (map) 21211 Coburg Road Harrisburg, Oregon, USA 97446
Other Info	Run sound for the evenings festivities

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National Federation of the Blind-Oregon State Convention

2009-12-07T03:03:39Z

on October 9, 2009, I joined with Carla McQuillan to play Irish Drinking songs one evening during the convention. To tell you the truth, I did not know what to expect. I didn’t know if there would be 1,00 people or 10 or anything else for that matter. It turns out that we were playing at a dinner auction. The guests would eat and we would play. They would then auction off a few things and we would play again and so on. It turned out to be a great evening. Carla and I sang a few of our favorite Irish tunes separately while both of us played guitar and then we both sang on a few.

All and all it was a very fun and high-spirited evening. The people were awesome and I look forward to the opportunity to do it again next year.

Thanks NFB Oregon!

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Village Green Resort – Cottage Grove, Oregon – 10/09/09 – National Federation of the Blind State Convention

2009-10-05T20:25:47Z

Activity	National Federation of the Blind State Convention
When	Friday, October 9, 2009 TBD - 503-585-4318 for info - All Ages
Where	Village Green Resort (map) 725 Row River Road Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA 97424
Other Info	I will be joining others to play your favorite Irish songs at this NFB state convention. For more information please contact Village Green Resort

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BBQ and a Shoot

2009-12-03T17:56:38Z

I got the opportunity to shoot some friends of mine during a BBQ we had this month. They just had a baby not to long ago and wanted to get something to send to family. It for the kickin’ it at home” look and Things went pretty well. We had a great time. We grilled some shrimp and fish and had the most amazing fish tacos. Oh man… these were the best fish tacos I had ever had, thanks to Erin’s special sauce. Mmmmm!

At one point in the evening one of us asked if I could shoot his art. He is a very talented artist and is worth looking up should you like ANYTHING artistic. Anyway, he had some new project he was working on that was wire guys (that is some of his paintings in the back). I began shooting, seeing how things began to flow, getting inspired, when all of a sudden it was time to get everyone home to bed. Here are some of the images from that night. We also discussed a couple band portrait ideas. I’ll keep you posted on that.

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Snow Leopard out on Friday

2009-08-26T07:29:48Z

As you may or may not know, Apple will be making Snow Leopard OSX available on friday. The upgrade operating system is only $29 bucks. What does Windows cost for an upgrade… once you figure out what version you need? The family pack runs $49 bones which includes, I believe, 5 licenses.

For all the latest check here.

Free Song Download-Beautiful

2009-08-26T01:20:22Z

This piece is a spontaneous song that came under an incredible atmosphere of His presence in the room. There was a long stretch of silence after this where all were in a state of awe of Him, face down.
[wp_eStore_free_download:product_id:2:end]

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Snow Leopard out on Friday
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Changing Colors In A Black and White Image

2009-08-21T02:01:49Z

There was a little dialogue on my Facebook about my images. The friend was wondering what type of camera I was using. On their last comment, I decided to make a quick screencast to show what I meant by the colors in a RAW black and white image using Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

Friend: “These are great pics. What kind of camera do you use”?
HM: “It really isn’t the camera”!

“You can take awesome pictures with a point-and-shoot (as some of these are) or an OLD oatmeal tub with the right size pinhole (as I have done before)”. “What matters is 1)your eye to see the shot, 2) the technique to get the shot and 3) knowledge in the details needed to produce the final image”.

“That being said, my main camera is a Canon Rebel (for now)”. “I love the layout of the controls on it”.

HM: “Here is an example (both examples are in this album)”:

“This is a shot that is nice because it has my family in it, other than that, it is in no way an “artsy” image” http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2308627&l=9b0df11833&id=557537005

“This is the same shot, except getting up at 5:30am in the morning just to find premium shots (the watermark doesn’t count as part of the shot) at the premium hours (dusk and dawn)”. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2312519&l=20bfe0ad63&id=557537005

“I will say that SLR’s are way more configurable than a point-and-shoot… and, for me, it is a must to shoot in RAW as opposed to JPG”.

“My Longwinded answer that, I hope, will inspire others to create with what they have”.

HM: ”Last comment”… ”As an example of #3 as you mentioned from my list… I deemed that this final image had to be B&W”… “I think it works, although I would love to play with the clarity, contrast and move the colors (they are still there) around to totally change the shades of B&W, I figured a lot of that would be lost in the Facebook compression they use on my images”.

“Here is the link”: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2313651&l=c7193eabe1&id=557537005

Friend: “Ok, I saw the pic, B&W, but it is interesting that I did not see that the colors were still there until you mentioned it”. “Very creative”.

HM: “here is a link to a video I made for you on what I meant by changing the colors in black and white”.

Scandinavian Festival-Junction City-Oregon

2009-12-03T19:30:18Z

This weekend is the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City. The festival runs from August 13-16th this year and is quite popular. My son and I went in the afternoon on Thursday and had a great time. He has gotten to the point were he accepts the fact, that no matter where we are, I will be taking pictures. It didn’t seem like there were as many booths as previous years, but I could be wrong.

Here are a couple of images from that trip.

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Images can be found at Heath McConnell Photography

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