I may be the only photographer who has not bought an iPhone. It’s not that I’m anti-Apple. To the contrary, I bought my first Mac back when 512K of RAM was a big deal. Seriously, 512K. I’ve owned Apple products ever since. My issue with the uber-cool and uber-useful iPhone is that AT&T isn’t uber-good out here in the sticks of central California.

So today was a big day for me. My Droid Incredible arrived…a day before it was supposed to. Tomorrow, April 29, is the official release date. Verizon shipped it yesterday. The box was clearly marked Two-Day. I’m not going to whine that Fedex delivered it a day early.

My hope is that I can figure out how to have the benefits of the Verizon network and an iPhone-esque experience. My first task is to sort out how to port over all my critical Mac data — iCal and Address Book especially. My plan is to use Missing Sync For Android by mark/space. Years ago, when having a Palm Pilot was real status, I used Missing Sync For Palm with great success. I have the same hopes for the Incredible and promise to report my successes and failures here.

4/29 update: OK, so if you actually read the Missing Sync For Android page, iCal is listed under “Future Features.” Me… I just read the “Great Sync Features” at the top and saw the calendar icon below. Yes, I feel a bit duped after paying $39.95 for the software and then discovering that it does not yet sync my many calendars. We’ll see what the guys at Mark/Space say when I give them a call. As for another solution, there’s always the route of porting from iCal  up to Google calendar and then syncing into the Drin. Let’s just say some of the glow has already evaporated.

4/29 updates #2: Mark/Space advised that they have a two-way calendar sync in beta. Details here.

Here’s A Run Through The Box & Random Thoughts

1. (photo above) – The box measures 5.5″ x 5.5″ x 2″. As you can see, the packaging was created by an iDesigner.

2. The iDesigner minimalism continues inside the box.

3. The Incredible Battery, using a standard AA battery for scale.

4. The sculpted back with the lens for the 8mp camera and the dual LED flash. No word yet as to whether High-Speed Sync is available as an app. I have to doubt whether the thin plastic back will survive the life of the phone—seems very thin.

5. The back pops off to reveal the battery compartment and Micro-SD slot (on left side). I’ve already decided that I like the red and will buy the first red replacement cover that I come upon.

6. I always personalize my gear. See what I mean about having a red cover on the back?

7. I’m loving the small size of the charger and the fact that the phone will charge from a wall outlet or a USB port.

8. I’m also loving the idea that I can tether the phone to my laptop for Internet access. But, as of two hours ago, the software to do that is Windows only. I’ll see it I can make it work on my MacBook Pro via VMware Fusion. Yes, I’ll report that adventure here too.

9. The screen is bright and colorful. Funny, I think of myself in the same way. This must be a phone with good self-esteem.

10. This thing is, after all and before everything else, a phone.

Now, About The Name

For now, I’m calling it my Drin. Droid Incredible is too arrogant. I mean, what comes after incredible?

Don’t worry, I’ll share the adventure of figuring out how to use the Drin as any self-respecting photographer would want to use an iPhone. They call this a smartphone–I’m thinking that’s because you have to be damn smart to figure out how to use it. We’ll see if I am.

Today is the 10th Annual Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. Since it’s inception in 2001, WPPD has always been the last Sunday in April. Right now, there are photographers in every time zone making pinhole pix as their way of participating in WPPD. Last year, photographers in over 70 countries uploaded 3,200+ pinhole images made on WPPD to the official event site. You can get to all of the WPPD galleries here.

I’ve been an intermittent practitioner of pinhole photography since childhood. If you’re old enough, like me, you may remember making pinhole cameras out of a Quaker Oats box and a piece of foil. In art school, some five American presidents ago, I made a barrel-shaped, pinhole camera that used 20″x24″ litho film. Why? If you have to ask, you need to start shooting pinhole. It’s unpredictable. It’s surreal. It’s not bound by formulas and rules.

Rest assured that pinhole photography is alive and well today. While many pinhole shooters are traditionalists, meaning that they shoot film, there are a number of pinhole options for digital photographers.

The Lensbaby Pinhole Zone Plate is my favorite way to shoot pinhole photos on my DSLRs. As part of the versatile Optic Swap system it drops into the Lensbaby Composer. I’ve been a Lensbaby fan since their earliest days. If you don’t already know about all the creative options that Lensbaby provides, you definitely need to check out their site. The Lensbaby offers both a pinhole at f/177 and a zone plate at f/19. What’s the difference? You’ll have to check back. I’ll share pinhole and zone plate comparison photos after I shoot my WPPD 2010 pix.

Another great site for alternative optics is Pinhole Resource. They sell a wide range of pinhole cameras as well as options for digital photographers. I’ve carried one of their Digital Pinhole Body Caps in my bag for the past several years. Eric Renner, co-director of the Pinhole Resource, is the author of Pinhole Photography: From Histroic Techniques To Digital Applications.

Two other favorite books on pinhole photography are The Pinhole Camera: A Practical How-To Book… by Brian Krummel and Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity by Michelle Bates (which actually covers a wide range of fun-to-shoot cameras).

So, if you’re feeling trapped by all the digital technique and Photoshop know-how that you’ve worked so hard to learn, then bust loose and start shooting your world in a new way. Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is a great excuse to set aside that expensive glass and have some fun.

Speedliting.com Launched PixSylated has a new little sister (although she’s been growing very fast over the past two weeks). Speedliting.com, unlike PixSylated, will focus on a single theme — Canon flash photography.The site features a blog (“How-To“), pages and pages of my thoughts on gear, a schedule of events that I am teaching, and more. BTW, if you’re into small-flash, but don’t shoot Canon, you should check Speedliting out anyway. About 70% of the content is not brand specific.

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Speedliting Forum Launched Earlier this week, I launched the Speedliting Forum. As far as I know, this is the first web community that is focused exclusively on Canon flash. Several hundred Canon shooters from all around the world have joined and are beginning to ask questions and provide answers. There is even a group of sub-forums, sorted by experience level, where you can share/comment on photos. So, if you wake up one night with a question about something-Speedlite, this is the place to go. There are members online 24/7.

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SportsShooter.com Headliner Just this morning, I woke up to find that I’m the headliner on the widely read SportsShooter.com. I think sports photography is amazing. If there’s anything that proves that still photography shows us things that we cannot see, it’s sports photography. Funny thing is that my membership application to SportsShooter has been rejected twice because I didn’t have enough good sports pix to show. Maybe I’ll dust off that last application and give it another go. Seriously, SS, it’s quite an honor. You have my thanks!

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Frederick Van Interview A couple of days ago, I spent an hour talking and laughing with my friend, Frederick Van (who hosts the great TWiP podcast series) about my thoughts on flash photography. Head to Frederick’s site to listen in on our conversation. It’s also in the TWiP Episode 131 on iTunes.

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TechTock Interview Last week I spent an hour with Jack Howard, host of the TechTock podcast, talking about… small flash. As Jack dubbed the conversation, “Strobism From A Canon Speedlite Perspective”. You’ll find it on iTunes TechTock #35 or give it a listen right here.

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Speedliter’s Intensive™ Seminars I will kick off the spring tour of my seminar on Canon flash techniques next week in NYC at Adorama. Here’s a rundown of the dates on the schedule so far.

New York City – Sun March 14

Orlando – Sat March 27

Tampa – Sun., Mar 28

San Francisco – Sat May 1

Washington DC – Sat May 8 & Sun May 9

Los Angeles – Sat May 15

Atlanta – Sat May 22 & 2-day workshop May 23/24

Houston – Sat June 5

Chicago – Sat June 12

Boston – Sat June 19

London & other UK – in June or July (details TBA)

Paso Robles – 5-day workshop Oct 11-15

A whole flock of other dates are in the works for fall. The best way to find out about them is to subscribe to the Speedliter’s Mailing List (here).

A year ago today, ‘Lessons I Didn’t Learn In Photo School‘ debuted as my guest blog on Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider. Little did I know that those 13 micro-essays would be the start of a writing adventure that extended through much of 2009 here on PixSylated. Little did I know that LIDLIPS would connect me to 1000s of photographers around the world in a way I never expected.

So far, I have published a total of 100 LIDLIPS. You can read the whole collection here on PixSylated. You also get them in a book that is available worldwide (see the links below).

It seems appropriate that today, exactly a year after the adventure began, I should start publishing the second hundred.

LIDLIPS #101
Run when the wind is at your back – even if you didn’t plan on going in that direction.

Every once in a while, you will find yourself in a situation where your thoughts and actions resonate together in a way you didn’t expect. You’ll slide beyond the boundary of what you think you are capable of doing. You’ll realize that what you are doing is extremely good, but you won’t know where the ability to do it is coming from. When you feel the vibration and know that you are moving beyond your limits, keep going–even if you’re heading in a direction that seems foreign to you. Soon, it won’t seem so foreign and another horizon will appear.

So thank you Scott for letting me drive your blog for a day. Thank you Brad for extending the invitation. Without you, LIDLIPS would likely not have happened.

LIDLIPS Flickr Group

If you are a fan of LIDLIPS, join the LIDLIPS group on Flickr here. You can share your thoughts about specific LIDLIPS. You can share your LIDLIPS-inspired photos. If you have your own LIDLIPS, I hope you’ll share it there as well.

LIDLIPS Book Goes International

There’s no doubt that we live in a digital age. Books are no exception. Thanks to print-on-demand technology, you can literally get a printed copy of LIDLIPS out of a vending machine (this machine at these locations). Fortunately, the same technology also feeds the largest book distributors around the world. So even if LIDLIPS is out of stock today, it’s typically back in the warehouse within a week.

No matter where you live, there’s a copy of LIDLIPS close to you.

Amazon USA

Amazon Canada

Amazon UK

Amazon Germany

Amazon France

Amazon Japan

Book Depository (free shipping worldwide – great source for Australia and New Zealand!)

Autographed Copies are available via this page on PixSylated.

LIDLIPS Among Great Company

On a busy day recently, LIDLIPS popped up to #4 among photo criticism books. Talk about a reason to be humble… these are iconic titles. Now you know my inspiration for LIDLIPS #101.

This post was updated on Feb 18 and on Feb 20 after Zeiss announced that Compact Primes will be available in EOS mount.

There have been a couple of posts this morning about rumors about a new Canon HDLSR that someone may or may not have seen in Europe [here on Planet5D and here on Canon Rumors.] The buzz about the buzz about the rumor about the camera that may or may not exist is that it will shoot VIDEO RAW (my term). I’m no expert, of course. Here are my thoughts and hopes anyway.

1. VIDEO RAW won’t fit on a CF Card. The 5DM2 in H.264 cranks out 350mb a minute. I’m happy to shoot 5DM2 video on 8gb and 16gb CF cards. Uncompressed, 10-bit 1080P at 30 FPS [VIDEO RAW] would be over 13gb a minute!*  At 23.98 FPS it would be 10gb.* (You can do your own calculations here on the Video Footage Calculator on Digital Rebellion.) So, I’m thinking that VIDEO RAW and a CF-based capture system are not a good fit. (*Click here for more insights on VIDEO RAW data rates and the viability of CF in the comments.)

2. VIDEO RAW is already a standard workflow for some. The reason to shoot VIDEO RAW is the same as shooting PHOTO RAW — you want to maximize your options in post. The RED platform has been embraced by TV, Hollywood and commercials for this reason. ARRI, another industry-standard, also produces the equivalent of 35mm digital cameras with their own version of RAW for moviemaking. VIDEO RAW won’t be for everyone. If fact, it won’t be for many. But for those who need/want this level of control in post, the Canon platform will likely be more affordable than the Red, Arri and other solutions currently on the market.

Feb 18 update: Thanks to my bud Zeke Kamm at NicePhotoMag.com, I just learned that Zeiss will intro their Compact Primes with EOS mounts in April. Read about it on PhotoCineNews and AbleCine. That’s a Zeiss Compact Prime in the intro photo above. Lucky guess on my part! To borrow a phrase from Shane Hurlbut, these lenses will be a “game changer” for the utility of the HDSLR as a high-grade commercial platform.

Feb 20 update: Vincent Laforet has posted a detailed article on the new Zeiss lenses here. Consider it a must read.

3. VIDEO RAW does not make sense might fit on an HDLSR platform. Written prior to the Zeiss announcement> Beyond the issues of data capture, VIDEO RAW does not make sense on an HDLSR because of the mirror. Producers and directors who want the benefits of VIDEO RAW will likely want the benefits of shooting true cine lenses. They need the precision of a T-stop over an F-stop. They will want the ability to pull focus with exact precision. Canon L-glass is great for stills, but considered beginner’s glass for big ticket movies and commercials. (Read Shane Hurlbut’s great article on cine lenses here.) Now, the challenge with mounting an industry-standard PL-mount cine lens onto an HDSLR is that the rear objective is in the swing path of the mirror. There is literally no place for a flapping mirror behind a pro-grade cine lens.

My hopes about a new Canon digital cine platform

1. A modular box to which I can bolt the accessories I need for a particular shoot: data recorder, sound gear, external monitors, electronic viewfinder, etc.
2. A field-changeable lens mount so that I can use either EOS or PL lenses. I want the option to have a direct lens attachment for either mount – without having to buy two cameras or use an adapter (like this one). I want to be able to change it in the field with a hex-wrench. Good news: the new Zeiss compact primes will do this. Details by Laforet here.
3. Time code, zebra and all the other video standard-issue features.
4. A price-point that I can afford.

If you’re wondering if what I really want is for Canon to beat Red’s Scarlet to market, the answer is absolutely YES.

A Panavision Primo bolted onto a Canon 5DM2. From: Shane Hurlbut's blog. Click the photo to read his post.

PixSylated has a new sister in the blogosphere. Speedliting.com was launched this morning. Now you know the reason that I’ve been so scarce on Px for the past two weeks.

If you are a gear hound (Canon, Nikon or otherwise), the site features a number of mini-reviews about my favorite bits of Speedlite-mounted light mods, other Speedlite-oriented light mods, easy ways to move your Speedlite off-camera, and more.

Adorama Sponsors ‘Speedliter’s Intensive’ Tour

Thanks to the generous support of Adorama, I’ll be taking my Canon flash seminar on the road this spring and summer.

The first stop will be at Adorama’s flagship store in Manhattan on Sunday, March 14. Details here.

The second stop will be in Orlando on Saturday, March 27. That’s the day after Photoshop World closes. The venue is right across the street from the PsW convention hotel. If you are heading to Orlando for Photoshop World, why not spend an extra day with a legion of fellow Speedliters? Details here.

Dates for more cities will be announced very soon. The best way to learn about them is to have them delivered directly to your mailbox by subscribing to my Speedliters mailing list. Subscribe now.

Thanks Are Due To Many

Within minutes of my Tweeting the launch of Speedliting.com, many friends around the world (literally) joined in and spread the news. This following screengrab is just a small sampling. Thanks to all who are helping spread the word!

The just-published LensFlare 35 (Episode -36) features a podcast with yours truly and a slideshow in which I talk about the lighting of some of my favorite images. Click here to check it out.

I’m more than proud to announce that I will be teaching in NYC on Sunday, March 14th. Adorama will be hosting my ‘Speedliter’s Intensive’ seminar  at their flagship store in Manhattan’s Flatiron District (42 W 18th Street).

Click on the photo above to get all the details from Adorama’s site.

Details on dates for the ‘Speedliter’s Intensive’ in Orlando and other cities will be announced later this week.

Richard Avedon: Darkness & Light

Paul Caponigro

John Paul Caponigro

Joe McNally Climbs The Empire State Building

Annie Leibovitz Shoots Marie Antoinette

Drew Gardner Shoots Helen Pankhurst – Descendants Series

Masters of Photography Diane Arbus Part 1

Helmut Newton by June Newton

Joel Meyerowitz Photographs Ground Zero

John Sexton Talks About B&W In A Digital Age

Walter Iooss on Sports Photography

Surf Photographer Art Brewer

Martin Luther’s King’s famous “I have a dream” speech is as moving and meaningful today as it was 46 years ago.

If you do nothing else on this MLK Civil Rights Day, watch this video and embrace MLK’s message.

You’ll find the complete text of the speech here.