Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 for $79 (Black Friday)

Adobe has Photoshop Lightroom on sale for Black Friday as usual. Grab it while it’s hot!

UDS-R (Raring Ringtail) Group Photo

Those of you in the UDS-R (Raring Ringtail) group photo must have been quite disappointed this time around! Instead of having to climb precarious ladders or hang out of third-story windows to get the shot I had a nice stable balcony to stand on! Truth be told, while taping the boundaries, my cohort Brian and I were trying to figure out how to get me up into the tree for sheer comedy value. No luck. Maybe next time.

Ubuntu Developer Summit Raring Ringtail (UDS-R) at Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, EU – 29th Oct – 1st Nov 2012 [cc by-sa 2012 Sean Sosik-Hamor]. High-resolution originals can be downloaded in the SmugMug galleries:

• UDS-R (Raring Ringtail) event photostream on: Facebook 1 of 2 | Facebook 2 of 2 | SmugMug
• UDS-R (Raring Ringtail) logistics photostream on: Facebook | SmugMug
• Chippoke the Traveling Hedgehog at UDS-R (Raring Ringtail) on: SmugMug

Since my shiny new EOS M was still preordered and didn’t arrive in time the setup was the same as Budapest, Orlando, and Oakland; shot with my workhorse EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM mounted to the  EOS-1D Mark IV on 10 FPS burst to increase the chances of getting a usable shot with all the movement in the crowd. Unfortunately the poor lighting meant I was shooting relatively high ISOs so there’s quite a bit of noise on the originals. Flash photography in the rest of the gallery was lit by a Speedlite 580EX II with a few shots here and there taken with the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM.

Sean Sosik-Hamor taking the UDS-R (Raring Ringtail) Group Photo (Photo by Jeff Lane)

I’m a little late to the game but Adobe Creative Suite 6 was announced a month or so ago. Rather than pay the $1,000+ to follow the CS5 to CS6 Design & Web Premium upgrade path I opted instead to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud which grants full access to Master Collection. At $29/month for the first year for current Creative Suite owners then $49/month thereafter it was a simple decision to make.

Another UDS, another chance for me to risk life and limb by climbing dangerously high objects to get a good vantage point to take the group photo! Setup was the same as Orlando; shot with my workhorse EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM mounted to the usual EOS-1D Mark IV on 10 FPS burst to increase the chances of getting a usable shot with all the movement in the crowd. Unfortunately the poor lighting meant I was shooting insanely high ISOs so there’s quite a bit of noise on the originals.

UDS-Q photos cc by-sa 2012 Sean Sosik-Hamor (prints can be ordered by clicking the Buy button in the gallery):

• UDS-Q event photostream on: Facebook | SmugMug
• UDS-Q logistics photostream on: Facebook | SmugMug
• Chippoke the Traveling Hedgehog at UDS-Q on: SmugMug
• Bike Happy Hour Party (05/10/2012) on: Facebook | SmugMug

Photo by Bilal Akhtar showing the secret behind the UDS-Q Group Photo!

Another behind the scenes shot showing what went into the UDS-Q Group Photo. cc by-sa Howard Dyckoff.

Exploring Taipei (March 2012)

Wandering the streets of Taipei and enjoying the sights!

This commercial isn’t real, neither are society’s standards of beauty. – Jesse Rosten

A pair short films by Jesse Rosten offers a humorous but blunt commentary on what is considered beautiful in today’s fast-paced advertising-fueled market. Sometimes makeup isn’t enough. Sometimes, just sometimes, you need Fotoshop by Adobé.

5.11 Tactical B Class Uniform Shirt

Although I haven’t written up a review yet I’ve become a big fan of 5.11 Tactical Taclite Pro vented polyester/cotton ripstop shirts which MSRP for $54.99 USD. They’re absolutely perfect for both photography and travel with hidden document pockets to store your phone, passport, travel documents, memory cards, and anything else you can stuff in!

So when I saw that 5.11 Tactical had their polyester/rayon B Class Uniform Shirt on Closeout for only $5.99 I jumped at the chance to pick up a few. They’re not vented like the Taclite Pro (which actually makes them a bit dressier) but have the same Teflon® treatment and hidden document pockets.

The only thing I’m a bit weary of is that these are indeed police/military uniform shirts with badge rivets and shoulder straps which may make wearing my Lowepro Fastpack 350 uncomfortable. But for $5.99 I’ll take that chance for a great shirt to toss into my Go Bag.

As a bonus, use coupon code 511TACSIGN at 5.11 Tactical to get 15% off your order (may not be valid on closeout items; I haven’t tried).

It’s déjà vu all over again! It looks just like last year, only a bit more organized! Since getting everyone balanced in a group photo the size of this is akin to herding cats I decided to lay down boundaries with gaffer tape like at UDS-O in Budapest. It worked out extremely well; it’s much easier to say “stay inside the pink tape” than to bark orders over the crowd to get individual people to move and fill in the gaps. And remember, if you can’t see my lens, I can’t see you!

UDS-P photos cc by-sa 2011 Sean Sosik-Hamor (prints can be ordered by clicking the Buy button in the gallery):

• UDS-P full photostream (285 images total)
• UDS-P group photos and close-ups
• Monday night Meet and Greet
• Friday night UDS Party (Ubuntu Allstars)
• Chippoke the Traveling Hedgehog
• Google Plus album for tagging

Shot with my workhorse EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM mounted to the usual EOS-1D Mark IV on 10 FPS burst to increase the chances of getting a usable shot with all the movement in the crowd. Apologies for taking a while to get these posted; it’s been a hectic four weeks of travel, event support, and sprinting.

Following what appears to be a new UDS tradition Randall managed to capture me herding everyone into the photo box made out of pink tape! (cc by-sa 2.0 rrnwexec)

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Bastard at House of Toth (October 2011)

Even the rain couldn’t dissuade the dedicated competitors from battling for the honorary title of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Bastard at House of Toth while consuming massive amounts of bacon!

4th of July (07/03/2011)

Tasty grilled dead critters, blowing stuff up, cakes and pie, and roasted marshmallows! What could be better?