Despite his mismatched socks, we still trust this week’s guest, photographer and author Ben Long, to be our resident expert on travel and photography, and doing the two well together. In the time I’ve known him, Ben has taught photography in Florence, been on assignment in Africa, and ridden his motorcycle numerous times across the Great American Southwest. I think Deke actually met him on a cruise ship. The guy is everywhere. This week’s show is full of terrific tips for shooting on the road—whether you’re just driving up the road to your favorite watering hole, hiking out in the wilderness, or traveling to exotic lands in search of interesting local beverages.
Here are the key areas to think about next time you’re headed out on the open road:
Which camera should you take? Ben advocates both a point-and-shoot and a DSLR, and has good reasons for bringing both. What should you do about power? Ben actually goes solar when he’s out in the wilderness. How much memory should you take, and what about a computer for offloading/uploading your images? And what are your connectivity options when your’e out on safari or deep in the desert?
At this point, Ben takes out a “hackintosh” netbook that Deke tries to steal. (Here is a link to an article Ben wrote about why netbooks are great for photographers.)
And no travel show would be complete without a discussion of luggage. So then Deke and I share our vast knowledge of why our matching LowePro Fastpack 25s are awesome. Even if it’s embarrassing to have the same camera outfit on.
Just having this conversation makes me want to pack my bags for parts unknown. (The best I’ve got planned is San Francisco for Macworld next week, but Deke will be there, so it’s known but still a change of scenery.)
If you like to grab your gear and explore the world, then you can’t miss this show. Here’s the regular-quality (128kbps) audio file. You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save. For you audiophiles out there, here’s the link to the high-quality (320kbps) version. Be sure to download, don’t stream. And don’t forget the usual suggestion to subscribe via iTunes.
Until next week, dekeNomads, bon voyage!
Illustrator CS4 Question
Question: I have a 4 Layer object in Illustrator, how can I make parts of the top layer see the bottom layer? Reason is I need the top layer of the graphic which are the facial features to see the background of the Blue t-shirt so we can use one less color for the printing procedure. Thank you in advance.
Not sure I get the question
I’m not clear on what you mean by “see.” You can apply blend modes in Illustrator to bend the colors of layers. Does that help?
hello sorry i have not any camera
for to catch this clip…. but i have a mobile and i will try…..
CS4 Palette Problem.
Hi Deke, just need help on this one as you see in my print screen shots when the Adjustment palette is showing I can not get the Layers on the bottom to show, and when I click on F7 the layers will show but the adjustment panel will not, as you see on your videos both show, how can I fix this Thank You
Chris’
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x293/SpartanWarriors/?action=view¤t=CS4-6.jpg
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x293/SpartanWarriors/?action=view¤t=CS41.jpg
LAB, Margulis and 3 key strokes
I keep seeing that damn Dan Margulis (Kelby) video clip about using LAB (color) to change a red Corvette to green and hearing him spout off about it being only “3 key strokes” (but NEVER explaining what they are).
Even Burt Monroy, that fellow with the hugely over inflated ego, used this “clip” when he had Margulis on one of his shows.
so…
You being Numero Uno, King Of The Heap .... I’m hoping you can enlighten some of us as to what Margulis is yammering about.
How in the hell does one change a color (as well as is done in that damn Corvette video clip) using LAB with “three keystrokes”??????
Try this.
Collapse the Color palette and then both Layers and Adjustments should fit :)
Your screen is probably too small to show all 3 palettes.
Screen Not A problem.
It worked on my screen when it was Vista, but this happened when I switched to windows 7.
Here is an example when I click on Masks it will show the layers on the bottom but not in adjustments
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x293/SpartanWarriors/?action=view¤t=CS43.jpg
It must be the screen size :)
You see the Masks palette takes less space than Adjustments so it fits ok.
When you switched to win7 the bottom panel with your opened program icons is probably taller than it was in Vista, hence there is too little space for Layers palette (with Color and Adjustments visible at the same time). It is possibly a matter of just a few pixels that made the difference.
I think your right now,
Ok how can I make my bottom panel so when I don’t need it, it will float down and when I put my mouse on it, it will show up again?
never mind figured it out thanks;)
Quite humorously
A search for “Margulis Corvette red green Lab” comes up with this very page. So that’s not helpful.
Can you point me to the video?
Bert doesn’t have a big ego. At least, not by comparison to me. ;-D
Saw that
He was one of Bert’s pixelperfect site guests. Try this…
With the corvette picture open and in Lab Color; open the Channels Pallet, then
Ctrl + 2 (this selects the a channel)
Ctrl + I (this inverts the a channel)
Ctrl + ~ (opens Lab view back up)
He does not tell you what he is doing as he does it, but if you read between the lines as you watch the video, it comes to you. It works as advertised…
Margulis/Monroy URL
try this… if you can sit thru all the commercials firsthttp://revision3.com/pixelperfect/labcolor
Some egos are justified… some ain’t
... I’ll stand by my original assessment
BTW - he does “explain” his 3 strokes but in less than about 4 frames… I’m just gettin’ too old to keep up.
yep
Yep.. I think I mentioned this clip has appeared on both Monroy’s site and in some of Kelby’s tuts as well. Like I just told Deke… I keep freeze framming that tut trying to catch those clicks (that you have now supplied) and was just not 100% comfortable with what I thought I was seeing.
While I have long been impressed by the capabilities of LAB (at least all that I have been shown over time)... like many folks it’s not something I delve into on a daily basis… so I’m a tad rusty.
Rusty and “old”... if it gives you a clue, back in the day, for my first photo journalistic assignment someone shoved a speed graphic in my hands and filled my pockets with flash bulbs :(
Don’t have a corvette shot handy but will try out “your” three clicks as soon as I hit the send button on this reply.
LOL
I started out with a Brownie, and never looked back since then :-)
brownie
me 2, but then I upgraded to girl scoutsseriously.. there have been times when I have looked back… remembering simpler times :(
If ya screwed up… ya fixed what you could in the darkroom (‘scuse me… lab)... if you’d really blown it (like leaving a lens cap on… before the days of SLRs and such or not realizing your film pack was empty until way too late)... oh well :(
copy part of bigger picture in smaller background or oposite
hello deke you are a real mentor, thank you!!!
I watched the first part of your one on one the fundamentals and have not seen that you explain how fit one fragment that is bigger than the picture where we copy itbackground the image to another ( how do we manipulate size of picture or part of picture to fit by size to another ? )
for example, you threw your head in the Raphael picture, and what if the head is much larger than the place where you copy on, and the size just does not fit.
as I understand it, when you turn off the resample image image in size options, you change the image size, and that what it does is not touching pixels, only a resolution, and you manipulate the size, it is the correct way or not?
hope you understand my bad english, and greetings from Croatia
Is it possible that what works for a car
Works for something else?
Here’s a demo of the various a- and b-channel inversions on an everyday guy’s face.
Meanwhile, back in RGB, here’s what happens when you jump an image to a new layer, invert one of the channels, and set the layer to the Hue blend mode.
My point is that you can expand this technique endlessly beyond recoloring cars. And by combining the RGB model with blend modes, you may encounter more interesting and nuanced results.
Lab keeps the inversions inside the gamut without clipping. But RGB+Hue makes for two-tone inversions. You pick your poison.
Just remember
To act like a Boy Scout and be prepared (film available, lens cap off.. and much more)... lol
Once you see what the 3 keyboard shortcuts did in that video, take it further. Take a picture where you want just one part of it altered (not one with the main color excluded elsewhere in the pic), create a path, make it a selection, apply the change to that.. pretty cool stuff… lots of possibilities. Have fun with it!
thanks
Yes… I’m aware of what you are trying to beat into my head
...
.. the “car” (and it was NOT the fact that it was a car the caught my eye) demo intrigued me since, unlike using RGB (at least from what I’ve seen) the re-coloring is/was more even and realistic.
But my initial question “really” had to do with what Margulis rapidly sped through as “three key strokes”... and another member got me to look harder at the video and, although the key strokes he/she presented were not 100% spot on… I finally got a handle on what Mr. M was showing.
Thanks for the follow up… and I still think the well known “Deke ego” is far more justified than that of the other fellow I mentioned :) But that’s only my opinion.
thanks
Yep… been playin’ with it. Like Deke said, LAB is not (nor is anything) the “do all” answer… but for the example use in that video… it did a great job.
I doubt I’ll be re-coloring many cars… but at least now Margulis’s fast fingers no longer have me scratching my head.
Hope this explaines it better
I have 4 Layers, I need the top layer to see the background. The shirt I’m printing on is Blue so I need the top layer to cut through the other 3 layers to see the blue shirt. This is so I don’t have to pay for the blue color, the shirt will be the blue color. Hope this explaines it better. Thanks.
Why carry a point and shoot; another reason
I am a bit, OK quite a bit, late with this comment about Martini Hour 52 and reasons to bring your point & Shoot.
Safety!!! I travel quite a bit in the 3rd world, just entering my second year living in Colombia SA.
In places like 3rd world cities carrying a full size DSLR or even Colleen’s micro 4/3 camera is something akin to painting a target on your back and carrying a neon sign that says “ROB ME!!!”. I can just about guarantee that you will be robbed in one day in cities like Medellin. You will be OK in small towns or traveling, assuming you use some caution, but in cities and walking the Point & Shoot is really your only option. Even with the P&S be careful and discreet.