Winged Power Photography

Switching From Glasses To... No Glasses

For most of my life, I've been wearing glasses of various levels of prescription, ranging from around 2.5 through 4.0, with varying levels of astigmatism. While I had grown used to the wearing, cleaning, replacing, and finding my glasses for some two decades, I had, since around 2000, wanted to get lasik done, but I just didn't trust the technology, given what I had heard about PRK eye surgery.

Recently, I had gotten lasik, which probably explains the lack of postings... but in truth, not really. What this post is, a short recounting of what it feels like to wear glasses, as a photographer, and to switch from glasses to post-surgery. Please, take a read, if you have been wondering about lasik, perhaps this will add to your desire or detract from it.
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It's Social Commentary... Like So Many Others Out There...

At some point, I realized that while this site is a great site focusing one photography related topics, I really didn't have a place where I could focus about... well, myself and my thoughts about things at large, not just photography.

Interested? Check it out at: http://www.wingtangwong.com

My first post, http://www.wingtangwong.com/blogging/wwong/blogpost100.html , is, oddly enough, about cruft. :)

In either case, enjoy!

The Sony Ericsson C902 Cybershot and C702 Cybershot

Wow, all I can say is... I'm going to be on a continual waiting experience for the replacement for my current phone. Each new generation seems to be better and better. Note that I say this referring, really, only to Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and possibly LG.

What gets me about these new phones from Sony Ericsson is that they continue to offer the strong BlueTooth support, nice and simple candybar design, as well as the ability to access the high speed cellular networks, available in the United States. On top of that, they take great pictures and from the white papers for both of these phones, they will be able to take some nice video clips, and save all of it onto an expandable memory card, which expands the phones' storage ability from what is already a generous amount.

Having said that... let's look at what Sony Ericsson's two new phones have to offer the photographer who doesn't want to carry or spend on a seperate dedicated point and shoot.
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Upgrading Tivo hard drive upgrades on a MacBook pro with VMware's Mac OS X virtualization product: Fusion

So, you've got a Tivo that needs upgrading, but you recently switched completely to all Apple computers. What are you to do? There are certainly a few applications out there for upgrading a Tivo's hard drive, but they only do a few of the functions of the bootable Linux-based tools. Most would suggest borrowing a friend's PC for a while, or booting your Apple computer into Linux for a while, so you can do the Tivo upgrade. But... what if that isn't an option? What if you HAVE to get work, chatting, or web surfing done?

The answer: VMware's Fusion. It's VMware's virtualization software for your Intel-based Mac, whether you are using a Mac Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, or even a MacBook Air. :)
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A Little Macro Photography Using Extension Tubes

When people talk about macro photography, usually, they are referring to closeup photography, where the reproduction ratio isn't quite up to 1:1. To the higher levels of magnification where you are approaching 1:1 reproduction, you typically need a "macro" designated lens, which can focus up close. Examples of such would be the various 105mm macro lenses, which allows for extremely high quality macro photography.

However, such lenses will typically set you back at least $400, or more. For the enthusiast, such costs are prohibitive.

Enter, the extension tube. Basically, this is just a tube with lens mounts on it, matching those of your manufacturer's. The effect is that it moves your lens a certain number of millimeters away from the sensor. This changes the relationship between the sensor and the subject. Ie, given the same lens, you are able to significantly focus closer than the lens was originally designed for.

The cost for extension tubes? They start at $50 and go up to around $200 for a set of three.
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Ringing In The New Year... With New Gear

Slightly behind the curve, I have only just upgraded my digital camera from 6MP to 12MP, switching the label of branding from a Konica Minolta 7D to the Sony Alpha A700. There is something to be said for patience and waiting. It is easy enough to say, I was not disappointed by the camera, which Sony has produced. Save for a few details.

The first issue I have is the fact that RAW files are well... not really RAW, more like half-baked. The fact that noise reduction has been applied in-sensor and produces RAW files with a somewhat blotchy noise quality, which is harder for noise reduction prorgams, like Noise Ninja and NeatImage to remove. Fine sensor noise, the "natural" signal noise, is easier to remove, as they also make use of fewer pixels, by virtue of not being dink'd with.

The second issue I have with the A700, is that it did not come with an LCD protector. Why not? Those things are $12 a piece through the Sony store. A small thing to provide it, given the cost of the camera itself.

Having said that, I am quite happy with the speed, responsiveness, and power of the camera. I regret to say that the double cross hair and wide aperture AF enhancements only work on lenses that are f/2.8 and wider, excluding my beloved "beercan" 70-210mm f/4.0 lens.

What have I found, in the land of 12MP images taken at 5fps? You need bigger cards.
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The Great Outdoors, No Box In Site!

The site, California Wine Hikes isn't just another site where you can get quality wine hikes, but also the home to Wine Hiker Witiculture, the home of The Wine Hiker's Blog.

The Wine Hiker was recently interviewed for a television program called "In Wine Country", and you can see the video clip at his site. His knowledge in wines, word smithing, and the art of conversation is only matched by his outgoing friendliness and the quality of his wine hiking tours.

If you get the chance, check out his interview. If you are wanting to give something special this holiday season, why not consider giving the gift of the out doors, good cheer, and delicious wines against the backdrop of California wine country?
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Selling Off My Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D DSLR, 28-100mm Kit Lens, and batteries/accessories

Well, that special time of the year has arrived... that time to upgrade my photography gear. This year, I'm upgrading my DSLR body from the Maxxum 7D to the Sonly Alpha 700. I can still use my lenses and flash gear with the new camera, but my batteries are not compatible with it, so instead of maintaining two differing bodies, I'm selling off my Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D DSLR. I love this camera, but selling it off will also help pay for the new camera body. :)

Here is the link to the Ebay Auction, which lasts for just 5 days from the date of this posting!!

For those interested in getting a GREAT DSLR for a killer price, check out my auction!
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High Definition Photographic Displays

One of the vexxing issues that some photographers deal with is the lack of parity, when it comes to trying to convey the sense, or the experience of what they have captured and/or created, to their audience. Granted, an 8x10 print is nice, using one of the readily available consumer photo printers, like the Canon Pixma photo printers or perhaps, one of the Epson Stylus photo printers. For those who can afford a little bit more, an 10x13 or 13x19 print is better. Even more so, a 17x24 would be awesome, but one of those wall dwarfing prints from a 72" wide format printer, would be staggering... but then again, so would the price!

What if you didn't want to go the paper route? Say... you wanted to show off your creative works at home or in a studio for a potential client, but you still wanted to convey that sense of space and presence? Time for some HDMI enabled high definition televisions and displays!

This is made more and more accessible with new cameras coming out, like the Sony Alpha 700, Nikon D300, Nikon D3, Canon 1D MKIII and Canon 1Ds MKIII.
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Tis The Season To Be... Photographing!

Okay, that is most likely one of the worst title lines I've written. However, the holiday seasons really are more than just a time to be stuck at a mall, fighting with relatives, or wondering for the N'th time, why EVERYONE ELSE is so annoying. It's also that special time of year to reflect and take in the smaller things.

In this case, it's a great time, to grab your camera slap on the macro or extension tubes, and take a closer look at things.

It's time for a little creative holiday close-up/macro photography!
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