hex AFC3E8

I don't know what happened to me the last month. I became infatuated with this #AFC3E8 pale shade of blue. The whole site is slowly turning blue. What would you call it - China Blue? I also became overly infatuated with the ads to the point where I plastered them up on the sales pages. It didn't really seem to hurt sales but I removed them. They were ruining my own enjoyment of viewing the images.

My bedroom, as I remember it (probably faulty) was this shade of blue when I was a kid. So maybe it's some form of regression. I'm thinking that hex RGB colors might be good for domain names. Please visit #AFC3EB to view Dave's Blue Period.

I might go and get the Epson Scanner tomorrow. I don't usually act this fast with a piece of hardware but more and more of my medium format stuff is being ordered and and the 1600 is not up to the job. Besides, I have about 30 MF shots that I've never been able to do properly with the 1600. I'll let you know if I get it; how it works out; and then if anyone in New York wants to pick up the 1600 - let me know.

Everything has worked out well so far this season. I also have a couple of offers from retailers from various places around the country wanting to know if I'll sell prints wholesale. I have to figure that part out. Definitely cheaper mats (thanks for the mat tip John C.) if I'm going to do that sort of thing. As is it - I'm printing away as fast as I can. That will end in a week I'm sure and I'll be back to shooting. I see things all the time these days as I walk around - but don't want to think about shooting. I mostly think about ordering packaging supplies and drudgery like that lately. Should I get the 200 lb carton or the 150 lb carton.

The weird thing is that I seem to relish the rote work. Maybe it's a Zen thing. I don't know.

There's a passage in the new book by Frank McCourt (Teacher Man) where one of his students tells how he went to learn Karate and the teacher only told him to go and clean the toilets during the first session (which the kid did). Next week, the kid comes back and the Karate teacher tells him to clean the toilets again. Only after several weeks of this did the karate teacher begin to get into Karate technique. Zen, Zen, Zen. The sound of hands folding cartons and slapping tape around same.

P.S. Barrett recommended trying VueScan with the 1600. Wow. Very promising. That's what I call a driver.

Entrance to Pharmacy

Entrance to Pharmacy

Epson Scanner

Was this the scanner you guys were talking about a while back:

Epson Perfection 4990 Photo, 4800x9600 dpi

I need to get something better than the Epson 1600 I'm using now for scanning medium format negatives. I see it listed at B&H for $409. I've never been happy with the d-max of the 1600 for negatives. I'm too pooped to go back through the blog and look for what you said but I remember things like: it's almost as good / as good / as a drum scan. Things along those lines.

For $100 more you get:

"With an included professional software suite including LaserSoft Imaging SilverFast Ai, the Epson Perfection 4990 Pro provides a total digital imaging system right out of the box. It also offers expansive color management with an IT8 target to consistently color match photos. And, it incorporates leading-edge image acquisition software for maximum scanning control, plus high-speed connectivity options."

Do I need any of this extra stuff?

Hey Dave

what happened to that print you had of the guy walking through the gate in the snow by the river. i wanted to purchase it but can't find it anywhere. j.b.

That's my bad. When I began to redesign the site, a bunch of old prints got lost in the shuffle. Here you go:

The Road Ahead