Christmas Trees, 2005
1/20/2006
1/19/2006
Silver Rag
Oh - that is sweet. Crane Museo sent me a roll of Silver Rag to test. Can't wait to see how it goes through the printer. I think they may have made a lifelong friend.
* * *
Jeff posted this bombshell (at least to me) about Konica Minolta withdrawing from the photography business.
* * *
Jeff posted this bombshell (at least to me) about Konica Minolta withdrawing from the photography business.
Day 19
Valentine's Day Sale. At the very least I'm having fun making these web ads. Discovered the curve text button in Photoshop. Hey, get your hot Valentine's Day pictures here. I think I'm going to have a different sale every day.
Anyway - as much as some of you may like my pictures - I discovered something alarming last night: namely that they're not "novel." If anything they all looked like they were taken in the 30's or 40's. Yes, you can tell the era if you look at people's clothing, but the style - the style is strictly old-fashioned. Passe. No wonder I should stay out of salons. Where's the novelty? Where's the flash? Where's the "I never saw that before" appeal? Where's the widget du jour? I can't find it in my images anywhere and believe me, I looked.
Just ordinary things shot in an ordinary way. I need to find the old-fashioned gallery for old-fashioned photographers. Buddy is sitting on the desk watching me type this and purring loudly. I'm not sure if that means he agrees or not. Probably wouldn't know an HCB from a Van Gogh.
Oh well. I'll go to the old-fashioned photographers home soon and hope they've got an internet connection there.
"I wanted to let you know that my brother loved the prints (Poet's Walk and Subway Car). I gave them to him as a Christmas present. I also wanted you to know that your service was impeccable - thank you. "
1/18/2006
Day 18
Not bad. Last night, was the first time since I stopped smoking that I slept soundly through the night. I think the physical part is over and now the psychological cravings kick in. The physical withdrawal, as annoying as it is - has always been the easiest part since it is just being able to endure a lot of pain, which I can do. The more difficult part is when you've forgotten about all the pain you went through - and something emotional sets you off - and you feel like - oh what the hell - I just need one. One cigarette will help me so much.
Now that craving has a time and life of it's own. Usually it last for a few minutes - though if you don't look at your watch you think it's longer than that. But those cravings can go on for days and days and that's when it gets tough.
I haven't run into them yet - but I know that I will. They are always around the corner. Talk to just about any ex-smoker and ask if there aren't times - decades later when some situation makes them think about reaching for a cigarette. That's when it gets real dangerous.
Be that all as it is. I got a lot done this month. Finally got my matting supplies and storage organized by buying a bureau and getting pre-cut mats. My packaging system costs a little bit more, but is much quicker for me. I got out four orders yesterday morning which is a new land speed record for me.
New p.c. and backup system is working well. I even upgraded from Quickbooks 2002 to the current version and did a bunch of things to make entering sales quicker. Compared sales year-to-date this year with year-to-date last year and they've been three times as much.
In other words, I've turned my apartment into a production line. And even bought a new rug and curtains. Anyway - very productive month. My charge card is getting up near its limit - but I have the stuff I need to run the business for another year and my theory is that every year I stay in business brings me one step closer to financial solvency - or is it bankruptcy? I get the two confused sometimes.
Now that craving has a time and life of it's own. Usually it last for a few minutes - though if you don't look at your watch you think it's longer than that. But those cravings can go on for days and days and that's when it gets tough.
I haven't run into them yet - but I know that I will. They are always around the corner. Talk to just about any ex-smoker and ask if there aren't times - decades later when some situation makes them think about reaching for a cigarette. That's when it gets real dangerous.
Be that all as it is. I got a lot done this month. Finally got my matting supplies and storage organized by buying a bureau and getting pre-cut mats. My packaging system costs a little bit more, but is much quicker for me. I got out four orders yesterday morning which is a new land speed record for me.
New p.c. and backup system is working well. I even upgraded from Quickbooks 2002 to the current version and did a bunch of things to make entering sales quicker. Compared sales year-to-date this year with year-to-date last year and they've been three times as much.
In other words, I've turned my apartment into a production line. And even bought a new rug and curtains. Anyway - very productive month. My charge card is getting up near its limit - but I have the stuff I need to run the business for another year and my theory is that every year I stay in business brings me one step closer to financial solvency - or is it bankruptcy? I get the two confused sometimes.
More Secrets
Continuing with my Victoria's Secret campaign tips, I made this replica of what they've got on their site and plastered it on my home page. This is not a new offer. It's just more pronounced. Think about it. Why should anyone charge shipping if the orders are large enough? Hey - no shipping charges on orders over $10,000. I guess it depends on what you're shipping and how.Speaking of shipping - two packages brought to post office for overseas shipping and once again, I managed to fill out the wrong custom form. Remember, you have your two choices, the little green one and the larger white one. Last time I was told that for a package of a certain size and weight (same as today, same as today!) I should fill out the larger white one. But of course when I got to the window I was told to use the smaller green one. Reason? You should use the smaller green one for packages that are under 4 pounds. Really? I never heard that one before. Yep, that's the rule she says: 4 pounds or under. I tell her that every time I fill out a custom slip I get told something different... Oh ---
1/17/2006
Under New Manager
Today, this place is under new management. The new management will cause empty bottles to fill with wine. Wine glasses and table clothes will appear in front of you. It will be a black-tie affair. Your chariot awaits. The new management is here. Keep the faith and have another bit of that excellent caviar. - The Other Worlds' Word
Dave's Secret
In case you've been wondering about the rhyme and reason if any to my last sale, I will tell you my secret. The other day I was walking down 86th street and boys being boys I always look in the window of the Victoria's Secret store, hoping to see something I've not seen before. (That's a story for another time and a more adult audience).
They were having a Semi-Annual Sale. I began to wonder about the expertise that must go into these decisions about what to call a sale, and when to have them. And how they built an empire selling women's underwear and it dawned on me that they may be the best marketers in the world (shows how much I know).
I made a secret vow that whenever Victoria's Secret had a sale - I'd offer one too. We are both in the business of selling illusion.
You know that there will be all sorts of sales during the year: the next one being the Valentine's Day Sale (and I will do same if I'm still playing this game). But each sale will have it's own special aura, and will be for a certain time only.
Or to put it another way - I'll emulate the best and the brightest. If I don't like semi-annual sale, the next sale may be Ten Minute Sale. Yes, if you place your order between 4 o'clock p.m. and 4:10 p.m. on Tuesday the... SAVE - I don't know what, save something. SAVE YOURSELF. SAVE SOMEONE ELSE.
But whatever you do - don't tell anyone about this as it is, Dave's Secret.
They were having a Semi-Annual Sale. I began to wonder about the expertise that must go into these decisions about what to call a sale, and when to have them. And how they built an empire selling women's underwear and it dawned on me that they may be the best marketers in the world (shows how much I know).
I made a secret vow that whenever Victoria's Secret had a sale - I'd offer one too. We are both in the business of selling illusion.
You know that there will be all sorts of sales during the year: the next one being the Valentine's Day Sale (and I will do same if I'm still playing this game). But each sale will have it's own special aura, and will be for a certain time only.
Or to put it another way - I'll emulate the best and the brightest. If I don't like semi-annual sale, the next sale may be Ten Minute Sale. Yes, if you place your order between 4 o'clock p.m. and 4:10 p.m. on Tuesday the... SAVE - I don't know what, save something. SAVE YOURSELF. SAVE SOMEONE ELSE.
But whatever you do - don't tell anyone about this as it is, Dave's Secret.
1/16/2006
Batch Scanning w/ 4990
A while back Jeff asked about the feasibility of using the Epson 4990 for batch scanning 35mm negatives / slides. Last night I had to do something like that for a client. I had about 40 color negatives that needed to be scanned for output at say 300 dpi 8 x 10.
A couple of quick impressions: the 35mm holder is a pain to load. I was doing color negative film. It goes emulsion up into the carrier and boy it wanted to curl up and I had a lot of trouble getting it to lie flat. As you know you can put four strips (6 negs each) into the holder. Yes, there is a little notch to slide the film under at one end, but not at the other. I got the stuff in okay, but it is just not the same as using a good sturdy negative holder for a film scanner.
I was using VueScan. Next problem was that in the preview, I really couldn't get all four strips lined up properly so that I could scan all four strips at once. This might have been easier to deal with if I was using the Epson Twain interface. Don't know. But I lined things up so I could do one strip at a time.
Size @ 4800 dpi input scan is 15 x 23 inches. But in my opinion, you'd be crazy to use this to scan 35mm negs. at that resolution unless your film scanner was broken. Remember, you are adding two surfaces that can and will contain dust, hair, and other unwanted junk. Remember that the negative is just not lying as flat as it would with a dedicated film scanner. In other words - my quick pronouncement is that for 35mm negatives, I'd still use it if I had to do a large scanning job where the quality of individual scans could be mostly for the web or for knowing what you had (indexing). But for the real thing - where you want to get everything you can out of the negative / slide - I'd still jump to a film scanner.
The same, obviously is not true for the Medium Format and large format negatives where I'm dealing with one negative at a time and you can put the negative on the sweet spot of the scanning glass, and you are prepared to clean each neg. up as needed.
A couple of quick impressions: the 35mm holder is a pain to load. I was doing color negative film. It goes emulsion up into the carrier and boy it wanted to curl up and I had a lot of trouble getting it to lie flat. As you know you can put four strips (6 negs each) into the holder. Yes, there is a little notch to slide the film under at one end, but not at the other. I got the stuff in okay, but it is just not the same as using a good sturdy negative holder for a film scanner.
I was using VueScan. Next problem was that in the preview, I really couldn't get all four strips lined up properly so that I could scan all four strips at once. This might have been easier to deal with if I was using the Epson Twain interface. Don't know. But I lined things up so I could do one strip at a time.
Size @ 4800 dpi input scan is 15 x 23 inches. But in my opinion, you'd be crazy to use this to scan 35mm negs. at that resolution unless your film scanner was broken. Remember, you are adding two surfaces that can and will contain dust, hair, and other unwanted junk. Remember that the negative is just not lying as flat as it would with a dedicated film scanner. In other words - my quick pronouncement is that for 35mm negatives, I'd still use it if I had to do a large scanning job where the quality of individual scans could be mostly for the web or for knowing what you had (indexing). But for the real thing - where you want to get everything you can out of the negative / slide - I'd still jump to a film scanner.
The same, obviously is not true for the Medium Format and large format negatives where I'm dealing with one negative at a time and you can put the negative on the sweet spot of the scanning glass, and you are prepared to clean each neg. up as needed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)