ken zirkel

An image of mine was recently used in a Salon.com article about distaste. Apparently broccoli wasn’t quite right, but they still used my model, who of course is  my daughter. That’s another few bucks into the college fund.

Original image available here:

Wife’s friends G and P hosted a lovely holiday party. Here is a slideshow of pictures:

Daughter’s middle school band played a holiday concert tonight.

I saw a print ad in American Photo magazine for Meridian Professional Imaging. The ad specifically touted their panoramic printing, so I tried them out.

They have a software package that makes it really easy to order enlargements; you can set the crop and preview the results. They have 1:3 and 1:4 and other ratios available in a lot of nonstandard sizes; for example, you can get 10×10, 10×13, 10×14, 10×15, 10×16, 10×18, 10×20, 10×24, 10×30, or 10×40!

I ordered two 12×36 (1:3) panoramas with luster coating and a gatorfoam backing, for an exhibit in December. I placed the order 11/20, and it arrived 11/26. Total cost including shipping: US$156. They look great and were packed well in a giant flat box. I live in New England, USA.

Meridian is owned by Dwayne’s Photo, which is another lab I have also used, with good results.

Meridian sizes and pricing.

This is a theme that goes around from time to time on internet bulletin boards. Here are my thoughts at the moment:

Level indicator in the viewfinder, so that I know if the camera is perfectly horizontal or vertical. Further, I want the camera angle saved in the metadata, so that I can correct for it in post. That way, if I’m .0256 degrees off from level, software can auto-correct that, if I want. Apparently the 7D has this feature, see page 217-218 of the manual.

Built-in GPS when I want it. While we’re at it, can I optionally have a map installed in the camera, and view my position on the camera’s LCD viewfinder at any time. That way, I can dispense with my handheld GPS when I’m hiking.

Instant connectivity to the Internet, so that I can upload my pictures to Flickr immediately. Actually, I’m not sure I want that feature, but I’m sure many people do. There’s a reason that the iPhone is the #1 camera on Flickr.

I’d love for Canon to take a cue from the four-thirds movement, and design a very small camera body that uses the standard EF-S mount. Ideally, the camera should be significantly smaller than the Rebel series, have no mirror or pentaprism, and shoot in “live mode” only.

I have four artworks in the 2010 “Save the Bay Exhibition and Sale.” Opening reception was at the Save the Bay Center, November 18.

Son was Harry Potter, Daughter was The Doctor from the British TV series “Doctor Who”.

We flew to BWI, took a bus and a train to DC, to attend Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity. We walked from L’Enfant Plaza to Gallery Place, squeezing through masses of people. Then we flew home on the same day. More photos on Flickr.

We took Abby for a walk at Beavertail lighthouse.

Today we had a birthday party for E, and W’s sister and family came for a visit. After the party we went to Waterfire Providence.