Between the Lines

I Better Get Busy, I made the Autodesk.com Home page ;-)

I have been swamped with the Autodesk 2009 product line launches, the beta projects wrapping up on many of the products, took a week off and went hiking and shutterbugging in Southern Utah, and then I got sick. No time for any of that now that I have hit the big time with my blog being on the main page of Autodesk.com.

I have a few blog posts in draft I will finish up and get them online like the updated ShareNow utility from the Autodesk Labs. As you may have noticed I have been adding some guest articles and tips from fellow AutoCAD users to add more perspective and knowledge like the Layer Isolate tip from Michael Beall and I have a few more guest authors. If anyone else has tips and tricks to share with Between the Lines all you have to do is email me at shaan@autodesk.com.

Cheers,
Shaan

Leaping off on a Walkabout Photo Trek

I took off yesterday headed for Southern Utah's Bryce Canyon, Escalante, Paria and other places to unwind, relax, and take photos. I am posting this via a connection of my Blackberry as a modem. I will be off the grid for the most part for the next few days except to upload photos to my Flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/. Today I am hiking Death Hollow Slot which sounds ominous but is spectacular in the colors and the snow.

 

My GPS tracks and photo locations. I geotag all my photos using a GPS device.

Some photos from yesterday.

   
   

Cheers,
Shaan

Amazing Technology to Resize Photos

The new smart image resizing, retargeting, and cropping technology for images and photos called seam carving is amazing and downright brilliant. This was an algorithm developed invented by Dr. Ariel Shamir and Dr. Shai Avidan. This is really cool and helpful to do instead of resizing an image with a focal area that gets distorted this method starts by letting you mark the important target to keep then in simple terms starts by removing parts of the photo or adding based on priority of the calculated horizontal and vertical seams.

Check out the Youtube video recording of a presentation at SIGGRAPH 2007 showing the pure magic and application of seam carving.

 

There is now a web 2.0 online free version. Check out a photo and resizing it and you can also carve someone out of a photo.

http://rsizr.com/

There was also a free plugin that added seam carving for Photoshop but it appears Adobe hired the person and then removed the free plugin download.

Cheers,
Shaan

Fellow backpackers, photographers, and wind driven travelers, Africa?

      I am looking to mark off the last continent (ex. Antarctica) that I have not visited Africa and wanted to see if anyone is interested. I am looking at doing the off the beaten path travel as I usually do and that means getting local and seeing places most do not. I am looking into Eastern Africa such as Tanzania and Zanzibar, Kenya, or any places others may suggest perhaps Madagascar to see the unique wildlife like the Lemurs and Chameleons. I want to carry just a backpack with supplies for hiking, photography, and the bare essentials. This will not be an expensive trip as I plan on using my airline miles for flights, and staying at local spots which are around $20 a night and a few camp nights on trails. I would love to see some up close wildlife encounters, snakes <g>, ants, the savannah as well as forests and rural areas. I am looking at February, March or April as that would be just before the rainy season as I understand it. Also of interest is early March is the timing for the worlds greatest migration which is the migration of wildebeests across the Serengeti plains and some river crossings where crocodiles await to greet them with wide open jaws.

     I would also offer my technical skills in trade for places to stay and local assistance if anyone is local in Africa. I could train people on Autodesk products, engineering, and my humor of course. I would also be willing to work mapping by GPS or doing other things local for the experience and getting to know people and the region. It is always nice to do something good in places where you travel. I have been trying to find a Tanzania guide that would be willing to allow me to work helping them map with GPS, photograph, update or create website and document their safaris in return for just basic food and lodging. Any sponsors for a live blogs and geotagged photo gallery during the trip or want someone to field test equipment? I blogged from deep in the Brazilian Amazon with a HP TabletPC in a rugged case on a GSM modem a few years back.

   So, is anyone adventurous and dare to consider to join my African Safari? Could be the trip of a lifetime and fun as I tend to end up in strange places and meet all sorts of people as I do not like the typical tourism busses and drive by points of interest. I also have a knack for getting those odd travel stories that make you shake your head and laugh, but isn't that what it is about? Places and rural cultures and wilderness are changing or disappearing with every click of the clock, so see it while you can or live through people photographs and books.

I am also looking at a return to Brazil and Costa Rica this year.

Just email me or post a reply to this blog post if interested or have any tips on Africa travel and places.

Cheers and Happy Travels!
Shaan

Technorati Tags: Africa, Tanzania, photography, Travel, safari, Kenya, hike Africa, African Safari, backpack Africa

The Future of Photography is Video?

      I shoot photos on my Canon DSLR cameras in RAW format all the time as it allows me to later adjust exposure and many other settings of the photo unlike a JPEG. The RAW files are larger sized but contain much more data about what the cameras sensor captured hence the name RAW.

     

I have been thinking, if I can shoot RAW format photos and later adjust my photo shooting environment details why not the what the camera had in view similar to looking at a video segment from my high definition video camcorder and grabbing a still photo from the scene but with more detail.  After all video is a series of frames aka images. I have seen high speed HD video cameras like the ones used on the Discovery Channels Living Planet where some scenes where captured at 1000 frames per second in a 3 second loop to capture every single detail and water droplet during a shark attack and the data was relayed by wireless to a computer for processing. Now imagine when more technology is available and combines the best of video cameras and also DSLR along you to shoot a high speed 3 second shot that you can later select what area of a scene and details to export a photo from so you will be able to select that missed or unnoticed perfect frame shot and even enhance it like a RAW photo. I truly think at some point video and photo will be combined and photos will only be a export option of a still image from a captured video scene. Perhaps we will see a video version of RAW (vRAW) in the not too distant future as well. It is just a matter of technology and time as well as hardware iterations as I don't want a video camera hardware but a DSLR body to shoot high end video or photo stills or both in vRAW. Then we can get further down the road to 3D captured video environments or scenes where you can navigate within the image or video in the Z.

     OK back to processing many of my my high definition video tapes I have captured over the past year to see what I captured and then archiving them to hard drives. This time of year with a few days off is the only time I get to do much tinkering and video editing as well as reading uninterrupted by hundreds of emails a day.

Cheers,
Shaan

 

Technorati Tags: RAW, Photography, Video, HD, Future, RAW Video, vRAW, DSLR, Photo

Shaan is in São Paulo Brasil

I made it to Brazil (Brasil) this morning and am now getting situated and ready for CAD Camp this week in the worlds 3rd largest city. If you are in São Paulo and would like to meet please email me at shaan@autodesk.com but I will only be here for a few days. It is nice coming from the cold winter snow of Utah to the summer warmth of Brazil.  I will be posting photos during the trip and CAD Camp to my Flickr photo site http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/.

I am still recovering from the overall excellent experience of Autodesk University 2007 which was the largest and best AU so far.

Cheers,
Shaan

Made it Home, Now off to South America

I made it back to Utah and am now packing for travel to Brazil tomorrow. The drive yesterday took twice as long as I hit heavy snow and fog making for a interesting long drive. I have the Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture in my possession but have not determined if I will take the clay head with me as it would suffer a terrible meltdown in the heat and humidity. I did get a photo of it in a few locations on the way home like the Mojave desert, Zion National Park, and as a head on a snowman in Meadow Utah. I think I will place it in storage for safe keeping and take it to AU 2008 in Vegas next year.

Look at my Flickr gallery from AU 2007 and soon photos from Brazil and Peru. You an also share your AU 2007 photos in the free AU 2007 pool group pool. I hope everyone made it home safe and sound and kept the knowledge gained and business cards from those they met.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/

Autodesk University 2007 (Pool)

Cheers,
Shaan

AU 2007 - Friday Goodbye AU 2007, Start Planning for AU 2008

Thursday Night AU 80s themed party was HUGE and a blast. There were so many people, food , beverages, old 80s video games, pool tables, activities, 2 comedians, 1 chain saw juggler, and the band Tainted Love. After the party I went out with coworkers and customers to Tao upper floor which was a really cool place then for breakfast for the annual chicken and waffles with maple syrup at the Grand Lux located in the Venetian.

Autodesk University 2007 came to a final end today after the largest attendance of around and it could be a coincidence but when AU ended it got very cold, clouds covered the sky, and rain started here in Las Vegas.

 

Nice BLAUGI Blog post of AU 2007 related blog postings.:

What bloggers have had to say about AU 2007 so far

What bloggers have had to say about AU 2007 so far, Part II

Other AU 2007 blog post highlights:

• AU 2007 Day 3: Autodesk Labs Has the Neatest Technology
• AU 2007 Day 1, Main Keynote
• AU 2007, Extensive Blog Coverage
• Assis from AUGI Brazil celebrates his birthday at AU 2007
• Autodesk University - Day Two
• AU 2007 - Day One - Autodesk, in 360°
• Autodesk University 2007 - Day One
• Helpful and useful information for those attending Autodesk University 2007
• The Making of the General Session
• RobiNZ @ Autodesk University 2007 - "Designing the Future"
• Multi-Touch
• Exhibit hall craziness
• AU Video Booth -- Fun Things Come in Small Packages
• Autodesk University - Day Three

A few of my highlight moments:

   
   

• The clay modeling submissions and conversations about the Autodesk 25 year memorabilia at the Autodesk MyFeedback booth.
• Lynn chasing me around the event floor after the comedian used my photos to joke about Lynn's hair over the past.
• Luciana, Assis coming from Brazil and Luciana being out of Brazil for the first time and Vegas no less must be overwhelming and paint a inaccurate view of what the United States is like.
• Laughing till I cried with the group at La Scena when discussing the weird infomercial's being shown on the hotel TV channel 5.
• Not answering my wake up call and security showing up at my door to make sure I was fine. My phone did not ring as it was on the wrong line.
• My Blackberry getting fried and not working much of the time although Martyn Day also suffered a similar problem when he lost the navigation ball on his Blackberry.
• The Venetian club Tao and the upstairs environment and view down the strip.
• Being on a panel during Yoshi Hondas CAD Management Town Hall with such esteemed co panelists including David Harrington, Tom Conti, Jamie Casile, Daniel Herbert, Danny Counts, Veronica Lamb, and even the infamous Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture sat on the panel in front of the attendees but never answered a single question.
• Stan running into me with the scooter.
• The AUGI Top DAUG Competition
• The 360 degree high definition system during the keynote and showing of code name Metropolis. I sure whish I could have that system for gaming. ;-)
• Jeff Jeff Kowalski Autodesk CTO and his presentation keynote as it was cool and his presentation style was reminiscent of a smooth Steve Jobs.
• Lynn Allen's picture from the 1980s that she showed to over 7000 people.
• Having my face and interview on the AUGIWorld Magazine cover.

I head back to Utah tomorrow morning then to Brazil on Monday for CAD Camp and then onto Peru for some Amazon jungle trekking and photos. I need to also get my voice back and caught up on email, pack, and process and backup photos.

I want to say thank you for all who attended Autodesk University as well as those vital to its success, fun, great social networking, conversation, laughing, and the great classes like AU ringleader Lynn Allen,  Carl Bass, Joseph Wurcher, Cheryl Romero, Lura Flynn, Leslie Coggan, Patricia Lundberg, Matt Murphy, The Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture, Martyn, Steve, Donnia, Chris, AUGI, Autodesk, exhibitors, Press, Mike and Melanie Perry, Owen, Darren, Devon, Mike, Robin, AC, Karen,  RK, Rob, Dave, Luciana, Assis, Eric, Shawn, Evie, Gary, Mark, Jim, Don, Elise, Next Engine, Crystal, Ellen, Sunith, Helge, Brian, Volker, Celeste (nice costume entry and also congrats on winning the iTouch), Jeff, Jay, Robert, Peter, Kate, Rusty, Don, Emmanuel, Christine, Bob, Hans, John, Jon, Nate, Roopinder, Doug, Douggie, Alex, Steven, Jamie (nice outfit for the party), Tommy, Beth, Jim, Shawn, Matt, Richard, Mike, Rich, Shari, Shawn, Bud, Yoshi, Pete, Jerry, Heidi, Denise, David, Denise, Jonathan, Fenton, Katy, David, Bill, Kim, Candy, Grand Lux, La Scena, Dell, Donnie, HP, TechSmith, Thomas, Tom, Betsy, Kal, Jo, Borracca, Anthony, Stan, Larry, Kat, MyFeedback Members, AUGI Top DAUG participants, Red Bull, The Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, The Venetian, and many many more people, groups, and companies that make AU the best show on earth and an event worthy of people traveling from all around the world to attend and participate. I hope to see all of you and more back in Las Vegas for Autodesk University 2008.

See the AU 2007 Flickr Photo Group and my Flickr Gallery

http://www.flickr.com/groups/au2007/pool/ ( it is free to share your AU 2007 photos there)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl//sets/72157603222810607

http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/

    
   

Cheers,
Shaan

 

Technorati Tags: Autodesk University 2007, AU 2007, AU 2008, Autodesk University 2008, Autodesk, Las Vegas, Blogs

AU 2007 - Tuesday Afternoon..Photos, Certification Guide, and R14 Flip Flops

I attended the Morning AU Welcome with presentations from Lynn Allen, Carl Bass Autodesk CEO, Jonathan Knowles Director of Cool Things at Autodesk, and Jeff Kowalski Autodesk CTO. There was some really cool things shown and it all culminated with a grand finale of showing of future ideas and concepts live such as Metropolis which was shown live like Google Earth for the Deign World on 20 High Definition screens powered by 40 HD projectors in a full 360 degrees around the audience of over 7500 people. This high definition bliss was all produced by a Tablet PC controlling 20 high end screaming HP PCs live and drilling right down to the query of where a certain type of tree was in a city and a BIM model. I posted some photos from the event although lighting has been difficult. I also posted some of the photos I took yesterday when I snuck behind the scenes and watched Metropolis for the first time with my jaw wide open as Brian Mathews said "what do you think" I don't think I could say anything for a minute as I was speechless. So many things were racing through my mind seeing all that live spatial metaverse/multiverse rich an juicy design data on the 360 degree high def screens even including the question of "I wonder if I could sneak in late at night and play Halo on this system".

Perhaps it was coincidence but when I visited this computer area they called "The Hive" and I attempted to check my BlackBerry 8800 for email it started to freak out and I can no longer use it except to answer phone calls. Coincidence or not perhaps the multiple gigabit wireless connections from the 20 high end PCs freaked out my poor defenseless BlackBerry.

In preparing to transport some of my Autodesk 25 year anniversary artifacts to my booth for display I noticed that I have one extra pair of vintage and unused AutoCAD R14 flip flop sandals. Sure I could auction them on eBay and retire on a small island with a beer (ok not really) but I figure I can give them to wither the winner of this years AUGI Top DOG AutoCAD competition, the longest AutoCAD user in attendance with proof, or a person that is current active Autodesk MyFeedback participant and willing to wear them in a pair of shorts at the beer bust and the rest of the week and spread the word about Autodesk MyFeedback and give hugs to those who ask. Still have not decided on which flip flop giveaway criteria but I will. I should also mention the bonus is these flip flop sandals leave the words "AutoCAD" "R14" imprint in the sand when you walk. These excellent R14 Flip Flops will be on display at booth 900 along with Weapons of Mass Construction aka modeling clay for a fun challenge named "What's Created in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" but this is a G rated Challenge folks (speaking directly to Melanie's husband Mike Perry). I also have 2 brand spanking new AutoCAD 2008 Certification Study Guides to give Away among other nice freebies.

I wanted to thank Robin Capper a New Zealand Kiwi blogger, a friend, and nice guy. He came up to me after the presentation and he read one of my greatest losses this year was when all my luggage was stolen by a so-called Costa Rican policeman. Sure I lost camera gear and a ton of clothes and goodies but my New Zealand All Blacks jersey from Kiwi Mike Burke was in there. Robin gave me a replacement from New Zealand.

I finally got to meet a few people in person that I have not met such as Autodesk PR Paul Davis.

 

The AU Photo Gallery is at http://www.flickr.com/groups/au2007/ please feel free to join the free Flickr and share your AU 2007 photos with others. Subscribe to photos from the Autodesk University 2007 pool – Latest | geoFeed | KML

I guess I could go on and on but that will have to wait as I need to get down and set up the Autodesk MyFeedback Booth as it will be opening after the AUGI Meeting tonight for the annual Beer Bust.

Cheers,
Shaan

The Wave and Escalante Saturday, Vegas Sunday

I had a great hike today into The Wave famous sandstone formation located in the Paria Wilderness area (entrance by permit only) and then a dive into the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument region with the Grosvenor Arch in Southern Utah. I have had enough of dirt roads. There was no wind or snow but it sure was cold in the morning.

I am tired and soar and need to get some rest before packing up and heading of to Las Vegas and Autodesk University 2007 this week.

Autodesk University 2007 Photo RSS Feed

More information on the free Flickr group for people to share Autodesk University 2007 photos as people can subscribe to the RSS feed of images, geoFeed, or  Google KML feed.

Autodesk University Group details

Flickr Group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/au2007/

This Flickr Group is for sharing photos taken during the Autodesk University 2007 held in Las Vegas November 27th to the 31st 2007. Please tag your photos with "Autodesk University 2007" and if possible geotag them on a map. Also describe who is in the photo and please keep them PG rated. ;-)

Subscribe to photos from the Autodesk University 2007 pool – Latest | geoFeed | KML

If attending Autodesk University 2007 please consider joining and sharing your photos with the group. This will allow you to have a free photo storage location and share your photos with others attending AU.

Basic Flickr is free but if you want a Pro account some really cool features, backups, no ads, and completely unlimited uploads it is a small $24.95 a year.  What is Flickr http://www.flickr.com/tour/

See you at AU and Flickr
Shaan
http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/

Flickr Gallery http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/

 

Technorati Tags: AU, AU 2007, Autodesk University 2007, Photos, RSS, geoFEED, KML, Flickr

Peruvian Jungle Town Rush Hour and Packing

I am currently packing for my hiking in the Vermillion Cliffs/Paria Wilderness landmark The Wave (more wave links The Wave Revisited, Coyote Buttes, My July 2007 Wave trek) in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah on Saturday then Autodesk University in Las Vegas. 1 day after I return from Autodesk University I depart for São Paulo Brasil (Brazil) for the AUGI CAD Camp where I will be giving two presentations with a question and answer session following "Ajude a moldar o futuro dos produtos da Autodesk" and "Autodesk e AutoCAD 25 anos de história , e o futuro". On the 11th of December since I would already be in South America I plan to make a terk into the beauty of the South American continent as I did a few years back into the Brazilian Amazon. This time I am having a hard time figuring out where my trek will take me with only a small bag (no laptop or other valuables) and my camera. I am looking into another off the beaten track to cleanse the mind and see the rarely seen areas with nobody in front of me or behind on the trail in many places. It is a virtual going tribal trek. The final candidate locations since I have credits for South American air passes for flights to cities in which to use as a base camp or starting point of my personal expedition is Iquitos Peru, Maranhão Brasil, or the Pantanal and Bonito Brasil region.

The video below from YouTube shows the rush hour traffic in Belen Peru near Iquitos. I am thing Iquitos would be a great base camp to start a photo trek. It has all the makings of a great escape and some regions within about 100km from Iquitos are considered to be remote, wild, tribal, vivid, raw, untamed, and uncharted. Yo9u can even get a dorm room at Hobo Hideout for $7 a night but no air conditioning. I have all my yellow fever shots and will pick up some malaria pills for sure before leaving. So I think in writing this Iquitos Peru will be my cheap base point for a nice photo trek and wildlife viewing for a few days.

Here are some photos from Flickr around Iquitos Peru.

Autodesk University 2007 Extreme Adventure Track

The area surrounding Las Vegas Nevada (the location of Autodesk University 2007) has so much to offer for those that like to hike, bike, photograph, and sightsee. The region is a high desert but most people do not realize the desert has more stunning beauty than expected. I personally find the desert far more photographic and alive than say forests, jungle, or beaches. You see the warm red, crisp blues, and vibrant green, texture and shape heaven, as well as the rich and preserved history and Indian rock art.  I have fallen head over heels in love with the desert Southwest and spend a fair amount of time hiking and photographing area in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. I will be hiking before and during AU when possible such as sunrise and sunset hikes as those are the most vivid light and the red rock glows. Excellent locations are nearby such as Valley of Fire and Red Rock canyon. There is also the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef , and Zion within a short drive.

I have a current and rare permit for the world famous Wave sandstone formation on Coyote Butte North (my photo gallery of the Wave in July) and have 3 positions available on the permit available if you are interested in joining the hike. There are only 20 people per day allowed into this pristine and mesmerizing region to prevent damage to the environment. The permits are assigned on a lottery system many months in advance or if lucky you can possibly get one for the following day at the Paria Ranger station.

If you are interested in hiking and photographing the area with a person that knows the area email me with the subject line of AU Adventure. Email Me

See what photos are from the area surrounding Las Vegas http://www.panoramio.com/map/#lt=36.531709&ln=-114.384155&z=9&k=2&a=1&tab=1

Technorati Tags: AU, AU 2007, Autodesk University, Autodesk University 2007, Autodesk, Adventure, Las Vegas, Desert, Hiking, Photography, The wave, Paria, Red Rock, Valley of Fire, Nevada

Read Exif Photo Data for Images

You will want to bookmark this link if you like to see how a photo was taken and the details if available. You can read Exif data about a photo on the web or local. Nice to figure out details on a photo on the web how it was shot.
http://regex.info/exif.cgi

RAW RAW RAW Images

When shooting digital photos, please save your RAW versions of your favorite photos if possible otherwise you may regret not doing so in the future. The RAW is a capture of more setting and usually 12-16 bit as opposed to a JPEG images that is processed by the camera and usually a lossy compression 8 bit. Having the RAW of your favorite photos will allow you in the future at a later point edit and process the photos differently. I have many photos that I am stuck with the camera processing in a JPEG and really wish I had RAW images for them. Having the RAW file for the future is especially valuable as RAW image processing technology is improved you can make your photos look better by enhancing what you shot in the RAW. Think of the RAW image as a digital negative and everything the camera sensor captured in the shot. It is true most save to JPEG as they can share and view it easily, is uncomplicated, and mostly due to a JPEG being much smaller. It is similar to having a can of soup or the detailed recipe for the soup that you can adjust to your liking.

Having the RAW image later will be worth gold to you at some point for those special photo memories.

Regards,
Shaan

I have to get back to Chicago, Mmmm

I love the city of Chicago and the restaurants and I have just seen one thing I must try on my next trip there.  I just have to try a Pizza Pot Pie from Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. on Chicago "CPOG". I know for those keeping track I have been on a health kick since January refraining from soda and going regularly to gym but you can cheat once in awhile. CPOG also have a nice salad with poppy dressing and Mediterranean bread. The building CPOG is located was also rumored as an old Al Capone hangout. And I could also hit my favorite Chicago pizza joint Giodano's World Famous Stuffed Chicago Pizza. To finalize the trip a stop in the late evening at the Grand Lux Cafe is required. Of course I would have top make up for this trip in the gym but it would be well worth it.

Chicago is also a place a photographer could stay 2 weeks and still not scratch the surface of for photos and memories.

Some of my Chicago photos/memories from my last trip during the Autodesk Realize your Ideas Tour in June 2007.
     

    

Cheers,
Shaan

Busy Season...

Things have been so very busy lately I am not sure when I can get some sleep in.

• It is the beginning season for many major Autodesk product betas over at http://myfeedback.autodesk.com so make sure you are signed up and your profile is up to date.
• The MyFeedback community 2.0 is in progress and hopefully launched before Autodesk University in November...
• I have a presentation and meetings in San Francisco  in 2 weeks to a well respected Civil Engineering group.
• I have a CAD Camp presentation in Sao Paulo Brazil around the second week in November. I need to get my presentation translated into Brazilian Portuguese and try and muster up speaking some Portuguese. I really love Brazil, the people, the adventure, and the Portuguese language as it is the most beautiful language I have ever heard spoken in all of my global travels. I would also like to take a few days to go back to the Amazon to relax and chase jungle wildlife with my camera.
• I have Autodesk University to prepare for and have a booth #900 so be sure to stop by as we will be celebrating the 25th year anniversary of Autodesk and I will have much of my memorabilia with me.
• Speaking of the 25th Anniversary of Autodesk and memorabilia, I still have a ton to scan and photograph and post as well as archive.
• I have perhaps thousands of photos to sort and post to my Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/) someday soon.
• I need to get rid of the creepy crawly critters I am using as subjects of photos in my home office right now. There are scorpions and tarantulas I picked up from a recent reptile show. I have crickets to feed them but the crickets are driving me absolute mad with their loud chirping all the time. I am sure it sounds funny on the phone speaking with me during a phone conference with crickets in the background. I will be donating these to a local collector as 2 of the scorpions are from Egypt and not to be played with as they have the same toxicity as a king cobra snake with a LD value of 50. They are living about 9 inches from my mouse right now. They just stare at me all day and I am sure thinking how much they would like to have one chance to hit me with their fat tails. I don't really like them either but scorpions are awesome to photograph under a ultra violet light as they glow a bright green with the dark blue hue of the light. You can see an example of a scorpion UV photo I took down by Arches National Park in Utah that has become very popular after I posted it to Flickr.

I am absolutely going stir crazy being so busy that I it is hard to get up to the Wasatch Mountains I can see from my house or get back down to Southern Utah which has drawn me in like a magnet. I was hoping to summit MT. Olympus this weekend to get the stress out and take my photo up there but mother nature with her snow and cold up there is dashing that plan for me. I guess I will be working catching up and hitting the gym.

 

Enough rambling for now.  I can be thankful I have my health, my children, and for being busy as opposed to nothing to do.

 

Catching Up After almost 2 weeks in San Rafael

I have been in San Rafael and San Francisco California for most of the past 2 weeks. I had many meetings and some management training to attend. I got to see a bunch of coworkers I have not seen in sometime as well which was a bonus. I also stayed with a good friend and spent the evenings talking, BBQ'ing, and seeing old places as I used to live in the Bay area. It was nice seeing the area and friends but the traffic is even worse...I even video taped one commute to later speed up to a Caffeine Commute (6x speed) to the Autodesk office like I have done in a video from back in 2004 "Have I Snapped? Updated 6-22-04".

I took quite a few photos in the Bay Area and some are getting quite the recognition. You are free to use the images personally. The sizes are large enough even for dual monitors or large screen background displays. I know quite a few have used my scorpion under UV light photo as a screen background or various Utah desert images.

            

Other popular photos used as desktop wallpapers.
      

More of S.Hurley's photos

 

I have a bunch of tasks and email to catch up on and some blog postings. :-)

Have a great weekend!

Canon 40D Tattoo Offer

  I waited and waited and waited for an upgrade to my well worn Canon Digital Rebel XT 350 Digital SLR Camera for the updated release to the 18 month old Canon EOS 30D as I wanted to step up from an entry level Digital SLR to a more pro model like the EOS 30D or better as I continue to take my photography hobby to higher levels. I asked resellers, 2 Canon contacts, and some photography people in the know and read many many blogs looking for any hints or info before spending my hard earned money. When I was told there would be no Canon EOS 40D successor to the Canon EOS 30D this year I finally made the jump this summer to the 30D. Well as luck would have it the 40D will not be available on September 22, 2007 for the same price I paid for the 30D, but the 40D has the DIGIC III processing,sRAW, Live View,  integrated dust reduction built in since I am shooting mostly in the desert, a built in thirds grid, and other features I wanted and needed.

Press Release: August 20, 2007 - Canon's Highly Anticipated EOS 40D Digital

dpreview.com review Canon EOS 40D, previewed

That's just my luck but it sure makes you feel like someone knew and wanted to get rid of 30D stock.

I have a been a very loyal Can