not so frequent questions


what camera do you use?

Canon 20-D

CAMERA
January 2002 - December 2004 : Sony Cybershots
February 2005 - February 2009 : Canon 20D
March 2009 - Present : Canon 5d Mark II
January 2011 - February 2013 : Panasonic Lumix GF1 with 20mm f/1.7 lens
February 2013 - Present : Olympus OM-D

50mm

LENSES
If you're just starting out with a “big” DSLR (from Rebel to 5D), I'd recommend a 50mm f1.4 lens (expensive, built well) or 50mm f1.8 lens (cheap, but works great - take extra care of it). Both do great, especially in low light.


what is this site all about?

The short answer might seem like it is me. I get chastized by my friends sometimes that it's too ego-centric, but I digress. It's not just about me, it's about my friends and family. It's a way for me to learn and experiment. It's about design, and life, and chocolate bars, and bad logos, and taking a photo every day to remember it all.

 


The software I use

photoshop

Adobe Photoshop - The quintessential tool that helps me visualize how a page will look before I build it. I also use Photoshop to Color adjust, crop, resize, and manipulate photos. Every interface element that is a GIF or JPG has been created in Photoshop, whether is a headline, icon, or button.

Image Capture

Image Capture - This is how I manage getting photos off my camera. The simple built-in application on Mac OS X. I store images in folders by date, then once they are posted, I back them up.

Coda

Coda - Now that I am more familiar with code, something I think every web designer should do, I am using Dreamweaver less and less. Coda is a great text editor, and works directly through FTP to make edits.

Transmit

Panic Transmit - After everything is ready to go, I use Transmit to upload. It is an excellent FTP program. Favorite feature? DockSend—I drag a file to the icon in the dock, it uploads to the server without hassle.

Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver - Once I have the idea complete in Photoshop, I "cut out" all the separate elements and assemble them with Dreamweaver. This program creates the HTML, and let's me build with CSS or server-side includes.

Chronosync

ChronoSync - This is how I back things up. I tend to collect a lot of data and I organize everything by project, or photos by date. This program lets me sync up folders and just add the new stuff to the backup. Which now, is about 500 gigs.

Illustrator

Illustrator - This is the program for vector art. I loved Illustrator's tracing feature for a long time, now I'm learning how to draw with it proper. I miss Freehand, but I'm learning.


Everything on my personal site here is static, but the journal is TypePad and the photo album is Wordpress.

 

 


why?

That's pretty easy. I never was good at keeping things organized. Now I can access and refer to things from anywhere. Googling beats my memory.

 


got time on your hands?

Not really... In fact, I try to keep myself pretty busy. Building this site has many benefits that make it worth doing. First and foremost, it's a way to stay in touch with friends and family. Whenever they wonder about me, they can go to the site and probably get a sense of where I am in the world.

Whenever I take pictures at events now, I share them online, and that's been a great way to keep in touch with folks.

I consider this site a scrapbook, or a hobby. I can sit in front of the TV and just go through pictures and resize them and fix their colors. It's relaxing, really.

 


where are you now?

I am in Cincinnati, Ohio at night, and Oxford, Ohio during the day. Essentially I live in the city and work in the country. It's weird, but suits me.

 



» My Creative Mornings Presentation

» 50 Things about me

» Things I like

» Have a question? Drop me a line