DIGITAL IMAGING SIG

Date of Meeting: March 23, 2009

Conducted by: Steve Dell and Carter Harrison

Carol Andrews shared iron-on fabric photos. You can purchase the kit at JoAnn’s Fabrics either online or in their stores.

                                    Ed Dunn shared his merged landscape photo.

Kent Phillips discussed TucsonSenior Net, a training organization for those over 50 with classes at Udall Center, Armory Park, and the Jewish Community Center. They are teaching everything from computer basics up to Microsoft Office. Phillips is the volunteer coordinator and TCS members might be willing to volunteer to teach. Classes are held September through May. To attend their computer classes or to volunteer to teach, please contact Kent Phillips at (520) 546-5888.

Carter Harrison talked about backing up your data. He described a Web site called "Digital Railroad" which sold stock photos, had an automated system for customers to download after a sale, and an archiving service. It went bankrupt in October 2008 and gave customers 24 hours to retrieve their data, which caused an overload and a crash. As a result, most of their customers' stored photo files were lost. He mentioned a new subscription Web site called Photo Shelter. They let you store and sell your digital photo files.

Steve Dell mentioned that his network drive had no "Recycle Bin", so he changed his backups to an eSATA drive which has by default a "Recycle Bin". He stated that gives him a way to get back files that he deletes, if he changes his mind about needing them. He is also thinking of subscribing to a online backup service for $4 a month service with unlimited space, as a secondary backup. Dr. Ken Sandock mentioned that he has a lot of free backup with his Comcast mail, and he understands that many other email services, such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail offer a lot of online free space that can be used as backup storage for data files.

Carter Harrison demonstrated JPEGs at various sizes, so members could see when they started to lose sharpness. The purpose was to decide what size to use for slideshows or email. He also showed photos of quilts taken on a ladder, then using a tool to straighten the perspective.

Carter Harrison referred to the AZTCS website where information about SunPath was posted in the Meeting Notes page. Sunpath's Web site is at http://www.wide-screen.com/sunPATH/index.shtml. Their computer application helps professional photographers with composite photos where part is taken in a studio and then put in an outside setting. It allows photographers to calculate when the sun will come through a window, or reach a certain point in the sky. He showed the equipment professionals would need to find the vertical, and his improvised versions of the same equipment. He showed the information that is available at the NOAA website that could be used to perform some of the latitude and longitude calculations.

Steve Dell discussed the resolution for various types of photos: Web photos should be approximately 72 dpi (dots per inch) and printed photos should use the native resolution of the printer, usually 300 dpi.

Steve presented a slideshow on "Improving Your Travel Photos". He mentioned that you should take a tripod, but if you don’t, you can take Ziplock bags and stop at a local market and fill them with rice or beans to use in stabilizing your camera.