This is even funnier because I just spent half an hour customizing my avatar on the new Xbox Live dashboard.  I don’t think I’ve played a game in months!

Some days you’re just stuck for inspiration.

“Hey, this looks cool,” you tell yourself.

But it doesn’t matter how many shots you take, what kind of lighting you try, what kind of Photoshop filters you play around with… you’re just left with an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction with the final product.

You win some, you lose some, I guess.  Maybe the important thing is to keep trying.

I recently managed to put a big honkin’ palm print right on the front objective of my main walkaround lens — a lens that I neglected to put a protective UV(0) filter on because, well, I was cheap.  I tried my best to clean it up with a microfibre lens cloth, but it seems to me that they just kind of smear the oils around the lens surface.  This particular situation was no different and so off to the NSOP forums I went in search of a better cleaning solution.  What I stumbled upon were recommendations for the LensPen.

And so, I ordered a MiniPro II (along with the aforementioned missing UV(0) filter) to see what it could do.  At $15, it wouldn’t be a big deal if it didn’t perform as advertised.

The concept is simple: a retractable soft brush on one end, and a capped cleaning pad on the other.  In their own words, it

[...] uses a proprietary carbon based cleaning compound that won’t spill or dry out. There’s nothing else like it on the market and the LensPen miniPro has won many awards for superior product design and usability.

Ever heard a homemaker’s tip suggesting the use of newspaper to clean your glass surfaces?  I get the feeling that the LensPen works on a similar principle, as this is a dry compound.

And boy, does it work.  I took it to every lens and filter I own and restored them to brand-new condition within 15 seconds.  No little specks, no little smears, just perfectly clear glass.  I think I may spring for an ‘original’ LensPen as well (at the same price), as it has a larger cleaning surface.  The MiniPro II seems better suited to cleaning viewfinders and P&S lenses, but it is very compact and therefore a great addition to a keep-it-light walkaround kit.  Highly recommended as a stocking stuffer for the photographer on your Christmas list!

Check out this interesting and visually appealing new photography project, put together by proficient online curator, Lindley Warren, also known for her successful We Projects: The Ones We Love and Where We’re From. Lindley has a keen eye and an open mind, attributes that have allowed her to showcase young and emerging photographers in an intimate and personal manner.

Check it out, and submit your own photos!

Everything is more-or-less still here, but subcategories have been removed and the affected posts were linked to their parent categories.  Navigating by category is now done from the drop-down menu at the top of the page.  Additionally, only an excerpt the three latest posts is shown; as you’ve probably discovered, clicking on the title will show the post in its entirety.

There will probably be some further subtle tweaks in the design and layout, but the bulk of the work is done.  Let me know what you think, and what else you’d like to see by leaving a comment below!

Kodak’s tech history page says that this camera was on the market from 1938 to 1939, and sold for the then-princely sum of US$25.00 — nearly US$400 today.  Antiques sites I’ve check have it listed for a not-so-princely $90.

More in my SmugMug gallery.

I’ve also signed up for advanced membership with BIXI — Montreal’s community bike-rental initiative, which launches in Spring 2009.  I don’t use my bike for commuting, so this seems like a great idea.

Click on the photos to open a larger version in a new window.

Little things like this are making me realise that despite wanting to move entirely to Lightroom, I’ll always have a need for Photoshop, if only for batch action automation… and, um, borders.

Having played with the free trial of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0, I picked up the full version yesterday.  It will take some getting used to, but I do like the workflow management built into it.  I’ve ordered a book to help me get a little more familiar with it and will post back when I’ve made a complete switchover — although I get the feeling that Photoshop will still be needed on occasion.

Oh yeah, I put up a couple of other photos from my first ‘pro’ photoshoot on SmugMug.

(Click to enlarge)

See the full gallery on my SmugMug page here.