Errata

Ever since the publication of the PDML Photo Annual (see link and photo at right), I’ve had a lot of people asking me how the photo mosaic on the cover was made. The answer is disappointingly mundane: I had software do it for me. Yes, there was no special skill involved (other than choosing an image that is well suited to this technique). Better still, the software I used was  freeware. It doesn’t cost anything.

There are several applications available to create photo mosaics. I haven’t tried many; in fact, I’ve only tried one because the first one I downloaded worked so well that I didn’t feel the need to spend any more time searching. It’s an application called Andrea Mosaic and is one of the free photo applications recommended on my free software page. You can download it at Andrea Denzler’s web site.

Using the Software

The main interface of Andrea Mosaic is shown at right.

The first step is to select the characteristics you want for the final mosaic: Physical size, resolution and number of tiles.

Next choose the image that will be the “master”; the one you want shown in the form of a mosaic. You can drag and drop it into the large gay area in the right side of the window, or click the “+” button and navigate to the image file you want to use.

Step 3 is to choose the images you want to use as mosaic tiles. It’s best if you put these images — preferably copies of the original image files — all into one directory (folder) just for the purposes of making the mosaic. Click the “Select Tiles” button at the bottom of the window. This will open a new window and you have to go through a 3-step sub-process here:

Click on “Add Folder” and choose the location where you placed the images you’re going to use.

Click on “Analyze Folders” to make the software mathematically examine the images you’ve chosen. This can take several minutes if you have a lot of large images.

Click on “Save Archive” so you don’t have to perform the first two steps again for this collection of images.

Then you can click on “OK” to go back to the main window.

Now, back in the main window you can just click “Create Mosaic”. If you want, you can change the optional settings for how many times to use an individual tile, how closely duplicate tiles may be spaced and whether you want to let the software rotate or change the color of the tiles to create a more convincing final result. It’s likely that you’ll have to go through a little trial and error process to get an image looking its best.

This is a fairly computation-intensive process, so you may have a significant wait while the software does its work. With large output sizes I’ve had to let it run for around 30 minutes even on a fast computer, but that’s still many thousands of times better than trying do perform this kind of process manually in Photoshop!

Finishing Touches

If you have Photoshop, you can perform the usual color and levels adjustments on the final mosaic when it’s complete. In some cases I’ve also layered the original “master” image on top of the mosaic, with its transparency set at 30-50%, in order to make the effect more subtle.

In short, making a photo mosaic is neither costly nor difficult. Try it out on your own images and experiment. You’ll find it’s a great finishing touch to a collection of images.

I’m going to start putting the photo galleries that are specific to my blog into their own blog entries, with their own category, to make easier for people (mainly me) to find them. So here’s the first one, from the 2008 Grandfather Mountain Nature Photography Weekend:

(FAQ)

General - The Mountain - Weather - Directions - Sign-In - Camping - Hotels - PDML Central - Electricity - Computers - Photo Contest - Galleries

General

The Grandfather Mountain Nature Photography Weekend is a 3-day photo workshop and contest at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, organized by Don Nelson, a former professional photographer and rep for Nikon and Pentax. The photo contest is judged by myself and Doug Brewer, a photographer from Richmond, Kentucky. Tickets go on sale on April 1st and usually sell out within 5-10 hours(!) (Registration information here.) This event is also the unofficial annual meeting of members of the Pentax Mailing List (PDML).

The Nature Photography Weekend always takes place on the first weekend after Memorial Day. From Friday afternoon through Sunday, participants get to take photos in one of the most spectacularly beautiful places on the continent, listen to talks by renowned nature photographers and participate in the casual yet competitive photo contest. “Casual” and “competitive” may seem contradictory, but they aren’t in this case. You’ll have to experience it to understand how this can work. You also get to meet the great people who comprise the participants in this event. For some, that’s the best part of the deal.

The Mountain

Grandfather Mountain is designated by UNESCO as an International Biosphere Reserve and is considered one the most biologically diverse mountains in North America. The main spine of Grandfather Mountain is a ridge that runs from southwest to northeast. (Or the other way round, if you prefer!)  It has four distinct peaks (from SW to NE): Linville Peak (5303 ft), MacRae Peak (5845 ft), Attic Window Peak (5855 ft) and Calloway Peak (5946 ft — the highest point in the Blue Ridge).

When you visit you should get a copy of the Grandfather Mountain Back Country Trail Map. It’s available free at the main entrance on Rt 221 and is extremely helpful for finding your way around. Until you get down there to pick up an official map, you can make do with one I’ve created. You can download it by clicking on the thumbnail below but be warned: It’s 5800 x 4000 pixels and almost 2 megabytes, so saving the file and opening it in an image viewer will work better than trying to view it in your web browser.

All the modern facilities — main entrance, road to the top, picnic area, nature museum, etc. — are at the southwest end. This means that from most easily accessible spots your view of sunrise is blocked by the mountain itself. Your best bet for sunrise photos (other than camping out in the back country) is to hike out the short Black Rock Trail in the early morning darkness and catch dawn at Grandmother View. The top parking lot (Linville Peak) usually has good sunset views.

The Grandfather Mountain road runs up the mountain from Rt 221 to a parking lot just below the summit of Linville Peak. There you can walk up a flight of steps, across the Mile High Swinging Bridge and just another 100 yards or so to Linville peak itself. A rugged trail from the other side of the parking lot leads out to the back country and the other three peaks. The trail is (quite accurately) rated “strenuous” by hiking guide books and it’s all at an elevation between 5000 and 6000 ft. This makes travel even more difficult for people accustomed to sea-level air, especially when carrying a lot of camera gear. Be aware of this!

On the main road about half way between the entrance and the summit is the nature museum. This houses a gift shop, restaurant, auditorium (where the Nature Photography Weekend events take place) as well as the museum itself. Behind the museum are the animal habitats; these comprise a kind of a wild, outdoor zoo where you can see bears, cougars, otters, eagles and deer in quasi-natural settings.

Here’s the thing about Grandfather Mountain: You can go out into some rugged wilderness and get astonishing photographs… and you can get some equally amazing shots while sipping coffee inside your car on the mountain road. No matter what your level of fitness or adventurousness, you’ll find great photographic opportunities somewhere on the mountain.

Weather

Yes, there will be weather. Sometimes there’s lots of it. Be prepared for all kinds, from cold and rain to sunny and blazing hot — during the same weekend. Winds at higher elevations can be violent. As in “shaking-your-car-around-so-much-you’re-afraid-to-get-out” violent. But some of the best photographs are shot in foul weather. Bring a weather-sealed Pentax DSLR and a spirit of adventure!

Plan on rain. No matter what the forecast is. Bring hiking boots and outdoor clothing for all kinds of weather. Then see what nature gives you when you get there.

Earthquakes

No, that’s just Dave Brooks snoring.

Finding Grandfather Mountain

If you’re coming from Boone, NC, take Rt. 105 South about 18 miles and turn left at Rt. 221. The main entrance is about 4 miles farther on your left. From almost any other direction, get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and follow it as far as the exit near mile post 305. Take Rt 221 south for about a mile and you’ll see the main entrance on your right.

Don’t follow computer-generated directions or GPS navigation systems. Once you get off the main roads (as these systems always try to get you to do), the roads never behave quite the same in reality as they seem to do on a paper or electronic map. Trust me — people have tried and regretted it.

Sign-In

Sign-in for the Nature Photography Weekend begins Friday from 3-7 p.m. in MacRae Meadows, 30 yards on the Linville side of the main entrance on Rt 221. Look for Doug Brewer sitting at a table under a canopy. If you don’t know what Doug Brewer looks like, imagine what you think Doug Brewer ought to look like and then look for someone who looks like that. That’s Doug.

Camping

Camping on the mountain is both the best way to get to know the other participants and the best way to maximize your photographic time on site (and stand the best chance of getting a winning shot). Nature Photography Weekend participants are allowed to camp in the mountain’s picnic area, which is just a about half a mile up the Grandfather Mountain Road from the main entrance. There is a small building with  men’s and women’s toilets, running water and a couple of electrical outlets. No shower facilities. (Some people have proposed getting a group to pitch in for a hotel room nearby to be used just for the purpose of showering and cleaning up throughout the weekend, but as far as I know no one has ever put the plan into action.)

The best way to get good sunset shots and good sunrise shots, is to backpack out onto the trails high on the mountain and camp out for the night at one of the primitive campsites there.

Hotels

If you’re wimping out (not camping) then the closest places with hotels are Linville and Banner Elk, about 10-15 minutes from the mountain. Farther out you’ll have Foscoe, nor far from the Profile Trail entrance on Rt 105. You might even stay as far away as Boone. On the other side of the mountain, near the Blue Ridge Parkway, the town of Blowing Rock is only about 25 minutes from the main entrance of GFM and is a bit more upscale (pricey) than other options.

PDML Central

All the Pentax-Discuss Mail List people camp in a group, the central command station of which is known as “PDML Central”. Traditionally, this has been Bill Owens’ pop-up camper, but in recent years health problems have lead Bill to opt for a hotel so Cory Waters’ camper has taken over as PDML Central. It’s always on the road side of the rest room building, near the fork where the picnic area road loop begins. Look for the fabulous PDML Blimp^TM hanging in a tree nearby.

Electricity

There are electrical outlets in the nature museum building, where the restaurant and auditorium are located. This is the best place to get power. There are a couple of outlets in the picnic area (campground), but they are usually taken quickly.

Computers

You should bring your own computer if you’re participating in the photo contest. It’s usually possible to borrow someone’s computer (this is generally a friendly and accommodating crowd), but it may not have the software or configuration you’re accustomed to. Extra storage capacity, in the form of Flash drives, CD’s/DVD’s or an external hard drive, is also recommended.

Food

Your entry fee for the Nature Photography Weekend gets you dinner on Saturday night. You can buy a ticket for the Sunday morning breakfast buffet for a small fee and get more than your money’s worth in calories. Other than that, you’re on your own. There are grilles for cooking in the picnic area and you can buy food at the restaurant in the nature museum building.

Canadians

Canadians have occasionally been spotted on the mountain during the Nature Photography Weekend. Just don’t make any sudden moves and you’ll probably be all right.

The Contest

The photo contest is the highlight of the weekend even though there are no prizes (other than a “suitable for framing” certificate and getting your winning shot displayed on the wall at the nature museum). To be eligible, your shots must either be taken on Grandfather Mountain or be shots of the mountain, taken from off the property. I can help newbies with good locations for either kind of photo.

Contest categories are:

• Scenic (landscape)
• Plants & Flowers
• Animals in Nature (in the wild)
• Animals in Habitats (at the nature museum)

Furthermore, each of the four categories are subdivided into “Amateur” and “Accomplished” divisions. You get to decide which category you fall into. It’s on the honor system.

You start shooting on Friday as soon as you check in.

You turn in a CD with your three best shots on Saturday afternoon.

You watch the awards presentation on Sunday morning.

Australians

It’s been a couple of years since any Australians have been sighted on Grandfather Mountain. We’ll alert the authorities if there’s any sign this year.

The Mark & Doug Show

This is the awards presentation on Sunday. While you’re listening to Sunday morning’s guest speakers, we’re in the basement finishing up the judging of the photo contest. The facilities for the judges are fabulously luxurious. We recline in ermine-covered seats, savoring truffles and vintage champagne and viewing the contest photos on 193-inch plasma screens while naked Tahitian virgins give us foot massages. Then we present the awards. But first we begin by showing photos that didn’t win anything but were too good to not mention. These have been dubbed “dishonorable mentions” even though they’re quite honorable. Go figure. Then we show the winners in each category. Often we get many of the photos properly matched with the correct photographers.

Doug and I have been doing this for a while now and we’re getting ready to pitch the concept of a radio program to NPR. Something along the lines of “Car Talk” but dealing instead with photo critique. We’ll let you know when it’s time to call your local station and start demanding that they carry it.

The Attic Window Hike

This is not an official part of the program, and is a relatively recent addition to the traditions of the GFM Nature Photography Weekend: On Saturday morning I lead a hike up to Attic Window Peak. We’ll start from the top parking lot at 9:00 a.m. and hike the Grandfather Trail out to MacRae Peak and Attic Window Peak. There’s fabulous scenery but it is a strenuous hike. Not for weaklings or those with fear of heights.

Geocaching with Nico & Doug

Be sure to bring a two-way radio and flare gun to aid rescue parties in finding you.

British People

We still don’t know if any British people will be present. Bring some cleft sticks just in case.

Photo Galleries:

Photo galleries from myself and others of Grandfather Mountain in general and the Nature Photography Weekend in particular.

http://optiopics.homestead.com/npwgfm2004.html

http://www.cottysnaps.com/snaps/photoessays/essays/gfmo4.html

http://grandfather08.blogspot.com/

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v408/divad_b/Grandfather%20Mountain%20NPW%202006/

http://www.robertstech.com/blog/photos/gallery01/index.html

http://www.robertstech.com/blog/photos/gallery02/index.html

http://www.robertstech.com/blog/photos/gallery04/index.html

http://www.stans-photography.com/GFM2004/

http://homepage.mac.com/cottycam/PhotoAlbum6.html

One of the great annoyances of bad web design is the link that opens a new tab in your web browser rather than simply loading the new page in the current tab. It was even worse in the days before tabbed browsers, because it would open an entirely new browser window, but it’s still annoying and still bad web design: The idea is to keep you on the current web site (”pleeeeeze don’t leave!”) but it actually makes it more difficult to get back to the original page because the “Back” button no longer works. In other words, it causes the problem it’s intended to prevent. It has been known to be bad web design for 10 years now, but people still do it.

You know what’s worst about it, though? It’s just plain rude to treat visitors to your web site this way. The first rule of effective web design is, “Don’t piss of people who visit your web site”. So, all you web designers out there: Stop using the “target= ” attribute in your links! (Unless you’re using it with in a page that uses Frames — if you design web pages that use frames just step out back and shoot yourself now.)

Fortunately, there is a way for Firefox users to override inconsiderate web designers who use this technique. With a simple customization, you can make all links open in the same tab (and if you want to open a link in a new tab you can just right-click and select “Open Link in New Tab”).

Here’s how you do it:

Step 1:

In the Address Bar of Firefox, type the words “about:config” and then press the Enter key. This brings up the built-in customization page where you can configure myriad options in Firefox. To reach any one of them you can either scroll through the entire list or, if you know what you’re looking for, start typing it into the Filter box above the list.

Step 2:

Type “browser.link” into the Filter box. This will bring up three results. The one we want is the middle one shown in the image at right: “browser.link.open_newwindow”.

Double-click on “browser.link.open_newwindow” and you’ll get the dialog box shown below, with the default value of “3″ showing.

Step 3:

In the dialog box, replace the default value of “3″ with “1″ and click OK.

You’re done! Now every link will open in the same tab unless you decide otherwise!

(Just in case you’re curious, setting the value to “2″ would make every link open in a new tab.)

Enjoy your new browsing experience.

If you look at this page, you’ll notice I’ve recently edited a photography book that’s being sold to raise money for pediatric cancer research. My Significant Other, Lisa, is a pediatric pathologist. She diagnoses kids with cancer all the time and, unlike many pathologists, she does Fine Needle Aspiration (sometimes called “needle biopsy”) to get cells for diagnosis, which means she meets the kids in person, rather than simply looking at slides with tissue samples. Many of her friends are pediatric oncologists and surgeons who also deal with kids who have the most dire prognoses.

To me, and, I think, most people, this immediately raises the question of how they mentally handle dealing with children who are facing the possibility — sometimes the certainty — of death. My S.O. specializes in some of the most aggressive and deadliest of pediattric cancers, so she doesn’t tend to bring many stories home. Too many of them have unhappy endings. But over the years I’ve heard enough to piece together some small inkling of what must go on in the minds of the people who have what it takes to do this simultaneously heartbreaking and gratifying work.

A major part of the psychological strategy has to involve maintaining some emotional distance when you know the prognosis is bad. When a child gets cancer, the parents are always completely shocked: Cancer is thought of as an adult’s disease. Kids don’t — shouldn’t — get cancer. Except that sometimes they do. And the surprise hits like a hammer blow.

When pediatric cancer specialists get a new patient they can usually narrow down the possibilities of what’s wrong almost immediately. Which each succeeding step in the process of examination and diagnosis they get closer and closer to the nature of the disease they’re facing and almost always get a feeling early on as to how bad it’s going to be. Thus, they get to brace themselves in advance, gradually, for the ultimate truth. Though they care deeply for the kids in their care, they don’t get bad news completely unexpectedly, and that’s part of how they cope.

Here’s one of the few stories Lisa brought home from work that I did get to hear:

A pediatric oncology surgeon was bringing up some slides for Lisa to look at, so they could get an official diagnosis and begin treatment. Even when your other doctors are 99.9% certain you have cancer, you don’t officially have cancer until the pathologist says so — and identifies exactly what kind it is. There are more kinds of cancer than you can possibly imagine, all with tongue-twisting polysyllabic names and, more to the point, often vastly different treatments. You want to be sure you know precisely what kind of cancer you’re dealing with because treating the wrong kind can be worse than no treatment at all.

In this particular case, the surgeon was in a good mood because the case was a kidney tumor, which in children usually means a Wilm’s tumor. These used to be about 95% fatal, but years of research, spearheaded almost single-handledly by pathologist Bruce Beckwith, has turned the mortality rate around: They’re now about 95% curable. The surgeon knew it was statistically most likely to be a Wilm’s tumor and from examining the patient and taking the biopsy he knew it bore all the clinical signs of being a Wilm’s tumor, so he came into Lisa’s office with a smile on his face and she set to work.

It’s actually amazing to watch Lisa at work at the microscope, working the slide’s position and the focus adjustment on the scope. It’s very much like seeing the hands of a talented musician on an instrument. Also like a musician is the degree of mental focus she directs at the task. Though she can talk to the surgeon or oncologist about what she’s seeing, all her visual attention is directed into the microscope and the tale the cells on the slide have to tell.

And in this case the tale was an unusual one. The cancer wasn’t a Wilm’s tumor. It was something extremely rare: Only a handfull of cases had been seen before and had been no survivors. She worked through all the slides and everything she saw confirmed the diagnosis. “I don’t know what else to tell you” she recalls saying.

And at that moment, the other doctor became just another human being, completely blindsided by news no one wants or expects to hear. When Lisa took a moment to look up from the microscope, this experienced professional was sitting before her with tears streaming down his face.

The National Childhood Cancer Foundation can be found at www.curesearch.org.

We just spent a week in North Carolina doing a bit of easy hiking, but mostly relaxing and getting rested for the intense activity that we anticipate in the new year. It snowed on Wednesday and we went out for a walk through the neighborhood around our friends’ vacation cabin where we were staying. Naturally, I brought along my camera to be ready for any good shots that were to be had. I found myself “thinking in black and white” from the very start.

Click on the image at right to see a gallery of shots from this walk.

So… getting into the holiday spirit here (and trying to find something to do during a power outage), I’ve written this little holiday ditty, reflecting the spirit of the times. The ghost of Christmas Present, if you will. Enjoy!

Santa wants a bailout from Bernanke
10 or 20 billion ought to do
To cover his expenses at the North Pole
Bought by him - paid for by me and you

People ask, “why give him money?”
“We barely make ends meet ourselves”
But Saint Nick has got the answer
He’ll cite his labor costs and blame the elves

Santa’s laid off all his reindeer
As a way to cut his debt
And he’ll struggle through this Christmas
Delivering presents in his private jet

Santa wants a bailout from Bernanke
10 or 20 billion ought to do
To cover his expenses at the North Pole
Bought by him - paid for by me and you

Santa’s future once looked rosy
And his cash flow was just great
Now he thinks maybe he shouldn’t
Have sunk it into Palm Beach real estate

All his savings and investments
Simply vanished like a dream
Now Kris Kringle wants taxpayers
To put some cash into his ponzi scheme

Santa wants a bailout from Bernanke
10 or 20 billion ought to do
To cover his expenses at the North Pole
Bought by him - paid for by me and you

Santa’s refinancing his workshop
He hopes he hasn’t lost his touch
When he goes to ask his banker
“Do you think a seventh mortgage is too much?”

His electric bill’s unpaid now
Sometimes that’s just the way it goes
When they shut off all his power
He’ll be working by the light of Rudolph’s nose

Santa wants a bailout from Bernanke
10 or 20 billion ought to do
To cover his expenses at the North Pole
Bought by him - paid for by me and you

Driving into New York on a crisp fall morning, expecting nothing more than a pleasant day of walking and sightseeing in the city, I was suddenly astonished by the sight of an overpass packed with runners, shoulder-to-shoulder as far as the eye could see. Not because I didn’t instantly recognize that what was happening; as a non-runner at that time, I’d had no idea I was coming to the city on the day of the marathon, but the realization was instantaneous. There few people who would have needed more than a millisecond to recognize this event: The New York City Marathon has become an icon of both the city and of running.

But the New York City Marathon is also an icon of something else that transcends both the city and the sport of running. Perhaps because New York seems such an unlikely place for a marathon — the heterogeneity of culture, race and class in the neighborhoods through which the race passes; the bridges and roads of a automobile-dominated metropolis being turned over to 30,000 fit pedestrians for most of a day; the audacity of even trying to stage an event this large and complex in a city, a place that seems barely able to contain the near-frenzy that constitutes its routine, day-to-day activity. An intersection of the astonishing feat of a human running 26.2 miles with the incredible notion of sending 30,000 people through the five boroughs of the quintessential modern city, with all the positive and negative implications thereof. The sheer improbability of something like the marathon happening in New York City is what gives the event its such fascination to people, runners and non-runners, all over the world.

Run for Your Life is the story of the New York City Marathon and the eccentric Romanian immigrant who founded it, Fred Lebow.  Director Judd Ehrlich starts from before the first New York City Marathon, held entirely in Central Park in 1970 (with runners dodging bicycles and baby carriages all the way) and takes us through the ups and downs and enormous expansion of the event up to the present day. Even if you think you know the story you’ll find plenty of new material here. If you don’t know any of the story you’re in for a real treat. It’s astonishing to see how small this race was in its early years, even the first “five boroughs” marathon.

As its subtitle indicates, the film revolves around Fred Lebow, the race director who was a sort of cross between the pied piper and a smooth-talking salesman. Some measure of his idiosyncratic nature is evidenced by the fact that no one seems to know how to pronounce his name. Is it “LEE-bo” or “luh-BO”? Even amongst those who knew him there doesn’t seem to be agreement (it was originally “Lebowitz” before he changed it upon emigrating to the United States). Ehrlich’s treatment strikes the balance that seems to elude so many documentary makers, light-hearted yet thorough, neither trivializing of his subject’s accomplishments nor trying to gloss over his less attractive personal failings (directors of Steve Prefontaine movies please take note). Lebow’s sometimes dubious promotions, shady characters he dealt with and his occasional “not quite above board” dealings with runners and the city are all given time, but what stands out above all, even when no one’s talking directly about it, is the affection he inspired in virtually everyone who knew him.

Nit-pickers will spot a couple of jarring mid-interview edits but overall the technical quality is excellent and the 1970’s footage is as delightfully eccentric as you’d expect of the decade. We’re fortunate that the marathon’s formative years were during this time because it allows the producers to use lots of wonderfully groovy 70’s music as background (none of it from major hit songs, which spared the producers expensive licensing fees and probably improved the quality of the music).

All the major stars who ran, and were made famous by the marathon, or made the marathon famous, are represented: The decision of Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter to run the first “five boroughs” marathon in 1976 supercharged the event and turned it from an intended one-off (everyone expected the race to return to Central Park the following year) into an international phenomenon. Grete Waitz was originally turned away because she applied too late; it was only when Lebow accidentally noticed a note with her name on it and realized who she was that her entry — and eventual fame — was assured.

The relationship between Lebow and Waitz is the cornerstone of the movie’s most moving segment, when they ran the marathon together while Lebow was in the midst of treatment for cancer. Coming less than a year before he died, it was the only time he ever got to run his own race and if the sight of  Fred and Grete crossing the finish line together doesn’t bring a tear to your eye then you have no soul. It’s especially moving if you’re a runner because you’ll recognize the look on Fred’s face. It’s not one of a person nobly “battling cancer” or any of that clichéd rubbish, it’s the look we’ve all seen (or had ourselves): That of someone who’s just conquered 26.2 miles.

My only issue with the film is in regard to the somewhat confusing handling of the Rosie Ruiz segment. It wasn’t until my second viewing that I realized that much of the news footage of Rosie attempting to defend herself was about the following year’s Boston marathon. (Her cheating at New York — which is how she qualified for Boston in the first place — wasn’t discovered until people started investigating her Boston “win”).

But this is not only a minor complaint, it’s one that revealed one of the real strengths of Run for Your Life, because I found the second viewing as enjoyable as the first. Be warned: I though I had given up running marathons, but this movie has started me thinking about maybe “just one more”. After all, I’ve never run New York. Not yet, anyway…

Run for Your Life will be showing in New York City from October 28 through November 4th but is unlikely to appear in many theaters elsewhere, so unless you’re going to be in NY at that time (to run the marathon, for example), your only way of seeing it will be to buy the DVD (availability on October 28). You’ll want to watch it more than once, too.

Official movie web site here.

The subject line above was my reaction to the announcement of the imminent arrival of Photoshop CS4.

But after a moment of cursing I thought it might be a selfish reaction. I’m 47 years old and have been using Photoshop a long time, so I pretty much know how to get what I want out of it. As we get older we all tend to get set in our ways, so the arrival of something “new and improved” is very often seen as an intrusion; an disruption of the comfortable status quo. So things that really are better can be unfairly dismissed out of hand.

Fortunately, I have a group of test subjects readily available to me. Because I teach college, I have access to a wide selection of young people to survey. And because my subject is multimedia, a lot of them have a great interest in software like Photoshop.

And here’s the thing: When I announced in class a couple of weeks ago that there was a new version of Photoshop coming out soon, every student present had the same reaction I did.

I was amazed. I really had expected it was just us old folks who are sick of having to upgrade all the time (to “pay the Photoshop tax” as the expression goes). The oldest student in the class may not yet have reached drinking age, but these kids, who’ve never known anything earlier than Photoshop CS2, are also fed up with the endless upgrade cycle. (Oh yes, they’ve already figured out it is endless.)

One of the most annoying things to me is the deliberate non-backwards compatibility of Adobe Camera Raw: Every time a new version of Photoshop comes out, Adobe cripples subsequent versions of Camera Raw to prevent them from working with older versi0ns of Photoshop. So if you’re a CS3 user and you buy a new camera that’s introduced after, say, tomorrow, you’ll be forced to upgrade to CS4 if you want to keep using Camera Raw. Even if you’re completely happy with CS3 and none of the new features of CS4 are of interest to you.

True, there’s a workaround available by converting your Raw files into Adobe’s DNG format. But not everyone works this way. Nor should they have to. Workflow is a personal preference and software should be designed to work with a photographer’s existing workflow, not determine it.

Basically, it’s a way of forcing people to upgrade even if they neither want nor need to do so. This deliberate backwards non-compatibility is sleazier than anything Microsoft has ever dreamed of. And it looks as if they’re using the same strategy on new versions of Lightroom, too. So you’ll get nailed twice if you’re a Photoshop and Lightroom user.

…at least if you’re a legal Lightroom and Photoshop user. The irony is that Adobe is one of the most aggressive anti-software-piracy companies in the world, yet this policy of deliberate backwards-incompatibility has no effect at all on the people who share cracks and trade pirated copies of Photoshop: Only those who buy it legally are hurt.

Here’s another long-running problem with Photoshop upgrades: They don’t install as upgrades. Every time you “upgrade” Photoshop the new software insists on setting itself up as a parallel, additional installation of Photoshop. I tried putting CS3 in the same directory that I had CS2 in, but it just created a new “CS3″ directory under my CS2 directory. Arrrrrgh! So I still had to delete my old version of Photoshop, fix all my shortcuts and re-install my third-party plug-ins. It’s disgraceful that a $700 software application is so badly written. (Perhaps this will be fixed with CS4 but I’m not holding my breath.)

It’s true that some people like to keep older versions of their software after installing upgrades, but that should be an option; something left for the user to decide upon. Plug-in compatibility? The new app should should be able to check and warn you if your old plug-ins aren’t compatible with the new software. Firefox manages this and Firefox is free.

In the end, Adobe gets away with all this because… because they can. They have the closest thing to a monopoly in the software business. Microsoft? If you don’t like Windows you can always go to Mac (and vice-versa). Microsoft’s Office apps can be replaced with free Open Office software that’s arguably superior. But if you need professional-quality image editing Photoshop is the only game in town (try getting a job in the field with a resume that lists any software other than “Photoshop”).

The food isn’t the only thing that’s hot at the Oasis diner!

Sighted in (where else?) West Virginia, on Route 19. This is a place where you can get your cheeseburger with mozzarella cheese and a side of souvlaki… and pick up a DVD of “Debbie Does the Dolimites”.

This is one dining establishment where you really hope they wash their hands before going on the job.