The magic of digital photography

I took several pictures at the Alf 2011 festival in Clarion, PA. I wanted to freeze one of the gymnast in mid air. This is what I was able to shoot:

Not a bad picture but not what I was looking for; I decided it was time to work on the file. The first result was:

Then I wanted to see if I could move the shadow, so it would appeared completely under the girl:

Better but the jump doesn't seem high enough. She is too close to the ground. By moving the shadow lower; it appears that she is jumping higher:

How long did it take me to do the changes? Actually less than a hour, even though I am not an expert tweaking digital files. So go out and shoot some more, then go into your digital darkroom and work your magic y OLE!

Respuesta a Javier Vargas del Canal 4 Tenerife

A Javier Vargas,

1. A los españoles y canarios en Venezuela se les ha tratado siempre con bondad y cariño. Cuando España estaba plagada de hambre y miseria, miles de canarios viajaron a América en busca de oportunidades y de trabajo. Aquí se les recibió y se les dio todas las facilidades para trabajar legalmente. En las décadas de los 50, 60, 70 y 80 el Gobierno Venezolano recibió a miles de extranjeros y les brindó las condiciones necesarias para vivir dignamente. Cosa que no podían hacer en su país de origen por pobreza y por la falta de libertad durante esos años.

2. Hoy los Venezolanos tenemos hambre física y espiritual. Tenemos necesidades económicas y no tenemos libertad. A nadie le gusta dejar su patria, cuando lo hace es por necesidad. cuando vamos a Canarias, España, Portugal e Italia es porque muchos tenemos nuestras raíces en estos países. Por lo tanto esperamos que se nos reciba como fueron recibidos.

3. Ud., dice que no le debe nada a Venezuela. Pues Javier te equivocas, España y Canarias le deben todo a América. España es lo que es hoy por América. Lo malo y lo bueno. Así de la misma manera, nosotros todo se lo debemos a España, lo bueno y lo malo. En cuanto ejemplos y casos concretos son muchos para enumerarlos, basta saber que la democracia en España existe gracias a Venezuela y otros países Americanos. Muchos fueron los políticos españoles que luego fundarían la democracia en España, que estuvieron asilados por mucho tiempo en los países de América. Así de la misma manera, Canarias es la tierra ancestral de Rómulo Betancourt, padre de la democracia Venezolana y unos de los grandes estadistas de América.

4. Amigo, Javier, con la educación que dices tener y de la cual no dudo, deberías analizar, pensar con mayor profundidad la relación de Venezuela y Canarias. Dos regiones hermanadas por relaciones de sangre, de cultura y de sentimientos.

Viva Canarias, viva Venezuela!

So, what about the iPad2?

Indeed it is a great device. In terms of hardware, no doubt it is an upgrade from the iPad first generation. It is thinner, lighter, more powerful with a dual-core A5 chip, it has two cameras one front and back and the new magnetic smart cover. The only weakness that can be identified at this moment, as in the iPad1, is the little amount of RAM available. Have you ever tried editing a RAW file? Both iPads will fail miserable. Why do you think Apple has made a big deal of iMovie while real working pro-photographic apps are not even mentioned? Because both iPads aren't powerful enough. iMovie and GarageBand are both wonderful apps but the average consumer weekend user. Do you think, it is possible to get a high quality video or for that matter a high quality photograph from the iPad's cameras? Of course not. Moreover, the lack of USB interconnectivity and RAM means that it is impossible to upload quality files to the iPad. Then there is the issue of using the iPad to record video and taking pictures; imagine yourself holding the IPad making a video; get the picture?

In my opinion, however, the iPads 1 and 2 could be more useful if only Apple would implement the following features: multitasking, OCR, Flash, a professional email client, a user file-system, USB connectivity, notifications, and widgets.

More on the iPad later. Written with iPad.

El resultado esta cantao!

La primera minoría impuso la tiranía, monopolizando los poderes ejecutivo, judicial, electoral, ciudadano y legislativo; establecimiento un discurso vacío de políticas y logros pero basado en un imaginario popular, que ahora repiten los representantes de la libertad.

La mayoría aceptamos que no exista independencia y división de poderes. Aceptamos una juramentación presidencial ilegal. Aceptamos que se pisoteen constituciones. Aceptamos que se cierren medios de comunicación. Aceptamos aparecer en lista. Aceptamos la inseguridad. Aceptamos un líder. Aceptamos una representación legislativa menor. Aceptamos que exista reelección indefinida.

Así mismo aceptaremos el resultado.

V, fantasy or reality

For those of us who are watching V in ABC, reality has become blurred with fantasy and science fiction. There seems to be a visitor army in Venezuela. It has taken the country over in a period of almost twelve years. Little by little, this invasive army has advanced in the conquest of Venezuela's multiple sectors of society. Social and political discussion has shifted over the years to the agenda set forth by the government led by the supreme commander and president.

Instead of discussing and planning for development and advancement of the social, scientific, economic and educational agenda, we have spent the most of the last decades arguing on issues that have long passed in the 21 century. Probably, the agenda set by the regime is more in tune with the classroom setting of Venezuela's institutions of higher learning.

Our visitors and the visitors from the TV series want the same thing, control the earth resources; including us; we have become a resource to be exploited and manipulated by the visitors. It seems a paradox, that a revolution based on Marxist ideology, has in fact slaved Venezuelans into poverty and alienation. Little by little, we all have become poorer and alienated from the sources of power. The revolution and participative democracy have concentrated social, political and economic power into very few hands. The supreme leader has become Anna, a manipulative being who abuses popularity to increase personal power. Meanwhile, the visitors offer free clinics and miracle cures developed with alien science and technology to entice the people with false hopes of a better future.

And so the saga continues...


- Simon Aristeguieta-Trillos