So I edited the site skyline once more. The typography is new, compared to the old one.

Old:

New ones (from early in the morning, ’till late in the evening. I’m excluding the night one, until I find a way to make that background with css.)

All more subtle CSS gradients. IE users will just see 1 color background. Also note, the header text & nav also show the color of the moment, instead of the regular green. This way the site always will look different.

After that, I want to make some cool CSS Animations, where it will actually rain, and snow.

If I’ll ever get that far with JS.

If you visit the site at some moment, you may find a complete wacky, (or a cool redesigned) site. I’m working on a new version of the template. Eagled Eyed visitors may already have noticed that some design changes already made their way to the live site. This template will be activated when done for all CSS3 compatible browsers. (Safari, Firefox 3.6).

Internet Explorer will not be supported until IE9 will come out.

These are the changes that I will be working on on the new site:

• HTML5  and CSS3 Code
• iPad Version
• Themed iPhone Version
• Cleaner code
• Neater Design
• CSS / Canvas based header navigation.
• Improved video browsing
• Cleaner blog layout (especially the footer)

If you want to keep up to date with the site works, follow this feed.

Changed a bit around on the blog, to prepare for the festival season coming up, making it easier to post wider pictures. Now to play a bit with text that isn’t 950 px wide.

But for now, enjoy these pix.

Only some RAW Enhancing (mostly white balance and a bit exposure).

You know the feeling of having that one shot, that you always think of when you pass a place, but never have been able to capture it like you want it to?

Well. My place is famous and huge: Ford Genk.

For years I have been taking pics of the canal whenever I passed it. I think I have hundreds of snaps, with different camera’s. All like this. The first one is the earliest I could find, in 2007. Last one was 2010 new year’s morning, with my dad teasing me by braking while making the shot.

Slightly (of very, very) blurry, no framing, road in the way, etc. Blaarg. All until yesterday. Thanks to _NF_. Testing a brand-spanking new D700 in the industry filled forests of Genk. A shot can work in the mind, but you have to take the time to make it.

For the ones interested: D700, 35mm f/2 lens. 1/1000 – f/9. Check out the finished shot here in a larger format.

Thanks again Nadia :).

Sorry for the constant iPad stream of posts. As of now, it’s sampling as much as possible. While mine is “pre-ordered” (for the Belgian release), I played with one once more, this time in a more controlled setting (interior at a home, and at a Starbucks). We took these snaps at the latter. Here is Mr. Black’s iPad in an awesome DODOCase. Number 977 from the first 1000 batch. On the right is a large Machiatto, on the left my raspberry & blackcurrant Frappuchino. Omnomnom!

It looks like a regular large moleskin book, until you open it. If you are using it on your lap, it just looks like you are reading a book, maybe tapping in your book (except for the light of course).

As soon as we unlock the device, we are greeted with a very, very, very responsive UI homepage.

Responsive in touch, orientation, etc. Some of the key apps are of course iBooks. Even downloaded ePub books work without any problems.

Also, one of the fun apps to shine, in a complete other version than the iPhone version, is Gowalla For iPad. See where your friends are on a map. Coolness.

All by all, great device. And expect to hear a lot more too. :P

But I will keep blogging myself about other things too.

Cheerio.

A reflector without it’s second skin, can do wonders in the full sun.

Check out Sarah holding it.

And the results.

What is on my homescreen of my trusty iPhone? Well, until a week ago I would say, the standard apps, just Safari and Messages switched.

Well, no more! After coming to the realization that I only used half of those homescreen apps, I decided to change a bit around. Just to see how it’s going. Here it is:

And to give small reviews for all the apps:

First of all, we start with the First Row

• Safari
  The standard browser. I tried Opera, but that one, while the concept and (illusion of) speed were nice, sucked rather much monkey balls. Crappy support of webstandards. So Safari it is.
• Twitter
  Just as Stephen Fry, I had my collection of Twitter Apps. After settling with Twitterific (gorgeous app), I moved to Tweetie. Somehow Twitterific performed bad at festivals like Rock Werchter. Welcome Tweetie. After a paid upgrade to Tweetie 2, Tweetie 3 came out last week. But rebranded as Twitter. Now the official Twitter App. I approve! (Free)
• Things
  The great To Do list software, that syncs on WiFi with Things for Mac. Great app, and reminded me to write this post! (€7.99-$9.99)
• Dropbox
  iDisk on steroids. Great service, and very, very, very handy between friends, but also your own computers (Free. Universal App)..

Line 2:

• Facebook
  Duh. (Free)
• iStat
  Monitor your macs in the network, or your own device. Very handy for uptime! (To see if your iPhone needs that reboot or not). It also had a very, very, very handy feature to Clear out the RAM memory. But that one has long been gone due to the Apple SDK Limits. Do’h (€0.79, $0.99)
• 1Password Pro
  Got it at a MacHeist or something. Just as Things, syncs over WiFi, and is a very nice app to keep all those passwords together. Not just the ones of your facebook and mail, but stuff like the Tax # of your work, or those gazillion FTP accounts. Very handy for those that lose everything. (+ Everything is encrypted. And if I happen to lose my iPhone, MobileMe To The Resque! ($6.99, Universal App).
• Cartographer
  This pre-release Beta Software comes from A Tasty Pixel. Twitter followers know that I met the guy behind ‘ATP’, Michael Tyson, and he hooked me up with this piece of software. Basically it has all the features from Maps miss. It gives you the possibility to ad pins and markers to your map, and save those to your own Google Maps. Saweet! Save each map as you you please. Many more is planned for this great piece of software, but for that you need to follow Michael’s blog. (+ He lives in a motorhome named Nettle. How epic is that?!). Also check the amazing icon by Nellie!

Line 3:

• Notes
• Contacts
• Ego
  No, I did not write it. ;). It’s a great app that houses all stats like Google Analytics, Vimeo and Twitter. Flickr and YouTube are coming. So that really makes it worthwile! ($1.99)
• Gowalla
  The nicest Location Aware Social Network Game there is. And it’s best for everything Non-USA. Not like Foursquare or Brightkite. (Free).

Line 4:

• Maps
• Clock
• Calendar
• Instapaper Pro
  Ever wanted a way to bookmark all those articles so you have access to it everywhere? Yeah, that’s why there is Delicious. Ever wanted a way to just read them once? Enter Instapaper. Send it from Twitter or NetNewsWire or your browser, and read on the road. ($4.99. Universal App).

And our Silver Line(ing):

• Phone
• Messages
• Mail
• Camera

So that’s about it.This might, and will change. :)

I’ve done it. I played with an iPad. The really, really well built device from Cupertino based Apple not only raised an expectation on how products should work and feel like. They exceeded it. I can hardly describe the feeling what it is.

Just as I predicted, based on reviews, the device disappears from your very hands, and become an application, a website, or a movie. It’s more mobile than an iPhone, feels faster than a brand new Quadcore iMac. It IS a game changer.

First of all, let me say you, Fuck Flash. While I love the Adobe Products (and I will write a very nice and positive review on Adobe CS5), I have to say, I never truly liked flash. Making websites slow, crash safari, and all that jazz. It can do amazing things, but so can HTML5. Check out this site.

Anyhow, from the first touch, it was everything it should be. It had the right weight. Maybe even a bit too heavy, but it will be resting on my lap most of the times either way. Train rides, and even couch crashing. Evening use in bed, using it, not only in dead moments, but enhance conversations, by just showing them my idea’s, or what I just saw on the internet.

Also I’m planning to take it with my to clients and show them their videos. Giving site demos on it. It will be incredible. I will no longer print a paper portfolio with my pictures and artwork, just pull out my iPad, and let them enjoy not only a pure class device, but also my work, on the best way it should be seen. On a glorious bright screen.

Typing is not only awesome on it, but very simple, and it does feel likes a laptop. Because of the touch screen, it might take a while before you are used to it, and typing away so very fast on it, but I’m sure that within a week I’ll be blogging and writing on it, as fast as I can do on the mac. And maybe a bit more too.

As I tweeted right after it.

It was Love at first Touch.

1. Resale value
2. Invest only once.
3. Stays thin and light
4. If getting a new one, it will be even better, cheaper and thinner
5. Multitasking
6. Any position, any way you want
7. Ready with the touch of a button
8. Always in the mood
9. More stable, never crash
10. Put it away when you want. It will be ready for you when you need it.
11. Location aware

Thanks to Thomas and Stijn. :p

Ps: if you have one, every friend wants to touch it.

A great portrait depends on various factors. Composition, Light, Model. When one of those 3 fails, the picture fails. In here I will show you the set-up we did on a shot last night, in fading daylight, 2 remote triggered flashes, a reflector, and a willing Model: Fran.

First test-shot about the flash placement.

We see all light needs to be adjusted, and so does the angle (of course). So I dropped down on my knees, and made the second shot.

better, but I want there be more of a surrounding feeling, so I change my lens from the 28mm f2.8 prime lens, to an 18-105mm f3.5-5.6 lens. Since we are using flash, we can use a closer aperture.

The model placement is fine, now we need the back light to be more direct, and we need a front light. The model needs to look a bit looser, so we loosen her hair.

And the jacket

The back and keylights are fine. But we are missing a fill light. Enter a gold reflector.

That’s more like it! Now we work with the model. Fran is a musician, so not a professional model. So we have to catch her off-guard, and make her smile.

That’s nice!

And now we let her look off-camera, and make her work that gorgeous smile!

finished shot, cropped for dramatic reasons to a 8×10. All in all, a very nice day. and again, a thanks the _NF_ for the material. :)

Since yesterday evening I’m a registered user over at Foursquare and Gowalla. Both doing the same. Providing a way to log trips to … everything. Each time you go out for a drink, food, groceries, train ride, cup of coffee, you register it.

So you get a both realtime feeling where your friends are, or if friends are near .. and a possible way for discounts. As in Check in 10 times at this location, and get a free cup of coffee.

It’s an experiment, and for now, I have added the Gowalla updates to the Lifestream on my homepage.

We’ll see how far it’ll go. :)

For now, I’m out.

Cheerio!

As an avid iPhone user (never leave the house … make that the room) without it. Also, as a designer and photographer, I have a very appreciating eye for good design, and much of my second page iPhone apps are gorgeously designed. A great user interface. A clean, yet working design. It’s the bottom of each design. However, I have come along to some really ugly applications too. And not from some small companies! Let’s highlight 2 of ‘em.

Welcome to the hall of shame of iPhone design. Or a clear cut case of You’re doing it wrong!

To start off, Hilton! Bringing a 90′s gradient feeling to a modern device is not just insulting the taste of your rich clientele, but also makes me weary of ever spending a night in one of the hotels. But this might look fine with the way regular Hilton’s look. Cliché 70′s buildings!

Let’s have a look!

Auch!

Next up, Southwest Airlines. Between denying fat celebs to fly, there apparently also are some horrid designers that make iPhone apps.

Blurry graphics, ugly design. Gradients of doom! And to think their website is oh so pretty.

Alas ..

This is it for today. There will probably be more if I find them.

Just gotten this mail.

–
:: Schmap Galway Tenth Edition: Photo Inclusion

Hi Kris,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released tenth
edition of our Schmap Galway Guide:

Sea Cruise Connemara
http://www.schmap.com/galway/activities_connemara/p=86625/i=86625_16.jpg

If you use an iPhone or iPod touch, then this same link
will take you directly to your photo in the iPhone version
of our guide. On a desktop computer, you can still see
exactly how your photo is displayed and credited in the
iPhone version of our guide at:

Sea Cruise Connemara
http://www.schmap.com/?m=iphone#uid=galway&sid=activities_connemara&p=86625&i=86625_16

Thanks so much for letting us include your photo – please
enjoy the guide!

Best regards,

Amanda Brooks
Editor, Schmap Guides

—
Cool :)

So once more in English. iPad. Sure, it’s a big iPod Touch, with 3G possibilities, however there are 5 points that sold me.

iBook. I have yet to jump on the eBook bandwagon. I tried to, but never managed to stay focused on a computer. It did work in the iPhone with the Kindle app, so a bigger screen will make it easier to hold, read etc. So as I said before,

Goodbye Kindle, we hardly knew ye

iWork. I love this suite to work with, especially keynote. It’s just brilliant. So if I can combine a small portable mac with a projector (which it has a connection too), in a complete multitouch way, … oh yeah;

SD Card attachement. As a freelance journalist / photographer it happens a lot I’m providing live coverage from events. Instead of taking along a laptop, the iPad could do the trick. Especially with the file sharing between apps (and the computer too) and the inevitable Photoshop that will be improved, it just has the right possibilities that it needs. Also, I’m on a lot of transit (bus, train, plane), so it’s great to have something where some work can be done with, without carrying a complete laptop.

Unlocked prepaid 3G. Perfect for traveling, without needing to get new Sim cards and phone numbers for each country I’m planning on visiting.

The price. As I was expecting $1000 like everyone, it’s great to have a 16 gig 3G tablet for 629. And who knows what the euro pricing will be. (I’ve heard rumours as low as 425 for the 16 gig basic model).

This, combined with the fact that I don’t have a good working laptop, and just the original iPhone, so no 3G, it’s the right entertainment machine for evenings in the sofa watching TV, transit waiting, and general working on locations. (And not mentioning assisting on movie sets for scripts, continuity pictures and footage, etc etc).

So it’s got me convinced.

I won’t take many risks … or do I ? I was just rediscovering Knopfler’s Screenplaying. His compilation album of his Soundtrack Albums (who can forget the amazing music from Cal, among others), and while looking at this view of my iTunes library, I finally understood how wide my taste in music is. (Click to enlarge).

Jazz, Chanson, Dutch Kids Music, Rock, Pop, Ska, Punk, Soundtrack, Classical, and so much more.

Dire Straits Rule! (and if you where wondering, the title quote is from “I’m Into Folk” from The Radio’s.