Flash and Apple, can't we all get along?

Oh Apple and Adobe, how times has changed.

Anyway, some say Adobe is lazy and that Flash in the iPhone equals a world of hurt. Well, guess what: Flash is on the iPhone! Not as you think, of course. Adobe just released Adobe Connect Pro for the iPhone. So? It was built on Flash and exported as a iPhone app.



FEATURES:

Attend Connect Pro Meetings with integrated conference call or Voice over IP audio. Let the meeting call you, and avoid entering cumbersome dialing codes.

See who has joined the meeting, and their role (host, presenter, or attendee)

View presentations, PDF documents, videos, and screen sharing provided by the meeting organizer. Rotate, pan, and zoom to choose your personal 'best view' of shared content

View webcamera broadcasts from unlimited live camera feeds provided in the meeting

Participate in Chat conversations throughout the meeting.

Join meetings attended by users on virtually any computer system: Mac, Windows, Linux, and Solaris. Plus other mobile attendees on iPhone and iPod touch.

So, you still think Adobe is lazy? By the way, read this interesting article about Flash vs. HTML5. (In Defense of Adobe Flash - Reviews by PC Magazine). Now, don't get me wrong... I think what HTML5 can offer is outstanding! But someone saying one will eliminate the other is someone not seing the whole picture.

My 2 cents!

The Future of Publishing

There has been a lot of talk of Flash (or lack thereof) on Apple devices. Now, you can argue all you want about it, but Adobe is not letting Apple's decision get on there way of revolutionizing what's possible with Flash, mainly thanks to AIR. They recently announced that, along with Flash Player 10.1, they would be making available AIR on many devices, even on Apple devices (in some way or form).

Think about this, develop one app and deploy it to multiple OSes: Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, WebOS, Blackberry, etc. That's pretty cool if you ask me! But what about the iPhone, iPod Touch and, mainly, the iPad? Through AIR, you can create apps specifically for these devices.

Now, talking' about the iPad, I think this device will be a revolution in publishing. I will go further in saying, it is the true beginning of the end of Print Publishing as we know it. Now, if we go back to the beginning of desktop publishing, who were the players? Apple with the Macintosh and Adobe with Pagemaker (well, Aldus). Now in this day in age, it just makes sense that both Apple and Adobe be the main players in the future of publishing. Want proof? Check out this video!

Apple's Big Announcment! (No, not the iPad) Aperture 3!

Apple released Aperture 3, it's photo management and RAW workflow software. And I gotta say, it looks sweet! Apart from the normal stuff (speed improvements, blah, blah), it has two very interesting features: Adjustment Presets and Nondestructive Brushes.

Sound familiar? If you're a Lightroom user, it should. Apple has just released two features which was unique to Lightroom (unique no more). And if you check out all the Image Adjustments features, you will see Apple means business.

Another super feature: Video and Audio. Now you can edit stills AND HD VIDEO!!! What can you expect from the makers of Final Cut Pro? Exactly! What a perfect excuse to get a DSLR with video! (If only the wife could understand...)

Now, I'll be upfront, I'm a Lightroom evangelist, I just love it and praise it every time I have the chance. But I have to admit that with this latest release, Apple has me wanting to download the trial and give it a try. Will I change from being a Lightroom user to a Aperture user? Probably not, Lightroom has so many advantages for me over other RAW Workflow Software Packages (particularly it's tight integration with Photoshop), but i'll be the first to admit that Aperture has a lot to offer and some key advantages, mainly better organizing features and a better price tag.

Now, the real question is: what will be Adobe's answer to Aperture 3? Lightroom 3 is out as a beta, but if we learn something from the Lightroom 2 beta was that new features can come in the final release. What will it be? Only time will tell.

Adobe Community Professionals 2010

As the name of the blog implies, my main passion these days is photography. Truly love it! And creating my site/blog was my way of keeping me up to date with my photography (although, i admit, i must update my blog more often). But my day job is all about Print Production and Graphic Arts. Over 10 years of page layouts, fonts, pre-flights, paper, ink, etc.

Back then, my main tools for the job involved Photoshop, Freehand (how i miss you!) and QuarkXpress (how i don't miss you!). Then came a program named InDesign. First version was... ok. Version 2 was great! Ever since, I was hooked; I knew then Quark's days on the top was numbered.

A couple of years ago, my buddy José Ramos became Chapter Representative of the InDesign User Group in Puerto Rico (the first of the Caribbean, if not the first in Latin America) and invited me to help him out. Ever since I have been involved with the group. Last year, I was invited to become Co-Chapter Rep with José, which I gladly (and humbly) accepted.

Now comes a biggie... this year I was invited to be part of the Adobe Community Professionals (formerly known as the Adobe Community Experts). I am totally psyched and honored to be in such a community. What is Adobe Community Professional? From Liz Frederick (Adobe Community Manager):

This community-based program is made up of users who share their product expertise with the worldwide Adobe community. The mission is to provide high caliber peer-to-peer communication educating and improving the product skills of Adobe customers worldwide.

As you can imagine, I am very excited about this program. My thanks to Adobe for creating such excellent tools and for truly engaging with the end user. And, for the complete list of inductees, go here!

P.S.
Yup, my buddy José is in the group, thanks José!

My first wedding shoot!

Last october I had the opportunity to shoot my first wedding. At first I didn't know what to expect, but as the night went by, I was sure of one thing: I love it!



Now, I got to give props to couple, trusting they're most important day to a newb (in wedding photography, that is) requires a lot of faith. I am forever thankful!



For more picks, check out the gallery!

Adobe Lightroom 3 Public Beta

Can you believe it?

A bunch of cool features, but I think its best to check out NAPP’s Learning Center, for all the info (let the experts explain it better than me!).

By the way, here's the link for the download!

365 Project Day 14 - Happy Feet

Memphis: Whatcha doin' there, boy?

Baby Mumble: [tap dancing] I'm happy, Pa!

Memphis: Whatcha doin' with your feet?

Baby Mumble: [looks down] They're happy, too!

Had a rough day, but when you see your lovely wife and hear good music (hearing My Sharona from The Knack as I write this), you just get happy!

*quote from the movie Happy Feet.



Image: Relaxing, took a self portrait with my feet! This image reminded me a lot Lee Friedlander (see below). Converted to black & white in Lightroom with some minor dodging with the Adjustment Brush. By the way, if you haven't used the new Wacom Intuos 4, I got one word for you: WOW!!

Manual: Page 41 (Nikon D40 manual) Shutter Speed and Camera Shake. To prevent blur caused by camera shake, the shutter speed should be faster than the inverse of the focal length of the lens, in seconds (for example, when using a lens with a focal length of 300mm, choose a shutter speed faster than 1/300s). This really useful, never thought of this!

Inspiration: Lee Friedlander. An accomplished commercial photographer, made his name for his social images. I am awestruck with his style of photography. If I were to aspire to a style or genre, observing Lee's images would be a good way to start. I can't say enough great things about him!!