Alex Vernon.com

Just like Seth my employer has given me a Blackberry to use. In my case a 7250. I leave it in my bag most of the time but I have found some useful programs for it.

These are all free BTW

Berry Bloglines Allows you to access your Bloglines account on your Blackberry
Berry 411 Allows Google, movie, weather, shopping, yellow and white pages searching
BBweather View weather conditions for a location
BBToday A Welcome screen program similar to Outlook Today
BBLight A backlight control program

A couple of good sites for Atlanta Blackberry users

Atlanta Music Guide Mobile
Navigator To Go

This is a good blog for all Blackberry users

BlackBerry Cool

Received this lens today. I wanted a portrait lens so I was looking at the 85mm f1.4 but since I shoot mostly digital and there is a 1.5 multiplier on my camera it would make the 85 an effective 127.5mm which is a little long for portrait work. So I went with the 60mm (90mm effective) f2.8 macro lens. I have been wanting a macro lens for a few years now so this is a good way to kill two birds with one stone (who kills birds with a stone anyway). Some people say the lens is to sharp for portrait work, however I shoot with sharpening turned off so I don’t think it will be an issue.

While I’m on the subject why do they call the lenses macro (Nikon calls them micro)? Micro would be a more accurate description. Is it because macro sounds cooler? The first company to make them mislabeled them and it stuck? Maybe because they make small objects appear larger? Maybe the world will never know…. (The rest of the world probably doesn’t care anyway)

Here is a good article on macro photography by Philip Greenspun for the interested. Macro Photography

Look for some macro and portrait shots coming soon.

Update: Check out this quote from the aforementioned article: “I have a 1.5 inch long penis; I think I will buy a big SLR like a pro. But I don’t want to spend money on frills like lenses so I’ll get a Tokina zoom.”

Probably only funny to photo geeks, it’s an overcompensation reference.

Check this out, a Darth Tater Mr. Potato Head! Pure genius!

Thanks Boing Boing

I want to plug a product that I use quite often and am very happy with. I usually go to at least one concert a week sometimes more and I was tired of my ears ringing afterwards. So I did a little research and found these: ER-20s from Etymotic Research. They lower the decibel level while preserving most of the sound including the high frequencies. I have been using them for some time now and am very pleased with the results. No more ringing ears. I will admit the sound quality is slightly diminished but not nearly as much compared to foam earplugs. However, I was at a Heavy Metal concert that was extremely loud and it sounded better with the plugs in. I could discern the individual instruments, without the plugs there was a lot of bleed over. ER also makes high tech musician plugs and the best earbud headphones on the market. Those items are pricey though. I picked my ER-20s up for $10.95 from The Ear Plug Super Store.

-Alex

I have a couple of new toys. I finally bought a flash for my camera the SB-800. This is currently the top of the line Nikon flash. I’m looking forward to using it. I signed up for the Flash Class at The Showcase School of Photography so I can unlock its full potential.

I also picked up an iPod mini before my Iowa trip a while back. This thing rocks! A little on the pricy side but I think it’s worth it. I decided to go with the mini because I was more interested in physical size than storage space. The included headphones are a little lacking but I picked up a set of Koss The Plugs and they sound great. I also picked up an iTrip mini for use in the car. The sound quality is surprisingly good. I haven’t used it that much yet but it will be great on road trips. I used it to override the receptionist’s radio at work, I thought it was pretty funny.

-Alex