MrGibbage's blog

This one's a no-brainer. If you haven't heard, alkaline batteries are EXPENSIVE. But there's an alternative. And a good one. No, make that a great one. Nickel Metal-Hydride, or NiMH batteries. They cost just a bit more than the old-fashioned alkaline batteries, but they last forever, and your flash will love them.  Click here to read more.

Back up my files?! Are you kidding? Is that a real thing you have to do? I always thought that that was just like... you know, a figure of speech.

--"Strong Bad" of Homestar Runner

Yes, you should be doing some type of backup.  Of course, in today's world, you have a lot of options, but the main thing is, find a system that you can depend on and is reliable, and hopefully your files will be there for you when need them.  In this article I will talk about some different options available today and hopefully convince you that you should be doing backups.  I will also point out the advantages and disadvantages of the different options so that you can make an educated decision when it comes to deciding how to protect your data.  Are you ready?  Then click here to continue.

Why should you be using RSS?

RSS, or "Really Simple Syndication"*, can make your life much simpler, especially if you have several websites that you like to check for new content each day. Most active content sites today provide RSS feeds. RSS feeds provide you a way to get the new content from a website without having to visit that website. It used to be that if you wanted a site to let you know when they added new content, you had to register with them and give them your email address. They could then email you when they updated the website. But they could also email for anything else and they could also sell your email address to other companies for a little extra cash. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to see if there was a new article posted at vbpc.org, or strobist.com, or photoshop.tv without having to go to the site and without having to give them your email address? RSS to the rescue! Click here to read more.

HDR, or High Dynamic Range photography is something relatively new to the digital photography world. One limitation that the digital sensor currently suffers over film is that its dynamic range is less than that of film. By that I mean the full range of light values that can be recorded on a single shot, from the darkest to the brightest in that scene is lower for digital than film. Anything over or under that range is forever lost (those are your blinkies that you see when you chimp your pictures). For "prosumer" digital cameras today, this range is about eight stops of light. Film cameras are considered to have even more dynamic range, however some studies have shown that the gap is closing. However, there is still a need to attempt to put more apparent dynamic range in digital images in order to show detail in darker darks and brighter brights. HDR to the rescue! Click here to read more.

No negative campaigning here.  No red versus blue.  And no elephants or donkeys.  Just good photographs taken by our members who want to know what you think of thier pictures.  Come here to place your vote today because the voting window closes at 10:00PM Tuesday, 8 April on the first ever VBPC Online Competition! And remember, no wagering.

The VBPC Online Competition is..... well.... it's ONLINE!!!

After 1.5 million lines of code, over 200 quarts of Jolt cola, and enough potato chips to kill an elephant, I am proud to announce the VBPC Online competition is ready for testing!  OK, I don't know about all that other stuff, but the software is indeed ready for testing.  Ultimately, I would like to start running competitions online much like we used to do at the meetings.  You will be able to submit pictures in three categories--color, b&w, and alternative. Read more