This was kind of fun so I wanted to share it with you.

Google wants to help you “Increase your hands’ STRENGTH and DEXTERITY while browsing the web FASTER and fitting into sleeker, SEXIER gloves” with Chromercise. Chromercise is a new fitness program to help you become faster at web browsing while “simultaneously tightening and toning your fingers’ actual appearance”.

Give Chromercise a try and see how much your browsing improves.

Millions of people use the Internet every day and most don’t have any clue how it actually works. Back in the day when AOL was in its prime some people believed AOL was the Internet, and I’ve even heard people refer to the Internet as that little blue “e” icon.

Now days most people probably realize there is much more to the Internet than just AOL, but many still don’t realize how many tools actually exist for interacting with the Internet, or web, and how important Web browser really is.

If you’re not technical it’s not easy to understand, in fact it can actually be extremely complicated. Viruses, spyware, pop-ups and spam mail don’t make things any easier. For those that would like to understand the Web and web browsers a little better, the Google Chrome team has created the ”20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web” online book. The book tries to answer questions like:

How do browsers and the web actually work? What is HTML5—or HTML, for that matter? What do terms like “cookies” or “cloud computing” even mean? More practically, how can we keep ourselves safe from security threats like viruses when we’re online?

It does a nice job answering some of these questions. Some portions will be a little confusing for a novice, but it’s packed full of good information. I’m glad it touches on some really important topics like  how to make sure you’re on a secure site before placing an online order, how to tell if you’re actually on the site you think you are, and why keeping your software up to date is important. Trying to explain the Internet is not an easy but this book will surely make things a little easier.

link: “20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web“
Official Google post: “Curious Guide to Browsers and the Web“

On Halloween night I attended the “Cherry Blossoms in then Fall!” safari through Washington Photo Safari. It was just a bit early for colorful fall leaves on the cherry trees but David Luria made the safari worth while. David started off with a basic lesson in travel photography covering topics like shutter speed, f-stop, as well as how to properly pose people. I knew a decent amount of the information discussed but David teaches well so I learned a few memory tricks and new ways of thinking.

After the travel photography lesson we walked around the Tidal Basin learning proper technique and a few hot spots for photographing the area. I’m impressed with the extent of David’s knowledge, he knows about practically every camera in existence. It’s worth the trip just to pick his brain a bit.

We made our way from the FDR memorial to the Jefferson Memorial where the safari ended. The leaves were’t on full color display but I did learned a lot and captured some photos I really like, below are three of my favorite.

This first photo sort of came together with the help of another safari student. I was shooting the couple as a silhouette with the Washington Monument in the background when he pointed out reflection in the marble floor. I have him in part to thank for this.

“An Evening Out”

My favorite photo of the evening came when I snuck off on my own for a moment near the end. I notice the sun coming low from the side creating nice shadows from the pillars. I switched to black and white, stepped around the side, and set up this shot while waiting for the area to clear out a bit.

“Lincoln Memorial Columns”

The third and final photo here is the black and white version of the photo from the start of this post. It was getting late but I wanted to try and capture one more shot before dark since I was without a tripod. I really like the color version above but I think black and white conversion creates a nice image here as well.

“Lincoln Memorial”

With the exception of a handful of photos, I’ve never really shot black and white before.  Having recently read a few Outdoor Photographer articles on black and white, I thought it would be fun to take a walk around the neighborhood Saturday before Halloween and photographed the neighborhood decorations.

I hope you enjoy the results as much as I do.

“Walking Dead”

“Skulls”

“Skull & Chain”

“Standing Guard”

“”

Update: check out more halloween photos on the facebook album

One of my favorite photography blogs has recently reached a big milestone, posting their 2000th article (yes, this was a little while ago but I can be slow posting at times). Digital Photography School (dps) has been around for just over 4 years and I have found them to be an invaluable resource for all areas of digital photography. When I first discovered dps 3 1/2 years ago I found the articles so helpful I literally started from the beginning and read every single one. It took me nearly a year and a half before I was able to catch up, but it was well worth it.

I still try and read as many articles as possible but I’m no longer able to read all of them. I’ve learned so much from dps I just wanted to make sure you have the same opportunity.

To celebrate their 2000th post, dps took a look back into their archives and created a list of their top 20 posts of all time. The list covers everything from “How to Hold a Digital Camera” to wedding photography and the exposure triangle. This is a perfect opportunity for you to check them out using a selection of their most popular articles.

Here’s a link to The Top 20 Posts of all Time at dPS (out of 2000 in our Archives)“, take a look. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Arriving early in the morning it was pretty quiet at Larriland Farms. We picked quite a few apples of four different varieties before it started to get busy. It was the start of their ”Fall Festival” filled with hay rides,  mazes, a haunted house, cider, apple fritters, kettle corn, BBQ and of course a few farm animals. A great place for families.

With all of this going on I did managed to snap a few photos. I would have preferred a different lens but I made do with what I had. Here are a few photos from the farm.

“Mutsu”

“Apple Trail”

“Red Delicious”

“Stayman”

“Goat Profile”

“Smile!”

The other day I was browsing flickr.com when I came across a few eye photos that grabbed my attention. I’ve always enjoyed eye images so I figured it would be fun to create two of my own and then find a few interesting ones to share.

The first two photos below are the two I took of my own eyes. I then follow them up with about 8 others just for fun. This was the first time I attempted eye photos of my own but I’m pretty pleased with the results.

I did some minor editing of my own shots where I enhanced the color, as in most photographs, but I did not change the color. I have hazel eyes so the color can vary a bit on their own. As far as the eight shot’s that follow, some are realistic and others are artistic.

So without further ado, here are the two photos of my own eyes:

“My Eyes 1″

“My Eyes 2″

And here are eight others I hope you find interesting:

“Evil Eye” by Sister72

“Gray Eyes” by Tim in sanhazzay

“Jeff goldblum’s eye” by Pedro Moura Pinheiro

“Eyes of an Adult Female Phidippus putnami Jumping Spider” by Thomas Shahan

“Golden Eyes” by OliBac

“golden eye” by Laenulfean

“ben’s eye” by orangeacid

“Mech Eye” by vernhart

Now get out and create your own!

If you haven’t seen this already, photographer Adele Enersen came up with a unique and creative way to capture a recent new addition to her family. While on maternity leave she started a new hobby creating scenes around her sleeping daughter during nap times.  Every scene is like a little story of its own and each one is unique.

This is such a creative and fun idea she must be having a blast. I hope she creates a coffee table book because it would definitely make an fun conversational piece and great way to preserve the memories.

You can find all of her fun creations on her blog here: Mila’s Daydreams

This is one of the best times for photography, all of the brilliant colors make so many wonderful opportunities. Dust off your camera and start shooting!

Here are the four photos of mine I discovered from past fall season, I hope to add a few more this year and hopefully you’ll do the same!

“Red Maple Leaves”

“Pumpkin Pile”

“Reflections”

“Difficult Run Reflections”

This little device called looxcie is both a Bluetooth headset and a camcorder that can be used simultaneously. It cost about $200 but the slickest part about it, press the little button and you can instantly share the last 30 seconds of video on Youtube, Facebook or other social media site using your smart phone.

It’s kind of neat, check out more details on TechCrunch or the Looxcie website. There are plenty of uses for something like this but is it worth $200 to you?