The Good:

• My first observation of the new MBA is it is fast… really fast.  The new Sandybridge i5 processor really makes this thing scream.  Lightroom is much faster.
• The screen is really nice.  It’s bright and very crisp thanks to the 1440×900 resolution on the 13″ panel.  This was the same resolution as my 15″ so I really don’t feel like I lost much going to a smaller screen.
• Lion… It took me about a day to get use to Mission Control but I like it better than Spaces.  The new full screen Safari in Lion is great.

The Bad:

• The glossy screen.  Most of my tech savvy friends will agree that glossy screens are bad but the MBA screen isn’t as bad as the current MBPro screens.

The Tweaks:

• Alfred: productivity app that lets you access just about every function for navigating OSX without using the mouse.  No need for launchpad just start typing the name of the app and Alfred will find it for you.
• Safari OmniBar: Makes Safari more like Chrome it combines the address and the search bar in Safari.  My browser of choice on Snow Leopard was Lion but with the full screen capable Safari this add-on makes Safari shine.
• Safari Tab Switching: Allows you to use the command+number shortcut to switch between tabs…just like Chrome
• iTerm2: way better terminal app for when the geek has to come out
• Dropbox: Cloud storage that keeps all may documents and files safe and accessible on my iPhone.
• TextMate: Great text editor
• Adium: IM client
• iStat Pro: Dashboard widget that tells you everything you want to know about your mac’s vitals

I just got back from Seattle, Wa. I traveled there for a friends wedding. It was a nice get away and a very nice wedding. I was the “official” photographer for the wedding. It was pretty challenging because it was a 12:30 service at a local park and whoever said the sun doesn’t shine in Seattle probably hasn’t been there. I had my trusty 580EXII in high speed sync mode so I could add some fill flash to all the shots. Anyway the skyline shot was made from a small park on W. Highland Dr. After seeing all the great mountains in the distance I think it won’t be long until I return to explore some of the natural beauty that Washington has to offer.

You read the title right this shot was taken at the 2010 Cleveland Autoshow on B&W film.  The digital image was scanned by Dodd Camera here in Cleveland.  I’m starting to experiment with some film since I’ve never owned a film camera other than some disposable ones.  So far I’ve been happy with what I’m getting.  I good tip for getting clean shots at a busy auto show is use a wider angle lens.  Here I used a 35mm.  It forces you to get closer to the subject to fill the frame so people will be less likely to walk through your shot.  It’s also easier to hand hold wider angle lenses in low light.

Spring is slowly coming to NE Ohio so I’ve been refreshing the look of the website.  I’m replacing the galleries with iPhone friendly controls.   Keep an eye on the blog.  I have something pretty cool coming up soon.

Some days luck just isn’t enough.  I spent the weekend in Florida attempting to watch and photograph the STS-127 Shuttle launch.  It was scrubbed on Saturday just before we boarded the tour bus to Kennedy Space Center due to lightning strikes the previous night and then again about 30min before the second attempt to Launch on Sunday do to thunderstorms encroaching on the 20 mile safety zone.

I was setup on the NASA causeway, which is the closest the general public can view a launch which is about 6-7 miles out.  Because the launch was scrubbed 2 days in a row NASA decided that they would not allow people onto the causeway for the Monday attempt so I called my trip to an end.   Now I’m sitting in my basement watching NASA TV to see if Endeavour would go today.

So it is a case of being there, being ready, and no fireworks.  That’s how it goes, I’ve been pretty lucky in the past because for the most part on every trip, I’ve come back with a good set of shots. I’ll just have to try again.

Here are a few images I shot at last weekend’s CPS/Blackwatch Studio open shoot.  It was a lot of fun.  Shooting helps get my mind off things for a little while so it’s like a mini vacation when I’m making photographs.  This was also true when I was doing my flight training.  It didn’t matter how bad a day I had when I got into that plane and fired up the engine nothing else mattered.  There was one task: operate the machine to the best of my abilities.  Sure photography doesn’t involve a very sudden stop from thousands of feet if I mess something up but in order to produce the kinds of images that I want requires focus.  But check out the images and let me know what you think.

Here’s a quick wallpaper before I head out to dinner.  I shot this in my basement using the DIY Spyder Light.

Click the photo above for wallpaper sized image.