AndyBlog

Though this blog is in its infancy, I’ve decided to make a switch to Tumblr. No problems with WordPress, but security concerns have motivated me to move from running the blog on my own web account to a hosted solution. While WordPress is an impressive and powerful tool, the bare simplicity of Tumblr will protect me from geeking out on the infrastucture side and let me focus on content. For the time being, this blog will remain live, but all new posts can be found at andyfranck.tumblr.com

Last Friday morning I hauled my Epson 3800 and a bunch of ink and paper into Charlottesville to help out at the second annual Design Marathon (info here). My role was to provide printed output for the 11 design projects taking place. While things did get a little hectic towards the end of the day, everyone’s patience and appreciation kept it from ever feeling like real work. I had a blast.

I did have a couple opportunities to step away from my station and grab a few pictures of the event. By no means comprehensive, here’s a gallery from the trenches…

My previous blog post revisited my old computer setup for location photography – the MiniKit. Now, I’d like to show how I’ve been working since the MiniKit was retired. Pictured below is a fairly new 24″ iMac mounted on an Avenger A122 mini low combo stand using a platform I designed and made myself.

In use this setup is surprisingly stable, takes up very little space, and is easy to move around a location. It addresses quite well most of the minikit’s shortcomings. The iMac has the processing and graphics power to handle large files while the stand provides a convenient standing work height and – unlike the clunky metro shelving cart I used to use – it collapses very quickly and is easy to transport.

Now, some details. The first three photos show the top of the work surface and how the iMac is held in place.

Next, here is a look below the platform showing the two struts I made to stabilize the top. The platform is secure without the struts, but they help give it a solid feel.

This photo shows the bag I hang from the back of the platform. Basically the bag contains the end of a three outlet extension cord, the power cord for the iMac, and the power supply for an Epson PictureMate printer. When setting up, I just pull the ends I need out of the front of the bag.

The last picture shows the printer strapped to the side of the platform. The PictureMate’s handle makes it a perfect fit for this application. I use this printer to provide small prints for the clients’ reference. Using Lightroom, I can add customized job-specific information and print on the fly without much extra effort.

A few years ago an already old gallery of my computer kit – a Mac Mini and 20-inch Apple Cinema Display mounted in a Pelican case – caught the interest of several Mac and photo blogs. I quickly saw several hundred thousand hits in a few days and still see regular traffic each month. The minikit was retired a few months later, but I have a lot of fond nostalgia for that system and often look back at it to see if I can capture some of that old magic for my next system revision. Because of the apparent continued interest in the minikit, and to provide some insight on how I approach my gear, I’m reposting the images from that gallery here on my blog.  Later I’ll post details about my current system; a much different approach than what you see here, but still somewhat unique.

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About a month ago I participated in an event in Charlottesville called Olio.  For those unfamiliar with the event, it’s best described by this quote from the Olio group Facebook page…

The opportunity to present motivated me to act on an old idea that I had not yet tried to execute because I had never been sure it would work out.  I hoped that, succeed or fail, the idea and the process would make for an interesting enough topic.  Rather than take the time to do a complete re-write, below is an edited copy of my slideshow.

The full presentation follows after the jump.

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Welcome to my new blog.  I am a professional photographer specializing in commercial work.  You can use the link on the right to visit my company’s homepage.  I’d like to consider this blog to be tangential to that homepage.  While there will be a bit of photo-specific content here, I want this blog to represent anything and everything that interests me.  I respect the time and attention of anyone who might visit so I’ll only be posting things that I expect will genuinely interest or inform others.  As a result, after I work through the backlog of ideas that led me to start this thing, I expect to settle down to just a few posts a month.

Thanks for visiting and keep checking back in the next month or so…  Your feedback is always welcome.