Archive for March 6th, 2006
Villager has ‘picture perfect’ pastime
Villages Daily SunÂ
By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN
THE VILLAGES — Vincent LaSpina is an artist with his digital camera and computer.
The Village of Winifred resident of six months has cherished photographing numerous beautiful sites in The Villages, along with the pretty scenery around town, various businesses and even residents’ homes.
“I enjoy it all,†he said of the hobby he would love to see become more of a business.
He also enjoys altering the pictures through his computer to make the photos more artistic. Sometimes it is enhancing an image with more clouds in the sky or more flowers or distorting a photograph to make it more artistic, like an abstract painting.
Before coming to The Villages, his photography was a thriving business in Ocean Springs, N.J., where he would take pictures of homes for the seasonal residents. They loved having a photo of their summer home to enjoy.
“I did at least a thousand (home portraits) last summer. All of the Realtors knew me. They would call me every time they sold a home and give the picture as a gift to the buyer,†LaSpina said. Builders also displayed his works in their offices.
“I had a beautiful reputation up there, and they all had a fit when I moved down here,†he said.
When he photographed exteriors of homes in Ocean City, the houses were 15 feet apart, so he would eliminate neighboring homes from the image, add shrubbery, trees and flowers. Clients loved the enhancement.
LaSpina also enjoys photographing golfers and other athletes involved in their sports, then turning the picture into an abstract piece. He enhances the image on the screen with more vibrant colors and takes off body fat to please his client.
“I know a lot of athletes would love to have a picture of themselves, not as a photograph, but more abstract like a painting,†he said, while showing a picture of a golfer. “Men like this look. I took the photograph and put it in the computer and just played with the different filters that it has in it, just to see what I would like.â€
And the golfer in the photograph loved that LaSpina zapped off some of his weight.
“Some of the fellas that have a little beef on the side, I’ll just erase it,†he said, grinning.
He has done the same with portraits of himself.
“I have a picture of me, where I took some wrinkles out, put on a little more hair, and when I looked at it on the screen it scared me,†he quipped. “So I took some of my jowls off, fixed the circles under my eyes. It was still bad, but it looked better.â€
LaSpina loves it when people rave over his work.
“The people that love it, they really love it,†he said. “Some could care less.â€
The Villager has been involved in photography for 20 years and prefers dabbling in digital photography over using film.
“If I can make it a business I will,†he said of living in The Villages.
He heard about the active adult community from one of his clients.
“I came down to look at it and fell in love with it and am never going back,†he said. “We have more friends here than we had back home, and they’re nice friends. Back in Pennsylvania, we lived on one street for 40 years, and I think we know the names of two people. Here, people come over to help you, call you to play golf or to go to a club.â€
He also takes time to enjoy golf three days a week and is involved in the digital photography clubs in The Villages. Those interested in learning more about his work may call LaSpina at 430-1515.
Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillagesmedia.com.
March 6th, 2006
Changing Consumer Spending Won’t Affect Digital Camera Sales
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) — Changing consumer spending due to higher fuel cost will not affect the sales of Samsung’s digital cameras, according to E-Creations (M) Sdn Bhd’s managing director Frankie Pek.
“Digital cameras are getting cheaper now because of the technology switch. People are changing from the analogue to digital, thus the sales will definitely be there,” Pek told Bernama Friday.
Due to higher global oil prices, the government on Tuesday increased the retail prices for petrol and diesel by 30 sen. As a result, consumers have been advised by government officials to be more careful in their spending.
Pek said E-Creations, which has been appointed the local distributor of Samsung digital cameras, aimed to capture 10 percent share of the market this year.
According to him, the total turnover in Malaysia for digital cameras is about 500,000 units annually.
“We are targeting about 10 percent for the digital camera segment. It is achievable for us,” he said, adding that the company will market the products aggressively through its network of 400 dealers.
Pek was met after Samsung unveiled its new range of next-generation digital cameras here today.
Among the new models was the Samsung Digimax i6, which the company claimed is the world’s first Portable Media Player digital camera with multimedia capabilities.
Other new models were the Digimax S600, a user-friendly digital camera suitable for the family, and the entry-level Digimax A503, a five-megapixel camera with five times digital zoom.
Asked about competition in the digital camera market, Pek said Canon and Sony have a headstart and “they are quite substantial (in sales)”.
“Canon is number one and Sony is number two but we are also coming up right now. If you look at the products, we have the technology edge. To capture 10 percent of the market should not be a problem,” he said.
E-Creations, which is part of the S Marina Group, also distributes Samsung audio-visual and home appliances.
March 6th, 2006
Taking a look beyond prints
Vindicator
New uses for digital photos include wallpaper, chairs and T-shirts.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — In the brave new digital-photography age, cherished pictures of pets, landscapes and loved ones are showing up in unusual places — on swimming pool tiles, furniture and even tombstones.
As digital cameras find their way into more than half of America’s homes, one old habit has taken hold again: Most people send their digital pictures out to be developed rather than print them at home. And they don’t just order 4-by-6-inch snapshots at the corner pharmacy.
In the lucrative print business, the number of digital and film images converted into conventional prints has been slipping since 2000 and could dip another 5 percent to 25 billion this year, according to Photo Marketing Association International, a trade group whose annual convention opens Saturday in Orlando, Fla.
Rising revenues
Overall revenues are rising, however, as alternatives blossom, from putting computer reproductions of images onto posters, postage stamps and postcards to T-shirts, chairs, wallpaper and bronze plaques.
“Images are no longer good enough in a frame on the wall,” said Mitch Robison, 46, whose Sierra Custom Design studio in Bishop, Calif., transfers photos onto ceramic tile to add sparkle to Jacuzzi rooms, restaurant murals, tabletops and fireplace mantels.
“It’s functional art vs. just decorative art. People like to touch it. It’s a little more personal.”
While film processing generated just $3.9 billion last year, compared with $6.2 billion in 2000, digital printing — including consumables used at home — churned out an estimated $3 billion more in sales, said Dimitrios Delis, research director at the Jackson, Mich.-based Photo Marketing Association.
In addition, putting images on wood, stone, plastic and metal as well as paper of all kinds — birthday cards, calendars and storytelling photo books that “people actually use instead of just keeping around for storage or display” — brought in an extra $1.5 billion, Delis guessed.
March 6th, 2006
Point and click to find wealth of digital camera answers online
The Myrtle Beach Sun News
By Gregg Ellman
Knight Ridder
Are you looking for a simple Web site to help you buy a digital camera or to help you with your digital photography? Not a problem – just go to Google and search “digital photo Web sites” and you can look over the millions of sites it finds.
To make it a little easier, here are a few that can help you with subjects such as finding that perfect point-and-shoot camera and helpful digital photo shooting tips:
www.digital-photo-secrets.com: A neat thing about this site is that it offers a free e-mail course on digital photo secrets. After you sign up, every day for three weeks you will get a digital photography secret from David Peterson, who runs the site and is author of “Digital Photography Secrets,” a good book for improving your digital photography.
Some of the e-mail secrets cover how close you should get to your subjects, the best way to photograph nature, getting better photos of your children, the photographic rule of thirds, using the correct accessories and the advantages of using optical rather than digital zoom.
In his book, Peterson goes over many more topics to improve your photography and bridge the gap between film and digital.
www.betterphoto.com: This site offers courses, contests, blogs, reviews and helpful shooting tips. The site also has camera reviews, links to other photography Web sites, books for sale and all kinds of tips.
www.digitalcameras.com: If you want to buy a digital camera, this site can be helpful. It’s broken down into categories that will link you to retail sites of all the big camera manufacturers. Categories range from cheap digital cameras to the high-end models. Accessories from underwater camera cases to tripods are linked off the home page.
www.digitalcameratracker.com: Another site with multiple reviews and links to get the best price on the camera of your choice. The reviews are broken down by brands and manufacturers, so it’s easy to find the model you might be looking for.
www.dpreview.com: Digital Photography Review is a popular site with an audience of 18 million visitors a month. It offers original content with detailed articles. Included is a digital camera database, forums and galleries. What distinguishes this site from others is the in-depth digital camera reviews. At the end of each review is a chart showing the cost at various retailers.
www.digitalcamera-hq.com: This site is a great start for finding out information on a particular camera. It has a lot of reviews, along with links to various other handy sites.
Finally, this should give you an indication of the growing popularity of digital photography: Last month, Nikon announced that it would now only manufacture two film cameras: the flagship model F6 and the FM10.
Nikon said the film market is shrinking as customers shift from the compact digital cameras to digital SLRs.
March 6th, 2006
Techies rub elbows with Oscar
By Greg Sandoval, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News:Â March 3, 2006, 5:57 PM PT
When it comes to cashing in on the celebrity of Hollywood film actors, the technology sector is certainly no novice.
Yet, at this year’s Oscar ceremonies at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, the tech sector will likely cast a faint shadow, as companies of every ilk compete in one of the world’s most competitive product-placement events.
Some of the more exotic gifts that will be doled out to Oscar luminaries include a vintage silk kimono from designer Kay Ungera, a spa visit at Cornelia Day Resort in Manhattan and a retreat to the Mayan Riviera or a Canadian ski vacation, courtesy of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, according to Entertainment Weekly’s Web site
Compared with that, tech toys may appear a bit ho-hum.
For months, hundreds of tech companies beseeched the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to allow their products to be included in the official gift baskets handed out to Oscar winners, nominees and presenters.
Vonage, Motorola, Netflix and Segway are a few of the tech companies that managed to land their products in the baskets. Kodak, which wasn’t chosen, is sidestepping that small detail.
The company is working on a deal with the TV show “Entertainment Tonight” to present each of the “Best Actress” nominees with a diamond encrusted V570 digital camera, according to Brooke Wilson, a Kodak spokeswoman.
The cameras issued to the stars are exactly the same as those any consumer can buy for $399, except they feature $20,000 worth of diamonds fitted in the shape of each actress’ initials.
By the sound of it, the techies are doing their best to fit in with the glamour crowd. “Our people will talk to their people if we can’t find a way to give them the gifts that night,” said Wilson.
The goal in giving freebies to fabulously rich people who are unlikely to need them is, of course, to have the likes of Charlize Theron, Felicity Huffman, Keira Knightley and Reese Witherspoon coo over the products while the news cameras roll.
Don’t be surprised to see your favorite actor or actress toting home a Vonage VTech expandable broadband cordless phone system, worth $550. Jamie Serino, a Vonage spokesman, said the phone will be included in the basket that goes to the night’s winners–considered the most prestigious spot.
Segway is reportedly giving away one of its self-balancing people movers, while Netflix will add new celebrity clients to its customer base when it gives away a year’s membership, valued at $250. Netflix spokeswoman Bronagh Hanley said the company can boast actors Cynthia Nixon and Samuel L. Jackson and director Quentin Tarantino as customers.
But when it comes to wowing people who are difficult to impress, tech products have fared poorly at the Oscars. Though Motorola’s Razr made quite a splash at last year’s ceremony, the product that stole the show was a pair of false eyelashes made of mink.
March 6th, 2006