Dave Benham

I bet that sometime in your life you’ve been told to keep a notepad handy to record that winning idea that will make you a million bucks.

I’m still waiting for that idea, but in the meantime if I think of a topic to blog about you can bet that I’m not anywhere near a PC. That’s where the Wordpress Iphone application comes into its own.

Wordpress has arguably been the blogging channel of choice for a few years now. You can host the files yourself or let Wordpress do it for you,  and only Google’s Blogger service really comes close to a similar platform. And this application lets you compose and edit posts from anywhere with a mobile signal.

After downloading the app, you need to go to your Wordpress settings and activate XML-RPC remote publishing in the Writing section. Then it’s just a case of putting in your URL, username and password and away you go.

It’s great if you have a topic you think of on the move – for instance I’m sat in the car writing this while Wifey shops. Once I’ve finished I can either publish the post, or save it to draft locally (on my Iphone) or on the web server. I tend to start a draft and sketch out ideas for the post, save it to draft then complete it when I get home.

A new version of the app is in beta with some cool new features. Read about version 1.2 of the Wordpress application here.

Which chase is this, I hear you ask? The unending search for the perfect portrait or landscape?

Well no, actually. I’m referring here to the perverse joy that you can get in the process of finding that ideal bit of photographic equipment. In my case  it’s recently been a body (D700) and the full frame lenses to go with it. Is it wrong that after getting the D700 and 24-70 AF-S f/2.8 lens I feel delighted, but slightly empty?

What am I going to look out for in the classifieds at the back of Photo magazines? And which reviews to check on camera forums, continually searching until I find the review which matches my opinion? What if Nikon bring out a new lens which is slightly quicker, or lighter? I think this quote from Roger Hicks in Amatuer Photographer magazine is appropriate;

Yearning after what you do not have can squander time and effort that could be better employed in taking pictures. Likewise, it is fruitless to worry about exactly which lens has the highest resolution, the least vignetting and so on. Most good modern lenses (and many old ones, too) are likely to be at least acceptable, and probably excellent. Small differences in resolution or distortion are likely to be secondary to the ‘look’ of the lens, its ergonomics, its size, weight and price, and the other factors that govern whether you will use it and whether, as a result, you are likely to pictures that you like from it.

He’s right of course. The more time I sit here in my dark corner the less time I can enjoy my camera and capturing moments. And I don’t really need a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens…

Harry contemplates – Nikon D200, 18-200 AF-S VR at 170mm, 1/250 at f/5.6, ISO 100

I have a confession – I’ve fallen in love with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Version 2.2 was released at the end of last year, and unlike Photoshop it’s solely aimed at Photographers. I’m evaluating it on the standard 30 day trial and I’m sold. The tone curve management is worth the cost alone.

After seeing the results from my D700, I’ve looked up some older shots from my D200 and started looking at them in a different light. This shot above is one of them, and I think the sepia tone works well with a little tone adjustment.

A quick roundup of the latest interesting stuff on my blogroll!

• Carl Martin discusses the development of live sport on the mobile platform. I can’t wait until I can *properly* watch stuff on my Iphone – we’re not a million miles away.
• Some great shots from Dave Burton following RedRaw, a cycle event over Purbeck. I’ve cycled that “bridleway” a few years back, and went over the handlebars on the grass bit leading down the hill in the second set of photos.
• Neil Potter goes through the top 10 most hated digital buzz-words on his Running Blind blog. Remember Drop the Dead Donkey anyone? 
• If your looking for a design vigilante there’s only one place to look. At Paul Seys. Just remember not to look too high up.

My parents always told me it was nice to share, so in true Web 2.0 fashion I’ve added the Sociable Wordpress plugin to the blog.

At the end of every post there are a selection of little plugins that will allow you to share a post with your friends on some of the major social networking sites, like Facebook, Digg and Del.icio.us. Feel free to have a play!

You may have noticed that for a photography blog there is currently a glaring ommission – a gallery. I’m just working my way through some of the Picassa / Flickr plugins and working out which works best with the blog and layout. Watch this space!