Photography and Colour Management

UPDATE: September 2, 2013  A month or so ago I did a Powerpoint presentation for our photo meetup group on the Essentials of Digital Photography as a starting point for a talk on Lightroom, and I created a video of that presentation.  This is complementary to but different from the post below.
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Hi Folks:

This started out as a quick response to a friend from a local photography meetup group on how to profile her scanner, but some 5000 characters later I thought maybe I should simply post it here instead.  As I mention (several times) below, I’m far from being a colour expert, so at best this is a layman’s explanation.  Any errors are wholly mine, and if you want to add corrections in the comments below, feel free to do so.  Just remember that this is targeted toward the average reader! Continue Reading →

He Says, She Says… Basic Math

Hello, dear Reader!

Yes, we usually do our ‘He Says, She Says…‘ posts on Sundays, but last Sunday was our 95th Monthaversary of the day we were married, and yesterday would have been Mike’s sister’s birthday, so things kinda got pushed forward.  We were going to let it go until next Sunday, but Marcia’s current schedule gives her little free time for computer work and we didn’t want you to think we’d abandoned you entirely.  To that end, this is going to be primarily a ‘He Says’ post.  Marcia does reserve final editing rights, of course! Continue Reading →

Eating Our Way Through Victoria… Café Brio

Hello, Dear Reader:

If you’ve read our other ‘Food‘ blogs you’ll know that we both have some background in the hospitality industry. We’ve also travelled extensively (both individually and together) over the years, and when one has gotten used to eating in restaurants day in and day out for months at a time, the novelty wears off very quickly. Having said that, we both enjoy a really good restaurant, and a few weeks back we realized that we had yet to discover Victoria’s ‘signature‘ restaurant. In other places we’ve lived we’ve found that there is usually one place, sometimes a very few, that we come to associate with that particular area. When we lived in Ontario, for example, Ottawa’s signature restaurant was Chef Pierre. In Kingston it was Mino’s. In Toronto there was Penelope’s and The Old Mill. We’ve tried some good and very good restaurants in Victoria (and one we chose not to write about), but so far, nothing really defining. For us a signature restaurant is about more than just the food; it’s about the ‘experience‘. Good food is a given, but there are a few restaurants that, for various reasons really go above and beyond in providing a combination of wonderful tastes, presentation, exemplary service, ambience and an excellent overall evening. Continue Reading →

Being Green – Corporate Responsibility

Hi Folks:

When I first started writing the ‘Being Green‘ section of our blog it grew out of my own interest in green building and it focused primarily in that direction.  However, as I’ve gone along I’ve expanded this series to include more general ideas concerning living ‘green’, sustainability and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).  Now, I’m far from a CSR ‘expert’, but I wanted to highlight a really interesting report put out this year by a group called the ‘International Society of Sustainability Professionals‘ (ISSP).  The report, entitled, “What are the Core Competencies Sustainability Professionals Need to Have?” is available as a .pdf download, here.  It’s 65 pages long, and I must admit I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I have found what I’ve read to be quite valuable.  The report is targeted primarily toward two groups of people: a) those who are working in the CSR field as either independent consultants or corporate employees; b) those who work in HR and who are most likely to interact with those in group ‘a’.  I don’t work in either of those fields, but I think the underlying ideas of communication, financial and environmental sustainability, problem solving, etc. (some of the key findings) really affect everyone, no matter their industry or their position in a given company or corporation.  One thing we continue to discover more and more is that we are all connected, whether we’re discussing a corporation (with its suppliers and clients), an ecosystem or a planet.  In short, I think it’s a valuable report for everyone to read. Continue Reading →

He Says, She Says… F.E.A.R.

Hello, Dear Reader:

Someone (we’re not sure to whom to give credit) once described fear as an acronym:

F alse
E xpectations
A ctualizing
R eality

We’ve all felt fear from time to time, whether it was a simple case of being startled, an overwhelming sense of dread, or somewhere in between.  So, the question is, can fear be justified?  Not the quick surge of fear that takes us unawares, but the long-standing constant fear that can eat away at our psyche.  After all, fear is always about anticipation of an event, not the result of same.

There’s an old saying that goes something like this (copied from memory, so please forgive any inaccuracies):

Where there is fear
there is danger.
Consequently, where there is no fear
there is no danger.

If the man and the tiger
are not one,
then the tiger may attack
out of fear.

But if the man and the tiger are truly one
then the tiger will not attack.
For what animal
would knowingly attack itself?

Hugs,
M&M

Follow these links to read what He Says/She Says: Marcia’s View / Mike’s View

Being Green: Radical Transformations

Hi Folks:

Friday once again, so that means it’s ‘Being Green‘ day here on our blog.  It seems to me there are basically two ways to progress, and both can have their place.  One is to take an existing technology and improve on it.  For example, virtually every fixed-wing aircraft in the world today is a variation of the ‘Wright Flyer‘ first flown by the Wright Brothers in 1903.  However, when Igor Sikorsky first flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 in 1939, he ‘launched’ (pun intended) an entirely different mode of flight. (NB: The VS-300 is popularly known as the first successful helicopter.  The De Bothezat helicopter did fly some 20 years earlier, but was highly unstable and the project was scrapped.) Continue Reading →

He Says, She Says… Opposites

Hello, Dear Reader:

Our ‘He Says She Says…‘ post is a day later than normal this week, but we have friends in town and they get priority…

Our inspiration for this week’s post comes from a Seth quote:

“I am saying this as simply as possible. There are profound complications beneath my words, however. Opposites have validity only in your own system of reality. They are a part of your root assumptions, and so you must deal with them as such.

“They represent, however, deep unities that you do not understand. Your conception of good and evil results in large part from the kind of consciousness you have presently adopted. You do not perceive wholes, but portions. The conscious mind focuses with a quick, limited, but intense light, perceiving from a given field of reality only certain ‘stimuli.’ It then puts these stimuli together, forming the liaison of similarity. Anything that it does not accept as a portion of reality, it does not perceive.

“The effect of opposites results, then, from a lack of perception. Since you must operate within the world as you perceive it, then the opposites will appear to be conditions of existence. These elements have been isolated for a certain reason, however. You are being taught, and you are teaching yourselves to handle energy, to become conscious cocreators with All That Is, and one of the ‘stages of development’ or learning processes includes dealing with opposites as realities.

“In your terms, the ideas of good and evil help you recognize the sacredness of existence, the responsibility of consciousness. The ideas of opposites also are necessary guide lines for the developing ego. The inner self knows quite well the unity that exists.” ~ Seth Speaks, session 587.

So… Can opposites represent a form of unity, or are they, well, opposites?

Hugs,
M&M

Follow these links to read what He Says/She Says: Marcia’s View / Mike’s View

Marcia’s Meanderings – Finding Balance

Hello Dear Ones!

For those of you who follow me regularly, you will likely have noticed my recent absence. I am in my second week back at working in a full-time job. My decision to take on this responsibility was based on perceived financial need. Its joyful benefits (such as the people I am privileged to work with and the customers) have proved to be a delightful blessing.

Blessing that it is in so very many ways, life with out-of-home work is proving to be a challenge for me. Counting in the eight hours on the job five days a week, plus the prep time (I am using an alarm-clock for the first time in almost a year), plus the transportation time (I travel one hour each way by bus) … adds up to a great deal of time. All of that is time away from my husband, from my writing, from my computer, and my Twitter family.

What I have been attempting to do the past two weeks is to regain balance within myself. Continue Reading →

Being Green: Appreciating the Moment

Hi Folks:

September is upon us and kids have finished their first week back at school… A short post this week, but in last Friday’s ‘Being Green‘ post I added a link provided by my nephew (in-law) about one person’s daily commute by bicycle, and how he stops every day for a moment or two, sometimes longer, on the bridge connecting north and south Edmonton in order to appreciate the world around him.  After posting that I received an e-mail from my nephew reminding me about our experiences at the provincial legislature grounds in Edmonton; we were there in 2003 when my niece and nephew-in-law were married.  It wasn’t something I will forget.

I’ve been to the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa on more than one occasion, and tossed a few coins into the fountain housing the eternal flame.  I’ve been to the legislative grounds in several other provinces as well, including the one here in Victoria, but none of them compare (in my opinion) to the one in Edmonton.  Why, you ask?  Well, simply because instead of the requisite fountain on the grounds (the fountain here in Victoria was surrounded by a 15-foot fence on Canada Day), the grounds in Edmonton have been made into a water park, including a huge fountain and a wading pool.  For the people, by the people, and of the people.  On the warm day in August that we were there, the entire grounds were filled with people playing in the water, having picnics in the shade, walking, reading, cycling, and just generally having fun.  There was a wonderful sense that the locals felt they had a right to be there, that this was created for them.  And so it was. Continue Reading →

He Says, She Says… The Symbol Makers

Hello Dear Reader:

If we asked you to define a symbol, the thoughts that might come to mind could include a logo for a company, an ancient pictograph or drawing, a number, a character or some other idea, but the truth is that everything in our world is symbolic.  Take a word like ‘cup’, ‘tree’, ‘car’, ‘sky’ or ‘money’ for example.  All bring to mind specific shapes, colours and ideas, specific symbols of ideas.  Even ‘time’ has its own symbology, as we understand time by its passing.

Here’s a quote from Seth:

“Objects are the symbols.

“You usually think of them simply as realities. You think of thoughts, images, and dreams sometimes as being symbolic of other things, but the truth is that physical objects are themselves symbols. They are the exterior symbols that stand for inner experience.

“There are, therefore, mass physical symbols upon which you all agree, as well as private, personal symbols. The whole nature and structure of physical life as you know it, is a symbolic statement made by groups of entities who choose to work with physical symbolism. So the body is a symbol for what you are, or what you think you are—and these may be two different things indeed.

“Any physical ailment is symbolic of an inner reality or statement. Your entire life is a statement in physical terms, written upon time as you understand it.

“Once you understand the symbolic nature of physical reality, then you will no longer feel entrapped by it. You have formed the symbols, and therefore you can change them. You must learn, of course, what the various symbols mean in your own life, and how to translate their meaning.

“To do so, you must first of all remind yourself frequently that the physical condition is symbolic—not a permanent condition. Then you must look within yourself for the inner actuality represented by the symbol. This same process can be followed regardless of the nature of the problem, or of your challenge.” ~ Seth Speaks, session 594.

If everything in our world is symbolic – the very fabric of our reality composed of individual and joint symbols – who then are the symbol makers?

Hugs,
M&M

Follow these links to read what He Says/She Says: Marcia’s View / Mike’s View