Links Roundup: winter studio version

Some of you know that I’ve been struggling with how to maintain the quality of the bag review photos on this site over the winter.  A not-very-well-kept secret is that those photos taken this year (see the Tri-Star, PR4, CPA reviews – and others) were taken outdoors.

Shooting in diffused light (read: shade)  minimizes moiré patterns when photographing synthetic materials, and of course eliminates shadows.

This is a wonderful thing.  The bad news?  It’s currently 17°F outside, and is supposed to be 0°F Thursday.  Not to mention this white stuff on the ground.  So shooting outside at this point:  not gonna happen.

So I’ve been trying to determine how to set up a rudimentary photo studio in our basement bedroom.  I’ve gotten some equipment in and have begun experimenting a bit.  Here’s a quick test shot I did this evening (1.4.10); a detail shot of a bag that will be reviewed here within the next week or two (you can click on this image for a close-up)…

We’re getting close; I have some color temperature/balance work to do.  Stay tuned.

Now on to some interesting articles I’ve stumbled across recently…

First up, from SpotCoolStuff.com, a review of The Best Digital Cameras for Travel.  The article features a number of sub categories, including the Best Compact Camera for Travel, the Best Ultra-Compact Point-and-Shoot For Serious Photographers, and others.  These are not highly detailed reviews loaded with test shots and data, so if that’s your preference, keep moving along.

Another great little end of year review from Practical Travel Gear:  The Best and Worst Travel Gear of 2009.

From WorldHum, a rundown of the Best Travel Videos of 2009.  Best subhead:  “Prague’s Franz Kafka International Named Most Alienating Airport.”  (This one is from the  Onion News Network – if you don’t laugh out loud at this, please seek professional help!)

Those of you who travel to developing countries or dangerous areas will want to pay special attention to this piece from Wise Bread:  Uglify Your Stuff To Keep It Safe.  At one point years ago I used to put a no-name old head cover on my driver to disguise it – little did I know that there would someday be an entire trend aimed at uglifying stuff to keep it safe!

I imagine some of you have seen this (yet another “Best of ‘09″ post) – but in case you haven’t, here are The 90 Best Lifehacks of 2009:  The Year in Review from Stepcase Lifehack.

Finally, if you have some long flights coming up, check out Traveling with History in Your Pocket from Otts World.  It seems that UC Berkeley has put their  catalog of courses online in video & podcast form.  Note that the post linked to here is from 2008, and the course catalog they refer to is from 2006; click on the following link, however, for the Fall 2009 course/podcast listing.

That’s it.  Have a great week!