Nik Color Efex Pro versus Topaz Adjust

For those who follow the photo's on my flickr account may notice that I do like HDR(like) post-processing on my images. I use Photomatix's Tonemapping functionality to create the basic HDR. After that I add (a lot of) drama to the picture by using Nik Color Efex Pro.

Nik Color Efex Pro has a plugin called Tonal Contrast. This plugin adds the detail/drama in the picture. Last weekend I ran into Topaz Adjust from Topaz Labs. This plugin is able to create the exact same drama in the picture. The difference is that Topaz costs only $49,99, while Color Efex Pro (with the Tonal Contrast filter option) costs $299,95 (but you also get a lot more filters for that price).

The following pictures are the result of either Nik Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast filter or Topaz adjust. The differences are minimal if you ask me.

Nik Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast Post HDR Processing Topaz Adjust Post HDR ProcessingSo if your looking for HDR-like drama in your photo's you might wanna consider Topaz Adjust. It's relatively cheap compared to Color Efex Pro, but you get 52 filters for that price (instead of one filter with several presets).

Apple Releases Safari 4.....

and breaks the functionality @ Dutch Rabobank Internet Banking.

I got the Safari 4 update this morning, and with most Apple updates I just install them. After the update I launched it and was (at first) surprised at the Interface. It opened with 'Top Sites'. An overview of Websites along with thumnails... Nice.

Since I had a web browser open, I launched the Rabobank Internet bankieren website. Since Apple boasts with the fact that Safari 4 passes like a gazillion Acid tests (and Microsoft like only 1)

Safari 4 ACIS tests results (according to Apple)From another source:

On February 24 2009, Safari 4 was the first fully functional build browser to pass Acid3.[22]
On 08 June 2009, Safari 4 was the first official release version of a desktop browser to display a score of 100/100 and pass the Acid3 test.

The main page worked fine, but transferring funds leaves you with empty screens etc. There is no way of managing your money with Safari 4.
I haven't search for workarounds, since I don't want to search through knowledge bases, or sniffing through settings within Safari (or OSX). A browser should work.

So they might be perfect in a lab environment, but I'd rather have a less perfect browser which enables me to manage my money.

So, to summarize:

Safari 4: 100% ACID 3 proof, and a 100% failure rating in displaying websites
(since I only tried one website)

Anyway, back to FireFox for me.

B.t.w. I have tried the same with Internet Explorer 8 on a worklaptop (since it got pushed through my throat), and that one works fine. Even when it's not in its compatibility view mode (for displaying non-standard websites). Must the one of the few times that Internet Explorer seems to work....

Discovering Doel, Belgium

Last Sunday we went (a couple of guys from the camera club) to the (almost) abandoned town of Doel in Belgium. The town is located near a nuclear power plant, and due to planned harbor expansions, the government started buying (or bought) houses in the small town.

The people who left, left a lot of stuff behind in their houses. Stuff that nobody bothered to clean up. This makes it an excellent environment for a little urban-exploration.

Smelly FridgeMy photo's from Doel can be viewed on my flickr page.

Lighting Gear

Been experimenting the last couple of days with off-camera flash. Not entirely to my satisfaction, but learning every second more and more about (studio) flashing.

At the moment I have a Nikon SB-600 which is nice, but two (or more) would be a lot nicer (Photography Acquisition Syndrome, anyone???). Also some stands, claps etc. would be nice. Getting a flash off the floor (or cases) and into the air requires a lot of ingenuity.

This way, the gear-wish-list keeps growing and growing. Oh man, that Nikon 200-400mm f/4 lens is not getting closer this way....

Internal Server Errors

I've been experiencing some 500 errors on my blog (HTTP Error 500 - Internal server error). During these occasions, the SymCAImport tools seems to work fine, while the Wordpress installment hogs. So PHP screw-ups are less likely.

A brief conversation with the support department @ Dreamhost, suggested a Wordpress theme/plugin malfunction. So I downloaded the latest theme version, and deactivated most plugins. Let see how long thing keep working.
Anyone other ideas?

UPDATE: Got additional information from Dreamhost about the 500 errors. It seems that there was a 'naughty' person clogging up the cluster/server resources.

SymCAImport ported to PHP

and moved off-site.

It's been a while, but I finally found some time to convert the SymCAImport service from Coldfusion to php. This means that the service run @ Dreamhost. The only thing that remains is migrating my mail to a hosting service. After that, the servers I've got running at home will be obsolete.

The new SymCAImport URL is http://symcaimport.redelijkheid.com/. The CA certificates which were uploaded to the old service (symcaimport.redelijkheid.com) will remain there for the maximum of 7 days, but they are also accessible under the new service (/symcaimport/ca/<certificate>.der). An automatic forwarder will be used after 7 days to redirect everyone to the new location.

New uploads can be done by using the new URL.

Errors, warning, or other questions can be placed in the comments.

UPDATE: permissions on the download location were incorrect. Should be working correctly from now on....

Off Camera Flashing

Ordered a Phottix remote trigger set Tetra 1 x triger 2 x reciever kit last night for a couple of bucks (due tomorrow from Arend Handelsonderneming). About time that I started to get more familiar with creative off-camera flashing..... Did I say 'creative' and 'I'?

A good time to start with some self portraits to get used to the lighting..... So expect som creepy pictures here and on my flickr page. :)

Website Downtime

It seems that my hoster Dreamhost ran into some problems yesterday. Lot's of websites returned 'Internal Service Errors' or ' Service Temporarily Unavailable'. These errors only occurred when addressing php content and not while accessing static html-files. So most likely a PHP (config) 'feature'.

The thing that annoys me the most about this downtime is not that it lasted almost a day, but the lack of communication. No mention of problems on their status page, and support-feedback was also thin.

I rather have a couple of days downtime, and knowing what the problem is (hard disk crash, power failure, human error), than 1 hour and not (ever) knowing what happened.

Anyway, the problem seems to be solved (for now), but I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the feedback issue.

UPDATE: Got feedback from Dreamhost.com that everything should be working. No feedback (yet) on the cause of the problem though.

How Average Is Your Life?

Or great, of even f*cked up?

Read about the things that are not making it to Twitter. The real things in life.

Starting for the 'average Joe' there's this MyLifeIsAverage website. For those who do (a lot) better, there's this MyLifeIsG(reat). And finally, for those whose life went completely down the drain a FMyLife ('F' as in F*ck :) ).

It's like Twitter; addictive, but different and a whole lot funnier.

(Is there an iPhone app yet for these services?)...

(Not that I really care, since I don't own one)

New Nikon 70-200 f/1.2 VR

for sale at the Media Markt in Groningen (NL) for a lousy €3499,- A real bargain if you ask me (or just an enormous blunder....)

New Nikon 70-200 f/1.2 VR? (click image for the original pdf)Since the ad runs till May 17th, you need to be quick.... very quick :)