I’m on a Boat!

Hey loyal PhotoLynx Blog Readers… This week is my honeymoon, so there will be no entries, at least from me… But, this is a great chance to catch up on the other weeks worth of material here!

Also, check out my website http://IwantU2Want.me for pictures from our wedding.

Buh Bye KodaChrome

After 75 years Kodak discontinues Kodachrome.  Kodachrome has become less than 1% of all still picture film sales, but its still sad to see an icon such as Kodachrome be discontinued.

Story Here.

Photo: Lynx Kittens Are Doing Well

I have Google Alerts searching every evening for Key Words, such as PhotoLynx.

In the morning I have search results from anything new posted in forums,  blogs, articles, or websites since the prior day. This keeps me  current and informed about any conversations written about words like  “School Photographer”, “School Photography”, “CamLynx”, “ImageMatch”, etc. Often times I will go to the forum or blog and contribute.

Today, I received the Google report and guess what it found?

I thought it was funny and cute.

Michael’s iPhone Wedding

Everyone was so excited about the capabilities of the camera built into the iPhone 3GS, we decided to have our whole wedding professionally photographed with it.

Click here…

It was a short wedding ;0)

An Inspirational Story Involving a School Photographer

I sometimes get in “a funk” about life.  Things often seem ‘greener’ on the ‘other side’.  I think most of us feel that way once in a while.

Here is a great blog post that I found to be inspiring about a school photographer’s new take on life.

http://eltonl.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/blessed/

‘Netbooks’ for CamLynx

The miniature laptop or notebook computer called by most of the industry as ‘netbooks‘ has quickly become the number one computer of choice for new computer purchases.  This is largely due to the inexpensive price (avg $350 for a netbook vs $600 for a notebook) and because in many cases a netbook is people’s 2nd or 3rd computers and they don’t need everything a full size laptop offers.

Because netbooks are small and inexpensive, they are ideal computer to run CamLynx on.  Unfortunately, most netbooks have a maximum screen resolution of 1024×600, whereas CamLynx requires 1024×768.  When CamLynx runs on a 1024×600 monitor, the bottom portion of the screen gets cut off, making it difficult to use for searching for students.

The key to using CamLynx on a netbook is finding one capable of displaying at least a 1024×768.

Here are a couple netbooks that support 1024×768:

HP 2133 Mini-Note
Tiger Direct has a great deal on this one for $299.99

Dell Inspiron Mini 10.    (Not the Mini 10v) You must choose the HD Widescreen (1366×768) screen upgrade for an additional $35.00.

CamLynx is more of a database, than a image rendering software.  So the Atom processor isn’t really a problem here.  CamLynx essentially just moves images from folder to folder and writes data into a database.  You may see a performance hit if you are rendering for proofs or ID cards and printing them on the spot.  But even then, it will be negligible.

I must write a disclaimer:  I haven’t personally CamLynx on any of the two computers I recommend here.  The computers exceed our minimal specs to run CamLynx.   I have worked with happy CamLynx users who have netbooks (but not neccesarily the ones I recommend here).  Always test hardware for PhotoLynx software compatibilty before purchasing in bulk.

ProofMyClass.com Final Layout Approval Screen

As mention yesterday, you may upload a completed image, such as a composite or yearbook page for final approval of the complete layout.  Here is a screen shot of the Final Approval screen.  Drop us an email and we will set you up with a test account so you can see how it works.  Or, give us a call at 760-782-9000 and we can walk you through through how it works.

Click the Image Below for a Larger View.

ProofMyClass.com adds Group Feature

We just rolled out ProofMyClass.com a few weeks ago.  One request several people asked for was a way to handle groups.  WE LISTENED!

Introducing the ability to upload groups and have the names proofed.  You may also upload completed items such as composites & yearbook pages for proofing.

“Group layout” and “Final layout” have been added as new job types (”Individual Photos” was previously the only job type)

Group Layout:

• each picture is it’s own batch (1 picture per batch)
• each picture has a collection of row data used to describe the individuals in the picture
• each row can be named by the user, and the row data is filled in by the user
  • row name might be: “row 1″ or “top row” or “back row” or “on the swings”, whatever the user wants.
• there can be a maximum of 13 rows used (limited by the UI, not the database schema
• when the row data is filled in, the user needs to mark the batch as approved

Final Layout

• each picture is it’s own batch (1 picture per batch)
• each picture has a feedback field, where the user can give any feed back that he/she desires
• when the user is done giving feed back, or if there is no feedback to give, the user clicks the approved button

Individual Photos (Nothings Changed Here)

• individual pictures are grouped into batches (grade, team, homeroom, teacher, etc…)
• a batch can, and usually will, contain multiple photos
• each photo has its own set of data and can be corrected by the user (name, grade, teacher, etc…)
• when the user is done proofing a batch, he/she marks the bath as approved

Call or email us for more information  760-782-9000.

Snapizzi makes online candids Easy

Enter IZtag here…

This is a really neat idea… Go to their website, www.snapizzi.com and sign up for a free account.  Using snapizzi create camera cards with a cool barcode built onto it.

Photograph an event such as a car show, or sports event, etc.  Before each photograph, take a picture of the camera card with the barcode on it.  Hand the card to your new found client.  On the card, it has instructions to the client on how log onto the snapizzi and view their images.

You can set up your images to snapizzi.com.  It will use the barcode image that was photographed prior to the image(s) take of your client to create a unique gallery for the client.  The client can purchase the image as a download or order prints through their print service.  You set all of the pricing.

Smart Parking Garage

This post is totally out of the blue. It has nothing to do with PhotoLynx or photography.  I just thought this was really cool. 

They just expanded the mall near where I live.  Because they took up part of the parking lot for the expansion, they built two parking garages.  The parking garage is a ’smart’ garage.  There are signs at the entrances of the garages and out on the main throughway indicating how many parking spots are available and which floor they can be found.

I have no idea how they can sense when someone is occupying a parking space.