Author: kpcnsk

Remembering Dad [Reddit]

From my reply to a discussion in r/travel on Reddit.

When in was 30 I suggested to my dad (who was 60 and working overseas in Moscow at the time) that we meet in the middle, in Spain. He agreed, so we spent a week and a half with barely a plan, and visited Barcelona, Sevilla, Gibraltar, and even hopped over to Morocco for a day.

I have countless memories, but what I remember most: playing chess together on the train. Getting lost together in the Jewish Quarter In Sevilla. Walking along the beach in Tarifa. Drinking sangrias and people watching on las Ramblas.

It would turn out to be a fortuitous decision to make the trip. A few years later he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away too soon. I would have liked to travel other places with him. Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered where.

Remember to take advantage of the time you have, while you have it.

Is the Fujifilm XF 35mm f1.4 magical? [Reddit]

From my reply to a discussion from r/fujifilm on Reddit. 

“Magic” is the word used in photography when someone wants to defend their subjectivity. So when people say the 35mm is magic, they’re just saying they like the lens in spite of (or maybe because of) its imperfections. It doesn’t actually do some Disney-style hocus pocus when attached to your camera. The real magic comes from the photographer, not the lens.

I’ve had both the XF 35mm f1.4 and XF 33mm F1.4. They’re both good. I prefer the 33mm. I love how clearly it renders my images, I love the bokeh, and the way it renders colors. I love how solidly built it is and how it just works. It is one of my favorite lenses of all time. For some it’s too big, and others, it’s too clinical. To me, it’s magical.

Buy the lens you want. Use it to take amazing pictures. It will become your magical lens.

Adding Hidden Tool Tabs in Capture One 23

In Capture One 23, a number of the built-in tool tabs are no longer selectable when you try to perform an Add Tool Tab command. These include the Black and White, Composition, and Local Adjustments tabs. Although you can add and assign icons to custom tool tabs, the icons associated with the built-in tool tabs are not available for selection when creating a custom tool tab. So, if you want to utilize the icons associated with those tool tabs, then you need to re-enable them. Fortunately, this is not difficult, and simply requires some manual editing of the workspace .plist file. Once they are visible (and in the desired order) it’s just a matter of customizing the tools on each tab to your liking.

The workspace .plist file is organized into various dictionaries, defined by the <dict> key. The one which controls the visibility of tool tabs is identified by <key>com.phaseone.captureone.sessionwindow.tools</key>. Near the end of that section is an array identified as <key>tabConfiguration</key>. Adding members to this array will control their visibility within the workspace. It also controls their order.

The following procedure are the steps I took:

  1. Select the default workspace.
  2. Add any desired missing tool tabs which are selectable.
  3. Save the custom workspace.
  4. Open the .plist file associated with the new custom workspace. The file is located in /[User]/Library/Application Support/Capture One/Workspaces.
  5. Locate the appropriate key; add the appropriate strings. For the hidden built-in tabs, these are named BlackWhiteToolTab, CompositionToolTab, and LocalAdjustmentsToolTab, respectively. Optionally, organize the tabs as desired.
  6. Save the file.
  7. Refresh Capture One by selecting the default workspace, and then reselecting the custom workspace. The hidden tabs should be visible.

Spoofing OSX 10.11.16 El Capitan Install

When trying to install El Capitan via the recovery partition on a 2014 MacBook Air, I get a message that “no packages were eligible for install.” The problem is that the certificates are out of date, so the installer won’t proceed. The general workaround is to change the computer date to sometime in mid 2017.

  1. Upon receiving the prompt that “no packages were eligible,” don’t restart. Turn off the wifi.
  2. Go to Utilities>Terminal
  3. Change the date using this command: date 0115124517
  4. Quit terminal.
  5. Disconnect from wifi, or select a network with an unknown password.
  6. Click Restart.
  7. (After restarting) Click continue, and follow the onscreen instructions.

From there, the computer should install El Capitan. If it hangs after reaching a full bar, cycle the machine power. Now it should prompt you to complete the installation.

Canon RF 24-105mm f4 L vs f4-7.1 STM [Reddit]

From my reply to a discussion in r/canon on Reddit.

I’ve had both lenses. The STM delivers good image quality, excellent IS, and is relatively compact. It also costs significantly less than the L. The real downside is the variable aperture with the relatively slow f7.1 at the long end, but that doesn’t mean it’s not capable of delivering very good images. It’ll make a decent travel lens, especially if you take along a fast prime for when you need something with a wider aperture.

The L, on the other hand, has higher build quality, including weather sealing. The image quality is sharper across the frame and throughout the focal range, but the STM is pretty good in that regard. There’s also less chromatic aberration with the L. The constant F4 aperture is it’s biggest strength, though this comes at the cost of more weight and of course more cost. The wider, constant aperture gives the L lens an advantage with portraiture and in some lower light situations, or when capturing action. That being said, f4 doesn’t make it a very fast lens, and low light will quickly force a higher ISO or longer shutter speeds.

I got the STM as part of the R6 kit, and I already had the L that I had been using with my RP and R. I liked the STM a lot on the RP because the size matched it well. Both the R and R6 have a more substantial grip, so the heavier L wasn’t an issue. I ended up selling both the STM and the RP.

Look up Gordon Laing’s review of the STM lens, with comparisons to the L. Without knowing more about how you intend to use the lens and your budget, it’s hard to recommend one over the other. The L is certainly the better lens, but if you’re on a budget, the cost can be a limiting factor. In that case, the STM might just be good enough.

On Canon EF lenses and the holy trinity of zooms [Reddit]

From my reply to a discussion in r/canon on Reddit.

Get rid of the idea of a “holy trinity” of lenses. It’s a stupid marketing gimmick (I’ll probably trigger a lot of people with that statement). It makes sense for professional event photographers, who need maximal flexibility from their kit. And for a lot of amateur photographers who shoot a bit of this, that, and everything, a do-all set of relatively fast zooms seems attractive. The problem is that they’re big, heavy, and expensive. And in some ways, they offer too much choice.

Instead, build your own “trinity.” You shoot portraits, animals, and flowers. Ok, so get a kick-butt portrait lens, a decent telephoto with a bit of reach, and a macro. You’d do well with a 50mm, 100mm macro, and a 135mm, for example. It’s a smaller kit that would allow you to focus (ba-dum-dum) in on the things you love.

But what if you’re on a trip and you want to take a landscape? Use the 50. Or learn to do landscapes with the 135. Sure, you won’t get wide sweeping vistas, but that’s ok. Learning to use limited tools to capture the images you want is what will define your art and images.

Now don’t get me wrong, zooms aren’t a bad idea for a lot of people. Maybe you’re one. Maybe your 24-70 is your defining lens. If that’s the case, then accept and even embrace its limitations. You’ve got one of the best normal zooms of all time, so you don’t need a 50 at all. Instead, maybe add reach with a 70-200. Or again, compliment it with a prime like the 100mm macro L or 135mm f2 (both of which are absolutely amazing and versatile lenses).

Apple Music Displays the Wrong Album Art

So my iPhone SE was displaying the wrong album art for a number (though not all) songs. When I checked these albums on iTunes, all the songs had the correct album art. I tried deleting all the songs and then resyncing the playlist, but that didn’t fix the problem. A quick web search turned up the following tip from Reddit.

First delete the playlist, but before starting another sync from the computer, also turn off wi-fi and cellular communications. The easiest way to do this is to place the phone in Airplane mode. Then start the sync, and the correct album art should appear on the iPhone. Apparently this happens when syncing playlists.

What an annoying bug.

Fevermonks Revived

Many, many years ago, I wrote and played a bunch of songs with my friend Tom Rump. We called ourselves the Fevermonks, and we’ve recently been able to reconnect and record those songs through the magic of the Internet. We’ve published the songs on Bandcamp, so now you too can enjoy them in highest of fidelity. Go give the songs a listen and a download if you like. We appreciate the support.

Texas Busfest 2016

For the second year in a row, I attended Texas Busfest, although sadly without Melina as she was under the weather. Which was too bad, because the weather during the campout was, in fact, perfect. Temperatures were mild, skies were mostly clear, and nights were cool. It was a bit windy on Friday night, but that’s why you always bring a jacket.

It was good to see some familiar faces from the VW, and in particular Texas Vanagon communities. Word is that in total there were 85 VW vans, including a record 32 Vanagons in attendance. It wasn’t as big as last year overall, but still very well attended.

Olly ran great, and with his freshly painted bumpers, he looked pretty sharp as well. I used Rustoleum Bumper and Trim Paint, which is darker than the stock charcoal gray, but it has a satin trim that looks good. We’ll see how long it lasts. A number of other Vanagons had their lower rockers painted with Rustoleum Bed Liner Paint, and I think I’m going to go that route. I need to clean up some of the lower body seams, and then that should provide a pretty durable finish. Also on my mind are new seats. Sludge had some installed, and they are quite comfy. And leather! Shooftie has a write up, and if I can get the brackets made, it should be an economical option. I’m not crazy about black, but I could live with it for more comfortable seats.

I picked up some of Abel’s bug screens, and they’re quite nice. Very compact, and I think they’ll do a good job of keeping critters out when the front windows are open. Also, although  designed to be placed on the outside of the van, they’ll work on the inside as well, to deter theft. Now if I can get a three panel canvas for the pop top, and some darker curtains, we’ll be traveling in cool comfortable style.

Maybe you’d like to see some pictures?