Fleeting Glimpse Images : Visions in words ~ Sagas in light: Blog

Costa Rica Photography Tour Date Announced!

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:19:10 GMT

"I want to see

you in Costa Rica!"

Fellow photographers, travelers, adventurers and fun seekers, we have set the date for the next Costa Rica Photo Adventure from Worldesigns Tours. Come along with me as your instructor for Photography, Software and the Costa Rican experience. You've walked Balboa Park in San Diego and stalked Bourbon Street in New Orleans with me as your guide. You might even have been with me on my last February's Costa Rica Adventure. You've watched me teach image editing at PowerPoint Live, CorelWorld, the upcoming CorelDraw Unleashed User's Conference and at various Camera Clubs throughout Minnesota. You've read my photographic trials and travails on the blog network and you've seen my imagery at the Fleeting Glimpse web site. Now is the time to go with me on a real photographic adventure.

Costa Rica!

FEBRUARY 19-26, 2009

Gallery from the 2008 Trip

Our tours are limited in size to ensure that our photographic participants receive the individual attention, instruction and aide they require. It doesn't matter whether you a pro with bazooka-sized lenses or a for-fun photographer with a point-n-shoot, we will tailor our training and activities to your needs.

The tour operator has authorized me to offer an early booking discount of $ 200.00 for those who sign up for a tour by June 30, 2008 for the February 2009 tour. Take advantage of this by going to the Worldesigns Tours web site and signing up for this once-in-a-life time adventure. I want to see you in Costa Rica!

del.icio.us Tags: Costa Rica,Photography,Travel,Tours,Instruction,Worldesigns,adventure

Anatomy of a Self-Portrait

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:42:40 GMT

Multiple off-camera flash in action

"…incredible results to counter the
most severe of circumstances…"

If you followed my blog recently, you will know that I am hanging out at the Strobist's Blog. The Strobist advocates the simple use of off camera strobes, portable and relatively inexpensive, to create professional lighting results. Yesterday my B&H box arrived with several new strobe toys which allowed me to expand my lighting arsenal. I set up a self-portrait example to test equipment and technique.

F 11 @ 1/5 Second

I started with an aperture priority shot using the camera's metering. The shot is both dark and light due to daylight coming in from the windows. A poor portrait at best. Tungsten lights in the room were turned off to keep the light color variance to a minimum.

I think one of the things that distinguish professional-looking portraits from shots like this is the ability to show detail in those dark and bright areas. In other words the ability to see beyond the dynamic range of the light available.

F11 @ 1/250 Second

I used the outside as the basis for my exposure. I metered for the exterior and set my camera on manual to ensure I exposed the sky out my window correctly. This resulted in a too-dark image. Virtually no detail is left in the rest of the shot.

With a basis for exposure, I can start looking at my ambient light picture and selecting problem areas and build from there. I began to set up off-camera flashes to light my room.

F11 @ 1/250 Second

I set up a Canon 580 EXII speedlite on full power to shoot through a Sto-Fen Omni-bounce to illuminate the room's interior. Trial and error placement resulted in a position just slightly ahead of my body in the room's center.

Notice how the ambient window light falling on my face is nearly neutralized. The window side of my face is now too dark and the area on my desk is in too much shadow for my taste. Adding a second off-camera flash seemed like the best course of action given the room's tight layout. There was no place to set up a reflector.

F11 @ 1/250 Second

With a second speed-lite placed to the left side of the image, I was able to open up the shadows on the desktop and the right side of my body. This flash was set to Manual at 1/8th power. I now have a natural looking portrait lit entirely by portable, off-camera flash.

This shot is nicely lit but one element is missing-the monitor's image (see first image). Exposing the windows ( a huge distraction if over exposed, and lighting me correctly meant I had to sacrifice the image on the monitor. That is what image editing software is for. It is much easier to replace that monitor display than to expose for the display and try to fix the windows or the room interior.


Speedlite with Omni-bounce	Canon DSLR with ST-E2 Wireless Flash Controller	Speedlite set on desktop

Above were the three components used to create the portrait. Below I have photographed a wide angle shot to demonstrate the relative locations of each component used.

Final analysis: Off-camera flash give you a powerful edge in creating more professional and dynamic pictures. Adding a second flash and a few key pieces of equipment like wireless controls, flash accessories and a stand can give you incredible results to counter the most severe of circumstances.

With digital, you can experiment, meter, and achieve incredible results-even through trial and error. A little practice and these things will start to become second-nature.

Now, off to Big Woods State Park for a little off-camera multi-flash nature photography…

del.icio.us Tags: flash,portraits,lighting

Retouche'

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:57:24 GMT

del.icio.us Tags: retouching,image editing,Corel,photoshop,portraits

"It's not what's in the mirror-it's what's left inside." ~ Stevie Nicks, Sometimes It's A Bitch

The lure of Image Editing Software is subtle, seductive and self-indulgent. Nothing reinforced this like the recent event of taking my own passport photo. The purpose of a passport photo is to give a reasonable likeness of yourself to identify you when traveling abroad or attempting to gain reentry to your homeland. After taking the photographs of my wife and I in the most flattering light I could find, the temptation to touch us up a bit was overwhelming. Long story-short, I maintained control and did only the most minimal of retouching so that our photographs wouldn't be too far from the truth.

The following exercise is not as indicative of self control.

I took this self portrait while working out a lighting set up for an upcoming shoot. I used a Canon 100 MM F2.8 Macro-a lens too sharp for traditional portrait work. I decided it was a little harsh and needed softening. I used some varied techniques to 'Hollywood Up' my image.

Most of my retouching skills were learned in books and seminars. Katrin Eismann's book, Photoshop Restoration and Retouching is a great place to start. It has many techniques that can be applied to all image editing software packages. I used Corel PhotoPaint in today's exercise for example.

Here is the end result of my efforts. It is an example of self-indulgent over retouching. While I love the way I turned out in this retouch, I know, after letting it ruminate a few days that it was too much. This is a problem with editing software. People don't step back and think about what they've done.

One of my latest workflow operations is to evaluate what I have done through the lens of time. I find that I am over exuberant in editing an image because I am caught up in the adrenaline rush of the process. After leaving it sit for an hour, a day, a week, and then revisiting the project, I find I can often dial back my editing a bit and achieve a more realistic and ultimately more pleasing result.

Here, I have overlaid the completely retouched image with the original file. By setting the transparency to 33% or, the opacity to 67 percent if you prefer, I can softly fade the retouch into the original yielding a more realistic, yet nicely retouched image.

I liked the image even though it was just a lighting test and my expression is a little wide-eyed. One of the tricks Hollywood and tabloids us to make celebrities larger than life is to enlarge the eyes slightly-only a 102% or so. I had done this in my original retouch but forgotten to take it back when I did my final blend. So I did it again.

Split Screen showing retouching before and after.

You can see now the eyes are subdued and not as large as in the original retouch. I am happy with the final product and feel that it represents me well. It is what is inside but perhaps not what is in the mirror. After all, the goal of portraiture is to give the rendition we expect of our loved ones and ourselves. If we have to sit on it a day or two and then dial it back to reality - the delay is worth the effort.

Final Image after Retouching and Partial Reversal

The Low Down

Thu, 01 May 2008 15:07:08 GMT

del.icio.us Tags: nature,wildflowers,flash,macro

One of the big mistakes most people make when taking pictures is they way they stand-or rather that they stand. Kodak taught us long ago to hold the camera to our eye and steady ourselves before snapping the picture. What resulted from this was a generation of photographers who learned to take pictures at 4.5 feet off the ground.

Just thumb through your picture albums and you will see that most pictures of children have the ground or the floor as the background because the parent is shooting down on them. How much more engaging is a picture when we put ourselves in the perspective of the subject?

A child will always look better when photographed at eye level. The same is true of many other objects. I was out shooting wildflowers at Big Woods State Park yesterday and this was on my mind. Actually a lot of things were on my mind. Last week's article was about a different trip to Big Woods where I concentrated on using flash in bright daylight. This trip was the same except that I was concentrating on using flash that wasn't affixed to the camera.

This photograph is only possible when you have the flower at eye level. Unless your flower grows five feet tall or you have a convenient ditch in which to stand, you are going to have difficulty getting this perspective on a subject.

I laid on my stomach for this shot but was propped up on my elbows so the camera saw about 12 inches from the ground. It matched the height of the blossom nicely.

Sometimes it is necessary to get even lower if your subject is particularly low or you are adjusting the placement of the background in your image.

This shot of an emerging bloom was taken from about 6 inches off the ground. In order to move the orange glow closer to the blossom and give the top of the frame a little more interest. From a little higher placement at capture, I would have moved the lower part of the background higher in the picture and lost some of that delicious orange color that makes the image for me.

A little off camera flash to the right lights the flower and leaves the background dark. Leaving me with a flower that pops and a background that compliments but does not compete.

Other times you dig down deep to get some foreground in shot. This can be particularly helpful in creating an artistic context to the shot.

In this shot, the camera is two inches off the ground and I am using the foreground grass as a diffusion element to give an impressionistic feel to the image. This flower was in total shade so I didn't use a flash , being satisfied with the soft light as it was.

The shallow depth of field of the macro lens enhances the dream-like quality of the image and makes it softer and more painterly without having to resort to software.

Bottom line is get to the bottom. Go low to match your subject's perspective and you will be rewarded with pictures that look nothing like a snapshot.

Considering Fill-Flash

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:57:17 GMT

Spring is in the air-finally. Those of us in Minnesota saw our last snow melt a week ago. Those of us in Minnesota who are photographers are itching to get shooting. Today, in spite of the poor light (blue skies and mid-day sun), poor conditions (windy) and poor time of year (brown vegetation with sparse emerging plants), I went out to practice some manual flash techniques in preparation for the wildflower season.

Round-Lobed Hepatica

Having spent some time over at the Strobist's Blog, I have been eager to try out some less-than-automated flash photography.

Though armed with reflectors and sunlight my wildflower photos have been lacking something-some extra punch. I decided that maybe a little manual shooting like I did in the old days before Aperture Priority and Flash before ETTL, was in order. This is a departure from my usual technique to use natural light and then do the remaining corrections in image editing software.

This close up shot of a solitary blossom shows potential. It has some nice backlighting by the 11:00 AM sun and though I was able to keep from blowing the highlights and plugging the shadows too much, the flower ended up being much darker than the background. I was using a silver reflector on this shot.

"What a difference a little
well-placed flash can make!"

In the second shot, the same blossom was photographed with the Canon 580EX flash set to 1/16 +.3 EV power at 90° with the bounce card deployed. As you can see, the flower is much more evenly illuminated. The background, while lighter, no longer dominates the flower. The nice backlighting provided by the sun is still present as are the shadows cast by the petals in the upper left. Overall this image is going to be much easier to work with in software.

The real difference in the images to those who like to use software like Photoshop, Photo-Paint, Paint Shop Pro and Elements, to enhance their images, can be seen by reviewing the histograms.

Comparing the histogram without flash on the left with the histogram from the flash photo on the right we can see that the images are going to be different animals when it comes to editing. Most of the pixels in the normal exposure are in the second darkest stop of the image where Fill Light adjustments are normally applied. In the flash exposure, more of the pixels are in the Exposure Range of the histogram. Notice too, that the blacks are much heavier without the flash and actually plug on the blue channel. In the fill flash shot, the blacks are fewer and don't plug. This seems intuitive: more light = less blacks and darks.

Here's the rub: The highlights are actually better in the flash shot! The non-flash shot has plugged shadows in the blue channel and almost touches the wall on the left meaning highlights are approaching white. A little highlight recovery might be in order for the non-flash image.

What does it mean? The flash image has more to work with in areas that are going to lend themselves to editing. The non-flash image needs highlight recovery and black and fill light areas boosted. Those types of adjustments introduce noise and posterization if done too severely. What a difference a little well-placed flash can make!

It all goes back to the adage: Get it right in the field and you will spend less time in the software at the desk. The choice of using a little fill flash on an image that I could likely have easily recovered means I don't have to do that bit of extra work. I can easily apply this technique to situations where I might have trouble doing it in software later.

In this flash shot, the flower above is backlit by the sun, the flower in the middle is in shadow of the blossom above and the blossom below is reflecting direct sunlight at the lens. A flash allows me to expose them all properly and control the brightness of my background at the same time!

So everyone, visit the Strobist Blog and then let's all go out and flash something.

Blogging in Person

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:21:56 GMT

The Blog has hit the fans!

In this blog, I have covered photography, image editing software, presenting and a host of other topics. It is rare that I write on the phenomenon of blogging itself. I know little of blogging save my own experience and the scant absorption of infrequent visits to other blogs.

Bloggers have an intrinsic advantage when it comes to spouting opinions, pontificating authoritatively and creating an environment in which they are a respected and acknowledged as a legitimate voice in their arena of the blog-o-sphere. That advantage lies in the relative obscurity of the individual on the Internet and the quasi-anonymity offered by the nature of the blogging medium.

Taking it to the Streets!
Rikk Flohr on a Digital Photography Tour in Costa Rica
Photo Credit: Nicole Flohr

Some bloggers are very much like the people who shout (or shout down) opinions from the darkened recesses in the back of auditoriums. It is relatively easy to sit in the comfort of your home and attempt to influence the masses. It is harder to get off of your chair, leave your house and to out and meet the people who comprise the intended audience of your writing. Ultimately, it is far more rewarding.

I have taken this to heart. My blogging began in 2004 as a means to explore my writing, deal with grief, and connect with the kind of people who shared my interests, beliefs and needs. As my blog evolved, I found it to be a forum to share my knowledge, challenge my peers, and explore my worth as an mentor in a variety of fields. As my confidence grew through my blogging and other online activities, I found myself wanting to actually meet the kind of people with whom I have interacted online.

"There's no substitute for
'pressing of the flesh'."

Fast forward to 2008. My evenings are now full of meetings and sessions where I attend, offer opinions and conduct classes. Last night, I spent my evening with the wonderful folks at the Crosstown Camera Club teaching the basics of Waterfall Photography. As I gave my presentation, I found that I felt like I was blogging-in person-only better! This makes me wonder-is blogging really something new? Or, did it take the place of something valuable societal interaction? Or, in the right hands-administered properly, does blogging augment personal interaction?

Like purveyors of many disciplines, bloggers come from different camps. Some grew into prominence through their blog and others were in prominence and decided to blog as well. I am neither.

"There is no substitute for 'pressing the flesh'", Rick Altman of PowerPoint Live maintains. It is one of the reasons his conferences are so successful. A closer-knit community forms from the proximity and interaction that is inimitable in a virtual community. Shaking hands and connecting with people enhances the messages you share and the passion you seek to invoke.

Blogging was originally a way to express myself and work through my internal issues. It is now become a way of giving back by sharing my expertise in photography, image editing, computer use, and what little I have gleaned from life's lessons by living. I try to live my blog now and only report on it here.

Teaching Digital Photography?

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:53:08 GMT

I had the opportunity for epiphany today. That is a rare enough occurrence in and of itself. A phone call with a speaker coordinator prompted me to take a walk down semantics lane toward a destination I didn't expect.

The speaker: Do you teach Digital Photography?

Me: Yes, I do.

Inner Me: That was a dumb answer! You don't teach Digital Photography, you teach Photography, period.

Then the speaker asked: Do you teach Photoshop?

Here, I was on my toes. "I teach Image Editing in a variety of software packages." Then, I sought in vain to quickly name them. She didn't want to hear me. I taught Photoshop and Digital Photography and that was enough for her. I really teach Photography and Image Editing .

The mechanics of technique and the subtle art of photography are not altered dramatically by the media in which I shoot. There are subtle nuances to be considered but composition, exposure, color choice, and all the other things that go into making a good photograph are pretty much independent of the camera's method of capturing light.

The same is true of Image Editing software. The theory and practice of enhancing an image once it is converted (by camera or by scan) to digital is pretty much the same - no matter which software package you choose. They all, pretty much, crop, adjust contrast and color. Each package may get there a little differently but the general idea is the same.

When we reduce photography to 'digital photography' and the 'other' we box ourselves in. When people ask if I am professional photographer, I don't correct them and say: "Yes, a professional digital photographer." I simply say, "Yes." I create images captured in essence from the world around me. I happen to do this digitally but they rarely ask how I do it - only that I do it and that I get paid for it.

The same thing happens with software. "Can I just photoshop out those telephone lines?" my student will ask.

I reply. "Yes, if you have Photoshop. If you don't you can do it in Paint Shop Pro, Photo Paint, Elements, and any other program which might be lurking on your hard drive. Me, I would do it in Corel PhotoPaint - because I am a professional (I get paid) and time is money. But I can teach the student how in the varied editors I have installed on my computers. That is my job. I teach Image Editing.

Now blow your nose with a kleenex while I go make a xerox. (Note how they are all small letters when used as a verb or a noun and not a trademarked name of a corporation.)

I teach Photography and Image Editing. (Digitally-for the most part.)

CorelDraw Unleashed User's Conference

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:53:09 GMT

del.icio.us Tags: Corel,field trip,software,image editing,RAW

We've now reached the shameless promotion section of the blog. July 9 - 12, 2008, the Corelians of the world will descend upon Phoenix to learn, yearn and earn. This conference, hosted by Foster Coburn is a chance to meet with some of the more prominent power users of the CorelDraw Graphics Suite as well as a select group of people from the Corel, related vendors and kindred spirits.

I have been fortunate to be selected by Foster to be one of your instructors at this year's event. In addition to teaching some sessions on image editing, I will be leading a field trip where those budding photographers can gain some real world field experience and have a lot of fun in the process.

My experience at seminars like this, including Corel-centric events in the past is that the contacts made, the access to manufacturer's staff, and the knowledge shared make the price a bargain. I would strongly urge you to attend this event and I hope to see you all there.

Eggs in a basket

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:36:50 GMT

The proverb "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket" is applicable to many things as most proverbs are. If you have read my post Data Backup Goes Awry, then you will know on a recent trip to Costa Rica, I lost a basket. I broke some other stuff and lost still more but this is the story of the basket.

In my former life as a film photographer, the prospect of losing a roll of film was devastating. Normally on a shoot, I would snap the shutter a few dozen times and the loss of a single roll might represent the loss, irretrievably, of a entire day's work and maybe opportunities which would never come again. And, there were times when you had to let that roll out of your custody and let some photo lab do its worst with your precious celluloid.

Memory Cards come in many sizes from
insignificant to critical-if you lose them.

Now, as a digital photographer, I am plagued and blessed by these film surrogates: memory cards. Memory cards aren't quite the same. They cost much more than film ever did and they can hold many more pictures but they offset this by being compact, processable and, most of all, reusable.

"I tend to prefer smaller cards
to spread the risk of
something 'bad' happening."

My errant card from Costa Rica arrived in the mail last week courtesy of Miguel at Target Car Rental in San Jose, CR. Thank you Miguel. He found it and shipped it back to me and when it arrived, there were 165 Images, intact, stored in the matchbook-sized device. The images represented the day of shooting from Breakfast at the Santa Maria Volcano Lodge to early evening at Arenal Volcano. I was shooting with two cameras so I was only missing bits and pieces of the day.

One of the Prodigal Images Returned

This shot of Mincho, the Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan, at the breakfast was among the missing shots. There were many shots of my daughter, churches and anything else taken with a wide angle lens during that eight hour span. This included a shot of my daughter with the toucan and other shots that I had no where else.

Nicole and Mincho

With film, it was difficult to put your eggs in one basket unless you lost the basket with all the rolls stored in it. This is provided you were foolish enough to store all your rolls in one film bag. Digital is another story. I carry 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB cards with me now. I use the bigger cards in the larger cameras with more Megapixels so that each camera has about the same 150 shots or so. It seems to work out.

The temptation is to buy bigger cards that allow me to shoot all day and the next and the next without ever having to change a card. A 16 GB card on my biggest camera would typically last me about 5 days in this environment. If I lost that card it would be devastating. Days of work and hundreds of pictures would be gone and I would be in tears.

But, you say, "Rikk, you would be extra careful with that bigger card wouldn't you?"

I would. But it could be stolen, malfunction, be dropped, lost, have coffee spilled on it-any number of tragedies. In those cases, I could still have a card but not my images. And images, after all, is where it is at if you are a photographer. That is why I tend to use smaller memory cards to spread the risk of something bad happening. They are cheaper and your eggs aren't in one basket. The bigger the basket, the more eggs are broken, and the bigger the omelette.

The Church at Fortuna from the missing card

I was lucky. My basket came back. Next time, I might not be so fortunate.

In Defense of Filters

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:10:25 GMT

For those of you expecting a treatise on the use of "Software Filters" I must disappoint. This is about the old kind of filters-the ones made of glass that you stick on the front of a camera. Software filters never have been able to offer the kind of protection I am about to discuss.

Some consider it one of the great scams perpetrated by the sundry photography purveyors and others consider it a way to ensure you will have a lower quality image. Me? I kind of like them.

If you go to a photo retailer and purchase a lens, you will find, that in most instances, the sales person will haggle with you until you agree on a price with which you both can live. Then they start selling the extras. One of the first extras you will see offered is the UV Filter that screws on to the end of your lens. It has two purposes, (aside from increasing the retailer's profit on the sale) to cut UV haze as advertised on the packaging and the second to protect your lens. Me, I've never had a problem with UV haze but I do need to protect the end of my lens.

Yesterday's Boo Boo

I am a dropper. I am clumsy and my mind is often on the pursuit of creation rather than on the mechanics of gravity and grip. Since I was born-again digital, I have dropped many lenses. At least four times I have heard the sickening sound of shattering glass. So far, I have only broken filters.

Many of you may have seen my story on the set of mishaps which befell me in Costa Rica. I broke a filter there. I also broke one in Badlands during my tenure as Artist in Residence in the Spring of 2007. I also broke one on the North Shore in a predawn shooting orgy at Split Rock Lighthouse.

Split Rock Lighthouse the morning I broke the filter.

So far, I have had accidents with three different lenses, one of them being dropped twice. Some have been in the dark, some due to tripod malfunctions, some do to backpacks I thought were zipped but were not and some due to the carelessness of people passing me on the trail. In each case, the lens survived though the filter did not. For some reason, lenses like to land - Glass-Side-Down (just like Jelly Bread). The filter is a great crumple zone to absorb the impact and sometimes it will save you a lot of money.

I added up the cost of the lenses, had I been required to replace them and came to a figure of 3.259.00 at today's B&H Pricing for the lens mishaps. Even though I am insured on my equipment against such incidents, I prefer to pay the 126.00 for the four filters it took me to recover from the incident. Of course, you must thoroughly inspect the lens sharpness, focus, and function before returning it to the shooting rotation.

There is, of course, a list of downsides to filter use.

Filters reduce image quality slightly
Filters enhance ghosting, flare and internal reflections
Filters (on wide-angle lenses exaggerate vignetting)
Filters add two surfaces to the mix which must be cleaned
Filters cost money

If your technique is good and the conditions are rough, filters can save you lenses in the long run. They offer a buffer between your expensive glass and the blowing sand, the swirling mist and the other flying debris of shooting locations. You just need to remember to take them off when shooting the sun, moon, or bright lights or you will see ghost images.

Of course, the best practice is never to drop a lens, let the tripod blow over, anyone walk near you, etc. In 46 years, I have not learned to be that careful.

Presenter's Tip: Leveling Projectors

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:26:24 GMT

Whenever I show up to do a presentation, I find that the surfaces on which the projector must be placed are seldom level, the screen isn't hanging quite level or the two just don't match resulting in a skewed projected image.

The typical presenter rummages through his bag looking for lens caps, folded cardboard, credit cards, magazines, or other flotsam which might be used to shim one of the projectors (typically three) legs. It seems the random articles we find are never quiet the right height and we are always stacking a lens cover on top of a deck of cards or something else to come up with the right combination to square the image with the margins of the screen.

I carry in my bag a little device that makes this practice obsolete.

A small pocket-sized spiral-bound flip notepad will come to your rescue. They are dirt cheap and if you get the kind with the plastic cover like this one shown in the image above, they last a long time. The neat thing about them is they fit in your case, there are even pockets designed for them. They fit in your pocket, your laptop bag, or anywhere else you need to carry materials. What is really cool about them is you can open them up and flip pages until you get the height you need.

Another advantage is that they are small and will slide under the projector nearly completely. A magazine or a board or some other commandeered device will likely stick out and become an obstacle in the dark. If your height is still off, you simple turn a few more or less pages and you are set. When you are done, you flip the notebook closed and store it in your projection bag.

Oh, you can also record notes on them. It is one of the original hand-held devices.

The Memory Divide

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:03:58 GMT

A call from my sister-in-law last night and a simple request got me to thinking about the wet-digital interface and how it is gradually creating a divide in our memories. My in-laws will be celebrating 50 years of wedded bliss this June with a modest party and a minor family reunion.

It seems like only yesterday I was laying out their 40th invitation in CorelDraw 8, or was it 7? I still have the file and Version X4 (14 for those of us Roman Numerally-challenged) will still open it across the immense gulf of time of 10 years. On this invitation is a scan I did of their original wedding photograph taken in the late 50s.

It is a stroke of fortune that I am able to open the file. Had it been but a scant few versions older, I would have been stuck installing an intermediate version of the software for the purpose of translating the older data. This is of course providing I could find the disks, the serial number and had a computer capable of reading the ancient media.

"…vast amounts of our sweat and toil are accessible only at the whim of backwards compatibility and engineering deadlines…"

Those paper pictures, stored lovingly in a dark cool place, survived remarkably well. I was able to take decades old photographs and reproduce them for the upcoming slide show, invitation and other purposes.

Negatives and prints, if properly stored will last decades. How many file formats are so resilient? In the dawn of my computing experience PCX emerged as a stalwart of image files. I haven't seen one in years.

My first Digital Camera came with proprietary software to read the file format that was nothing like I have ever seen. I still have the disk vintage 1997, the same year as the Draw file above, although none of my new computers purchased in the last three years have a floppy drive to read it.

Now the photograph is 50 years old, the file 10 years old and the floppy disk 10 years old. The photo was a slam dunk. I can use it. The file-just barely. The disk, well, I suppose I could find a floppy disk drive and install it and hope it can still read this 10 year old 2MB, that's right 2 MB Type 1 Compact Flash Card.

Let's fast forward ten more years. How many of my digital files will be readable then? The analog box of photographs is more cumbersome to work with but the principle upon which it is founded (the reflection of light) is stalwart and robust enough to last until we evolve past eyes. My first digital photographs have already evaporated.

Memories must be preserved generationally to further the advancement of our society. How much of the digital work we create will survive for our children's children to reap. Vast amounts of our sweat and toil are accessible only at the whim of backwards compatibility and engineering deadlines. What if the recipe for Ice exists in WordPerfect 4.1 and the latest version of MS Word refuses to read it. Are we doomed to warm soft drinks forever.

We are in danger of creating a Memory Divide between the analog and digital worlds. The latter will be much easier to use and contain vast amounts of data at our finger tips but the former is just a little more likely (today at least) to survive into the future.

"How come there are pictures of Grandpa but none of Dad?" the toddler asks.

"Dad's pictures were digital," comes the wistful reply.

"Oh."

Behind the Shot: Cursed Auto-focus

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:52:33 GMT

Every now and then those wonderful perks of automation and computerization come back to bite us in the backsides and as a result, present us with a result unexpected and poignant. I hate it when that happens. In one breath I curse the unexpected behavior of technology and in the next sheepishly accept credit for the unexpected results.

I was photographing hummingbirds in Costa Rica a couple of weeks ago. The light was bad, the conditions tough and the birds were uncooperative.

I did manage to get a few shots that were passable like the image above. I laid in wait with long lens for a bird to appear and then snapped as many shots as possible whenever the bird was unobscured. I kept my camera's focus on full automatic and in AI Servo mode so that I could keep the flitting birds in sharp focus in each capture.

Auto-focus is a fickle mistress. It has no mind-no sensibility-no discerning value of judgement. It follows the movement of bird, wind, or anything else that disturbs its sensors.

As I panned across the flowerbed following the darting bird, the Auto-Focus chanced upon this foreground blossom-a blossom that was too near and too out of focus for me to divine. I didn't even see the thing. The hummingbird did its Dip-Hover-Repeat dance as I squeezed the trigger. Just before the shutter tripped, I heard and felt the Auto-focus reacquire its target-the foreground blossom.

The button-press was too far gone to recall and the shutter fired as the flower flashed into focus. "Rats." I cried, as the hummingbird disappeared into the tree above me. I cursed the Auto-focus again and went on about my business.

While reviewing images last night, my wife spotted this image over my shoulder. "I really like that one," she said.

I told the truth. It was an oops. Albeit a pleasing oops. An oops I will likely print. If it sells, I will be very humble indeed.

Software is not Absolution for the Sin of Poor Technique

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:35:14 GMT

Recently, I was made painfully aware of the the mentality of sloppiness that exists among the current work habits of many of today's Digital Photographers. I find this trend both distressing and comforting. It is distressing because of the general lowering of the standards of quality and comforting because I know I can compete against it by exemplifying excellence in my own work.

Digital photographers are both born and made but not in the traditional sense. There are those who were incubated in the womb of film and transparency and then traversed the birth canal of digital capture to emerge in modern day imaging. Then there are those who arrived in the realm of image capture without paying the price of study and technique in the previous incarnation of photography. They entered imaging directly through the advent of the digital camera.

"That's ok. I'll fix it later."

Two camps have staked out territory in this vast land called Imaging and placed their emphasis upon different areas of the imaging process. The two camps are divided into those who are about the capture and those who are about the enhancement with both espousing the position of the final product as being the standard by which they should be judged. Both raise good points as to their admonitions that their way is the right. Both miss the boat on some other points.

Capture aficionados tend to view the camera as an extension of their creative self. It is the brush in their hands that they put to canvas. Enhancement proponents view the computer, and by extension, the image editing software as an extension of their creative self. It is the chisel to which they put to stone. My conversations with folks from both camps lead me to realize that they each regard portions of the process as necessary evils. The Capture crowd tends to view the computer and software as a necessary evil to release their imprisoned image to paper. The Enhancement crowd tends to regard the camera as the necessary evil, providing them with a raw image on which they can work their creative vision. It is the difference between toiling to grow the grain for harvest and grinding the harvest for bread. Both the farmer and the miller are necessary to the loaf but neither regards the other as equal.

My fear in this is that many more people tend toward competency in the editing side of the process rather than the capture side. It is natural for an industry movement to gravitate towards the growing critical mass. One only has to compare the photography publications of today with those of twenty years ago to see evidence of the trend. Any issue of a photography magazine today will have detailed articles on software and technique. Software gurus are writing books on digital photography. In the past, chemicals, paper and enlargers never enjoyed the page count which software enjoys today.

The danger in all this is that the intoxicating lure of quick fix image editing is going to lull those firing the shutter into a haphazard complacency with regard to technique. As I pointed out in my article on Level Shooting, the simple technique of holding a camera level produces a superior image. Certainly, I can repair the unlevel image in software but I will have a much better image that will produce a higher quality enlargement if I capture right in the first place.

"When randomness through repetition yields the acceptable image why bother with technique?"

What of exposure, color balance, composition, or sharpness? All of these things can be repaired in software if you are presented with a deficient image. One of the antecedents of deficient images is sloppy technique. Essentially, in most cases, using software to fix images means we are correcting sloppy technique.

The other side of the slippery slope of sloppiness is the ease and lack of expense of shooting lots of pictures. I shoot lots of pictures-because I can-because I must sometimes to ensure I get the shot. The danger is in thinking that taking lots of images will make up for poor technique. Dilution of skill spread across multiple chance cheapens the capture process. We value the technique less if we can use randomness to mitigate capture difficulties. We are accustomed to throwing away large numbers of captures in the name of that pristine capture never realizing that with better technique we might have two exceptional images from which to choose instead of one.

Despite my tone, I am in favor of robust image software and taking many photos. However, I am even more in favor of using impeccable technique in acquiring these captures so that the time and effort spent in software is much less and that attention can be given to enhancing rather than repairing.

If you choose to be a proponent of Software Repair and Blast and Pray capture, I think I can compete favorably against this.

Dangerous Competitions and Stolen Property

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:31:20 GMT

©

Protect your Copyright

I am disturbed by the many tactics of those in the world who seek to gain rights to use other's work for little or no charge, or through outright subterfuge.

Typically, I abhor competitions and contests. I am one of those people who measures his skill by my ability to be better today than I was yesterday. To enter some type of photographic cattle drive where thousands of images compete for some pittance of a prize and some modicum of recognition is belittling of my skill and the quality of my craft. A professional doesn't enter the county fair-they get paid for their work. Freebies and prizes are for the amateurs.

Now, it appears there is financial incentive to not compete. Pro Imaging has recently put out some information regarding competitions from such major players as Adobe and National Geographic. It seems that photographers are signing their rights away to enter these contests. Read the Article here.

With the advent of millions of high-quality digital photographs out there, the consumers of photography are finding ways, legal if not moral, or blatantly stealing images. This Washington Post Article details how easy it is to find that you have been robbed. Next time you watch TV look for pictures made by you.

My own fight with Microsoft over their allowing viewers of this Space and others to go straight to Snapfish to illegally print my photos, is well documented on my personal blog. Essentially, anyone liking my picture can click a button and get a print sent to them. Microsoft and Snapfish benefit but I, the creator, copyright holder and rightful owner come up with nothing.

I made the mistake of sending this photo to a local TV station for use in their Weather Segment. After sending it, I was sent a link to a page that notified me I had given up exclusivity to the image. I wrote them back and informed them that I had not relinquished rights and that I was contacting legal to enforce my copyright. I was saved in that my original image did not meet their acceptance guidelines. (I had the 4x3 ratio slightly wrong and failed their criteria)

I wonder how many of us submit photos to CNN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, the local paper, some contest, a national magazine or whatever without reading the fine print.

Read the fine print. Don't give away rights to your image. If you find you have been hoodwinked. Send them a Cease and Desist so that you have grounds to prove later that you are defending your copyright.

Put Copyright Notices on your images-all of them.

Avoiding Laptop Surprise

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:46:53 GMT

The fear of public speaking is deeply ingrained in all our psyches. One of the roots of this fear is that something will go wrong while we are speaking leaving us looking foolish, incompetent, embarrassed or unprofessional.

Laptop computers have a mind of their own and are often a weak link in a presentation, along with projectors, room logistics, and other items. Taking a few minutes to develop a check list of items to turn off, pause, minimize, pre-load and otherwise prep with regard to your laptop, can save you minutes of time, dozens of lost audience members and wads of cash not spent on the psychiatrist's couch mitigating your perceived inadequacies.

The problem with projectors is: to plug or not to plug? Do you plug in before you hit the power button or do you hook live depends upon the sophistication of your set up between laptop and projector. You should always test the partnership first and when satisfied it works, disconnect and prep or prep with the projector on idle so your audience is oblivious to your efforts.

Here are some items from my regiment.

1. Disable Wireless Internet on the laptop unless you are using an email or an Internet connection live during your presentation. This will keep some self-important programs from logging on during your presentation and downloading a service pack, the latest TV schedule, an advertisement or anything else which will distract your audience with a popup.

2. If you must leave your wireless active, close all chat windows and exit their respective programs. Your buddy Fred can say "What's up!" later-not during your stage time.

3. I try to run system updates the day before to ensure that my computer is aware of all the most recent updates even if I chose not to install them. This minimizes all those helpful messages telling you your computer has an update available, it has been months since your last virus scan, or whatever else is might be so urgent you must be interrupted in your work to read. If Windows or any other application have updated recent (read I-tunes) your virus scanner may burp upon launch of an application. Check each application and give that 'changed' file permission to access the net or whatever else it needs.

4. Close every program not essential to your operation. All those cute little applets showing you weather, news, stock quotes and the like are not going to help your performance or your message. Get rid of them before you present.

5. Set your laptop to a reasonable resolution before you present to minimize fooling around time with the projector. 1024x768 will almost always work. 800x600 is bullet proof. Wide Screen Laptop formats don't always work with a projector nicely. Learn your video settings and how to manipulate them to get what you need! Don't count on being able to change res on the fly and match or scale or anything else. Set your laptop up to have a prayer right from the start.

6. Everything you need for your presentation should be in a single folder on the desktop. Clean your desktop of icons and have that folder be one of only a couple of carefully chosen icons available. The materials can live elsewhere but the must be accessible from the desktop. Searching a hard drive for a missing file is tedious to your audience.

7. Pre-load the applications you will be using prior to starting the presentation. If you are teaching with an Image Editing Application, load it. Most of these need to find filters and fonts and if you crank it up ahead of time, your audience will have a much more seamless experience.

8. If you are using presenting software, bounce through every slide first to make sure items load properly. If you are running sound or video, take a moment to allow the sound to play and the video to run so that it caches in memory. This will make sounds and sights seem much smoother.

9. Double check your battery icon before you begin. Have your power cord ready just in case or be plugged in. Questions and digressions can cause you drain more power than you thought you had left. If you are running on AC power, set your laptop power profile to high performance to ensure smoother running presentations.

10. Set your wallpaper to a benign image or better yet-no image. Half your audience won't care for an internet hottie as your background. Too busy a background can make it distracting for your audience too.

11. Disable or increase the time on your screen saver so that you don't have pipes, squiggles or stars distracting your audience if you must pause for a question.

12. Have a backup plan. Your entire presentation and supporting data files should be on a thumb drive or CD. You should have a back up way to move your cursor (mouse, tablet, touch pad). If a laptop goes down or files go missing you should be able to look like a pro.

Make a list of all the things you need to do and carry it as a checklist on a business card sized item in your bag, purse, wallet or whatever and make certain you have all the items marked before you fire up the image on the big screen.

Data Backup Goes Awry

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:59:02 GMT

Sometimes the best strategies don't cover every contingency.

I consider myself a data backup freak. Maybe it would be nicer to say that I am overly cautious when it comes to data backup. Case in point-my recent trip to Costa Rica.

I expect a certain amount of damage, wear and tear, minor blemishes and other annoyances when dealing with expensive camera gear in hostile environments. It is inevitable I will lose, break, have broken, scratch or otherwise damage a piece of gear.

Examples: The above filter is the casualty of an inattentive German Tourist's misplaced walking stick while I was photographing hummingbirds at Arenal Volcano.

I had lost the lens hood for this particular lens earlier in the week and I might have saved the filter had it still been on but alas, I am out thirty dollars for each.

I also lost the tip of my monopod in 12 inches of river muck. I couldn't dig it out between the two boulders. In addition, somewhere on the flight back, my Ipod charging cable jumped out of my projector bag and left me with no way to charge and sync the Ipod.

The digital age has ushered in an era where a Laptop or similar device is an essential piece of gear. To that end I purchased a camera backpack with a laptop slot. It made it to the overhead storage compartment before the seams on the zipper pulled out. It is in now for warranty repair.

The reason of course for the laptop is to backup data, edit in the field and project nightly shows for the participants. My backup regime goes like this. Shoot pictures all day. At night backup the cards to the hard drive on the computer. Load into Lightroom. Backup folder to Passport Drive A. I now have two independent copies so I reformat my memory cards. Then I backup laptop to Passport Drive B. Drive B is variable as I rotate those ever other day so that by the end of my trip I have three passport drives to distribute amongst the baggage as well as my laptop. Do you see the flaw in my plan? I have to get the cards into the laptop.

While shooting the sunset at Arenal, I was 125 km from my laptop. I left it in the cabin's safe for the overnight destination safe in the knowledge that I have enough memory card capacity to last 24 hours. I changed out cards about 5:00 PM on Monday night and put the spare card in my vest for integration into the data stream when I returned to my cabin the following day.

Each day I fastidiously backed up all cards before clearing them of data. As the week wore on, I became aware that I seemed to be short one 2 GB memory card. I couldn't quite figure it out. I remembered trying to loan a card to one of my tour participants but couldn't remember if she took it. Frantic searches through pants, bags, vehicles, and pathways yielded no clues.

When I got back to the states, I disassembled my gear and counted and double checked. Sure enough- the image sequences showed 8 hours of time gap on one camera and about 150 images were missing. I was one card short.

I didn't even get a chance to back it up. The flaw in my overzealous backup strategy was in securing the card from camera to laptop.

A series of phone calls to Arenal yielded little but sympathy. A check of my fellow photographers was futile. Then, my tour director, hearing my plight said, "Did you check with the rental company?" I emailed Miguel and told him my sad story. In an hour, I received an email "I found your San Disk!" Now, this morning it is in an Air Mail Envelope speeding its way to my door. Are the pictures intact? I hope so. Was I lucky? So it would seem.

So here's the final tally:

Lens hood - lost by me

Filter - broken by tourist

Monopod tip - sunk in mud too deep to retrieve between the boulders

Ipod Cable - disappeared mysteriously

Backpack - defective -off for repair

Memory card - lost by me - found by Miguel - Data intact?

The card is inconsequential. The images are not. I wait with eager anticipation for the arrival to see if there is treasure or trash waiting for me in sequestered photons.

All in all, the damage wasn't irrevocable.

The first Costa Rica gallery is up!

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:07:16 GMT

I managed to get a few quick pictures up from the recent trip on my Costa Rican Expedition.

Gallery

I haven't had time to take anything to PhotoPaint X4 yet but will be putting some of these images through further refinement.

I am starting to think about the CorelDraw Unleashed Users Conference coming up in July. It is a great chance to go out and take a few pictures, have some fun editing and use the software we've come to love.

Costa Rica - Shock and Awe

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:05:39 GMT

I was hoping to blog from Costa Rica these last two weeks but the internet connection in the rainforest is tenuous at best.

Shock: Taking off from Minneapolis at -5° F
Awe: Landing in Liberia, Costa Rica at 95° F 8 hours later.

Shock: Driving the Pan Am Highway - no awe.

Shock: The multiple microclimates encountered on my way to the resort at which our Photo Tour was housed.
Awe: The incredible beauty of the landscape.

Awe: The people of Costa Rica.

I will write more later but for now this is the official announcement that I have returned to Minnesota and the shock is over but the awe lingers.

One more:

Shock: Getting off the plane in Minneapolis last night at 10°F

Spring must be coming when I left the difference was 100°. Now it is only 80°

Offline for a While

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:50:32 GMT

Greetings, Fleeting Glimpse Images Photography Blog readers. I will be offline until March 4th, 2008. If you read the Shake Down entry, you will know that I am bound for Costa Rica to teach Digital Photography for Worldesigns Photo Tours.

Since you are home reading this, I can safely assume you aren't with me on the trip. Why not? When I get back, I will be doing a deconstruction of the photo safari and what I, as a professional, learned about the experience.

While I am gone, I hope to get another article ready for CorelDraw Unleashed Magazine, prepare some presentations and relax a little in the sun. The snow is 4.5 feet deep beside my driveway. It will 93° in Liberia, Costa Rica tomorrow when we land. I can't wait.

Next year, I hope to see you at La Anita Rainforest Ranch with me.

A Viable (Free) Backup Solution for Digi-Photogs

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:10:33 GMT

One of the first things a Digital Photographer discovers is that the proliferation of files created becomes megabytes, then gigabytes and finally terabytes. As we buy new cameras with ever larger megapixels, shoot RAW, and do things like Panoramas and HDR which require multiple exposures, we find our hard drives filling up rather rapidly.

Part of image management for me was the realization early on that external hard drives make good sense. They compartmentalize my data and segregate it from the system drives. I can add to them, store them, back them up and manage my images much as if it were a box of negatives.

Now the backing up portion has always been a bit of a chore. With 250 GB of digital images, it is not always easy to find only those files which need to be backed up. Without mirroring or RAID software, expensive utilities are the usual alternative. Not anymore.

Microsoft has a solution in the guise of their SyncToy.

For someone like me whose work flow is:

1. Copy Image from Card to Onboard Drive: E

2. Import Image via Lightroom to External Drive G:

3. Erase Card

4. Monthly Backup Drive G to Drive K

5. Store Drive K in Fireproof Safe

6. Alternate Drive K every other month.

Copying those files from G to K was always a chore. I had to sort repeatedly through folders for those files which had changed in the last thirty days and duplicate the file structure onto the new drive. Or, if I was really not anxious to use my computer, duplicate the entire drive over 14 hours.

SyncToy allows you to manage entire folders and choose how files are copied. You can also save the recipe for use later. It only took me two minutes to set up a synchronization of my web site to a USB Drive. Formerly the 45,000 plus files had to be deleted and then copied onto the 4GB drive at a 25 minute premium. Now it takes one button click and two minutes to do the operation.

I can tell you now that using SyncToy will make my backing up a breeze and that I will be backing up much, much more often. Give it a spin.

The Shakedown

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:26:13 GMT

del.icio.us Tags: travel,field trip,workshop,Costa Rica

As I prepare for my Costa Rican Expedition I am keenly reminded of the adage that creation is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. While the anticipation of exotic venues, stunning vistas and poignant artistic expressions is foremost in my mind, I know I will never get there without the sweat.

Debbie Allen, in the television series Fame , said that "fame costs and right here is where you start paying-with sweat". She's right. For me, prep started a long time ago. I began learning rudimentary Spanish, read about techniques and studied wildlife. Perspiration, for me consists largely of preparation. To that end, I have been reviewing, refining and restoring gear for a month or so now. Nothing is worse than being there and having the equipment fail at the decisive moment.

Some tips for you:

1. Study your airline regulations and determine what must go in Carry On and what must go in Checked Baggage. Keep abreast of rules concerning things like Fluids, Lithium Ion Batteries, tools, etc so that you don't have to discard a crucial piece of gear like a spare battery, sensor cleaning materials or a screwdriver.

2. Separate your equipment into Carry On and Checked piles and and do a dry run on packing. Weigh and measure your bags and make certain you are within the airline's limits. You don't want to have to leave your gear bag with the attendant rather than keeping it under your watchful eye.

I discovered during packing that my laptop was just smidgen too large to fit in my new backpack-in spite of the manufacturer's specs. I had ample time to procure a smaller laptop for the trip and prep it because I started early.

3. Review your batteries. You should have a batter in each piece of equipment and either a spare battery or a method to recharge your existing battery, preferably both. Charge each battery a couple of days in advance. Some charges take hours so don't leave yourself short of time. Package and store your batteries in accordance with airline requirements. Don't forget little back up batteries-those coin-sized items that keep date and time functional.

4. Clean sensors if needed before you go. Don't rely on cleaning them midstream because the conditions will be less favorable in the field. Clean lenses, filters and other optical surfaces as well. Put protective film over LCD display surfaces. Wipe down the camera and the exterior surfaces in accordance with your camera manufacturer's guidelines. Don't forget to take some basic cleaning materials with you on your trip. Things like air blowers, optical cloths and solution are great ideas to brush up equipment in the field.

5. Memory cards should be offloaded and reformatted so that you have the maximum amount of image storage. A back up plan should be available to ensure that you don't loose images and you can offload images in the field. You should carry twice the memory you expect to use in one day at the minimum.

6. Review your camera's manuals and documentation and review the menus on your LCD screen. Make sure you know how to change modes, format memory, active flash and other common functions. If the guide is too bulky to carry, photocopy a couple of key pages and cut them out and keep them in a pocket for reference. That way you won't be fiddling unnecessarily with the controls when you should be shooting a picture. This goes double for DSLR owners. Manuals are complex, thick and have much information you might need in the field.

Try out unfamiliar techniques like shooting flash on manual, syncing with the rear curtain, using a reflector, unusual tripod configurations, self-timers, bracketing and anything else you might be tempted to try while in the field. Having done it once with the manual and no pressure will go a long way toward repeating the process in the field.

At this point you can start sealing up the gear bags and getting ready to board the plane. That perspiration and preparation will pay off when that 1% inspiration comes to call.

Fleeting Glimpse Images : Visions in words ~ Sagas in light: Blog

Costa Rica Photography Tour Date Announced!

Anatomy of a Self-Portrait

Retouche'

The Low Down

Considering Fill-Flash

Blogging in Person

Teaching Digital Photography?

CorelDraw Unleashed User's Conference

Eggs in a basket

Memory Cards come in many sizes frominsignificant to critical-if you lose them.

"I tend to prefer smaller cardsto spread the risk of something 'bad' happening."

One of the Prodigal Images Returned

Nicole and Mincho

The Church at Fortuna from the missing card

In Defense of Filters

Presenter's Tip: Leveling Projectors

The Memory Divide

Behind the Shot: Cursed Auto-focus

Software is not Absolution for the Sin of Poor Technique

Dangerous Competitions and Stolen Property

©

Avoiding Laptop Surprise

Data Backup Goes Awry

The first Costa Rica gallery is up!

Costa Rica - Shock and Awe

Offline for a While

A Viable (Free) Backup Solution for Digi-Photogs

The Shakedown

Memory Cards come in many sizes from
insignificant to critical-if you lose them.

"I tend to prefer smaller cards
to spread the risk of
something 'bad' happening."