Over the last year or so, I’ve frequently found myself leaving my digital SLR (a Nikon D70) at home; it’s just too bulky and heavy to carry for day-long mountain walks, and too awkward and conspicuous for spur-of-the-moment ambles. So, with digital camera technology having improved markedly in the five years since the D70 was released, and with a trip to the Alps imminent, it seemed about time to review what was out there in the “enthusiast’s compact”/”prosumer compact” sector of the market.
UPDATED: Antarctica collection added 29th May 2010
I’ve recently added a Gallery to the Wild Vista blog. There are three collections of photos available initially — images from Scotland, New Zealand and Antarctica. I’ll continue to add my favourite pics in time, and hope that they provide some inspiration for your own trips, treks and travels.
Click Gallery on the menu above to see the pics. Comments on the collections or individual photos are welcome. To comment on a specific photo, you’ll need to click Show Details once you’ve selected the photo. Enjoy!
So, you’ve oggled your house, workplace and local area on Street View. Is that really all there is to it? Review these practical Street View tips that’ll help your outdoorsy escapades go more smoothly.
Wasting time editing your blogroll by hand? Already using Google Reader for subscriptions? Then save time by linking your blogroll to your Reader feeds using this simple procedure!
What’s the most effective way to alienate members of your target demographic with your ads? Try treating them like gormless morons.
( This article relates to Adobe Lightroom version 2, running on Windows XP )
Adobe Lightroom has a frustrating flaw when used on devices with limited vertical screen resolution. Most of today’s netbook computers fall into this category, typically having only 600 pixels to play with from top to bottom.
If you’ve visited the WildVista blog at all over the last couple of months, you’ll notice the major change in the site’s design that I put live yesterday. From the beginning, I envisioned a site that was less like a typical reverse-chronological blog (I’m not writing a real-time diary), and more a magazine-style site with categorised articles and regular features. And so, I’ve now applied (and modified) the Mimbo theme to the site.
I’ve made a number of tweaks to this blog since it started life as a vanilla WordPress installation a month or so back. I’ve focussed most of my attention on culling unnecessary links and widgets, and adjusting basic page elements such as the footer and single-post page layout.
Other changes I wanted to make fell outside the default features available from a self-hosted WordPress installation. Enter “plugins” — tools to extend the functionality of WordPress.
In an earlier post (“Customising WordPress — a plan”), I briefly discussed WordPress (the blogging software on which WildVista is hosted), and suggested that I was going to get out the pencil and paper, and start sketching out some design ideas. What’s actually happened, is that I’ve spent more time writing posts (probably no bad thing), and tweaking — oh OK then, playing with — various plugins, widgets, and my default theme.
If you’ve taken a look at the About page for this blog, you’ll see that I recently purchased a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I say recently — I’ve actually been using the software for a good three months now. Still, I’ve a huge amount to learn and, as of last week, I think I’ve come across my first major stumbling block.
So, the WildVista blog is finally up and running. WordPress is ridiculously easy to install, and thus far, I haven’t come across any insurmountable problems. Actually, I haven’t encountered even the merest hint of a snag. Everything’s made sense, and everything’s worked. It’s early days of course (as the vanilla layout has no doubt already tipped you off), but so far, everything in the WordPress garden’s rosy.