In an effort to curb software piracy, Adobe is offering Photoshop CS2, for free. Yes, CS2 was released several years ago, and CS6 is the current version. However, the capabilities of CS2 are leaps and bounds over Photoshop Elements (the consumer version of Photoshop). For the price (free) it is much more attractive than risking the malware that often comes with pirated software. I think that this is an amazing move on the part of Adobe. Read the details on DIYphotography. BoingBoing also posted this link today, and last time I checked the Adobe download page was actually down. I would imagine that they are throttling the page because of the undoubtedly huge response. Anyway, it is definitely worth checking back and downloading when the site is working again if you enjoy photography and don’t currently own a profession version of Photoshop.
Category Archives: News
MCA on the cover of NY Times Mag
Adam Yauch covered the most recent issue of New York Times Magazine, an issue dedicated to profiling figures who passed away over the span of 2012. Check out the article about MCA, over here.
Snaps from the armory
Ann Hamliton’s exhibit “The Event of a Thread” opened over the weekend at the Park Avenue Armory. The installation is an interactive one. The main drill hall in the armory is bifurcated by giant white sheet. On either side of the sheet are scores of swings suspended from the armory rafters. Each of the swings has cords connecting them to the sheet, so that the motion of the swings animate the sheet. It was quite an interesting spectacle. These are a couple of the images that I grabbed while I was at the exhibit.
ak slideshow
This is the last Alaksa post, I promise. Here is a photo set that I put together from last week. A few of these are duplicate of the ones that I have already posted. Anyway, all of the images are pretty heavy (2k px on the long edge). So, if you have slow internetz, skip. Otherwise, browse away.
yep
Some bad news: it is already Wednesday, and I haven’t really done anything this week. In fact, I have been so lazy that I just sat down last night and ate wings while watching “U-571,” on AMC with commercials and everything. I have seen that movie like 8 times. It’s one of those films that is on permanent AMC rotation. I did manage to make it the rest of the way through the Bridget set though. One of my faves, above.
Some good news: the rest of the week (starting tonight) should be very productive. I plan to pick up again with running tomorrow morn. Heavily looking forward to that. Other good news is that one of the sponsors of the US Open surfing comp in LBC has invited me to tag along a shoot it. Pretty stoked about that as well.
fuel band update
You may recall me mentioning this little gadget a few weeks ago. I was a bit skeptical about its accuracy, how much I would actually wear it after the promo period, etc.. Well, here we are nearly two months later and I really only remove it to shower and charge it. I’m referring to my Nike+ Fuelband. I am a bit of a gadgetwhore, this is true. But I really believe that my fuelband has caused me to be more conscientious about how active I am during the day. On top of that, the pedometer appears to be pretty accurate, despite not having a foot pod (like the sportband). What is more, is that Nike recently melded the Nike+ Running dashboard with the Fuel dashboard. I have it on good authority that new new sport watches will also be measuring the “Fuel” metric. Even if all of it is smoke and mirrors, I can’t deny the extra motivation that I get from seeing the numbers and graphs go up when I have an active day. Also, my daughter loves pressing the button and watching the LEDs light up.
moto x in md
Saturday I took a trek down south to Mechanicsville, MD with the RedBull KTM moto-x crew to shoot some outdoor track action. It was a really good time. For one, we took Amtrak to get to MD. Something that I have not done in my adult life. I have taken regional trains since then (here and in Europe), but nothing over like an hour or so.
As far as the race goes, there wasn’t much competition. Ryan Dungey (above) detonated both rounds with a gap of almost 10 seconds at the checkered flag. But the atmosphere was very fun. The weather was beautiful. Plus, I love motorcycles. Here is an overview of the track.
My friend A-Raj, who also came along–
Trusty 70-200 f/2.8–
Fave shots from the ride back–
photos from cylcling excursions
Friday evening, I recruited my friend Casey to join me on a ride on the west side path around sunset. I brought my cam along and snapped a few shots along the way. The one above, was actually on the return trip. We stopped at the 72nd St. Pier and chilled out for a while with some refreshments. Since the camera was just sitting on the table, I decided to get a long exposure of the old cargo crane (which is in the process of being town down).
The photo below is of the space shuttle Enterprise sitting in her new perch on the deck of the USS Intrepid.
Below: Casey at the GW.
The shot below is actually from the sunset on Thursday night. But I just thought I would throw it in for good measure.
happy friday
Trixie (my bike) has been in the shop since last Friday, getting shod with some new rims. I was perpetually bending the rear rim (including one pinch flat, where I had to replace the tire) anytime that I would ride over any small deviation in surface smoothness. It was getting kind of ridiculous. So, I finally broke down and ordered a set of high profile (hipster) rims. I picked her up yesterday right after leaving the office and ended up riding everywhere I went yesterday evening (which was kind of a lot of places). First I hit the latest installation at the SoHo Agnés b. That is where I snapped the photo above (on Howard St.). Not really sure why I didn’t just bust out the real cam for that shot, being that it was slung over my back. So, you getz iPhone image. Sorry.
After Agnés, I went to the WV for a Nike release party. Obama was in town yesterday, and his motorcade actually passed right in front of the spot where the event was being held. So, getting around was like a video game of weaving in and out of cars/cops. It was actually kinda fun.
Tomorrow, I’m off to MD, bright and early to shoot some moto-x with Redbull. Sunday morning I’ll be running the Portugal day race in CP. Should be a banger. Have a great weekend.
happy friday
I received a copy of the latest issue of L’equipe Sport & Style in the mail yesterday. It is a French mag that did a story on KAWS this month. They approached me last month about using the photo below. It is one that I snapped at the Aldrich museum in Connecticut during the exhibits opening soiree.
About to rock a morning run before packing for Charleston. I’m pretty amped about this trip. It sounds like my homeys down there have plenty o’ good lined up for us to do. Sangue bom, those two. Have a great weekend!
audio goodness– hooray for earth
Another golden band (dude) from New York= Hooray for Earth. They have been around for a few years, but I only recently discovered them. In my opinion it is the perfect mix of downtempo and electropop (if that is even a thing). Sharing the title track from the album “True Loves”. Spin it.
thoughts on thurs
There is no bigger cop-out for the title of a post than using alliteration with the name of the day that it is published. Yikes! Anyway, I am back from Chi-town. It was a very rainy adventure. My friends have that new Range Rover crossover (forgot the name of the model). The panoramic roof (above) was phenomenal for viewing the city while we drove around.
It was very cool to be able to see my friends again. I was bummed when it was time to leave. To make matters worse, my flight was delayed 5 hours because of lightning. So, I didn’t end up getting to bed until just shy of 4 AM Monday morning. Not the best way to start the week. As fate would have it, last night was really the first night that I was able to go home from work at a reasonable hour, tidy up and get some sleep.
I had some grandiose plans for the week, including logging some solid miles running. I am going to feel like a bit of a poseur this weekend, since I have a race on Sat and Sun. I did ride my bike to work Monday though (got rained on, on the way home). Then, the following weekend is the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. This is probably my favorite NYRR race. Too bad that I’m out of shape and will most likely score a terrible time, this year. Oh well. At least I will have a lot of friends at the race. It will be a good time no matter what.
And that is why the title of this post is so lame.
bike stuff
It is bicycle weather. I’m pretty excited about it. I filled out all of the requisite paperwork this week to park my bike in the building where I work. Parking inside is the best way to avoid this happening again. They issued me the little blue tag in the image below to make it legit. So, Wednesday night I put some air in the tires. It is supposed to rain until Friday. But I am hoping to start pedaling to work starting next Mon.
Speaking of biking, I’m not really a helmet wearer. Ok, I’m not a helmet wearer at all. But, thanks to creative Swedish design, maybe we won’t have to wear a plastic dome to be protected while riding. I came across this amazing piece of Scandinavian innovation today on Cool Hunting.
Here is what it looks like undeployed:
It is basically a hipster’s w*t dream.
–“Dude, I like your scarf.”
“It’s not a scarf”
–“I mean I like your hood”
“It’s not a hood, it’s a Swedish airbag helmet.”
–“Well, I like your yellow suspenders, moustache and flannel, too.”
I also like how they dropped all of the blacks out of that second image. Moving on… This week I also saw the little device below on TWBE. Yeah, that’s right– bluetooth bike speakers. Finally.
Completely unrelated to bikes, this went up on Tuesday.
é seixta novamente
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Yesterday I shot the new A.P.C. store in the West Village. It is a very cool space. They had an opening party last night, which is always good times. I’m sure that I would have enjoyed it more had it not been the culmination of a series of crazy days. Even such, it was enjoyable. I was able to go home directly afterward and finally get a solid night of sleep. I really liked the way that the above sequence came out. This one’s mine, too.
Some good stuff on tap for the weekend, including a race in CP on Sunday. Looking forward to decompressing a bit and hanging out with the peeps I like. Have a great weekend.
ny times year in pictures
Friday was a relatively mellow day in the office. I took the opportunity to peruse the New York Times “Year in Pictures” gallery. It is definitely worth a look see. Check it here.
i want this– ducati 1199
Even though in the world of GP, Ducati has struggled for the past year, I think that it is probably still my favorite brand of sport bikes. It’s distinctive L-twin growl appeals to me in a way that no other sport bike ever has. So, I was incredibly stoked to see this thing today on Uncrate, today. I’m imagining that the GP bike that Ducati has been developing for next season’s factory team riders (which is going back to the 1 Litre threshold of displacement) may have inspired some design aspects of the new 1199. Here is what Uncrate had to say:
Powered by what the company is calling “the most powerful twin-cylinder production engine on the planet,” the Ducati 1199 Panigale Superbike ($18,000-$28,000) promises uncompromising speed — and it delivers in spades. At its heart is the aforementioned Superquadro engine producing 195hp, which thanks to tremendous frame and engine integration resides in a bike with a dry weight of just 164kg — that’s roughly 362 lbs — along with class-leading tech like a sporty ABS system, traction control, Ducati’s Electronic Suspension, quick-shift, Engine Brake Control, and Ride-by-Wire systems, and a TFT display that changes to suit your environment. Not that you’ll have time to notice
Now I just need to raise $28k so that I can pick one up. Hehe.
i want this | bamboo keyboard and mouse
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One of my cousins posted a link to this awesome bamboo keyboard/mouse combo on FB. I was so stoked about it that I ordered one for my home office and one for my work office. I seriously hope that they are as awesome as they appear to be in the images. I’ll keep you posted.
marco simoncelli
Today was a very sad day for me. As I was starting to settle into my Sunday ritual of watching MotoGP, I watched one of my favorite Italian riders die on the track. I never really understood the whole idea of mourning people that you have never met, until today. When Michael Jackson died, I specifically remember thinking how ridiculous it was, seeing all of the footage of fans crying their eyes out, etc.. I guess now, I sort of get it. I never had the pleasure of personally meeting Marco Simoncelli. In fact, there were a few times where I was a bit annoyed by his riding style that I thought could be a bit reckless. Ultimately I have a lot of respect for his tenacity and potential. He was a rookie who always pushed things to the edge. Even if the only thing that I have in common with the man is the love of riding motorcycles fast, It was enough of a connection to put me in shock and break my heart when heard that he had passed away after the gruesome wreck that I watched on TV. Godspeed, Signore Simoncelli. Today– I mourn with the rest of your fans, friends, and family.
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Happy Friday!
I have been insanely busy the last few days. Which is cool. But I have not spent much time at a desk, which means I have done much photo editing or writing. I know that everyone has been very disappointed about this, hehe. Not to worry, I will have plenty of time on my hands this weekend to run through all of the stuff that I have shot this weeks, as well as recap some decent fun.
As promised a few weeks ago, I have been checking to see when the GQ article “The man who sailed his house” appeared online. When the November issue came in the mail yesterday, I figured that all of the October stuff was probably now online. I was right. Here is a link to one of my favorite magazine articles that I have read in years.
Have a great weekend!
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Ode to the A train
As great as public transportation is, the MTA is seriously messed up. Sometimes the glaring deficiencies are maddening. Other times, their efforts to restore service, or prevent interruptions are something that the Army corps of engineers would be proud of. One example of this was on Monday. A broken water main on the UWS caused the ABC and D tunnels to become totally full of water in certain sections. The MTA spent all night pumping it out and replacing signals and switches ruined by the flooding. Even though afternoon commute that day was hellish, having those lines out of service, the MTA had everything back in working order in time for the morning commute. Way to go, guys. In honor of their hard work, I would like to debut a little poem that I wrote about the A train. Hahahaha.
I have actually now written several of these. I thought that it would be hilarious to start writing poems while either waiting for, or riding the train late at night. This particular poem was one of the first. I thought that in light of recent events, it was appropriate to publish it this week.
On the platform, probably staring at the texturized yellow line. Maybe sane, maybe paralyzed. On my retinas flash the reflection of incandescent light on the tracks. It’s that ghetto incandescent light of a city that hasn’t been updated in much too, too long. The tracks have been worn smooth, shinier than mirrors. Two parallel mirrors in the sooty rat pen. Optics strain, pupils dial down. There is a disgustingly un-royal, royal blue circle with the English equivalent of Alpha marking the center. On my way home, at last. At last what? I don’t know. Nothing significant, because I’ll do it again tomorrow and again. I’m bad at poems.
So there you have it. Happy Wednesday.
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