Read the interview with Shynola’s Chris Harding for some hints on how they made it.

With much consideration, this is my selection of my top 10 photos from 2009. (in no particular order)

Canoes

Conspiracies

Tulip Festival – 1

Karen & Phil

Issabella

Cupcakes

Banff, Alberta, Canada

Waiting

Parisian Light

Gingerbread Christmas Trees

The larger selection of my favourite images from 2009 is on Flickr.

For comparison, last year’s photos are here.

With my CS4 registration, Adobe gave me one month of a Lynda.com subscription. I didn’t think this would be useful, and was expecting to learn a few things. Turns out, it’s been immensely useful.

I recommend trying it for a month. My current plan is to buy a month subscription one every year or so. Or maybe every six months.

I consider myself reasonably effective with Photoshop and the digital darkroom, yet still learnt many new processes and techniques for producing a completed photograph. The following courses were interesting or inspirational:

• Douglas Kirkland: Creative Inspiration
• Photoshop CS4 Retouching: Fashion Photography Projects
• Beyond Skin: Going Deeper with Photoshop CS3

I also updated a few other Adobe applications, such as InDesign and learnt some Flash basics too:

• Designing a Magazine Layout Hands-On Workshop
• InDesign CS4: 10 Habits of Highly Effective Pros
• Flash CS4 Professional Essential Training

There are other online video learning sites, such as Kelby Training, that are also worth a look. The important bit is to keep updating your skills and improving your workflow.

My initial reaction to the teasers for 3.0 was excitement. My understanding of the opening up of the accessory port to developers would allow for fun innovation. I was wrong.

The dream I had was to be able to connect my iPhone, via USB, to my camera(s). This would allow my phone to act as a remote control, and as an external screen for photos & video. The gPhoto libraries looked like they could provide a starting point.

What is actually provided doesn’t allow for straight USB connectivity.

The External Accessory support requires a validated accessory, with appropriate hardware protocols, to work. You also need to be a member of two programs, iPhone Developer and the Made for iPod program.

I can’t see Canon or Nikon releasing cameras with iPod dock connectors or protocols.

This doesn’t leave many options. One is to build a hardware device that is USB in one end and a custom protocol out the other. This gets tricky fast as the hardware device needs to figure out the camera support. And I really liked the idea of a simple cable connection being all that is required.

The second option still has some merit: WiFi. There are a few downsides. Firstly, you need a camera that supports WiFi or an expensive adaptor. This limits the audience for the app. Secondly, you need a wireless network available and to also manage pairing between your iPhone and your camera. This starts to be more equipment than desirable.

If you have a laptop lying around, onOne software released such an iPhone app.

The Orbis Ring flash is a low budget option for using portable strobes to power a ring flash. There are two big advantages to the Orbis: light & cheap. That said, the build quality is very solid and more than I was expecting.

I decided to try mine out at a friend’s housewarming. This was the result:

To shoot with, it was a breeze. My SB-24 mounted snug in the adaptor. An old sync cord linked my 5D2 to the flash and I was away. The results were impressive.

For shooting an event, such as a party or a wedding, the ring flash gives a nice fall off of light without too much in the way of highlights. For candid portraits, it was simply wow.

I’m looking forward to trying it out in a more staged environment. There are a few lighting options I’d like to try, such as using it for fill or using it from off-axis.

The Orbis team has put a few videos on YouTube, and there is a group of Flickr showing what people are doing with it.