May’s “Print of the Month” is “Ingólfshöfði Storm”. Why yes, Icelandic does have cool characters in it, now that you mention it. For the month of May, unmatted, unframed 8×12 prints of this image from the South of Iceland will be available for $100 (plus tax and shipping as necessary.)

While my primary backup system is unchanged, I’m experimenting with adding another “extra layer” of protection to my backups that y’all might be interested in. Carbonite is an on-line backup service, your backups are mirrored over time to Carbonite’s servers, “all you can eat” for well under $100/year. I’m testing this under Windows XP.

Now, “all you can eat” appears to be true, limited to some extent by upload speed and server speed on their end. Over the past two months, I have been able to mirror about 105 GB of data onto their servers using my DSL (1.5/384) line. That has included some moderate periods where I turned off uploading, it wouldn’t surprise me if I’d kept everything on that I’d be looking more at 120-150GB. The client software does not appear to have a significant impact on desktop performance.

You can just say “do it all” or select specific folders, in Windows XP Carbonite hooks into the right-click menu for folders so you can add/remove “please backup” through the file browser. I believe Carbonite prioritizes smaller files over larger files to determine what order to back things up in, I’ve been prioritizing my initial backup by selecting directories a few at a time.

As I shoot more and more, and as the files get bigger (that lovely Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III is giving me files anywhere from 20 to 35 megabytes in size each), I have to think more and more about backup options, and you should too. My first glance suggests that for some folks, Carbonite might be one part of a balanced backup strategy. It’s *NOT*, however, a substitute for taking regular full backups and keeping them in perpetuity, it won’t save you from that file you deleted yourself and then realized you NEEDED two years later.

PhotoCentral, the amazing photographic community, is having a semi-silent auction to try and build their digital resources. If you’re not familiar with PhotoCentral you should go have a look around their site and note the amazing darkroom resource they provide, as well as their incredible quarterly lineup of photographic classes and workshops.

I’ve donated two of my most popular works, a matted 16×11 print each of “Tree Ballet and Pogonip” and “Pebble Beach Sunset”, to the auction to support their efforts. My works are joined by prints by dozens of other artists, including John Sexton, Richard Knepp, Kate and Geir Jordahl, Keith Walklet, Bruce Barnbaum, Chirstopher Burkett, Mark Citret, Fan Ho, as well as dozens of artists you may not recognize the name of but whose work is just as amazing.

Check it out. Excellent art, great prices, and a good cause. What more can you ask?

Rob Galbraith has updated his excellent database of CF and SD card performance on different cameras, and now includes the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III.

Unsurprisingly, the SanDisk Ducati and Extreme IV compact flash cards perform very well on the 1Ds3. I was more surprised that the most recent (2008) samples of the Extreme III are very strong as well on the 1Ds III, perhaps within ten percent of the Extreme IVs, which would make the new IIIs a bargain, particularly if you weren’t worried about card-to-computer performance.

Directions for tonight’s reception at Stanford. See you there!

I did sell the 17-40L, but the 1Ds is still for sale, now up at eBay.

As a likely result of the declining value of the US dollar, Canon has told several dealers it expects to raise prices on all products effective May 1.

Come one, come all, to my biggest exhibition of 2008!

My show Saga, featuring works from my two trips to Iceland, opens as part of Stanford Art Spaces at a joint reception Friday April 18th from 5-7pm at the Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University. The show will run through approximately June 10.

The larger-than life epic traditions of the sagas in Iceland are reflected in its landscape at every turn – it is impossible to wander that island without feeling their presence, their age, mystery, and power. These photographs, like single runes, seek to visually express that presence in new and enlightening ways.

Directions to the Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford are here.

Additional information is available at the Stanford Art Spaces home page.

Adobe had very quickly and directly responded to concerns about their licensing terms for Adobe Photoshop Express, rock on. I now look forward to moving on to talking about what the product does and who it serves.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Public Beta announced. While still a beta (you shouldn’t get rid of 1.3, or 1.4 when it comes out), this looks very interesting indeed, in particular improvements in library handling, the addition of selective editing (yay!), and support for multiple monitors caught my attention.

Do read the release notes carefully before downloading.

The Lightroom 2.0 Beta is available to LR 1.x owners (for the entire Beta period), and to the general public for 30-day trials. In addition, licensed owners of LR 1.x can, as I understand it, send “full beta period” trials to friends, drop me an email if you’re a regular reader here, and if you don’t own LR 1.x but would like to give LR 2.x a more-than-30-day trial.

In honor of my upcoming show Saga at Stanford, April’s “Print of the Month” is “Midnight Dusk, Latrabjarg”. For the month of April, unmatted, unframed 8×12 prints of this image of Iceland’s Westfjords will be available for $100 (plus tax and shipping as necessary.)

. . .

I’ve still have a shelf of the small Mono Lake Art Cards in my den (see the bottom of that page), and I’d like to clear some room. For the month of April, I’m offering boxes of 20 cards at $13.00 (+tax, plus $6 shipping if I have to ship it) rather than the usual $18. Bulk orders of 100 Mono Lake cards are more (without the boxes) are available for $.55/each plus tax plus actual shipping cost.

I also have one matted 16×11 print, #1/50, of Blowing dust, Dry Soda Lake from the Mojave Desert, which I’m offering to the first buyer (through the end of April) for $162.50 (plus tax, plus shipping). How could you pass up a print made from a place called Zzyzx Road?

Looks like the Photoshop Express guys are confirming my guess that the legalese is a little more aggressive than their intent. I’m not saying “don’t wait for the fine print”, but I have every confidence that Adobe will come through on this. Rock on.

Also, John Nack’s blog linked above is highly recommended. Just sayin’.