Blogging the oldies.

One problem with a blog is that it's very much a linear thing based entirely on chronology, which makes it a little one dimensional. I've been endeavouring to add more dimension to it using Labels, but I think it's time to start making reference pages. There's quite a lot of material in the blog going right back to the original Beta. So I think the first thing to do is to make a reference page for Video Tutorials from the past. Obviously (to me anyway) it makes more sense to have the newest ones on top, although a lot of the material can still be relevant despite being from a previous version. Being the start of 2009, it makes sense to try and gather the resources together.

I've created a little shop page at http://lightroom-blog.com/shop, which I'll use as the template for this. Basically I'll have a short description and clickable thumnbnail. I'll also include videos I've done for Lightroom News too, perhaps in their own section.

Happy New Year

It's been a interesting year on Lightroom Blog, not to mention for me personally in regards to Lightroom. I've published a commercial set of presets, along with a Lightroom Web Engine. I've tech edited a Lightroom 2 How-Tos for Chris Orwig (happy new year Chris!), and his Photoshop CS4 book! My own book is in the hands of the publisher (a commissioned book). I have ideas for a book I want to write, actually the first idea for a book I had all along. We'll see if 2009 can make that happen!

I've spent a lot of time being a Moderator for Adobe Lightroom Help, and for Lightroom Forums (where I lend a hand when I can).

I've also been working on various aspects of brushing up my coding, to create more web engines. I'm currently studying Javascript, with a PHP book sitting in the wings on my tech reading list. I do have a rather large pile of 'to read' books! Currently it's Real World Color Management by Fraser, Murphy and Bunting. I have a good understanding of colour management, but I felt the need to read this, to flesh out what I know, and be able to say I read it! On that list are Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer 'The Photoshop Lightroom Workbook', and 'Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2' by David Huss.

The credit crunch is affording me more time off as venues are only running weekends gigs, so I've more reading and shooting time.
For 2009 I'll continue to do videos and tips here, and on Lightroom News. Relating to video, it's funny that when I'm recording, I'm running very close to clipping the audio input, yet I get a complaint that I'm too quiet. I guess there is no winning. Maybe it's time for a hard limiter so my voice is louder than your CD ;). As always suggestions for topics are welcome via the Skribit bar on the right. Yes I do look at them and I do plan on using them for future tips.
I plan on continuing the interviews for Lightroom News, I've enjoyed them, and would love to do a few more (I'm putting together another one soon).
Anyhow, thanks for dropping by in 2008, and I look forward to seeing you again throughout 2009!

Using the Keyboard in Basic

Here's a short movie file about using keys in Basic in the Develop module. The keys are , and . for moving between controls, and - and + for changing the amount.

Missing Pins or Spots?

A few folk seem to be getting caught with this: When using the Brush or Grad filters, the pins go missing. Alternatively the Spot tool isn't visible. The solution is easy: Press H. H is the Hide/Unhide shortcut and is useful for seeing the results of your work, while keeping the current tool active.

LRB QuickSlide

LRB QuickSlide is a basic Flash slideshow gallery for Lightroom. It generates a 620X400 flash SWF in a blank index page that you can then add to another page. Handy for quick galleries and things like Myspace pages etc. Based on some of the code from the not yet released LRB Flash Gallery, there is very little to change in this gallery bar the Flash background colour and the page background colour.

To add the code from this gallery simply copy everything between (and including) <object> and </object> to the new page. Keep the gallery structure intact and you'll be away.

This is free, but includes a link page to my shop page. I will put a donationware version of this online soon, minus the logo and link.
Also on the page is a little icon of slides. Clicking this will stop the slideshow running. Clicking of the left side of the image will go back one photo and on the right will go forward one. The slideshow loops, as will any clicking.

Maybe when I learn to use Flashvars, I'll be able to add things like slideshow timings and borders, but it the meantime, this is it!

Note: Because Lightroom uses Explorer as the plugin preview browser on PC, it cannot load other plugins like Flash, therefore this does not Preview on PC. Sorry, but I have to use HTML to map to XML here for the gallery, and I can't do it any other way (as in, it's not in my skill set). If you comment that you can't preview it on PC, I won't approve the comment, because I've already mentioned it. (Cue loads of comments on PC vs Mac that won't get by either). When you export an SWF in Flash, it allows either local or network access, so you have to preview online. I'm not trying to alienate users here! Really!

Download | Sample Gallery | Installation Instructions

Update: Using XML to create the Speed slider as suggested by John Beardsworth, I've now updated to version 1.01 which has a speed slider from 2-10 secs. Also I moved the slideshow icon to prevent it hiding the watermark. Download 1.01

Happy Christmas

Or whichever holiday you are celebrating this week. I'm away for a few days visiting, but will probably have some stuff to publish before the new year.