Blog – Page 2 – Chris Marquardt's Soapbox

Mar232018 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 78°N and Back

It's not often that I get an opportunity like this. In May 2017 we chartered the Noorderlicht, a 100 year old two-mast schooner, to sail with a group of 16 photographers around Svalbard (aka Spitzbergen). We had an amazing time and when the owners Floris and Mariëlle announced they would cross the Barents Sea from Norway to Svalbard I got the chance to join the adventure as a quasi crew member. Tromsø Construction We spent three days in the open sea, sailing straight north as fast as we could, through strong winds and wild seas. While I was quite busy during my shifts (4-8 am, 4-8 pm) I managed to do a little filming and put that into a 7-part vlog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14JLHFlgquo The seven parts cover everything from stowing supplies to de-icing the ship while a...

Jan92018 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 A sneak-peek at KodakCoin

Crypto, Photography

Kodak is building their own blockchain. Or rather KodakOne is. With their own token Kodak Coin. Let me try to explain why I think this is an interesting move. I don't believe they are building their own blockchain, but they will likely piggy-back on an existing blockchain like Ethereum, which offers features that go beyond just a currency. They claim Kodak Coin will enable the following features: Image registration: register your images on the block-chain. Once it's on there, everyone can see it and it can't be taken off again. Used as proof of ownership. Rights management: records and confirms ownership and licensing terms. Accounting: that's the currency portion of the blockchain. Like Bitcoin, but with Kodak Coin as the payment token. Distribution platform: licensees and licensors can...

Jan52018 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 When Casey Neistat Starts A Podcast

Podcasting

When A-list YouTuber Casey Neistat announces he wants to do a podcast, you know podcasting was the right thing to get into 12 years ago. https://youtu.be/NGjcPQ05Fns?t=7m44s In his video update Casey Neistat says he needs to "figure it out first" ... no, wait, he says "we need this time to figure things out how to do it, best practises, ..." which of course means: someone from his team needs to figure it out, not Casey himself. He briefly touches on things like they need needs a studio, on sound quality and on figuring out a distribution method. Sorry, but to a podcaster who has done this for 12 years, this sounds strange. Of course, nowadays, if you use the term "podcast", it might mean any of 500 different things. It could be a cultural phenomenon or a distribution channel for radio ...

Dec202017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 Magic Leap One

VR/AR/MR

Update: the two major sticking points right now are field of view and multiple focal planes. The first one is definitely not big, according to a piece in Rolling Stone magazine. The multiple focal planes are crucial to avoid convergence accommodation issues, something that has plagued 3D technologies forever. Rolling Stone couldn't get a clear answer on that one either. The highly secretive and well-funded Magic Leap has finally dropped the curtain. In today's announcement they introduce their Magic Leap One. No pricing and availability yet, but a better idea on how it looks and what it can do. According to them. Its official title is the "Magic Leap One: Creator Edition", and they're shooting for a 2018 release. Its main target are those who want to develop for the platform. Creators. I ...

Dec192017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇩🇪 “Auf den Punkt gebracht”

Photography

Das Weitwinkelbuch ist jetzt im Handel, viele Exemplare sind bereits bei den Leserinnen und Lesern angekommen und was macht man da als Autor? Auf Amazon den Refresh-Button klicken und auf neue Rezensionen hoffen. Und davon tauchen gerade mehrere pro Tag auf. Ich bin ehrlich gesagt etwas geplättet und auch sehr erleichtert 😌, denn irgendwie hatte ich halt trotz des eigenen sehr guten Gefühls immer noch das kleine Teufelchen auf der Schulter, das mir ins Ohr flüsterte, dass das Buch entweder zu seicht oder zu tief oder zu unstrukturiert oder oder oder ... aber wenn ich in den Rezensionen z.B. lese "Selten wurde in einem Buch über Fotografie Unnötiges so konsequent weggelassen und das Wichtige so sehr auf den Punkt gebracht", dann plumpst mir trotzdem ein ganz schöner Klotz vom Herzen. Und d...

Dec122017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 Go Home Siri, Germans Don’t Boil Their Rooms

Personal, Tech

Our house is partially automated. We started with lights* and a couple of power outlets**, then recently began to adda few thermostats*** into the mix. That's the extent of it. No locks, no blinds. Our automation system of choice is Apple's HomeKit. And it's been fun so far. And a lot more useful than I thought. "Set the living room to cozy" brings up a pre-programmed scene with dimmed lights, while "set the hall lights to brightest" is perfect if you're looking for your keys. Of course you can also give the lights percentages from 1 to 100. "Set the living room to 100" sets the brightness of all living room lights to their maximum. At least it used to, until we added the thermostats. Now the same command "set the living room to 100" results in the thermostats getting cranked up all the wa...

Dec62017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇩🇪 Weitwinkelfotografie – First Look

Personal, Photography

Ein Mal im Schlelldurchgang :) (hier im Handel) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkHx2TIn7XU

Nov272017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 The Future of Photography – The Revolution is NOW

Photography, Podcasting, Tech

Ideas take time to take shape. This one began dawning on me a couple of years ago when a friend of mine showed me a picture out of a good digital camera that was all bent out of shape. When I looked at it on my computer, it wasn't bent at all. That was the moment I began to realize that camera manufacturers more or less secretly had begun to routinely modify pictures in camera, way beyond than what "traditional" JPG processing would do. We are in the middle of a revolution in photography. Computational photography is hidden in plain sight. Your DSLR does it, your mirrorless camera does it and – to a much larger degree – your smartphone camera does it. Let me make a bold prediction. About a year ago, I bought two pro-level DSLRs. I'm sure I won't ditch those anytime soon, the last one...

Sep62017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 The new iPhone is a Clear Piece of Glass

VR/AR/MR

Update: It's two days after the keynote. I was wrong. And so was Robert (Facebook link). I still have no doubt, that we'll get to that vision within the next year, but Apple is playing this the Apple way, e.g. slowly. Easing everyone into it in good time. One year ago, in October 2016, Robert Scoble posted this: "Just had a source that I trust tell me it is a clear piece of glass." As you can imagine, he was met with some disbelief and even ridicule. And while Robert tends to easily be excited, this time I believe he's mostly right. Now I know it's not smart of me to come out with bold statements just a few days before the actual reveal of a product, especially as I don't have any first-hand information. I might look like a fool on September 12. But it's all quite logical if you...

Aug302017 by Chris MarquardtNo Comments

🇬🇧 What they don’t get…

Photography

There it is again. I've seen this article in about a million versions and it's always about the same thing: why shoot film when you can emulate its look with digital means. *sigh* What these kind of articles completely disregard is that there are so many other reasons to shoot film than just the look. Working with film is one of the best things you can do to become a better digital photographer. The process teaches you how to expose (ever shot with a hand-held light meter and had to decide what to use as a reference?), how to pour a bit more effort into every single shot (each click will cost you). It will help you slow down (tried 4x5" large format yet?) and it will make you appreciate the wonders of infrared light and shadow detail without having to sacrifice any highlights. Fi...