Ashton Smith tag:www.escaport.com,2008-04-16://1 2008-07-03T00:54:45Z Movable Type Open Source 4.1 Awfully out of date tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.10 2008-07-03T00:51:54Z 2008-07-03T00:54:45Z Lets face it. I'm not the blogging type. I hated writing when I was in school. What makes me think I would enjoy it and updated it with no pressure. I think I will be scraping this blog soon for... Ashton Smith Lets face it. I'm not the blogging type. I hated writing when I was in school. What makes me think I would enjoy it and updated it with no pressure. I think I will be scraping this blog soon for a different website. ]]> Teacher accused of Wizardry... Seriously. tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.9 2008-05-07T15:18:53Z 2008-05-07T15:26:45Z Ummm... How to put this? WTF? Sometimes I think we are still in the dark ages.Check it out.The Story... Ashton Smith Ummm... How to put this? 

WTF? Sometimes I think we are still in the dark ages.

Check it out.


The Story

]]> Going Private: The Five ForcesCircles of Hell tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.8 2008-04-30T23:11:55Z 2008-04-30T23:16:20Z Read it. Great Commentary on business today.Five Circles of Hell... Ashton Smith
Read it. Great Commentary on business today.

Five Circles of Hell

]]> Saddington & Baynes tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.7 2008-04-22T15:13:37Z 2008-04-22T15:19:10Z Ashton Smith
Just a quick post to let everyone know about a firm that I find amazing. Saddington & Baynes. Their work is stunning, and you have probably seen it before if you pay attention to advertising. Their shots make the impossible seem plausible. You owe it to  yourself to check them out.

Saddington & Baynes Website

]]> The advantages I've had tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.6 2008-04-18T16:14:21Z 2008-04-18T16:38:36Z The original authors of this exercise are Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright. Ashton Smith The original authors of this exercise are Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright. ]]>


Bold the true statements. You can explain further if you wish.

1. Father went to college 
2. Father finished college - Quit with 14 hours left to graduate to get married.
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college  - Quit just a few hours short of graduating as well.
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor. - 7 attorneys in direct family including one Chief federal circuit court Judge.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
9. Were read children's books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18  - Piano, Violin, Swimming, Diving, Horseback riding, race style driving, Pilot VFR & IFR
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 - See above
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school - Many, and not for good reasons. ;)
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels 
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them - I purchased my first car after saving every dime I made for two years(5 year old '86 Porsche 944), but I totaled it. Then was bought one by my parents('82 Two Tone Chevy Caprice Classic).
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family - Does your family's yacht count? I've never been on a commercial cruise.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family 
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

Clearly I have been quite lucky. What about you?  


I'd have to say so. 

]]> Vimeo Video tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.5 2008-04-17T16:20:33Z 2008-04-17T19:12:49Z This is my first test video hosted by Vimeo. Since this was shot on a Panasonic LX1 pocket camera it doesn't show the quality that Vimeo can deliver. For that check out the video on bottom shot in HD. Full screen mode isn't totally smooth on my system mostly due to processing speed and my large Apple 30" display size. However, it is sharp and the sound is great. YouTube sucks eggs compared to this. Ashton Smith

This is my first test video hosted by Vimeo. Since this was shot on a Panasonic LX1 pocket camera it doesn't show the quality that Vimeo can deliver. For that check out the video on bottom shot in HD. Full screen mode isn't totally smooth on my system mostly due to processing speed and my large Apple 30" display size. However, it is sharp and the sound is great. YouTube sucks eggs compared to this.

]]>

This is my first test video hosted by Vimeo. Since this was shot on a Panasonic LX1 pocket camera it doesn't show the quality that Vimeo can deliver. For that check out the video on bottom shot in HD. Full screen mode isn't totally smooth on my system mostly due to processing speed and my large Apple 30" display size. However, it is sharp and the sound is great. YouTube sucks eggs compared to this.


Samantha on the Carousel from Ashton Smith on Vimeo.


Shoes like no other from DoP Jonas Nyström on Vimeo.

]]> Color Profiles - Pt 1 tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.4 2008-04-17T15:44:43Z 2008-04-17T19:01:58Z In a recent discussion on Flickr (see here), I have decided that profiles are a topic that needs more light. Misconceptions abound that have to do with the right way to deal with images when capturing them digitally. Do I capture... Ashton Smith In a recent discussion on Flickr (see here), I have decided that profiles are a topic that needs more light. Misconceptions abound that have to do with the right way to deal with images when capturing them digitally. Do I capture sRGB or AdobeRGB1998 in JPEG? Should I shoot RAW over JPEG? Why? If I shoot RAW what profile should I use? All of which are good questions. 

This is a short and informative to the layperson type explanation. This is not intended to be a complete theoretical bible for people who know the deep inner workings of color theory and digital color management. My goal is to give someone who is confused by the very mention of color profiles the knowledge to be able to apply the use of profiles to their particular workflow, and know more or less why. 

Today I am going to start out with device profiles. What are device profiles? An over simplified explanation of device profiles is that they are just a list of values of how a particular device defines the colors it outputs. 

Imagine there are two cameras sitting next to each other on tripods aiming at a beautiful sunset. One is a Canon and the other is a Nikon. The chips inside are made by two different manufacturers and using different technologies (CMOS and CCD for this example). Each camera looks through wonderfully sharp lenses that have unique and very secret proprietary coatings on them. The dyes used in their Bayer Patterns are formulated differently according to how the manufacturer makes them. 

What will be the chances that these two camera will capture the yellow or orange shades of the sunset the exact same way? If your answer is slim to none, give yourself a prize.

The way around this problem is to have a known reference of colors. More about that in the next post. 

Today, proceed knowing that every device in the real world has slight differences in the way they perceive or display color. Profiles represent a solution for this color chaos. 
]]> Escaport.com tag:www.escaport.com,2008://1.3 2008-04-17T02:36:28Z 2008-04-17T15:43:11Z Escaport.com has been my domain going way back. I haven't a Whois in a long time, but I think I first registered the domain in 1995. With all that time, not much has happened here. Grand plans with an even... Ashton Smith
Oh well... This time I'm going for something different. No businesses. No big multi layered this or that. Just expression and observation. Updated on whim.

Please forgive the current stock Movable Type install theme. It will be changing as time marches on. Thanks.
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