Another gripe post...

Ok... So I know I'm being a little hard on Apple tonight. I have another problem to get off my chest. I purchased QuickTime Pro because I want to create Quicktime movies with HREF links within the movies. I have some ideas I want to work out with this.

I follow the tutorial on the Apple website... seems easy enough, but there is a major glitch. I have found a few people with this problem on the discussion forums on Apple.com and there are NO ANSWERS to it. To top it off, I got a major run around on the Apple support side of their site and seems like there is little to no support for paying customers of QuickTime. :-(

So, after a few unanswered posts, I posted this to the Apple forum this evening. I hope I get an answer to this problem. I would love to post a "big ups" to Apple post, but lately they seem to keep leaving me flat.

I'm trying to follow the Apple tutorial on creating HREF tracks in a quicktime Pro movie, but when I try to rename my Text Trac to HREFTrack and click enter, it renames back to Text Track and won't complete the change.

I'm very frustrated. This is the BIG reason I even purchased QTPro in the first place and now I'm only finding that at least a few QTPro users have this problem... there is no support phone number, no way to submit a bug report... AND if this is a bug, then it shouldnt' be listed that you can do this with QTPro if it won't do it.

(feeling a little cheated!)

I realize I might sound a bit nasty in my tone, but it's only because I've STRUGGLED to find an answer online, only to be rerouted to wrong pages, the feedback request didn't work because it said that I left a field blank that was filled in, so I couldn't submit feedback and I see that other people on this message board have this same problem that has gone unanswered.

In terms of a customer support, this is very poor on Apple's part. No one should have to go to this extent to get help on a software program that someone paid for... and it doesn't do what it was said it could do... AND there "seems" to be little to no help for paying customers.

So, yes, I'm frustrated. I just want it to do what I paid for it to do. Is that too much to ask?

Strike Two. Major Bummer.

Feeling a little cheated!

I tend to not make posts like this but I had to vent. I'm a PC user. I used to be a HUGE Mac advocate. I don't dislike Apple's... PC's just seem to suit my career currently for a variety of reasons. Would I use a Mac and be happy with it? Sure I would. I have an iPod and LOVE it. iTunes is my music app of choice. I'm not anti-mac.

But that company is not on my good side right now. My PhotoCast was rejected from the iTunes music store because I had a problem with the way I set up the feed initially (no enclosure). Ok, I goofed... my mistake. I fixed it and tried to resubmit it, "sorry, this feed has already been submitted". I tried replying to the email I received but I got no response after almost a week.

So, It seems like there is a way to get a feed reconsidered. One strike and you're out? Sound a little harsh to me...

Apple, please don't let me down.

PhotoCast Premiere Episode

The PhotoCast brings you my experiences with photography: things, people and places I've shot. I'll talk about techniques and tips on things I've learned that I hope will improve your shooting. PhotoCast will feature my images in a video format with upbeat music.

(This podcast may fluxuate between a video feed and an enhanced podcast format till a format is solidified. Feedback can be sent to me@edhidden.com on a preferred format)

In this premiere episode, we'll give a quick background of myself and talk about a fitness shoot I did this summer. This is an enhanced podcast so be sure to save the file and launch it in iTunes or Quicktime Player.

Right Click to Save Premiere Episode

Till this podcast is listed in iTunes, subscribe to this podcast through feedburner.

Making Your Mark

Any advertising guy knows that branding is everything. Well, I've been a little lax with my recent uploads to this blog with my watermarking. Some people use watermarking as a way to protect their images from "misappropriation" and that's something to think about. Aside from this, I like the presentation this gives even more so. Especially as I work with more people and give them samples from the shoots, I'm going to ask that when they display them on their online portfolios to keep my watermark on them.

When reviewing photographers on OneModelPlace.com and even models, it's great when a model adds your OMP number to your images, but the watermark is visible to all that don't follow the links. There are a number of photographers on OMP that I recognize their style now when I see it, but only because I've seen a bunch of their images watermarked in models portfolios (attention nicovision, it works! I like your stuff!)

So, how do you make this quick and painless while keeping it professional. I prefer the Russell Brown approach. On his site, he has a Creating Watermark Tutorial and Quicktime Movie. It's a fast approach do doing this easily and quickly. All you need I a logo in a "path file" or shape in Photoshop and you are ready to go.



You've seen mine in previous image examples, or in the header of this site. But here's one I made for my friend, Matt and his soon to be released site (right matt? Wink wink, nudge, nudge.)

Lighting Podcast

It's a funny story how this all came to be, but I'm co-host on LightSource, the brightest podcast about studio lighting. Our episode 1 released this week. While I'm still getting the hang of "broadcasting", I think it's a good show. In this show, we talk about lighting news, setting up a studio in your home and have an interview with Paul C. Buff owner and creator of Alien Bees and White Lightning lighting systems.

I'm looking forward to future shows and improving my technique as well as learning, talking and teaching more about studio lighting. If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions, feel free to email me, or contact us through the podcast page.

Listen today, tell a friend. This podcast is also available via iTunes in the iTunes directory... and mentioned on the home page of alienbees.com