EE News

[Pekka]

Hi,

The next version of Exhibit Engine, 1.3, is in beta test on week 34 so it will be available soon. It has been delayed somewhat due new features and especially by need to do some heavy testing of backup/restore software which will be included with EE 1.3. Most work for the new update was targeted mostly to usability and speed improvements.

The licence of EE will also most likely to change from "free/donationware" to "nonag shareware" which means that e.g. after 30 days of use you will have to pay $35 per site (through PayPal) to keep using EE or uninstall EE from your site. There will be no serial numbers or nagging timers in EE, you get the full working code - this is the good'old shareware. All details are being worked out. All those few who have donated (thanks!!) will of course get a free licence.

The shareware decision was hard to do but there were reasons like hired help (future EE will have C++ and Java code, too) and simply that EE project takes _all_ my spare time - the other option would be that I stop developing features for others and just maintain code I like to use - and stop giving it away as such. I was hoping that donations would have covered the costs of the server and the time, but there have been so few donations (although I'm very happy to see those few) that that system is not viable any longer.

EE will surely be my pet project in times to come, so you can expect great new features coming to EE in the future. I hope all users understand and agree that shareware model is indeed needed to keep EE a virile and ongoing project.

The new MySQL backup software "EE backup" will included with next EE. EE backup backups and restores from any database (not just EE) to files or to database as special "database backup sets" which make it really versatile and _very_ fast compared to file based backup systems. It can backup and restore also over internet using any MySQL server you have passes and permissions to. EE backup is also placed into the net as $15 shareware for those who wish to use it as a separate backup solution, but as I said it will be included in EE, too, and in future EE it will make more features possible like full UNDO for editors!

[seanspeng]

Pekka,

I wholeheartedly support the shareware concept. Being a user of EE, I appreciate the value of this wonderful program. The current version is not difficult to use, but need some more work on Q&A or tutorial. I expect the new version has more features and easier to use.

In fact, I used EE to build my wedding gallery as a gift to my wife and she even said "I love it" in her dream. All her colleague are so impressed by this gallery. I would like to share my happiness with you, especially, I would like to thank Pekka for his hard work and help.

Here is the link:

http://www.pengrus.com/gallery/index.php

Thanks,

Sean

[juanv]

Thanks for sharing the wedding photos. I'm studying them because I agreed to do a wedding Sept 7 for a friend with my D30. These photos show that just because you have a professional camera it doesn't mean you can take professional pictures. I hope you take this in the right way - the wedding looks great but the photos are not up to par which makes them a great example by studying and figuring out what not to do. In some, there is no detail on the brides dress - the highlights look blown but yet her face is not lit properly - she's in the dark. On other group shots there are unattractive shadows, perhaps from the flash not being high enough above the camera. Cropping is generally bad on all the pictures - people cut off around the knees or on the left or right arms in group shots. Exposure in general is good, probably from the auto flash. It's just the other details that put these in the snapshot category rather than photo quality.

[pigasus]

juanv wrote:
Thanks for sharing the wedding photos. I'm studying them because I agreed to do a wedding Sept 7 for a friend with my D30. These photos show that just because you have a professional camera it doesn't mean you can take professional pictures. I hope you take this in the right way - the wedding looks great but the photos are not up to par which makes them a great example by studying and figuring out what not to do.
Dear juanv,

Sean would probably be very polite in responding to your critique. I on the other hand am going to express my anger. I notice that you have only just joined this forum, so you may not realise how things are done here.

Sean posted the link to his gallery in the EE Discussion Forum. Not in the Critique forum. He was demonstrating how Pekka's Exhibition Engine software produces lovely galleries. He was NOT asking for a critique of the images which are very precious to him and his wife.

Even if Sean had posted his link in the Critique forum, asking for comments, your manner of critique would be offensive. There really is no "right way" to take some of your comments, which are primarily put downs and not constructive. Frankly, I found them gratuitously condescending! You seem to have been trying to look clever at someone else's expense.

Please think twice next time before doling out hurtful critiques.

[juanv]

Hi,
Sorry if I offending anyone. Yes, the gallery software is great and produces nice web pages with a minimum of effort.

No, I'm not trying to be clever - I am trying to learn. My photography is worse than any of these wedding photos. I want to make it better - by analyzing what's wrong with these pictures and going to other web sites and analyzing what's right maybe I can educate myself.

[seanspeng]

Hi, Sally and Juan:

Thanks to both of you for replying to my original posts. Especially thanks to Sally's understanding. It's very nice of you. However, Juan's critique is well taken as well. I did not claim that is a professional quality gallery, but the one we like, because it is our wedding!!!

It is a Math professor who volunteered to use my D30 to take those 397 photos. According to himself, he does not know much photography, just like most of my other friends, who use dummy all automatic camera. The SLR is a whole new system for him!!!

Here is what happened. We hired a professional photographer for our wedding. However, the cost of getting digital copies of all photos from that professional photographer is prohibitive, plus, he usually does not provide the digital service, which I understand. We just want someone to shoot for us in D30 so that we can have an easy collection of candid shots what we can share with friends and family members all over the world.

The photos taken in the rehearsal by the Math Professor, Dr. Ru, are not even close to what the gallery shows. The day after the rehearsal, I sent a professional wedding web site link to Dr. Ru. He studied every photo to learn the composition, the moment and the light for two days. The end result? We got what we think "unbelievable", "far exceeded our expectation", and "one of the best wedding galleries" we've ever seen.
Juan is right that we used EX420 in P mode with Soften Bounce. Juan is ahead of me. I did not have enough equipment/knowledge/time to control the light. But that's my ultimate goal.

The reasons that I share with friends in the forum are two fold:

1. How grateful I am when I use the EE program to present this lifetime event.

2. I want to let you know that I found Pekka's LS 342 is enough for me in post processing. I am not an expert in color profile, but I do know the LS 342 +12 saturation works just great. Fred's Digital Velvia produces bad yellow color on those photos. I regret buying it.
The only Fred's action that I use is the NoiseReduction. For Linear Conversion and color, I found Pekka's actiona are much much better.

One thing I want to remind Juan is that this is not a formal portrait session, but a great gallery to record an event. Most of the time, it is not possible to get the best composition or light. At least me, as the groom, would not be happy if I was ordered to do this and that to accomodate photographer. Both of our photographers did an excellent job.


Any comments are welcomed!

Thanks again!

[Pekka]

seanspeng wrote:
Pekka,

I wholeheartedly support the shareware concept. Being a user of EE, I appreciate the value of this wonderful program. The current version is not difficult to use, but need some more work on Q&A or tutorial. I expect the new version has more features and easier to use.

Thanks Sean,

One thing to help will surely be an online help system in editors - I try to make it as detailed as possible. It works now by turning it on in the settings and moving the mouse over any item on a page - a popup window explains then the meaning and function of the item. Also, multieditor has been redesigned so that you can edit all items on one page (like paths are in 1.22), e.g. all cameras will appear on one page and you'll have to press "update" only once to update them all.

In fact, I used EE to build my wedding gallery as a gift to my wife and she even said "I love it" in her dream. All her colleague are so impressed by this gallery. I would like to share my happiness with you, especially, I would like to thank Pekka for his hard work and help.

Here is the link:

http://www.pengrus.com/gallery/index.php

That is a very very nice event gallery! I know how hard getting reliably good flash shots with D30 can sometimes be, so all I can say is Professor Ru has done a great job in taking the photos. ISO 400 was a great technical choice and obviously helped in many shots to get more natural look.

When evaluating the shots' composition, lighting and exposure one should remember that the photographer was certainly part of the event and emotionally and physically involved in the party: eating cake and drinking champagne, interacting with people and enjoying himself as all other guests did. Also, the lens was a fixed 50mm, and I'm sure the professor did not want to take a role of a "pro" photographer and run around the hall like a rabbit seeking for good angles (and a gentlemen surely does not use his elbows in a crowd to get closer :) ) Keeping that in mind (and that D30 is not focus-speedwise the best tool for weddings) the achievement has to be truly congratulated.

Pekka

[seanspeng]

I know this is not regarding EE. But could anyone point me to the right direction on what is the best resource to learn the lighting/flash for taking photos? A book or a web site?

I remember Pekka also said the center point is better than three points for D30. But isn't it difficult to get correct exposure from just one center point? When I use the EX420, many times I experience over exposure or under exposure without the bounce.

Thank you for your help,

[Paulhuang]

Hi Pekka,

I would be more than happy to pay the US$35. By the way, did 1.24 ever come out?

Regards,
paul
www.naturestops.com

[steelduck]

Hi Pekka... What about the EXIF data.. will it be included in the 1.3 :)

Kristian "too lazy to write EXIF" Salo

[juanv]

Glad to hear the wedding had a professional photographer AND the friend with a D30. I agree, the gallery pix are a fun way to get the flavor of the event and hopefully the professional pix will be the formal record.

For lighting and composition, the www.zuga.net site has a wealth of articles. Site navigation is less than obvious. You want to select the article archive link on the right menu not the one on the left. If you can put up with the disorganized navigation, the Monte Zucker lessons are a goldmine of info. Monte shoots with a D30 and a D60.

[cdragut]

Maybe this has already been addressed.

I believe that the user should be able to display only the image with no additional information at all (not even a title) and some kind of navigation icons!

[winterfire]

Hi there Pekka. I want to say what a fantastic program you had put together. Do you know when the next version is going to be released? I'm looking forward to purchasing your next release.