The ABCs of Photography - Test Run (Completed)

[Antmeister]

Refer to The ABC's of Photography - Letter A (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=60564)

[wade moore]

I uploaded a couple of photos from my Dynasty thread to test...

Thanks for doing all of this Ant, it is MUCH appreciated!

[wade moore]

I was going to upload audio and then realized there is a 2mb limit on that also. I'll have to hunt or shorten a file probably, so I'll probably do that tomorrow.

[oliegirl]

I'll try this out tomorrow...how long will this thread be up?

[Antmeister]

I'll try this out tomorrow...how long will this thread be up?

You've got time. This will stay up until the 26th, which will be the first official day to start uploading pictures for the Letter A.

[Antmeister]

I was going to upload audio and then realized there is a 2mb limit on that also. I'll have to hunt or shorten a file probably, so I'll probably do that tomorrow.

Well the pics are up for display. As far as the audio file, I can see if I can up the limit a bit.

[Lorena]

I'll try this out tomorrow...how long will this thread be up?

Send me a PM when you're ready oliegirl.

[DanGarion]

I did my test run.

[Antmeister]

I did my test run.

Okay it looked as if it uploaded. If anyone gets a blank screen, let me know. Once in a great while I am experiencing this and I can't quite figure out why it is happening.

[Castlerock]

If you choose to do so, you can view other submissions. All submissions an anonymous and show no details of the person who had uploaded it (only the admin can view that).

Should we be including our username in the filename?

[Antmeister]

Should we be including our username in the filename?

No it is not necessary. The only thing that is needed is a descriptive filename to make it easier to identify. The whole concept behind remaining anonymous is so that people could get an honest assessment of their work each and every week. The admin (Dodgerchick) will be the only person knowing who had submitted what images. But even then, she won't look at that info until the critique phase is over.

[wade moore]

My thought was just to name it so that we know how it fits into the letter theme..

Like if for A I did an Armadillo I'd label it "Armadillo"...

[wade moore]

Dola: I wish I could get a picture of an Armadillo for "A" ;).

[lordscarlet]

Looks like uploading may not work from the office.. I can't view any images either that others have uploaded either.

[terpkristin]

I added one. Definitely won't be able to do this from anywhere but home, though. Did anybody else have an issue where they had to refresh the page to get the site to work properly? The first time I tried to go there, I had just HTML, none of the page formatting, and clicking the HTML link to login didn't work until I refreshed and got the pretty page...

/tk

[oliegirl]

I added one. Definitely won't be able to do this from anywhere but home, though. Did anybody else have an issue where they had to refresh the page to get the site to work properly? The first time I tried to go there, I had just HTML, none of the page formatting, and clicking the HTML link to login didn't work until I refreshed and got the pretty page...

/tk

I had some trouble, but on the 2nd or 3rd try it all came up the way it was supposed to. I will probably do most/all of my uploading from home so hopefully I won't have any problems there.

[Antmeister]

I added one. Definitely won't be able to do this from anywhere but home, though. Did anybody else have an issue where they had to refresh the page to get the site to work properly? The first time I tried to go there, I had just HTML, none of the page formatting, and clicking the HTML link to login didn't work until I refreshed and got the pretty page...

/tk

I had some trouble, but on the 2nd or 3rd try it all came up the way it was supposed to. I will probably do most/all of my uploading from home so hopefully I won't have any problems there.

There are some definite problems. Not sure what has transpired that is causing this to occur today, but I may end up switching the interface. Don't worry though, the usernames and passwords will remains the same.

[Lorena]

Aww.. the kitty is SOOOOO cute!!!

[lordscarlet]

I added one. Definitely won't be able to do this from anywhere but home, though. Did anybody else have an issue where they had to refresh the page to get the site to work properly? The first time I tried to go there, I had just HTML, none of the page formatting, and clicking the HTML link to login didn't work until I refreshed and got the pretty page...

/tk

I had the same problem the first time. I'm about to make a second go without having all of the work filtering mechanisms on. :)

[lordscarlet]

Hm.. now the login screen looks different and my login is not working.

[Antmeister]

There are some definite problems. Not sure what has transpired that is causing this to occur today, but I may end up switching the interface. Don't worry though, the usernames and passwords will remains the same.

Hm.. now the login screen looks different and my login is not working.

Yep just switched the interface. And just finished entering everyone's usernames and passwords. So you should be good now.
Note: When you log in, change the current email address in your profile to your own. All the accounts have the email address set to myself or Dodgerchick at this time. You can achieve this by clicking on the face icon next to the LOGOUT button. You can also change your password if you wish.

[Antmeister]

By the way, I talked with my web hosting provider and they have a number of issues which is causing it to break the connection intermittenly. On top of that, I didn't totally configure the script, so while you can upload the files at this time, I haven't configured it to not display the username or have the ability to view the pics you have uploaded. That will come later. Since this is a test run, I decided to switch over so that users can register themselves instead of having to wait for a request to go through.

[Zippo]

cool, that first picture is shot in my school

[DanGarion]

So how new of a picture do these need to be? I have some nice older pictures I have taken in the past...

[Antmeister]

So how new of a picture do these need to be? I have some nice older pictures I have taken in the past...

This right now is just a test run so I can figure out if everything is working out.

When we actually start, it would be best to start anew when taking the shots. The whole purpose of this is for each of us to learn how to improve our shots without any photo editing. I know I am very guilty of taking mediocre shots knowing they can be improved later, but the real challenge comes when actually learning how to properly compose a shot.

[DanGarion]

This right now is just a test run so I can figure out if everything is working out.

When we actually start, it would be best to start anew when taking the shots. The whole purpose of this is for each of us to learn how to improve our shots without any photo editing. I know I am very guilty of taking mediocre shots knowing they can be improved later, but the real challenge comes when actually learning how to properly compose a shot.
Damn, but my A I have is kick ass :) I'll have to find a new one, not from a vacation, heh.

[Antmeister]

Damn, but my A I have is kick ass :) I'll have to find a new one, not from a vacation, heh.

LOL...I am not making a hard and fast rule against it. I am only telling you what the purpose is. If you want to include the shot that badly, it's fine, but please send a non-edited version. :D

[wade moore]

Uploaded a test pic through the new interface just to make sure it worked for me, seemed fine.

[lordscarlet]

What's with the timezone options? :)

[DanGarion]

LOL...I am not making a hard and fast rule against it. I am only telling you what the purpose is. If you want to include the shot that badly, it's fine, but please send a non-edited version. :D

Oh yeah, I wasn't planning to send edited versions of pictures.

[wade moore]

Oh yeah, I wasn't planning to send edited versions of pictures.

I think this is again something where it's about what you want to get out of it.. if out of 26 letters you have a few that are some of your "best" pictures from the past, I don't see a harm in using them... however, if you have 26 old pictures - it's hard to utilize what you've learned through the experience in future pictures..

So yeah, I don't see a problem with using an old picture here and there, I just think you miss something from the experience if most of your pictures aren't new pictures...

[DanGarion]

I think this is again something where it's about what you want to get out of it.. if out of 26 letters you have a few that are some of your "best" pictures from the past, I don't see a harm in using them... however, if you have 26 old pictures - it's hard to utilize what you've learned through the experience in future pictures..

So yeah, I don't see a problem with using an old picture here and there, I just think you miss something from the experience if most of your pictures aren't new pictures...

Oh yeah, i agree 100%.

[Antmeister]

What's with the timezone options? :)

LOL! Those are some odd timezone options. I never see both language an timezone linked together like that. Guess that is another thing to be tweaked.

[Castlerock]

I finally managed to logon (after about a dozen tries). But I can't see any photos. I have to refresh every page to see anything but the photos are never visible.

[lordscarlet]

It often times out on me. :(

[Antmeister]

I finally managed to logon (after about a dozen tries). But I can't see any photos. I have to refresh every page to see anything but the photos are never visible.

It often times out on me. :(


I have contacted my provider and they are not quite helpful. It's sad really, because I have been using them for about 3 years and their customer service has just nosedived over the past year. They are trying to push me onto moving onto a dedicated server and that just ticked me off. So whatever you do, do not use ipower.com.

In the meantime, I am looking for a web hosting provider and since we have another domain name we haven't been using. So hopefully things will smooth over soon.

[lordscarlet]

I have contacted my provider and they are not quite helpful. It's sad really, because I have been using them for about 3 years and their customer service has just nosedived over the past year. They are trying to push me onto moving onto a dedicated server and that just ticked me off. So whatever you do, do not use ipower.com.

In the meantime, I am looking for a web hosting provider and since we have another domain name we haven't been using. So hopefully things will smooth over soon.

I have dreamhost, and you'll get mixed reviews of them. They're very good for a lot of storage at a super low price, but not the 100% best in customer service. For simple PHP applications they work fine, though. For Rails, which I have some of, it is not very good.

We should all pitch in for a dedicated box for our little pet projects. ;)

[DanGarion]

I have dreamhost, and you'll get mixed reviews of them. They're very good for a lot of storage at a super low price, but not the 100% best in customer service. For simple PHP applications they work fine, though. For Rails, which I have some of, it is not very good.

We should all pitch in for a dedicated box for our little pet projects. ;)
I happen to be a big support of DH. Never had issues with their customer service. They provide a lot of information on issues they have, which is more then I could say about any of the previous hosts I've had. Um, and if you want to find out about dreamhost look at my signature....

[Antmeister]

I have dreamhost, and you'll get mixed reviews of them. They're very good for a lot of storage at a super low price, but not the 100% best in customer service. For simple PHP applications they work fine, though. For Rails, which I have some of, it is not very good.

We should all pitch in for a dedicated box for our little pet projects. ;)

I happen to be a big support of DH. Never had issues with their customer service. They provide a lot of information on issues they have, which is more then I could say about any of the previous hosts I've had. Um, and if you want to find out about dreamhost look at my signature....

Dreamhost is one I am seriously considering since they support streaming media, which is what I was originally going to use the site for.

MediaTemple is another one, but I don't think I want to pay $20 a month for something that I am not planning to earn any money from.

1 & 1 is another one I have considered, but that is only because of some positive reviews from people I know. I haven't personally looked into any reviews online at the moment.

Lunarpages used to be in consideration, but it looks like they went downhill over the years as well. Ugh.

[oliegirl]

We should all pitch in for a dedicated box for our little pet projects.

I'd be willing to kick in a little cash for this cause...how much would it be per person?

[lordscarlet]

I happen to be a big support of DH. Never had issues with their customer service. They provide a lot of information on issues they have, which is more then I could say about any of the previous hosts I've had. Um, and if you want to find out about dreamhost look at my signature....

Well, maybe I should have said server stability. Rails just doesn't work well on dh. PHP seems to be rather flawless, though. And you won't find a better price anywhere. Anyone in WOOF can tell what issues do and don't exist (other than a slacker web developer).

I'd be willing to kick in a little cash for this cause...how much would it be per person?

Depends on the level of server and number of people.

[DanGarion]

Dreamhost is one I am seriously considering since they support streaming media, which is what I was originally going to use the site for.

MediaTemple is another one, but I don't think I want to pay $20 a month for something that I am not planning to earn any money from.

1 & 1 is another one I have considered, but that is only because of some positive reviews from people I know. I haven't personally looked into any reviews online at the moment.

Lunarpages used to be in consideration, but it looks like they went downhill over the years as well. Ugh.
I had a 1&1 account for about 3 years, when they first launched in the US. I was never really that impressed, their webpanel seemed a bit clunky. But that may have been because I was used to the webpanel from another host Hostroute. I really liked Hostroute but they just didn't have the response time I expected and they used an outdated ticketing system IMO.

Dreamhost has had it's quirks, namely some power outages caused by a 3rd party, some network issues, people thinking they oversell, but every time they run across a problem I see a honest explanation of the problem and a response on what they have done to try and prevent it from happening again.

Their support staff is nice, and they are a somewhat local business to me here in Southern California, I think they are in Brea, CA.

[Antmeister]

I had a 1&1 account for about 3 years, when they first launched in the US. I was never really that impressed, their webpanel seemed a bit clunky. But that may have been because I was used to the webpanel from another host Hostroute. I really liked Hostroute but they just didn't have the response time I expected and they used an outdated ticketing system IMO.

Dreamhost has had it's quirks, namely some power outages caused by a 3rd party, some network issues, people thinking they oversell, but every time they run across a problem I see a honest explanation of the problem and a response on what they have done to try and prevent it from happening again.

Their support staff is nice, and they are a somewhat local business to me here in Southern California, I think they are in Brea, CA.

And thanks for the honest review as well. That's all I want in most cases. I can understand that thinks can't go flawless 100% of the time and as long as I know things are being worked on, I am fine.

The tech specialist I was talking too tried to at first say that most of it may be happening on my end, until I told him that many others are experiencing the same problem. Then he supposedly logged in and said everything was working fine, until I asked him what screen he was looking at and to describe the logo and somehow he couldn't answer that question. "Oops, I guess I am on the wrong screen"

Then he tried to tell me that it has probably to do with bandwith and that I had a very popular site going, which is really a bunch of crap. I barely use a 5% of my bandwith a month and I started reading him the reports off the site and asked him what the hell he was talking about.

Eventually he tried to sell me on a dedicated server since, supposedly, the site wasn't supposed to handle Flash files effectively. Bunch of crap. I had been using them for years and all of the sudden it stops working and why in the hell would I need my own server for a personal site.

[Antmeister]

I'd be willing to kick in a little cash for this cause...how much would it be per person?

Thank you for the offer, but we should be okay. We had planned on starting another site anyway for the family (we had the name secured for over a year now). So this is a good opportunity to do so.

[DanGarion]

Thank you for the offer, but we should be okay. We had planned on starting another site anyway for the family (we had the name secured for over a year now). So this is a good opportunity to do so.

If you have any questions about DH, I'm sure LS and I can answer them.

I run all my sites with them.

http://www.dangarion.com
http://www.kellyanddaniel.org
http://www.theprc.com
http://www.prcnetworks.com
http://www.ggpossums.com
http://www.letsgododgers.com - nothing really there just a test site
http://www.boysandgirlsclubofstanton.com
http://www.happypetgrooming.com
http://www.rwbl.net

fun fun.

[DanGarion]

If you'd like to check out their service I can make you a panel login to test it out.

[Antmeister]

If you have any questions about DH, I'm sure LS and I can answer them.

I run all my sites with them.

http://www.dangarion.com
http://www.kellyanddaniel.org
http://www.theprc.com
http://www.prcnetworks.com
http://www.ggpossums.com
http://www.letsgododgers.com - nothing really there just a test site
http://www.boysandgirlsclubofstanton.com
http://www.happypetgrooming.com
http://www.rwbl.net

fun fun.

Geez. I guess you like their service.

[Antmeister]

If you'd like to check out their service I can make you a panel login to test it out.


Ok...you sold me. I am gonna give it a try. No need to do the panel test, but thanks for offering.

[Antmeister]

Alright, everything has moved to a new server. Everything seems to be running more smoothly. The directions have been changed in the first post to reflect this.

[wade moore]

Quick question - I take it there's no option that would allow us to do vertically composed pictures more justice?

[Antmeister]

Quick question - I take it there's no option that would allow us to do vertically composed pictures more justice?

There is an option, if you don't mind more black bars. I could make a 600 x 600 box where the picture displays and the size and quality will look the same for both.

[wade moore]

There is an option, if you don't mind more black bars. I could make a 600 x 600 box where the picture displays and the size and quality will look the same for both.
I'd love to hear what others think... but I feel like it hurts the quality of those images to be shrunk personally...

[Antmeister]

I'd love to hear what others think... but I feel like it hurts the quality of those images to be shrunk personally...

Actually it makes perfect sense and I just made the changes.

[Lorena]

If you haven't logged in, updated your email address, or uploaded a photo, go here: http://www.maverickmarks.com/abcphoto and do so before it goes live so as to avoid any issues when this starts on Sunday.

Thanks.

[oliegirl]

I just logged in to change my email address, I'm getting this error message...

Warning: main(languages/.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/.skosh/almarksc/maverickmarks.com/abcphoto/login.php on line 531

[DanGarion]

I just logged in to change my email address, I'm getting this error message...

""

[Lorena]

I just logged in to change my email address, I'm getting this error message...

""

Cool, thanks for letting us know. Antmeister fixed it so try it when you get a chance.

[oliegirl]

Just tried again and it worked, said I'd get a confirmation message in my email...Thanks! :)

[Lorena]

Final bump

[CamEdwards]

is it too late to take part in this? I would LOVE to do this if possible.

I'm kicking myself for not reading this thread before now!

[Lorena]

is it too late to take part in this? I would LOVE to do this if possible.

I'm kicking myself for not reading this thread before now!

Not at all and thanks for the interest :)

Go to this thread for more info and registration info: http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=60393

Let us know if there are any issues.

[CamEdwards]

Thanks Dodgerchick... I'm registered. :)

[sterlingice]

I tried to register just now and it worked. However, I'll sit this week out if it's too late.

SI

[PadresFan104]

Team - so now what? Will there be another thread for Week 1? I have a picture that I took this week for A that I would love to get some feedback on.

[Antmeister]

I tried to register just now and it worked. However, I'll sit this week out if it's too late.

SI

Nope. Just started today and it lasts until Wednesday (midnight) for uploading.

[Lorena]

Team - so now what? Will there be another thread for Week 1? I have a picture that I took this week for A that I would love to get some feedback on.

There is PadresFan, go here: http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=60564