I often find myself working late on the computer and having recently discovered a podcast series from the esteemed photographers, Peter Cox, Neil McShane and Roger Overall, I find it interesting to listen to while I work. Check out their podcasts on the following link: Circleofconfusion.ie

I came across this news item on the BBC recently and I still can't believe it. Check it out and remember I welcome comments:

One lucky person who likes our Sheldon Photographic page and puts a comment on this post will win a FREE Nikon L23 compact digital camera. We will even throw in a 4gb card and a Nikon case for good measure. Entry is restricted to postal addresses in Ireland and the closing date is midnight on the 26th of November with the draw taking place on the 30th of November, just in time for Christmas. Only one entry per person. Click here to enter on our Facebook page

Having been convinced for quite a while now of the benifits of Facebook I have decided to go with a facebook page for the company. I know that it all about getting members or likes on the site so to try and get this up and running as soon as possible we will be holding a draw for a Nikon Compact Camera  in about two weeks time. To enter all you have to do is "Like" our facebook page. Click here and make sure you like the page:

As Steve Jobs passed away earlier this week and news reports show how this iconic man shaped the history of the World in the computer age one has to ask will we ever see his like again. A visionary who saw the potential of the computer and probably more importantly the need for a mouse and an icon based sofware system. I still remember an early Mac advertisment which stated "Windows 95-Mac 85" when Windows adapted to an operating system similar to the Macintosh. Getting fired from Apple did not stop him but made him more determined to suceed with another great company Pixar Animation. Pixar a pioneering company with computer generated images gave us Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Cars and a host of other famous pictures. Having parted on such bad terms with Apple, Steve was man enough to accept a position back at Apple in 1996 and brought us the I-Mac, I-Pod, I-Phone and lately the I-Pad all under his leadership. Check out this speech that he made at Stanford University in 2005 by clicking on the icon below.

Going back to the Swords Photographic Group this evening having being involved in it about 10 years ago. Tonight it is to judge their summer competition and while I'm looking forward to it I'm also nervous as hell.
Wish me luck!

Yesterday was Bastille Day, the national day for France and we had our own open day to celebrate our stocking of a new brand of paper, Canson, which is made in France.
We had on hand the esteemed photographer, Brian Hopper, to show us his wonderful work that has gained him notoriety around the world. Brian also exhibited prints that had won him many medals in many international salons and had some examples of single images printed on variety of different fine art papers. The subtle difference in the results had many of the guests debating their favourite papers and perhaps the French wine that we had on hand encouraged a little too much debate.
I had initially intended to have Blue, White and Red bunting in the colours of the French flag decorating our offices outside but after it was suggested that it could be misinterpreted as having a connection to the 12th celebrations in Northern Ireland we thought perhaps to curtail it slightly.
Sad in a way as the RNLI who's offices are across from us had agreed in principle to lend us the bunting but equally sad is the way that a post that I put up on the Photo Ireland Festival facebook page outlining our event was removed without the courtesy of an email or phone call explaining why. At the end of May we had contacted them outlining the "Free" seminar and talk but never heard back from them but even still I went ahead with the promoting of their event on my blogg section here. In fact I go so far as to say that the Photo Ireland Festival should be renamed the Photo Dublin Festival exclusive to a minority of networked individuals based in the city. The greater trade population was never contacted and hardly any events are held outside of Dublin, as far as I can see. Brian Hopper is also a member of the Dundalk Photographic Society, the same club that won the best photographic club in the world from the World Photographic Federation, and to my knowledge no contact was made to them from the Photo Ireland Festival committee. 

Politics......still the people that turned up at our free event were treated to a fantastic and open talk by by Brian, saw a presentation on colour management which explained in a simplistic way how important this is to have correct and went away happy with some good deals.

Ireland in July looks like an interesting place for photographers. Check out the Photo Ireland Festival for exhibitions, workshops talks and all things photographic. Check out what's on and where by ckicking on this link. Photoireland

Well it seemed to go well at the Podge Kelly workshop last night and yesterday afternoon at our offices. With over 20 people in attendance Nik Software was firmly launched in Ireland. Podge's workshop outlined the benifits of this great software package, or should I say packages and his use of it certainly transformed the images that he worked on. Check out Nik Software for yourself  here and remember it is available at Sheldon Photographic.

For those that don't know our premises are within sight of Dublin Airport and about five minutes ago while downloading some pictures from my camera and listening to the radio I realised that Air Force One was about to land. I pointed the
camera out the window and managed to get this picture in the dark wet skies over Dublin.

An interesting workshop on in the Red Cow Hotel and organised by Podge Kelly is on this weekend. Ken Sklute from America is giving a one day workshop and by all accounts this is one that is not to be missed. Check out Ken's website here http://www.kensklute.com and give Podge a call to book a space at 087 2212354, €40 if you pre-book or €50 on the day. Tell him Sheldon sent you!

Datacolor, the colour calibration professionals have put together a series of Webinar events to help you understand the theory and practice behind the products that they sell and how they work. The next event is on the 19/4/11 and is on Lens Calibration so be sure to check out this link for more information.

I got quite a shock when I discovered that I had been caught speeding. Check out this site and enter your reg here to see if the new vans have got you. Works for Ireland and the UK

A iconic photograph that most people my age and I remember as teenager has finally had the model's identity released. For some reason I expected that she would still look the same but I guess 35 years is quite a long time and you never did see her face in the original shot. The photograph graced cards, calendars and posters for the Athena company and over 2 million copies were sold. It turns out that the model in question, Fiona Walker never did get any payment for the shot.

Now that's what I call a bum deal.

I can't imagine what an earthquake of 8.9 feels like and the devastation that it will cause. The following tsunami that has followed is equally frightning. My thoughts and prayers to all that are caught up in it especially those at sea waiting for the wave to hit their ships and boats.Live coverage here

I do not propose to go into details here but many of you know what happened to me this week. As I expected I did not think I would be able to make Focus on Imaging in Birmingham and how right I was. Thanks to all who showed support.
Sheldon.

9.00am meeting with one of the Dragon's, Gavin Duffy from the TV program "Dragons Den". This was an event hosted by the Fingal Independent newspaper and held in the Carnegie Court Hotel in Swords to highlight and show the benefits of advertising and the various pit falls associated with it. It turned out to be very low key and targeted event with about five or six attendants and about the same number of Fingal Independent representatives. A Dragon's lair if you like! From his part Gavin (as I like to call him now) spoke honest sense and outlined the requirements to advertise more in a recession. I certainly have been guilty of breaking some of the golden rules in previous advertising campaigns and I hope that going forward my advertising will be more focussed.
However next came the hard sell. Your signatures been required on paper that day to secure the ultra special rates for a years advertising with the paper. You have to sign here so that I can ring you on Friday to discuss this further.......WHY!
Now I know there is no such thing as a free lunch (and there wasn't one anyway) but If you want my business sell the idea to me gently and don't put me on the spot to make an instant decision as I will always say no. That's been the case since the 80's when I joined Amway (multi level marketing company) and my the look on my Mother's and Father's face when I told them said enough. In this recession I will now always take time out before making decisions and at the investment that they were looking at, it will need more than four days thoughts!

Did you lose a film in New York? Check out this you tube video Here.

If you're a Flickr user then be prepared to see your images pop up where you least expect them! I remember seeing this software product launch about 2 years ago but would you believe it was first shown in 2006! Check out what can happen to your images it you don't read the terms and conditions when joining and using social media sites. If you thought "Google Street View" was cool then check out Photosynth and Seadragon here. As I write the Flickr home page tells me that it has had 3,053 uploads in the last minute , 160,129 things tagged with morning and 3.9 million geotagged this month things . I'm sure you will agree that that is a lot of images. I wonder where they buy their hard drives?

I spotted this interesting feature on making money from your photographs on the BBC. Some of the new technology in compacts is demonstrated and a discussion where the lines between amateur photography and professional photography are being crossed. Check it out here.

Some of you know that I am into motorbikes and yesterday I stumbled upon this padlock alarm. Now I already have a disc alarm but  thought this would make a good addition to my shed door or, and my reason for posting, for locking around a camera bag when stored in the boot of a car. It went on sale in Aldi stores countrywide on the 23rd of January so if you are reading this way in the future you are waaaay too late. €9.99  and it works.

The guest speaker at the Malahide Camera Club last night was one of Irelands best known photographers, John Hooton. From Mallow in Cork, John showed a huge selection of his images taken on both Velvia slide film and a Nikon D3.

A landscape photographer, John's work was amazing and his latest images exude an almost ghostly feel with ultra low shutter speed seashore images. John bought all his scanning and printing equipment from me (Epson v750 and Epson 3800) about 2 years ago and even though I spent a day in his house installing them, he was taken by surprise when I introduced myself and initially failed to recognise me. Too much Christmas pudding and Chinese meals I fear although John explained it by seeing me out of context and not as a salesman. What ever the reason it did not detract from John's quality talk and superbly printed images and I strongly suggest that you attend any seminar you can with this talented photographer and gently spoken man as the whole evening was a vision of a relaxing landscape imagery combined with real life quips surrounding each picture. Check out John's website or get your name down for one of his workshops in Dingle.

I stumbled on this video of a previously unknown photographer, Vivian Maiers. A Chicago based collector, John Maloof bought a box of negatives for 400$ that could be worth over 30K$. He has since bought several other boxes of her processed and un-processed negatives. I find it interesting that he is scanning all the images on an Epson V750 scanner and what looks like an Epson 2880, both of which we sell. Follow this link for more information.

Opened my post this morning and got my ticket for "Focus on Imaging". Now that's early! Normally I get it around the middle of February and the show starts the end of it. This year it does not start till the 6th of March and runs till the 9th. If you have not been before it is a good show to go to as it is based in the NEC in Birmingham and is right beside the Birmingham Airport. Just fly in on a cheap ticket and walk to the show but before you buy anything give the suppliers back home in Ireland a call. I don't know how many times I have met a customer in the airport on the way back who bought what they thought was a bargain only to discover that we or our competitors sell a similar or better product at much the same price back home. Support our own and all that, and give me a call if you are going and maybe we can meet for a coffee.

Well Christmas and the New Year are now passed and I trust that most of you made the most out of the Holidays to replenish the batteries and all that. From what I hear it seems that a lot of Families got a little extra for Christmas in the form of Flu/Swine Flu (A pig of a Flu) although so far our house has escaped. We did get the kids vaccinated last year for it so perhaps that has paid off. For anybody who was affected may I wish you and yours a speedy recovery.
A New Year is always a good time to review one's business model and we are no exception. Having been dealing with one supplier for over 13 years we both decided that it was time for them to get to know what we do. It brought to light some services that could be implemented that would in fact make life a lot easier for us but it also made me realise how hard other suppliers work with frequent visits, product launches and incentives which our long term supplier has long since forgotten about. In fact on "mature reflection" I realise that sometimes our business has been taken for granted and in some instances barriers have been placed with us that have stifled our growth. In these hard economic times I suggest that we all re-evaluate where we stand and who is deserving of your business for 2011.
To that end I personally intend to get out and about more to renew business acquaintances with my long-term customers which I had in the past and who's business continues without much contact from either party. In the past I found that this approach enhanced my product knowledge, enabled me to pass on tips for workflow etc, and gave me many an introduction to new customers via a referral. Referral business is probably the best way to grow any business and just because we now have an online website it should not be forgotten about. Give me a call if you want to set up a meeting on 087-2572688.

Happy New Year

You should try this out for your children. Mine loved it. Click here for the message my son got "Thomas Message" or click here to get your own.
You can also track Santa here.

Well it took 4 days to get an Epson 9900 from Ballymount to the centre of Dublin with all the bad weather and such like but it finally made it.
Like everybody else, I got caught in a "Ground Hog Day" senario when I would clear away the snow and then have it build up again in minutes later. There seems to be no let up in it at all and yesterday I tried to make a purchase in a shop using a credit card and I had to wait over 5 minutes for the machine to get through such was the demand in last minute shopping on the payment system. No doubt the last few days have been bumper days for retailers with panic buying, but I am sure that they won't make up for the weeks lost in the run up to Christmas. Our online "Downloadable Gift Voucher" had some success but nothing like what it could have been if I had plugged it better. Still there is always the winter season next year!

Merry Christmas eveyone and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Sheldon.

I woke up this morning and it is -7C with snow everywhere. I have to intsall an Epson 9900 today and I have no idea if it shipped out and if it did will it get to the customer. More stress before Christmas.

At least we're selling equipment.

It goes like this...
Mobile phone rings and I hear that dreaded voice telling me of an alarm activation at Sheldon Photographic. Now as this alarm does not give false activations I race over to see what has caused it and when I arrive I notice the lights on upstairs and then to my horror the front door is missing, gone, shattered into a million pieces. I know the Gardai have been alerted but I stuggle to get my phone to dial the Swords Gardai as I feel the culprits might still be on the property and to tell them to get here quick. Number engaged, I try again and the same, over and over again. The alarm stops for a moment and suddenly erupts into action again as if it has just been triggered again. Alone in the dark with the possibility that I have foiled the robbery my wife rings to tell me that the alarm has gone off. Stress, stress and more stress, my heart beating like a machine gun when my wife yells down the phone...."don't go in, think of me and the kids".

Standing alone in the dark waiting for somebody to arrive my sister Hillary's boyfriend Martin arrives. How the hell did he know and how did he get here so fast. He's on the phone when suddenly my other sister Gillian arrives but still no Gardai. I arm myself with a piece of 4x1 timber and enter the building. As I move through the rooms I hear something behind me......It's Martin telling me to be carefull. I note again that he is behind me (Chicken) so what ever I come across is going to get me first. I check the obvious hiding places like toilets etc but nothing, nothing but broken glass and doors and a smashed up heater that was used as a battering ram to break one of those wire re-enforced windows. A discarded cash box lies strewn across the floor like a picture from the artifacts of the Titanic lying on the sea floor.

A screech of tyres marks the arrival of two unmarked Police cars who emerge as if  a murder has just been committed. Questions everywhere but I'm in shock. We check through the premises and find that apart from the damage the only things missing is a selection of Tokina lenses that were in a display cabinet. The gardai were confused by the names of Airside Enterprise Business Centre and Airside Enterprise Business Park which are about 1/2 a mile apart., Stupid to have such similar names.

It's -4 Centigrade outside and it's beginning to drop inside as well when I check on the internet for a 24 hour glazier and contact a Joe Doyle who arranges from "Insuranceworks.ie" to secure the premises for the night. About an hour later they arrive and fit a temporary sheet of plywood to the door to keep visitors and cold away.

What a night, but whoever the culprits are the serial numbers of the lenses will be circulated and although the stickers can be removed the numbers can be found elswhere.

If anybody else feels like breaking in please note that we do not keep stocks on the premises save a few display items and most sales are credit cards so no cash either. The monitored alarm also rings 6 different numbers and the Gardai now know where we are. Believe me when I say it is not worth risking a meeting with me with my blood boiling as it was last night as I certainly was not in control as my wife noted on her phonecall. As they say in America.....have a nice day.

I'm coming to the end of an E-Shot that I put together over last weekend and quite frankly I'm amazed at the response. Loads of sales from people ringing up having seen the E-Shot but very little direct sales from the site.

I have had this feature on our website for quite a while but I have never had the courage to go live with it. Until today.
And the reason I choose to go live is to do with the help that I got from a fellow blogger with a problem that I had with Adobe Photoshop. A few years back our CS2 froze when opening or closing a file and after speaking to Adobe nothing could get it back except an upgrade to CS3. Well the same thing happened for the last 2 days and I found the answer on a blog. Removed a rogue CDR from the drive of the mac and hey presto it worked. Put the disk in again and CS froze again. I never heard of anything like it before and hope I don't in the future.