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Cowboy Boots (Exhibition Crop), originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

Flickr’s a funny place. This is another version of a picture I originally posted about 6 months ago (you can see the original here. This version is a slightly different crop and has had a bit of work done in Photoshop to tidy it up for exhibition but it’s pretty darn close to the first one. Why, then, has this had almost as many views in 1 day as the previous version has had in the 6 months it’s been there? On top of that, 8 times as many people have already marked this as a favourite compared to the original.

According to Flickr Scout, this was the 40th most interesting picture on the site yesterday (though not today) so I guess I should be pretty chuffed given that people upload somewhere in the region of 5000 images per minute.

When I started using Lightroom, I finally switched over to a RAW-only workflow. I had previously left the cameras set to RAW+JPEG which gave me twice as many files but, with Lightroom stacking the two and showing me thumbnails of all the RAWs, it didn’t seem that the JPEGs were actually doing much more than taking up disk space. I did, however, have one annoying problem – Windows XP would not show me thumbnails of my NEF, CR2 and DNG files which made it rather difficult to open the files in, for example Photomatix since I didn’t have any idea what was in them without running Lightroom first.

After a couple of frustrating months, however, I finally found the answer to the problem in the shape of ArcSoft RAW Thumbnail Viewer. With this free extension, all my RAW files can once more be viewed as thumbnails in Windows Explorer! It even supports the D90 NEF files so I have to assume it’s pretty up to date.

I took part in Jim Goldstein’s “Best Photos from 2008″ project this year. He’s just posted the results so here are the 93 photographers who shared their favourite photographs of the past year. I encourage you to take a look at these as you have time – there’s some fabulous work in there!

1. “My Top 10 Favorite Photos of 2008” – Jim M. Goldstein
2. My Favorite Shots of the Year – View from the Little Red Tent by Edie Howe
3. 2008 Favorites – Photine by Laurie Ballesteros
4. My Nephew – Amit Goyal
   My nephew woke me up in the morning and was in a very chirpy mode when this was clicked
5. Another world (+Vorher/Nachher) – Visuelle Gedanken by Martin Wolf
   
6. Boy, Hanoi – The Sun Shines & The Igloo Melts by Jon Gresham
7. Best Photos from 2008 – Abraham Neben
8. Apocalyptic Capitalism – Sultana Sandwich by James Hill
9. Top 10 Photos of 2008, My first year in Wisconsin – Sierra Visions by Steven Bourelle
10. My Best Photos: 2008 – Shutter Photo by D Travis North
    This past year was a huge growth year for my digital photography skills which I feel is exhibited quite nicely in my photo favorites of 2008.
11. Best Photos From 2008 – G Dan Mitchell Photography
12. Protesting Prop 8 - Quan Photography by John Quan
13. Bir y?l böyle geçti… – Caglar.ca by Caglar Tukel
    Most of Photos taken during our traveling around Turkey and hiking around our hometown, Izmir.
14. My best shots of 2008 – Jonesblog by Bryan WIlliam Jones
15. Flamingo and Desert Landscape – pl?dys’s photoblog by Mike Reys
    Both pictures are from one of the most beautiful places on earth: Chile’s Atacama desert. The salt lakes there provide for some stunning colours and beautiful wildlife.
16. Suspended – Mark Groves Photography
17. My Favorite 10 Images from 2008 – IM Digital by Ivan Makarov
18. My Best Photo of 2008 – Matt Ward Photography
    This photo was taken in Oct at 7am after a cold night in Atlanta, GA.
19. Highlights of 2008 – Lori Jackson Photography
    In 2008, I picked up my camera again after a year long hiatus following pregnancy and my son’s birth.
20. Favorites from 2008 – Adventures Through The Lens by Rebecca Jackrel
21. Top Ten Photos of 2008 – Chris Moore Photography
22. My Photo Record – Kriz Cpec Photo Blog
23. Best of 2008 – Catavino by Ryan Opaz
24. Looking Forward and Back – Graf Nature Photography by Mark Graf
25. Lloyd’s Favorites of 2008 – L.D. Cross
26. My Favorite Photos from 2008 – Epic Edits by Brian Auer
    A selection of my favorite photos from 2008, broken down by each month and supplemented with a few thoughts.
27. Derryclare Lough – Focus Pocus by Albert MacSweeny
    My best photo of the year was when I was lucky enough to get a still lake in the usually turbulent west of Ireland
28. Best of 2008 – News and Views by Dave Wilson
29. Needle – Andel’s Photoblog by Andel Früh
    This photo has been shot with the kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) in retro position (front lens to the camera)
30. Year in Pictures – Marcin Retecki
31. 2008 Top Ten – Lois Elling
32. My Best Photos of 2008 – Out of My Mind by Steven L. Mullen
    These are travel and nature shots taken in Michigan, China, and locally.
33. One from 2008 – Hockley Photography by Aaron Hockley
    It’s a photo taken at night, looking across a bridge towards another photographer also taking a picture of the same ferris wheel as I was.
34. 2008 in Pictures – Sawlani Photography by Hitesh Sawlani
35. My Top 10 Photos for 2008 – by Neil Creek Photography
36. Best of 2008 – The Quiet Picture by Minna Kinnunen
    My 10 favourites from 2008, everything from flower closeups to landscapes and starry nights!
37. Best of 2008 – by Stig Nygaard
    Just a quick little mixed selection of what I consider my best photos from 2008
38. My Top Ten Photos from 2008 – Korn on the Blog by Justin Korn
    Of the 1,800+ images I uploaded to Flickr this year, these are what I thought were my top 10.
39. Blog Project: “your Best Photos from 2008″ – Jim’s Photography by Jim Wheeler
40. My Best Photos from 2008 – TrevorCarpenter.com by Trevor Carpenter
41. Best Photos of 2008 – by Dave Reichert
42. 2008 Favorites – by Beth Madison
43. 01/01/2009 Best of 2008 – Brad Barton Photography
44. 2008: My Favorite Photos – My Digital Life by Jeremy Brooks
45. 2008: The year in photographs – Katie the Scrapbook Lady by Katie
46. Gotham. Or maybe London – SFT Photography by Steve Thomas
    I love the dark and moody feel, combined with the futuristic look of the building. I really enjoyed shooting it!
47. My Best Photos of 2008 – Malphoto.com by Andre Maltais
    I’m particularly proud of these submissions this year, as it seems I’ve made some great strides in my photography from the beginning of the year.
48. Best of 2008 Project – Photos From The Top Floor by Carsten Fischer
49. La Arcada seating on a rare rainy October morning – gZphotoGraph
50. Jaguar – by Jarrod Erbe Photography
    This jaguar image was taken at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The background was generated using a combination of Aperture, Photoshop Elements, and DFT Light.
51. Best of 2008? – Suzy Walker, Underwater Photoblog
    My top ten fav travel, underwater and macro photos taken in 2008
52. My best shots of 2008 – TemujinPhoto Blog by João Almeida
53. Best of 2008 – by Rick Goldwasser
54. My Top 10 Images of 2008 – The Jim Stamates Collection by Jim Stamates
55. #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 – Mannedspace: Photographs by MT Fanders
56. Best 10 of 2008 – by Duffy Knox
57. Future Christmas Card – by Massimo Belloni
58. Best Photos of 2008 – MIZSPONTANEITY: A Girl With A Camera by Elaine
    I got a Nikon D40X for Christmas 2007, and although some of these photos were with my trusty Sony W70 point-and-shoot, these are my favorite 10 results of my first year with a digital SLR.
59. Best of 2008 – Changing Perspectives by Jenni Brehm
60. My Best of 2008 – by Eliya Selhub
    In 2008, I have found myself increasingly drawn to animals as subjects, and a slight cartoonish absurdity always appeals to me.
61. My Best Photos From 2008 – Lilahpops – Plunging into Photography by Anthea Brown
    Looking back over my photos for the past year shows my increasing interest in post-processing experimentation alongside my favourite macro format.
62. My top 10 favorite photos of 2008 – The Taeleman’s Blog by Kris Taeleman
63. My Favorite Photos of 2008 – Coulter Photos by Scott Coulter
64. Favorites of 2008 – XGray Vision by Stephen Gray
65. My Top 10 Favorite Images of 2008 – Cornforth Images by Jon Cornforth
    Spectacular nature and wildlife photography, photos, and pictures by award winning professional photographer Jon Cornforth.
66. Sitting Backwards on My Horse – latoga photography By Greg Lato
67. Top ten images of 2008 – Enlightened Images by Gary Crabbe
    These are some of the image I took in 2008, and which rose toward the top of the – I Like – pile.
68. Best 10 photos of 2008 – Have Camera Will Travel by Paul Dymond
    Images from professional Australian travel photographer Paul Dymond which ironically were all taken pretty close to home.
69. Best of 2008 – Heidi Donat
70. Best Photos of 2008 – by Luca Filigheddu Photography
71. Favourites of 2008 – by Chris Brown
72. Best of 2008 – by William Kahn
73. Pics of the pops 2008 – fotoVoyager by William Fawcett
74. My Top 10 Photos of 2008 – Always Breaking by Gary Hegenbart
75. Best of 2008 – by Trevin Chow
    This is a set of my best photos that I took during 2008 which is a combination of Flickr’s “interestingness” meter and my own selection.
76. Best of 2008 – Hotel Yankee Foxtrot by Alex McGeagh
    A collection of the better images captured in a progressive and productive year for me.
77. Top 10 Photos of 2008 – Digital Kloc Photography Blog by Brian Kloc
78. Burrard-Lucas Top Ten Photographs of 2008 – Burrard-Lucas Photography by William Burrard-Lucas
    We are brothers from the UK with a shared passion for wildlife photography – in 2008 we followed Meerkats in the Kalahari, stalked Jaguars in the wetlands of Brazil and waded through swamps at night to photograph Caimans…
79. My best 10+3 pictures of 2008 – All Day I Dream About Photography by Antoine Khater
80. Best of 2008 on Highway 89 – Ann Torrence Photography
    Transecting the west from Mexico to Canada on US89.
81. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance – by Dave Fitch
    A railway bridge in Leith [Edinburgh] that was restored and then left to rot. It’s not perfectly symmetrical, but then neither is the bridge
82. My Top 10 Photographys of 2008 – Nuwomb Bits by Scott Webb
83. Best of 2008 – Matt Sallee Photography
84. My 10 best photos of 2008 – Stephen Trainor Photography
    Mostly landscapes, mostly of the Southwest, but with a hint of other anglophone countries.
85. 10 in 2008 – k|d loftis photography
    My favorite images from 2008 which include weddings, maternity and newborns, families and babies and a few personal images from the year.
86. My 10 Favorite Images of 2008 – Della Huff Photography
    My ten favorites from 2008 include California landscapes and cityscapes, with a couple of extra goodies thrown in for fun!
87. Best Photos of 2008 – by Dave Schumaker
88. Best of 2008 – by Jay Goodrich Photography
89. My best photos from 2008 – All Narfed Up by Bryan Villarin
    Choosing my best photos from 2008 was really hard to narrow down, especially since it was my first year with a SLR camera.
90. Mein Flickr Photostream 2008 – Best of – by Stefan Neuweger
91. My Best Photos from 2008 – Why Yet Another Photo Place by Rafa
92. Best Photos from 2008 – by Daria Sukhanovska
    Only until i created this set of 13 photos, i realized how much progress i have done this year: I have traveled a lot, got one photo printed in the magazine and had my first own personal exhibition in the university library and simply had fun with my photos
93. My Best of 2008 – by Phil Price Photography

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Barn at Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

Continuing the theme of photos taken a couple of weeks ago at the LBJ Ranch, this image is a 6 exposure HDR of the inside of the large barn on the Sauer-Beckmann farm. I enjoy HDR as a method of accentuating texture especially in wood and masonry so this offered a very suitable subject.

This farm and the LBJ Ranch in general is an absolutely fascinating place to visit and I would encourage anyone visiting central Texas to make the trip out to Johnson City to have a look.

While there have been quite a few excellent examples of video productions put together using the Canon 5D MkII, I had not come across anything similar for the Nikon D90 until today. There are quite a few test videos but David Bergman’s two and a half minute “video portrait” of Perry, a homeless pianist, is a wonderful example of what can be done with the camera.

The guys at the Onion have come up with another scream in this “news” item about a new, easy to use Mac Laptop which has no keyboard. Money quotes are “with the MacBook wheel, everything is only a few hundred clicks away” and “virtually unbreakable unless dropped or hit.”

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1915 Farmer, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

I’m still working through last Saturday’s LBJ Ranch pictures and just produced this one. It’s rather similar to Smokey Smithy which I posted a couple of days ago with the obvious difference being that it has a figure right at the centre of interest. To my mind, this really makes the picture.

As in the last picture, I’ve processed this as a high contrast, almost monochrome image to accentuate the light and woodgrain textures. It’s not as dark as the previous one, though, giving it more of a “pencil drawing” feel.

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Feed Mill, Johnson City, TX, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

Although we spent most of the day at the LBJ Ranch last Saturday, we stopped in Johnson City for lunch and spent some time wandering around the old feed mill. There are a few businesses in the complex but, as far as I can see, the area is pretty run down. Behind the mill itself is a collection of old cabins, all or most abandoned now. I enjoyed the feeling of decay, however, and got some good HDR pictures. This is my favourite of the ones I’ve processed so far. The colours and rust patterns on the silos along with the grain of the wood on the cabin and the play of shadows from the trees on the right create a very interesting collection of textures.

I was very chuffed to receive an email this evening letting me know that my submission for the upcoming Watson Studio Gallery exhibition Menage a Trois has been accepted. The set I submitted contained some of my Wild West Store images from last summer. You can see all the accepted entries here.

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Smokey Smithy, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

This is another image taken at LBJ Ranch last weekend (the barn in the previous posting is the building in the background). The smithy furnace was not lit when we arrived but, as we were leaving the farmer/guide lit it and we had to stop and take a few shots of the light shining through the smoke.

I wanted to accentuate the light rays so processed this as an almost-monochrome image. The only thing missing is someone standing in the window. The farmer came over and posed for us a few minutes later so perhaps there is the possibility of making this happen via the wonders of Photoshop sometime later?