If you're one of the lucky ones who've discovered the value of using Action Scripts (to digitally watermark lots of photos, of course) and your software of choice is Adobe Elements, you should read Erin's blog at Texas Chicks.

It seems that purchasers of Adobe Elements 9 on the Mac App Store are NOT allowed to install action scripts through the Effects Palette.

Be sure to read Erin's blog (she's an Action Scripting Goddess for those using Elements). Just incase you're lazy... the solution is (a spoiler alert?); buy direct from Adobe or Amazon to avoid this issue.

Thanks again to the Texas Chicks!

With the launch of Digimarc Discover, Digimarc now has two watermarking products for commercial use. While both are based on the same core technology, they address different customer requirements.

A high level way to describe the difference: Digimarc for Images is for digitally watermarking images that will always be digital (usually on the Internet) and Digimarc Discover is for images that will be printed. Now why do you need either of those services for your images?

There’s a lot of buzz in marketing and advertising these days about smartphone users interacting with advertiser’s "content," especially from a printed ad and connecting to the web in some fashion. Content can be almost anything; making a purchase, watching a video, providing commentary (twitter, Like), playing games, entering contests, and almost anything else to get your attention. They want "stickiness"... i.e. you stuck in their content for a long time. And if you click "recommend to a friend" it's the cherry on top!

A load of this buzz is reminiscent of Web 1.0 (aka Internet bubble) when companies had some awesome mission statements and paradigms flowered on the streets south of Market in San Francisco.

I try a lot of these smartphone apps that read "connected" print like QRcodes, barcodes, TAGS and of course Digimarc Discover for reading digitally watermarked images. These apps can easily read the technology they are designed for, some can read other technologies as well and all direct you to the "payoff."

It's these payoffs, this sticky content, that's bugging me because most is so poorly done. I could go on and on about bad payoffs, but I'd like to complete this post today. Let's chat about two pet peeves that affect stickiness and are easily fixed.

We've all heard how all things digital live forever on the internet. It's the same for posted photos of drunk friends and product reviews.

I was surprised to learn that a 2004 review of Digimarc for Images is a top ten result on Google and Bing searches for Digimarc.

The product that Ken Rockwell reviewed in 2004 is a number of updates behind and two major upgrades out of date with Digimarc's product currently offered for the needs of pro and amateur photographers alike. So what's a blogger to do? It would be unfair and rather silly for me to rebut Mr. Rockwell's 2004 conclusions...

If you're a photographer and/or like cool tech, I hope you've heard the chatter about Lytro's Light Field camera launch. If the samples (be sure to check out the window shot with the frames) are indicative of what's delivered, I think we're getting a peek at a revolutionary and possibly game-changing technology.

CNET's video of Lytro's CEO Ren Ng shows a lot of possibilities. Shoot first and focus later is the big one, but single lens 3D, holography and maybe even security cameras (that really can resolve the fuzzy person in the background - just like on TV!) are in our future.

Pretty boldmove by making your own cameras, but glad to hear that licensing is under consideration. That's an iPhone upgrade I'll consider. Can't wait to try one!

I sure wish I could have written a "Complete Photography Guide," but Lifehacker did such a great job it seems silly for me to duplicate (wishful thinking as well I should add).

So if you want to learn:

• How your Digital Camera works
• What the automatic settings are supposed to do
• Manual settings – explained in English
• Some good tips for composition – if you don’t know the rule of thirds, now’s the time
• Post production – lots of good info, just hope you have Photoshop

Be sure to check out their links under additional resources at the bottom of the main page. If you’re looking for hardware, a NAPP membership will deliver good deals in addition to their Photoshop tutorials.

For hardware reviews, I like DPReview.com and friends like Steves-Digicams.com. A game changing possibility that was just anounced is Lytro's really cool lens technology. Hopefully this recommendation won’t look too silly in a couple of years.

And of course, don't forget to watermark images you post to the web and those you print!

In the interest of full disclosure: Digimarc and I work with the NAPP folks, but all the other websites mentioned are ones that I just happen to like.

"Discussions" regarding visual watermarks; those lovely "embossed" copyright symbols, artist signatures and website listings you see on many artist portfolio images can be entertaining. Thomas Hawk has a particularly good rant discussion going in his blog "On Watermarks and Signatures" and his "You Are a Thief" motif is an excellent example of going over the top with a visual watermark. It looked like fun, so I made my own.

As Thomas Hawk points out the primary issue really comes down to overall purpose:

• As Thomas Hawk feels about it, are you like many just making "an advertisement for your work?"
• Are you using visual watermarks like "photo signatures to stop the 'photo thieves?'"

Tornado warnings ended just in time for the 9:30 sessions. Was sort of hoping to see my first tornado and still might this afternoon.

Whoa, big rolling thunders interrupting my exposure and lighting class.

If you're attending come by the Expo, booth 219, and say HI!
We have a great deal - half off - deal for Digimarc for Images if you sign up at the booth.

We have a demo of our online service portal ready to show you how to create your own mobile watermarks like the ones we use with the Digimarc Discover iPhone and Android apps.
www.digimarc.com/discover

Stop by our exhibit at Photoshop World expo for a chat! We want to meet you and offer a chance to talk directly to us about Digimarc for Images and Digimarc Discover. We're ready to answer questions regarding both, demo each technology and have special pricing available. We can even chat about Photoshop World classes; I know I'll have a few favorites to discuss.

Of course we’ll have swag and contest giveaways for you to enter. Did you know you can get a free pass to the expo if you don’t want to take classes?

Come by and say "Hi!" (Booth 219)

As previously mentioned, I really like the camera on my iPhone 4. It's great for snapshots and even a little creative work. This is especially true since I always have it with me, which increases the odds that I can take a shot.

I've found myself a big fan of the iPhone's HDR (high dynamic range) function for its camera, which attempts to create a more dynamic image by taking 2 quick shots at different exposures and merging them. It's a bit slow, and depending on the subject matter, doesn't always offer a major improvement over the default JPEG settings, but I leave it on for most shots. (We're seeing more and more HDR photos from Digimarc for Images customers, so I'm not the only one who enjoys this technology.)

There are a couple of iPhone apps that also do multiple exposures and merge. Pro HDR and TrueHDR each cost $1.99 and offer an automatic mode with some manual settings. Neither is any faster than the Apple HDR and both require you to hold the camera in position far longer. Of course, compared to setting up a shot using a DSLR, tripod and then post processing it's like using an old instant Polaroid vs. Kodak Instamatic with a 24hour drive-thru processing service.