Blog – Page 6 – johnmflores

The Story of a Photo (AKA Google ≠ Free)

2015-05-14

Once upon a time I took a photo of an Aprilia Tuono motorcycle at New York’s famous Hawk’s Nest, a twisty bit of asphalt high above the Delaware River. It ended up being the lede photo in my story for RoadRUNNER Magazine. I also posted it on my Flickr, where it became one of my most popular photos ever posted. Which then helped it get ranked on search engines. It ended up as a top result on Google Images for “motorcycle road”. (It’s the first image on the left) Which meant that people started using it without permission. In other words, stealing… Continue reading The Story of a Photo (AKA Google ≠ Free)

Been Playing with Watch Faces

2015-03-30

So I now have a Sony Smartwatch 3 on my wrist. I bought it to track my runs (with GPS), monitor my heart rate (with a Polar H7 Bluetooth heart rate monitor) and listen to music while I run. After some teething problems it’s working out quite nicely. I’ve also been playing around with the WatchMaker app, designing my own watch faces. It’s kind of fun.

Back from #DaytonaOrBust, Now Time to Write

2015-03-17

Just got back from Daytona’s infamous Bike Week, a late winter celebration of two wheels in one of the warmer places in the country. For this trip I had the BMW C650GT scooter, along with a heated jacket and one piece suit from Aerostich. I also had my ever-reliable Boblbee Meg Aero backpack to carry my precious Pentax camera gear. It was a long trip–over 1,000 miles each way–and it started (and ended) in freezing temperatures. But it was worth it, if only for a couple of days of 60F and 70F degree riding and to experience some of the… Continue reading Back from #DaytonaOrBust, Now Time to Write

Apple Watch and Revenge of the Skeuomorphs

2015-03-08

[photo: Apple] It’s a well known yarn that several years ago Apple was split between those that liked skeuomorphism (Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall, others) and how it made otherwise cool and modern devices warm and relatable to large swaths of the population and those that looked down upon their mid-century modern noses at it and proclaimed it little more than sentimental kitsch and unnecessary post-modern ornament (Jony Ive and others). It was an unfair battle really, since one side had Steve Jobs, the company’s Adam, Moses, and Jesus rolled up into a pair of loose fitting jeans and a black… Continue reading

ESCAPE 01: New York to Northampton on a BMW R nineT

2015-02-22

Just published the Kindle version of ESCAPE 01, the first in a series of illustrated short stories. If you like motorcycle travel stories with a twist, give this a try. The iBooks version is made with iBooks Author and has a fancy layout and all of that. The Kindle version is not as elaborately designed as the iBooks version because it needs to work on a wide variety of devices, from small screen, greyscale Kindles to large Android tablets. Still, it’s a good story and a good read. Hope you check it out in either iBooks (Mac OS and iOS) or Kindle (Kindle, Android,… Continue reading ESCAPE 01: New York to Northampton on a BMW R nineT

Brought a Knife to a Gun Fight

2015-02-09

The ceaseless march of technological progress makes camera gear made just a few years ago seem hopelessly inadequate if you listen to marketing materials and people on camera forums prattling on about which camera/brand is best as if they are talking about sports teams. It’s an odd dichotomy–photographers bristle when people suggest that their photos are nice because of the nice camera that they have yet at the same time seem to be seeking every technological advantage to make taking photos easier. So, last Friday I went to see photograph indoor ice racing at the Sun National Bank Center arena… Continue reading Brought a Knife to a Gun Fight

It’s That Time Again…

2014-01-04

Story deadline, which means a lot of gnashing of teeth and rubbing of hands as I try to: Figure out what to say, Figure out how to say it, Choose the photos, and Do the 100 other little things that are required. As my wife always reminds me, I stress out every time I have a deadline, but eventually figure it out. I suppose that’ll happen again, but it’s always easier looking backward. The shot above, btw, is another Nikon 1 V1 gem, this time mounted via a RAM suction mount on the lead bike ridden by my good friend… Continue reading It’s That Time Again…

Nikon 1 V1-Good Enough to be the A Cam?

2013-12-21

Next time you’re in Barnes & Noble, saunter (or sashay, your choice) over to the magazine rack and pick up a copy of the Feb ’14 issue of RoadRUNNER Magazine. My Vermont dual purpose story, “One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Three if by KLR” is in there, and it’s one of the first real tests of the Nikon V1 as my A camera. It’s been on several trip now as my B cam, and it’s done well enough. Well enough to be given a chance as the A cam. The B cam on this trip was that… Continue reading Nikon 1 V1-Good Enough to be the A Cam?

New Camera News 2013 Camera of the Year is Announced

2013-12-05

New Camera News has just announced its 2013 Camera of the Year. Check it out: http://newcameranews.com/2013/12/05/new-camera-news-2013-camera-year/

Damn You, Sigma DP2m

2013-11-30

I should have never borrowed the Sigma DP2m from my brother. I was quite happy in my ignorance, shooting what I thought were very nice Pentax lenses on very nice Pentax bodies. But then I made the mistake of borrowing the Sigma and running a little backyard test against my brandy spankin’ new Pentax K-3 mated with the very nice FA31mm F1.8 Limited. The Sigma had bested the 16 megapickle K-01 with the FA31 (I used the K-01 instead of the K-5 because of the allegedly weaker AA filter). I thought that the K-3, with extra megapickles and without an… Continue reading Damn You, Sigma DP2m