AVIAN WALLPAPER
These images are specifically licensed for your enjoyment on your iPad. Enjoy the beautiful avian images every time you unlock your screen or interact with your iPad apps or both. Only 99 cents!
WOLF WALLPAPER
These images are specifically licensed for your enjoyment on your iPad. Enjoy the beautiful wolf images every time you unlock your screen or interact with your iPad apps or both. Only 99 cents!
Let’s say you go to the library. There’s nobody there but you. You decide to fire up a little Jimi Hendrix on your iPad. Oops – in walks the librarian with a stern look on her face. Don’t dispair. You can mute the iPad with the touch of a button. Simply hold down the volume button for two seconds and your iPad will shut up.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
A consultant working for Next Issue Media, the consortium of major print publishers, said consumers will buy interactive issues for tablets and e-readers aka the iPad.
In a test, users accepted that interactive editions are “more valuable” than print editions, People who don’t currently buy magazines also showed much more interest in buying interactive editions.
The demand ran across the categories in the magazine sector, not just tech.
This study proves out the process, but the devil will be in the details. If publishers approach the iPad like they originally approached the Web, they’ll probably meet limited success. It will take more than a direct port to work.
Interactivity will be key. Speed of delivery is a factor, but looking at the capabilities of the iPad to immerse the viewer into the experience, the publishers will have to add on features for people to get excited.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
By Scott Bourne
Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty issued a note to clients Monday night estimating that Apple will sell 10 million iPads in calendar 2010. This is significant because Morgan Stanley’s analysts had been predicting lower sales than most of the other Wall Street firms. In fact, this 10 million number is almost double what Morgan Stanley said just a few weeks ago.
And for those of you who are Apple stock investors, Morgan Stanley has set a new (AAPL) stock target price range of $332 to $440 by May 2011. WOW!
Maybe you don’t follow or play the markets – fair enough. But it might still be worth noting given the early charges that the iPad was all hype. All hype doesn’t drive a stock price like this. It’s nothing short of amazing in my opinion.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
We received a question from a PadPundit podcast listener named Joel that I want to answer on the website. Joel wants to know why he should lock his iPad and how to do it.
I think everyone should lock their iPad when not in use. If the iPad is lost or stolen, locking it prevents a third party from accessing your private information like passwords, etc. It also adds an incentive for someone to return a lost iPad to you, since it’s no good to them locked.
It’s easy to lock your iPad. This process only takes a few seconds. Go to “Settings“, “General” and then “Passcode Lock.“ Enter in a four-digit number that you can easily remember. Now, when your iPad goes to sleep, you shut it down or turn it completely off, it will require the passcode to unlock it for use.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
1. Your iPad’s HOME button will automatically take you to the HOME screen but did you know you can change that? Simply go to GENERAL – HOME and set it to bring up a search or your iPod app.
2. If you want to yell at someone in all caps, just double tap on either of the SHIFT keys and you’ll enable CAPS LOCK.
3. You can add a total of six apps to your iPad DOCK. While the unit ships with four apps in the Dock, you can press and hold any Home Screen icon until it wobbles. Then drag it to the dock.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
EDITOR’S NOTE: Justin Sloan is a fan of the PadPundit show. He’s also deployed in Iraq. Here’s a brief interview with Justin about his iPad in Iraq.
How did you get the iPad?
I was still in Iraq when the iPad was announced. I pre-ordered one in February and asked my wife to send it to me when it arrived. But it just so happened that I went home on leave in late march and got to sign for the package myself. Having an iPad in Iraq has multiplied the celebrity of having the device. All of my fellow soldiers have heard of it, but few have seen it, and even less have actually used one. I get to show it off everyday.
How is the iPad holding up to the weather?
I try to keep the iPad indoors as often as possible. The weather outside hovers around 95 degrees this time of year, but that is rapidly changing as summer approaches. We will have to see how well the machine holds up when it’s 120 degrees at 7am. Sand storms can also make for a bad day at a moment’s notice, and it gets into every little crease and crevice you can imagine. I made my own weather proof case out of a camouflaged canvas binder cover and an old fleece cap for cushion. I currently have an Otter Box Defender Series case for my iPhone 3GS, but sand still manages to makes its way into that. I’ll probably get the same case for the iPad when it comes out.
Is the iPad rugged enough for field situations?
It’s held up great so far, but the iPad is incredibly slippery. I dropped it a few times and even caused some cosmetic damage, but never had a problem in how it functions. I learned that when I set it down at least one side should be propped against something or it’s likely to fall off. Even on a flat surface a helicopter flying in will cause it to vibrate off the end of my table. I thought that grease on the screen would be my biggest problem, so I brought one of my old black microfiber clothes that comes with the iPhone. So no issue there, either. Even CLP oil used to keep my weapon clean and ready comes right off, so I don’t worry about washing my hands when I want to use it, I just jump right in. I usually carry it around in my cargo pocket or toss it in my ruck sack and try not to worry about it.
How does your wifi access work?
There is commercial wifi throughout Iraq, just not on the base that I am on. Worse, the local ISP is pretty good at detecting wireless routers connected to their network and will boot you off. I tried to use Internet sharing on my unibody MacBook, but they were even able to detect that. What ended up working was using the open source Squid proxy. I am limited to http connections only, so I can’t use Mail. And for some reason a few apps that use http don’t work either, such as Wikipanion, WordPress, iWork, and AccuWeather. Push calendars and contacts work great, though. I use NewsRack to sync my feeds every morning, Kindle app replaced my Kindle, and the iPhone Facebook app helps me to keep in touch. I am also a fan of TweeDeck (@askagenius) and AIM. Works great, makes me happy.
Our thanks to Justin for spending time with us. We wish him a safe tour and safe return home.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
By Scott Bourne
My pal Andy and I rarely disagree. But on whether or not the iPad needs a camera, we do. Frankly, I can’t believe that there are still people complaining about the iPad’s lack of a camera. My guess is these are people who don’t own an iPad. I’ve used my iPad every day since it’s delivery and never ONCE felt like I wish it had a camera in it. Here’s my list of reasons why the iPad does NOT need a camera.
1. If you own an iPad, I’d bet money you already own a camera, or two, or three or four.
2. The iPad is primarily meant to be a content consumption device. You use laptops, desktops, etc., to make content. You use the iPad to consume it.
3. The iPad form factor doesn’t lend itself to sporting a camera. I can’t imagine holding up something roughly 8×10 and pointing it at someone and saying “CHEESE.” It would be awkward at best. Unless you want to go back to the days of dark cloths and Ansel Adams’ view cameras, there are better ways.
4. Many public places, including many workplaces won’t allow ANY device with a camera inside. I have a friend who works at General Dynamics. He’s not allowed to bring his iPhone to work because it has a camera in it. He had to buy a cheap Trac Phone for work.
5. It would cannibalize sales of other Apple devices like the iPhone. A solid business reason is a good reason, especially when you live in a capitalist society.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
This post started as a comment I left on another photo blog and has morphed into something bigger, as I’ve spent more and more time both showing my work on an iPad and contemplating the reactions from the people I’ve showed it to.
There is some reasonable discussion taking place among photographers and photo buyers whether or not the iPad can “replace” the printed portfolio.
Most of the big photo buyers that I know have used electronic media (such as photo websites) to find new talent, and then requested printed portfolios to seal the deal. When it comes to dealing with the big agency art buyers, the iPad won’t replace that printed portfolio right away, but I believe it will supplement and augment it. Since plenty of photography is sold outside the realm of the agency art buyer, you may never need a printed portfolio.
Depending on your market, the portfolio takes on different forms. Editorial and advertising agency buyers generally want to see printed portfolios, but at the studio level, I don’t think that’s nearly as important. Furthermore, I think it’s about to be less important. As time rolls on, it will be less important still.
If you can deliver an exciting and beautiful experience to prospective clients using your iPad, you may not need printed work. If that’s not the case now, I believe it will be soon. Here’s why: It’s a better “experience” than just looking at a screen.
One aspect of the iPad as portfolio that I have not heard enough said about is the ability to pass it around. This is where the EXPERIENCE comes in. I think it could be the anchor point for the success of the device as portfolio.
Think about it…we’re used to handing prints or a book to someone who then takes control of their own viewing experience. This rarely (if ever) happens on a computer screen. But the mere act of handing the iPad over has (in my personal experience) been transformative. I have done very well showing my work on the iPad, and had several new jobs come in already as a result. None of the clients involved asked for a printed portfolio. I am convinced that the light in the eyes of the photo buyers who I showed my work to was directly related to the experience (the tactile experience) of holding the iPad and viewing the photos at their own pace. Zooming and pinching when THEY want to. Moving from picture to picture and back when THEY want to. It’s remarkable to watch. It reminds me of the first time I projected my slides using a Kodak Carousel Projector. (Dating myself here.)
The screen looks great. The images look great. But it’s the difference between pointing to a Cinema Display and HANDING OFF your portfolio that I find notable and exciting.
There are many ways to look at this, but the only wrong way to look at it in my opinion is to ignore it. There’s something here. I’ve been at this game a long time, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s how to spot new trends that lead to more business. Currently, most of us use at least one vendor to get help showing our work. Even if you print your own portfolio, you buy your paper and presentation materials from someone. If you use a lab, they handle it. I hope they are paying attention to this. We will need them to become active partners in helping us to make the iPad an integral part of the workflow.
Online portfolio sites like LiveBooks and SmugMug might want to consider making sure their sites are iPad friendly. Labs and photo product companies like White House Custom Colour might want to start offering products that make presenting on an iPad more attractive and enjoyable.
If we work together as an industry, I think we have an opportunity to show our work to more people than ever before with the help of the iPad. And showing the work is the one simple thing that anyone can do to increase the chances that their photography gets purchased published, or at least remembered.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
Copyright Scott Bourne 2004 - All Rights Reserved
NOTE: Cross Posted at Photofocus.com
The iPad has landed and photographers across the USA are finding it to be an amazing device for sharing photos. But because the iPad senses which direction you’re holding it, and automatically adjusts the perspective, i.e., portrait or landscape, there is some confusion as to what size your images should be for proper iPad display.
If you know that you have only horizontal images and you know that those images would never be displayed in portrait orientation, you could simply size your images to be 1024 on the horizontal side by 768 on the portrait side. But you probably don’t only have landscape orientation in every photo and you sure can’t guarantee that someone won’t turn the iPad around and view the images in a format you don’t approve.
So the answer is to compromise. My iPad application Avian Wallpaper uses images that are 1024×1024 pixels in size. This seems to create the best result whether viewing the images in landscape or portrait mode.
1024×1024 is the smallest size that will allow the image to be displayed without upsizing on the display. Since the screen is 1024×768, in landscape mode the top of the image is clipped out, and in portrait the sides are clipped. In both cases the longest dimension is 1024 pixels. The image could be bigger than that, but then you would either be downsizing it or having the user adjust its position when they set it as wallpaper.
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This post sponsored by X-Rite Color and the ColorChecker Passport
NOTE: Cross-Posted at Photofocus.com
So my prediction came true. The iPad has created a new market for photographers. What impact this will have on the future of photography is obviously yet unknown. But there is a new market none-the-less. You’ll either benefit from it or you won’t. If you simply ignore it and hope it goes away, well we know how that will turn out. In the mean time, those of us who are interested in moving into new markets will be cashing our checks.
I’ve launched my first iPad app. It’s called Avian Wallpaper. It contains a license to use any of 15 low-res (1024×1024) versions of 15 of my bird photos as your iPad wallpaper.
I am charging $.99 for the license. As expected, I’ve been attacked for not giving the pictures away for free. I’ve also been attacked for charging too little. (Welcome to my world 
)
I expect to be attacked no matter what I do and accordingly, I pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. That’s the nature of the Internet. But those attacks not withstanding, we’re in new territory here folks. And just as iStock changed the stock photography paradigm, the iPad may change the online photography paradigm. You or I may or may not like the change – but change comes regardless of our feelings or opinions. If you’re a pro, it’s just plain stupid to ignore it.
At this point, it’s all a great experiment. What is the best way to market iPad photo apps? What is the perfect price? Nobody knows yet, and anyone who claims they do is full of the stuff that comes out the rear end of a bull. It’s simply too soon to know much of anything. We’re talking about selling photos into a marketplace that simply didn’t exist a few weeks ago.
We do have some data. All the research I can find shows that the lower priced apps do better than the expensive ones. That’s no great shock. But at least it’s something.
It should be an exciting time for photographers. It is in fact, something to celebrate in my opinion. But there are those who are bitter about the iPad, or other things in life, and they would have you believe this new iPad market is a bad thing.
Some have proven their lack of knowledge in this area by trying to compare selling a license to use 15 low-res images on an iPad as wallpaper to pricing wedding photography. This goes beyond ludicrous. When pricing wedding photography, you’re spending hours with a family capturing their most important memories, editing, retouching and delivering hundreds or even thousands of photos for a couple to cherish their entire lives. You’re typically delivering physical prints, albums, books, canvases, or other tangible products from a one-time event. The import of a wedding, the deliverables and the market conditions surrounding that experience can’t be compared (by any sane, reasonable person) with licensing 15 images for use as wallpaper on an iPad. The market for the wedding is one family and their friends. The market for an iPad application could reach into the hundreds of thousands quickly. Wedding photography and images sold on an iPad as wallpaper are as different as professional football and Scrabble. And herein lies the rub. False equivalence is the tool of the weak, the worried, the ill-informed and the trouble maker. Don’t let these negative people confuse the issue. Chances are excellent that they have a hidden agenda.
Instead, explore this market with hope, excitement, new ideas and new approaches. I am pretty sure that someone way smarter than me will figure out an advanced business model for the sale of photos on the iPad. And this is going to happen whether or not any particular group likes it. Personally, I can’t wait!
The world is changing. Newspaper and magazine markets are shrinking. The cost of printing and shipping paper is going up. The advertising markets are increasingly interested in more electronic distribution. Younger people are more likely to “watch” a screen than they are pick up a piece of paper.
The iPad, with the proven marketing muscle of Apple’s expertise in selling online applications, represents a huge opportunity. In one of the worst economic situations I’ve ever seen, we have a new marketplace. I’m not sure how that can be a bad thing.
The launch of a new market for photography is cause for celebration. Whether or not we get it right on the first try is much less important than making the effort. Time will sort out the details.
