While going through digg.com, I found one of the now many posts on running Linux on your iPod. The iPodLinux Project offers Linux software for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation iPods and is currently working on support for the newer 4th generation iPod, mini, Photo, and shuffle.

Why would you choose to run "podzilla" on your iPod? As the iPodLinux site points out, running podzilla adds many capabilities not found in Apple's existing firmware, and also includes many additional applications. For those that podcast, installing Linux on your iPod is useful because it allows you to record audio at a higher quality than with Apple's software. As Macworld points out

Using Apple’s software, you can create recordings only at up to 8kHz with your iPod, and to do so you must purchase and use an add-on device, such as the Griffin iTalk voice recorder ($40).

A Linux-enabled third-generation iPod circumvents this restriction. You can record mono audio at up to 96kHz. (If you’re feeling really geeky, try recording in stereo by using the line-in pins on a modified dock connector. Make sure you identify the pins you’ll wire the mike to.)

To put those numbers into context, CDs are 44.1kHz, and Digital Audio Tape (DAT) is 48kHz. Most pro studio recording is done at 24 bits and 96kHz. Newer DVD-Audio discs also go up to 96kHz. The higher the quality you have up front, the better your recording will sound in the end.

While podzilla does allow users to view photos, this feature is of little use to photographers, as the images are in 2-bit grayscale and cannot be loaded directly from the camera or removable media.

Installing podzilla does not replace the existing Apple OS. Rather, users can easily switch back and forth between the two. Those with a 3rd generation iPod or earlier can download podzilla from the iPodLinux Project site. For those with a later model, you can stay up to date on all of the progress being made on your model of iPod.

If you were to visit the website for the Rafu Shimpo, which has been published since 1903 and is the largest bilingual English/Japanese daily in the United States, you would find...nothing. With newspaper subscriptions on the decline, especially for a paper such as the Rafu whose readers (Issei and Nissei immigrants) are growing older, the internet is proving a vital resource in attracting a new audience, though there is mixed opinion on how this should proceed. From RSS feeds to online subscriptions one thing is certain, the internet can be a wonderful thing for photographers.

No longer constrained by the space on the page, papers are more able to publish photo stories and galleries of their staff photographers. An example of this can be seen on the Mercury News Multimedia/Photography page. Here one can find in depth photo stories, photo essays, this week in pictures, audio slideshows, and galleries displaying each photographer's works. It also gives the public an opportunity to purchase prints and download wallpapers. Hopefully this model, and others such as APAD that utilize the internet to promote the works of photographers will continue to grow and become adopted by other organizations.

I have found, in the short period of time that I have been interning, that the images that I like the most are often not the ones chosen to be placed in the paper. When photographing an event, I try to get the standard/necessary shots. I had assumed that I should then be experimenting to try and find new ways to tell the story. I climb under, look over, and can have other photographers looking at me in a rather confused manner. Take for example the recent press conference announcing Phil Jackson's return to the Los Angeles Lakers sideline. I made sure to get some form of headshot/contextual images.



And then proceeded to try different things.



Some of which did not work.



In the end, the Rafu used the first image. But I did end up with an image that I personally liked.



I enjoy this photo, no doubt, because GM Mitch Kupchak looks so thrilled at the prospect of bringing Phil back and the ensuing drama with Kobe Bryant.

When studying journalism, photographic or otherwise, the issue of ethics is always addressed thoroughly. From Brian Wolski to Jason Blair, the examples seem endless. One would hope that journalists have learned their lesson, and do not want to risk their jobs for the better story/photo. Unfortunately, there will always be pressure to come back to the office with that great image or amazing scoop. This past Monday, while shooting an independent baseball league game between the Long Beach Armada and the Japan Samurai Bears. Though not the most important of events, I still observed a photographer appear to try and convince some children to talk to the manager in order to capture the interaction. While I cannot be one hundred percent sure that this is what was occuring, judging from the gestures being made it seemed likely. Perhaps this was not really a big deal, but, at a time when photographers are viewed as merely paparazzi, and journalistic integrity it constantly questioned, I am not sure that setting up photos for use in newspapers is the correct way to go.

For more on ethics, Poynter Online has this Tip Sheet for Ethics.

Spending most days getting images ready for print, I was given a chance to go out and photograph for the Rafu Shimpo this past Sunday at the 21st Annual Gardena 5000, a 5K run held in Gardena, CA. The day started with the open 5K run in which hundreds participated. Next came the invitational 5K run, which featured 17 elite runners. The day ended with short kids runs and the passing out of awards. Here is one of the images that did run.




Here are a few of the images that did not make it into the paper.

The spring semester has ended at San Jose State University. Like most students, I looked forward to summer as a time to relax, go on vacation, and get away from school for a few months. Having planned camping expeditions across the Western United States, I quickly learned that this is not the case for the student photojournalist. In order to get ready for shooting on the Spartan Daily, and to improve my photography overall, I was instructed to go and find a summer internship, or at the least, take pictures everyday (and not of the snapshot/vacation variety).

I quickly emailed a few local (Los Angeles) newspapers and began corresponding with editors. Luckily I found my summer internship at the Rafu Shimpo, a newspaper printed in Japanese & English that has been in circulation since 1903. I am now one of two photographers shooting for the English section of the Rafu and starting this Friday that photography/photo editor will be gone for a week, leaving me with many of his responsibilities much to my surprise. I know that I will either learn a lot, or fall flat on my face. Either way it will be fun. Much more fun than having my campsite ransacked by bears...