again

And The Winners Are…

I say it all the time but it never gets old, I really love my readers. They are such great people and have always had my back through the years and helped push me to grow as a photographer, as a writer, and as a person. This site has been such a source of happiness for me and I am grateful every time I hear from someone who writes to let me know they enjoyed something I wrote or shared. This is why I always love to do giveaways like this. I can’t do it all the time, obviously, but when I can it feels wonderful to give back.

At any rate, I have emailed the winners to let them know they have won so if you did not receive an email I am sorry that I could not share something great with you this time around. I will try to do something similar in the future. Maybe not always with fancy things like cameras and headphones but at least the occasional print giveaway.

Now that this is out of the way I would like to peak into the future and mention that I have all the intentions in the world of opening a little shop here on 50ft. Somewhere to sell prints, shirts, and other fun things I find. I can not say when this will come into existance but I am doing what I can in the time I have between my responsibilities in life to make it happen. Hopefully I can get something up and going in the first quarter of next year but don’t hold me to that, I do my best around here but have to put other responsibilities first sometimes.

So again, thank you all for your continued support! Heres to making 2012 the best year yet for fiftyfootshadows! I will be back up and running with regular posting in the new year and as usual I have some great stuff lined up to share so stick around and I will see what I can rustle up. First thing will be a new 50ft Radio mix which I hope to post this week as well as a great new guest desktop.

letting go

Letting Go

I noticed this one leaf while out shooting among a field of winter brown and green, lit calmly by the setting sun I was walking toward another subject at the time but had to stop to grab a couple shots of this because I love turning such simple, minimal subjects into something grand. I had nearly forgotten about the photos until tonight while looking around for a new image to share. Seems to be one of those rare last leaves of fall that just refuse to let go of what they have.

Oddly enough, this left me feeling sentimental for things left behind (so pardon me while I think out loud). Life goes by so quickly sometimes and while there are instances where letting go is the best thing you can do, I still feel there is so much you should hold close and never let go of. We are constantly reminded to leave the past behind and live today like its our last, or other such motivational this and that, but hearing it gets tiresome after a while. Our minds gloss over advice amid our busy digital lives and being social within this weird new definition of the word where you don’t actually have to be with anyone to be social. This or we take this kind of  life advice to heart and become so desperate to connect with our inner selves that we end up getting lost in the very act of trying. This makes it harder to feel much honest connection with notable moments in our lives and by the time we realize how great life has been it’s already passed us by. I always remind myself not to forget that every moment I am alive I am graced with something undeniably beautiful if I look closely enough and pay attention. Both in times of unbearable joy or times of hardship and struggle.

One of the saddest things anyone has ever said to me was while they were looking at a photo of me taken when I was a teenager. She told me I was so beautiful when I was young but it made her sad. When I asked why she replied, “it’s your eyes, there seems to be something in them here that I don’t see anymore.” That stuck with me over the years and ever since then I have been trying to get it back. I realized that to be honestly happy about my life and everything that happens within it I must embrace all of it, good and bad. It’s important to keep your imagination and lust closely guarded and never stop exploring, stay hungry and foolish so they say. The most creative, capable people out there in this world are the ones able to take experiences from the past and use the knowledge and emotion surrounding them to build a better tomorrow rather than letting themselves get lost in a maze of regret.

One last thought I would like to include that feels like it ties in to what I am waxing poetic about is probably my favorite Steve Jobs Quote which is on creativity:

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” Steve Jobs, Wired, February, 1995

Sentimental rambling aside, as much as I love the lens I shot the above with, the 55mm f/1.2 Olympus Zuiko, I have decided to sell it and buy down into the more modest 50mm f/1.4 in the same series. Mostly because I feel as though I could spend that money better elsewhere. I know it seems like I never stop with the cameras and lenses and friends give me a hard time about it but I love to explore everything photography has to offer. I like taking digital photos but left it behind emotionally  for reasons I can’t quite put into words. Keeping up with digital photo tech just got old and when I realized my 5d was more than enough camera to satisfy my digital needs I stuck with it and put my curiosity elsewhere.

Film cameras and experimenting with them brings me so much more excitement and satisfaction that I can’t help but want to continue on exploring. This and I know readers love to hear about interesting new cameras and opinions on them and the only way to continue this is to keep trying new systems and reporting back to you.

cameraphones.jpg

Gift Giving

I love giving things away to readers, not for any sort of promotional gain really, just for the sake of putting cool things into the hands of those who have supported me. I had intended to give away a couple of things on the launch of the new design but because it happened so close to the holidays I chose to wait until now. I bought a new Holga 120N (plus a roll of Kodak Ektar to get you started) and pair of my current favorite pair of headphones, the AiAiAi Tracks, with the sole intention of giving them away. They were not given to me from any company as a promotional giveaway so this is not one of those advertised giveaways you see all over the place. Just me wanting to do something nice for my readers. In addition to these two gifts I also have four 5×7 darkroom prints which I made recently that I would also like to giveaway, you can see scans of them below. (or on flickr as well)

prints.jpg

I have thought a long while about how to go about giving this stuff away. I don’t really want to do one of those silly retweet to win campaigns because they kind of annoy me, and I don’t want to make it difficult so I think I will simply do what I have done in the past and use the comments below as a means to collect entries and draw from that list to pick the winners. I do have one curve to add to the process which I will describe below.

To enter to win one of these great items simply enter your name and email (which is kept private and will never ever be used for anything other than this drawing) into the normal comment fields below. Then, in the main comment entry field, write in either Holga or Tracks as the item you would like to have the opportunity to win. I will split these two into separate drawings and select those winners first then I will enter the remaining entries into the giveaway for one of the four prints. If you would like to only enter for a print then simply mention this in the comment field. I will let the winners of the prints choose which they want in order of which they were picked to win.

I decided to split the two because I know not all of my readers will be interested in owning a Holga and I ask that you only enter to win it if you are interested in trying a fun film camera. I would be happy to give advice on using it and even help you find a place to develop the film if you would like!

It should be ok to offer this to anyone outside of the US as well which is a slippery customs slope so if you know of any obvious regulation in your country that would make it hard for me to send the camera or the headphones then please, consider putting your name in for a print only.

I plan on closing the doors to new entries December 23rd and announcing the winner shortly thereafter. I will do my best to mail them off before the start of the new year.

While I don’t require this of you at all I would love it if you could mention to your friends or followers about fiftyfootshadows.net and let them know about this giveaway or the site in general. I thrive on your support which gives the site life and am always motivated push the site further when I read mail and comments from those who enjoy the site. As you know I devote more and more time to it as it grows and becomes more self sustaining so I can use all the help I can get, even in these little ways. Thanks so much and good luck in the drawing!

antelope_island_desktopsmaller.jpg
Guest Desktop

Antelope Island

First of all, isn’t this a great photograph? I love the way the plant life in the front of the image gives a nice overall softness yet when your eyes are inevitably sucked inward to the buffalo there is a crisp sharpness. I’m jealous of this shot because it’s not one of my own. I wanted to kick off my guest desktop series with a great image and one has stuck in my mind for quite some time now which I found among a readers web site and knew I would eventually have to find an excuse to post it eventually. The photographer is Tim Sondrup of Utah. I am happy to share this lovely image with everyone and I hope for it to mark the begining of a great new series on 50ft. As you may have noticed, wallpaper posts which contain photos that are not my own will have a nice little tag to let you know that it is a guest image. I have asked Tim to share a few thoughts on the photograph, so without further adeu, I will hand this over to him.

“Antelope Island State Park, located on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, is a quick 20-minute drive from my house, and yet whenever I go there, I feel like I’ve stepped into a whole other realm. The island is beautiful, immense, and perhaps more than anything, quiet. In addition to antelope and other wildlife, the island is home to more than 500 free-roaming bison, which can usually be seen from the main road. Such was the case with this particular bison on the horizon. I saw a perfect photo opportunity, framed my subject, and pressed the shutter button.” – Tim (Shot with a Canon EOS 5D & Canon EF 50mm f/1.4)

You can see more of his work over on his website. Thanks so much for sharing this great image Tim!
xmas

All I Want For Christmas

It’s that time of the year again and many out there are scratching their heads trying to decide what to get a friend or family member for Christmas. Of course most of us seem to hint heavily at something specific I like to think that a good surprise is still alive and well within the gift giving spirit. I don’t particularly like the crazed rush and pressure that comes with the holidays but I do enjoy sharing and gift giving so I thought it would be fun to assemble a photographer biased list of things to consider when looking for that special something. I did my best to avoid anything too horribly obvious and included a number of fun film cameras.

Gordy’s Camera Strap

This guy makes amazing leather camera straps which are great for smaller and larger cameras alike. There are a number of options such as color and more or less padding to choose from and each strap is hand made and of the highest quality you could imagine a simple strap like this having. I bought one for my Olympus OM SLR and love it, its strong enough to leave the camera hanging from your wrist without worry when you need both hands and keeps your camera steady and safe otherwise. I love a good, high quality hand made product and this is one that excels. There is plenty of info on his site on different options and sizes.

Souldier Seat Belt Camera Strap

For those who may be a bit more traditional about their camera strap, these straps from Souldier are the best around. Sturdy, dependable and gorgeous. They come in 23 different colors so you have a lot of unique options and they are also all made to order in Chicago. There is also an option to add padding in the middle which is handy because it does keep it from being too slippery. The padding is not very pretty though as it is a simple grey foam like material. I enjoy having it there but others may like the smoothness of not having any padding. I have used a red one for years now it seems and always get questions and compliments on it. It has been one of my favorite accessories and the perfect step up for any photographer wanting to ditch that ugly branded default strap.

SuperHeads Wide and Slim Camera

These are cheap and a lot of fun to have around YoungDoo has been shooting with one for a good while now and I am always impressed with the results. It is about as simply as you can get, go out on a sunny day, point, and shoot. Load it up with any random film you can get your hands on and enjoy. If you know someone that enjoys playing around with different cameras this is a perfect new toy. The results offer a slightly distorted, wide angle effect as well as a nice contrasty, vignetted image. They come in a variety of colors so you can pick just the right one for the person you are gifting it too. A fun alternative to one of these would be a Juice Box Camera, seems childish but its super inconspicuous and a lot of fun to mess around with.

Lomo LCA+

Sure, its not the cheapest gift at $250 but these are among the best all, point and shoot film cameras out there. I think they have been given a weird reputation because of its hipster “lomography” upbringing but they have been around forever and for good reason. The results are vivid and unique and I think its a great way to get into shooting with film because it offers something different from a camera offering clean or tidy results all the time. I find that it does take a little getting used to the quirks of the camera but once you get the hang of it it can be a realy satisfying little camera to have around. I think this would make for an unexpectedly fun gift for any open minded photographer. Have a look at some of the great images taken with these cameras on flickr.

Gakkenflex

These can be a challenge but offer a fun, do it yourself, camera kit. They use 35mm film and offer a cool experience when putting them together as you see exactly how the camera functions. The photographic results are a mixed bag but you can get some cool images from it if you stick with it. Being a fixed shutter speed and aperture its another sunny day camera but its more for the experience I think, and this offers a great one. The original kit came packaged with a Japanese magazine and the instructions are all in Japanese but there are many guides online to help you out. Alternatively, you can get one with english instructions and different color options because a new company started to manufacture them again once they gained a cult like following, here.

Sunprints Cyanotype Cotton Squares

This would make a great gift for just about anyone. They are cotton fabric squares treated with a cyanotype solution which allows you to lay one of the squares out in the sun and place opbjects on top of it which will create an image based on the shadow that is cast onto the square. You then simply rinse the square in water and the image will be on the fabric permanantly. It is a lot of fun and I think it would be a fantastic gift for children or anyone who enjoys experementing a bit. I love messing about with these. There are different sizes and even colors available as well as simple paper versions which cost a bit less.

Zero Image 35mm Pinhole Camera

Know a photographer that likes to try new things? There is nothing more classic than a pinhole film camera and this is a great one. With its classic wooden body and brass knobs it’s a beauty and would be a great addition to any camera collection not to mention a lot of fun to use.

Ari Marcopoulos Camera Bag

As many of you know already from my glowing review, I love this camera bag and feel it would be a great choice as a gift for any photographer not using a huge amount of gear. Keep in mind my note within my review about it maybe not being the best for someone with a smaller physical build. Otherwise you can’t go wrong with this fantastic bag.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport

While I don’t shoot with one of these I do think it would make for a nice gift to any photographer doing portrait work or simple commercial work. I have had my eye on one for quite some time now because I think it could be a quick, useful tool while out shooting to quickly get a handle on the white balance in post for those times when I want that extra bit of control and support. It’s a simple gadget that is portable and easy to use. You simply take a photo of the device before or during a shoot and use that shot as a quick refference tool to grab the perfect white balance for the situation at hand. Great for someone you know spends a bit too much time in post messing around with their white balances for every single photo.

Gossen DigiSix Light Meter

This is my favorite portable light meter. Simple and stuffed full of abilities for its size and price, it’s a great option for anyone looking to get into using an older manual camera or those who want to experement and have a tighter control over their exposures. The one thing that is a bit annoying about it is that there is no ‘off’ so the buttons get pressed while in my bag. The battery lasts what seems like forever so its not that big of a deal and the good totally outweighs this one quirk.

LensPen

If there is a photographer out there without one of these in their camera bag I have to question their sanity. Simple and cheap.

Soft Release Shutter Button

When you grip your camera to take a photo it can be more of a natural feel to let the shutter button rest on the first joint of your finger rather than bending your finger to point down onto the shutter release button. A soft release is a simple screw on button designed to give extra height to the shutter release and in turn let you hold your camera more naturally. This leads to you being able to hold your camera in a steadier position letting you keep still at slower shutter speeds. I love them and use one on my older cameras which have a threded screw mount on the shutter release. So for anyone you know using a camera with a screw mount release these make a great addition. There is a handy list on the site that they originate from telling you which cameras work best with which release button. They are also available here which I have ordered from a few times, a great guy runs the site.

Film Travel Case

I bought a few of these earlier this year and I love them, they are a great way to transport film. Both 35mm (without its original canister) and 120 film will fit. There is room for 6 rolls of 35mm or 4 rolls of 120 film, the only downside of the 35mm ability is that you really need to keep a full 6 rolls of film inside so they dont rattle around loosely inside. I still feel its a great accesory for anyone shooting film often and they are currently listed as clearance so they may not be available for much longer!

Round Corner Cut Punch

Seems a bit of an odd thing to add to the list but I think its cool. A simple round corner cutter that allows you to give paper a rounded corner. I love putting round corners on printed photos, it gives them sort of a vintage feel. Also useful for postcards or anything really.

A 35mm Film SLR

There are hundreds available on eBay as buy it now right around $100-200 with a simple 50mm lens. You just use your best intuition as far as which one you buy based on photos (make sure they are nice high quality images of the product), Seller feedback score, and an honest item description. I could easily suggest  an Olympus OM2 based on my own great experience, its a great sturdy camera and surprisingly compact for being an SLR. There are other classic options as well such as a Canon AE-1 or Nikon FM-2 which would give the photographer getting it the option of using the lens on their current DSLR should they already use a Nikon. Shooting with a film SLR is a quintessential experience for anyone wanting to call themselves a photographer.

If you have any suggestions for something photography related that is fun or interesting, feel free to leave any ideas in the comments below. Also, due to a number of requests, I have made the image above available as a wallpaper, see links below.

path.jpg

Path

As many of you have pointed out to me, the mobile social network, Path, has launched a new version of their App that features many of the photographs you know and love from here on 50ft. I am excited for the opportunity and flattered that they have chosen my photographs to be part of the feel of the amazing new GUI within the App.

For those of you who may not be familiar, Path is a social network built around the idea that you don’t need to have hundreds of “friends” to enjoy its services. It takes a more humble approach and allows a maximum of 150 friends within your personal network. It’s a fascinating approach that I find I really love. Its nice to know that there is a service that does not encourage the endless thirst to achieve the greatest number of followers. With Path, you have more of a personal Journal showing where you are, what friends you are with, and what you are up to, as a way to share rather than impress. You do this by posting photos, videos, location check ins, written thoughts, music, and even when you sleep and wake. The information is then folded into your main timeline and shared with others in your network in a beautiful way that encourages interaction. It’s the perfect place to share with closer friends and family in a more intimate way than other social networks. I will share some of my thoughts and feelings on thisin just a bit.

Before I get too far away from my reason for writing today, I would like to discuss what everyone out there seems to be chattering about above all else when it comes to Path 2.0, the UI. It’s an old saying, and common knowledge at this point in our technology driven lives, that the best kind of interface is one that does not get in the way of you accomplishing your goals and this is an area where Path excels.

It is highly refined, beautiful, incredibly fluid and nearly effortless in that most needs are only a couple of taps away from your fingertips. It’s not every day a group of designers manage to create something truly forward thinking but that is exactly what they have done. Clearly a lot of time went into this update and it shows.

As I mentioned above, the guys over at Path have included many of my photographs as the default imagery within the app’s updated timeline. The space at the top of your home page, which they have brilliantly decided to call the cover image, is where you will discover one of my images when first using the app. This of course can be customised to your own personal photo but as of now you are not able to go back to any of the built in images. After a mail or two with the founders of the company, I have discovered that a future update will include the ability to specify which of my images you would like to use for your cover rather than its current automatic decision. (see note on this in the Path FAQ here) This choice would of course be in addition to the existing choice to pick one of your own images. Many of you have asked me about this ability so I am happy to be able to say that it is on their list of future features.

I find it hard to express how greatful I am to be part of this great new UI design, even in such a subtle way. I am not a part of the team at Path nor am I affiliated with the company in any way, just so you know. My thoughts in this article are strictly my own feelings and have not been written to sell the idea of the app. To be honest, I discovered my images inclusion at the same time everyone else did. While they did write to ask for permission to use them within a future update it was a surprise to me when I saw them used in such a natural way within the apps layout. It’s exciting to know my work is able to reach a wider audience and hopefully be at least a tiny factor in that, ‘wow’, moment upon toying around with the interface for the first time. A big part of why I share my photos the way I do is because of the happiness I hope they can bring others so this is a natural extension of that desire.

For me, personally, I feel Path will be a great tool to fill the hole Gowalla left behind when they completely uprooted and changed direction. I only ever used it for personal use or to share with friends anyhow so Path is going to become a natural evolution of that habit for me. Having a private network with such information is a nice thing to have among family and friends in my life. The addition to version 2.0 of being able to add entries as private notes which are not shared with others is also nice because it elevates its potential as a journal for moments in life I don’t want to forget but also may not want to share. All that said, please don’t be offended if I don’t add you as a friend within the network as I plan to stick with people I have at least a casual friendship with that I feel comfortable letting see closer into my day to day life.

Many seem to be a bit confused by what benefits Path offers over existing ones. The main reason for this seems to be because you are able to take photos using filters in a way similar to Instagram. Well let me tell you now, this is not at all Instagram. Instagram has an abysmal social side and sort of halfway encourages you to share or interact with others. Just look at the “Popular” page, in my opinion, its embarrassing for the service in general and I can only hope they have plans to clean up that side of what they do.Their last update was nice and all but felt like they are just plugging holes rather than polishing things more overall. Of course it does do one thing well and has given many a chance to share and enjoy photography with a simple approach that anyone can enjoy and I have had a lot of fun with it and will continue to do so.

Instagram became the default place to snap photos and share them in so many minds because of its hype, much in the same way Twitter grew so suddenly. These types of social networks (including Facebook and countless others) have one thing in common, they are all designed for you to have a place to not only share but to show off. To fudge the truth just enough to feel like you can be anyone. While it’s true that not everyone has the end goal of accumulating as many followers as possible, the semi anonymous nature in most social networks is something that Path has done a brilliant job in avoiding and it would seem this confuses a lot of journalists and those trying to figure out what to make of it. This is not to say that networks like Twitter or Instagram don’t have their place, it’s just that Path has managed to build something really wonderful in the social network space. Something more personal, a space where you can feel safe in sharing where you are, or who you are with.

I see those online acting jaded and apathetic toward the idea of another social network but I’m not exactly sure why. I understand the initial reaction to some degree but to automatically dismiss something without knowing more about it seems rash. Why bother saying anything at all? I for one am sick of so much cynicism online. Anyways, sometimes it feels as though most everyone is on Facebook by default except for a few, such as myself, who choose not to participate in that madness and I think there are a lot of people out there that are growing weary of such outlandish widespread sharing of their personal life. It’s your choice what networks you decide to be a part of and I believe there is room for more than one. Twitter, Instagram, and  even Tumblr have proven that. Facebook is the huge bloated monster that it is simply because it tries to do everything and as soon as the non-tech savvy members of the world caught on it reached its tipping point and flooded our every day lives so it was bound to reach a point where many start to pull away from it.

This is why networks like Twitter, Instagram, Path, Stamped, and others have been able to make their place and show that the ‘do one thing well’ space is starting to catch on. Surely most of us understand the benefits of a focused effort being a more enjoyable experience than a swiss army knife service that gives us a multitude of tools which just get in the way of each other when we want to accomplish anything more specific. WIth Path, what we have been given is a simplified place place to be more at ease within than other, wider reaching networks.

With Path I don’t have to feel guilty about posting a note about how my car has been fixed at a lower cost than I thought it would be, or how I thought my dinner was delicious while posting a photo of it, because I know that the people that I am sharing it with are those who I consider to be trusted and closer to me and would be more interested to know such things. There is no one I would follow that I would not be willing or able to invite to my own home or meet with in person. If I started using Twitter in a way that many used to make fun of it for and start tweeting about overly personal bits of my life I would be annoying many of those who choose to follow me. The landscape of social media is quickly changing and I feel Path is a brilliant move in the right direction.

As for Path having overlapping functionality with other networks, I feel many are looking at the service and scratching their heads because they don’t want to post the same moment in two or three different places and that is totally understandable. But remember my point above, think about how we have begun to use the different social networks that are in place. Many, if not most, of us have turned our life online into a business of sorts. Sharing has become less about sharing and more about flexing muscles. It only makes sense things would have evolved in this direction and its great that we are all now capable of having a voice and being heard, but this does not seem to be what Path is for. When you post a photo or a thought to Path you don’t have to let the idea that hundreds of people may be reading burden you. It’s here to share yourself and your life, not to exploit and spread your grand ideas and statements with the world.

Here is one real world example of what I consider to be a good use of the app. There is a person I like to follow on Instagram who is a reader of 50ft and I have enjoyed his photography and spoken with him casually here and there over the past year or so and I chose to follow him on Instagram because I enjoy his photographic work. Trouble is, he LOVES to share moments through his day with photos and ends up sharing a lot of what seem to be more personal moments with friends and little inside jokes and things that would really only interest those in his inner circle of friends who he seems to love and is around often and that is wonderful. Instagram became a quick way for him to share these moments with his friends but at the cost of a casual follower like myself having to sift through dozens of personal snapshots from him rather than just a few more curated moments that could draw more of a broad interest. Sure, the easy solution would be for me to not follow him any longer but I really do enjoy following his photos when they are not just snapshots of his friends or his new wardrobe. I of course mean no disrespect here, but I feel I could suggest to him and his other close friends to give Path a go as a viable alternative for sharing these moments with each other and save Instagram for those moments he would like to share with his extended network of friends and followers. Of course, it is totally up to him how he uses the service but it is exactly this type of user that Path is perfect for.

One last thought that sprang into mind is this. Path could also be highly simplified as far as how many followers you choose to add is concerned. It could be used specifically for your eyes only with no other friends added to it at all. The beautiful interface would work wonderfully as a simple Journal app for your own personal needs while sharing only specific moments through its connection to Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, and now Tumblr. You certainly can’t argue with a free Journal app that automatically saves all your info for you. Alternatively, you could use it with one other person, it could be a direct connection to your significant other or one or two of your closest of friends. The way you use it is up to you, I’m just thinking out loud.

Speaking of sharing only specific entries on path through another service. While writing this article I posted a quick snapshot of the iPad I am writing this on through Twitter. The shortlink it shared directed others to a web based Path page where you could see the post and photo attached as well as leave a comment on the post. It is a perfect solution that uses the web as a back door to combine the strengths of both services. This makes for a beautifully simple way to branch out thoughts posted within Path with a wider audience via the other shared services they offer to connect to. A brilliant move that I am surprised to see no one has brought up yet among other discussions online and makes it even more functional for me from day to day.

Great thing is that it will only get better with future updates (iPad support anyone?) so what are you waiting for? If you have an iPhone or Android phone head over to your app store and check it out for yourself and tell your smartphone wielding friends. All of the hype it has been getting seems to be very much deserved. I for one am getting more and more excited about having this service available to me and continuing to explore it and I have a feeling that if you give it a chance, you will too.

For anyone interested, I have created a wallpaper of the image above which you can access using the links below. Also, feel free to share your thoughts on Path or social networks in general within the comments. I know opinions run thick with this sort of thing so use your best judgement when sharing if you would.

To whom it may concern,

IMAGES FOUND WITHIN FIFTYFOOTSHADOWS.NET ARE ©JOHN CAREY AND MAY NOT BE USED FOR ANY COMMERCIAL USE WITHOUT PERMISSION. 

DO:

• Enjoy the images! It’s a labor of love, thanks for your support!
• Share fiftyfootshadows.net with friends.
• Send me a quick mail if you are interested in using an image for commercial or personal use other than wallpaper.

DON’T:

• Post desktops elsewhere online.
• Share links directly to images.
• Pass them around in mass.
• Make prints.
• Use images for web banners or graphics. (send a quick email to ask, I’m pretty easy going about this with permission.)
• Use them in commercial work.

If you help me out with these I will be able to keep doing what I love to do. Thanks again, really, for your support and understanding. -J

——

By downloading any content from fiftyfootshadows.net you agree to the following terms:

All of the images contained within this website, fiftyfootshadows.net, are property of, John Carey unless otherwise posted. The images are distributed as freeware but they are available for personal use only on your personal computer, tablet, or smartphone as your wallpaper image. Any use of these images for any purpose other than this is a violation of these terms and anyone found using said images will be asked to either compensate the creator for doing so or be asked to stop using them immediately.

I ask that you refrain from using any images found on fiftyfootshadows.net to create physically printed material of any kind. This includes posters, photographic prints, fliers, etc. Under no circumstances may you make a physical reproduction without written permission.

These rules also apply for any artwork or imagery submitted and shown within this site which was created by an artist aside from myself. Any images submitted and shared as wallpapers are the property of the artist who created them and in the same manner as my images, you are asked to receive permission before using them in any way aside from their intended use. Any use of these images outside of for your own personal use as a desktop wallpaper image is prohibited without permission from the author of the image. Commercial licensing is available upon request. Please write with any inquiries.

When sharing images via your personal blogs I kindly ask that you link back directly to either the post the image was taken from or the base of the website at www.fiftyfootshadows.net and give a credit to www.fiftyfootshadows.net. Do not re-post full resolution desktop images anywhere without permission. If you would like to use an image for your blog background or something of the sort simply write to ask first. Support the artwork you admire! Also, it is greatly appreciated if you do NOT link directly to the zip files. This is more or less the same as re-posting them as it circumvents the tiny bit of support I ask of you which is to simply link back to the original post for others to enjoy the site.

It’s not fair to artists if you do not credit their work and link back to the original content creator. It is theft plain and simple and blogs that attempt to somehow be mysterious by not giving credit to the creators are simply hurting the artistic community as a whole. If you love it so much then please, support it! The artistic community on the Internet is based on trust. Without trust then what do we have? are you going to be one of the responsible users out there or will you be among the bottom feeders, stealing content and passing it off as your own to make a quick buck in ad sales.

Use your best judgement and we will get along just fine.

Thank you for your understanding and support!

John Carey (curator, owner)

fiftyfootshadows.net

fiftyfootshadows@gmail.com