GoldFrost

Since the inception of this site I've been getting a few questions. So, for those that are curious here are answers to some of the common questions I have received:

General Questions

Q. What does the word "GoldFrost" mean?
Q. Why do you take so long to update your site and add new images?
Q. Do you sell your photographs?
Q. Why are your writings so "dark"?
Q. Do you prefer digital cameras or regular cameras?
Q. Are you a photographer?
Q. Are you a web designer?
Q. Who is your hosting provider and what do you get?
Q. What kind of equipment do you use?
Q. Have I bored you yet?
Q. Are you available for work?
Q. Do you write professionally?

Photo Image Questions

Q. How do I navigate from page to page on the image pages?

And now the for answers:

Q. What does the word "GoldFrost" mean?

A. Absolutely not a dang thing. It was a word I made up a few years ago while trying to figure out a screen name for my AOL account that was not already taken. I hated appending numbers at the end as it looked tacky to me. So, I looked up at my favorite candle that sits on the top of my computer desk hutch (here's the image). While in deep thought, at least for me it was deep, (eyes glazed over, drooling at the corners, wondering if the future of mankind would benefit from the fusion technology that I discovered ....... ok, scratch the fusion technology, just kidding), I noticed the pattern of the feathers on my favorite candle. One feather was frosted, the next was gold and it alternated all the way down ..... gold-frost-gold-frost-gold-frost. Sure enough, the name was not taken and the rest is history. I didn't realize until a few years later that the word GoldFrost was also used as a nail polish name and something relating to pastries. Go figure, at least I got the domain name. ;-)

On a side note, I do have a special meaning for the word GoldFrost:

Picture yourself on a cold winter's night snuggled up with someone special in front of a warm, cozy fireplace. You look over and see the golden reflection of firelight dancing off the frost on the windows. That's my special meaning behind the word and to this date, I've yet to experience it.

Q. Why do you take so long to update your site and add new images?

A. It's a combination of things: laziness, equipment, lack of creative motivation, etc. One of my latest acquisitions was a new scanner, Adobe Photoshop 6, Adobe GoLive and Adobe LiveMotion. With the new scanner I've been able to perform scans at a much faster rate. I've also had to redo the web site workflow process because of the new scanner and one of the applications I relied on has been discontinued. I've just recently updated the workflow process and have been able to update over 1600 pages of the current site which includes over 500 images. (Btw, the new images have been optimized which cut out the file sizes by 10MB, gotta love Photoshop.) So, with the new changes, I hope to provide faster updates to the site.

Q. Do you sell your photographs?

A. Update as of 5/23/03 - I am now moving more into the selling aspect of photography. So if there is an image on this site that you like, drop me a line. However, be aware, I canot sell any pictures of actors.

Q. Why are your writings so "dark"?

A. Because I write what I know, enough said.

Q. Do you prefer digital cameras or regular cameras?

A. It depends on the task at hand. For personal images, images of importance, etc., then by far, hands down, no question, a regular camera and a good film scanner will out perform the best top of the line digital camera on the market. However, if the work at hand is for, say something like an online retailer that would like images of some of their products to post on the web, then the digital format is the way to go.

No digital camera can touch the image quality of a camera and a good film scanner. Notice, I said camera and not decent camera. While it is true that a decent camera has more options for setting up and exposing an image, a disposable camera in the hands of one who can decently compose a picture will be able to create stunning images. As the saying goes, it's not the camera, it's the person behind the camera. Yes, using film, getting it developed, scanning the images then resizing can be a pain in the butt. However, the end result, an image that can get to 4,000 dpi with a file size of over 60MB, leaves a lot of room for play.

2/2/02 - Update! Since I originally wrote the above statement about digital vs. regular cameras, I have been reading up on the latest in digital technologies that may require me to modify the above and view digital in a less harsh light. In the March 2002 issue of Photoshop User, (a fantastic rag for all of you that're into using Photoshop, check out their web site at www.photoshopuser.com), there was a comparison between digital and film. I won't repeat the article analysis here, but suffice it to say, the latest in digital technology from the camera to the printer is causing me to rethink my view towards digital. But, keep in mind, I am picky and particular about my images and if I were to buy a digital camera it would be the best I can get for less than $10k. It would be a Canon EOS-1D. Not the cameras one finds in abundance in CompUSA, BestBuy, etc. In comparison to the EOS-1D, those sub-$1000 cameras are just toys. So, does anyone have about $6,500 I can have to get my digital camera? ;-)

Q. Are you a photographer?

A. I'm now working on that part. If you have a need for a photographer, drop me a line.

Q. Are you a web designer?

A. Same here, I'm working on it so if you need assistance, advice, or whatever, drop me a line and I'll se what I can do for you.top

Q. Who is your hosting provider and what do you get?

A. The provider I go through is No Monthly Fees. I've been with them for four years and have nothing but praise for them. You might balk at the initial cost of $200, but when you think of the annual fees of only $70 with no monthly fees, that's when the service really shines. For the first year, if you break out the initial cost over 12 months, that works out to $16.67/month. For each year after that, the cost breakdown is $5.83/month. I've spent about $410 over four years for 500mb of disk space. What other provider can give the same amount of service for the same or lower price? Just recently they have increased my space to 600mb to keep up with their current configuration, and that was done without charge. :) So what else do I get? I get unlimited e-mail accounts (just as long as the mailboxes don't fill up the 600mb of space), the ability to run my own scripts, Perl, CGI, PHP, MySQL, FTP, sub-domains, command line secure access, no banner advertisements (the ones you do see on this site are put their by me), and just a slew of other services. So check them out and if they interest you, click on their link and sign up. The other benefit of their service is when you route people to them and they sign up, you get a $100 kickback. Now that's freakingrovin. :) Course, to do that, you need to click on the link above so they know who sent them to their site.

Q. What kind of equipment do you use?

A. What? You want to emulate me? Very well, here's the info:

Computers: Main pc is a 500mhz, 384mb RAM, over 60gb of drive space, burner and additional cd. It is networked with two other pcs in the apartment, (one as a backup system and one as a server). The network also allows the hookup of my work laptop. (Can you say geek?) All the home pcs are home built and home serviced by me, I've yet to see why I need to shell out hundreds of dollars to have some "specially trained techie" support what I've been trained to work on well over 15 years now.

Printers: Epson color stylus, Epson Photo 1280, Epson dot matrix and HP Laserjet. Gotta love Epsons for their inkjet quality and HP for their laserjet quality.

Software: The standard office products, (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.). But of special interest are the graphics and web packages: Adobe Photoshop 6, Adobe Image Ready 3, Adobe LiveMotion, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe GoLive (seeing the pattern yet?) and ImageAXS Pro, (the now defunct, yet best imaging management software I've ever seen.).

2/2/02 - Update! Since my last push of this web site to the server, I have acquired Macromedia's Ultradev Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 studio (purchased of course straight from Macromedia). Let me just say, this is by far the best web building application I have ever come across! Easy to learn, clean code, does not mess with your current HTML information as some other packages do *coughs FrontPage*, and just so many additional features that I have been thoroughly converted! (Sorry Adobe, you do have a wonderul package in GoLive and I know you will take it to new heights. Until then, I'll be using Dreamweaver. But, I'm still a diehard Photoshop fan!)

Oh, and least I forget! Macromedia customer support has been most awesome! Our company was in the market to purchasing Dreamweaver for our web sites and I was tasked to coordinate the effort. Macromedia had a special competitive offer promotion going on where current users of FrontPage, NetObjects Fusion, or GoLive could purchase the Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio package at $200 off. Unfortunately, they were out of stock and so we attempted to go through a reseller, (not going to mention any names here *coughs CompUSA*), who were to have available the same promotion. Calling their central sales office, CompUseless informed us that the promotion was a rebate offer. Hmmmm, didn't sound quite right so I called the store in the area. The manager there said there was no rebate and they will not sell the package at the promotional sales price. What the flip?! Got the name of the person I talked to and went straight back to Macromedia customer support to complain about the CompUseless reseller. Did Macromedia just smile and nod? Heck no! They called us back a couple times over the next two days to make amends for the reseller idiocy and make available a better package for us. They even went as far as asking for the phone numbers of who we talked to and any names. Macromedia, your customer support is awesome! Thank you! (check out their products at www.macromedia.com)

Scanner: Flatbed scanner is some HP cheapy unit that came free with a printer I bought for a friend. But of special interest is the Nikon LS-4000 film scanner. It is the best unit for the market it's designed for, not quite the professional yet beyond a hobbyist.

Digital camera: Well, it used to be a Kodak DC-260 until I gave that to my nephew. In its' place I got the Canon D60 and it's a most awesome camera. Though it's not a Canon 1D, it is more than enough camera for my needs. If you want to know more about this fine piece of technology, take a look at a detailed review.

Film camera: Canon EOS 10S (see the pattern here also?) which at one time was top of the line general consumer market camera (just underneath the EOS 1). Though it's a discontinued product now, it still does a fine job.

Q. Have I bored you yet?

A. You tell me ;-)

Q. Are you available for work?

A. The work I am available for relates to photography and web sites. Drop me a line if you have a need in these areas. In addition, I am also looking for willing models to practice my photography. :)

Q. Do you write professionally?

A. As if. I just write what I feel and if I were to write professionally, I'd be starving right now. Thanks to those of you who have written, and even called, (that was a pleasant surprise), to tell me you liked the writings. Soon as I get off my butt I'll put more stuff up. I know a couple poems not up yet and with as screwy as this last year has been, I've got a lot more to write about. :-p
Oh! And before I forget, I might even be inclined to put up some dreams I've written down. Though, there might be those of you out there that might take it upon yourself to analyze the dreams ...... oh well, what the hell. It's my web site and I'll do what I please (just long as it remains legal ;-).

Q. How do I navigate from page to page on the image pages?

A. Most of the galleries are now in sync. Use the options in the upper right corner of the image pages. And if the black menu bar is available at the top, you can always use that to quickly jump from page to page. :)

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