| Hello,
My is Bill and I'm from the United Kingdom. I have been a wikipedian since July 8 2004. My area of interest on wikipedia is computing, specifically computing from the 1970s through to the mid 1990s. I'm a big fan of the computer company Commodore, which is currently my main focus on wikipedia.
If you are wondering about my username, it is a combination of ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release - the basic properties of sound generation on synthesizers) and the model number of the famous MOS Technology SID, the sound chip of the Commodore 64. Not very memorable, I know... <blush> I also go by the username of "MOS-6581" on other retrocomputer type websites.
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Soapbox time
I've tasked myself to replace pictures of consoles and computers that are of low quality, or have indeterminate copyright status. It amazes me how poor most pictures are on wikipedia, which is a shame, considering the time we wikipedians spent making articles interesting and informative. What is the point of creating a good article when it can be ruined by a horrible picture?
It can be argued that a bad picture is worth a thousand words, but if you are going to bother to pick up that digital camera, then please do it properly! We should strive to be as "professional" as we can.
"Unprofessional pictures"
Backgrounds:
Do people really want to see your carpet, or dodgy wallpaper? Having wires and cables in the shot is very distracting also. Have you ever noticed that most pictures from manufacturers of computer equipment go out of their way to make sure you don't seen the spaghetti hanging out of the back of their products? Obviously if you want to take a picture of it powered up, you'll need to use them, but with a bit of planning you can hide them. Even if you can't hide them, it can be removed with a graphics program such as Paint Shop Pro, (or Adobe Photoshop). By "whiting-out" to remove the background, it improves a picture (even bad ones) considerably, and brings focus on the object.
Old computer equipment:
Personally, I hate to see bashed and or scratched-up stuff, it just doesn't belong in an encyclopedia unless its a thousand year old bit of rock. If the scratches/scuffs are very small, then Photoshop can come to our rescue again. Resist the temptation of uploading your picture, unless you have a mint machine, or good PS skills.
If the plastic on your object is yellowed, resist the urge to take a picture, because it isn't representative or fair on the object. If you are willing to put in the effort, then Photoshop can be used to colour correct the object to make it look like new again. If you really can't do it yourself, then I could be persuaded to do it, but only if the image is of sufficient quality. If you do happen to have a high quality image of an Amiga 1000, A2000 or A4000 then I'll gladly do it, as they are in need of images right now (as of 2005/05/26).
How I take images
I use a combination of natural daylight and a fluorescent lamp to illuminate the object. I do this so I can avoid using the flash, which makes taking images that little bit harder, but it helps avoid washing out colour and detail. Another benefit of not using the flash is being able to take a picture of the your monitor or TV, without totally washing out the picture on the screen. Unfortunately without the flash, the risk of blurring is increased, so using a tripod is essential. (I don't used a tripod, because I don't have one :( ) If you don't have a tripod, hold your breath and snipe that picture!
*** To be updated ***
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