Category Archives: software
Lightroom 3 Contest Winner!
After much deliberation over the fantastic compilation of images for the July contest, I’ve finally had to just make probably one of the toughest judging decisions I’ve had to make thus far in the history of the contest series. However, in light of the theme of the contest (Slick), and the creativity that went into the image itself, I have to give the nod to Stephen Ludgate for his submission:
Five Best Kept Secrets of Photoshop CS5
By now you should know all about the latest and greatest features of Photoshop CS5. People have been talking until the cows come home about Content Aware Fill, Puppet Warp, and the other “sexy” features of CS5 (and they are pretty awesome, sure). Heck, you may even know about some of the JDI (just do it) features, but there is still so much under the hood of CS5 that the gurus and pros haven’t even discussed yet. After taking some time and tinkering around inside CS5, here are five features that I am surprised are not getting more “air time”…I … Continue reading
An interva-what?
A friend of mine asked me if I had any recommendations the other day about time lapse…specifically software for post production. It’s a great question and brings up a subject that I am actually quite interested in, although I have no hands-on experience with as of yet. He’s got a Nikon D300, which apparently has the feature built in, so lucky him, because I need to go find an intervalometer now! An interva-what? You heard me – an intervalometer! It’s just a fancy name for a remote control timer. I like the former though as it’s cool sounding word! … Continue reading
Hardware Updates
With the last few blog posts being software-related, wanted to take a few moments to let everyone know about some hardware updates that I’ve learned about as well: Drobo – Yup, those proprietary RAID storage containers get firmware updates too – it’s version 1.6.8 for the Dashboard: The Canon 1D Mark IV has a movie plugin available for Final Cut Pro available on the Canon website: And last but not least, the Digital Photo Professional 3.8 came out a few weeks ago – also released from the Canon website. Make sure you have the original installation CD’s for this as … Continue reading
Ammo in the armaments
Last night the DALPUG (Denver Area Lightroom Users Group) had their bi-monthly meeting and host Brian Reyman walked us through some of the features of the Lightroom 3 Beta. It was a gret seminar and offered an opportunity for many to get an idea of what to expect. I had not realized that there are many work flow options out there because when queried, the audience responded with quite the variety of software approaches. We didn’t officially count votes, but it seemed roughly along these lines: 40% Lightroom 2 40% Photoshop CS (no query here on version #) 10% Aperture … Continue reading
Software Review: PrintKey2000
Many times I have been asked what kinds of software I use to do various things for the blog, especially things like videos, screen captures, audio recording, and all that sort of stuff. One thing that I’ve never really talked about is screen captures…not the videos but actual still shots of things as seen directly on my screen. There are many programs available to do this, some paid for, and some open-sourced, with some being Mac or Windows specific, and a few scattering that cross both platforms. Well, today, I am going to give a little nod to a Windows-only … Continue reading
speech recognition review
With time becoming and ever-increasing commodity, the ability to utilize speech recognition software has both benefits and disadvantages. And in the interests of sharing my initial experiences with speech recognition software here on the blog, today’s post comes to you courtesy of and open-sourced software application called “E-speaking”. On the initial install, I decided to take roughly ten minutes to let the program get used to my voice before it was accurate enough to consider using for writing a blog post. It’s still clearly is not accurate enough to rely on 100 percent of the time as a stakes clearly … Continue reading
Flickr Plugin for Lightroom
While recently participating in a Photowalk group outing to Rocky Mountain National Park, with the fellow local photogs, I learned about this great little plugin for Lightroom that allows you to export your photos directly to Flickr…all within Lightroom! It’s a pretty cool little plugin, and as you know, when I learn something new – so do you! This plugin comes courtesy of Jeffrey Friedl, and one of the greatest features of it is the cost – absolutely free! Well, that’s not exactly true, you do need to spend one cent via Paypal, but for a penny, check out what … Continue reading
Software Review: Apple iPhoto
As much as we glow and sing the praises of Photoshop and Lightroom, native photo editors that are included in Operating Systems are often overlooked as alternatives for photo editing and management. This is primarily because… well, let’s face it, because they are not very good at photo editing…or management. But think about what we are comparing them to…comparing Windows Picture and Fax viewer to Photoshop Lightroom? Is that really fair? What about comparing Photoshop Creative Suite 4 to iPhoto? Is that a good apples to apples comparison? If you think about it – not really. We’re talking full-fledged dedicated programs that … Continue reading
Software Review: Noise Ninja
With the October Contest underway where the winner will walk away with a fully licensed copy of Noise Ninja, courtesy of the folks at PictureCode, today is a great day to give everyone an idea of what makes this program one of the industry leaders. Since I have talked about the presence of noise in your images before (read that post here), re-hashing the principles of what introduces noise and the artistic benefits and image quality downsides of it in your images isn’t really needed. Instead, here I will simply share some of the interface, and a few before and … Continue reading
Topaz Laps: Software Suite Review
So, as everyone is likely already aware, Topaz Labs approached me recently to sponsor a giveaway and generously donated their entire suite for some lucky listener/reader. As is always the case, I like to say “thanks” in my own small way by giving the vendor some “air time” on the blog with a personalized review of whatever it is they are contributing. In the case of the Topaz Suite – boy did I bite off more than I could chew! The Topaz Labs package consists of 7 different Photoshop plugins with somewhat descriptive names for each plugin package, ranging between: … Continue reading
Reviews, Contests, and Blog Notes
Lots to cover today on the blog so I am going to get right to it. First up, I’m trying to maintain the schedule of hardware reviews, so rather than go into detailed analysis, I am just sharing an abbreviated review here today on the Canon 28-135mm lens. Also up on todays blog, the OnOne Software giveaway finalists have been announced! Last up, a few administrative things to address. So, without further ado, let’s get started: The 28-135mm Review The luck of this review is due to the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. I had been hearing good things about this … Continue reading
Teaching to Learn…
For those of you that don’t know – there is a cool little feature available for iPhone and iPod Touch users called AudioBoo, where you can record up to three minutes of audio soundbites and share online. It’s a pretty neat little feature, and allows for short bursts of ideas. I shared just such a recording (they are called “boos”) this evening after I left the Exposure Denver photo club meeting. You can listen to the recording here or continue reading below my thoughts on the Exposure Denver experience! Speaking of which, the gang from the group was so cool … Continue reading
Mask Pro 4.1
Okay, I know the folks from onOne have been very generous with their contribution of a copy of the OnOne Plugin Suite for the latest giveaway here at Canon Blogger/Learning Digital Photography, but I have to say that I am literally blown away by this offer even more. As I delve into each tool more and more, I am totally amazed at the functionality and how easily it really makes things. For those of you that watch Photoshop User TV, you’ve seen what I’ve seen – ads from OnOne claiming that masking is made so super easy that you can … Continue reading
Let me count the ways…
The age old phrase of “let me count the ways” seemed like as good a theme as any to announce the newest contest from the blog here for the Learning Digital Photography podcast. I just got word from the folks at OnOne software that they really liked the post on Genuine Fractals – so much that they would like to participate in a giveaway! Can you guess the prize? Yup, that’s right, the entire OnOne Plug-in Suite: 4.5! This is an amazing offer, as the package normally retails for $500! That’s five hundred big ones! I don’t know about you, … Continue reading
Software Review – Genuine Fractals 6.0
Don’t get too excited – no software giveaway on this one folks, as I’ve not had a chance to call OnOne yet and see if they’d be interested in participating in a contest. Instead, I am working off a trial version of one of the premiere up-sizing software programs on the market – Genuine Fractals from the good folks over at OnOne software. Available for both Mac and Windows, this product really has developed a good name for itself in the industry. While reputation may precede it, I have been wanting to give this product a try for some time … Continue reading
The Un-review Software
This week I am going to talk about the lack of software in the weekly software review. That’s right – the lack of it! You may be sitting there wondering which software item I am going to talk about, promote, or diss in some way shape or form, but instead of that, I actually want to talk about the general trending of software, hardware, and system resources. Why? Because we demand a lot from our computers these days. Think about it – we want our computers to do many things from surfing the internet, to designing graphics, office functions, building … Continue reading
The Business of Selling Your Photos
As economic belts are cinched, and we start spending our dollars more carefully than ever before, I am getting email a lot from photographers asking “What should I be charging for this event?”, or “A client wants a digital negative, what’s a fair rate?”, and even, “How much is my work worth?” Truth be told, the economics of photography sales are just as much a mystery to me, and I don’t have all the answers. But I know a few things about where to start, and how to research. First and foremost, is to know your market. Are you working … Continue reading
Airtight Viewers – Web Gallery Options Reviewed
Initially, this week was supposed to be the second in a series of software review posts to take a more detailed look under the hood at Photoshop Elements as an alternative to Photoshop Creative Suite. Truth be told though, the more I poke under the hood with Adobe’s Lightroom, the more hooked I get. One of the absolute best features (in my opinion) is the web gallery options available to you in Lightroom. The options are endless! You can go from standard HTML, to Flash-based templates, and hybrids, with customizations galore. One of my favorites though, is how Adobe integrated … Continue reading
Photoshop CS3 vs Elements 7.0 – Part One
Ever since Tom Hogarty came on the podcast and I’ve had some time to dive into Lightroom, I am thinking more and more that this is a much better solution for managing all of my photo assets. Since I’ve found myself spending more time in LR and less time in PS CS3 (Extended), I started debating if I really needed so much horsepower under the hood. After all, CS3 Extended is quite the workhorse, from performance, to functionality, to footprint, and of course, price. It left me wondering about my upgrade path. In all honesty though, I think the term … Continue reading
Shooting tethered with Canon gear
I’ve not seen much coverage of how to shoot tethered using the Canon proprietary software, so for today’s post, I thought it might be useful to offer the Canon perspective here (since the blog bears the moniker of my camera vendor of choice). For those who are Nikon shooters, I would highly recommend reading the post Scott Kelby did a while back that shows how to shoot tethered into Lightroom. While he walks you through the Lightroom element, he then discusses the Nikon approach… the counterpoint here is to take a look at the Canon approach. To start off – … Continue reading
Photo Contest – Win Adobe Lightroom
Happy Saturday all. It’s a rare weekend post here – since Friday was silent. Two things – first off, Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there! Second, as the podcast on Tuesday announced, don’t forget the first ever Learning Digital Photography Contest is under way – all during the month of May, submit your shots to the Flickr group (2 entries per person) for your chance to win a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0! Not only is it a great chance to win this wonderful program, but a great way to get increased visibility of your work … Continue reading
Win a copy of Adobe Lightroom 2.0!
Just last week, I had the distinct honor of interviewing Tom Hogarty, Senior Product Manager for Adobe Lightroom. Needless to say, I postponed the podcast for a few more days so I could include the interview. He really gave a good breakdown of the function of Lightroom, what to expect from it, how to incorporate it into your work flow, and what (in general) we can likely expect to see in the future of image processing development. We spent a good deal of time going over the nuts and bolts, so under the general heading of Software discussions today, I’d … Continue reading
