Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Dove Self-Esteem Fund Video

Yesterday I showed you a video for virtual weight loss. Here is one put out by the Dove people showing what you see in the media is not always real.

Do you ever wonder why the Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohans of the world are so screwed up. They get lost in the perception of what is real and what is not. Add to that mix money and fame, it would take a saint to not have problems.

 

After seeing this its no wonder why teenage girls have eating disorders and problems trying to keep up with the stars.

 

The Dove Self-Esteem Fund is trying to help promote healthy self images for girls. You can find out more about the Dove Self-Esteem Fund or the Campaign for Real Beauty.

T.

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About Camera Raw 4.1

Posted by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

From PhotoshopNews

Written by Jeff Schewe

Adobe has released Camera Raw 4.1, and rather than a small update just for new cameras, this one is major. New features and new functionality are showing up in a long awaited upgrade of Camera Raw’s sharpening controls, a new control called Clarity, enhanced noise reduction and two new defringing controls in lens correction. All told, there is a surprising amount of “new” in Camera Raw 4.1. Read more...

 

 

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Need to get in shape fast? This diet works on paper at least!

Posted by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

A lot of people have read my article on Heroin Chic and the art of photo imagery. Well here is a new way for you to get in shape fast, at least it works on paper!

 



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Adobe Announces Photoshop Camera Raw 4.1 Update and DNG Converter

Posted by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

From Adobe PhotoshopNews

The Camera Raw 4.1 update includes improved noise reduction and sharpening tools and raw file support for 13 additional camera models and camera backs. This update also builds on the raw file support integrated in the Photoshop family of products.

The camera raw functionality in the Adobe Photoshop software provides fast and easy access within the Photoshop line of products to the raw image formats produced by many leading professional and midrange digital cameras. Working with these digital negatives allows greater artistic

control and flexibility while still maintaining the original raw files. Camera Raw 4.1 plug-in also supports the same functionality for TIFF and JPEG files. Now professional photographers can quickly and easily import and manipulate raw data, producing the highest quality results while saving time.

The new Camera Raw 4.1 plug-in supports 13 additional digital cameras including the Canon EOS-1D Mark III, Fuji FinePix S5 Pro, Nikon D40x,  Olympus E-410, Olympus SP-550 UZ, Sigma SD14, Phase One H 20, Phase One H 25, Phase One P 20, Phase One P 21, Phase One P 25, Phase One P 30 and Phase One P 45.

Additionally, Camera Raw 4.1 will add support for popular camera backs from Phase One, including the H20, H25, P20, P21, P25, P30 and P45 models. Read more...

 

T.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended Crack Harvests Zombie Computers

Posted by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

 

Source: Softpedia News

Written by Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor

A crack designed to activate Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 3 Extended brings to the table a tad more than the users have bargained for. When it comes to pirated materials, there is no such thing as free. This truism is reinforced by the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended keygen authored by “macROSS.” The Key generator is being offered as a free method to circumvent the activation mechanism of Photoshop CS3 Extended.

While the genuine products from Adobe come with consistent price tags, Photoshop CS3 is available for $649 and Photoshop CS3 Extended for no less than $999, the key generator is completely free. Well, the fact of the matter is that free is more of a concept, and it applies strictly to financial transactions. Because the Photoshop CS3 crack from “macROSS” is anything but free, and it will end up costing users more than a legitimate license.

“Password crackers and key generators have long been the bane of commercial software companies because they allow users to circumvent their protection mechanisms without the need to purchase their software. As a result, it should come as no surprise that some malware authors prey on this particularly vulnerable group of users,” SophosLabs warned. Read more...

 

T.

The Luminous Landscape Gallery Opening

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

In March, Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape opened his new The Luminous Landscape Photography Gallery & Print Studio. This studio was created as a venue that he could display his photography on a year round basis. It will also be used a teaching space for workshops and visiting educators.

The formal opening was held on May 18, 2007 and you can read all about it from Jeff Schewe's article from Adobe's PhotoshopNews

T.

 

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

DailyTech - Major Low-light Digital Photography Breakthrough Inbound from Korea

Quoted fromDailyTech

  Our eyes will possibly get some relief from the blinding flash of cameras in low-light scenarios. South Korea's Electronic Technology Institute announced the development of a newimage sensor chip that allows digital cameras to capture vibrant images without a flash in dark spaces. Read More



Creating a new Business Card

Some very useful links about how to create a business card and get inspired...



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How-to make a Flash Photo Slideshow in 15 Minutes

JumpCut is a pretty robust tool not just for video-editing, but also for making flash-based photo/music slideshows you can embed anywhere. This Photojojo tutorial shows you how.



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144 Graffiti Artists Converge On Soon To Be Demolished Building - Very Cool

Nearly 150 graffiti artists have the opportunity to literally cover every surface of a large building with their artwork.



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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Setting up a basic portrait shot

 

From L7Photo

Setting up a basic portrait needn’t be that difficult. With a few key placements of some lights and reflectors, some great results can be obtained. For this basic setup, we used the Lowel Omni light to hit the back of the head and the hair, the Dynaphos light with a shoot-thru umbrella for the key light, and reflector to ease up the shadows, and a flash for some simple fill. Read More...

 

Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE

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Capture Stunning Landscape Images During the Black of Night

 From Paxton Prints

Many photographers assume that once the sun goes down, so do the opportunities to take spectacular landscape images. Some of my favorite photographs were taken under extremely low light or nearly pitch-black conditions. In fact, I have found that the darker it is the better results I usually get in my images. You are more likely to pick up unusual colors not typically visible to the naked eye while capturing wonderful streaks in the sky when shooting at night. Here are a few suggestions that will help you capture great nighttime landscapes. Read More..

 

Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE

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How to win a photography contest

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

One of the judges of a major photography contest writes at great length about the things he looks for in a competition winner. A very interesting read if you're into photography, or just curious how these things are judged!

Here Haje Jan Kamps, gives seven pointers to remember when entering into a photo contest so that you can maximize your chances to win.

In this example he had to narrow down the entries from 491 down to 10 for the first round. That means a lot of photos had to go. How can you stay in the top ten?



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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Adobe Continues Color Workflow Leadership

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

Concerned with color consistency?

Adobe just posted a new color management module (CMM) on Adobe.com as a free download at http://www.adobe.com/downloads/. The move is the latest in Adobe’s effort to advance open, vendor-neutral color management systems.

The new Adobe CMM is based on the latest ICC (International Color Consortium) profile format, version 4, and it helps achieve more consistent color workflows across platforms since it enables Windows XP users to also use ICC version 4 profiles. Users can now download the CMM component for their applications that support selection of third-party CMMs, and for custom software built to access Adobe CMM directly.

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Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers: on sale soon!

New Photoshop CS3 tutorials on Photoshopforphotographers.com

 

First copies of Martin Evening’s new book: Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers have just come off the press and are about to go on sale soon.

In preparation for the launch of this latest edition to the Adobe Photoshop for Photographers series, Martin has updated the book website to provide some sample pages and chapter extracts that you can download for free.

 

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Plugin Commander

Using plugins, tubes or other add-ons in a graphics, video or animation application can be a frustrating experience. As your effect collection grows your application needs longer to start up and your menus and lists become cluttered making it very difficult to find the particular effect you are looking for.  You can find it at The Plugin Site.

      

Plugin Commander is a tool for dealing with various image formats, plugins and effect types from various graphics applications. It allows you to manage and preview your plugin, tube and add-on collection quickly and easily. There is commercial Pro Edition as well as a feature-limited Light Edition of Plugin Commander, which is freeware.

 

Blogcritics.org, PhotographyToday, All This And Everrything Else

The Plugin Site - ColorWasher - Color Correction at its Best

If you are looking for a plugin that will correct colors, contrast and exposure then this may be what you are looking for. It can be used from a wide variety of graphics applications and is available for Windows and Mac OS. Read about it at The Plugin Site

     ColorWasher - Color Correction at its Best

ColorWasher features a wide range of automatic, semi-automatic and manual tools for correcting, enhancing and restoring photos. It is very easy to use as it offers interactive explanations and hints for each feature, incorporates an Easy Mode and detailed step-by-step instructions in the manual. ColorWasher lets you do professional photo corrections within seconds and also offers a Cloak mode for processing dozens of images very quickly.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Paint/Clone on Movies in Photoshop Tip

Quoted from Steve Whatley's After Effects Cookbook:

 

Well, can I say that after years of prodding the Photoshop team for more video features, they really pulled it off this time. They always surprise us every release with new features, but there are some extra special ones in PS Extended in CS3, and one of them is opening a movie or sequence in Photoshop. The feedback on this at NAB in the booth was overwhelming...."Holy S--T, are you kidding me?" was the normal response when I demo'd it. I had a chance to speak with John Nack (has a great blog) and the 2 engineers who pioneered this new feature at NAB this April and after sharing your collective responses to them they, to say the least, grinned like proud parents.....

 

Posted by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Photoshop How-to: Take a Filter Beyond the Basics

From author Sara Frances, a new step by step tutorial at CreativePro.com that shows an easy technique to take a photo from rough in organic texture to romantic in feeling.

" this very easy Photoshop technique converts images into iconic, contemporary interpretations of Sumi-e ink paintings. (For more on Sumi-e, see the sidebar at the end of this article.) While it won't fit every situation, the inventive, artistic approach worked well on photos I took at a wedding in an architecturally important church and a reception in Denver's historic Brown Palace Hotel."

Bought Photoshop but I wanted Extended

From Jack Nack...

 

In the last few days, a couple of people have remarked that they've purchased Photoshop CS3, only to realize later that they really want Photoshop Extended.  There's no upgrade path that lets you go CS3->CS3 Extended for less than the price of the CS2->Extended upgrade, but you do have another option: Adobe Customer Service can work with you to return your standard license, then purchase an upgrade to Extended instead.  They point out that only customers within the 30-day money back guarantee window can return/swap product; more details on that.



Speed matters. Why don't other sites get this?

I spend a lot of time optimizing our site for speed - and the customer payoff is huge. I spend almost as much time wishing other sites would do the same thing. Alexa says our pages take .9 seconds, median, to load. Let's see how the other big photo sharing sites stack up, shall we?



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20 of the best Free Photoshop Plugins and Filters ...

Plugins and filters extend Photoshop by providing new funtionality and effects that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to achieve or by simplifying a process - here we round up the best Freebies



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5 Things Photographers Should Do When Confronted by Police

This has been a real hot topic since 9/11. There have been some high profile confrontations between photographers and police, such as this one reported by Thomas Hawk (a follow-up post is here). There’s also a growing concern in the photography community that police are overstepping their bounds and interfering with photographers’ rights. […]



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5 Things Photographers Should Do When Confronted by Police

This has been a real hot topic since 9/11. There have been some high profile confrontations between photographers and police, such as this one reported by Thomas Hawk (a follow-up post is here). There’s also a growing concern in the photography community that police are overstepping their bounds and interfering with photographers’ rights. […]



read more | digg story

Professional Digital Photography Making Changes In The Field

The main differences between amateur and professional digital photography is the quality and price of the equipment, the quality of the results and the dedication of the person taking the pictures. Those working in professional digital photography today have seen a lot of changes in the photography industry in the past few short years.



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Using A Light Tent « Concerning Photography

How using a light tent can simplify still life lighting problems



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Copyrights: Protecting My Photography

How to formally pursue copyright protection & why. A must read for all photographers particularly in light of the recent story about Rebekka & Flickr.



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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Real Life "Bambi & Thumper"

While this may be a little too sugary sweet, it does show what one can find if they keep their eyes open!

T.



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How do you prove photography to a blind man ?

Using the traditional card test, one could say that a psychic was really good if they could predict the symbol on a card 50% of the time. You might not agree after reading this article.


T.



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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The Real Story of JPG Magazine

Derek and Heather Powazek have left 8020 Publishing and JPG Magazine. Here is what Derek has to say about it.

T.


read more digg story

Amazing Photography: When Coffee Meets Milk

You really have to see these creative shots, they truly are remarkable!

T.



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Will Amazon click with photography reviews?

Some ardent followers of Digital Photography Review ( http://www.dpreview.com/ )are worried new owner Amazon.com will hurt editorial independence. Will DPReview be the same after it has been Amazoned.

I would like to know what you think!

T.

read more digg story

Friday, May 11, 2007

Book Review - Nash Editions: Photography And The Art Of Digital Printing by Garrett White (editor) with Graham Nash, Richard Benson, R. Mac Holbert an

by T. Michael Testi (Blogcritics.org , PhotographyToday, ATAEE)

We all know the contributions that Graham Nash has made to the music world, from days as a song writer with the Hollies into his time with Crosby, Stills and Nash and then eventually with Neil Young he has influenced countless musicians. But what is remarkable is the incredible contribution he has given to the digital photography world. Since 1991, Nash Editions has been a pioneer in the world of fine-art printing.

Nash Editions: Photography And The Art Of Digital Printing is a breathtaking visual experience of not only the summation of Nash Editions' achievements in the development of digital fine art printing, but it is also a treatise on the subject.

R. Mac Holbert first met Graham Nash in San Francisco in 1971 when he was an assistant truck driver for Crosby Stills and Nash. Both were avid photographers and the two hit it off instantly and soon became friends. By 1979, Holbert was the group's manager, and when he was introduced to personal computers, it changed his life. Over the course of the next six years he became well versed in their use. When he purchased a Thunderscan Scanner in 1985, it got Nash's attention and eventually lead to the two's introduction into digital imaging.

This is the story of Nash Editions. It is the story of the trials and tribulations that took Nash and Holbert down the road to July 1, 1991 when Holbert officially retired from the life of road manger to the management of Nash Editions. It is also the story of creating photographs from the technology of the time throughout the history of photography.

The book is laid out loosely into four sections, albeit with an artistic free-form flair. The first is an introduction by Graham Nash, who explains his background in photography. While I might like a bit more information from Nash's perspective, the book is really about the Nash Editions and how it came influenced the printing industry.

The next section, "The History of Nash Editions", is written by Holbert and it is exceptionally well done. He really explains how he and Nash came about to form the company and the history of the technology that they used to create the early prints, the problems they had with the existing technology; even to the point of voiding the warranty of a $126,000 Iris printer by sawing off the heads and repositioning them so that they would take thicker substrates. By the way, this printer was donated to the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History in August 2005.

"The Four Stages of Photography" by Richard Benson; the Dean of the Yale School of Art since 1986 and whose work resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, as well as many other institutions and private collections, explains how photography moved from the early stages of capturing light on materials of low light sensitivity through the process of printing systems using digital files. It is a fascinating account of the history of capturing images on media.

Henry Wilhelm's "A History of Permanence in Traditional and Digital Color Photography: The Role of Nash Editions" is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand both the history of photographic longevity as well as those who are trying to create fine art images with permanence. This essay is based on a much longer work; 758 pages, that was produced by Wilhelm and Carol Brower in 1993 called "The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs". The version contained in Nash Editions: Photography And The Art Of Digital Printing is geared toward the impact that Nash Editions had on the concerns of the permanence of high quality , large photographic prints on a wide range of papers and canvas.

Through out the book are photos and images from Nash and Holbert as well as many others. Sprinkled throughout are interludes featuring Nash clients such as David Hockney, Danny Lyon, Olivia Parker, Horace Bristol, Jenny Okun, and Darryl Curran. There is a piece on how Nash Editions, in collaboration with Epson corporation, put together an exhibition of Steven Wilkes work in 2001 as well as the history of the permanence ratings of select digital print material between the years of 1991 and 2006.

This book is a must-own for anyone who is serious about photography, fine art printing or just a lover of fine art. This book, if it were a little larger in footprint and hard-bound, would be a quintessential "Coffee Table" book.