Nik Software has released their new HDR Efex Pro program and I think a lot of you will really like it. Here is a video showing you some the features of HDR Efex Pro. Let me know what you think of it, I would love hear your comments on it.
Studio Photoshop » Photography, Photoshop, Art, Workshops, Tutorials, Books, Cool Stuff
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Canon EF8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM A lot of people are waiting for this lens. Check out a video made with the upcoming EF 8-15 f/4L Fisheye lens. It’s going to be a very fun lens to use. They used a 5D Mark II and 7D to make the film. This is a very cool movie, and make sure you check out the making of the movie. I want to know how they got the piano in top of the mountain. All signs point to us not being able to buy this lens until January.  Click the image for the movie Nik Software has now released their HDR Efex Pro software and I think a lot of people are really going to like it. I have been testing it for the past three or four months and I really like the ease of use, you can either use it directly from Lightroom, Photoshop or as an stand-a-lone program. With all the new HDR software that is now on the market, HDR Efex Pro is the closest to Photomatix Pro of any of the other software programs out there that can give you that grunge look. I really like how this program works, the interface is pretty easy-to-use and it comes with some fairly good presets. There are a few presets that I really like, one is the Bleach Bypass preset and the other is the Granny’s Attic preset. This is Nic’s first try at HDR and in general they’ve done a good job, but two of the things that I think need to be worked on will be speed and ghosting. When I first started testing the alpha I was a little worried about how slow the program took to process images, but Nik did work on it and it’s a lot faster, but I still feel it needs a little bit more work. Ghosting is the other part of the program that still needs work. I wish they would have given me the option before it starts to process images instead of waiting until after it’s been processed for the preview, I also wish I had a little bit more control of how it will correct the ghosting as Adobe did in Photoshop’s HDR Pro. Here are three examples of the same image from three different HDR programs and as you can see Nik HDR Efex Pro did a really great job and it was fast to work with especially using some of their U-point Technology.  Nik HDR Efex Pro  Adobe Photoshop HDR Pro Photomatix Pro In this video you will learn to create a preset with the crop tool and the use the crop tool to prepare a competition print. When I was at the Florida professional photographers convention this year I had seen Peter Burg’s photograph of a very unique car that had scored a 96 out of 100 points. I thought this was a very cool shot, especially because it looked like it was done inside the studio, but as I found out later he actually photographed it at a street fair. He had retouched an image and made it look like it was a studio shot, so when I saw this car at a Hot Rod show in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida I decided I had to try and see if I could do the same thing.
Trying to retouch the whole car would’ve been a nightmare, so I decided to retouch half the car, then made a copy of that image and flipped it horizontally to create the whole car. The grill looked a bit odd, so I used a layer mask and brought back the whole grill as it originally was.
Here are two quick tips for Photoshop: the first is a fast way to change your brush size and hardness and the second is changing you color space for e-mailing. Sigma SD1 Digital SLR Camera Sigma announced the new Sigma SD1 Digital SLR Camera, Sigma’s flagship digital SLR model, along with two upgraded lenses and two new electronic flashes, at Photokina 2010 in Cologne, Germany. The Sigma SD1 incorporates a 46-megapixel (4,800×3,200×3 layers) 24x16mm APS-C X3 direct image sensor, offering more megapixels than any other DSLR currently on the market. In addition, the Sigma SD1 incorporates “TRUE (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) II” image processing engine which, in combination with the 46-MP sensor, ensures that high resolution images are processed quickly with high definition and a smooth and subtle graduation of color. The new magnesium alloy makes this camera lightweight and nice to handle. For additional information visit: More info. Lensbaby Composer with Tilt Transformer Lensbaby announces today the newest addition to the Lensbaby Creative Effects camera products line-up, the Composer® with Tilt Transformer™ available immediately for Panasonic Lumix™ G Micro System and Olympus PEN® digital cameras and in Q4 2010 for Sony® α NEX cameras. [video] The Tilt Transformer allows photographers to mount any Nikon® mount lens onto their Micro Four Thirds or Sony α NEX camera and tilt up to twice the amount of standard tilt-shift lenses, delivering photos that have a slice of focus through the image, bordered by a soft blur. For additional information visit: www.Lensbaby.com Sometimes all photographers need in the field is one digital SLR body and one lens attached. Other times, just additional lens or accessories need to be added to the kit. To meet this need, Think Tank Photo has completely redesigned its line-up of Digital Holsters™. Available in early October in five sizes, their expandable “Pop Down” section allows them to hold lenses of two different vertical heights with the hood in position or with it reversed. A feature new to V2.0 is the built-in side attachment system compatible with most Modular, Skin, or Multimedia components. Think Tank Photo Releases Completely Redesigned Digital Holsters™ Sometimes all photographers need in the field is one digital SLR body and one lens attached. Other times, just additional lens or accessories need to be added to the kit. To meet this need, Think Tank Photo has completely redesigned its line-up of Digital Holsters™. Available in early October in five sizes, their expandable “Pop Down” section allows them to hold lenses of two different vertical heights with the hood in position or with it reversed. A feature new to V2.0 is the built-in side attachment system compatible with most Modular, Skin, or Multimedia components. The Digital Holsters also feature a side pocket for holding memory cards, a soft flap to cover the camera’s LCD, a shoulder strap, and an externally accessible seam-sealed rain cover in every model. They fit most tripod plates while attached to the camera. For additional information visit: www.thinktankphoto.com Leaf Unveils 80 Megapixel Aptus-II 12 Digital Camera Back Leaf Imaging today introduced the world’s highest resolution, one-shot medium format digital camera back. The Leaf Aptus-II 12 (and Leaf Aptus-II 12R with internal rotating sensor) delivers the world’s highest-quality image capture. It is both a major technical advance and another important illustration of the benefits of medium format camera technology – namely, the ability to support a very large image sensor, with enormous light sensitivity and high dynamic range. The powerful new full-frame 53.7 x 40.3mm 80 MP CCD sensor is at the heart of a system specially designed for a range of photographers such as commercial/advertising pros, archivists digitizing and persevering rare treasures, and fine artists. Whether the subject is architecture, landscape, portraits or product advertising, the sheer quality of detail is unsurpassed. This level of resolution eliminates moiré and more perfectly renders objects – from the texture of fine fabrics to the smooth curves of car metal. For additional information visit: www.leaf-photography.com |
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Randy is an architectural and fine art photographer, located in Florida. He is an instructor of photography, Photoshop and Lightroom at the Morean Art Center. Randy has lectured at the state Florida Professional Photographer convention, as well as around the state.
