Adobe Photoshop turns 20 tomorrow, February 19, 2010. It’s kind of amazing to think that it’s been around for that long. While DSLRs really just began to flourish 5 or 6 years ago, Photoshop has been kicking for four times as long. There is a whole lot of celebrating and special events coinciding with Photoshop’s 20th anniversary. There are plenty of links in the press release below that can point you to ways to connect with the Photoshop community if you’re interested. [Read more…]
Digimarc for Images Offers 3 New Editions
Digimarc has unveiled 3 new digital watermarking solutions for photographers with it Digimarc for Images software. The software features a new “Chroma” technology that embeds ownership and usage rights into the images themselves without affecting the quality of the image. These digital watermarks as embedded and read with Photoshop software and can be detected with free browser plugins for Windows users.
Digimarc for Images is now available in basic, professional and small business editions at price points ranging from $99 to $499.
More details in the press release below. [Read more…]
Topaz Detail 2 Updated
Topaz Labs has updated its Topaz Detail 2 Photoshop plug-in with a speed boost, redesigned user interface and several other enhancements.
You can get more info at Topaz Labs’ website and in the press release below. [Read more…]
Alien Skin Blow Up 2 Review
Alien Skin’s Blow Up 2 is a Photoshop plugin designed to help you create images that are larger than the native resolutions coming out of your camera. Alien Skin provided me with a review sample of Blow Up 2 and mentioned words like “presets”, “single-click” and “take the complexity out.” I took them up on their claims and gave it a spin.
While I don’t enlarge many prints beyond 8×10, I have, on occasion, used Photoshop’s bicubic image sample method to enlarge prints up to 20″ x 30″. I have always thought that this capability in Photoshop works pretty well. That was, however, until I saw the results from resizing using the Blow Up 2 plugin. [Read more…]
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.6.1
Adobe has updated Lightroom 2 to version 2.6.1 and is specifically directed to Leica M9 users.
The Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2.6.1 update includes one important correction that is only relevant for Leica M9 users. This release of Lightroom fixes a bug that caused Lightroom 2.6 to crash when processing certain M9 images. The bug was introduced in the final version of Lightroom 2.6 in the course of making image quality improvements to Leica M9 processing based on customer feedback. There is no need to update to 2.6.1 if you aren’t a Leica M9 user. – Adobe.com
You can download Lightroom 2.6.1 via the following links:
4 Great Books to Improve Your Photoshop Skills
There are plenty of great Photoshop tips and tutorials online; however, sometimes I like to have a book in front of me to help find my way. And, there are plenty of great authors out there producing thorough and well-organized resources. [Read more…]
7 Tips for Shooting in Troubling Lighting
If you’re an event, wedding or concert photographer you know the pains of shooting in low light all too well. Some of the main problems are focusing, white balance issues, high ISO noise, and ensuring that you capture the correct motion. All of this can be pretty tricky, especially if you’re trying to get a variety of angles to ensure that your shots don’t all look the same. Here are some tips for shooting and how to save your work in post process.
[Read more…]
Camera Raw 5.6, Lightroom 2.6 Now Available
Adobe has released final versions of Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6. Both are available for download here.
Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6 now support the following new cameras: [Read more…]
Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6 Release Candidates Available
Adobe has made release candidates of Lightroom 2.6 and Camera Raw 5.6 available for download in Adobe Labs. These versions add raw file support for the following cameras:
Canon EOS 7D
Canon PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot S90
Leaf Aptus II 5
Mamiya DM22, DM28, DM33, DM56, M18, M22, M31
Nikon D3s
Olympus E-P2
Pentax K-x
Panasonic FZ38
Sigma DP1s
Sony A500
Sony A550
Sony A850
Remember, these are release candidates, which means they’ve been pretty well tested and Adobe thinks they are ready for full release; however, it’s recommended that you keep production work to prior versions until the official releases drop. Expect those to come soon though. Release candidates mean that the final versions are just around the corner.
Lightroom 2.6 release candidate can be downloaded here.
Camera Raw 5.6 release candidate can be downloaded here.
Lightroom 3 Beta has not been updated yet.
Windows 7 Photography Solutions and Applications
If you haven’t heard already, Windows 7 is here and available everywhere.
If you use Windows Vista on your computer, you may be more than ready for the upgrade. Microsoft has been hyping Windows 7 as a better solution for a long time. What follows are some of the latest developments for photographers, along with a brief look at what casual photographers can expect out of Windows 7 for helping organize and edit images. [Read more…]