Here’s a peek from Photoshop Product Manager Stephen Nielsen of a tool that will add lens blur to any image without masks, layers or depth maps.
countdowntowednesday.com3/14/12
I found this great article for shooting in black and white, I hope you enjoy it! (click on the link above to see the full article)
In this report, we’ll examine out numerous critical photography tips for snapping shots in black and white. Black and white photographs typically are portrayed as being a breathtaking digital photography kind as they rather simply just are probably to share emotions which couldn’t be accomplished inside a color picture…
The final version of Adobe Lightroom 4 is now available for US$149 for the full version and US$79 for the upgrade. You can get your copy from Adorama, BHPhoto , Adobe or Amazon.
I’m getting my copy right away!
The “Explore” function in Flickr showcases the top most interesting photos or videos, for a given day. There are thousands of photographs uploaded on Flickr every minute – millions of images each day. Still, in each 24-hour period only the best 500, “most interesting or interestingness” uploaded images are “Explored”. These images are chosen through a secret algorithm only known by the folks at Flickr. Just the sheer number of photos uploaded makes it very challenging for your images to be Explored and diminishes your chances. But, do not lose hope! I’ve had 68 photos Explored and I’m going to explain some ways for you to increase the odds of having your photos showcased.
1. Make sure to take technically correct, creative, high quality photos. Do not upload too many images; a maximum of 5 per day will be more than enough as long as they are your best 5. You want to make sure your photos get noticed and not lost in the shuffle. I normally don’t upload more than 1 or 2 at a time.
2. The photos that you upload must be deemed interesting in order to be showcased. This occurs when people tag your photos and comment on them. Comments and photos tagged as favorites by others will increase the chances your photo will be qualified as “interesting”. Moreover, photos that users select as a favorite seem to help your chances of your photo being Explored. You should tag your images with keywords so that other Flickr users can find them and comment on them, this also helps search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) find your photos. Users have the option to search photos by keyword, so this can be extremely valuable.
3. You can also choose your favorites from other people’s photos and comment on theirs too. When you do so, you increase your chances of being noticed and your photography viewed. Usually people reciprocate by viewing your photo stream and may comment and favorite your photos.You will help others, your photography will be recognized and you might make new friends.
4. Post your images to appropriate groups. Be careful not to spam, but stay participative. Show that you are active and involved. However, do not post the same image to more than 5 groups because this will affect the chances of your photo being Explored. Also, be sure to post your image to groups relevant to your photograph. For example, don’t post a picture of a car to a flower group.
5. Be friendly and generous with your comments, Flickr is first of all about sharing our passion for photography.
6. Avoid re-posting the same photo over and over again, this will be counterproductive and can affect your credibility, this will almost guarantee that your photo will never be Explored.
7. It is not a good idea to post your photos to groups that require you to comment or favorite other photos in the group as a condition of posting to that group. This can have a negative impact on your chances of your photo being Explored.
Now that you know what to do and what not to do on Flickr, you are one step closer to getting your photos Explored. Keep these tips in mind the next time you have that great photo you want to share with the world.
The new Canon 5D Mark III was announced by Canon today. From the reviews I’ve been reading over on the BH Photo site, Canon users don’t seem very thrilled with the new features. Many are comparing the camera to the Nikon D800 which at a glance has more features and is $500 less. I was hoping the Canon would have really raised the bar, but it looks like this version might just be incremental updates. Anyway, here are some of the features of the new Canon 5D Mark III.
What do you think about the Mark III? Excited? Disappointed? Will you be pre-ordering?
Update 10/12/2012
My photography buddy Linda I’Anson purchased the Canon 5D Mark III as an upgrade to her Mark II. She recently traveled with the new camera on a photography shoot for a travel catalog in Bangladesh. She really liked the performance of the camera and from what I saw of some of the photos she posted, the images are incredible. I’m a Nikon shooter myself and I’ve been contemplating upgrading from a D700 to the D800, but I keep reading about issues with the autofocus and the leftmost AF point. I’m also not sure I need 36mp of resolution, though most of my photography is landscapes. I’ve actually thought about switching camps, selling all my Nikon gear and purchasing Canon equivalents, but even though the Canon lenses tend to be less expensive, it would end up costing me more than the price of a D4, so maybe that’s the route I will take. I’m in no hurry, I really like the D700 so I think I’ll wait it out a few months before I make a decision.
By the way, Linda and I are contemplating hosting a photo tour to Bangladesh sometime early next year before the weather gets too hot. Included will be a trip to the Chittagong ship breaking yards. http://www.luminous-landscape.com/locations/ship-breaking.shtml. Let me know if you have any interest in attending.
