Photoshop vs Lightroom and "Is it real?"
Q: "When I process a RAW file, I use the RAW image processor in Photoshop. I then save it as a TIFF file (and then to a JPEG for clients and stock agencies). This already seems like so many steps. Why would I want to use Lightroom?" A: Photoshop wasn't designed to work with camera RAW files - it was designed to work with film scans. IMO, the Camera RAW plugin and Adobe Bridge represent an inelegant approach to modernizing an application based on 1980's technology. Lightroom is the new Photoshop written from the ground up with Camera RAW imaging in mind. It's a paradigm shift. With it, we…
Make images while we can
We get the paper version of the New York Times and enjoy their apps for the iPhone and iPad while traveling. Among other things, my wife and I have long obsessed over the "Modern Love" column in the styles section on Sundays.
Today, the NYTimes is featuring an essay of Jenny's in that very column. It's a deeply personal piece that reminds us to appreciate what we have, and do what we can while we can. Whither on paper or on your…
Smells like Terrorism
I was just in San Diego doing some private training with a client that included night shooting each evening. One of these evenings, I was detained by military police for about 30 minutes while making photographs on a public sidewalk. On this particular night we were apparently near, but not on, a naval base. It was 2am, and I had my tripod setup under a streetlight. I was enjoying the playful, intermingling colors from neighboring mercury vapor, metal halide and incandescent light along this particular street. I was making images of the streetlights and of the streets themselves, not of…
Liberty Bar Tribute
Liberty Bar has been a fixture in San Antonio for 25 years, an unlikely and magical convergence of red neon lights, great waitstaff, loyal clientele and owner Dwight Hobart's "serious food" all gathered inside a tipsy 100-year-old building. Last night was Liberty's last before they move to their new location in Southtown, where they will reopen Wednesday the 26th. The last image in the above group titled "Liberty's Final Hour" was a one hour exposure taken from 9:30pm to 10:30pm May 17th. I've also compiled a time lapse video of this final hour plus a half hour after closing time during…
Client Spotlight: Dan Winters
Dan Winters' unique ability to sculpt with light has long been a personal inspiration of mine. Now more than ever his work is everywhere. He's won more awards and contributes to more magazines than I can list. When I was in an airport a few weeks ago I glanced across a wide walkway full of people and caught a glimpse of this Time magazine cover of Tom Hanks on a newsstand. In that split second from some 80 feet away I just new it…
3 best value, high quality displays to watch [updated]
I've always been a fan of high-end displays like those from Eizo, Barco, Quato, NEC and the like. At the same time I recognize that these pinnacles of technology are hard for most people to justify. I love discovering displays that are affordable yet meet the demands of the most finicky printmakers. Simply put, some ~$800 displays hold up darn well against $2000+ displays when they are well calibrated and it's this "best value, high quality" category that I get excited about and often recommend to my clients.
Lightroom 3 beta 2 released (updated with commentary)
LR3beta2 is out! Here are some noteworthy points: • Speed is greatly improved. • Importing has been improved and refined. • Tethering for popular Nikon and Canon cameras is now supported. • Watermarking is improved (although still not ideal). • Luminance Noise Reduction has been added to complement the new demosaicing and color noise algorithms. • New Vignette styles. • Adjustment Brush and Gradient tools can now be stacked to strengthen the effect. • New Print Layout capabilities with Rotate to fit and Rotate Cell options. • Video files can now be imported from…
Happy Birthday Photoshop
Today is our beloved image editing application's 20th birthday. Many of us have spent more time with this little app than we have with our own kids. As much as I have loved using Photoshop over the last 20+ years, I look forward to the day that I can retire it. I say this not because I'm tired of Photoshop, but because I'm excited about the future.
Parametric workflows, like those available through Adobe Lightroom, Express…
Apple gets hip to night photography (updated 2x)
You know night photography has become mainstream when Apple uses a night image for the default background image on their newest device. Note the star trails near the top! I would guess this is a ~25 minute exposure not too long after sunset considering the daylight glow along the horizon and gentle lighting on the foreground. If anyone knows who's image is used on the iPad, please let me know.
Update: The iPad background image is licensed from RIchard Misrach.
Update: See this in-depth article about the image and Misrach at ARTINFO
Night Photography Video
WalleyFilms just released a video that highlights our Night Photography workshop in West Texas. It was really fun having Angela and Mark Walley out filming during our annual workshop in Big Bend, TX. They are super talented and do amazing work. Between the photographers and videographers the creative process was quite alive that week with image making all day and all night long. You can check out more about WalleyFilms at walleyfilms.com As a long time still photographer, I'm pretty blown away with the power of video as a communication tool. As our DSLR cameras gain HD video capability I'm…