Canon x300 printer review
(with comparison to Epson x900 and HP Z3200 printers)
Canon's latest generation of large format printers offer an exciting mix of refinements. The 44" 8300, 24" 6300 and 6350 (which includes a hard drive) are referred to as the "x300 printers." I've had the pleasure of testing both the 8300 and 6300 printers alongside others as they've come to market. Instead of writing a super long in-depth review, I'd like to offer this relatively brief and…
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…
Lightroom 3 second public beta to be announced today
Adobe is releasing the second public beta of Adobe Lightroom 3 today. LR3beta1 users won't be disappointed as there are a significant number of noteworthy features in the new beta that were not in the first. You will be able to download it from the Adobe Labs Lightroom 3 Beta2 page for details. I'm going to play nice and hold my tongue on the new features until it's officially released. Checkout Adobe's video demonstrating the new features in LR3beta2.
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
Calumet Photo of the Week
I'm thrilled to have Calumet choose my "Texas Love Bus" image for their photo of the week. Texas Love Bus is a 2 hour and 8 minute exposure made from 2 to 4am in West Texas. It was a moonless night so the bus was "painted" entirely by flashlight for several minutes. A pack of coyotes howled and played in the foreground during the exposure as I sat and listened in my car a few feet away. They didn't show up in the final image because they weren't illuminated on this pitch black night. I was grateful they didn't bump the tripod as it would have messed up the long star trails I was going for in…
Client Spotlight: Dan Winters
April 22, 2010articles,commentary