divvying up the bokeh, originally uploaded by [ r ♥ c e y t ♥ y ] {I br♥ke for bokeh}.

some for me, some for me. I’m greedy that way. Also? Remiss in my flirckring. I have been etsying. Can you ever forgive me?

Processed with the Christmaseh_holly preset, available for download as part of the Christmaseh Preset Pak! for FREE!

fenceh remainder bokeh

E T S Y

Free shipping Thursday through Monday. Also? Buy a print and choose a second one of equal or lesser value for FREE. Yes, I am shameless.

Looking up inside hoppers in an abandoned building by the railroad tracks in West Henrietta.

Canon 30D with EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM at 35mm, 1/250 @ f/10.0, ISO 1600. RAW image processed in Lightroom.

A lot people complain about loosing images, and I also did loose over 500 images just because of my own lazyness, couple years ago. So I thought this could help to avoid frustration in front of the screen. To me, the most important thing in the whole photo-workflow is: importing / organizing and backup, all the rest comes later in the post-process.

Let`s say I go to a shoot somewhere and get back with a whole bunch of images, they`re all stored on the memory card right? Right.  The first thing I always do just copy those files on my desktop into a quick import folder. After that, I import those files into my photo organizer  ( lightroom / aperture / ps elements or whatever u like to use) btw; I do organize my files by date, like: “2009-11-15″. Anyway, move those files inside in the programm to a new location. I don`t copy `em, I just move it away from my desktop to a new place where it makes more sense. Don`t worry…Im not going thru my whole photoworkflow now, I just want to talk about my backup solution. After moving I do backup those files to a 2nd location, they`re now safe on my internal hardrive, but I need another copy. After that, Im workin on those files, I never work on my original files, that`s why I`ve done a copy of every single image. When Im done with editing, I burn a DVD ( edits and originals ). Just because if something goes real wrong I still have my files on a DVD, and your`re probably safe for more than 15 years:-) Why  burning a disc?  1st: I just don`t trust hardrives, that`s why, and 2nd: I spent so much time with shooting / organizing / editing. So if you really want be sure, two backups aren`t enough! At least two seperate location like internal / external drives and a safe copy on a DVD. Believe me, you will sleep better at night:-) When it`s all done, I got my two copies and the DVD, finally I delete my images on the memorycard. Hope this was helpful, and not to boooring:-) If you love yr photos do backup yr files, Im tellin` yah!

Backupcover easily done in Aperture:

The answer, originally uploaded by [ r ♥ c e y t ♥ y ] {I br♥ke for bokeh}.

Buy on Etsy

Last week it was blowing in the wind. Also? The sun flare and snow. All brought to you via the power of actions! Actions in action. Sun flare and both large and small flake snow. Also? Overlays! Sun Flare overlay.

Actions can be downloaded here
Overlays can be downloaded here
Etsy shop can be visited here

I welcome you to count the snowflakes

I spoke in an earlier blog entry about the abuse of digital tools in photography today.  But the question becomes what do I use in my digital darkroom?

No real secrets here and probably no surprises, either.  I have two primary tools that I use when I am working with photographs.  The first is Adobe Lightroom 1.4.  I use this tool for three primary purposes.  The first is to do my initial view of images after a photo shoot.  If I am shooting from a bird blind or have been out and about for an extended period of time, it is not unusual for me to come back with 300-500 digital images.  While shooting in RAW is my favorite way to capture images because of it’s lossless format, it does create problems when I go back to look at large numbers of them.  Lightroom allows me to see nearly screen-sized images with little to no processing on my part.

My second purpose in using Lightroom is to handle the bulk of my post-processing work.  Lightroom works like a champ when it comes to activities like cropping, dust removal, exposure compensation, color temperature correction, and color saturation.  I can use sliders or I can use numerical values with an equal amount of ease.  If I went too far at some step, I can go back and fix it from that point.  And because Lightroom is non-destructive, I know that my original images are safe from my occasional fits with carelessness.

And my third purpose in using Lightroom is for digital asset management.  Lightroom makes keywording my images a breeze.  This is important to me because when shoot as many images as I do, going back and trying to find my favorites of a particular species of bird or of a particular church would be almost impossible without a good keywording process.  I will talk about digital asset management again in a future blog post.

My other tool is Adobe Photoshop CS3.  With most of heavy lifting done, Photoshop is there for the last little tasks.  I generally will only use Photoshop for fine adjustment to the midpoint, curve corrections, and light sharpening.  I could do most of that within Lightroom, but CS3 I feel has a finer degree of control for these tasks and frankly I just feel more comofortable in CS3 for these tasks than I do in Lightroom.

You may be questioning why I am using older generations of these software packages.  Photoshop is now up to CS4 and Lightroom is in version 2.  I have never been a fan of upgrading just for the sake of upgrading.  If there isn’t anything in the new version that gives me a definite reason to upgrade, I don’t.  Neither newer version stoked my fire enough to want to go out and upgrade.  But at most I will only skip one generation of Adobe software.  I am testing the Lightroom 3 Beta right now and am very pleased with the improvements from version 1.4.  I will definitely purchase it when it comes out.  And I hear rumbles that Photoshop CS5 is not very far into the horizon either.

There are plenty of other tools out there that do a fine job.  But these are the tools that feel most comfortable in my hand.

Thinking I should update my workflow and make a blog post out of it…

Recently, someone was complaining to me that the photos they were having printed at a well-known pro-lab were coming out brown toned. 

I asked, “Do you mean ‘muddy’?”

They said muddy was a good description.   They said the colors were all off, dull, and washed out, and so forth.

I recognized right off the bat what they did.  They shot in Adobe RGB and sent the Adobe RGB file off to their lab.  They didn’t tell their lab to convert to sRGB, or the lab’s “color profile”, and so the lab just printed them.  (Remember, your lab will do what you tell them to do.)

Although printers are now coming on the market that support a wide gamut of color space, MOST printers are so much more narrow that Adobe RGB, and Adobe RGB was not designed with photography in mind.  Okay, neither was sRBG, but sRBG is a safer bet when printing.

So, if you do not want to take the time to learn about color management, at least set everything you own to sRGB.  Shoot in sRGB, edit in sRGB, and send it to your lab as a sRBG file.  Yes, it is a smaller color space, but you’ll be more pleased with the results than trying to print an Adobe RBG file.  You other option is to talk to your lab when you submit your files and tell them what color space you used, and ask them to convert.  They MIGHT charge a FEE!  Just beware.

Your other, and better option, is to learn how to manage color profiles.

I just wanted to share a photograph that I played with. My workflow almost always starts out in lightroom and  ends in photoshop.  As much as editing can be a headache and time consuming ,I love it very very much; provided all is well at home of course!

Capture NX2 is an integral part of my workflow and provides some very powerful tools for editing.  One of the drawbacks is that NX2 has not gained a large share of the post process market and therefore does not get as much coverage as the more popular programs like CS4 and Lightroom.  This makes finding good resources, tutorials and tips online very difficult for NX2.  One advantage to NX2 is the somewhat intuitive interface, but unlocking its full potential can still be very time consuming.

In my search for additional resources I came across the website DPT&T.  I was pleased to find tips and tutorials that went beyond the basic control point, and dust removal steps.  Some of the links on the site (click here) take you back to the Nikon NX2 website, but they also list their own tutorials along with other sites that have relevant information.

If you are a Capture NX2 user and are looking for good information on what NX2 is capable of hop over to DPT&T and check out the information.

(Copyright 2009 Rob Sylvan – All Rights Reserved)

Guest Post by Rob Sylvan – Follow Rob on Twitter

I spend a lot of time helping other Lightroom users troubleshoot, identify and solve problems. In my continuing effort to write myself out of a job I pulled together a collection of tips that probably account for a third of all the issues I see. Some of these tips are preventative measures (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!) and some are intended to help you work faster, but hopefully together they help you become a more productive Lightroom user.

1. If Lightroom suddenly starts running slowly, freezing up or acting strangely there are a few things you should do before pulling out your hair:

• First, simply restart Lightroom.
• If that doesn’t solve the problem then reboot and run Lightroom by itself to see if that makes a difference.
• If the problem persists it is time to replace (or trash) the Lightroom preference file.
• Still no love? OK, create a new Lightroom catalog (File > New Catalog), import some test photos and try to reproduce the problem. If you can’t reproduce the problem it is time to restore from the backup catalog to replace the one having a problem.

2. Keep Lightroom up-to-date. Adobe releases updates to Lightroom several times per year and each release includes support for newer cameras as well as important bug fixes (and the occasional new feature). You can have Lightroom look for updates automatically by going to Lightroom > Preferences (Win: Edit > Preferences) and ticking the Automatically check for updates box. What I like to do is keep an eye on the RSS feed from Lightroom Journal to get the full scoop on each release (check the comments from other users too).

Tip: If you are a Photoshop user make sure you are using the latest version of the Camera Raw plugin too, which is a separate install. When you see Lightroom’s splash screen it will show you what version of the Camera Raw plugin is equal to that version of Lightroom. For example, with Lightroom 2.5 the equivalent version of the camera raw plugin is 5.5.

Grab the latest (non-beta) version of both Lightroom and Camera Raw from Adobe.

3. Keep your operating system up-to-date, but be mindful of the hazards on the bleeding edge. This is a tricky one because while each update to your operating system holds the promise of better performance and new features it can also lead to problems, which require new updates to fix. If you are savvy enough to get yourself out of problems then by all means lead the way for the rest of us, but if you are curious yet cautious this is a good time to keep your eyes on the user to user forums to see how others are faring before you take the plunge.

4. Keep your printer drivers up-to-date too. Technology marches onward at an unrelenting pace. When you are about to update your operating system take a moment to check the website of your printer manufacturer to see if they posted an update to the printer driver for the printer model you are using. Keep in mind that updated printer drivers tend to lag behind updated operating systems, so if printing is mission critical to your workflow you should wait to upgrade your OS until the new printer drivers are ready. Uninstall your old driver to do a clean install of the new one. Make sure you have the freshest set of paper profiles while you are at it.

5. OK, you are all up-to-date and your system is humming like the finely tuned machine it should be and you want a quick sure-fire way to boost your productivity to the next level? Learn more shortcuts. This is the simplest way to increase your productivity (and it is free). Once you start using them you’ll ask yourself why you didn’t start sooner! So, here is the complete list of Lightroom keyboard shortcuts. Here is a cool Lightroom shortcut configuration that comes with a graphic (I use it for my desktop wallpaper). Here is a simple, but super effective way to start learning one letter at a time. Pick a new shortcut and start using it right now.

Heather

Originally uploaded by Elessar

My friend Heather used to be a model. When I met her, I hired her as an intern to do Technical Writing for Sterling Commerce. She was a senior at Bowling Green State University and one of the shyest people I knew. She was a very good technical writer and lately, she’s been a full time mother to twin boys. We’ve kept in touch over the years through Facebook and as I’ve been working on building up my portfolio, I asked Heather if she would model for me. It was a lot of fun watching her pose while I snapped pictures. This was a whole new side to her that I’d never seen. While we were working, she was telling me how she’d been to Paris and Milan to model. I never knew that.

I think that this was one of the best images of the day. I love the way the light plays across her face and her throat. The dress she was wearing was also fantastic.

In addition to mastering off camera lighting, I’ve also been working to build up my skill with Photoshop. I really want my images to stand out. I’m getting there, but I have a ways to go.

Porque a veces, aunque sea temprano, las legañas peguen mis pestañas, el estómago esté revuelto o esté de mal humor…merece la pena madrugar

I took these images in about in hour at a farm nearby. Making eye candy stuff is my quick fix in life – luv it.

There have been questions posted as comments recently asking about the role of Lightroom in a photographer’s workflow. Many posters who are not currently using Lightroom aren’t sure whether Lightroom it is an alternative to Photoshop or where it fits if you have Photoshop too. I thought it was a good time to look at where Lightroom fits in the Adobe line up and to explain why Lightroom isn’t a Photoshop alternative.

Lightroom: What is it and When Should You Consider it?

Concrete benches at the old Iola sanitarium.

Canon D60 with Sigma 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC at 34mm, 1/125 @ f/8.0, ISO 200. RAW photo processed in Lightroom.

Lake Erie fishing June 2008

Whether you are an amateur or a professional photographer, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 helps you  import Fast, process, manage and showcase your images, from one shot to an entire shoot. You’ll efficiently maximize every moment, so that you spend less time in front of your computer and more time behind the lens. With a sophisticated yet uncluttered interface, enhanced features and new options, you can find photos faster, make more accurate adjustments and effectively present your work in more ways than ever before.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 offers a nimble way to move through each step of your workflow, from image capture to client presentation. Flexible tools and features for managing the processing of large amounts of photos help you do more in less time. Enjoy the freedom of customizing a vast array of importing, renaming and metadata stamping functions. Use the History panel to easily and automatically keep track of the changes you’ve made to images, including alternate versions. Output high-quality printed contact sheets, online Web galleries and slideshows or upload your photos to popular photo-sharing sites.

Features

• Target a specific area for dodging and burning for more flexible, accurate enhancements
• Sort and filter large amounts of photos via metadata filters that let you find just the photo you want
• Import and process huge volumes of photos according to your customized settings
• Works smoothly with Adobe Photoshop software (not included) for streamlined use of Smart Objects, panorama stitching, high dynamic range functionality, multiple layer workflow and more
• Task-oriented modules make learning easy and help you through typical workflow tasks by placing the tools you need at your fingertips
• Compatible with more than 190 camera raw file formats
• Adjustments made to images in Lightroom won’t alter original data, whether you’re working on a JPEG, TIFF, DNG or camera raw file

a thank you cake!, originally uploaded by Music Man5.

]]> http://bkkphotographer.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/lightroom-support-for-canon-eos-7d/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:34:51 +0000 bkkphotographer http://bkkphotographer.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/lightroom-support-for-canon-eos-7d/

At last! Adobe have released “Release Candidates” for the software needed to support the Canon EOS-7D in Lightroom and Photoshop. That will be a relief to many photographers who have been waiting for it since they purchased their 7D.

Adobe are careful to describe a Release Candidate:

The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Lightroom team would like the community to help verify the quality of this update through normal usage as this will ensure that the application is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.

That’s far better than using the “Beta” label. It’s interesting how these terms have changed over time. When I worked at HP we referred to what’s now called a Beta as an Alpha. For us Beta is what Adobe are calling a Release Candidate. I think the RC usage is consistent with the Microsoft terminology.

I don’t have a 7D and I have only just updated to Lightroom 2.6 so I think I’ll wait until Adobe release the software officially.

I have seen it written many times that Adobe does a better job of rendering Camera RAW data than Canon’s own Digital Photo Professional. I find this amazing given that the DPP engineers should have access to all the inside information and to the people who designed the sensor and firmware. Maybe it is that the best software engineers want to work for a software company rather than be second-class citizens in a hardware focused company like Canon.

Where have I heard that before?

Recientemente ha aparecido en Adobe Labs (el laboratorio de pruebas tecnológicas de Adobe) el avance de dos tecnologías y un una nueva versión de Lightroom que prometen ser muy interesantes. Por un lado está la versión 2.0 de AIR, la tecnología que permite crear aplicaciones RIA multiplataforma que se ejecutan directamente en el escritorio sin necesidad de navegador, y por otro lado la versión pre-lanzamiento de Flash Player 10.1 que será la primera versión del player compatible simultáneamente con ordenadores personales y dispositivos.

Entre las principales novedades de AIR 2 destaca la posibilidad de detectar dispositivos de almacenamiento masivo como discos duros o memorias USB, la habilidad para abrir un fichero externo con su aplicación nativa o soporte para gestos y multitouch

La versión 10.1 de Flash Player de momento ha aparecido para Windows, Macintosh y Linux pero la versión para Plam WebOS está previsto que aparezca a finales de este año.

Por último la versión 3 beta de Lightroom incorpora mejoras como reducción de ruido, una herramienta para hacer marcas de agua o simulación de grano.