Blog

using Animoto (free apps)

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:07:19 -1000

Animoto has come out with a free plug-in for exporting from Lightroom 3:

http://animoto.com/extras/lightroom?ref=a_ghfeavso

Plus they have a free app for iPhone/touch:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animoto-videos/id300033126?mt=8

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Yesterday, Digicrafts came out with a free updater for their web gallery exporter for Lightroom (which I bought last week, educational, for 40% off retail, just $18).

http://digicrafts.com.hk/components/LightroomPhotoPortfolio

That’s to make HTML5 slideshows for iPhone/touch/iPad which don’t run Flash. (Until now, from Lightroom web module, I’d preferred one of the Flash galleries, but it was not compatible with Apple mobile devices. :-(

Possible solution for me for exporting photo web galleries from Lightroom for iPhone users

Wed, 6 Oct 2010 10:46:59 -1000

I really like the ability to export web galleries from Lightroom, but the template I prefer (or templates) are Flash, not HTML, so folks like me with iPod touches/iPads/iPhones, can't view them. :-(

I was despairing a bit at the prospect of having to retreat and remake those existing photo galleries I have on my site from Lightroom Flash ones to one from within Apple iWeb (which I use to make the rest of my site).

This looks like a reasonable site for a solution for at least future web photo galleries or even redoing ones that were done in Flash before... :-)

http://www.digicrafts.com.hk/components/LightroomPhotoPortfolio

It’s price of $29.95 seems fair, too.

I just found out about this app via a tweet this a.m. from one of the photogs I follow. I've been learning a lot of photo stuff through the relatively few people I follow on Twitter via Tweetdeck).

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There’s a free photo webinar this Friday (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/7 a.m. HI time) on “Monitor Makeover For Perfect Color”. (The Fridayphotoschool webinars I’ve done have been very worthwhile.)

http://www.fridayphotoschool.com

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A good listing of upcoming free webinars from onOne Software:

http://bit.ly/ctyKXZ

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One of the most absolutely fascinating presentations I’ve ever seen. "Cognitive researcher Professor Daniel Simons shows us some surprising examples of how people can be unaware of information that is right in front of their eyes." It’s about 20 min. long, but well worth watching--very carefully! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb4TM19DYDY&feature=player_embedded

Very good 6 min. intro to the ColorChecker Passport

Tue, 5 Oct 2010 12:34:58 -1000

I’m a big fan of the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport color management system. At about $99, it’s one of the two “best buys” in photo stuff I’ve bought in the past two years.

I just watched an excellent 5:52 min. long video that presents its advantages. It’s the video called “Adobe Lightroom and Passport and LIghtroom”(!), top one at the top right listing today at:

http://bit.ly/CNMAV

I highly recommend the video and the product. I’m reading about more and more pros using this system. (I carry the Passport with me all the time, especially to use with tiny Canon S90 in my beltpouch, which shoots RAW files).

It works actually with any Adobe imaging software including Elements, ACR, Photoshop and Bridge, not just Lightroom.

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Another free webinar from Manfrotto this Friday (8 a.m. Hawaii time, 2 p.m. EST) on exposure and more.

Register at:

http://bit.ly/cxjtse

Update out for Photomatix Pro v4

Sat, 2 Oct 2010 12:04:16 -1000

Photomatix v4 is now out of beta. What’s nice is that it’s a free upgrade for me and other users of v3. It’s for HDR photo editing. I’m curious to see how its review are against the yet-to-be released new Nik HDR software, which in reviews of the beta, has been getting lots of praise.

http://www.hdrsoft.com/download/mac.html

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The onOne DSLR Camera Remote, Lite version, is now free (for iPhone/touch).

http://bit.ly/cRZuvD

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Apple’s released a new version of their free Remote app for iPhone/touch.

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Latest webinars listed from Blurb and X-Rite on color management and making Blurb books:

http://bit.ly/aOd6gw

When good memory cards go bad

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:57:26 -1000

Here’s a very good article on PhotoRescue, the very cheap, effective program I use to recover photos from corrupted memory cards from my students. (I use the Wizard version.)

http://web.me.com/joefarace/Site_5/Blog/Entries/2010/9/29_Lose_Something_Recover_Lost_Files..html

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Big savings until Oct. 31 on Nik software

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:10:44 -1000

I just got an email today from Blurb books about what looks to me to be a larger than normal discount on products from Nik Software. I often run across individual photographers who list discounts through them to some photo companies, especially software. Those are often 10%.

This one’s for 20% off Nik software. (I don’t know if their new Nik HDR software, highly rated already, will be for sale before the Oct. 31 deadline for the discount).

Discount code: BLURB20

when you checkout.

New Take Control book out on iTunes 10, from MobileMe gallery to Facebook album via LR 3

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:35:02 -1000

If you want to save half the price on the excellent line of ebooks from Take Control books, here’s a coupon/discount code:

CPN81006TC5

I’ve bought quite a few TC ebooks. They’ve all been excellent and more than worth the cost.

Here’s their link for more info on their newest on the many features (many unfamiliar to me) of iTunes 10. (I just bought and downloaded the book.) With the half-off coupon, I paid just $5. :-)

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/itunes?pt=TRK-0108-TCANNOUNCE

Their info on it from an email to me today:

We're excited to announce a completely new Take Control ebook - "Take Control of iTunes 10: The FAQ," written by iTunes expert and music enthusiast Kirk McElhearn. Years in the making, this 146-page, $10 ebook is up-to-date and bursting with answers to all your iTunes questions. Along with authoring a number of Take Control titles and other books, Kirk has written for TidBITS and is a Senior Contributor to Macworld, with numerous submissions to the Playlist column.

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/itunes?pt=TRK-0108-TCANNOUNCE

Beyond the broad goal of transforming you into an iTunes power user, Kirk's intent with this ebook is to help you appreciate and understand the process of adding media to iTunes, tagging it, adding album artwork, and organizing it into playlists. With that setup completed, you can enjoy your music, movies, audiobooks, ebooks, and more without hassles when it's time to find a particular item or you want to do something special like sync a select subset of music to your iPod, create a party playlist, identify music you haven't heard in a while, or listen to the chapters in an audiobook in the proper order. If your iTunes library is anything like ours, it's a mess, which makes using iTunes all the harder. But it doesn't have to be that way, and with Kirk's advice, you can regain control over your media in iTunes.

Speaking of media, if you're a current or future iPad owner, you can also buy Kirk's ebook in a 25%-off bundle with Jeff Carlson's "Take Control of Media on Your iPad." The two ebooks would normally cost $20, but you can use this link to buy them together for only $15.

http://bit.ly/9uyG0a

To sweeten the deal, "Take Control of iTunes 10: The FAQ" ends with a pair of coupons. You'll save $5 on Equinux's SongGenie tool for automatically filling in missing album artwork, fixing incorrect song titles, adding lyrics, and identifying unknown songs. And if you have an AirPort Express base station, you can save $3 on Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil software for playing audio wirelessly from any source, such as the Pandora Web site running in Safari.

So why did it take us so long to publish a book about iTunes? Frankly, iTunes is a tough topic because Apple has shoehorned so many different bits of functionality into the program, and because it keeps changing in non-trivial ways. In fact, more than one outline was developed and abandoned before Kirk proposed a FAQ-style approach. Kirk's outline fit together like a well-layered lasagna, instead of the twisted lumps of linguini from previous attempts. Even still, we were nearly ready to publish when Apple announced iTunes 10 earlier this month, and Kirk spent the next few days further refining the manuscript for iTunes 10. Despite the extra work, we're pleased that we could make the book completely up to date.

Questions answered include:

* How do I use the new Album List View in iTunes 10?
* What can I do with Ping, the new musical social network in iTunes 10?
* How do I control the sound quality when I import (rip) a music CD?
* What should I consider before I rip an audiobook CD?
* How do I turn on Genius?
* Where are good places to shop for digital music besides the iTunes Store?
* Which tags should I consider adding?
* How do I add lyrics to my tracks?
* How can I locate music that I haven't listened to in a while?
* What special things can I do with smart playlists?
* What AppleScripts can I use to extend iTunes' functionality?
* How do I share my iTunes library over a network?
* What can I print with iTunes?
* What's the best way to deal with my huge music library?

Thanks to all of you for your support of the Take Control series. We couldn't do it without you!

cheers... -Adam & Tonya Engst, Take Control publishers

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It was nice today to work out a smooth, quick and easy workflow to get photos posted to my MobileMe account (from any place in the world) from my daughter and son-in-law into Lightroom 3, make slight corrections, Publish via the built-in service (no longer a 3rd party plug-in!) directly into an album on my Facebook profile. Nice. :-)

Top 10 photos you can stop shooting already, upcoming webinars

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:19:04 -1000

Top 10 Photos You Can Stop Shooting Already
Great blog post

http://www.ilovephotoblogs.com/top-10-photos-you-can-stop-shooting-already

Note #1, #4 and #10 in particular. ;-)

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Yesterday I started doing a 4 week webinar series on Apple Keynote. The first part (about an hour and a half) was excellent, so I pre-ordered the downloads. Those are just $39 for what will likely be 6-8 hrs. worth of great teaching.

As it was from creativelive.com, watching it live is free. You can still catch the next episodes (one per week).

See:

http://creativelive.com/courses/keynote/

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This morning at 11 a.m. I enjoyed the onOne Sottware webinar taught by Dave Cross on using PhotoFrame software. That was recorded and will be on their onOne University:

http://www.ononesoftware.com/university/category/onone-products/photoframe

This is a source of great video tutorials and inspiration.

Another webinar, excellent book, new iOS4?

Tue, 7 Sep 2010 12:44:31 -1000

onOne Software is having a webinar tomorrow, Wed., Sept. 8. See:

http://www.ononesoftware.com/blog/2010/09/07/images-with-impact-webinar-with-scott-stulberg/

Register at:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/226198760

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I’d pre-ordered the Scott Kelby book on Lightroom 3, finished reading it this past weekend. It’s excellent, including the section on getting better black+white results.

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There are rumors that the next upgrade to the iOS 4.1 for iPhone/touch will be out tomorrow. :-(

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9183843/Apple_leaks_Wednesday_release_for_iOS_4.1

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Two free webinars Sept. 13 on the ColorChecker Passport system from X-Rite:

http://bit.ly/9dNAmk

Free app from Adobe for designers

Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:40:27 -1000

New from Adobe: a free app for designers using an iPhone or iPod touch, called Adobe Ideas

http://blogs.adobe.com/designandweb/2010/04/adobe_ideas.html

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Lightroom update to 3.2

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:38:15 -1000

Adobe came out late yesterday with the final release of Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 6.2. That includes software for new cameras, plus lens profiles for lots more lenses. :-) They are free updates (and small, I’m glad to say).

More webinars this week

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:57:04 -1000

Here’s a webinar tomorrow (7 a.m. HI time) on children and family photography using Kubota Tools software:

http://www.kevinkubotablog.com/kubota-blog/2010/8/30/tamara-lackey-reveals-all-1.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

register at:

http://kubotaimagetools.com/webinars.html?utm_source=eBlast&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Tamara+Style+Book+available

It looks as though it's free.

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Here’s a webinar coming up this Friday (again, 7 a.m. HI time!) on HDR photography using the not-yet-released Nik HDR software:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/304061906

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Joe Brady from MAC Group tomorrow on Lightroom 3 (7 a.m. HI time):

http://bit.ly/bcAOL7