What’s In The Box?

So Adobe has announced Creative Suite 5. There have already been some amazing preview video’s, but, as always with Adobe products, there will be the debate whether to upgrade or not. I am lucky enough to have Adobe Master Collection CS4, but here are the top three features which will probably push me down the upgrade path…

Content Aware Fill in Photoshop CS5

Ok, I’ll admit it, I am terrible at retouching photo’s, and I would imagine that I am not alone. Good behind the camera, but don’t have the time to master this exacting skill. For us, Adobe has introduced Content Aware Fill.  I could explain it, but it’s simpler to see it in action:

Native Support For Canon 5D MkII / 7D Movies In Premiere Pro

Let me tell you, editing video from a Canon DSLR in Premiere CS4 is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. The main issue being Canon’s file format choice for DSLR video, good for size and playback, bad for editing on a Non Linear Editor (i.e. Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, Avid, etc.). Because of the type of compression used, Premiere Pro has to work hard to extrapolate image data when you try and “scrub” through your clips. The normal resolution is to trans-code the files to another format, usually at additional cost for additional codecs (Neoscene, I am pointing at you!).  Combined with a new, GPU accelerated, playback engine called Mercury, native support for Canon formats should make the whole editing process a lot less labor intensive:

Ability To Create / Edit WordPress Sites in Dreamweaver

As I am the jack of all trades (and more than likely master of none) when it comes to the design and maintenance of this website, I am especially looking forward to the ability to create, edit, and maintain WordPress sites within Dreamweaver CS5. Up to now, I have been reluctant to dive in and learn proficiently the HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript necessary to perform this task, but this feature should allow me a greater understanding of how a typical WordPress template hangs together.

Bonus Features

Some of the other Creative Suite 5 features which caught my eye:

• Lens correction in Photoshop CS5 (as against PTlens)
• HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5 (as against Photomatix Pro)
• 64Bit across all applications

20 Years of Adobe Photoshop — But is it Still Relevant for Photographers?

That said, it really has been a phenomenon; so much so that it is often used as a verb:

That image looks photoshopped!

A result of that is that in popular culture it now stands for all that is wrong with magazine images of skinny models. It is accused of being complicated, difficult to learn and use, and extremely expensive. So much so that it must be one of the most pirated pieces of software on the internet.

Still amazing software though…

The Bull surveys his field

I was lucky enough (thanks Alan) to get along to Croke Park on Saturday, 22nd December to see Ireland take on Argentina in a friendly international (although there was, and is always an edge to matches against the Puma’s due to the recent history between the two teams). Here are some photo’s from the match…

I must admit that the match was a little underwhelming after the excitement of the Munster — All Blacks match on the previous Tuesday. It was an ill-tempered match, due to the recent history between the two teams, Argentina suffered the loss of two of their most influential players before kickoff. After 60 minutes of a slug fest, Ireland opened up a lead in the last quarter to win 17–6. Here are some more shots from the match:

And finally, here is a panorama created from 14 shots. I originally tried this in Photoshop CS3 but found too many “merge” artifacts. I then tried Microsoft Research ICE (Image Composite Editor) and it did a fantastic job on it. This is the small size, the full size one is 56 megapixels!

You can also check them out on Flickr here.

Which Photo Software? What photo software you need, when, and why…

I recently discussed the must haves / don’t needs of buying a digital camera, depending on the stage of your photography obsession . I would imagine that most of the time photo’s come straight out of the camera and onto paper, if at all. If you want to take your photo’s that little bit further, here are some software tools which can smooth the way…

I don’t know how many times I have had to rebuild my PC due to a glut of software. I must have tried nearly every photography related software or utility on the market. Don’t waste time like I did… here are the winners:

First Steps

So you use a compact digital camera, and you shoot exclusively JPEG files (though it may not mean much to you). Nothing beats Google Picasa for ease of use, power, and price… Free!

Google Picasa — Did I mention it was free?

Pluses:

Picasa can produce some amazing effects, which would take many steps in either Photoshop Elements or CS3. It’s photo organising capabilities are not bad either. And, did I mention it was free!

Minuses:

It currently does not support RAW files, and it’s edits are limited to the entire picture, so any advanced digital editing is out.

Brisk Walk

You are using an advanced compact digital camera, and you are beginning to tinker with the RAW format. Additionally you see all these tutorials about digital editing, mostly referring to Adobe Photoshop, but the cost is out of your league. Give Photoshop Elements a whirl. It has most of the tools that its big brother has for Digital Photographers, and has continuously updated RAW file support due to Adobe Camera Raw.

Adobe Photoshop Elements — Better than you would imagine!

I have used Adobe Photoshop Elements for years, and in many ways it is more powerful than many professionals give it credit for.

Pluses:

For example, its integrated organisation capabilities have only recently been matched by Adobe Lightroom, supporting keyword tagging, collections, versioning, tight integration with the editor.

Minuses:

Doesn’t support layers, non destructive editing, advanced renaming, automation.

In fact, in my opinion, you really need a good reason to buy Photoshop CS3 over Photoshop Elements, especially since you can expand its capabilities with Photoshop Compatible plugins.

Jogging

You are using an entry-level SLR, and shoot nearly exclusively in RAW. You have amassed a large image library, and are beginning to poke around in the murky world of digital noise.  Here are some additional tools which I have found useful:

• NeatImage - Very easy to use, intelligent noise reduction in your images.
• PTLens — Great at “straightening” out the photo’s produced by imperfect lenses.
• Hamrick Vuescan - Got a scanner? Get this!
• Adobe DNG converter — When you start adding tags, and other metadata to images, you will begin to see additional “XMP” files appear. These files store the additional data when Adobe does not know how to write back to a particular image file, such as a proprietary RAW file. Converting all your RAW files to DNG has many advantages, one of which is the ability to store extensive metadata.
• Flickr Uploadr — The best photo sharing community.

I will leave the pluses and minuses of these as an exercise to the reader .

Sprinting

Ok the big kahuna! Despite it’s outrageous price, you have decided that you absolutely need Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Lightroom. That said, if you are a professional photographer, and utilise any third-party studio management, colour management, or any software, it is certain to work with these. Tutorials in industry press — you guessed it, Adobe Photoshop CS3. Many open source fans mention “The Gimp” as an alternative… but as good as it may be, it will never be taken seriously in the Photographic industry as long as it is called “The Gimp”.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom — the professional choice for Digital Asset Management

Adobe Photoshop CS3 — The Big Kahuna!

I know I recently upgraded… so what do these give me:

• Complex file renaming in Lightroom
• Advanced metadata capabilities, such as templates, in Lightroom
• Advanced colour management
• Automating Photoshop with Actions

Pluses:

Extremely powerful, and pretty much the industry standard.

Minuses:

Bloody expensive, and in Europe, it’s a rip off with prices which bear no relation to sales tax, importation duties, currency exchange etc. Buy a boxed product in the US and bring it home.