The Digital Photo Guy

The Digital Photo Guy Blog Gets a Facelift

This is the 6th year for this site. During the first 4 years, it was a static site that was rarely updated because making changes was excruciatingly slow, complex and costly. In 2008, I resolved to fix the problem and commissioned a web developer to develop a new site that I could easily and quickly update myself. He recommended WordPress and the initial implementation took just 6 weeks. As soon as he was done, I started making changes and quickly learned how to do just about everything by myself. I’m no rocket scientist but WordPress makes everything simple and straightforward.

Now, a year after the initial launch, a new static home page has replaced the previous dynamic home page. A dynamic home page was fine in the beginning but, now, with so many articles and posts, it was quickly becoming unwieldly. Readers couldn’t easily find the information they sought. A static home page can act as ”street signs” to help point readers in the right direction. As you can see, some of the signs are still not working. That’s because all the MMTs, posts and articles weren’t always correctly or fully tagged.

Tagging the material at this time would be counter productive because each update would generate an e-mail notification of an update and readers wuld be innundated with e-mails.

Starting in 2010, I’ll be more careful about tagging each MMT, post and article so readers can quickly find all material pertaining to Cameras/Lenses/Gear, Photo Editing and Photography.

In the meantime, the existing tags (right side of main blog) can help you find specific articles or MMTs. You can also use the Seach box along the right side of the main blog.

A website is a never-ending process. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment here. Good light, good memories and good luck in 2010.

Dual Monitors for $39.95

This is the most useful product I’ve purchased in a decade. Click the ad below to learn how you can immediately improve your editing efficiency, speed your workflow and reduce chaos on your desktop.

Monday Morning Tip – 12/21/09

I bought a Canon G11 for my wife’s (mumblty-mumble) anniversary of her 29th birthday. I’d always heard the Canon G-series were great cameras but didn’t like the direction they took when they removed RAW from the G7. The G9 and G10 (there was no G8) just seemed to be entries in the megapixel race and I wasn’t convinced a 1/1.7″ sensor could support low noise at 12.1 and 14.7 megapixels.

With the G11, Canon seems to have addressed all the negatives of previous models and put back all the positives they had previously removed. This is the first time in the history of digital cameras that a company has actually reduced the number of megapixels (from 14.7 back to 10) on a new entry. Trust me, you’ll never miss those extra pixels and you really love the clean, noiseless images.

First, let me show you some things I really like about the G11. Canon has struck the perfect balance between usability and compactness with the G11. Click to read the full MMT

Add a Second Monitor for Easier Photo Editing

Click to see my desktop

A second, third or, even, fourth monitor is one of the best things anyone can do to improve efficiency, increase speed and organize their Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom workflow. Adding desktop “real estate” lets you move tools and palettes off your main screen and concentrate on your work, not your workflow.

Unfortunately, unless you’re a professional, it’s hard to justify US$150 to US$500 for a second monitor that will sit idle for much of the time and, possibly, a new graphics card. Factor in the potential cost and hassles of installing new hardware and most people just throw up their hands in frustration.

In today’s connected world, it’s not unusual for people to own both a desktop and a laptop. Others have an old laptop sitting in a closet, waiting to be donated or recycled. Wait no longer because the time has arrived for that old laptop to get a new lease on life. Connect your desktop and laptop for increased productivity.

And, it doesn’t end there. You can be even more efficient by remotely controlling your second laptop or desktop to run a program while working on your primary PC. In my case, I have an old laptop that runs my CD/DVD publisher. While that laptop is burning and printing CDs, I can easily switch the monitor between the disc publisher and Photoshop Elements on my primary PC.

The photo at the top shows my desktop with 3 monitors. Bridge is on the right monitor, Photoshop Elements is in the center and the left monitor has my tools and palettes along with my e-mail client. Click the ad below for more information.

Disclaimer: This company pays me for sales that come from my site. I paid full retail price for my copy. I advertise this because it is a fine product that I use daily and will benefit anyone who uses photo/video editing software.

Video Monday Morning Tip – 12/14/09

This week is a continuation of last week’s VMMT on Topaz Lab’s ReMask2 masking plug-in. However, in my enthusiasm, I skipped a few intervening steps so it’s a bit like Star Wars where later episodes were aired first, followed by earlier episodes. To quote Jean-Luc Godard, “A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order.” This VMMT shows how to use brushes to touch up a mask where fine, fly-away hair is too complex to mask. As usual, the Video MMT is in the Tips & News area. Registered users can use the password they received when they registered. To register, use the form to the right.

The above photo on the left is the original. You can see how the hairs are too fine to be easily selected. The photo on the right shows the final result after touch up with hair brushes. Click to read more

Monday Morning Tip – 12/07/09

If you’ve ever tried to cut a person or pet out of a photo and found it to be an exercise in frustration, you need to watch today’s Video MMT. Topaz Labs has released ReMask2 and it is an order of magnitude improved over the first version. Here’s a quick example of what ReMask2 can do for you.

The initial pass took about 3 minutes and I spent another 3 minutes cleaning up the edges. It’s still not perfect but much, much better and faster than previous manual methods. Click here to read the rest of this MMT