The Digital Photo Guy

Monday Morning Tips – 06/20/10

Went to the Bernardo Winery in Rancho Bernardo for my annual “wassup” look-see. There’s always things that I never saw before and this time was no exception. While waiting in the parking lot for the people who had RSVPed for this Meetup, I noticed a row of old tractors and machinery that I had not seen previously. It’s possible they were always there but I had never hung around in the parking lot so it’s also possible I just missed them. Here are some of my favorites from the day.

     
Click for more

Your Turn to Critique Me

I won’t have time to update the site this weekend so here’s something to occupy you until next week.

Here are my entries for the 2010 San Diego Fair. The juried photography competition draws about 3000 entries each year of which about half are accepted. Just being accepted is the first step. Placing 2nd, 3rd, 4th or Honorable Mention is the next step and winning 1st and/or Best of Show are the ultimate goals. Tell me your opinion in the poll at the bottom.

The first is titled Open. The second is Book of Accounts and the 3rd is Dinner with the President.

All the photos were processed to some extend with Topaz Adjust4. I tried to emphasize what was already there instead of slathering on weird effects or hide some deficiency in the photo. Each was acceptable as-is but Topaz Adjust4 enabled me to oversharpen or soften or saturate without inducing artifacts.
Click to see more entries

FREE Lens Webinar

Saturday, May 15 at 11AM CDT (noon EDT, 10A, MDT, 9AM PDT), Roger Cicala, the man who owns ~3000 lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina, Panasonic, etc will explain what makes some lenses better than others. If you’re wondering which to buy and how best to use it, Roger has the answer, backed up with years of experience. When have you ever seen a company with a Lifetime Rating of 9.98/10 on ResellerRatings.com?

To dat, we have the following goodies as door prizes:

1. Photoshop World Workbook, over 800 pages of notes, PowerPoints and photos from every session at PSW Las Vegas 2009
2. Black Rapid camera strap – The newest innovation in camera access technology. Don’t just be fast, be Black Rapid fast.

Click here to register for the webinar.

Fantastical Topaz Deal

Topaz Labs has extended an education discount to my students at Palomar College as well as my private classes/workshops. In the future, all my students qualify for a 25% discount after the 3rd paid webinar or any $150+ Photoshoot Workshop (free webinars not included).

The discount applies to all Topaz products including single modules, multiple modules and the smokin’ Bundle. The Bundle of all 7 Photoshop/Photoshop Elements plug-ins normally costs US$179, a 47% discount off the single module price of US$340. With the extra 25% off, students can buy the Bundle for just $135.

The offer starts today but past students who have paid for 3 or more webinars or Photoshoot Workshops over $150 are eligible. Please send me the names and dates of your classes and I’ll send you the discount code. Before anyone asks, the discount is not retroactive to Topaz modules you purchased before today.

Topaz Labs FREE Webinar

Eric Yang of Topaz Labs will demonstrate tips, tricks and techniques for their most popular plug-ins. If you have registered, please check your e-mail for log-in instructions and log in early because we open the doors to everyone once the webinar starts. To register, please click here and follow the links.

It Makes Me Happy…

I love it when readers send me samples of their work using tips & techniques they’ve learned here. Below are Before and After photos fixed by Al from New York using techniques in this MMT.

  
Click to read more

UPDATE: Just heard from Roger at LensRentals.com (see end of MMT) that they have a 5% discount going on right now. Sounds like a great excuse to rent a wide angle or macro or both and join me at the Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflower Workshop next weekend (3/13 & 14) or the following weekend (3/20 & 21). If you rent a lens from LensRentals.com and e-mail a copy of your invoice to me, I’ll take 5% off the price of the workshop. (Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts).

Duh! forgot to include the discount code: PIXEL5. Somedays, it’s better to stay in bed. I don’t know when the discount promo ends. Send LensRentals an e-mail if you think you’ll use it in the near future.

Yeah, yeah! I know today is Friday and this is a Monday Morning Tip but I won’t have time this weekend so it gets posted today. If it bothers you, just wait until Monday to read it. Sheesh! 😉

Topaz Labs releases Adjust 4

Until recently, I pretty much used plug-ins to make specific adjustments, not create a final result. When I bought the Topaz Labs bundle at Photoshop World, I was more interested in using the tools to help me tweak photos, not produce a finished, final image. But, as they say, “Even an old dog can learn new tricks if properly motivated!” (OK, so I just made that up) Maybe it’s just laziness in my old age but I’m beginning to like several presets in the new release of Topaz Labs Adjust 4. Some were available in Adjust 3 but I never really explored them thinking I could do better than some geek engineer who’s probably never seen sunlight, much less a dSLR.

Here are some side-by-side examples of Adjust 4 presets versus my normal workflow:

One photo in each set (I’m not telling which) is my normal workflow. The other is a Topaz Adjust 4 preset where I simply clicked a button and said, “Do it!” There’s no right or wrong but do you have a preference? BTW, one photo is an HDR produced with DP-HDR. Click for more examples