iPad-Paper Camera

Wow! It has been a while since last time I was so taken with a new program. I am really having a lot of fun with this application on my iPad taking different images with different filters to see what I can get out of them. So, what does this program do? This program will utilized the onboard cameras of your iPhone or iPad and create interesting “cartoon style images”. Priced at only $0.99 in the iTunes store, it is a great tool for adding another creative flair to your mobile equipment.

It is a bit tedious to do this after the fact in Photoshop but with a quick point and click you can create these fun images and share them from your device.

One of the uses that I am going to put the app through is to create images of people and products and give them a little flair by processing them through this application. The collection of filters include: cartoon/sketch/comic book/halfone/noir/neon and many other effects painted directly in your camera, no more boring post-effects, it's all real time, you simply won't stop wandering, wherever you are, having a look at things and cartoon-ize them!

You can import your existing photos into the program and apply different filters to them as well to give them a slightly different look. I put some examples below. For $.99 it’s hard to go wrong

GoPano micro - Capture 360º videos from an iPhone 4

love the KickStarter program that allows people to come up with new ideas and throw them out there to see if there is any interest. It allows for short run manufacturing so that these products can actually be built and delivered to those that are interested enough in owning them. The GoPano micro is just one of these projects. The goal of $20,000 was set to to initiate the project and it has been met. The go ahead date for the project is May 14th so it will move forward. So what is it?

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Adobe Lightroom 3.3 Release

The big news in Photography today seems to be the new release of several module updates not only with Lightroom but Camera Raw 6.3 and PS CS5.

PS CS5 update: Mac, Win

Camera Raw 6.3 Mac, Win

Lightroom 3.3 Mac, Win

Camera Raw 6.3 update

This new version of the Camera Raw plug-in replaces the original Camera Raw plug-in that was installed with Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 or Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 software.
Support for the following cameras has been added in this update. Visit the Camera Raw page for a complete list of supported cameras.

• Canon PowerShot G12
• Canon PowerShot S95
• Nikon D7000
• Nikon Coolpix P7000
• Nikon D3100
• Olympus E-5
• Panasonic DMC-GF2
• Panasonic DMC-GH2
• Pentax K-5
• Pentax K-r
• Samsung NX100
• Samsung TL350 (WB2000)
• Sony A560
• Sony A580

Refer to the following ReadMe file for other updates in this version:

• Camera Raw 6.3 ReadMe

The Camera Raw 6.3 plug-in is not compatible with versions of Photoshop earlier than Photoshop CS5.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you use Photoshop Elements or Premiere Elements, use the appropriate link below and follow the installation instructions on those pages:

• Photoshop Elements Camera Raw 6.3 plug-in for PSE
• Premiere Elements Camera Raw 6.3 plug-in for PRE

For Photoshop CS5 and Creative Suite 5 customers, we recommend that you install Camera Raw 6.3 by selecting Updates from the Help menu and follow the on-screen dialogs to download and install the latest available Camera Raw update. You can also click the link below to download an installer that replaces the existing Camera Raw plug-in with Camera Raw 6.3 for all CS5 applications.

File Information

Product
Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter

Version
6.3

Platform
Windows

File Name
Camera_Raw_6_3_updater.zip

File Size
34.9MB

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.3

The Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 3.3 update includes these enhancements:
• Additional camera support for several new camera models including the Canon PowerShot 95, Nikon D7000 and Olympus E-5
• Corrections for issues introduced in Lightroom 3.0
See the Lightroom 3.3 ReadMe file for additional details.

Adobe Photoshop 12.0.2 update for Adobe Photoshop CS5

Applies to all languages EXCEPT Middle Eastern, North African and Greek.
The Adobe Photoshop 12.0.2 update fixes a number of high priority bugs including painting performance and type-related issues.
The most significant fixes in the Photoshop 12.0.2 update include the following:
— A number of potential security vulnerabilities have been addressed
— Top type and font crashers found in the field have been addressed
— A number of performance issues have been addressed
— Crash opening 3D layers has been addressed
— Color Engine crash has been resolved
— Intermittent file format issues addressed
— Shift scrolling bug fixed
— Sharpen crasher fixed
— Marching ants not seen at certain zoom levels fixed
— Metadata focus distance issue addressed
— File info bug addressed for Orphea Studio jpg files
— TWAIN crashers fixed
— Brush cursor bug fixed
— Histogram progress bar issue fixed
— Droplet issues addressed

Photoshop CS5-I saw some neat stuff that makes me want to make the jump!

Download this podcast and view it an tell me that you don’t want to upgrade to Photoshop CS5 just for this capability.I saw this on Justin Seeley's Quick Tips for Photoshop preview and they were wild? You can find this on iTunes or ou can go to Justin’s site at: http://www.seeley.tv/psqt/episode-81

What he shows us is how he can use a new function of Adobe Photoshop called Content Aware in different tools that allows you to make some big changes in  your workflow. These new functions give you some capabilities that you just didn’t have before. This is worth some time to see if it is a goof fit for you and if not, well, why not? I know this is driving me to wanting to pull the trigger on purchasing this product.

It is getting easier to get published…

I recently decided that I wanted to start putting together some of the photograph collections I have been taking in a book form that I can hand to various members of my family to keep as a coffee table book or something to come back to when relaxing on a cold winter night. Sitting by the fire, having a glass of wine and reminiscing about friends and family can be a wonderful thing to do when you have a few spare moments to relax.

Click to read more ...

Adobe’s Online Photoshop provides some nice Photo Editing Tools but is its photo storage worth it?

Photoshop.com is an online complement to Adobe’s Photoshop software according to Adobe. But if you need some simple editing functions and a place to share your photographs then here is another place that you can do so.

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Camera Captures Thief!

Right up my alley. I like the thought of unexpected incidents having a happy outcome though in this case the thief doesn’t get one because he gets caught. The scene: outside the Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. The Myers family had setup to take a family picture in front of the capitol building and Mr. Meyers had setup his camera to take a timed exposure while he ran to get into the picture with his family. He had placed his camera bag behind where they had setup to take the picture.

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Pivot – A New Way of Viewing Web Content

Gary Flake discusses a new way of looking at data patterns gleaned from Web Content. The video shows a “new” innovative way of interacting with information. This appears to be the next step in the way we can interact with information, deciphering it’s content and coming up with new ideas based on the patterns and data connectivity that you might be able to find. Take it for what it is worth, if I had this available to me now, I would definitely be using it for many of my projects. A lot of the comments on this site discussed the problems in creating the data subsets that this type of program would need to use to produce the effects that you see in the video, and also the prior work done by others in the semantic web functions.

Other sources of information:

Blaise Aguera y Arcas leads a dazzling demo of Photosynth, software that could transform the way we look at digital images. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/blaise_aguera_y_arcas_demos_photosynth.html

Three powerful talks from TED2007

This week we're posting three of the most-talked-about talks from TED2007 -- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, John Doerr and Blaise Aguera y Arcas' remarkable demo of Seadragon/Microsoft Photosynth.  http://blog.ted.com/2007/05/three_powerful.php

Quick overview of the AutoStitch Program

I need to apologize for the resolution of the video but it will give you an idea of how to run through the stitching of your iPhone pictures. I am still working on coming up with a good video capture routine for the times that I want to capture things I am doing with my hands in close quarters. I had hoped that the Flip had better macro focus then it does. It could have been a problem with light levels as well. I’ll keep playing and we will see what happens. I wanted the HD capabilities of the Flip but if I need to drop back to my Canon then I will. We have some new Canon Video Cameras at the store that I will probably try out as well. Again. it is the macro capability that I need to work with.

 

The completed image is shown below:

What a great day today!

It was a long day as well but a lot of great things going on today. Woke up at 4:30am and was looking through some of Google’s program options and decided to take another look at Picasa. The big feature I ended up playing with is Picasa’s facial recognition capability. It took the entire day to run though my 20, 000+ pictures but and as I am writing this it is still working at 95% completion. Wow is it good. I only had to interact with it about 30% of the time, I will have to take a closer look at it once it completes over the next couple of weeks. Toby wins the most photographed award so far, with Madison coming in second. Now granted Maddie Rose has the benefit in numbers with my fast action shots that I use to catch that special expression. We’ll see how Alex fares as he comes more into focus.

Anyway, I got the Oak Trees leave picked up that should be just about it for that and the Ornamental Grass is taken care of for the season as well. I think that pretty much does it for the fall season, the rest is just sitting back and enjoying the wonderful Sunday coming up.

Yea Pitt for holding on and beating the Irish. Now on to tomorrow with the Steelers. Here’s hoping they pull of the win as well. GO STEELERS!

Canon gets smart: Lowers megapixels in the new PowerShot G11 | Digital Cameras & Camcorders | ZDNet.com

I have become an avid Canon fan boy and this new product offering could be another of their great products that I will recommend. Not coming out until October, this is a great all around choice for a camera in the mid-market  price range. I have had great luck with my 10 mp camera and getting the images that I want, Canon’s  decision to drop back to this range to get better light sensitivity  will give you a camera that could fit into more situations that you will find yourself taking pictures in. This will give you less noise in the picture and in the end give you that fabulous print quality that we are all after.  We will have to wait and see if holds up to expectations.

Canon gets smart: Lowers megapixels in the new PowerShot G11 | Digital Cameras & Camcorders | ZDNet.com

Where to host your videos online | Digital Cameras & Camcorders | ZDNet.com

I have looked at all of the selections in the past and I have one more suggestion as well. I like having all my imaging located in one place and I don’t mind too much that it costs me to do so. At $59 per year the pro version of SmugMug gives me the ability to store both static images and videos up to 512MB’s in size. That’s about a typical 10 minute video in standard TV resolution, and  in most cases this is great. If you are looking to put up just short clips this will do the job.

Where to host your videos online | Digital Cameras & Camcorders | ZDNet.com

CameraMate™ High Speed Reader (CF)

If you are stuck with compact flash (CF) then you may want to look at this device from Verbatim. The CameraMate High Speed Reader makes it easy to transfer photos and video from your CF cards.  “Simply connect the reader with the swivel USB connector to get started. Compatible with Windows® and MAC® operating systems, just plug and play to begin transferring photos instantly.”  These are just $14.95.

Features & Benefits

• Supports memory cards formats – CF Type I & II, Microdrive
• Compatibility – Windows – XP, 2000 and Vista, Mac – OS 9.x and higher
• Swivel USB connector for hard to reach ports
• Actual Size – 3.06” x 2.19” x 0.59”

Mizco SD and microSD Card Reader

I got one of these as a combination with a SD memory card that I purchase awhile back. I couldn’t live without it. We have these for under $10 and it is worth having several of them floating around for different purposes.

Media Support:

• microSD
• Secure Digital (SD) Card

Interfaces/Ports

• Host Interface:  USB
• Interfaces:  1 x 4-pin Type A Male USB 2.0 – USB
• Form Factor:  External Hot-swappable

How to shop for your first Digital SLR | Digital Cameras & Camcorders | ZDNet.com

Rachel King wrote a nice article on how to purchase your first DSLR camera. They are good points to follow and I hardily concur. So if you are ready to make the leap consider the seven considerations she outlined here:

How to shop for your first Digital SLR | Digital Cameras & Camcorders | ZDNet.com

Google's Picasa Application

I was very much impressed in the enhancements to the Google's Picasa program which I had to go back and review again for the article that I just finished for the Laurel Mountain Post. I reinstalled it on my Vista Desktop at home and it automatically found all the images I had on the local machine. I then redirected it to the Network Storage Drive I have setup and Bingo! it found all of those pictures for me as well. The Picasa interface is simple and easy to use and they have added quite a few enhancements that allow you to edit your images, post them to Google's Picasa site, create a self playing CD with the Picasa software on it to pass along your pictures to friends and family and to create a movie/slide show as well.

You need two things to get started. First and Internet account, and second, a Google account. With Google everything centers around having a Google Email account so if you don't have one go ahead and set one up. It is free so even if you decide not to use if for your general email, you can use it for all the other Google Apps that require know who you are. Click here to setup your own account. Once you have established your account go to Picasa's site to download the application.

As you can see in the picture on the right the program interface is simple and straight forward. The program once it installs will automatically search your local storage drives for pictures and will set them up in folders. The first time you send your pictures to the web you will be asked for you associated GMail information and once you enter that everything flows from there. If you have a lot of pictures and you want to use this space as a backup for you files you will want to upgrade your storage capacity. For $20 per year Google will give you 10Gbytes storage that is shared between your email, Picasa and Google docs locations. If you plan to be real active in all of these three sites and you have more than 10Gbytes of photos and videos you can go to the next level. The only problem that I see here is that you are given around 6GB by GMail and 1GB by Picasso for free anyway and the $20 is just giving 3GB to be shared between applications. If you are going to buy the extra space you may want to consider starting out at the 40GB level.

Picasa's import function seems to be slow if you have movies on your camera. It appears to read the file before it will give you the thumbnails of the contents of the the device for import selection and since movies are typically very large compared with snapshots the process takes a long time. Since the program has to read the entire contents of your memory cartridge before you begin to pick and choose what to import this takes time as well. Once it is up you can preview and choose the images you want to bring in. Using the Shift or Ctrl Key you can pick and choose which pictures you want to import. A button on the bottom begins the import process.  You get a dialog box that allows you to enter the directory to store the images, Meta Data for Date, Location and Description and the ability to delete the pictures off of the card when you are importing.

Once you have the images on your system, you will have many options to choose from to work and view your images. You can pick and choose a selection from same or different folders to produce a slide show, push the images to your Internet Picasa Storage Area or publish a GIFT CD to give out to friends and family. You can place a star on photos to select them as favorites and they will automatically be placed in a star folder as well that you can show in a slide show or produce a CD. If you right mouse click on a photo you have many options that you apply to picture very quickly, including, moving to a new folder, publishing to your Website, making it a screen saver, rotating the image and even deleting it from your system if you are getting rid of the "BAD ONES".

I have put together a little video overview of the image manipulation functions that you can access here: Picasa Video Overview

Don't try plugging in your camera's memory card with the camera on!

How stupid can I be. You'd think that I would know better, but obviously when you are in a hurry you sometimes do some very stupid things. Here's a lesson for all of you so that you don't have to be the one to have it happen to you. When inserting a memory card into a device consider turning it off so it doesn't get the jolt from the power supply in the unit you are plugging it into. I had videos of the bike race that we have going on here in PA with the bikers riding across Pennsylvania. A nice overview of this event can be found here. I wish I could have saved the pictures I took, they were pretty neat but things happen. So be careful because sometimes there is no recovery. Anyway, I was so angry with myself, I reformatted the card, luckily I didn't blow it up completely, and took some pic's around the yard which you can see here. Enjoy .

SmugMug (still loving it)

I have been uploading like crazy this week and everything seems to working just fine. I have been using their tools to move things around, edit keywords for searches, and setting up text in the description fields. All pretty neat.

They have three different subscription models that range from reasonable to pretty expensive unless you have a following for your pictures and they are selling for you. Definitely not me! If you are interested, the site is: www.smugmug.com

SmugMug Photo Site

There are so many places that offer free storage of you images but very few give you as much control and ease of printing as SmugMug. Recently I keep hearing about this site and it made me very curious to see why so many of the industry commentators speak so highly of SmugMug.  So I took a quick look, signed up for the 14 day trial, spent half an hour uploading files, purchased by first set of prints, and quickly signed up for power user account.  That is how impressed I am of the site.  Now why on earth would I pay a store my photos when sites like flicker, Microsoft live spaces and others offer this storage for free?

First, I like the fact that there is no advertising on your site.  That in itself is worth a lot.  Nothing is worse than having some kind of dating advertisement show up on your page that you are displaying pictures of your wife and family.  The second reason is the amount of control that SmugMug gives me to not only set up the theme of my homepage but also to stop a separate theme for each gallery that you set up.  A gallery is a directory or storage area for set of photos. Once you have installed their upload program then you will be able to copy your pictures to your galleries. You can categorize your galleries so that they can be sorted, you can categorize your images by using keywords, you can put captions on the images that describe what they are, and there is room for comments that to be left by you or your visitors.  You can also sort your photographs so they appear in the order that you would like them to be displayed in. It takes only minutes to learn how to use it and customize your gallery. 

I jumped right into the power user account set up so that I could store videos as well as photographs.  You can select more than one photograph at a time to upload, and a stored in their full resolution unlike the free sites which will downgrade then to fit their storage requirements.  Your yearly fee includes unlimited storage, your videos are limited to 2.5 minutes Max for DVD quality video files.  If you upgrade to the professional version you can upload 5 minute videos in HD format and 10 minute videos and DVD quality format.  There is one caveat though, your files are limited to a 512 MB maximum size.

The last thing that I want to talk about is the buy this photo feature.  They give you a large number of choices for printing these pictures at very reasonable prices.  The only thing I don't like is the cost of shipping which I think is a bit exorbitant, however they do need to pay for someone to package the pictures and send them out to you.  You can also have your favorite photos placed on different kinds of items like shirts, bags, cups, photo books, greeting cards, note pads, posters, coasters, playing cards, puzzles and even ceramic tiles.  You can also have them create a CD or DVD of your images as a backup that can keep for safekeeping.  You can never have enough copies of your precious moments.  If you're interested in the site you can sign-up at www.smugmug.com and if you use this coupon code FkoWZ8IjsnygW to get a $5 discount on signing up for your very own SmugMug account.

To view my account go to: http://www.bappleby.smugmug.com