I’ve been playing with it for the past few days and it appears that Apple is serious about supporting this program (there have been recent doubts since they have been taking so very long to support the newest digital SLRs). Aperture is now on par with the feature set of Adobe’s LightRoom.
If you’re already an Aperture user, get this upgrade right away. It’s faster, and it’s faster.
Did I mention that it’s faster?
Oh, and if you have not already committed to either Aperture or Lightroom, Apple dropped the price to $199, which is $100 less than Lightroom.
Nik Software is introducing a new Photoshop plug-in, called Viveza (door prize for the first person who can figure out what that name means) which utilizes a technology called “U Point.” It’s a pretty neato way of doing great edits of pictures in Photoshop. Here’s the info from Niks’ site:
“Introducing Nik Software Viveza, powered by U Point® technology for direct on-image editing, the most powerful and precise tool available to control light and color in photographic images. For the first time, corrections and enhancements can easily be made without the need to create complicated selections and layer masks.
U Point powered Color Control Points, placed directly on colors or objects in an image (such as sky, skin, grass, etc.), reveal easy-to-use controls that photographers can use to quickly adjust brightness, contrast or color in a fraction of the time needed by other tools.
Viveza will change the way you edit your pictures.”
The best way to understand the U Point technology is to watch this video.
I found this initially at the Strobist blog. Seems like they had a good time. Very cool idea about getting photogs together.
1/24/2008
Chase Jarvis RAW: Seattle Flickr Roundup
We all have that 6th sense that tells us when somethin’ is up. Well, let me tell you, the aspiring/hobbyist photographer community in Seattle is completely on fire. Given a few more pocket wizards, some strobes and a D40 or two and they might take over the world.
THE BACKSTORY: Not long ago my 6th sense started pinging me about the amateur/hobbyist photography scene in Seattle: it was everywhere I turned. These days, camera shops are jammed with people geeking out on pro-sumer dSLRs, photo classes are bursting at the seams, and there are flashes popping everywhere… Strangely, photography seems to be on everyone’s mind, not unlike grunge rock was in the early 90’s. Certainly, being a professional photographer, my perspective on this is tainted, however one thing is for sure: those aspiring photogs whose paths I do cross now and then are VERY focused (pun intended ;), driven, and genuinely passionate about the craft. It’s an amazing energy that I have been excited to watch from a distance - up till recently.”
