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.”
Before you run out and update to Leopard, pick up AppFresh, a free program that will let you know which of your applications are as up-to-date as possible. Since it’s only compatible with Tiger for the moment, don’t update to Leopard and then run it. Update your apps before you put 10.5 onto your system.
AppFresh runs through all your applications (and widgets, plug-ins, preference panes) and let’s you know whether you have the latest version installed. It can take a little while for AppFresh to run through all your apps and stuff, but be patient. Here is what you’ll see if a program needs updating:
Here, it’s letting me know there is a newer version available to download.
It can also let you know the last time you used a program:
So you can think about deleting it if you haven’t used it in a while. (try using App Zapper to delete old apps)
It’s a nice little free program, albeit with no built-in help; you will need to visit the website for help. But, it’s free and can help as you need to update those programs for Leopard.
Camera RAW files need love too, you know. Here are some links to Apple and Adobe documents stating exactly which camera raw formats Aperture and Lightroom/ACR are supported.
Apple Steve Jobs has announced today that, come February 2008, Apple will be releasing an SDK (software development kit) for the iPhone. What this means is the iPhone will soon be able to run sanctioned third-party applications (I wonder how soon we’ll see them after the SDK release in Feb).
Steve said today:
“We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.”
Read this entry from an anonymous photo editor/reviewer over at ShutterStock. Being a photo editor myself in a past life, I certainly resonate with what this person is talking about. At least when I was editing, I was dealing with images from professionals (supposedly) and didn’t come across that many shots of badly lit Chinese food or dead birds. Actually, come to think of it, I did come across many stupid and poorly executed images shot by people who should know better.
Since I am also now submitting to agencies like the one this person is working for, I am taking in what they are saying about the subject matter of the images they are receiving. It’s like, now that there are all these microstock agencies about, stock photography is like the Wild West where people think that anything goes. Of course, this isn’t true and all these agencies want are good images. Maybe it’ll teach these agencies that they need good photographers and not just anyone with a camera.
Oh, and this story has nothing to do with cat vomit. It just seemed appropriate.
