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This past weekend I taught a hands-on workshop for my local camera club on photo restoration. Restoration is a very deep topic and what one can accomplish in a half day long workshop is limited to core techniques and the delivery of a handbook with a number of technique recipes for people to try as they work through restoration projects.
Read MoreThe good folks at Topaz Labs have just released a new version of their Impression application. Impression applies painterly and artistic looks to images.
Read MoreAdobe just added enhanced perspective controls in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC. In the video you'll see Adobe's Julianne Kost taking you through the new functions.
Read MoreI wanted to thank the folks who have taken the time to write me suggesting that it would be cool if there was a way for readers and podcast listeners to get updated when new content was made available.
So as of right now, I've updated the site in a couple of ways to make that work more efficiently. I've had RSS links in the sidebar, but I didn't know that sometimes they came up like ugly XML files. Now they come up nice and clean using the Feedburner service from Google and this makes them really easy to add to your favourite RSS reader, which can of course be your browser. I'm personally a big fan of Reeder 3 for the Mac, but there are lots of options. What's important is that there are two RSS feeds for The Photo Video Guy. One for the articles / blogs section and one for the podcast, so you can subscribe to either or both if you choose to do so.
RSS isn't the only way to ensure you get new content. At the top of the blog and podcast pages there is now a form where you can sign up to receive an email whenever a new article or podcast goes live. There are two separate lists, so you choose only what you want to receive an email about. Your email address is NEVER shared with anyone, and you can unsubscribe at any time. I am following the requirements for email subscriptions so when you subscribe, you will receive an email requesting confirmation of your request before your email goes into the secure storage area.
I hope that these enhancements will improve your enjoyment of The Photo Video Guy.
In a previous post, I wrote about the importance of display calibration to ensure that what you are editing ends up looking correct when displayed elsewhere or printed. One of the other less simple challenges is finding a superb monitor for editing your work.
Read MoreAt some point or another, most photographers have wanted the look of a long exposure, such as moving clouds, blurred motion, creamy water, but are limited by the reality of exposure. If we take a typical sunny day, we know that our exposure at f/16 and ISO 100 will be about 1/125 of a second. No smooth blur there. The solution is a Neutral Density filter. And, if you want a big drop in light transmission, the go to answer is a Lee Big Stopper.
Read MoreThis is really pretty incredible news. Most digital processing tools use someone else's RAW processor. Most of the time, it's from Adobe because many tools are designed to work as plugins for Photoshop or Lightroom. Announced today April 26 is that this summer, the folks at ON1 will be releasing their own unique offering called ON1 PHOTO RAW.
Read MoreSay 85mm lens to a photographer and depending on that individual person you will get different answers. The reason is that for a long time, the 85mm was the de-facto portrait lens. It's still ideal for portraiture to be sure, but an 85mm can do so much more!
Read MoreWhen it comes to wide angle lenses, the field of view of a 24mm on a full frame sensor is both super popular and easy to shoot. Once you go much wider, one has to pay a lot more attention to angles and perspective exaggerations. On a crop sensor, a 24mm delivers pretty darn close to my opinion of the best "one lens prime" out there, the 35mm. In this review, we'll take a close look at Sigma's ART Series 24mm f/1.4
Read MoreThanks for stopping by. You've probably figured out by now that I am a huge fan of the products from Think Tank Photo. US based readers who order via the link on this site (click the link on the sidebar) can get bonuses when they go through me. For readers elsewhere, there's a large number of Think Tank Photo resellers and some keep a really good selection on hand.
Read MoreOkay people, calm down for a minute and put the knives down. I have no inside knowledge, I don't own a Google Magic Decoder Ring and I'm not part of some secret squirrel cabal. I do have over thirty years experience in software and that experience makes me wonder if we've seen the last of innovation in the Nik Collection.
Read MoreOn March 24th, 2016 I got to spend the day with Peter Hurley. Thousands of people have done so in classes and workshops, and I count myself as fortunate for having done so, but yesterday was different and special. Peter was in Toronto to deliver his Illuminating the Face workshop presented by Henry's Learning Labs, and I had the honour and pleasure to both introduce Peter to the attendees and to help with the setup and assist him over the course of the day. It was really quite amazing.
Read MoreThere are many ways to make photographic lenses as we all know, some more efficient than others, some better suited to particular use cases. One of the greater challenges in creating longer focal length telephoto lenses has always been balancing focal length with physical size and weight. Canon embarked on a limited series of lenses several years ago using a technology that they call Diffractive Optics. You can recognize a Canon DO lens by the distinct green line. Recently, the folks at Nikon have done something similar and released their own design using a new element mode called Phase Fresnel or PF. At the outset, it looks and sounds like DO. Since I am a huge fan of DO, I wanted to check out Nikon's Phase Fresnel system and they graciously loaned me one to try.
Read MoreWhen it comes to headshot photography, the name Peter Hurley always leaps to mind. Peter is widely recognized as a master of this realm, with books, videos, training and photography products consumed by thousands of people looking to learn from him.
Read MorePrior to the 2015 holidays, I had an opportunity to review a set of TTL radio trigger/receivers under the Cameron brand, an exclusive to Henry's here in Canada. Finding a set of radio controllers for hotshoe flash that supported three groups, four channels, TTL, manual flash and remote power control without breaking the bank has always been a challenge.
Read MoreWhen the Sigma ART 35/1.4 first appeared on dealer shelves, I put one on a camera very briefly and drew a few conclusions. In the store, focus was very quick, as quick as the Canon 35/1.4 I use regularly I thought. It was also very large comparatively speaking and felt very well built and a but heavy, that being a relative term for a guy who spends a fair bit of time waving fast telephoto primes around. I had no card in my pocket so didn't make any test shots and then time moved on. Recently there has been a resurgence for full frame shooters with interest in a fast 35mm, sometimes for street work and for others as their walk around lens. So I arranged with my local Sigma dealer to obtain one for a short review.
Read MoreGet $90 in bonuses when you buy Aurora HDR between March 1st and March 16th
Read MoreIf you are a user of the Profoto B1 strobe, there is a firmware update (D1) now available at www.profoto.com for the B1 that corrects a minor bug where the B1 might restart after being turned off using a Profoto Air Remote. Applying the update takes less than a minute. Download the update, plug the B1 into the computer via USB and run the update.
Read MoreFor those of us with some "tenure" in photography, the Pentax name will always evoke memories. Whether the ubiquitous M42 screw mount, or the tack driving Super Takumar lenses, to the monstrous and wonderful Pentax 67, that brand is bound to the history of photography. The advent of digital, along with financial challenges looked to be putting the boots to the once famous name, but a strategic acquisition by Ricoh has pumped new blood, and financial stability into the once damaged brand. Now, after years of rumours, Ricoh has announced the Pentax K-1, the first full frame Pentax branded digital SLR.
Read MoreI am predominantly a Canon shooter. I own over a dozen Canon lenses. I'm not switching anytime soon, but I've also been pretty hard on Canon because the things that matter most to me, well, let's say we don't appear to be really well aligned these days. One place we definitely align is the criticality of delivering a hybrid platform that hobbyists and enthusiasts can afford and benefit from. This is XXD space, until this announcement led by the superb Canon 70D. The 80D is an evolutionary step ahead, so let's see what's coming.
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