Advanced HDR Tone Mapping with Photoshop CS4

Written by Michael | 04 December 2009
Posted in Techniques

Jack Howard, Director of Social Media at Adorama did these two cool movies about tweaking around 32 bit files in Photoshop CS4. I find it very informative. Enjoy! For a better experience click the "Full Screen" button (on the left of the Vimeo logo)

Advanced Tone Mapping in Adobe Photoshop CS4, part 1 of 2 from Adorama Learning Center on Vimeo.

And here is Part 2

Advanced Tone Mapping in Adobe Photoshop CS4, part 2 of 2 from Adorama Learning Center on Vimeo.

Very inspiring, thanks Jack! Totally useful in my line of work!

Save $129 on Adobe Lightroom 2.x (while you can)

Written by Michael | 28 November 2009
Posted in Deals

It’s about $170 at Amazon (reduced from $299) right now and I’m not sure how long this deal might last. If you don’t have this lovely tool yet you may want to pull the trigger NOW. LR3.0 beta is out and maybe this is a sign that the final is coming soon, but even so, you will be able to get Upgrade pricing when new version will go final.

Good luck!

dpBestflow Website has just been launched

Written by Michael | 20 November 2009
Posted in Business

dpBestflow is an ASMP initiative funded by the Library of Congress, designed to help anyone get a handle on the digital world. The address is: www.dpbestflow.com

A fantastic resource three years in the making, you'll find information on everything regarding digital workflow, from how to set up a camera, a computer system, and a DAM (Digital Asset Management) system, to how to deliver files to clients and printers.  And way more.

Best of all, you don't need to be a gear-head to understand the information - it's in plain English.  For those who find plain English is just not enough, there's also in-depth explanations of just about anything any of us might need to know.

There's an accompanying book (Digital Best Practice and Workflow Handbook, by Patricia Russotti and Richard Anderson).

Bogen 410 Geared Head Repair

Written by Michael | 16 November 2009
Posted in Gear

As every Architectural and Real Estate Photographers knows, leveling the camera is something essential in our day by day work. For that I went the Geared Heads avenue from Bogen Manfrotto. I have two models which I both love, the "Junior" Bogen 410 (also known as the Manfrotto 3275) and the Bigger one, the 405.
While I worked with the 410, after 4 years of intensive use the knobs got stiff and eventually the horizontal pan knob got stuck rendering the head pretty much useless. This Head is priced at about $220 now and while is not exactly the most expensive piece of equipment, I was kind of frustrated of having it broken. I like it because it's smaller than the 405 and at certain shootings makes more sense.
After a phone call to Manfrotto I found out that the warranty is 2 Years and it's prolonged with an extra 3 years if the product is registered online.  Got it registered online and sent the Head for repairs. Just got it back, few minutes ago, to my surprise and it's like new. Took them about 10 days...  Thanks Bogen Manfrotto!!