Unusual Saturday Lightroom/Photoshop Update

I don’t usually post to the blog on Saturday, but I thought I needed to get this out there today. If you are a regular reader and happened to notice my ‘Downloads‘ page, then you are already on to what is new around here.

I am all about speeding up my photographic workflow and I’m sure that you all are too. So what I am starting to do is upload some of the presets and actions that I use in Lightroom and Photoshop so that you can use them too. They are free for you to use and if you send them to someone else, all I ask is that you tell them where you got them.

To kick things off, I’ve included my Surreal/Painted look preset for Lightroom as well as presets for Nikon’s Camera Profiles. Before you can use the presets, ensure you download the free profiles from Adobe Labs. (Here’s the link) I’ve also included my sharpening actions that I use when I go into Photoshop and a couple of My Actions that I use myself, with more to come soon. All Presets and Actions are cross-platform and will work on both Mac and PC.

If you’ve never imported Presets or Actions, do a quick Google search and you’ll see just how easy it is to do. I’m not putting you off though… I’m actually working on a couple of video tutorials to show you just how to install them but I don’t have them ready as of press time.

So for now, enjoy the Presets and Actions and if you have any questions, drop me a line and I’ll do my best to help you out. You can let me know what you think about them in the comments. Have a great weekend!

Nikon D90 and D-Movie

While I was out to sea over the past few days I had a chance to shoot some video with my D90 and get a better feel for what D-Movie is all about. Just so you know, I only use D-Movie at the 720p HD resolution.

I shot some footage of my ship during a couple of cool evolutions to get some action. The 24 fps that the D90 cranks out is good, but not something you would want to shoot with if you were using it for serious video. It works pretty good, but I could tell I was only getting 24 fps which bothered me. I didn’t buy the D90 for the D-Movie mode.

The audio quality of the video is actually fairly impressive. The microphone is very vulnerable to wind and other noise but overall it’s better than most mics you’ll find on point-and-shoots. In the video below I pulled the audio because it was too windy and that’s all you would have heard.

I think the D90 is great for capturing everyday footage. For those purposes D-Movie rocks. I think I will be able to have a lot of fun with it and dabble a bit in the video world. I can see myself using the D90 more to do tutorials and other such tasks to help demonstrate what I’m doing with my photography. Will I produce a movie with it? I think not.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have an awful lot to be thankful for. On this day of Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours all the best and I hope that your day is filled with happiness and joy as we give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. Have a great day and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for an “I’m Not Going Shopping On Black Friday Because I’m Posting To My Blog” Friday!

Quick Mid-Week Update

Hey everyone, just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that it will be back to regular posting tomorrow.  I just got back from a trip out to sea and I’ve got some cool stuff coming for the rest of the week and next week as well.  Have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Quick Tip Monday: Inexpensive Frames

If you’re looking to buy frames for your prints, I’ve got a great tip for you! Check out IKEA for frames. They have all kinds from small to poster-sized and they are not expensive at all! Custom frames can cost you a bundle so I would recommend that you look at IKEA first. I bought some frames for a couple of poster-sized prints last weekend that were only $5 bucks each! They came in a plain wood finish so I painted them a glossy black, which is what I wanted. You can’t beat that deal!

Whether for personal use or for sale, I would look at their website or store (if there’s one close to you) before looking anywhere else.

And that is today’s Quick Tip.

Free Lightroom and Camera Raw Presets From onOne Software

Everyone likes free stuff, including me. If you’re a Lightroom user like I am, then you’re really going to like this. onOne Software has a collection of 85 presets for Lightroom that you can download for free. It’s not a trial, it’s actually free presets that onOne’s own Jack Davis put together.

Also, if you frequently use Adobe Camera Raw onONe was also kind enough to put together a free set of presets for it as well. Personally I don’t do a whole lot of work in Camera Raw unless I’m double-processing an image, but I downloaded them anyway because you never know when you may need ‘em.

Here’s the links to onOne Software’s website for the presets:

Lightroom Presets
Adobe Camera Raw Presets

Thanks again to onOne Software for putting those together and I hope you enjoy ‘em!

New: Orbis Ring Flash Adapter

There’s a new kid on the block in the world of light modifiers. It’s the Orbis Ring Flash Adapter and it’s sure to give the Ray Flash a run for it’s money. Ring flash is one of those types of lighting that was reserved for those photogs who have lots of cash to buy fancy ring flashes that are similar to a monolight. Those of us who are “strobists” were kind of left out, that is until this year.

Quick Features Rundown

• Price: $169.00 plus $16.99 shipping to the US
• Does not block sensors on your flash or prevent the use of TTL, CLS, etc.
• One size fits most (see website for details)
• Requires off-camera sync (either cord, CLS, Cactus V2s, Pocket Wizard, etc.)
• Not used with flash mounted in hot shoe, preventing possible camera damage due to stress on the hot shoe.

For further details, images, and FAQ check out the

Orbis website

.

MacBook Pro: Deeply Discounted!

If you happen to be in the market for a new MacBook Pro then listen up. You can find last year’s models for sale at a huge savings off of the retail price. Why are they selling for hundreds less than they usually do? Retailers and resellers are trying to make room for the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models that were recently announced.

Now Is The Time To Buy!
I have always thought that Macs were a little more expensive than they should be, but not right now! You can get an incredible deal on an awesome MacBook Pro and save yourself a lot of money. How much can you save? For example, the more expensive 15″ MacBook Pro normally retails for $2499. I’ve seen them for as little as $1544! That’s nearly a $1000! This situation kind of reminds me of my Mom telling me to wait until the new model year cars come out to go shopping for a new car.

Why Not Buy The New MacBook / MacBook Pro?
For starters, you will be spending a lot more money. Second, I haven’t read too many good reviews of the new MacBook Pro by photography and graphics pros. There are a few things that may play havoc with Photoshop and not to mention that a lot of pros are uneasy about working on a glossy screen. On another note, Apple computers tend to last longer than PCs do before needing upgrades. Heck, even Ken Rockwell works on an older 12″ iBook that’s probably 5 years old and he says it still runs like a champ. It’s hard to argue with that logic.

Below are a couple of links that I’ve found to some reputable sellers where you can pick up a great deal on last year’s MacBook models. If you’ve been drooling for a Mac, strike while the iron is hot! And for goodness sakes wipe the drool off your chin!

• MacMall
• Best Buy
• Apple

Review: MB-D80 Battery Grip For Nikon D90/D80

If you’re shooting with Nikon’s new D90 or even the older D80, this post is for you. If you shoot a lot of images with your camera in portrait orientation, a battery grip can make your life a whole lot easier. A battery grip’s benefits are two-fold because you not only get added stability and comfort, you also can add an extra battery which will allow you to shoot for twice as long between recharging.

In fact, the MB-D80 gives you a couple of options for power. You can use one or two EN-EL3e batteries or you can use six AA alkaline or rechargeable batteries with the included AA battery holder. You can find AA batteries anywhere you go so it’s nice to know that you have an emergency option if you’re out in the field and don’t have a way of recharging your EN-EL3e batteries.

One of the things I really like about the MB-D80 is the fact that both batteries go into the grip. There is a probe on the grip that slides into the battery compartment in the camera body. What makes this feature great is that you can remove/insert both batteries with the grip still attached to the camera body. With the MB-D10 battery grip for the D300/D700 that is not so. The battery still goes into the battery compartment in the camera too. That means that you have to remove the grip to remove both batteries. Too clunky for me!

One thing I will caution you about is that the MB-D80 doesn’t like non-Nikon EN-EL3e batteries. Even if you put in an off-brand battery with a Nikon battery it will tell the camera that the batteries are too low to operate and you will get the flashing battery symbol in your LCD display.

As far as quality goes, the MB-D80 is made of the same high quality materials you would come to expect from Nikon products. I really like the way the D90 feels in my hands with the grip. It feels solid and sturdy. If not for the locking wheel that’s used to screw the grip into place, I would think the grip is a natural part of the camera body itself.

The MB-D80 features a vertical shutter release as well as primary and secondary scroll wheels. These wheels function the same as the do on the camera body. Also included is an AF-E lock button for locking in Auto Focus or Exposure while shooting in portrait orientation. The shutter release can be locked when not in use to avoid any negligent discharges of the shutter release, which is very nice. The only complaint I have about the shutter release on the grip is that it feels a little spongy compared to the shutter release on the camera. There isn’t as much distinction between the “halfway down for auto focus” and the actual shutter release. I had several misfires myself while adjusting to it’s feel, but now I have no problems with the shutter release at all.

Overall I’m very happy with the MB-D80. It gives my D90 the look, feel, and function of a D3-like camera body and the convenience, comfort, and stability are certainly worth more to me than it’s $130.00 price tag.

My Stock Photography at Dreamstime

I have an update for you regarding my stock photography experience. As you may recall, I had been submitting to Fotolia with very little luck. I had read a little bit about another microstock site called Dreamstime. I decided to create an account and submit a few images and see what happens.

Creating an account was easy and Dreamstime has a pretty slick interface. My account was set up in a matter of minutes and didn’t require any photo submissions for account approval either. I quickly logged in and downloaded their model releases. They are absolutely necessary and it’s always nice to have them on hand. I uploaded my files via FTP and I was all set. When you upload your files via FTP to Dreamstime, they automatically move them over for you to the Unfinished Files section of your account, but it could take a couple hours to do so. After my files were moved I named, keyworded, and categorized my images for final submission.

It took about 6 days to get the 14 photos that I submitted through the approval process, but they ended up keeping 10 of them and only rejecting 4. One of the files I submitted was a crap shoot because I shot it at a high ISO and used Imagenomic’s Noiseware Pro plugin to get rid of noise but there was still some there. The other three rejected images were also iffy because they were of a well-covered subject and for them to be accepted they have to be better than what the site is already selling.

I don’t intend for this to be a full review so I won’t go into much more detail at this time. After I work my way around the site and have some more experience with these great folks I’ll post a full review. I’m very pleased thus far and I think I’m going to really enjoy working with Dreamstime.

(Click the image above to see my approved photos on Dreamstime.)