Freundinnen und Freunde des gedruckten Bandes, es ist wieder soweit. Gefühlte hundert neue Fotobücher haben große und kleine Verlage auf den Markt geworfen. Man mag es kaum glauben, aber das alles durchzugucken ist Arbeit! Allerdings eine tolle – oder gar: Die beste?
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
In early February, software company Serif announced the free beta version of Affinity Photo, a Mac-only photo editing program said to rival the likes of other editing tools, including the standards for creative professionals, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. In this article, I’ll walk through the public beta version of Affinity Photo and describe some pros and cons to using this new software.
At the moment, Affinity Photo beta is available as a free online download and is compatible with Apple OSX Lion 10.7.5, and up. Some key features that move Affinity up in the ranks include support for CMYK color, RAW file processing, 16-bit editing, 64-bit Photoshop plug-in compatibility, ICC color management, and LAB color. A few other noteworthy tools include Affinity Photo’s Inpainting feature, which is essentially the equivalent of Adobe content-aware fill, and real-time editing that will apply edits instantly without the need to render a preview.
It’s uncertain when Affinity Photo’s full version will launch, but when it does it will be available for purchase in the Mac App Store for about $ 49.99. A Windows/PC version of the app is said to be in works, but again no solid timeline is available.
The first feature of the tool that really stood out was its speed and reliability. Affinity Photo is extremely fast and it never once crashed during the seven times I used it, which is impressive for a beta version. The tool’s speed is accredited to it being built on an entirely new and modern codebase, unlike Adobe Photoshop, which recently celebrated its 25 year anniversary and thus has been built on architecture that is also a couple decades old.
One of the most striking differences that I immediately noticed was the default adjustment that Affinity Photo made to my RAW image when I first imported it. While these defaults could likely be adjusted to taste, I was surprised at how drastically Affinity altered my image when all I did was import it.
The interface, and ease of use, is where Affinity Photo really shines. Despite being a longtime Photoshop user, I’ll admit that its layout can be overly complicated, presenting too many tools that are beyond the scope of basic photo edits. While Affinity’s interface definitely borrows some features from Photoshop, its basic layout is relatively straightforward and easy to understand without requiring a ton of customization. The top bar below the menu shows all of the basic details of your photo (file format, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc.), which is something that seemed rather hidden and hard to find in Photoshop.
Basic editing tools are presented in the right hand panel under the histogram, the tools are nicely labeled, and easy to adjust with sliders. There is also a History tab that, in the same way that Photoshop does, keeps track of every edit, making it easy to track and reverse any changes. Hardcore photo retouchers might find these editing tools to be lacking, but for beginners or photographers in need of basic edits, these tools will get the job done in a straightforward manner.
As a photographer who shoots almost exclusively in RAW, I’ve grown accustomed to the seamless integration of Camera RAW with Photoshop and Lightroom’s smooth handling of RAW image conversion. The way that Affinity handles RAW editing took a bit of troubleshooting, but was straightforward when all was understood.
When you first open a RAW file into Affinity, there are distinctly fewer editing options and adjustments to choose from. The Basic tab offers easy access to make basic adjustments to white balance, exposure, contrast, shadows and highlights, clarity, vibrance, and black points. What was curiously missing from this panel were saturation and tint control. The Lens tab offers adjustments for lens correction, chromatic aberration reduction, vignettes, and defringing. The Details tab allows for detail refinement, noise reduction, and noise addition. The Tones tab is where you can adjust curves, split toning, and black and white image conversion. In this mode, the left hand panel also has a vertical tool bar reminiscent of Photoshop’s, but when editing RAW files, it is noticeably much sparser containing just 10 tools versus the 20+ tools in Photoshop.
In order to unleash Affinity Photo’s full set of editing tools, it’s essential to click the small Develop button in the upper left hand corner of the RAW image editing window. This will transform Affinity’s interface dramatically to more closely resemble that of Photoshop. If you work exclusively with JPGs, this step will automatically be done for you upon the uploading of the JPG image, but this is an extra step when working with RAW files that to me was not so intuitive.
Within the full Affinity Photo interface, you no longer get the image EXIF data in the menu bar, but instead a full row of icons that offer shortcuts to quick edit features such as auto white balance, contrast, and color. There are also several icons on the right that describe different personas such as Liquify, Develop and Macro Persona. A couple of these were not yet available in thw beta version, but clicking on the Liquify Persona offered just about the same editing tools and capabilities that Photoshop’s liquify feature does. For the sake of demonstration, the below image shows off the use of Affinity’s Liquify Twirl Tool, which was intuitive and easy to use.
Note that the left hand tool bar is significantly longer offering; paint brushes, clone tools, dodging and burning, text overlays, and much more. The right hand editing tool panel is also laid out differently with tabs including Adjustment, Layers, Effects, and Styles. Want to add a Gaussian blur or 3D effect to your image? Just head over to the Effects tab and check the box next to the desired effect, and it is instantly applied as opposed to hunting around menus or creating an action as you would do in Photoshop.
It’s not often that a platform emerges to go head-on with Adobe, but so far Affinity Photo is setting itself up as a professional-grade app. While there are many high level features for advanced photo editing, there are also lots of basic photo editing tools that are intuitively positioned, making Affinity much more approachable for beginning or amateur photographers.
Whatever the fate of Affinity Photo, the fact that companies like Serif are working on platforms to advance the process of photo editing adds healthy competition to an industry that has long been dominated by big players like Adobe and will hopefully give photographers more options in the future.
Have you tested out Affinity beta yet? If so, what are your thoughts about what works well, and what could be improved?
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
The post Overview of the New Affinity Photo Editing Software by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]
The world’s tallest prefab building has just been constructed at a rate of 3 stories per day, showcasing the power of modular design and industrial prefabrication operating at scale. Located in Changsha, China, the record-breaking building is designed to be connected by sky bridges to a larger Sky City complex yet to be completed.
This first step in the grand scheme is this mixed-use structure featuring 800 apartments and office space for 4,000 workers with a total of over 2,000,000 square feet as well as 19 giant atrium spaces.
Producing many of the component parts in advance in factories, including entire truss systems, saves time and energy on site and also reduces pollution associated with busy construction sites and cast-on-site concrete. Its builders at BSB estimate a reduction in output of carbon dioxide by 12,000 tons thanks to these techniques as well as other environmental benefits, including a decrease in dust and particulates in the air around the building site.
Mini Sky City, as the tower is titled, is to be part of a larger Sky City series of interconnected skyscrapers that will include vertical farming spaces. One of the less-obvious byproducts of building at such speeds: China is able to effectively rapid-prototype urban design experiments at scale, testing novel strategies for vertical interaction and horizontal integration across structures.
The country recently saw the successful completion of the world’s first 3D-printed apartment complex as well as the rapid creation of 10 houses 3D-printed from scrap materials put together in just one day.
If you have ever driven past a skyscraper in progress day after day, you will know from experience just how fast this assembly really is compared to industry standards around the world – the precision of parts and management of contractors involved would be staggering in a situation with less-tight coordination as well.
Whether this will all become part of China’s ultimate bust in real estate, the technologies, techniques and principles on display here can and should be studied by architects from around the world.
We see conceptual modular designs of this kind all of the time, but rarely such exquisite real-world proof of how fast construction can be in the age of …
Click Here to Read More »»
An urban pedestrian paradise, this conceptual design proposes to turn cities skyward with a system of flexible open spaces that gradually rise as floor plates …
Click Here to Read More »»
Using recycled construction waste and rapid prototyping processes, a Chinese company is showing off how 3D printing technologies can be applied to building at …
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]
[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]
Das Bild des Tages von: Lambda_X
Im Ausblick ist der Heilige Geist per Leiter erreichbar.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
A handy little device made to fit speedlights, the Flash Disc was created by Lee Morris of Fstoppers with the intent of being a portable softbox. It appears at first to be a little white reflector, as it folds up like one into a compact size that can fit into a large pocket or small bag. However, the Flash Disc is actually more like two reflectors that sandwich your speedlight. When a flash is fired, the light bounces between the two reflectors, creating a softer spread of light. Available for purchase online at a price of $ 49.99, the first batch of Flash Discs were so popular they sold out and supplies were only recently replenished.
As a food, portrait, and event photographer, who travels a lot for photo shoots, the main features I’m looking for in a lighting kit are portability and functionality. I generally travel with one Speedlite flash (Canon 430 EXII) and a pair of wireless flash triggers (Yongnuo RF-603 II) for on-location portraits, candid event shots, and food photos in varied lighting conditions. When I have the luxury of space, I’ll bring an octabox softbox or shoot-through umbrella as a lighting modifier, although these devices take up both space in my photography kit as well as setup time while on location. I recently got my hands on the Fstoppers Flash Disc and was very impressed by its compact form, as well as big impact in helping diffuse and bounce my off-camera flash lighting.
Without a lighting modifier, off-camera flash tends to be way too harsh and overpowering.
The first big plus about the Flash Disc is that it is incredibly tiny when it folds up like a reflector and is put into its little black carrying case. Dimensions-wise, the Flash Disc is 12 inches in diameter when open, and 4 inches in diameter when closed. It’s very lightweight at less than 1 pound, and it is compatible with most external flash units. It really can fit into a jacket pocket, or be clipped (via a carabiner) to a loop on your belt or camera bag.
A possible drawback to having two reflectors folded into each other is that the Flash Disc can literally pop opened. I had a close call once when I opened the Flash Disc with my hands right next to an open bottle of water, resulting in said bottle being knocked over and spilled. Be sure not to open it close to your body or camera as it could possibly knock something over.
One side of the Flash Disc is translucent white and the other has built-in strips of white, black, and 18% grey. This is helpful for setting your white balance in post-processing (or doing custom white balance in the field)
Considering the 12″” diameter of the Flash Disc, sometimes the light it emits isn’t the softest, especially when compared to light from a 30″” softbox or umbrella. It’s a size trade-off that can sometimes result in the Flash Disc light still being a tad too harsh, although there are certain situations and photography styles that can benefit from this look.
I tested out the Flash Disc during a recent tropical vacation- using it on food, portrait, and product photography – and was pleased with the overall results. In the below product photo of a carry-on suitcase, the Flash Disc on a Canon 430 EXII was positioned camera right. The flash was in manual mode, dialled down to 1/64 power, and the result is a soft fill light on the bottom of the suitcase.
For food photography, the Flash Disc’s compact size was crucial as many food photos are taken in restaurants or tight kitchens where there isn’t the space or time to indulge in more elaborate lighting setups. In the image below of a fish taco plate, natural lighting was illuminating most of the dish. The Flash Disc was camera right, fired at 1/64 power to fill in the shadow areas of the dish.
The Flash Disc also came in extremely handy while doing casual location-based outdoor portraits, another scenario in which lugging around a large umbrella or reflector wouldn’t be convenient without an assistant. The portrait below was taken just after sunset, and my subject is lit by the Flash Disc fired at 1/64 power from camera left. This is an example of when the Flash Disc’s light quality is arguably on the harsher side, especially if you’re working as a lone “run and gun” photographer without an assistant, meaning you can only place the Flash Disc as near or far from your subject as your arm can stretch.
Has anyone else tested out the Flash Disc? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how useful (or not) you find it.
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
The post Review: Flash Disc Lighting Modifier by Fstoppers by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
‘Whales made me do it’ isn’t exactly what we expected to hear when we asked DPR reader Raymond Pang how he got started in photography. Then again, he’s not really your typical photographer. When he couldn’t find an app to help him plan out shoots in advance, he learned iOS app development and created one. Take a look at some of his images and read more in our Q&A. See gallery
Ein Beitrag von: Regina Röder
„Kolumbien, als Mädchen und alleine?“ Diese Frage wurde mir häufig gestellt, als ich Freunden und Familie davon erzählte, dass ich meinen Job in Kanada gekündigt hatte, um nach Südamerika zu gehen.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
The moon and night sky is a mysterious thing. Photographs of the moon can be tricky, but done well can convey an overwhelming sense of peacefulness and calm. I love doing night photography and when you can get the stars, moon or the Milky Way it’s even better.
Enjoy these images of the moon and allow yourself to star gaze and be inspired:
Moonlight shadows by Otto Hütter on 500px
Bats under the moonlight by Weerapong Chaipuck on 500px
Winter Night by Arild Heitmann on 500px
Looks like a Vulcano by Gianmaria Veronese on 500px
Lunar Eclipse Over Mt Shasta Revisited by Sean Bagshaw on 500px
Dying Earth by Michael Goh on 500px
El Matadors View by Ted Gore on 500px
The Blood Moon by Timothy Green on 500px
Road to Nowhere – Supermoon by Aaron J. Groen on 500px
Golden Bay: When Night Falls by Yan Zhang on 500px
Winding Owens by Nagesh Mahadev on 500px
BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON by Michelle Cobble on 500px
Storybook by Jeff Lewis on 500px
Pearly Gates to Nirvana by Yuga Kurita on 500px
The Polarizer by Miles Morgan on 500px
Moon by Uccio78 on 500px
(Okay that was a sneaky one – it’s not the moon but I think the image is great so I shared it)
Ancient Memories by Raza Durrani on 500px
The Old Bridge by Mostafa Hamad on 500px
with filter by Kajo_Kamil_Sadlon on 500px
Paying Reverence To The Rising Moon by Jeff Deveau on 500px
Good Night… by Ahmet Kizilhan on 500px
Halo by Michael Bollino on 500px
Flight from moon by Michael Priesch on 500px
Illuminate my Heart by Sherry Akrami on 500px
Pink Moon by MO AOUN PHOTO on 500px
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
The post 25 Photographs of the Moon with Peace and Tranquility by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
By Luz Adriana Villa
The image above and these other 25 images of the moon might give you a hint as to your challenge this week.
Night sky photography can be challenging and a lot of fun. Now’s the time to get out and try photographing the moon if you haven’t already.
We have several articles on the topic here on dPS if you need assistance:
By Sam Javanrouh
By @lbyper
By Christian Ronnel
By Dylan Toh
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Shoot the Moon by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Das Bild des Tages von: Andreas Jurgenowski
Im Ausblick: Liebe in Zeiten des Krieges, unbegrenzter Fotospeicher und eine unbegründete Löschung auf Instagram
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
