The new Nikon D5000 slots in between the existing D60 and D90 models, not only in terms of feature set and functionality, but also in terms of size and weight. It isn’t as compact and lightweight as the D60 but neither is it quite as bulky and heavy as the D90. The right-hand grip bears more resemblance to that of the D60 – it’s a wee bit uncomfortable for photographers with large hands and/or longish fingers, but not annoyingly so. New to the D5000 is a rubberised thumb rest on the back of the body, which is a welcome improvement over the D60.

The 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR kit lens that Nikon supplied feels fairly well-balanced – if a tad front-heavy – on the Nikon D5000 and it fits into place with a reassuring mechanical click. It also adds the very important advantage of Vibration Reduction. Nikon bodies don’t offer any form of in-camera image stabilisation, unlike similar models from Sony, Pentax and Olympus, so the affordable 18-55mm VR lens is a good investment.

The shutter release action on the Nikon D5000 is surprisingly quiet, with an exemplarily dampened mirror slap that makes this DSLR actually quieter than some rangefinder cameras! Furthermore, there is a new Quiet mode, in which the mirror is raised fairly slowly to further reduce the sound it makes. This, however, introduces some shutter lag, which usually isn’t worth the few decibels of difference versus what is already an impressively quiet shutter (Nikon recommends using the Quiet mode for taking pictures of sleeping babies, a situation in which a bit of shutter delay isn’t a problem).

The Nikon D5000 follows conventional DSLR design in having a shooting mode dial on the top of the camera, which allows you to select either one of the advanced modes like Manual, Aperture- or Shutter-priority, or a number of scene modes. The Exposure Compensation button is thoughtfully positioned next to the shutter release. Hold down this button with your right forefinger and spin the control wheel on the top-rear of the camera with your thumb to adjust its settings – simple and intuitive. The control wheel is now slightly slanted, making it more ergonomic than on the D60.

The other button sitting next to the shutter release, which was dedicated to the Active D-lighting function on the D60, is once again labeled ‘info’, just like on the old D40. This button is arguably at the heart of the Nikon D5000’s ease-of-use, as the camera lacks the monochromatic status LCD of the D90, so Nikon had to provide a different way to check vital shooting information without having to look into the viewfinder. Enter the info button – pressing it displays virtually all of the camera’s main settings on the large rear screen, provided it is not folded inward to protect it from harm.

This articulated screen is one of the few true novelties the D5000 offers over previous Nikon DSLRs. It took some time for Nikon to realise that the full potential of Live View can only be exploited if it is delivered on a hinged screen, but the company has finally joined the ranks of Olympus, Panasonic and Sony in offering a model sporting this feature. In terms of flexibility, Nikon’s bottom-hinged LCD is midway between Sony’s simple tilting screen and the left-hinged, free-angle monitors offered by Olympus and Panasonic. In other words, the bottom placing of the hinge wasn’t the most brilliant idea, as it’s more limiting than the left-hinged solution, but it’s still more flexible than a simple tilting screen (and much more useful than a fixed LCD).

Sadly though, the anti-glare coating leaves a lot to be desired – so much so that the screen proved almost unusable outdoors in strong daylight. Cranking up the LCD’s brightness didn’t help much. We are not quite sure if it the lack of proper anti-reflex coating is just an unfortunate oversight or the result of deliberate cost-cutting, but it definitely is an annoyance on a DSLR whose main selling points are Live View and video recording, among others.

Speaking of Live View, it can be accessed by way of a dedicated Lv button on the back of the camera, just as on the D90. Press it and the mirror flips up, the shutter opens and the rear screen displays the scene as seen through the lens. There is a red rectangle in the middle, which you can move practically anywhere in the frame. When in manual focus (MF) mode, you can magnify into this rectangle in a number of steps by repeatedly pressing the button marked with a loupe icon, but this magnification seems to be at least partially interpolated. This means that you cannot see detail down to the pixel level, unlike with some competing cameras.

Fortunately, MF is not the only focusing option in Live View, at least as long as you are taking stills. Contrast-detect auto-focus (CDAF) is also available and, while slow, it tends to be accurate. As with the D90, CDAF can also be used in connection with face detection. ‘Face-Priority AF’ had no problem finding and keeping track of human faces as long as they were facing the camera, but acquiring focus was another story – very, very slow.

Live View must also be entered to shoot movies. After pressing the Lv button and optionally presetting the aperture and focus, you can start recording video by pressing the OK button sitting in the middle of the ubiquitous four-way pad. Once recording has commenced, there is no way to change the aperture or shutter speed, and you cannot use auto-focus either. Manual focusing is of course possible, but the 2.7′ size and – especially – the 230,000-dot resolution of the screen makes it difficult to judge focus (the D90’s three-inch, 920,000-dot monitor is obviously better for this). In other respects, the Nikon D5000’s movie parameters are identical to the D90’s – the camera records 1280×720-pixel, 24-frame-per-second motion JPEGs in AVI format.

Of course the Nikon D5000 is an SLR, so Live View and video recording are add-on features, more than anything else. Its primary function is to take still photographs, and for that, you do not have to use Live View. Like all SLRs, the D5000 has a proper through-the-lens optical viewfinder too, albeit it’s smaller than the D60’s and much smaller than the D90’s; about the same as that of the old D70. The Nikon D5000’s 11 auto-focus points are permanently marked on the focusing screen, whereas the compositional grid lines can be called up via a menu option. Two warning signs – telling you that the battery is running low or you have forgotten to insert a memory card – may also appear in the form of overlaid icons when appropriate. Below the finder is a traditional monochromatic status bar showing practically all relevant shooting information (including the ISO sensitivity, if so specified in the menu).

As stated above, the Nikon D5000, like the D90 but unlike the D60, has 11 auto-focus sensors, out of which only the central one is a cross type (compared to five out of seven in the Olympus E-620, for instance). The other ten are of the line variety, consequently being only sensitive to either vertical or horizontal detail, but not both. In practice, this did not turn out to be a real problem, with the camera typically locking focus on the subject quickly and easily, no matter which AF point was selected.

In the viewfinder, the active AF point appears in brackets, which are easy to see. Selecting the active AF point is done by way of the four-way pad – except if you choose Auto Area AF -; again a simple and intuitive solution. Be aware of one thing though: after the auto meter-off delay specified in Custom Function ‘c2′, the camera goes into a sort of sleep mode, in which you cannot set the shutter speed, the f-number or indeed the active AF point until you half-press the shutter release button to wake the camera fully up. In low light, the AF sensors are helped by an AF assist lamp located on the front plate of the camera.

The overall control layout and ‘philosophy’ of the Nikon D5000 has more in common with the likes of the D40 and the D60 than the D90. It has only one control wheel, and there are no dedicated buttons for controlling ISO sensitivity, white balance, metering or AF mode. The Drive Mode / Fn button can be reprogrammed to perform ISO selection or white balance adjustment (or one of a few other functions such as file quality specification), but the others still have to be set through the main info screen, called up by pressing the ‘i’ button bottom-left of the rear display. With practice, performing adjustments via this screen becomes fairly quick and easy, but it’s still not as efficient as the D90’s dedicated controls.

At any rate, the range of functions that can be accessed via the interactive info panel is impressive. You can set the file quality and image resolution, white balance, ISO sensitivity, drive mode (including continuous shooting at 4 frames per second), AF mode, AF area mode, metering mode, Active D-lighting, bracketing, picture control and [flash] exposure compensation.

The Nikon D5000 is powered by a proprietary EN-EL9a Lithium-ion battery and records videos and image files on SD/SDHC cards. As we noted in our D90 review, we would really have liked to see Nikon add a second card slot for Compact Flash cards, so that owners of higher-specified Nikon DSLRs who buy a D90 or D5000 as a second body can use their existing memory cards, but so far Nikon has not shown any interest in providing dual card slots. As far as connectivity goes, there are USB/VideoOut and Mini HDMI ports as well as an accessory terminal for the connection of a wired remote or a GPS unit, all sheltered behind a door on the left side of the camera, when viewed from the back.

In summary, the Nikon D5000 is a fairly compact and admirably quiet DSLR that inherits the self-cleaning 12-megapixel sensor, 11-point AF module, Live View and video recording capability and extensive menu system of the bigger, heavier and more expensive D90, and the infopanel-driven operation of the smaller, lighter D60, while adding an articulated LCD to the mix. The result is a versatile and unobtrusive little DSLR that is very well suited to a broad range of photographers and photographic tasks.

Around 5.3 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. The native language for most of the population is Finnish, a member of the Finno-Ugric language family most closely related to Estonian, and is one of only four official EU languages not of Indo-European origin. The second official language of Finland, Swedish, is the mother tongue of 5.5 percent of the population.  Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a mostly Helsinki-based central government and local governments in 348 municipalities. A total of a million residents live in Greater Helsinki area (including Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa) and a third of the country’s GDP is produced there. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Lahti.

Finland was historically a part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finland’s declaration of independence from Russia in 1917 was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, the OECD in 1969, and the European Union in 1995 and participates in the Eurozone. Finland has been ranked the second most stable country in the world, in a survey based on social, economic, political, and military indicators.

Finland has a good standing in many international comparisons of national performance such as the share of high-technology manufacturing and health care.  The country is ranked 2nd in the Legatum Prosperity rating, this rating is based on economical performances and quality of life.

Finland 1

Around 5.3 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. The native language for most of the population is Finnish, a member of the Finno-Ugric language family most closely related to Estonian, and is one of only four official EU languages not of Indo-European origin. The second official language of Finland, Swedish, is the mother tongue of 5.5 percent of the population.  Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a mostly Helsinki-based central government and local governments in 348 municipalities. A total of a million residents live in Greater Helsinki area (including Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa) and a third of the country’s GDP is produced there. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Lahti.

Finland 2

Finland was historically a part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finland’s declaration of independence from Russia in 1917 was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, the OECD in 1969, and the European Union in 1995 and participates in the Eurozone. Finland has been ranked the second most stable country in the world, in a survey based on social, economic, political, and military indicators.

Finland has a good standing in many international comparisons of national performance such as the share of high-technology manufacturing and health care.  The country is ranked 2nd in the Legatum Prosperity rating, this rating is based on economical performances and quality of life.

Finland 3

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Finland 6 Särkänniemi

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Finland 9

Thats my top 4 Photoshop Brushes.

Extremely Abstract

Real Smoke

Abstract Curves

Silicon Brushes

1. Extremely Abstract

Here is another great set of Photoshop brushes by Env1ro. These brushes are fantastic for adding some cool lighting effects to your work.

Photoshop-brush-extreme-abstract

Download Extremely Abstract

2. Real Smoke

Create abstract art with this set of 108 Photoshop brushes of real smoke! These naturally shaped smoke brushes can be used individually or stacked on top of another.

Download Real Smoke

3. Abstract Curves

Fresh eMedia is proud to present another new brushset free for personal and commercial use. ” 28 Abstract Curves ” will provide you with the basis tools to create such artworks. you can free download 28 Abstract Curves Brushes now.

Download Abstract Curves

4. Silicon Brushes

Download Silicon Brush

Okay, so you’ve grasped the techniques, but you need more than that if you’re to produce a range of original eye-catching work. Don’t underestimate the power of composition or the importance of balance.

This tutorial will teach you to create stunning effects using glows, loads of Colour Dodge, and lots and lots of neon – hot pinks and lemon yellows are prominent here. You’ll also learn how to utilise white in all the right places, so that white areas look less like negative space and more like the result of added energy and light.

The finer details are very important, too. The small glowing dots used throughout this image may be small, but they add so much. Always pay attention to detail in anything you create – simplicity is good but there are always details that, when added, make all the difference.

This tutorial stresses the importance of strong colour. The background of this piece contains a faint fl oral pattern, which is key, but very subtle. It does not call your attention or stand out on its own. Rather, it serves its purpose as a background correctly. In addition, another dimension is added using flowers and scanned imagery, giving the image a truly organic feel. So keep in mind the importance of strong colours and solid composition in all your work and you’ll see instant results.

source: computerarts.co.uk

Download: Support Files

Download: Tutorial

1.
Create a new image 400×400px with a “transparent” background. Rename the only existing layer “back”.

Fill ( Edit > Fill ) layer “back” with black ( Hext #000000 ).

Using the Horizontal Type Tool, write some large text in white ( Hex #FFFFFF ). For this tutorial, I wrote “Duckeldanny” in 80 pt with the font Impact.

Rasterize the text ( Layer > Rasterize > Text ). Rename the layer that has the now rasterized text “Text”.

2.
Duplicate layer “Text” and rename the new layer “Text 2”. Hide layer “Text 2” by clicking on the eye to the left of it on the Layer Palette.

Activate layer “Text” on the Layer Palette and merge all visible layers ( Layer > Merge Visible ).

Transform the image 90 degrees clockwise ( Edit > Transform > 90 degrees CW )

Apply the Wind filter ( Filter > Stylize > Wind ) with the method “Wind” and the Direction “From the Right”. Repeat ( Ctrl-f ) this filter.

Now, apply the Wind filter ( Filter > Stylize > Wind ) again except this time, use the Direction “From the Left”. Repeat ( Ctrl-f ) this filter.

3.
Transform the image 90 degrees counter-clockwise ( Edit > Transform > 90 degrees CCW ). We are now going to apply the Wind filter again except this time, only once in each direction.

Apply the Wind filter ( Filter > Stylize > Wind ) with the method “Wind” and the Direction “From the Right”.

Now, apply the Wind filter ( Filter > Stylize > Wind ) again except this time, use the Direction “From the Left”.

Apply the Ripple Filter ( Filter > Distort > Ripple ) to make the light wavy. Open the Hue/Saturation window ( Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation ) and press Ok with the default values.

4.
Unhide layer “Text 2” and activate it on the Layer Palette.

Select the text on the layer by pressing Ctrl then clicking on the thumbnail of the layer on the Layer Palette.

Contract ( Select > Contract ) the selection by 2 pixels. Now Fill ( Edit > Fill ) in the selection with black ( Hex #000000 ).

5.
This is the end of the original tutorial. We have added this following section for those of you who wish to add more contrast to the text.

First, merge all visible layers ( Layer > Merge Visible ).

Duplicate the only existing layer twice. You should now have three layers.

Change the Blending Mode of the middle layer to “screen“.
Change the Blending Mode of the top layer to “overlay“.

Your text should have much more contrast now!

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the “Wood Effect,” an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not glow under infrared.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the “Wood Effect,” an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not glow under infrared.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the “Wood Effect,” an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not glow under infrared.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the “Wood Effect,” an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not glow under infrared.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.