How’s things?

Well we’re back home now after spending a superb weeks holiday down in Devon looking after our friends farm; such good fun.

So now it’s time to hit the ground running and get on with a busy time ahead but to start the week off I thought I’d share some photos from our time away; funny thing is, despite taking a load of kit with me 99% of all the photos I took were taken using my iPhone…

iPhone Photo

Throughout the week we’d been getting up early to tend to all the animals and I’d been meaning to get up extra early to take some photos because seeing the day start is something real special in Devon. It wasn’t actually until the last morning of our stay that I set the alarm for 4.30am and ventured out to photograph the Swan nesting on the island in the middle of the lake. The photograph above was taken using my iPhone whilst I sat on a bench warming up waiting for some of the mist to clear.

iPhone Photo

The panorama above showing some of the farm land was taken using the 360 App for iPhone. I posted a walk through of how it was done last week; you can check it out here [Link]

Just some of the new friends we got to hang out with during the week…

iPhone Photo

I figured after spending years of doing strict diets during my Bodybuilding days I’m allowed a little treat (or two) now…yeah I know…I’m rationalising but hey…it was bloomin’ delicious

• Cream Tea from The Captains Cabin, Beer
• Scotch Egg; in fact all the food at The George Inn, Chideock (Pub & Restaurant): Just over the border in Dorset but the best food around and great price too!
• Cheese from River Cottage Canteen, Axminster

iPhone Photo

Normally when we venture down to Devon we drop in to nearby Lyme Regis and this time was no exception…it’s kind of become a ritual but it’s such a beautiful place. If you’ve never been there it’s a must.

Bit of trivia for you…Lyme Regis is where they filmed The French Lieutenants Woman. Oh and they do the best chips (ok I admit it…they were another treat)

iPhone Photo

This shot of Merryck was again taken using my iPhone after a walk and swim in the lake, and I posted a look at how it was edited using Snapseed and Photoshop CS6 last week which you can see here [Link]

iPhone Photo

Feel incredibly blessed and lucky to have such wonderful friends in Keith & Bridget…

Oh and here’s the nesting Swan I mentioned about at the start; definitely made getting up at 4.30am worth it just to sit and watch (One of the rare shots whilst away taken with my DSLR)…

So there you go…our week away in Devon on Spillers Farm which went by far too quickly, but hey looking on the positive side of things that just means we have the the next visit to look forward to and then of course there’s the time when we relocate

That’s all from me for today so whatever you’re up to have a good one and  I’ll see you back here tomorrow,

Enjoy

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Spillers Farm: Working smallholding, Bed &  Breakfast, Self Catering Cottage and Tea Rooms [Link]

Wow…Friday already!?!

I can’t believe how quickly the last week has gone, but I guess that’s always the way when you’re on holiday.

We’ve a couple more days left down here in glorious Devon before heading back home and we’re going to make the most of it so I’ll leave you today with a few News Bits n’ Bobs

The Making of Homeward Bound
I’ve had a few questions sent in about the Making of Homeward Bound Online Training coming up on May 27th.

So, just to clarify the webinar will be pre recorded and those of you who sign up will be sent a link and password on the release day so that you can watch it as often and whenever you like.

Early Bird Pricing: £5  before release date (Available afterwards for £10)

Check out this [Link] for more details.

Kelby Training Discount & 24 Hour Access
Each and every day the folks over at Kelby Training give away 75 FREE 24 hour ALL ACCESS passes so if you’re not already a member why not head on over give it a test run and check out all the incredible classes.

In addition to that Kelby Training have a promotion going on at the moment giving $10 off the Annual Subscription using the code: KTCJQ12!

Click this [Link] for more information and for your free 24 Test Run.

Free Photoshop Magazine on 3D
If you’re interested in the 3D capabilities of the new Photoshop CS6, there’s a Free magazine available on iTunes you’ll definitely want to get hold of…

Description
Photoshop Dimensions is the magazine of 3D in Adobe Photoshop. Whether you are new to 3D in Photoshop or an old hand, Photoshop Dimensions will show you new and exciting ways to add another dimension to your work. Photoshop Dimensions is written by leading authorities and experts who truly understand Photoshop’s powerful 3D features.

Download your Free copy of Photoshop Dimensions here [Link]

iPhone Photo

Right that’s all for now…days in Devon that start off looking like this are too good to waste, so whatever you’re up to have a great weekend and I’ll catch you back here in a few days,

Enjoy

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Yesterday I posted a picture taken with my iPhone on Facebook and someone commented that it looked like an oil painting; unsurprisingly this made me think of the new Oil Paint Filter in Photoshop CS6. You see the picture I originally posted hadn’t had this new filter applied so what better time to give it a whirl huh

So, here’s the original picture which was taken with my iPhone and then edited in Snapseed:

For those of you who use Snapseed, to give the picture this look I used: DETAILS to add Sharpening & Structure followed by VINTAGE Style #5

Anyway, following the comment on Facebook I then opened the picture in Photoshop CS6 and ran the Oil Paint Filter:

Click the picture to enlarge

The Oil Paint Filter is one of those filters I think I’m going to be experimenting with quite alot. Regular readers of this site will know that I like to add what I call the Cartoon Look to my images (only those I think it would suit mind you) but I’m also really liking the looks you can get with this new filter especially when experimenting with Blend Modes; I’ll keep you posted with some of the results.

Tip: As always when you’re using a filter where possible apply it as a Smart Filter for the flexibility and room for error it affords otherwise apply it to a duplicate layer and just use the opacity to control how much of the filter shows through.

Here then is the final image which I have added a frame to using the OnOne PhotoFrame 4.6 Plug In and adapted slightly:

Click the picture to enlarge

Ok that’s all from me for today so whatever you’re up to have a good one, and as always if you have any questions or comments then please feel free to make use of the comments section below, but in the mean time,

Enjoy

>Hey just a thought but if I take and edit a picture with my phone does that make it ‘Out of Phone’?

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Well to say we’re having a great time down in Sunny Devon would be an understatement. It’s kind of funny how despite not being from here how it feels like we’ve come home when we visit.

Anyway today I just wanted to touch on taking photos with my iPhone, or to be more specific…shooting panoramas on my iPhone.

You see the other day Terry White reviewed the 360 App over on his Best App Site [Link] and literally raved about the results it gave when shooting 360° Panoramas, so as is usually the case once I read one of Terry’s reviews I downloaded it from the App store and gave it a go. In short…WOW! It’s so incredibly easy to use and does a superb job of stitching the panorama together:

At this point all you’d need to do is to crop the photo so that all the blank areas are removed and you’d be finished BUT here’s where Photoshop’s Content Aware Fill comes in really handy:

Step 1: Open the Panorama in Photoshop and Duplicate It (CMD/CTRL + J)

Step 2: Select all the blank areas in the lower portion of the Panorama (I used the Lasso Tool)

Step 3: Fill the blank areas by choosing EDIT > FILL > CONTENT AWARE

To finish off the picture I made a rough selection of the blank areas in the top half of picture, again used Content Aware Fill and the picture was finished…a process that took all of 60 seconds!

You know it seems that each and every time we come away for a break I always bring my camera kit with me but invariably end up taking the majority of photos using my iPhone. But to be honest with you I’m pretty cool with that because I’ve still taken pictures and as the saying goes ‘The Best Camera is one you have with you” right?

Cameras on mobile phones are getting better all the time and although they’ll never (did I really say never?) take over our DSLR’s they do produce more than acceptable results for day to day photos and sure as eggs are eggs, the quality will continue to improve; I did see a guy yesterday though taking a picture using his iPad and very nearly drop it so I think I’ll give that a miss

Right, we’re off to spend some time in one of my fave places today (Lyme Regis) so I’ll bid you farewell for now and hope that whatever you’re up to you have a good one,

Enjoy

*360 App in iTunes [Link]
*Price: £0.69 (Available for both iPhone and iPad)

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Today I want to mention about some Apps that I use on a daily basis that help me in all kinds of ways from helping me to be more organised to showing my portfolio.

Being an Apple user the Apps I’m talking about here are for use on the iPad and iPhone however they may well be available on other devices (I haven’t checked). Saying that though there are a couple in the list that are also website based making them available to everyone, so here goes…

#1 TeuxDeux
Up until now for getting myself organised I’ve been using the ToDo App [Link] on my iPad and that’s worked great but despite my best efforts I still found myself using sticky pieces of paper to leave notes and reminders all over the place. However I’m now using the TeuxDeux which started off as a website based application and now has an accompanying iPhone App; you can use it on the iPad but it means pressing the 2x button to enlarge it.

For me TeuxDeux is near enough perfect. Sure there are some additions I’d like to see that are already in the ToDo App [Link] such as where you can set a ‘task’ to repeat on a daily basis. I used this in ToDo for reminding me about doing such things as 30 minutes of Photoshop Study and 30 minutes of Reading each day so that once I’d done it , I’d tick it off the list and it would automatically add it to the next day… and so on. I’m sure over time TeuxDeux will add more and more functionality but even now for me it’s helping enormously.

Here’s a promo video from the makers of TeuxDeux:

Teux Deux Website [Link]
Teux Deux in iTunes [Link]
Price (for App): £1.99

#2 Reeder
Part of my daily routine is to check a large number of blogs each and every morning…kind of like my morning paper

Sure there are loads of RSS Reader App’s out there and to be honest I think I’ve tried most, but the one I’m happiest with because of it’s simplistic layout is Reeder. Not much more I can say about this other than it does exactly what it’s supposed to…no fuss and no hiccups

Reeder App in iTunes [Link]
Price: £2.99

#3 1Password
It seems like everything needs to have a password these days and despite my best efforts I do (make that ‘did’) find keeping track of them all a bit of a nightmare. I used to keep a little notebook with all the usernames and passwords I’d set up but quickly realised that wasn’t the most secure way to keep a record.

Anyway my password and username nightmares are no more thanks to 1Password. I seriously couldn’t be happier with this App which keeps an encrypted record of all your usernames and passwords in a secure vault which can be accessed from your computer or device but not only that it backs up to Dropbox so that whatever you use it on is in sync.

1Password is available for Mac, Windows, iPhone/iPod, iPad and Android.

1Password in iTunes [Link]
Price: £10.49

#4 Photo Manager Pro
I’ve tried so many different Apps on my iPad for showing my Portfolio, and sure there are some great ones out there but for now at least, I’ve settled for Photo Manager Pro.

Simple in it’s design and layout and with the ability to create numerous albums and arrange photos in any order Photo Manager Pro does everything I feel I need at the moment. Sure it doesn’t allow the user to add any branding as other Apps do such as Portfolio [Link] but at the moment that’s not something I’m all that concerned about.

Photo Manager Pro in iTunes [Link]
Price: £1.99

#5 Kindle
Apart from buying books written by friends or ones that I want to keep for best, I can’t remember the last time I bought a physical book off the Amazon book store.

The ability to take all my books everywhere I go and all in one small device for me is a no brainer. I know there are folks who still like the idea of holding an actual book and that I totally understand but I just love the ability to read or refer to any of my books no matter where I am, plus by using other Apps being able to read my magazines, I totally embrace the digital book revolution

kindle App in iTunes [Link]
Price: Free

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So there you have it…5 Apps that I can’t live without. To be honest there’s actually more I could have mentioned such as Chronicle [Link] but I thought for now I’d restrict it to 5…but what about you? Do you have any Apps that you use on a day to day basis that now you do, you actually wonder how you managed without them?

Why not share the names of some of Apps you get alot of use out of so we can all check them out so please feel free to make use of the comments section below. Maybe you’ve tried some of the Apps I’ve mentioned above and didn’t really get on with them…but why was that? Maybe you could recommend some alternatives?

As always if you have any questions or comments then again, feel free to make use of the comments section below but in the mean time,

Enjoy

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How you doing? Hope you had a great weekend.

Ok lots to tell you about this week so I thought I’d kick things off by letting you know that I’ve teamed up with Practical Photoshop Magazine [Link] who have just launched a competition where the winner gets a Free ticket to my day long Photography & Photoshop Creative Workshop on Saturday 21st July [Link]

All you need to do to enter the competition is answer the following question over on Practical Photoshop’s website [Link]:

When the Red, Green and Blue Channels are all 128 the colour is:

• White
• Grey
• Black
• Rich Black

If you think you know the answer, then head over over to the competition page here [Link] and hey who knows, I might see you in July for the workshop and of course the customary curry…I mean, social afterwards

Enjoy

Wow, Friday already?

Ok so here’s a Photoshop tutorial I recorded showing a quick, easy and effective way that you can add a realistic light source into your pictures…

This tutorial forms part of the 40 minute video I recorded for folks who sign up for the free newsletter [Link] and you can see this light effect on a few of my pictures over in my 500px portfolio here [Link]

Right, must dash…need to see to the Chickens, Ducks, Pigs and Sheep, so as always if you have any questions or comments then please feel free to make use of the comments section below.

In the mean time though, whatever you’re up to have a great weekend and I’ll catch you back here in a few days.

Enjoy

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I’ve got a real quick post for today just to let you know a date for your diary…

On Saturday 9th June (time to be confirmed) I’m going to be doing a Live 2 hour Webinar with the great folks over at RetouchPRO working through every step in Photoshop from start to finish of my Running Late picture.

I’m really looking forward to this not only because I’ve followed RetouchPRO since I started out but also because it will be very much an audience participation event…

“RetouchPRO LIVE is a live talk show where we chat with an artist as we watch them at work. The audience helps guide the course of the conversation with their questions and comments. These are not canned presentations or studio-produced tutorials (or really tutorials of any sort). Each show is extemporaneous and candid, and as in-depth as the audience requests it to be.”

I’ll be posting more details as we get nearer to the 9th June as spaces will be limited so be sure to check back.

In the mean time make sure you head on over to RetouchPRO and check out the incredibly popular site which has an enormous amount of information within it’s pages, super active forums, and a great collection of previous webinar videos to rent from folks such as Photomontage Illustrator Steve Caplin; author of the ‘How to Cheat in Photoshop‘ book series.

You can check out RetouchPRO here [Link]

Right that’s all from me for now so whatever you’re up to have a great day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow for that Friday Feeling,

Enjoy

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Ok so for today I just wanted to quickly reinforce something that I’ve written about before… i.e. how giving your photo shoots a theme and using Moodboards can not only help you as a Photographer but also help your model to model, so that ultimately you end up with the best possible results from your Photo Shoot.

In the latest issue of German Photography & Digital Imaging magazine Pictures I’ve a 4 page article where I cover exactly that; specifically looking at how my best buddy Dave Clayton has gone from hating having his photograph taken to now making regularly magazine appearances and modelling at my workshops.

So just in case you don’t read German here’s some links to where the content of the magazine article was adapted from posts on this site:

• How to help your Model to Model
• How I’m using Pinterest as part of my workflow
• Photographers: Do you Scrapbook?

On a side note seeing this transformation in Dave’s confidence in front of the camera has been fantastic and working with Dave at my workshops and other projects has been and always is a total blast; in fact calling it ‘work’ seems kind of wrong. Although not my personal assistant we do a heck of alot of stuff together and plan on doing a lot more in the future so here’s looking forward to lots more, ermmm work in the coming weeks, months and years

As always if you have any questions or comments, or maybe even ways that you find help to get the most from your photo shoot,then please feel free to make use of the comments section below, but in the mean time,

Enjoy

•     •     •

Yesterday I sent out Issue #2 of my newsletter with details of new workshop dates, the latest webinar, link and password to the 40 minutes of Free Photoshop Tutorials video I recorded, special offers and more…

Now I’d like to say it was intentional but alas I can’t as the eagle eyed of you will have noticed a typo where the Early Bird Pricing deadline for the 21st July Workshop was shown as 11 August 2012…when it should have said 11th July…doh! Anyway, just to confirm, ticket prices for the 1 day Photography & Photoshop Creative Workshop are £95 per person before 11th July and go up to £110 afterwards…phew

Also, with regards the workshop, the day has now been extended which means more photography, more photoshop and more creativity…all topped off with the customary social afterwards (aka curry)

You can check out the full details over on the workshop page here [Link]

New Partner: Tether Tools
I’m really excited to have now teamed up with Tether Tools and become part of their Pro User Team along with such great folks as Calvin Hollywood, Frank Doorhof, Jeremy Cowart and Erik Valind…

Tether Tools are makers of incredible camera to computer tethering equipment and accessories designed to make your shooting life a whole lot easier and more organised. I’ll start posting more BTS (Behind the Scenes) info and videos so you can see the kit in action but in the mean time if you’re looking at ordering then by using the Special Offer Code of DewisTT8  you’ll receive a complimentary Camera Support JerkStopper with the purchase of any Tether Table Aero.

Check out the Tether Tools website here [Link]

Forward and Win with NAPP UK
Now getting back to the newsletter, thanks to my Buddy Dave Clayton over at NAPP MEMBER UK [Link] anyone who forwards it on to someone else they think might like to read it, each month will be entered into a Prize Draw…

Don’t ask me how (I’m guessing fairy dust is behind it somewhere) but through the wonder of technology it’s possible to see if the newsletter was forwarded on, so this month anyone who helps spread the word stands the chance of winning a copy of Scott Kelby’s superb Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It book…it’s that simple

Free 40 Minute Photoshop Tutorial Video
Finally…did you get the link and password to my FREE 40 Minutes of Photoshop Tutorials video???

If not then all you need do is subscribe to my newsletter [Link] and the details will be automatically emailed out and you can then watch it whenever and as often as you like.

Right that’s all for now; I’m off to the studio so whatever you’re up to have a great day and I’ll catch you tomorrow,
Enjoy

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