Lighting Mods

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 updated

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.

These updates include camera support for the following models:

* Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i/EOS Kiss X3 Digital)
* Canon PowerShot SX1 IS
* Epson R-D1x
* Hasselblad CF-22
* Hasselblad CF-22MS
* Hasselblad CF-39
* Hasselblad CF-39MS
* Hasselblad CFH-22
* Hasselblad CFH-39
* Hasselblad CFV
* Hasselblad 503CWD
* Hasselblad H2D-22
* Hasselblad H2D-39
* Hasselblad H3D-22
* Hasselblad H3D-31

* Hasselblad H3D-39
* Hasselblad H3DII-22
* Hasselblad H3DII-31
* Hasselblad H3DII-39
* Hasselblad H3DII-39MS
* Hasselblad H3DII-50
* Kodak EasyShare Z980
* Nikon D5000
* Olympus E-450
* Olympus E-620
* Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
* Pentax K-7
* Sigma DP2
* Sony A230
* Sony A330
* Sony A380

Note: Hasselblad support is for the 3FR file format only. The Hasselblad FFF file format is not currently supported.

Lightroom 2.4 Bug Fixes

The Lightroom 2.4 update includes several bug fixes.

The following is a list of items FIXED in this release:

* Web galleries with a Collection Title of six characters would not export or upload
* The crop aspect ratio could revert to the last selected ratio even when reset to original
* The crop aspect ratio in Quick Develop could be lost after a crop adjustment
* The crop aspect ratio lock could be lost after an orientation switch
* Images could preview incorrectly when imported using the MTP/PTP USB protocol
* Sony .ARW files may not have been recognized by Lightroom’s import dialog
* The Japanese language configuration of Lightroom on Mac OS X 10.5 could fail to switch to the print module if the HP B9180 was set as the default printer
* Metadata options that are intended for use were dimmed incorrectly when exporting DNG files
* The Japanese language configuration of Lightroom on Mac OS X was missing a shortcut for “Zoom Out”
* Several translation and shortcut corrections were made for the eight additional languages introduced with Lightroom 2.3

New Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 DNG Options

This release includes new DNG Compatibility conversion options. These choices help address the additional options available with the new DNG 1.3 Specification (http://www.adobe.com/dng):

* Camera Raw 2.4 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 2.4 (Photoshop CS) and later, and Lightroom 1.0 and later
* Camera Raw 4.1 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 4.1 (Photoshop CS3) and later, and Lightroom 1.1 and later. The DNG file will often be readable by earlier versions, depending on the camera model
* Camera Raw 4.6 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 4.6 (Photoshop CS3) and later, and Lightroom 2.1 and later. The DNG file will often be readable by earlier versions, depending on the camera model
* Camera Raw 5.4 and later: The DNG file will be readable by Camera Raw 5.4 (Photoshop CS4) and later, and Lightroom 2.4 and later. The DNG file will often be readable by earlier versions, depending on the camera model
* Custom: (Not available in Lightroom 2.4)
o Backward Version Option: DNG 1.1, DNG 1.3 (default 1.3)
o Checkbox: Linear (demosaiced) (default unchecked)
o Checkbox: Uncompressed (default unchecked)

DNG 1.3 Specification Update

The DNG specification has been updated to version 1.3.[LINK] The update includes the following changes:

* In Chapter 2, “DNG Format Overview”, the section on Defective Pixels has been updated
* The section on Opcode Lists has been added to Chapter 2, “DNG Format Overview”
* The CFALayout tag has been updated in Chapter 4, “DNG Tags”.
* Additional Tags for Version 1.3.0.0 were added to Chapter 4, “DNG Tags”
* Chapter 7, “Opcode List Processing” was added.
* “Appendix A: Compatibility with Previous Versions” was updated.

The additional "Opcode Lists" allow complex processing to be moved off the camera hardware, which can have limited processing power, and into the DNG reader, which is often running on more powerful hardware. This also allows processing steps to be specified, such as lens corrections, which ideally should be performed on the image data after it has been demosaic, while still retaining the advantages of a raw mosaic data format.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Adobe Camera Raw 5.4 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Tip: Canon 5D MarkII - Video Locks Up/Freezing (Solution)

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:10:00 +0000

Did it ever happened to you?

Lately I've been having some issues with the 5D MarkII video recording mode and would like to share with you what I have figure out to solve, at least for now, these kind of problems.

If you're having the same problems read my story and maybe it could bring you some sort of a relieve.

This has been an issue that I tried to replicate before bringing it to the blog but it seems that is very unpredictable when video recording will Freeze or Locks Up that I cannot tell exactly what is going on.

What I can say is that it happens and I have already lost 3 pieces of important film recording that are lost forever. I did some interviews during the weekend for our brandy new HardHeavy TV and while doing a small cut intro the video recording stopped at 40s and a blinking info "Busy" on the Top LCD.

I've waited more than 5 minutes for it to process since a buffer bar was showing at the back LCD but nothing happened. The shutter was still open but nothing happened. The only way to stop it was to remove both batteries from the grip and the shutter will close. Of course that the video was lost and so the recording :(

Well I formatted the card since this was the beginning of the session and I thought maybe there is something with the card, by the way I was using a 8Gb Sandisk UltraIII 30MB/s, I then started to record the interviews and everything seemed OK by that time.

The first interview went sweet with a 3m40s piece over 640x480 resolution. we did not need more resolution so all things were done on 640 format to keep the video files small.

I went around the place and did some photos of the ambiance, arena, group shots, headbangers shots and some small video pieces to fill in cuts and other stuff for post production.

I returned to the backstage for another interview and that when all the problems started. The card was maybe at half full when I started to record another interview. Everything was going smoothly then suddenly at the middle of the interview the same screen appeared and the video stopped recording... man, there was a chill on my bones and I went from red to white in a sec.

I run a simulation at home and obtained the same results. Although the Lock Up/Freeze did not occur as frequently but sometimes it happened and I think this could be disastrous if you are with a client and the camera acts weird and you loose all those important video recordings :(

Here are some of those Lock Up/Freeze photos.

The picture of the Frozen/Lock on the back LCD screen. You can still see the buffer on the right but I've waited so long and it never went down :(

And the top LCD screen.

You can see that the camera is switched off ;) and the screen is still available but frozen :(

It only unlocks if you remove the battery, in my case, both batteries from the grip.

I run this test several times and in the end I came to the conclusion that the problem is with the Sandisk Extreme III 8GB/30s card.

I also did a quick Google search and found this thread talking about the same problem and with the same conclusions.

I run a couple of tests with some older cards like the Sandisk Ultra II 2.0GB, Sandisk Extreme III 2.0GB, Sandisk Extreme III 4.0GB and with Transcend 4GB 120x, so far, with no errors, Lock Ups or Freezes and I've continuously recorded 30 minutes with each one.

WARNING SOLUTION: If you are using your 5D MarkII for video pay attention to the Sandisk Extreme III 8GB/30s as they can bring you some ours with no sleep.

So until Canon releases another firmware to correct this for these cards I will keep my eyes on those older cards.

...and YES it has happened with older firmware and now with version 1.1.0.

If you are having these kind of problems report them on comments so people could also share your experiences.

5D MarkII Firmware update 1.1.0 with Video Manual Controls

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:03:00 +0000

Well It's here!!!!

And right on the date they have announced it June the 2nd 2009.

While I'm writing this I'm making the update and will post some more new tomorrow but for now here goes what consists this update and what problems it addresses.

First you can get the Firmware update here at Canon web page.

And direct link to the PDF Manual file for the Manual Exposure on the movie mode.

Firmware changes

Firmware Version 1.1.0 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Includes a function to enable the manual exposure setting when shooting movies.

*When shooting movies in manual (M) mode, the shutter speed *1, the lens aperture value *2, and the ISO speed *3 can be freely set to allow a greater flexibility.

Notes:
*1 Shutter speed range: 1/30 sec. to 1/4000 sec.
*2 Lens aperture range: Maximum to minimum aperture value of the lens used
*3 ISO speed range:
Auto: ISO 100 to 6400 set automatically
Manual: ISO 100 to 6400, H1

2. *For details on how to use this function, please download the PDF files from the bottom of this page. Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.

*There are indications that images being reviewed or the menu screen may suddenly disappear from the LCD panel. As this phenomenon may be caused by accidentally pressing the depth-of-field preview button, this firmware update disables the function of the depth of field preview to address this issue.

3. Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable.

*Firmware Version 1.1.0 fixes a phenomenon where peripheral illumination may not be properly corrected due the type of lens used and shooting conditions.

4. Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.

*Digital Photo Professional software version 3.6.1 or later (for Windows and Macintosh) can be used to automatically correct the peripheral illumination of RAW and JPEG images that were captured in the Peripheral illumination correction setting with cameras that have Firmware Version 1.0.7 or earlier.

5. Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.

6. Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.

*If only one LP-E6 battery pack is installed in the Battery Grip BG-E6, the battery information for the empty battery slot shows the error message, Cannot communicate with battery. However, with this firmware update, this error message no longer appears, even if only one LP-E6 battery pack is installed.

First impression after install is that when you change the aperture you will hear the shutter opening and closing and that interferes with sound recording. So if you are trying to record something with sound I suggest an external microphone. Also for the speed you can ear the cracking of the dial.

It looks, at first impression, that the sound on the shutter is the same you ear on the G10 movie mode but amplified a couple of times.

I think people would still prefer to buy Nikon lenses with manual aperture values and use it here instead of this NOISY crack sound but time will tell.

My first opinion is that this feature is great but it's not a killer if you are going to use the camera to record sound from the built in microphone unless of course you are on loudly external events ;)

I also noticed that when you take a photo while shooting a movie the exposure settings (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed) set for the movie will be applied to the still photo instead of the previous firmware where you would have to take a photo with the settings the camera was using for video and sometimes they were not the ones you would like.

Now with Manual control mode you loose the possibility of AE Lock and Exposure Compensation.

Take a look at this small example video of the Shutter, Speed and ISO dial buttons sound I did this movie right after the firmware update so no bother comment on quality or content issues. It's just first test.

I will upload the video tomorrow since Vimeo is too slow and YouTube is updating it's database :(

Here is the Video watch it in HQ for better quality. Had to put it on YouTube since Vimeo still did not have it available by this time.

--- Updated ---

Just want to mention that I got a good external microphone that I used on my old Sony MD player and that it fits perfectly to the camera and can help you dealing with all those noise button cracks and clicks. I'm using the Sony ECM717 with great results.

Share your experiences with external microphones on comments.

--- End of Update ---

Tip: FREE EBook

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Sun, 31 May 2009 03:53:00 +0000

Today I bring you a lot of tips and good information on this great EBook written by David D. Bush.

With lots of pictures, How to Master and capture great pictures with your DLSR.

Just see for yourself...

5D MarkII Video: Manual Controls Coming Soon

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:05:00 +0000

FINALLY!!!!
It looks like Canon will get it BIG,this time, let's hope so.

As soon as I got more news will let you guys know but for now here is today's official announcement.

Canon has announced a firmware update for its EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR enabling manual exposure when shooting videos. With the updated version, users will be able to manually adjust the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings in the video mode. The new firmware will be available for download on 2 June 2009 from Canon's website.

Press Release:
Canon Enable Manual Exposure in Video on EOS 5D Mark II

LONDON, UK, 27th May 2009: Canon announced today it will release a firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II allowing users to manually control exposure when shooting video. The new firmware will be available for download from 2 June 2009 on Canon Europe’s support web site.
Following the launch of the EOS 5D Mark II in September 2008, Canon’s Research and Development team has listened closely to customer feedback to develop additions to the camera’s movie recording functionality.

Allowing EOS 5D Mark II owners to achieve even more stunning video results with the camera, the firmware update will include the following manual controls when shooting video:

* Full aperture selection
* ISO speed: Auto, 100 – 6400 and H1
* Shutter speed: 1/30th – 1/4000th second

The EOS 5D Mark II integrates full HD movie capability into a high-end 21.1 Megapixel camera; opening a multitude of new possibilities for photojournalists and news photographers.
Since its launch the camera has proved its appeal to professionals working in diverse fields, from studio and wedding to nature and travel.

Now, following customer feedback, Canon has improved functionality for professional video users, further unleashing the potential of the EOS 5D Mark II for cinematographers and photographers alike.

Camera Raw 5.4 RC Available on Adobe Labs

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:50:00 +0000

Adobe has recently released a Release Candidate for their new Camera Raw.

As always this brings a lot of new cameras to the set and if you are using the Hasselblad series or the new Nikon D5000 this is a major for you.

Although this is only a Release Candidate but is very functional and the Hasselblad possibilities just rocks.

Check the ful article for the full list of new supported cameras.

The Camera Raw 5.4 Release Candidate is now available on Adobe Labs. The release includes new camera support for the following models:

* Canon EOS 500D (EOS Rebel T1i)
* Epson R-D1x
* Hasselblad CF-22
* Hasselblad CF-22MS
* Hasselblad CF-39
* Hasselblad CF-39MS
* Hasselblad CFH-22
* Hasselblad CFH-39
* Hasselblad CFV503
* Hasselblad CWD
* Hasselblad H2D-22
* Hasselblad H2D-39
* Hasselblad H3D-22
* Hasselblad H3D-31
* Hasselblad H3D-39
* Hasselblad H3DII-22
* Hasselblad H3DII-31
* Hasselblad H3DII-39
* Hasselblad H3DII-39MS
* Hasselblad H3DII-50
* Kodak EasyShare Z980
* Nikon D5000
* Olympus E-450
* Olympus E-620
* Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
* Sigma DP2

This release also includes new DNG Compatibility conversion options. These choices are explained on the Adobe Labs web site and help address the additional options available with an upcoming revision of the DNG Specification.

If you have feedback on this release please post a descriptive topic on the Adobe User to User forums.

DIY: Ball Bungee

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:45:00 +0000

It's been a while since I did not posted any news here on the blog but the boat has started to put some water and the holes need to be closed. Since there are so many holes to close it's taking a little bit longer to maintain Lighting Mods at full speed but I hope that soon it will be at full speed again.

I would like to thank you all for the kind words that has been arriving through the sooo many emails and for the numerous requests for some more DIY projects.

While you wait for more new stuff take a moment to go through the right side menus and check the other stuff, you may find something useful in there for your small strobes and maybe it could even help you out at some point.

THANK YOU readers for hanging out.

A lot of people been asking me where to get the Ball Bungees because not every corner have them available.

I decided that it was time to put out this inexpensive Do It Yourself (DIY) Ball Bungee project. I name it Ball Bungee as title for today's article, just as a reference, but the real name I call them is NUT BUNGEE.

Sounds a little like what I feel sometimes... but it fits it's purposes and that's what matters.

Let's begin by explaining what are these Ball Bungees and what they are useful for.

They are loops of a thin elastic rope whose nodes ends on a plastic ball. With this Ball Bugees you can, not only stretch tight schedule, but they are simply a versatile tool to fix things together. I use it for a lot of different purposes and one of them is secure the umbrella to the light stand for a much easier way to carry them both.

Unfortunately, buying these loops are not offered in Portugal like in so many other countries. So I decided to create a simple, but with lot's of images, DIY project so you can create yours in a blink of an eye.

First you need to move your body to a hardware store near you and search for these next items:

Elastic rope with 4mm or 6mm. I do prefer the 4mm and let you know why later on, but you can always make these with any thickness and color you like.

Next we go NUTS!!!!!

Thickness M8 or a M10 size nut depending on the thickness of the elastic rope you have chosen for your project.

I also bought some M12 just in case the 6mm elastic rope would not fit inside the M10.

So let's take a closer look at what you really need:

- Elastic rope about 1 meter or more, depending how many you would like to make.
- Nuts M8 or larger, depending on the thickness of the rubber rope.
- Scissors.
- Lighter.
- Ruler or Metric Tape.

These are 2 different Original Ball Bungees with different sizes to tight different things.

Now that we have what we need let's begin...

I'm cutting the 6mm Elastic Rope with a 40cm long to produce a 20cm Nut Bungee, so if you need to make a longer one just cut it more, simple as that.

Now you understand why the lighter ;) So in order for the tips would not come apart is better to burn them a little so that the elastic would not unweave itself.

Here it is burned but not toasted.

Now let's grab the 6mm Elastic Rope and put the both ends through the tiny Nut hole with the help of the scissors (this sounds like weird but it's not... hole, nuts, nut, hole... well simple), let's move on.

UFFFF!!!! DONE!!! The 6mm is very thick and difficult to tight the not so that's why I prefer the 4mm Elastic Rope. They also make the job done and for the small strobes are perfect unless you are trying to tighten together heavy stuff.

This is what it should look like in the end.

This is something I was searching through the shells and found interesting so I bought it to test if was really cool. And in the end it does :)

What is it, you may ask?

It's a cover for the 10M Nuts with this you can cover your Nuts (uppsss!!) your Screws, well not that a... hum!! well this writing is a different lead. STOP STOP STOP REWIND!!!!!

So, as I was saying this is a cover to conceal the Nuts and this way they would not be banging on your stuff while in the bag. Unfortunately I only saw for the M10 Nuts, maybe they will have it somewhere else. Anyway I will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

This is the box where they came in.

See what I mean? To cover the Nuts, just that :)

Since they do not have a hole in the back end one need to be made.

So grab the scissors and make a nice hole that corresponds the size of the Elastic Rope thickness you have.

This is what it should look like in the end.

Put it through the Elastic Rope right before you put the Nut.

Then make a loop knot at the end and you have your Nut Bungee ready to use.

That's it. I also made a bigger ones with the small Elastic Rope just in case I need them bigger than my originals.

An example of what you can use them for.

Another example of what you can use them for.

You can even use them to hold your strobes either together or against something. Just use your imagination.

If you prefer you can always get original ones at FlashGels in the U.K. Just tell them you are coming from Lighting Mods for a discount ;)

Hope you enjoy this DIY and see you again soon.

Lighting Mods - WSPT09 ABERTAS INSCRIÇÕES

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:37:00 +0000

JÁ ESTÃO ABERTAS AS INCRIÇÕES.

WORKSHOPS PARA MAIO 2009 (Zona de Lisboa).

Nivel 1 - Iniciado – 21 de Maio de 2009 (Quinta Feira) 19h30-22h30
Nivel 2 - Intermédio – 24 de Maio de 2009 (Domingo) 10h00-13h00 / 14h00-18h00

Os conteudos e valores encontram-se disponiveis em Português para Portugueses nos seguintes links;)

Nivel 1 - Iniciado (Download pdf)
(3 Horas – Max. 10 pessoas)

Esta formação está direccionada para quem deseja adquirir conhecimentos básicos de fotografia com Flashes Portateis mesmo sem noções de iluminação com os mesmos.

- Noções de Flashes Portateis e suas utilidades quer seja na camera ou fora dela.

- Equipamentos e acessórios para Flashes Portateis:
a) Que Flashes Portateis podemos usar e como.
b) Conceitos de ligações do flash com a camera.
c) Como montar o seu equipamento de flash portatil.
d) Modificadores da luz para o flash.
e) Outros Acessorios; Como fazer “DIY” os seus ou Onde comprar.

- Noções de iluminação com Flashes Portateis:
a) Diferentes tipos de luz e iluminacões possiveis.
b) Noções das diversas aplicações práticas.

- Exemplos, com visionamento e explicação de imagens, de diferentes iluminações com Flashes Portateis:
a) Diferenças entre a luz produzida pelo flash na camera e fora dela.
b) Luz Cruzada (1 Flash Portatil cruzado com outra fonte de luz).
c) Sombrinha com um Flash Portatil.
d) Utilização de alguns acessórios complementares, Snoot e Grid, para modificação e controlo da luz.
- Perguntas, Respostas e Esclarecimento de Dúvidas.

Valor do Workshop Iniciado: 60,00€

Nivel 2 - Intermédio (Download pdf)
(6 Horas – Máx. 9 Pessoas)

Esta formação está direccionada para quem deseja aprofundar os seus conhecimentos de fotografia com Flashes Portateis e que já possua algumas noções de iluminação com os mesmos.

- Identificação de Flashes Portateis e acessórios:
a) Equipamento.
b) Ligações do Flash com a camera.
c) Acessorios.

- Como controlar e dominar o Flash Portatil:
a) Relação entre Potencias/Flash/Abertura/Velocidades.
b) Uso Manual do Zoom do Flash Portatil.
c) Sincronismo do Flash Portatil com a camera, diferentes maneiras e técnicas de o superar.
d) Abordagem aos Modos do flash portátil.
e) Posicionamento do flash em relação ao assunto e sua influência directa.

- Uso prático do flash na Iluminação com Flashes Portateis:
a) Conceitos de diferentes tipos de luz e iluminações possiveis.
b) Como controlar o Flash Portátil com a luz ambiente.
c) Distancias Vs Tipo Vs Tamanho da Luz.
d) Tipos de luz (Luz Dura, Luz Suave e Luz Reflectida).
e) Tipos de Restrições de Luz.

- Diversos Exemplos de como identificar e superar as dificuldades mais comuns no uso dos flashes portateis.

- Prática de iluminação com exemplos de alguns setups:
a) Como utilizar correctamente a Luz Cruzada (1 flash portatil cruzado com uma ou várias fontes de luz).
b) Utilização correcta da Sombrinhas com o flash portatil.
c) Utilização de acessorios complementares para modificação e controlo da luz do flash portatil.
d) Balancear luz com paredes e tecto.
e) Manuseamento e Utilização da Luz Dura.
f) Utilização de Gel de correção de temperatura no flash para corrigir a luz ambiente e/ou balanço de brancos e criar ambientes.

- Perguntas, Respostas e esclarecimento de Dúvidas

Valor do Workshop Intermédio: 125,00€

Nivel 3 - Avançado I (Download pdf)
(8 Horas – Min. 6 - Máx. 9 Pessoas)

Breve apresentação do equipamento de Flash Portatil e algumas duvidas existentes quanto ao mesmo.

As aulas praticas terão a presença de modelos, maquilhagem e styling para que haja uma dinâmica em cada uma das fotos produzidas.
Depois dos setups mencionados será criado um conceito “Projecto” que os alunos terão que resolver em 20 minutos de forma sincronizada e em equipa.

Manha – 09h00 – 13h00
- Setup com uma fonte de luz (Luz Suave sombrinha).
- Setup com duas fontes de luz (Luz Cruzada).

Tarde – 13h30 – 17h30
- Setup Luz dura ou directa no assunto.
- Setup com luz controlada (Snoots, Gobos e Grids).
17h30 – 18h30
- Projecto.
- Análise do trabalho produzido.
- Perguntas e Respostas

As incrições para os módulos avançados só podem ser efectuadas após frequência do módulo Intermédio.

Valor do Workshop Avançado I: 150,00€

Nivel 4 - Avançado II (Download pdf)
(8 Horas – Min. 6 - Máx. 9 Pessoas)

Breve apresentação do equipamento de Flash Portatil e algumas duvidas existentes quanto ao mesmo.

As aulas praticas terão a presença de modelos, maquilhagem e styling para que haja uma dinâmica em cada uma das fotos produzidas.
Depois dos setups mencionados será criado um conceito que os alunos terão que resolver em 20 minutos de forma sincronizada e em equipa.

Manha – 09h00 – 13h00
- Setup com Posicao/ Angulo / Distancia / Tamanho.
- Setup com uso de Gelatinas.

Tarde – 13h30 – 17h30
- Setup com várias fontes de luz e modeladores.
- Setup fotografia de grupo.

17h30 – 18h30
- Projecto.
- Análise do trabalho produzido.
- Perguntas e Respostas

As incrições para os módulos avançados só podem ser efectuadas após frequência do módulo Intermédio.

Valor do Workshop Avançado II: 150,00€

FICHA DE INSCRIÇÃO

Os workshops são ministrados e acompanhados pelos fotografos profissionais Rui M Leal e Carlos Rodrigues.

Mais informações através do email wsflashportatil@gmail.com

Videos Brussels & Paris
Brussels part 1
Brussels part 2
--//--
Paris part 1
Paris part 2

Grupos de Conversação disponiveis no Flickr:

Lighting Mods WS PT
Strobist Portugal

Adiciona-te.

Tip: Don't Loose Your Focus!!

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:03:00 +0000

How many times lack of focus and not knowing what to do next will block your mind from doing what you really like?

Today I just wanted to share with you this wonderful video as part of your growing photographer experience. Not that the video has anything to do with photography, on the contrary it has a lot of human reactions to what may not seem too obvious.

Many times, on my assignments, I lack inspiration to create better images than my previous ones. Maybe because I'm always pushing my cyclops eye into the unknown or even worst letting others judge the work I do causing some lost of focus and objectivity.

Sometimes we are so influenced by what others judge on our work that we do not give it credit, maybe we could not accomplish some objectives just by thinking we are older, shorter, thinner or maybe even fatter.

Come on people... put your head up and keep your track and everything will come it's way.

Just as an example of what I'm trying to put through this Tip is on the video bellow where Susan Boyle gives a demonstration of how appearances may not lead into a dreadful end.

Although this video does not have any technical or photographic content I was so impressed with it that I decided to share it with you. Think of it as a positive thinking for your photography breakdowns.

Believe in Yourself!!!!!

Lighting Mods - Workshops PT 2009 SOON-BREVEMENTE

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Lighting Mods - Workshops 2009

Will be Available, SOON, the calendar and contents in Portuguese by and for Portuguese ;)

Level 1 - Basic
Level 2 - Intermediate
Level 3 - Advanced Lighting 101
Level 4 - Advanced Lighting 102

For the moment for more information's please contact me directly.

Thank you

Rui M Leal

--//--

Estarão, BREVEMENTE, publicados aqui o calendário dos Workshops para 2009 e os respectivos conteudos disponiveis em Português para Portugueses ;)

Nivel 1 - Iniciado
Nivel 2 - Intermédio
Nivel 3 - Avançado Lighting 101
Nivel 4 - Avançado Lighting 102

De momento para mais informações e inscrições contactem-me directamente.

Rui M Leal

Videos Brussels & Paris

Brussels part 1
Brussels part 2

Paris part 1
Paris part 2

Grupos de Conversação disponiveis no Flickr:

Lighting Mods WS PT
Strobist Portugal

Adiciona-te

Tip: Why Shoot Raw?

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Many of you been asking on what format I'm taking my pictures and the answer is very simple.

I use only RAW format, well maybe sometimes Raw+Jpg when I need fast delivery on the images, otherwise I use only RAW format.

It gives me the possibility of having more control over your images without having degradation while save it over and over and over.

I found this video by hadto titled "Generation Loss" that shows exactly what I'm talking about.

Keep reading for video...

You take a normal JPG image from your files and open the last saved jpeg image, then you Save it as a new JPG/Jpeg image with slightly more compression and repeat the process 600 times and this is what you will get.

Watch the video

Generation Loss from hadto on Vimeo.

And you what are you shooting Raw or Jpg?... why so?

FREE?, Something to Think About

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:44:00 +0000

This video of Harlan Ellison "Pay the Writer" it applies also to photographers.

How do you feel about this? Did it ever happen to you and what did you do?

What do you feel about the Coldplay contracts signed prior the bad's show?

Take a look at the article about this here.

Share your comments...

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3 Final

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:30:00 +0000

Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3 have graduated from Adobe Labs and are now available as final releases on Adobe.com.(UPDATE: Use this link to download the new language versions of Lightroom ) These updates include camera support for the following models:(Previously provided in the release candidates of these updates)

* Nikon D3X
* Olympus E-30

This update also includes preliminary support for the recently announced Epson R-D1x (and R-D1xG).

The Lightroom 2.3 update includes several bug fixes.

FIXES originally provided in the Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidate

* In the Windows 64-bit version of Lightroom an sFTP upload process could cause Lightroom to crash.
* Slideshows could return to the first image randomly during playback.
* A memory leak could cause Lightroom to crash while attempting to process files with local adjustments.
* Canon EOS 5D Mk II sRAW files could process with artifacts in Lightroom 2.2.
* Lightroom 2.2 could cause disc burning to fail for Windows customers.

FIXES new to the final version of Lightroom 2.3

* Attempting to undo(CTRL-Z) a single step in Lightroom 2.2 on Windows could cause a series of previous actions to be undone.

Lightroom 2.3 now provides language support for the following additional languages:
(UPDATE: It indicates a trial version but it's identical to what we're now shipping from the Adobe.com Store for this new version. Since technically these versions didn't exist before there was no place to put them on the Update page.)

* Chinese (Simplified)
* Chinese (Traditional)
* Dutch
* Italian
* Korean
* Portuguese (Brazilian)
* Spanish
* Swedish

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Adobe Camera Raw 5.3 Direct Download Links (Mac - PC)

Tip: DVD's You Must Have (Part 2)

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:41:00 +0000

After waiting for a few weeks on some mail sent to Mr. Zack Arias concerning the use of some more info and photos from the DVD I got no answer so I decided to publish what I have on both DVD's and try not infringe too much copyrighted information.

This is part 2 of the DVD's You Must Have and if you have missed the first one here is the link to where you can find Part 1. DVD's You Must Have (Part 1)

Just follow me...

I believe that some of the good tools to get your photography skills improved are taking pictures, read lot's of photography books and related, sharing skills with other photographers and DVD's.

Today I bring you another one of my favorite from the collection I already own.

It's called "OneLight Workshop" by photographer Zack Arias.

This DVD caught my attention because of the OneLight concept I was trying to accomplish and quite few people have talked about it in such a deep and detailed way.

But why? - you may ask.

Well simply because I always carry my small portable strobe with me while I'm on assignments and because I wanted to try different photo approaches but lacked the ideas.

I've been following Zack Arias blog for quite some time now and did not hesitate on getting his DVD when it was released.

The Zack blog thing started with his wonderful "White Seamless Tutorial" have you read it? It may change the way you look and create a white seamless picture. Take a peak ;)

For those who do not know MR. Zack Arias here is a small introduction taken from his own blog:

"My name is Zack Arias and I am a full time editorial photographer.

My specialty is niched in press and publicity photography for the music industry. As my music work continues to expand nationally, my studio in Atlanta works within a wider spectrum of the entertainment industry producing headshots and fashion portfolios.

My first run at being a freelance photographer left me heavily in debt and placed my family on the edge of destruction. I came to a place in my career that required me to put the cameras down and take a “job.” After two years of leaving the cameras and selling them off to pay rent and fix beater cars, I was given a chance to come back as a second shooter for a friend of mine who shoots weddings. I took a D100 that he bought me, a 285 flash, an ample amount of faith, and quit my job at Kinkos in October of 2003. I was determined to do things differently this time around..."

You can find his works here:
Music Photography by Zack Arias
Headshots by Used Film Studios
The OneLight Workshop

This 2 DVD pack has a lot of goods inside the card box pack that came on the post.

Here is what I found inside when I open it...

This is the full package :)

Inside the card box package you will find:

- 6 Stickers
- 2 DVD with lots of information
- 1 Black T-Shirt with OneLight Workshop white logo
- 1 music CD from the band Meghan Coffee "Songs to Sail By". For more information about this band you can always check their page in here.
- 1 Instructions Booklet with 18 pages.

Inside the DVD box package you can find:
A detail of the Booklet with some basic information and more tips.

Inside the DVD box package you will find:

- 2 DVD with lots of video information.
- 1 Instruction Booklet to guide you with some basic information and more tips.

On the first DVD Zack shows you how exposure variables work.

How Shutter Speed controls the ambient exposure with pictures to illustrate what he's talking about. Range goes to 250th to 4th with simple and illustrative examples.

Zack talks clearly and it's not those kind of videos where at middle of the lesson you're opening your mouth and tired of what the tutor tries to explain you... remember those boring school days with that lousy teacher?... well this has nothing to do with it, it's the complete opposite.

He also talks about Flash Power and explain how you can get consistent flashes and amount of light with the explanation of 1/1 scale to the 1/128 on your flash and this is full of diagrams and examples so you can see what he's talking about in a simple manner.

Then you will have a talk about aperture controls and ISO and how they will affect your photo shootings.

Next come the gear.

Zack talks about what gear he carries around, flashes and accessories.

Flashes are explained from the simple hot-shoe flash to a more powerful studio flashes. You will get to know how you can assemble the gear and also the ways to trigger your flashes wireless, light modifiers, umbrellas and softboxes.

Back in the studio you start to see how you can apply all the things you have learned so far and this is done with a model.

Zack explains all details on how to start with the client, shoot with small on camera strobe, off-camera and compare them.

You will see the pictures taken during this shooting has he explains what is going on with ISO, Aperture and why he chooses that light or position. You imagine yourself having a personal workshop with Zack.

As the 1st DVD is coming to an end is time to move outside and use the model with softbox and umbrella and compare the differences. Zack, at some point, will be shooting against the sun and some more great techniques that will help you outside.

On disc 2 you will go travel with Zack Arias through his client shootings around several setups and this is more of a follow up DVD with lot's on hands on the job.

You can watch Zack talking while choosing this or that setup or light and follow him on this journey through all his assignments.

He does a great job explaining why he has chosen this or that location, spot, light and sends some great tips.

I think this is a must have DVD. If you do not have what are you waiting for???

You can take a look at this small presentation video from DVD package:

And if you are lucky enough to catch one of his workshops... Man you ARE LUCKY!!!

What are people saying about his workshops:

The DVD Box can be ordered at:
OneLight Workshop web page and check out Zac Arias blog for more tips.

Before you go just take a moment to see this brilliant video made by Zack Arias himself:

For more information here are the direct links to his pages:

Web Page: http://www.zackarias.com/
DVD: http://www.onelightworkshop.com/
Blog: http://www.zarias.com/

THANK YOU MR.ZACK ARIAS for sharing this information with all of us.

Tip: DVD's You Must Have (Part 1)
Tip: DVD's You Must Have (Part 2)

Canon Powershot G10 Firmware Updated

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Canon has updated the Powershot G10 firmware to a newer version 1.0.2.0.

This addresses the Phenomenon:

If RAW images are captured by continuous shooting under the ISO 1600 setting, abnormal data is recorded and a magenta cast appears in the second and subsequent RAW images. This phenomenon also occurs in the second and subsequent recorded RAW images captured by single shooting, but only if the LCD monitor display mode is set to the OFF position.

This phenomenon cannot be confirmed when images are played back on the camera's LCD monitor. It can only be confirmed if image processing software (such as the Digital Photo Professional software bundled with the product) is used to develop RAW images on a PC.

Read the full article for more about this, what cameras are affected and where to download it from.

The following content is to help you update the firmware by yourself. If errors occur when performing the firmware update, there are instances where the camera cannot be started; therefore, please read the precautionary notes carefully before starting the firmware update.

In addition, this firmware update can also be performed at our service centers. If you wish to have us perform the firmware updates, please contact our service centers.

Firmware Update (Version 1.0.2.0)

This firmware update corrects the following phenomenon.

Phenomenon:

If RAW images are captured by continuous shooting under the ISO 1600 setting, abnormal data is recorded and a magenta cast appears in the second and subsequent RAW images. This phenomenon also occurs in the second and subsequent recorded RAW images captured by single shooting, but only if the LCD monitor display mode is set to the OFF position.

This phenomenon cannot be confirmed when images are played back on the camera's LCD monitor. It can only be confirmed if image processing software (such as the Digital Photo Professional software bundled with the product) is used to develop RAW images on a PC.

Note

* Images that have the magenta cast phenomenon cannot be fixed.
* The phenomenon only appears in RAW images, and does not appear in JPEG images or images appearing on the LCD monitor display.
* The phenomenon only occurs if the ISO Speed Dial is set to ISO 1600 manually, and does not occur if the ISO speed is set to other values (such as ISO AUTO or ISO HI).

Identifying Affected Cameras for the Update

Please check the serial number on the bottom of the camera.

Serial numbers

Products whose fifth digit from the left is 0 or 1 are affected.

****0*****
****1*****

Among products with the serial numbers described above, if there is a marking inside the battery cover like the one in the image below, the issue has already been corrected by correction firmware, and you may continue to use your camera as is with no further action required.

Marking Position

In addition, products whose fifth digit from the left is 2 or above are already equipped with correction firmware; therefore, this phenomenon does not apply.

Items Required for Firmware Update

The following items are required for this firmware update.

1 - PowerShot G10 Camera
2 - Computer* (USB interface required)
3 - Battery (Bundled with the camera)
4 - USB Interface Cable (Bundled with the camera)
5 - Memory Card (Commercially available SD memory card with a capacity of at least 8 MB)
6 - Firmware Update Data (Can be downloaded if the camera is determined as affected after the serial number is entered).
7 - Firmware Update Procedure (PDF) (Can be Downloaded)

* OS installed on the computer: Windows® XP/ Windows VistaTM, Mac OS X (v10.4-10.5)

Customers who do not have any of the items 2 to 5 are asked to contact Canon service centers.

Outline of the Firmware Update Procedures

To update the firmware, the following procedures are required.

1. Downloading and extracting the firmware update data
2. Preparing the memory card for the firmware update
3. Updating the firmware
4. Confirming the completion of firmware update

In addition, details of the procedures above are covered by the Firmware Update Procedure (PDF). Read the Firmware Update Procedure (PDF) carefully before updating the firmware.

GO TO DOWNLOAD PAGE
(You will need to enter your serial)

Final notes:

You have to pay attention to the way the firmware is uploaded to the camera. Canon with the Powershot G10 model decided to change the way firmware were updated.
So now instead of copying the file directly to the card you will have to connect the computer (PC or MAC) and the camera with the supplied USB cable and use the software to copy the firmware update file to the card on the camera (make sure you formatted the card first).

Then you will have to start the camera on preview mode and choose the firmware update menu item (you cannot have the lens extended or this menu item will not show up).

Just made mine today with no problems and my camera was one of the affected but I've never saw or identified this Phenomenon. But if Canon says it's to update then it's time.

I was hopping to see some improvements on video (GIVES US BACK the 1024 of the G9!!!) or maybe the reappearance of time lapse feature but nothing... this simply corrects what it's mentioned here.

Maybe we will all have better luck next time who knows...

Pro Gaza rally assaults photographer in NYC

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:17:00 +0000

NO COMMENTS!!

Tip: Interview with Copyright Attorney Ed Greenberg

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:44:00 +0000

This great video came into my attention and I think it's worth while and spare some of your time to watch it full.

Just click on the image below to take you to the PhotoshopUserTv video and watch this great Interview with Ed Greenberg conducted by Scott Kelby.

It's a must in copyright advices.

Canon 5D MarkII - The Grip Errors

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Well it's TRUE!!!

Canon has done it again. A brand new camera with lots of great features but again errors are arising from it.

I thought carefully if I could put my mouth to the world, about this, or wait until a couple of rumors started to arise on the web.

After a lot of thinking I decided to release this info to all you people that purchase the new Canon 5D MarkII or are planning on buying it in a couple of days, weeks or months.

This is nothing that I was not expecting after I received the BG-E6 and looking at it carefully.

It has the same connections problems has previous models and it continues to be very fragile. (Canon you are so mean after all this years you did not have time to replace this series with a better grip, shame on you guys!!!)

Maybe you will never experience this problems, maybe you will start to experience them as soon as you got the grip... well you all know that technology is a f... s... sometimes it comes perfect while some other times it simply sucks no mater what you do the faulty ones need to be replaced.

This error 80 is one of the main errors that the 5D MarkII gives me almost all the time.

Here is the Camera combo I normally use when these errors occurred:

- Firmware 1.0.7
- Canon 5D MarkII
- Grip BG-E6
- 2 Canon Batteries LP-E6 (On the Grip)
- EF 24-70 L USM
- EF 70-200 L IS USM
- CF Cards Sandisk Extreme III, IV and Ducati (4Gb and 8Gb)
- 580EX

Then on another assignment while using the 24-70 L with 580EX flash and grip on the vertical position the Error 02 appeared, after 30 frame shots, apparently from nowhere and it caused the camera to stop working.

After removing both batteries and unscrew and screw back on the lens the camera started to work normally but the card warning came again saying that the card was not formatted and if I wanted to format it.

I kept the card for later inspection and worked with another one. After arriving home and analyzed the card I noticed that all the 30 pictures take were gone. I had to use Sandisk RescuePro to get those pictures back from the card. UFFF, assignment saved!!!!

I also got a strange "Card Full" information when I had only taken 20 pictures and the camera had always the red light on. I found that strange since I was certain that I had formatted the card before starting the assignment, but you never know... maybe it was my fault so I removed the card after the red light turns off and decided to keep the card and see what the problem could be afterward in the computer.

You will not believe this... the ,card had 4 folders the normal MISC and 3 DCIM more. When inspected the each of the DCIM folders I found that the camera had created 3 more identical folder with the same the same 20 pictures I took copied endless times untill the card was full :)

So the camera got this copy/paste issue and copied all the pictures to those folders until the card was full and this happened with no grip attached.

Please Canon send us a firmware to correct this ASAP!!!

Another error that's been giving a couple of times and while shooting with 1/30 or 1/20 speeds is the Error 70.

Here is a page with some of the "normal" Canon errors ;)

I finally figured out what the problem is.

After a group investigation with some of other fellow photographers, here in Portugal, that have the same camera but not use the grip or not have the double batteries, I concluded that the problem is the grip with 2 batteries.

When the batteries start to become empty like the above image it seems that the grip looses it's power and start giving failure messages. It cannot process the images or have a failure to the drive because it lacks power to function properly.

I contacted Canon Portugal an they do not even know what's going on with this. No one has reported this so far and since the replacement batteries are now available at the moment and people are using Alkaline batteries on the grip they do not have received any reports from this errors.

Not happy with the Portuguese reply I decided to write to Canon Europe Headquarters (Germany) and send them the above pictures to support my complain.

I received a reply 2 days later saying that they are aware of this situation and that a couple of grips were released with defect and they will send me a replacement one in a couple of days so I can test it out.

It's impossible for me know which serials are affected since the grip apparently do not have serial number on it but I will try to check with Canon and report it here as soon as I got some more good news.

Meanwhile if you get any of these errors please report them immediately to your Canon supplier in order to have them replaced at no cost.

Here is the table of the Error Codes for the 5D MarkII as stated on page 209 of the Instructions Manual.

I do blame Canon for this happenings and for letting us, the consumers, be their Beta testers.

Remember when they release the 1D MarkIII flop with it's super fast shutter speed but with lot's of problems and issues with the mirror and auto focus performance.

And if you do not know what I'm talking about just check the Rob Galbraith extensive review on this issue.

With this Canon has lost part of the share market to Nikon and it looks like they do not even care or worry about it because technology its first than photography and photographers.

While Nikon, on the other hand, they improved their infrared flash system, improved the flashes and released 3 cameras that beat out of the Canon arsenal and also made great improvements on their lenses.

Canon on the other hand gave us the 1D MarkIII flop and now with the 5D MarkII, stated as a video recorder that you could control its functions, turns out that you do not have control over the video mode and the most important one is the faulty grip BG-E6.

If you can remember well this has also happened a couple years ago when they released the Canon EOS 20D with it's also faulty grip that I also complained and send back, a couple of them, before I move to the 1D series.

From everyday that passes I noticed that Canon has a more commercial approach to the market than making things happen to photographers, they always want to be ahead of technology and introduce more new things but forget about improving the ones they already have, I mean the old ST-E2 for example.

This could mean an advantage over the other manufacturers ... just imagine Canon could introduce on their flash system something like the Radio Popper to control their flashes and also improve the 580EXII with a more powerful and better balanced one something in the range of the Nikon SB-900?

They could improve the sharpness of the 100-400mm by releasing a new one and while talking about lens why not a 12-24 L USM (Nikon has it so don't come saying that it will be impossible) and a replacement for the bulky 24-70 L USM lighter and with better overall sharpness or replace it for a 24-85 2.8 L USM IS ?

Turn their heads toward the photographers instead of just releasing new things that most of the people would not use them anyway.

So what would you like to have on the new cameras and flashes systems and why?

Write your suggestions maybe Canon guys would read this and could give us what we really asked for ;)

Tip: Easy, Tilt-Shift Your Photos Online

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:30:00 +0000

At the beginning of the month I brought you one cool application so that you can transform your regular photos into some old Polaroid, if you missed the Tip article do not miss it at "Tip: Instantly Create a Polaroid Look".

This got such a huge review from all of you that I decided add another cool one so you can give your photos a different look.

While the Polaroid needed to download software this one "Tilt-Shift" do not.

You just have to import the photo you would like to create the effect and voilá it's done in seconds, although you can always make the same effect in Photoshop this turns out to be a very practical online tool.

Follow me...

You may ask yourself what that heck is Tilt-Shift pictures?

Well, the phrase "tilt-shift" describes a photographic technique that is used to create special effects when taking a photo.

A type of camera lens that can be moved (shifted) and pointed at different angles (tilted) is used.

This can have the effect of changing the focus of the picture in unusual ways.

Read more in here.

Still curious?? Take a look at the definition in Wikipedia.

Here is a cool example I did with one of my pictures.
Before:

After:

How to make your Tilt-Shift:

- On the main page of the Tilt-shift maker online software upload your photo via browse method or if you have one on a web page you can import it too.

- Move the vertical slider on the right of the original photo to select the area in focus.

- Use the "Preview" button to see the results then "Get full size" when done, to get a link to the full size image. Creating and downloading the full size image may take a while, depending on original photo size and other factors.

Note: The Preview is meant as a low quality version only - it's better to download the full size image and resizing it down if you want a small version of the picture.

- The size of the area in focus can be adjusted using the horizontal slider, from "narrow" (a small area in focus) to "wide" (a larger area in focus).

Hints and Tips:

- Tilt-shift miniatures often look better with vivid colors. Some photos may have already had their colors adjusted though. In this case, the "Enhance colors" checkbox can be unchecked to avoid over-enhancement of the image.

- Does part of the picture look good but the rest of it is not so great? Consider saving the picture full-size and then select and copy/paste out the best area as a new image.

The name of the page is TiltShift Maker go check it out.

If you made some great Tilt-Shift picture you are invited to send them to the Flickr web page where you can also look at lots of other examples on what you can accomplish with this effect.

Enjoy.

The Best Collection of Dusty Books & Old Movies

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:44:00 +0000

Let me take you into a Voyage...

Hey!! wait a minute where did I heard this before??...

Today I'm not going to talk nor about Star Trek nor Star Wars and not even on how to make those special little tiny effects or to create a magic photo bubble with your fingers and produce a BIGGER light to get you a nice picture.

Instead I decided to look around the internet archives and bring you something different, maybe something you have never heard or seen before but that has to do with Photography.

Internet is full of surprises and, if you read this post all the way down, you'll see what I mean.

I could simple start by... Once upon a time...

Well if you are reading this far is a good thing, first because my headline caught your attention and you start to become curious and second you sure like photography like myself.

There is nothing fancy about this nor mysterious just some old dusted tapes and books I manage to find while googleing.

You will have the opportunity to see and download movies from the late 40's and books for the late 30's and guess what? All of them about photography or Photography related.

Cool, No!?

So without further delays let's get this party started.

(BUG reported: all videos start automatically and tried to fix the code but they keep on starting, please take a moment to go the page all the way down and stop them manually before continuing). Sorry for the inconvenience and hope I could fix this soon.

First one is a short movie about Photography and how careers were developed.

Careers in Photography and Cinematography (1946)This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Producer: Holmes (Burton) Films, Inc. (1946)
Sponsor: Vocational Guidance Films, Inc.
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 32Mb Cinepack Here.
Download HiRes MPEG4 151Mb Here.

By the same producer and the same series.

Journalism (1940)target="_new">This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Producer: Holmes (Burton) Films, Inc.
Sponsor: Vocational Guidance Films, Inc.
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 34Mb Cinepack Here.
Download HiRes MPEG4 109Mb Here.

Great quality books from the oldies that also teach you a lot o good stuff. The wheel was already invented when you even started thinking about photography or has we say today "Digital Photography".

Press photography (1936)

Author: Kinkaid, James C
Subject: Photojournalism
Publisher: Boston, American photographic publishing co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 8542
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: Prelinger Library
Download: 37Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

A dictionary of self-instructing library of practical photography.

The dictionary of photography for amateur and
professional photographers (1902)

Author: Wall, E. J. (Edward John), 1860-1928; Bolas, Thomas
Publisher: London : Hazell, Watson & Viney, ld.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-319504
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 58Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

A Complete self-instructing Encyclopedia in 10 volumes.

Complete self-instructing library of practical photography (1909)

Author:Schriever, J. B. (James Boniface), b. 1868; American School of Art and Photography
Subject: Photography
Publisher: Scranton, Pa. : American School of Art and Photography
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: SRLF:LAGE-2901534
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries

VOL.01 - Elementary Photography
Download: 31Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

VOL.02 - Negative Developing and After-Manipulation
Download: 34Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

VOL.03 - General Exterior Photography Composition
Download: 20Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.04 - Photographic Printing
Download:19Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.05 - Photographic Printing, Part II
Download: 18Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.06 - At-Home Portraiture, Flashlight, Interior, Lenses
Download: 39Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.07 - Studio Portraiture
Download: 25Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.08 - Studio Portrait, Part II
Download: 26Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.09 - Commercial, Press, Scientific Photography
Download: 39Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Vol.10 - Negative Retouching, Etching and Modeling
Download: 38Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

One about exposures.

Unity Photography (1914)

Author: Steadman, Frank Morris
Subject: Photography -- Exposure
Publisher: New York, D. Van Nostrand company
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: b5515224
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: New York Public Library
Collection: americana
Download: 7Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

If you are into time-lapse photography you should love this one.

My ivory cellar; [the story of time-lapse photography] (1958)

Author: Ott, John Nash, 1909-
Subject: Chronophotography
Publisher: Chicago, Twentieth Century Press
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 8888
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: Prelinger Library
Download: 25Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

See how some of the special effects were created back then. Hey mate, NO Photoshop ;)

Behind the Lens (1940)
This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Producer: Handy (Jam) Organization
Sponsor: Chevrolet Division, General Motors Corporation
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 34Mb 512Kb MPEG4 Here.
Download HiRes MPEG4 100Mb Here.

Another Video, this one takes you to a 19 minute journey over High Speed Photography in the earlier days.

Fastax-tion (1961)
This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Audio/Visual: Sound, Color
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 83Mb 512Kb MPEG4 Here.
Download HiRes MPEG4 299Mb Here.

And in this one I found a lot of good things that, even in nowadays people continue to make the mistake of not reading the "Instructions Book". So I leave you with this great old movie full of advises and tips...

Your Movie Camera and How to Use It (1948)
This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Producer: Paul Burnford
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 46Mb 512Kb MPEG4 Here.
Download HiRes MPEG 297Mb Here.

Some more interesting oldies books.

Get that picture! The story of
the news cameraman (1938)

Author: Ezickson, A. J. (Aaron Jacob), 1896-
Subject: Photography; Journalism; Newspapers -- Illustrations
Publisher: New York, N.Y. National library press
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 8543
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: Prelinger Library
Download: 25Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

News pictures (1937)

Author: Price, Jack
Subject: Photography; Newspapers
Publisher: New York : Round Table Press, inc.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 8541
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: Prelinger Library
Download: 45Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Before I fill your mind with old B/W movies I would like to share the Film promoting use of Technicolor process to industrial film producers.

Technicolor for Industrial Films (1949)
This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Producer: Technicolor Corporation
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 35Mb 512Kb MPEG4 Here.
Download HiRes MPEG2 226Mb Here.

And some more good books.

One that talks about Aerial photography and this is a very interesting one for that time.

Airplane photography (1920)

Author: Ives, Herbert Eugene, 1882-1953
Subject: Aerial photography
Publisher: Philadelphia, London : J.B. Lippincott company
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-253779
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 54Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Another for general purposes Photography.

The Barnet book of photography (1905)

Publisher: Barnet, [Eng.] : Elliott & Sons
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: b5517236
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: New York Public Library
Download: 14Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Let's take a look at some of the most interesting ones for Landscape photography.

Pictorial landscape-photography (1914)

Author: Anderson, Paul, 1880-1956
Subject: Landscape photography; Photography, Artistic
Publisher: Boston : Photo-era, the American journal of photography
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-50469261
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 12Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Another that talks about artistic landscape with some good advices.

Artistic landscape photography (1896)

Author: Wall, Alfred H
Subject: Landscapes photography; Photography, Artistic
Publisher: London : Percy Lund & Co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: srlf_ucla:LAGE-4336900
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 16Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Landscape photography was one of the very discusses issues by that time people would love to explore the outdoors and mentioned on the next volume from 1888.

Letters on landscape photography (1888)

Author: Robinson, H. P. (Henry Peach), 1830-1901
Subject: Landscape photography; Photography, Artistic
Publisher: London : Piper & Carter
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-319849
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Download: 9.1Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Talking about nature I found this one for Beginners ;)

Nature photography for beginners (1909)

Author: Bedford, Edward John
Subject: Nature photography
Publisher: London : J.M. Dent
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: srlf_ucla:LAGE-567464
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Download: 32Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

If you are a Naturalist photographer, then you also have your own book from 1901.

Photography for naturalists (1901)

Author: English, Douglas, 1870-1939
Subject: Nature photography
Publisher: London : Iliffe & sons
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-33776396
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 44Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

How about some composition lesson? Read the next one...

Pictorial composition in photography (1920)

Author: Hammond, Arthur, b. 1882
Subject: Photography, Artistic
Publisher: Boston, Mass. : American photographic publishing co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-253714
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 47Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Another one about composition.

An adventure in photography (1893)

Author: Thanet, Octave, 1850-1934
Subject: Photography
Publisher: New York : C. Scribner's sons
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: srlf_ucla:LAGE-304638
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 21Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Are you beginning Astronomical photography, maybe you consider reading this one.

Astronomical photography for amateurs (1921)

Author: Waters, Henry Hayden
Subject: Astronomical photography
Publisher: London : Gall & Inglis
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: srlf_ucla:LAGE-3567253
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 8.7Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

But if you are more into Fine Art photography here are two great books for you.

The fine art of photography (1919)

Author: Anderson, Paul, 1880-1956
Subject: Photography, Artistic
Publisher: Philadelphia ; and London : Lippincott
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-253712
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 41Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

And here is the other one.

Photography and fine art (1918)

Author: Bailey, Henry Turner, 1865-
Subject: Photography, Artistic
Publisher: Worcester, Mass., The Davis press
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-50469259
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 29Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

If Underwater is your theme grab this one ;)

The photography of aquatic animals in
their natural environment (1908)

Author: Reighard, Jacob Ellsworth, 1861-1942
Subject: Photography of animals
Publisher: Washington, Govt. Print. Off.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-33776407
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 7.6Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Even back then they had books about lens and optics :) and I'm talking 1904.

The optics of photography
and photographic lenses (1904)

Author: Taylor, J. Traill (John Traill), 1827-1895; Everitt, P. F
Subject: Photographic optics; Photographic lenses
Publisher: London, New York, Whittaker & co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-11731
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 21Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

One for Indoor and Outdoor photography from 1895 and this one is for amateurs ;)

Photography indoors and out;
a book for amateurs (1895)

Author: Black, Alexander, 1859-1940
Subject: Photography
Publisher: Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin and company
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: b5568683
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: New York Public Library
Download: 12Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Let's take a short break on the books to watch this last video. It's HILARIOUS and very informative ;)
Know all there is to know about fashion photography and models in late 1940's.

The Girl on the Magazine Cover (1940)

This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
Producer: Handy (Jam)
Organization Sponsor: Chevrolet Motor Company
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Download 37Mb 512Kb MPEG4 Here.
Download HiRes MPEG2 244Mb Here.

These last books are a short compilation of Photography books for beginners, instructions in photography and the beginning of color photography.

Instructions in photography (1900)

Author: Abney, William de Wiveleslie, Sir, 1843-1920
Subject: Photography
Publisher: London, S. Low, Marston & company, limited
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-319516
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 53Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

So after reading the instructions let's take the very first steps in Photography.

First steps in photography (1913)

Author: Wallsgrove, J. C. H
Subject: Photography
Publisher: London, G. Routledge and Sons; [etc., etc.]
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-100796094
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 13Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

We move forward to the fundamentals of Photography.

The fundamentals of photography (1921)

Author: Mees, C. E. Kenneth (Charles Edward Kenneth), 1882-1960
Subject: Photography -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
Publisher: Rochester, N.Y., Eastman Kodak co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: Robarts - University of Toronto
Download: 13Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Next and before we move into color photography here are some principles and applications.

Photography, its principles and applications (1920)

Author: Watkins, Alfred
Publisher: London, Constable & company ltd.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: nrlf_ucb:GLAD-319526
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 36Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Moving into color photography back in 1945 let's read some history first.

History of color photography (1945)

Author: Friedman, Joseph Solomon, 1899-
Subject: Color photography -- History; Color photography
Publisher: Boston, The American photographic publishing company
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 9502
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: Prelinger Library
Download: 77Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Color Photography in Objects.

The photography of colored objects (1919)

Author: Eastman Kodak Company
Subject: Photography, Orthochromatic
Publisher: Rochester, N.Y. : The Company
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: b5519537
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: New York Public Library
Download: 5.4Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

And last but not least the Pratical Color Photography in 1922.

Practical color photography (1922)

Author: Wall, E. J. (Edward John), 1860-1928
Subject: Color photography
Publisher: Boston, Mass. : American Photographic Publishing Co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: srlf_ucla:LAGE-3427338
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Download: 16Mb PDF Book Here.
Read it: in HTML Flip Book go Here.

Hope you have enjoyed this time travel through some of the old movies and books that taught and show to the masses Photography and Cinematography of those days and that I brought you here today as a Best compilation of them all.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 RC OUT!!

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Adobe just put out today to the public the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidate and the Camera Raw 5.3 also has a Release Candidate.

The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Lightroom team would like the community to help verify the quality of this update through normal usage as this will ensure that the application is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.

If you do experience an issue with this release candidate please report it here: Bug Report Form.

For more information on Lightroom 2 please visit the Lightroom pages on Adobe.com.

Read the full article to know what is coming with this Release Candidate Version and where you can download it from.

Camera Raw 5.3 and Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidates are now available on Adobe Labs.(Camera Raw 5.3, Lightroom 2.3) The release includes new camera support for the following models:

* Nikon D3X
* Olympus E-30

There are several bug fixes in this update :

* In the Windows 64-bit version of Lightroom an sFTP upload process could cause Lightroom to crash
* Slideshows could return to the first image randomly during playback
* A memory leak could cause Lightroom to crash while attempting to process files with local adjustments
* Canon EOS 5D Mk II sRAW files could process with artifacts in Lightroom 2.2
* Lightroom 2.2 could cause disc burning to fail for Windows customers

Additional Languages
Lightroom 2.3 now provides language support for the following additional languages:

* Chinese (Simplified)
* Chinese (Traditional)
* Dutch
* Italian
* Korean
* Portuguese (Brazilian)
* Spanish
* Swedish

The translation effort for these languages is over 90% complete in this release. We appreciate your feedback as we complete this work so that we can ensure that the final release provides a high quality update for all of these new languages. If you find a translation error or problem with these new language versions please report them here: Bug Report Form

Notes on the Additional Languages

* Localized help is not yet available for these additional language versions
* The new language versions cannot be installed simultaneously with the English/French/German 2.3 RC build

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed in the Adobe User to User forums to help us track down some of the bugs we corrected in this release.

This release installs alongside with your current version so it will not overlap the older one.

Camera Raw 5.3 RC direct downloads:

- Windows
- Macintosh

Adobe DNG Converter 5.3 RC direct downloads:

- Windows
- Macintosh

Adobe Lightroom 2.3 RC direct downloads:

- Windows
- Macintosh

Tip: Record Video with "almost" any Liveview EOS Camera

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:57:00 +0000

This is the kind of feature I would love to see implemented on the Canon software.
Although Canon has the ability to preview and record directly to card from the Remote Camera software provided it will not allow recording to the computer disk

This could be a good feature to implement and I'm pretty sure it will not be difficult to make.

Would no only allow us to remote control video but recorded it directly to a hard drive without having to buy those expensive cards and due to the 4Gb limit this would not be a violation of the video rules but a neat feature to have.

Did I mentioned any?? Well not direct Hard Drive recording for the moment but...

Anyway take a look at this Beta Beta Beta version of this cool piece of software unfortunately it is not available for Mac users nor for the recently released Canon cameras the 5D MarkII and the 50D giving a connection error :( hope this would be fix soon.

Enjoy...

Recording video from EOS cameras with liveview was never this easy ;)

Connect camera to computer with USB, run program, press “write” button and check out the .avi file in program folder.

Sample Videos:

and this one

You can Download the software program (Windows only) Here.

Original post in russian Here.

And here is the Google translation for the article ;), just in case you could not understand Russian :)

--- Beginning of Translation ---

This theme is dedicated to the possibility of the record of short videotapes directly to the computer with the aid of the digital specular cameras Of canon EOS with the support Of liveView.

For this we used the program, located here, with a brief description there.

Video is written without the sound, codec - MJPEG, frame frequency of approximately 25 fps (it depends on computer), permission depends on camera, to 450D - 848x560, to 40D - 1024x680.
The resulting file - this is simple the collection of personnel Of liveView without [obraboki] (and/or recoding) in the container of avi; therefore files are obtained such enormous.

If suddenly someone wants to be joined to the development, write here, truth can it is necessary to pass into the programmer branch of forum.

For many this is deprived of sense, of " [zerkalka] must remove [foto]" , strictly, probably I will agree, program was created for the indulgence, however, since users appeared, first it means to whom that it is necessary (i.e. also they frolic) By the author it was tested only to Canon EOS 450D, but it was explained that it works, also with 40D and 1000D. The 5D Mark II and 50D do not work for the moment.

I Already saw the opinion of some people, the fact that the matrix can burn about, I think this is not so bad, indeed in the program of canon EOS utility (in the regime Of liveView) we see also video, only without the possibility of record. In any event program is supplied as a test version without any guarantees, use it at your own risk.

--- End of Translation ---

Tip: DVD's You Must Have (Part 1)

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:16:00 +0000

Last year I did a great post Tip about 12 Must Read Books that I consider the best ones to have in our library shelf I have also had been preparing a Tip for the 2 most important DVD's, well at least from my point of view, to be posted last year but unfortunately due to different things that happened in my life I couldn't finish it up until today.

So what better for starting 2009 than a full review of some of the 2 best 2008 DVD's?

This will be an inside review of David Hobby's "Strobist DVD Pack Collection" on Part 1 and on Part 2 of this Tip you will have a full review of the "OneLight Workshop" from photographer Zack Arias.

If you miss the Tip Books you can still read them in the links below:

Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 1)
Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 2)

The idea here is to make a full detailed review of the DVD's and give you a different approach what's inside each one and what each can help you answering some of your photographic questions.

I will not want this to became another bla, bla, bla DVD review that you can find at other places but instead I want you to visualize what each DVD has to offer and then by what you will see here you will decide if they are both for you or which one will be what you need.

But first let's take a look at a 2 part interview by Jefferson Graham with David Hobby MR. Strobist himself.

Hope that with this appetizer you can start seeing the light ;)

Now that we are talking the same language here let's start.

As I always do on these kind of articles I try always to bring you one or two shots of the Lighting setup and has you can see it's a simple one.

580EX flash shot through White Umbrella camera left at 7.1, 1/125 ISO 100.
I use a sheet of white fabric and for the OneLight workshop shots I use the enclosed black T-Shirt as background.

David was kind enough to send me the package a while back with all the DVD and I confess that when I started to see some pictures of it over the web I wondered how He managed to put all the DVD's inside a card box, rap them up in an ordinary twine and ship globally without it been damaged.

Only after seeing the box I figured it out ;)

Here is a picture of the package with it's original snail mail box. If you ordered it maybe the snail mail package will be different from the one I got or maybe not.
The most important is what you have inside that snail mail horrible yellowish paper.

The true understanding of Gear, Light and Brain all together in a single package.

The inside of the plastic package cover. All DVD's come well pack and you can organize them as you like.

Hey!!, About the content, tell us about the content!! - you may ask.

Here is a picture of the all 8 DVD set. YES!!! Your heard me right 8!!!

What will you find on each of the DVD's, in a random order, that's what I will describe below but first let's see what in the box:

DVD 1
Lighting Gear For Beginners
DVD 2
Strobist Lighting Seminar Morning Session (Part 1)
DVD 3
Strobist Lighting Seminar Morning Session (Part 2)
DVD 4
Strobist Lighting Seminar Afternoon Session (Part 1)
DVD 5
Strobist Lighting Seminar Afternoon Session (Part 2)
DVD 6
Bonus Material:
Conference Room Headshot
Swimsuit Portrait
Kendo Practitioner
Pool Portrait
DVD 7
Bonus Material:
Group Shot
DIY Macro Box
Sunset Flower
DVD 8
Bonus Material:
Lighting Indoor Basketball
Mountain Bike Shoot

As I may said before these are not the order you may see the videos, I choose this order to make this review but you can pick at any of them at any time and watch in order to get the information you need for your assignment shoots.

Before we start I would like to clarify that all screen shots were made with the permission of Mr. David Hobby so please try not reproduce them globally without his written permission.

On this in depth review I switched on the subtitles in order to best understanding of the content of the DVD. You can switch them off at any time but I think this way would be much better for you to evaluate the contents.

DVD 1 - Lighting Gear For Beginners

On this first DVD you will find David sitting at a desk, just like any other ordinary employee of a local photo store, not to show you that or trick you to buy that super duper camera that you do not want to buy but to explain how you can start using your small flashes off camera.

This DVD is a 2 part chapters where David explains the Camera, Flashes and Synchronization between them.

David starts the DVD with a very important key to the off-camera aproach which is, and I quote:

"Two things that your camera must have are the full manual control over your aperture and your shutter speed and a Hot Shoe".

Doesn't matter if you do not own a DSLR as long as you have these 2 things your on.

Regarding the off-camera flashes David advises:

"The most important thing you must have on your flash is to be able to set it on Manual mode"

During this DVD you will be able to find a lot of information concerning the how to connect the camera to an Off-camera flash and sync it, what will be the best batteries to use for a faster recycling time and a lot more information that David shares with you on a open minded dialog.

On the second half of this first DVD David leads you through the process of ways on how to put your flashes on stands, use modifiers and umbrellas to improve your shots in almost 1 hour video.

Hey I'm talking technical here, demos will come later on ;)

Use a light stand to position your light anywhere, David advises that you do not have to buy an expensive one to get the job done, also explains the umbrella holder and what you may accomplish with it.

At certain point David says mentions that every time he opens his mouth you will be spending $20 bucks, so you can see how cool the talk flows.

This is not the usual chat, chat, chat talk about the how much money you will be needing to spend in a lot of gear but the kind of talk you would want to ear "Less Gear, More Brain, Better Light".

He concludes this magnificent DVD talking about Gels and Gobos.

As per David words - "...this is not really complicated stuff... this is kind of a McGuyver stuff..."

DVD 2 - Strobist Lighting Seminar Morning Session (Part 1)

This DVD I believe it was meant to be the first one in the all set because it has a small introduction video made by David and explains what you will be getting inside the box.

Well here I have choose to have first the Gear and then move along to the Seminars as an approach to all of you who do not know what gear to have in order to start all these so YES, I say if you are starting from the beginning please take a look at the gear first and then move along with the flow.

On the next 4 DVD's (including this one) you will have a full Seminar lesson with David Hobby and it was recorded at a Seminar in Colombia, Maryland USA

If you have never been fortunate to go into a Strobist Seminar before, MAN I can tell you that this is almost the same thing has being seated on one of those chairs and believe me I have been there before ;)

Has per his last words of the Intro David reminds you that "as you watch... you should understand there is nothing difficult or complicated about what we are doing here..."

"So sit back relax and join us for our workshop, which begins now."

It all starts with "Good Morning everybody my name is David Hobby and I'm with Strobist.com..." and with this sentence start the Seminar and our journey through it.

Here we will find an extension of Lighting 102 that's on the site.

The goal for the day is to learn to better understand the small flashes and expand what we can do with them, your job during this process is to lose any general fear you may have about learning light and keep an open mind.

At first David give you some basic information about other photographers has a reference to some of the technique he will be explaining during this all process, this in a very open minded talk and with a great knowledge of what light and techniques they use.

David mentioned has a reference "Learn a single simple technique and then move from there... do not try to learn everything at the same time... add a technique here and there and you soon develop a bag of tricks"

David also mentions the Basic Lighting Gear as:

1.Flashes
2.Stands
3.Umbrellas Swivels
4.Synching techniques
5.Light Mods - umbrellas, gobos, snoots, grids, diffusion, etc
6.Gels
7.Batteries

David is a talker, I confess that is something out of the ordinary, as soon as he starts to talk about light and how you can control it your brains starts to work and think about unimaginable things you can start creating with this new off-camera flash thing called STROBIST.

And this DVD ends with the first two items of the "The Seven Basic Lighting Controls"

David explains "The Position of the Light" (Angle and Distance) and "The Softness (Apparent Light Size)" taking as reference the Black and White photographer Albert Watson. He also gives some background on one of his "On Assignment: Conference Room Quickie" and how all the process was shot with a Vivitar 285 with VP-1 Manual Adapters.

"Quick Bio Break and let's back in 5 minutes..."

DVD 3 - Strobist Lighting Seminar Morning Session (Part 2)

And we're back into part 2 of the Morning Seminar, this represents Disk 3 of the all set.

David continues his enjoyable talk after the Bio Break with "Balance".

Here are some of the tips:

"Flash exposure level can be changed by altering the flash-to subject distance or the flash power level."

"Ambient exposure level is affected by both shutter speed and aperture. Given you are at your sync speed or below, flash is only affected by aperture."

"Thus, altering your camera settings can allow you to vary the ambient exposure level and the flash exposure level instantly, from the camera, in full manual mode."

As the video flows, full of information and examples, you get an in depth thinking of how you can use these techniques and follow up David on how he solves some problems encountered and also you get to see some of the answers posted by other members that are on your position.

He also explains the "On Assignment: Wind Tunnel" and how he has surpass the problems he encountered there.

David also adds some links to problem solvers and also guys who can help you build your in mind lighting techniques.

David takes examples of live situations he encountered and explains the all process behind them as you may find at the above picture "On Assignment: Star Gazer" which he explains how he created it and all the process involved.

"It's time to go for a 1h lunch and return in the afternoon for the rest of the Lighting 102 and some practical examples of what we have learned here..."

DVD 4 - Strobist Lighting Seminar Afternoon Session (Part 1)

Strobist Seminar Afternoon starts with a quote from acclaimed photographer Joe McNally.

"If you want to make something more interesting, don't light all of it"

As he continues the countdown of the "The Seven Basic Lighting Controls" he now explains the N.4 on the list which is "Restricting Light" and by saying that you will be facing a lot of encouraging challenges on how you can use your Gobos, Snoots, Grid Spots and different objects you may found out there that can restrict your light you will have a lot of information regarding all of this.

Several examples of that are:
"On Assignment: Women's Lacrosse Cover"
"Developing an Idea, Part One"
"Developing an Idea, Part Two"
"On Assignment: Abstract Concrete"
"On Assignment Blind Snoot Portrait"

This is a great opportunity to share the knowledge behind all these great pictures.

David does not stop saying that all this photo light thing is easy and so much better than on-camera flash. You can see him at this above screen capture.

David mention also the Grid Straw Snoots and if you do not know what they are or how to make one you can check them here at the Lighting Mods in the DIY Articles section or follow the below links:

DIY: Black Straws Snoot Grid (Part 1)
DIY: Black Straws Snoot Grid (Part 2)
DIY: Black Straws Snoot Grid (Colored)

And here you can get some cool pdf templates for your flashes.

He continues with "Refract and Reflect" with Fill Reflectors, Mirrors, Flash Beam Control and found Objects. More explanations about them and how you can benefit with each one of them on particular situations.

Then you get a enlightenment with Gels both with CTO (Color Temperature Orange) and Window Green (Fluorescent Color Conversion) here is an example "On Assignment: A Guy on a Boat"

And last but not least David talks about "Time-Based Control" as he say "You can move your camera during the ambient portion of the exposure to create unique, unpredictable effects. This is done by "dragging" the camera."

Want an example just follow this "Lacrosse Head Shot: v2.0" and you will know what David will be talking about.

To warp up this DVD David talks about some magazines and crazy story ideas editors have for assignments and you have to go forward with them with your little bag of tricks just imagine taking a picture for a magnetic fields story.

With this thoughts David send us to the next DVD where things turn out a little different from all the other 3.

Are you still there???

If you've make it through here and have not order your set yet... what are you waiting for?

After this DVD David will put his talent at work by showing us, on the field, how it's done.

DVD 5 - Strobist Lighting Seminar Afternoon Session (Part 2)

With a no idea of the exposure or aperture would look like in this the room or what light He will be using David shows us how to pass by all this by starting of with a one direct flash light approach to illustrate the differences where the light is coming from the position angle.

Basically what you will get on this DVD are the setups that David will quickly be assembling for demonstrating the following:

1.Head Shot: Position/angle
2.Head Shot: Position/distance
3.Head Shot: Apparent Softness
4.Two Flash: Balance w/background light
5.Three Flash: Clamshell lighting
6.Gelled background Clamshell
7.Restricted light background (Snoot/grid)
8.Refracted light background
9.Time-shifted flash

Here David takes you on a voyage to the outer limits of your lighting abilities, you will follow step by step on how quick you can setup your gear and start to shoot in a so fast blinking that you will have to rewind the DVD several times to understand what's going on.

This is the most cool part of the Seminar where you will watch David on his best performance and with all of his accurate humor will make you laugh as you learn.

No boring thing is allowed here ;)

Take a look at the next picture and you will see what I mean.

I told you so...

David talks about ratios, apertures, light distance and a lot of cool stuff and while talking about it he demonstrates it on screen.

You will also have the possibility to check his histogram while he's doing it and man you also get to see it live.

The talk here is all about light in a simple way that will make you think about it instead of just saying "...I did this with aperture 5.6 ISO 200 at 1/160", no this is a one by one talking about what he's doing and what makes him THINK that and why he did it. He also troughs some more sticks to the fire by adding some more information and understanding on how he has accomplish that.

Through all the setups I mention before you will be taken, until the end of this DVD, with lots of information and on camera screen review of the pictures taken has David explains each one of the concepts.

Here are some of the pictures taken during the seminar:

Clamshell on the Cheap,
originally uploaded by strobist.

Three Light: Clamshell Lighting

Shoot-Thru-Glasses-4DVDs,
originally uploaded by strobist.

Two Flash: Balance w/Background light (8 drinking glasses)

Seminar1-4DVDs,
originally uploaded by strobist.

Time-shifted Flash

Before we move into the Bonus discs I leave you with an excerpt from the Strobist Seminar DVD 5 with no subtitles ;) so you can have a hang on it.

DVD 6 - Bonus Material: Conference Room Headshot, Swimsuit Portrait, Kendo Practitioner, Pool Portrait

David created a 3 Bonus disc sets with specific information concerning different setups you may encounter along your photography assignments.

By now I'm certain that you have decided on purchase the all set but I will continue through the all set no matter what you say or do :)

On this DVD you will find information on how to shoot a Conference Room Headshot, a Swimsuit Portrait in the wild, a Kendo Practitioner and a cool Pool Portrait in a snap.

As I explain each section of the Bonus DVD's you will notice one thing... None of the setups are complicated and you can reproduce them at your own pace and very easily.
Isn't the purpose of this DVD box all along?

What we will be looking at is a simple Conference room head shot on a normal and clean room. Imagine you have an enterprise head shot assignment to make and do not know where to start from.

On this 40 minute video David carefully and with great detail explains how to accomplish different looks without having to move the model too much and with one or two small off-camera flashes.

He will be exploring a two-flash setups, Ceiling Bounce versus umbrella and how to use a Clamshell light to improve even further your portrait lighting.

You will have reviews of the images taken with lot's of information on how he has accomplish them and while doing it he directs the model so you can see how easy that is.

David explains the softness of the light using an umbrella and has the images start popping out on the screen you have the opportunity to follow along has he talks you through it.

The Clamshell white umbrella shoot trough is one of the brilliant examples of what you can accomplish with 3 small flashes.

Simply amazing!!!

The next section of this DVD is the "Swimsuit Portrait" or "Sunset Portrait" as at some points he will refer as to.

David took the model Kris to an open space and decided to go from there.

He will be explaining the Multi-light with Sunset Backdrop, Gelling For Added Warmth and Tracking the Ambient on a almost 30 minute video. These will be the key points for this "Sunset Portrait".

And when you least expect it David throws in some curve balls ;) He just gives you the all schematics for this scene before he start shooting.

This would make you see what he will be doing and will give you an advantage point over the all picture by saying what needs to be done, well as he always did at Strobist.

He will begin by setting up the lights and explaining how you can accomplish a good light at sunset just before the model comes into scene.

Measure the light explaining what he's doing with apertures and how light will affect the model while balancing the ambient.

Then David moves to a more subtle photo by adding an umbrella to one of the lights giving the portrait a more softer look and he also through a quick tip trick for the stand on windy day.

You have the opportunity, again, to see him work and direct the model while he explains what he's doing all the way and has the available light goes dimmer and dimmer you can watch what is going on over the scene.

Next we move on to "Kendo Practitioner" where David walks you through a 8 minute video on how to shoot with fluorescent lights, how to work in a public space and how to choose the environment.

Here what you get is really what you will have in a normal live shoot environment, walls with different colors, lights with different color temperatures and white ceiling to mention a few of the obstacles.

You also have the opportunity to see the setup sketch while David explains it through, also have the opportunity to follow David on how he chooses the background based on what he has available at the moment.

How do deal with the Armour reflections that you may encounter as well as how much power he will be dialing on each flash.

Since the shoot is made on the path way of the sport club he will be facing a lot of people walking through, just like on a normal and regular local assignment photo shoot.

He also demonstrates, in this video, that you do not need to have large spaces to photograph.

The use of Gels to warm up the lights are explained and all the settings used.

This is a Hell of an explanation of what's happening here.

On the last video of this bonus DVD David takes us to a local swimming pool to make a "Pool Portrait" and gets a great shot with just 2 small flash lights.

The Key Points for this 20 minute video are Large-Area Zoned Lighting, Warm Versus Cool color Cast and Monopod as a Light Boom above the model.

You also have the full drawing setup of the all scene as well as the explanation for it's process.

David explains the Warm vs Cool Color Cast by warming up the light on the model and significantly cool the light on the backdrop. That would make the backdrop blue and the blue backdrop also reflect on the water creating a nice sweep of blue coming down the picture.

The use of monopod as boom for lighting is accomplish by simply attaching an umbrella adapter to the top of the monopod taping it up securely, adding a ball bungee on it to add more security, this allow him to get the flash out over the water easily because the flashes are small and lightweight this is an easy thing to do, because they run on batteries instead of AC Power there is no danger that the flash drop into the pool.

This is not what you´re thinking. David is not suggesting you through your camera into the water at this point :), although at some point his lens take a quick dive ;)

Here is the final shot of Rochelle.

On this last video you will have the opportunity to watch and follow through the shootings with detail explanations and examples of what is happening all the way through.

DVD 7 - Bonus Material: Group Shot, DIY Macro Box, Sunset Flower

DVD 7 brings you a 32 minutes video of how to set up a group shoot and how to embrace the room problems that you could encounter.

Also David explains how to fight back the problem of glasses in large groups and how you can solve them.

The Key Points of this video are Solving Room Problems, Back/Separation Light, Dealing with Glasses and Building Rapport.

So what's better o start out by probing the room and this one is not a good one for small light flashes because the ceiling is very high and the background reflects too much curve light to the front, you also have the diagram available so you can check where the lights are positioned.

David decided to take a first approach by putting the flashes at 1/4 power and go from there. This all video is a brain thinking solver of the different problems he encountered in this room and what if you suddenly miss one of you pocket wizard connect cables, OH YEAH!!! that can happen too, but David explains how he solve that.

After all the lights and test shots are made is time to call in the people.

Glasses gets to be chosen first ;) and David explains, in detail, why is that.

You will see how David manages to direct a larger group of people and what he's doing all the way.

This is the Final shot for this "Group Shot".

On the next 23 minutes Video sequence David show you how to assemble a Macro Card Box.

The Key Points for this lesson are Creating a Zone of Light, Working Inside/Ouside the Box and Shooting Highly Specular Objects.

You also have a diagram for the setup as well as an explanation of what will be happening.

First he have a brief explanation on how you can build a Macro Studio Box and then you will start to have a one on one explanation how things will be working and what you can accomplish with it.

So basically what you will have here are a pair of SB-26 at 1/16 power, some Pocket Wizards to trigger the flashes, a piece of post board as background and your studio card box.

David explains all the details and what you could change or add to improve the specular highlights on the picture and over your object.

Also he brings the object off the box so you can see the different look you get just by moving the object out.

With tips and details he pursues his clicks, while explaining everything, until he gets the picture at his own taste.

You will be able to see on the screen the several shots while David makes comments on what would be made to improve it by changing the position of the flash or by putting a white card box alongside.

Here is the final shot.

Moving to the last set of this DVD, David chooses a Point and Shoot camera to pull the trick on this 26 minutes video "Sunset Flower".

Key Pints for this lesson are Working with a Point and Shoot Camera, Shifting White Balance for Effect and Time-Based effects as on previous videos.

This is a very straight forward lesson at sunset with a Point and Shoot that anyone can accomplish.

A diagram setup is available as well as some explanations to it.

You follow David while he explains all the details of what he's doing while taking pictures with the Point and Shoot (This case the Powershot G7)

Testing different speeds to have different effects, ambiances and textures also gobos and snoots to direct the light right into the flower right at the edges.

"... play with it until you get the way you like it. Interesting mistakes are better than boring successes, you learn nothing from a boring success. " David says at a certain point.

You also get lots of information concerning the Time-Based effects and cross lighting.

Towards the end David takes this up a step and uses a DSLR (D70) to demonstrate color shifting.

Here is the final shot.

We're just moving on towards the last DVD and with so much good quality light information this will take you weeks to digest ;)

I've never saw so much information together on a single DVD set.

DVD 8 - Bonus Material: Lighting Indoor Basketball, Mountain Bike Shoot

On the last DVD David will takes us to, a largely talked about in forums and at flickr pool, Lighting a Gym with Speedlights.

For this 40 minutes DVD you will get the key points Long-Throw Lighting, Working Near the Ambient and Flash Mounting Techniques.

You are also supplied with the diagram for the lights and positions.

David show us how to assemble the strobes on the bleachers and what light he will be using. All this with a great detail that you better start grabbing a pen to write them down.

You will also get the information of what Gels to use to match the ambiance and what speeds he will be using to pull this out.

He will be giving a lot of tips that could help you solve a lot of problems during the process of assembling and shooting.

Talking batteries and external batteries what's best and what he uses, he talks clamps, uses his hand to measure the light and white balance settings all over the field, this is something you will not want to miss.

Here is one of the final shots.

Moving now to the last setup of the Bonus discs that is the "Mountain Bike Shoot".

For this last 20 minutes video on the pack the key points are Adapting to Changing Light, Sculpting with Hard Light and Time-Based effects.

Well it's so difficult to explain in short words what's inside of each of the DVD's without repeating myself that I will try to not extend myself too much on this last one.

David has done such an enormous and excellent job that would take me weeks to strip down all things said in each of the DVD's. This all set is so complete and simple to follow that the best way to analyze it would be to watch it all.

Here again you will have the diagram and explanations has on previous Bonus techniques.

David lays down on the ground to explain how the sun becomes his back light and the flash is his main light and with just one small flash. You can see the results instantly on the screen as David explains the idea behind the shot.

As the light gradually dims David assembles another quick setup with a grid light coming from the front and with 2 lights as back ground rim making a triangle light zone he demonstrates and explains how the all process works while laying face down on the ground to catch also the ambiance.

And as the light goes even dimmer he starts using the zooming option to create some neat effects on the image. Folks no photoshop here just lens zooming!!!

Take a closer look at one of the final images.

WARNING:All screen pictures that I use here, to illustrate each of the DVD's, were captured by me and used with Mr. David Hobby's permission please do not use them on any place else without him authorize it.
Thank you

Well that's it... wish you have enjoyed the journey through all the DVD's and will buy them because they are the missing piece to your lighting improvements. It belongs right next to my Dean Collins DVD’s and my favorite book Light: Science and Magic.

Gladly hope this could give you an inside view of the contents of each and everyone of the 8 DVD Pack from David Hobby "Strobist Lighting Seminar" and if you had any doubts before now you had the time to clear them out.

The Strobist 8 DVD Box Set is currently only available for the cheap price of $139 at Midwest Photo Exchange and shipped worldwide but has per David Hobby contact it will soon be available in the UK.

As soon has it will be available I will post the link here but for the moment only Midwest Photo Exchange is shipping worldwide.

--- Latest Update 13-01-2009 ----

David just revealed on his recent post at Strobist the store and location of the 8 DVD's set for purchase here in Europe.

You can get them at The Flash Centre online store and they are now carrying the set and will be shipping to UK and EU.

The price is £102.35 incl Vat (£89.00 exc Vat). Shipping to UK/EU will be £9 and £6.60, respectively. EU is three day delivery, UK is next day.

You can order in UK/EU from the web here. Or better yet, hit the TFC London store in person.

--- // ---

See you at Part 2 of this article in a couple of days.

Tip: DVD's You Must Have (Part 1)
Tip: DVD's You Must Have (Part 2)

Marc Silber Interviews Chase Jarvis

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:51:00 +0000

Our friend photographer Marc Silber has started his new SilberStudios.TV with lot's of video interviews and tips with a lot of famous photographers out there.

As he explains: "We're focused on professional photographers who SHOW you how to get those great shots, hence the name PhotoShow — right on point with tips from the pros. Have a look at our first shows, new episodes begin in January."

After the jump watch the interview with acclaimed photographer Chase Jarvis.

Video is now restored and with a much better quality sponsored by Vimeo.

I would like to thank Marc Silber for allowing me to share this video with all of you readers of the Lighting Mods.

Enjoy.

Chase Jarvis' 5 Tips for Exceptional Photographs from SilberStudios.Tv on Vimeo.

Tip: Instantly Create a Polaroid Look

ruimleal@gmail.com (Rui M Leal) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Have you always been looking for solution, a Photoshop plugin or action or or maybe reading and reading how you can create the specific and great look?

Well search no more, read below cause I have great news and it's completely FREE!!!

More after the jump...

The name of the application is Poladroid, now on version 0.9.5 is created by Paul Ladroid and recently available as a public beta for windows users too.

This is a neat application for create Polaroid looks and the old time effect just the way we were used to it.

You simply have to install it , Mac or Windows, and drag your jpg pictures inside of it then grab and shake the picture until it's finish it's materialize process and you're done. Hey Man!!! just like the old days except it's done in the computer ;)

For the moment the software is only accepting High Resolution jpg files but maybe in a near future we could start seeing supporting other formats.

Features:

• Easy to use : Drag & Drop
• Generate High-resolution pictures (400 dpi), "ready-to-print" with a Polaroid design
• Funny : only 10 treatments per session, like the content of a cartridge ; interactive (look at the demo below) ; random and realistic Polaroid-like colors variation...

You also have a Preferences menu where you can choose some neat Post Processing Options.

Here are some examples of what you can accomplish. I just added a small text on Photoshop using the "Handwriting - Dakota" lettering type with 48px large to create this neat effect and identify each one on top with the Post Processing effects you can get. Just like handwriting Polaroids in the old days.

Original File

Poladroid treatment with on software
Lite Vignetting Post Processing.

Poladroid treatment with on software
Lite Vignetting Post Processing and Stripes Paper option.

Poladroid treatment with on software
Lite Vignetting Post Processing and Stripes Photo option.

You can download the FREE here either for Mac and Windows users.

Join the "be Poladroid" Flickr page, with more than 14.000 pictures already, and share your Poladroid pictures and experiences wit lot of other users around the globe.

Here is a video example of what you can accomplish with this great software.