Kubota Image Tools have introduced two new Photoshop ‘Action Paks’, Viva la Vintage & Pow Wow!.
Showing posts with label Image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Image. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
New Photoshop Actions from Kubota Image Tools
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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sony to double production of image sensors
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Tags: Sony, sony plant
Sony’s recent acquisition of a chip plant from Toshiba will be used to increase Sony’s overall image sensor output two fold. The new factory, which used to make Cell processors for the PlayStation 3, will be transitioned to make image sensors used by Sony and many others. Sony already produces image sensors used by Nikon in most of their DSLRs.
The new plant will employ 9,000 people and will focus on manufacturing of smaller CCD and CMOS sensors used in smartphones and point and shoot cameras. The factory will begin production in the second half of 2011.
Tags: Sony, sony plant
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Kubota Image Tools Releases Lensbaby Pak
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Kubota Image Tools have released the new Kubota Creative Tools ? The Lensbaby Pak, specially designed to enhance the artistic effects created with Lensbaby optics.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Kubota Image Tools Releases Lensbaby Pak
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Kubota Image Tools have released the new Kubota Creative Tools – The Lensbaby Pak, specially designed to enhance the artistic effects created with Lensbaby optics. “Lensbaby optics open up a distinctive set of creative options for photographers, and you want to preserve all of that great effect when editing,” said Kevin Kubota of Kubota Image Tools. “These new enhancement tools work with the captured image to add drama and feel without masking the impact of the optics’ effects.” The Kubota Lensbaby image enhancement tools are currently available for instant download for $39, through the website below.
Website: Kubota’s Lensbaby Pak
Kubota Image Tools Press Release
Kubota Image Tools Announces Lensbaby Image Enhancing Tools
Created in Conjunction with the Lensbaby Kubota Contest, This Set of Image Enhancement Tools Brings Out the Best in Images Captured with Lensbaby Optics
Bend, Ore. – NOVEMBER 21, 2010 – Kubota Image Tools, provider of photographer-empowering creative imaging tools, workflow-saving solutions and educational offerings for photographers of all levels, today announced it has created the new Kubota Creative Tools – The Lensbaby Pak, specially designed to enhance the artistic effects created with Lensbaby optics. Kevin Kubota, founder of Kubota PhotoDesign and the Idea Guy behind Kubota Image Tools, created the set of Photoshop® image enhancing tools as part of the Lensbaby Kubota Contest. Winners of the contest, selected by Kubota, were announced previously. The Lensbaby Pak includes 15 brand new Photoshop image enhancement tools Kubota devised to enhance contest-winning images captured with each of the unique six Lensbaby Optics, and includes the Kubota DASHBOARD 3.
“Lensbaby optics open up a distinctive set of creative options for photographers, and you want to preserve all of that great effect when editing,” said Kubota. “These new enhancement tools work with the captured image to add drama and feel without masking the impact of the optics’ effects.”
Winner of the Lensbaby Kubota Contest, Lisa Schwendemann Smith, received $300 in KubotaBucks, $300 in Lensbaby Bucks and the new Kubota Lensbaby tools for her submission of Atlantic City Pier. A video of her image being edited by Kubota is available on the Kubota Lensbaby tools product page.
“This image has been a favorite of my family and friends for a while now, and it was a thrill to be a finalist. It is a wonderful feeling to have impressed Kevin Kubota enough to be named the winner,” said contest winner Lisa Schwendemann Smith. “It was eye-opening to see what Kubota’s new Actions could do to enhance the look of this image and I look forward to using the enhancement tools to bring out the best in my other Lensbaby shots. I can’t wait to go on a Kubota Image Tools and Lensbaby shopping spree.”
The Kubota Lensbaby image enhancement tools are currently available for instant download for $39, through: http://kubotaimagetools.com/store/catalog/product_16383_Kubota_Creative_Tools__The_Lensbaby_Pak_cat_258.html
About Kubota Image Tools
Bend, OR-based Kubota Image Tools (http://www.KubotaImageTools.com) is the source for time-saving and award-winning image-enhancing Photoshop® tools and Lightroom® Presets and presenters of inspiring international workshops designed to empower professional photographers. The workflow-saving offerings grew from the digital experience of Kevin Kubota who began pioneering the field of completely digital wedding photography in the 1990s.
As the President and Owner of Kubota Photo Design Inc. (http://www.KubotaPhotoDesign.com), Kevin has been working with Photoshop and as a digital/computer educator since 1993. Kevin shares his experience with other photographers through the award-winning Digital Photography Bootcamp®, which has trained thousands of photographers to make the digital transition while empowering them with improved creative control and proven management practices to drive success. Kevin also presents seminars on digital imaging, workflow and Photoshop techniques for professional photographers for national associations such as WPPI, PPA and many state associations.
As the author of the book Digital Photography Boot Camp: A Step-by-Step Guide for Professionals (now in its second edition), published by Amherst Media, Kevin continues to make his vast experience available to the photographic community through his ever evolving blog (http://www.kevinkubotablog.com).
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Using Nik Color Efex Pro to Draw the Viewer Into Your Image
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A Guest Post by Rob Dweck.
With dozens of filters to choose from, I find that the time can fly by as I experiment with various filters on a single image and play with the different settings. (Yes, I said play. There’s no reason for image processing to be grunt work. You can have as much fun and be just as creative when editing as when you’re shooting.)
Two of my favorite Color Efex Pro filters are Vignette and Darken/Lighten Center. Both of these filters allow you to easily create darker and lighter areas in your frame to help direct the viewers eye within the image. Since the viewers eye is drawn to the brightest area, manipulating the brightness and darkness allows you to guide the viewer through your image.While not a substitute for selective dodging and burning, quick global adjustments can easily be accomplished. Sure, you can add a vignette to your image in Photoshop without a plug-in by using the Lens Correction Filter, but the Vignette filter in Color Efex Pro is far more flexible.
The Lens Correction filter provides only two parameters, amount and size, for applying a vignette, whereas Color Efex Pro provides seven parameters. All of those extra parameters equals more control over your final image.
On this Photograph of Mount Rainier, my goal was simple: Create a vignette to darken the edges and keep the viewer’s eyes in the image. This is especially important on the right side where the sky was brighter due to the position of the sun. That brightness could easily draw the viewer’s eyes to the edge and out of the frame.
The first step was choosing a shape for the vignette. Color Efex Pro offers four options including round, oval and two rectangular choices. I generally gravitate towards the oval vignette since the majority of my photographs are rectangular and I find it gives me the most pleasing and natural effect.
Rather than using the standard black vignette, I used the eyedropper tool to select a dark blue from the water near the bottom of the image. From there, I went between the Adapt Edges, Transition, Size and Opacity sliders to darken the edges while also taking care not to darken the top of the mountain or the bottom of the mountain’s reflection. I generally start with the Size slider, get to the approximate size of the vignette, and then change the opacity according to how dark or light I want the edges. By adjusting the Adapt Edges and Transition sliders I have additional control over the shape as well as the smoothness of the vignette. I usually stay with the higher values on the Transition slider to get a smoother, less obvious effect. Drag the Transition slider to far to the left and you?ll see an obvious border where at the edges of the vignette effect.
You may notice that the bottom left of the image is already fairly dark, so I want to apply less of the effect in this area. This is where Color Efex Pro, and Nik plug-ins in general, really shines. Using what Nik refers to as “U Point Technology,” control points can be dropped anywhere in the image and then used to increase or decrease the amount of the effect in that area. By dropping a control point in the lower left corner, I can reduce the amount of vignette and select the size of the area affected.
In the final image, the edges are darkened and the bright area on the left no longer provides an escape route out of the frame.
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The power of the Vignette filter doesn’t stop there, using white, or another light color gives the opposite affect of what is achieved here: The edges become brighter instead of darker. Another great feature of the Vignette filter is the Place Center control which allows the center of the vignette to be placed anywhere in the image.
Similar to the Vignette, the Darken/Lighten Center Filter can yield dramatic or subtle results. For this Leopard photograph, I used it to completely change the mood of the image.
While on Safari in Okavango Delta in Botswana, my wife and I spent the several hours one morning tracking this elusive leopard. We first spotted him shortly after sunrise, but he was in the brush and on the move. Getting a clear shot was extremely difficult. By the time he came to a stop under a tree hours later, the sun was high in the sky and the light was quite harsh. Despite the unappealing light, I liked the pose and the facial expression, but there was no impact to the image. The biggest issue was that the leopard’s backside was brighter than his face, not exactly the makings of a captivating wildlife image.
Enter the Darken/Lighten Center filter. By placing the center point just to the left of the leopard’s right eye and moving the center luminosity slider to the right, I brightened the leopard’s head. I then moved the border luminosity slider to the far left and brought the center size slider down to 11%. This created a small bright area around the leopard’s head while dramatically darkening the rest of the image.
With the leopard’s head now the focal point, there were still some distractions and bright spots that needed to be toned down. The vignette filter took care of the edges, and with a little burning of the bright spots and some small adjustments to add detail to the eyes, the transformation was complete.
The Darken/Lighten Center filter is also effective for more subtle adjustments. Use it in portraits to add a little pop to your subject or try it on still life images to bring up details.
As with all plug-ins, the same effects can be achieved directly in Photoshop, but it will take far more time and effort to get such gratifying results.
Rob Dweck is a San Francisco Bay Area based photographer who specializes in landscape and nature photography. His work can be viewed at robdweck.com.
Post from: Digital Photography School
Using Nik Color Efex Pro to Draw the Viewer Into Your Image
A Guest Post by Rob Dweck.
With dozens of filters to choose from, I find that the time can fly by as I experiment with various filters on a single image and play with the different settings. (Yes, I said play. There’s no reason for image processing to be grunt work. You can have as much fun and be just as creative when editing as when you’re shooting.)
Two of my favorite Color Efex Pro filters are Vignette and Darken/Lighten Center. Both of these filters allow you to easily create darker and lighter areas in your frame to help direct the viewers eye within the image. Since the viewers eye is drawn to the brightest area, manipulating the brightness and darkness allows you to guide the viewer through your image.While not a substitute for selective dodging and burning, quick global adjustments can easily be accomplished. Sure, you can add a vignette to your image in Photoshop without a plug-in by using the Lens Correction Filter, but the Vignette filter in Color Efex Pro is far more flexible.
The Lens Correction filter provides only two parameters, amount and size, for applying a vignette, whereas Color Efex Pro provides seven parameters. All of those extra parameters equals more control over your final image.
On this Photograph of Mount Rainier, my goal was simple: Create a vignette to darken the edges and keep the viewer’s eyes in the image. This is especially important on the right side where the sky was brighter due to the position of the sun. That brightness could easily draw the viewer’s eyes to the edge and out of the frame.
The first step was choosing a shape for the vignette. Color Efex Pro offers four options including round, oval and two rectangular choices. I generally gravitate towards the oval vignette since the majority of my photographs are rectangular and I find it gives me the most pleasing and natural effect.
Rather than using the standard black vignette, I used the eyedropper tool to select a dark blue from the water near the bottom of the image. From there, I went between the Adapt Edges, Transition, Size and Opacity sliders to darken the edges while also taking care not to darken the top of the mountain or the bottom of the mountain’s reflection. I generally start with the Size slider, get to the approximate size of the vignette, and then change the opacity according to how dark or light I want the edges. By adjusting the Adapt Edges and Transition sliders I have additional control over the shape as well as the smoothness of the vignette. I usually stay with the higher values on the Transition slider to get a smoother, less obvious effect. Drag the Transition slider to far to the left and you’ll see an obvious border where at the edges of the vignette effect.
You may notice that the bottom left of the image is already fairly dark, so I want to apply less of the effect in this area. This is where Color Efex Pro, and Nik plug-ins in general, really shines. Using what Nik refers to as “U Point Technology,” control points can be dropped anywhere in the image and then used to increase or decrease the amount of the effect in that area. By dropping a control point in the lower left corner, I can reduce the amount of vignette and select the size of the area affected.
In the final image, the edges are darkened and the bright area on the left no longer provides an escape route out of the frame.
The power of the Vignette filter doesn’t stop there, using white, or another light color gives the opposite affect of what is achieved here: The edges become brighter instead of darker. Another great feature of the Vignette filter is the Place Center control which allows the center of the vignette to be placed anywhere in the image.
Similar to the Vignette, the Darken/Lighten Center Filter can yield dramatic or subtle results. For this Leopard photograph, I used it to completely change the mood of the image.
While on Safari in Okavango Delta in Botswana, my wife and I spent the several hours one morning tracking this elusive leopard. We first spotted him shortly after sunrise, but he was in the brush and on the move. Getting a clear shot was extremely difficult. By the time he came to a stop under a tree hours later, the sun was high in the sky and the light was quite harsh. Despite the unappealing light, I liked the pose and the facial expression, but there was no impact to the image. The biggest issue was that the leopard’s backside was brighter than his face, not exactly the makings of a captivating wildlife image.
Enter the Darken/Lighten Center filter. By placing the center point just to the left of the leopard’s right eye and moving the center luminosity slider to the right, I brightened the leopard’s head. I then moved the border luminosity slider to the far left and brought the center size slider down to 11%. This created a small bright area around the leopard’s head while dramatically darkening the rest of the image.
With the leopard’s head now the focal point, there were still some distractions and bright spots that needed to be toned down. The vignette filter took care of the edges, and with a little burning of the bright spots and some small adjustments to add detail to the eyes, the transformation was complete.
The Darken/Lighten Center filter is also effective for more subtle adjustments. Use it in portraits to add a little pop to your subject or try it on still life images to bring up details.
As with all plug-ins, the same effects can be achieved directly in Photoshop, but it will take far more time and effort to get such gratifying results.
Rob Dweck is a San Francisco Bay Area based photographer who specializes in landscape and nature photography. His work can be viewed at robdweck.com.
Guest Contributor This post was written by a guest contributor to DPS. Please see their details in the post above. Become a Contributor: Check out Write for DPS page for details about how YOU can share your photography tips with the DPS community.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Image Critique: What Do You Think?
I’ve come across the following image numerous times on Flickr and every time I do it captures my attention – so I thought I’d share it today.
Taken by Patrick/adwriter it was taken on the set of a TV commercial of a married couple. While taken as part as an actual shoot I think the image conveys a lot of emotion and captures a moment in time really well.
The angle of the bodies and the creases in clothing draw the eye into the image and while the hammock lines above the subjects faces converge away from them I find the expressions on their faces are strong enough to hold me there.
The image is also a reasonable example of a Rule of Thirds image that works (perhaps not quite on the exact third lines – but there about).
Depth of Field also enhances this image for me with both the foreground and background somewhat out of focus – leaving the faces of subjects the clear focal point for the shot. The pink flower in the background above the couple is a slight distraction but again the image really is all about the moment captured and expressions on the subjects.
What do you think?
Image Critique: What Do You Think?
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I’ve come across the following image numerous times on Flickr and every time I do it captures my attention – so I thought I’d share it today.
Taken by Patrick/adwriter it was taken on the set of a TV commercial of a married couple. While taken as part as an actual shoot I think the image conveys a lot of emotion and captures a moment in time really well.
The angle of the bodies and the creases in clothing draw the eye into the image and while the hammock lines above the subjects faces converge away from them I find the expressions on their faces are strong enough to hold me there.
The image is also a reasonable example of a Rule of Thirds image that works (perhaps not quite on the exact third lines – but there about).
Depth of Field also enhances this image for me with both the foreground and background somewhat out of focus – leaving the faces of subjects the clear focal point for the shot. The pink flower in the background above the couple is a slight distraction but again the image really is all about the moment captured and expressions on the subjects.
What do you think?
Post from: Digital Photography School
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The Pentax Optio RZ10 Fails To Impress With Image Quality
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Tags: Digital Camera, Optio RZ10, Pentax
Furthermore, at ISO 200, problems such as considerable amounts of noise, “smearing of fine detail and loss of color saturation” and these flaws continue to get worse as you reach the maximum speed of 1600 for the ISO range. Interestingly enough, this Pentax camera is still considered to be well-priced at $200 despite its very significant drawbacks. Follow the source link below to Engadget’s article and use their source link to get the full review from PhotographyBLOG.
Tags: Digital Camera, Optio RZ10, Pentax
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Final Image + Video
Someone asked me an important question at my last LA Workshop and I thought I would share the answer with my readers here. The question was: when I have an assignment, do I know what I want the finished image to look like before I go to the shoot or do I just wing it the day of the shoot? I’m going to use this recent swimsuit editorial as a perfect example on how most of the time I know exactly how I want the final image to look before I ever pick up a camera to shoot it.
For this swimsuit editorial, I didn’t want to do another pool or beach story that is usually depicted in swimsuit stories. I wanted to do something more interesting and thought about the idea of marrying swimsuits with jackets or skirts, making it not about using the suit in the water but using the suit as a fashion accessory or a one of the pieces in the whole outfit. For instance, putting a one-piece swimsuit with a cropped jacket or skirt, or using a bikini top with a skirt or a pair of bathing suit shorts as boy shorts to wear out with a jacket. I also knew I wanted to shoot the story in a studio where I would use strobes. And I wanted to shoot the story in black and white which isn’t a “typical” swimsuit story either, however I’m not the first photographer to do this. But it’s certainly not the “norm”. I pitched this idea to the creative director of the magazine, Stephen Kamifuji, and he told me to go for it. So the first thing I did was to start putting the story together with the stylist. For this editorial I worked with Shiffy from AIM Artists. I had some trepidation in the beginning because I hadn’t worked with Shiffy and I had a very specific concept in mind. The styling had to be spot on! But Charnelle Smith who owns AIM Artists and represents Shiffy reassured me that I would be happy with Shiffy and her work and I’m really glad I listened to her! She just nailed the styling! I have recently begun working with Charnelle at AIM Artists and one thing I can say is that her discerning choices in the talent she decides to represent really shows: she has a very strong roster of very talented artists who also are genuinely very nice to work with. I’ve worked with probably 10 of her artists and every single one of them is not only very skilled, they’re very nice people, good team players and don’t have a shred of attitude! Shiffy and I had several phone conversations about the looks and the designers that I wanted to work with. She also had a conversation with the magazine on what advertisers needed to be in the magazine, etc. I sent her mood boards depicting the lighting I wanted to use and the contrast of the black and white images that I wanted to end up with. After Shiffy was set and doing her pulls during the days before the shoot, I worked out my lighting with my 1st assistant Tyler. He placed our equipment order with Smashbox the day before the shoot when I was certain of how I wanted the editorial lit and what light modifiers I was going to need to create the lighting I wanted.
So now you can see how I knew exactly how I wanted the shoot to look like before we ever arrived at the studio! Generally I’m given an assignment and there are parameters I have to stay within. I can then form the story inside those parameters. I can interpret the story with either my lighting or the set or location, etc. But more often than not, I have the final images in mind before every single shoot takes place. That way, I shoot the story according to the final image. There are times, I’ll admit, where I go in to a shooting situation with one story in mind and somehow the process takes on a life of it’s own and we end up going in an entirely different direction than what I had pre-determined. Shoots sometimes take on this organic process and form as they go, being influenced by outside things such as the model or the make up and hair stylist’s interpretation. Those shoots sometimes are really magical for me but no less exhilirating than nailing a shoot that I had visualized for days, weeks or even months ahead.
I shot this editorial at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. Robert Mefford did a fantastic job on the hair and Camille Clark did the make up, which I have to say was also amazing! Eugenia, our smokin’ model, is represented by Photogenics Models. I love Eugenia. I’ve worked with her a bunch of times and she is a blast to work with! We used a beauty dish and a strip bank and we lit the background with two heads angled 45 degrees toward the cyc. We flagged off those background lights with two V Flats. Nothing utterly mind blowing again, just some simple lighting. Eugenia really knows how to move which is a true joy for a photographer! I basically did very little directing and let her feel her way with the light and the clothing. We had a great day, another successful shoot for Genlux Magazine! And I just shot for the fall issue last Friday so there will be more editorials to share with you coming soon!
In other news, I’ve decided to focus on NYC after a recent trip there. So we’re going to doing our workshops in NYC first before we head over to London. I know this is probably bumming out some of my UK readers but I was feeling a little overwhelmed after I got home from NYC because I have a ton of assignments in NYC over the next couple of months and will need to be out there more often, eventually probably moving out there. London will come sooner than you think but right now we’re going to focus on NYC. Right now we’re looking for the perfect studio and then once we book it we’ll have the information here on the blog for you to read about! In the meantime, keep shooting! See you soon! xoxo
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