Adobe Lightroom 2.0 public beta

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 public beta is now available for download on the Adobe Labs web site. Lightroom 2.0 is a substantial update to the 1.x application. Here are some of the bullet points, in case you are not interested in digging through the web site:

Localized correction for:

• exposure
• clarity
• saturation
• tint
• Output sharpening
• Export and image and automatically import back in to library
• Imported images now up to 30,000 pixels
• Dual monitor support (yeah!)
• Edit in Photoshop CS3 as Smart Object (very very powerful)
• 64-bit compatibility (OS X 10.5 Leopard required for Mac users to take advantage)

Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 public beta is available to anyone as a 30-day trial, and to licensed users of 1.x versions until August 31, 2008. Adobe's tell-a-friend program allows licensed users to also "invite" others to the public beta, with full use through to the same August 31, 2008 end date.

Photo of the Day

Olive Baboon
Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO + 1.4x, 1/100 @ f/5.6, ISO 800, hand held
Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, February 2008

Photoshelter

Photoshelter just sent out an email, advertising their Personal Archive service with me in the ad. I have really enjoyed their service so far, and they have saved me a ton of tme with regards to capturing online print sales, stock licensing and the organizing of my images. Highly recommended.

 

Mother Cheetah and her 6 cubs

While on on safari in February, we came across one of the most special and amazing wildlife viewing moments. We were lucky enough to witness a mother cheetah and her 6 cubs, which were around 2.5 to 3 months old. Young cheetahs do not have very good odds at surviving in the wild, so I cherish every moment I am able to spend with them. The challenge is that we, as photographers, yearn for the most closeup and intimate photographs that we can capture, but this is at odds with what is best for the cheetah. They need room, room and more room. Never interfere with their hunting. I wasn't able to get too close, and some of these images are heavily cropped for web viewing purposes. That is totally fine with me.

 

Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO + 1.4x, 1/320 sec @ f/8, ISO 800

Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO + 1.4x, 1/320 sec @ f/8, ISO 800

Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO + 1.4x, 1/400 sec @ f/8, ISO 800

This was easy photography and yet it was difficult photography. Easy from a sense of mostly non-moving subjects. So autofocus was fairly straightforward. But difficult because we were in failing light. The sun was right on the horizon, and also behind a large cloud. Depth of field was my primary concern, as I would have cubs running in front of the mother and behind the mother. So at 60 or 70 feet I was trying to hold anywhere from 6 feet to 15 feet in focus. This is difficult with 560mm of lens. If I stopped down too much I would have atrociously slow shutter speeds, and if I opened up I would have too shallow of depth of field. So I settled in on f/8 and ISO 800. Not too much noise, but just about right.

Seagate Barracuda hard drives - performance gain

About 15 months ago I moved my entire photographic computing platform from the pc to a Mac Pro desktop. The Mac Pro shipped with only a 250GB hard drive, and I added another three drives to increase capacity. These added drives have now been replaced with 1TB Seagate Barracuda hard drives, and I read a thread over on Naturescapes.net about how Barracuda drives by default are configured with a jumper that puts the drive into backward compatibility mode, or SATA 1 mode (1.5GB/sec burst transfer rate). If you remove this jumper you will instantly see doubling of your hard drive speed from a data burst standpoint. Keep in mind that you need to have SATA 2 on your computer, or you might run into issues.

You may have to register on NSN to be able to read the forum posting.

Very cool. Thanks, E.J.

A message from Bruce Dorn

Hey Andy - Thanks for the kind intro and the opportunity to be a “guest blogger.” And who would ever believe that there was such a term?

I just wanted to pop in and say Hi! I'm really happy to be joining you and looking forward to helping you host the finest in African photographic adventures. I can't wait 'til June and am looking forward to meeting some excellent new friends. Making new friends under African skies; just how cool is that?

I, for one, love Tanzania and Andy has laid out a very nice itinerary for us; we're going to step off of the plane and right into Africa. Get ready to have a good time; your drivers and guides will be first class; your meals will be yummy and the photographic opportunities, I promise you, will be many. Add kindred spirits, big-scary-furry-things, cameras, and I recon a fine time will be had by all.

Our safari is coming soon and I'm already noodling my photographic approach. I think I'll hit the HD video pretty hard. Stills too, of course, but I want to travel sorta light. Sometimes less is more. Nimble equipment makes for faster reactions and Tanzania offers lots of opportunities to react quickly. Maybe an environmental portraiture session with the local tribesmen.

Anyway, pop into my blog at www.idcphotography.com and I'll post what I'm thinking as we get closer to the June trips. It might be quiet there for a few days as we're off to Las Vegas to do guest appearances for Corel. My wife Maura and I are both Corel Painter Masters and are busy trying to help nurture the emerging art of Digital Painting. I'm excited to add images from this trip to a series of African paintings I'm creating. You can see examples of our work on our website under “Illustration. Lots of pioneering stuff to try with all these exciting new tools, huh?

Once again, thanks for the soapbox Andy. I'm looking forward to many adventures!

See you soon, folks!

Bruce

Welcome Bruce Dorn!

Please welcome Bruce Dorn to my expanding safari business. Like any personal service based business, I am limited to how many trips to Africa I can make each year. Bruce will be leading a few safaris this summer, as well as more in late 2008 and 2009 forward. Bruce is a fantastic photographer who can best be described as being 'all about the light'.

photo copyright Chris Prestegard

Here is a quick bio of Bruce:

As a Director, Cinematographer, and Photographer, Bruce has spent the past thirty-five years with his eye to a camera's viewfinder. Bruce's work has been featured by Time-Life, Conde Nast and many other major magazine publishers. He has also earned Gold Medals in most of the major professional competitions and earned a Bronze Lion from the Cannes Commercial Film Festival. Bruce is a member of the Directors Guild of America and is represented by Image Bank. He is a sponsored artist for Canon in their exclusive Explorer of Light and Print Master programs.

Bruce earned his BFA in Visual Communications and has taught photography at the university level. In the States, Bruce maintains a professional photography studio, www.idcphotography.com where he offers both commercial photography and digital illustration. Bruce and his wife, Special Effects expert Maura Dutra, lecture on the digital arts in behalf of Canon, Corel, and F.J. Westcott. This pair is considered to be among the world's finest digital painters, an art form that has only recently emerged.

Bruce's personal passions revolve around his dual interests of nature photography and teaching. A patient mentor, Bruce enjoys sharing the subtle craft of composition, timing, and the artful exploitation of available light. Fun is Bruce's middle name. Well, not legally, but that could change at any moment. Bruce welcomes photographers and cinematographers of all experience levels to his trips.

Bruce will be leading two safaris this summer, and there are only a few spots available:

June 21 - July 3, 2008

June 30 - July 12, 2008

Expect more safaris from more photographers in 2009 and beyond. I personally lead 6 safaris each year, and my goal is to add an additional

6 for a total of 12. As a team of photographers covering Africa, you can expect us in many of the absolute best photographically rich locations on the continent.

Here are a few amazing images from Bruce.

Image of the Day

Running Cheetah Cubs, Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Ndutu), Tanzania

January 2008
Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO + 1.4x, 1/200 sec @ f/11, ISO 200