First of all, I'm in love with Adobe Lightroom. I purchased it when it was around version 2.3 or so, and have kept it up-to-date when Adobe released a new version. I've added plugins that assist my workflow, and I've got a lot of presets and settings tweaked just the way I like them.
When Adobe released the beta of Lr3, I downloaded it just about immediately and played with it. And then I couldn't wait until the final version was released, knowing that it was going to have all sorts of great features, fixes, and improvements. So, naturally, the day it was released, I bought the upgrade and downloaded the software and proceeded to install. And then, once installed, I had to play around.
Since that first night with Lr3, I've done some more work with the new version, and let me say this: hands-down, it's the best version of Lr there's ever been. Does it deal with everything I'd hoped would be dealt with in the new version? No, but it gets really close. So, all that said, here's some thoughts on the new version, and some tips and tricks that might help you get the most out of your new version of Lightroom.
Changing Clothes
If you haven't noticed already, there's a new look to our site! It's not 100% complete (the Blog and Smugmug portions use the old design), but a good portion of the site has been converted to the new look and feel.
(Update 6/14/2010: The Blog has been updated to the new look and feel. Yay!)
There was nothing wrong, necessarily, with the old design. I love that design. But I happen to love this design as well, and I felt it was time for a "change of clothes" for the site. The previous design has been in place for quite awhile, and I'd learned a lot since I first coded the original design. A lot about how best to present a photograph in a site, and a lot about how to better code a site in general.
So, if you haven't already checked it out, go take a peek at the new design and see what you think. Then come back and see why the design evolved the way it did. (Or not. It's up to you. Regardless, please, leave your thoughts!)
(Update 6/14/2010: The Blog has been updated to the new look and feel. Yay!)
There was nothing wrong, necessarily, with the old design. I love that design. But I happen to love this design as well, and I felt it was time for a "change of clothes" for the site. The previous design has been in place for quite awhile, and I'd learned a lot since I first coded the original design. A lot about how best to present a photograph in a site, and a lot about how to better code a site in general.
So, if you haven't already checked it out, go take a peek at the new design and see what you think. Then come back and see why the design evolved the way it did. (Or not. It's up to you. Regardless, please, leave your thoughts!)
Cradlepoint MBR900 Wireless Broadband Router
It so happens that where I live has sucky internet access. Period. None of the options are very good. Cable doesn't reach me, nor does DSL. Satellite isn't an option, and so the only other thing left is wireless internet with a cellular modem and an expensive bill every month. But, at least, it did get me internet.
Things were fine if you only needed one computer to access said internet at a time, but I'm a geek, so I have several things in my home that can call out into the cloud -- my bluray player, my Wii, all my computers, my BlackBerry, etc. And if someone came to visit, getting them online was a major pain in the rear as well.
Things were fine if you only needed one computer to access said internet at a time, but I'm a geek, so I have several things in my home that can call out into the cloud -- my bluray player, my Wii, all my computers, my BlackBerry, etc. And if someone came to visit, getting them online was a major pain in the rear as well.
The Day the ISO Went Berserk...
(With apologies to Ray Stevens fans, but the title is the furthest my creativity goes tonight.)
It was evening. The sun was getting low in the sky, and the light was quickly fading from the landscape. But the animals were out and about enjoying the fresh air, and me? I wanted some pictures! I had, after all, just bought a new lens for my recently purchased Olympus E-P1, and needed to play!
The lens happened to be the Panasonic 45-200 f/4 – f/5.6 m4/3rds lens, which you can get online for around $270. It happens to be a pretty good lens, too, though it can’t match my Canon EF 70-200 f/4 IS USM lens for image quality and sharpness. But it doesn’t have to – it’s lighter, smaller, and sometimes that’s just what one wants.
It was evening. The sun was getting low in the sky, and the light was quickly fading from the landscape. But the animals were out and about enjoying the fresh air, and me? I wanted some pictures! I had, after all, just bought a new lens for my recently purchased Olympus E-P1, and needed to play!
The lens happened to be the Panasonic 45-200 f/4 – f/5.6 m4/3rds lens, which you can get online for around $270. It happens to be a pretty good lens, too, though it can’t match my Canon EF 70-200 f/4 IS USM lens for image quality and sharpness. But it doesn’t have to – it’s lighter, smaller, and sometimes that’s just what one wants.
Trek in a Cemetery
Okay, so this isn’t usually the place that most people go for pictures. But, for some reason, I like cemeteries, and today was a gloomy but warm day, and I just had to go wandering through a cemetery before I did other various errands. These were all taken with my Lensbaby Composer at f/2 using the double-glass optic.
Praying Statue
More LensBaby Fun
I’ve stated in several places that I absolutely adore my EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM and my EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM lenses, and that my 50 f/1.8 is wickedly sharp, especially considering the price ($100). All of these lenses produce excellent color, sharpness, and contrast. And yet, I’ve fallen in love with another lens: my new LensBaby. This lens isn’t about sharpness, saturation, or contrast – at least not in the ways we think of now-a-days.
I’ve posted the results of my first experiments, and in that vein, here are some more results of experimentation. For all of these images, I used the double-glass optics with an aperture of f/2.
I’ve posted the results of my first experiments, and in that vein, here are some more results of experimentation. For all of these images, I used the double-glass optics with an aperture of f/2.
Behind the Curtain
Lensbaby Composer
Note: Reposted because of a trigger-happy finger and a delete button. D'oh!
The LensBaby Composer is the third iteration of the LensBaby concept – a lens that you can tilt to achieve all sorts of creative effects. You can drop in different optics – from double-glass optics (relatively sharp), to plastic optics (think lomo), and even pinhole or fisheye optics. Needless to say the variation you can get out of this is amazing, as long as you’re willing to experiment.
I bought my Composer on Saturday, and so I haven’t had a lot of time to play, but of course, it was a new toy, so I had to play a bit. It was really cold & windy outside, so instead I coerced my puppy stuffed animal to pose for me:
The LensBaby Composer is the third iteration of the LensBaby concept – a lens that you can tilt to achieve all sorts of creative effects. You can drop in different optics – from double-glass optics (relatively sharp), to plastic optics (think lomo), and even pinhole or fisheye optics. Needless to say the variation you can get out of this is amazing, as long as you’re willing to experiment.
I bought my Composer on Saturday, and so I haven’t had a lot of time to play, but of course, it was a new toy, so I had to play a bit. It was really cold & windy outside, so instead I coerced my puppy stuffed animal to pose for me:
%5B13%5D.jpg "Lensbaby Meets Stuffed Animal")
Pose #1 (Double-glass Optics, f/2, 1/125, ISO 100)
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