June 2018

Hands-on with new Loupedeck+: The quickest way to get faster with Adobe Lightroom adds Skylum and others

Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 06/20/2018 - 09:39

Adobe Lightroom is an amazing product. However, since the original interface was built for a simple RAW converter, more and more functionality has been squeezed into limited space. Lightroom Mobile, and to some extent the cloud-first Lightroom CC, have started to deal with this situation, but for traditional users of Lightroom Classic CC, it is just painful to find and adjust the endless variety of tiny sliders. Loupedeck aimed to fix that with a custom input device that was pre-mapped to allow instant access to dozens of popular Lightroom functions. The initial version was lauded for its functionality, but dinged by some for build quality and lack of support for other applications. The new addresses both of these shortcomings. I’ve been lucky enough to get a pre-release version to use, and so far I’m impressed…

Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop
Skylum Aurora HDR
Skylum Luminar
Capture One
Image Editing
Loupedeck+
input device
Review
accessory review

Benq ScreenBar LED Monitor Light: A great addition to any studio computer

Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 06/18/2018 - 15:08

One of the first pieces of advice for anyone doing serious image editing or color correction gets is to keep your working area fairly dark. That provides the best environment for accurate assessment of on-screen colors. Unfortunately, that can also make it hard to see the things you need to see that aren’t on the screen. That includes your keyboard (unless you are an awesome typist), other accessories like a LoupeDeck, or even proof prints that need to be compared to the displayed image. There are a number of lights on the market that are designed to address this shortcoming, but monitor-maker Benq has just released its one of the nicest. I’ve been using one for a couple months and am happy to share my experiences.

Benq ScreenBar
Benq SW320 monitor
Review
Accessory
accessory review
monitor light
desk light
LED lamp

Zephyr Drone Simulator Adds Cinematography Training Modules

Submitted by David Cardinal on Thu, 06/14/2018 - 13:49

We’ve . It is a powerful platform for learning how to fly your drone, either for fun or for professionally. Since for many of us our drones are basically flying cameras, it makes perfect sense that Little Arms has added a set of modules designed to train you on how to perform the types of moves that are common in creating video footage. The modules were designed by Skip Fredericks, the Emmy-award winning cinematographer and drone video pioneer. I’ve been working with them a bit over the last couple weeks.

Little Arms Studios
Zephyr Drone Simulator
drone
aerial cinematography
drone video

Top-off your travels with a slideshow using ProShow

Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 06/04/2018 - 09:27

One of everyone’s favorite parts of our photo safaris is the participant slideshow on the last evening. Everyone gets to relive the trip – which always goes by too quickly – while looking at their images on the big screen for the first time. Each of us also gets to marvel at how many different ways there are to look at the same scene. Set to an appropriate sound track, with some professional-looking touches, the show is popular enough that we normally need to run it twice. Best of all, because it is pre-timed and self-running, it doesn’t bog down the way presentations can if a presenter narrates every image. I always get compliments about putting the show together, but at the risk of spoiling the magic, the secret is simple: . Whether you lead a group or simply want to chronicle a trip with friends or family, it is absolutely worth it to put together a show as a great finale.

Photodex ProShow
Photo Safari
photo slideshows
Africa
safari photography
Photo sharing