The Gimp and other editors

The Gimp 2.6 has been released and it is really polished. They even changed the general layout of windows. Check it out!
Another free editor for windows is Paint.NET It does not have all the scripting and filter function of The Gimp, but definitely can do a lot, and worth checking out.

Don't forget about IrfanView. Although it is primarily a viewer it does have some cool editing features. It also has very robust meta data features.

Oh, and then there is XNVIEW, free also, and great for batch resizing.

I personally have found my investment in Adobe's products very worthy, but these programs are truly useful and can really help if money is tight.

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Photomatix 3.1

YES!!!! The very fine people at HDRSOFT [ http://hdrsoft.com] have upgraded PhotomatixPro to version 3.1, and what is so excellent is that they have included an Adobe Lightroom Plugin. This greatly improves workflow is is very appreciated. Thank you!

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Third busted shutter button

Well three times a charm I guess for my 30D. Yesterday I sent it back to Canon get the shutter button repaired. I want a replacement, but they don't do that with SLR's apparently. I am definitely going to sell the body after this. I really need a body that is reliable for longer that 5 months at a time. While I am going to keep all my L lenses, I am still very tempted by a Pentax K10D with some pancake lenses, or an Olympus e420 with a 25mm pancake. So light weight, perfect for street photos. To replace the 30D I am thinking a 5D would be perfect as I would get the best out of the lenses I have.

Cheap Pete's

I really have to recommend Cheap Pete's for photo framing. I had a great experience today at their store location in Walnut Creek.  I had already had the photo mounted by Bay Photo Lab and took it to the store looking to get it framed, not really knowing what I was wanting. Not really knowing that 12x20 was an off size I ended up ordering a custom build up. During the conversation I inquired if they had a chart of "normal" sizes, they didn't but the assistant manager of the store Matt whom I was speaking with wrote all their frame sizes with the corresponding photograph size for my future reference. Talk about going the distance!! For my 12x20 I ended up buying a 20x28 frame matted 4", it is going to look incredible, and the best part is that it is a gift :) Gotta love photography.

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July

It's been a really weird month. So much smoke and heat. To get away I have been to a few Northern California beaches, and what a great time that has been. have been shooting more with my Point and shoot because it is so portable . I really wish I had one that shot raw though. The Canon G9 would be perfect but I think the sensor is just too small for 12 megapixels. That new Sigma DP1 sure looks good. I get a shipment of prints in today from Bay Photo, one of which is a mounted 12x20 which should be very interesting.

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Flock, Olympus, and smoke.

I have been trying out the new Flock 2 beta and it just an excellent browser. If you use photo upload sites, blog sites, news, rss etc, it really cannot be beat. I highly recommend it. It is not only fun, it saves a lot of time. The UI theme is very polished and the media interface bar is very handy. I can upload to Flickr, view friends photos, blog and read new very seamlessly.

I have been seriously considering buying an Olympus e420 with a 25mm pancake lens. I have been doing a lot of walking around and shooting. The light weight and small profile of the e420 is really attractive. I think it would be fun to shoot with.

It has been really smokey hear in the SF Bay Area for over a week now because of all the fires in the state. This has really changed the mood of the people, the light in the sky and overall appearance and health of our community. The other morning I woke up and the sun in its rise looked just like a cherry tomato. I wonder if this is what it is like to live in Seattle.

Gear

Well I finally got my 30D back from Canon. It now has a 2nd decent shutter button that works when pressed, yet I wonder how long this one will last. I have been just doing a lot of street stuff with a point and shoot and it is REALLY fun. I find myself seeing and feeling more about my environment than the camera. On this note I have been looking at an Olympus e420 with the 25mm pancake lens. I think it would be a real blast and it could replace my point and shoot (which is a Canon SD450 by the way) as my carry-always camera. I was of course considering the 40D to replace my buggy 30D, but I don't think I really need it.

Broken Shutter button - Again!

Well, the shutter button on my 30D has yet again bombed out. What happens is the button is pressed and nothing happens, then varyingly in seconds, the shutter will then operate. If I switch the exposure lock and focus to another button so the shutter button only operates, the problem persists. It's a bad problem because the photograph is not taken when expected. Needless to say I am frustrated with this issue. So the camera will be gone for 2 weeks and I have to eat the cost of shipping, bummer. A part such as this should be built to more durable standards. I take a lot of pictures everyday and need a tool that is dependable. Maybe the 30D was built more as a backup?

New camera shop in town!

I am so excited about having a first class camera shop near me, with knowledgeable people to talk to, and gear and accessories in stock. I just came back from the Camera West store opening in Walnut Creek, CA and it was great. I spoke with a good sales rep named Hal. The store was laid out very clean with excellent displays. They have some very nice used equipment for sale. I saw a really nice Nikon F100 and F3. They also have a lot of Leica and Mamiya gear. A very fun place to browse around. While I was there I picked up a BG-E2N battery grip, and an RS-80N3 remote switch. These are two items I should have bought a year ago and I have been putting it off ever since. My little finger finally has a home and the portrait shutter button will be very handy. I am pretty excited about the remote switch though. Here come some very sweet HDR's and close-ups.

Tough Gear

B&H has a good article on Tough Gear. Kind of an overview on cameras that are good in rough conditions.

There is a new camera store, Camera West opening in a city near me that I am going too check out tomorrow. I am pretty excited because all we have in our area are Wolf's, which is great to a point. I will give a report.

I am in dire need of a good photo trip, but time is scarce. I am thinking California North Coast, but I would really like to go to Vancouver Island, or those islands off Santa Barbara,, the Santa Catalina's. I also feel drawn to Missions, so I need to make a point of getting some shooting done. One region I think that would very interesting is San Ardo, CA. I always just drive through it, but I think there could be a lot there amidst the oil fields, hills, and train tracks.

Websites to see:
www.tomstoddart.com
Sign up for the www.viewzi.com

Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy
Originally uploaded by jim.hawksworth

I took this a couple Sunday's ago among many other tulip shots and this one really stood out. I have found my EF 70-200mm f/4L to be an incredibly versatile lens, of which stills and portraits are indeed it's forté.

Monte Zucker Soft Focus Filter Effect

Last week on Photoshop User TV I learned this really awesome effect for Adobe Photoshop from featured guest Eddie Tapp This was on Episode 125 March 17th 2008. Eddie Tapp called this the "Monte Zucker Soft Focus Filter Effect". FYI: Monte Zucker is a world famous portrait and wedding photographer teacher.

Here are the instructions:

Open up your photograph

Go to Image > Resize [Alt+Ctrl+I] and look for the size of the image.
You will use this number for the Gaussian Blur amount later.

Duplicate the Layer [Ctrl-J]

Select new layer then Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and enter in the image size for blur amount. Now select Darken from the layer dropdown menu and set the opacity to 33%.

Duplicate this Layer [Ctrl-J]

Select the new layer and now select Lighten from the layer dropdown menu and set the opacity to 66%.

Now select the two layers and make them a group.
[Shift-Click both layers and drag them down to the Group icon] Add a layer mask [Click the Layer Mask icon] and paint out the areas you do not what blurred, such as the eyes.

Save

'click'

Photography...

It's about capturing a moment. It is like fine art, but instant. A painting can take weeks, or months to complete; but a photograph is a second in time. When that timing is right, it can be so perfect, and the memory can last a lifetime. Granted with digital manipulation a lot of things can be altered, but the impression of the mind to make that finger press at that special moment is unique to photography. I supposed it can be debated the importance of how memories are made, but for people with cameras, the method is clear.

I use FLICKR to share some of the photos I have taken, and it is updated quite regularly.