Long time, no post! Lots of changes going on around here but the photography goes full steam ahead. I have even begun to make arrangements to display some of my work in local venues. More on that later... Being back in the USA has given me the chance to hang out at bookstores and get information IN ENGLISH! I have come across an author whose books are too full of new information to be absorbed without buying. His name is Michael Freeman and luckily his books are priced outrageously cheap. He is the author of more than 20 books and each is so packed with information that even this PhD scientist thinks the details are a bit wonky. Don't get me wrong, I like wonky! Anyway, check his books out over at amazon.com, you won't regret it.
Another useful tool I have come across is Photomatix Pro 3. This piece of software can be downloaded free for trial (with watermarking in place). It costs only $99 for a single-user license and it is worth it. The algorithms for tone-mapping are much faster and cleaner than those in the freeware I posted on earlier. For very gritty pictures I still like the freeware but for everything else I go with Photomatix. The tonal gradations are much more natural in Photomatix. A second piece of software that can be tried free of charge is called DxO Optics Pro 5. This little beauty has two great features: automatic lens correction with profiles and "color rendering". The lens correction is self-expalanatory. The color rendering allows you too match the tones and hues of your image to a specific color-negative or slide film OR to a specific digital camera body. This is awesome! If you have ever seen a professional landscape and thought , 'how did he get those pine trees to be that shade of green?", than this software is for you. This means the characteristics of expensive film like Fujia Velvia 50 is yours without the development costs! Best of all it works with jpg and RAW files.
That is it for now, I am starting to get carried away. Must be from readin all that Freeman....
