Photography Blog DigitalPixels.net

In this tutorial I will complete a professional photographic retouching from start to finish. Before watching please note that there is a lot of information in this video to absorb, so watch and re-watch areas that you find more advanced.

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Now, let me say this up front: From the research I’ve done, I don’t believe photographer Dave Hill actually uses a Photoshop plug-in; I believe he creates his look without a plug, using a series of layer blend modes, High Pass Sharpening, Skin Smoothing, and Dodging and Burning (and I am working on that whole Photoshop-only workflow as we speak, and will do a post on it when I’m finished), but since I needed to get this job done fast; I used the Lucis Art Pro 6.0 plug-in, and I feel like it got me pretty close to the look (a mini-review of the plug-in is coming up tomorrow in the 2nd and final part of this post).

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The closest competitors to the Coolpix P6000 are the Canon PowerShot G10 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. The other cameras on the list don't have the hot shoe offered by those cameras, but they still offer high resolution CCDs and manual controls. In the group as a whole, the Coolpix P6000's battery life numbers are about 20% below average. Please also note that these numbers are derived with the GPS turned off. Using the GPS will dramatically reduce the P6000's battery life.

I should point out two things about the proprietary batteries used by the Coolpix P6000 and all the other cameras in the table above. For one, they're expensive -- an extra EN-EL5 will set you back at least $22. Second, you can't use an off-the-shelf battery to get you through the day when your rechargeable dies.

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For those who just want to read the basics about this camera, the K2000 is a 10.2 megapixel DSLR using sensor technology borrowed from the company's previous-generation advanced cameras. Packaged as a kit with Pentax's redesigned 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DA L lens and AF-200FG external flash, the K2000 – with its AA power and SD memory – is aimed at entry-level shooters looking for compact, easy-to-use, low-priced interchangeable-lens camera.

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While this is Nikon’s first foray into the Live View realm, there are a few items that can use improvement in my eyes.  First, the auto-focus seems to be a bit slower and hunts around more, especially in less than ideal lighting.  Definitely much slower than the speedy response when viewed through the viewfinder, which has very little problem with the same indoor, low lighting scenes.

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1.  Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes a low battery indication to be displayed when using the EF 85mm F1.2L II USM lens. Depending on the battery check timing of the camera, the battery level displayed on the camera’s LCD data panel may shows Battery will be exhausted soon or Battery must be recharged, even though the battery capacity is sufficient.

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The Lucisart plugin has been quite popular and still emerges daily on photos pushing the hdr-effect look beyond its boundaries.It's a very handy plugin in order to recover detail from your images.

When applying this filter to selections or separate layers, the white-background-syndrome appears, leaving you with a mess to clean, so here is a way around it allowing you to work with this filter on selections with more comfort.Tip came in from SweetBeat

Ok so let's say we only want to apply the lucisart plugin/filter to the water below this ship, leaving the sky etc out of the manipulation.

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Polaroid is transforming itself from an analog Instant Film Production Company to a global Consumer Electronics and Digital Imaging company.

Production of analog Instant Film stopped in June 2008, closing the factories in Mexico (Instant Packfilm production) and the Netherlands (Instant Integral production).

Impossible b.v. has been founded with the concrete aim to re-invent and re-start production of analog INTEGRAL FILM for vintage Polaroid cameras. Therefore Impossible b.v. has acquired the complete film production equipment in Enschede (NL) from Polaroid, has signed a 10-year lease agreement on the factory building; and has engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide.

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Photoshop Curves video tutorial

from Yanik

In this Photoshop tutorial I'll show you how to create realistic reflections on water already present in your favorite photographs.

Let me begin by saying just a few things about this effect. First and foremost, this is one of those techniques that’s better kept to yourself when showing off your amazing photos to your friends and fellow photographers. For some reason, even in this day and age, the digital work a photographer does is looked down on as cheating by others… so mum’s the word.

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While not exactly minimalist in its approach, the retro styled SD990 definitely doesn't have the outlandish array of options afforded by many of its competitors at the high end of the market. Selling for some over $300, the SD990's makes its sales pitch not with boatloads of soft features, but with one very large statement: 14.7 megapixels. That's right: this camera makes images with higher pixel counts than many DSLRs are offering.

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Should You Get a D3x?
Well, Nikon's not going to like my answer this time around. My answer is "no, most of you shouldn't." Sure, there are a few of you that can justify the extra price for the pixels, and the pixels themselves are very nice, arguably better than the Canon and Sony offerings in my initial testing. As I've written above, the D3x is probably the best DSLR in terms of image quality so far. But the problem is value. There simply isn't US$5700 worth of value in a D3x over a D700.

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