photography

88 'photography' stories November 2011 - August 2014

Mini-review: Lensbaby LM-10, a fun if pricey accessory for iPhonography fans

Ben Lovejoy Aug 29 2014 - 7:21 am PT

lm-10

It took a while for Lensbaby’s Kickstarter-funded selective focus lens for the iPhone to make it into production, but the LM-10 is now here and I took it out for a play.

For those not familiar with Lensbaby, the company makes lenses for DSLRs with a bellows lens that provides a small in-focus area, with the rest of the image out of focus. It’s not the same effect as the shallow depth-of-field achieved with a wide-aperture lens, but a less-controllable effect designed to provide fun and unusual images …
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Adobe updates Photoshop Express for iOS with blemish removal tool, RAW importing, more

Zac Hall Jul 11 2014 - 7:57 am PT

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Adobe has actively been rolling out new and powerful tools for the iPhone and iPad in recent months including Lightroom Mobile for iPad followed later by Lightroom Mobile for iPhone and Photoshop Mix as well as Adobe Voice for creating storytelling from iPad.
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Adobe debuts Lightroom Mobile for iPad with powerful, on-the-go photo editing

Zac Hall Apr 7 2014 - 9:00 pm PT

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After briefly leaking earlier this year, Adobe is finally ready to show off its Lightroom Mobile for iPad software for photographers and photo editors. The iPad application borrows many of the essential features from the powerful desktop software and is optimized for the touch input user experience key to the tablet. We’ve taken a sneak peek at Lightroom Mobile for iPad, and we have all the details on Adobe’s latest Lightroom update.
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Eye-Fi announces software for direct camera-to-Mac transfers

Ben Lovejoy Jan 7 2014 - 7:35 am PT

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Wifi-equipped cameras have long been one of those things that promise more than they deliver. In theory, you can take a photo on your camera and have it instantly and wirelessly transferred to your Mac. In practice, not so much. You either need to go via an iOS device, or go via a router with ridiculously-convoluted networking configuration required to make it work.

Eye-Fi seems to be getting one step closer to the theory, announcing beta software at the Showstoppers CES event that allows photos to be sent direct from camera to Mac. The beta version is free, though you have to register for the company’s labs project to get access, but it seems the release version will be chargeable.

The app is only compatible with Mobi cards – earlier versions won’t work. Hopefully the reliability of the cards has improved since I last tried them.

Adobe giving EVERYONE Photoshop CC/Lightroom 5/Behance +20GB storage for $10/month until Dec 2

Seth Weintraub Nov 20 2013 - 10:05 am PT

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Adobe today announced a pretty solid Black Friday deal. Adobe initially launched the Photoshop Photography Program in September to support the needs and workflow of photographers who use CS3 or later. Now, for a limited time, Adobe it is extending this offer to ALL photographers for $9.99/month as an annual subscription – valid from Nov. 20 (9:00 a.m. PST) through Dec. 2, 2013 (11:59 p.m. PST) on Adobe.com…
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2013 iPhone Photography Awards showcase some stunning photos

Ben Lovejoy Aug 14 2013 - 6:34 am PT

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There’s an old adage in photography that it’s about the photographer, not the camera. By phone standards, the iPhone camera is a decent one, but it’s not the most obvious choice for creative photography. The annual iPhone Photography Awards show just what can be achieved in the right hands.

I’ve picked out my three favourites, above and below. Think you can do better? Post some links in the comments …
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Lytro launches WiFi-connected iPhone app to share photos on-the-go

Mark Gurman Jun 19 2013 - 12:28 pm PT

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Lytro, the company behind the light-field camera system by the same name, has launched an iPhone and iPod touch application. The app connects to the Lytro Camera via a WiFi connection to allow Lytro camera users to easily sync photos from the camera to the iOS device.

Using the technologies in an iOS device, users, via the app, can then share their photos via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Because iOS devices have built-in text messaging and email capabilities, Lytro photos can be shared instantly via those mediums as well.

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As Apple’s built in camera gets filters, Instagram planning to move into Vine territory with Video?

Jordan Kahn Jun 17 2013 - 6:01 am PT

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Instagram_logo Just as Apple introduced iOS 7 equipped with Instagram-like filters built-in to the redesigned camera app (although not for video), word has it Instagram is looking to move into Vine’s territory by adding video features in an upcoming update. According to a report from TechCrunch, Facebook’s event later this week won’t focus so much on that rumored news reader, but more so on integration of a Vine-like short video feature for Instagram:
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New Eye-Fi Mobi SD card transfers digital camera content to iPhone/iPad instantaneously via built-in WiFi

Jun 3 2013 - 7:49 am PT

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Many casual photographers have been reaching for their smartphones over their digital cameras recently for the convenience of social media integration and other sharing options. Eye-Fi has long offered photographers the option to transfer high-quality media from standalone cameras to personal computers and mobile devices but required intermediary WiFi hotspot access – a major obstacle for photographers shooting on location outdoors and in remote locales.

Today, Eye-Fi announced the “Eye-Fi Mobi,” which instantaneously beams new photos and content from digital cameras (without WiFi capabilities) to your favorite mobile device. “Simply replace any camera’s standard SD card with Mobi, and just two quick steps later, the camera’s photos instantly appear on the selected iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.”

The Eye-Fi Mobi puts beautiful, high-quality images on your mobile device ready to be uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social network. The built-in WiFi means you’ll never have to seek out network access to transfer your pictures. Setup does not require a computer, account or cloud. Just download the Eye-Fi mobile app to get started.

Eye-Fi Mobi is available now in two flavors; 8GB ($50), 16GB ($80).

Instagram reportedly mass-deleting seemingly-random accounts for ‘violation of terms’ (Updated 2x: accounts being restored, Instagram blames glitch)

Mike Beasley May 23 2013 - 6:48 pm PT

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[tweet https://twitter.com/FabulousButEvil/status/337737589702418432 align=”center”]

UPDATE: Some users are reporting that their accounts have been restored following the deletion earlier this evening. We’re still waiting on an official response from Instagram.

UPDATE 2: Instagram has responded with the following comment.

A small percentage of users could not access their accounts for a few
hours as a result of a temporary glitch. We have restored access for these
users, and no pictures or data were lost.

It seems many Instagram were caught off-guard today when the free photo-sharing app suddenly deleted a significant number of accounts, citing “terms of service violations” as the reason despite many affected users having no such content on their profiles.

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Yahoo’s new Flickr now comes with redesigned Homepage/UI, 1TB of free storage

Seth Weintraub May 20 2013 - 2:32 pm PT

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Screen Shot 2013-05-20 at 5.29.34 PM

All of a sudden Flickr is back. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s Tumblr (that was quick!) post on the matter:

Photos tell the stories — stories we’re inspired to relive, share with our friends, or capture simply to express ourselves. Collecting these moments is a part of our everyday. Since 2005, Flickr has become synonymous with inspiring imagery. Today, we’re thrilled to take Flickr even further with a beautiful, completely re-imagined experience that puts photos front and center. When it comes to photography, technology and its limits shouldn’t hinder the experience. So we’re also giving our Flickr users one terabyte of space — for free. That’s enough for a lifetime of photos — more than 500,000 original, full-resolution, pixel-perfect, brilliant photos. Flickr users will never have to worry about running out of space.

1TB is “I no longer have to think about where to store photos,” and full res quality means no compromise. Oh, and we’ve heard there will be some even bigger things coming up from Yahoo/Flickr for iOS users next month. Flickr is currently integrated into OS X and Apple TV software.

Preview of Analog Camera for iPhone by Realmac Software

Zac Hall May 14 2013 - 6:00 am PT

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Analog Camera for iPhone by Realmac Software

Analog Camera for iPhone by <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=jZ6GP8Fu9UU&subid=&offerid=146261.1&type=10&tmpid=3909&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fnl%2Fartist%2Frealmac-software%2Fid310591643%3Fl%3Den" target="_blank">Realmac Software</a>

From the wonderful folks who brought you Clear for iPhone and Mac, Realmac Software announced today it will bring a few of its stunning filters from Analog for Mac to the iPhone with Analog Camera.

Analog Camera for iPhone resembles the simplistic, gesture based UI of Clear for iPhone, featuring soft square or rectangle buttons that pop up upon contact and prompt fun, clever sounds.

Check out my observations of the app and a teaser video below:
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Adobe says it’s considering a photographer’s bundle for Creative Cloud

Jordan Kahn May 9 2013 - 10:38 am PT

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Adobe’s unveiling of its latest updates to Creative Cloud earlier this week came with the announcement it will only support Creative Cloud members for future updates, effectively dropping support for customers of its boxed CS6 suite and below apart from security updates and some bug fixes. Adobe has since taken to its Photoshop blog to respond to some of the questions regarding its new CC branded suite of apps and specifically the $20/per month Photoshop users will be forced to pay if they don’t want a full Creative Cloud membership.

While clarifying that single-app memberships for Photoshop will allow users to purchase Lightroom with a perpetual software license separately, the post explained it’s currently offering a special introductory price of $9.99 per month for users of CS3 and up until July 31st. That will let you get a single-app Photoshop license for $10 a month for the first year.

Adobe also confirmed it is considering a photographer’s bundle or “photography cloud solution” that would presumably include various photo related apps at a special price through Creative Cloud:

We’ve heard there’s a lot of interest in a photographer’s bundle or photography cloud solution and we’re actively exploring offerings we can potentially create for you. We welcome your feedback around what you would like to see that fits your workflow needs.

You can currently get 40% off to upgrade from Creative Suite product to a Creative Cloud membership with special introductory pricing of $29.99/month and $20/month off for signing up for Creative Cloud for Teams.

(via Petapixel)

Atom for jailbroken iPhones is a welcome lockscreen overhaul

Mike Beasley Apr 23 2013 - 11:00 am PT

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The iPhone lockscreen hasn’t changed much in the past six versions of iOS, with the exception of the addition of a camera slider. Atom is a new jailbreak tweak that seeks to completely redesign the lockscreen and add new functionality, and it does not disappoint.

Keep reading to find out how Atom can make your lockscreen even more useful.

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‘Snapseed’ iOS app now Retina-optimized in v1.4

Élyse Betters Apr 19 2012 - 12:28 pm PT

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The “Snapseed” iOS app updated to version 1.4 today.

Apple’s 2011 iPad App of the Year now supports the iPad Retina Display, iOS 5.1, Instagram, Center Focus magic, and more. For those unaware, Nik Software develops Snapseed. According to the company’s press release (PDF) new features also include:

[…]the ability to open photos directly into Instagram and additional language support for Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic. Several popular filters within Snapseed have also been updated. The Black & White filter has been updated with new conversion algorithms and color filters for even higher quality results. The Center Focus filter has an added feature to control brightness at the center and at the edges of an image.

Go install the improved $4.99 app available at the App Store now. The current version requires iOS 4.2 or later and has a 5-star rating.

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Use Bluetooth headphones as an iPhone camera trigger

Jake Smith Nov 29 2011 - 2:17 pm PT

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Macworld reminds us of a cool trick for iPhone photographers that will enable steadier shots than using the volume button on their iPhone. The trick is related to the volume trigger button on your iPhone’s Remote Earbuds, where you open the camera app, and then use the volume button on the headphones as a trigger. This is already helpful for steadier shots, or taking a better front-facing shot.

However, this trick can even be used with a Bluetooth device, as a sort of wireless remote, once paired. Interested in more iOS 5 camera tricks? Check out the iPhone’s built-in panorama mode.

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