Sure, we’ve all seen the images that have been run through an HDR-like tonemapping, contrast increasing filter, making the grungy, saturated and contrasty images we’ve all come to accept as HDR, or at least, HDR-like shots.  While the “HDR” look can bring about photographic debates bordering on political or religious polarity, there is a way to actually capture and process the actual dynamic range of a scene, not just try and make it look like a processed, HDR image.  If you’re not a fan of HDR, by all means, feel free to ignore this post, but to and for me HDR can be a very useful tool, and one that, in this particular situation can help stretch a limited budget by being able to get a good range of exposure for a dynamically diverse scene without tons of lighting.  Now, the trick here when wanting to do this with human subjects is that you’re needing to take multiple frames at differing exposure values, which means, in short, a person or people would need to stay statue still to make it work, right?  Not so.  C’mon in and I’ll show you how to get around this unfortunate challenge…

Above is the scene averaged and exposed as best I could in a single frame.  I lost too much in the sky which has blown out and becomes a giant area of bright, negative space.  The detail and color in the car and foreground isn’t where I’d want it either.  The building and street are pretty much where I’d like them, but I want the whole enchilada.

The key to a shot that will incorporate a High Dynamic Range capture, and breathing, carbon based subjects will be a little bit of planning and foresight, as well as a tripod.

The basic outline for a shot like this is to divide it into (at least) two separate shots.

1. First, the bracketed shot that will later be processed as your HDR/background scene shot.
2. Second, a shot that incorporates any people, we will call them models because it sounds way more professional.

From there, it is all about layering and masking in Photoshop, and it’s a lot easier than it may sound.

Okay, for those who aren’t already well versed in HDR processing, I have written a couple articles on both capturing (click here), and processing (click here) high dynamic range in a scene.  If you don’t already own an HDR/tonemapping software, I’ll save you some time.  Go to HDRsoft’s website and download the free version of PHOTOMATIX here to give it a try.  The free version will watermark your images, but you can see the full power of the program otherwise.  There are quite a few programs out there, and many folks have their own preferences, by all means give others a try.  I’ve used most of them, also, this is my blog and I still feel that Photomatix is the gold standard.  You can purchase the lite version which retails for only $39, the Pro standalone version which retails for $99, or the Pro standalone with plugins for $119.  If you do purchase any version, use the code TRP15 to get a 15% discount.  I use the Pro standalone version and it works wonderfully.

Alright, back to it.  Let’s set up the bracketed shot.  After we’d parked the car (anticipating where Kate would be in the final shot) I got the camera set up on the tripod and manually shot 6 frames in single, full stop increments to capture the entire scene’s dynamic range.  Here’s the processed version (see a screen shot of the 6 frames in Photomatix a few shots below):

Next, without moving anything other than opening the door of the car and getting Kate in there, I set up a light (an Alien Bee 800 to be exact) and fired it bare, with the standard reflector, to light Kate, and the interior.

Because a singular frame (with a person in it) would be difficult to get proper exposure for the dynamic range, you can essentially fill in the range in a smaller part of the image using lights, where we cannot light the building, sky, car, scene, etc without a huge budget which is where the HDR bracketing for the scene comes in.

So, we’ve captured two shots (well, 7 technically, but 6 of them were processed in Photomatix to create a single frame).  One, the car and scene with the full dynamic range, and one with Kate, lit by a strobe.

So, how did we get the final composite?  Well, on to the processing and layering to get the final shot.

We will bring the 6 shots of the car/scene into Photomatix and find a preset to begin with, tweaking it to our liking.

Next, we fine tune our shot with Kate in it as we would any shot, keeping in mind you will want to keep an eye on matching saturation, tone and general levels with the HDR background shot.

Now, open both in Photoshop.

• With both open, select the move tool by pressing the “V” key.
• Click on the shot of your model (the non HDR shot) and hold down the “SHIFT” key.  This will automatically align the two when you drop this on top of the background image.
• Okay, drag and drop your “model” image on top of your HDR “background” image.

At first, the background image will seem to have entirely disappeared.  Not to worry.  There are quite a few ways to select and mask out the model layer. Here’s how I did it with this shot:

•  Select the “model” layer so that it’s highlighted in your layers panel and drop the layer’s opacity down to about 50% (see the screen shot above).
• Double check that your layers are perfectly aligned, or as close as you can get them focusing on the area surrounding your model.  Sometimes they will be slightly off as the camera can shift slightly between frames, etc.  Mine were. Use the move tool, and arrow keys to bump them into alignment.
• With your layers aligned, turn the opacity of the model layer back up to 100% and holding your ALT/OPTION key, click on your layer mask button (the circle in a square at the bottom of your layers panel).  This will entirely hide your “model” layer.
• Make sure the black mask on your model layer is selected and with the brush tool (press the “B” key to select) and painting with white as your foreground color, start to paint in the area where your model is (see screen shot below).

Now, things to keep in mind when you’re setting up and shooting this kind of composite are any elements that are going to vary between your HDR shot and your model shot (think the way the background will look, and need to be masked to “cut out” your model via the layer mask).  Shadows from the light can also provide a tricky task, as they will not normally look very natural against the HDR background.  I avoided this by creating a wall essentially that was going to be lit independently from the background image, and kept it so that the light wasn’t going to affect the background elements allowing me to mask out a square window  that was lit to match the rest of the scene basically.

If your model is against a wall, or foliage, etc, you may want to light that background when shooting the “model” image as well so that it will better blend when masking it into the background image.

And that is just about that.  From there, you can either flatten your image (AHHH! Photoshop purists shriek with terror!!!!) or Merge Visible via the Layer’s menu, and fine tune and process your composited image from there.  I used a variety of plugin filters on the final image (Alien Skin Exposure 5! coming soon, and the new, wonderful Topaz Clarity) to punch up the final frame.

So, there ya go.  I know this post is a bit wordy, but while there are a few steps involved, it’s not quite as complicated as it may seem.  Experiment and try compositing shots like this together.  It’s a lot of fun, and considering that for a shoot that could have busted the budget regarding lighting rigs and the like, it allowed me to lend a bit of drama to the shot that would have taken quite a bit of time and money to achieve otherwise.

This was a collaborative concept developed through Caprice Hammond for Tigi who did hair and makeup, and the ELK Collective for aesthetic styling.  Thank you to Erin Cry, my ELK Cohort, Juan Marquez for his beautiful 1948 Chevy Fleetline Fastback and to Kate Mikulic, our Model.

You may see a few more shots from this shoot on the blog in the coming weeks.  We had some fun

For those of us in the US, have a wonderful holiday weekend, and to everyone else, have a wonderful regular weekend and happy shooting.

Tyson

Just announced, and available HERE, (use code “claritynew” for a 40% discount!) Topaz Clarity is a new plugin that helps further define detail in your images. I’ve been playing around with the Beta version for a while and just got my hands on the full plugin last night. I can say that it is going to become part of my workflow, especially for landscape and interior work. Read on for examples and more details on this new, cool, affordable plugin…

Before Topaz Clarity

After Topaz Clarity

The interface has morphed by comparison to some of the other Topaz plugins, and has done so into a very familiar layout with new, useful masking tools as well as HSL and clarity sliders. Click the image below for a larger view of the screen shot (or any image in the article to see it larger)

As you open an image in Topaz Clarity, (if doing so within Photoshop) I’d highly suggest applying it to a duplicate layer so that you can mask, or adjust the opacity of the filtered layer once you save the adjustments. Topaz Clarity gives you a bump in both contrast as well as saturation with some presets either increasing or decreasing each, or either) of these to suit a particular look building definition through these two main factors.

The way I do it:

1. When ready to apply a Topaz Clarity filter, I will duplicate whichever layer (normally the background, or a merged layer) and with that layer selected I choose FILTER > TOPAZ LABS > CLARITY
2. Within Topaz Clarity, I’ll figure out which filter best suits the image, and if needed I’ll play around with any adjustments via the sliders on the right and click OK at the bottom right.
3. It will save back in Photoshop on that duplicated layer which I can then mask, or adjust the opacity/blend mode, etc. Normally, I’ll simply adjust the opacity of the layer until it seems to be just right, and if needed, I’ll mask out areas where the extra contrast or punch might not suit the image.

It’s as easy as that, and if you know which filter you want to apply, the round trip can take a mere 15-20 seconds or so. I use a variety of contrast actions that I’ve played around with for years, some work better than others for certain images, but Clarity makes pretty short work, and has a filter that will work for just about any image, or at least any image I’ve worked through so far.

This image is an old one that I just happened to grab from my library because I like flowers and liked the initial color contrast between the yellow and purple. 20 seconds later, the punch that Clarity gave it turned it into a much more appealing image to me.

Before

After

From Topaz:

“Topaz Clarity uses proprietary technology that allows you to quickly and easily adjust various levels of contrast with no halos or artifacts. The results are compelling images with a very natural look.”

I’m not sure I can say it much better than that and from my time with it, that statement is very accurate. A few bullet points on the key features:

• The interface is entirely new and will be different for those used to Topaz plugin users. This is a very good thing in my opinion.
• This new and improved user interface does provide a more intuitive interaction, with larger buttons and bigger navigator window.
• There are over 100 presets that have a ton of user adjustability by way of sliders, masks, et al, and the ability to instantly save your tweaks as a new preset.
• A new, advanced masking technology allows for more precise masking with three different brush types: normal, edge aware and color aware.
• You now have the ability to choose a gradient mask to selectively apply the effects via a linear, radial or reflected gradient.

Your presets live on the left hand side and when hovered over, you will get to see a preview window to asses the particular preset for your image. In the main viewer, you can view the processed image (toggle between the processed and original image by pressing your space bar) or you can view the two versions side by side. On the right, you have tabs to view your Navigator, Loupe, Mask and Histogram while the Clarity Slider, and your HSL adjustments live in drop down panels below on the right. Most software companies seem to be adopting this general layout as it is very popular and familiar for those of us that use Lightroom, Photoshop and other popular image editing software. We’re also seeing more and more functionality in these programs which provides less dependence on Adobe products

Here are a few more before and afters, click on any to see a larger version.

Topaz Clarity is available now for $29.99 (normally $49.99) through the end of the month (until May 31st) when you use the code “claritynew” at Topaz Labs website HERE.

If you’re not sure, you can always download a free, fully functional 15 day trial which I totally recommend. For me, I will certainly be using this as a step in my landscape, interior and HDR processing as it has eliminated halos and artifacts which are normally so prevalent in these types of filters, but punches up contrast and color very organically. I feel it can really benefit my portrait sessions as well as my general daily shooting when I want to add a bit more punch. Another useful tool in the ever evolving tool box, and for $30 it’s a steal. I really do love the Topaz plugins as they offer a lot for very little money compared to many other plugins out there.

Topaz plugins are compatible with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements or you can use it with Aperture and Lightroom when used through Topaz Fusion Express, which is a free compatibility plugin for those digital asset management software programs.

A few more of the Topaz Plugin review/tutorials that I really enjoy and use from them can now be found under the software section on the new REVIEWS page which now lives at the top of the blog!

Thanks for the read everyone and happy shooting!

Tyson

I’m sure there are new cameras on the horizon.  With every camera manufacturer pumping a few new bells and whistles into newer body styles and wrapping it around warmed over sensor tech, those among us who play the patient opportunists really benefit.  I held off on the GX1 when it was released and opted for the G3 when upgrading from my GF1.  I gained the beautiful EVF, and at the time saved about $500 (when looking at the GX1 + add on EVF).  I’ve since been running a two camera setup (much as I do with my full frame work setup) as it allows me to always have a backup as well as be able to eliminate much in the way of lens changes.  Because I use the Olympus OM-D E-M5 as well, and I’ve recently traded my G3 to my brother in law for favors yet to be determined, I felt I could justify a compact body, sans EVF again.  Enter the GX1 which is now down to only $250 just about everywhere!  (it’s available at B&H – CLICK HERE – with 2% reward and free shipping).  C’mon in to see a couple shots of and with the GX1…

The difference between a big lens on the GX1

and a small lens on the GX1

Now, having been a huge fan of the GF1, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t miss the form factor, and when the GX1 was released, I had a hard time not picking one up.  Now, I’m very glad that I hadn’t.  When released, it came in at $799, or $899 with the kit lens so now at about 30% of its going rate from a little while ago, it seems that A) we will see a new upgrade sometime soon, and B) it’s not going to be around for much longer.  The micro 4/3 system seems to use their sensors for about 2-3 years or so (with many bodies using the same sensors), making sense as this seems to be somewhat common for most manufacturers.  Sure there are new processors, new bells and whistles, but the heart of the camera seems to be consistent for a while and I don’t think we’re going to see a huge update in sensor tech with this next update, so, for a fraction of the cost, you can get a great camera that won’t be completely out performed for a while yet.

high key, yet detail still remains

who says we can’t achieve shallow DOF on these little cameras?

Sharing the same sensor, with a few updates, from the G3, you can see my comparison between the older 12mp sensor and this newer 16mp sensor HERE.  While I feel that the newer Sony built sensor in the newer Oly’s has a slight edge over the 16mp Panasonic sensor, the Sony sensor isn’t without it’s drawbacks either.

Regardless, for $250, I would struggle to find more bang for the buck right now in any system, with any camera.  If you’re an existing micro 4/3 system user wanting to sneak a newer, very compact body into the mix, or looking to get into the system to gain access to the wonderful array of lenses and accessories, this could be a perfect opportunity.  The GX1 is available at B&H with free shipping and a 2% reward HERE.  Of course, the G3 is also currently $250 as well – CLICK HERE - , shipped for free as well, and you do get the included EVF.  Both great cameras with their own upsides, either of which I’d strongly suggest, especially for the current prices while they last.  Compact, fully functional and with a pancake lens = pocketable?  GX1.  Not much less compact, included EVF and tilt swivel screen? G3.

Thanks for the read and I hope everyone is well.

Cheers,

t

don’t worry, there were no kids harmed during the photoshopping of this image.

Hello everyone!  You may have noticed that I’m quietly adding content to the site.  This is being done to try and make a more complete resource for those visiting the site to reference specific tutorial articles or find gear reviews, etc.  The biggest changes are the new “Tutorial” “Review” and “MyGear” pages up at the top of the page.  I will be trying to catalog the more popular tutorials and reviews for easy reference, and the new gear page has allowed me to link certain cameras, lenses and miscellaneous gear that I use to my affiliate links at B&H.  Yup, you read that right.  I’ve finally succumbed to the monetary necessity of trying to make a little coin to keep the site going.  Read on for my reasoning and ever cheesy gratitude…

Thanks, from Team Squeeze

Nothing is changing on the site regarding banners, adverts or the like.  I still don’t want this site to come across as a commercial, however, I find that I get asked a lot of questions about gear, and hopefully now, if and when my friends, family and fellow photo blog readers feel the desire to purchase new gear, doing so through these links will kick a little commission back to me.  Most of us who’ve read through photo blogs for the last few years understand how this works, but for those who aren’t familiar, a way for those of us dedicating time and resource into a blog can go through an application process to gain an affiliate status with certain online stores.  B&H had emailed me about a year and a half ago, and at that point, I didn’t want to dedicate the time to figuring out how to do it and integrate it into the site, but now as I and Mrs Squeeze are finding that having two young, hungry children around, our free time is becoming harder to come by, so, I thought I’d give it a try.  Basically, as Pantso and Little Baby What’s His Face (LBWHF) get larger and more culinarily picky, it means my ability to buy the stuff I want starts to disappear, which the grown up in me has to come to terms with.  If you buy through B&H (It’s where I shop online which is why I chose to go with them), and you do so by clicking my product links, or the B&H Store link (like this), and you end up buying anything, a small commission comes back to me.  Prices are the same, and the more that my links are clicked (even without buying anything), the more chance I have of getting B&H to start sending me things to review (I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a large factor ).  I’m hoping to get to the point where I’m able to do more of my reviews without having to purchase everything I review (which is how I’ve been doing it), plus it would make my beautiful, lovely, understanding and in no way “grumpy that I stay up until the wee hours of the morning trying to write stuff” wife happier all while allowing me to geek out on new gear.  We’ll see how it goes, and let me thank you for thinking of me when buying stuff.  Other than my Photo Gear Page, I will only create product links when I write about certain gear.  I’m not going to be creating daily posts about gear deals or anything, I will just link to relevant gear within the articles and reviews I happen to write.

For those who use Facebook, and like having Mr Zuckerburg track your every little internet inquiry which they use to target advertise to you, you can find my brand new Facebook page HERE, or you can click the like link at the top of the page.  I’ll do my best to keep that up as well for those who like all their content in one, easy social media platform.  Also, you can follow me on Twitter HERE if you’re into the whole “cram my info into less than 140 characters at a time” thing.  I will also gladly like, linkup with or follow you back.  Also, I am always interested in trying to network cooperative projects and like the challenge and motivation that working with others provides, so if you have an idea, a collaborative project or want to start a photoshop tennis match, get in touch and let’s get to networkin’!

Okay, that takes care of my pandering.  Onto new, fun projects.  I am just about finished on a lens comparison article pitting the Canon EF 135 f/2 L against the Olympus M.Zuiko 75 f/1.8!  I also have some other ELK Collective projects in the works, a review of Alien Skin’s new Exposure 5 (which is coming this June!), as well as a Lensbaby Tutorial showcasing the awesome Edge 80 optic, so, stick around for all of that.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog over the last few years.  What started as a passion project to help keep my mom from asking me questions repeatedly has since turned into a wonderfully continuing conversation and enjoyable adventure for me, allowing me to ramble about a hobby, and profession that I love, so thanks for that.

As always, I’m game to try and answer questions or gear inquiries, so fire away in the comments or via the Contact page above.

Happy shooting all!

Tyson

As I’m sure many of us are aware, being a parent is a lot of work.  Joyful work much of the time, but work nonetheless.  Today is a day to celebrate, remember, cherish and love all those ladies who brought us into this world.  Mom, I love ya.  To Mrs Squeeze, you continue to amaze me.  Thank you for all that you do and for the two bundles of pure energetic, chaotic and undying love you have brought into our world.  I love you.

Happy Mother’s day to all the moms out there.

All the best,

tyson

The web is abuzz with condemnation of Adobe’s choice to force users to subscribe to a monthly cloud based service with its newest upgrades which sees the long standing Creative Suite at the end of its life. No longer will you as a consumer be able to choose to purchase upgrades based on features, but rather you’ll pay for whatever upgrades Adobe chooses to include (or doesn’t). I’ve yet to find one person that is actually excited by this move. Sure, some have listed the potential merits of a monthly charge, but none that I’ve found have come out and said, this is by far the better way to offer software and service. Is there someone out there that feels a solely cloud based solution is the best option? If so, I can’t help but feel you’re not only in the minority, but you’re on a crazy little Adobe island with the few that felt this was the best business move. A few more thoughts after the jump…

Now, I’ll admit that I have found value in certain things I’ve first seen as unnecessary, or silly. Perhaps in a couple years I will see the value in needing to pay a monthly bill to gain access to software, but I really feel I’m not going into this with unjustified blind frustration. Here’s why, firstly, an “unending” bill may seem like cheap access to Photoshop at first, and whatever else Adobe provides (I really only use, and plan to use Photoshop personally), but what happens if and when, a few years down the road, there are very few newly added features that truly provide value. By building and releasing a new, true upgrade to the software, Adobe has to provide enough value to convince those of us willing to pay $600-700 for the software and another $200-300 to upgrade. We get to choose. Personally, I’ve really seen the benefit in the upgrades in the last couple iterations to justify the upgrade prices, and have voted with my dollar. Adobe brought enough to the table that I chose to spend money to gain access to content aware fill or puppet warp. Now, I’d hope they’ll continue to build new, inventive tools, but their motivation has largely disappeared. They can now (if they so choose to act as a money hungry capitalist company proving to share holders they’re doing everything to maximize profit) start to slim down their development team, and slowly roll out singular feature upgrades to justify just enough to hold onto subscribers. In true capitalist fashion, go lean and mean. Sure, you’re a business, why not? Well the other side to the argument is value and service to your customers, and I think this is going to backfire in a big way.

As I read it, Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions will run you $50/month, or $600 a year. Yup, $600 a year. Granted, students get a discounted rate of $20/month or $240/year, but when you’re no longer a student, that jumps up to whatever Adobe happens to be charging when you’re studiousness expires. So, the justifications I’ve read so far fall within the “working pros will be the only ones to justify this price” and to that I say, no way does this make sense for the average “working photographer” considering that for the same price for a years worth of monthly payments, we could own PS-CS6 and own it for the foreseeable future. For those who are doing web development, graphic design, et al, it may make more monetary sense as you have access (I assume) to many more programs, but still, the question of the stability of cloud based storage and the potential security issues come into play.

Here’s another interesting point. If Adobe chooses to do the same thing with Lightroom, making it a monthly subscription, cloud based service, how will LR users feel? I am going to venture a guess, and say that most folks are going to be pissed. A digital asset management software should be owned and operated by the person needing to use it to manage and catalog their owned and copyrighted image files. Putting them into the cloud and forcing us to pay a monthly fee to access them for our photo adjustment and manipulation needs not only takes the ownership argument to a new level, but it brings in serious questions of security. Where does this “cloud” exist, and where may it exist in the future. Sure we can back everything up (hopefully) on our machines at home, but if we need to adjust something, let’s say for a client, we’d need to have access to the software in this magical cloud to do so. To me, that’s BS. Will the TOS start to include security issues by granting agencies (gov’t or otherwise, Facebook even?) the ability to peek into this “cloud” if questions of national security come into play for instance? I know it’s a stretch, but let’s say someone does a photoshoot for a gun club, with models posing with rifles, et al, could that be construed as “potentially threatening” enabling authorities the ability to monitor the creator based on some loophole in the User Agreement and Patriot Act, or shots including government buildings, bridges, etc? This may just be the small part of me that holds onto conspiracy theories from my teenage “rebellious” phase, but with everything going on, why would it be too big a stretch to think it could happen?

Something else to take into consideration are plugins. Let’s say we spend $200, $500, $1000+ on specialized plugins to be utilized in Photoshop to streamline our workflow (I currently have probably about $1500 or more worth of software plugins running through Photoshop that I’ve acquired over the years). If we do buy into this monthly subscription and do so for say a couple years, upgrading equipment in the interim (computer, et al) while the Creative Suite programs become unsupported in the mean time, those expensive plugins may become entirely useless if we choose to stop paying for access to photoshop, in design, etc. Pretty crappy. I wonder what companies like Alien Skin, Topaz, NIK and others think about this as it will certainly affect their respective bottom lines if this goes the way it looks like it’s gonna go.

Okay, that will end my rant. While I admit, much of this frustration is largely based on a giant hypothetical, I can’t help but feel this will really open up the market for a Photoshop/Adobe competitor to absolutely pounce on this error by Adobe. I understand that the cloud can be useful for some, but why force it upon people. Having the option to choose to buy your software, or subscribe to a cloud based system to gain access to it works for everyone, except perhaps for Adobe shareholders. Listening to customers and providing choices, how novel. Unfortunately, I feel the time of companies doing what is best for or at least listening to their customers is going more and more the way of the dinosaurs. Adobe has received the last money that it will from me unless it reverses this.

How about for you?

I’m sorry for the compatibility issues, I will continue to try and find a fix, but it seems like IE is going to have to update its compatibility before these types of problems will go away entirely, unfortunately.

Cheers and happy shooting,

Tyson

Portland has become a Mecca for young, inspired chefs. The relatively affordable overhead alongside a genuinely interested food culture makes for a ripe proving ground. Aesthetics and spacial design can be the difference between one restaurant’s success, and it’s failure as there are so many quality venues boasting inventive, unique or simple, well done fare. Scott Snyder the owner and chef at Levant recognized the need to design his space around his vision, and ELK obliged in spades.


The history of Levant is one of personal reflection.  Scott Snyder has modeled his fare around his familial history.   From Levant’s website, it’s a  ”French-Arabesque restaurant serving modern representations of Middle Eastern dishes” which accompanies a warm and inviting menu with beautiful design elements and traditional keepsakes giving the space a unique and hospitable air.

Tasked with building a living, breathing representation of Scott’s familial culinary connection, ELK designed the space with a combination of hand built elements, raw woods, and  multi functional pieces allowing for the space to remain open and functional while staying with the traditional vision and translation.

When in the space, the warmth and Middle Eastern embrace is apparent and beautifully compliments a unique history with a unique space.  Levant is located at 2448 East Burnside in Portland, OR.  You can visit the ELK Collective HERE.

Hello All.  You may remember my original review of Topaz B&W Effects back a little while ago.  It was, in my opinion, a great black and white plugin for the money.  With B&W Effects 2, they streamlined the interface, added more filters along with a few other bells and whistles.  With the 2.1 upgrade, (which is a free upgrade for existing users of B&W Effects, or available for new users at a 30% discount using promo code “BW21” here at TopazLabs.com) They’ve added an 11 Zone review system along with a new smattering of awesome borders.

With a modest starting price of $59.99, the 30% discount brings this plugin down to $42, or is included in the Topaz Bundle which also includes their latest versions of Adjust, DeNoise, Simplify, Detail, Clean, ReMask, InFocus, Lens Effects and DeJPEG ($600 value for $300).  I use Adjust, Clean and DeNoise all the time and with the newer additions to B&W Effects, I will be working this into my workflow as well.  One criticism I had of the original B&W Effects was it’s grain re-creation engine.  I felt it was inorganic and a bit too digital when looking at it magnified or in large print which was a bummer.  With v. 2.1, it has been greatly improved to my eye.  Add to that the new Zone system:

…and cool new Borders:

…and the plugin has increased it’s usefulness and fun factor.

Like all good plugins, I highly suggest trying before you buy.  You can get a free, fully functional trial via TopazLabs.com and if you purchase between now and April 21st, you can get B&W Effects at a 30% discount using code “BW21“!

Give it a try!

Happy shooting,

Tyson

Here are a couple of my reviews on the recent Topaz plugins:

DeNoise 5

Clean

In the world of photography, a fisheye lens to me is kind of like a purse is to my wife.  Follow me for a second here.  You only use it on certain occasions and for certain purposes, with certain outfits if you will.  For the other times, you have a plethora of other purses to accessorize to your need.  For the times that you need that one, zany purse, the only one that goes with that crazy belt, then the fisheye is the ticket.  Since I’ve become re-enamored with photography, I have stopped asking about and wondering why my wife has as many purses as she does (and constantly wants more…sounds kinda familiar right?)  Don’t worry, I’m not turning this into a fashion blog, c’mon in and I’ll show you some shots of and from the stellar Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens.

Rokinon is a Korean optics company that build quality, manual focus lenses and markets them under a variety of different brands.  Rokinon, Samyang, Bower, ProOptic are all manufactured by the same folks, but what was once seen as a low end, entry level optical choice has grown to offer, serious optics.  With a new line of cine lenses and now a pro level 24mm tilt shift lens, Rokinon has been wearing it’s big boy pants and that has bled into the mirrorless system camera category.   The only other Rokinon optic I own is a Canon EF mount 14mm f/2.8 rectilinear wide angle.  It is good enough comparatively, as well as offers such a price point advantage versus the native Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 lens, that I could never suggest the Canon lens over it, but, enough about it.  This article isn’t about the 14mm.

Here is a shot showing the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens, the Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 fisheye lens and the Lumix 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens for a size comparison.

Enter the micro 4/3 Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens.  It is a solidly built, nice looking lens that performs too.  A nice solid heft in the hand makes it feel well built, but so small it doesn’t add much bulk at all.  Weighing in at well under half the price of a Lumix 8mm fisheye, it is a very, very compelling option for micro 4/3 shooters, unless you want auto focus.  That to me doesn’t make one bit of difference in a fisheye and let me tell you why.  With the lens set to f/4 it has a hyperfocal distance of 3.1 feet, meaning if you manually focus on something 3.1 feet away from the camera, everything between about a foot and a half away, through infinity will be in focus.  At f/5.6, that HFD drops to 2.2 feet, meaning anything just over a foot through infinity is in focus. (if you want to read up on establishing and understanding hyperfocal distance, READ THIS)  The distance scale on the Rokinon Fisheye isn’t entirely detailed, but most of the time, you’ll probably be shooting between the .8 foot / .25m  mark and infinity unless you are shooting something close to touching the lens, which, hey, go ahead and get all weird.  I don’t care.  With the lens set to f/5.6 and the focus set just shy of infinity, I don’t have to worry about focusing at all, unless I get my subject right on top of the lens, which admittedly I have done, but for those times, the lens has the focus ring.  Easy breezy.

Auto focus is null and void to me with a lens like this.  Of course, this doesn’t mean you don’t have to focus.  In fact, I like to check my focus between shots if my subjects are varying in distance (i.e.: if I’m shooting things within a foot or two of the camera) but otherwise, you can treat it like an easy bake oven, just set it and forget it.  Another great use for a lens like this is in video shooting.  Because it is so wide, it naturally softens handshake and camera movement.  A large reason that so many moving/action follow shots like you’ll see in skateboarding videos and the like will employ an ultra wide, or fisheye lens for video work.  Combine it with a gyro, or even IBIS and the movement in video will look even smoother with a little practice.

The fisheye “look” can be crazy.  Keep in mind there are two different types of fisheye lenses, circular and diagonal.  A circular fisheye creates a strong vignette and actually produces a spherical, circular image while a diagonal fisheye is a distorted, edge to edge ultra wide angle lens, usually providing a 180 degree field of view (watch your feet or the legs on the tripod).  Tilting the camera up or down will certainly cause major distortion in anything remotely close to the camera, as well as horizons or really any lines of any type, so I wouldn’t consider this the best portrait or architectural documentary lens or anything, but if shooting wide, expansive (albeit not too detail heavy as it will certainly pronounce distance) landscapes, and keeping the camera level, you’ll see that mad hatter look pushed largely to the edges of the frame, allowing a unique landscape perspective, and no one says you can’t crop and adjust this for optical correction in post, so, with the right workflow, this could be an amazing ultra wide landscape lens.  It can also allow a very unique perspective allowing you to get your shot from angles and places that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Star trails for long, evening exposures?  Nah, not until you start to hit the REALLY long exposure times which can make for crisper looking night skies without astronomical ISO settings, but for the darker hours, a fisheye can certainly provide a fun tool, and if you want to eliminate star trails, keeping the night sky crisp, a fisheye will allow you longer exposures with less movement in celestial bodies.

It can even be a fun, hold it over your head, or lay it on the ground and see what you get type lens.  Because of the unique perspective a lens with a 180 degree angle of view provides, the possibilities are only restricted by your curiosity and creativity.  One thing I will say though, it is such a wide lens, keep an eye on your fingers when focusing (seriously, they’ll start to show up in the image if they’re too close to the front of the lens barrel) or your feet, or tripod legs if you’re shooting at a downward angle.  Yeah, it’s that wide.  I like to call ultrawide angle and fisheye lenses, “story telling” lenses as you get so much of the world in frame which will certainly force you to take the environmental elements into consideration to capture an image and tell your story.

Otherwise, this lens is sharp, contrasty and taking into consideration that when shooting during the day, the sun has about a 50% chance of making it into frame this lens handles flare very well.  Rokinon has done it again in my mind and I am now starting to look more closely at some of their other optics.  I like to think of it as having saved about $2,200 by buying the two Rokinon lenses I now own vs the native mount options for my systems, so, that’s pretty serious money.  If you’re looking for a fisheye lens, and can live without auto focus (with a lens like this, it really isn’t a big deal) I would highly suggest this lens over the Lumix 8mm personally.  Let me know if you have any questions or want to see anything else in particular and I’ll try to get it done.  If you’re interested, here is a link through my friend Ale’s site for this lens via Amazon (which is where I bought it from).  Enjoy and keep on truckin’.

Happy shooting,

Tyson