*Topaz Black and White Effects 2.1 Update, free for existing users, discounted for the rest of us!

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.

*Topaz Labs and 500px team up and offer discounts

Any of you who have read my blog somewhat regularly know that I love and use Topaz plugins.  Topaz Labs offerings are realistically priced, and offer unique, quality plugins.  They now have a program set up through the end of March which offers 25% off any Topaz plugin or bundle and a 3 month gift code for 500px as well as a 10% discount for current Topaz users for upgrades to a 500px “Awesome” subscription (normally $50/year) which allows users to host and sell their images through their own, modified online portfolio and store hosted by 500px.  You can see all the Topaz plugins on offer by heading over the the Topazlabs.com website (click here) USE COUPON CODE “500px” at checkout to get the 25% discount and 3 month 500px gift account.  For existing Topaz users looking to upgrade their free 500px account to an Awesome account, use code 10AWTL at 500px.com upgrade page HERE.  For those not familiar with 500px, it is a very high quality photo community that enables members to share, and sell images through their own, user modified galleries and portfolio pages.  I’ve used the upgrade discount myself from my free account, and have spent a little time now getting to know the ins and outs and it looks promising

Here are a couple past articles outlining and reviewing my favorite Topaz Plugins:

Topaz DeNoise

Topaz B&W Effects

Topaz Clean

Using Topaz Clean3 as a Fractalius like plugin for Mac users

Happy shooting,

Tyson

*Share the love, Alien Skin plugins 30% off!

 

For the next week, Alien Skin is offering 30% off of all their wonderful plugins.  I use and love Exposure 4, Snap Art and Bokeh 2 personally and feel that Alien Skin does a wonderful job at providing a really solid product for the money.  You can download free trials of any of their plugins before buying if interested by going here Alienskin.com!  While you’re there, download their free iPhone app Alt Photo, it’s radical.

 

You can read more about my personal take on some of their plugins below:

Alien Skin Exposure 4, it just keeps getting better!

Alien Skin Bokeh 2!

Alien Skin Snap Art, release your inner artist!

 

They’ve also just released Eye Candy 7, which is a plugin that is gaining fanfare for graphic designers.  Unfortunately, I’m not a good person to ask about it, but it does seem to be getting a lot of praise, so it may be worth a trial for those interested in that type of stuff.

 

Happy Valentines Day to all, and I hope all is well for everyone.

 

Cheers,

Tyson

*50% off All Topaz Plugins!

From right now through November 26th, all Topaz plugins are 50% off!!!  Kind of insane actually seeing that so many of them are already so realistically priced.

Click HERE to see the Plugins that Topaz offers (listed at full price) and enter the code “CyberSavings” at checkout to cut the price in half!

Here are some of the plugins that I’ve reviewed:

Topaz DeNoise5 (a killer noise reduction plugin)

Black and White Effects (very budget friendly B&W processing)

Clean (edge detail and skin softening plugin) which also doubles as a Fractalius like plugin for Mac!

I also love Adjust and would highly suggest any (or all) the Topaz plugins, especially at 50% off!!!

Cheers,

Tyson

*Topaz DeNoise 5, like a fine wine.

Smooth, yet refined with an impeccable attention to detail.

Noise has become less and less an issue for digital photographers over the last few years as sensor technology gets better, in camera processing is capable of shouldering more of that load than ever before and digital asset management software/RAW converters are up to the task for much of the noise reduction needs.  Still, with analog to digital information translation, there is an inherent signal:noise issue that can always be further helped by a good noise reduction software.  Add to that, pro-sumer 35mm format models breaching the Medium Format pixel counts, or compact sensors pushing the pixel pitch to near immeasurable dimensions, there is, and will be a need for a manual noise reduction control through post processing.  While Lightroom and Aperture have good noise reduction algorithms, they are the swiss army knife of image processing, giving you many handy tools, but what happens when you need a power tool?  That little Swiss army knife’s mini-saw ain’t gonna cut through that noise riddled log for you, you’ll need a chainsaw.   Enter, Topaz DeNoise5, your powerful, noise reducing chainsaw.  Right now, through October 12th, get 30% off of Topaz DeNoise5 by using the code “NoiseFree” at checkout, click HERE to go to Topazlabs.com.  I’ve used Noise Ninja and Nik Define in the past, and I think both of those have just been pushed out of my workflow.  Read on for examples and my take…

*Kevin Kubota’s Lighting Notebook, along for the ride.

There are a few seemingly predictable benchmarks that photographers reach during their personal photographic journeys. After grasping exposure basics we may gravitate toward gear to replicate a particular style which may then be further embellished when we discover bokeh, selective focus, light painting, or start to really understand aspects of a post processing workflow enabling us to literally develop our own look, or replicate popular or interesting “looks” from our fellow photographers. Inevitably, at some point, photographers start to contemplate integrating added light or modifying and controlling existing light in their compositions. Wether that be for portraiture, action, event, product photography, et al, understanding the use of added light or manipulation and control of existing light is a huge tool available to those who choose to use it. Mr Kubota, popular for his seamless, post production streamlining photoshop actions has invited us into his mind with his recent book “Kevin Kubota’s Lighting Notebook, 101 Lighting Styles and Setups for Digital Photographers” C’mon in for a closer look and a few thoughts as I try to play the role of book reviewer

UPDATE!!! - The companion App is now out.  More than a companion per se, I’d say it’s a great way to get this book, it’s content and diagrams on your tablet.  You can view both the book and app, as well as purchase them directly through Kubota Imaging Tools HERE.

*Exposure 4, it just keeps getting better.

I’ve been a huge fan of Alien Skin’s software for years now so I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’m excited by their recent update to an already killer plugin.  Exposure 4 keeps the functional structure in tact and further enhances its skill set to fine tune it into a plugin that will help any photographer, or digital artist further realize their final vision.

Read on for my experience through this exciting new release…

*DIY day! Using apps to create textures, plus free texture files.

The title just about says it all.  There are a multitude of free and cheap apps for smart phones nowadays and they can be more useful than just uploading dozens of pictures of your late night goings on directly to facebook.  Read on for downloadable freebies, suggested apps and a little instruction on how to best utilize these tools to come up with fun final images in photoshop…

*Digital Film Tools – Film Stocks Plug-in!

Officially announced and available immediately for $95usd (still image plugin) or $195usd (video plugin) this new offering from Digital Film Tools gives you the same amazing layer based control as Tiffen Dfx v.3,  for 288 different film stock replications.  Read on for examples and more info…

*Everything you need to know about digital photography (well, almost). Two years of tips, tricks and various freebies, revisited.

With my blog’s second anniversary coming up, I wanted to thank everyone that has stopped by, commented and added to the content.  It’s been a fun couple of years and has been far more educational for me than I’d ever thought it would have been.  I wanted to make a list of my more popular posts as well as some that can help some of us who may be just stumbling into the fold.  Any of us who have recently acquired a new camera and may be wanting to learn how to use it to its potential, or are looking to build up a few post processing techniques, I’ve compiled some of the more useful and popular posts below…