Seattle Workshop Was A Blast

Professor Parker was a big hit

My workshop with Gary Parker was held this past Saturday and by all accounts it was a great success!

Great Co-Instructor

Gary wow’d students with lots of practical tips and advice you are only going to get from a seasoned pro. Here he is demonstrating one of his tips using a Leica Tabletop Tripod with Ballhead in a way that blew everyone’s mind – including mine:

Add a tabletop tripod to my wish list now

Great Model

The lovely Raia was on-hand as our model and she was fantastic as usual. From swimwear:

to wild wear:

to Memorial Day BBQ clothes:

She was super patient and so versatile that everyone – including myself and Gary – that we ended up running late. I’d like to shout out a big thanks to Raia for being such a trooper on this holiday weekend!

Great Assistant

Luc - The Best and Most Friendly Assistant / Instructor

One of our students was so happy that she asked if we could do another workshop in the Bay Area and in Turkey. That’s cool, but the more impressive fact is that she specifically asked for Luc to join us as she felt he was a critical part of the team. I couldn’t agree more, and if we take this show on the road I’ll definitely be giving Luc a call!

Great Locations

Two students wanted to learn how to catch the fish with their camera

The park was fantastic and surprisingly not as busy as we expected it would be. However, the crowds were in full force in Seattle but that just gave us more opportunities to do things like take photos of flying fish much faster! Of course a trip to the market wouldn’t be complete with some instructions on shooting flowers as well:

The market never disappoints when it comes to flowers

Because I teach I don’t actually spend much time grabbing shots for myself, so the above flower shot may not be textbook but it turned out okay given that its only one of 2 frames I had time to take (while I was teaching a point).

We also had great fun doing street photography with random people like these:

If you know this couple, tell them I have a shot for them

Great Students

Standing in for Raia for a camera check is always dangerous with me. ;-)

While this student may not look super happy here, it’s only because he didn’t expect my quick snap to test my camera as Raia was changing would end up on the web. ;-) All the students were ready and willing to try new things as the day progressed.

I’m pretty sure this is your next photojournalist of the year at some point in the future!

Everyone had a nice collection of keepers that I hope to show you in the upcoming post-mortem article. In the meantime I’ve included my shots to show you how much fun we had and to force the rest of the students (and Gary) to get some shots to show to you as well!

Future Workshops

If this seems exciting to you, then let me know as I prepare future workshops. As of right now my next workshop will be in Kyoto Japan in early December, but there may be more so if you are interested then let me know.

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may get a commission.

Ask Ron: What do you think about Pixelmator 2.04?

Aleem Hossain asked me on Google+ what I thought about Pixelmator, so I thought I’d give it a try. This is Mac app that is only available via the App Store with no Windows counterpart. It’s designed to be a Photoshop alternative, but realistically it’s more like a Photoshop Elements alternative.

Since it runs on the Mac OS, it can open any RAW files supported by the system so I had no trouble opening my 5D Mark III and D800 raw files. Now there’s no raw processor so I couldn’t control how that RAW file was opened, but it did seem to be have the same way was you’d see in iPhoto. I did notice that some filters worked fine but others really struggled with these big files, so it supported but didn’t really like RAW files. In my opinion its best to use this product AFTER you’ve done your RAW conversion in Capture NX2 or DPP.

I was also able to open some of my Photoshop file with layers, but others failed. I’m not entirely sure what it didn’t like about some, but the behavior seemed to be on par with what I saw using Perfect Layers in my Perfect Photo Suite review. Perfect Layers is now free, so if you just need layers then this isn’t necessarily a must purchase product.

After using it for about an hour I reached the following conclusions:

• It’s performance is great with JPEG’s, but sluggish with RAW files 
• Fantastic selection of built-in filters
• Layers and content aware healing make it a great tool for those who can’t afford the Adobe alternatives
• I’ll still keep using Photoshop, but this isn’t bad at all

Here’s a little video that I made where I explore some of what’s available in a simple overview.

Play in HD

Some filters like Film Stock seem exciting, but really don’t do much. Others like Bulge & Dent mimic the Liquify filter, but its as nasty to use as spot healing in Lightroom. However, there’s lots of really cool and unusual filters that are decent which you’d usually have to pay extra for in Photoshop.

I didn’t see any way to use my existing Photoshop or Lightroom filter with this product, so you are out of luck there. There’s also key things like the fade feature and channels palette that Photoshop users will likely miss.

Conclusion

If you can afford Photoshop then I still say get it (especially CS6) as it’s still the king with no serious competitor. However, if you are just getting started and don’t have any budget for software then Pixelmator is a great solution for Mac users to get started.

You’ll be able to do basic editing of your image and even some advanced stuff thanks to the content aware healing brush, stamp tool, layers and an excellent array of built in features. It’ll be happiest with your JPEG’s, but it will work on your RAW files with a bit more sluggish behavior.

Snapseed by Nik Software and Perfect Photo Suite are other good Photoshop alternatives, but neither product is as powerful with portrait retouching as Pixelmator. However, those products also have a lot of features that Pixelmator doesn’t have so I’d really call them more complementary than competing products.

At $29.99 at the time of this writing, you can’t go wrong. I’ll still use Photoshop, but I picked this up just for the filters. You are getting a $30 product so set your expectations accordingly, but I still think it’s a no brainer purchase for Mac users just for the filters alone.

Click here to buy Pixelmator on the AppStore. You can also try it for free for 30 days, so you can’t really go wrong.

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may get a commission. Please support this blog by using my links when you are ready to buy your copy of Pixelmator.

Learn To Create Exciting Lifestyle Photos

Raia by Ron Martinsen – All Rights Reserved

The world is full of opportunities for taking great photos of people, but for some reason many people struggle to see how to get the great shot. Some say it’s the location that makes all the difference, and it certainly helps, but guess what? All but the last photo in this article were shot at public parks! The Northwest is filled with so many great places for photography that location should never be the issue, so what’s left? — learning how to get the interesting shot!

Copyright Gary Parker – All Rights Reserved

In my last workshop I helped my students get some awesome shots (here’s a small sample), but this time is going to be even better. This time I’ll have Raia again (featured at the top of this article and in the previous workshop photos) PLUS I’ll have Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Gary Parker on hand to teach you real-world techniques you just can’t pick up from books or videos.

Copyright Gary Parker – All Rights Reserved

Gary’s years as a photojournalist have taught him how to make magic out of any situation, and he’ll be showing the students of this workshop how he does it. You’ll get to learn how he see’s a situation and manages to pull of some of the amazing shots you see in this article and in his personal and pet portfolios.

Copyright Gary Parker – All Rights Reserved

If Gary can pull off a killer shot of Bill Gates in 73 seconds, make one of the super picky Steve Job’s favorite photos, or get an awesome shot of a dog sitting in a car, imagine what you can learn from him.

Gary and I have a few spots left for our workshop this Saturday May 26th and we’d love you to join us. We will be custom tailoring the class to the students goals, so now’s the chance to go out and get the shots that have been escaping you.

I’ll be teaching the technical side of things and Gary will be the composition expert. We’ll have Raia (featured at the top) as our model and one or more assistants on hand to help control the light in our favor — all shot at the place where I got this famous shot:

Haruka
Copyright Ron Martinsen
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This is your chance to see how to get the great shots of people with your own interpretations thrown in with YOU as the photographer. In this workshop you will learn:

• How to work with assistants as well as do things on your own
• Get great shots of people at a crowded park where you might now feels like no shot is possible
• New and exciting camera angles and techniques
• Add and suppress light to your advantage
• Get great shots from backlit scenarios
• Include the scene in your shot yet still not have your subject look too small
• Adapt to whatever challenges are thrown at you to still get the shot
• and so much more!

Click here to learn more and sign up today before the last remaining spots are taken!

All you need is a DSLR camera and an open mind. Beginners are allowed, but you will be expected to be familiar with your camera (more so for Nikon users than Canon users) or at least have your camera manual on hand.

World Famous Beezerker Motorcycle Goes On Sale

Beezerker
Copyright Ron Martinsen – All Rights Reserved

By far, the coolest product I’ve ever shot was the Beezerker – a custom award-winning hand-built motorcycle with over 1000 hours of labor poured into it. This awesome motorcycle has been the buzz of the design world from Russia, to France, to Los Angeles and more. It’s even been used as eye candy for the grand opening of the Cosmopolitan Casio in Las Vegas.

Once rumored to be worth as much as $100,000 USD, it’s now on eBay starting at $57,450. As a work of art, it’s likely to attract the rich and wealth to add this to their collection. It’ll be interesting to watch it and see just how much it will get in this depressed economy.

If that price tag is too high for you then you might be interested in purchasing Beezerker Photos from me as others have. Its limited edition prints have been highly sought after because I’ve limited distribution to maintain the value of the prints for existing print buyers. You can click here to see a limited set of photos, and more are available upon request for serious collectors only.

Photoshop CS6 Plug-in Compatibility & Printing Update

In the better late than never category, I’ve reached out to my partners to find out how their products will work with Adobe Photoshop CS6 and the general consensus has been that the products are mostly working well. This is a huge improvement over CS5 which seemed to wreak havoc for months.

It is recommended that you completely uninstall the beta before installing the retail bits of Photoshop CS6. This may require you to re-install your plug-ins in some cases.

Nik Software

No issues with the current versions. Here’s a full statement from Nik.

The current versions are:

• Dfine 2: Mac – 2.110; Windows – 2.110
• Viveza 2: Mac – 2.007; Windows – 2.007
• HDR Efex Pro: Mac – 1.204; Windows – 1.203
• Color Efex Pro 4: Mac – 4.002; Windows – 4.002
• Silver Efex Pro 2: Mac – 2.004; Windows – 2.004
• Sharpener Pro 3: Mac – 3.008; Windows – 3.008

onOne Software

No major issues, but updates are available. Visit http://www.ononesoftware.com/support/2689/ for more info.

The updates are posted near the top of each page on the following links.

• Perfect Photo Suite 6 – Update to Perfect Photo Suite 6.1 here
• Perfect Resize 7 Professional Edition – Update to Perfect Resize 7.0.7 Professional Edition here
• Perfect Resize 7 Standard Edition – Update to Perfect Resize 7.0.7 Standard Edition here
• Perfect Effects 3 – Update to Perfect Effects 3.0.2 here
• Perfect Portrait 1 – Update to Perfect Portrait 1.1 here
• Perfect Mask 5 – Update to Perfect Mask 5.1 here
• Perfect Layers 2 – Update to Perfect Layers 2.02 here
• FocalPoint 2 – Update to FocalPoint 2.0.9b here
• PhotoFrame 4.6 Pro – Update to PhotoFrame 4.6.7 Professional edition here
• PhotoTools 2.6 Pro – No time line currently available for this update

Topaz Labs

There should not be any issues with compatibility with CS6.

For setup, try this....

For Windows:
Please go to your preferences menu in Photoshop and select Plug-ins. Check / enable the Additional Plug-ins Folder option then click Choose. After that, please navigate to: C: \ Program Files and select the Topaz Labs folder. Then click Choose  (or it may say Save / OK) to save this back to Photoshop. Back in Photoshop click OK to save your changes, then restart Photoshop. Once Photoshop opens, go to your Filter menu and you should be able to access Topaz.

For Mac:
Please go to your preferences menu in Photoshop and select Plug-ins. Check / enable the Additional Plug-ins Folder option then click Choose. After that, please navigate to: Macintosh HD -> Library -> Application Support and select the Topaz Labs folder. Then click save / OK to save this back to Photoshop. Back in Photoshop click OK to save your changes, then restart Photoshop. Once Photoshop opens, go to your Filter menu and you should be able to access Topaz.

Alienskin Software

Here’s their reply:

All of our products work great with CS6. The one caveat is that the Bokeh installer doesn't recognize CS6, so you have to show it which folder to install into. We will update that before the end of May.

HDRSoft (Photomatix)

Learn more here:

• http://www.hdrsoft.com/support/faq_photomatix.html#cs6
• http://www.hdrsoft.com/support/faq_plugin.html#cs6

Photoshop CS6 Printing

Windows had some issues that frustrated me in CS5, but there’s a workaround to help get the best results that Adobe offers for that product. While I still prefer the results I get from CS4 the best, things won’t be changing in Photoshop so it’s probably time to just accept the difference and adjust my workflow for the new print engine.

According to my Adobe contact for CS5, the "right way" to do things for printing in Photoshop is:

1. Set the correct printer.
2. Set the color management settings in the PS print dialog
3. Select "Print Settings" to get the to the driver's print dialog
4. Verify that the driver color management settings are correct, and correct them if needed
5. OK.
6. Double-check the settings in the Photoshop print dialog. The Color Management settings MAY have changed, depending on what changes you made in the driver settings.
7. If the driver settings were correct in step 6, print and you should be good. If something had changed in 6, it's probably safest to select "Done" in the Photoshop print dialog, and then File > Print a second time. No changes should be needed at this point, but we'll re-send the color settings to the driver and things will definitely work correctly if you "Done" and come into the dialog a second time.

In CS6, steps 6 and 7 should be un-needed, and overall the printing experience should be better.

Imagenomic

No statement or comments made at this time.

Related Articles

• What Plugins Should I Buy?

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using select links in this article, I may make a commission.

Canon 5D Mark III HDR is good, but Photomatix Pro 4.2 is still the king of HDR

HDR Faster and Easier with Photomatix Pro 4.2

I’ll admit that I don’t do a ton of HDR work so tonight when I was checking out the Photomatix web site I was surprised to see a new version of Photomatix Pro available. It’s a free upgrade for existing 4.x users and to my surprise it’s a very worthwhile upgrade!

The image above was processed from start to finish in about 10 minutes from three files taken from the in-camera JPEG of a Canon 5D Mark III. I was using its HDR mode but since it was a little windy, the HDR it generated was a total fail:

Canon 5D Mark III In-Camera HDR with Auto Align Enabled and Natural Effect

The shutter speeds for this bracketed shot were 1/8000, 1/2000 and 1/250 so I was thinking I had the shutter speeds needed to get the shot, but I was wrong. For fun I decided to give the new 4.2 update a shot with the following settings:

Here’s the images that were sent to Photomatix:

37.8 seconds later it had digested the three files totaling 15.9 megabytes into a single file that already looked better than what I got from Canon. Much of time was spent in the Chromatic aberration correction, so had when turned it off it was only 23 seconds.

Photomatix Pro 4.2 Deep Preset

When I hit process in just a couple seconds I had the processed file:

Photomatix 4.2 Tone Mapping is fast!

When the tonemapping is done you now have a finishing touch dialog to do your final adjustments which I found to be less confusing than the old way that Photomatix worked. I was quickly able to make adjustments to suit my tastes for the final product at the top of this article.

Compared to Photoshop CS6

Photoshop CS6 Beta More Saturated Preset

Photoshop CS6 has come a long way, and in skillful hands it might get the job done. However, spending the same 10 minutes I spent in Photoshop and using the More Saturated preset with the ghost checkbox on, the shot above was the best I could do.

Photoshop impressed me by having the tone mapping ready to go in only 8 seconds (plus another 2 for checking the ghosting checkbox), and being ready for editing in Photoshop in only 18.3 seconds. However, it had some nasty banding and required a lot of manual work to get the image to not have the Harry Potter effect. I was much happier with Photomatix for the speed at which I could get my results, and had ghosting not been an issue its processing time would have been 7.3 seconds in Photomatix, so the net result is that Photomatix still is a bit faster – with much better default results.

Photoshop CS6 Compatibility

Here’s the compatibility statement for Photomatix with respect to CS6:

• http://www.hdrsoft.com/support/faq_photomatix.html#cs6
• http://www.hdrsoft.com/support/faq_plugin.html#cs6

Conclusion

This is by far the fastest and easiest version of Photomatix yet, so I highly recommend the free upgrade for existing users (learn more). For people who haven’t purchased it yet, then I’d certainly advise you to take advantage of the in-camera HDR features of the Canon 5D Mark III with the Auto Align feature ALWAYS enabled (even if you are on a tripod) and enable Save Source Imgs so you have the option of using Photomatix later. Canon’s made great headway in what is offered in camera, and Adobe has their best effort yet with CS6, but for now if you are serious about HDR then Photomatix is still the way to go!

NOTE: For D800 users I experimented with the HDR features and found them to be similar, but less to my taste than what I got from the Canon 5D Mark III. As a result, I think your experience will mimic (at best) the Canon vs Photomatix experience. See my D800 review for more info.

Special Offer Promo Code

HDRSoft, the makers of Photomatix HDR tone mapping software have extended an offer to readers of this blog for a 15% discount when you use the coupon code RonMartBlog when you checkout on their web site (see picture above). Don’t forget to click the recalculate button after you enter the code to get the discount.

Technical Note

HDRSoft has brought a matter to my attention that deserves an apology on my behalf. While I can’t recall the source of what made me think this, apparently somewhere I led some readers to believe that Photomatix converts RAWs to JPEGs for internal processing. That is incorrect. Here’s the facts from their web site:

Photomatix does not convert RAWs files to JPEG for internal processing, and never did it. It would not make sense to do this anyway, given that converting to JPEG would result in quality loss and moreover would add processing time.

When you load RAW files in Photomatix, the files are converted in linear space into an uncompressed image with 16 bits per color channel, i.e. 48 bits per pixel.

The only moment Photomatix converts to JPEG is when you want to save the image created by Photomatix and choose to save it as JPEG. This applies to a tonemapped or fused image created by Photomatix, and not to the original image you loaded.

My apologies for the confusion. Others have made the same mistake as me, so I encourage you to consult HDRSoft when in doubt.

I should also note that I was not asked or forced to make this statement. I voluntarily did it upon being presented with the facts. I’m human and while I do my best to share accurate information with you, sometimes I get information from others that is correct (as was the case here) which I pass on to you.

Related Articles

• HDRSoft Photomatix Pro 4.x Review
• Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 1.0
• Photoshop CS6 Release
• Lightroom 4 Review
• First Look: Nikon D800–Should Canon 5D-Mark III Users Switch?
• Parents Rejoice – No More Dark, Blurry and Out of Focus Pictures! (Canon 5D Mark III Real World Shots)
• Canon 5D Mark III Real World Shots–In-Camera HDR, High ISO, Flowers, Nature, People & Cars
• Canon 5D Mark III First Thoughts–WOW, Canon is BACK!!!! (REAL WORLD SHOTS)
• HANDS ON: Canon EOS-1D X (sample images and video)

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using select links or discount codes found in this article, I may make a commission. I was also provided with a review copy of this product with no commitments or expectations on behalf of HDRSoft.

Canon 5D Mark III & 1D-X AF Setting Guidebook–READ THIS! (Link Fixed)

If you are a Canon 5D Mark III or 1D-X owner, you owe it to yourself to carefully read this guide on the AF system. It is called the AF Setting Guidebook and it will help you to understand the system so you know how to get a very high percentage of in-focus shots.

Even if you never read manuals – READ THIS DOCUMENT!!!!

I know it is written for the 1D-X, but most of the content applies to the 5D Mark III as well, so I can’t stress enough how important it is that you read this document cover to cover. You’ll be rewarded by making most of this super advanced AF system.

UPDATE: Link fixed – sorry – Canon doesn’t allow direct links to the PDF.

Additional Information

Here’s more great content on the Canon DLC:

http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/dlc/tags/eos_1dx_tag/tagItemsListing.spr?sortBy=date_desc&recordLimit=20&currentPage=1

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links in this article, I may make a commission.

Photographing Kids Workshop

Copyright Gary Parker – All Rights Reserved

Let’s face it, photographing kids can be tough. The little buggers don’t stay still for two seconds, so you have to have all the skills and equipment of a sports photographer to stand a right chance! Or do you?

Copyright Gary Parker – All Rights Reserved

My good friend Gary Parker is a fantastic people photographer because he breaks all the “rules” and just gets great shots – again and again. When I do it, I occasionally get lucky but it sure is hard! Having good equipment helps, but it seems like the stars really need to align to get a great shot.

Copyright Ron Martinsen – All Rights Reserved

Are you tired of the same old boring shots? Would you like to start getting better shots of your kids?

Copyright Ron Martinsen – All Rights Reserved

If so, join me and Gary Parker at our workshop on May 26th where we’ll show you some techniques on how to get great photos of people – including kids. We’ll have both an adult and child model on hand to show you the challenges you face in the real world, but we’ll show you how to persevere to get the great shot!

Click here to learn more about our workshop and sign up for the last couple remaining spots!