First off, I am fairly new to Pinterest (link to my own Pinterest boards), having only started an account in April and have not fully experienced the scope of what it can do yet. But, based on what I have experienced so far, I don’t see how or why anyone can be mad at what is essentially “graphic social media” on such a scale that great ideas, images and inspiration can be shared with anyone and everyone with essentially no limit to the reach of this media. Sure, copyright owners might think “it’s stealing” or whatever. But look at it from another perspective for a second… Instead, it’s free marketing, free exposure, free social media on a super-massive scale.

How about those copyrights?

Quite frankly, if you are worried about the copyrights to your image, idea or art, the internet is definitely NOT the place to share it, period. People will find a way to use or “steal” your ideas, images and art regardless of any countermeasures you may feel you have taken to prevent that. Sorry to say, but it’s the raw truth. I have run numerous websites with different interests in the past, some with membership in excess of 100,000 people covering the entire globe. It was only a matter of time before I found my images, from my site, on other sites, in peoples profiles, even being used on Ebay… Watermark and all! People just don’t care because what are the odds they will get caught right? (Funny thing is, when I approached one person about the images, they didn’t understand what they had done wrong and honestly felt that it was OK to use.)

So what about Pinterest?

Pinterest does what it can to help “give credit” where credit is due, the best it can anyhow… For example, when someone “pins” an image from your site, it saves the link to refer people who look at that image back to your site. (If you know ANYTHING about social media, this is a benefit to you no matter how you spin it.) Additionally, the image is limited in size when “pinned” to someones board, meaning even if your image is larger on your site, Pinterest scales that to be more “share friendly” on their site. (Thus, reproduction from the fairly small “pinned” image is virtually useless for anyone else.) And again going back to my perspective on it, I see Pinterest as one of the best and fastest ways to get exposure on a massive scale. And what artist DOESN’T want as much exposure as they can get? Heck, we LIVE, even THRIVE on exposure… Without it, people who aren’t already in the limelight may never get noticed. And nobody else is out there giving you free exposure on your behalf, until now.

In short, Pinterest is something we should embrace as artists and “pin” your own work, sharing it with as many others as you can. This could be what makes the difference between maybe making a sale once in a great while, to making a sale monthly, weekly or even daily! Social media and social marketing is where it is… I say, get on before you get left behind!

On that, I will be testing it out for myself and will likely have some videos explaining some of the differences and how to use some of the new features. Look for that soon!

Download the Beta here:

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4/

None the less, I’m still working on a number of reviews, tests, tips and tutorials. On top of that, I hope to have all of the Adobe Photoshop actions ready for purchase soon. I have also recently updated Color Cloud to version 1.2 which now has quite a few new features and higher resolution reference images with the ability to scale and even collapse the app making it more user friendly. While I am still working on more “user requested” features, the next version will be awhile still so don’t hesitate to order Color Cloud now. (Plus, updates for the same major version are free for registered users!)

In any event, I would like to thank those people who find my blog helpful, share my articles on other sites and all those who have joined my little “fan club” on Facebook. And if you haven’t already, go “Like” us on Facebook now to get all the latest updates, freebies, contests, giveaways and other great stuff!

However, I recently had the chance to try out the best of the best, though that may be disputable to some. But regardless of how you see it, the Phase One IQ180 IS CURRENTLY the megapixel and image quality winner, hands down. The IQ180 is just part of the “kit” that makes up the amazing camera that I had the luxury of using hands on. Phase One formally only made the digital backs for “other” camera manufacturers, thus you would use their digital back on a Hasselblad or Mamiya camera body. However, since Hasselblad began making their own digital systems, Phase One was left with Mamiya. So, they joined forces (technically, Phase One bought a controlling interest in Mamiya) and are now offering what is the highest megapixel count medium format digital system in the world.

And then I woke up…

Combine the Phase One IQ180 digital back and the Mamiya (now Phase One) 645DF along with a dash of high-quality medium format lens (such as the Schneider-Kreuznach 55mm LS f2.8 lens) and you get one unbelievably fantastic digital capture in one unbelievably expensive package. I was actually told that the setup I was using was roughly $47,000 which is probably 10x the value of my current Nikon setup. But when held, rather than looking like a tourist with a fancy camera, instead I had the feeling that I should hold it above my head He-Man style and yell “I have the power!” but refrained from doing so considering all things.

While the Phase One setup IS a digital camera, that’s nearly where the comparisons stop with a “standard” DSLR. Ok, ok, I exaggerate a bit… The controls are actually very similar, the grip feels much the same, and although it’s no featherweight, I was quite surprised at how light it really was, thus making hand-held shooting quite possible in the right light. However, to really open this baby up and take advantage of the best parts, you really need a sturdy tripod, remote release and even better yet, switch it to mirror-up mode to get that out of the way before the capture starts to eliminate any possibility of even the slightest shake. As the megapixels climb, even the slightest of movements can cause the most tiny blur, thus a horribly out of focus image. (It’s not THAT bad, but it makes a huge difference when taking longer exposures.) I’m somewhat amused after reading so complaints from Nikon fans about the rumored 36 megapixel Nikon D800 that “oh that’s too many megapixels (referring to the D800), give me this and that instead.” But after using the IQ180, I must disagree… More IS better, as long as you can put them to proper use! However, I do wonder how many Nikon lenses can actually take full advantage of a 36mp sensor.

100% Crop on Full Image

Being somewhat limited on where and what I could do while I had access to this megapixel monster, I set myself up for what *to me* is a critical test of the system… A scene with a great deal of dynamic range, contrast and bucketfuls of detail to be had. Needless to say, a unique variety of buildings down a busy, downtown Denver street yielded the test parameters I desired. Thus, the test image with 100% crop sample to the right (click the image at the top of this post to see the photo without the crop sample). Sure, it’s not artistically appealing (actually I kinda like it to be honest), but it gave me everything I needed to put this thing through it’s paces. And it captured everything, and then some, with dead accurate, flying colors. Despite the strong contrast of the setting sun reflecting off the glass building windows to the dark shadows between buildings and on the darkest of objects, nearly every bit of the image has detail to spare. And it should considering the 16bit RAW captures, 13.6 EV dynamic range and unbeatable color depth (based on DxOMark test results). While several Nikon and one Pentax camera have a greater dynamic range, I feel that the Phase One gives a better “unmodified” RAW file.

With the below sample, I took these shots minutes apart using a similar focal length, position and equivalent exposure. The IQ180 sample is from a 100% crop, the Nikon sample is from the same crop, scaled up to match. Detail anyone? This is only a tiny fraction of the full image. The full size file is a jaw dropping 10328×7760 pixels! That’s more pixels HIGH than many of my multi-shot panoramic composites are WIDE, and that’s just ONE shot! For comparison sake, that would be a nearly 35″ x 26″ print at a full 300ppi. (Or roughly a 70″ x 53″ print at almost 150ppi still!) Click thumbnail for full size sample.

IQ180 at 100% crop, D300 scaled to match.

As with any super-high performance product, it has some drawbacks other than the cost. (Hey, a Ferrari is a terrific car for going around a track or to get a drink at the overpriced bar down the street, but it’s not exactly something I’d drive to the hardware store.) With that said, the drawback list is short, in my opinion. The ISO performance, compared to modern DSLR cameras, is considerably lacking. Then again, this isn’t your typical “chase brides around in a dimly lit church” type of camera. Odds are, you won’t be taking it to photograph from the sideline of a sporting event either. (If you are, more power to you!) However, they do offer several features to help when you do need to push the ISO. The first is “pixel binning” which combines the information of several neighboring pixels into a lower resolution, but lower noise final image. It also has the usual “dark frame” (frequently known as High-ISO noise reduction) which “captures” another dark-frame shot to allow the camera to calculate and remove excess noise. The last “drawback” is the fact that the RAW files are easily 50+ megabytes EACH! Process that with Capture One (Phase One’s version of Lightroom or Aperture) and export a 16bit TIFF at a full 80 megapixels and you get a computer seizing 480 megabyte file! Even my fairly up-to-date Mac Pro tower with power to spare had an issue once I took these into Photoshop, making editing quite a slow process. Don’t even think about loading these on your laptop to edit. In fact, I wouldn’t even begin to edit these without a dual processor system with at least 16GB of memory or more. (Even then you’d probably still be waiting on the Photoshop swap disk frequently.)

Phase One IQ180 on 645DF, processed in Capture One 6 Pro

What I DO really like about this system is the fact that as a photographer, it *SLOWS YOU DOWN* to think about your capture two or three times before you even reach for the shutter release. At which point, you inspect the file on the touch screen after capture to be sure it is sharp, in focus and their are no other artifacts. Their is absolutely no point in going rapid fire with this, it’s about careful planning before the shot and inspection after the shot. Honestly, I almost wish I could find the reason to do that with my DSLR, but it’s to easy to simply over-shoot and cull them later. (Even my modest 8MB CF cards hold 300+ 12mp 14bit RAW captures from my Nikon.)

My final thoughts… Well, I wish I had $100,000 or so to invest in a setup like this plus a nice array of lenses, a considerably faster computer and some travel money so I could come back with a handful of images worthy of Peter Lik. (Then wake up from the dream.) It’s far from being necessary for *MOST* photographers. In fact, unless your clients are paying you handsomely, chances are this isn’t for you. But if I had money burning a hole in my pocket, you bet I’d get one!

Keep going to get more info.

First off, you simply need to sign up to get these freebies. This only subjects you to infrequent marketing emails to try out or purchase other onOne products (which I particularly like anyway). On that, you can then access the freebie section here: Freebies Link!

That’s all, log in, download, enjoy! (You could probably add SAVE TIME and PROFIT to that list as well.)

So, lets get those votes in for my entry please!! I’m begging all my friends, go vote now!

Anyway, click the link below to see and vote for my image by clicking “MY FAVORITE PHOTO” link on the Facebook page.

This link http://apps.facebook.com/fromedge/showentry?entryurl=%2Fcontests%2Fshowentry%2F747503 should take you right to my entry which looks like this (without the borders):

Fire In The Sky

Anyway, click this link to see and vote for my image by clicking “MY FAVORITE PHOTO” link on the Facebook page. (You may need to be a fan of the contest to vote, I’m not completely sure yet.)
http://apps.facebook.com/fromedge/showentry?entryurl=%2Fcontests%2Fshowentry%2F741161&ref=nf

This week’s entry should look like this (If not, please find it and vote for me thanks!):

The first video for today is a tutorial covering how to correctly balance color using a ColorChecker Passport or any other white balance target, including reasons behind why you should not balance using the dress, suits or other objects with unknown color tones. As well as how to quickly apply these settings to a group of images. I also cover basics of the histogram and highlight/shadow clipping warnings in Lightroom, what they mean and how to correct for it.

Click through for the second video plus a link to more freebies!

And for today’s second video post, I do a typical retouch on an image including blemish removal, tone down eyelids, skin softening, plus a bonus look at one of a few upcoming actions that I will be selling later this year.

As for the actions, I hope to have a website up later this spring and will offer paid downloads with in-depth video tutorials for each action. Look for discounts for more announcements on this later this spring including more samples and other details.

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One last thing I would like to share today is a very nice freebie courtesy of onOne Software. Along with the “lite” versions of some of the onOne software applications, they are now offering downloads for COMPLETELY FREE templates and layouts for albums, photo books and other products. As well as backgrounds, “widgets” and other design-it-yourself parts. All of which are very high quality.

Get the free downloads at: http://www.onOneSoftware.com/free
Please note, you will need to register a free account with them to access downloads.

Today I turn 34. (Strangely I still get carded for alcohol.) And my blog is just a baby still after turning 1 year old on April 18th.

It’s interesting I have actually continued it so long. I somewhat expected to run out of ideas and/or have little interest in what I post but the opposite has been true. I’m FULL of ideas for posts (but short on time to make them) and have had increasing numbers of “regulars” as well as rapid growth from all parts of the world thanks to fellow bloggers who have helped spread my tutorials and posts through your own sites.

Just some interesting blog stats as of now:

Blog Active since April 18, 2009 (1yr, 6 days)
Total Views: 41,231
Busiest Day: 944 : Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Posts: 69
Comments: 119

Not half bad for a simple blog started one year ago out of boredom.

And on that note, I am actually planning on finishing the HDR post series and hope to include examples using Photoshop CS5 as well as other processing options. I also hope to test and post more about CS5, Lightroom 3 and more as I get the updated software. I do plan on more hardware tests as well as another lab “throwdown” in upcoming months as time and money permits.