From the very first version of Lightroom in 2006, Adobe has been releasing public betas prior to shipping to make sure that the final product has all of the kinks worked out, and this year is no exception. Earlier today, Adobe released the public beta of its upcoming Lightroom 5, complete with video and photo examples of a few exciting new features. Read more…
Nikon released software development kits (SDKs) for its SLRs some time ago, allowing for developers to create software that play nice with Nikon cameras. Using the company’s DSLR SDKs, savvy programmers can develop software that controls camera functions such as aperture, shutter speed and even shutter release.
Unfortunately, Nikon’s SDKs are notoriously difficult to work with. But if you’re just dying to control your SLR from your computer, SourceForge user Thomas Dideriksen has kindly done the heavy lifting for you by putting together an open source C# wrapper library that allows you to do just that.
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Following on the heels of a similar announcement by Adobe itself, design marketplace Creative Market has announced that it too has set up an in-app marketplace for Photoshop users. Out now, Creative Market’s Photoshop extension allows users to browse and buy from the company’s massive catalog of templates, fonts, infographics and more without ever leaving the comfort of Photoshop. Read more…
Steganography is the art of passing secret messages in a way that most observers wouldn’t detect even though the message is in plain view. Unlike cryptography, which attempts to transmit messages as nonsense, steganography uses security through obscurity, relying on the fact that most people aren’t looking for secret messages in ordinary things. Passing notes in invisible ink would be one example.
Owen-Campbell Moore, a computer science researcher over at Oxford University, has been developing a method for passing secret messages through Facebook photo sharing.
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Hyperlapse photography involves shooting a series of photographs over large distances and then stringing the photos together into a time-lapse video that zooms the viewer through the locations. Creating a real hyperlapse involves quite a bit of work, so the folks over at Teehan+Lax Labs decided to go virtual by turning to Google Street View to source the necessary photos.
The gorgeous hyperlapse video above was created entirely using Google Street View photos, and shows the locations visited by the Street View camera van in a way that’s very different from what you see through your browser.
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Photo sharing is “in” these days. Just look around, and you’ll find that pretty much every major social network has it as a major pillar of their service. Facebook is the largest photo sharing site in the world by volume. Google+ has all but absorbed the once powerful Picasa brand.
With so many services competing for your pixels, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the best images from your contacts. It’s something developer Arthur Chang calls “photo consumption fatigue,” and he believes he has a solution.
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Amateurs just getting into post-processing sometimes opt to purchase the much cheaper Photoshop Elements over spending the hundreds more it would cost to get the industry standard pro version. Unfortunately, the gap in features between Elements and the upgrade leaves a lot to be desired, which is why the ElementsXXL plug-in came to be.
ElementsXXL is a Windows-only plug-in that brings a massive list of features previously reserved for the full-featured Photoshop to Elements — all for only $50. Read more…
Social photo sharing, especially where location services are involved, is tricky. As we saw with the Color app debacle, privacy concerns rule all and no amount of pre-release hype and funding can overcome those. Still, as TechCrunch columnist MG Siegler said on his blog, “a killer social photo album service” should exist, and Albumatic is making a bid for that designation. Read more…
Most smartphone photography apps are all about three things: taking, editing and sharing. ThrowBack, however, isn’t about any of them. Instead of focusing on taking your photos and enjoying them now, the ThrowBack app wants you to “forget your memories so they can be remembered again.” Read more…
The Touch is a Mac app created by Arctic Whiteness that allows photographers and videographers to get a better handle on Lightroom and Final Cut Pro X by adding extensive touch gesture functionality.
Using The Touch and either a magic trackpad or the company’s free iPad app, you never have to take your eyes off your work in order to tweak it. You can adjust sliders, move through photos, and even set star ratings without ever glancing down at the keyboard or digging through side panels. Read more…
