I suppose I'd better get this done and over with. Adobe Photoshop CC. Right now I'm using CS3 and I was going to upgrade pretty soon. Now, there's no way I'm going to increase my monthly basic costs; on the contrary I'm trying to reduce it and reduce it I will. That means I'm going to have to make some decisions that I'm not going to like making. Do I stay with the present version or am I going to look elsewhere for something a little more basic. I have to admit, I don't use 90% of the functions available in Photoshop but it does what I do. I've used it for so long (albeit an older version) I know what I'm doing and it takes me a few minutes to finish off an image for web or print or for a stock site. I've got all my actions, plug-ins and whatnots in there and I know what they are. I'm not looking forward to re-learning another program and I'm sure that my plug-ins won't be compatible with the other programs. Why? Because Photoshop is the standard program out there and every image has been "Photoshoped", even if Photoshop hasn't been used for post processing.
Lightroom: Yes I have Lightroom and I've just updated to the latest version and I do a lot in Lightroom nowadays but I like finishing my images off in Photoshop. I guess I just hate change. That's bad because if you don't change, you lose. A lot of functions have crept into Lightroom in the last few upgrades that it nearly, but only nearly, gives me all the functions that I require. There are still a few things I still do in Photoshop. As Google released the full Nik suite for something like €150 I jumped on it. That is now incorporated into Lightroom and I've just purchased a couple of other donation ware software that I hope it will help me get weaned off Photophop. I'll let you know how I get along.
Other photo editing software: I've been looking around the Internet for a substitute to Photoshop and I'm not really impressed with any on them really. It's like learning another language and I'm tired of doing that too.
Let's have a little list of possible candidates:
I looked at this many years ago and I just didn't like it. Had too much of the Linux look for my taste but I've just downloaded the latest version and installed it. One major point it's got going for it is that it's free. Now that's what I call a good deal. Seems to have improved a lot since I last installed it so Gimp will be looked at a little further.
Installed the test version and it doesn't look too bad. Going to have to play with this some more too.
I haven't bought any OnOneSoftware packages, and I just didn't like the look of this suite. Going to get binned and I'm not going to consider it. It might be a very well thought out program and works wonderfully, but not for me.
I don't think so. Doesn't offer enough to even consider it.
I even bought the earlier version of this software and started using it in earnest. However, it was soooooooo slow I gave up in the end. I don't think I'm going back to this suite. I suppose it's a "Once bitten, twice shy" situation.
The Lightroom plug-ins I bought were from this site: Photographers Toolbox. I donated some money to keep the site going and they might supplement my Lightroom workflow. Now that LR5 incorporates the straightening tool (Upright), Radial Gradient tool and the Advanced Healing Brush that eliminates a lot from Photoshop. It just gets better with every release.
That's all I'm going to consider. Any more and I would lose interest in it all. It's not something I like doing (testing software) although I have been ion the industry for some time, which might just be the reason I don't like doing it.
There's a good article on TOP (The Online Photographer) that reflects my thoughts exactly. Photoshop is too complicated for what I do and Lightroom just doesn't do enough at present. I want the same software product that he does, something not too complicated, easy to learn, does just enough to eliminate Photoshop altogether and doesn't cost too much. Wishful thinking on my part.
Why did I bring all this up in this post? Well, it's partly because of the image above. Cycling through Frankfurt a few weeks ago I came across a building site and the outer perimeter was covered in graffiti. It was excellent stuff and the image above is just one photograph I took of the entire wall. I was wishing I was that talented but I have to revert to other methods to get my creativity going, hence Photoshop and my dilemma.
If anyone has any other ideas or programs they use, I would appreciate some feedback or recommendations.
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07/21/13  Sony Nex-7 - LEA2 - Sony DT 55-200 f4-5.61540
NEX-7 Focal Length: 55 mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure Time: 1/100 sec ISO: 200 • Sony • Nex-7 • LEA2 • 55-200 f4-5.6 • software
12/07/12  Nik SFX IITaken with the mZD 75-300 at 171mm and f8. Converted with Nik SFXII, the best converter on the market today. 3152
E-M5 Focal Length: 171 mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure Time: 1/800 sec ISO: 200 • Olympus • OM-D • mZD 75 • 300 • Italy • Dolomites • Landscape • Nik • SFX II • software • mountains
10/12/12  Nik SFXIIThere are times when you know an image will look better in B&W than in colour. This is such an image. Using Nik SFXII to develop it allows you a lot of leaway in the way the image will look. There's so much control that I sometimes get lost in all of it, but I do get there eventually. I think it's time to create some profiles because every time I start a conversion, it's like starting from scratch again. Getting old I suppose. 2654
E-M5 Focal Length: 63 mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure Time: 1/400 sec ISO: 200 • Software • Nik • SFXII • mZD 14-150 • Olympus
09/13/12  SFXIIThis is the converted image. I think it turned out quite well. There is no beating this piece of software from Nik. Lots of possibilities to tweak the image to just how you want it to look. I must see what I can get out of this in Lightroom 4.1 which has improved immensely since the update.
Hope you like this. 2476
E-PL1 Focal Length: 45 mm Aperture: f/1.8 Exposure Time: 1/1250 sec ISO: 200 06/03/12  Nik SFX2This is a monochrome conversion of the image posted yesterday. Using Nik SFX2 as a Photoshop plug-in, I still think it's the best on the market. I gives you precise control over all aspects of a conversion. I'm quite pleased with this conversion especially looking at the hill contours. Having said that, if you don't get the image correct in camera then your conversion will show that. A good exposure with good detail will go a long way during the monochrome conversion phase. 2502
E-P3 Focal Length: 16 mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure Time: 1/125 sec ISO: 200 • SFX2 • Nik • software • B&W • conversion
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