A Great Flash Blog

There has been some interest from some members of the club in learning how to use their flash when taking photos.  I have been reluctent in the past to really touch on this subject simply because I am not a good flash photographer and I would hate to steer someone down the wrong path.  That being said I have come across a wonderful blog that deals with flash photography (primarily dealing with off-camera flash).  There is a ton of information on this blog and I think it would be a great place to start a journey on flash photography (just do not blame me if you spend too much money on buying multiple flash guns).

You can check it out here:  Strobist

This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level.

Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about how to more effectively use your small speedlights. There are more than 1,000 articles about lighting. Over a million photographers from around the world have learned small-flash lighting techniques from this site. We’re thinking you can, too.

Have fun…….. 

Edit:  For those of you using Canon EOS speedlights here is a great resource for getting help in understanding how the Canon speedlight system works.  This is required reading if you are having trouble with your Canon flash system.   

Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras

Photo$hop C$3

I have noticed recently when chatting with other photographers that the tool of choice when processing photos is Adobe Photoshop.  It is a great tool and I personally use it for most of my photo processing along with a few other tools. 

However I have asked myself many times how much of the program do I actually use?  After some honest reflection I have come to realize that I am just scratching the surface of what one can actually get out of the program.  Then I ask myself if the high cost is really justified, especially if there are a number of excellent photo adjustment tools out there that are basically free.

I thought I would share with you some of the free photo adjustment tools you can check out and perhaps save you a lot of money. 

1.  The GIMP -  This is a very popular photo tool that has been around for a long time and is in fact FREE for use.  Originally getting its start in Linux, recent versions also support Windows.  The program is actually very powerful and with a bit of work can pretty much match what you can do in Photoshop.  One of the biggest issues though is getting used to the user interface.  But once you get the hang of it, it proves to be a very very capable image processor.

2.  Picasa - This small little program from Google is actually a very capable photo tool.  With its excellent photo archiving / viewing features you can also perform some basic photo touch ups.  I personally use this program a lot for viewing photos on my computer as well as preparing photos to email to family.  It is very easy to use and I strongly recommend it, perhaps not as your primary photo tool but as a tool for easily seeing your photos on your PC.

3. Paint.Net - This is another free and powerful tool that I have putting on computers at work.  Here is a little blurb about the program:

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

I will end it there, with a small little plug for FastStone added as it is a tool recommended by a lot of people at out Photo Club.  I personally do not use it but from what I have seen it does have a lot of features for viewing and basic editing of photos.  If anyone else has any other suggestions for photo editing tools please feel free to share them here. 

PS:  The tools I use, but are not free. 

-Photoshop CS3 (I get the educational price as I work at a College so it is a fraction of the street cost).
-Adobe LightRoom (I have not been sold yet on this program but I have not tried version 2 yet).
-FotoFusion (excellent tool for placing photos on a canvas or book templates.  I am using the Extreme version.)
-PhotoCleaner  (a very small and simple, but I think a very powerful photo editing tool.  I use it with every photo I have processed for years and is the primary tool I use for resizing photos).
- Noise Ninja 2 (for removing high ISO noise from tools.  The paint brush tool for masking areas of the photo you do not wish to have noise removed from is extremely useful).