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Chromasia Photoshop Tutorials
Looks like The Nightingale's (of Chromasia fame) new Photoshop tutorial is up. It's titled "LAB Color mode: part two" and can be found here. Since it's part two, you might also be interested in part one.
I haven't actually checked any of these out, but the sample, on Tonal Range and the Curves Tool looks very detailed and well done. I'll have to read in more detail later. Thoughts? Are they worth the money?
Ritz Camera Earth Day Special
Ritz Camera, yesterday launched a Special Edition Nikon Coolpix S52 (which isn't even out yet), for Earth Day (Happy belated Earth Day!). The camera is green and for each purchase, Ritz will purchase enough carbon credits to offset 1.91 tons of carbon dioxide from Carbon Fund. Check out the eco-friendly details.
Maybe You Need Some Photoshop Actions
Photoshop users who spend lots of time trying to get things just right, might be interested in some actions that do things right. I can't vouch for them since I haven't used them, but the examples look great, and perhaps your photos can too—with little to know post production work.
Nikon D300 (Updated)
Engadget is predicting that a new set of professional grade DSLRs are expected from Nikon perhaps as soon as tomorrow. The new bodies, D300 and D3, presumably replace the D200, and D2 series, and add new features such as the potentially battery sucking live LCD display, and up to 11 FPS on the D3 (8 possible on the D300).
EDIT: It appears that Nikon has infact released two new cameras and a bunch of new lenses. The D3 and the D300 have been introduced and look incredible. Also introduced (in the D3), is a new full frame sensor, which is capable of adapting to the DX style lenses seemlessly. Those users who have invested a ton to outfit their D2's with DX lenses aren't out of luck, but you will only get 5.1 megapixels instead of the 12.1 of the full size FX sensor. Great to see that Nikon didn't render the DX lenses entirely useless though.
DPReview Gets Acquired by Amazon
DPReview was just acquired by Amazon.com.
Congratulations DPReview! But, please, please, don't stop writing great articles and reviews!
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Gel Mods and Cheap Slave Flashes
A while back I mentioned a simple 15 minute light tent, that could be used as a makeshift studio for product shots and other small things. One of the great things about that setup is that you don't necessarily need to have slave flash units to use it, but Dave Pearson shows us how we can use the (very reasonably priced) Quantaray MS-1 flash boosters as the external light source. These things fire when they see another flash, so you don't need to trigger them with some other tool. It's all automagically taken care of for you. Dave's article talks about how to modify them to use gels to get some special effects, and is well worth a look at. His article also mentions Strobist's $10 Macro Studio, which is similar to the 15 minute light tent.
Buy a Gorillapod Already
I'm tired of the buzz, the name and seeing them all over, but I do really want one. They now come in a hefty SLR version too. <insert gorilla impression here>.
Tabblo Books Beta
Tabblo, a great way to tell a story in pictures, just launched Tabblo Books. The books are available in 2 sizes 4 x 4" (at $9.99USD) and 9.5 × 8* (starting at $29.99USD).
Like other parts of Tabblo, Tabblo Books brings with it a nice, in browser, dynamic interface. And, of course they have ready made templates.
Ricoh First Anniversary GR Digital
They'll go quick, but if you're lucky enough to catch one, DPReview reports about the Ricoh First Aniversary GR Digital camera. There's only 1000 units, and it goes on sale this month. The GR is a well reviewed professional grade high resolution compact camera. Read DPReview's coverage about the Anniversary GR.
