The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book, by Richard Lynch, ISBN: 978-0-240-52076-6, Review

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou, February 2008 Published by: Focal Press & Elsevier Requires: N/A MSRP: US$39.95, UK£24.95 (CD-ROM included) As the title suggests, this book is centered entirely on the use and capabilities of the immensely powerful and much-emulated Layers feature in Photoshop. Richard Lynch is an expert Photoshop user and a very capable artist, designer and photographer in his own right. His knowledge of all versions of the Photoshop series of software shines through in this highly detailed book. Taking a task-based approach, Lynch uses techniques which translate well through pretty much every version of Photoshop since CS. Focal Press offers dozens of Photoshop titles covering digital photo editing techniques, creative imaging with Photoshop and creative design with Photoshop. The subject coverage in The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book is far more narrowly focused than other Focal Press titles however, and deals strictly with the powerful layers functions and creative possibilities with layers. The Table of Contents is clear cut: Introduction: The World of Image Layers The Basics of Layers: Layer Functions and Creation Layer Management: Concepts of a Layer-Based Workflow Basic Object and Image Area Isolation Masking: Enhanced Area Isolation Applying Layer Effects Exploring Layer Modes Advanced Blending Modes Breaking Out Components Taking an Image Through the Process Making Layered Collage and Composite Images Epilogue: Using RAW in Your Layer Workflow Considering Color Management: Testing Your Workflow Lynch covers everything from layer types, work flows, blending methods and channels. Each tutorial goes into great detail on how to achieve your given task and also explains why particular tools are used and how. The only real problem is that all this detail tends to leave the expert user wanting to skip through the book. Beginners (and even a few intermediate) Photoshop users, as well as people new to pixel-level creativity software, general image editing and photo editing deserve an explanation of layers. For the uninitiated then, here's an explanation of layers from Virtual Training Help Center "Layers are like transparencies stacked one on top of one another." Each layer can contain a different image, effect or modification which can stand out from, enhance or blend in with the contents of all the layers above and below it. When the layers are stacked, they appear as a single image. Individual layers in a Photoshop image can be turned on or off, allowing images to be saved in various different states. Parts of one layer can be used to hide or reveal parts of another layer. The list of functional and creative possibilities for layers goes on and on, and remains one of several important reasons that Photoshop, relatively early in its existence, garnered such widespread use by graphic artists and photographers around the world. Beginners still not clear? Here's another explanation, this one from photoshopcafe.com: "A layer is simply one image stacked on top of another. Imagine I have a piece of paper and I paint it red. Then I take a piece of clear cellophane and paint a yellow circle, and lay it over the paper. Now I take another peice of cellophane and paint some blue type and lay that on top of the yellow circle. I now have a background (red) and 2 layers (yellow and blue)." The Photoshop Roadmap and FreeTimeFoto explain layers this way: "Photoshop Layers are like stacks of images printed on acetate. An area that contains no color can be revealed to see the layer underneath it. That's called a transparency area. One Photoshop image can contain one or more layers. A Background Layer is a special layer with no transparency area and is common to other file formats that don't support layers (JPEG, BMP, etc.). When you open those file formats in Photoshop you will have only a Background Layer. One image file can contain only one Background Layer. In Photoshop, Background Layer can not be edited. A Type Layer is a special layer that can contain only text. It can be created automatically when you use the Photoshop Type Tool to type in any texts." This description is from Jack Arraich's Photoshop Elements Tips: "Aside from the minor attraction of being able to keep your image organized by putting each element on its own separate labeled layer, the overwhelming advantage of layers is that they allow you to segregate your edits." The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book uses a series of creative examples to expand the basic definitions of layers in ways that clearly demonstrate the depth and power of this important and versatile tool set in Photoshop. Even though The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book mainly confirms much of what I already know and use in my daily professional work with Photoshop, I still found some useful new nuggets of information in chapter 7 - Advance Blending with Blend If, which focuses on the use of the advanced capabilities provided in the Layer Styles dialog. As a long time user of Photoshop I found myself often smiling at several of the example projects in The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book because they echoed things I have encountered on past projects. I was however left feeling that the examples used in the book needed a little fleshing out. I would like to have seen an example matrix-type approach with several different types of images featured to show a range of results, especially in the Exploring Layer Modes chapter. Cons: Too general in some sections for experienced users. Although most parts of the layers coverage is comprehensive, deeper examples could improve an already fine book. Pros: Excellent hints and tips. Comprehensive coverage of Photoshop layers for beginner and intermediate users. Lynch seems to do a good job of avoiding computer platform bias, so Windows and Mac OS X users alike will derive equal value from the book. Relevant for most recent versions of Photoshop including Photoshop CS, Photoshop CS2, Photoshop CS3, Photoshop Elements 5 and Photoshop Elements 6. This excellent, focused book and its companion CD will no doubt open the eyes of many beginners and intermediate users about the functional and creative capabilities of layers in Photoshop. Highly recommended.

Silver Oxide Intro Orthochromatic Filter

Silver Oxide, have introduced a new filter which emulates the look of Orthographic film. Until 1925, Hollywood studios used orthochromatic Eastman Standard Negative stock. Orthochromatic film was only sensitive to the brightest natural light, so large ultraviolet lamps had to be used during shooting. It also registered only blue light, so anything colored red showed up on the film as black. Silver Oxide produce excellent digital filters which do an excellent job of emulating classic Black and White films. The new generation of SilverOxide filters also work as Smart Filters in CS3. For more info and demos visit SilverOxide.

DFT Announce Power Stroke 1.0

DFT have announced the release of Power Stroke version 1.0, a stroke based color correction, colorization and special effects plug-in. Designed with the digital photographers, graphic designers and artists in mind, Power Stroke uses a simple, interactive stroke-based interface to quickly and intuitively perform targeted adjustments. Instead of meticulously selecting regions or hand- painting masks, regions of interest are isolated by drawing a few simple brush strokes with adjustments then made only in those areas. Strokes can be assigned multiple corrections and effects such as color correction, recoloring or desaturation, colorization of black and white images, blur, fill light for dimly lit image areas and diffusion/glow. "Based on the concepts of luminance-weighted chrominance blending and fast intrinsic distance computations, Power Stroke produces high quality results at a fraction of the complexity and computational cost of previous techniques." From what I can see DFT have created yet another easy to use and useful tool for imageers and photographers. Power Stroke is based on research and technology by Liron Yatziv and Guillermo Sapiro from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, and is exclusively licensed by Digital Film Tools. For more information visit Digital Film Tools.

DFT Announce Power Mask 1.0

Power Mask version 1.0, is according to DFT, the first real time, interactive masking tool. As you paint along the edge of the object to be extracted, either the mask or the final composite can be revealed instantly. Powermask simply updates the object to be extracted in real time. Power Mask can extract almost any object in an image -- fine hair detail, smoke, or reflections can be handled with ease. Once a mask is extracted, using Power Mask the foreground object can be seamlessly composed onto a new background in Adobe Photoshop as well as apply filter and image corrections only within the area defined by the mask. Power Mask is based on unpublished research and technology by Jue Wang from the University of Washington and is exclusively licensed by Digital Film Tools. For more information visit Digital Film Tools

Focus on Filter Forge

Review by Mario Georgiou Filter Forge - http://www.filterforge.com/ Stand Alone and Photoshop Plug-in Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows 2000, Windows Vista Basic $99, Standard $199, Pro $299 I am a big fan of the work being done by third party Photoshop Plug-in creators and have a sizeable collection of plug-ins. When Filter Forge came to my attention a few weeks back, I dropped a line to the creators of this interesting and powerful tool to request a copy for review. What I experienced with this really cool tool brought a smile to my face. Filter Forge is exactly what it sounds like, a tool for producing and applying filters and procedural textures, and a whole lot more besides. Filter Forge comes in 3 versions, a $99 Basic edition provides unlimited access to the Filter Library but cannot create filters. The $199 Standard edition allows photographers and graphic artists create their own filters, including effects, textures, distortions, patterns, backgrounds, and frames. The $299 Professional edition was designed with the needs of 3D-content and game creators in mind. Providing support and features useful in architectural visualization, 3D Rendering and Design and includes support for bitmaps as large as 65000x65000 pixels, 16- and 32-bit images, and floating point based file formats such as OpenEXR and PFM. I was fortunate to be able to review the Pro edition and was extremely impressed by the performance and the range of filters available via the online filter library. Once accessed and downloaded you can transport your filters with relative ease however you do need an Internet connection which will give you access to well over 2000 filters and textures. The creation of filters is facilitated via a visual node-based editor which is both extremely powerful and quite easy to use once you can get your head around the concept. Filters are created visually by connecting components in a flow diagram to combine effects and functions. Available components include Brightness / Contrast, Channels, Gradients, Noise, Colour Adjustments, Distortions, Patterns, Curves, Curve Operations, Image Processing Controls and much more. For Pro-Level users this is a very powerful and welcome tool. The editor allows the user to create some very useful tools and effects, and one of the best features of this tool is the ability for users to be able to share their created filters online via the free filter library. The only omission in this powerful is support for user definable formulae - something for the future I guess... For the Animator, designer and texture creator, the ability to create seamless and resolution independent textures and patterns. Add the capability for creating bump and normal maps and you have a really useful production tool. The filters are also resolution independent and capable of some many effects that you'll find yourself suffering from option paralysis. There is even a Randomizer which shakes things up a bit by allowing you to generate filters on the fly. Core features and technology include support for Dual-core CPU's, HDRI Images, 8, 16 and 32 Bit image modes, Floating point file formats and a really useful smart anti aliasing feature which uses antialiasing only where, and when it is needed. The only drawback for many users will be the cost, but this is somewhat silly when you bear in mind that the Pro filter is aimed at pro level users and that the average imageer doesn't really have a need for the advanced capabilities the editor and pro feature will afford. Support is excellent with an extensive online help system and very active online user forums. The overall tone on the forums is one of cooperation and reveals a real sense of community, with contributors even offering to share credits with other users... Cons. Price. Learning curve for the Filter Editor. Pros - Easy to use. Powerful, Scalable. Excellent Support, Large number of filters. As a tool Filter Forge really has no equal, it is more than just a single effect tool, it is a library of effects and treatments that work as both a Photoshop Plug-in and also as a stand alone application. I found it both powerful and easy to use. This is one tool any imageer, artist and photographer should have in their toolbox. Highly recommended.

AKVIS Updates Noise Buster

AKVIS LLC have released Noise Buster v. 4.0, a digital image noise reduction plug-in. The new version of Noise Buster includes the ability to save user settings and presets, compatibility with Windows Vista, and a change in Mac installation instructions. V4 is now a universal binary for Macs. Registered users can download the latest version for free. Visit AKVIS for more info.

Google Acquire Panoramio

Google have announce the acquisition of Panoramio, a spanish based company that has a free photo sharing web portal. The site allows users to store up to 2 GB of info and photos so that they can record and share their journeys and vacations. The site would appear to be the perfect companion to google earth. Visit Panoramio for more info...

Digital Restoration From Start to Finish - Review

Review by Mario Georgiou Digital Restoration From Start to Finish - Photo-Repair.com Author: Ctein - Ctein.com Publisher: Focal Press - Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier 480 pages ISBN: 0-240-80814-2 US $39.95 UK £24.99 Having recovered and restored many photos over the years, it was with great interest that I requested "Digital Restoration From Start to Finish" for review. It like several other titles I have recently reviewed from Focal Press are hefty and well presented reference books. Ctein is a photographer and imageer who has served the online imaging and photo community for many years, offering both his valuable expertise and keen insights. His work in photography and computers has established him as an expert in photographic arts and technologies. He is recognised by Kodak as one of the foremost colour print makers in the world. The book itself is an insightful and well presented work which reflects both the skill and passion Ctein has placed into his field of expertise. It begins by covering many of the tools, technologies and issues which have to be considered before beginning to repair and restore any photos. The software covered is largely cross-platform in nature; however several of the tools featured are only available for Windows. Ctein has arranged the book to work in a kind of project centric structure so that readers can pick and chose the information they want to use. The book covers how to prepare and clean images for scanning and also provides some excellent tips on how to scan different materials for the best results. The book continues with coverage on how to restore colour, improve skin tones, repair scratches, tears, stains and other issues. The information available is quite in depth and to be honest it might lose the less proficient imageer. As Photoshop is used throughout the book I recommend that you at least develop a decent level of familiarity with this tool. The last sections of the book are devoted to how to profile your printer, black and white toning, display and storage of prints for longevity and digital archiving. Although pretty good these sections are a little thin on the ground and could have done with some expansion, especially in light of how detailed the rest of the reference is. Overall I enjoyed this excellent book as I work with a lot of analogue media. However I would like to see this book rewritten in part to include media which has digital origination. That would in my mind complete this otherwise excellent volume. Cons - Little Coverage of the process of recovering badly degraded Digital Images. No CD with images and materials for the tutorials. Pros - Professional and extensive coverage of the issues surrounding handling old and damages materials and photos. Comprehensive. Highly Technical. Ctein has produced an excellent reference which will teach even the most experienced of us a trick or two. It is a highly technical and comprehensive look at the issues which will affect the restoration of old and damaged images and also one which offers much in the way of effective solutions for the imageer to use in solving these problems. Highly recommended.

Filter Forge Release Photoshop Filter Suite

Filter Forge have released a suite of Photoshop Filters for creating artistic and graphical effects. The Suite comes in 3 flavours and are aimed at Graphic artists, Illustrators and Photographers. Filter Forge also allows computer artists to build their own filters through the powerful visual node based filter editor. Using this powerful tool you can easily create seamless textures, visual effects, distortions, patterns, backgrounds, frames and more. The Basic, Standard and Professional editions, priced at $99, $199 and $299 respectively, offer different features-sets for entry-level, mainstream and professional graphic artists. For more info visit Filter Forge. Some of the filters look very good and there are also many presets available in their online filter library.

Public Beta of Fluid Mask 3

Vertus, announced the Public Beta of Fluid Mask 3. Fluid Mask 3 is a powerful and intuitive masking and high-quality image blending tool. Fluid Mask 3 is available as a stand-alone and Photoshop Plug-in. With Version 3 there have been enhancements with the edge detection and performance along with added improvements with blending and a new "Save Settings" option; a "Color Work Space" palette which now includes a "Color Sampler", and which enables users to select specific colors from an image and to see where else the same color appears. Also available is the "Color Work Space", a new 2-D color map enables more accurate color selection. There are several new brush tools and an improved "Localized Edge Detection System" which enables users to perform more detailed edge finding and more refined blending. The new "Patch" system allows users to make localized changes. For more information and to download the public beta, visit Vertus Tech

Security Hole Found In Photoshop CS2 & CS3

An exploit code that could take advantage of a "highly critical" security flaw in Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 3, as well as CS2, has been published. The security flaw is related to the way Adobe Photoshop handles the processing of bitmap files, such as .bmp, .dib and .rle. A malicious file of these types, could allow an attacker to exploit the flaw to launch a buffer overflow attack. The resulting buffer overflow could then allow the intruder to take over the affected user's system. For more info visit silicon.com.

Adobe Begin Shipping CS3

Adobe have commenced shipping CS3, Quite how many folks will upgrade initially remains to be seen, however I've heard from a few designers that the price here in the UK is quite a barrier. Many are thinking about buying grey market US versions. Can't say I blame them... For more information on the release visit Adobe.

NAPP Announces 2007 Guru Award Winners

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals announced the winners of their 2007 Guru Award for the East Coast in Boston. I found the page where these winners were posted to be somewhat disappointing as I couldn't get a better look at the images. However, several of the images, stood out amongst their peers. Namely; "Stewart Island" by Scott Montgomery, "A Day in the Life" by Laura Behnke and "Molokai Infrared" by Judy Morse. The Guru Awards were created exclusively to recognize the innovation and creativity of attendees of the Photoshop World Conference. I would love to see what some of the other entrants work was like...

Digital Infrared Travel Photography Feature

Professional Photographer magazine have posted a feature on Infrared based travel photography by Joe Farace. I've always had a fascination of near visible light based photography and the effects it has on everyday objects, flora and fauna especially. The online article can be found here and contains many useful hints and tips. The images in the article are also very useful references for those who want to see what is achievable. There are also some very useful links contained in the article.

Alien Skin Eye Candy Effects Collection

Alien Skin Software have released the Eye Candy Effects Collection , which bundles Eye Candy 5: Impact, Eye Candy 5: Nature, Eye Candy 5: Textures, Xenofex 2, and Snap Art plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop and other photoshop plug-in compatible applications. The Eye Candy Effects Collection includes 54 special effects filters with over 1000 presets. These filters allow digital artists and graphic designers to create chrome, fire, smoke, lightning, clouds, comics and dozens of other effects with a single click. These plug-in can be downloaded, including 30 day demos, at the Alien Skin Website. The Eye Candy Effects Collection retails for $399.

Andromeda Offering Discounts

Long time Photoshop Plug-in manufacturers, andromeda are offering discounts on their Plug-ins bundles for Photoshop. Pop on over to Andromeda to find out more about their offers and to sign up to their newsletter. I'm hoping to see some updates to their excellent software suites.

AKVIS Retoucher v.2.5

AKVIS LLC have announced the release of their AKVIS Retoucher plug-in v.2.5 for Windows and Macintosh. version 2.5 includes compatibility with Windows Vista, a new installation and activation method on Macintosh. The upgrade is free for registered users. For more information on Retoucher and all their products, visit Akvis.

Online Version Of Photoshop

Adobe is planning to release a web-based version of its popular Photoshop image-editing application within the next six months. Adobe’s CEO, Bruce Chizen, indicated in an interview with CNET, that the web-based Photoshop service is set to be free and marketed as an entry-level version their more sophisticated image-editing tools. Revenue from the Photoshop service will most likely be derived from online advertising.

Camera Raw 3.7 for Photoshop CS2 now available

Adobe have released Camera Raw 3.7, a free update of their RAW plug-in for Photoshop CS2. Support has been added for RAW files from the Nikon D40 and Pentax K10D, and includes informal support for several Phase One backs and the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro. Version 3.7 also supports cross-application compatibility between Lightroom 1.0 and Photoshop CS2 RAW processing settings. For more information visit Camera RAW, to download Adobe Camera Raw 3.7, together with an updated DNG Converter, visit the following links for Windows and Mac versions.

RealGrain 1.0.1

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou Published by: Imagenomic Requires: Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3 or Elements 3/4 or a recent edition of a plug-in compliant program; Windows 2000, XP or Vista; Mac OS X 10.3.x/10.4.x; 256MB RAM, 10MB available hard disk space MSRP: US$99.95 Of all the tools Imagenomic makes, RealGrain is my favorite. The main reason for this is its versatility and the accuracy with which it emulates a wide variety of film types and film development processes. With this useful plug-in you can emulate black & white or color films from Agfa, Fuji, Ilford and Kodak. You can even emulate effects such as cross processing, split toning, black & white or color infrared, sepia toning and a whole lot more. The range of film stocks which are emulated is awesome. RealGrain is available separately or as part of the Imagenomic Professional Plug-in Suite along with Portraiture and Noiseware Professional. Like all other Imagenomic offerings RealGrain really needs no manual. The user interface in the filter speaks for itself. I got to grips with it quickly with no need to refer to the manual and had hours of fun trying things out. The ability to automatically adjust grain size so that it is based on an images physical dimensions and resolution is another feature which puts this plug-in ahead of its competitors. The ability to control how grain is generated is one of the best implementations I've seen yet with only one competitor producing better results. Even though the addition or manipulation of digital grain isn't quite perfect, in RealGrain it is still by far the most versatile with control over the tonal range, balance and intensity as well as grain size. The only way to improve upon this would be to develop a method of modeling the shape of chemical film grain so that you could more accurately represent the real world equivalents. With the range of film stocks and looks being emulated it is hard to see what could be added to improve this easy to use tool. Nonetheless, I have some suggestions for Imagenomic for emulations I'd like to see: selenium toning, sistan toning, cyanotypes and lithprinting among others. Cons: Would like to see some more control over the look of the grain. I think there's still some work to be done by Imagenomic to create more realistic looking grain. It would be nice to be able to access all the presets in one place. Pros: RealGrain is fast and easy to use. Highly configurable. Excellent selection of film types. Great value for the money. This is without a doubt one of the best tools of its kind. With a few small improvements in how film grain is handled and the addition of a few more film type effects it will be hard act to beat. Highly Recommended.

Portraiture 1.0.1

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou Published by: Imagenomic Requires: Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3 or Elements 3/4/5 or a recent edition of a plug-in compliant program; Windows 2000, XP or Vista; Mac OS X 10.3.x/10.4.x; 256MB RAM, 10MB available hard disk spaceMSRP: US$169.95 The Portraiture plug-in is designed is to simplify the process and shorten the time it takes to carry out digital photo portrait retouching. With features like intelligent smoothing and blemish removal, an auto-mask feature that recognizes optimal skin tones and controls for fine-tuning the effect, you really can't go too far wrong. Portraiture is available separately or as part of the Imagenomic Professional Plug-in Suite which also includes Noiseware Professional and RealGrain. The presets that come with this powerful plug-in, are more than enough to retouch most digital images. However for the user who requires finer control over the look and feel of retouched images there are a wide array of fine control sliders which will allow exacting Retouchers to adjust things to their hearts content. The plug-in is really easy to use. In fact, I very quickly began asking myself if that was all there was to it. Obviously, there has been a lot of effort put into this tool and it's pretty evident when you see just how simple it is. My only complaint is that although I can see the benefit in time saving alone, I can't understand why Portraiture v1.0.1 is a full $100 more than the Noiseware Plug-in which is also part of the Imagenomic Professional Plug-in Suite along with Portraiture. Version 1.0.1 is the latest release of Portraiture and fully supports native Intel Mac systems, as well as Microsoft's Vista operating system. Portraiture v1.0.1 is also optimized to support Photoshop CS3 in both its release and public beta versions. Although there is no built in spot removal or blemish removal tool, the absence is forgivable mainly because those sorts of photo repair tools are almost invariably already part of most photo editors. I did find the Skin Tones Mask capability very impressive. By using a selection tool I was able to restrict the application of the filter to a narrower range of tones making the effect all that more effective. Cons: The absence of an integrated blemish and spot repair tool is a minor gripe, but the high price is a bit of a concern. Pros: Fast and easy to use. Highly configurable. Skin Tones Mask feature is very well implemented. The Portraiture v1.0.1 plug-in is the ideal tool for photo studios that deal with portraiture, glamour and fashion imagery. Portraiture is available by itself or as part of the Imagenomic Professional Plug-in Suite. Highly Recommended.

Noiseware Professional 4.1.1

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou Published by: Imagenomic Requires: Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3 or Elements 3/4 or a recent edition of a plug-in compliant program; Windows 2000, XP or Vista; Mac OS X 10.3.x/10.4.x; 256MB RAM, 10MB available hard disk space MSRP: US$69.95 Imagenomic creates tools and Photoshop plug-ins for imageers, designers and photographers. The Noiseware Professional plug-in consists of a standalone program and a couple of plug-ins which are designed to remove noise and grain, while also preserving most fine details. Noiseware Professional is available separately or as part of the Imagenomic Professional Plug-in Suite along with Real Grain and Portraiture. Noiseware Professional supports 16-bit images, a necessity for any professional photographer who is shooting RAW images. Users can apply a number of presets — up to 14 in all — which cover pretty much any situation. You can create and save your own presets and recall them at any time for use on specific projects. Noiseware Professional is extremely useful for the photo editor, production artist or photographer who is shooting high ISO images or who has very little time to adjust scanned images which contain excessive noise. The effects of this filter can be quite subtle in some situations, but the beneficial effects are useful and noticeable nonetheless. Noiseware Professional is also designed to deal with some of the problems caused by JPEG compression artifacts, a real bonus in my mind. The feature is well conceived and I think Imagenomic should definitely put some additional development effort into the next version. Noiseware does a lot of the work up front by calculating the noise levels in your chosen image. The presets will usually allow you deal with most issues immediately. If you are not happy with a preset, you can then make use of the control slider arrays. Even the most tweak-happy editors will be pleased with the controls too. With four tabs for Detail, Frequency, Tonal Range and Color Range, and over 35 control sliders, you can play for hours. One of Noiseware Professional's more thoughtful functions allows you to apply different processing levels by auto bracketing the setting to same image. You can view the effects in a tabbed view from which you can then select the desired result. This would work better without the tabs and in the form of a display matrix. Like the JPEG compression artifact component, auto bracketing is clearly area that Imagenomic can expand in future plug-in releases. Cons: The tabbed interface for the auto bracketing feature would be better served by a matrix type preview. My only real concern is that some detail can be lost, but well exposed and well focused images aren't really affected. Pros: Intuitive and fast. Highly configurable. The auto bracketing feature is really nice. Great value for the money. Noiseware is aimed at all users who need a tool for controlling noise in their images. Working with Noiseware you can appreciate the work that's been put into this excellent and easy to use plug-in. If you don't have the luxury of time then you owe it to yourself to try Noiseware Professional. You won't regret it. This release is also optimized to support Photoshop CS3 in both the release and public beta versions. Highly Recommended.

Akvis Sketch Version 3.0 Released

Akvis have released version 3.0 of their Sketch plug-in for Photo Centric Software such as Paint Shop Pro, Adobe PhotoShop and others. This revision is a relatively minor upgrade and addresses a few bugs and compatibility with Windows Vista. AKVIS Sketch is a plugin for converting photos into pencil sketches and watercolor drawings. For more information visit the Sketch plug-in page at AKVIS.

Imagenomic Update Plug-ins

Imagenomic have announced that their Noiseware Standard and Pro plug-ins, and their newest products, Portraiture and RealGrain, have been updated to support the latest software applications, hardware platforms and O/S releases from Adobe, Apple and Microsoft, respectively. The plug-ins and software tools now include support for native Intel Mac systems, as well as Microsofts new Vista operating system. Imagenomic's plug-in versions of these titles also extend their trademark speed, superior picture quality and ease-of-use functionality into Photoshop's ongoing Creative Suite 3 public beta program, and the commercial release currently scheduled for this Spring. Imagenomic's latest plug-in releases are available as free upgrades to existing customers, and can be downloaded directly from the product update page of the company's website.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom News

Martin Evening and Jeff Schewe have launched a new site, Lightroom-News.com. The site is dedicated to educating and informing Lightroom Users. Contributing Editors are photographers Ian Lyons, Sean McCormack, Seth Resnick & Andrew Rodney. Visit Lightroom News for more info.

DxO Optics Pro & Genuine Fractals Bundle

onOne Software and DxO Labs have created a bundle of two of their excellent solutions for imageers and photographers. DxO Optics Pro is a solution for automatic digital image enhancement, and onOne Software’s Genuine Fractals, is a Photoshop® plug-in that produces high-quality enlargements from digital image files. These bundles are available for a limited time from the online stores of onOne Software and DxO Labs.

Kodak Enhancement Plug-ins

Kodak have announced a set of professional and standard Image Enhancement plug-ins for Photoshop and plug-in compliant applications. These plug-ins are from ASF (Applied Science fiction), and are now part of Kodaks new digital product line and are very useful for pro and amateur alike. Included in the set are: Digital GEM - which automatically reduces noise/grain. Digital GEM Airbrush - an airbrush effect for smoothing skin and other details. Digital ROC - that corrects, balances and restores color Digital SHO - which optimizes contrast and exposure. Free trial versions of the plug-ins are available for download at the Kodak.ASF site.

DOP feature Preview of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Digital Outback Photo have posted a preview of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Version 1.0. It's well worth a look as it helps to clarify a number of issues some users had with Beta 4. The preview is a good read, as it lists some of the features users had wished for. It also lists some of the shortcomings, and there are a few, mainly in the area of correcting optical distortion, advanced dual monitor support and image enhancement for noise and sharpness, amongst other capabilities. Ready the preview here, it's well worth your time.

Raw Workflow from Capture to Archives

Review by Mario Georgiou, February 2007 Authors: Philip Andrews, Yvonne Butler and Joe Farace Publisher: Focal Press/Elsevier 304 pages ISBN: 0-240-80752-9 US$39.95 - £24.99 GBP Raw Workflow deals with one of the most important issues affecting Digital Photographers today. Most digital cameras today are capable of recording images in Jpg, however being a lossy format it is far from desirable for use by imageers and professional photographers. Some cameras even support recording to TIF, however the format of choice is actually the cameras native format - RAW. RAW data of course varies from camera to camera and as a result there are many flavours to choose from. Nikons NEF, Canons CRW and so on... there has even been an attempt to standardize the data by Adobe, DNG. As a result of this, the photographer is spoilt for choice, especially when it comes to selecting a preferred format. RAW is ideal because it is somewhat equivalent to the film negative. There is however one distinction, and that is, that you can effectively reprocess the original data over and over again. This book from Focal press attempts to clarify the issues photographers have to deal with on a day to day basis. As with many of the books from this imprint, it is well laid out, and easy to follow and has a nice combination of technical content, easy to follow illustrations and excellent writing. It starts with the basics and builds from there. The first three chapters deal with describing what RAW is, as well as covering the technical issues of shooting in RAW and handling the resulting files. Subsequent chapters take an extremely brief look at the different flavours of RAW converters and tools. The book then focuses on native converters and then moves on to Photoshop Elements, Adobe Camera Raw and its use with Photoshop and Bridge. Adobes Lightroom and Apples Exposure are then featured with an in-depth look at their relative merits. RAW Workflow is completed by then covering the concepts of asset management, file storage and archiving. The Glossary at the end of this book is excellent and ads to an already excellent volume. Overall, I enjoyed the read. It is one of the best books on this subject and has something for readers of all experience levels. Cons: No coverage of Linux based solutions. Some of the third party applications are touched upon too briefly. Pros: Nicely laid out. Easy to read. Excellent coverage of the issues. Raw Workflow is an excellent publication which is well laid out, richly illustrated and easy to read. It has something for users of all levels and is a solid book for the user who wants an introduction to the issues surrounding RAW based image handling and processing. Highly Recommended.

Snap Art from Alien Skin Software

Review by Mario Georgiou, February 2007 Published by: Alien Skin Software Requires: Photoshop CS or a Recent Edition of a Plug-in Compliant Host Application Windows Systems - Intel Pentium 4 processor (or compatible) 512 MB RAM 1024x768 or greater monitor resolution Windows XP or later. Macintosh Systems - PowerPC G4 or G5 processor 512 MB RAM 1024x768 or greater monitor resolution Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later . MSRP: $149 US I'm a big fan of art and luckily I am also able to draw, paint and sculpt. However for many