Wednesday 25 June 2008

And the tips are...

Following on from the last post, I thought I would list the tips that Deke McClelland offers in his little ditty for those that cannot understand all he says (or put up with him for the entire song). There are some good shortcuts both old and new. I wrote a couple down and stuck them to my monitor for reference. I love keyboard shortcuts.

Here you go

  1. Ctrl + J = copy layer
  2. Ctrl = command key (the one with the apple on it)
  3. Ctrl + Shit + N = New Layer
  4. Delete layer = Select move tool hit delete
  5. Every letter selects a tool except
  6. F = Full screen
  7. Q = Quickmask
  8. D = Default colours
  9. X = Switch foreground/background colours
  10. Numbers change opacity (in tens)
  11. Two (or three) numbers for exact control
  12. Shift + to advance blend mode
  13. Shift - to back up blend mode
  14. Shift and Alt + letter for specific mode (eg Shift+ Alt +s=screen, Shift+ Alt +c = colour)
  15. Mac folk Alt means Option
  16. Ctrl + zooms in
  17. Ctrl - zooms out
  18. Spacebar = hand (H)
  19. Ctrl + Spacebar = in
  20. Alt + Spacebar = out
  21. Ctrl + Spacebar Drag to zoom to selected
  22. Ctrl + Z = Undo
  23. Ctrl + Alt + Z = Backstep
  24. Ctrl + Shift + C = step forward
  25. Ctrl + Shift + F fades and edit
  26. f12 reverts
  27. reverting is an undoable operation
  28. Ctrl X cuts
  29. Ctrl C copies
  30. Ctrl V pastes
  31. Ctrl Alt I = Image size
  32. Ctrl Alt C = canvas size
  33. Ctrl F = repeat last filter
  34. Ctrl Alt F = repeat last filter with options
  35. When using selection tools, drag to start new selection (outside selection)
  36. or move selection outline (inside selection)
  37. Shift adds to selection
  38. Alt deletes
  39. Shift and Alt find iner section
  40. Spacebar moves selection on the fly
  41. Ctrl A = select all
  42. Ctrl D = Deselect
  43. Ctrl Shift I = invert selection
  44. Ctrl Alt R = Refine edge
  45. Alt Click with lasoo to draw straight lines
  46. Shift click with brush to paint straight lines
  47. Alt with th brusr for colour picker
  48. Ctrl with brush for the move tool
  49. Ctrl H = Hide selection
  50. Crtl 1 = Red Channel
  51. Ctrl 2 = Green Channel
  52. Ctrl 3 = Blue Channel
  53. Crtl ~ full colour composite (RGB)
  54. Ctrl L = Levels
  55. Ctrl M = Curves
  56. Ctrl B = Colour balance (Just like sharpen this is bad don't use it)
  57. Ctrl U = Hue Saturation
  58. add Alt to the above to bring up the last settings
  59. Mash your fist on Ctrl Alt Shit B = Black and White
  60. Alt drag white slider in levels and curves to preview highlight clipping
  61. Alt drag black slider for shadow clipping
  62. Duplicate image click create new document from current state in the history pannel
  63. Ctrl W to close image
  64. Y to save changes (Yes)
  65. N not to (No)
  66. on the mac it is S and D (Save, Discard)
  67. Esc = cancel
  68. Ctrl T = Free Transform
  69. enter = apply changes
  70. esc = discard changes
  71. Ctrl Alt T = Transform Copy
  72. Ctrl Shift T = Repeat last transformation
  73. Ctlt Shift Alt T plays transformation sequence
  74. Square bracket change the brush size
  75. Shift Square brackes changes the hardness
  76. Caps lock = precise cursors
  77. Alt switches Burn to Dodge and vice versa
  78. , and . cycle through gradients
  79. The Sharpen too is worthless
  80. Ctrl Click thumbnail in the layers, channels or paths pannel to load selection
  81. / lock layer transparency
  82. ~ hide image while viewing a mask
  83. \ view layermask
  84. Ctrl Backspace fill with background colour
  85. Alt Backspace Fill with foreground
  86. add Shift to fill just opaque pixels
  87. Shift backspace to bring up the fill dialogue
  88. Ctrl [] brings layers forward and back
  89. Ctrl Shift [] send to top or bottom
  90. Alt [] select layer up or down
  91. add Shift to select multiple layers
  92. Ctrl Alt A = select all layers
  93. Ctrl G = group layers in a folder
  94. Ctrl E = Merge selected layers
  95. Ctrl Shift E = Merge visible layers
  96. Ctrl Alt E = Merge down
  97. Ctrl Shift Alt E = merge all onto new layer
  98. Ctrl Shift C = Copy merged
  99. Ctrl Shift V = Paste into selection
  100. Alt Click on mask to view
  101. Alt Click inside dialogue to reset
  102. Alt Click trash can to apply without dialogue
  103. Alt Click colour bar to select background colour
  104. Alt Click view in layers pannel to hide all other layers
  105. Alt Click inbetween layers to create clipping mask
  106. Alt Click in swatches to create new swatch
and now we are finished. Oh wait up ...


100. Tab = Hide all pallets
101. Shift Tab = Hide right hand pallets

The end.

Hope this helps a few folk decypher Deke's rant and for my favourite Photoshop shortcuts have a look at Speeding Up Photoshop Workflow.

Happy Clicking Read more...

101 Photoshop Tips in Five Minutes


Well who thought it could be done? 101 Photoshop tips in five minutes and in quite an entertaining way too. Deke McClelland infamous Photoshop guru and educator has published an interesting and informative video clip of tips to speed up your PS workflow. I am sure some folk will find this insanely annoying but I did find myself laughing out loud at times. My favourite tip, 78 "See this tool, (Sharpen) worthless, look at this, you want this? Worthless. Yes that's a tip. Don't use the tool." And he is right too. Check it out.

Read more...

Saturday 14 June 2008

Wimberley Equipment Sales


We have had a bunch of inquiries recently about Wimberley equipment, in particular the Wimberley Head MKII and The Plamp. Yes we are still dealers for the entire Wimberley line and have wide range of gear in stock. As far as I know we are the only dealers of the wimberley range in Australia. Soon you will be able to buy directly from the new website when it goes live but if you are interested in purchasing in the mean time then please get in contact for current prices and stock availability.

We are also making available the excellent Digital Pro 4 data asset management software. We use this on a day to day basis to edit, sort, file and find images. It is the best way I have found to easily keep track of my large and expanding image library. Download the 30 day trail version here and give it a go, you won't look back.

So if you are looking for any of the above then give us a holler. Read more...

Friday 13 June 2008

Don't Forget to Pack...



When heading off on a trip I always stress about what to take and if I have packed everything I need. I look a the huge pile of gear on the table and worry about how I am going to get it all on the plane and if I have the right equipment for the job at hand. Working out what you will need comes with practice and researching your project correctly but remembering what to take and what you have packed is easy. I have made a bunch of lists for the gear needed for specific jobs. These lists are flexible for the job at hand but are a great starting point as to what gear I need to make sure goes in the bag for a specific job. I have one spreadsheet that has different titles, birds, mammals, macro, landscape etc. and each contains a different list of equipment that I most commonly use for the situation. This way I can be sure to remember what I need to pack. I even have on list for extended trips that details not only camera and computer equipment but goes right down to what trousers, tent and toilet paper to take.

I am off shooting critically endangered orchids today and here is the list that I used to pack the Dryzone. I am using the Dryzone today instead of my favourite medium sized pack the Vertex 200 as the approach to the site necessitates an hour long walk wading down a river. Wish it didn't rain so much last night!

Macro load-out list
D3
14-24
24-70
200mm micro
sb-800 x2
flash diffuser
SU-800
SC-29
30cm Reflector
120cm Diffuser
Backgrounds
Nikon 5t
Nikon 6t
cable release
3540 tripod
SD-8a battery pack
spare batteries camera
spare batteries AA
head torch
plamp x2
Compactflash cards
Wimberley Macro Flash arm
Umbrella
Read more...

Thursday 12 June 2008

Nikon 24mm PC-E one month on.




Well I have had the 24mm PC-E for over a month now and it is awesome. As I noted before it is a specialised lens but the more I use it the more uses I find for the tilt/shift functions. I originally got the lens for my super wide panoramics where I stitch 6 or 8 images from two rows together to create a fantastic field of view. I shift the lens up to shoot one row and down to shoot the next to get a larger vertical field of view. I did have to get a longer nodal plate, this lens is huge, but I needed a longer plate for the huger (is that a word?) 14-24mm. The plate I chose was the MPR-CL II nodal slide from Really Right Stuff. The most sturdy nodal plate around.


Of course it is great for shooting city scapes and as a 24mm lens it is amazing. Tack sharp and handles flare and backlighting better than any other lens I have used.

The one thing that does keep surprising me is how often I am using it for my landscape work. I am reaching for it now all the time for adding a little tilt for extra depth of field and a little shift to straighten converging trees, no more looking up at waterfalls and as for wildflowers, well roll on spring.

This has gone from being what I thought would be a seldom used exotic lens for panoramas to a must have lens for all my landscape work. I love it.

Now to the bad bits. Well there is only one and that is the knobs and levers to adjust the lens are way small. almost impossible to use with glove on and we have been out shooting on some cold mornings lately. I am looking at a way to glue on a small lever to the locking knob and enlarging the adjustment screw to make my life a little easier in the cold. I will report back if I manage to find a solution.

And one piece of advice when it come to using this lens, a little movement goes a long way!

Bye for now.

All photos take with D3 and 24mm PC-E
Top an eight frame pano
Middle screen shot showing the 8 frames to be merged in PS
Bottom a little tilt goes a long way, focused from 24cm to infinity with 3 degrees tilt.
Read more...