More Lightroom Shortcuts

Everyone knows how much I like keyboard shortcuts. They speed things up so I can spend less time in front of the computer and moire time shooting. Well I found this great link to all the keybord shortcuts available in Lightroom (versions one and two). This is a great resource provided by Victoria Bampton that any user of LR should check out. Read more...

Straightening Horizons Part II

Well it has taken us quite a while to sort out the second part of this video on how to straighten horizons but we weren't happy with the quality of the last one and spent a while trying a few recording techniques and are finally happy with the results so here it is. This time we show you how to straighten horizons with Lightroom and Camera Raw. Both are much faster and more elegant than Photoshop I think you will agree. Anyway hope you enjoy and more to come.

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Lightroom 2

Adobe has finally released Lightroom 2 after an extended beta testing period. My guess was early August, not too bad really and the new version is greatly improved. A wealth of information on the new version is available here and a list of updates from the beta version is over here. After a few hours use I can say that this is a great improvement over LR 1.4 and well worth the upgrade price. It also supports Raw files shot with the new D700. There is also an update to the Camera Raw plug-in for Photoshop that offers many (not all) of the features in LR2 improving compatibility between the two aplications. We will have to wait for Photoshop Next (CS4) before full compatibility is offered. Read more...

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.

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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...

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...