Tilt-Shift effect

I found a website where you can upload your pictures to add a Tilt-Shift Effect, result can be very nice, ships look rather miniaturized ....

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac

It is finally there. I am not a professional photographer but like many of the functionalities of Photoshop, but the product itself is way too expensive for me. At the same time I do not want to use illegal software, so I am always looking into alternatives. There is a rather good alternative, Pixelmator, but that one is also lacking one of the features I use often and that is making books. In Photoshop Elements the mix is I think very good.

Their info:

Photoshop Elements 8 is the perfect complement to iPhoto for consumers who want to go beyond the basics and tell amazing stories with their photos. The software is loaded with new options to make extraordinary photos with ease. For media management, Mac users have access to all the features in Adobe Bridge CS4 software, which provides quick organization with a custom viewing workspace and full-screen preview with one-click close-ups. Keyword tags and a variety of search options also make it easy to find photos quickly. Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac now includes all of the intelligent photo-editing options as the Windows version. In addition to Photomerge Exposure, Recompose and Quick Fix previews, Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac features Scene Cleaner for brushing away unwanted elements, such as tourists or cars, from a series of photos to create the perfect scene. The Smart Brush helps users apply incredible effects to a specific area of a photo with a single stroke and Touch-Up brushes make common editing tasks quick, such as whitening teeth or making bright blue skies. When creations are ready to be shared with family and friends, users can display their photos on the Web with gallery templates or personal Web pages, by e-mail and on CD or DVD.

link: Download Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac - Consumer photo-editing software; now available. MacUpdate Mac Image Editing Software Downloads

Adobe brings Photoshop.com to the iPhone

Adobe Systems on Friday introduced a new Photoshop app for iPhone users that lets them edit photos from both their phone and their online library on Photoshop.comPhotoshop.com.

The app is free of charge and offers tools such as cropping, image rotation, color controls, and simple one-touch filter effects that can change the look and feel of shots all at once. It also features undo and redo controls so that if users make a mistake, or want to revert back to the original, it takes just a few taps.

As soon as users are done editing any photo, they can either save it back to their phone or upload it to their Photoshop.com account. The app also doubles as a photo-taking tool since you can simply take a photo, then have it upload right away.

What makes the app notable (besides from being from Adobe) is that the entire editing control set works off gestures. Instead of using dials or sliders, users just need to swipe their finger across the screen to change things such as brightness or color values. The same goes for its filters, which can be whisked from one end of the screen to the other instead of taking up more screen real estate or using a drop-down menu. It's one of the more intuitive control methods I've seen on a mobile photo-editing app, and can be quite precise once you get the hang of it.

The app is available now and is free of charge, although Adobe's free Photoshop.com service has a 2GB limit, which can be expanded with an annual paid storage plan.

Snapixel

Great new photo service. It's like Flickr but you can also sell your own pictures. 5 Gb for free, and if you sell you get a Pro account for free.

Snapixel is a photo sharing community and stock photography marketplace, providing all levels of photographers and photo-enthusiasts with the tools to upload, store, organize, share or sell their photos. The company's innovative Openstock™ ready-to-license system promotes the sale of unique, creative and commercially viable photos. Snapixel makes it easier for photographers to sell photos and receive a fair return.

A few example folders from myself:

Alaska
New Zealand
Norway
USA

HotPrints Launches Totally Free Photo-Book Printing

OK, it is not so nice as for instance printing through other websites or iPhoto, but hey it's for free or for a very low price.

The new free program is advertiser supported, which means books will come with removable inserts from sponsors, none of the ads will actually be printed alongside your photos though.

Check out HotPrints.

Great picture

Was uploaded to a newspaper in the Netherlands, for a Summer Photography contest, by Marjon Teerhuis, Luzern, Zwitserland.

Ordered a Panasonic Lumix GH1

 

So I have to sell my other camera's. The GH1 is not available yet, but it is an extremely interesting camera which also adds full HD video.

What they write: See the difference. A new world of imaging. Creative photos and movies in full HD.

The advanced technology of the LUMIX GH1 has enabled a level of image expression that never before existed. It brings a gentle, soft focus to both photos and movies and enhances every single shot with the beauty of HD. Its new kit lens also provides continuous auto focusing for both photos and movies, creating a next-generation interchangeable lens system camera. The GH1 realizes creative images that exceed even your loftiest expectations. All in the new GH1.

Interchangeable Lens System Camera with Full-HD Movies - The Creative Way

Full-HD Movie Recording in AVCHD
With the GH1, shooting incredible photos is only part of the fun. You can also shoot beautiful, richly detailed movies in full-HD (high-definition) (1920 x 1080) at 24 frames per second, or smooth HD (1280 x 720) movies at 60 frames per second in AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) with a continuous auto focus function. Just press the Motion Picture button on the back of the camera, and shooting begins.

New High-Performance Kit Lens for Outstanding HD Movies
The GH1 kit is proudly equipped with the LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm / F4.0-5.8 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. lens. This compact lens boasts a focal length of 28-280mm [35mm camera equivalent] and supports a continuous auto focus function that works for both photos and movies. The aperture adaptively adjusts to each scene, letting you capture the kind of delicate, softly focused movies that only a digital interchangeable lens camera can produce. Thanks to a silence design that helps surpress lens drive noise, the GH1 with its new kit lens records sounds with amazing clarity. The GH1's advanced kit lens also incorporates MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) that helps eliminate blurring from hand-shake.

Enjoy the Freedom of Manual Settings in Creative Movie Mode
The GH1 gives you more creative freedom. It lets you adjust the shutter speed and aperture any way you like when shooting movies. This gives you a wider range of expressive possibilities to explore in your movie making.

An Audio Performance that Adds to Your HD Movies
Just set the GH1 to iA mode, aim and shoot. The iA does all the rest. It automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode and helps correct blurring, focus, and brightness problems for bright, sharply focused HD movies.

Enjoy the Beauty of Digital SLR - Quality Photos the Easy Way

The Advanced iA Mode Uses Face Recognition to Remember Individual Faces
The GH1 features an enhanced version of LUMIX's clever iA mode that includes Face Recognition, a function that "remembers" registered faces. When there's a familiar face in the frame, it optimizes the focus and exposure so that the face is in sharp focus and bright. This newly evolved technology makes it easy to get beautiful photos of a loved one in a group of people.

Full-time Live View and Live View Finder: See How the Image Will Turn Out Before You Shoot
On the GH1, both the LCD and the Live View Finder boast true Full-time Live View capability. Live View lets you see - before you shoot - how changing the shutter speed or aperture will affect the shot. This makes it easier to capture a special shot or particular kind of image without shooting and reshooting again and again.

Technology that Supports Beautiful HD Images

Newly Developed 12.1-Megapixel Live MOS Sensor
The GH1's 4/3-type Live MOS sensor with 12.1 megapixels gives you the best of both worlds: the superior image quality and the lower power consumption. It also adds a high-speed readout for recording HD movies. You can record images with a 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 aspect ratio. In each, you get the same angle of view and same outstanding image quality.

The High-Speed, High-Performance Venus Engine HD
The Venus Engine HD incorporates two CPUs. This not only boosts image processing speed, it also helps achieve an exceptional noise-reduction performance. Also, the two CPUs of the Venus Engine HD allow long-time movie recording in AVCHD while maintaining low power consumption. And the Venus Engine HD features HDMI output too.

Easily View Photos and Movies on an HDTV
Just connect the GH1 to an HDTV and you're ready to view your photos and movies in beautiful high-definition. If your TV is HDMI compatible, a single HDMI mini cable (optional) is all you need. If you have a Panasonic VIERA HDTV, you can use the VIERA remote control to operate the GH1, giving you even greater convenience.

Fotonauts Countries of the World

Some of my pictures were added to the Fotonauts Countries of the World.

Fotonauts

Interesting new photo sharing site, an example: