Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
The Luminar 4.2 update just came out last week, and included in the latest version are some refined AI Portrait Enhancer tools and the new AI Augmented Sky tool.
I’ll just say this right up front. I’m kind of a purist. I love the journey and challenge of searching for and capturing the natural beauty of our world with stunning, unaltered imagery. For me, this is where the true magic of photography exists.
So, augmenting my photos by adding adding things into the skies is not something I normally like to do. However, as I talked about in my video tutorial about Luminar’s Sky Replacement Tool, there are situations when this technique can come in handy, whether for personal or professional uses.
More importantly, though everything in our world has changed right now.
In this very stressful and uncertain time, we desperately need to keep our creative engines running and we should welcome just about any kind of help we can get in this arena. To this end, many music, photography and other creative software companies are offering free or heavily discounted plugins and products during the next few weeks.
And serendipitously, Skylum Software has given us a brand new AI Augmented Skies tool in their latest Luminar update. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.
This feature works very much like the AI Sky Replacement tool, except in addition to clouds, you can also add things like moons, planets, airplanes, hot air balloons, aurora, fireworks, lighting, mountains, rainbows, birds, bald eagles, and even a giraffe. Or, you can upload and add your own objects.
As with the regular Sky Replacement took, AI Augmented Sky lets you adjust the opacity and warmth of your added object, you can “relight” the object to match the ambient light in your scene, and you can even adjust the level of focus and blur.
These options allow you to create a more “realistic” look to your final image. I say that loosely, because with this tool, you can create just about any kind of image you want. You can embellish your shot with a plausible object to give it added interest, or you could go all out and combine it with Luminar’s “Dramatic” and “Mystical tools and far-out LUT color palettes in order to create wild, fantasy landscapes or comical scenes that aren’t rooted in reality at all. At least not ours.
For example, you could take your nature landscape and make it look like it it was shot on a distant Star Wars planet on the other side of the galaxy. And seriously… who among us doesn’t wish that they were on a completely different planet right right now?
For those of you who are hesitant and think this is too “gimmicky,” I hereby give you permission to embrace the fun-ness that Luminar has given us and take it down whatever creative detour your mind allows.
Many of us are home right now with plenty of time on our hands, so immerse yourself in your photography and make some art. Bring in the kids and make some silly pictures, or escape and craft an amazing, surreal world that feels like the setting of whatever sci fi or fantasy book that you’re currently reading.
Besides, what else are you going to do today? Watch the news? This is way more fun. I promise.
If you ready have Luminar 4, then the 4.2 update is a free download from within the “Check for Updates” menu selection right inside the app. If you don’t have Luminar 4, you can order the program here and save $10 with code DANBAILEY. It works as a standalone app, or as a plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom and Apple Photos.
So stay safe everyone, and remember to find some fun today.
Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
Remember back in January when I wrote my New Year’s blog post about looking forward, making our lives what we want them to be, and pondering ideas about where we want to go with our photography this year?
Well… 2020 and this brand new decade haven’t exactly started quite out like we’d hoped, now, has it? Unfortunately, regular life has suddenly ground to a halt for many people around the world, and all those big ideas are on hold right now.
With many of us in self isolation as we try to flatten the curve, and many people home and out of work for the foreseeable future, life has suddenly become a very serious and in some cases, desperate affair for a large number of people around the globe.
As I’m sure it has for nearly everyone, the severity and urgency of this crisis has weighed on me with a great deal of concern as to what our immediate and longer term future will mean for us as a society. With my self-confidence and adventurous personality, I am usually ok with the aspect of “I don’t know” in life, but this is different. Very different.
At the same time, I’m doing my best to remain calm as I hunker down in my little house in Anchorage and stay close very close to home right now. Having traveled earlier this month, I am engaged in my own self-quarantine, and so here I am, pounding away at the keyboard just like I always do, doing my best to try and keep inspiring you, just in case you still want to think about photography.
In some ways, photography seems like kind of a trivial thing right now. After all, don’t we all have more important things to be concerned with? Yes, but even in these stressful and harried times, engaging in hobbies that make you happy and exploring your creativity can help keep us a little more sane during the chaos.
If you find that it helps you to stay a little more grounded by immersing yourself in your own creative endeavors, then I encourage you to keep exploring in whatever small chunks you find available or desirable.
Of course, it may be impossible, impractical or unsafe to practice your preferred style of photography right now, but that fact can actually force you to stretch your own creativity in new ways that you don’t normally do.
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some ideas of isolation-friendly shooting approaches.
Shooting in Your Own Backyard
That pink poppy photo at the top is actually in my front yard. Well, not right now, but I’ve spent a lot of time over the years capturing subjects right around my house, and around my neighborhood.
Even with Anchorage’s “Hunker Down Order,” our mayor has recognized the need for us all to get outside and enjoy some fresh air during this crisis. He stated as such in the actual wording of the legal document.
Taking walks is a vital thing for us all to do, especially right now, providing that you do you best to retain proper “social distancing” techniques. With that in mind, this is a good time to explore and photograph those out-of-the-way places near your house that you never visit any other time.
There’s a world of beauty out there, and even the mundane subjects you pass by every single day can inspire some new photographic ideas if you make the effort to get out and try new approaches.
Portraits of Your Fellow Quarantinees
Of course, regular portrait photography is SO not ok right now. Well, maybe it’s ok with with a really long lens. Either way, if you’re sharing your self-isolation with someone special or a group of friends or family members, practice your people photography skills on those special people you’re stuck with.
Not so much into people photography? Like your pets better? Maybe you’re jonesing to do some action photography, or perhaps you had to cancel that that overseas wildlife photo safari trip. Not to worry. While it’s not safe to hang around people, you don’t need to social distance from your beloved pets.
Not only are they great companions during stressful times, they make wonderful photography subjects, even though the don’t always cooperate. But therein lies the challenge, right?. In that way, photographing your pets in motion can be an excellent way to practice you sports, action and wildlife photography skills.
And lets face it, we love our pets. It can be quite rewarding to make an awesome and memorable photo of your favorite animal friend.
Still Life and Object Photography
This is a great time to practice capturing subjects that you’re not always adept with or interested in shooting during normal times. Well, these aren’t normal times, and there’s a world of interring stuff inside your own house to keep you busy for a long time, like plants, textures, lego people, Star Wars action figures, musical instruments… you name it.
The Bird Feeder
I don’t think I need to say much about this. I know that some of you do this on a regular basis. If you don’t, then dig that old bird feeder out of the attic/basement, hang it up in front of a window, break out that long lens and have fun.
If you don’t have one, then make one. I’m sure there are plenty of tutorials for making homemade bird feeders to be found on the YouTube.
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No matter what you like to shoot, there’s plenty of stuff in your suddenly shrunken world right now to give you lots of visual pleasure. It may take some time to get back in the swing of things, but chances are, once you start, you may quickly find that enjoyment when you immerse yourself in your own creativity.
And don’t neglect those other hobbies too. Anything to keep you sane and happy during these strange days, even if it’s in very small chunks: Music, drawing, dance, cooking, break baking etc…
Finally, I want to offer you my heartfelt thoughts during this extremely challenging and uncertain time.
Having gotten to know many of my readers in person and through email exchanges and social media, I feel like you guys are my extended world family. I embrace the connections I feel have with you and I wish you the very best in the coming days and weeks.
Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
Last night, Fujifilm announced the brand new X-T4, the new flagship camera in the X Series lineup. The obvious successor to the already awesome X-T3, the X-T4 adds the one thing that a lot of people have been pining for: IBIS, or In-Body Stabilization.
In a way, the X-T4 fills two roles. Not only does it improve on the X-T3’s impressive performance, it takes over for the discontinued X-H1 as a stabilized sensor camera. Using a series of magnets instead of springs, the X-T4’s IBIS allows for an even smaller footprint inside the camera, and improves accuracy up to 8 times better than what the X-H1 offered.
Designed for shooting extremely high quality stills and video, the X-T4 also solves the number one problem that many X Series users were facing, especially when shooting video or when using the camera in extreme cold:
It has a bigger battery. 👍
As X-H1 users noticed, the 5-Axis In-Body Stabilization uses more battery power, and with heavy video shooting, the NP-126S battery didn’t always last very long. Switch to 4K and battery life is even shorter.
The X-T4 uses a brand new NP-W235 battery, which is said to provide an average of around 400-600 shots per change, as opposed to the 300-400, which is typical for the NP-126. When shooting 4K video, the X-T4’s battery life is spec’d at 110 minutes, vs. 55 minutes for the X-T3.
Add in the new VG-XT4 Vertical Battery Grip, and you can get up to 1,700 frames per charge and dramatically increase your video shooting time. There’s also a Dual Battery Charger for the new NP-W235 batteries.
Main Camera Specs
On a base level, the X-T4 looks very similar to the X-T3 under the hood. It has the same Back Side Illuminated 26.1 MP APS-C X-Trans 4 CMOS sensor, and Fuji’s X Processor Pro image processing chip. So, image and video quality essentially remain the same.
Both cameras have a native ISO range between 160 and 12,800, and both cameras shoot Full HD, High Speed (Slow Motion) Full HD, and DCI/UHD 4K at up to 60p (59.94p) at up to 400Mbps, with a shutter range of 1/4 sec to 1/8,000 sec. In addition, the X-T4 allows you to choose ether MOV format or MP4 video format. This gives you even more flexibility for sharing/uploading your video files.
With its increased power, though, the X-T4 can shoot an impressive 15 frames per second when using the mechanical shutter. Compare that to the X-T3’s 11 fps max. Using the electronic shutter, both cameras can shoot at up to 30 fps, and both cameras use Fuji’s awesome PRE-SHOT ES setting.
Both the X-T4 and X-T3 have 100% phase detect pixel coverage on the sensor and use the same autofocus system.
However, with updated AF algorithms, the X-T4 now has even faster focus performance, better AF tracking, highly improved Face and Eye Detection AF, and higher sensitivity for acquiring and tracking subjects in low light. The X-T4’s AF system will focus down to -6.0EV, which is nearing the level of complete darkness.
New Features
The X-T3 contains a number of new features, some of which were first introduced into the X-Pro 3 late last year, like CLARITY, COLOR CHROME BLUE FX, and the HIGHLIGHT/SHADOW Tone Curve setting.
However the X-T4 takes it up a notch and offers the HIGHLIGHT and SHADOW Tone Curve controls with half stop adjustments. This give you even more flexibility for capturing your scenes exactly how you want them to look right inside the camera.
It also has three “Boost” modes that change the responsiveness LCD and EVF, depending on what you’re shooting.
Luminance Priority: Enhances the subject when shooting in low light
Resolution Priority: Allows you to see more of the fine details
Frame Rate Priority: Allows for smoother transitions, essential when shooting moving subjects
The X-T4 also features a brand new Film Simulation called “ETERNA Bleach Bypass.” Designed primarily for filmmakers, this new color profile produces a high-contrast look, while keeping the color saturation low.
ETERNA – Photo by Pål Laukli
ETERNA Bleach Bypass – Photo by Pål Laukli
Body Design
The X-T4 retains the same basic look and ergonomic functionality of the X-T3, with a few small tweaks, as you can see in the pictures below.
The old AF-L/AE-L buttons have been replaced by an AF-ON button, which I assume will also work as a Fn button. The Q Button has been moved up as well, and now there’s a simple “STILL and MOVIE” control on the color below the shutter speed dial.
The other big change is the new Vary-Angle LCD Touch Screen, which allows you to close the screen against the body for distraction-free shooting, or preventing it from being damaged, say if you’re scrambling on sketchy terrain or banging the camera around, which some of us do sometimes.
The X-T4 body is slightly bigger than the X-T3, but not by much. It also has a slightly larger grip, which will certainly appeal to many photographers. It’s not nearly as big as the X-H1 grip was, but it does offer a larger hand hold than the X-T3.
Overall
Fujifilm certainly jumped ahead of the usual X Series update schedule. It comes only a year and a half after the X-T3’s release, but with constantly improving technology and increasing competition and demands from shooters, I guess it’s not a surprise, especially with the demise of the short lived X-H1.
Obviously the X-H1 allowed Fujifilm to figure out the whole IBIS thing, but let’s face it, that camera was kind of an oddball in the lineup. If you loved your X-T2/3, then you probably didn’t like the body layout of the H1. It looks like Fuji finally decided to give people what they were asking for: a stabilized sensor X-T series camera.
So, here it is, through and through: A fully capable IBIS body that offers all the benefits of the stabilized sensor, but that faithfully retains the classic X Series design and ergonomics that we’ve all grown to love. In my mind, this is probably the best move they could make.
There’s no question, the X-T4 is the best, fastest and highest performing X Series camera ever made. Whether you shoot stills or video, this camera will get the job done for you in a big way.
If you already have an X-T3, then there might not enough reasons to upgrade to the 4. I would say that if you’re a professional and you need the fastest, most capable system for high-end photography and video, then sure… get the X-T4 and either sell the 3 or keep it as a superbly awesome backup/second body.
Of course, having IBIS on the X-T4 can extend your shutter speed by up to 6.5 stops. This is a big concern if you love to use the Fuji primes, which don’t have OIS stabilization built into the lens. This can be a huge boon to anyone for shooting in lower light.
If you’re one of those people who are still using the X-T2, or even the X-T1, then this is probably your logical upgrade… unless you want to save a few hundred dollars andpick up the X-T3 on sale. (It’s currently $200 off, with a price of only $1,299. That’s quite a bit less than the X-T4, which has a $1,699 price tag.)
Either way, we’ve got to hand it to Fuji; they’ve really delivered with the X-T4. Even the trolls will have a hard time picking this one apart.
And you can watch this X-T4 preview video by my good friend Bryan Minear.
Finally, now that the X-T4 has officially been announced, I can get to work updating my X SERIES UNLIMITED eBook to match this, and also the X-Pro 3 and X100V. Man… what a great time this is to be a Fuji user!
Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
Starting this month, you can now purchase the entire first 10 lessons in my Photography On The Brain Course as a complete collection. I’m offering the Lesson 1-10 Bundle at a special price, which means you’ll be able to download and binge …Continue reading →
Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
I’ve got a special treat for you today – A link where you can listen to the isolated soundtrack from my recent video, AERIAL ADVENTURE – Winter Flying in Alaska. I posted the song on my Patreon page, and it’s …Continue reading →
Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
It’s time for another Public Service Announcement. Are you ready? Ok, here goes: Buying a new camera won’t make you a better photographer. A new camera might give you some better tools that can help you maximize the skills that …Continue reading →
Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography BlogPosted on by Dan
Nine years ago, in February 2011, Fujifilm released the first generation X100. Being a brand new camera that was designed from the ground up in nearly every single way, the X100 was the very first model of the newly launched …Continue reading →
Remember back in January when I wrote my 
Finally, I want to offer you my heartfelt thoughts during this extremely challenging and uncertain time.
