Tag Archives: digital imaging

Listen to Me on Two Different Podcast Episodes This Week

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I’ve done a handful of podcast interviews recently, the first two of which have just been released: The My Crazy X-Life Podcast and the Latitude Photography Podcast.

I really enjoy connecting with other shooters and sharing ideas in this kind of conversational format. It’s always fun to talk about photography and cameras and stuff, and seeing how each episode veers off into a unique direction.

In fact, I will say that my recent episode of the FUJILOVE podcast I recorded a few months ago was one of the sparks that gave me the idea for my new Photography On The Brain Video Lesson Series.

Here are the two podcast episodes which both went live today. I hope you enjoy them, there are more coming!

My Crazy X-Life Podcast, Ep. 8

The My Crazy X-Life Podcast is run by three enthusiastic Fujifilm shooters, Ricardo, Melissa and Ian, who all live in different parts of the world. I loved talking with these guys, and I could have stayed on the phone with them for hours.

During the episode, we talked about shooting with the X Series, creativity, photography tips, composition, and then veered off into topics like airplanes, music, recording and the universal truths of life. I can’t wait to do another show with these guys again!

The Latitude Photography Podcast, Ep. 44

I was a guest on the Latitude Photography Podcast one year ago, and Brent Bergherm reached out to me again. Having recently switched from Canon to the Fujifilm X-T3, he had some questions about the camera, specifically the X Trans Sensor and post processing.

During our lengthy chat in this episode, we talked about a variety of topics related to creativity, shooting with the X Series, processing images and the kinds of expectations with photography and creativity that many of us have.

Let’s just say that Brent got more than he bargained for… We had a really fun talk and I look forward to keeping in touch with him. You can listen to the show here.

The Luminar Flex Plugin for Lightroom, Photoshop and Apple Photos

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Luminar has come a long way in a very short time. At the end of 2018, they released the long-awaited Library module, which gives Luminar 3 the ability to power your entire photography workflow. This makes it a viable alternative to Lightroom for people who want a simple way to import, catalog, edit and export their images.

In addition, Luminar keeps getting faster, and the RAW engine has been been improved to the point where it does an amazing job demosaicing even the Fuji X-Trans RAW files. This is not surprising, considering that the company’s lead engineer is a Fujifilm user. They’re clearly dedicated to supporting the Fuji user base.

Luminar’s overall appeal is based on the fact that it offers an easy, efficient and fun way to edit your photos. With a comprehensive tool panel, some highly innovative AI filters and a wide range of presets, or “Looks,” Luminar does an amazing job fostering creativity without sacrificing performance.

Their newest option is called Luminar Flex, which operates as the plugin version for Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Apple Photos, and works for both Mac and Windows. Realizing that many photographers don’t need the catalog feature and they just want the editing capabilities, Skylum split Luminar into two versions: Luminar 3 and the Flex Plug-in.

Luminar Flex offers the exact same performance and full-featured editing power as the library version, but it’s made for people who don’t want to leave their Photoshop or Lightroom workflow.

Flex also gives you the same customizable interface, with Workspaces, Looks and Filters, and each filter gives you the options for using Layers and Blending Modes. Add in things like Textures and Masks, and you have a powerful range of creative options to add to your existing Adobe processing workflow.

This is especially good news for Fuji users, because with some images, Adobe’s RAW engine still has a hard time with fine details on the X-Trans images.

I’ve been very impressed with how well Luminar handles the Fuji RAW files, and earlier this week, I heard from a user who was really struggling with a specific Fuji image in Lightroom. Upon downloading the trial version of Luminar and pulling the image up, it only took a few seconds for him to see the night-and-day difference, even as we were still on the phone.

Once you install the Luminar Flex plugin, you can easily bring it up for any image and edit with a wide range of creative tools, whether you’re using Photoshop, Lightroom or Apple Photos. With Lightroom, you can even do Batch Processing, Content-Aware Object Erase, and Clone & Stamp edits.

Using Flex, all three programs offer full RAW support a huge number of Looks, Filters, Film Emulations, Custom Workspaces and the innovative AI processing tools, which offer “one slider adjustments” that can instantly bring your image to life. Although it sounds a little gimmicky, these tools really work, and I make use of them quite often.

If you’re intrigued by Luminar, but are still using an Adobe or Apple workflow, then the Luminar Flex Plugin is your solution. With their 60-day guarantee, you can try out the program and see if it’s right for you.

Luminar has been my main processor for choice for over two years, and I can highly recommend it to any photographer. If you use discount code DANBAILEY, you’ll save $10 on the either Flex Plugin, or the Library version.

Luminar 3 Now Supports Fujifilm X-T3 and Nikon Z Cameras

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Luminar 3.0.2 has been released, and it now adds full support for a number of new cameras, including the Fujifilm X-T3, GFX 50R and the new Nikon Z series mirrorless cameras and D3500.

In addition, the latest version of Luminar builds on the foundation by adding a number of new features, performance enhancements and overall stability improvements, like faster launching, faster adding and improved sRGB exports.

With its brand new Library Module and a set of professional-quality tools and presets, Luminar 3 offers photographers a straightforward and highly intuitive way to organize, browse, edit and export their photos with a high degree of creativity and efficiency.

Having used Luminar since the day it launched back in the Fall of 2016, I’ve been excited to watch the program evolve from a simple editor to a feature-rich photography management and creative solution. An essential part of my own workflow, I feel that Luminar offers a wonderful solution to a very wide range of shooters.

The user interface is highly customizable, so you can run it with whatever configuration of tools you wish, and you can always add and remove tools from you Workspace to match your current needs and creative desires.

Sure it’s not quite as feature-rich as Lightroom and Photoshop yet, but those programs have been around for a very long time. Luminar is certainly catching up as they continue to add new features, and the truth is that most photographers don’t require the kind of depth that Lightroom contains. And they don’t want the monthly subscription either. Luminar offers a viable alternative at an appealing price.

I know that Luminar is not for everyone, and there are certainly people out there who grumble about it, but as a working pro who uses Luminar as my main editor these days, I can attest that it’s a highly capable and fun program.

It also comes with a 60-day money back guarantee, so if you’re at all interested, Luminar is worth checking out. If you decide to purchase Luminar, be sure to use discount code DANBAILEY to save $10 on the program.

You can check out my full review of Luminar 3 with Libraries here.

If you’re already a Luminar 3 user, you can simply update to the latest version right from inside the program via the “Check for Updates” Menu item.

What’s New in Luminar version 3.02

New Features – Mac Version

  • DATABASE MANAGEMENT. Your Luminar image catalog database is automatically backed up to preserve your edits and metadata.  You can control the frequency of backups with the new Preference Panel.

  • PREFERENCE PANEL. Take control of your preferences settings by choosing Luminar 3 > Preferences. You can specify options for Cache, Catalog, and Automatic Backup.

  • IMPROVED HANDOFFS. If you’re working with raw file or 16-bit image and use the File > Open In command, a high-quality 16-bit files is exported.

  • AURORA HDR INTEGRATION. Easily hand off bracketed photos to merge in Aurora HDR.  Just select multiple photos in your library and choose File > Open In > Aurora HDR. Please note that when sending images, your original, unmodified photos are used. When finished in Aurora HDR, be sure to save a TIFF or JPEG file back to the original folder to add it to your Luminar library.

  • LOCATE FOLDER. Have you moved or copied media to a new location? You can right-click on an offline folder and choose Locate Folder to select and reconnect files.

  • ADDING FOLDER IMPROVEMENTS. Change your mind when adding a folder? Just click Cancel to stop the current task.

  • IMPROVED NAVIGATION. Quickly switch between Gallery and Single Image view with dedicated toolbar buttons.

  • NEW LANGUAGES SUPPORTED. Use Luminar in more languages with new localizations:

    • Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Italian

  • SAFER IMPORTS & COPIES. Luminar will alert you if you try to import or copy more files to a new destination when there’s not enough hard drive space.

  • IMPROVED EXPORTS. If you try to export images that already exist in a location you’ll be prompted to control if the files are overwritten or renamed.

New Features – Windows Version

  • SUBFOLDER MANAGEMENT. Subfolders make it easy to further organize your image library.  These are folders nested inside other folders in your catalog and directly tie back to real folders on your hard drive.

    • Subfolder creation. You can create a new by right-clicking on an existing folder in your Library.

    • Subfolder deletion. It is possible to delete a subfolder as well by right-clicking on it in your library.

  • LOCATE FOLDER. Have you moved or copied media to a new location? You can right-click on an offline folder and choose Locate Folder to select and reconnect files.

  • ADDING FOLDER IMPROVEMENTS. Change your mind when adding a folder? Just click Cancel to stop the current task.

  • OFFLINE FILE ALERTS. See a visual alert indicating unavailable files and folders.

  • IMPROVED NAVIGATION. Quickly switch between Gallery and Single Image view with dedicated toolbar buttons.

  • SHORTCUT KEYS. Take advantage of new keyboard shortcuts for View, Looks Navigation, Masks, Tools, and Edit.

  • NEW LANGUAGES SUPPORTED. Use Luminar in more languages with new localizations:

    • Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Italian

New Cameras Added

The following new cameras are supported by this recent update:

  • NIKON

    • Nikon D3500

    • Nikon P1000

    • Nikon Z6

    • Nikon Z7

  • PANASONIC

    • Panasonic Lumix DC-LX100 II

  • FUJIFILM

    • Fujifilm GFX 50R

    • Fujifilm X-T3

  • SONY

    • Sony RX100VA

    • Sony RX100VI

    • Sony DSC-HX99

    • Sony DSC-HX95

  • LEICA

    • Leica M10-D

    • Leica M10-P

    • Leica D-Lux 7

A Preview Look at Luminar 3 with Libraries

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Skylum Software has just released Luminar 3. This much-anticipated update to what has become a very popular photo editing app will contain the new Library module, which will now allow you to use Luminar to import, store and organize your … Continue reading →

My Brand New eBook is Here – BEHIND THE LANDSCAPE

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I’m excited to announce the release of my brand new ebook, BEHIND THE LANDSCAPE: A Manual for Seeing, Composing and Processing Captivating Imagery. In this comprehensive eBook, I take you behind-the-scenes during the creation of sixteen of my favorite landscape images … Continue reading →

Exposure Basics for Shooting With Mirrorless Cameras

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I often get questions from readers and workshop students about how I exposure for my scenes. Which exposure mode do I use, how often do I bracket, and in what increments? Which metering pattern do I prefer, center weighted, spot or multi segment? … Continue reading →

Luminar 3 With Libraries is Coming December 18

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Last fall, Skylum announced that the were developing a catalog module for Luminar which would make it not just an image processing program, but an asset management tool as well. Originally, this update was slated for early 2018. I was very excited to hear … Continue reading →