Hubble Celebrates 20 Years; Releases New Image

Hubble's 20th anniversary image shows a mountain of dust and gas rising in the Carina Nebula. The top of a three-light-year tall pillar of cool hydrogen is being worn away by the radiation of nearby stars, while stars within the pillar unleash jets of gas that stream from the peaks. Download wallpapers of this image. Read article about Hubble's 20th anniversary.

Long Canyon Hike

Here are a few photos from another Sedona hike. This time a group of friends and I headed for Long Canyon. Click here to see a gallery of images from the April, 2010 hike.

Boynton Canyon Hike

I managed to get out for a nice hike this past weekend. Here are a couple photos from the adventure. The second photo is a panoramic image of my hiking buddies perched atop one of Sedona's red rocks with fantastic grooves carved into it by Mother Nature. The hike took place in Boynton Canyon. The friends who appear in the first image are, from left to right: Ken, Karen, James, Bill, Eileen, John, and yours truly. Click on the images to see larger versions.

NAPP Adobe Photoshop CS5 Learning Center

NAPP Adobe Photoshop CS5 Learning Center

Aronson Family Photos

Just finished adding a few photos from a family portrait session I did with Megan, Kory, and Kayta Aronson. Since then, little brother Kanon (who was in the oven at the time of the shoot) has joined the family. The photos are posted in the portrait section of my new photo website.

The Hubble In "Hubble 3D" IMAX

A short video describing the contributions of Frank Summers and colleagues at the Space Telescope Science Institute to the new IMAX film "Hubble 3D." The Hubble images are stunningly presented, and so are simulations and data animations contributed by the Advanced Visualization Lab, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, U. of Illinois. To find an iMax theater near you, go here.

Aperture 3.0 Versus Lightroom 2.0 / 3.0

Now that Apple has come out with a 3.0 version of Aperture, the competition between Adobe Lightroom and Aperture is heating up. From my perspective, there really hasn't been any competition until now.  I bought Aperture the moment it was announced, weeks before it was released, before I had heard anything about Lightroom. My early experience with Aperture was horrendous, as were many other users. The program was slow, buggy, and poorly supported. There was, in fact, a mini rebellion among many first adopters about all kinds of issues, including how much the program cost. When Lightroom came out -- and came out as a FREE (did I say FREE) demo -- many frustrated Aperture users, me included, took it for a test spin, migrated, and never looked back.

Until now.

While I haven't taken Aperture 3.0 for a spin yet, I plan to. In fact, while I haven't touched Aperture since version 1.0, I plan to upgrade to 3.0. That's because I want to use Aperture's wedding album / book making functions, which is sadly lacking in Lightroom. And while I'm at it, I also plan to try out some of the new features that people like Chase Jarvis and Joe McNally have been raving about. In advance of purchasing the $99.00 upgrade, I've spent some time watching the tutorials Apple has posted, which are great!

So what, exactly, are the pros and cons? How do these two titans compare to one another? Here's where you can find a few great reviews and feature-by-feature comparisons. The first piece, by Matt Kloskowski, is the best because it includes many real-world comparisons from people who have actually used both programs.

5 Reasons To Stay With Lightroom (And Not Switch To Aperture)
By Matt Kloskowski

Five Reasons For Switching From Lightroom 2 To Aperture 3
By Marco Davi

First Impressions Of Aperture 3
By Thomas Fitzgerald

Apple Aperture 3.0 Awesomeness
By Chase Jarvis

Aperture 3 Was My Idea
By Joe McNally

Apple's Aperture 3 Causing Significant Memory Leak For Many Users
By Seth Weintraub

New Images Of 9/11 World Trade Center Collapse

Nine years after 9/11, a stunning set of photographs taken by New York Police helicopters have been posted online. Click here to see them.

Apple's New iPad (I Want One!)

Check out Apple's new iPad here!

Superman Obama

I'm not sure who the artist is, but this was too good not to share...

Misc. Photos

My eldest daughter sent me a Power Point slideshow full of great photos today. I've posted a few here. Not sure where they came from so I can't include a referring link...

Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009

Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009

The Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009, the 32nd edition of the biennial event, drew more than 51,000 photographs from 18,000 entrants from 153 countries and regions. Nikon chose as the contest’s theme their brand statement, “At the heart of the image,” to serve as an invitation for photographers to highlight emotional content. Entries were requested in two categories: My Planet and Free Subject. In addition, a NIKKOR 75th Anniversay award and several Emerging Talent awards were presented. Ten international judges selected 54 prizewinners, who were awarded Nikon gear...

PhotoTools 2.5: Wow!

I just finished upgrading to PhotoTools 2.5. I was impressed with 1.0, and used it all the time. 2.5 turns a "must have" Photoshop plugin into a "can't-live-without it" one. It's full of dazzling filters, effects, and presets (which can be easily stacked on top of one another) along with powerful editing tools that are well-designed and easy to use. The entire program is, in fact, a work of art. The PhotoTools home page is located here. A bunch of very helpful PhotoTools video tutorials is located here. OnOne, the company that produces PhotoTools, also has a bunch of other great software products, and more video tutorials to go along with them. Another one of my favorites is FocalPoint. I haven't upgraded that one yet, but plan to. If you're serious about photography, and are looking for ways to speed up your work flow and, at the same time, increase the quality of your finished images, the onOne suite of programs is worth checking out. They also offer a 30-day free trial period...

Before & After Photoshop, Viveza, PhotoTools

Here's an example of a before and after photo I recently tweaked using Photoshop CS4, Viveza 2, PhotoTools 1.0. I love Photoshop and the amazing plugins that put it in overdrive...

Woman Recounts Life After Death

Here's another post that has nothing, directly, to do with photography, but has everything to do with living a good, clean, conscious, loving life.

Read full story here

Purchase Dr. Long's Book here

RELATED LINKS:

Blind Woman Describes Fascinating Near-Death Experience

The Near Death Of A Child

Bruce Greyson, MD, PhD Speaking About Near Death Experiences At UN Symposium

NHNE Near-Death Experiences Resource Page

Super Cool Password Protection Program: 1Password

Here's another super cool software program for Mac users: 1Password. Along with providing ironclad protection for your passwords (and automatically generating strong passwords for you), 1Password also provides a place to store other sensitive information, such as bank and credit card numbers, software serial numbers, and more. It's also beautifully designed and easy to use. Check it out!

Squished Piggy

Love this shot. It is posted on Smash & Peas: "Your Best Shot of 2009: The Results"

Kelby TV

Your one-stop source to learn everything about Photoshop, Lightroom, Nikon, and photography in general, including an endless stream of easy to understand tips from pros who know what they are talking about. Go here to pick from hundreds of fast-paced, informative, user-friendly programs.

New Season Of D-Town TV

D-Town TV: Episode 25: The 2nd Season: January 14, 2010

Scott has a tip on using neutral density filters to shoot with fast lenses during the day. Matt heads to Ybor City to share multiple new tips on shooting HDR. Joe McNally drops by with a tip on getting usable light from an on-camera flash.Plus tips on shooting sports and landscapes.

Best Photo Resources On Twitter

The Most Influential Twitter Accounts In Photography

Scott Kelby On Twitter

Scott Kelby on Twitter: @ScottKelby

Stop Bank Abuse: Move Your Money

Does having an well-developed sense of social justice come along with being a photographer, or pursuing other artistic professions? I don't know. I do know most of the photographers I know have a strong interest in people, social issues, and doing their part to improve the world. So here's something we can all do to move power away from mindless, soulless corporate interests and put it back in the hands of the little guy and our local communities.



For more information, go here.

Nikon Now On Twitter

Want to stay up with the latest news from Nikon? Want to have a way to reach Nikon, directly, with your praise, concerns, feedback? You can now follow Nikon on Twitter!

Skitch

Now this is cool. I use it all the time. Skitch!