The new Photoshop CS6 – what is your “line”?

Like you, I’ve been watching the videos of CS6 and playing with it myself. (notice the important “it” in that sentence)

Things are gettin’ a little crazy with post-processing eh? What are your limits for what you’ll do with your photos? It’s a very personal thing… I won’t judge you… I’m just interested! Here’s my post-processing line (which I reserve the right to change at any time):

I will:

• I will remove things like lightposts or ugly animals or tourists wearing Spice Girls T-shirts
• I will use HDR to bring out the colors in the shadows and dial back bright areas
• I will sharpen to bring emphasis to one area or another
• I’ll take multiple exposures on a tripod and fix one area of a photo with another exposure

I will not:

• I will not take a foreign object from one photo and put it into another (like pasting a moon over a mountain)
• I will not take a sky from one photo and paste it into the landscape of another

I might:

• Use the new Content-Aware-Move in CS6. I can’t decide! It’s a slippery slope. For example, in the photo below, I had to work so hard to find and frame these boulders in this EXACT way. Man, it would have been so easy just to go to an easier location and then re-arrange the boulders using CS6 Content-Aware-Move. But maybe that doesn’t even matter! I can’t decide… And it is soooooo slippery… If I will allow myself to “Move a Boulder 10 feet” — then maybe I would also also “Move a Moon Behind THAT Mountain” — then maybe I would also…. well… where does it stop? It’s almost like I am 6-years-old and moving stickers around a sticker book! Hehe… I’m confused… my “line” is constantly being challenged… like the border between two countries in a good game of Civ!

Daily Photo – France in Epcot

These little fabrications of countries around Epcot try really hard at being authentic, and they are often quite successful!  Sometimes bits and pieces here are a little cheesy, but I get the sense that the people that build, model, and landscape these things put a lot of time and effort (and love) into it.  I’m sure it gets down to the detail of trying to choose the right kind of fonts for the clock.

This evening was a particularly lucky one because of the clouds and the light in the sky.  This situation is so rare that I went photo-crazy for about 15 minutes while it lasted!

<

Live Show Tonight – all about the Sony NEX-7 Camera

Miss the live show? Be sure to subscribe to the video Podcast to get it!

Tonight’s show is all about the Sony NEX-7 Camera. Watch live at 7 PM PT on Live.TWIT.tv – see you soon!

The Sony NEX-7 Review

The new review is up! See the Sony NEX-7 Review.

I bought one a few weeks ago and have been using it quite a bit. I really like the camera! Below is a scene from the Indiana Jones Show at Disneyworld. I was sitting back in the audience, and I used the kit lens to zoom all the way in as close as I could. I could crop and still get an image that was 5200 pixels across!

Since I was able to take so many photos so quickly, I was able to pluck out the frame that had the most interesting action — when the big German guy flipped up Indy into the air…

Behind-the-Scenes Video

William Beem (frequent community commenter here on the blog… you know him… you love him…) recorded a video of the situation below.  See it here on YouTube.

Missed our Cruise!

We were supposed to get on a cruise for Disney today and we missed it because of flight problems!  Oh no… so now we are scrambling to get down to Grand Cayman to meet the boat.

Daily Photo – Where the Princess Dwells at Night…

But, while in the middle of all this drama, I happened to already be Orlando, so why not make the most of it?

I called for a little PhotoWalk at Disney! It was really really really fun — and getting this shot was tough! I think +William Beem +Gilmar Smith +Keith Barrett or perhaps +Ali Elhajj got a video of me trying to convince half a dozen Disney workers to “sweep water” in front of my camera, which was splayed on the ground. At first, one guy didn’t want to do it because he might get in trouble… then the other acquiesced… and then, before they knew it, they were all being controlled like crystal farmers in Starcraft… we eventually got all the water in the right place!

I had to go over and whip out my sweet Android phone to show them some photos from Google+ — I found the one from Paris with the puddle — I said I needed a puddle about thiiiiis big … and eventually we got it all engineered out. They were all very helpful and nice… I convinced them all to come onto Google+ to see the final result — so I hope they are here! Hi guys – Y muchas gracias!

Where the Princess Dwells at Night…

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-03-31 03:06:38
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time15
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

Trey’s Variety Hour #23:  Wearable Cameras of the Future

Daniel Suarez (author of Daemon) joins me, Leo Laporte, Kevin Kelly, and Gordon Laing to talk about Augmented Reality, Drone Swarms, Cameras and Art in the Future, and much much more.

Facebook Subscribe and the New Timeline

My Facebook page has been getting more and more subscribers lately, so if I was unable to friend you because I hit the 5K limit, this Subscribe option will work out well for you.  I also activated the new Timeline, but I notice not everyone has yet.  Have you done it?  I think it is kinda cool, even though I know there are a few FB-haters out there.

Daily Photo – The Old Market

I have another Disneyworld trip coming up, and I was reminded of this place.  This is Epcot, one of the best spots for photography at sunset and into the evening.

This area makes me long to go to some of these places for real.  It’s all so wonderfully fake around Disney, but that is nice in its own way.  I have several more places in the Middle East to visit, and I hope to make that happen over the next few years.  Before I actually decide on a place and land on the shores of Tripoli, I’ll be sure to blog about it!

Fake Book in China

I’m not sure – but I think this is a rogue copy of my book in China! 🙂 I signed it anyway 🙂

Daily Photo – The French Quarter of Disney

Amazing Disneyworld! I am starting to switch my opinion about the best place to shoot in Disneyworld. I’m now thinking it is definitely Epcot. It used to be Animal Kingdom, which is still amazing.. but I find myself with more options and variety at Epcot, especially in the evening.

Here’s a great tip. If you stay at the resort, then go to Epcot on the “bonus hours” evening. Then get yourself way out at the opposite end of the park when it closes. You can then take your time and leave, taking photos all along the way. It’s pretty much absolutely deserted! The security guards did not seem to bother me either…

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a great new year! I look forward to spending 2012 with you… We have all kinds of fun stuff to see and do together this year – let’s have some fun 🙂

Daily Photo – As Night Settles on the Old Lake

Here is another photo that is too good to be true… and, unfortunately, it is.

This is a replica of Portofinio, Italy. It’s a resort hotel in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios. It’s so wonderfully fake — and so wonderful at the same time. I can’t quite decide if I like the fakeness of it all. It does make for amazing photos, though, so that is cool. Maybe it’s kind of like a really hot girl that has had a lot of plastic surgery. There’s some fake in there, but it’s still nice to look at. Okay that’s a horrible analogy… but you get the idea…hehe.

Thanks Gail and Louis and Gino and….

So, whenever I post a photo of Montana, I always know it will make Gail happy. So I like to see not only her comments, but all the other regulars… I also like how you all are getting to know one another. If you are on Google+ or Facebook, feel free to share your info so people can friend you in these other mediums as well!

Today’s photo has a bit of a German theme, so I know someone will be extra-happy… .or maybe William Beem because it’s from Disneyworld!

Daily Photo – Late Night in Germanville

This area of Epcot is one of the best for night photography. There was a little bit of light in the sky, so I had to make this shot as quickly as possible. I didn’t really have time to do a proper scouting, but this was such a nice situation, I made it happen as quickly as I could. I think my full-tripod-setup is under 25 seconds in these emergency situations.

Normally, I like to zen out and take my time. Others, like this, are the result of sheer, bloody panic.

Lou Mongello

While at Disneyworld, I ended up meeting Lou Mongello, a very interesting guy that is Disney’s biggest hardcore fanboy! Note that I say that with the ultimate respect, because he has built his love of something into quite an empire! Now he runs WDWRadio.com, has podcasts/apps, and more!

Robert Scoble interviewed Lou while we were there together. Watch, and you’ll see all kinds of tips! Thanks again Keith Barrett for setting everything up.

Disney Shots

We have a category system here on the site, so if you want to see all of them, check the “Disney Category” at the bottom of this post. Once you get to the bottom of the page, click “PREVIOUS” and you’ll get another pagefull…

Daily Photo – The Fireplace in the Tower of Terror

I’ve always wanted to get “behind the velvet rope” and take proper photos of this area, and it finally happened!

This lobby was richly decorated to look like an old, classic Hollywood hotel that has been left alone to slowly deteriorate. Although this angle in particular does not show the decay, future ones will… Also, a future one will include the full story of how I got behind the velvet rope — you won’t believe it!

Today: Google+ Hangout Live from NASA at 11:15 EST

Join me on Google+ today at exactly 11:15 AM when I’ll be doing a LIVE Video Hangout. Only a limited number of people can get in, so be ready to click to join the hangout! New to this stuff? Here are some video hangout tips I made.

Yesterday I did a very cool live broadcast video hangout from NASA with Google+. We had people from all over the world connecting while I was on video on my laptop approaching the launch pad. We all went through a few levels of security together (I made everyone be quiet), then we approached the VAB, saw some of the media center, before finally getting to the launch pad. I’ll do another live Google+ Hangout tomorrow during my setup and you guys can ask questions…or just…hangout!

Interview with Scoble

Robert Scoble is here with me at the NASA event (along with many other people). After a little #NASATweetup session yesterday, he grabbed me for a quick interview about photography (click link to listen), and how I was planning to this trip in particular. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Final Night of the Space Shuttle

I was completely soaked after laying in mosquito-invested waters for an uncomfortably long time. At one point, a concerned French news reporter came up to me and said, “Excuse me, but you’re quite covered in bugs.” It must have been pretty bad for him to come over and say that… I think perhaps he thought I was dead because I stayed in the same position for so long, trying to zen-focus on the shot.

This is the Space Shuttle Atlantis, in case you do not know. It’s also the final space shuttle launch, ever. So, it’s incredibly special, and I’m happy I got to spend time with the ship on its final night.

Bonus Photo – The Countdown Clock at Sunrise

And this is the famous countdown clock. Scott Kublin and I woke up before 5 AM to start setting up our remote cameras. One of them Leo Laporte Fed-exed to me overnight so we could have time to set it up… we put those inside the blast zone and set them up to automatically fire at the launch. We made a behind-the-scenes video to show how everything was done… it will be edited and shared soon… but, in the meantime, here is what I saw first thing in the morning upon arrival to NASA.

Daily Photo – Test daily photos – 1

Blurb number 1

Test daily photos – 1

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2011-07-07 10:35:50
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture3.5
• ISO400
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

Want to follow the pre-launch activities?

Follow me @TreyRatcliff and the #NASATweetup hashtag on Twitter.

Also, Robert Scoble (and many others) will be with me at the launch, and I figure we’ll be using Google+ quite a bit too to post updates, photos, and the like, so that’s another fun place to watch.

Daily Photo – Sun Busting Through Stormclouds at NASA

I was in the Tweetup tent doing something terribly important but completely inscrutable when Stu Maschwitz came in and told me that the storm clouds were breaking upon our shores. So I got my little rig and went outside to see the matter.

We get these kind of huge powerful summer clouds in Texas too. The kind that roll in on a too-hot day and you have a feeling that something powerful is a-comin’. You tie down the cows and take the favorite sheep down to the basement because it’s gonna be a long night…

The sun darted in and out of the clouds, and I grabbed it just as it peeked through a small hole it tore in the thunderhead.