Photography Archives

How to show all your videos in iPhoto for Mac

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You’d assume that there’s a default folder in iPhoto that shows all your movies, like in the iOS 7 Photos app. But there isn’t. It’s easy to set one up using the magic of Smart Albums. Here’s how: in iPhoto, head over to File – New Smart Album give it a title (like Movies) create …

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How Apple have ruined iPhoto 2.0 for iOS

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iPhoto-LogoA few days ago I was sitting together with my Mum in her hotel room and explained how she can upload all her photo treasures past and present to Flickr. A while ago she bought iPhoto for her iPad as a convenient solution that did not require a laptop (which she doesn’t like).

Yesterday Apple have released a new version of iPhoto 2.0 for iOS – and sadly ruined some of the best features the app had to offer.

Let me share with you my official App Store review that I’ve just posted – before it is deleted and deemed “inappropriate”.

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How to fix Brush Lag in Photoshop CC

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Photoshop CC splashBack in 2013 I was trying out the then-new Photoshop CC for 30 days. I wasn’t sure if the upgrade was for me or if I should stick with my trusty copy of Photoshop CS5 (which by the way I own and can use forever and a day, without a monthly license fee… but that’s another matter).

So I’ve installed CC, marvelled at the new look and the 3D tools, made a brush stroke on a new canvas and… what the hell is that?

My stroke was lagging behind by about a second or more until it appeared on the screen. I wasn’t using a complicated brush either, just a bog standard 20 pixel soft edge brush without any Blending Options.

Shocked, perplexed, dissatisfied and smiling to myself, I consulted Google. One user in particular had this problem too, and many more chipped in on a forum thread over at the Adobe Forums and the (now defunct) Photoshop.com. I was glad to hear I was not alone – yet nobody had a solution to this problem.

Yesterday, a lovely representative from the Photoshop Facebook Page got in touch with me and offered help and advice – and ultimately solved my problem. Thanks, Jeff!

Let me share with you what worked for me, perhaps it works for you too.

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Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription Woes: does it really matter?

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Adobe_CS5.5_Product_LogosYou can’t buy any of the Adobe Creative Suite products anymore. From now on you can only “license” any of Adobe’s products for a monthly or annual fee. This includes Photoshop, Premiere, Dreamweaver and all the other CS products we know and love. That’s old news.

What isn’t so old is the bitching and bickering from everybody (including myself) about the idea of being “forced” to shill out small regular payments and pay for “access and incremental upgrades”, rather than “invest big” once and own the software.

While this is certainly a departure from the old licensing model, I wonder: is it really worth losing sleep over it? Let’s examine the options and see if perhaps a monthly subscription is actually cheaper than purchasing a product the old fashioned way.

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Photoshop CS5 Default Brushes

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Sometimes it’s nice to come back to the very basics of how Photoshop came when you’ve first installed it. Sadly the Reset Brushes command doesn’t always work so I’ve decided to upload the default brush set right here. Simply unzip the following file, choose Replace Brushes and and load it in: Download Photoshop CS5 Default …

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Anticipating the Lomography Spinner

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Elton John's "Songs from the West Coast" CD cover

Ever since I’ve seen Sam Taylor-Wood’s 360 degree medium format panorama series (title) I know that sooner or later I had to get my hands on one of those cameras.

At 1 picture per single roll of film, scanning would have been a nightmare – not to mention processing costs. Elton John’s CD cover for “Songs from the West Coast” is a good example of her work with this camera.

Pictures look other worldly, as if they are a never ending panoramic shot. They contain weird distortions that do not come from a fisheye lens. It’s like watching a Cinerama movie like How the West was won: I’m thinking of the end sequence of “modern times”.

It’s a shame that these cameras are so rare and exotic that it’s unlikely mere humans like myself would pick one up to play with. Ever.

Cut to July 2010. Enter Lomopgraphy and their new 35mm version of this beast: The Spinner! At £110 it’s not a toy – it’s a dream come true.

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How to shoot at 30.000 ISO and still see pictures

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The other day I spoke to the biggest source of knowledge himself, Mr. Paul Weston. We were chatting away about all things darkrooms and photography, when he told me a fascinating tip I can’t wait to try out: develop a film to become incredibly sensitive to light. Films like Delta 3200 or HP5 allow you …

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Concept: Cigarette Machines

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Style: Social Documentary with community input. Topic: Outdoor Cigarette Machines in Germany, possibly other European countries Synopsis: Although smokers are just as much frowned upon in Germany as they are here, one thing remains commonplace ever since the seventies, almost on every street corner: Cigarette Machines Even the tiniest little cul-de-sac back alley in Germany …

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Concept: Fashion Victims

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Style Portraits / Street Photography Number of Images loads – this could become an ongoing project with communty input Synopsis We went down to Camden Market this weekend, and although I’ve been there every day this week for lunch, I’ve never taken the time to explore the stables until yesterday. So much wacky and off-the-wall …

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First Shots from my Holga with Aperture Mod

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This is exciting: I’ve just scanned two rolls of film shot with my modded Holga 120SF! As I said yesterday, I always wanted a larger switchable aperture on Holga. Even in the slightest bit of shade, Holga pictures are too dark (that’s 299 days of the year in the UK). I’ve now got a working switch in …

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I’ve modded my first ever Holga 120SF

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Big news: You remember the first ever Holga camera I’ve bought? The 120SF (plastic lens, no tripod mount, no bulb switch, no colour flash)? Well guess what: I’ve taken a screwdriver, some superglue, a drill bit and increased the aperture by two or three stops using this very detailed article by Mark Hahn. By default, …

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New Series: CRISP PACKETS

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There’s nothing like putting an old greasy waste product on a £600 scanner, pressing a button and calling it “art”. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to a brand new series right here on versluis.com: CRISP PACKETS. As the name suggests, I’ve collected empty packets of crisps (or chips for non-UK residents) and make them available as …

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New Website: LIGHT PAINTINGS

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As announced earlier this year, I’ve just finished working on my latest project http://www.lightpaintings.net. As the title suggests, the site is featuring all our work around Light Paintings which used to live here exclusively in previous years: Fresh Images, Press Coverage, and a brief guide on How-To-Lightpainting. If you’re missing the old Flash interface from …

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