Kickstarter

Review of the Leash by Peak Design

And one of my recently backed projects on Kickstarter was also the Capture Camera clip v2. And together with it I ordered also all the other products form Peak Design. I will add reviews of all of them to the blog over the next weeks, so lets start with the camera strap called Leash.

Lakeside reflection in blue

As I stated in my Top 5 Photography spots in Bratislava page, the Kuchajda lake is the best place for reflections in Bratislava. As you can see also in this photo, the lake is mostly so calm that you get almost a perfect reflection. It’s even more fun when the lake freezes over. It gives a nice reflection and you get much more freedom in the compositions. In this photo you can see the Lakeside park tower during a very clear blue hour.

This is a HDR from 5 shots, created in Oloneo Photoengine and finished in Photoshop. I only did very few tweaks here, mostly just to bring out the blue color and tweak the contrast.

Custom Google maps

Do you know about Google custom maps? Do you use them? Custom maps on Google allow you to add you own points on a map, add description to them and then share the map. I quite often create one before a trip, to note the spots I really do not want to miss. Sometimes I even add links to images, so I better remember what on that particular place.  This were a part of the old Google maps, and now are accessible through settings/my places. I really hope they don’t remove them.

What do you use to note locations? I’m open to some suggestions :)

Nik Viveza 2 review

And another plugin you may find useful. Find whats Nik Viveza 2 for and how you could use it, in this new review. And don’t forget to take a look at all the other reviews, in my newly reorganized Review page.

Framed city

I was thinking about, how to make this view different than in my other photos. So why not try framing. So I crouched down and tried looking through the bridge railing, and this is what I got. Looks quite different, doesn’t it? In retrospect, I would prefer to have also the railing sharp, with some detail, but I forgot to take a refocused photo. So maybe next time.

This is a HDR created in Oloneo Photoengine, blended with original exposures in Photoshop.

Free eBook for all newsletter subscribers

Maybe some of you have already noticed the change in the sidebar, but I have created my first ever eBook. This one is for free to all, who subscribed to my newsletter. So if you still haven’t, now is your chance :) Head over to the newsletter page for more details, or you can subscribe directly in the widget to the right of this post.

Topaz Star Effects review

There will be still many more reviews on this blog. Today the new one is about the Topaz Star Effects. As I mentioned before, my reviews are short and I try to stick to the point. That is, what the plugin is for, and why you would like to use it. Same this one :).

And btw., between the December 10th and December 31st 2013, you can use the code “decstar” for a 50% discount on this plugin. More information can be found on the Topaz Star Effects site

Sunset at the Michael’s gate

There are not many high spots in the center of Bratislava, so one has to use all one can find. So last week I visited all the towers that are accessible (all two of them :)). I don’t think there are more, but correct me if I’m wrong. I already posted a photo from the Town hall tower earlier, so here is one from the Michael’s gate. It’s not really that all, but in the Old tow, it’s still one of the tallest.

This is a HDR created from 5 shots in Oloneo Photoengine and then merged with original exposures and finished in Photoshop.

Last day of the giveaway

Tomorrow is the last day you can join my Oloneo Photoengine giveaway, so if you have not yet joined, this is your last chance. You can find it on the contest page. It’s also the last day to vote for you favorites in the editing contest, so head over to the contest album and give a like to your favorites.

Nik Analog Efex Review

To continue my additions of reviews to this blog, there is a new review of the Nik Analog Efex Pro plugin. This is the latest addition to the Nik plugin collection, and one to give you that popular vintage look.

Castle an the bridge

The Bratislava castle is a very dominant landmark in Bratislava. You can see it from so many spots. But it also is hard to come up with a new view, I haven’t used before. But this time I found one. I went to the Port bridge, and took a photo with my longest lens. I was hoping for a nice reflection of the bridge in the Danube, but as it was a quite windy day, I had no luck with that. But that only means that I will have to revisit the spot :)

This is a HDR created in Oloneo Photoengine, then blended with original exposures.

First issue of HDRshooter newletter

Yesterday I send out the very first issue of the HDRshooter newsletter. I hope it will be the firs one of many to come :) If you are curious, you can see it here: HDRshooter Newsletter Issue #1

The newsletter won’t be are regular one, as I will create a new one only when I have enough new stuff to put in it. If you like it, and want to stay in touch with the blog, feel free to subscribe. I promise not to spam you, and the newsletter will always include a links to guides, not yet published on the blog :)

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Nik Silver Efex Pro review

I have again added a new review to this blog. This time it is a one of the Silver Efex Pro plugin by NIK. So check it out to see what is this plugin about and if it’s something you might use in your post-processing.

Sunset riders

This is a statue called the Mythical ship in Bratislava, next to River park. I wanted a photo like this for a longer time, and yesterday, thank you a coincidence (the spot I wanted to go for sunset was not accessible) I got it. The sunsets the whole last week were just beautiful, full of purple and pink colors. Too bat its over, with today’s weather being a snowstorm.

This photo was such a pain to edit. As with all photos with very high differences in bright and dark areas, I had a huge problem getting rid of the halos around the statue. I tried first to blend them using Oloneo and Photomatix, but in the end I had to do it all manually. I actually thought of retouching the supports out of the photo, so having it just floating in the air, but that wouldn’t look so real after that :)