Sunset at the Bratislava Castle

I do like colorful photos. And sunset can give you so much color. And autumn and early winter sunsets can be so beautiful. Like this one. This is a bit different view of Bratislava castle, as this photo is taken from the Michael’s Gate tower. The balcony there is easily accessible if you visit the medieval weapons museum that is in the tower. Just having a sunset during you visit is only possible in Winter as they close quite early.

This is a blend of three exposures, done in Photoshop.

Over the Dom Luis I Bridge

Ok, enough of the Black Friday stuff (But don’t forget, most deals are valid until the Cyber Monday :)). Let’s get back to photos.

Today’s photo is a panorama taken from a viewing area above the Dom Luis I Bridge that spans in Porto. This bridge just looks great, and you can walk across it on the bottom and also the top level. Though, some are a bit scared to pass the top one.

This is a three shot panorama, each shot from three exposures. I used PTgui to create the panorama and then Photoshop to blend them. I actually used Raya Pro panel here. Will write more about it when I use it more.

And here are few details:

Update 9. Oloneo

Oloneo Photoengine has been my go to HDR software for years now. And right now you can get it with a huge 55% discount. They don’t offer it so cheaply often :)

Head over to Oloneo page here.

Update 8. Sean Bagshaw

If you looked at any of my recent screenshots, you have seen the TK actions panel in most of them. And right now you can get it, plus all the videos from a great landscape photographer Sean Bagshaw, who uses them, for a huge 50% off. Just use the code Save50.

Head over to Seans page here.

Update 7. Chip Philips

Another great photographer who has a discount on all his tutorial videos. With the code BLACKFRIDAY20 you can get 20% off on all purchases on his page.

Head over to Chips page here.

Update 6. Moo

I like to use Moo to print my business cards. They offer a lot of options, including having a different photo on every single card. Looks great and people love to choose they own favorite when you give them a card :) You can see a photo of my cards here.

They are currently having a 30% off discount with the code SNEAKY30 from now till the 25th.
Head over to Moo page here.

Update 5. Raya Pro

If you are looking for a Photoshop plugin that add a lot of blending and photo editing functionality, you should take a look at Raya Pro by Jimmy McIntire. He currently has a 25% discount on the panel and also all his video tutorials.
Head over to Jimmy’s page here.

Update 4. Affinity

Affinity also offers a 30% off discount on all their software, so if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to Photoshop and Illustrator, you should check out Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer.
Head over to Affinity site here.

Update 3. DxO Software

If you wanted to get the new Nik Collection (for me the most used plugins in photo editing) and wanted to get onto the new updates, not is the best time. DxO offers 50% off on all of their software, so that makes the price of Nik Collection only 34.99.
Head over to DxO site here.

Update 2. OnOne Software

OnOne offers a Black Friday bundle for their Photo RAW software today too.
Head over to OnOne site here.

Update 1. Clip Studio Paint

Clip studio paint (also know as Manga Studio) is not a photography software, but for drawing. Still, it’s one of the best and one can get it as low as 25 usd today. I did buy a copy :)

Head over to OnOne site here.

1. Master exposure blending video tutorial

As usually, I will start with my own discount. From today, until the end of the month, you can get my video tutorial series for 20USD instead of the usual 49USD (that’s around 60% off). You can buy it from the Master exposure blending page or directly here with Paypal.

2. Skylum Software (formerly Macphun)

As usually, Macphun has a lot of discounts for their software. You can get Aurora or Luminar at a discount or even buy a bundle. Also the upgrades are discounted. And if you use the code HDRSHOOTER, there is an extra 10USD off for you.

Head over to the Macphun website here.. The offer is valid from today until the 28th.

3. Topaz Labs

Topaz Labs has always big discounts for Black Friday and it’s not different this year. From the 22th you get get 25% off from all what they offer and also some great bundles.

Head over to the Topaz Labs store here.

4. ACDsee

ACDsee softwar also offers discounts for most of their software (up to 70% off). Just head over to their store to check out the specific discounts.

The ACDsee software store can be found here.

5. Imagenomic

Imagenomic is another maker of great plugins. I always use Noiseware on all my photos. And if you do portraits, you should try Portraiture from them. They have a sale from the 20th to the 27th with the code thanks2018.

Head over to the Imagenomic page here.

6. Peak Design

Peak Design also likes to offer a lot of discounts for Black friday. From the 22nd to the 26th you can get 10% off the Everyday Bags, 15% off Clips and Straps and 10% off from theirn new Travel Line (if you buy the Travel Backpack and 2 or more Packing tools)

Head over to the Peak Design site here.

7. Stuck in Customs

Trey Ratcliff from Stuck in Customs offers from the 21st to the 28th 50% off from all his tutorials and presets. So if you like Trey’s style of editing photos, now is the time to stock up on those videos.

Head over to the Stuck in Customs store here.

8. Fstoppers tutorials

A lot of Fstoppers tutorials are on sale, with the code BF2018, but I would specially look at the ones from Elia Locardy, the Photographing the world series.

Head over to Fstoppers store here.

Perspective correction workflow

1. Let’s first look at the starting photo. You can easily see on the bridge, how distorted it is. The top is completely falling inwards. So it has be opened in Photoshop, and we can start working on it. Don’t forget to properly level the photo first, I it’s crooked you will not be able to correct the perspective properly.
2. First, I always duplicate the layer, and work on a copy. To duplicate, just right click on the layer and select duplicate. Then, choose the crop tool, and expand the photo, so there is space to work in. You don’t need to expand down, but you can.

3. Now select the layer you created, and select Edit/Free Transform (or just hit Ctrl+T). Now the image will have a border around it. We need to go into perspective edit, so right click anywhere within it, and choose perspective.
4. Now click and hold on the right top corner and start pulling it to the right. Hold down Shift so it stays in line with the original position. You will see how the opposite corner also moves out. Do this until the lines that should be vertical in the photo, are vertical. In this case, this would be the pillars of the bridge.

5. Now you will notice, that while the perspective is corrected, the whole image now looks like squished. We still have to correct that. So again, right click anywhere withing the image, and choose scale. Click on the middle top point and drag it up. If you have the latest version of Photoshop, hold down Shift, so it’s a non-uniform scale. In the older ones, you don’t have to.
6. Pull it up until the proportions look correct. You may have to switch back to perspective and correct the corners again, since the scaling can introduce some distortions again.

7. Once done, just crop the image to the proportions you want. You may leave some of the corners in, and then fix them later. I did a guide on that some time ago and can be found here.

And this is the final photo after all the corrections and edits.