Using DXO - A Review

I just downloaded the free version of Sony's DXO film emulation software. I haven't played with all the controls, but I wanted to show what the program does.

Basically, back in our film shooting days, we knew that certain brands (and certain films within those brands) had a color balance and saturation unique to themselves. 

Kodachrome gave us "nice bright colors, dreams of Summers" because it had a slightly warm color balance, deep saturation, and ultra tight grain. Fujichrome and Ektachrome tended cooler and varied in saturation among the different sub brands. 

I always looked at the film box to remember what color balance the film favored. I used Kodachrome for Autumn scenes and anything requiring perfect grain, Ektachrome for Winter, strobe, and night, Fujichrome for Spring views. Worked well for me.

The color negative films were often color corrected in printing, but they had some distinct characteristics as well. Contrast seemed to be the biggest difference.

B&W was adjustable in so many ways. Different chemicals,  printing choices, even time and temp of the chems. Still, they had differences, too, especially in grain and contrast.

Then, cross processing adds its own unique looks, adjustable to a great degree. Develop E-6 chromes in C-41, or color neg film in slide film chemicals. Lots of interesting looks.

So, now you can do all that again. Open up your finished JPEG, choose what film preset to use, and let DXO do its stuff. I used minimal compression and got some large, sharp files. I left everything else at DXO factory presets. Adjustments, besides film type, include intensity of the film type, contrast, saturation, exposure, and film grain.

I was pleased overall. This program (and others like it, including Lightroom and Photoshop plug ins) have some good uses and results.

I chose one image of mine to illustrate below. There are more film presets in the program, these are just some highlights.

Original image file, shot in Nikon RAW, processed to finish with Adobe Photoshop and ACDSee:

 

Original

Fuji Superia Reala 100

Fuji Velvia 50

Kodachrome 25

Kodak Elite Color 200

Ilford XP2

Kodak T-Max 100

Polaroid 672 pack film

Kodak Cross Process

Free DXO download

GEt a free version of DXO film emulation software. 

Link good til August 15th, 2014

Includes a code for getting the latest version at a deep discount.

The software is essentially designed to give your digital photos the "look" of some well-known film stocks.

Improve Photography article

Improve Photography is a great site for any photographer, at any skill level, to improve their craft.

Steve's Fine Finish is now a contributor to the site. See my review of inexpensive studio strobes. 

More articles from me will be coming soon. While on the website, check thru all the other articles. I'm sure you will find a subject that helps you improve your photography.

NEW CALENDARS!

All new calendars are available!

Click on THIS LINK for previews and orders.

Sigma Lens Sale Coupons

From Adorama! Save on 150-500, 10-20, and 85/1.4. Also a deal on memory cards.

And here is the memory card sale.

BEAR CAM!

Last year, we linked you to the Live View Bear Cam at Brooks Falls, Alaska.

This year, we can also add a Live View from Lower River.

Bookmark this and check back all Summer long. Sometimes there are loads of bears, sometimes just one or two. Anytime you look, it's awesome!

"Check back on off hours for highlights."

Make Money with your Camera, Part III

I've posted a couple of times with some ideas and guidelines for making money with your camera. 

I'm now going to review a site I've been using that has been good for my business:

ThumbTack

How does ThumbTack work?

It's free to sign up, whether looking for work or looking to hire. People post asking for bids for jobs in your area. You can set up your account with what you consider your local area. Also, choose what types of jobs you want to bid on.

You then purchase credits to use when bidding.  Credits are reasonably priced and most jobs only require 2 to 4 credits to bid.

Since people are definitely looking to hire someone for a specific job, there isn't much time wasted for you or them. Set up a good profile page and be very specific in your details of the bid. Just like you would for an in-person bid.

What I like about this is it opens up for people for other areas to ask for bids in my local area. For instance, a national service for grant writing needed photos of a business in my area. They posted for my area, I responded, got a nice fee for an easy afternoon's work. Another example, a realty firm in the state bordering mine has a property they represent in my area. (The client owns properties in several states.) They needed a realty photographer to update their files. Instead of sending one of their regulars for an out of state job, they posted, I responded, another nice invoice for me.

A huge plus for me is the time and expense involved in bidding. Consider, if I were to drive to a location, inspect it, and submit a bid, I have already invested my time, gas, postage, etc... Buying credits to bid online is actually far less expensive when you add that all up.

It can be for different types of photography. I've seen requests for portraits, newborn, events, weddings, and modeling. Also, commercial photography including products and properties.

Hope this encourages you to keep trying.

Positive feedback is nice

Positive feedback is nice, isn't it? I recently just had two different clients tell me my work for them was "perfect" and "even better than asked for." I'll be using their glowing recommendations to show prospective new clients.

And it brings up a good point. We need to give commendation to others. Especially when they have done a superior job for us.

Like my slide scanning from Scan Cafe. I was expecting a good job, what I got was close to perfect. I love being able to use my older images in the new digital world without worrying about scanning with my own equipment. Not only is Scan Cafe's equipment of high grade, their technicians cleaned, adjusted, enhanced the images to close to the original quality as shot. Awesome!

Have you used a service that turned out well for you? Let them know. Even in the giant corporate world, individual workers or teams can be praised.

Has a model you hired (even if work-for-prints), been a joy to direct? Let them know. 

Let others know, too.

 A little positive note for my photography thoughts this week.

Moon and Mars

On the night of July 5th, the Moon (Earth's natural satellite) will either occult or come very close to Mars for certain Western Hemisphere viewers.

Here is a map (via Sky & Telescope) :

If you get to see it, try photographing it. As bright as these two objects are, even a partly cloudy night will still make for some nice photos.