Favorite Images Gallery
Some images touch us more than others. Some are technically better; some evoke a pleasant memory or emotion from the past. Some simply are beautiful to see. Whatever the reason, we enjoy looking at some photos more than we enjoy looking at others. This portfolio includes some of my favorites for all the various reasons, and you can view...
Welcome
Welcome to photosonthego, a photography blog set in the Bloomington, Indiana, area. It’s a place to find images captured by James Haverstock, images of events, people and scenery from all over the area, the state, and the country. Check back to find new images and new information about photography of all kinds on a regular...
byThom: Best Logic Yet On Why Adobe Just Doesn’t Care
I’ve written it; you’ve read it elsewhere; you’ve probably muttered it yourself a time or two. Adobe just doesn’t care whether or not you like their new Photoshop CC policy. At all. A wee bit. Nada. None. Zero. Less than zero. And you and I have pretty much figured out why, what their reasoning is. But Thom Hogan over at byThom has written it out with supporting data, making a case that Adobe will not lift a finger to refute. Because they can’t; what Thom has written is true.
Adobe knows they are going to lose customers in the short run, but they figure to pick all of us back up again in a (to them) relatively short period of time because we have no where else to go. At least that seems to be their bottom line thinking. But Thom isn’t so sure … and Adobe would do well not to take us for granted. Click here to visit his site , and then scroll down to the article “The Financial Side of Cloud From Adobe’s Perspective.” ‘Nuff said (I keep writing that, but Adobe keeps driving us crazy with their arrogance and disregard).
Read the article and make a decision of what to do with this Adobe monster of ours.
Read MoreThe Invisible Background: A Portable Studio From Glyn Dewis
This isn’t a new technique. Glyn Dewis, one of my all-time favorite photographer/post processor/instructors, has shared this technique for creating a black background out of thin air in the past. But, if you are like me, you have all these great techniques and tips floating around in your head all the time. They compete for my limited capacity for remembering just the right method for just the right image, with the latest sometimes winning out simply because it is the last one to have showed up at the party. So it is a really good thing for me to sometimes revisit those tried-and-true (and extremely valuable) techniques on a somewhat regular basis. If that describes you, also, welcome to the club.
So Glyn has been kind enough to again share his considerable talent with the rest of us. Below is a new video he produced demonstrating in detail (but in simple terms) how he achieves that black background when he needs to … without a backdrop or stands or studio or anything that needs to be hauled around and put in place. And this techniques works indoors or outdoors – wherever you happen to find yourself. Thank you, Glyn! Not only is he a true expert at what he does, with a rare sense of artistry, Glyn also is generous to a fault. Watch this one and commit to the memory bank. It is truly a technique to carry everywhere, all the time.
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You Didn’t Win The First Tamron 24-70 Lens. How About The Second? Magic Lantern For Canon … It Works!
Remember entering MCP Action’s contest back on May 15th? The one with the Tamron 24-70 lens as the prize? The first 24-70 on the market to be stabilized? Worth a cool $1300? I thought you would remember that part …. Unfortunately, MCP Actions has this post for all us losers: “The lucky winner of this incredible $1,299 Tamron lens is: #2367 – Mira Crisp.” So, unless Mira is a reader of my blog, we all lost this one. But, never fear, loyal readers. We still are in the running for that second, identical lens from the good folks over at Steve’s Digicams. That giveaway doesn’t end until May 31st, so you still have time to enter. Just click here and follow the simple instructions. And good luck! Again!
And something today for all you Canon fans (I know, you have been rather neglected lately). My good friend Jeff Schemmer told me about Magic Lantern, the Canon firmware folks. After he told me that he had downloaded the latest firmware for his particular Canon camera and what it added (how about the ability to now shoot nine bracketed images where three was the absolute limit previously?) I was really glad for him (and bummed that there wasn’t a similar Magic Lantern for us Nikon users). Jeff went through the menu of add-ons offered (this works sort of like a plug-in; you have to take a look at the site to see all that is offered), and it was an impressive list. The big thing is that he installed the firmware and it works! It works well, in fact. And it was like giving his Canon DLSR an upgrade. For FREE, no less! Jeff knows his camera and he knows photography. He spent time testing the firmware and using it in his camera. That testimonial is good enough for me to recommend it to you. If you are a Canon user, check out the site by clicking here and see what it may do for you. (Hey, enterprising software geniuses … anybody got one of these for the Nikon D600?)
Good luck on the lens. And a real tip of the hat to Magic Lantern and what they do for Canon cameras.
Read MoreAdobe Photoshop Competitors … The Discussion Continues
Friday’s post was the announcement by onOne Labs of a new blog, designed to give us notice (I believe) that there are contenders out there for Adobe’s former lock on the photo-finishing market (click here for that post, complete with link to onOne). Well, we (you and I) are not the only ones figuring that Adobe has opened the door to its competition. The good folks over at dp review have done a very nice job of rounding up 10 photo-editing-programs-that-aren’t-Photoshop (click here for all ten and a description of each). Yep; ten contenders for your hard-earned dollars that perhaps prior to last month you wouldn’t have bothered researching at all. But Adobe’s announcement has caught everyone’s attention … possibly for our good and Photoshop’s bad. Keep an eye on onOne and on these 10 programs.
And an announcement that Adobe has a Camera Raw beta (version 8.1) ready for you to download (if you are into beta software). And, as promised, it will update our current versions of Photoshop CS6. But … only as far as adding new camera models to its database. Any new features are reserved for you Photoshop CC users. And, so …. Adobe’s strategy and tactics begin. If you are a beta kind of user you may click here for a link to the new download.
Well, new week … same subject. And you can join these discussions all over the web. I can’t help but wonder if sometime a year or two down the line we may be asking Adobe … “Hey, how’s that Photoshop CC working out for you?” (My apologies to Dr. Phil).
Read MoreAre The Adobe Competitors Staking Out Some Territory?
Common wisdom is that some savvy software company out there is going to go after dis-affected Adobe users, now that Photoshop CC (the cloud) is a reality. Adobe has looked around and not seen any real competitors, so they seem pretty confident that all current Photoshop users have nowhere else to go. Time is going to show us the definitive answer. But I think we may be seeing an opening salvo. Or at least an opening shot. And it is liable not to be the last.
Click here to visit a new website (one I am going to bookmark) from the good (and talented) folks over at onOne Software. It is called onOne Labs, and it promises to keep us up-to-date on their latest projects. Take a look and scroll down the page to see the features that are under development. Am I way off base? Or do I see a pattern developing that says onOne has their eye on all of us who are looking around at other photo processing programs? Thom Hogan recently wrote an article opining that Adobe may have unintentionally opened the door of unintended consequences with the whole CC thing. His take on the matter (among other recent things he has written) was that virtually every Adobe user was at least taking a look around to see what else is out there. And that they will continue to do so. Which is something that almost none of us had thought of previously. Hmmmmmm ……
I am going to keep an eye on onOne (they make some pretty darned good products already). And DxO Labs. And whoever else out there offers me more choices and more freedom than Adobe and its cloud.
Read MoreWin A Second Tamron 24-70 Lens In The Merry Month Of May
Yesterday’s post offered you the opportunity to win a very nice Tamron lens (the 24-70 f/2.8 VC worth a cool $1300). I trust you entered and will be waiting anxiously on May 9th to see if that new lens will be shipping to your home address. But if that day comes and goes without an email from Tamron or MCP Actions – never fear. For today you have another chance to win a twin Tamron lens.
Click here to visit the good, good folks over at Steve’s Digicams. They and Tamron have teamed up to offer you a FREE second opportunity to win that 24-70 beauty, the stabilized one. Follow the very simple instructions to enter, then sit back and wait for the UPS man to arrive at your doorstep sometime after the contest closes on May 31st.
Entering is easy; the lens is a very good one. So enter today. What do you have to lose?
Read MoreWin A Tamron 24-70 Lens: Now Until May 19th
Click here to visit MCP Actions and enter for yourself. And good luck.
Read MoreAttitudes On Adobe’s CC Switch Not Getting Any Better
I am sure that Adobe is sitting back and waiting for all us petulant children to get over our tantrums and throw in the towel (sign up for their cloud version of whatever). They knew there would be a backlash against this move, but they had to figure it would all go away sooner or later (and they undoubtedly figured it would be sooner). So a few clients threaten to jump ship … they will come crawling back once the reality of the cloud becomes established in this pay-me world of ours. ‘Cause, hey! Where else are they gonna go?
Well, we are going over to Thom Hogan to read more of his common sense advice and predictions on what Adobe is doing and where it may someday end up (you can do so with us by clicking here). Be sure to scroll down to read the first few articles on Photoshop; Thom knows his stuff. And he isn’t becoming any more pleased as time goes by than when this announcement was first made. From all the comments and feedback I am receiving, Thom has his finger on the pulse of the photo community much more accurately than does Adobe.
And speaking of comments …. I have received plenty of them about last week’s post concerning the contract you are forced to sign with Adobe if you want the subscription they are pushing. And those comments mirror what Thom is hearing and writing to a large degree. Photographers are not happy with Adobe. They are more than not happy, as a matter of fact. There are going to be more than a few of us who choose to stay with our current versions of Photoshop no matter what, rather than give Adobe any more of our hard-earned dollars. The search is on out there for a Photoshop replacement – and with the drive and talent out there in the photo software world today Adobe should not be overly complacent that one isn’t in the works. In any event, I received several pieces of advice to run that contract story again so that all of us are perfectly clear that it very well may be the proverbial straw that breaks our backs. I’m going to reprint it below. It really does unintentionally sum up Adobe’s attitude these days – take us or leave us, we don’t really care. After all, we are Adobe!
My good friend Howard Owen alerted me to a nice little article from the website Mac Performance Guide regarding the agreement you have to sign with Adobe before receiving your new Photoshop CC (Cloud) goodies. The author outlines some actual text from the agreement that he (and many others) feel is over-the-top. And it was rather daunting that he reported that the agreement is so long and so detailed that actually reading the entire document caused his Adobe login to time out on him. That is one heckuva complete set of conditions! Click here to read the abridged version for yourself and consider whether has decided to add insult to injury with this new subscription idea. Thank you, Howard, for passing this one along.
And then just one more quick set of anecdotes regarding said subscription policy. Today I spoke with two of my best friends out on the West Coast, both fantastic photographers. Both also are astute businessmen and independent thinkers. I wanted their take on Adobe’s latest. Suffice it to say that their reactions were less than favorable, completely along the lines of what all of us here have been saying. There is real outrage all over the country among dedicated photographers (Adobe’s loyal and valued clients) concerning this switchover. And there are real concerns about what happens to our images and our abilities down the road, not just in the very near term. The feeling of betrayal and of complete disregard for any of us small, dedicated amateurs is rampant. And not apparently dying down any time soon. We are far from alone in our feelings here in the Midwest, the conservative region of our country. And I am willing to bet that these same feelings are being felt and expressed all over the world.
Debate the various aspects of Adobe’s decision all you want as far as features and fine points and all that. The feeling of betrayal is what will ultimately cause Adobe to wonder if down the road this was such a great business decision.
Read MoreMy Percheron Photo Featured On 1x
Recently I posted on why I feel the photo-featuring site 1x has surpassed 500px in terms of selection and presentation (that post can be seen by clicking here. It features a link to my portfolio on their website, a portfolio I am trying to be very picky with). 1x has the best viewing platform online right now (in my humble opinion), and they claim only 3% of the thousands upon thousands of images submitted to them are published there. 500px still is a site I check regularly (a couple of times a day, actually), but 1x has become my go-to site. So I was quite pleased to receive an email from them advising one of my photos has been selected for publication (I have submitted three for judging in the past three weeks).
The image of the Percheron Hitch is one of my all-time favorites. It represents the beauty and pride and spirit of many of the farming communities across our country, the type of community in which I was raised and in which my brothers still live. To have it be featured on 1x in the New and Popular Today and Documentary galleries is something I just didn’t expect. There is still a thrill to be had by most of us when some feedback comes our way – feedback that says one of those images turned out pretty good.
The image can be viewed on 1x by clicking here (it is the big version of the image at the top of this post). 1x itself can be checked out by clicking here. It is a site I highly recommend.
Read MoreAdobe’s Cloud Contract … Read The Fine Print. More Reaction Regarding Subscription Policy.
My good friend Howard Owen alerted me to a nice little article from the website Mac Performance Guide regarding the agreement you have to sign with Adobe before receiving your new Photoshop CC (Cloud) goodies. The author outlines some actual text from the agreement that he (and many others) feel is over-the-top. And it was rather daunting that he reported that the agreement is so long and so detailed that actually reading the entire document caused his Adobe login to time out on him. That is one heckuva complete set of conditions! Click here to read the abridged version for yourself and consider whether has decided to add insult to injury with this new subscription idea. Thank you, Howard, for passing this one along.
And then just one more quick set of anecdotes regarding said subscription policy. Today I spoke with two of my best friends out on the West Coast, both fantastic photographers. Both also are astute businessmen and independent thinkers. I wanted their take on Adobe’s latest. Suffice it to say that their reactions were less than favorable, completely along the lines of what all of us here have been saying. There is real outrage all over the country among dedicated photographers (Adobe’s loyal and valued clients) concerning this switchover. And there are real concerns about what happens to our images and our abilities down the road, not just in the very near term. The feeling of betrayal and of complete disregard for any of us small, dedicated amateurs is rampant. And not apparently dying down any time soon. We are far from alone in our feelings here in the Midwest, the conservative region of our country. And I am willing to bet that these same feelings are being felt and expressed all over the world.
Debate the various aspects of Adobe’s decision all you want as far as features and fine points and all that. The feeling of betrayal is what will ultimately cause Adobe to wonder if down the road this was such a great business decision.
Read MoreWin A Sony A58 DLSR
All the (justified) uproar the past couple of days over Adobe’s announcement regarding future versions and use of Photoshop have quite worn me out. Questions and comments and remarks and complaints are still flowing hot and heavy on website after website. And deservedly so, I might add. But allow me to make an attempt at cheering us all up, at least momentarily. Sony, Dave’s Digicams, and the good, good folks at Adorama Camera have teamed up in a camera giveaway. You could win one of two Sony A58 DLSRs to be given away on June 7th. For free. No strings attached.
Click here to visit Steve’s Digicams and enter. It will take you about 20 seconds … total. Then just sit back and wait for your free camera to arrive sometime next month. Maybe. Hey, what do you have to lose? And it will take your mind off Adobe and Photoshop for at least those 20 seconds.
Thank you, Steve’s Digicams. And Sony. And Adorama.
Read MoreFollowup To Photoshop CC: Adobe Shoots Self But Describes It As Only A Flesh Wound.
In yesterday’s post I described the mood out there as relatively calm but with the potential to boil over (concerning Adobe’s announcement of its new subscription-only policy for Photoshop). The question was whether Adobe would end up shooting itself in the foot while aiming at all us small-time photographers? It looks like they did. But the Adobe giant has a high pain tolerance and a very big foot on which to stand. They believe they will heal just fine and quite quickly … thank you very much.
I like the good folks over at Shadowhouse Creations (generous share-ers of textures and overlays and all kinds of Photoshop goodies). Here is how they summed up their feelings on the Adobe announcement: “As a business I think Adobe has done the right thing, but as an everyday user I feel Adobe alienated its customers for the professional community that can afford the Creative Cloud price tag.” I might add, its loyal and enthusiastic and supportive everyday users. Who now generally feel quite a lot less loyal and enthusiastic and supportive. Check out the Shadowhouse Creations post by clicking here for all their thinking.
Want something more direct and even less flattering? Thom Hogan over at byThom knows his photo stuff (business, equipment, techniques, etc.). He was quite less-than-impressed with Adobe’s actions. Click here to read his take on the big move in an article entitled, “Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You.” The title pretty much gives away his sentiments, but do read it. He has some other thoughts on where this move might lead for other big companies that dominate our post-processing world. Scary thoughts from Thom, but timely ones.
The article I pointed to yesterday from dp review has been fleshed out today with an interview by them with an Adobe spokesperson. It apparently is in response to the overwhelmingly negative reaction the informed readers of that site had to this latest news. And the Adobe person wasn’t especially apologetic over this action, although he did acknowledge that there was going to be some pain and hard feelings engendered. And he opened the door just a tiny, itty bitty crack to just maybe perhaps a tad bit of softening on this policy in the future (but if you read Scott Kelby’s defense of Adobe yesterday you get the very firm impression that this is it, folks. Get over it). Click here for the dp review interview … but son’t get your hopes up to be encouraged.
Frank Doorhof pretty much defended Adobe over on his site (gee, do all these big-name photographers forget there are all us little guys out here?). But he did have one good suggestion that perhaps Adobe could consider. He wrote: “I would have no problem with a system where you take a 2 year subscription and only with that subscription you own the software that you are using at the end of your subscription, if you continue for a year or a month or whatever after that, that’s ok but after that initial 2 years you will own the software so if you stop paying Adobe will freeze your software versions and you can still work with it. Take a new subscription and you can work with the newer versions. This way you are not “forced” into the cloud and subscriptions. Let’s say you decide to stop paying for example for Premiere because you are switching to Avid or FcPX, in the present setup you would never be able to open your old projects anymore, with the 2 year/freeze system you would at least be able to open your old work. Overall I think it’s exciting to see what Adobe is doing, it’s also without any doubt pushing away some customers, especially people who don’t have the budget for subscriptions, but are able to buy the software once and use it for some years (a lot of my students still work with PS CS4).” Click here for Frank’s entire take on the matter.
Okay, you can read stuff all over the web on this new wrinkle from Adobe. But I want to point out an un-scientific yet quite valid response from a group of Photoshop users who are like most of us – little guys who are in love with photography but not selling a lot and certainly not making a living off that pursuit. We just happened to have a Bloomington Photography Club meeting last night, and Adobe’s announcement was on a lot of minds. And tongues. I spoke with professionals, casual users and dedicated photo junkies. The verdict on the street? Adobe doesn’t value us and is using its near-monopoly position in the marketplace to hold us hostage. There is real anger out there … frustration and sadness even. We feel let down and used. Loyalty is a two-way street; Photoshop users truly feel they are in this whole photography thing together with Adobe, not just as customers to be sold to. It’s as if a friendship (one with a lot of dollars being passed back and forth) was suddenly ended. And ended without those of us on this end having asked for it. Or having seen it coming. And that is to say nothing of all those concerns about monthly payments and never-ending subscriptions and future increases and all that. We feel betrayed in a sense.
Adobe has a great big foot (make that a giant foot). Shooting themselves there isn’t going to topple them. It may hurt for awhile, maybe even hurt pretty badly. But they will be right back up and marching around on that foot before you and I know it. And, unfortunately, when that giant foot comes down we may find ourselves directly underneath it. Ouch!
Read MoreAdobe Aims Gun And Fires, Hitting Photographers Everywhere … Or Themselves In The Foot?
It’s pretty calm out there as I write this post, but the temperatures are about to heat up dramatically … as in boiling, I predict. Yesterday Adobe announced what they really wanted (and tried) to say last year – pay me a monthly fee that I alone control or do without my products in the future. That’s right … do without.
As you remember, last year Adobe tried to make all of us loyal and dedicated users buy a full-price (new) version of Photoshop unless we upgraded each and every time. No getting by with a current version and upgrading every other time. Try that very useful tactic and you start from scratch price-wise. A hue and cry went out across the photo world, helped greatly along by Scott Kelby (who argued that there hadn’t been any, let alone enough, advance warning about this new pricing scheme. Adobe relented and life went on. But Adobe, one of the true giants in the photo world, didn’t forget and they certainly didn’t give up. Yesterday they dropped a bombshell that makes the upgrade scheme look tame in comparison to many of us. Photoshop CS6 is the last version you are going to order, pay for, install, own, and treat as your own. Ever. From now on all Adobe Creative Suite applications will be stored on the cloud. You will pay for a subscription to use them, but you won’t really download them and you certainly won’t own them. Stop paying the fee and you will stop using the product. No “this older version suits me just fine” Photoshop for you. Constantly pay to play or Adobe takes their ball and goes home.
Now, Adobe says this is all to keep your products constantly up-to-date and constantly improving (no waiting for a new version to be released. As an incremental advance is made or a new feature added you will get it right then and there). As long as you keep paying. And keep paying. And keep paying. No more worries by Adobe about you upgrading each time (their worry from last year). You will be upgrading … all the time. Whether you needed to or not. Whether you wanted to or not. Whether you thought you really could afford it or not. Welcome to the future, fellow photographers!
Click here to read the announcement as I found it yesterday over at dp review. Then, for what I found to be an incredibly disingenuous statement from Adobe, click here. Read how all this is for your benefit, you loyal customer, you. Wow!
Okay, Adobe either thinks/knows they have all of us over a barrel and can do whatever they want … or they have made a massive mistake in their business model that is going to have legions of photographers looking for alternatives. And finding those alternatives from enterprising software developers all over the world. I don’t have the answers to those questions. But I have a pretty strong hunch that Adobe has not endeared themselves to many, many of us today. There just aren’t a lot of guys in white hats out there anymore.
Read MoreFREE Brushsets: Birds And Grunge Overlays
Some people are just generous. Some are quite talented. Fewer are talented and generous. But the good folks over at Shadowhouse Creations consistently share quality brushes and textures and overlays for FREE with the rest of us. And what could be better than beginning your work week with exactly that?
Click here to visit Shadowhouse Creations to download what could be a very handy set of bird brushes for FREE. Every so often you might find a bird or two in the distance to be just what that image needed as a finishing touch … but where to begin? This set solves that sometimes-problem for you. And grunge is a style, a look, a popular finishing touch for many, many of us. Click here for a FREE set of brushes that can be used in a variety of ways. They are complete and high quality, yet they will take up precious little space on your drive. Thank you, Shadowhouse Creations. Again!
Read MoreMy 1x Gallery …… Sorry, 500px.
Click on the image of the old barn to see my 1x gallery.
More and more I find myself checking the photo website 1x (a link to the main site is here). They have been around for awhile, started I am guessing as a direct competitor to the popular 500px site. A short time ago 1x updated and freshened their site to give it a clean, very professional look. And they have apparently gotten even pickier about the photos they select as featured, whether on the popular page or in any of the categories (the fine print says only 3% of submitted images are selected for general viewing). But in my eyes that has become a plus – the photos displayed are all high, high quality. And the method of displaying each image makes it look its best. I still check 500px regularly, and there are some very, very fine photos to be seen there. But I have to give the nod to 1x these days for quality of images and for appearance.
Given all the above I have signed up for a free account, one that has some uploading restrictions (but ones generous enough for me). I will be adding images to this gallery as I think they are worthy of being seen there (today you click on the image at the top of this post, or you always can go to Photo Collections and click on 1x Gallery). So I am going to be rather picky about this particular group. Check back at times to see what might be new. And I hope you enjoy them even a small bit as much as I enjoyed taking them.
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