Spent the day out on Old Hickory lake with friends. Late afternoon a down pour came in and there is nothing quite like a rain storm on the lake.
Thoughts
Rainy Days
Distinct Analog – Delicious Lightroom Presets Review
I recently wrote that I got a copy of Delicious Presets set ‘Distinct Analog‘ lightroom presets and I could not wait to share some results with you. If you do not know what lightroom is then check out the amazing powerhouse photo editor from Adobe. I switched to Lightroom from Apple Aperture about a year ago. Lightroom is a powerful beast and you can load presets. Presets for Lightroom are pre-made looks for lightroom. You can adjust each preset according to your needs with the powerful sliders in Lightroom. The Distinct Analog Lightroom presets include:
- Blue Cream
- Creamy Love
- Expression
- LoFi Analog
- LoFi Craziness
- LOMO
- Love Letter
- Muddy Waters
- Old World
- Outdated Negative
- Sunset Glare
I am just going to touch on a few of my favorites of these presets. To start with I just wanted to say all of these images are older images. I did not take new images but I used ones I already had edited by other means. I stripped the photos down to the original import so all my old edits had been stripped away.
My Distinct Analog Lightroom Presets Test Shots
Blue Cream- I wanted to try this on something that already had a blue tint and I was surprised by the results but really liked what I got.
Before:
After:
LOMO: I used this on a street photo I had taken in Glasgow and loved the results. As a final image I would have lighted up the main subject but wanted to leave the image “as-is” for the review.
Before:
After:
Love Letter: This was by far my favorite preset it made the images creamy and dreamy.
Before:
After:
Outdated Negative: I really liked this one and will be using it for more street work.
Before:
After:
Distinct Analog Lightroom Presets Conclusion:
This is an amazing set of Lightroom presets. Presets for lightroom can be so hit or miss. While I love all these presets in the future I would edit my image and then apply presets but for the sake of this review I left them unedited. An edited photo with any of these presets applied will be an incredibly powerful image.
Check out the Distinct Analog preset set or some of the others from Delicious presets – I know I am decided which one to get next! They also have a free set that has some amazing options!
What’s Your Mark – Jeremy Cowart
I requested this book from booksneeze.com but it did not come. I saw the ebook was on sale so I bought it because I really like Jeremy Cowart’s work. I even briefly worked with him years ago when he was part of a company called pixelgrazer and we had a mutual client. My review of the ebook and of the real book are a bit separate.
The ebook seemed a bit weak I did not like the layout of it the pictures were small and with Jeremy being a photographer I excepted big images that jumped off the screen. I read through it quickly since most of the text is from the book of Mark.
The real book finally came from the publisher and I was more pleased with the book. It flowed better than the ebook and the images were full page.
All in all it is a quick read but good. 16 inspirational stories helping you question what you are doing to impact the good in this world. I would recommend the book but only in real book form and not the ebook. Buy it on amazon.com (not affiliate link)
Book Description
Who was Jesus? What was his story? What mark did he leave? What’s your story? What will be your mark? Join celebrity photographer and social artist Jeremy Cowart as he presents 16 compelling stories of people who are making their mark today. Their stories are just a sampling of the stories that all followers of Jesus can tell – stories from those in all walks of life whose inspiration is rooted in the truths found in the Gospel of Mark. And you’ll be inspired to make your mark—whether through your occupation, your talents or your selfless love and giving to others. Your mark may be teaching children at a school or at home, helping the homeless, or providing food to the hungry. Your mark might be an accidental mark, a reluctant mark, or an intentional mark. Whatever your mark, you’ll be inspired by the stories inside this new book, What’s Your Mark? Become a mark-maker today, and make every moment of your life count.
I got this from booksneeze.com.
Distinct Analog – Delicious Presets
Recently I got a copy of Delicious Presets set ‘Distinct Analog‘ and I can’t wait to share some results with you.
All I can say so far is this set has been an awesome preset for Lightroom 4. I have tried many presets and found a lot of them lacking but so far I am loving the results.
Samples coming soon!
Sandra McCracken
I have been listening to an album almost non-stop. What is it you ask? The new album from Sandra McCracken of course! I have listened to Sandra’s music for years but this is by far her best album. Desire Like Dynamite from start to finish is just ear candy and soul music.
Do yourself a solid and go buy it on sandramccracken.com!
Or listen to a little bit of music and then get the album. An older song but still one of my favorite:
Download some free music then go buy the full album on sandramccracken.com
Making Space
A few days before the new year I sat at my home office computer. I had no less than 7 apps open: twitter, facebook, mail, chrome, photoshop, lightroom, inDesign, suitcase, etc… I was flipping through each app working a bit here and a bit there. Then it dawned on me that I was not even sure what I was doing anymore. Multi-tasking was killing my productivity. That was it something had to change.
My Office Before
Before my change I had an external monitor attached to my iMac and cables all over the top of my desk. Today I decided to downgrade and just use my iMac – no external monitor. I want to be focused on what I am doing. I am going to make an effort to only run 1-2 apps at a time and not have open all my social media. Making an effort to be present in what I am doing is my goal for 2013.
My Office Now
The changes may be subtle to most but in my mind the changes are huge. I opened up room to have my watercolor pencils and sketchbook so it is easy to sketch any idea when the mood strikes. There is breathing room.
My Sweet Little Office
Now my sweet little office complete with my reading/thinking chair and all the animals room is a new place to create, dream and focus on one thing at a time.
Ansel Adams
When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.
Free Textures
I was in a restaurant today and looked down at their amazing floor. I started snapping some pictures because the texture was just amazing and I had a few project that this could work really well for. Since I love this texture so much I thought others might love it for projects. So here is a free download.
If you are not sure how to use textures in your photos here is a link to a great article.
Floor Textures (129) (~85mb)
A Sample Texture From Package
