Photoshop Shake Reduction

In November of 2012 I posted about not deleting your pictures if they are not in perfect focus. Some bloggers/experts recommended that you delete them, while I suggested that you do not know what will be possible in the future. Well the future is here. Photoshop Shake Reduction will be available in June of this year. Checkout the video below. I have a few pictures that meet this criteria waiting on me to apply the fix. I am sure this feature will continue to get better and would work great on my type of photography which is run and gun. I have a lot of photos that I have taken from moving cars and auto rickswaws that this might really help. [color-button color=orange href="http://bhagavideo.com/2012/11/the-future-of-photography-technology/"]See my post "The Future of Photography Technology"[/color-button]

Want to learn more about Shake Reduction?

Adobe Shake Reduction Checkout the Adobe Blog

Checkout Terry White's Blog

Quick Trip to Amish Country

On Saturday my wife and I decided to take a quick trip to Amish Country. We visited Sugarcreek and Berlin, Ohio to have lunch and visit a few shops. I took my Nikon D90 with me and captured a few winter pictures of the winter landscapes. Our first stop was at Dutch Valley Gift and then lunch at Dutch Valley Restaurant. I decided to take a few pictures while I was there. I have taken a few photos there in the summer but never during the winter.

First up was a picture of the Carlisle Inn Sugarcreek. Taken on a cold winter day it doesn't have the appeal of a snow covered picture taken at night or the warmth of a summer day. However, you certainly feel the warmth once you go inside the hotel and see the beautiful open spaces and wonderful wood work from local Amish craftsman.

Next up was a few pictures of the surrounding landscape near the hotel and gift shop. It was a gray day with temperatures in the low twenties and a little windy. The house off of old route 39 was an interesting site sitting there in the cold. As I was taking the picture I heard music off to the right that was coming from the church. The tree between me and the church really added some character to the photo. Although I was there to take some winter pictures I kept thinking about how I wished it was summer! 

Our next stop was Berlin to visit the Village Gift Barn and while there I took the liberty to snap a few outdoor pictures at Country Gatherings. On our way back home we stopped at Andreas Furniture in Sugarcreek to see what was new and look around to see if there was anything that we liked. We did spot a nice chaise lounge that would be a nice addition to our sun room. 

Driving south into the country is always a relaxing drive and is a great getaway to heading north into the bigger cities and heavier traffic. When in Amish country you need to watch out for the occasional buggy, not the shopping mall parking lot speedster.

[color-box color=yellow]See the complete gallery at Amish Country.[/color-box]

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Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas to everyone, hope your holidays are filled with joy and may you have great happiness in the New Year.  Here are a few pictures of our Christmas this year.

Christmas 2012

It is that time of year again. Drag out all of the decorations, put them up and then go out and buy some new ones. Then we say we are not buying any new decorations again, then we go out after Christmas and buy some more. Keep the economy going! Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you have an enjoyable holiday season. Thought I would share a picture of our decorated tree and fireplace this year. It is always a little different but the best place to relax during the hectic holiday season. The perfect place to be is next to the tree with some hot chocolate or tea.

A Couple of Scary Halloween Photos

Halloween 2012 is over  but it isn't too late to post a couple of scary photos taken at the local garden center.  A few tweaks here and there and lose the boring. Skeletons are my favorite Halloween characters, you can wrap them up in anything, dim the lights and scare anyone that comes along! We don't do any decorating for Halloween at home, but we are always there to hand out candy to all those that dress up!

It was daylight when I took the above picture but after making a few adjustments the picture has a lot more character. One worthy of the subjects in the photo.

Was the bride left at the alter? I wouldn't have showed up for this one either!

I have some great shots of the cat sleeping in a card board box (the one he is sitting in above). Looked like a coffin and perhaps he was a vampire cat. I saved the pictures for another time. Perhaps next year.

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The Future of Photography Technology

The future of photography technology will be as dramatic as the technologies we are seeing in smartphones and tablets. The computing power is doubling at amazing rates and the power needed to manipulate photographs is growing with it. That is so promising and yet not everyone has grasped that yet. I was reading an article about organizing your photographs and the author said to not download your blurry photographs. Stop right there! That statement is assuming a lot of things that are not necessarily true. First, it assumes that the picture is just one of many and no big deal if you delete it. Second, it also assumes that at no time in the future could technology advancements in photography resolve the blur problem. Because of better technology I have pictures that I have rescued this past year that I took 12 years ago. If that blurry image is the only one you have of something important then do not delete it! Have you seen the technology demonstrated by Adobe where blurry images are being corrected to an almost perfect image? I only delete pictures that I feel are duplicates and of no value regardless of the future. Yes, I have a lot more pictures I store because of that but so what? What is the cost of doing that?

Be very selective of the pictures you delete. I have gone back into my archived pictures more than once to process a picture because of what was in the photograph. I used 12 year old pictures of my house being built to see where the pipes and wires were at. I didn't have them in my "official albums" but they were still there on  my hard drive. You never know what the value of a picture is until the day you want it or wish you had it.

I store all of my photographs on a single drive that is backed up by Carbonite and I also copy the "Picture" directory to a second hard drive. I do not want to lose my pictures regardless of their perfection.

Checkout the Adobe "Sneak".