As the producer of “Photographing the Great American Landscape” DVD series, I would like to generate some feedback from our viewers. Steve and I have had some conversations on where we should go from here… but I would really like to hear from you!
With Yosemite, Death Valley and now Canyonlands (to be released very soon) under our belts it’s time to begin thinking of our next stop. This is also a great time to reflect on how the series is being used.
What do you like?
What might you want to see added or changed?
One story I love to share about our “Winter in Yosemite” DVD happened last February. Steve and I along with the workshop gang were gathering in the parking area prepairing for the short hike to view and photograph the final light on Horsetail Falls. Just before our departure we happened to spot a fellow photographer sitting in his truck. Nothing really special there… but what caught our eye and amazed us was the fact that he was watching our Yosemite DVD from the comfort of his SUV via his onboard DVD player. He was accually using it to guide himself to this outstanding location!
As you might guess we were pleased. Not only did the DVD do it’s job to inform and inspire a fellow camera nut… but it became a very useful tool in the field as well. We have also heard of others that use it in teaching photo clubs and tour groups that frequent the area. That’s just the kind of response we were hoping for.. and beyond!
If you have a story of how the DVD has help you or perhaps you might want to sare a suggestion or two as we move forward please send us your feedback!
Keep shooting,
Tim Bloomquist
November 20th, 2006
As photographers, you probably are aware of several products for managing your digital photos. For example, Apple Aperture, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and iView Media Pro to name a few. All of these products have their pros and cons and depending on your workflow, and you may prefer one over the other. Sometimes I just want to do some quick edits to my RAW files within Bridge without having to open the RAW converter. Enter this new plug-in: RapidFixer.
RapidFixer only works with RAW files that have a sidecar file. Sidecar files are those small files with a .xmp extension you may have seen in the folder along with your RAW files. The $40 cost of this plug-in made it an easy decision to purchase the plug-in and give it a spin. Once you download the plug-in you need to watch the QuickTime movie that describes how to install it. At this time there is no other documentation. Once installed, there was one other hitch to make the plug-in work on the RAW files. Remember I said that the plug-in only works on RAW files with sidecar files. You need to check the Camera Raw Preferences in Bridge to make sure you have the option set to save your image settings in sidecar .xmp files.
Choose Edit > Camera Raw Preferences on Windows or Bridge > Camera Raw Preferences on the Mac. Choose “Sidecar .xmp files” from the pop-up for saving the image settings. In addition, you need to apply a Camera Raw default to the image file before you can apply the Rapid-Fixer settings. If not, an error messages appears stating that you need to apply the defaults.
You can view a couple of QuickTime movies about the product to see if it will work for you: RapidFixer.
November 15th, 2006
We are very proud of the DVDs we develop. Tim Bloomquist, the producer of the DVDs, was recently recognized by his local television station in his hometown of Des Monies, Iowa. It is a well deserved honor.
You can view the video about Tim at: Meet Tim
November 13th, 2006
