I had the chance to spend a few days in PEI last weekend and took the opportunity to take a few photos. I was traveling light so I only brought my Canon PowerShot S90 point and shoot camera.

A few words on the PowerShot S90; I really like this little camera. While many photographers rave about the Canon Gxx series of cameras, I find that they are compact but not truly pocket cameras as the S90 is.

Here are some of the nice features of the Canon PowerShot S90:

Same over-sized low light sensitivity 10.0 Megapixel sensor coupled with Digic 4 image processor as the Canon G11!

Raw file support which is rare for such a small compact camera.

f/2.0-4.9 28-105mm equivalent Image Stabilized lens

Programmable Control ring which allows quick control of programmed feature which can allow you to control one of Aperture, ISO, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, Manual Focus, Lens zoom step

Advanced features such as: AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing), FEB (Flash Exposure Bracketing), Exposure Compensation, Flash Exposure Compensation,P + Tv + Av + M modes,

3.94 x 2.30 x 1.22 inches (100.0 x 58.4 x 30.9mm), Approx. 6.17 oz (175g) camera body only

Being a small compact camera it is expectedly not fast enough to shoot action, flash is not powerful, etc.

The only feature that I am disappointed with is the macro focusing abilities which keeps hunting for focus.

Overall I would highly recommend this camera for someone wanting a true pocket camera with advanced features. It won’t give you the photo quality of a DSLR, but because you can carry it in your pocket at all times, it will allow you to get some shots you would otherwise miss! This is the ideal bring everywhere pocket camera for times you are not bringing along your camera bag with DSLR and lenses with you.

Here are a few sample pictures taken with the PowerShot S90 and some Photoshop/ACR processing descriptions. Unless indicated otherwise all photos captured at ISO 80:
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NAPP is the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Become a member and you get access to Video Tutorials, Tips & Tricks to expand your Photoshop knowledge. You also get a yearly subscription to Photoshop User Magazine, published 8 times a year, which is packed with essential information related to Photoshop. Your membership also allows you to get discounts on a wide selection of Books, DVDs, Hardware, Software, Training and more.
These are just a few of the advantages of joining NAPP, to join or learn more visit www.photoshopuser.com Register now and get a 15% discount on Adobe products!  Just in time to save on a Photoshop CS5 upgrade.

Photoshop CS5 has officially been released today – April 12, 2010. It wasn’t a big secret, bits and pieces of the new features were available all over the web since the pre-announcement during the Orlando PhotoshopWorld in March.

According to many, this is one of the most significant Photoshop releases in terms of new and enhanced features in years.

Here is a list of new/enhanced features of interest to photographers compared Photoshop CS4.   All listed features are based on Photoshop CS5 (does not include Photoshop CS5 Extended features)

New in Photoshop CS5

• Additive grain in Adobe Camera Raw (Who knew we needed to add grain to our photos!  Give your photos the film look)
• Automatic lens correction (Will automatically make corrections based on some pre-defined Camera/Lens combinations that is extracted from your photo’s MetaData.)
• Straighten Image tool
• Truer Edge selection technology (You won’t have to pull your hair anymore when making selection that includes hair, fur or other fine details)
• Color decontamination for selections (Part of new selection tool, will de-fringe colors that can show up at the edges of objects once removed from their background)
• Selection and mask refinement tools
• Content-Aware Fill/Healing (Deleted foreground elements in a photo automatically filled based on background.  With the right type of photo can be a huge time saver.  Healing brush also has content-aware options which looks like a great improvement for healing around well defined edges)
• Puppet Warp (Allows movement of parts of a photo without having to worry about the background. Kind of allows a precise warp without distortions.)
• New Adobe Camera Raw processing engine.  (Get better results when converting your old Raw files.  Icon indicates when image can be re-processed with new 2010 engine)

Enhanced in Photoshop CS5

• Noise removal in Adobe Camera Raw (Looks like a major improvement in noise reduction.  Scott Kelby calls this enhancement, one of the biggest stars in CS5! )
• HDR imaging (No need for Photomatix Pro anymore!  Can I get my money back?  Also included is a single image HDR Toning feature.  No need for Topaz Adjust either!)
• B&W conversion
• Post-crop vignetting (Added options to protect Highlights or Color, and better overall control)

References:
As always, to get great information on Photoshop, head over to the NAPP website. They have 17 videos at their free CS5 Learning Center
www.photoshopuser.com/cs5

Get a list of What’s new in Photoshop CS5 for photographers at Adobe.com

Feature comparison chart between Photoshop CS3, CS4 and CS5 at Adobe.com

Videos from AdobeTV on Photoshop CS5

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You can save a few dollars on some photography magazine subscriptions through Zinio.
Zinio allows you to subscribe to magazines in electronic format and save compared to regular magazine subscription prices.

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I was out at a maple sugar farm last weekend and took a few pictures. Here are side by side comparisons before and after photos.
The photos were processed in Photoshop with the Topaz Adjust 4 plugin.
In both cases the Topaz Adjust filters were applied with Color blending options to fine tune and tone down the effects. Some curves adjustments were also used in processing the photos.

The Topaz Adjust filters will make for very saturated colors and they are often used in a final post-processing step for HDR images.

Factoid: It takes 40 liters of maple sap to make 1 liter of maple syrop!

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Did you know? Yes, Photoshop celebrated it’s 20th anniversary in 2010!

The software that helped revolutionize digital photography, and which no creative photographer can live without these days, is 20.

There was a 20th Anniversary celebration hosted by the guys at NAPP on Feb. 19 2010.
You can view the entire show HERE (120 min).

Or you can look at the best part of the celebration. A very entertaining presentation by Adobe’s Russell Brown which goes through the first 20 years of Photoshop, in a very creative video (20 min).

Russell Brown is Senior Creative Director at Adobe Systems. You can visit his website www.russellbrown.com

You can also see the Photoshop features timeline at Adobe’s own www.photoshop20anniversary.com.

Quote from: www.photoshop20anniversary.com

In the late 1980s, Thomas Knoll and John Knoll developed a pixel-imaging program — first called Display, then Image Pro, and finally Photoshop. They made a well-received presentation to Russell Brown at Adobe and then licensed Photoshop to Adobe in 1988. The rest is history.

Have a look at the The Evolution of the Photoshop Splash Screens page at photoshopnews.com

I really enjoyed reading ‘Understanding Close-up Photography by Bryan Peterson’

Whether you’re a beginner that wants to learn the basics of close-up photography or an advanced macro shooter wanting to learn new techniques and ideas, this is a great book for all.

The book starts by describing the difference with ‘Close-up vs Macro Photography’. One third of the book covers the different ‘Equipment’ options available to photographers wanting to get into close-up/macro photography (macros lens vs extension tubes vs closeup lens vs Canon 500D lens). A section of the book covers Depth of Field and Aperture which every photographer wanting to do macro photography should be aware of. The last sections of the book cover ‘Close-up Tips’ and a section giving inspiring subject shooting ideas titled ‘Up Close Indoors’.

The book is well written, very interesting, inspiring and filled with beautiful photographs. I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Close-up photography. Not all books you read as a photographer have to be about Photoshop! This is a book about photography techniques.
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No flash allowed. No tripods allowed.

These two rules make it challenging to capture images within the Biodome, but certainly not impossible.

Many areas of the building receive light from the outside through glass ceilings. The birds area is a good example were you will get more available light.
The aquarium area is quite dark and does not offer much light.
Another challenge is that in many areas, including the Antartica and Arctic ecosystems, are located behind glass. When shooting through glass, you have to be aware of reflections in the glass. Try to minimize these reflections, otherwise your images will loose contrast and detail.

Suggested equipment:

- DSLR
- The fastest lens that you can get! This means preferably f2.8 or faster.
- A 70-200mm f2.8 lens would be the best lens to use. A fast lens with a good range that will allow you to get close to pretty much everything at the Biodôme. I used only my 100mm f2.8 macro lens when I was there and that was not long enough to capture a pair of Lynx that would stay far from the visitors.

Shooting Tips:

- Set you camera ISO at 400 or above. Use the highest ISO that you can with a noise level that you can live with. With many of today’s last generation digital cameras you can easily set you ISO at 800 or above without being too concerned about noise.

- Set your camera to RAW file format in order to get more flexibility in setting the photo’s white balance in post-processing. You are dealing with mixed lighting sources which will make it problematic to select an appropriate white balance setting if you select JPG file format.

- When shooting through glass at the penguin display, it’s best to shoot directly against the glass. If your entire lens is resting against the glass that should basically eliminate reflections from the glass.

- Using a polarizing filter would also be useful in removing glass reflections if you want to step back from the glass, however because there isn’t much light available, you probably don’t want to loose precious f-stops of light by using the polarizing filter. So unless it is your intent to capture the visitor reflections in the glass, get close to the glass.

- In cases where you have to set your lens at an angle to the glass, you can reduce reflections by setting the lens against the glass and using your hand to act as a lens hood to prevent reflections from showing up in your camera’s field of view.

- The Biodome is divided into five different ecosystem: Tropical Forest,Laurentian Forest,St. Lawrence Marine ecosystem,Arctic,Antarctica. Please note that the Tropical Forest has a very high level of humidity. You might want to place your camera in a plastic bag before entering this area and wait a few minutes for the camera to warm up before you take it out and start shooting. This will also reduce the chance of condensation buildup in your camera which could be problematic.

Here are a few sample images from my visit to the Biodome:

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I have joined ‘TheBestCamera.com‘ community.

Quote from the website:

What is The Best Camera?
The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You™, but it’s also an inspirational 3-part “ecosystem” created by world-renowned photographer, Chase Jarvis. Introducing an iPhone app that allows you to shoot, edit and share your images; a book that celebrates photography with any camera; AND a thriving, online community made of iPhone images from around the world.

I have my page at: Paul Downing

Photo of front of antique car captured with the iPhone 3Gs and processed with the iPhone PhotoForge application and with ShakeItPhoto to provide the Polaroid look.

Unsharp mask filter was applied to the photo using PhotoForge and then erased from the car body so that only the headlights and front grill were sharpened. Poor man’s masking! The vibrance filter was added to give it a blueish tint before loading it in ShakeItPhoto.

Before:

After: