Digital Innovations
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Making It Picture Or Portrait Perfect; Pro Gear Portrait Imaging Software
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Nov 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor's office was full of portraits by Picasso."--Rita Rudner

I n more than 50 years of making images, I've never photographed a resolution chart. I have always judged a lens or camera's performance by how much I liked using it and how the photographs looked. I care about how...
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Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown; 1700 Is My Lucky Number
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Oct 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time."--Charles M. Schulz

On October 2, 1950, the first Peanuts comic strip appeared in a daily newspaper. Coincidently, October 2nd is also my wife Mary's birthday, although she's a bit younger than Snoopy and the gang. As a lifelong Peanuts fan, it's kinda fitting that...
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Capturing Images In Camera And The Digital Darkroom; My Way, Your Way, Or The IR Way
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Sep 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"No problem is so formidable that you can't walk away from it." --Charles M. Schulz

After recently acquiring a Canon EOS Rebel XTi, I was able to retire (thanks, Gary) the EOS D60 I've been using for digital infrared photography and start using a camera with a 2.5" LCD screen that delivers 10.1-megapixel resolution. To convert the...
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Software Power Tools From PMA 2007; Plug-Ins & Presets, Oh My!
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Aug 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?"--Ernst Haas

Power tools are small bits of software, be they Photoshop compatible plug-ins, Photoshop Actions, or software utilities that can make a digital photographer's life a little easier for creating practical or special effects. Much...
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How To Choose The Right Digital SLR; It’s Less Complicated Than You Thought
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Jun 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"...for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill." --J. R. R. Tolkien

People often ask me, "What digital camera should I buy?" They then typically ignore my advice after I answer them. A person, let's call him Steve, asks me which of two cameras to purchase. Based on his needs, I suggest...
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Blink-Free Photos Guaranteed! A Collection Of Thoughtful And Blink-Free Gizmos
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • May 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis."--Malcolm Gladwell

The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize in mathematics (www.improb.com /ig/ig-pastwinners.html) was awarded to Dr. Piers Barnes and Ms. Nic Svenson of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific...
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A Plug-In Bonanza; Retouching, Adding Grain, And Then Some
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Apr 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"Life is like a 10-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use."--Charles M. Schultz

Retouching Tools
One of the biggest challenges facing aspiring portrait photographers is retouching. Few of us are perfect. In fact, Cindy Crawford once said, "Even I don't look like Cindy Crawford when I get up in the morning!"...
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The Vices Of Digital Imaging; You Can Play With Your Food, But Don’t Photograph It
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Mar 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"You haven't even touched your food."--Inga in Young Frankenstein

According to Metrocurean (http://amandamc.blogspot.com), a blog aimed at epicureans in the Nation's Capitol, it is OK to play with your food but taking pictures of it in restaurants is verboten. The story (posted in the...
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The Virtues Of Digital Imaging; Zealous Use Of Image-Editing Software Can Get You In Trouble
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Feb 01, 2007 • 0 comments

"No good deed goes unpunished."--Clare Boothe Luce

Editor & Publisher recently reported that Charlotte Observer Editor Rick Thames apologized to readers when a staff photographer "inappropriately altered" an image of a local firefighter. The original photograph had a brownish-gray sky, while the enhanced image featured a deep red sky and a...
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New Year’s Resolutions; What Santa Should Bring You
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Jan 01, 2007 • 0 comments

Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in the world that just don't add up. --James Magary

I 've been working with all kinds of computers since 1964. When I purchased my first personal computer in '80 people asked, "What do you need a computer for?" That seems like a funny question today, doesn't it?
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Stocking Stuffers; Gifts, Gadgets, & Gizmos For Digital Photographers
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Dec 01, 2006 • 0 comments

"A turkey never voted for an early Christmas."--Old Irish Proverb

It's time again to write my annual "stocking stuffers" column in which I collect a list of goodies that make perfect holiday presents for your favorite digital photographer. The ideal stocking stuffers are inexpensive, useful, and small enough to fit inside a sock...
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The Dog Ate My Homework…Again!
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Nov 01, 2006 • 0 comments

"He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it."--Douglas Adams

In the April 2006 issue of Shutterbug I recounted a story about methods used to rescue image files from a corrupted memory card. In response I received a couple of useful suggestions from readers: The first was from...
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A Few Unsung Heroes Of Digital Imaging; Stamps Of Approval
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Oct 01, 2006 • 0 comments

"All science is either physics or stamp collecting."--Ernest Rutherford

There's nothing a photographer likes better than ripping the shrink wrap off a new software tool, image-editing program, or plug-in. The expression on their face reminds me of kids opening brightly-colored boxes during the holidays. While these kind of toy-like tools allow us to...
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Living Outside The Frame
“A Photograph Is Not An Accident—It Is A Concept.”
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Sep 01, 2006 • 0 comments

"The still must tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told."
--Cindy Sherman

Two quotes again this month: The first by Ansel Adams, the second by Cindy Sherman. There are six photographers in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential artists and entertainers of the 20th century: Henri Cartier-Bresson, W. Eugene...
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Trying To Be Your Best; “The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Invent It.”
Digital Innovations
Joe Farace • Aug 01, 2006 • 0 comments

"Only the mediocre are alwlays at their best."
--Jean Giraudoux

Two quotes this month: The first by Alan Kay was on my mind while replying to the editor of my book The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography--I didn't choose that title. He asked: "If I want to emulate the look of color IR film is a plug-in or (digital)...
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