Feel like experimenting? Taken advantage of the iDVD Themes in a different way, this is a simple work-around very basic but fun and if you use Snapz Pro X for your screenshots then why don’t you try the Movie capture option, this option can give you some very cool results, it is fast and easy to use.
I only used a couple of Themes but in iDVD you have so many to choose from…try experimenting and you find there are a lot of cool things you can do. The Titles are: The Commercial - Our Marine Life - Tropical destination
Please note: You might have to refresh your Browser to see the new Video Clips. Click the link or the image below and View the three (3) 15 and 30 sec. Clips., or go to Music/Video Podcast

© Gunther Deichmann - Composite, Mumbai India April 2008

How to do it…open iDVD choose a Theme go to your Media Browser and here you have your Aperture 2 library.
Pick a couple of images drop them into your iDVD Theme and you almost there, if you using Snapz Pro X choose the Movie option and record your iDVD theme.
Make sure you have the Drop Boxes enabled otherwise they become part of your recording.
The rest is pretty much automatic, once Snapz Pro X has finished the recording (depends on the lengths of the clip) it prepared also a QT file for you, I usually save them on my desktop easy to find later. (This file can be from 50MB plus in size)
The only thing left to do is drag the Movie clip into iMovie open your Media Browser for the Music and pick anything you have created on to the timeline.
Fine-tune and make your soundtrack fit, add a fade in and fade out, or what ever you like (lots to choose from) now you can export everything to many different file formats.
You have different options for exporting your Movie file, there is also Share available. If you have Quick Time Pro even better there you have all the conversions you ever going to need, plus you can do some editing too, but you have to have QT Pro.
How long does this take…not very long at all, I guess the hardest part is the Music, which I created from scratch in GarageBand, but since I had already a good selection of soundtracks the whole operation took only one hour for all three clips.
Of course you can create more than one recording/clip with Snaps Pro X and join them together later in iMovie creating a short presentation or demo, great for the web.
PS. I kept these files very small for easy viewing on the web, however you can leave them in their original size that is good enough for your desktop and TV.
GD

Tags: Snapz Pro X, Video, Apple Mac, iDVD, Quick Time, Capture, Tips, Web , Photo Composite, iMovie

If you can read or speak Spanish you might find this article and the images interesting, fotoaldia.com is a very cool website with a lot of information and great Galleries…however it is in Spanish.
I guess some of you have to get that dictionary out and start reading…
GD

http://www.fotoaldia.com/GALERIAS-6-1293-0-1-0.html

Mostrando la Galeria de :"Gunther Deichmann"
Click en la imagen para agrandar
Título:"Escenas de Bombay, India"

El fotógrafo australiano Gunther Deichmann ha sido galardonado con numerosos premios internacionales. Es miembro del Instituto de Fotografía Profesional de Australia (IAPP) y ha sido merecedor de 14 reconocimientos al mérito en sólo 3 años. Como fotógrafo ama los colores fuertes, las combinaciones de contraste y las situaciones de gran dramatismo. Ha tenido además el honor de haber sido juez en los premios anuales Professional Merit Awards. Fue a partir de entonces que empezó a enseñar fotografía en el Community College de Darwin. En marzo de 1983, la Revista Time publicó en su portada una foto auya sobre la gran sequía australiana. En 1985, the IAAP lo premió como el mejor fotógrafo profesional de paisajes de ese año. Ha publicado más de 12 libros, incluyendo su obra más importante

“Journey Through Color & Time”, en edición limitada de 360 páginas. Sus imágenes han visto la luz en muchas publicaciones internacionales como: Airone, en Italia, Geo, en Alemania y Francia, la Revista Stern, el New York Times, Grand Reportage, Figaro y también en VSD, en Francia. En la actualidad Deichmann reside con su familia en Manila, Filipinas, desde donde cubre como fotógrafo todo el Sudeste de Asia y el Pacífico.
Desde marzo del 2007 está certificado como entrenador de Apertura por Apple. También integra la Junta Asesora de la Apple para este programa. Para más información sobre este fotógrafo visite esta página: http://www.deichmann-photo.com/
La página web de Gunther es:www.deichmann-photo.com
Gunther también escribe regularmente una columna en este blog: :www.deichmann-photo.com

Tags: Spanish, fotoaldia, Magazines, Gallerie, View from the Car Window

Today I like to share with you an image I have received from Massimo Casal in Vietnam, I have known Massimo for quiet some time from email exchange and Aperture discussions. After seeing my previous article on “View from my Car Window” he send me this very cool image from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Thank you Massimo for letting me use your image on my blog, a nice one to share with all our other readers.
See below email from Massimo:
Hello Gunther!
I always very interested to follow your blogs updates.
Just my 1 cent:
- Regarding the way to protect your pictures on the web I agree that flash make it more difficult. Anyway as you know very well it is very easy to copy a pictures using tools like "Grab" for the Mac, even if still in low resolution.
- I do really like your latest gallery "The View from my Car Window". Street photography (with or without car!) is what I really like and do a lot here in Vietnam. I would like to share the following picture that I got from the car last weekend.

© Massimo Casal - Ha Tay province just ouside Hanoi,Vietnam
you might also noticed that I have added a Copyright watermark
on Massimo’s image hence my other blog
“How to protect my images on the web”.

The picture is taken in Ha Tay province (just outside Hanoi city) from the car window.
I used a Canon 1DMarkIII camera + 28-300L lens. RAW file processed with Aperture 2.1.1, using also the Dodge and Burn plug-in to lighten and sharpen the bride face.
Thank you very much and Best Regards!!
Massimo

Tags: ASIA, HANOI ViETNAM, View from the Car Window, Aperture discussion, Dodge and Burn, Raw File, Canon, Gallery

Click this banner or the link below for more information.

Besides this announcement there is a ton of other information at the Aperture Users Network available. Cool tips, trouble shooting, workflow etc.,etc. just about everything you need to know about Aperture (Aperture 2, & Aperture 2.1.1) plus a lot more.
GD
See below the post I have picked up from the AUN (posted by David Schloss AUN on 07-28-2008, 05:37 PM )
American PHOTO Magazine’s 3rd Annual “Emerging Photographers” Call for Submissions
Winners featured in November/December 2008 issue - Magazine teams up with Apple’s new Aperture software
New York, June 25, 2008 (Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., www.hfmus.com) -- American PHOTO announces the call for submissions for its third-annual Emerging Photographers’ portfolio review competition. The winners will be given the opportunity to have their work published in the November/December 2008 is... read more @ http://www.apertureprofessional.com/

Tags: Aperture Users Network, American PHOTO, NEW YORK, Competition, Workflow

But before we hit the road a short announcement…
Aperture has just been updated to 2.1.1
Apple has just released Aperture 2.1.1, and update to the program that "supports general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of minor issues."


A few recent images from this series are on my Blog Gallery click here
or on the image above.
You might have to refresh your Browser in order to view the new images..

Sometimes we don’t realize what is around us when we travel by car… traveling to meetings or other appointments, visiting friends or family members. In short we spend a lot of time in our vehicles, trains, busses etc.
Shooting from your car window…glued to your seat never leaving the car, of course you have to have a Driver or go by Taxi. This can be challenging but also rewarding a very different perspective from the car window… you might remember I did something similar in Mumbai, India.
I had to discipline myself not to jump out of the car at times, but then that was the whole Idea in the first place, and I am not finish yet by all means…a lot more to come.
Not easy… moving, your view been blocked by other vehicles when you just about to press the shutter, trucks pull along side of you, or you have to stop at a red traffic light… see something and then of course comes Green, oh no… missed that one too.
We see these images every day as we drive to work or go to meetings, never realizing what is around us since we have to pay attention to the traffic. But as a passenger or with a driver you can create some amazing images, of course you have to bring your Camera along to the Board meeting… “A word of advice don’t try this, if you driving the car this could lead to major traffic jams and crashes…”
For more on the “The View from the Car Window” go my PhotoShelter Archive there you find images from Mumbai, India and Manila, Philippines.
PS.
All images have been taken with out ever leaving the car, edited in Aperture 2.1 then exported direct to PhotoShelter using the Plug-in from PhotoShelter never leaving Aperture. In other words I was “glued” to my car seat and also to my seat in front of my Mac BookPro using Aperture 2.1.1 now if that is not a coincident, then I don’t know.
GD

Tags: TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY, Manila, Philippines, Street Photography, Aperture 2.1.1, Update, Apple Aperture, Photoshelter

I always get ask how do I protect my images on the world wide web…it used to be a bit complicated and tiresome but with Aperture 2 it is easy and straight forward.
Some thief’s go through great length and spend time removing even opaque watermarks in Photoshop, there is never a 100% guarantee even with Aperture and its automatic watermarking.
The perfect solution is don’t display your Images on the web…but I think these days are over and we all like our images out there…so how do we protect our images?

© Gunther Deichmann - aerial of Kayakers in Palau Micronesia, barely
visiable and not to distructing from the image an applied watermark
using Aperture 2

Here are some simple Tips to make it harder for these thief’s …
Make sure your images are in gif or jpg low resolution but still good enough to show them in their full glory. Avoid high resolution images, it is an open invitation for thief’s and they slow down your website.
Apply a watermark as described below using Aperture’s settings.
I recommend placing an opaque watermark over the entire image or covering one third of the image, this is much harder to retouch. Don’t place your © COPYRIGHT name and notice on the sides or at the bottom, this can be easily cropped out.
Choose an opaque setting you are comfortable with and is not to distracting from the overall visual. (Opacity settings eg.0.1 to 1.0 all depends a bit on the image, light or dark) With different options available the opaque slider in Aperture 2 is a good start how the watermark is going to look, just try different settings until you satisfied.
Use only your name or create a logo in Photoshop as a layered file,
it is entirely up to you. The screen shot below shows you where to find the Watermark settings in Aperture 2.
You can also deactivate the Watermark any time if you need your images without it.
I provided you a link to “How do I protect my images online” a great article I found recently with some additional options and tutorials to save guard your images from those thief’s.

Go to Preference and choose the export icon, click and a drop down
menu appears. Click on Edit and another menu becomes available.
Now you see all your Watermark options and settings. (red square)

Below: Excerpts from the mention article...
I am setting up an art website. I want to protect my photographs. What’s the code that keeps you from highlighting an image, right clicking an image, copying an image, etc.
Protecting photos is a common request for photographers wanting to put their content up on the Web. You can do this with JavaScript or by watermarking the image. There is no way to use straight HTML to protect your images from downloading. Some ways include:

* no right-click script
This prevents people from downloading the image when they right click on it.
* Shrink wrapping
This hides the image by letting the thief download something other than what they are trying to download.
* Watermarking
This puts information on the image itself, so when they download it, they have your copyright information right on it.
* Flash
Flash makes it more difficult to steal images...
…read more @
http://webdesign.about.com/b/2008/07/25/reader-question-how-do-i

Tags: Copyright, Legal, Protect, Watermark, Palau Micronesia, Photography, Kayaks, Aerial Photography

During those rainy months and the Typhoon season I spend a lot of time going through some old but rare scanned images.
These slides had been scanned very rough but in high resolution some years ago to protect them from further deterioration, accumulation of fungus and color shift. Photoshop used to be the only way to restore these images…but since the arrival of Aperture 2 in most cases I can now bypass Photoshop. This is particular useful since I can re- catalogue them at the same time or leave them in their current location on my external hard drives.
In the past I neglected like many of us the proper caption…metadata? But then what was this Metadata and IPTC stuff in those days.

© Gunther Deichmann - Galloping Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus johnsoni)
For more restored and unique images you can visit my PhotoShelter
Archive click on the image above or here.

The images…these must have been the very first image taken of Freshwater Crocodiles showing a true Gallop…yes Crocs do Gallop just like a horse, I bet you didn’t know that, well me neither until I went out with Dr. Graham Webb and his research team some 25 years ago. They studied Crocodiles in various parts of the Northern Territory in Australia…catching and tagging these amazing “prehistoric” animals for a major research project...it was during this research that they discoverd the gallop of the Crocodiles.
I spend month’s with the research team in remote parts of the NT and managed to get these shots with my old X700 Minolta, yes long before my Nikon days.
Recently I came across these images again, but they needed some restoration work, big color shifts (heavy magenta cast) and some fungus had taken its toll over the years.
Not only did I managed to bring them back to life again in Aperture 2.1 but I thought I share a rare moment of the past with you.
Read below some scientific facts about the Australian freshwater crocodile
GD

© Gunther Deichmann - Galloping Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus johnsoni)
For more restored and unique images you can visit my PhotoShelter
Archive click on the image above or here.

Genus & Species: Crocodylus johnstoni (Crocodylus johnsoni)

The Australian freshwater crocodile is a small cousin of the Australian saltwater crocodile. Although there are no subspecies, smaller, darker- coloured populations can be found farther upstream, perhaps due to food availability. They reach lengths of 5 ft (1.5 m). Australian freshwater crocodiles grow very slowly, and may not reach full lengths for 20 years.

Australian freshwater crocodiles have strong legs with clawed, webbed feet. The tail is very powerful. The skin is light brown in colour, with dark bands on the body and tail and sometimes on the snout. The scales are large, with wide plates on the back and ventral osteoderms (bony plates) on the belly. The flanks and outside of the legs are covered in pebbly scales.

Australian freshwater crocodiles are one of the few species that can gallop on land, reaching speeds of 18 km/h. They have a life span of 50 years.

HABITAT
Australian freshwater crocodiles are found only in the provinces of Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia in Australia. They are found predominately in freshwater lakes, billabongs, swamps, rivers, creeks, and wetlands, although not by choice. The Australian saltwater crocodile keeps them out of more saline (salty) areas by outcompeting them. However, when this species was near extinction Australian freshwater crocodiles could be found in saltwater. Today, they are found mainly in freshwater and brackish areas. They are not fussy over water, and will live in muddy, clear, fast, still, deep, or shallow water. After the rainy season they move to more permanent areas of water that will not dry up in the dry season, and will rarely eat and hardly grow until they return at the start of the next rainy season.

Tags: Wildlife Photography, Crocodiles

You might remember my son Mark-Lee from one of my earlier Blogs… how he uses GarageBand for creating and mixing his DJ stuff…
I have added a new Music Video/Podcast Gallery (upper left) from now you find the latest Podcast here, with the exception of today.
Direct Link http://www.deichmann-photo.com/page4/page4.html

“Time to Remember” © Mark-Lee & Gunther Deichmann -
(click on the link below or the image for the 1 min.Video, approx.2.5 MB)
Podcast

The other day Mark-Lee borrowed my small Sony Video Cam and took some cool footage at this Disco… and I was trying to relax that day after some editing in Aperture making up some more soundtracks for future presentations. But honestly… I was just messing around relaxing with GarageBand when I looked over to the Mac my Son was working on…hey cool footage son, please let me have some of this stuff…OK Dad... I whipped it into iMovie and about half an hour later had this little Video up and running.
It just gets to show you how easy it is sometimes…of course you need to have a Mac where everything just works so well together, including the transfer of the Video file from his G5 to my PowerBook Pro via Wi-Fi network, super fast...
Cant beat this integration, he,he….plus NOW in YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMEJOURNEY
By the way the still shot at the start of the Video came straight from the Aperture 2 Library using the Media Browser in iMovie, the same with the Soundtrack created only hours before in GarageBand.
GD

Tags: Time to Remember, YouTube, Video Cam, MTV, Mark-Lee Deichmann, Disc DJ, Video, Sony

© Gunther Deichmann - My good old friend Nipper traditional tribal land
owner in Kakadu National Park during the 70’s

I have just updated my PhotoShelter Archive the NEW Gallery is called Historical Images from Australia.
Some of these images had to be restored but not been altered with the help of Aperture 2 tools and techniques.
For restoring old images with Aperture 2 (one of my previous blogs) go to:
GD Photo Tutorial @ http://www.deichmann-photo.com/page1/page1.html

Check the link for all the new uploaded images
@ http://pa.photoshelter.com/usr-show/U0000zazDqBNKgeg
We have also added a FEEDBACK & CONTACT FORM on the Blog page (upper left) due to popular demand.
Below are just a few of the images which are now available via the PhotoShelter Archive, Images which cant be taken anymore since some of the traditional ceremonies and culture practices of the Aborigines in Australia have unfortunately disappeared.

© Gunther Deichmann - Australian Stockman mustering cattle in
the Outback during the 70’s


© Gunther Deichmann - Aboriginale art, even up to 1970 the
Australian Aboriginales painted the caves in sacret areas
in the Northern Territory, a tradition seldom praticed today.

Tags: Cattle Muster, Stockman, Cowboy, Historical Images, Restoring old Photos

It is nice to hear back from people who have been sitting through the sessions on Aperture 2…and now using some techniques that had been discussed during these three hours. (see below)
The success and credit certainly has to go to Aperture 2.1 with all the NEW improvements from previous versions.
Read below some of the comments I have received from a few participants,many thanks again to all participants who attended the recent Aperture 2 & Photography sessions at the Power Mac Center at Greenbelt 3, Makati,Manila.

Hi Gunther,__Tks a lot for the session in Mac Center !!!_With the new function Dodge & Burn you introduce to me, I enhance a bit more this picture. Sharpen the lovely faces, and burn a little the upper side. Looks better now, no ? Tks again for the time you spend with rookies like us, it's a great experience to learn from a pro like you !!! ;-)__Keep me informed if ever you organize a workshop in the future._Looking forward to see you again,_Cheers,_Vincent_(tks also for your kind comment to my attention on the blog ! ;-J

Courtesy Photo © Vincent Leterrier -
(see his comments above)

I did ask Vincent Leterrier if we can use the image on our Blog, read his reply below send via the .Mac Web Gallery in Aperture 2…I think I found another fan for the .Mac Web Gallery, it is certainly one of my favorites. Note: Vincent using a 15 inch Mac Book Pro and switched recently from Aperture 1.5 to Aperture 2

Hi Gunther,
Tks for your kind comment on my photos, first time I received a recognition like that from a photographer (I know my family and friends love my pictures, but....;-)
Of course, you can use it on your blog, I'm even honored ! (it sounds so formal, but it's not my intention, just take it in the simplest way !)
Here are the photo, I've add another one that I like too. The girl at the back have a pure model face, and I like the East-Ouest multicultural dimension...
Unfortunately, at this time we did not meet yet, so I was shooting in Jpeg only !!! There is a lack of crisp, but this time is over now... ;-)
BUT, the new Aperture 2.1 functionalities like Recovery and Black point are also working well for Jpegs. So fantastic. And the tool Dodge and Burn also!
Vincent Leterrier
http://gallery.mac.com/vincent.leterrier#100059
__________________________

Thank you Gunther, Hermes and to all the Mac staff – an outstanding job!
Kristina, Rose and I had a fun and informative day. Even an old dinosaur with embarrassingly limited computer skills like myself, found the presentation surprisingly "comfortable", not to mention inspiring! You've won three more converts - at PC's expense! Look forward to more of your workshops - perhaps something on restoration techniques of old negative and slide film?
Well worth the round trip from far away Subic!
Cheers,
Kevin Hamdorf, Photographer
__________________________

Hi Gunther!
Thank you for featuring some of my shots. It means a lot to me and I am deeply touched. :-)
Hope to shoot with you soon! hehehe
Regards,
Sheila Go

© Shiela Go - using the Monochrome Mixer in Aperture 2.1

Tags: Dodge and Burn, Switching from PC to Mac, Monochrome Mixer, Aperture 2.1

Strange… it seems we are going back in time a lot these days…restoring images from Australia (my previous blog) and now back to Mumbai India… but all of this is related to Aperture 2 including the uploading of low (for selection at first) and high resolution images using the .Mac Web Gallery
in Aperture 2.1
Then only yesterday I had another request for images on Cambodia
“Saffron Antiquity” again an “almost impossible” deadline…we are going to print in a couple of days and need the high res. Images now…less than two hours later it was done via the Aperture .Mac Web Gallery…email reply was… Wow! Thanks so much for this fast response and thanks again for all your help....
Aperture 2 has something for everybody…but for me…I just LOVE the build
in .Mac Web Gallery!

Above a screenshot and sneak preview of the up coming
article from Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

The article “Chronicles of a Globe Trotter” in the Smart Photography Magazine is a good example how digital Images and scanned tiff files have been used for a story working only with Aperture 2 for the selection, adjustments and the final delivery.
I am sounding like Time Machine… which is super cool by the way…but more on that in a few weeks…

Now back to Mumbai… Smart Photography Magazine in India published a nice seven-page article on travel Photography…
The complete article is available on my website as a PDF file for downloading under Publications, or use this link.
http://www.deichmann-photo.com/publications.html
See below a sample from the article and some interesting information on India’s Smart Photography Magazine. This issue is available in July 2008 at Newsstands throughout India.

Samples from Smart Photography Magazine India, for the complete
article and more pages as PDF file click the images or use the link.
http://www.deichmann-photo.com/publications.html

Below excerpts from their website:
http://www.nextgenpublishing.in/smart_photography.htm#

Smart Photography, the premier magazine launched by Next Gen Publishing Ltd. has become India 's No.1 imaging magazine within just nine months of its launch. Moving ahead of several other photo magazines, not only is Smart Photography the largest in terms of circulation and readership, but also the largest in terms of the number of pages per issue and advertisers patronizing the magazine.

Smart Photography is a classy, well-designed and informative monthly printed on glossy paper for enhanced color reproduction - an essential for a quality photography magazine. Every issue covers the entire spectrum of the imaging industry and related products through interesting sections… for more info visit the website @
http://www.nextgenpublishing.in/smart_photography.htm#

More images by Gunther Deichmann @
http://www.deichmann-photo.com/home.html

Tags: .Mac Web Gallery, Photo Magazines, Angkor Wat, Siam Reap, Tibet, Photography Magazine

Omar and Aperture 2…what has a Dive Master to do with Photography and Aperture 2...?

Click on the Image and go direct to more of Omar’s Photos

Omar’s Images in Aperture 2, the red square is where you
find the info on Camera Models and a lot more...

The other day my good friend Dirk Fahrenbach from Dugong Dive Center dropped by and gave me this CD…hey Dirk what I am going to do with that?
There are some images from our Filipino Dive Master Omar on it, please have a look give me your opinion. Sure…I imported the images into Aperture 2 and got a real surprise…wow these are real great…what camera is he using?
Dirk replied, Oh… one of these little small ones in some sort of Housing…
After I had a good look at the images I checked on the Metadata in Aperture 2 and found out the Camera Model, it is a Canon IXY.
After importing the images I only applied a few adjustments, mainly…cropping, Auto levels and a bit of contrast…since all the images had been in JPG I had some limitations, but Omar’s shots where that good anyway that little was needed for improvements.
Again, Aperture came in very handy in editing the shots very fast and applying some basic adjustments, I created a new project and after I am done can store this one on my external drive in case we need Omar’s shots for some future publications.

Click on the Image and go direct to more of Omar’s Photos

Above Photo: © Omar D. Linsangan - mating Cuttle fish or Sepia at the house reef from Dugong Dive Center... for more info on Dugong Dive Center click on the small Banner Ad on the left. Plans are in the making for a Photoworkshop int he near future at Club Paradise and Dugong Dive Center. Please stay tuned for the announcement and what better way to go diving with Omar who will find these cool critters for you.

Great shots with a small Camera and it gets to show you again what can be done with limited equipment, I guess in Underwater Photography you have to be a good Diver first, and Omar has that mastered for sure.
Dirk asks me if I could show some of Omar’s Images on my Blog and I readily agreed nice images from a very humble Dive Master. It is these people…Dive Masters and photography assistants who make our shots at times easier to get, so lets give them some credit and support their hobby and passion.
For a selection of Omar’s Images (LOW RESOLUTION ONLY)click on the Photo Gallery above (upper left) I have created another Photo Gallery for Guys like Omar, otherwise we never get to see their nice images.
GD

Tags: Dugong Dive Center, Housereef, Diving, Palawan

A great shot from © Shiela Go - from Group 2,
my caption would be: “Conserve Water”

Remember…this was supposed to happen last week but due to Typhoon Fengshen (Frank) the Aperture 2 and Photography Workshop was moved to last Sunday. We had a record attendance and I like to thank all participants for taken the time being with me at the Power Mac Center for this fun event.

Aperture 2 and Photography at the Makati Power Mac Center Group 1 and 2

Besides the Workshop a lot of other things happen at the same time around the Power Mac Center, customers receiving a cool Tattoo I LOVE Mac, T. -shirts and Camera Straps give away, plus participants from the workshop received their certificate for being part off it. To my surprise some very familiar faces showed up during our first session, John Chua from Ad Photo, Photographer Kevin Hamdorf who drove all the way from Subic Bay with his Daughter and Rose his Graphic Designer, good old Bebet Gaudinez a Lightroom user who attended my Photo Workshop in Cambodia last year and Vincent Leterrier who participated in one of my earlier workshops made his presence felt with some very cool images he shot recently.

A lot of fun at the Power Mac Center, Makati Manila Philippines.
Hey.. do you like my new Tattoo “I LOVE MAC”

All participants had to go out and shoot a number of images which we later imported into Aperture 2, then we did some adjustments, cropping and changing a few into Black & White using the Monochrome Mixer.

Two images from Group 2


top: Shiela Go below: no name. Two more images this time from Group 2 using the
Monochrome Mixer in Aperture 2

Again two Groups starting the first at 1PM until 5PM then from 5PM way past 8PM a long but fun day. Thanks to Honey Machuca from Think Big, of course to the Management and technical staff at the Power Mac Center for providing me with a non stop supply of Coffee and made sure everything went smooth, they did a great job. Thanks also to Mark-Lee Deichmann for some troubleshooting and Hermes Singson for all the images behind the scene. Thanks to Canon Philippines for providing us with an excellent projector.

left: GD with Shiela Go and the technical staff from the Power Mac Center
right: GD and Honey Machuca from Think Big

The Work Shop was a basic introduction into Aperture 2 with all the possibilities after the shoot, demonstrating the total integration on the Mac with short demos on iLife and iWorks...plus a lot more including a short critique session on the images.
Thank you all, and see you again soon,
GD

More Images by Gunther Deichmann @ http://www.deichmann-photo.com/

Tags: Power Mac Center

© Gunther Deichmann - restored images...for more and to compare images
click on the GD PhotoGallery upper left corner on this page.

Whenever I get the time I import some of my very old and scanned images into Aperture 2.1 some dating back 30 years. Due to age and storage condition a few have deteriorated somewhat…loss of color, fungus due to the tropical environment or just good old age.

I used to use Photoshop but now with Aperture 2 there is seldom the need for it and at the same time I can re-catalog them into my system with the Metadata. Restoring Images that are extremely rare in particular old traditional ceremonies with the Australian Aboriginals seldom practiced today. I apply a variety of tools and techniques to retouch the images covered in fungus, scratches etc. with the clone or repair tool, plus the Adjustment Panel gives me a ton of other adjustments to bring the images back to life.

You be amazed what Aperture 2 is capable off, including one of my favorites the Monochrome mixer, given you all the options for some cool looking Black & White images, some of these old images actually look better in Black & White.

I have incorporated a NEW GD PHOTO GALLERY on my blog page now, (upper left side) there you find a selection of images that have been treated in Aperture 2 comparing the original with the restored or converted image next to it. Now and then I upload images into the GD Photo Gallery for you to compare, a lot easier then showing them all on the Blog direct.
Please remember these are only low resolution Images.

This is not image manipulation, I am only restoring some old and precious photos that would have been lost or considered unusable for publications without altering the overall visual.
Most of these images had been scanned from slides a long time ago for preservation and archiving purpose, now we just go back in Time and fix what needs fixing nothing else.
Aperture 2.1 handles the tiff format real well and I have no problems importing files with over 56 MB in size.
However some of the adjustment tools in Aperture 2.1 cant be used since they have been designed to work only with the RAW image format, but this has not stopped me for doing most of my restorations in Aperture 2 now, archiving and bringing them back to life again.
GD

Tags: Restoring old Images, Aperture Tips, Tribal, Restoration, Historical, Aboriginals

Create YOUR own Music and SOUNDTRACKS in advance for your
Slide Presentations & have fun doing it...

Whenever I get the chance I open GarageBand and create my own music tracks they come in very handy when putting together slide shows or presentations later.
I have included a small soundtrack PODCAST below which was created using GarageBand only .
I usually do this late at night or early in the morning; I can concentrate and don’t get disturbed by phone calls and other noise.
The integration on the Mac makes all of this very straightforward and you don’t have to be a musician, as long you have a good feel for music and a little patience.
I love creating soundtracks in GarageBand with thousands of loops to choose from plus the option to purchase a variety of Jam Packs. A word of caution, the Jam Packs do take up some hard drive space.
Creativity is un-limited, it is all up to you, use the existing Jingles and sound tracks or create an entire music track from scratch, there are so many possibilities.
Experiment with GarageBand, you soon find out its enormous capabilities, besides it is a lot of fun.
As mention above Aperture 2 is at your fingertips and of course you have access via the Media Browser to iPhoto, iTunes & iMovie as well. I have a whole collection of sound tracks tucked away in my iTunes Library just for the occasion when I need to put together a presentation in a hurry, creating your own sound is not only fun but you have something you made and this will set you apart from all the others.

GarageBand - Podcast setting with the Media Browser open at the right,
just drag your images into the main window upper track.

Drag your images direct from the Media Browser, you have also access to your iMovie, choose a Jingle small red square this will open all the Jingles, now you can choose which one you like, right large red square. Drag any one of them you like on the time line and have fun...
the soundtrack below was created using Garageband only .
Podcast

Tags: Creativity, Sountracks, Media Browser

Aperture 2 Your Best Shots. Made even better.



Photo by Noreen from Group 1 last week Saturday
the day before "Frank" arrived

NEW Date for our Photo Workshop with Aperture 2 at the Power Mac Center, Sunday the 29th of June from:
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

You all know we had to cancel our last Workshop/Seminar due to Typhoon Frank which hit the Philippines very hard last Sunday, our thoughts go out to those who have suffered during this severe storm.

Contact the Power Mac Center in Makati for details @
Phone 7297087-88
http://www.powermaccenter.com/

Editor's Choice 2008: Imaging Software Aperture 2.1

Workflow and image editing are equal partners in this year's applications, led by Apple's powerful Aperture 2.1.

By Jonathan Barkey and Russell Hart / American Photo
June 2008

This year saw the advent of specialized plug-ins for Apple's Aperture 2.1 and nondestructive localized editing in Adobe's upcoming Lightroom 2.0 -- bringing Photoshop-style control of specific image areas to these picture-management powerhouses. Some of their fans just might not need Photoshop anymore!
Apple Aperture 2.1 click the link below and read the complete article.

http://www.popphoto.com/americanphotofeatures/5341/