One onOne with Mike Wong

FocalPoint, our newest Photoshop plug-in has been out for a couple of weeks now and I'm starting to hear back from some of the professional photographers who are using it. I got an email earlier this week from professional photographer Andy Marcus (web site) with a before and after example of a beautiful portrait he took and then used FocalPoint on.

With Andy's permission, here are the examples.

Before

After

Images copyright Andy Marcus. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Posted by Mike Wong at 1:51 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Just a quick note to let you know that I was on the Your Mac Life radio show last night with Shawn King and Lesa King. You can listen to the May 28, 2008 show over at the Your Mac Life web site. Here's the direct link to the interview.

Posted by Mike Wong at 1:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I just ran across several blog posts by Ralph Nordstrom describing his recent experiences with Genuine Fractals 5.

Take a look at Ralph's blog for the 4 articles. He describes his workflow incluing noise reduction using Noiseware Professional (a product I also use) and Pixel Genius' PhotoKit Sharpener in conjunction with Genuine Fractals to enlarge older files from his 6 mega pixel Canon 10D.

Here are the links.

Genuine Fractals Impressions #1

Genuine Fractals Impressions #2

Genuine Fractals Impressions #3

Genuine Fractals Impressions #4

Posted by Mike Wong at 3:46 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Software Cinema has a 15% discount going on some training DVDs by Julieanne Kost and the late Dean Collins.

Use the coupon code SCW508 and you'll save 15% on either or both titles. I personally have not seen either title, but have heard good things about the Best of Dean Collins DVD. I've seen Julieanne train in person at a conference and she is a great teacher so I would assume that this title is of similar quality.

The sale ends May 22, 2008. Click either box shot above for more details on each title.

Posted by Mike Wong at 10:30 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I just got an email from my friend Rick Sammon about his new book Face to Face. I haven't seen it yet, but according to Rick his latest book (I think he's up to 28 or 29 now!) is going to cover the techniques that he uses to make extraordinary photographs of people around the world including important tips and strategies for engaging your subject and setting up the shoot.

I've been on a shoot with Rick before and if you haven't seen him in action, he truly has a way of engaging with people and putting them at ease which is important to then get a great photo. You can learn more about the book at the link above or by clicking on the book cover image below. When I get my copy of the book I'll post a more detailed review.

Posted by Mike Wong at 4:19 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

It's been a very busy time here at onOne. Fresh on last week's announcement of our new FocalPoint 1.0 plug-in for Photoshop becoming available, we've got an announcement for today with the availability of Essentials 2 for iPhoto.

Essentials 2 for iPhoto is an external editor for iPhoto and is launched from within iPhoto when you have a photo selected. When you install Essentials for iPhoto, the installer will ask if you want to set Essentials for iPhoto as the external editor for iPhoto - doing so will allow you to simply select a photo and then click the Edit button and off you will go to our app. When you're done, it will drop you back into iPhoto.

The plug-ins in Essentials 2 for iPhoto are based on PhotoTune (for color correction), FocalPoint (for selective focus and adding depth of field), PhotoFrame (for border & edge effects) and Genuine Fractals (for enlarging photos).

Be sure to check out the Essentials for iPhoto training videos.

The press release is available here.

Posted by Mike Wong at 11:31 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I just got an email from Jim DiVitale and Helene Glassman announcing a hands-on digital imaging workshop in their Atlanta studio coming up in July. Specifically, July 28-30. I've been to Jim's studio before and it's a really nice, big, open space so you'll be learning in a nice environment. Plus, getting to spend a few days learning from both Jim and Helene is a treat in and of itself. Both are wonderful teachers so I highly recommend going to this workshop if you are in or plan to be in the Atlanta area at the end of July.

Here's the link to more info.

Posted by Mike Wong at 11:19 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I am happy to share with you today that our newest plug-in for Photoshop, FocalPoint 1.0 is now available for purchase as a download. For those who have placed orders for FocalPoint to be shipped to them, discs are being duplicated and should go out soon.

Posted by Mike Wong at 10:29 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I got an email this morning from Keith Roland in Atlanta. Keith works with Jim DiVitale from time to time in Jim's studio, but is a very good photographer and skilled Photoshop user in his own right. Keith has updated his member gallery over at the NAPP Member Gallery and has some great photos in there.

Here's an example of Keith's work, but be sure to follow the link below to see more.

Image copyright Keith Roland.

Here's a link to Keith's NAPP gallery.

Posted by Mike Wong at 11:05 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Gargoyle, originally uploaded by therealmikewong.

Here's a second Gargoyle shot that I rediscovered recently. I've got so many photos to go back through and organize. I've been putting this project off for so long, but when I find a shot I really like, like this one, it gets me a little more excited to dive in and finish the project.

I used PhotoTools Professional Edition to enhance the contrast in the image, particularly the gargoyle and then created a selection around the gargoyle to protect him while I dropped a cooling filter over the background. I also blurred the background a little bit to give a little more depth.

Posted by Mike Wong at 11:52 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Alice Miller has written a nice article over at TakeGreatPictures.com for brides and grooms to be to help them pick out a wedding photographer.

The article includes some nice images and features interviews with Grant Oakes and Falcon.

You can read the article here.

Posted by Mike Wong at 11:45 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This is pretty cool, maybe only to me, but the onOne Software forums just had member 1001 sign up. If you're not aware of the forums, be sure to check them out. There are over 1000 (couldn't resist) users of onOne Software Photoshop plugins talking about the plug-ins and helping each other out.

Posted by Mike Wong at 12:40 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)