Harry Lim Photography's Blog

There is no shortage of apps for photographers. While most of them focus on actually taking pictures, editing or adding effects with your phone I want to point out a few that are more utilitarian.

In a previous blog post, I told you about the LightTrac app. I’ve since discovered a similar app that allows you to track the direction and angle of the sun. It’s called Sun Seeker (the lite version is free).  It works similar to the compass on the Iphone. Just hold it up in the direction you want to shoot and you’ll see where the sun is going to be. Now, I don’t like it as much as LightTrac, because just like the compass tool, it’s prone to interference and you’re prompted to wave your phone in a figure eight pattern. Granted, this has happened before with LightTrac, but  it’s more often with Sun Seeker and I also don’t trust the compass 100%; I’ve found the direction can change depending on how I’m holding the phone. The one cool thing about the full version ($4.99) of Sun Seeker is the “augmented reality” feature. Using your phone’s camera, you get a display of the sun’s path.

Contract Maker Elite is a little pricey at $19.99; but if you’re an on-the-go photographer, you can create and edit contracts right from your phone or tablet. You can then have a client sign it on your device and email it to them as a .pdf, JPEG or both. The app comes with starter templates, including a sales receipt.

Easy Release is another time and paper saving app for the on-the-go photographer. If you need a model or property release, this $9.99 app lets you collect all the information you need on your device. You can even take a snapshot of your client and add embed it into the release.  Like Contract Maker, you can also email a .pdf or JPEG of the release.

Do you know of any other useful apps for photographers? Let me know…

I haven’t seen too many Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals of interest for photographers recently. So on this Thanksgiving-eve, I thought I’d pass along a couple of items.

First up, I got an email from Adobe offering deals on its software titles until November 29. I’m always a little skeptical because I can usually find better prices on Amazon; but this is actually a good one. You can buy the full version of Photoshop CS5 for $549. The best price I found on Amazon was $610. Lightroom 3 is $199 which is about 3-dollars less than the price on Amazon. The fine print says you have to click the “buy” button and the discount will be applied when you add it to your cart. Click the image above for the link.

This may not be breaking news, but did you know you can subscribe to Adobe titles instead of paying the full price? In the screen where you select the version, platform etc.; click the drop down menu for “version” and select “subscription”. For Photoshop CS5, for example, you can pay $49 every month or $35 a month with a yearly plan. Excluding the deal mentioned above, it could save you money over buying the full version; not to mention having to pay the upgrade price when a new version comes out.

Speaking of which, Scott Kelby recently wrote Adobe a letter regarding their upgrade policy. You can read it over at his blog.

That leads me to the next Cyber Monday deal: UPDATE 11/29/11: The following offer from NAPP and Kelby Training have been extended through Tuesday.

The folks over at NAPP and KelbyTraining.com are offering some pretty sweet deals on Monday. NOTE: I did read on Facebook that these deals are active now, so you don’t have to wait; but I haven’t tested it myself. Some of the deals include 6-months added to your NAPP subscription, $50 off one year of KelbyTraining or get one year of both NAPP and KelbyTraining for $199. If you’ve never heard of it, KelbyTraining is a great educational resource with online courses covering photography and software training. I credit it with teaching me Photoshop. Check out NAPP, if for nothing else, the discounts they offer on products and services photographers use. The discounts I got from Adobe and Apple  more than paid for my membership fee.

That’s it for now. If you see any deals out there, let me know. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping!

I like to live in a state of denial. Florida doesn’t really have “seasons”, but when the weather got cooler and I had to start raking my front yard, I had to admit it was Fall (or at least Fall-ish). I’m still not used to the time change and despite the commercials, ads and displays, I don’t want to think about Christmas just yet. But alas time marches on without me. So with that, I want to start sharing some gift ideas for photographers in case you’re the type that likes to wrap presents before you dress your turkey.

Let’s begin with Adorama’s “100 Photo-tastic Gifts for under $100.” Considering most photography gear is in the hundreds or thousands of dollars, this is a good list of stuff that is actually useful; from camera bags and light modifiers, to memory, software and books.

I am a dork. (You see how I moved past denial and straight into acceptance?) My mouse pad has a camera dial on it and I have two Canon lens mugs. I also like to wear photography-related t-shirts. The best place to find them is over at Cafe Press. They’re having a sale right now, so most shirts will run you in the $23 range. Here’s a tip: don’t pay extra for faster shipping; I got my most recent order much faster than anticipated. Try coupon code “GLOW” for an extra 15% off.

Since I mentioned mouse pads, there’s one for Nikon shooters here; and more designs here.

UPDATE 11/29/11:  I just ran across this link from the LensPro To Go blog. I like how they divide the categories based on price range. Check out the $100-$200 category. The Steadicam Smoothee is an interesting item. A DSLR steadicam will run you about 800-bucks! Also, check out the Spider Holster which I mentioned in a past blog post.

Lastly, check out the posts I wrote last year in case you missed them:

Gift Ideas for Photographers

Stocking Stuffers For Your Favorite Photographers

That’s it for now. As the holiday’s get closer and retailers announce deals, I’ll try to post them. If you noticed, I’m looking for items that won’t break the bank; because let’s face it, no one in my family is going to get me the $2,400 5D MKII…which is why I’m giving them socks.

Adobe just announced a tablet application for Photoshop. It’s called Photoshop Touch and right now it’s just for Android tablets. That alone is a bit puzzling given the dominance of the iPad, but I’m sure it had something to do with programming on the Android platform that’s a bit over my head. Over on the Chase Jarvis blog, however, he says it’s coming to iOS.

The video looks like it has some pretty cool features including some quick search tools and compositing tools. I’m still trying to figure out who it’s for or what direction Adobe wants to go in. On the one hand, lots of  people use their phones to take pictures and then use apps to add effects. Photoshop Touch might be useful to an on-the-go photographer who can’t be tied down to a desktop or might not have Photoshop on a laptop. Then again, this initial roll-out seems aimed at the more casual photographer; giving them some basic tools to start with. Adobe also seems to be emphasizing the social sharing and cloud-based aspects as it did when it announced Carousel a few weeks ago. From the Photoshop blog:

Photoshop users interested in mobile design and photo editing will have the freedom to brainstorm and create in Photoshop Touch, and then access their artwork through the newly announced Adobe Creative Cloud to take it further in Photoshop CS5. Anyone can enjoy Photoshop Touch for quick social photo compositing…and share it out with friends.

Assuming you had an Android tablet, would you use Photoshop Touch?

Last June, Canon launched a red Rebel T3. Now Nikon is out with a red version of its D3100 DSLR. Monkey see, monkey do?

Would you buy a red DSLR? Do you wish other models came in a color other than black? If so, what color would you want?

Nikon P7100

Ok, so if you read yesterday’s blog, you know Nikon and Scott Kelby planned big announcements a day after Canon announced new point and shoots. I really wonder if the Nikon and Canon PR people hang out; you know, maybe have lunch or meet for drinks. It would go something like this:

Nikon: Hey, when are you announcing those point-and-shoots?

Canon: August 23rd. Why?

Nikon: Oh, shoot, we’re rolling out new point-and-shoots too.

Canon: Well, should we flip a coin to see who goes first?

Nikon: Nah, you go first. We’ll just announce ours the very next day!

Canon: Well that’s jolly good of you…. OMG, look who just walked in! It’s Sony.

Nikon: Pfft. Don’t make eye contact.

Canon: Crap, they totally see us. They’re coming this way. Act natural.

Yes, despite fever-pitch speculation about a new DSLR, Nikon updated it’s P7000 with the P7100 as well other Coolpix point-and-shoots. Read more about it here:

Nikon Rumors

PDN Online

Not to be left out of the party, Sony refreshed it’s DSLR line, introducing four new Alphas including one which it calls the “fastest continuous autofocus” with 12 frames per second at 24 megapixels.

Sony Alpha 77

Lastly, Scott Kelby let the cat of of the bag on his big news. I read yesterday that the announcement would not be Nikon related and “rdavisphoto” commented on my blog yesterday telling us to get our IPads ready. It turns out, Kelby is launching a new magazine designed for the IPad aimed at teaching photographers about lighting. Check out the video:

So there you have it. Those are the big announcements. Now we can all go back to grinding our teeth until Canon or Nikon update its DSLRs. There are still a few months left in the year and the latest rumor is to expect a Canon 5D MKIII in October.

Damn, here comes Olympus…pretend you don’t see them!

Canon announced new products, including three point-and-shoots, an external flash for point and shoots and a few printers. You can read more about the new products at the following links:

Canon Rumors

PDN Online

DPReview

But Canon’s thunder might be stolen tomorrow. Nikonians have been abuzz for weeks about an announcement expected tomorrow. It’s the same day that Joe McNally (re)launches his “Faces of Ground Zero” display. McNally is of course a well known Nikon shooter and Nikon is a sponsor of the display. It’s also the same day that Scott Kelby is announcing something new. My feeling is that it can’t all be coincidence and that all three events are related.

[UPDATE: If you clicked on the link to Nikon Rumors, you saw that the new Nikon products are also point-and-shoots. Most people have been expecting an update to the D700 or even a new D4. We shall see.]

Stay tuned…

I shoot a lot of interiors and architecture. When I’m shooting the front of homes and pools, I need the sun to be just right. For exteriors, I prefer the sun to hit the front of the house. This not only makes it brighter, but it makes the sky behind it bluer.

North and south facing homes are the toughest to shoot because the front never gets direct sun.

For pools, I want the sun to be overheard, though an angle where it lights a covered lanai is helpful too. North or south facing pools are not a problem. But if a pool faces east or west, then I have to wait for the right time of day to shoot it.

Sometimes I’m shooting at twilight and need to know when and where the sun sets to get the best colors in the sky.

Well, there’s an app for that. It’s called LightTrac.

LightTrac is an app that lets you calculate the position and angle of the sun at any given time for any day of the year. It does the same for the moon as well as giving you the moon phases, sunset and twilight times. In the screenshot above, the yellow line represents the angle of the sun at sunrise. The blue line is sunset and the red line is whatever time you select by using the slider at the bottom.

This is extremely helpful to me because while I can usually tell which way is east and west, I don’t always know where the sun will be in the sky for any given time of year. This app can be useful to just about any kind of outdoor photography. Landscape? Speaks for itself. Portrait? Maybe you want the sun as a hair/kicker light. Wedding? You have one hour for portraits beginning at 5pm. Will the sun be in the bride and groom’s eyes?

There’s just one thing I don’t like about the app and it’s very minor. When I search for a new location it finds the location; but to calculate the sun angle, you have to save it to your locations. You then have to select your saved location and go to the home screen. I wish it would calculate the information after it finds the location without me having to save it. Saving should be an option for my favorite or most visited locations. Like I said, very minor.

The app is $4.99, which is the most I’ve ever spent for any one item on ITunes, but well worth it.

How would you use the app?

Most DSLRs come in one color: black. Pentax offers a few varieties and now Canon is jumping in by offering the Rebel T3 in three different colors: Metallic Gray, Brown and Red (in addition to black).

The colors are only available at the Canon online store. The company is also offering a rebate up to $200 on select T3 kits.

I haven’t done a “Photography News Round-Up” in a while; mostly because I usually post items of interest on my Facebook page which then gets posted on Twitter. So if you are already following me there, the following items won’t be news to you. For everyone else, I wanted to get you up to speed on some things you might have missed last week.

First up: from Nikon Rumors, the Nikon D90 is now officially on the “discontinued” list. It was replaced by the D7000 last year.

In other Nikon news: a guest post on Nikon Rumors last week tested the sharpness of 16 different lenses.  There’s a slideshow gallery and you can view the larger images on Flickr.

Over on the Canon Rumors site, there’s word that there may be updates to both the 1.4 and 1.8 versions of the 50mm lens.

You probably read in a previous post about price increases for camera lenses and bodies most likely due to supply disruptions in Japan. Well, if it’s any consolation, Canon Rumors is also reporting that 3 lenses are part of Canon’s spring rebate program. They are:

• EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 ($150 rebate)
• EF 75-300mm f/4.5.6 ($50 rebate)
• EF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 ($100 rebate)

Not exciting enough? Well there are also reports that Best Buy has started a price war on many Nikon and Canon lenses and bodies. I checked the prices against Amazon, and if they are true, then they really look like good deals. The 5D MKII, for example, is listed at $2124 with in-store pick-up only. But when I checked on the Best Buy site for stores in the Orlando area, not only was the price around $2800, but they were out of stock. If you’re interested, click the link and check it out for yourself. Let me know if you have any luck. Happy hunting!