Instagram Photoshop Actions

Having used Instagram for quite some time now we were pleased to find out that there is now a set of Photoshop Actions to mimic the cool photo effects from Instagram.

Click here to download the free Actions from Daniel Box.

Anne Geddes App

Anne Geddes' photography is very unique and beautiful, she is also quite and innovative business person.

Recently a documentary about her new photo series Beginnings was released along with two Apps.

One is a preview of her new book Anne Geddes HD.  The other is a game called Anne Geddes MatchUp which is an rather unique way to showcase her work, the game is somewhat addictive too.

TVO Photography Month | Contact Festival

Thanks of Alex Pomnikow for sending us the info on TVO's 2011 Photography Month.  

From May 2-30, 2011 TVO will be showing photo related programming all month.  We assume they are starting the programming on May 2 because it is the same day as the 38th Annual Algonquin Photography Exhibition.  

The programming does coincide with the Contact Photography Festival in Toronto one of the programming sponsors.  For those that will be in Toronto in May this is an amazing festival and definitely worth checking out.  The month of May looks good for photography!!

The Contact mobile app is now out so you can stay up to date with all the events around Toronto.  

Andrew Zuckerman | CreativeMornings

Above is a talk by photographer Andrew Zuckerman for CreativeMornings on creating long term projects and seeing a vision through to the end.  Zuckerman is a photographer who has produced four books, films and a very successful iPad app.

Thanks to Andrew Balfour for sending us this link and as he mentioned in his email the talk is long, 45 minutes, but definitely worth watching.

What Colours Are Hot Right Now

Our Second Year students are required to select a colour scheme for every image in their portfolio.  They must prop, wardrobe and select backgrounds for each image based on their chosen colour schemes and follow through with it from the shooting, digital imaging to the final print.

We always stress being on top of the latest colour trends so here is a great resource from Pantone on what colours are hot right now.  Click here to read the report on spring colours for 2011, take a colour survey and download the hottest colour swatches to Photoshop.

For those with an iPhone, iPod or iPad you can download the myPantone app and have a Pantone swatch book handy at all times for $9.99.

For those that are web inclined and want a quick hexidecimal Pantone reference guide download the myPantone X-Ref app for $1.99.

Honeysuckle is so hot right now, D&G hello!!

App - OptimumCS & TrueDoF

Here are two apps that we have given a try OptimumCS ($1.99) and TrueDoF ($0.99).

OptimumCS calculates maximum sharpness when a large depth of field is required, with the ability to defined a focusing area.  TrueDoF calculates maximum depth of filed and is more in-tune with digital camera formats smaller than 35mm, both take into consideration diffraction.

The interface for both apps are rather intuitive, and as their website states these would be great tools for photographers interested in architectural and landscape photography.

App - Massive Dev Chart

Massive Dev Chart is designed by Digital Truth Photo and is an app for the iPhone, iPad or iPod and retails for $7.99.

This app houses over 8000 black and white film processing times for developers, stop and fix baths and a custom timer for your own special processing times. The app even has a darken mode to enable you to use it in the dark without affecting your film.

It is great to see film finally entering the digital age.

App - blueSLR

The blueSLR app is an extremely accurate GPS encoder for your photos and a remote shutter for your DSLR.  The blueSLR app is free and the device to attach to your camera is $149, click here to view specs.

Besides being a really really cool app and device it was even cooler to find out that it was locally grown. It was developed by a couple in Ottawa, respect!

We will be ordering a couple of these devices in the new year and are very happy to support a local company.

App - Pocket Light Meter

Thanks to Thomas Dagg for tweeting about this great Apple app, Pocket Light Meter the app does what it says and rather well especially for the price, free!!

App - Ansel Adams

The Ansel Adam App for the iPad has been released in the United States only but it will be coming to Canada very soon.

This app will have audio, video and forty of the Master's greatest images that chronicle his life as a photographer, not bad for $13.99.

App - What The Font

Beginning this semester and continuing on into next semester our Second Year Students will be learning the basics of graphic design and layout.  This is to prepare them for creating their own promotional material, blog and website.  

Choosing the right font is always an important choice when designing and WhatTheFont from My Fonts is a great iPhone app that allows you to photograph any font in a magazine or online and then it tells you exactly what font it is.  

It works quite well and it is free which make it a great design tool and very cool app.  

App - Instagram

Instagram is an new photo-sharing app for the iPhone, it has gained a huge following over the last month with over a five-hundred thousands users signing up.

The app has an very unique interface and syncs with your Address Book, Twitter, and Facebook page.  The app also has a very cool retro icon and logo based on the Polaroid Land Camera 1000.

Nikon Learn & Explore App

For those with an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad this free app Learn & Explore from Nikon is a must have.

Thanks to Dave from Headshots for letting us know about this great app.