23.02.10
Digital Darkroom with Darren Tossell
Each month our gadget guru Darren Tossell answers your questions posted in our online forum at www.photographymonthly.com. You can email him at feedback@photographymonthly.co.uk. He also brings us the latest gadgets and equipment from the frontline of digital technology, so welcome to his digital darkroom.
I have software for creating wedding DVD slideshows, but it is limited to Roxio Creator 2009. I shoot weddings part time, mostly in Raw using Capture One 4, and convert to jpgs after editing. Is there any free software available or some good software that mostly caters for wedding slideshows?
There is an array of software out there that can produce slideshows. As you’re looking to produce a show for that ‘special day’, perhaps investing in software with more features is better than some of the free options. On the PC, check out Magix ‘Xtreme PhotoStory’ which has a slideshow wizard, Ken Burns effects and HD and Blu-Ray output options. A cheaper option is the Polaroid ‘My Memories’ suite. Again easy to use, but you are limited to producing shows in MPEG4. Apple users have the incredibly versatile iLife suite, which features iPhoto 09 and iMovie 09 apps which come pre-installed with every Mac.
Again you have the Ken Burns option, lots of special effects and the ability to create physical media in iDVD. Further information can be found at:
www.magix.com
www.mymemoriessuite.com
www.apple.com/ilife
We are looking to capture still images from a 1024 x 768 VGA microscope output. We’d prefer not to have to use a PC, rather we’d like to have a frame grabber that saves the still image to a memory card or USB stick. The capture would be the result of, say, pressing a button on the frame-grabbing unit. It doesn’t need to be complicated — just a manual capture of a single VGA frame as a jpg/png/etc to some sort of memory card, that can be connected to a PC at a later date. Please could you recommend such a product?
We’ve had a look but companies such as Epiphan require the use of a PC.The US-based company Elmo may have the solution. It produces a camera system (TT-02 RX) that has a microscope adapter as well as a built-in SD card slot. It’s a multifunctional device and can be used without connecting to a PC.
Visit www.elmousa.com for more information.
The gadget I use the most
Undoubtedly Apple’s iPhone 3GS. It’s a dazzling piece of kit. It’s simple to use with sublime touchscreen technology that allows me to take my office, music, movies and diary wherever I go as well as surf the internet and watch TV. Sorry, I’ve turned into an iBore.Sadly, the weakest feature on the phone is its camera. Granted, it’s a vast improvement on the previous two iPhone models, but without flash and just 3 megapixels to work with, is it worth bothering with?Actually, yes. The key to getting the best out of it is to know its limitations and strengths. Think fun. Think spur of the moment. The iPhone camera is ideal for those unplanned ‘I wish I had a camera’ moments. Forget weddings and indoor parties, though.The iPhone’s beautifully integrated social networking capabilities have made it hugely popular with Facebook, Twitter and Flickr users. Take a photograph and within a minute or two you’re sharing it with the world or at least 350 ‘friends’.
Now time to play
Photoshop offers a free app that allows you to use basic editing functions and free online hosting, which makes tweaking photographs on your phone easy by using its touchscreen functions.
What do you need?
- iPhone 3GS.
- Download the photoshop.com app free from the iPhone app store.
- Once installed, you can either start the Photoshop app and take the photographs or go to the camera function and start snapping. I prefer the first option because you can then select the photographs via the Photoshop app for searching the ‘camera roll’.
- The camera is simple to use. The touchscreen becomes your viewer. Tap different areas and it will focus on that object. Click the ‘shutter’ button and your photograph is stored on your camera roll. Import the photograph you’re going to edit.
- Across the top of the screen you have several tools which are all accessed by tapping, zooming and pinching the screen.
How does it work?
- Crop, rotate and flipYou can straighten any wobbly shots here, too.
- Exposure, saturation, tint and black and white
- Sketch and soft focus
- Effects
Time to experiment!
By sliding your finger across the screen, you’ll soon grasp how to manipulate your images. It’s quite addictive, so be warned!
Once you’ve finished, save and exit (it’s non-destructive, so no need to worry about the original) and you have the choice to upload to your free photoshop.com account, Facebook, Twitter or any of the photo sharing sites.
If you’re feeling really artistic, try the Brushes app available for £2.99 from the iTunes app store. Since David Hockney told the media he uses it to create mini masterpieces on his iPhone and send them to friends, it has garnered cult status, with thousands of fans sharing their work on Flickr.
You can create art from scratch or import your photograph and use the app’s multilayer option to add depth and dimension. It allows you to choose any colour (including transparency) include an advanced colour picker, several realistic brushes, multiple layers, extreme zooming, and a simple yet deep interface, it is a powerful tool for creating original artwork.Once you’re done, show off your Turner Prize-winning entry on Flickr and Facebook!
Darren Tossell developed a taste for gadgets from a young age, saving his Saturday job earnings for a Sinclair ZX81 and a Sony Betamax video recorder. He fell in love with photography in his early teens when given a Kodak Instamatic. He soon purchased a classic Canon AE-1, which remained his workhorse camera for a decade. Darren currently uses the Canon 40D and describes himself as an 'all round' photographer, particularly enjoying the challenge of wildlife photography.
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