Today, a company called Light Crafts, introduced a new online photo editing system, called Aurora.
Now this company also has a product called Light Zone, aimed at the pro and pro-sumer, but this new deal has got some features that will make your social networking life look a little bit better.

o Visual photo editing: The strength of Aurora lies in its intuitive, powerful, visual editor which presents suggested improvements in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get fashion. The unique relight tool essentially “turns on” the light inside the image, creating better, more realistic photos. Users can also straighten, adjust color strength and warmth, crop, zoom and adjust red-eye in a simple, intuitive and visual way.

o Organizing and viewing of photos: Aurora allows consumers to easily import photos from their camera or computer, re-arrange and re-name them, then tag and rate favorites for easy viewing and retrieval.

o Sharing and publishing: Aurora enables consumers to email, print, and connect directly to their photo sharing, social networking and accounts from within Aurora making it easy to share select photos online on sites like Flickr and Facebook.

o Online back-up: Photos are one of those truly irreplaceable items. Aurora’s optional online back-up service is powered by Amazon.com and stores photos to keep them out of harm’s way. Online back-up plans are available for $4.95 per month. Users can simply hit “online back up” from within Aurora to sync directly with their Amazon storage account.

You can log-in to Flickr, Facebook, SmugMug, Picasa and TwentyThree, from within Aurora and link the software to your accounts. You are then able to easily add photos to Flickr or other sites directly from within Aurora. And you can edit your photos on Flickr (or Facebook, etc) from within Aurora. The software and your accounts synchronize with each other. So let’s say you have a photo on Flickr. You edit it in Aurora. It automatically updates the image file on Flickr for you.

This part is a very cool feature. Saves you a few steps. And if you want to have a photo post to a different or additional site, they’ve made it easy.

Now you have to know that this system does NOT deal with RAW files. So you have a good idea when to use it.
Or who you may want to turn on to it.
True, Adobe has a similar product with Photoshop Express, and the ability to fix an image and have it sync with your other sites is a common feature.
Now this is currently only available for PC and when we saw a demo, in a lovely local restaurant, it was on a nice powerful laptop, so your mileage may vary.
However a MAC version is on the way.
Why PC first?
Very simple: as an example, at a recent Epson printer clinic, there were 2 tracks to go to.
Track 1, which was more of a consumer track, had about 85% of the participants were using PC.
Track 2, which was a more pro audience, it was 90% MAC.
So that is why PC first. It’s the law of economics
And for you MAC folks, you may have iPhoto, but this gives you a ton more. Plus available on-line storage.

It sells for about $20, USD but we’re giving away 10 copies of this in our weekly giveaway. For free.
So if you haven’t done it yet, sign up for the weekly NEWSLETTER, and the details will be in there.

We would love to hear what you think of this new deal, especially when we have the winners give it a full test run.
The proof is always in the real world usage.

Nobody likes to find repeated marks on their digital photos. You know, maybe the sky has some weird pattern of small cloud puffs that could have been made by a sky writer…but weren’t?
And there is a reason most manufacturers of DSLR, on all levels of their lines, have some sort of sensor cleaner built in.
You will have to clean it at some point.
Especially since you change lenses. We felt the pain a bit at A music festival as the changing was fast and furious in not the best conditions.
But let’s clear up some misconceptions: with all of the sensor cleaners out there, you are not really cleaning the sensor.
I know, right?
You are actually cleaning the glass in front of the sensor. Do you really think that manufacturers would let us get that close to the unvarnished brain of the whole camera. Thankfully not.
Ok, now that we’ve cleared that up and hopefully, alleviated any fears.
So with a lot of choices out there, we wanted to share a newcomer to the market, Sensor Klear Loupe by Lenspen, show you video on how it works, then let you know why we dig it:
Roll the video, please:


Now here are the main things we dig:

1. the window letting us see what the heck we are cleaning
2. the articulated cleaning pen
3. the small size. Fits in our kit bag.Note: the pen does not have it’s own case.
In addition, as the guy in the video says, most dirt can be blown off with a bulb blower. Yes, forget the compressed air cans. We know better now.

It’s not maintenance, but a good habit to get into.
Is it sexy? Will it make your image sing, look more colorful, sharper, select focus, get closer, tighten the grain, remove blemishes?
Nope.
But it’s a tool you will need. Because when you are editing your last assignment and that repeating blemish is killing your editing time, since you have to repair it all, you’ll wonder why you didn’t check it all out before you went to shoot.
Kinda like my mom would say ” Always leave the house with clean underwear on ”
Well, you check every other part of your gear. Might as well get in the habit of checking the sensor. No matter which manufacturer you go with.
Mom was right.

Laura Oles is one of our favorite writers in photography. Although we have posted articles before to her page on this site, we didn’t want you to have to search for this one.

Your Living Library
By Laura Oles
There are few things that can touch the soul more deeply than gazing at a picture of a loved one. And sometimes, those old photos—the ones crammed into a tattered cardboard box that had been sitting in the closet for years untouched—can reveal a path from your past that widens your world in ways you never anticipated.

Grandma Mary

My dad and I had often talked about “Grandma Mary’s box” and how we really needed to go through its contents and get things organized. We even looked through a few things but never really got serious about it.

Then my dad’s cancer returned.

I flew to Washington to spend some time with him – he is almost finished with chemo and doing very well—and we had an opportunity to finally tackle that box. There’s nothing like a health scare to put your priorities in place, and for us, those priorities included making sure that our future generations could find old family photos and learn the stories behind them.

I thought I knew my grandmother and her origins, but going through those photograph gave me a much better understanding of her.

I learned my great grandmother was an orphan.

I learned what my dad was like as a teenager and about his early years as an Air Force Officer.

I learned what a savvy marketer and businesswoman my grandmother was in her day.

I can’t stop staring at an image of Grandma Mary, who emigrated here from Czechoslovakia when she was only three years old. I try to imagine how frightening and exhilarating it must have been for her family to travel so far in search of a new and brighter future. My great grandmother possessed a bravery that I can barely fathom. Thankfully, I have these images to remind me—and teach my children—about the fantastic family branches found on our genealogical tree.

My dad, brother and I spent several hours around that box. My dad shared stories and answered questions I’d never before thought to ask. I’m committed to making sure my own children (and one day FAR AWAY) my grandchildren know these stories and see these photographs. They are a living pictorial of those who came before us; it is up to us to continue the tradition.

Here are a few tips to help you convert that box of scattered pictures and memorabilia into a living library that loved ones will return to often:

• Make it Fun: We tend to look at organizing projects as dreaded tasks, but this one can be an entertaining family event. Invite family over, order pizza or take-out Chinese and gather round the table or living room floor to get started. As you start sorting through photos, conversations will start and memories will be shared. Consider this a celebration of your ancestors and a way to honor their lives. It’s also a great way to spend a Friday night.
• Create Your Own Method: So many people think they need to organize photographs chronologically, but this can be a taxing and tedious process. Instead, look at the items and create groups that make sense. With our family photos, for example, we divided the piles into my grandfather’s and grandmother’s sides of the family and worked from there. We also created a “Cousins” pile and separate piles for newspaper clippings, passports/documents and other items.
• Label Photos: I joked with my dad about this because he kept writing “me” on the back of his old photos (The man has a Ph.D.!). I reminded him that the idea was for other family members to know who he was and that required using his full name. It doesn’t have to be fancy but try to be as descriptive as possible about the people shown in each photo.
• Choose Quality Storage Boxes: Don’t think that you have to put everything into photo albums. If you’d prefer to go that route, that’s wonderful, but acid-free archival boxes (each labeled accordingly) work very well for this purpose. Consider using upright plastic file folders (often used for in-process scrapbook pages) to preserve larger documents and newspaper clippings.

So, please let me remind you that your photography is more than just a hobby.
It’s more than just shooting pictures at a birthday party.
You are creating your own living library, one that will touch countless people in numerous ways.
And it will continue long after you’re gone.

What story will you leave behind?

Laura Oles has a great site called Digital Photography for Busy Women. Have a wander around her site, and we’re sure you’ll get some real good info there.

Last month at PMA, we met with a TON of manufactures and have just been sifting through all of the info to pass on to you.
And the video.
Look, we know that before you can make a solid purchase, you want all of the info. Take a look around the item. Kick the tires, so to speak.
There are a lot of photographic bag companies out there to choose from, but only you know how you work, and what you need.
So we suggest that you take your gear down to the brick and mortar photo store close to you, once you have made some determinations online, and see what fits in what bag, and how you’ll be transporting it.
Photogs love their bags, and will search till they find the right one. Or the right one for that particular type of assignment.
Starting off, here is a look at 2 revised products from Lowepro, the Pro Roller-x Series, and the Toploader 75

Some pretty cool. stuff right?
Not sure if i would put a big lens on the tripod handle, but it has it’s uses.
What do you think?

OK, just announced yesterday was the new D5000 by Nikon, with over 12 megapixels, face recognition, HD video record at 720p, @ 24 FPS, an ISO range of 100-6400 ( using Hi and Lo settings), some pretty in-camera retouch features including a soft filter effect , which promises to soften a scene or just a face, perspective control to help you in your shots of building so they don’t look like they are falling backwards, and numerous new software features you can read about after the jump.

Here’s what we see at the heart of it: the tiltable LCD will make those overhead crowd shots soooo much better. Sure, you can now do those right angle shots without your subject knowing about it, for those shy folks. Use this only for good,please.
And the fact that you can get HD video into a DSLR for about $730. USD.
Yep, the 2nd gen is here. And cheaper. With a pretty full tilt package for the first timer, or someone adding a body to the bag.
So, what next? We’ll bet another shoe will drop in the next coupla months.

And if you want to read the press release, it does have a bit of corporate speak in there, but you’re smart enough to sift through, and get the facts.
Remember, this is not a review! Just a public service announcement. Once we get our hands on one we’ll give you the straight deal.
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