Recently I was given a relatively simple task: create a slideshow for playback in a conventional DVD player/TV. My client gave me about 350-360 JPEGs along with a playlist of songs for the slideshow. My first attempt at the slideshow, I used Apple's iDVD simply as a proof of principal that I could get something my client could use. After rescaling all the images to 1920x1080, I imported the images into iDVD and had a workable project in about 30 minutes. Granted it took longer to render and burn to disc (about 90 minutes), I had something that would for my client in about 30 minutes. Some Apple software that comes bundled with OSX is great....its relatively simple and you can get things done quickly. Most out of the box Apple software has its limitations, making programs like iDVD more suited for consumer use than professional use. For example, when creating a slideshow with iDVD, you can only set one transition for the entire show. Well, for a slideshow with 350ish pictures, this can get rather boring and stale after awhile. You're also stuck with the Apple themes for menus. I also own the Adobe CS5 Design Premium (on my photo computer) and Production Premium (on my school computer) suites. I figured that by using one of the programs (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore), I could create something a little more professional. After a little research, I settled on using Encore CS5. At first, I was really happy with Encore CS5. Despite the limitations of 99 slides per slideshow, I got something usable with the exact same pics (with exact same dimensions) incorporating individual transitions where I could pan and zoom. I used photoshop to create my own menus, etc and got those working and got a working slideshow that I was relatively happy with. Then I started running into problems. When trying to create a 16:9 version of the exact same 4:3 slideshows, Encore crashes every single time I try to do something pretty much. Now Encore is pretty much useless. Granted my Macbook Pro is 2 years old, I still have a dual core processor with 8 gigs of RAM and it should be able to run Encore without a problem. I mean even iDVD didn't flinch when I threw the EXACT SAME pictures at it. So now I've got a deadline and an Encore CS5 project rendered useless by a program that crashes every time I click on anything after I open the project. I'm running the latest version of the software and I don't have the time or energy to uninstall/reinstall the suite (not to mention its expensive and if I have a problem reinstalling, my license could be lost), clear out registries, and do a lot of things suggested by quick searches of Encore CS5 crashes. My images are within suggested guidelines of the appropriate bit depth so I shouldn't be having this problem, especially if iDVD can handle my project without a hitch. I could rebuild the slideshow from scratch in a new project, but I don't have time, so I'm pretty angry with the whole situation considering the amount of time I put into the project with Encore. Maybe my mind will change further down the line (yes I'm aware of the "user error" possibility), but for now, I'd say steer clear of Encore CS5 for creating slideshows. You'd probably be better off sucking up the learning curve and using After Effects or Premiere Pro to create the slideshow and then import that into Encore CS5. I'm pretty disappointed...I'm a big proponent of Adobe software and use Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Lightroom on a consistent basis. For now, looks like I'll be going back to iDVD...its not ideal, but it at least didn't cause me any problems
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B+W ND 3.0 MRC Filter
I finally got to take a little vacation and decided to do some shooting along the way. Along with my truckload of gear I brought along a new toy: the B+W ND 3.0 MRC filter. I picked up one from B&H last week. It is a neutral density filter, but just not any neutral density filter. It decreases the light coming through the lens of the camera by a whopping 10 stops (even more if stacked with other filters like polarizers). Why on earth would you want to reduce light transmission 10 stops you might ask?? From what I understand, this filter was made for astronomical sun studies, welding applications, anything that would involve photographing insanely bright things. Along the way, photographers discovered this filter had another use. It allows you do long exposure shots in broad daylight! Imagine the kinds of things you can do with 30 second exposures in broad daylight! Unfortunately this specialty filter does not come without any caveats. There are two issues with such a dense filter. First, seeing through the lens is damn near impossible with the filter attached. Second, autofocus is also rather difficult. You also have to use a tripod for the kind of work I'm interested in. What you end up having to do is composing your scene and focusing with the filter detached, putting on the filter, and then hitting the shutter. Your camera may also have difficulty metering so there's going to be some trial and error getting the correct exposure. It's definitely not a filter for the lazy but I've had a lot of fun with it so far. Here are some examples from flickr that people have shot and below you can see some I took today. I'm hoping to get more shots with the filter while I'm down on the coast (it's great for moving water) so stay tuned! Pics taken with Nikon D300, Nikkor 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 DX, 77mm Hoya UV, 77mm B+W ND 3.0 MRC at ISO 100, F/8, 30 seconds (at around 5 pm). Post processing done with Adobe Lightroom 2.x, Photoshop CS5, Nik Dfine and Silver Efex Pro. [gallery]
Photo Tip #4: Know Your Gear
One thing I LOVE about Nikons is the Creative Lighting System (CLS). Recent Nikon cameras and speedlights can be linked via line-of-sight infrared (IR) communication and you can trigger your Nikon speedlight off-camera without buying any additional equipment. The system is great and if you own a Nikon dSLR and Nikon speedlight (SB600/700/800/900), it's a great introduction to off-camera flash that you can play around with. By setting the speedlight as a remote, you then use the built-in flash on the camera to trigger the speedlight. You can tell the built-in flash to either fire or just be a trigger. I don't have time to put together a tutorial, but if you're interested and not sure how to do it, just look at your manual[s] or google "Nikon CLS" and you can figure out how to do it. It's relatively simple and straightforward, so go out and use it! You'll be amazed at the results you can get just with a little tinkering. One piece of advice: take note of what channel the speedlight is on!!! Last night, I embarrassingly made the rookie mistake of not keeping track of what channel the speedlight was on and what channel my camera was sending messages to. As a result I got very frustrated and didn't exactly get the shot I want. This takes me to today's photo tip: know your gear before going out in the field! You've got to be familiar with every aspect of your gear before going out in the field if you're going to get the shots you want. Read your manuals and find willing guinea pigs to try out your gear before going out on jobs. That way if you run into trouble, knowing your gear will help you effectively and efficiently troubleshoot. I figured out my problem last night relatively quickly (probably within 3-4 minutes), but I only had a couple minutes to get the shot I wanted, so by the time I figured out what was wrong the opportunity had passed. While I'm disappointed in myself, identifying the source of problems and learning from your mistakes will make you a better photographer. I hopefully won't be making this mistake again, and by sharing my experience here I hope you won't either!