Author Archives: tyson robichaud photography

*Kubota Lensbaby Action Pak!

by in Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

1 photo, 15 actions for 15 different looks. (click on all pics for larger view)

With all the Lensbaby fun of late, I went in search of ways to enhance the Lensbaby experience and stumbled across the Kubota Lensbaby Action Pak!  For those not familiar with Kubota actions, they’re purchasable groups of photoshop actions (very popular with studio, event and wedding shooters) which provide you with quick, easy and repeatable adjustments with the click of a button.  Based in Bend, Oregon, they’re just down the way from me so I decided to get in touch with them and they were very gracious to let me play around with their Lensbaby Action Pak which includes 15 actions tuned for image files taken with various Lensbaby optics.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and while I never have a problem rambling on and on, I will let the image examples show off what these actions do.  Starting with the original image taken with a GF1 and the Lensbaby TT + Composer / double glass optic and on through each of the included 15 Kubota Filters:

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*30% off Alien Skin Software!!!!!!!!

by in General ramblings, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

(*while this is the older promotion, Alien Skin is currently offering a 30-40% off sale on all their software through April 17th, 2012 SEE HERE!)

I’m not the type to promote every discount or product out there (just the ones that I like), but having been fortunate enough to review a couple of the Alien Skin software products recently, I will say that A) they are a cool company with great folks representing them and B) they make a killer product.   That and I wanted to pass this along just in case anyone out there reading is interested.  I make no money from this and I’m honestly just passing this along because I like the folks involved with, and products offered from Alien Skin.

That’s all really.  If you’ve been interested in any of the Alien Skin software and haven’t pulled the trigger, they’re offering 30% off (and free updates/not upgrades mind you) until Tuesday March 15th.  If you’re interested in what I’ve had to say about them, you can read my personal experiences via the links below:

Alien Skin Exposure 3

Alien Skin Bokeh 2

I’ve not played around with the others yet, but I’m sure that any Alien Skin product would be worth while as long as it’s particular skill set appealed to you.  I would very strongly suggest at least trying out the free trials of both Exposure and Bokeh if you’ve not already to see if the discount rate is enough to push you.

You can download the trials or purchase any of the Alien Skin software directly from their website here: Alienskin.com

Have a great weekend!

Tyson

*Lensbaby’s sweet, ‘Sweet 35’

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

It’s here.  This, more than any other Lensbaby optic I’ve personally used, changes the Lensbaby from a fun tool, into a productive, creative asset.  Not that any of the other Lensbaby optics are bad, quite the contrary, I think that the Lensbaby system is and has always been a wonderful addition to my photographic arsenal, it’s just that up until now, one big challenge with any of the Lensbaby optics has been the inability to alter the size of the sweet spot via aperture adjustment quickly on the fly…  Now, you can bring all of the cool, selective focus effects into concert with the adaptability and exposure tuning qualities of a more standard lens.  Read on for a quick video and image samples…

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*Lo-Fi, you know you want to.

by in Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

I received an email the other day from a contact I’d made while doing the review posts for Alien Skin letting me know they had a new desktop app to process jpeg images in a fun and creative way.  The app is called Lo-Fi, and it is AWESOME!  Having just recently posted a couple of my tricks to age and vintage-i-fy digital images, I have been in a post production, digital file aging mood and this app is a quick and easy way to get a huge variety of looks.  Read on for links and images…

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*Adding an ‘aged’ feel to your photographs.

by in Postprocessing techniques, Software tutorials / reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

One thing I find funny about modern digital photography, is how much we tend to revert back to wanting it to look like film.  The irony of using a $600+ software program, thousands of dollars in camera gear and a bit of time in front of a computer to get an image to look like it was taken with an older film camera and some expired film is not lost on me.  But, if we’ve already got the tools, why not have the ability to use them for a variety of effects right?  I love vintage, or aged processing, so here are a couple techniques I have played around with to get my high resolution images to look like they were taken a while back…

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*Sony NEX5 vs. Panasonic GF1, the showdown.

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog!  For those of you who’ve read some of my other articles I’m sure you know how I feel about the GF1, and for those who are just stumbling across the blog, welcome and thanks for taking the time to stop by.  While I’ve been shooting with the GF1 for over a year now, I have just recently been gifted the opportunity to use, and review a Sony NEX5.  Thank you Sony, and my friends at Lensbaby for making this happen.  While new cameras are continuing to be announced and released, I still feel that these two cameras provide the most compelling overall packages if you’re looking for a high performance compact/pocketable camera.  Getting to extensively use the NEX5 has gone a long way in dispelling some of the shortcomings I’d felt it really exhibited upon my first interaction with one a few months back.  I feel that the GF1 is the best balance of function and size in the micro 4/3 realm, so I was very curious to see how it stacked up against a very cool camera in the NEX5.  I do feel there are some serious pros and cons for each of these cameras and depending on your needs, one may be head and shoulders above the other.

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*Sony NEX5 + Lensbaby Tilt Transformer = Unadulterated Fun

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

*Firstly, thank you to Lensbaby and Sony for the early Christmas gift!  Being a micro 4/3 man primarily when it comes to my compact MILC camera system of choice, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t very curious about the new NEX cameras.  My experience with the NEX5 prior to this was limited to over the counter tinkering and parking lot shooting.  I will do a more in depth review of the NEX5 vs. the GF1 soon as the NEX5 both confirmed some of my doubts and opened my eyes to it as a viable choice for those looking into a small mirrorless interchangeable lens compact camera.  Combined with a Lensbaby Tilt Transformer and Composer front, I feel it provides NEX system users an easy, affordable and fun way to greatly diversify the NEX system.

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*A photographic study in composition, Antoni Gaudí style.

by in General ramblings, Photographic Study Masters Series, Photography tutorials and tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Antoni Gaudi 1852 – 1926

This is the third article in what I’m now calling the “Masters” series.  First we had Lighting a la Rembrandt, then Color Theory with Matisse, and now I want to explore Composition through the work of Gaudi.  I hope you enjoy and would love to hear from you folks about future articles you’d like to see!  Enjoy…

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*Amsterdam

by in General ramblings, Travel and tagged , , | 11 Comments

bloemmarket at dawn

Sometimes a city provides you with a story of personal reflection and memory.  Remembering a certain, unrepeatable feeling, tied to an experience or some other memorable trigger lends itself as a tool with which to write these stories.  Luckily for me, Amsterdam has allowed me to add chapters to my story year after year.  It has become a second home as I’ve had to travel here each year for the last eight to conduct business (for my real job).  I count myself very fortunate that the industry I exist in professionally forces me to spend time each year in such a cool city.  Of course the obvious stereotyped assumptions make their way into the conversation whenever I mention that I travel here each year, but the history, kind nature and beauty of this city rivals any that I’ve been to.  Just make sure you look both ways before stepping foot out into the street, at least twice.

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