<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Photostore Powered - Blog]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright Photostore Powered - Blog]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Apple Releases Aperture 2.1 with Powerful Image Editing Plug-In Architecture]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Apple today released Aperture 2.1, which introduces an open plug-in architecture that makes it easy for photographers to use specialized third party imaging software right from within Aperture. Available today as a free software update, Aperture 2.1 includes the Apple-developed plug-in, Dodge & Burn, which adds brush-based tools for dodge (lighten), burn (darken), contrast, saturation, sharpen and blur. Over the coming months, third party software developers will deliver image editing plug-ins for localized editing, filters and effects, noise analysis and reduction, fisheye lens correction and more.   



  "The image quality in Aperture 2 has won over the most demanding photographers," said Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of Applications Product Marketing. "Now, thanks to our open plug-in architecture, users can access an entire industry's worth of imaging expertise without ever leaving Aperture."  

  "To date, maybe two percent of my photographs needed to be touched up outside Aperture," said John Stanmeyer, founding member of the VII Photo Agency and contributing photographer for Time and National Geographic magazines. "Now that I can dodge and burn right within Aperture's new plug-in, I can't imagine when I'll have to open any other application to tone my images."   

  By clicking on one or more images within Aperture, users can choose from a menu of installed plug-ins and apply specialized imaging operations to either TIFF or RAW images. Apple is working closely with key developers to bring the most requested plug-ins to Aperture such as:   

  

  Nik Software's Viveza plug-in, powered by U Point technology, which provides a powerful, precise and easy way for photographers to selectively control and adjust color and light in their digital images;   


  PictureCode's Noise Ninja plug-in that delivers advanced high ISO noise analysis and reduction;   


  Digital Film Tools' Power Stroke plug-in that features a simple, stroke-based interface to quickly mask and intuitively perform targeted adjustments;   


  The Tiffen Company's Dfx plug-in that provides an expansive suite of creative filters and effects;   


  dvGarage's dpMatte plug-in, which is a high performance chroma key tool for creating seamless composites, and the HDRtoner plug-in that enables the selection of multiple photos to create a single high dynamic range (HDR) image; and   

  Image Trends' plug-ins that include Fisheye-Hemi to quickly and effortlessly correct fisheye lens distortion, ShineOff which automatically removes shine from faces and PearlyWhites that automatically whitens and brightens teeth.   

  

  Pricing & Availability   
  Aperture 2.1 is available immediately as a free software update to current Aperture 2.0 users. Full system requirements and more information on Aperture can be found at   www.apple.com/aperture  . Information and availability for third party imaging plug-ins can be found on www.apple.com/aperture/resources, www.apple.com/downloads and at the Aperture community site www.aperturepluggedin.com.   


  Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.   

]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:37:27 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/imaging-software/apple-releases-aperture-21-with-powerful-image-editing-plugin-architecture/</link><guid>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/imaging-software/apple-releases-aperture-21-with-powerful-image-editing-plugin-architecture/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[onOne Software Previews New FocalPoint Software Plug-in]]></title><description><![CDATA[  onOne Software, Inc., previews today at WPPI 2008 its new software plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements - FocalPoint 1.0. onOne Software's FocalPoint is a selective focus and vignetting plug-in designed to help photographers easily blur and/or vignette areas of an image.   

  Popular among professional wedding, portrait and commercial photographers, the soft defocused look typically produced in camera by using special selective focus or tilt-shift lenses, filters or vignetting hoods can now be created quickly within Photoshop using onOne Software's new FocalPoint. This new plug-in eliminates the need for photographers to purchase, carry and use the accessories mentioned above at the time of the photo shoot and simplifies their ability to produce these effects later in Photoshop.   



  "Our new FocalPoint plug-in gives photographers total control over how they apply creative focusing effects to their image after the image has been shot," said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. "It's just like having a lens inside of Photoshop. Users set the location of their 'sweet spot' of focus directly on their image and then control the amount, kind of blur used and even lighten or darken the edges quickly and easily."  

  FocalPoint provides photographers with a way to create realistic depth of field control, plane of focus control and selective focus to any image after it is photographed allowing for more control and precision. The plug-in's unique FocusBug control has a tangible, hardware feel much like adjusting a lens. This special on-screen control makes it fast for a photographer to choose the 'sweet spots' of focus either in a round aperture shape or a planar aperture shape and then control how much and what kind of blur they would like to add. Blur choices include a standard defocused look as well as a blur that simulates motion. This has a huge benefit over hardware tools like auxiliary lenses and filters because it allows the photographer to control the focus and blur after the image is taken, giving them more control and requiring fewer shots in camera.   

  FocalPoint uses the same FocusBug controls to allow the photographer to simultaneously selectively blur as well as lighten or darken the areas outside of the 'sweet spot', of focus. FocalPoint can also be used just for vignetting without blurring the image at all. In addition, the FocusBug allows users to tilt the chosen 'sweet spot' aperture in 3D, simulating the tilt effect of a view camera or tilt-shift lens. This allows users to increase or decrease the amount of feathering or blur across a plane.   

  And once a photographer has created an effect they like, they can save it as a preset so they can easily recall it. FocalPoint remembers all of the settings applied including the relative size and position of the FocusBug so users can apply it to similar images without having to make any additional adjustments. By using Photoshop actions to access a FocalPoint preset photographers can even batch process an entire folder of images.   

  FocalPoint is designed for use with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements and supports Adobe Photoshop CS2 and CS3 and Elements versions 4.0.1, 5, 6 and higher. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and Vista and Mac OS X 10.4.10 and 10.5 and higher. onOne Software's FocalPoint plug-in will be available in April 2008 for $159.95 from onOne Software authorized distributors and resellers, or direct from onOne Software at   www.onOnesoftware.com  .   
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:24:08 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/imaging-software/onone-software-previews-new-focalpoint-software-plugin/</link><guid>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/imaging-software/onone-software-previews-new-focalpoint-software-plugin/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dreamstime and Pixelperfect Combine to Offer a Picture Perfect!]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  Dreamstime.com   and   PixelPerfectDigital.com   (PPD) have formed an alliance to make photo shopping easier for the PPD user. 
  
  
Primarily a free stock imagery provider, PixelPerfectDigital (  www.pixelperfectdigital.com  ) offers high quality stock photos to the design community in addition to providing the latest industry news and links to useful online resources related to photography and design.  PPD will expand its service to feature photography, graphics, artwork, abstract sketches, scenic backgrounds and more, as exclusively offered by   Dreamstime  .  
  

   

For the window shopper, PPD will now display on its home page select Dreamstime photos that are a "perfect fit" for its existing customer base.  In addition to the   Dreamstime   photos that will appear on the PPD display counter, those PPD members that are in search of a photo-extraordinaire can now enjoy an unlimited photo shopping experience.  PPD will provide immediate access to the best-edited gallery of the 2 million-plus images that   Dreamstime.com   has to offer--increasing PPD's image library by 99.9%. 
  
  
"We are excited about our partnership with Dreamstime and the value it brings to our users," said Darren Hester, President of   PixelPerfectDigital.com   headquartered in Macon, GA.  "We're confident our users will appreciate the added selection of high quality imagery at such an affordable price." 
  
  
"The objective in our partnership with   PixelPerfectDigital   is two-fold," added   Dreamstime   co-founder and CEO, Serban Enache.  "One, to assist PPD to expand their overall service to offer a product that they could not otherwise provide and two, to enable both PPD and Dreamstime to become increasingly visible on the web bringing more value to the users and widening our audience." 
  
  
In it's overall objective to become THE ONLY PLACE TO SHOP for microstock imagery, this "affiliate consortium" is in alignment with Dreamstime's many interwoven internet marketing campaigns. Dreamstime has established similar relationships with Boombucket.com, Brightqube.com, Openphoto.net, Picfindr.com and Stockvault.net among others.  "This is a Dreamstime blueprint," Enache offered.  "Aligning Dreamstime with PPD and many other community-based sites enables us to expand our exposure overall.  It's a win-win situation and another example of Dreamstime's community/ networking strategy--keeping the pace with web 2.0 trends. Partnering with other sites will enable us to double our exposure." 
  
  
A multi-platinum global stock photo agency,   Dreamstime.com   is one of the top three stock photography agencies in the world.  With now just over 2.1 million images, Dreamstime has the distinction of offering the best-edited images that money can buy, and some are ABSOLUTELY FREE!  Make photo shopping a virtual and visual experience, visit   www.dreamstime.com  . 
  ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:15:47 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/microstock-news/dreamstime-and-pixelperfect-combine-to-offer-a-picture-perfect/</link><guid>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/microstock-news/dreamstime-and-pixelperfect-combine-to-offer-a-picture-perfect/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[PhotoStore Flash Pack]]></title><description><![CDATA[  The Flash Pack for PhotoStore adds Flash elements to your PhotoStore site. The featured photos area is replaced with a new Flash based carousel that shows your photos as the customer rotates through them. A thumbnail slider is added under your photos so the customer can see the next and previous photos. Also new transitions are added to your thumbnails and sample photos. Choose between Fade, Pixelate, Blur and Stretch transitions on your thumbnails and sample photos when they load.   


  View A Demo Of The Flash Pack:  
    http://ktoolsdemos.net/flashps/    

  *** This add-on will only work with PhotoStore 3.4 and higher.   ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:22:16 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/photostore-news/photostore-flash-pack/</link><guid>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/photostore-news/photostore-flash-pack/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dreamstime.com Photos Now In the Vault on StockVault.net]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Dreamstime.com, a global community microstock photo agency and distinguished leader in the industry, has linked up with StockVault.net. Now in the vault--professional quality photo images offered exclusively by Dreamstime.com.  

  Dreamstime.com will offer high-quality, low-cost stock photography images via its link on StockVault.net. A platinum microstock agency, Dreamstime.com will make available its entire library of photos as part of the StockVault search engine to offer the best-of-the-best print quality images and photos for commercial use. This exclusive, innovative agreement will enable Stockvault visitors to search over nearly two million images from more than 30,000 contributors based in 172 countries to find a picture perfect.   



  "I believe Dreamstime's vast collection of professional images is a perfect option and addition for Stockvault visitors that are looking for low-cost, royalty-free material for their professional work," said Stockvault.net founder Bjorgvin Gudmundsson. "Our cooperation will benefit both parties as our visitors will be nearly guaranteed to find the image they are looking for."   

  Since 2004 StockVault.net (headquartered in Iceland) has catered to the novice designer and/or students, offering FREE high-resolution stock photos, templates and logos to use in personal and/or educational design projects.  

  "As we establish partnerships with respected companies such as Stockvault, Dreamstime.com expands its community reach and increases potential revenue for our photographers," said Serban Enache, Dreamstime CEO and co-founder. "Since Dreamstime pays the highest commissions in the stock community, more revenue at higher royalties translates to a greater number of quality images made available to our users."   

  Dreamstime.com services customers all over the world. With more than 1.8 Million exquisite, new and fresh images available, Dreamstime provides imagery to a wide variety of clients in the creative market from the private sector to Fortune 500 companies (including the worldâ€™s largest advertising agencies, magazines, television stations and production companies).   
 

]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:15:13 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/microstock-news/dreamstimecom-photos-now-in-the-vault-on-stockvaultnet/</link><guid>http://www.photostorepowered.com/blog/microstock-news/dreamstimecom-photos-now-in-the-vault-on-stockvaultnet/</guid></item></channel></rss>