l!ght bulb

Title: l!ght bulb

21 Feb '12, 10.26pm CET

Lion Tweak

Today I want you to introduce a nice tool which is named Lion Tweak. Actually about 3% of all Mac OS Lion users have installed this nice piece of software. Lion Tweak helps you to improve/change several hidden software features and settings which are not available on the normal system preferences UI.

Short introduction: Flash2Softbox

Today I want to introduce the (in my opinion) best light former solution on the market for system flashes: Flash2Softbox. There already exists a big collection of different light formers and the system is compatible to nearly every flash! It is also possible to combine this solution with remote flash sets like the Yongnuo RF-602.

Due to the usage of system flashes instead of studio flashes you are independent from a power source and you get a maximum of mobility and flexibility. On the other hand you save a lot of money!

You can find more information, example shots and a great review on the blog of Krolop & Gerst. This is one of the best photography Blogs in the web (but the most content is in German).

My Facebook Site

I want to ask you to have a look to my Facebook site! I'm very close to 100 likes - please help me to do beat this magic number!

Kate

Title: Kate

3 Oct '11, 5.47pm CEST
A portrait of my last portrait session with Kate. Enjoy

Create GParted bootable USB device in OS X

1. Insert the USB-Stick/Device and format it by using the disk utility to FAT16/FAT32
2. Download GParted live ISO file
3. Download UNetbootin
4. Start UNetbootin, select ISO mode and choose your ISO file
5. Click OK and wait until the process has been finished

Another alternative is to use UNetbootin to download and flash your USB drive with Parted Magic (available in choose box).

Nice plugins for Aperture 3

Today I've checked some plugins for Aperture 3 which I wish to own!

Noise Ninja is one of the best noise reduction plug-ins on the market! Check it out! But: It seems like it is very complicated to purchase. I even don't find a price just for the plug-in... The pro version costs $79.95 and includes all plug-ins.

Photomatix Pro is one of the most known HDR tonemappers on the market - and it's also avaiable as an Aperture 3 plug-in. But at a very high price of $94.

Focal Point 2 is a nice tool to simulate a bokeh. You're able to set the focus wherever you want in your photos - but at a very high price: $99.95!!

I think most of the prices are very very high - because you can purchase Aperture 3 in the Mac AppStore for at least $60! Just one plug-in is even more expensive than the product itself. Incredible...

AppDump

AppDump is a really nice application for your mac which allows you to check how much apps have been downloaded and how much you've already paid for them. A really nice, smart and powerful must have application! And the best: It's free!

Samsung H1 - Cracking it

Today I have searched again for some H1 input (because I have no iPhone right now and have to wait some month).

So I found the following "community": H1Droid. This community tries to port Andriod 2.2 to the Samsung H1/M1. You can download the latest version on code.google.com.
You can finds lots of useful information in this thread.

How to compile an own version of H1droid (on a Mac):

1. Download Git. (I have downloaded version 1.7.4)
2. Run the installation.
3. Open a new terminal and create a new directory. Switch to that directory.
4. Type: git clone git://gitorious.org/h1droid/odin.git
5. Switch into the odin directory and make

Another nice tool is BinPim which allows you to transfer files to Samsung phones. It is also available for Mac! But I haven't tested it right now.

(You can reset you phone to the shipping settings by using the following code: *2767*3855#)

Very useful: Dockdrop

Since I started to use Aperture, I've searched for an easy way to share my photos with friends (more often in instant messaging). So I've searched for an Aperture 3 plugin which allows me to upload a version of a photo to a FTP server of my choice. This plugin does exist, but it costs some money. Due to that fact that I've already bought Flow for FTP transfers, I was not willing to investigate more money for FTP transfers (which is a very simple task in my opinion).

Some weeks later: I've watched a video about the workflow in fashion photography - not very special but still interesting. In the end of the video the photographer talked about a very great solution to quickly share files (via FTP, SCP, Flickr, ...). This tool is called dockdrop.

I am using this to upload my exported photos of Aperture 3 quickly to the temp directory of my web server. The good news: The tool automatically generates a URL to the photo and puts this url to your clipboard. Uploading photos is very easy now:

• Export the photo to Finder
• Drag it and drop it on the Dockdrop icon
• Wait a few seconds
• Paste the URL to any place you want to