October Challenge: Fall Colors #2

Like I said fall colors are hard to catch this year in my neck of the Northern Virginia.  So here is a nice photo of someone who may be invited to a few dinners around these parts in about a week or two.  Weather has been way to warm though for hunting, so my neighbor did not come out today for what is left of muzzle loading season.  Fuji X-H2 with a 100-400mm.  Just a few meters into my neighbor's property.  

He was making his way around to my pasture...just heading towards the stream.

Our herds are getting out of control, and less healthy.  So I hope the hunters have a good season.  It really does make sure the remaining animals are healthy, and our fields and forests are also healthier.  FWIW, signs of good health include big strong does and bucks with large racks.  When the herds don't have predators or get harvested they become smaller, racks look more like baskets than displays, more invasive and unhealthy.

-ehw

October Challenge Oct Fall Colors #1

I tried and tried but fall Colors just did not come out to play this past month. So I had to get a bit creative...last roses of a too warm fall in the morning light.

Street Photography and a Setting Sun

Great dinner tonight with friends from work…and I had just a few moments to get creative afterwards. It is not at all surprising to me to have creativity follow good fellowship. Well I did my usual landscapes, but added in some quick hip shoot street photography to try my hand at enjoying people living up a moment of the good life on a dog day of summer in Florida.

Besides the street photography I also made a conscience effort to try and edit my photos for the shoot in a similar manner. I wanted to make sure they reflected the same mood by using the crop, angle and colors in post processing. I hope it worked.

-ehw

Why I still Capture Photos

Today Kirk Tuck on VSL posted some thoughts on his evolving use of photos he takes as well as the process of photography. VSL Blog 1-28-23

I replied on the thread and wanted to share it here since it fits in with the purpose of my blog here.

“Very nice article today. These are your best, and help me the most as a photographer...well I do take notes on your lighting methods too.
My reflection is how in my evolution I've come to enjoy seeing moments from some grab photos over the years in various "On this day" features. Sometimes it was a challenge I overcame, like clearing our driveway bridge of debris with my sons after a small flood. Other times like yesterday it was a moment of levity when one of my sons tried on a cowboy hat in a store, and rocked it. These throw aways jog my memories and fill a vital need for me, because I know soon these kids of mine will take on the mantle of adulthood and be far away.
Yet, there are times I just want my camera and a couple good M43 primes to play with in my pocket. I want to frame, light, compose, capture people, places and things in the some type of creative artwork to move my mind and soul by capturing a present moment for future memories and purposes. Whether writing inspiration, lessons on composition and lighting, or to seek new subject matter for a better shoot it all can matter. In these shoots a lot hit the garbage bucket, but a different part of me still is engaged in the moment, and inspired in later moments.
It will never cease to amaze me how the photography process and product can do so much for people at different times in their lives. Maybe this is why I so enjoy it.
Cheers.”

Revisiting the Panasonic Lumix G9

Sometime in 2020 I sold off my original Panasonic Lumix G9. I moved over to Fujifilm (I still have an X-S10 but it may be about done in the inventory). I of course then got lured back by Fuji’s awesome photo quality. it is simply amazing. So what brought me back to try this camera again? Image quality, framing photos in a 4:3 format rather than 2:3…and word of a few firmware updates radically upgrading the camera. I also have a catalog of M4/3 lenses I enjoy greatly.

Ok…I’ll be clear. Zukio and Panasonic have an incredible variety of quality lenses both zoom and prime. They are small and portable. They are THE reason I find this system so attractive. I can take a small camera bag, for instance the Think Tank Mirrorless Small I can pack in it a good body like the G9 or OM-D 1 MKIII with a collapsable 12-42 zoom, Panasonic 20mm, 1.7, Zukio 45mm 1.8 and sometimes a 60mm Zukio Macro for kicks and giggles. I can capture a whole lot of fun with that glass.

No other system else comes close to this type of portability in size, weight, ergonomics, and resolution power. When I move up the ladder to the Zukio 12-100 F4, 12-40 F2.8, 40-150 F2.8 (plus 1.4 teleconverter), and Panasonic Leica 12-60 2.8-4.0 you have a potent lightweight system going all the way our to a 420mm equivalent on Full Frame. While Fuji has promise to match these lenses in a APC form factor, they are relatively overweight and variable zooms. As a Dad with six kiddos to chase, portability and power balanced is the key to my personal happiness.

First up this is not the same camera I sold. Panasonic stood behind this four year old camera with four major firmware updates and several minor ones as recently as 2.7 in April 2022. The camera is faster in operation, has improved video, better autofocus, and from what I can see a much improved jpeg engine. The camera has the same excellent ergonomics and a decent menu system. The photo above is a Lumo D jpeg. The dynamic range and pixel peeping resolution are head and shoulders above where I was two years ago.

The three photos above are a Capture One processed RAW (RW), an out of camera Lumo D JPEG, and a Portrait setting JPEG. I am pretty confident I these are much better photos out of camera than I could snag two years ago, and Capture One’s RAW engine also improved. The 20MP sensor may be old tech, but under proper shooting conditions and with the right software there is plenty of dynamic range to work with for what I shoot as a family lifestyle photographer.

ISO 1600…on the G9

I chose this photo above to show current handling of a higher ISO, in this case ISO 1600, in a RAW file processed in the current version of Capture One. Here you can see the noise is very well controlled, and has a pleasing (to me) film like quality on the out of focus areas. A four year old camera, and even older micro four third sensor, is not going to be my first choice to shoot a high school Friday Night Lights Football Game. However it is pretty useable thanks to improvements both in and out of camera.

I chose this photo to highlight a lesson I am learning about Capture One, and photography editing in general. Fujifilm does a wonderful job with AI inside the in-camera JPEG engine. Fujifilm’s JPEGs require so little processing because the AI they include dynamic changes the processing algorithm from highlight areas to shaded areas. One wonderful feature of Fujifilm’s cooperation with Capture One is the RAW (RAF) processing did almost the exact same dynamic set of changes an in camera JEPG will have. This is not normal for the industry. Usually a RAW file is unprocessed, and allows the editor to edit the photo with the most data available for the photographer/editor to work with towards a final creative edit.

When I open RAW files from other cameras, I usually see a basic flat canvas on which to work my edits. Often I can accept what comes via RAW with an autocorrection applied, but I inevitably want to personalize the photo. So I’ll recover highlights, shadows, apply various styles until I am satisfied. The photo above was a flat RAW, probably a little under exposed because that is how I unconscientiously roll. After about 20 seconds or so I can create this into one of my favorites for the day’s shoot. Another trick I often do is to pull up a preset on import to give me a headstart, I like a nice ALEXonRAW Provia variant and then correct for highlights, shadows and crop.

Of course the new and better JPEGs coming out of this version of the G9 are pretty good…as you can see by the LumoD B&W here and the Portrait JPEG above. Below I want you to see the dynamic range you get from both the window highlight recovery and the shadow recovery on the cello case from a G9 RAW file.

A couple other really nice tools and features of the G9, which continue to age well. First the flip screen, although designed for selfie video is great for taking waist and abnormal angle photos. I love using it low for waist shots, vertical, or to get into hard to reach places. It works well with progressive eyeglass lenses. Second the ability to take a still frame on demand while recording video is a lifesaver when you do not want to handle two cameras at once at say a birthday party. Why more camera makers do not copy this is shocking. I also like the auto shutter function, so the camera can change as needed quickly between mechanical and electronic shutter. The amount of blown highlights saved by this feature, and shots not missed because I am menu fumbling is mind numbing to me. Again this is something not included by all manufacturers add into their basic camera functions. Finally this camera is rugged with excellent sealing and toughness which will remind you of old Battleworthy Nikons. Kudos to Panasonic’s Lumix team.

Color rendition by Panasonic gets better with each generation. Tastes may differ, but I really like Panasonic colors out of the box. In early digital days orange was a nightmare to edit for me. it was always too saturated or bright. I took this photo just to show off a fun colorful scene I knew the camera was capable off.

This photo is the G9 paired with the Leica 12-60mm 2.8-4.0. I wanted this one to highlight the detail, subtle pastels, dynamic range and how the greater depth of field a M4/3 camera can provide. I think it is pretty wonderful, well wonderful to me. It also highlights the capability of the built in stabilization being almost on par with Olympus.

I added these two photos to discuss the Panasonic DFD (Depth by Defocus) elephant in the room. Panasonic, alone amongst the major camera makers does not use phase detect focusing for auto focus (AF). This is a double edged sword, maybe triple. DFD, or any focusing using contrast detect is going to be sharper than phase detect (in theory) on static targets. In my experience G9 single focus DFD is just as fast on this camera as any other. I have greater more faith in single shot AF on the G9 than on my old Fujifilm X-T3 to capture the decisive moment in event shooting.

The problem is phase detect is much more accurate for tracking photography and video. While in theory DFD could catch up and surpass phase detect with the next tech announcement…it has not. So if you look online you will hear lots of screaming about the lack of phase detect for as long as long as LUMIX mirrorless existed. I get it. If you need extreme AF go by a Sony, Nikon, Canon, or the new Fuji and Oly.

The reality is AF is more than fine for event photography (where people are not moving at pro athletic speeds), and in my experience with the G9 superior to all most others in flash photography in lower light. Yes I said it, superior when shooting even flash photography and with four Christmases to back me up I’ll stand on it. So look at your portfolio and think about what you need. My bet is for 90% of the photography crowd out there this beast will capture what matters in your life.

The bottom line is I really like take 2.0 on the Panasonic Lumix G9. It is not the smallest of the M4/3 camera family but it is comfortable for all day shooting, holds a huge battery capable of over 350 shots and some wireless transfers in a recent shoot, and has tricks up its sleeve I did not mention yet like 6K capture so you don’t miss a moment (think Olympus Pro Capture here) in certain conditions. I think this camera may stay in the stable for a while.

OCC JPEG

Thoughts on the Olympus TG-6

The little Olympus TG-6 Tough camera is a great bit of fun for adventure photography.  It will go places 99% of cameras will fear to tread without casings and body armor without fear.  It may be a point and shoot, with a small sensor but who cares.  Finding opportunities and working light the best you can is what sets up good shots.  This little camera expands your opportunities in ways you might not think of normally. With built in image stabilization, video, and wireless it can so, shoot and communicate ergonomically.

So first this is impact and waterproof down to 50m. So it can take a hit, and get more than a little submerged. This allows you to have fun with underwater photos. Olympus does you right by making underwater photography easier with some basic computational photography built right in. Yes, just like your phone makes automatic adjustments, so does this camera for different scenes. Camera images captured underwater adjusts light, temperature, and diffraction to make the photos come out “right” without much post processing.

Pro-Capture Low

Another great piece of OM professional level technology brought to the TG-6 is the pro-capture option. Essentially once you push halfway down on the shutter release the camera will begin storing focused photos into the buffer. Once you push all the way down on the release, it will provide you the photos from the previous second at either a high or low rate of speed. So this provides you a short time lapse where you can pretty effortlessly capture the decisive moment. In this case my nephew going airborne to douse me with a canon ball level of water.

Since one does not have to be afraid of the elements, you can be in the pool without fear and get a quick shot like this one. In street photography or event photography the best shots are the ones with unique angles allowing you to let the viewer feel like they are present in the scene. So here I got in the water, positioned my daughter under the waterfall and clicked away. To capture this with my expensive kit I’d be holding my expensive waterproof, but not immersion proof, camera into the pool. No thanks…this was easier for a quarter of the cost.

The camera allows you to process RAW (ORF) files if you desire…or capture RAW + JPEG. The JPEG engine is excellent. AI recovers some shadows you’ll find in unprocessed RAW. You can record video with stereo audio in 4K, HD and 720 at various frame rates. It also offers an HDMI out for serious video people.

The whole point of a camera like the TG-6 is to capture moments of life under harsh weather and travel conditions. This little camera is great. Drawbacks…not being able to select AF points easily is one. I get around it by recomposing the old fashioned way. Small sensor..of course, but this allows great depth of view for true environmental snapshots where you can see the location of the shot. You can add both a tele and wide angle converter. The teleconverter can mitigate some of those deep depth of field portrait issues some people have. Small sensor also means a really darn good macro capability, and it only gets better with add on accessories such as the Macro LED light.

Well short set of experiences and evaluation of the TG-6. I am happy with it. If you have a need for adventure, and want to record without breaking your high end kit gear or phone…give this a try.

Keeping the focus on what matters

While working with a batch of photos I came on this composition. I have two versions. A landscape shot wide and a vertical shot. I debated for a while, but decided I wanted to find a way to focus the image tightly to reflect the power of this engine. So I used the vertical, and cropped it all the way down to a 1:2 ratio rectangle.

I think it worked. It was a quick foray into the world of less used framing rations, but a lesson to me on how post processing options can help convey the message in a way I would not think about while shooting in 4:3.

-ehw

What do you REALLY need in your camera system?

In this time of photographic industry turmoil, when we are spoiled by the most incredible equipment ever made for photography…how good is good enough? I will deposit almost every mirrorless and DSLR camera out there could meet the needs of 90% of the family photographers like me out there. Just a fact…so what is the best choice for you? So I am using the following process to evaluate my needs:

1) Size of the Body: Too small and it slips out of your hands and does not balance lenses right. Too large and you don’t want to take it very far.

2) Size of the logical lenses you will purchase: Simple Physics. Fast glass has to be big. The motors to move this fast glass fast have to be big. The slower the lighter, and usually less expensive and less capable in lower lighting situations. Also ask yourself if they system you are buying into even has the lenses you want.

3) Does the sensor meet the needs of where you will be shooting? Most people do not photograph in the pitch black. Photography is the art of capturing light and balancing with shadows. We need something to work with. So sometimes the smallest sensor cameras work perfectly, while others may need big pixel light gathering hogs catch the little amount out photons you see.

4) Color Grading and Output Size: If a camera needs extensive tweaking to reach your minds eye on color grading it may mean more post processing until you get your in camera tweaking right. Frankly for some people a camera will just not make it easy to reach their desired endstate. Where are you putting your output? If you post to be seen on phones…you don’t need huge pixel counts. If you want a billboard you’ll be paying for big glass and a big sensor pixel count.

5) Ergonomics: Each manufacturer has a philosophy. I hate to say it, but make sure your brain and hands work they lay it out for you. Inside the ergonomics…consider the menu system. Can you work it out with a little bit of work?

6) Autofocus: If it does not focus intuitively, quickly and then close the shutter properly you miss the decisive moment. Everything else can be perfect, but if you miss the shot for the type of photography you are doing you might as well keep the camera in the closet at home.

Now take these six things and you’ll suddenly realize no camera line up is perfect. Some have color you’ll probably never have to play with, but have mismatched lens sizes for your needs. Some cameras will autofocus like THE CHAMP, but not have a very mailable color profile. Some rational lens sets for a specific camera system will simply be too big for you to carry all day long.

It will however give you some idea of what will work most of the time for you. If you need something special for the rare occasion, rent or borrow it. Who knows what will come in the future? What companies will survive to see the end of COVID insanity? It really does not matter too much to the casual shooter, except to dent our pride in the gear. Until then…shoot and publish. In the end no one cares what you shoot, just that you can produce.

-ehw

-ehw

Fishing in Sepia

Well Grandad took the boys fishing…so I did what I do instead. And toned these in a little sepia because the master of the fishing boat likes his sepia. I hope you like it…

-ehw

The Hardest Shoot: Your Eldest's Senior Photos

Dad…Don’t mess this up….please!

More will follow…this was her requested shot. Bridge with her tap shoes ready for growing up…sniff sniff!

Want to Learn Photography? Four Steps to Success.

I listened to several podcasts about improving one’s photography during my drives to and from work. All ended up being highly informative! In the end though there ends up being no substitute for a four step method to improving one’s craft. None of these steps involve spending more money or improving one’s gear! So are you ready for the great reveal?

1) Read something about technique, your gear or artistic framework. Resources can be your camera manual, info tips inside your camera menus, a photo blog, or an art book of some type!

Our garden flowers . OMD-EM10 mkII with little collapsable kit lens 14-42mm 3.5-5.6

2) Take your camera and try to do what you learned! If you need more instruction cross reference and problem solve! Books and videos are great…but no one EVER grew in capability without doing something themselves.

The boys TONKA Truck (survivor of four boys and others before them!) OMD-EM10 mkII with 45mm F1.8

3) Assess your results. Be honest with yourself. Be tough, like a TONKA truck. Through the garbage photos out, and only keep the ones which worked. If none worked go back to step one and repeat! No harm and no foul! Even if you do everything right, not all of the photos worked out as something you want to share. GREAT! You heard me…GREAT! Remember the successes and the rough spots so you can do great things again on your next shoot! Yes you read that right!

OMD-EM10 mkII with 45mm F.18

4) Repeat the process again and again! The craft of photography is part science and part art. Different people, moods, lighting situations, gear changes all make this a never ending puzzle of possibility for growth. I really think this is why I love photography.

Everything you see here took place with an under $500 camera and kit lens as well as a $190 used portrait lens. One processed in camera (yes using the little filters!) and the others with basic edits in Capture One Pro 12. (I could edit these photos in a free program and get close to these results as well).

Oh I have so much to learn in this craft of photography! I just needed to share these not so secret secrets. Until next time…I’m headed back to the Four Steps to Success once again!

Yesteryear recreated this weekend

With a little patience, and some creative angling I found myself able to recreate a hypothetical scene from an earlier time and era. The building behind the car hosted 20 children getting a group photo before the parade began. There were also some random people walking the sidewalk and lingering where I did not want them in my frame. To remove the crowd I knelt down low, and carefully watched the viewfinder for the stranglers to leave the frame. More than once I had to relax, dip the camera down and practice some patience.

In an age where some magic filters can re-create a scene or eliminate lots of unwanted distractions, it felt good to get it 90% of the way I wanted it as shot. I chose a black and white version to make it feel even more like the period it was to represent.

-ehw

P.S. This is my father’s Buttercup attending the Cherry Blossom Parade with the DC Area Ford Model A club. It was a fun day to drive around the A way!

Expression

Expression is something you have to either create or catch in the act.  This time I did a little of both.  Luckily I had two good sports playing while I shot away!  They did not even know how many I had to take...

-ehw

Creative Lighting

Sometimes kids just inspire you...and you need to simply keep up with what they have in mind!

-ehw

Because I could...

   Maybe the shortest blog post ever for me!  I have not been able to be creative for 10 seconds over the last several months.  Life does that to you from time to time.  This past Sunday I had maybe five minutes to walk the yard and just try to compose a nice shot or two.  This was the best of the bunch.  Edited in Alien Exposure X3 I am using on a trial basis.  So far so good.  I like the program and how it renders an image.

Making a Geisha Girl look Right

  A few weeks ago as I tooled around with my new OMD-10 Mark II I spied a geisha girl doll on a window sill.  I knew it would be a fun image.  So I snagged the shot.

Original Shot

    Now I took a shot.  The doll appears to the camera to be darker than the background in this high contrast shot.  My eyes could compensate, but a camera cannot.  I did not know my new camera well enough to do a could curve tricks I just leaned...but it was a nice high key shot.  The extreme highlights blowing out the doll, and making a quick high key vignette.  Nice.

    Problem is there was a distracting car in the photo.  So a quick trip into Snapseed on my tablet, while my Sushi worked its way out...removed the car.  I elected not to do much more there.  I liked the even tone.  Thought it looked nice.

Snapseed's healing tool is terrific.

   When I got home however I wanted a little bit more high key.  I really wanted to make the area glow, and the doll to be THE subject.  So I went into my primary editing program, Capture One 10, and toggled up a few high key presets until I found one I liked.  The high key really made the doll seem like it was glowing.  I added also a little extra contrast, and the colors became slightly surreal and "contrasty."  The end result was a little different than what I envisioned at first, but through trial and error...what my mind was setting up waiting on dinner.

-ehw

Photos with Impact (Photo Lesson)

    What makes a good photo?  I am photographer but not an authority like some of my great industry friends (Raphael Concepcion, Bill Fortney, Fran Rachalski, Levi Sim, etc).   But I hope this becomes a series on why I chose one photo over another in my culling process, and it may help you down the line.

    I went out and grabbed several dozen photos of the kids riding around the cul-de-sac.  I grabbed a number of keepers which while good family memories, were not public sharing photos.  The big reason for the difference in my opinion?  A photo must tell some sort of story to grab someone's attention.  You need to grab someone for more than 0.7 seconds to make an effect over the average image we see on the internet.  (I made the 0.7 up but if you do the math based on the hundreds of images you see in a day, you'll get the idea quickly.)

   So I started with this image in the stack:

   It is a cute image of a girl, smiling, on her bike in the late morning sun.  Lots of space to convey movement...but the wheels are frozen in time since my shutter speed was high.  It really is suitable for sharing with family and friends.  It does not, however, share any stories!

   This image shares a story of cute kids riding, and a contrast between the five year old and the fourteen year old racing hard.  The problem with this photo is the children have no connection with the camera, each other, or some other focus.  There are stories here, but are two different stories we need to interrupt on their own merits. Just will not work.

   My select for the article however throws stories at you.  Cute posing kid engaging the viewer with a "Come watch me play!" grin.  The juxtaposition with the hard riding big kid behind her, blurred in motion and depth of field says, "Watch me race!" engages the viewer as well.  Since the second child is blurred, and darker than the foreground image, it is the second story in the frame.  This type of deeper engagement makes this a better share with the world photo than the other two.  I set this up while shooting, and cropped it in post to make it more effective.

    So when you shoot...look for the story. When in post...improve the story through technical edits.  In this way you balance emotion and logic...and make a memorable and meaningful photo to share with the world.  Those ideas however, are for another day!

Anna Ruby Falls: Tips and Tricks

    Quick shot of Anna Ruby Falls here in Northern Georgia.  The hardest part was working with the extreme contrast of shadows at the bottom and sun bathed trees at the crest.  You have to choose your focus and exposure reference carefully to get the best dynamic range possible.  Live view on a mirrorless camera gives you great realtime feedback while you move your focus point around a scene.

    On a shot with extreme dynamic range, shooting RAW is a must.  A photographer will want the most data to work with when pulling detail from the shadows and highlights in post processing.  If you carry your tripod to the falls, you’ll be in a better position since you could bracket photos for an HDR.  I already had a 26 pound nine month old I was pushing in a stroller... so the tripod stayed home.

    The power of the a waterfall is wonderful and beautiful to behold.  Being careful in your shot composition will give you the best chance at sharing the beauty and power with the world.  If you would like to learn how to take photos like these please let me know.  I will be hosting some basic photo classes this summer, and would love to put you on an announcement list!

COLOR projects 4

     Today we photographers have many tools to develop our photos.  The general public and professionals alike usually take photos and drop them into some sort of Digital Asset Management System (DAM) like Apple’s Photos, Adobe’s Elements, Lightroom, or my personal tool Capture One 9.  These programs have their own internal functions allowing simple to extremely complex edits built in.  

    The issue though is speed.  These programs require us to learn how to manipulate dozens of different settings to achieve various “looks” we want to achieve.  Some of these programs have built in shortcuts or “presets” you can use to speed up your editing scheme.  These shortcuts range from simple to advanced.  Even then, these baked in presets often can be hard to manipulate further.  So there is a window for outside developers to offer speed demon or specialized solutions to quick editing for consistent style.

    Years ago, when I was an Apple Aperture user I began using Google’s Nik Plugin Collection to assist me with quickly adding effects I desired to my photos. For me these plugin’s did a lot of advanced editing, very quickly, which Apple refused to bake into its Aperture program.  Unfortunately since Google acquired Nik, the plugins remain good but receive very few updates.  This means competitors are catching up, and providing more value.  Topaz, OnOne, MacPhun (for OS X users only) and others have much better family integration, regularly improved interface style set, and more “solutions to creatives” than Nik does now. Into this full field now enters Franzis COLOR projects 4, with a style familiar to Nik users, and its own unique twists.

    Who is Franzis?  It is a one time partner of Nik in Germany, and distributor with other vendors.  They also are a large publishing house.  They have a long history with publishing and software, just maybe as part of other projects.  One item Franzis is happy to let you know is the product is 100% German made.  This can give you some extra confidence in security as developers in the EU face hurdles and data sharing restrictions vendors based across the world may not face.

    Color projects 4’s basic premise is when you open a photo from a file (or via plug in from Lightroom) you will within seconds receive 134 enhanced variations of the photo to choose from for publishing.  Once you choose the baseline variation, you can then personalize it further with basic and advanced editing.  Color projects then finalizes the result for you with cropping, sizing and other tools to close out the assembly line inside the program.  If you were working a project and wanted consistency, you can easily batch process photos with the same full array of options.

    This is the claim…so how does it work?  Bottom Line Up Front: Pretty well with a few small program hiccups in my opinion (only if you need the English version).  It should be considered as a replacement for anyone currently using Nik Software and mainstream Digital Asset Management (DAM) software such as Lightroom or Photo Mechanic.  For users of other editors, it will come down to liking or disliking the interface.

    Once you open up the program you’ll see the previews quickly generate on the side panel.    Some of the icons may at first confuse the user slightly since they are different than those in many similar programs, but in the end this is ok because they work as designed and explained in the manual!  

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Standard Opening Screenshot

    Nik users will quickly recognize similarities on the left side to the Nik programs.  Presets and options names are very similar.  What they will get not available in Nik, is a column with ready to use previews.  This is similar to new programs such as OnOne’s suite and becoming expected as an industry standard.  On the right, you will see a slew of options for customization which take this program beyond plugin to full featured editor.

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FIlm Preset Demo

   The magnifying glass on the right gives you a quick view to see the effects of the preset versus your original.  I found this very helpful since it can show you in realtime the effects of the applied preset.  Like other magnifying glasses you can select the point of interest quickly by moving your mouse over the main photo image.

    Once you open a preset category you’ll quickly see many variations, and like many other programs the preset you select will render large on the screen.  Once you select an option you can also select another preset to combine with your image to make a new unique set of presets.   Nik users will see this as no different than their current workflow of stacking filters on an image. 

    If you are in a rush, most of these presets (or combinations of presets) are all you’d ever need.  You can of course save a favorite set of presets for later use. This is helpful since many people like to build their own “style” as part of their brand.  When you combine a pre-made favorite and batch processing, an event shooter will be able very efficiently get large blocks of an imaging work flow done efficiently. 

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Optimization Window view.

    Next to the photo film simulation and optimization assistant you will see a grid with a magnifying glass on top of it.  Clicking on that symbol opens up a proof sheet of thumbnails allowing you to compare all the options available at once.  Below you’ll see an example of the film options and then the optimizations options.  These appeared very small on my 15” MacBook Pro.  I wish I could get the ability to enlarge or magnify the proof sheet, but it got me close enough to make good judgements faster on color and tone effects of the preset.    I am big fan of film simulations, and this program has a strong selection of some of the most popular film options to work with to further personalize your images.  The option to have the film presets all in front of me sped up my selection process, and prevented my need to enter a different program for film selection.  Then it was just a click with the the same feature to refine with additional optimization in Denoising, Tonal Value, Clarity, Dynamic and Sharpness.  

    In 90% of the cases I’d probably be done at this point, and ready to move on in a matter of 50-55 seconds from opening COLOR projects on a photo. Again, my focus for plugins if to speed my workflow.  The image below is a "watercolor" I made up in just a few clicks from three other available, and saved variants inside a project.  I want to spend minimal time in front of my computer, and most of my time pushing product out and caring for a customer (or the family!).  So speed like this is what I want and need.

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Mount Yonah as a watercolor...with the Bear looking at you.

    Franzis adds more advanced options for additional refinement to include selective  editing to COLOR projects 4.  Both boxing and a ray mode allow selective editing with every sub-editing feature available in the program.  Their use is different than some competitors, so some brain and muscle memory will need retraining to use them efficiently.  Nothing wrong with Franzis implementation of selective editing, just different than established big name competitors.  

    One other point needing illumination is how COLOR projects 4 works on each photo as a project in stand alone mode.  At the end of each project you need to export or save the photo into the format and location desired.  COLOR projects 4 gives you plenty of formats including the most popular TIFF and JPEG to export at as needed to various quality levels.  In the cropping phase you can select European or American crop sizes, and utilize three overlays to achieve classic proportion ratios quickly for your final product.

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Sample final product saving function in Stand Alone mode.

    While working with your project, you can create restore points as well.  This gives you the ability to save several different “looks” while making a project with their own export points.  It is a different, and better method of working than some competitors.  The reason is when COLOR projects 4 reverts to a restore point it does so without artifacts or unintended changes still deeply embedded in the photo.  The two photos of my son above came from snapbacks to a restore point inside the project file.

    I was concerned about integration between Franzis product line.  Nik products made me bounce in and out of my DAM to achieve effects using various plugins, and it was not fast.  Franzis addressed this by including a Projects button across its suite.  So as you add various Franzis products, you will be able to effortlessly switch between them.  I tested this with Black & White projects, and it worked very well.  (One note from my testing: I learned you will need to reload the previous programs so they detect other programs.  COLOR projects did not detect BLACK & WHITE when I reopened it…but BLACK & WHITE had the feature active at its first launch.)

    One unfortunate unique aspect of COLOR projects resulted from the kernel used to create the Mac version.  When I engaged the save function, the dialogue boxes came up German.  The Franzis team is working a fix, but the rest of the program was in English to include all pop up hover boxes.  Luckily I remembered just enough from my time in Germany in the 90’s to get by.  I’m glad it was not Chinese though.  I had some bad grades in that class.

    Photo renderings, control of noise and artifacts in the various settings was excellent.  The film simulations were also on par with renderings created in Capture One 9 using Capture One Styles preset packs.  

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Original

    Based on how the Nik plug-in worked in my limited Lightroom time, the program could also be a fast preset editor for the leading (in sales) Digital Asset Management system.  Unfortunately the round tripping does not work with Capture One 9, which is my primary DAM system.  So I had to export each file and edit externally before re-import.  This is not a fault of Franzis, rather the non-existent Capture One plug in system.

    If you are looking at features for the buck, you will find Color projects 4 ($99 US) compares favorably with its peers. It has enough options to be a full featured editor, and options which tilt towards the creative such as pencil or watercolor conversions.  In addition the family of products is growing and integrated.  So should you pick up a well priced bundle, you will have everything you need: COLOR, BLACK & WHITE, SHARPENING, DENOISE, HDR, FOCUS (very exciting product to me), and ANALOG.  According to Franzis, the company is working out the final international pricing on a bundle now.

The Verdict:

    I found I could create very nice photos in minutes from COLOR projects 4.  COLOR projects 4 quickly proved itself more of a complete editor than the simple preset program I expected. Over the course of an afternoon, and a little time in the manual, I was able to easily use advanced features.  Over the course of a few more afternoons I was able to use selective editing to enhance photos in more detail.  As pixel editing is my editing weakness, this is important to me to be able to do swiftly.

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   Still this program is not for your casual consumer photographer .  Casual photographers will be best served by Franzis Photobuzzer software.  (This software may fill the void of Nik’s long forgotten and brilliant Snapseed for PC/MACs.)  COLOR projects will best serve an enthusiast or professional photographer who is looking for solutions to two issues of speed and/or control.  This program can provide more specialized control than most DAM and primary editors provides inside the box.  It can also quickly crafts and applies complex presets to batch sets of photos. 

    If I was a Lightroom or Photo Mechanic user this program would handle 70% of my personal work via the plug in, or open in commands.  The Franzis suite of products would be able to handle 100% of my normal editing process for production work.  It should be in your personal testing program.  If it meets your ergonomic needs, and matches your thinking process it may be your solution to speed up your workflow.  

    Just do yourself a favor and test this program against the other industry leaders using the free trial programs.  I cannot tell you enough how important it is to make sure the logic process of a program workflow matches how you personally process information.  If you and the program cannot communicate, it does not matter if both of you are the best in the world at what you do.  Your projects will just be an epic fail.

    As a Capture One 9 user I am a little handicapped though.  The open with command did not result in putting photos back into the catalog.  This meant the speed advantage the program gives me for stylizing photos is negated by time lost importing the exported photos back into my DAM.  

    COLOR projects 4 would be able to replace an exisiting Nik Color Efex 4 workflow, and provide a user additional options not inherent to that Google suite of programs.  The primary advantages of COLOR projects 4 would be the near instant rendering of all options, excellent integration of projects, and full stand alone mode as an editor.  The only drawback for me right now is the Capture One 9 workflow I personally utilize.  If I was a Lightroom user, it would probably be time to move on from Nik (with a hint of sadness here) to this more modern editor.

    This product is going head to head with several very successful and well publicized suites.  The staff at Franzis knows this.  In my emails back and forth with them, I can say they internalized this.  They are ready to work hard, and rumble with the big kids on the block now.  In the end this only means good competition for the hearts and money of us photographers in the challenge of making good photographs.

View their product line at: COLOR projects 4

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Kellie's Joy reprocessed in COLOR projects 4

-ehw

FYSA:  I did not receive any compensation for this review...just an extended trial so I had time to review the software properly.  The information team at Franzis was very courteous, and helpful in answering my many questions.