John Wilhelm creative, wild, crazy, surreal pictures to smile about

From Bored Panda

John Wilhelm is a 44-year-old IT Director at a Swiss university with a passion for photography and digital art.  Some of his most wonderfully creative photo manipulations are of his girlfriend Judith and their three young daughters – Lou (5.5 years), Mila (2.8 years) and Yuna (6 months). John agreed to share his awesome work with Bored Panda and give us an interview.

John‘s photos are surreal and eclectic. “I guess I watched just a little too much TV and played too many videogames when I was a kid,” he said, explaining his many sources of inspiration.

Although the photographs look like much fun, we all know that getting children to work with a photographer can sometimes be difficult. “I guess if you have a healthy emotional connection to your kids they can feel if something is really important for you and then they cooperate (and if they don’t there are still sweets and candies),” John told Bored Panda.

“Most of my images are heavily manipulated but not all of them are compositions. If an image works straight out of the camera I just improve it (beauty retouching, cleanup, level corrections, sharpening, colors and tones, emphasize light, etc.). What I really love is to bring different images together to create something completely new,” John said, explaining his manipulation techniques.

Be sure to read between the photos for more of John’s interview with Bored Panda! And if you like his work, check out these photos by creative dad Jason Lee.

see more and learn how here

Breathtaking Urban Decay Photographs

As a subject area dereliction is often appealing, there is something about grime and decay that draws many photographers’ eyes. This display offers some really interesting images that make you think, wish I had seen that, but at the same time might encourage you to go and seek such locations for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breathtaking Urban Decay Photographs | CreativeFan.

Adobe hack: At least 38 million accounts breached

The BBC is reporting a problem with Adobe. “It had previously revealed that the source code for its Acrobat PDF document-editing software and ColdFusion web application creation products had also been illegally accessed.”

Adobe has confirmed that a recent cyber-attack compromised many more customer accounts than first reported.

The software-maker said that it now believed usernames and encrypted passwords had been stolen from about 38 million of its active users.

It added that the attackers had also accessed details from an unspecified number of accounts that had been unused for two or more years.

The firm had originally said 2.9 million accounts had been affected.

Adobe has also announced that the hackers stole parts of the source code to Photoshop, its popular picture-editing program.

Read the full article here

Related articles

• Adobe hack: 38 million users affected, not 3 million (theguardian.com)
• Adobe hack worse than first reported (bbc.co.uk)
• Adobe hack actually affected 38m, not 3m (pcpro.co.uk)
• Adobe user data breach massive, 38 million compromised by hackers (electronista.com)
• Adobe hack: At least 38 million accounts breached (itandtechnology.wordpress.com)
• New York Based IT Firm Weighs in on Adobe Security Breach, Says Customers’ Credit Cards Have Been Decrypted (prweb.com)
• Adobe data breach more extensive than previously disclosed (fedcyber.com)
• Photoshop source code stolen, 38M users affected in Adobe hack (net-security.org)

OVER 200 SEMINARS TO HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER

This event in London in October might be something you would find interesting, we over here at OSP Towers don’t know much about it but we have the links for you to check it out and decide for yourself. Personally a photography event that only has pictures of people with their cameras on the website leaves me a bit cold but I don’t really care about kit I care about photography

PhotoLive 2013 is the UK’s biggest and best photography training event.

Taking place over the weekend of 26-27 October at the Hotel Novotel London West, PhotoLive 2013 brings the experts to you, with over 200 big name-led seminars designed to help you improve your photography.

THE PASSION

Whether you’re passionate about landscapes, portraits, wildlife, travel, macro or Photoshop, you’ll come away fromPhotoLive 2013 inspired and informed.

We’ve designed the show to suit everyone. Tickets start at just £20.

You can attend as many seminars as you like and there’s an identical programme on both the Saturday and Sunday, enabling you to come on both days and take in as much as you can. See the Schedule page for more details.

THE PEOPLE

Sign up today to receive expert tuition and insight from legendary photographers and Photoshop experts including Steve Bloom, Kate Hopewell-Smith, Glyn Dewis, David Noton, Andy Rouse, Tom Mackie and George Cairns.

Our aim is to help you become a better photographer, so if you love photography and want to take your skills to the next level, meet like-minded photography enthusiasts and have a brilliant day (or weekend) out, then PhotoLive 2013 is for you!

Hotel Novotel London West, 1 Shortlands, London W6 8DR

 

95 Amazing Photography Links

We get so much benefit from following Lightstalking, maybe you should too…..it’s been a really exciting week in the world of photography and Toad Hollow Photography has been searching everywhere for the very best links to share here.  This week’s comprehensive list contains some terrific tutorials, reviews, collections, special features, great photography and interesting blogs, enough to keep the avid enthusiast busy for quite some time!  The Toad hopes you dive right in and enjoy this list as much as he did in bringing it to you.

Here is a taste of those 95 links

TUTORIALS

How to fix skin tone in Photoshop: Video tutorial – this 10 minute video tutorial takes the viewer through the process of using a curves adjustment layer and its associated making layer.  Lee Brown’s comprehensive tutorial shares techniques that can be used in many other ways during post-processing, expanding the horizons of those who view this presentation.

 

Posing Tips: Expressions & Hats – a great article by Joe Farace that discusses the how’s and why’s of the importance of facial expression and props like hats for portrait photography.  This brief post shares some great insights into the topic, with the points being useful for a wide range of work.

 

How to Get the Perfect Photo of a Steaming Cup of Coffee – this 5 ½ minute video tutorial shows the viewer how to stage, light, compose and capture that quintessential steamy cup of coffee shot.  Commercial photographer Robert Grant takes you on a detailed and entertaining journey through the entire process, with phenomenal results.

 

Camera Settings for HDR Photography – this ten minute video presentation takes the viewer through the basic steps to get into HDR photography.  Richard Harrington and Abba Shapiro host this feature, both of them leaders in the field.

 

REVIEWS

Gitzo Series 1 Traveler 6x Carbon Fiber Tripod & Markins Q-Ball Q3 Traveler Ballhead – Edith Levy writes and delivers a completely comprehensive review of this tripod and ballhead combination, sharing some great insight into how versatile and stable these units are.  Use cases and features are discussed here, producing a well-rounded article that covers the topic.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES

The Body in Nature: Unusually Beautiful Photographs – the human body has been used as an art subject since the beginning of art itself, so it’s highly unusual to come across a body of work that takes on an entirely different perspective of how the body imitates the natural world through a composition focusing on the abstract.  The black-and-white photographs by Arno Rafael Minkkinen are just this, with many of the pieces leaving the viewer with many questions left unanswered.

 

Silhouettes in a Giant Moonrise, Captured Using a 1200mm Lens – the compression effects introduced by lenses with super-long focal lengths are exploited in the creation of this picture.  As a full moon crests over a hill, Philipp Schmidli positions himself almost a mile away and has a bicycle and rider ride in front, producing a striking result.  This is an absolute must-see post in this week’s list.

Just for a bit of good luck let a caged bird go free….

 

©Keith Barnes Laos 2012

Click Here: 95 Amazing Photography Links

Subscription only Photoshop

It has been a while now since professional users of Adobe products, which include Photoshop, have had the opportunity to pay a subscription and have all of the products available on line. This means that  applications are downloaded onto your computer but need to be authorised regularly (my words) as such and that the new versions and updates have been instantly available. Sounds good? Well yes if having the most up to date version of software is important to you but for those who like to buy software, own it, install it and decide if they want to upgrade it then perhaps no. Until this point it has been possible to use much older versions of Photoshop as long as they were compatible with your operating system (OS). I found that when I upgraded my OS so that I could install Lightroom 4 I could no longer use Photoshop CS2 which I was happy with.

This extended article on Photo.net explains more about this process and I am sure you have worked out that Adobe are doing this for their benefit not yours. Not having software you can buy means you pay, and you pay and you pay, every month or year as you prefer but pay you will. Maybe this is the way of things to come and all software will be this way in the future, somehow hosted in the cloud and ready for you when ever and where ever you want it……hmmm. I only want it on my desk computer in my office and I don’t need the latest versions all the time.

How does it work?

You need to download and install the apps on your computer and that’s where the software lives. Your current version of Photoshop, or other CS applications, do not have to be uninstalled; they’ll continue to work even with CC software on the same computer (there have been some issues with CS6 reverting to a trial version after the CC install but Adobe should have fixed that issue by now). And, you do not have to be online for CC to work…….

Pricing

The best Creative Cloud pricing is based on an annual subscription. You’ll pay more for month-to-month leasing of the software. Prices also depend on how many applications you want to access, whether you choose an individual or teammembership or are a student or teacher.

Adobe is currently offering special promotional prices for current Creative Suite users. If you have a serial number or have registered your CS3, CS4, CS5 or CS6 product (Photoshop or the entire suite, for example), your first year will cost $10 a month with an annual contract. Access to a complete subscription for CS6 users is $20/month for the first year; $30 for CS3 and later….…MORE

What do you think about this, we have been bludgeoned into thinking the cloud is everything and will free us but unlike clouds in the sky this cloud is going to be finding new ways to grab our money.

The shape of things to com….

Did North Korea photoshop its hovercraft?

The many uses of Photoshop are obvious but world domination is not common however as The Guardian reports here those naughty NK’s have been at it again

It appears North Korea has doctored pictures of its military to make it look more impressive than it is – and not for the first time, read the full article with diagrams and explanations here

This picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on March 26, 2013 and taken on March 25, 2013 shows the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597 at an undisclosed location on North Korea’s east coast.   Rather thrilling it is too!

Photography Courses starting January 2013

We have now released our most recent schedule of courses for next term, we have places on all the courses listed and full details can be found on the Oxford School of Photography website

Here are the dates, I will post more details later, if you are interested in taking a course please send me an email

Understanding Your Digital SLR Evening Classes:start dates 23.01.13; 7.03.13

Understanding Your Digital SLR Saturday Morning Classes start date 02.03.13

Understanding Your Digital Compact Camera – starts: 24.01.13

Introduction to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements starts 20.02.13

Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures – starts 06.03.13

Understanding Flash Photography starts 05.03.13

Portrait Photography: starts: 04.02.13

Intermediate Photography – starts: 21.02.13

Black and White Digital Photography – starts 04.03.13

Travel Photography starts 04.03.13

One Day Understanding Your DSLR – 27.01.13; 17.02.13; 24.03.13

Photography Course Dates for the autumn term

We are now able to release the dates for the next term starting in September.

We have our new schedule of courses ready for the next term which starts in September. We have most of our usual courses available and plan to have a couple of new courses available in time for the new term. Details of these will follow in early September. Full details of our courses can be found on our website

Understanding Your Digital SLR Evening Classes: 4 sessions 2 start dates 17.9.12;      7.11.12

Understanding Your Digital SLR Saturday Morning Classes  4 sessions start date 3.11.12

Understanding Your Digital Compact Camera – 4 sessions starts: 26.9.12

Introduction to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements 6 sessions starts 25.10.12

Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures – 4 sessions starts 15.10.12

Portrait Photography: 4 sessions starts: 25.9.12

Intermediate Photography – 6 sessions starts: 23.10.12

Black and White Digital Photography – 4 sessions starts 27.9.12

Travel Photography next start March 2013

One Day Understanding Your DSLR – 23.9.12;     21.10.12;     18.11.12;

Most courses are 4 sessions one per week, (Photoshop and Intermediate Photography are 6 sessions) all run on consecutive weeks from start dates. 1 Day DSLR is a one day course, there are 3 dates this term

Evening classes start at 6.30pm and the Saturday morning Understanding Your DSLR Camera starts at 10am. All classes are 2 hours in duration

To book a place please send us an email with the course title and start date you wish to attend.

18 Essential Free Photoshop Tutorials for Black and White Photography Lovers

From those very nice people down under another great post from Lightstalking

Black and white can add drama and emotion to many different kinds of photographs. There are however, many different ways to convert your digital images to black and white and an almost limitless amount of effects that you can apply after that. Here are some of the best Photoshop tutorials for black and white lovers that we could find.

Hitchcock by 85mm.ch, on Flickr

Standard Black and White Conversions in Photoshop Tutorials

7 Black and White Photoshop Conversion Techniques – You should probably familiarise yourself with the different basic options available to you when you want to make black and white images from your colour digital files. This is a good start.

Converting to B&W – There are a lot of ways to use Photoshop to convert your colour files to black and white. This tutorial gives a fast rundown of 4 of the main ways you should know about.

Fast, High Quality Black and White Conversions in Photoshop – This is a solid way to quickly convert your colour digital images into high quality black and white images. Simple steps and plenty of screen shots too!

Click Here For More: 18 Essential Free Photoshop Tutorials for Black and White Photography Lovers