Apple releases Aperture plug-in programming kit

Apple on Monday released its software developer kit to let programmers write plug-ins for Aperture, the company's high-end image editing and cataloging software.

OK, I recognize it's not the world-changing, paradigm-shifting, heart-stopping iPhone SDK, but it's still important for the "creative professional" market to which Apple has catered for years.

This tool is designed to let others extend the abilities of Aperture, a move that adds some spice to its competition with Adobe Systems' Photoshop Lightroom. Adobe has scads of third-party companies that create plug-ins for regular Photoshop, but Lightroom still lacks the equivalent for important editing functions. However, many have extended Lightroom's abilities with export functions, image-processing presets, and even a geotagging tool.

Among those creating plug-ins for Aperture are Tiffen, Digital Film Tools, Nik Software, Image Trends, and PictureCode, Apple said.

Programmers can download the SDK from the Apple Developer Connection Web site. Some plug-ins are available for download. Find more information at the Aperture Plugged-In Community site.

Via CNET News.com

Aerial photography with a kite

Craig Wilson loves to fly kites so much, he went all over the world just to test out his homemade creations. What was unexpected was that once when he tried to take a picture with a 35mm SLR in one hand and the kite in the other, he had what he described as "a light bulb moment".

One thing led to the next and soon he was flying a 20ft wing span kite with a remote-controlled camera over people's head and capturing a bird's eye view of different places. This went on for 20 years and now he had just released a picture book aptly titled "Hanging by a Thread, A Kite's View of Wisconsin".

Although there are no mentions of what camera he used to capture the shots or the process of it, we'd like to salute Wilson for his commitment and ingenuity. After all, his idea weighs much less than the Verhagen X2-Special 26Cam we reported earlier. If you are interested, this book is available on Amazon.com for US$23.

A photographer's fashion statement

What do you do with old manual lenses that won’t work with your swanky new dSLR? Sell it away? Or find some creative ways to give them new life?

The people at Oye Modern prefer the latter, and are recycling components from old lenses and turning them into fashion accessories. Just take their cuffs: By removing the focusing or aperture rings from the lens, it instantly becomes a photographer's fashion statement. What's more, since it is a recycled product, expect each piece to be slightly unique from the wear-and-tear caused by the previous owner.

While the design and concept appeal to the shutterbug in me, the price does not. Ranging from US$183 to US$255, you can get it from its Web site. For me, I got my old lens, pliers and screwdrivers in front of me.

New image sensor 100x more sensitive

The Japanese have developed a new image sensor that they claim is 100 times more sensitive to light than the existing conventional CCD or CMOS sensor. The prototype for the new chip is out already, and it is named CIGS (known only as Cu-In-Ga-Se, but we can make no sense of it).

Based on the structure of solar cells, this image sensor is able to pick up details in a very dark room, or even at 0.001 lux (the luminance from moonlight only). This means a lot to the imaging industry because one of the problems it faces now is the noise generated when users take a picture at high ISO setting. With a more sensitive sensor, users can take pictures at lower ISO sensitivity and achieve cleaner-looking shots.

While there is no concrete date set for the commercialization of this new technology, we are quite excited to see how it may benefit the end user. More updates on this space when we get more information.

Learn the secrets of HDR photography

Want to learn the secrets to creating beautiful HDR photographs? xTrain, a provider of online video training courses has announced a new high dynamic range (HDR) Mastery online video course by Photoshop expert Ben Willmore. HDR is the process of taking a sequence of exposures, allowing you to lighten the underexposed areas and darken the overexposed areas of a digital image to better simulate what the human eye would actually see.

The online course shows learners step-by-step the best practices of creating HDR photos. Students learn how to best choose subjects for HDR, such as watching for movement and clouds, and when to find the ideal light for HDR. Ben Willmore's HDR Mastery course is divided into four classes: Shooting for HDR, merging exposures, processing HDR files, and enhancement. The cost is US$79 to enroll. Monthly and yearly subscriptions that provide unlimited access to xTrain courses are also available.

Note: Following along with the course requires PhotoMatix Pro software, which can be found at www.hdrsoft.com for US$99. PhotoMatix Pro is what is used in the course to create the HDR photos. Having Adobe Photoshop also is very helpful to follow along, but not essential.

Via Crave CNET

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