PHOTOGRAPHY
Useful Links
These are links used by current members and have been mentioned or demonstrated at Club Evenings.
The resource information listed below, with the exception of the Affiliated Websites detailed, are not endorsed, owned by, or have any direct links with the Warrington Photographic Society or its members. The links are, however, are deemed to be useful resources for both new and experienced photographers, and those listed may be changed, over time, as newer or better resources are found.
Affiliations
Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union
The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain
The Royal Photographic Society
Printing
Upload your images and receive your A3 prints by return.
Look no further than DS Colour Labs for a professional photographic printing service. Whether you're a keen amateur or professional, DSCL in association with Fujifilm bring together the latest technology and know-how to give you the very best results, whether from digital or film.
Photech (Warrington) - Website
A much more hands-on Print company giving excellent quality prints. Mounting Boards and Frames are also available at the premises off the Grange in Warrington
Photo Editors
There are several Photo Editing products available, which are either purchased via subscription, or as a “one-off” payment followed by payable updates. Most of these will contain differing levels of AI functionality and Image Sharpening, HDR and Focus Stacking tools. Check the products out before choosing, and take advantage of any offers of a free download for a limited period to really get a handle on their abilities.
Get the most comprehensive photography solution at an incredible price. Photoshop CC and Lightroom are as essential to your photography as your camera and lens, giving you the tools to organize, edit, enhance, and share images on your desktop or mobile device — anytime, anywhere. Master new skills with an extensive library of how-to videos, and always have access to the latest imaging innovations from Adobe.
Since the purchase of serif by Canva, the photo editing software Affinity Photo has been incorporated into a complete studio, Affinity Studio (Affinity 3). It now comprises Pixel (Photo Editor), Design (Designer product) and Layout (Desktop Publishing). It is completely FREE. Pixel is a Raw and JPEG editor, will open PSD files and use Photoshop brushes (.abr) and Lookup Tables (LUTs) .cube files.
There is a subscription if you require all the AI functionality, but Pixel on its own is a highly rated editor.
A competent fully functional Photo Editor that handles both RAW and JPEG files and contains a file organiser
Phase One Capture One; - Website
A competent fully functional Photo Editor that handles both RAW and JPEG files
A competent fully functional Photo Editor that handles both RAW and JPEG files and contains a file organiser
Free Open Source Editing Software
For the more budget conscious photographers, there are some extremely good products that are absolutely free. They are Open Source developed products, created/maintained by communities of excellent programmers.
These products are free and will work on the most operating systems ie Windows, Mac and Linux, but don’t expect them to be full of the latest AI functionality. They are well supported, with hundreds of learning videos on the internet.
The most common products are:
GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program); - Website
GIMP is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows and more operating systems. It is easily linked to both Darktable and RawTherapee thus creating an easy transfer means for processed RAW images to JPEG or equivalent file types for further processing.
“Darktable is an open source photography workflow application and raw developer. A virtual light-table and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable light-table and enables you to develop raw images and enhance them. (Data taken from the Darktable website)
RawTherapee is a powerful, cross platform raw photo processing system, released as Free Software. It is designed for developing raw files from a broad range of digital cameras, and targeted at users ranging from enthusiast newcomers who wish to broaden their understanding of how digital imaging works to professional photographers. (Data taken from the RawTherapee website)
Audio Visual
Photo Slideshow Software. It is always a delight to share pictures and impressions with friends and relatives. But if you want to turn them into something special, consider creating a slideshow. Enhanced by music, animation (Pan/Zoom effects) and comments, it will ensure an absolutely fascinating experience for those who watch it. And PicturesToExe Deluxe provides the user with all the necessary tools to create a great-looking
slideshow or documentary quickly and easily. Also PicturesToExe Deluxe allows create impressive wedding slideshows.
VideoStudio Ultimate 2023; - Website
Live Life. Make Movies. VideoStudio takes ease of use and creativity one step further, with the addition of new smart movie tools, enhanced masking and color grading, and workflow improvements. Dive into new premium effects and edit 4K, HD, 360 video editing, with full the full suite of creative editing tools. Turn memories into movies with VideoStudio.
This has hundreds of free tunes from seconds to hours for use in slideshows.
Image Stacking
This is the process of taking several images of the same subject and incrementally moving the depth of field for each shot. The selected images are then loaded into the software below and the in focus parts of each image are combined to produce an image that is crisp from front to back.
The paid for programs have a 30 day free trial period.
This is extremely good and easy to use. There is a cost of $89.00 USD but it is well worth it.
This is a program that creates one completely focused image from several partially focused images by combining the focused areas. The program is designed for macro photography, microphotography and hyper focal landscape photography and solves the shallow depth-of-field problem. use. There is a cost to this program depending upon which version you purchase.
Others
The Photographer's Ephemeris; - Website
The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE) is a tool to help with the planning of all types of outdoor photography, but particularly landscape and urban
scenes. It is a map-centric sun and moon calculator: see how the light will fall on the land.
This photographer offers many insights into various aspects of photography and has a great many reviews of Cannon and Nikon cameras and lenses.