Category: General

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Sept 17 2024 Moon Rise Meetup

Posted on by jrwilkinson

September 17th will be a full supermoon rising right after sunset. Weather-permitting, hopefully we’ll have a clear view of Univ of San Diego’s Immaculata Church Dome & Steeple . A photo taken by Stephen Bay posted on Instagram is our inspiration.

We are hoping to capture similar images from Ski Beach or Fiesta Island on Mission Bay. According to the Photographer’s Ephemeris, Ski Beach on Mission Bay San Diego should be the right angle to photograph the moon rising over USD. Moonrise is 6:51pm; sunset is 6:51pm so the light conditions could be optimal.
Mission Bay Park on Fiesta Island could be a better location depending on weather and lens focal range.
I will arrive early, if possible, to scout the view and can update participants on which spot is more favorable. There should be plenty of space for everyone to setup their tripods. I hope to see you on Sept 17th.

17 July 2024 Theme: Food & Color

Posted on by jrwilkinson

July’s themes were Food and Color (or colorful food). Participants shared a wide variety of subjects because a color theme can be virtually any color subject. We chose a broad theme this month because the last few months have been pretty specific, appealing to members who enjoy post-processing.

Barbara

Food-French Bakery
Food-Dessert
Food&Color-Seattle Eats
Dessert
Food&Color-Old Town Food Cart
Color-Old Town Banner
Color-Blue Dragonfly

Cathy

Gary

Heather

Jim

White Clover Focus Stack
Bucanner Lagoon Reflection
Nara Mochi Maker
Nara Mochi Maker
Eggs & Things Pancake Stack
Eggs & Things Pancake Stack
Pancake Painting

John

Sharon

Photography Processing Software

Posted on by jrwilkinson

Many photographers use Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop to process their photos. But since they changed to a subscription model, many of us would prefer software you buy once & own. Adobe’s $9.99/month Photography subscription is what I currently use. But with their recent change in ‘terms of service‘, I’m considering alternatives. I already own some other programs that I often use for specific tasks, like film simulations or black & white processing. But Lightroom & Photoshop are what I am most familiar with.

A list of all Adobe alternatives was compiled & posted on X (Twitter) here by xdaniel. I’ve outlined links below for some Photoshop & Lightroom alternatives I am familiar with.
Some can do most, if not all, of what the Adobe programs do. Some of the free versions look and act a lot like the Adobe programs with similar tools. Others may have a bit of a learning curve because they use different terminology and controls. Fortunately, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to teach you how to edit photos using these alternatives. Plus if you haven’t used Photoshop or Lightroom, than learning the different tools aren’t an issue.
The listed Adobe alternatives are not limited to Windows PCs. There are universal versions that will work on Windows, Mac, iPad. Most buy-once MacOS apps are available through the App store. Here are the lists of Adobe alternatives, some free, some buy-once:

Photoshop alternatives

  • Free
    • Photopea – free online Photoshop alternative which can connect to Google Drive, OneDrive, & others
    • Gimp – GNU Image Manipulation Program is a free, open-source cross-platform image editor available for Linux, macOS, Windows. It’s a long-running Photoshop alternative with similar capabilities but ‘clunky’ interface.
    • Krita or Inkscape – open-source painting programs that can work on photos and create Photoshop PSD files with layers.
    • Paint.net – (Windows only) once mainly a free Windows Paint alternative, it now has some good photo editing tools.
    • PhotoscapeX – free or $40 Pro Version with extra features. Free version does most basic edits.
    • Apple Photos or Windows Photos – both these free OS programs have some great tools to improve photos.
  • Buy once
    • Affinity Photo – currently $35 for Mac or Windows, $9.29 for iPad or $82 for all three platforms. Really popular Mac/iPad photo processing app and there’s a Windows version.
    • Topaz PhotoAI – Topazlabs merged their separate programs: Topaz DenoiseAI, Topaz SharpenAI, & Topaz GigapixelAI into one program – Topaz PhotoAI. PhotoAI is simpler to use but I miss the flexibility of the individual apps. Edit your photos with single-click simplicity or user-controlled slider bars.
    • Pixelmator Pro – for MacOS only, $50, 7-day free trial

Refer to this icon key to identify the cost of the alternatives >>>
Like Adobe, many have started offering subscriptions for their premium features. But some offer Lifetime subscriptions for a higher one-time price, something Adobe doesn’t.

In my opinion, Affinity Photo is probably the best low cost Photoshop alternative for Windows, MacOS, or iPad, currently 50% off $35 (June 30 2024) for Windows, MacOS; $9.29 for iPad.
But the free & trial options are always worth checking out.

Lightroom Alternatives

  • Free
    • Darktable – powerful, full-feature free alternative to Lightroom but with a learning curve
    • RawTherapee – another cross-platform (Windows, Mac) powerful, full-feature free alternative but with a learning curve
    • DigiKam – strong photo organizer features, similar to Adobe Bridge, with photo editing features & social media tools
    • Lightzone – free Lightroom alternative, now hosted on GitHub after lightzoneproject.org website was retired.
  • Buy once
    • Capture One – a fully capable Lightroom alternative favored by many photographers. A bit expensive ($300 lifetime) unless on Black Friday sale. They also have various subscriptions.
    • ON1 – another popular Lightroom alternative with buy-once and subscription options. On sale today for $50 (June 30 2024 buy-once or wait till Black Friday).
    • DXO Photolab – my favorite Lightroom alternative with excellent Lens correction database, currently on sale 20% off (I bought mine last Black Friday).
    • Luminar Neo – easy to use with single click improvements, but also with user controls if you want to make your own adjustments. It has both subscription or buy-once options.

YouTube video describing all Adobe alternatives based on xdaniels X post

There are a tons of iPhone/Android phone and tablet apps that both take & edit photos.
Some favorites are:

  • Snapseed – a long-time iPhone/iPad/Android app that’s free and edits photos with east to use tools.
  • Adobe Photoshop Express – Adobe offers this for free but you do need a free Adobe account. This is a universal app available for all platforms. Some premium features are behind a pay-wall.
  • Google Photos (Google Drive) – free Google universal app that has the ‘magic eraser’ & other photo editing tools. Download/upload, organize, share, edit your photos. Of course, it requires a Google (ie gmail) account.
  • Too many others to list – many social media apps also will edit images before posting. Also cell phone video apps.
  • VLC Media Player to grab still frames from videos.

Don’t ignore free software from your camera manufacturer. They are optimized specifically for your camera’s raw photographs and features. Some are very useable offering photo importing, organizing & basic editing. Some are primarily designed just to transfer images from your camera to computer. All except Nikon, require your camera’s serial number to download their software or firmware.

  • Nikon offers NX Studio free for Windows or MacOS, which imports images from Nikon cameras to your computer and has basic photo editing features.
  • Canon offers Digital Photo Professional 4.18.10 for Windows, a free image importing and processing program. They also offer a MacOS version
  • Sony offers Imaging Edge Desktop and PlayMemories Home for Sony cameras. Imaging Edge Desktop can be used for editing raw images; PhotoMemories is mainly for importing and organizing your Sony camera photos. Sadly, Sony used to offer Capture One Express. Their free version of Capture One for only Sony cameras. Capture One is a full featured Lightroom replacement.
  • Fujifilm offers their free FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO which imports their raw image from Fujifilm cameras. It has very basic editing and export capabilities.
  • Olympus/OM Systems offers OM Workspace for Windows or MacOS
  • Panasonic offers a basic photo import & editing program PHOTOfunSTUDIO for Windows or MacOS

28 Oct 2023 Meetup: Coronado Moonrise Photo Shoot

Posted on by jrwilkinson

Several photographers from the UCSD Photography Interest Group met-up at Bayview Park to photograph the full moon rising over San Diego. The weather cooperated and it was a fairly clear evening and sunset. Some atmospheric haze was visible in the distance but overall the San Diego Skyline was clear. The moon rose towards the south bay so its position was not ideal for a shot of the taller buildings. It rose over Petco Park and the San Diego Convention Center.
Ideal photographic conditions of blue hour and the moon only lasted ~15mins. It will be interesting to see the variety of photos taken. There’s only so much you can do but post-processing can make a difference.

Jerry – Here are some images Jerry took

Jim – Here are some of the best images Jim shared

Cathy

San Diego Fair – Photography

Posted on by jrwilkinson

The San Diego Fair is a great venue to showcase your photography. The deadline for submissions was Apr 17 2023 at 11:59pm. This was open to everyone and had a variety of categories including cell phone photography. For more info go to:

There are two One-Day Photo Shootout Contests:

Same State and Local Rules apply

Carlsbad Flower Fields Are Blooming!

Posted on by jrwilkinson

It’s that time of year – visit the Carlsbad Flower Fields.

Activities Calendar through May 14th Mother’s Day

Ongoing Specials (Starting March 6th)

Mondays – With the purchase of one adult or one senior/military, you receive one child’s ticket free (ages 3-10)

Tuesdays & Wednesdays – Between 1:00pm-4:00pm, receive $2 off adults, seniors/military and children tickets

For more info & to buy an advanced ticket online: Buy a Timed Entry Ticket (click the link)

  • General adult admission: $23.00 (+ $3.08 Service Fee)
  • Seniors 60+/Military: $21.00 (+ $2.81 Service Fee)
  • Children 3-10yr: $12.00 (+ $1.61 Service Fee)

Photography Interest Group Interests Survey

Posted on by jrwilkinson

I joined the UCSD Photography Interest Group in 2019 when I retired from UCSD-SIO. When I first joined, we’d meet on campus but the pandemic changed everything. I put together this survey to find out what the members of the group are most interested in. We haven’t discussed much except day-to-day things like travel plans and sharing our photos. But I am curious if there is more we can do as a group, in addition to sharing our photos.

Meet-up Location Survey

Posted on by jrwilkinson

The pandemic changed the format of our monthly meetings and meet-ups. I am curious if people want to maintain the current monthly Zoom meeting format or are ready for more. For me, the Zoom meetings are a great way to get-together that doesn’t require I drive somewhere. But I enjoy our in-person get-togethers and want to plan some meet-ups and outings. Please review some ideas proposed below and rank them by dragging them in order of preference:

UCSD PhIG Meetup Survey – drag to reorder the outings preferred

Discussion

Posted on by jrwilkinson
  • Should we setup a Photography Interest Group Website?
  • Are members interested in creating their own content? WordPress is like a word processor and creating content and uploading photos is easy. Each member has their own folder and category.
  • Would members prefer to keep the website private or allow others like family members to access the site?
    • Some areas could be setup as ‘members-only’ like contact info
  • UCSD hosting – not likely
  • Managed by Jim with content & updates emailed to him or some combination of admins and authors.
  • What should it be called? ucsdphig.org, ucsdphig.club or ??? ucsdphoto.group

Advantages –

  • keep track of previous meeting themes and images – great for members who missed a meeting
  • add/index links of interest
  • find & contact other members
  • plan meet-ups, lunches, and photo shoots
  • post next meeting date & theme