Reviews on gear and software

Topaz ReStyle

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Today Topaz will be release ReStyle.
Their new plugin is aimed at photographers that are into “tinting” their images. As you probably already know I find this a very vital step in my workflow. At the moment I use mainly Alien Skin Exposure 5 and DxO filmpack for my tinting, but… I have to say Topaz has released (again) something very interesting.

 

ReStyle is a plugin that has not the well known “polaroid” “astia” etc. presets but uses names that actually doesn’t really have any connection with film types. In one way this is a very good idea because to be honest most filters that use film names are in fact also just tints that try to emulate something close to…. and often they don’t succeed 100% which of course is logical because with analogue photography there is a huge difference between the way you develop, the age of the film, the used camera etc. etc.

 

Topaz doesn’t even try to hint at film types and they are 100% aiming towards a total tinting solution.
Now I have to be 100% honest, the first time I played with ReStyle I mailed Topaz that this really didn’t had any attraction to me, the way the tinting was presented, the catagories etc. just doesn’t hit base with me. However a few days later I started playing with it and decided to leave all the canned looks for what they were and just select one that looked OK and just started changing those around a lot, and slowly I started to REALLY enjoy ReStyle, at the moment I actually use it a lot in my workflow. I still use Alien Skin and Film pack (DxO) of course but sometimes you want something a bit different, maybe add some graduation filters, add some different tints etc and I have to be honest ReStyle is HUGELY customizable.

 

As usual with Topaz the pricing is very nice again, the plugin is priced at $59.99 but till the 31th of August when you use the code restyleit you will get a cool discount and get the plugin for only $29.99 (which is a no brainer in my opinion). If you order please support our work and use this link http://www.topazlabs.com/716.html as always I’m not sharing/promoting a product because we use an affiliate code but because I use it myself and I like it 🙂

 

So let’s see some results:
All shots were tinted with ReStyle and sharpened with Clarity (also Topaz), skin was retouched with Clean 3 (also Topaz), so one could say that the whole workflow here was Topaz.

Lenaa Augustus 3 2013 Glamour workshop -33-Edit

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Prague with an iPhone app

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During the Photoconvention I met up with the guys from Formatt Hightech.
Now if you don’t already know these guys make sure to check out : http://www.formatt.co.uk/default.aspx they make some amazing filters, I took a test set with me which I demo during some workshops when fighting the sun with strobes plus I will be doing some long exposure shots with them in the coming weeks/months, so keep an eye out for that.

 

Today however I give attention to something else.
They also have an iPhone camera app, now most people will go like… “yeah another one?”
And indeed I had the same reaction, however what I love about this app is the look and feel, of course there is the setting of focus and exposure on different areas in the scene, but… (and I love this) they also have ND filters including graduated and inverted ND filters which can be incredibly handy when shooting under more dynamic situations. Here is a small example of a scene with and without.

19-07-13 - 1

19-07-13 - 2 Do realize that these are straight out of the camera and not retouched in any way.

 

After testing out the ND filters I decided to double up my iPhone to the Sony A99 during a photowalk we did in Prague with Ivan from http://www.fotoivan.eu (the Sony images I will show later). During the walk I shot different scenes with some of my favorite filters in the app. Do realize that this is a real LIVE filter app, meaning you shoot with the look you want, it’s not possible (yet) to add the filters after the shot, a concept I had to get used to but after a while actually liked, you’re really thinking about the look you want and choosing the “film type” / “filter” accordingly.

 

The app itself is nicely done and very easy to operate, and best of all…. it’s free, so make sure to check them out under “tenbelowzero” at the app store, the app itself is called FILTERS!
Click on one of the images to open up the gallery. ALL images are straight from my iPhone, without any retouching.

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Mini review Elinchrom square reflector

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Loads of people have been asking me what reflector I used for most of the shots during the UK tour and the people visiting know it almost became a joke because we used the same reflector most of the time, soon to be nicknamed the “magic reflector”.

 

And that’s about how I think about it, it’s the newly released Elinchrom square reflector. They already had one on the market but it was taken off the market a while ago, I still own the old one but I’m very very happy they introduced a new one. So when you are looking for a great “magic” modifier get this one. You will love it. Elinchrom Square reflector

 

 

The reason is very simple.
It’s a great modifier for portraits, works great for the harsher beauty portraits, but outside it really shines. If you need a bit more lightoutput I would still recommend the Maxilight but if you want a really cool lightsource and still a lot of output make sure to check out the square reflector, it spreads the light really nicely, has high output from your strobes (a blessing outside) and it creates a very unique look to your images, I love the shadows and contours of the reflector. And pricing wise it’s one of the cheaper modifiers, so don’t miss it.

Studley Mei 22-2219-Edit

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Polaroid/Impossible

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A lot of people ask me “Frank how can I improve my photography quickly?”
I could of course tell you to study as hard as you can, join sites like www.kelbytraining.com check out the masters like Dean Collins and buy all my instructional videos and book my workshops, but……. Let’s be honest when you only sit down and watch and maybe shoot a bit during a workshop it’s a great way to learn but there’s also another way which is probably just as much fun and will without a doubt boost your level another notch.

 

You’ve already read me writing about old lenses and old cameras, and this post has the title Polaroid/Impossible so I guess you see it coming 😀 and indeed the tip for today is very simple.

 

Go on E-bay and hunt for a Polaroid camera, for example the SX70, most of the times you will score one well below 100 bucks. Now get some film from the Impossible project and start shooting.
Polaroid-SX-70-Front-Open
There are a few different reasons why your photography will benefit from this.

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