South Carolina Photography Guild

Adobe, the mother-ship of photo-editing software, who has set the standard for ages with Photoshop 7.0, CS, CS2, as well as the forthcoming CS3, has released it’s Lightroom software in version 1.0, for sale now at $199.   This is clearly intended to be a companion package for those that use Photoshop or other image-editing software, but can be used on a standalone basis.  our own Harvey Moore has been following this with interest and samples of his use can be seen here.  Check out the tutorials over at Photoshopuser as well as the software from Adobe directly.

In the interests of full disclosure, DxO Optics has also released software upgrades, and those are talked about in-depth at The Digital Photography Show, which has regular podcasts to listen and glean tons of info.

Not to fear Mac users, for your answers are also here in Apple’s Aperture, now in version 1.5.  Still available as a trial download for 30 days, it can be purchased for Apple faithful for a measly $299.  While it has not gotten the same amount of press, it makes for great image library management as well as some cool editing capabilities.  From friends that have test-driven it - not the same functionality as Photoshop, but remember, Photoshop is the benchmark upon which all others are measured, so that’s a tough standard to meet!

In the interests of putting more photos out there for people to enjoy, here’s a sunset shot from some mystery place.  Anyone care to venture where?  The winner….wins!

We had another great shoot last weekend. Upon arriving at Folly pier, some of us headed out to the lighthouse and took some sunrise footage from there. Heather and Margo stopped in for a visit too, so it was good to see them. Thanks for joining the crowd - we’d love to see you on a more regular basis! They’ve shared some of their individual shots on their blogs so stop over there to see some great captures! Dave has shared some of his pier shots in the forums too, to stop over to check them out.

Others, meanwhile, stayed at the pier location to see what we could catch there. It was quite brisk though and the cold in conjunction with the wind forced an early return to the warm and comfy confines of the Waffle House.

After warming back up and “talking shop”, Susan and Jason headed up to Middleton to meet up with any who avoided the morning cold for the late morning shoot. No other arrivals but they did regale their tales in picture form in the community forum section.

As always, the forum is also the place to go to check out the latest shoots on the calendar, both scheduled and unscheduled. Joining is free, and we always enjoy seeing new faces and getting new perspectives so come out and join us for our February shoot!

Yes, the well-wishings for a Happy New year are a tad delayed, but with the holidays came some very busy times for some of us individually, and absent times for others. Now that the new year has been underway, so too is the Photography Guild! Our first meeting for the 2007 calendar year has been scheduled and will commence this Saturday at the Folley Pier. Brew your coffee early as it’s a sunrise shoot! The sun rises at 7:20, so we will be gathering about 30 minutes prior. More details can be found on the forums, which remain free to register and participate in.

Sunrise too early for you? Then join us later on as some of us will reconvene (after a coffee refill) at Middleton Plantation, weather permitting. Details about Middleton hours are available on their website here: Middleton Plantation

January is the month of shooting for many of us, as this is when the Be A Tourist benefits are in effect. There’s a lot of time left too, so for $20 you can support all the well-known scenic areas including the likes of Cypress Gardens, Magnolia Gardens, Boone Hall, and many many more. Check them out at: www.beatourist.net

Other activities? North Charleston is sponsoring an arts festival that (naturally) includes a photo contest, with details forthcoming. SCPG members will likely have entries there as well. More information can be found here: N. Charleston Arts Festival Want a contest to really challenge your skills? Then National Wildlife’s 37th Annual Contest is the one for you! I would imagine a few of the more talented amongst SCPG may consider that as well (see the Fair Contest winning entrants posted downthread here)