Adobe Releases Lightroom 2 with Local Correction and Many Other New Features

Adobe Systems today officially announced the release of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. From the online demo I recently viewed, it is an impressive upgrade. There are many new features that are not currently in the Lightroom 2 beta.

One big improvement is in the Print module. Based on the size of your print output and the resolution of your image, sharpening is determined based on algorithms developed with expertise from the folks at PixelGenius (pixelgenius.com), the makers of PhotoKit SHARPENER, a piece of software that I highly recommend. Another welcome addition to the Print Module is the ability to create custom picture packages, similar to those currently available in Photoshop CS2 and CS3. Any one photo at a time can be set up to print in a multitude of different sizes on a sheet, and those templates can then be saved.

New Print Module for Lightroom 2, showing the new Picture Package Layout option. Image courtesy Adobe Systems. (click on image to view larger version)

Two more very welcome new tools are the new Graduated Filter tool, as well as the improved Lens Vignetting tool. Now, after cropping, the vignette acts as it does in Photoshop. Prior to that, it would act as if the image was not cropped, resulting in an uneven vignette.

The new Graduated Filter tool in Lightroom 2. Image courtesy Adobe Systems. (click on image to view larger version)

One of the other “big news items” is the ability to do local correction, which is really quite revolutionary in a product that uses nondestructive editing.

Image showing the masking capability of Lightroom 2, with an example of before and after edits. Images courtesy Adobe Systems. (click on images to view larger versions)

The Adobe press release has a lot of good detail about Lightroom 2. You can read it in its entirety below. I look forward to adding articles soon about my hands-on experiences with the product.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 is available now (in Windows and Mac OSX versions) through the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store in English, French and German with the Japanese language version planned to be released at a future date. The estimated street price is USD$299 for new users with an upgrade price of USD$99 for registered users of qualifying Lightroom customers.

Adobe’s Official Press Release: Continue reading

Call For Entry Deadline 7/25/2008: Online and Print Portfolio Show

The Center for Fine Art Photography’s “Online and Print Portfolio Show” Show call for entries deadline is today (7/25/2008).

Fifteen photographers will be chosen to display their twelve-image portfolio in The Center for Fine Art Photography’s special Online and Print Portfolio Show and be included the Center’s new book publication Artists ShowCase, volume 1, issue 1.

The Juror for this show is Darius Himes, founding member of Radius Books, a Santa Fe-based company created in 2007 that publishes books on the visual arts. He is also the founding editor of photo-eye Booklist, a quarterly magazine devoted to photography books, from 2002-2007. He is a lecturer, consultant, educator and writer, having contributed to Blind Spot, Bookforum, BOMB, PDN, and American Photo.

I am a member of The Center For Fine Art Photography’s Ambassador’s Circle, which is a group of volunteers who help to share information about events and calls for entry.

More information, including a full list of the awards, can be found on the show’s call for entries page.

“The Big Show” on Display at Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX

When I visited FotoFest in Houston, Texas earlier this year, I stopped by the Lawndale Art Center. It is a beautiful gallery space with three floors. One of the gallery spaces is huge (almost like a racquetball court), with a large picture window that lets in a lot of natural light.

Currently on display at Lawndale Art Center is “The Big Show,” their annual open-call, juried exhibition. Guest Juror Aram Moyashedi, Curator for LA><ART in Los Angeles, selected 95 works by 60 artists for this year’s exhibition. The work contains a wide range of disciplines, from photography to painting and mixed media.

On July 30 & 31, 2008, Lawndale Art Center is hosting “The Big Slideshow,” featuring short, informal presentations by Big Show artists. Presentations start at 7:00 PM each night. The address of the gallery is 4912 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002. To read more about the show, which is on display until August 9, 2008, visit this page.