From time to time I like to share with you the RAW images from one of my photos, and today is again that day. I share them mostly for those of you, who don’t have a high end 36Mpix camera, and you would still like to try your editing skill on a photo like that.

You can find this three raw files in this Dropbox forder, and download them right now. They are in ARW file format, which is the RAW format Sony cameras use.

As always, please take note that these are shared under the Creative commons license. You can share them and your editing result as much as you want, just please link back to this blog, and don’t use them commercially.

And here you can see what result I got from this RAW files, feel free to share yours on my Facebook page.

I added quite a few 21:9 wallpapers recently, but so there are some new also for more standard sizes, here are three new wallpapers in 1920×1200 and 1600×1200 resolutions. You can get them from the wallpapers page as always.

I did few articles about Color Efex pro plugin before, but today, I will go through my most used filters from Color Efex pro, and will also try to explain why and when I use them. There are of course too many filters available in Color Efex pro, but I will stick to my most used here. There are also all the ones I have set in my favorite selection in Color Efex. So let’s go.

1. Pro Contrast

The most used filter by me, and probably by everyone who uses Color Efex. It can be used either to remove color cast from your photos (the first slider) or add more local contrast and detail into them (the third slider). It also allows for contrast corrections, but the doest not work for me that great most of the time.

I use it on most of my photos, as it gives them more pop, making them stand out more. One just can’t overdo it, especially on Dynamic contrast, as that becomes ugly quite quickly. Values around 30% work the best most of the time.

2. Detail Extractor

If you have a spot where you want to show more detail, or want to exaggerate the texture of an object, Detail Extractor is the filter for you. The best way is to use this effect on a duplicate layer, use more than you need, and then just add a layer mask and just brush in how much of the effect you need, and where you need it. Also don’t forged to add contrast (second slider) and also a bit of saturation (third slider). This is because detail extraction removes a lot of contrast and also partial the colors.

Again, it’s very easy to go overboard here, normally the default of 25% should be enough for most cases.

3. Brilliance/Warmth

This one is again used for multiple effects. One is to add more color to you photo, while doing it more subtly than just adding more saturation. Second is to change the overall warmth of the photo. It’s similar to white balance, but still quite different. It can be great especially for sunrise/sunset photos, where you want to get much more golden light from the sun.

4. Glamor Glow

While this is mostly for portrait photography, in landscape photos, glamor glow can be great when you apply it on clouds, especially white ones. It will make them look brighter and softer, exactly what you want from white fluffy clouds. I would suggest adding more saturation in this filter, as it defaults to -29% there and that can wash out the blue sky a bit.

5. Polarization

Same as a normal polarization filter you use on your lends, the polarization filter in Color Efex serves the same purpose. It darkens the sky and makes it a stronger blue color, and it removes overly bright areas by adding more color into them. Can be really helpful if you get a very dull photo and want to put more life into it.

6. Skylight Filter

This filter adds a lot of yellow light into your photos, so shifting mostly the white balance. It’s a bit like a simpler version of the Sunlight filter. It’s really great if you want to shift the colors more towards warm, and just changing the white balance doest not work for you.

7. Sunlight

Another great filter to use on sunrise/sunset photos. If you want to have your photos look like the scenery is filled with light. Together with Skylight and Briliance/Warmith, you can create a wonderful warm photo that just shines with light. And some of my most popular photos used this filter :)

And that’s all. I use few more, but very very rarely. These are really the ones I use the most.

Few days ago I ordered a new Surface Pro 4, and while doing so, I had a thought. Can I install the programs I use (the whole list here) on multiple computers at once? Will I be able to use them without having to purchase a second copy? So I started searching, and here are my results. I’m also including links to the sources where I found the information, regarding the particular software.

PhotoMe, Caesium, Picasa, InfranView

These programs are free, so there is no limitation on how many computers they can be installed

Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge

As you can get these only as a subscription from Adobe Creative cloud, the same limitations are on all of them. A single license for Adobe software lets you install it on two computers at once. Actually, you can install it on as many as you want, but only two can be activated by Adobe at the same time. If you want to activate another one, you first have to deactivate one (source).

Oloneo Photoengine

The license allows for the program to be installed on two computers, as long as they are not used simultaneously (source).

Photomatix Pro

There is no limitation here, and for your own use, you can install Photomatix pro on all your computers. To be exact, on all computers, that you personally use (source).

Nik Collection

For the whole collection of Nik plugins, there are similar rules as by others. You are allowed to install them on up to two computers, and if you want to put them on another one, you first have to remove one of those installations (source).

Topaz Collection

Same as by Nik Collection, Topaz Collection can be installed on up to two computers at the same time (source). (update: since Nik collection is free now, you can install it as much as you want)

Macphun Creative Kit

The Macphun creative kit can be activated on up to 5 computers, of course Mac OS only (source).

Imagenomic Plugins

The trend continues here, with a purchase of an Imagenomic plugin, you will have the right to install it on two computers simultaneously (source).

AcdSee

This is a bit more complicated. From what I found, if you are on their subscription plan, you can use it on up to 5 computers. If you just bought it, you can use it only on one (and there should be versions that are for 2 somewhere). You can check out this discussion about this.

Autopano Software

All licenses bought from Kolor are meant as a single-station licenses, but Kolor tolerates the installation of their software on multiple computers, as long their are all for the same single user (source).

PTgui

A personal license here is valid for up to three installations, as long they are all used by the user it was licensed to. For multiple users, a different license is required (source).

TK actions & Raya Pro

These are not really software, but actions, and as such, there is no real limitation. Still, I would suggest you support the creators, and only use them on the computers you use.

JpegMini

For this one I have not yet been able to find any information, still looking into that.
 
Overall, almost all the software can be installed at least on two computers, as long as you are the one person that uses it. I presume it is mostly to accommodate people who use a desktop and a laptop together, so they can have it on both systems.

For the links and more info on all the programs, please visit the What software I use article.

Some landscape photographers (it’s not really an issue if you take photos of people :)) don’t mind people in their photos, some do. And since I’m in the second group, today I will show you few ways how to get no people in your photos.

You may wonder why I don’t want people in my photos, and there are two main reasons. First is that I find them distracting, especially if I have a composition in mind and my goals is to show a certain landmark or scenery. The second reason is more pragmatical. Having people in a photo can prevent me from using the photo commercially, as in a lot of cases, I would need a permission from the person if its identifiable. And bluing out faces is something I really don’t want to do.

So here are few ways how you can avoid people in your shots.

1. Get up early, really early

Even the most popular spots tend to be empty of people before sunrise. It does mean that you will get no sleep, and have to go out when it’s still dark, but the feeling having a city just for yourself is wonderful. And the photos are people free without any extra editing.

From my travels, the only spot until now I never really seen completely empty, was the Charles bridge in Prague. Even between 4 and 5am, when almost everything is empty, the bridge just isn’t (that is, if the weather is horrible, there is a chance that it will be :)).

The first photo here from the Prague metro, was taken at 6am on Sunday, there was absolutely no one around at that time.

2. Take a long exposure

This can work during the day, but works much better and easier at night. The trick is to just use a long enough exposure (at least 30s) to blur all the people. As the camera captures light, everything that does not emit light, can be captured only if it reflects enough lights into the camera. So if the people move enough, they are not long enough on one spot to be capture completely, or when it’s dark enough, at all.

If you want to try this during the day, you will of course need a strong enough ND filter, or you will not be able to get a long enough exposure. Also, if the scene is just to busy, you will end with a big blurry mess instead of people. This may work fine for you sometime, but may not.

3. Take multiple exposures

The last way you can use, is to take enough photos (with the same settings) so you every spot in the photos people free at least in one of them. This can be 2 photos, but it can happen that even 100 is not enough. It really depends on the situation. If all the people move, you may get lucky, and with just few shots have enough. If people stand around, it can be even impossible.

This is sometimes easier in HDR, as you take multiple shots either way, so you have more photos to work with from the start.

Once you have the photos, you can either:

Try blending them manually

Just load them all into Photoshop layers, add a black layer mask to all but the bottom one, and then using a white brush, paint in the needed parts from the top layers. So for every person in the bottom photo, find a layers where that spot is empty in one of the other photos, and paint it white on the layer mas. Can take quite a while, but you get a nice quality results. In this photo from the Tower bridge in London, I used two separate exposures which I blended manually, to have no people visible.

Let Photoshop average the photos

One of the hidden features of Photoshop, is the ability to perform mathematical operations on a group of images. In this case, if one uses median, on enough photos, it may result in a completely people free photo. Again, this is not guaranties, and if there is just too much movement, it will not work. Be warned though, this can be very computer intensive if you try to use it on many photos at once. To do this, follow these steps:
– load all the photos into layers (if you don’t know how, check out this guide)
– select them all (click first, hold shift, click last)
– choose Layers/Smart Objects/Convert to smart object, all the selected layers will be grouped into one smart layer
– choose Layers/Smart Objects/Stack Mode/Median to choose the median mode
Now, you will see if it worked or not.

4. Use Photoshop retouching tools

The last option and the one that can be the most labor intensive is to just use Photoshop tools. The content aware fill can help in most cases (just select what you need removes, and hit Shift+Backspace and choose content aware) but sometimes it’s just not enough. What you need to do in those cases is:
– use the clone stamp tool. Don’t forget you can use the tool on a new empty layers, so you don’t affect the photo directly.
– paste over other parts of the photo, or parts from a second photo. My preferred process is to select a bigger part than I need, copy it to a new layer, move it to the required place, and then use the mask on that layer, to soften the edges, so it blends nicely into the background.
– remember to take advantages of symmetry. I you have symmetry in your photo, you can copy part of one side, flip it, and the use it on the other side. In this second photo of the Prague metro, I mirrored the left side, to remove the few visible people on the right.

And that’s all for this guide, in case you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.