Reviews | DigitalAppleJuice

Review: Architectural Photography by Adrian Schulz

April 16, 2012 By Britt Stokes Leave a Comment

Rocky Nook's new book Architectural Photography by Adrian Schulz provides a comprehensive update to architectural photography techniques in a digital age. My original introduction to this subject was a book by Norman McGrath called Photographing Buildings Inside and Out. Norman in years past had reservations about calling his craft "architectural photography" - but not Schulz. His 2nd Edition (2012) of his original 2009 printing of Architectural Photography leaves no one in doubt that he has … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Photography, Reviews, Workflow Tagged With: adrian schulz, architecture, Photography

Review: The Art of Photographic Lighting By Eib Eibelshaeuser

December 6, 2011 By Dr. Michael N. Roach Leave a Comment

Rocky Nook - The Art of Photogrpahic Lighting

Rocky Nook Press recently sent me a review copy of Eib Eibelshaeuser's new book, The Art of Photographic Lighting. It took me a little longer to write this review than it normally does for two reasons: I kept re-reading paragraphs that seemed particularly significant, and I found myself taking notes. Both of these slowed me down as I am usually a fast reader. I think I was expecting a book with drawings of how to arrange lights, but instead I found that it was much more involved than that. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Photography, Reviews, Workflow Tagged With: color theory, Directional lighting, Eib Eibelshaeuser, Light Theory, Lighting, Lighting Encyclopedia, O'Reilly, Rocky Nook, visual perception

(Review) ASKetch for the iPad

October 24, 2011 By Dr. Michael N. Roach 3 Comments

OK, I'm still playing with my iPad and loving it, and I found another software App that is a lot of fun. ASKetch by Andrew Kern is supposed to work with finger motions and strokes alone, and not be used with a stylus or pen tool. I'll tell you what it is supposed to do (and it does it very well). Let's look at ASKetch as Mr. Kern meant it to be. First, I'll quote: ASKetch is a simple black & white procedural sketching program for drawing with your fingers. It is designed from the ground … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apps, Digital Lifestyles, Gadgets, iOS SDK, iPad, Reviews, Workflow Tagged With: chiaroscuro, drawing, drawing on the ipad, drawing ont eh iphone, ios, ipad, iPhone, iPod touch, Sketch, stylus

(Review) FileApp: A Great iOS File Manager

September 23, 2011 By madbadcat Leave a Comment

The iPad is a great thing. It is not, however, a computer. It's a shift away from the familiar hard drive directories. The new iPad owner has to surrender to a new way : you can't really root around the hard drive looking for a file, all user experience is controlled by an app, and getting the right app is key. As most of us have found out, finding that right app is a bizarre mixture of dumb luck, suggestions from co-workers and friends and the endless lists of best 10 apps proliferating on the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apps, iOS SDK, iPad, Reviews, Workflow Tagged With: file manager, file system, ios, ipad, iPhone, iPod touch

A Better Batch Picture Processor Script for Photoshop CS5

July 28, 2011 By madbadcat Leave a Comment

In general, I am fascinated by the scripting possibilities of Photoshop. The unspoken "BUT" is that I have to make a living and lately "A living" means more work for less money so there's more work. So it is just a romantic thought that lingers in the back of my lizard brain hoping to surface when I don't have any work or gardening or cats to feed... I had a problem recently. One that seemed destined to slow my workflow down to a crawl. To fit within a project requirement I needed to somehow … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Photoshop, Reviews, Workflow Tagged With: batch processing, photoshop, script

Review: Marketing Fine Art Photography By Alain Briot

July 25, 2011 By Dr. Michael N. Roach 1 Comment

Rocky Nook Press Press sent me a review copy of Alain Briot’s new book, Marketing Fine Art Photography, and I was delighted for two reasons. First, Rocky Nook’s volumes are beautifully bound and printed on acid-free paper and are a delight to hold and work from because they stay flat and open as you read or work from them. The second reason is that Alain Briot is a learned and articulate photographer and writer who shares his expertise in a relaxed and candid manner as though his reader is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Digital Lifestyles, Photography, Reviews Tagged With: advertising, art of photography, briot, fine art photography, landscape photography, luminous landscape, marketing, marketing photography, photography as art, photography sales, travel photography

I’m Loving My Magpul iPhone Field Case!

March 7, 2011 By Britt Stokes Leave a Comment

DigitalAppleJuice.com is a great place to talk about all things Apple. And, digital imaging. And how you create artwork in the digital age. And... well, you get the point. So I decided to devote a few paragraphs to a new product I found for the iPhone. I recently ordered some items from a retailer in California. While on their website, a new item caught my eye - a Magpul brand case for my iPhone 3G (they also make a case for the iPhone 4). I was intrigued... Magpul is famous in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Digital Lifestyles, Gadgets, Reviews Tagged With: iphone 3g, made in the U.S.A., most rugged iPhone cases, semi-rigid iphone case, shock-proof iPhone cases, shock-resistant iPhone case, snap-on iphone case, tough iPhone cases, Toughest iPhone cases, ultra-protective iPhone cases, water-resistant iPhone cases

Review: Disc Cover by BeLight Software

February 18, 2011 By Dr. Michael N. Roach Leave a Comment

Even though CD's are becoming less used, DVDs for data storage are still going strong, and personal projects such as iMovie and iPhoto still have a strong usage of labeling for stored material. Disc Cover 3 is a delightful software that allows you to print DVD labels and covers and case booklets for music, archives, and anything you are saving to disc. Jewel case inserts can be made easily and cleanly from a tremendous number of pre-designed templates with layouts and art importable from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reviews, Software Tagged With: belight software, disc cover, dvd, label, labeling dvd, review

Review: THE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY: An Approach to Personal Expression

January 31, 2011 By Dr. Michael N. Roach 1 Comment

I always enjoy receiving a review copy of any book from Rocky Nook Press because I know two things about it in advance: (1) the book itself will be printed on Acid-Free paper, and will still show its illustrations with brilliance and clarity for years to come, and (2) the book will be bound in such a manner that it will behave itself and lie open beside my computer without the necessity of putting weights on each side of the open volume in order to make it lie down quietly and allow me to enjoy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Photography, Reviews Tagged With: architectural photography, art photography, black and white photography, Books, Bruce Barnbaum, landscape photography, Photography, Rocky Nook, slot canyon photography, The Art Of Photography

Review- Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3: A Photographer’s Handbook

September 27, 2010 By Dr. Michael N. Roach 2 Comments

Amazon.com_ Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3_ A Photographer_s Handbook (9781933952673)_ Stephen Laskevitch_ Books

I recently received a review copy of Rocky Nook's Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3: A Photographer's Handbook by Stephen Laskevitch. I always enjoy receiving a book from Rocky Nook to review because they print their books on acid-free paper and the reproduction quality is as outstanding as the content. As a workshop teacher I am always interested in another teacher's approach and quite admire the methodical, logical, and easily-understood approach that Stephen Laskevitch uses in Photoshop CS5 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Reviews, Workflow Tagged With: adobe photoshop, Books, CS5, image processing, Lightroom, Photography, Rocky Nook

Review: ART TEXT v2.2.2 by Belight Software

July 28, 2010 By Dr. Michael N. Roach 1 Comment

Editor's Note: Wouldn't you know? Just as we released this article, a newer 2.3 version with a vector editor has been released. Dr. Roach will review it at a later date. Back in April, 2009 I last reviewed BeLight's ART TEXT and found it a useful headline and logo designing tool, but time passes and the new 2.2.2 version appeared as a review copy (from BeLightsoft. Com)on my desk with a new, revamped look and a greater ease of usage. … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Reviews, Software, Tutorials, Workflow Tagged With: Adobe, apple, art text, banners, belight, brochures, business cards, buttons, flyers, Graphics, headings, icons, logos, mac, postcards, presentations, Software, text, text editing, text work, type styler, typestyler, website, website decoration, website design

Review: Pixelmator 1.6

July 19, 2010 By Dr. Michael N. Roach 7 Comments

About a year and a half ago (January 7, 2009 to be exact) I wrote a review of Pixelmator as a potential light-weight image-editing software. At that time I found it a very useful and inexpensive image-editing software that was well worth its $59.00 cost. (Download from Pixelmator.com) A new version of Pixelmator (1.6) is available as a free upgrade to current Pixelmator owners, but a word of caution goes along with it. Pixelmator has been rewritten for Snow Leopard 10.6 and the new version … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Graphics, Photoshop, Reviews, Software, Workflow Tagged With: apple, cheap photoshop alternative, composite, Graphics, image editing, mac, photoshop, Pixelmator, Software