The Digital Photography Show #21: Win Free Alienskin Software to Improve Your Digital Pictures!

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September 29, 2006: Welcome to the tantalizing twenty first episode of The Digital Photography Show!

Today we have a very interesting interview with Amedeo Rosa, Directory of Propaganda (gotta love that title) for Alienskin, producers of a ton of plug-ins for Photoshop and other digital photography processing software.

Michael and I have always been interested in Alienskin’s offerings, which add very cool special effects (like smoke or lightning) to your photographs. But these products were more geared towards designers than to digital photographers.

But one of their latest products, Exposure, is much more useful to photographers like us looking to do image improvements and alterations. As Alienskin says:

Exposure brings the look and feel of film to digital photography. Simulate the warmth and softness of real world film, both color and black and white. Reproduce realistic film grain, and simplify your digital photography workflow.

You can now digitally simulate the vivid colors of Velvia(r), the rich blacks of Kodachrome(r), the sensitivity of Ektachrome(r), and the characteristics of dozens of other film stocks. Exposure also models the size, shape, and color of real world film grain. Use this level of subtle reproduction to simulate the distinct looks of films such as Ilford(r) 3200 Delta and long discontinued Ektachrome EES and GAF(r) 500.

Exposure simplifies your workflow, collecting color, dynamic range, softness, and grain controls in one plug-in. Correct a colorcast, soften a digital portrait, and tweak contrast with one, easy-to-use tool. Or define your signature look and save it as a one-click effect.

It really is a very cool tool, and I urge you to play with the free 30 day trial and see if Exposure is for you.

Here’s an in-depth review of Exposure from Cameratown.

We also talk about Blow-Up, which, again in Alienskin’s words: “offers the highest quality image resizing available, better than bicubic interpolation and any other third party solution. Blow Up makes advanced image scaling easy, preserves smooth, crisp edges and lines, and creates four times (1600% area) enlargements from any image without jagged artifacts or halos.”

Amedeo was nice enough to contribute a copy of Exposure to a lucky listener who can answer the question we ask in the show. Send your answer to thedigitalphotographyshow@gmail.com by October 13, 2006 to quality for the drawing.

But wait – there’s more. After the show, Amedeo and I got to talking some more, and I twisted his arm to pony up a copy of Blow-Up, too. To enter that drawing, visit the Blow-Up product page here and let us know how many times Alienskin says you can enlarge your image “without obvious artifacts.” Send your answer to thedigitalphotographyshow@gmail.com by October 13, 2006 to quality for the drawing. And since this software is more specialized, please only enter the drawing for Blow-Up if you really think you’ll use it. We want it to find a home where it will be well and truly loved.

Still more – Amedeo has some extra passes to Photoplus Expo for listeners of this show. The Expo is November 2-4, 2006, in New York City. Email him at amedeor@alienskin.com if you’re interested. Michael and I are planning on going, so be sure to let us know if you’ll be there, too. If enough of our listeners are there, maybe we’ll have show party!

After the interview, Michael and I talk about some news from Photokina.

Thanks for joining us. And special thanks to our first sponsor – iTrainer. Please leave your comments in the forum or email us at thedigitalphotographyshow@gmail.com.

 

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