LIGHTROOM CC 2015.4/6.4 released- New Pano Feature

Lightroom CC 2015.4 and Lightroom 6.4 are now available on Adobe.com.  

This release provides additional camera raw support, lens profile support and address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Lightroom.  

This release also includes a new Boundary Warp feature for Creative Cloud members.

Introducing Boundary Warp

Stitched panoramas often have non-rectangular boundaries. There are several ways to handle irregular boundaries. 

1. Apply a rectangular crop. quick and simple, but important image details near the edges may be lost due to cropping. 

2. Content Aware Fill (in Photoshop) to fill in the transparent areas outside the boundary. This can be effective, but may require multiple attempts to obtain a pleasing result. 

3. Warping - in Photoshop can be complex and you may end up with odd results

ANNOUNCING - Boundary Warp 

Raw images to be stiched

This new feature provides another approach to handling the irregular boundary of panoramas. The feature analyzes the boundary and warps the image so that its edges fit a rectangular frame.  In other words, its all done for you on the fly...quick easy and effective.  ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU LIGHTROOM!

Merged Images

Boundary Warp applied

Processed DNG Pano with Boundary Warp

New Camera Support in Lightroom CC 2015.4 / 6.4

• Fujifilm X70
• Fujifilm X-E2S
• Fujifilm X-Pro2
• Leica M (Typ 262)
• Leica X-U (Typ 113)
• Panasonic DMC-ZS60 (DMC-TZ80, DMC-TZ81, DMC-TZ85)
• Phase One IQ150
• Sony ILCA-68 (A68)

Additional Updates in Lightroom CC 2015.4 / 6.4

• Nikon 1 J4 Camera Matching Profile added
• The panorama merging process should complete roughly twice as fast as Lightroom 6.3
• Improved quality when applying Auto Straighten and Upright “Level” mode
• A preference was added to the Mac to prevent accidental “speed swiping”
• Metadata is added to merged panoramas to support Photoshop’s Adaptive Wide Angle filter
• Customers can now set the location of where photos are stored when downloaded from Lightroom mobile or Lightroom web in the preference panel or contextually in the folder panel
• Thumbnails update much quicker when copying and pasting settings in the grid view
• Images load faster in the Library module when you are zoomed in and navigating images
• Tethered support added for the Nikon D5500 and Nikon D7200Fixed Bugs
  • Auto Sync of some settings failed when using smart previews
  • Lightroom would ignore model-specific custom default settings for some cameras, including some Leica and Sony models.
  • Crop resets to image bounds when adjusting rotation via slider
  • In Lights Out mode, an image would “disappear” if a customer uses the Undo functionality
  • SIGMA 50mm f1.4 ART lens was incorrectly identified as Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4
  • Soft Proofing RGB readout values differed for same file between 5.7.1 and 6.x
  • Import from iPhoto would result in all photos receiving a “pick” flag
  • Comments from Lightroom web come in to Lightroom on the desktop as already “read.”
  • Lightroom would not display the correct EXIF metadata for some video files generated by Canon, Fuji and Panasonic cameras
  • Vertical panoramas created using Merge could appear with the wrong orientation
  • The video cache did not respect the maximum size specified in the preferences
  • Customers experienced issues importing video files in some scenarios
  • Tethering Nikon cameras on Mac OS X 10.11(El Capitan) did not work properly
  Installation Instructions
  Please select Help > Updates to use the update mechanism in the Creative Cloud app.

New Website Done! 2016 Workshops posted

New updated, streamlined website completed!
First New Years resolution completed - Updated my website!2016 workshop schedule published - It's going to be another great year!
Galleries are gradually moving over from Pbase to the new site but will be accessible there as well till the end of the year. New images will be featured on the new site - 

http://www.suzannemathiaphotography.com

2016 WORKSHOPS

LIGHTROOM GROUP CLASSES HELD THROUOUT THE YEAR

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

LIGHTROOM 101 - The Essentials                   -                        February 13th

LIGHTROOM 102 - Digital Post Processing                      March 12th

LIGHTROOM 103 - Advanced Post Processing             April 2nd

                                  Lightroom to Photoshop and back

February 21 -  February 27  - California Coast - Big Sur

7 Days, Six Nights (3 Morro Bay; 3 Big Sur)

From the moment you start this amazing road trip, you'll leave the world behind as you wind up, over & down along 350 miles of the world's most rugged coastline in a land where populations dwindle, trees and mountains soar & waves crash in a landscape cold, green & beautiful. For seven days & nights, we'll wind our way along legendary U.S. Highway 1 thru four separate coastal regions of incomparable beauty: Santa Barbara; Morro Bay/San Simeon; Big Sur; Carmel/Monterey. The journey will offer an amazing diversity of photographic opportunities: seascapes of all order; quaint boat harbors; Spanish Mission architecture; ocean wildlife & sea birds; tidepools; winter waves; redwoods & live oaks; sand dunes; historic span bridges, & more.

Pricing: $3695.00

March 19-23, 2016     Slot Canyons: Natures Sculpted Sandstone

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

Etched into the crust of the Colorado Plateau are the most photogenic and captivating canyons in the world. Join us as we explore the twisting sandstone labyrinths of the slot canyons, the strangely formed hoodoos, mysterious petroglyphs and a 270 degree view of the Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend. 

Pricing: $2,195 / $500 deposit

April 21-25, 2016   Havasupai: Land of Blue Green Waters 

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

Journey to the “Shangri-La” of the Southwest, Havasu Canyon. The Land of Blue Green Waters. This small branch of the Grand Canyon contains Havasupai, Navajo and Mooney Falls, three of the most beloved waterfalls in the American West and 2 new spectacular falls created in just the last few years. 

Duration: 5 days | Activity level: 6.0 | Price: $2,995.00

May 12-15, 2016   White Pocket on the Colorado Plateau

May 19-22, 2016

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

Hidden within the desert expanse of the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs National Monument near the Arizona/Utah border sits a little known but magical spot called White Pocket. Relatively unknown until recent years and not easily accessed, White Pocket is fast becoming the next photographer's paradise for capturing uniquely strange and colorful rock formations. Join Suzanne Mathia on this outfitter guided trip as we camp and explore the Paria Plateau. 

 Pricing: $1,195 / $500 deposit

August 11-14, 2016   Grand Canyon North Rim

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

The Grand Canyon's North Rim is the perfect place to capture stunning images with dramatic skies. On this workshop, you will get four packed days of field and classroom time that will leave you amazed at the images and techniques you will go home with. 

Pricing: $1,395 / $500 deposit

July 28 - Sunday, July 31 - Monsoon Season, Monument Valley including Hunt's Mesa

SOUTHWEST PERSPECTIVES WORKSHOP

Monsoon conditions produce some of the most dramatic & original opportunities for photography in the southwest. Join us for an incredible expedition to some of the most epic vistas in the American Southwest. Over four days, we will explore the whole of this magical and sacred land of mesas and monuments including Totem Pole & Y'ei Bi Chei, the arches, petroglyphs and ruins of Mystery Valley, Navajo rug weavers and sheepherders, and of course two evenings to capture the legendary Mitten Shadow. Will we complete the adventure with and an unforgettable journey to an overnight stay at Hunt's Mesa, high above the valley floor.

Pricing: $2295.00

August 25 - Sunday, August 28 - White Sands  - Monsoon Skies

SOUTHWEST PERSPECTIVES WORKSHOP

Perhaps nowhere in the world is the interplay between earth and sky as dramatic as White Sands National Monument during the summer monsoon season. As sparkling white dunes roll into the distance, billowing white clouds, thunderous rain, and endless varieties of light fill the skies over sensual curves and striations of the world's largest gypsum sand dune field. For four days, we'll have special permits for early and late access allowing us to shoot a variety of locations each day with emphasis on the spectacularly colored sunrises and sunsets that make White Sands one of the most sought-after photography locations on the planet!

Pricing: $1995.00

Mid June - Dates TBD -  CanyonColorado River Raft Trip

SOUTHWEST PERSPECTIVES WORKSHOP

One of the most life changing experiences.  A 10 days photographic exploration of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. 

 We  will “shoot” some of the world’s most famous rapids, sleep under the stars each night by the side of the river, Hike the  inner canyons  and photograph some of the most jaw dropping scenes on earth! For ten days, you will experience a true wilderness experience, away from phones, the internet, and civilization.  This trip is especially designed for Photographers.  our custom itinerary has been designed with only one goal in mind: to maximize photographic potential.  Two professional instructors with intimate knowledge of the river will be there to  teach and mentor you and to hone your photographic skills so that you will leave with incredible images as well as life long memories. 

 Our Outfitters have extensive  knowledge of the river and understand our photographic priorities.   We explore secrets of the Grand Canyon accessible only by the river from huge caverns to  slot canyons, waterfalls, reflecting pools, hanging gardens, seeps, springs, ancient granaries, photographing at the best possible time of the day to create prized images of sight seen by few.

Eleven Days, Ten Nights (including one night Page)

Call or email for more details

Price TBD 

September 3, 2016   Creative Techniques

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

Unleash your creative mojo with our exciting new Creative Techniques workshop. Working with oil, water and smoke you will learn ways to create dazzling works of art that are as unique as a snowflake. Then using Lightroom and/or Photoshop you will learn how to take your images from wow to over-the-top. 

 Pricing: $199

September 15 -18, 2016  White Sands

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

Hues of pinks, blues and purples paint an endless landscape as the desert sky meets the rolling gypsum dunes known in White Sands National Monument. Spanning 275 square miles this uniquely arid terrain offers magical opportunities for photographing shadows, light and texture. 

Pricing: $1,450 / $500 deposit

October 2016  Lake Powell by Houseboat

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOP

 Lake Powell, with its awesome red rock towers and brilliant blue-green water, offers us a bountiful feast of photographic opportunities. With houseboats serving as our base camp, Lake Powell expert, Gary Ladd will guide you through capturing amazing images of the many canyons, coves, arches and natural bridges . Duration: 5 days | Activity level: 5.0 | Price: $2,695.00

"CAPTURE YOUR MOMENT" SYMPOSIUM

Looking forward to seeing many friends, students, clients and colleagues at this weekends Symposium.  http://www.ahpw.org/…/Capture-Your-Moment-Symposium-Expo-2…/
I have been asked when I am giving my presentations and portfolio reviews. Here is my schedule

Presentation 1 : Put the Focus in Hyper-Focal Distance
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2015 
Time: 9:30 - 10:30 am
Location: Arizona Room 

Presentation 2: Essentials of Adobe Lightroom

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2015
Time: 2:15-3:15 pm
Location: Arizona Room

Presentation 3: Hysterical Over Histograms 

Sunday, November 8, 2015
Time: 10:00-11:00am
Location: Library

Portfolio Reviews Saturday, November 7:
12:15-12:35 | 12:45-1:05
Sunday, November 8: 
12:45-1:05

See you there!

ADOBE RELASES A QUICK FIX - LR CC2015.2.1 and 6.2.1

Don't get too excited but Adobe did release a quick fix for the stability issues in the new releases

You can download them directly here - or they will show up in the Help>updates

Windows

Mac

It seems to fix the issue with LR crashing and closing that some people reported.

This is all it does - A band aid on a gushing wound for now but its a start

LIGHTROOM UPDATE FIXES

LIGHT ROOM 6.2 UPDATE - WORK AROUND
If you have updated and HATE the new import interface
and prefer to bypass the new “All Photos” screen in Lightroom CC, under the General Preferences, uncheck the option to Show “Add Photos” Screen. The next time you import photos, the Select Source column sill be displayed (on the left side of the Import dialog), allowing you to quickly choose your photos from Devices, Common Locations, Favorites, and/or browse your computer.

To Revert back to the prior version:
To revert back to Lightroom 6.1.1 until we get an update to 6.2. The instructions below refer to both 6 and CC 2015:

Uninstall Lightroom 6.2. On Windows, use the Add/Remove Programs feature. On Mac, in Finder go to Applications>Adobe Lightroom, and double-click on the Uninstall file.

Download Lightroom 6.0 from this page.
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/…/lightroom-downloads.html?
PID=7252638

Find the Lightroom_6_LS_11 file in your Downloads folder, and double-click to open it. Double click on the Install file. When it requires you to sign in with your Adobe ID, it will determine if you are a CC subscriber; if so, it will give you the Dehaze feature.
Download and install the Lightroom 6.1.1 patch. Windows Mac. These will be setup.zip (Windows) http://swupdl.adobe.com/…/AdobeLightroom-6.0/6.1.1/setup.zip

or Setup.dmg (Mac) files.
http://swupdl.adobe.com/…/AdobeLightroom-6.0/6.1.1/setup.dmg

After download, find the file in your Downloads folder, open it, and double-click on the Adobe Patch Installer.

LIGHTROOM CC2015.2 and LIGHTROOM 6.2 released

To coincide with the Adobe Max event in Los Angeles this week, Adobe has released an update to Lightroom and Lightroom mobile.

****WARNING - the general consensus is that this release might be a little premature and there are a few bugs to be worked out.  I am not recommending downloading right away - There have been reports of crashes on Mac's, a few performance issues and the new import dialog may be confusing to some users. (I believe you can disable that and use the legacy version)

I will be testing and using the new update over the next few weeks and will post findings and conclusions.

One of the best things so far is that the new Dehaze slider which used to be just a global adjustment is now a Local Adjustment.  Not sure why it wasn't this way right from the beginning.  Great to be able to add and reduce "haze" from selected parts of an image using the graduated filter, radial filter and adjustment brush YEA!!! (CC version only)

They have revamped the Import Dialog box - which may or may not be a good thing.  

They redesigned the Import experience to make finding and importing your photos easier and more visual.  The redesign was driven by our desire to make the import workflow more explicit and clear.  

The workflow is 1. Select a source, 2. Select images 3.  Choose any import settings (optional) and 4. Import.

The revamped Import experience is based on customer feedback and I'm curious to see if user and students find this easier.

1. Select a Source:  There is a new “Add Photos” screen which scans to identify the potential locations for photos on your hard drive.  You can also easily select from a folder, a connected camera (via USB cable), a memory card, external hard drive, or Photoshop Elements catalog.
2. 
   

1. Select images:  The Import Dialog has been redesigned.  Your source will already be selected (you choose it in step 1) so you can specify which images to import.  
2. 
   

1. Choose any import settings (optional):  While there isn’t a need to change the default settings, you can open the gear icon (on the top right) to adjust and change import settings.

1. Hit the import button.

Although this may sound similar to what we have now, the visual interface is slightly different

In an effort to simplify  the import process, several features have been removed, some I'm happy about some not so much!

The “Eject card after import” option. After importing from a memory card, you’ll need to go to Mac Finder or Windows Explorer and eject your card manually now.  Not Happy

We no longer see the Destination tree, we no longer get previews of what our subfolders will look like, so there is no chance to correct mistakes before importing.  Not Happy

The option to Move files has been removed (Add, Copy still available) - Happy - this did cause issues for some people

The ability to zoom in on photos to check for sharpness before importing - Happy -this was a waste of time and inefficient workflow

Improved Elements user Import - Happy

The Import from Elements dialog is now accessible from the Import dialog if Elements is installed and a catalog is found.

 Select the Elements catalog and Lightroom does the rest of the transfer.

Of course there are also the new camera supports and a few bug fixes

• Click to view the full list of supported cameras

• Click here for the full list of available Adobe Lens Profiles

BUG FIXES

• Library
  • When migrating from Photoshop Elements, Lightroom included face regions which were previously either rejected or deleted in Elements.
• Develop
  • The Eye dropper wouldn’t sample color from image when GPU enabled (Windows only).
  • The color matching camera profiles for the Olympus Style 1 and Stylus 1S disappeared after installing the Olympus 2.0 firmware upgrade.
• Photo Merge
  • HDR and Pano Merge have been improved.
• Slideshow
  • All exported JPEGs in Slideshows have the same slide text.
  • Images rendered as swapped blocks within the Slideshow module. (Windows machines with AMD graphics cards only.)
  • Lightroom CC Slideshow Module takes over selected display monitor until LR is closed. (Windows machines with AMD graphics cards only.)
• Export
  • JPGs exported from Lightroom CC can be incompatible with some other applications due to a non standard header.
  • The Flickr Publish Service includes people keywords when it shouldn’t.
• Other Fixes
  • A range of AMD cards appeared as unsupported on Windows but you’ll need to install the AMD 15.8 beta driver, which is available here.
  • Map, Book, Publish, Sync were not working for Creative Cloud Enterprise customers on Mac OSX 10.10.

*******NOTE TO EARLY ADOPTERS

If you update and do experience issues:

Reset your preferences –hold down the shift and Alt/Opt keys as you start Lightroom.

If you experience performance issues not just importing, disable the Add Photos screen in Preferences: go to Lightroom (Mac) or Edit (PC) > Preferences, and on the General tab, uncheck “Show Add Photos” screen.

Finally If you want to revert to 6.1.1, you’ll need to uninstall Lightroom (Windows: use Uninstall a Program feature; Mac: in the Adobe Lightroom folder in Applications, double-click to run Uninstall), then download and install 6.0, then download and install the 6.1.1 patch. If you are a CC subscriber, then sign out of the CC desktop app and sign in again. Ignore prompts in Lightroom to update to 6.2.

If you want to go ahead and update, if Lightroom doesn’t prompt you to update, go to Help>Updates, or click on Update in your Creative Cloud application.

Guess who now has to update their Lightroom presentation, keynotes and class notes!!