Thursday, September 11, 2014

Video Memorial: We Will Never Forget. 09.11.2001


If you are having problems viewing this video in your browser, the direct YouTube link is: http://youtu.be/Gm2HAT_cBmY

September 11, 2001: Remembrance and Memorial Video

On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijack four commercial airliners bound for west coast destinations. A total of 2,977 people are killed in New York City; Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, PA, in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.

This video is a tribute to the men and women that that have fallen and the families that are suffering today because of what happened on September 11, 2001.

From Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me.”

We will never forget. 09.11.2001

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Initial Flight of Dakota VisionsCopter

Well, we finally did it. We broke down and purchased a DJI Phantom 2 Visions+. You know, an unmanned aerial vehicle or system. Of course, we will only be using it for recreational or hobby use (and of course, purchased under our personal funds - not business funds) until federal guidelines have been established. We don't want to get into trouble with the FAA! We also didn't want to miss out on some of the amazing videos and photos that can be captured with an aerial vehicle.

The debate is still out on whether or not this will take off in the photography field, marketing/advertising arena, whether all the inherent dangers within business operations will be worth the return, and also, many of the legal battles still to be fought with the FAA.

But.... It is a lot of fun! Wahoo!

We couldn't buy this with business funds or use it for business purposes yet, but that didn't stop us from christening our UAS/UAV the Dakota VisionsCopter.

Check out our inaugural flight:


If you are unable to view the embedded video in your browser, the direct YouTube video link can be found here: http://youtu.be/0gzHXUBM_Qk 

We look forward to learning more and trying out more 'recreational-only' activities! And stay tuned as we give a more in-depth review after spending some more time with this DJI Phantom 2 Visions+.

Join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ , Twitter, or sneak a peek at our photography on Dakota Visions Photography, LLC. Until next time, we'll see you behind the lens...


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by Richard S - Dakota Visions Photography, LLC

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

New Release: Perfect Photo Suite 9 Adds RAW Previews, Re-editable Files, Improved Selection Tools And More!

It's here! onOne Software has announced Perfect Photo Suite 9, an updated version of its photo editing and effects app for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. Included in the new release are many significant performance and feature improvements, all designed to help you streamline your photo-editing tasks, so you can spend more time shooting and less time processing your photos.

New Release: onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite 9 Pre-Order Today

Key Enhancements:

Among the key enhancements in Perfect Photo Suite 9 are:

  • An overhauled Browse module, which adds lightning-fast previews of RAW files; new rating, ranking and keyword tools; and sophisticated filtering capabilities. These features are designed to help you cull and sort through photos quickly after a shoot, without having to wait for previews to be generated. You can then edit your photos using the Suite, or can easily send them to a secondary photo tool like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Apple Aperture — with metadata and keywords intact.
  • A new Smart Photo feature, which lets you re-edit your photos — with previous settings intact — after saving and closing them. All of your editing steps are saved with a Smart Photo, so you can make subtle (or major) changes to a photo at a later date, while preserving the Photoshop file format for compatibility.
  • To help you create better selections, all the masking and selection tools have been improved and integrated throughout the Suite’s modules. And, Perfect Layers and Perfect Mask have been combined into a single module, streamlining the process of compositing photos.
  • We’ve also added a new Quick Mask brush: run it over an area that you want to select (or remove), and a detailed mask is automatically created. This is perfect for replacing backgrounds or adding a custom look to part of your photo.
  • You asked for it, we added it: noise reduction is now part of the Suite. Reduce noise in your photos while maintaining important details. You can even selectively apply noise reduction to different parts of a photo, such as the shadows or highlights.


    Source: onOne Software U
    If you are unable to view the video in your browser, the YouTube link is: http://youtu.be/mOaDipUipEc.

  • A new Lens Flare filter in Perfect Effects lets you get that popular “shot into the sun” look and add flares ranging from subtle to bold.
  • Faster image processing; filters and presets now load up to 30 percent faster than in previous versions.
  • There are many more new features and enhancements found in Perfect Photo Suite 9, including Retina display support; an improved automatic tone algorithm, for quickly making your photos bright and clear; better crop and level tools; an enhanced Perfect Brush, updated to work on soft edges and semi-transparent objects; printing capabilities; better batch rename options; and much more.

About the Suite
onOne’s Perfect Photo Suite is a full-featured photo editor that works either as a plug-in editor to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom and Aperture, or as a standalone application. In any workflow, the Suite provides all the necessary tools for editing your photos, improving portraits, adding popular looks in color or black and white, resizing for large-format printing, and making complex selections with minimal effort.
Our open system allows access to your photos no matter where they are stored: your computer, your network, or on cloud-based storage services. We support all of the key online storage services, including Dropbox, iCloud Photo Stream, Google Drive, and Microsoft’s OneDrive.

Availability and Pricing

Perfect Photo Suite 9 will be available in late October 2014, in two versions: Premium and Basic. The Premium edition supports Photoshop CC, CC 2014, and CS6; Lightroom 5 and 4; Photoshop Elements 12, 11 and 10; and Apple Aperture 3, and has an introductory price of $129.95.

The Basic edition, which does not have plug-in support, is $79.95.

For a limited time, owners of earlier versions of the Perfect Photo Suite can upgrade to Premium for just $89.95.

Join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ , Twitter, or sneak a peek at our photography on Dakota Visions Photography, LLC. Until next time, we'll see you behind the lens...


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by Richard S - Dakota Visions Photography, LLC

Monday, September 1, 2014

Create Actions in Photoshop Using the Perfect Photo Suite

As you know, Perfect Photo Suite by onOne Software is one of our tools for creating great photographs along with interesting design elements. Adobe Creative Cloud Photoshop CC + Lightroom is another one of the tools we use consistenly every day, especially when creating design artwork. But did you know you can easily combine the two together?

Creating actions in Adobe Photoshop CC can save you time by allowing you to apply multiple effects to a single image. You can include the Perfect Photo Suite into an action, saving even more time when processing your photos. In this onOne Software training video, watch Liz LePage walk through this easy technique, showing how you can quickly create a Perfect Effects preset and apply it to open photos in Photoshop.

Create Actions in Photoshop Using the Perfect Photo Suite
by Liz LePage 



If you are unable to view the video in your browser, the direct YouTube link is: http://youtu.be/7utglrC9wOs.
Source: onOne Software

Join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ , Twitter, or sneak a peek at our photography on Dakota Visions Photography, LLC. Until next time, we'll see you behind the lens...


Shutterfly Photo Books

Subscribe to See You Behind the Lens...
by Richard S - Dakota Visions Photography, LLC