macphun

Macphun’s Intensify & Tonality Pro: Review

Find the latest prices and links:

Macphun makes other terrific products: but I’m only going to include these 3, since I’m most familiar with them. No sense in making up stuff just to hear myself talk!

1. Macphun’s Creative Kit (Best deal, most inclusive)
2. Macphun’s Intensify Pro (Best & least expensive product for detail, structure and overall image intensification)
3. Macphun’s Tonality Pro (My favorite!! Awesome black and white app with a stunning array of monochrome AND non black and white options!)

 use the code: “KHUTT” for 10% off all Macphun Pro products!

NOTE: As always, I only recommend products I truly love. I also fully and honestly disclose that when you purchase from these links and use my code, I receive a small percentage of the sale. But seriously, there is NO obligation here! It’s FAR more important to me that you know I’m only sharing my opinion – that I do love these products – and if they float your boat too, here’s a way to get them at a discount.  That’s the spirit of this whole thing.

OK, so… I’ve shared my experiments with them in the past… but now, after months of working with both Intensify Pro and Tonality Pro, I’m able to sum up what I like about them and how I use them consistently.

This is NOT intended to be a hard core, geeked out, every-single-detail sort of review.  It IS about what I’ve found useful – and what you might find expansive about these two unique plugins from an artistic point of view.

NOTE: These are Mac-only products. Sadly, nothing for Windows yet!

What The Heck Do They DO?

First, here are the visual cliff notes on what Intensify and Tonality Pro actually do, using one simple image for comparison:

This is a RAW image, straight out of the camera:
Shadow&Light-RAW
Continue reading “Macphun’s Intensify & Tonality Pro: Review” →

Karen

Photo Processing, Macphun and Imagination

Photo Processing Questions

I get asked a lot about my photo processing. About whether I have tutorials on how I do it. About whether I offer presets for any of it. I thought I’d aim today’s chat towards a bit of that.

And BTW… I like saying “chat” or “conversation” more than “post”. Truly, I see you all in my mind’s eye when I write – and I honestly never think that I’m posting to you. What does that mean, anyway? I’m talking to you. And I love it when you talk to me too.

OK. Had to get that off my chest.

Back to the question at hand. Typically, I’ve found it difficult to do tutorials on what I do, at least in the overall, since I approach each photo like an original creation and don’t batch-do ANYTHING. I let each image talk to me (sometimes I talk to it too. Don’t judge me!) and then I try to tell our story. How do you teach that?

THAT SAID… what I’m going to share with you today IS something I can wrap my head around well enough to share with you – and perhaps make a difference in the expression of your special view of the world. It involves Macphun Software and their special suite of plugins.

Oh yeah, fair disclosure: I use both Photoshop tools and a variety of plugins in my processing. Some people think you’re cheating or something if you use plugins and aren’t some kind of elite Photoshop master wizard. I beg to differ! Plugins for me have always tickled my imagination into new directions, enticing me into see, think and feel in new ways that I wouldn’t have otherwise. (You know how I love that!) So I’m a fan of using them AND using Photoshop tools all in the same brew… and could use an entire post for each one. But today, I’m focusing on Macphun. I processed this one in Tonality Pro:

GoldOnGranite-TP_Chill-red-yell-channels
Continue reading “Photo Processing, Macphun and Imagination” →

Karen

Macphun Webinar: Planning for the New Year!

Plan For the Best, Forget the Rest!

ThatBendInTheRiver

I focus inward this time of year. Take a breath. Do some writing and thinking.
Y’know, take stock of what I loved/didn’t love about the past year… celebrate the wins… learn from the ‘fails’… and set the tone for my Epic New Year. (I always plan for “Epic”… cause if I don’t, who will?)

Seems Macphun Software had the same idea, since they asked me to be part of a terrific webinar full of tips for planning your photographic new year. I joined  Frederick Van Johnson, highly successful Photographer, Marketer, Broadcaster, Podcaster – and creator/exec producer for TWiP and  Laurie Rubin, Macphun’s Senior Education Manager. The aim: to give solid idea for starting, building, shaping your photography business… even if it’s a part-time venture. 

We Yakked About…

Frederick gave an overview of his awesome 5 Tips of Highly Effective Photographers webinar (upcoming, as of this writing)… which were all so smart and spot-on.
Laurie talked about some of the more unconventional ways to enter the photography business. People are always asking her about that!
I shared some of the things you should think about BEFORE pressing “GO” and building that website. Saves ALOT of confusion, time and trouble later on. 

It was fun! It’s always great to put heads together… and I’m happy to be able to share it all with you, right here:

Oh, and here are the websites I showed, in case you want to do some perusin’ of you own:

Mark Johnson
Nicole S. Young
David Keochkerian
Art Wolfe
Stuck in Customs
Timothi Jane Graham
Laura Belgray
Marie Forleo

Karen

Walk in the Park x 2

There Was This Day…

One day whilst in New York, I had a morning all to myself (shocking!!). I decided to grab my camera and head out. No real goal or plan… just get out there and see stuff. I hadn’t done that yet in the neighborhood where I was staying… and it had easy access to Central Park, among other cool neighborhoodie sights.

It was a frisky-brisk fall day. Whereas back home the autumn leaves had all but fallen – here, they were still heating up. (Let’s hear it for two autumns in one year!). So of course, I ended up in Central Park.

The big elm trees were putting on a show. I can tell you two things: I’m a sucker for elm trees and I LOVE a good show! This particular show moment is brought to you by the friendly-friends who were walking that morning, who so very kindly provided scale for these awesome trees. To me, it was quintessentially Central Park, autumn… and life. Sigh.

WalkInThePark

Continue reading “Walk in the Park x 2” →

Karen

The Landscape of Life

Me Loves Options

Sometimes I don’t know if I love black and white or color better. Or… big, open space epic photographs or macro. Or… chocolate or really ripe raspberries.
Then I retrieve my senses and remember that I don’t have to choose! In this lifetime, on this planet – we get options and choices. I treasure that to my very core.

(SIDEBAR: I created this one in Macphun Software’s Tonality Pro. I love how fast it is – and how you can bring back color selectively like here, or split tone in the blink of an eye. Should I tell you that all of Macphun’s software is 40% off until Nov. 29? I think it’s fair… cause maybe you love a discount as much as I do and want the option to git one!)

BlueBoatWhiteSand

Continue reading “The Landscape of Life” →

Karen

New York, Macphun & The Fish

Presets & Textures… Oh My!

I love new experiences. Roll them in a nice coating of fun, learning curve rich goodness and I’m hooked!
Such was my experience in creating new presets and textures for Macphun. I was delighted and honored when they asked me to do so.

I went to town on them a few months ago. I’ve certainly created and used my own textures… but not strictly for and in black and white – and never presets. What a cool thing to do! (You can create your own too, BTW… it’s yet another way to create your own unique touches.)

Since then, I’ve been using them ALOT to fine tune and get ’em dialed in. I finally like the results! And now… two are being released in their new Marketplace this week… the KHutt Urbex textures and The Dynamic Collection presets, both created for Tonality Pro. Click this link to see what they look like. Or just click on the images below.
(I put them here so you know what they’ll look like on the page.)

There are also presets and such from several other fabulous photographers – so if you like presets and textures, you MUST have a gander.

For any regular Macphun product you do decide to spring for… use the code KHUTT for 10% off your purchase. (Discount = yay!!)

However, please note that the presets and textures are not included in that discount. Sorry! But the good news is that they’re super inexpensive to begin with and you’ll barely miss it. 😀

Screen Shot 2014-10-28 at 9.45.52 AM Screen Shot 2014-10-28 at 9.46.03 AM
Continue reading “New York, Macphun & The Fish” →

Karen

Lines, Contrast, Patterns = Monochrome

 My, What Strong Lines You Have!

This is a brand, spankin’ new photo. I haven’t posted it anywhere, except here. ‘Cause my blog gets first crack at everything. I’m partial that way.

It DID appear in a recent webinar I did on Tonality Pro for Macphun Software, because that’s how I processed it. This particular photo is just such a great example of how you can work with selective colors in Tonality Pro.

I do love this one… single shot, hand held… I found it while I was waiting for sunset at Donner Lake one evening this summer. I still remember the sound of the mosquito I was dodging at the time.

The little boat rental outfit was closed for the day… and all their boats were tied up, but this one was just as you see it. Such a classic set up – and perfect for a monochrome approach. The strong lines make it so; the verticals of the trees, the horizontal of the boat and dock… accentuated by the vertical orientation.

It’s a good thing to remember, should you wonder if a subject would make a good black and white image. Does it have strong lines, contrasts and repeating patterns? Then it’s probably a shoo-in for monochrome.

MyRedCanoe

 If You Like Learning…

On a whole other topic (but still related to learning)… remember last week when I said “Something Big is Coming?”
It starts tomorrow. I can’t give you the complete lowdown on the rundown until then, but I do get to say this much… Wow!

Yeah. Check in tomorrow… I’ll have the entire thing all laid out for ya. It’s COOL!

Facebook-Sale-Teaser-1

Karen

My Big, Fat Tonality Pro Webinar

Webinars-R-Us

Throw on your backpack and come with me to school!
Kidding.
Kinda.
OK, not entirely… because I really did to a webinar recently!
It was for Macphun Software and their black and white plugin Tonality Pro, which I adore.

I was asked to take viewers through a few images, KHutt style. I love it when they turn me loose like that. Don’t worry, I didn’t go crazy, I kept it real… and demo’d some different ways I like to use the layers feature, some fun techniques for using color along with black and white, how blending modes create a whole set of options – and lots more!

And so that you don’t have to lift a finger, I brought the entire experience… right here… to you.
‘Cause that’s how we roll over here.

Always remember… if you decide at any point “I gotta have that!”… you can save 10% on any Macphun Product with the code KHutt.
I swear, a good deal an awesome product practically makes me swoon.

Hope you enjoy! There will be more… 😉

Karen

The Photoshop World Picture Book of KHutt

Photoshop World is Unique

I went to Photoshop World in Las Vegas last week. I go because I get to see friends that I don’t get to visit with much throughout the year… I meet NEW friends, I make connections, get ideas and am generally inspired and re-focused at the end of it all.

And IN the end, it truly is all about the people. These are photographers whose passion for what they do spills out onto the people around them. And that’s a unique thing. We don’t just recognize each other by face and name… we know each other’s heart and soul.

I honestly didn’t take a ton of photos this time. But the ones I DID come home with tell a story that I’ll love to remember 25 years from now. About the smiling, lovely peeps I’m lucky enough to call friends and colleagues. All of them were taken with an iPhone 5.

Reno to Vegas… 

It started out with the journey from Reno to Vegas. It’s not a long trip, but it’s always colorful. Reno International Airport IS the official Burning Man airport… and B.M. had just gotten out. You can always tell the folks coming from Black Rock Desert… because everything they own is covered with the white chalk dust they pick up out there. It’s my personal entertainment to spot them from the roads, walkways and check-in line!

That’s the Reno end of the trip. At Las Vegas, we get to see the cute guy with a pair of shiny new cowboy boots tied to his backpack. I grew up with actual cowboys… I won’t even attempt to repeat what they’d say to this. And they never EVER roll up their boy jean cuffs. DOH! I giggled out loud.

 

WaitingBootsBurn
Continue reading “The Photoshop World Picture Book of KHutt” →

Karen

The Big Upcoming Tonality Pro Webinar!

Tonality Pro Webinar

Tomorrow I’m giving a webinar on Macphun’s Tonality Pro.
It’s FREE, FREE… and yes, FREE! You just have to register ahead of time by clicking this link.

Then… you can get 10% off the purchase of any Macphun product by using the code KHUTT.
(You don’t actually have to wait for the webinar for that… it’s good any old time.)

The actual time/date is: September 10, 2014, 10am Pacific Time.

I thought I’d mention all of this right up front, ’cause I don’t do a ton of webinars, so this will be fun. (And free.) I’m excited!

Before… and Two Ever-Afters

So, to get us all in the mood, I thought I’d share one of the photos I’m going to work through. It was taken in The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City. This is the RAW image, complete with big fat, unsightly ladder and a couple of workmen who didn’t have the good sense to know there was an ARTISTE at work and move their butts!! hahahaha!


Continue reading “The Big Upcoming Tonality Pro Webinar!” →

Karen

Tonality Pro and Options

Options in Life… and Post Processing

A girl loves her options.

I’m ridiculous about it. Ideas or plans without options are useless to me. Snoresville. Like spandex that only comes in black. No options? Whuuuuut?? I do not speak this strange language!

To give you but a small (trust me, it’s small for me!) example of this in photographic terms, I give you 5 images. One original, 4 variations done in Tonality Pro by Macphun Software. I’m doing a free webinar next week on this very plugin. I do SO love to set the stage ahead of time in a properly conspiratorial manner. My husband would guffaw right now. In fact, he probably WILL give a hearty snort when he reads this! (which he will.)

The first one is the original, processed before I discovered the mighty Macphun  in Adobe Camera Raw… except for that bit of clouds in the upper right corner, which I tucked in there using Photoshop. Cause this girl does NOT suffer boring, colorless skies easily, nor does she intend to start anytime soon! It should come as no surprise to learn THAT’S a whole other story. (Coming soon to a blog near you).

The Paragon of Paint

But our story for today begins here, at an incredibly run down building in Queens, NY. It was so urbex and cool. It also cracked me up, because of the paint job on a building which is the home of Paragon Paint. I took it as a single shot on my Sony NEX-7. (Yes, I’m still carrying it!)


Continue reading “Tonality Pro and Options” →

Karen

News About My Upcoming Macphun Webinar!

I’m excited!
Know why?
‘Kay, I tell ya. (you know I can’t keep anything from you! Ok, almost anything. heh.)

Next week, I’m giving a webinar on Sept. 10m 2014 at 10 am Pacific Time on MacPhun Software’s Tonality Pro! I’m stoked about this, because I love Tonality Pro. It’s  SUCH a blast! Go here to learn more about it… or click here to simply register outright, you thrill seeker, you!  You do need to register ahead of time… but it’s completely FREE!

We’re calling it Rediscovering Black & White – Again! because monochrome and I go waayyyyy back. Like, 30-something years back! (Did I just say that out loud?)
I feel like I’m rediscovering my black and white photography – but in whole new ways. For the rest of this week, I’m going to post photos I’ve processed with Tonality Pro… some of which I’ll include in the webinar itself. Who knows.. maybe all of them? You never know with me… I’m very spontaneous about these things.

Use the code “KHUTT”for 10% off ANY Macphun product. I love a deal, I so do. 😀

This is a shot taken at Mono Lake. Processed scary quick with Tonality Pro! It’s awesome that way…

Karen

The Lay of The Land

What’s Been Going On Behind the Curtain?

I’ve been nose to the grindstone. Behind closed doors. Below the radar. “Leave a message at the beep” now for weeks. I might even say for months!
So, I thought perhaps I’d take a moment to have a gander of the lay of the land looking forward… and share it with you. Because fun stuff is coming up!

An ALL NEW Episode of  The Chat This Week!!

FIRST up this week is my first completed episode of “The Chat” in about 2 months!! Yes, on Wednesday it will be released to the world. Woot!
The pace of said past few months has been so intense I haven’t had time to edit a single episode, which has pained me to no end. Well, truthfully I had to finally let GO of the pain, because it wasn’t doing me – or you – any good. But it’s unintended hiatus will be over on Wednesday with a brand new episode. Chris MacAskill, President of SmugMug will be my guest. And LORDY what an amazing life he’s had! In fact, we shot the main episode AND 2 shorter segments as “extras”, which I’ll show as exclusives right here. It’s all fantastic!

But wait, there’s more! Like who my upcoming guests on The Chat are, a new website on the way, TWiP Pro, Photo+ Expo, a big NYC photo walk, new works coming up and more!
First, however… a word from our Mother Nature in New Zealand:

Continue reading “The Lay of The Land” →

Karen

Macphun’s Tonality Pro: 3 Photos, 3 Ways

No More Secrets!

Finally! I get to share something I’ve been working on for weeks, but NOT able to talk about until now!

Macphun Software’s Tonality Pro plugin/app just launched last week. I was lucky enough to get to play with the software during the Beta process … and I’ve fallen in love with it!

Black & White Is My Home

My photography roots are in the darkroom… a looooong, long time ago. Black and white photography taught me the basics at such a deep level that it’s STILL what informs my composition, storytelling and artistry. So, Tonality Pro is a huge full circle experience for me.

The mind-bendy thing is that it doesn’t just do monochrome. It allows you to work selectively with color in ways I’ve never experienced before. It is truly mind-blowing! I don’t usually write reviews… but I’m working on one for this baby!

I have to admit that I’m still learning more and more about what all we can do with Tonality Pro… but I thought I’d start sharing it with you by taking 3 photos, processed 3 simple, quite different ways… just to give you a little flavah-flav of what you can do with this awesome plugin.

OH! And if you do decide to give any of the Macphun products a whirl, use the code KHUTT for 10% your purchase.

 

 

TryMacphun

(at this time, it is only available for Mac users. I’m hoping for a version for Windows users in the future!)

Here’s glimpse of it in action, KHutt style:

Karen

The Art of Living and The New Now

Looking Back, Taking a Breath

Stuff is happening. Fast!
I imagined summer to be “catch my breath” time. Hahahaha! Oh the folly and whimsy of it all!

The past few months have seen the launch of The Arcanum, a photo trip to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, followed immediately by a trip to NYC, filming several episodes of The Chat which I’ve had NO time to edit, speaking engagements, my first photography show at Coffeebar, Truckee , the unexpected availability of the “Dream Team” for my fabulous new website (a 4 month, SUPER time-intensive process… it’ll launch in October!), a couple of Virtual Photo Walks – one of my favorite things to do, interviews, meetings about potential new projects and now… I’m newly the west coast Influencer/Artist (is that actually a title?) for Macphun Software and Tonality Pro, for which I did a press presentation in San Francisco, am now making videos and am TOTALLY stoked about it. Yes I fell behind on my blog and on The Chat… but like I said, growing pains!

These developments are all incredible, wonderful. I could only imagine them a couple of years ago. They’ve also pushed me in new ways – to do more, think more, be more creative, move faster than I had ANY idea I would be at this point!

The New Now

As an artist, this is exciting – because it feels like my dreams are now taking physical form – and are moving forward.
As a human, it’s change, requires growth and has its requisite growing pains.
And as a human being doing my best to “live my life as if it were my art”… I am beginning to realize that this is the “New Now”. Unexpected, demanding, fluid, thrilling.


Continue reading “The Art of Living and The New Now” →

Karen

Get the MacPhun Super Special While it Lasts!!

I Love To Pass Great Deals on to My Friends!

And this is one of them!! PLUS… use the code KHUTT and get 10% off this fabulous price on the MacPhun Creative Suite! It includes their Creative Suite, a ViewBug Premium membership & their brand new Macphun app. (due for release this Summer!!

The catch: MacPhun is limiting this deal to the first 500 people. So, if you want to get your MacPhun on… get going!

MacPhun has recently become one of my favorite plugins… and I use a lot of ’em!

But hey, acquiring a palette of plugins for your post-processing can get PRICEY!! I’m big on discounts. Big. Discounts.

I love Intensify Pro for getting the details and contrasts out of an image… and have recently become enamored with Focus Pro 2 for creating selective focus effects on certain images, like the one at the bottom of this post.

But hey, less blabbing, more clicking! Click on the image below – enter KHUTT where it says “Discount Code” at checkout – and get 10% off the entire suite! (at least till the 500 are gone. Doh!)

MacPhunSpecial
Continue reading “Get the MacPhun Super Special While it Lasts!!” →

Karen

Intensify!

I’m Baaaaack!

Whoa! I’m so busted; I clearly don’t work far enough in advance to have blog posts at the auto-ready! If I had, a whole week would not have gone by without having something juicy for you. So I’ll make it up to you by working for you! 😀

Macphun, SmugMug & Me!

I’m co-presenting a cool (free) webinar today, May 19, 2014 at 4pm PT on using MacPhun software! What’s more, I’m doing it with Laurie Rubin from MacPhun – and Sean Rogan from SmugMug. Because Laurie and I will not only show what you can do with Intensify Pro to add clarity, detail and so much more to your images… but Sean will show you how you can then upload your finished awesomeness to SmugMug in the blink of an eye!

Register (it’s free) & Discount Code

You need to register in advance, so just go here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4966623023932756994.

Webinar participants will receive discount codes on both products: get 10% off of MacPhun’s suites with this code: KHUTT… and 20% off a brand new SmugMug account with a link that’ll be announced during the webinar. You definitely DON’T have to buy anything to come and learn some cool stuff though… everyone is welcome to sign up and tune in!

I recently started using MacPhun’s Intensify Pro and I gotta say, it’s very cool and is being a time saver for me. I generally use multiple plugins and Photoshop techniques on my photos… but on this one below (from our recent trip to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state) I only used Intensify to go from this:


Continue reading “Intensify!” →

Karen