Lightroom 4 Beta

It was a strange coincidence that I took to digital photography and Adobe introduced Lightroom simultaneously. Both these events happened exactly six years ago. In last six years Adobe Lightroom has changed the way many photographers manage their images. The powerful cataloging and developing features in Lightroom provide photographers a great ability to manage their photographic workflow and efficiently manage the thousands of photos they click. I’ll be taking a look at some of the new features of Adobe Lightroom 4, which is currently in Beta.

Adobe’s Lightroom 4 Beta can be downloaded from here. The beta is free and is a great opportunity to test the software and to contribute to its development by giving your feedback to Adobe. There are a number of exciting features built into the latest version of Lightroom.

Develop Module

Lightroom is a modular software. New version introduces two new modules thus increasing the modules to seven, each of which allow you to process your images into different outputs. The Develop module is the most hub of editing activity and the list of changes in LR4 surely will excite many photographers.

New Modules in Lightroom 4 Beta

There is a whole new uniform and radical change in the way images are handled. Image editing controls are now more powerful and provide for a greater level of control than the past versions. After a couple of days of testing, I can say that the changes to the develop module have improved my editing by allowing for precise control of the digital development of my images. Whole of Spellbound performamnce I published earlier in 2 parts here and here would not have been possible without the help of Lightroom 4 capabilities

Changes in basic develop panel in Lightroom 4

Earlier versions of Lightroom has two sliders controlling the exposure of your images. There was Exposure slider to shift the exposure of your images, but also a brightness slider. In Lightroom 4. The exposure slider now controls the overall exposure of the image, while three new sliders are found for precise image control over varying regions of the photo. One of the major changes in Lightroom 4 is the addition of the highlights, shadows, and white level adjustments. These sliders and the blacks slider to provide for precise control over the exposure of different regions of your images.

The clarity slider which is one of my favorite slider in earlier versions. The clarity slider is designed to really enhance the fine details. The new version of the clarity slider does just that.The Develop module is certainly a changing experience with the recovery and fill light sliders now being exchanged for the exposure range controls.

New Develop Process Version 2012 in Lightroom 4 Beta

The image processing engine has been revamped from Develop Process Version 2010 to 2012 version. Personally, I believe that the new process allows for tighter control of the way we develop our images.

Soft Proofing

Soft Proofing feature allows the user to preview the image as it will appear in print. Again, this all takes place within your Lightroom workflow, so comparing the on-screen version to the soft-proofed version is a breeze. The red areas of this image help us to visualize the areas that will need adjustment for printing; these regions show us what is out of gamut and what won’t translate to a print version of our photo. With these guides, we can make the adjustments to images necessary to get the print perfect the first try.

Soft Proofing in Lightroom 4 Beta

Map Module

Lightroom 4 brings two entirely new modules that will excite many photographers; the Maps and Books module are two entirely new parts of the Lightroom digital workflow. Map module tightly integrated with Google Maps, the application can now place map markers that note the location at which your photos were made.

Map module in Lightroom 4 Beta

Since I do not yet own a camera with automatic image tagging, I imported my GPS tracks from Qstarz BT-Q1000XT GPS logger. Unfortunates map module had no way finding out from that data. So I am back to my trusted Jeffrey’s “GPS-Support” Geoencoding Plugin for Lightroom. Once geotagged I could easily navigate on the map module and locate my photos there. Photographers can also manually drag and drop images onto the map, or use a tracklog to geotag photos.

Book Module

Lightroom 4 is the Book module makes it easier to publish photo books. The Book module handles the book creation process from start to finish. With many layout, size and publishing options and in-depth customization, photographers may find themselves sending their work to print than ever before. The full edition of Lightroom 4 will include over 180 professionally designed templates and layouts.

Book module in Lightroom 4 Beta

Adobe partnered with one of the leading publishers, Blurb, to provide this seamless experience. A feature that wowed me was that pricing for the book you are designing automatically updates as you add pages and alter your book design. The fact that this all takes place within Lightroom is astonishing to me. This seamless experience is unrivaled in any other photo software. We can now take our image from the memory card, review and tag images in the Library module, make changes in the Develop module, and send it straight to a printer in the Books module.

Video Editing

Adobe has taken major steps to add some of the features of Lightroom to video. Although the entire Develop module is not available yet for video clips, we can tweak the clips to an extent. Furthermore, we now have the ability to make changes to the lengths of clips, as well as basic color and visual adjustments. In the screenshot below I used aged B&W preset on the video and convert it to a B&W video in just one click. We can also save individual frames as still pictures.

Video Editing in Lightroom 4 Beta

Lightroom 4′s brand new video features include adjusting white balance, vibrancy, and editing the length of the video. You can also extract stills or add some in to the video. You can produce the entire video within Lightroom and also export it.

Email Photos

Emailing a photo can now be done entirely within the application. The new Lightroom 4 email option allows me to attach an image and send it, all from within my photo catalog.

Emailing from Lightroom 4 Beta

With Lightroom 4, “The Lightroom workflow” is more powerful than ever with new modules and extensions of the already existing modules. Not only its well trusted features been greatly improved, the new features are introduced which are sure to become favorites of photographers of all types. Make sure to head over to Adobe’s website and give it a try today.

If you want to learn more there are plenty of resources online on Adobe Lightroom 4, I recommend detailed Introduction to Lightroom 4 Beta from Julieanne Kost.

I am also conducting a comprehensive one day workshop on Adobe Lightroom. I will be covering complete photography workflow using both Lightroom 3 as well as 4 beta on February 26th. If you are interested contact me. Here are the details of the Lightroom workshop

International Kite Festival 2012

Similar to last 3 years this year too we had International Kite Festival 2012 at Mangalore. It was held on 21st & 22nd January 2012. I went on Sunday to photograph these colorful kites.

International Kite Festival 2012

Compared to last 3 years variety of kites this year were less. But the show was better organized this year. Thousands of families were there enjoying the International Kite Festival on Panambur beach. While the kites of different shapes and sizes flew high resembling the aspirations of the hands flying them, Panambur beach took a look of a gala fair.

International Kite Festival 2012

To cater to the flowing crowd, several shops had come up. While some plush make-shift restaurants flaunted cozy couches served hot, creamy coffee, sandwiches and burgers. There were couple of ice cream stalls helping the crowd to beat the heat. Rest of the smaller shacks sold sugar cane juice, Gobi Manchurian, Kebab, biriyani and there was even a shop selling masala powders. Local puffed rice Churmuri and groundnut vendors were busy calling on their potential customers, making brisk business during the festival.

International Kite Festival 2012

Kite enthusiasts from seven countries participated in the competitions. Other countries participating in the kite festival were England, South Korea, Netherlands, Lebanon, Kuwait, Indonesia and France.

International Kite Festival 2012

The Indian kites nicknamed ‘Kathakkali’ were among the largest kites flown in the skies while the kites flown by the Kuwaiti team were the most striking with two fishes and tiger models.

International Kite Festival 2012

Other extremely eye catching kite was that flown by the Lebanon team of Rami Al Khal and Sami Sayegh. The duo’s two duck kites, one black and another white was appreciated a lot by the crowds. Rami is visiting India for the sixth time. He praised the organizers Team Mangalore for a well organized show.

International Kite Festival 2012

One kite flyer from the Netherlands called Otto was observed flying a kite from his latest edition Beautiful People. He informed that this edition comprises of a series of kites that are two metres wide and 3.8 metres long. The kites carry the faces of people close to him and have their favorite color. “The 25-metre tail is made of Indian cotton”, informed Otto.

International Kite Festival 2012

Another ardent kite flier March Herzog, a member of Manja Club of France, had brought three kites one of which was a unique one captioned Revolution to the fest. This is Herzog’s third trip to the city and he says he likes the people here. With regard to flying kites in Mangalore skies, he opined ‘What is more important is the steady wind which is favorable for kite flying.’

International Kite Festival 2012

Not to be left behind even an Indian Asst. Professor in Engineering from NITK Surathkal, Prithviraj Umesh hit the Panambur skies with his inventive kite with an attached camera. He named his labor of love Mugila Kannu (eye of the sky). His 12 megapixel compact camera can catch images from a distance of 1.5 km.

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

International Kite Festival 2012

Mudbath

My home town Moodabidri hosted its 10th annual buffalo race also called Kambala at Kadalakere Nisargadhama on Saturday January 21. The Kambala or the buffalo race is unique to Udupi & Mangalore districts.

Mudbath

Historically Kambala was the event when farmers paid tribute to their gods for protecting their crops. There used to be lot of celebration and games as part of this festive atmosphere. Some say Kambala also marked the beginning of sowing operations for the second round of crops. Traditionally, there were two types of Kambalas, Pookere Kambala and Bale Kambala. Pookere Kambala is the only variety which survives now.

Mudbath

Kambala is traditionally a simple sport. The Kambala track used for muddy field filled with slush. The contest generally takes place between two pairs of buffaloes, controlled by a racer.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Kambala today has become an organized, professional sports. People place massive amounts of bets on the winning buffaloes and one can witness more than 20,000 spectators in a well organized Kambala, egging and cheering the buffaloes to complete the race. As of now, more than 45 races are held annually in Coastal Karnataka. Nearly 18 Kambalas are held under the banner of Kambala Samithi and the rest are held under the auspices of temples, political patronage and aristocratic Bunt households. Kambala still remains a hugely popular sport in Coastal Karnataka.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Being the 10th year this large rain water fed track was to witness record number of 200 pairs of Water Buffaloes. On that Saturday huge crowd had gathered to witness this folk sports. I was able to reach the venue only in the late evening and for 2 hours I took the pictures you see here. Nearing Sunset is best time in my opinion for shooting Kambala. Later most of the light will be from the overhead halogen lamps which light up the whole Kambala venue.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

I used my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM fitted to Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. This one lens & body combo is so perfectly matched for the low light situation and fast action sports. All the photos here are taken at f/2.8, shutter speed at 1/500th of second. ISO was kept on Auto and varied with light condition.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Kambala races take place in several different categories.

• Negilu: The runner will hold the plough ( it is not actual plough which is heavy and bulky, it is just a representation of which is tied to pair of buffalo. This type is mostly for the Junior buffaloes or entry level buffaloes. But there is again a junior , senior rounds in this race.
• Hagga : A rope is directly tied to the buffalo pair. And this is for Senior buffaloes as the speed is more here and the participating buffaloes are well experienced. This also has a Junior, senior levels.
• Adda halage : A cross wooden plank is tied to the pair and the runner stands on it while racing. This is just for the senior category.
• Kane halage: A round wooden block where the runner stands on it on his single leg. There will be two holes in the block out of which the water forces out while running. The height of the water forcing out is measured to choose the winner. The more the speed is more the water height is. And this is only for senior most category.

Kene Halage

Kene Halage and Adda Halage are 2 forms of the race which has very few contestants participating and is a vanishing from most Kambala races. Fortunately on this race we had 5-6 participants from both category. All the extreme water splashed photos you see here are from that category of race.

There is no fixed rule for size of the track which mostly depends on the availability of the space on the locality. Normally it is between 120 meters to 145 meters long and 8-12 meters wide. There is a thick layer of mud and then water on it. The thumb rule is water is filled in the track so that it completely contains about a feet deep mud. The tracks are called by name so it is easy for communication. In the middle of the track there are two strips of white cloth tied across the track which are used as height measurements for Kane halage races. One gauge is at 9.375 meters which is the highest and the other one is at 8.125 meters. This year 8.125 meter mark was breached after a long time, You can see this in the last but one photo here.

Kene Halage

Kambala is conducted in several parts of two districts Udupi and Mangalore from November to March. It is conducted always on a weekend so that it is possible for most spectators as well as participants all the Kambalas. The race starts usually Saturday morning and goes on all night and finishes Sunday afternoon. The final winners will be rewarded by the officials during the Kambala closing ceremony conducted in Sunday afternoon. It is watched by, on an average 20,000 spectators in a day.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Kene Halage

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

It is a hit among the tourists and lot of people from different part of city, country travel to see this race. My good friend dynamic realist artist Abbey Walmsley from England was there for this Kambala to photograph along with her friend Stefen. You can see her taking photograph in this photo crouching near the edge of Kambala Track.

Photographing Kambala

It is not always all that fun to take photographs of Kambala. If you are careful you may be gored or trampled by charging Buffaloes. I was able to catch one such situation where excited pair photographers met charging pair of Buffaloes near the finishing track. Trying to get that head on shot you might be risking your life. Then you have a risk of mud bath with splashing dirt soaking both you and your camera gear. My advice is better to be safe than sorry.

Kambala is Hazrdous to Photographer's Health