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I got quite a few mails in the last days from Aperture users asking for the best way to add your copyright information or any other so called watermark to your images in an Aperture 2 workflow. Especially new users to Aperture find it quite confusing why there isn’t something like a text brick in the Adjustments panel. So Aperture itself lacks the ability of quickly adding some lines of text to your images but nevertheless it has a watermarking feature.

In this article I will lay out every way I’ve found to add watermarks to your images in an Aperture 2 workflow and will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. The goal of this article is to give you a brief overview about the various ways you can add watermarks to your images so you can easily choose the best one for different needs. In short these are the possibilities:

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LightZone 3.6
This update adds expanded RAW support to the following cameras: Canon EOS 450D, Canon EOS 1000D, Fuji Finepix S100FS, Nikon D60, Nikon D700, Olympus E-420, Olympus E-520, Pentax K20D, Pentax K200D, Samsung GX20 Sony A200, Sony A35

Edit for Aperture 1.35
The 12 module Aperture edit plug-in comes with improved interface and speed.

Aperture Assistant 1.0.62
Aperture Assistant now works with Aperture 2.1.1 and adds numerous optimizations and bugfixes. The thumbnails are now exported up 50-100% faster and the whole Aperture Assistant now launches twice as fast.

Tiffen Dfx Digital Filter Software 2.0
This version features exclusive multiple masking and layering capabilities without having to exit the plug-in, plus more than 1,000 new filters and effects and local language menu. The exclusive EZ Mask feature, one of seven mask types, allows users to easily create precise multiple masks with just a few quick strokes.

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The successor of the EOS 40D is (almost) here: Canon officially announced the Canon EOS 50D along with the new lens Canon EF-S 18-200/3.5-5.6IS. The EOS 50D and the new lens will be both available in October 2008, Canon says.

The EOS 50D comes with an CMOS APS-C sized sensor (crop factor 1.6) with 15.1 megapixels. Being Canons first DSLR with the new DIGIC 4 image processor the EOS 50D can burst 6.3 shots per second with improved image quality.

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When on the road I always take a little mobile hard drive with me where all my referenced Aperture Masters from the past years and my mobile Aperture Vault (backing up the un-referenced Masters from the current year) reside. But being little and mobile also means the external hard drive can easily be lost or stolen exposing all my pictures to the thief. To avoid that you can use encryption so in the case of a lost or theft the data is not accessible by the thief. This can easily be done with sparse bundle disk images so you won’t have to encrypt the whole hard drive with additional software.

So in this quick tutorial I will show you how to create an encrypted Aperture Vault by using Sparse Bundle Disk Images and by utilizing tools built into Mac OS X. All this can be done in two simple steps. Read the rest of this entry »

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Phase One Capture One 4.1.2
A free update which offers the benefits of Lens+ and Focus+ lens correction support to Phase One digital back owners with Hasselblad H, Hasselblad V and Contax mounts.

Maperture 1.0.1
New plug-in for Aperture which lets you geotag your photos inside Aperture.

VueScan 8.4.82
Adds support for more scanners and improves infrared cleaning.

Aperture to Picasa Web Albums 1.4.2
This update adds support for exporting geotags, viewing album contents by double-clicking on an album cover and adds stability enhancements.

GalleryExport for Aperture 1.0.7b / GalleryExport for iPhoto 1.0.8b
Both new beta versions include stability and performance enhancements.

iMedia Browser 1.1.1
“Version 1.1.1 adds support for iPhoto events, multiple Aperture libraries, and the ability to manage custom folders in the source list. The application is now available in English, Danish, French, German, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese. There are also dozens of performance improvements and bugfixes in the release.”

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Here’s my DeliciousLinks list with my favorite links from the past weeks.

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Earlier this month PictureCode finally released their noise reduction software Noise Ninja as an Aperture plug-in for Aperture 2.1 and above.

The results are just as amazing as they are with the Photoshop plug-in. But the Aperture plug-in uses a streamlined interface which differs from the photoshop version. But the functionality is the same.

You can download a trial version of Noise Ninja for Aperture (images are watermarked with a grid pattern when you save them) and give it a try. The Noise Ninja plug-in for Aperture is available as a part of the Pro Bundle (US$ 79.95) which includes the Photoshop and the Aperture plug-in. If you have an existing Pro Bundle license you can upgrade it for US$ 20 to include the Aperture plug-in license.

Interested in more Aperture plug-ins? Just have a look at my article First overview: Aperture 2.1 adjustment plugins have arrived to get an overview about what’s available at the moment or browse my blog by the Aperture plug-in tag. Additionally you can have a look at the brand new Apple website for all the Aperture plug-ins and ressources.

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Apple Aperture 2.1.1
MobileMe comes to Aperture with this update. As with every Apple software update this one “supports general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.”

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2
Lightroom is now a native 64-bit app on Mac and Windows. John Nack has some highlights from this update and Tom Hogarty has every new feature and improvement.

Adobe Camera RAW 4.5
Along with Lightroom 2 a new version of Camera RAW was released which providesthe same rendering obtained in Lightroom 2.

Apple iPhoto 7.1.4
“Also addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues”. Beside that this update contains new holiday greeting card and postcard themes for use with Apple print products

Photoshop Automator Actions v3.7
Ben Long updated his Photoshop actions for Automator compatible with Photoshop CS, CS2 and CS3

Pixelmator 1.2.2
New features include a live gradient tools and you can draw a straight or 45° line with shift. Beside that many improvements and bug corrections are included. The release notes with all new features and improvements are available here.

GalleryExport for iPhoto and Aperture 1.0.7b
Both updates for Aperture and iPhoto just include bug fixes.

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Here’s my DeliciousLinks list with my favorite links from the past weeks.

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After the latest Digital Photo Professional update (DPP 3.4.1.1) revealed some evidence about an upcoming Canon EOS Rebel XS/1000D, Canon finally introduced this new entry-level DSLR this month. The EOS Digital Rebel XS/1000D/Kiss F (full product specifications) is technically a hybrid between hardware and features found in Canon’s entry-level cameras from the past: the 7-point autofocus system comes from the XT/350D, the Digic III processor is the same as in the XSi/450D and the Live View feature is implemented with the same features as found in the XSi/450D.

With this DSLR Canon seems to open up a new class in their EOS system which is somehow below the former entry level cameras (XT/350D, XTi/400D) and the latest entry-level XSi/450D. It’s priced 200$ below Canons current or former entry-level DSLR XSi/450D and you can find a nice first review of this new DSLR over at Digital Photography Review.

Canon also introduced the new midrange Speedlite 430EX II, replacing the 430EX flash unit. This new Speedlite is now fully configurable with the Camera’s LCD menu and it got now a metal shoe. According to Canon the 430EX II also boasts 20% faster recycling times and is more silent while doing this. In Europe and in the USA the Speedlite should be available from the end of July.

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Have you ever looked for a way to quickly add text to your images without photoshopping a watermark image first?

There’s a simple editing plug-in available for this task called Borders & Titles and as the name says you can add simple borders and text to your images within Aperture 2.1. It’s a sample plug-in provided by Apple and it’s fully functional. You can download it from Apple’s Developer Connection website without registration:

Aperture Edit Plugin - Borders & Titles

The downlaod package includes the source code too so you can adjust the plug-in if you’re able to code Cocoa. After downloading put the BordersAndTitles.ApertureEdit plug-in into /Library/Application Support/Aperture/Plug-Ins and access the plug-in from Aperture.

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Here’s my DeliciousLinks list with my favorite links from the past weeks.

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I have updated my Camera Obscura Icons with four more icons for your Aperture Library, your iPhoto Library, your Aperture Vault and for Aperture Projects.

The download package now includes 7 icons as an iContainer and for Mac (icns, Folder), Linux (PNG) and Windows (ico) and you can grab it from the Goodies page.

And if you’re interested, you can read my blog entry about the story behind this special Camera Obscura contained in these icons.

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These two desktop icons show the Camera Obscura as it was used by Nicéphore Niépce in an Aperture and iPhoto style and are intended as an homage to him. Nicéphore Niépce made it first possible to preserve an image taken with a camera obscura in 1826 or 1827 by using a special mixture of bitumen on a pewter plate, naming it Heliography. This first preserved photograph “View from the Window at Le Gras” is the one you can see in the iPhoto icon contained in this package. The third icon is the folder icon I have created for this icon package.

Either just download the icons or read the exciting story about the First Photograph.

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I have added my first wallpaper to the Goodies section on this website. It’s a shot of blooming chives which was altered with Aperture 2.1 and Photoshop CS3.

You can get the wallpaper by browsing my Goodies section and clicking on the download link for the wallpaper. The download package also includes a custom folder icon (512px as .icns, .png, .ico) with the Chives wallpaper on it.

Beside that, this image is available for print on deviantArt in various sizes.

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Beside the Mac OS X 10.5.3 update Apple has posted another update which adds RAW decoding support for seven more cameras.

The seven cameras now fully supported in Mac OS X are: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/Kiss Digital x2/450D, Epson R-D1, Leaf AFi 7, Leaf AFi 6, Leaf AFi 5, Pentax K200D, Pentax K20D. The RAW decoding on MAC OS X works across the whole system, so you can use these cameras and their RAW images now with Aperture and iPhoto too.

You can get the update via Software Update or you can download the standalone installer (2.4MB) from Apple’s website.

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Today Human Software released an exciting image editing plug-in for Apple’s Aperture. It’s called ApertureEdit and according to Human Software it offers more than 4000 professional effects which you can achieve right within Aperture.

The ApertureEdit plug-in is a bundle of 11 different modules for denoising, lens fixing, framing, light effects and many more. All effects can be applied to one image at a time or to a whole set of images at once. Just head over to the product page to see all effects and features this plugin bundle is capable of.

The whole bundle will cost you US$ 299.95 and it’s available now from Human Software’s Online Shop. But you can buy just one single plug-in too which will cost you US$ 69.95 for each. There’s a trial version available too and if you don’t want to mail Human Software for the trial version you can download it from MacUpdate.

If you’re interested in all the other Aperture 2.1 image editing plug-ins, feel free to have a look at my article First overview: Aperture 2.1 adjustment plugins have arrived.

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