Flight From Callahan County

 Version 12.0.1 (Monterey) of the macOS provides the infrastructure for many of the powerful features available in the newest version of Pixelmator Pro. To use some of them, you don't have to be running Pixelmator Pro. They can be accessed from Finder utilizing macOS Shortcuts. One of my Pixelmator favorites is Remove Background with Quick Actions in Finder. Here's a free image taken by photographer Alessia Chinazzo and made available on Unsplash. To remove the background using the magic of Pixelmator Pro, in Finder navigate to the folder with the photo and select it. Right-click and scroll down to Quick Actions, then Left-click on Remove Background.  The machine learning tool in Pixelmator Pro begins working its magic. The time this operation takes depends on the speed of your system and the size and complexity of the photo selected. On my iMac, removal of the background of this JPEG took just a few seconds. And there it is -- a transparent image of the subject with the backgr

 I have just discovered an image app that may completely replace and streamline my photo editing workflow. It's Pixelmator Pro 2.3 Abracadabra , just released earlier this week. Pixelmator's graphic, introducing the latest version of this Mac-only image editing app. Making the transition to a Mac from Windows a few years ago, I stuck with the traditional multi-platform image editing software when I moved to my new system. I found alternatives to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, but they were all available for Windows, too. I saw an occasional reference to Pixelmator, but paid little attention because it was Mac only. Little attention until I recently watched a YouTube video  by Austin photographer Jim Nix. I purchased Pixelmator Pro a few days ago at a Black Friday sale price of about $16 USD. Normally the price is $39.99 USD, still a bargain for this powerful application. Layers-based Pixelmator Pro does all that most amateur photographers need and most of what all enthusiast am

 ACDSee has just released the latest version of its DAM/Editing software for Mac -- ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 8. Back when I had a Windows-based computer, I relied on ACDSee for my image database management and much of my image editing. Switching to an iMac, I was disappointed with the ACDSee offering for that platform, because most of the helpful editing features of the ACDSee Windows suites were missing.  Version 8 for Mac makes up for some of that with the inclusion of two significant tools introduced on the Windows side last year -- Color Wheel and Tone Wheels. The wheel adjustment concept originated with Capture One developing software several years ago and has been adapted by some competitors, including ACDSee. The ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 8 implementation is excellent. The Color Wheel on the left has identified the original blue hues of the knobs on the right and replaced them with green hues without altering the other colors in the photo. Quick and easy! The Tone Wheels s

 I'm amused by the online discussion about OM Digital Solutions twin announcements this month -- a new brand name for its cameras and lenses and its first lens with that name. Numerous Olympus users are blowing second-guess smoke (nothing new there) over the merits of these two decisions by the new company formed by the venture capital company that acquired Olympus. So, allow me to stoke the fire a bit, too. The lens cap with the replacement branding for Olympus -- OM System First, OM Digital Solutions scheduled an hour-long live-stream program to reveal the name chosen to replace Olympus for its brand of cameras and lenses and to unveil its first lens. Selection of OM System as the new brand name was brilliant. The name links with the work of designer Yohihisa Maitani, who created the Olympus OM System, an innovative and extremely-successful line of smaller and lighter full-frame 35mm film cameras and accessories to compete with Nikon and Canon.  The program itself was a failure.