Author: Peter Forsgard

  • 52 Assignments 2024 is here!

    It is a time for a new set of weekly assignments. This is the third year I am arranging this. The first year was 2022.

    What is it all about?

    It is all about having fun while getting better in photography. It is not a competition between photographers. It is a competition you in January vs. you in December. My goal is to help you to become a better photographer. Having weekly topics to photograph gets you going. It does not matter if you end up photographing something else. The goal is to photograph more in 2024.

    The assignments in 2024

    We will start with Light painting and long exposure. We will go out of our comfort zone during the year, photograph abstract colors, shapes, creative bokeh, vintage, and rainy day, etc. Most assignments are genre-free, so you do not have to leave your genre if you already have a body of work. These assignments can add to your photographs that extra boost.

    Do I help you?

    Yes, of course. I will have content about the topics on my YouTube channel and in this blog. I try to make content about the assignments every week. There will be blog posts about the topics.

    Where to show those images?

    I have a Facebook Group for my YouTube channel. That is a good place to show the images from the assignments. The community will give you great feedback like you can comment on other’s work. Sometimes I will pop up and comment also.

    How do you take part?

    Go to Gumroad and get the pdf. It has all the assignments. It is totally free, but if you want, you can donate on Gumroad an amount you feel that this is worth. There is no pressure if you feel that you do not want to donate or do not have the possibility. I want everyone to enjoy photography without any extra costs.

    Here is my video about the 52 Assignments 2024 Edition.



    Head to Gumroad, download the pdf, and take part in this photography fun!

    A video about this will be public on Tuesday the 19th of Dec at 3 PM.

  • Photography related Holiday Sales

    Photography related Holiday Sales

    I have collected some of the best Holiday Deals I found from different manufacturers. Some of the links are affiliate links. I have a disclaimer at the end of this page.
    I have mostly included only the gear and software I have personally used or tested.

    Sirui

    Sirui is a well-known gear manufacturer. I have a few of their products. I have a Traveller X tripod, Sirui A100B light, and T30 RGB tube lights.

    Sirui has some interesting gear to offer on their Holiday Deal.
    They have a few of their Anamorphic lenses, Cine lenses, and the already mentioned lights.
    Sirui has just launched a new lens set called, Sniper. It is a set of lenses with focal lengths of 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm. It is available for Sony E, Fuji X, and Nikon Z-mounts.

    Laowa

    Venuslens, the maker of Laowa lenses, is having a promotional sale during the holiday season. If you buy one lens, you get 5% off with the code LAOWAXMAS5; if you buy two, then use the code LAOWAXMAS10 to get 10% off. There are some expectations, so you should check their website for precise information.

    B&H Photo

    B&H also has a holiday sale. They have all kinds of deals on gear. Some of them are quite good. Some of the camera has several hundred dollars in price reduction. One example is the Canon R6 Mark II. Its original price is $2499 and right now it is only $1999.

    Luminar Neo

    Luminar Neo is an image editing software that uses AI. They just updated Neo with GenExpand. They offer a one-year subscription for €49 and a two-year subscription for 79€. The lifetime license is 99€. These are not bad deals for what Luminar Neo is.
    I have a few videos about Lunianr Neo. This one is about the GenExpand tool, and this one is about the GenSwap and GenErase tools.

    TopazLabs

    Topaz Photo AI and Topaz Video AI are excellent software. Photo AI is great for noise reduction and upscaling. Video AI is for enhancing video footage. I use Photo AI almost every day and Video AI when I need to upscale older footage to match the newer resolution like 4K.

    Topaz now has 25% off of both of this software. They are also taking pre-orders for Gigapixel. It will be launched sometime in January, I think.

    Excire

    Excire Foto 2024 is still only €149. The regular price is €189. It is a great AI-driven image database. It uses AI to keyword images. It has several search methods. If you want to learn more about it, check out my video.

    DxO

    DxO is running an interesting draw. If you buy their software you have a chance to win a 5000€ camera of your choice. There are three second prizes. That is a 3000€ camera. If you need their software now is a good time to get it!

    Here are my latest videos about DxO software.

    Disclaimer

    The companies run all these holiday deals, and I have nothing to do with them. I only wanted to share some of the ones that I find to be the most valuable for my readers. Check out the deals if you need something. The deals expire at different times, so if you are here after the holiday season, they might not be available.

  • Holiday Deal from Luminar Neo and a new tool – GenExpand

    Holiday Deal from Luminar Neo and a new tool – GenExpand

    Luminar Neo was just updated with a new generative tool, the GenExpand. Skylum is also running a Holiday Special from the 15th of December to the 26th of December.

    What is GenExpand Tool?

    GenExpand is a tool to expand the photograph. It works great when you need to change the aspect ratio for your photograph.

    It is also handy if you need to correct the perspective and photograph a too tight composition.


    What it is not good for?

    GenExpand is not good for large expansions. It works best with small expansions.


    The deal

    image from Skylum website

    Now, you can get Luminar Neo at a reduced price.
    1-year subscipition is only 49€, and the two-year subsciption is 79€. A lifetime license goes for 99€. These are very good deals if you need a decent image editing software.

    Disclaimer: the links are affiliate links.