#I took this in the dark and relyed on flash photography

[farsight-the-char]

Early photo for my Ethereal Spectrum's Grace (or, to the Imperium, Mother of Pirates), and Kroot Lonespear Wraith Hands.

Will take better ones tomorrow when I have better lighting (hopefully).

[voiceoffenrisulfr]

Silver & Gold - Chapter Six

CW: all the smut, as always. Photography/videography. Emotions and things. The typical fluffiness.

Prompts fulfilled; ’30. Self-Worth/Self-Love’, @flufftober; ‘I’m Not a Hero, I’m…’, @multifandom-flash Dozen; ‘Camming in Festive Undies’, The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep (@darcylewisbingohq); ‘Traditions’, Winter Wonderland Bingo @seasonaldelightsbingo; ‘Peppering Kissing All Over Their Face’, Winter Wonderland Bingo; ‘Deep Throating’ and ‘Fingering’, @fandom-free-bingo (Frosty Edition).

Lia gives Yoshi one hell of a birthday surprise.

Cards below! Check it out on AO3 here, or below the KR! Dividers by @jiyascepter - aren't they cute? ^.^

I woke early, the golden light creeping through the gap in the curtains curling around small amounts of dust and making them swirl, colours scattering across the metal of my boy’s arms as he snored softly, curled up against my side.

My fingers caressed his hair lightly, a small, contented smile flickering over his parted lips as he pulled me closer unconsciously. “Mmm… S’nice…”

I grinned to myself, kissing his sweet, sleepy forehead, smoothing a few stray strands from his brow tenderly. “Good morning… Birthday boy.”

One eye parted minutely, grey seeking green with a lopsided smile. “Oh… So it is…”

My fingers found his chin, tipping his head up delicately to claim his lips with mine. “Would you like your present, Silver?”

His other eye opened, and he grinned a little wider, the steel depths sparkling with joy. “You’re all the gift I need, Swan. … But yes, please.”

I laughed and kissed his nose, shaking my head fondly as I shimmied from his embrace.

“Wait here.”

I’d once done something not entirely dissimilar, a lifetime ago. But then I’d not been alone – I’d been able to rely on the confidence of others to buoy myself.

And this time…

My fingers toyed with the strap of the camera shyly, then the curve of fur barely dipping over my chest, taking a slow, stabilising breath, smoothing the skirt that barely covered my scantily-clad ass.

I could hear him shifting about in the bed, no doubt impatient to have me return to him, and inhaled once more before opening the door.

I revelled in the way his eyes widened as he took me in, trailing along the sheer stockings, pausing at the hem of the short dress as he swallowed hungrily, before continuing up, following the curve of my waist, his jaw twitching minutely at my breasts barely restrained by the skin-tight garment. “I-I, uh… Hi.”

My lips tipped up in a smile, eyelashes fluttering. “Hey, Silver.” He simply let out a soft, wordless noise in response, and I giggled. “Suave as ever, huh?”

Blinking repeatedly, he shook his head to snap back to attention, emitting a quiet huff of wonder. “You look… Delectable. God, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

I blushed as I raised the camera, free hand smoothing my hair shyly. “Well… I thought you want might some... Um, enduring evidence of this..."

The sound that came from his throat was somewhere between a groan and a growl as he gestured me closer, fingers flashing in the golden light. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

I lay back on the black sheets, staring up at him through my lashes adoringly. He’d taken a little while to gain his confidence, but now he instructed me eagerly, fingers caressing every inch of available skin while he maneuvered me. I giggled as I slowly inched down the zipper that lead between my breasts – feeling, for once, just as beautiful and loved as he told me I was. The way his jaw – and boxers – grew tighter as I exposed the ebony lace barely cupping my breasts made me squirm in delight, and he licked his lips as I tossed the dress at him playfully.

“That’s it, Swan; God, you’re so stunning…” His voice came hushed and reverent as he reached out to grasp my ankle with a grin, eliciting a shriek of delight as he tugged me closer, crimson hair trailing behind me as I laughed. He snapped a few more photos as I giggled, his own smile growing wider. “I like seeing you so happy. I love seeing you so comfortable in your own skin…”

I beamed in response, fingertips brushing the very edge of the partially see-through panties and making his muscles tremble in response. “It’s easier to have a little self-love when you look at me the way you do, Soldier.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but any words he intended to utter died in his throat as I slid my hand slowly into my underwear, back arching as I touched myself gently, my eyes still on his. His crooked grin twitched intermittently, far more focused on my ministrations than his facial expression, his breath hitching audibly when I let out a quiet whine. “Mmm- Y’know, that camera has video functions… How about you put it down and join me?”

Jaw working wordlessly for a second, he blinked in surprise, then grinned once more, his gaze flicking back to my face with mild shyness. “Or… How about I record this first, and then get some footage of you screaming for me, Swan?”

I gulped and nodded eagerly, the idea of him wanting to preserve this for later use instantly amplifying the wetness between my legs. “Yes, Sir…” I sighed happily, back arching a little. “Why don’t you tell me what you want to see, Silver?”

He swallowed again, moving a little closer. “Well… I think you’re wearing too many clothes, for sure…” I sat up slightly with a purr, but his hand found my chest gently, pushing me back. “Oh, I didn’t tell you to stop, my sweet girl.” His fingers curled around the centre of my bra, eyes seeking mine for clarification and grinning when I frantically nodded once more. The pressure was quick and firm, my breasts spilling free as the lace tore in a seemingly-effortless motion, and I moaned quietly, my free hand moving to toy with a nipple enthusiastically. His displays of strength always left me weak and soaked, and this was no exception; my fingers moved a little more firmly over my clit as I panted and writhed, the silver eyes on me driving me closer.

His hand shifted to the lace at my hip, but these, he preserved – he placed the camera gently on the bed, still pointing at me as he tenderly slid down my underwear, trailing kisses along the pale skin of my legs and eliciting a giggle.

By the time he rose again, I had my hand shyly concealing my wetness, and he arched a brow. “You know what I want to see, Swan… Show me that gorgeous pussy?”

The tone of his voice was gentle, and the knowledge that this was firmly a suggestion, a request, and not a command made me tremble and move my fingers aside, legs spreading further as his breath hitched. “You make me so wet, Silver…” I purred, and he groaned quietly, shaking his head as he put the camera down once more.

“Can’t do it. Can’t help myself,” he muttered under his breath. I opened my mouth with a frown, intending to ask what he meant – but his face eagerly pressed against my pussy answered the question, cool fingers brushing over my slit briefly before two slid inside me. I gasped and moaned in surprise and delight, back arching, my hands tangling in this gossamer hair to hold him close to me as his tongue explored my wetness.

“Fuck- God, Yoshitsune, yes,” I whimpered, pressing myself nearer. He groaned against my flesh happily, free hand raising to find my breast and pin my torso effortlessly to the bed as he rolled my nipple exquisitely between his fingers. My entire body felt alight and alive, each nerve singing under his careful strumming into a perfect, irreplaceable symphony.

His fingers curled inside me, and I whined, suddenly shy once more, biting my lip as I glanced down at him. “Y-Yoshi, if you do- I can’t-”

Somehow, despite my stammering, he seemingly understood me, his eyes meeting mine as he raised an eyebrow, deliberately finding my sweet spot once more as he moved his hand a little more firmly inside me. I groaned in delight, back arching to press myself closer as best I could despite the arm along my body, lost in the feeling of his tongue on me, his fingers working me so effortlessly.

The moment I began to spill, he drew his hand back, burying his face more thoroughly between my legs as I jerked and whimpered, letting out a deafening groan of his own as he eagerly lapped up everything I had to offer him.

By the time he looked up at me once more, having trailed his tongue along every inch of my wet pussy with steadfast determination, I was blushing profusely, hand cupped in front of my mouth sheepishly. “I tried to warn you! I-”

He shook his head, moving to pin me, scrubbing a hand over his face to chase away the last of the droplets. “Not a word, little one. That was incredible.” His cock pressed against me lightly, clarifyingly, through the thin cotton of his shorts, but I shook my head, palm finding his damp chest. Panic flashed briefly across his features, and I couldn’t help but giggle fondly, rolling my eyes.

“Calm down, Yoshitsune… I just want to be on my knees first.” He gulped and nodded, rolling quickly, and I smirked as he readjusted the camera when I moved to kneel on the floor eagerly. “Enjoying your birthday present?”

“We might have to make this a tradition,” he murmured, ethereal grey eyes sparkling, hand wrapping tenderly in my hair. I purred, pressing gentle kisses to the outline of his straining length, earning a quiet sigh for my effort as my fingertips wrapped in the waistband of his shorts.

As always, the sight of him leaking and aching – for me – made me tremble with delight. The notion that I never failed to arouse him was something I was still struggling to accept at times, despite the hard evidence before me. I trailed my tongue slowly along his cock, soft, happy sounds slipping from my parted lips, fingers tightening infinitesimally on his hips at the sharp gasp he emitted when I took his tip in my mouth. The grip on my hair stiffed minutely as he shifted forward, and I moaned as best I could around him, taking him slowly. When he brushed the back of my throat, he began to draw back until I held him fast, my hands tight on him as I swallowed around him.

The grunt of pleasure as I took him into my throat made my eyes close with joy, pressing him further into me happily, entirely uncaring about the tears pricking my lash line and the beginnings of a burn in my lungs as they protested the lack of oxygen. He let me sit there for a moment, every inch of him buried inside me, before pulling back with a soft huff of amusement, raising an eyebrow when I inhaled sharply. “Remember to breathe, my sweet girl. I love having my cock in your throat, but it isn’t worth you dying for.”

I drew away just long enough to gasp a little longer, licking my lips where they’d cracked from stretching around him, and looked up at him with a plead in my gaze. “I’d beg to differ myself, but if you say so…” Driving myself back forward, I moaned around him happily as his cock slid back into my throat. My hands tightened on his hips once more, spurring him on as he started to roll his hip more forcefully. Eyes finding his face, I trembled in delight as his flushed, parted lips and the beads of moisture still clinging to scruff along the cut of his jaw, forgetting everything but my love for this man for a heartbeat at the shining depths of my lover’s captivating steel gaze.

He really is my everything.

A low groan snapped me back to the moment, and I dragged my tongue adoringly along the base of his cock, a zing of pleasure sparking through my dripping pussy at his hiss of delight. The steel fingers in my hair guided me back, gentle but firm, and he grinned with adoration and amusement as I pouted when his tip slipped free from my mouth. “Don’t worry, sweet girl… I’m not finished with you yet.”

I blushed shyly as he settled back against the headboard, the camera in one hand, the other extended to me. “Come here, Swan… Come and make yourself feel so, so good…”

My finger entwined with his, a soft purr rumbling in my chest as I straddled his hips. He released his grip on me to hold himself steady as I finally took his length inside me, eyelids fluttering in pleasure, but his gaze never left mine as I whimpered quietly. “That’s it, my gorgeous girl. God, you feel so good… I can’t ever get enough of you…”

Hands finding his shoulders, I leant in to kiss him deeply, settling fully onto his cock and rocking my hips. I heard a distant clatter as he fumbled to put down the camera before his fingers pressed firm against my back, holding me tight to his chest, returning my kiss just as eagerly. All too soon, however, I had to pull back, gasping for breath as I worked myself a little more energetically atop him. “Fuck- Yoshitsune…”

He grasped my hip tight, the metal embrace sure to leave cherished marks, and encouraged my pace, his jaw twitching in pleasure. “Feels good, baby? Having my cock buried inside you like this, letting you take control of me?”

I nodded eagerly, nails scraping hard down his chest as my head fell back, stars sparking behind my vision. “Yes! Oh, god, yes… Please – fuck, I can’t take it, I-I can’t-”

With a low growl, he moved quickly, pinning me to the mattress and tangling a hand in my hair as his hips slammed into mine. I cried out in pleasure as he bit at my throat, free hand snaking between us to caress my clit with earth-shattering precision. “That’s it, Swan. Sing for me. I want you to come for me, sweetheart… Clench that tight, pretty pussy around my cock and scream my name.”

I couldn’t help but obey, the combination of his words, his deep, powerful thrusts and talented touch making my eyes roll back and my vocal chords ache from my deafening moans as I hurtled toward my climax. He fucked me ever harder as his name fell from bitten lips, my hands clutching desperately at his shoulders, seeking some form of purchase – something, anything, to keep me grounded, as my blood turned to stardust.

Ever the gentleman and disciplined soldier, it wasn’t until my cries had died to weak sobs of pleasure, twitching and jerking beneath him, that his hips met mine for a final time, groaning against my throat as he filled me. I purred contentedly when he paused and drew back to meet my eyes, raising a lazy, exhausted hand to caress his cheek, wiping a droplet of sweat from his forehead with a tired smile. “Yoshitsune…”

“Hm?”

I leant up as much as my jellified muscles allowed, pressing my lips to his, gentle but firm. “I love you.”

He laughed quietly – breathless and adoring – and kissed me again, pressing his forehead to mine as he cupped the back of my neck. “I love you too, my Swan. Always.”

We lay together in tangled, sweat-damp sheets, legs entwined, as I drew patterns on his chest with a gentle fingertip. “You’re a superhero.”

Another fond laugh, and his cheek found my hair. “Is that so? Because I can make you scream?”

I could hear the smirk in his voice, and I rolled my eyes fondly, resting my chin on his chest to look up at him with a smile. “No. Well – yes, that’s… Amazing. But no.” I paused for a moment, watching my finger before glancing up again shyly. “You’re… Everything. You’re the reason I’m still here, you know? When you found me, I was… I wasn’t in a good place.” My gaze met his, sincere and steady, hand resting over his heart. “I wouldn’t have lived this life if you hadn’t found your place in it. You’re the reason I wanted anything to do with particular reality I found myself in, and didn’t just let myself… Dissolve. You’re the reason I’m alive, Yoshitsune, my beautiful silver soldier – my soulmate.” My fingertips found his jaw, cupping his face gently and skimming a thumb over his cheekbone with tender affection. “I thought I knew what life was. But… Everything has changed. Oh, how I love you, my sweet boy. Nothing life could throw at me now wouldn’t be worth this. I’d endure the circles of Hell just to look into your eyes.”

The steel swam minutely, and he pulled me closer, peppering gentle kisses over my face as a few of his tears salted my skin. “I’m no hero, Swan. I’m just… Yours.”

“Mine,” I agreed quietly, tangling my hands in his hair again to kiss him softly. “Always.”

“Always, Aurelia.”

[austarus]

Harry Wells x Reader Crisis of Infinite Wells (Part 4 of 5)

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me. It belongs to @moonymartell​ and @countlesswells​

** *Insert angel face emoji*

Word Count: 7267

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 5

‘Systems Online,’ a pop-up signal had indicated on the tablet you held with flashing red and white lettered lights. But the adrenaline in your veins would not subside. Taking in a breath of rushed air, you walked towards the monitors on jittery feet with the notion of checking on Nash. Looking back up at him, his eyes were shut, and his lithe body was reclined in the chair with machinery hooked up to him. You dread ball up in the pit of your stomach as silence hung in the air.

“Did it work?” Ralph questioned, glancing to everyone then back to you; confusion written on his face.

“Is there something that should have happened?” Barry followed up beside Ralph.

“Well if there was a big bang sound, followed by multiple spontaneous sparks flying everywhere and the room’s electricity short-circuiting along with small fires combusting from the machinery then we’d be in trouble.” You watched Nash’s neurological and physiological vitals rise and fall within homeostatic values on the monitors. Normal. Stable. “I- According to my theoretical calculations- yes, I’m getting science-y right now-,” you exhaled while you gestured with your hands as you spoke, “each psyche that had manifested itself into Nash’s being should have effectively split from his psyche and returned to their respective bodies in each dimension harboring a Harrison Wells doppelganger. Harry and the others hypothesized that their bodies must be unconscious, but alive in order for their psyches to remain intact within Nash’s mind.” The others looked unsure. You rubbed your exhausted eyes. “It’s just like how when you and Iris used the Mindscape Machine to enter into Nora’s mindscape when she went into Grace’s mind. Sherloque said you both would enter with your psyche’s and they had to be intact in Nora’s head in order to ensure you’d be able to return to your bodies unharmed. If the psyche is harmed and killed in any way, then the body essentially dies,” You took a step towards them away from the monitors with the tablet held close to you. “The reverse should be correct as well. If the psyche is absent from the body, the body must be preserved at stable levels in order for the psyche to return and realign itself in its proper body. That’s what we’re relying on. Hopefully they all made it back to their respective bodies.”

“In this case, it’s the multidimension of Wells,” Chester interjected, lowering his voice to a whisper. “So freaking cool.” Allegra rolled her eyes as she continued to cross her arms.

“Nash would have felt the absence of a Wells in his psyche if another doppelganger’s psyche had deteriorated due to its unconscious body not surviving. Wolfgang would be able to pinpoint who it is because he has a neurological roster of the Council of Wells that he had implemented into his own mind, therefore his own psyche.”

Iris spoke up after you finished, running a hand over her forearm as she resisted the urge to itch the patch of skin. Side effects from remaining in the Mirrorverse for too long. “So, they get back to their bodies. Then what? How are they going to get here?”

“Each Wells should be able to use their intelligence as well as tapping into their own resources on their Earth and use the dimensional coordinates they have to get relay their dimensional coordinates and the states of their Earth’s back to Earth-Prime,” You answered in a heartbeat with a snap of a finger. “Sherloque, Harry, and Wolfgang should be coming as soon as they wake up. They work fast and everything.”

“Ugh,” Cisco groaned in irritation, throwing his head back, “not Herr ‘off-you-go’ Wells.” The rest of us giggled at impending misery. “I swear if he makes one snide remark.”

“Wait, how do you know if we’ve got all the Wells and their dimensions? Is there some sort of algorithm the satellites are tracking?” Kamila added from beside Cisco. You watched his eyes melt a bit at the fact that she takes interest in understanding his areas of expertise like how he does to her photography and artistic nature.

You gave Cisco the honors of explaining that one. He turned to his lovely girlfriend. “My babies up in the heavens, god bless my mechanical genius, are calibrated with the finest technology to identify any molecular or subatomic shifts produced by any wave of dark matter or antimatter.” Kamila grinned at him as he continued. “But we won’t know for certain until Grumpy Cat, Tea Leaves, and Herr Prim-Posh Pants summon themselves through to correctly calibrate the DCP (Dimensional Communications Projector) to the actual dimensional values. You know, the Wells touch and all. God, but I swear if they break anything-”

“-They’re not,” you giggled as you cut off your annoyed friend, “I already told Harry that this area would be a ‘No Throw’ zone. The guys know better than to throw things that aren’t theirs too.”

“What about Nash?” Cecile pointed at the unconscious man.

Right, this part. “I will stay here to monitor any changes to his vitals until he wakes up. I already have a universal blood sample from our very own speedster in case Nash’s body were to start entering a state of flux. Barry’s cells should be able to repair any damage in Nash’s body if that were to happen. Just like he did to Ralph.”

“But Ralph’s body is pure elastic. It can bend and readjust itself to anything. Nash’s human.” You make a very excellent point, Cecile.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already run tests on myself and Cisco in order to ensure that the small blood transfusion would work on non-metas.” You fist-bumped your bro, who nodded approvingly. “Tiny increments should be able to do the trick.” Cecile nodded at you, giving you a motherly proud look before it contorted into a pointed one. You knew what she was going to say, but before she had a chance to say it the meta alarm went off.

“I guess that’s our cue to leave things to you,” Barry smiled at you, before nodding everyone to the direction of the door.

“Don’t die out there,” you teasingly yelled at their retreating figure.

“We’ll try not to.”

“And Barry, you need to do a prognosis physiological and biochemical report on your body from using the artificial Speed-force. Can’t have you losing your speed halfway through the day.”

“Yes, mother, I’ll be home before dinner to do homework,” Barry snickered, as he waved you off as he left with the others.

You rolled your eyes playfully at your antics with him and the others. Taking a seat in front of the monitors, you gave Nash another look. No matter how many times I can joke around with the others, I still feel the weight of their lives on my shoulder. You chewed on the inside of your cheek as your eyes flickered onto the screens. You need to wake up soon Nash. Running a hand through your hair as you set your head against your arm which leaned on the metal table. I need to know I didn’t kill you.

***

An hour had passed, and you felt your head was down to its last brain cell. You blinked slowly as you laid it against the cool metal. Nash was still unconscious, and you were starting to get worried. His vitals were still substantially at equilibrium. You shut your eyes for a moment. Allegra strode in with an annoyed look on her face as her eyes landed on Nash then to you.

“I don’t get why you care about him,” her rushed voice caused you to lift your head up. She continued while you quirked an eyebrow at her. “Why you’re wasting time watching over him. I mean after everything he’s done to me and the rest of us. Hell, he took your boyfriend away from you for some shit myth-busting. How is it that you still try to make yourself available to help someone like him?” It pisses me off and so does his existence!

“Allegra, Nash’s a human being too.”

“Ugh, whatever.” The young adult padded over to where some tech lied in attempts to obtain the thing that Cisco had described he needed.

“Ok, no. I can’t do this today.”

“Excuse me?” she narrowed her eyes at your change in tone. What’s got her panties all in a sudden twist?

“I’m am so tired of your bullshit attitude towards him,” You threw out, standing up from your chair with flared nostrils. “Your incessant whining when we don’t tell you every little detail about us, and how you treated the rest of us like dirt as if we haven’t been trying to stay by your side.”

“I haven’t-”

“Do you honestly not remember the way you treated Joe and Cecile? With rudeness and hostility and utter venom? When they had tried to get you to trust them to keep you safe from your cousin? How you were so pissy at Iris for not telling you about Team Flash? How you sneered and lashed out at Frost for trying to help you with your boy problems? We’re just going to sweep all that under the rug and call it a day?” You rhetorically asked with utter frustration. “And Nash, what is your problem with him? That he didn’t tell you that his adopted daughter who died right in front of him is your doppelganger? That’s your reason to emotional and mentally abuse him?! Boohoo, he didn’t tell me the truth. I’m a journalist I have to know the truth.”

“I don’t know wh-”

How can one person be so selfish? “Yes, you do. I’m a family practitioner, I know the signs of abuse even if it isn’t physical. 1) The silent treatment you give him whenever he tried to approach you to see if you were alright or if you needed help. 2) Not taking any responsibility for your toxic behavior towards him. 3) Pushing him to the point where he questions himself and his sanity because of how much you openly despise him. 4) Leading him to believe almost everything that goes wrong around you is his fault when it’s not. That’s gaslighting. 5) Using shame and his guilt to make him feel worse about himself regarding problems he already deeply regrets and works every day to make up for it. 6) Appearing indifferent when he’s clearly hurt/sad/upset. That’s called lack of empathy. And 7) ignoring him when he’s trying to express his feelings or trying to explain himself to you, but obviously because of all of the above you never gave him the fucking chance.” I get that her upbringing was rough but isn’t it hypocritical of you to pry at everyone’s hidden secrets when you have some of your own. We barely know anything about you other than the CCPD records and your meta abilities.

You had taken a few steps closer to her, seething and seeing red. Allegra struggled to retaliate, “I didn’t know-“

“No, you clearly didn’t because every time he tried to talk to you, you always shot him down harshly. Nash tried to give you time and space, always hoping that you would be ready and one day just listen to him. Do you not know how hard it is to wake up every morning to see the doppelganger of your dead child? Do you not understand how hard it is for him to relive the memory of her death over and over again? How much grief he’s carried in his heart and all of a sudden, by a stroke of chance his daughter’s doppelganger is part of Team Flash on this Earth?”

“…”

“You call yourself a journalist, but only when you don’t get what you want. You used that card so many times against Iris, especially when you snooped on her computer and found out about the crisis.” You took in a breath from your heated speech to calm down. Your headed started to pound even more Never in your life have you gotten this ballistic. You counted to 10 and regained control of your breathing and your tongue. Allegra was downright speechless, stunned in her spot at your ebullient words. “I’m not sorry for everything that I’ve said. You needed to hear it to wake up from that closed off and childish world you live in. Because whether you like it or not, he’s family too. And he’s here to stay, just like you. That’s the truth. You have trust issues, even when you’re with us. All of us. You doubt yourself and hesitate. That’s another truth. And you just use him as a punching bag to let out your frustration and pent-up annoyance on someone who only wants to protect you. Penance for not being able to protect his own daughter.”

“I didn’t ask for him to protect me. I’m not helpless.”

“We don’t ask for a lot of things in life to happen, but they do so anyway. Barry got struck by lightning. Frost and Caitlin watched their father die. We’ve lost so many precious souls. But life goes on. Is Iris helpless when Barry saves her? Is it true when vice versa happens? Frost distracts the baddie in time for Cisco to work his tech magic. Is he helpless? Is Ralph helpless when Sue took down those assassins even though she knew he was Elongated Man who is more than capable of handling a few bullets?”

“I- No?”

“Having another person around isn’t a sign of weakness, but strength. Surrounding yourself with people who love you, who you can call family isn’t an exhibition of helplessness. Allegra, you have a home now. A family that will always want the best for you whether you choose to trust us or not. And no matter what happens, Nash’s resolve is to ensure your safety even though he knows you are your own person. For his dead daughter’s sake. That’s how he believes he can redeem all that he’s done. Is that wrong?”

“But he manipulated me and then basically started the crisis.”

“Then I guess you don’t know the full story about that either,” you mocked her. Some reporter, huh. “First off, Nash told you about Team Flash before Team Flash told you about Team Flash. Why? I can only assume that he wanted you to know before you found out the hard way. Meaning if something where to happen to you unexpectedly like Blackhole targeting you because of your affiliation with Iris. He wanted you to already be aware of them and to know who to go to in case things got rough. Secondly, he gave you the push you needed to not fear your powers. To trust yourself. He foresaw that you’d need your powers and so would the others. So, where in all of that does Nash win and leave you for ruin like Eobard Thawne has done to the others? Was it wrong for Nash to indirectly help you in his own awkward bargain-y kind of way?”

Allegra ran a hand through her hair as you spoke, wanting desperately to prove you wrong that Nash was just using her. “It’s just… weird. I’m her doppelganger, I’m my own person. I’m not… her. I don’t even know her name.”

“Her name is Maya and if you asked Nash, he’d be more than willing to tell you about her, and you’d see for yourself that you and she are not the same.”

Allegra nodded at your words, looking as if she would contemplate it. You hoped anyway. The man didn’t need to be broken further. “How do you know all this?”

“It’s honestly pretty simple to push his buttons a bit before he spilled his pent-up feelings to me after we exorcised Eobard out of him. And I’m pretty sure Harry’s been giving him hell for Nash’s unsuccessful attempts with talking to you.

“Who’s he again?”

“An evil murderous speedster that has a thing for ruining Barry’s life and ensuring his existence in the timeline. Not the first time that’s happened, but the crisis allowed for us to do an exorcism was very… eye-opening.” You grinned mirthlessly to yourself causing her to smile a bit. You sighed and took a seat, gesturing for her to take it. Rubbing your eyes, you spoke up, “Nash isn’t the only one.”

“I don’t understand”

“4 years ago, Zoom was terrorizing Earth-1 and Earth-2. A speedster that could breach back and forth if all 52 breach-points weren’t sealed. It was terrifying to say the least. Barry, Cisco, Harry, and I breached over to Earth-2 with a 24-hour time limit in saving Jesse. She’s Harry’s daughter. His pride and joy, his one weakness but his true.”

“You sound like she’s yours too.”

In a way, she kinda would be if- “She’s a brilliant young soul who rivaled her father in intelligence and had a high-spirited personality. Later on, she was accidentally gifted with speedster abilities when Harry and the others tried to regain Barry’s speed. Abilities that Harry still dreads to this day because he’s an overprotective grouch. You’d like Jesse if you met her. Any who, I’m going off topic-” You laughed to yourself. “We had a strict time limit to find her before Zoom and his meta-minions expunged us off the multiverse. And Barry, he went undercover after kidnapping his nerdy doppelganger- “

“-so, Barry basically kidnapped himself- “

“-Yeah. A lot of weird shit goes on with us, but those are all stories for another time.” You waved the thought off before continuing. “So, he was undercover, and he met up with Joe and Iris’ doppelgangers on Earth-2’s Jitters. Barry couldn’t help himself when it came to protecting them when Earth-2 Killer Frost and her boyfriend crashed the little party in search for Barry and us. In the name of Zoom, they were sent out to kill of the breachers. Barry got involved when we were supposed to be incognito getting in and getting out. He sped E-2 Joe to the hospital and E-2 Iris away before she could shoot at E-2 Killer Frost. Even though, Harry told him that these doppelgangers were not his Iris and Joe, that he shouldn’t get involved with the people there. Barry saw the differences and, I kid you not, yelled at Harry that even if they were doppelgangers, they were still his Joe and Iris. He had a sense to protect them, just like Nash does for you.”

“That’s…”

 “It’s a lot, I know. We’ve all been through a lot in these past 6 years. Just… just think about it. Give Nash a chance to talk to you. To explain everything to you from his point of view. Because deep down, he knows you are your own person, but that you’re special just like Maya. Just as what Barry saw on Earth-2 with Joe and Iris’ doppelgangers. Lives worth risking for.”

You watched as Allegra took in a breath, really letting everything sink in before nodding at you. The gem that Nash had given her was still in her jacket pocket. It amplified her UV powers into mentally confusing the person in front of her. She fiddled with the tech in her hands. “I need to go give this to Cisco. He’s probably wondering if I drowned or not.” You nodded at her with an understanding smile as she retreated out the speed lab. Sighing harshly, you allowed the tension to leave your body as you reclined back in your seat. You shut your eyes. I hope I made the right decision to speak my mind to her.

“Didn’t think you thought that highly of me.” Your eyes fluttered open as you took a sharp intake of breath. Nash chuckled to himself at your dismay. His head felt incredibly murky as he blinked the dark spots away. He remained reclined as he rolled his head to the side, the feeling of his limbs returning to him as he urged his fingers to twitch and curl.

“Nash?! You were awake the entire time?!” Nash just smirked languidly at your embarrassed outburst, ignoring the slight throbbing sensation in his head. “Why didn’t you chime in?”

He watched you slowly sit up with worriment. Nash noted your continued exhaustion. “I was intrigued on what you had to say on my behalf.”

“Worried I’d tell her to UV your existence off the planet?”

“No, you wouldn’t do that.”

“And how do you know that? I can be pretty mean.”

And pretty bossy when you berate me for running into danger. But in either case, still pretty. “I understand. But then the question begs, why would you go to such great lengths to defend me?”

“I didn’t defend just you, Nash.”

“But almost the entirety of the conversation revolved around me and how I felt. My regrets and intentional self-punishment. You could have told her that you didn’t care and that she could continue to give me the cold shoulder… but you didn’t. Isn’t that right, little lady?” Nash coyly mocked you, causing you to roll your eyes at the Wells doppelganger. “Like you said, I’m a human being as well.”

“And a dumbass,” you muttered in a hushed voice to yourself as the taller man moved to stand up, he swayed not quite oriented yet. You were on your feet at once to steady him back into his seat. “Let’s do a couple of tests before you do any gallivanting across the city.” You checked over the monitors, noting that some vitals had dropped below normal which could be due to him waking up from the psyche-neural mental surgery.

“Do you want to take Barry’s blood?” You held up the syringe of speedster blood O-.

“Pass. I’m not a vampire.”

“I know you’re not a vampire, you idiot! This should speed up your body’s biochemical processes for you to retain homeostatic levels and for your mind to reorient itself to the psyche-neural splicing.” Nash stubbornly agreed to the blood administration. He rolled up his sleeve while you pulled out the necessary equipment to work your medical magic. You were just about finished when the geological myth-buster spoke up.

“Thank you… I owe you a favor.”

“Huh?”

“I said, thank you.”

“Sorry, just one more time. I don’t- I don’t think I… caught that correctly.”

“How does Harry even put up with you?”

“You can ask him yourself when he gets here,” you responded cheekily with a huge toothy grin on your face. You won’t lie and say that your heart didn’t jump that Harry would be coming soon. “Now what’s this about owing me a favor?”

Geez don’t smile like that at me. Nash pushed away those pesky thoughts. “I honestly really hoped you wouldn’t catch that, but,” He paused for a moment to collect his words as he sat up, now not taking for granted the silence within his own mind. “After you put the Psyche Segregator on me, I realized something. The favor you owed me, protecting Allegra, it’s… a favor without an expiration date.”

“So?”

“It wouldn’t be fair if I did not do the same.”

“I’m not following.”

“Gods! What I’m saying is, that I owe you a lifelong favor. But only one.”

He owes me a favor. A lifelong favor. A favor that’s lifelong. A favor that doesn’t expire. An expirationless favor. I get a lifelong favor. A dumbass owes me a favor. “…”

“What’s it going to be?”

“… I can’t think of anything right now.”

Nash only blinked at you. “Seriously, you can’t come up with something in that ditzy head of yours?”

“Hey, I take great offense to that!”

“Good, it’s the truth.”

You put away the medical equipment and disconnected the screens that held his vitals. While you were up, you gave him a water bottle and some food to help with the dizziness. Nash felt his strength return to him as the blood transfusion allowed his body to work faster in restoring itself. “You never told me; did it work? Are they…?” You trailed off pointing to your head as he stood up.

“No mo-”

Swouush, swooush

The crackling sounds of atoms and the fabric of this dimension cut you off. You turned around to see two breach-like holes open up in the middle of the speed lab, familiar and friendly faces exiting safely. They pocketed their newly synthesized dimensional extrapolators.

“Vhy don’t you take ein gut look, schatz?”

“Oui, we’d be more zhan ‘appy to answer zhat for Nash.”

You greeted them cheerily with a hand wave as they approached you and Nash. Wolfgang nodded at you before making a beeline to where the DCM remained. Sherloque tipped his hat to you before nodding at Nash.

“You guys made it safely.” :D

“Zhat we did, petit fluer. A few bumps on zhe way, but nozhing eizher of us could not ‘andle,” Sherloque piqued up,

“Then that means-,” You pulled out caramel vanilla flavored chap stick out of your pocket and applied it to your lips. Your heart waited in anticipation not even wanting to waste time to even fix your hair. Harry will be here soon. The boys just watched you carry on with a dumbstruck smile on your face as you stood in place and waited for a breach to open up. Wolfgang resumed working on recalibrating the DCM for the others.

“Did you just put on chap stick?” Nash asked with quirked eyebrows and an incredulous look.

“Well, yeah? When I see Harry, I’m going to wanna kiss him, duh.”

“You didn’t get enough from-”

“-Sherloque, don’t-”

“-when you were making out wizh ‘arry in Nash’s ‘ead?”

You shut your eyes and groaned, blood rushing up to your face as you covered it with your hands. “They did what?? Seriously, in my mindscape?” Nash’s flare-up caused Sherloque to snicker as he smirked at your bashfulness.

“Ja, zhey did zhat.” Wolfgang sighed, pulling up new schematics one the computer screen. He worked diligently with any piece of technology at his fingertips. “Alzhough, Sherloque vas zhe unfortunate one to valk in on zhem. Gott sei Dank bin ich es nicht.”

“Oui, zhey were getting very ‘ot and ‘eavy zhat it took Wolfgang and moi to interrupt zhem from what people on zhis Earth would say ‘rounding zhe bases like deux ‘ormonal teenagers.”

“Sherloque, stop! Please!”

Your cheeks were on fire and you know they could see the colored hues. Sherloque and Nash continued to tease you while you attempted to ignore their playful jabs. No Harry yet. It’s been… 15 minutes. Don’t panic. He’s ok. Probably held up or something at his Labs. He’s ok and he’s with Jesse. Just breathe. “I-I should probably run some small physiological diagnostics on you guys since you just crossed over and we don’t know if the dimensional travel will negatively impact you or not.”

“Great, she gets nervous and all of a sudden to distract herself, the little lady wants to run tests.” Nash facepalmed while Sherloque just gave you a look.

“Hey, I’m not nervous! How many times are you going to offend me today?”

“As many times as necessary.”

“Everyzhing zhat you’re doing right now are common gestures of being nervous. You keep playing wizh your fingers and biting on your bottom lip. You did zhat last year whenever we were discussing Cicada.” Sherloque added much to your chagrin.

You pouted with crossed arms. “I don’t do it often.”

“Yes, you do.” Both Nash and Sherloque responded simultaneously and you felt yourself shrink a bit under their combined blue gazes. Before you could say anything, Wolfgang let out low whistle. The three of you turned to him as he began to speak.

“Systems are all online und fully functional. Zhe ozhers should be sending us zheir dimensional coordinates und ve can commence vizh zhe cataloging soon.” The German man continued speaking as he finished typing up a few more algorithms on the computer. “I’ve already uploaded ein copy of zhe roster from my mind zhat vay ve could check zhe ozher Vells off Stück für Stück.

You nodded at Wolfgang’s words, but felt your stomach squeeze in your lower abdomen. “What about Harry?”

“Ve vill just have to vait until he shows up, schatz.” Wolfgang adjusted his glasses as he gave you a brief glance. You weren’t the only one to notice that since arriving on Earth-Prime that Wolfgang wouldn’t meet your eyes. “Do no vorry, Harry vill come.” Your shoulders sagged at the idea, an action Sherloque picked up on which prompted him to give his two cents.

Mh, une distraction semble être de mise. “(Y/N), Wolfgang ‘ere told me an interesting story about ‘is Earzh and a particular person ‘e ‘ad come across. Say, your doppelganger for instance.” The Frenchman took off his fedora to card his fingers through his dark locks whilst Wolfgang momentarily froze. Nash stretched fully before retreating out of the room, knowing he wouldn’t be needed and wouldn’t allow himself to be psychoanalyzed by the one and only Sherloque Wells. Sherloque smirked as Nash left and Wolfgang’s reaction. Il n’y a pas de mal à partager des histoires.

“Nein, halt- Ich-”

“-He told you or did you deduce it from him like you do to everyone else?” You questioned your friend slyly before turning your head back to the German Wells. “Wolfgang, you knew my doppelganger?”

“Ja, ve… ve used to be close in university.” His cheeks dusted pink as he fumbled about with the wiring of your Earth’s extrapolators. “She vas zhe one zhing zhat remained constant zhrough zhe years.”

“What happened to her? You’re talking as if-”

“She passed avay. Ja, she did. She vas terminally ill… Multiple Sclerozis.”

So that’s probably why he doesn’t like to look at me for too long. “I’m sorry. My brother- he died a few years ago from Multiple Sclerosis too. I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the family tree even across the multiverse, huh?”

“Ja.”

Ok (Y/N), way to make it super awkward. “I should- leave you to your sciencing. Sorry about that.”

Wolfgang just nodded his head in thanks before sending a glare to the detective while Sherloque advised the both of you to venture out to the breakroom for to make drinks. With a smug look on his face, obviously. Qu’est ce qui retarde ‘arry? The same thought echoed hauntingly in your mind as well. You allowed the French detective to pull you down the corridor for some coffee and tea, but your mind could not for the life of it let go of Harry.

***

You waited. Patiently, if I might add. It’s been 2 days since Wolfgang and Sherloque had popped over. Obviously you had gone home to shower and change before coming back with some snacks. The cataloging was running smoothly. Wells one by one projected themselves over via the DCM and recounted their dimensional coordinates as well as establishing the state of their Earth in this new dimension. But you grew uninterested in the different variations of your boyfriend. Each second ticked away at your heart. Like a fool you’d look up at the different sounds that would come from the center of the Speed Labs only to be met with disappointment. Sherloque eyed you as you waited around like a lost puppy for the Earth-2 man, even at points getting up and pacing. The detective saw the anxiety ooze from you at the fact that Harry hadn’t arrived yet, so he did his best to distract you from your worries and thoughts. But he was running out of stories of Earth-221, interesting cases, and discussion topics to tell.

Barry had sped in a couch for you and Sherloque to sit in as you waited for Harry to make an appearance. The detective calmly sipped at his new flavored tea, one that you had provided. Wild Raspberry Hibiscus. You blinked the sleep from your eyes, willing yourself to be alert. You had already consumed 4 cups of coffee with espresso yesterday, but those sleepless nights were slowly pushing against you. The two of you sat in silence with only the hums of working electricity and noises from the DCM.

“I zhink,” Wolfgang took a step back from the computer monitor, “I should retire for zhe nacht.” The German took off his glasses and rubbing his closed eyes. Es war eine mühsame Aufgabe, aber sie musste erledigt werden. “I’ve reprogrammed zhe system in order for it to catalog incoming Vells automatically.”

“I’ll keep my eye on it,” Sherloque piqued up, gesturing with his porcelain teacup to the DCM and subtly side glancing at you. Wolfgang only nodded at his doppelganger.

“Yeah, you should go rest. Sorry if it seemed like I was keeping you here,” you stood up and stretched, walking over to the German Wells.

“Nonsense, zhink of it as a favor to Harry,” Wolfgang waved off your statement. You offered your hand to the platinum-haired Wells which he shook gently before bidding your goodbyes to each other as he strode through the dimensional breach. Which reminds me. You scrunched your face and blinked a few times over then turned back to the seated detective.

“Sherloque, you don’t have to say here. You should go back home to Renee.”

“I- Comment puis-je lui dire? … Renee and I didn’t exactly work out. Encore.” You observed him as he set his teacup down, Sherloque chuckled sadly to himself. Je ne sais même pas pourquoi j’ai voulu recommencé ca va faire 8 fois.

“You deserve better. You really do, Sherloque. Love will find you.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Hey, head up,” You found yourself sitting beside the now cynical man as you wrapped your arms around him in a comforting hug. “It could even literally run right into you one day when you least expect it. But it doesn’t mean you can run yourself ragged from sleep loss.” He sighed, shaking his head slightly and reciprocating the gesture of affection. You knew he had no problem with loving, it was the fact of having that love fully reciprocated without it becoming superficial.

“I cannot, I promised ‘arry I would not leave your side in zhe case zhat zhere would be some sort of delay on ‘is end.”

“He asked you to do that for me?”

“Oui”

“Do you think… something happened to him?”

“I wouldn’t worry. ‘e’s a capable and determined man, plus ‘e ‘as ‘is daughter wizh ‘im. Now come on, I believe zhe bozh of us deserve a change of scenery.”

“I’m feeling the need for Jitters coffee actually.”

You pulled said man off the couch and moved towards the direction of the door. Sherloque raised an eyebrow at you incredulously as he scrunched his nose in disgust at the prospect of coffee. “Coffee at zhis hour? Its 10 PM.”

“WHAT?”

“Well you’ve been on zhe Netflix entire time, peeping up every once and awhile to see if ‘arry come or not. I’m not surprised you lost track of time.”

“I guess I can drink some hot chocolate from the breakroom.”

“No need to get up,” Nash’s voice caused your head to snap up as he stepped into the Speed lab with a cup of hot chocolate in hand, “I figured you’ve had too much coffee in your clumsy existence within the past 12 hours.” In truth, Nash had made, dumped, and re-made hot chocolate 7 times in the past 2 hours because he had no idea on how you’d react when he’d make it. He had no idea why he impulsively decided to make one of your favorite drinks instead of letting you waste away at the prospect of coffee. The adventurer talked and scolded himself because you clearly don’t need him to help you out. You’re a capable, independent ditz after all with a war veteran of a boyfriend on the way. Although, Harry’s delay did ease the unsettling feeling in the pit of Nash’s stomach. Finally, the myth-buster had made a decision and added some peppermint extract to give it more flavor with some marshmallows. Fuck it, I’m going to do it anyway because… I secretly want to see her smile at me while it lasts. FuCk.

“I resent that statement, but I do thank you for the hot cocoa,” you hummed in contentment of the fresh brew. Nash saw the weight momentarily leave your shoulders and your body visibly relaxed. You saw him eye you oddly but chose to shake it off as you took another long sip. “Mm, I never got to ask, but have you met any vampires?”

“What?”

“Vampires. You said you weren’t one and I obviously know that, but I’m intrigued if you’ve encountered any on your travels through the multiverse. Cisco accidentally met one when he saved Breacher a year ago.”

“Do you always come up with bizarre questions to ask?” Nash poked your cheek as the three of you moved back to the couch. You batted his hand away. Sherloque baby blue eyes followed the banter between

“I don’t know if I should take it as a compliment or a criticism.”

“Take it as you will. I honestly don’t care.”

“Well?” You asked with furrowed eyebrows as you were seated in between Sherloque and Nash on the couch. You blinked a few times and shook your head a bit.

“Well, what?”

“Have you caused any trouble with any vampire?”

“Why is it that you think that I always cause trouble?” Nash countered your question with his own. He ignored the mockingly smug look on Sherloque’s face.

You shot Nash a look before retorting and Sherloque held in a laugh. “I’m not even going to answer that, Nash.” Nash stammered a bit before succumbing to that determined look on your face, the sparkles hidden in your eyes as they twinkled with curiosity.

“There was this one time-”

“-I knew it!-”

“-Would you let me finish before judging?” He lightly scolded you as you took another sip of your hot cocoa, your head started to throb against the hardness of your skull. “Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted,” but you did not look in the least regretful, “this was before I met Maya. I had… overheard in a tavern on a dark Earth rumors of the Alexandrite Crown or better known in the dark legends as the Queen’s Crown. A crown thistled with alexandrite gems but infused with Thallium and Platinum. Poisonous according to the naturally occurring substances on that Earth.”

Nash continued painting the pictures to his adventure and his encounter with a Vampire Clan in a clash over the Alexandrite Crown and the mystical way of obtaining Chrysolite in order to cleanse it from the noxious spirit that’s locked away within. You hung onto each word as you pushed away the blurriness in your vision and the hazy state of your mind. With each second your head got heavier, feeling like lead and your eyes threatened to droop, but you needed this distraction from worrying about Harry’s wellbeing. Taking one deep breath, you shut your eyes as your body went out of commission. The geological adventurer breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his voice to a stop as your head gently lolled to the side, resting against Sherloque’s shoulder. Both men observed your breathing pattern relax to soft puffs of air.

“Sleeping powder, impressive and you even stalled until it took effect. Maybe zhere’s hope for you just yet,” Sherloque smugly spoke up as he readjusted you to rest your head onto his lap.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nash narrowed his blue irises at the detective.

“Non, nozhing. What else did you bring?”

“Huh? What-I didn’t-”

“I’m a detective Nash, I notice zhe most miniscule of things. Bring over zhe pillow and blanket you ‘ave ‘idden in zhe vacant room beside zhe corridor.”

“How did you…?”

“Skill, mon ami. Skill. Just because I’m not in your ‘ead does not mean zhat I cannot see zhrough your pure intentions.”

Nash sighed in defeat as he pulled up the blanket and pillow. He first covered you with a fluffy blanket, ensuring that he would not meet Sherloque’s eyes. “She gets cold when she falls asleep.”

“And zhe pillow?”

Nash handed his doppelganger the pillow, who placed it on his lap before setting your head on it to sleep comfortably. “You already know so I’m not going to even say anything.”

The detective quirked a teasing, but knowing eyebrow at the explorer, “Be honest wizh yourself, what prompted you to essentially drug her?”

“Okay, with the way you’re saying it, you’re sounding as if I’m going to do vile things to her. And you know what? I’m not going to even pretend to not be offended by that.”

“Well in reality you technically did drug her, but zhat’s beside zhe point.”

“She hasn’t been sleeping well. You know it. I know it. Hell, everyone on Team Flash noticed, but no one had the will to reprimand her to take a day to rest.”

“You mean ‘zhe ‘eart’ to.”

“Whatever!-”

“-Shh!-”

“-The little lady needed to sleep. She can’t be running herself ragged while making sure everyone around her stays safe and healthy.”

“Zhat’s very noble of you, Nash. C’est ironique, non? Elle ne peut pas être tienne mais tu ne peux pas t’empêcher de désirer quelque chose que tu ne peux pas avoir.” Ta logique t’a réprimandé pour avoir préféré profiter d’un instant avec tes amis. Tu vas devoir apprendre à t’en contenter.

“What did you just say?”

“Nozhing!” Sherloque just gave the other man a mysterious smile as he took off his fedora and tossed it onto a spare and vacant table on the side. “You know it’s nozhing to be ashamed of, right? Caring about ‘er and ‘er safety, zhat’s what zhis team does to a person. It doesn’t make you weak. You should know zhat by now.”

“…”

“You just need to know not to tip over zhe line.” Sherloque knew his doppelganger didn’t like being deduced, didn’t like his actions thoroughly analyzed to told what and how he was feeling. But sometimes, he needed a little push in the right direction by the detective in order to fully face the intentions behind his actions. That was one of Nash’s flaws. The ability to push aside all the pain and emotions behind current actions in a little box and thrown out the window in order to press on with the adventures that he lived on. Sherloque had discretely gone through some of his recent memories and noticed it occur with not just you and Allegra, but with the members of Team Flash as well.

“I know what I’m doing,”

“Zhen I believe you have some… patching up to do wizh a certain teenager.”

“She’s not a teenager, she’s a young adult.”

“All in zhe same wizh ‘ow she was acting.”

Nash left with a slight huff as he had every intention of turning in for the night, mentally contemplating a few things. Rubbing his eyes, the explorer took one glance back from where he stood in the corridor. He dismissed the skilled detective’s words, but yours had echoed in his mind. The detective reclined back on the couch, his own mind wandering in the depths of his own nightmares and regrets. He took one look at you before shaking his head. Sherloque smirked as his ears perked up to familiar sounds causing the detective to tilt his head back.

“Eh bien il était temps”

German and French Translation:

Deux - Two

Mh, une distraction semble être de mise - Hm, a distraction seems to be necessary right now

Il n’y a pas de mal à partager des histoires – There’s no harm in sharing some stories.

Qu’est ce qui retarde Harry? - What is taking Harry so long?

Comment puis-je lui dire? – How do I say this?

Encore – Again

Je ne sais même pas pourquoi j’ai voulu recommencé ca va faire 8 fois – I don’t know why I tried an 8th time.

C’est ironique, non? Elle ne peut pas être tienne mais tu ne peux pas t’empêcher de désirer quelque chose que tu ne peux pas avoir – It is ironic, no? Even though she cannot be yours your heart can’t help but to secretly desire something dangerous

Ta logique t’a réprimandé pour avoir préféré profiter d’un instant avec tes amis. Tu vas devoir apprendre à t’en contenter. – Your logical mind scolded you to relish with your friendship instead. Something you will have to learn to become content with.

Eh bien il était temps - Well it’s about time.

Mon Ami – My friend

Stück für Stück – Bit by bit

Es war eine mühsame Aufgabe, aber sie musste erledigt warden - It was a tedious task, but it needed to be done

Gott sei Dank bin ich es nicht – Thank God I didn’t

Schatz – sweetheart

Petit Fleur – Little Flower

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Red Room

JSE Fanfic

I haven’t written a one-shot in months, but the idea came to me and I had to expand on it. I rewatched Welcome to the Game, the video where Jackieboy last appeared, and decided to write something based on that game. So, uh, this is angst (or is it whump? I’m not sure) and there’s some small mentions of gore/torture. But on the bright side, two of the Septic boys meet each other for the first time!

When Jackie woke up, he had a killer headache. It felt like somebody was pounding on his temples with a hammer. He couldn’t even think clearly. He tried to open his eyes, but the bright lights only made everything worse, so he quickly closed them again.

Okay, sight was no good, he had to rely on his other senses. He couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it was almost too quiet. There were no cars going past, no birds outside, nothing. The air smelled like hand sanitizer, but underneath that there was something lingering, something foul. His body felt cramped, like he’d been sitting in the same position for a while. And it seemed like he had. He tried to move his hand to his head so he could see if anything could be done about his headache, but he found it was stuck.

Jackie opened his eyes again, squinting against the light. He was tied to a chair, arms bound to the armrests, legs to the legs. Someone had taken his mask off and covered his mouth in duct tape. The room was brightly lit with tall white lights, including some of those weird umbrella lights you see in photography studios. The floor of the room was covered in paper, the walls were metal, and there were no windows but there was a single door in the wall facing Jackie. A couple tables leaned against the walls, and there was a wheeled metal cart sitting nearby with various stuff on it, including Jackie’s mask and several sharp objects that glinted in the light.

Well. It appeared that his search for the red room was over.

He’d spent the last couple of days holed up in his apartment, sitting at his computer, only leaving to go to the bathroom and get food, which he immediately brought back to his desktop. When he had to sleep he didn’t even go to his bedroom, just crashed on the couch. He’d heard rumors of a red room in the area from his friends in the police force. They assured him the cops were doing everything they could to find it, but knowing them, Jackie hadn’t trusted they’d be able to. Not that the local police force was corrupt as a whole, just that they weren’t the most...efficient. So Jackie decided to do it himself, like he always did. Four days of trawling through the dark web, looking for the clues that would supposedly give away the room’s location. Until that night (or was it last night?), when someone broke into his apartment by climbing up the fire escape and crawling through the window. Jackie had tried his best to fight him off, but the guy’s size advantage had proved too much, and next thing Jackie knew he was inhaling a sickly sweet scent and his vision was swimming...

The door opened, and Jackie’s head jerked upward. The person who walked into the room was holding a camera, a high-quality one. Their appearance was concealed under a gray hoodie with the hood pulled up. A few strands of hair, dyed a murky green color, were peaking out from underneath. Their face was hidden beneath a gray mask that had two blue streaks coming from the eyeholes, and a black curve that mimicked a frowning mouth.

“Good. I timed this perfectly,” they said, sounding pleased. Jackie narrowed his eyes. Their voice didn’t sound like the guy who attacked him, and they definitely didn’t match that guy in build. Maybe they were in charge and sent that goon after him?

“You been enjoying yourself?” they asked, then laughed quietly to themself. “Ah, listen to me. Demanding a response from someone who can’t give me one. In my defense, I forgot. I must be really excited.”

Jackie watched the person—he thought it was a woman but wasn’t totally sure—walk over to one of the tables, pick up what looked to be a tripod, then turn back around and stop a few feet from where he was sitting. He was right; it was, in fact, a tripod. The masked person set it up and carefully put the camera they’d carried into the room on top, making sure it wasn’t going to fall off. “Say cheese!” they said, and Jackie was temporarily blinded by the flash. He shook his head, which only made his headache worse.

“That’s the before picture,” the masked person said. “Like in magazines. Or those beauty ads! You’re gonna be so pretty!” 

Fuck. Jackie’s eyes widened. He strained against the ropes holding him in place, but no matter how hard he tried they wouldn’t loosen.

“Oh, relax.” The person pulled the wheeled cart over. Jackie avoided looking at it. “This isn’t live. I’m not even recording.” They picked up Jackie’s mask and twirled it around her fingers as they walked closer to him. He instinctively leaned back. “This is a special occasion. Do you know how hard it was to set up that scavenger hunt across the dark web? Only people who wanted to find my site were supposed to be able to solve that. People who have experience with this type of thing and know where to look. But yooouuu, Mr. Hacker-Man—” they lightly poked Jackie on the nose “—in just four days, managed to get uncomfortably close. You’re pretty good at this. I could use someone like you.”

Jackie blinked. “You gotta be kidding me,” he said. Or, tried to say. It just came out as mumbles through the duct tape.

“Hmm, I can see you’re not quite convinced. That’s fine! It’s more of a bonus, anyway. Let me know if you change your mind.” She pulled Jackie’s head toward her and roughly put his mask on his face. “But the point I’m trying to make is that nobody has ever gotten that close to finding my site before. No cops, no private eyes, not even those big bad government organizations. You’re special. I like that. I need to keep you.”

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Jackie struggled more, pulling harder against the ropes. No use. The person, contrary to the expression on their mask, seemed pretty happy about that. They clapped their hands in delight, then walked back over to the cart and started looking through the various tools on top of it. “Of course, you can’t stay here if you’re gonna be so concerned with turning me in. I have to show you that’s a bad thing to do. And I get to practice for my latest piece on Saturday, so that’s a plus for me. And you get an upgrade, so that’s a plus for you! The first thing you’re gonna say to me when I take that off is gonna be ‘thank you so much SadFace, I feel a ton better and look beautiful!’ God, I’m so ready for that moment, but I have to be patient. It’s gonna take a while.”

The person—SadFace, apparently—turned back around. They were holding a pair of scissors with long, serrated blades in one hand, and what looked like a clamp in the other, one of the ones you can tighten at will. Jackie immediately stopped struggling, eyes fixed on the tools they were holding. His heart was beating so fast his pulse was more like a vibration.

“Now I just have one question for you,” SadFace said, opening and closing the scissors. “Are you ready? Yes or no.”

“No!” Jackie shouted, but again it was muffled.

“What’s that? Sorry, I couldn’t understand you.”

“No! I said no!” Jackie mumbled, shaking his head for emphasis. He twisted his arms, trying even harder to get free, to no avail.

“Sorry, you have something, uhhh, right across your mouth. I’d say that we should fix that, but you know, if you can’t say anything I want to hear, then don’t say anything at all.” SadFace strode across the room, ignoring Jackie’s smothered pleas and vain attempts to scoot away. They stopped when they were right next to him, leaning forward. They were so close that Jackie could see their brown eyes through the shadows of the mask’s eyeholes. “Now, let’s begin.”

It must’ve been hours before Jackie regained consciousness again. And when he did, he immediately wished he hadn’t. He wasn’t a doctor, so he couldn’t name the exact damage done, but he knew that it was extensive. His arms were the worst off, two long strings of pain pulling at his shoulders. His torso wasn’t much better. There was a sharp agony somewhere inside that flared up every time he took a breath. And his throat was raw. It didn’t matter if nobody could hear him, he’d still screamed.

He had to get out of here. He had to. Fortunately, something good had come out of...this. At one point, SadFace’s knife had gotten a little too close to the ropes holding his left arm in place. It hadn’t quite cut the rope, but it got close. It was just enough wiggle room...

After a few minutes of trying, Jackie managed to successfully yank his arm free. He cried out when the movement caused a sudden surge of pain. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself, then began picking at the knots holding his other arm and legs in place. When he successfully freed himself, he pulled off the duct tape and gasped.

How the hell did he get out of here? Well, there was only one door, that was probably a good place to start. He pushed himself out of the chair, at first falling flat to the floor before getting to his hands and knees. Okay, legs were going to take a while to work. No shame in crawling. Jackie inched forward, one hand at a time, before he finally got to the door. He reached up and grabbed the handle. To his surprise and relief, it wasn’t locked and swung outward easily, revealing a long hallway lit by bare lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling. Jackie used the door to pull himself upright, made sure his legs were steady, then slowly walked in a random direction, leaning against the walls for support.

It took maybe an hour to find his way out of SadFace’s lair. It would’ve taken a shorter time if he’d been able to run, or even walk at a normal pace. At one point he had to duck into an empty room to avoid a pair of men dressed in black, talking to each other in a foreign language. He could only assume they worked for the red room master themself, and wondered how SadFace managed to find them and convince them to work for them.

He climbed up a set of stairs, using the railing to help pull himself up, then came to a simple wooden door. He pushed it open, once again happy it wasn’t locked, and stumbled out onto the city streets. It was either late evening or early morning, judging by the lighting. This part of the city wasn’t quite run-down, but wasn’t taken care of either. Nobody was out, and Jackie wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The sharp pain had increased, and every breath was agony. He needed to get to a hospital. He didn’t have his phone on him, so he couldn’t dial emergency and get an ambulance. Looks like he would have to walk. But he had no idea where he was, either in relation to a hospital or in the city at large. Not to mention he was losing blood at a slow but steady rate...Jackie shook his head. He didn’t have much of a choice except to try and find his way there.

As he staggered through the streets, it became evident that it was late evening, as the moon came out and traveled across the sky. The hospital didn’t close, did it? No, that wouldn’t make sense. He just wasn’t thinking clearly. The pain in his torso was just getting worse, like someone was twisting broken glass inside of him, and it was affecting his judgement.

He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually he found one. His vision was going blurry, but he recognized the shape of the building and the sign outside. Jackie was just about to go inside when he stopped dead in his tracks. It was only now occurring to him that, as a vigilante in a city where vigilantism was against the law, he’d actually be in danger if he just went in the hospital the normal way. He could go in anyway, but if they called the cops, which they probably would, then he couldn’t exactly resist arrest. He couldn’t go to jail, he wouldn’t be any help to anyone that way. At that very moment, a jolt of pain rushed through his chest and he nearly fell over from the shock of it. Nope. He had to have proper medical treatment, the do-it-yourself figure-it-out-as-you-go method he usually used wouldn’t cut it.

Jackie straightened up. Okay, a solution. He’d go around the back, try and find a doctor, and hope that they would be sympathetic and not turn him in. Even though his head was starting to feel like it was full of soup, he forced himself to go around the back of the hospital. There had to be another entrance...

He spotted a white door in the side of the building and stumbled toward it. He tried to pull it open, but it seemed as though the staff wasn’t quite as careless as SadFace had been, and the door was locked. Jackie felt a surge of sudden panic, and he fought to push it down. There was a simple glass pane inset in the door itself. He peered through it and saw a hall with white walls and doors extending away from him, ending in a T-intersection. A man in a white coat was just walking past the turning point to the hall. Jackie raised his fist and started banging furiously and desperately on the door. He didn’t care that every impact sent a fresh wave of slicing pain down his arms, he banged on the door so hard it shuddered in its hinges.

Luckily, the man heard him, stopping and turning to look towards the noise. When he saw Jackie on the other side of the door he practically ran down the hall. And by this point Jackie was sure the pain was getting to him, because he could’ve sworn he was looking in a mirror.

The man’s eyes widened. He looked down and fiddled with the knob on his side of the door. It swung outward, and Jackie fell over, landing hard on his back. He tilted his head upward to see the man staring down at him, totally shocked. Jackie swallowed nervously, and smiled. “Hey, doctor,” he said hoarsely. “I need assistance.” And then he passed out again.

Jackie woke up in a hospital bed, which was definitely an improvement over the last two times. He was still in his super-suit, but now there was a significant amount of bandages underneath it. His right arm was in a cast, and there was an IV of red liquid connected to his left arm. It hurt to move.

The doctor who’d opened the door was sitting in one of the chairs by the bed, writing something on a clipboard. Apparently Jackie hadn’t been hallucinating; the doctor did look a lot like himself. He looked up and noticed Jackie staring at him. “Ah!” he said, startled. He put the clipboard and pen aside. “You are awake, finally, I was worried. Are you okay? Are you in pain?”

“...not as much as I expected,” Jackie admitted.

“Yes, that is the painkiller, doing its job and killing the pain. You were quite a mess. Broken arm, broken rib, laceration and stabs and various slices, too many bruises to count. Not to forget all the blood you lost. You are lucky I was happening by, I am afraid what you would have been like if you waited much longer. But you are better now, that is correct?”

“Yeah, I think so...” Jackie suddenly bolted upright. “Mask! My mask! It’s not on!”

“Ack!” The doctor stood up and rushed over. “No, do not sit up! You will knock your rib out again!” He forcefully pushed him back down. “Your mask is fine. Is on that table there, see?”

Jackie twisted his head over and saw it was there, next to the doctor’s clipboard. “But—but—” Jackie stammered. “My face!”

“Your face is fine, it is remarkably undamaged.”

“No! I mean you! Seeing it!”

“Oh, that.” The doctor rolled his eyes. “You think that blocking your cheekbones will stop me from seeing your face? I am not idiot. And your face is the...fourth one I’ve seen like this, I believe. Five, including my own. I know enough to figure it out anyway.”

“...I see.” Jackie closed his eyes and exhaled. He let his head fall back into the pillows of the bed. He was...exhausted. But he couldn’t relax just yet. “You’re...not gonna tell anyone, are you?”

The doctor paused. “I do not think so. You are doing much good for this city. It would not be fair.”

Jackie nodded. “Thank you.”

“But I have to say this.” Jackie opened his eyes again and looked over to the doctor, who made a vague sort of gesture at him. “If this is what condition you are in after your work, then you must come to the hospital more. I can help you, if you wish.”

“This was a first,” Jackie said. “I was looking for the red room...and I found it. I got too close and attracted the wrong sort of attention.” He sighed. “I think...it’ll get worse, from here on out. But I can’t—you’ll be in danger—”

“So?” The doctor shrugged. “You are in danger all the time. And you do it to help people. I cannot do the same?”

“Jeez, when you say it like that I sound like a hypocritical dick,” Jackie muttered. “...but...you have a point. If you want to help...I mean, I won’t blame you if you ever wanna back out...”

“Is fine, I assure you.” The doctor picked up the clipboard and pen again, turning to a different page and writing something down, which he promptly tore off. “But I think we should keep this out of the eyes of the hospital. I know a few staff who would not hesitate to tell the police. This is my address, you should come there next time.”

Jackie accepted the torn-off piece of paper. The corner of his mouth quirked a bit. “That’s really your name, huh? Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein?”

“Ah...yes.” The doctor—Schneeplestein—cleared his throat, uncomfortable. “Is not the best name, but it is mine.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet ya. I’m...my name is Jackie. Jackie Parker.”

“I see.” Schneeplestein nodded, like he knew how much trust Jackie had just placed in him. “It is nice to meet you, as well. I suggest you go to sleep. My shift is over, but I can do overtime and stay for a bit.”

“Thanks...I’d appreciate that.” Jackie closed his eyes again.

Well, this may have been some of the worst few days of his life, but at least he met someone new. Someone he could trust. There weren’t a lot of people like that out there. And Jackie fell asleep easily, knowing a friend was nearby.

[hnd1ddianaferguson-blog]

Illuminate Research, Planning and Development

Image 1:

Photograph by  Darlene Hildebrandt

I found this image to be quite interesting, yet can’t decide if I like it or not. I feel like the colour of the sky is slightly off putting, yet it fits in with the subject itself, being old and rusty. I do, however, think the light painting itself has been done very well.I found this image to be quite interesting, yet can’t decide if I like it or not. I feel like the colour of the sky is slightly off putting, yet it fits in with the subject itself, being old and rusty. I do, however, think the light painting itself has been done very well.

Image 2:

Photograph by Catalin Anastase

This is a really creative, fitting painting with light photograph. The light gives the image a sort of mythical look, as if it were taken from a fairy-tale. It looks as if the image is layered, multiple pictures of the same thing being put together to create this image. I think the sky is slightly too dark, but overall it works well.  

Image 3:

Photograph by Dave Black

This painting with light is slightly different from the other images in terms of location. It has almost certainly been shot inside, and doesn’t show much in terms of background. I feel like there could maybe be some more light in certain areas, but is all round well done. This painting with light is slightly different from the other images in terms of location. It has almost certainly been shot inside, and doesn’t show much in terms of background. I feel like there could maybe be some more light in certain areas, but is all round well done.

Image 4:

Photograph by Simon Plant

This lighting in this image is has been done to a high standard, and I particularly like how the tree behind has also been light up. For me, I feel like the sky is slightly too dark, at least on one side on the photograph. This lighting in this image is has been done to a high standard, and I particularly like how the tree behind has also been light up. For me, I feel like the sky is slightly too dark, at least on one side on the photograph

Image 5:

Photograph by Tim Cooper

This is my personal favourite. The sky fits perfectly with the light and tone of the building, as it seems to be in a pastel kind of tone. I think the lighting has been done extremely well, as the image as a whole just works very well together and is aesthetically pleasing.

Image 6:

Photograph by Diana Ferguson

This is one of my own images using painting with light. I really enjoyed shooting this, and had great fun experimenting with the settings and how to move the light to create the best type of lighting. It was quite challenging trying to keep the light facing away from the camera, and moving fast enough to not get caught yet slow enough to light the subject. I shot this using one long exposure, no layering.

What is ‘noise’ and why does it happen?

Much like with sound where noise refers to auditory disruptions, within photography noise refers to the visual distortion. Noise looks like small coloured pixels or specks in your photograph and occasionally resembles the grain you can see in film photography.

Things such as sensor size, higher ISO and long exposures can be factors that bring about noise in images.

Noise generally tends to happen when the sensor heats up. For example, images with a higher ISO. The higher the ISO, the more the sensor has to work to let more light in, causing the temperature to rise. This is why the noise becomes more apparent each time you bump up the ISO.

Difficulties associated with night photography:

Camera shake.

This can be solved with something as simple as using a tripod and a remote trigger, minimising and contact with the camera that could cause camera shake.

Noise.

This can be solved by reducing the ISO and using a longer shutter speed, paired with a tripod, to compensate for the low ISO.

Images being out of focus.

This can be solved by manually focusing instead of relying on autofocus. If possible, light could be added to the subject to give you enough to see your focus point, then the light can be removed leaving the focus still set.  

Shadows.

This one is slightly more challenging, as it may involve adding additional light to your subject. It could be done by diffusing light, bouncing it off a reflector so as it is not direct, or even just adding light straight onto the subject.

Difficulties associated with long exposures:

Camera shake.

Again, this can be fixed by using a tripod and a remote trigger to reduce contact with the camera.

Light flares.

This could be resolved by flagging any unwanted light, or even using a diffuser to lessen the light being captured by the camera.

Noise

Using longer shutter speeds and a lower ISO, the noise should be reduced.

Use filters

ND (Neutral Density) filters block out light being taken in through the lens, much like sunglasses. You would then have to adjust your camera settings to suite the filter.

Methods by which the effects of ‘noise’ can be minimised (pre and post editing):

Reducing the ISO

Adding flash or additional lighting will allow you so shoot with faster shutter speeds and a lower ISO.

Use a fast shutter speed if possible.

Keep your camera cool if possible. Noise is a reaction to temperature, so the cooler you can keep your camera the better. Try not to let it overheat.

Edit your images during post-production. There are many ways to reduce noise using software's such as Lightroom, Photoshop or Bridge. I found that Camera Raw in Bridge works best for me. Bumping up the Luminance (no higher than 20) and adding some Clarity really helps to reduce noise, although it ever so slightly softens the images.

Layering images. Noise is completely random, so layering images could help in reducing noise.

Noise reduction tools.

Equipment list:

Canon EOS 4000D

Tripod

Extra batteries

Lense (18-55mm)

SD cards

Notebook and pens for notes

Additional lighting such as a torch

Bags for storing the kit/umbrella in case of rain

An extra set of hands! (A friend to help when needed and also for safety)

Planning and Development:

The first stage of this brief is the research stage. I have researched relevant photographs and techniques so that I have a good understanding of what it is I am going to do when it comes to shooting.

I have also made a list of all the equipment I will need so that I have everything I need when I go out to shoot.

The next stage is to decide on what I would like my subject to be. I would like to shoot this in my home town, North Berwick, on the beach or surrounding areas (harbour, viewing points, benches, etc.)

Ideally, I would like to go home between the 30th March and the 5th April. This will give me time to scout out possible locations, take test shots and shoot my final image. I plan on shooting at dusk, so I will look up what time dusk is closer to the shooting date.

I would like to take some test shots during the day of things like; rocks, bushes, benches, posts, decorations and surrounding buildings.

Once I have my spot and time, I will make sure to give myself time to set up. Set up will include getting my tripod in place, getting the right camera settings, briefing my assistant on what needs done, and making sure all lights/batteries are working.

After setting up, I will use the window of time to shoot my subject, getting my model to light it, possibly myself lighting it too (using a timer or remote trigger).

After my shoot is complete and I am home, I will spend time looking over my shots to see if I have a final image and doing any editing if needed.

I will possibly look to do another shoot depending on how the first one goes.

Contact Sheets:

Final Image and Evaluation:

I really enjoyed shooting for this brief as well as researching for it. I had originally planned to shoot this down at the beach while I was home, but due to a change of circumstances, I wasn’t able to get to the beach. I then had to change my plan, and decided to shoot in my back garden. My original plan was to shoot a tree in my back garden. For this, I went out during the day to do some recce shots and to decide where I wanted to shoot from. Once I had figured out what I was going to do, I went out in the evening and shot the tree. Half way through, however, I found that I didn’t like how my images were turning out, and instead tried using the slide instead. This turned out to be a much better option, although looking back now I could have spent more time shooting the slide. I had my images looked over during class time and was told I needed to re-shoot. This was slightly awkward for me as I wouldn’t be going home again for a while, so I was able to leave the re-shooting until after I had finished with my personal project. I was able to re-shoot not long after my project was finished, and spent more time on it than the last time. The editing processes took slightly longer than I had expected, as I had to layer a few images together and used the brush tool to even a few areas out. I feel as though I could have planned and timed this brief slightly better than I did, and in the future I will pay more attention to planning, scheduling and getting test shot, but overall, I think I done reasonably well and am happy with my final image. 

References:

Image 1 - https://digital-photography-school.com/light-painting-part-one-the-photography/

Image 2 - https://www.catalinanastase.com/lightpaintinglandscapes/h6844AC59

Image 3 - https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/lighting-techniques-light-painting.html

Image 4 - https://www.ephotozine.com/article/light-painting-and-photography-12297

Image 5 - http://intothenightphoto.blogspot.com/2013/03/painting-with-light-by-tim-cooper.html

[hightechdad]

The easiest way to start creating home automation and making a smart home is probably by getting some smart light bulbs. Being able to turn on or off a light using an app or your voice is pretty darn cool. And, if you can change the intensity or the color of the light, it adds to the ambiance of the room. Smart light bulbs, like the Nooie Aurora, can make that process of making a dumb lamp smart and bring a room to life incredibly easy. And, while some colored LED smart bulbs require a hub to function, the Nooie Smart LED bulbs are standalone – all you need is WiFi. (*Disclosure below.) My smart home’s IQ seems to be regularly increasing. I have numerous hubs from different vendors, smart switches and lights, smart locks and security cameras, smart speakers and displays. As my home gets smarter, it does become more complex—understanding which smart devices integrate with what ecosystem can sometimes be a bit daunting. Luckily, there seems to be increasing cross-compatibility among devices and systems. But, a quick recommendation – try to stay away from proprietary devices that have limited or no integration with some of the larger smart home ecosystems like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and Apple HomeKit. Otherwise, you may have to stick proprietary hubs into hidden corners around your home and hope and pray that they integrate with the ones above. The Nooie Aurora is Smart on its Own The Nooie Aurora Smart LED bulbs are compatible with a couple of the large smart home ecosystems, specifically Amazon Alexa and Google Home. But you don’t even need one of those hubs and ecosystems. Each smart LED bulb is self-contained – just bring your own WiFi (2.4GHz only), and you can set up automation and control the bulbs manually. For me, this is an important feature. Perhaps you don’t want to give people access to your entire smart home ecosystem, or you want to give your kids access to smart lighting just in their room. Or you want to set up a photography or video filming environment with easily controllable lighting. The Nooie Smart LED bulbs let you do all of this easily. The Nooie Aurora has some great features: Bright (800 lumens) yet dimmableWarm-to-cool white color balance (2800K-6000K)16 million colorsLow energy consumption20-year lifeEasy setup2.4GHz WiFi compatibleApp-controlledSmart Assistant-enabledSleek designBudget-minded Having all of the features in a self-contained, single LED bulb is fantastic and opens up various smart lighting environments throughout your home or office. Setting Up the Nooie LED bulbs I received a 4-pack of the Nooie Aurora Smart LED bulbs to review. Since I have pretty much packed every corner of my house with smart switches and smart lighting, I was faced with a bit of a challenge. I really didn’t have anywhere to put the Nooie smart bulbs. And this bothered me because I honestly love smart lighting and being able to command things via spoken voice, via an app, or from a time schedule. But an opportunity presented itself. My oldest daughter had recently moved out of our house, and suddenly her bedroom was available for me to take over as an office. It had been many, many years since I had had dedicated space just to me and my work. Long story short, my wife helped me set up a style and color palette (it couldn’t completely become just a dark man cave). I had overhead lighting that was already controlled via a smart switch. But I wanted some ambient lights that were more subtle. This is where the Nooie Aurora’s came into play. I decided I would use three of the four I received in the corners of my office to provide that ambient lighting and I would give the fourth Nooie to my daughters for their room – and that they would control via the Nooie app on their own. I did pick up four of these spotlight/wall mount accent lamps for about $20 each on Amazon, which I highly recommend because of their price and style (and the fact that they work great with the Nooie LED smart bulbs). They almost look like something from an old Hollywood set. I screwed in the Nooie’s into these spotlight lamps and turned on the bulb. You set up one bulb at a time, and you need to be sure you are within the 2.4GHz WiFi range. Simply use the Nooie app to configure (and later control) the lights. If you don’t already have a Nooie account, be sure to set one up and set up your Home. Then click Add to add your device, in this case, the Nooie LED smart bulb. Choose the “Nooie Smart Light Bulb” option. Next, power on the Nooie bulb – on the spotlight lamps I recommended above, there is a simple on/off switch on the cord. When you turn on the Nooie for the first time, it should flash a blue light to indicate it is in pairing mode. If the bulb isn’t flashing, you just need to turn the light on and off 4 times in a row to reset it. I did have to do this a couple of times, and it worked perfectly. Next, you connect the Nooie bulb to your 2.4 GHz WiFi. Select your WiFi and enter the password. It is helpful to have your smartphone in the same area where the Nooie Smart LED bulb will be set up. The pair typically takes less than a minute. After you have paired the bulb, you can name it, put it in a control group, control it, and share it with other users in your family who already have a Nooie account set up. The last step is completely optional – that of connecting it to Smart Home assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. You need to either enable the skill on Alexa and/or choose a “works with” from Google. You can then fully control your Nooie bulbs from the smart assistant apps or via your voice. I must say, the setup took literally a few minutes from getting the Nooie bulb configured to having it fully set up within Google Home and Amazon Alexa within lighting groups and rooms. Using the Nooie Smart LED Bulbs I’m not going to go into too much detail about using the bulbs, mainly because this is a very personal setup. What color scheme or lighting approach that I use might not be liked by others. I did, as I mentioned, set up my three Nooie LED bulbs in the spotlight accent lamp holders and placed them around my office. I also configured them to be part of my office lighting group so that I simply need to say “Alexa/Google, turn off office” or “Alexa/Google, turn on office spotlights,” and the Nooie Auroras will turn on or off. You can even use voice commands to change the color of the spotlights. Just to test out the power of Alexa (and because I’m a Star Trek geek), I set up some routines where I could say “active Red Alert,” and the current overhead lights would turn off, the Nooie’s would turn on with red coloring, and the Red Alert sound effect would play from my smart speaker. Then I would say, “cancel Red Alert,” and the red spotlights would turn off, the sound would stop, and the regular overhead lights would turn back on. Super geeky, but my family started to get annoyed with it, so I decided to delete it and focus on ambient and accent lighting only. The Nooie app does have some out-of-the-box color lighting suggestions. They call these “Themes,” and you can also create your own theme if you want. But I personally like and use the “Focused” and “Natural” themes. These are my morning lighting choices because they aren’t too bright. Accent lighting does wonders for any environment. All of the photos in this review are from my office. And my daughters use the Nooie within their bedroom as well. Let Nooie Shine the Way to Lighting your Smart Home Easily With an easy setup, elegant yet simple design, and the ability to be smart without relying on a proprietary or dedicated smart hub, the Nooie Aurora Smart LED bulbs are an easy way to bring home automation to any lamp or light socket with the click of a button on a smartphone app or via voice command. Lastly, the Nooie Smart LED bulbs are quite reasonable (especially if you factor in that you don’t need to get a smart hub to control them). On Amazon, you can get a 1-pack, 2-pack, or the best deal currently, I think, is the 4-pack. See below for prices as of this writing: 1-pack – $9.992-pack – $19.994-pack – $29.99 You can also purchase a 4-pack on the Nooie website currently for $55.99. Shop on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Nooie Aurora Smart LED Bulb $29.99 Buy on Amazon Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: If you are looking for an easy way to add smart lighting to your home, the Nooie Aurora Smart LED bulbs easily allow you to create dimmable and colored ambient and accent lighting without needing a smart hub.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/04/25/how-to-bring-colorful-smart-lighting-to-any-lamp-nooie-smart-led-bulb-review/

[royalslamberthall]

Justice League Rant

     I guess I’m writing this because of frustration. I am frustrated because talent and material is being squandered. No one wants to risk anything so they bend to the will of a mob. When this happens it can only mean one thing: there is a lack of VISION. The Marvel movies are safe. You know that no one is going to die and that there will be no serious consequences. But you also know that you’re about to enjoy a movie. That is because Kevin Feige started the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a vision. He knew where he wanted the story to go so he plotted a course and let all the writers on subsequent Marvel movies know where they had to steer their stories. I feel that the same cannot be said of the DC Extended Universe.      Why is the DCEU broken? To me, the simple answer is that Man of Steel wasn’t Superman. It starts with this version of Superman. BvS is one of those movies that if you think about it too much then the cracks start to show. But as nerds it’s second nature to obsess about things. It’s what makes us nerds. I couldn’t find the words so I hoped the internet would. Boy did it. Devin Faraci wrote an article called Superman and the Damage Done. In the article Faraci goes on to compare the Donner Superman and the Snyder Superman. The most striking comparison made between the two was the take-off and landing. It is a perfect comparison in my opinion. Donner’s Superman is strong enough to hold up a 747 when an engine gets taken out but graceful enough to land softly with Louis Lane after their flight. Snyder’s Superman explodes into the sky creating sonic booms whenever he does. He often lands with a crash and creating craters when he does. “There are no soft landings for this Superman” says Faraci. I would have to agree. The other difference is the visuals. Donner’s Superman had a fantastic contrast of colors. Around the city you saw a lot of gray from the streets and the buildings. There was a lack of sunlight and illumination comes from street lights. Then, in flies Superman with the flowing red cape and bright blue suit and the red of the S in stark contrast to the yellow of the shield. Your eyes immediately latch on to him because of how bright his colors are. You know he’s the good guy even if you just walked into the movie half way in progress. In Man of Steel his suit is muted. It blends in and with the exception of the cape there is no difference between Superman’s super suit and Zod’s suit. Donner’s Superman is peak Superman. It was Superman at his very best. I understand that time’s change and so the Man of Steel should change with them. But these were not the changes that were needed. The world is a more nuanced place and it needed a scalpel not a sledgehammer with a meat cleaver taped to it.      Avengers changed the game of movies in general. It was a grand experiment that took 4 years and a half billion dollars of investment. They took a risk and it paid off in spades. Phrases like “shared universe” entered the American lexicon. Movie studios began poring over their properties and licenses to see what shared universe movie they can make. Universal with Dark Universe, Legendary Pictures and Monsterverse , and Sony was trying to make a Universe with Ghostbuster and Spider-man respectively. Warner Bros, the company that owns DC and the film rights to Batman and Superman, may have not realized the potential of a shared universe series. They had been trying to make a Superman movie since 2008 after the runaway success of The Dark Knight. They wrapped up the The Dark Knight Trilogy and were relying on Superman to take up the mantle because the year after Nolan wrapped up his trilogy Man of Steel was released. Here’s where the tin foil hat needs to be put on. I don’t think WB realized how profitable a shared universe can be at the time Man of Steel began filming in 2011. That was the year Captain America and Thor came out to decent success. Avengers premiered 3 months after principal photography wrapped in February of 2012. It was too late to change the story elements that would make a shared universe harder. So they plowed ahead and the Man of Steel went on to be a successful in that it made more money than it cost to make. If I had been studio chief I would have put Zack Snyder in movie jail along with Josh Trank.

     Lastly, the lack of consistency when it comes to these movies is astounding (Spoilers ahead for all DC movies). There are moments in the films that legitimately make no sense because it will contradict a moment in a previous movie. For example, at Superman’s funeral in Batman v. Superman we saw the dirt on his coffin rise. We are used to seeing pieces of earth rise around Superman when he is preparing to fly. To the audience this indicates that Superman is still alive. In Justice League, the league members have to spend 20 minutes of movie time to bring back Superman. Why? He was left alive in the last movie. This movie was even made by the same director. Did he forget? What happened? Was it supposed to be some huge reveal because Superman is absent from the marketing material? It made no sense. Then when he wakes up the first thing he does is grab Batman by the neck and ask him if he bleeds. Did he not remember that Batman saved his mom and stunned Doomsday to give him a shot with the spear? Why is that entire scene there? Why isn’t Superman’s coffin just empty one day? Martha hears that someone desecrated his grave and this can go either way. It can destroy her or she can whisper “he’s alive” and the movie moves on without the grave robbing.  The second inconsistency is Batman calls out Wonder Woman for being absent and not getting of Steve Trevor. The very last scene of Wonder Woman is her jumping into action in full Amazon battle gear after hearing the klaxon of a police car and heading  towards danger. That showed us that she was finally able to get out and fulfill her charge as a warrior. Then, there is the mourning over Superman’s death in Justice League. The film opens with shots from around the world of black banners with a white S. We see a world in chaos. People are attacking each other and crime running rampant. We are then told that it’s because “he’s” gone. Who? Do they mean Superman? Superman’s mother tells him that he should just fly off because he doesn’t “owe the world a damn thing.” The worst part is it looks like he considers it. To me it looked like he took no pleasure in helping others. In Justice League he just killing Steppenwolf with the one liners. Where did this come from? Where has this guy been? Aquaman says that you lose something when you die. Maybe Superman lost his angst? While this Superman is a whole lot better than the brooding one we saw in Batman v. Superman and Man of Steel it was a complete departure from the character we saw. Clark has a crisis about the responsibility of saving people but thinks that death “feels fuzzy?” What the shit?

     The DCEU movies lack the vision of a person who is willing to take a risk. That person must put a product on the screen similar in scope to what Marvel has done but it can’t be an imitation. It is a fine line that can be walked with the right person. However, that is not how these movies are being made. They are created by focus groups and trending twitter analytics by people who see movies as just a business instead of the business of artistry. If it were my studio and Justice League was my baby I would use the Flash’s movie and make Flashpoint and start over.                

[mappingthemoon]

Last month I finally had to make a project of deleting old photos because my hard drive is running out of space. Four years ago when I bought my laptop, I just kinda had this nebulous idea that At Some Point In The Future, surely I will have attained a better-enough position in life, financially, that I could maybe finally actually buy a dedicated desktop PC for photography. Well, instead I went to grad school, have yet to find a better job, and now my debt-to-income ratio is just hilarious (I truly don't understand how I still have this level of idiot optimism -- "surely, someday I will be solvent!!! :D :D :D" -- but I mean, I guess that's one way to trick people into continuing to go to their damn jobs every day).

Anyway, I can't afford a new computer right now, I don't want to use an external hard drive as a secondary drive, and I don't want to keep this stuff solely in the cloud (the cloud! is not! a backup!), so I had to get rid of some shit. Probably since 2009, I have saved nearly every digital photo I have ever taken, just because I had the space. Every single exposure, no matter how out-of-focus or poorly composed; even test shots, accidental trips of the shutter, technical fuckups, flash misfires. Every image file. I knew that I could easily free up a good amount of space just by trashing these mess-ups, but I still felt a little anxiety pang as I deleted these hundreds of "useless" exposures. Even though the final, best images of course still exist, so much of my process is now erased... Uncomposed shots where I was simply trying to figure out how to understand the lighting. Repetitive shots where you could tell what pose, what face, what feeling I was trying to capture but it took me 10 or 20 tries until finally pressing the shutter at the exact right time. A record of all the photos I tried to take and failed. The development of my ~style~ over time: all the frantic too-dark close-ups, the weird shapes formed by musicians' body parts and instruments blurring together, blown-out streaks of light and solid flat shadows. All the vacillations between intention and excuse, aesthetics and accidents.

I know that it was the act of preservation in itself that assigned a certain level of meaning and importance to these files -- would I miss them as much if I hadn't had easy access to storing and viewing them for ten years? And, as I've written about before, I know that it was the luxury of the digital camera that allowed me to even *make* so many goddamn exposures when, if I'd been restricted to the rolls of film within my meager budget, I would have been forced to be more careful, more deliberate.

While deleting, I relied on making snap-decisions because as much as I'm having Feelings about this, it was still a monotonous & mundane task of digital housekeeping and I didn't want to spend a hundred hours staring at a screen about it -- and I also didn't want to give myself many chances to become bowled over by The Past (another downside of having easy, instant access to 10+ years of photos in one place. Nostalgia-industrial complex! ugh.) -- but I couldn't delete every single "bad" photo. There were things that made me hesitate and reconsider: photos that had no discernible subject but showed a glimpse of what a room looked like 10 years ago -- the books I had on my shelves, the kind of bag I used to carry and the buttons and patches affixed to it, the t-shirts I wore that no longer fit, the artwork and posters and flyers that hung on the walls of my past homes and houses. Venues that don’t exist anymore. Shadowy faces in sweaty audiences. Someone in the background who I didn't even know when I took the photo but who became my friend later and isn't it a funny coincidence that we were both at this same event before we knew each other and you're in my photo? (note: actually probably not so much of a coincidence, because Athens, but still). Photos that once looked impossibly underexposed but could potentially be recovered now that I have better software? Maybe even the worst shots could be used in some kind of future art project? Or what if at some point in the past my camera accidentally captured important evidence, like that time that guy was accused of murder but proven innocent because he was caught on film attending a baseball game that they were recording for Curb Your Enthusiasm? WHAT IF. Anyway I emptied the Recycle Bin after sitting with my ambivalence for a few weeks after finishing this project, so I guess we may never know.

[ugogos-blog1]

Photo editor to edit an image

Photo editing software for Windows 10 and professionals to edit a photo and color mode

If you've ever checked out somebody's Instagram and also wondered why their pictures look so perfect as well as yours don't, recognize that you're just seeing one of their thoroughly picked shots. They took dozens of pictures as well as selected the very best. What I was looking for was a powerful photo editing software for beginners for edit pictures. Expert photographers commonly take numerous photos of their topics. When I operate with a photo editing software for edit pictures, much like focused results or sophisticated lights devices, I each time operate with uncomplicated photo editing software. In some cases it's simple to give your pictures much more life. If you're photo shooting a street scene in the city, you can time it to get individuals walking by, talking, chuckling or otherwise dealing with their day. For other shots, you'll need to obtain innovative. Maybe as opposed to taking a photo of your pal resting at a canteen table grinning, you photo them as they're taking a sip of tea. This is still something you can phase, nevertheless it looks extra actual. In many cases it is extremely easy to deal your pictures far more life. You might assume that you need to only handle flash during the night time or indoors, yet that's not the situation in all. If it is an incredibly bright day outside and also the sun is developing extreme darkness on your topic, activate your flash. Forcibly additional light into your subject, you will have the ability to complete those ugly shadows and produce an even direct exposure.

Edit an image and enhance photo is really easy with the photo editing software or photography software for beginners

Take time to consider what is going on in the viewfinder prior to pushing the shutter. How are you going to make up the shot? Exactly how are you going to light it? Don't leap directly in without giving it some idea first. The application is a new photo editing software with a ton of nice options for fast and easy photo improvement. Require time to consider what is taking place in the viewfinder prior to pressing the shutter. How are you most likely to light it? As you modify your photos, beware not to over-edit them. It's extremely easy to go wild with your editing and enhancing and boosting options, yet a whole lot of small modifications can make a photo appearance unnatural. You don't need to be an expert photographer to get fantastic shots for usage on your homepage. If I requirement a photo editing software for edit a picture, as an instance shade splash or insert very own cliparts, I every time use easy photo editing software. With the optimal tools, a basic understanding of taking pictures as well as sufficient method, you'll notification the top-notch of your photos improve dramatically. This application is a new photo editing software with a lot of awesome features for quick and simple picture improvement. Special terms for photo editing functions are photo collage, masks effects and crop a photo etc. One complication I experienced when starting along with photography was actually how to patch up my pictures. Maybe a photo was slightly black, possibly it needed to be actually turned or mown. Digital photos generally need some kind of control before final outcome. Another practical usage of image processing is sometimes the stylish transform of images.

Photo editing software for Windows

Download for free this photo editing software for rapid and smart edit image

Such a photo editing software for edit a photo contains a lot of great features as for example make pictures brighter, changing the contrast of an image and blur the photo that make it easy to enhance photos from your holiday. So right here is a quick guide which I've crafted to aid you patch up your photos. It's a terrific device that allows you to accomplish expert image effects making use of basic, easy-to-follow activities. You may furthermore yearn for to assess my scoop of the best amateur picture publishers for Microsoft Windows. If you're taking photos of individuals, probabilities are you could have actually taken a picture along with red-eye issues. This is rapidly done away along with image editing and enhancing computer program. The photo editing software for edit photos supports many useful image effects such as lighten images, photo mosaic or photo deform that make it easy to enhance images. In the uncomplicated photo editing software, pick the red-eye extraction resource in the food selection and the system performs all the help you. It is actually swiftly dealt with little bit of loss in quality by taking advantage of a switch tool if you have actually taken a photo in an incorrect alignment. The for edit photos includes many useful effects like for example make the picture brighter, change the contrast in photos or improve image that make it possible to enhance shootings. When I need a photo editing software for edit an image, like duplicate stamp or pie chart, I each time take straightforward photo editing software. You'll also like to carry out some chopping of your picture to get rid of disorderly settings that draw focus much coming from your topic. I find mowing incredibly beneficial if my subject is taking up merely the center section of the photo. Amputate the pair of sides of the image and also you possess a lot even more pro appearance. Perform certainly not wait to experiment with colors. Photo modifying programs placed a considerable amount of energy in your palms. You can make the leaves purple, alter the whole photo to white colored and dark, feature a poster result - almost anything you yearn for. A great photo changing system will definitely have automatic color equilibrium options to change color defects in your pictures. Occasionally I just like to include a blurring influence to my photos. What you may do right here is to pick areas of the photo which are actually worthless and tarnish them out. This is going to carry additional focus to the major subject matter of your picture. For instance, if I possessed an image of a blossom and also I desired to soft-pedal the details in the fallen leaves in background, I may consist of an obscuring effect to the background. Sharpening the graphic is the upcoming step in the photo retouch operation. What I usually do when developing a photo is to selectively develop. Relying on your criteria, you might desire to resize your picture. You'll want to resize the picture to a much smaller size if you are actually emailing a photo to a buddy. When I need a photo editing software for edit photos, as an example radial effects or picture handling, I generally take easy to handle photo editing software. Make use of the major Gif graphic layout if you want to maintain all details for subsequent photo customizing. However, you can easily use the JPEG picture layout if you desire to merely send the picture through e-mail or publish all of them to your website. This photo editing software for edit a photo contains numerous features such as insert clipart, correct brightness in photos and photos blur that make it easy to enhance photos from people.

As I was searching the www for an astounding photo editing software, I eventually stumbled over this really good one

Special terms to manipulate photos are photo histogram, enlarge photo and reflections and more. When I deal with a photo editing software for edit photo, for example effect brush or histogram, I regularly deal with simple photo editing software. Currently you understand the technique to touching up as well as prepping your photos for outcome. I will say that certainly not all the above measures are actually truly demanded in a given instance. Keep in mind to make use of your discretion to observe which is actually needed. Perform not hold back to practice and also find - method makes well when it happens to touching on up your photos. Edit images made easy with the nice unique photo editing software for trainees and pros with a lot of ideal picture effects. It is in fact a wonderful gadget that licenses you to done expert photo outcomes making use of easy, effortless to follow actions.

[connermwgx511-blog]

Image editor for perspective distortion

Beginners are make researches in the internet for the best photo editing software to edit photos, but every photographer must know for themselves which is the best photo editing software for Computer

If you've ever before looked at somebody's FB and also asked yourself why their photos look so ideal and also yours do not, understand that you're just seeing among their meticulously selected shots. They took lots of photos as well as selected the most effective. My wish was a new photo editing software for trainees and experts for edit a photo. Expert digital photographers usually take thousands of photos of their subjects. When I work with a photo editing software for edit photos, such as masks impacts or insert very own cliparts, I constantly take simple photo editing software. They feel phony and don't reverberate with the viewer when pictures look presented. When you take a look at the picture, little components of life can be the missing out on link that highlights a feeling. You could assume that you ought to just handle flash in the evening time or inside, yet that's not the case in any way. If it is an incredibly intense day outside and also the sun is producing harsh shadows on your subject, button on your flash. By requiring added light into your subject, you will certainly have the ability to fill out those unsightly darkness and also produce an also exposure.

Top photo editing software to edit photos

Photo editing software for novice and aces with a lot of nice functions free download

Time as well as time once again I see professional photographers take a picture and after that check out the back of the screen immediately. You can look at your photos later. Commonly the distinction in between an exceptional photo and also a great photo is the editing and enhancing and also enhancing. Enhance pictures made easy with the helpful state-of-the-art photo editing software for trainees and pros with many helpful functions. A little modifying can fix little issues and additionally boost a photo's ideal aspects. Lights, sharpness, and also contrast are all elements you can readjust in your modifying program of choice. There are expert applications, nonetheless there are similarly many less complicated and a lot more cost-effective choices offered. Whichever program you choose, spend a long period of time getting comfortable with it to ensure that you recognize exactly just how to make use of all its attributes. The tool is a good photo editing software with many helpful options for rapid and simple image editing. This software contains many useful photo effects as for example mask images, correct brightness in an image and blur the photo that make it possible to improve shootings from buildings. When starting out along with photography was exactly how to repair my pictures, one complication I managed. Possibly a photo was quite dark, possibly it must be actually rotated or chopped. Digital pictures generally call for some type of adjustment prior to last outcome. Another practical usage of photo editing is often the imaginative transform of photographs.

Photo editing software free download or edit pictures programs to edit an image or scaling photo

Such a photo editing software for edit an image includes many useful features as for example image clip art, pimping photo or photos embellish that make it easy to correct photos from your party. So above is a short guide which I've collected to aid you retouch your pictures. The very first step, obviously, is actually to shoot up your favored image editing and enhancing system. It is actually a wonderful device that authorizations you to complete expert photograph influences making use of essential, easy-to-follow actions. You may also desire to browse through my scoop of the leading novice photo editors for Windows. Open up the photo you wish to change within the system and use less a back-up duplicate. When I work with a photo editing software for edit an image, for example shade splash or histogram, I each time take functional photo editing software. If you're taking pictures of individuals, possibilities are you may have actually taken a photo with red-eye complications. This is http://louismehf443.huicopper.com/top-photo-editor-for-computer actually rapidly removed photo editing and enhancing computer program application. If you have actually taken a picture in an undesirable orientation, it's promptly corrected little loss in quality by making use of a switch tool. This application is a new photo editing software with a lot of nice options for quick and simple picture improvement. You'll also hoping to complete some chopping of your photo to clear away chaotic settings that draw interest away arising from your topic. Perform certainly not be reluctant to check out shades. Graphic changing systems put a bunch of power in your palms. You can make the leaves purple, change the entire photo to white colored as well as dark, incorporate an emboss impact - virtually just about anything you want. An exceptional image tweaking system will definitely possess automated color equilibrium selections to adjust different colors defects in your pictures. In many cases I such as to include a blurring impact to my photos. If I collaborate with a photo editing software for edit a picture, as an instance clone stamp or image handling, I constantly work with uncomplicated photo editing software. What you may do above is actually to selection locations of the picture which are actually worthless and tarnish them out. Sharpening the graphic is the next activity in the image retouch procedure. What I usually do when developing a picture is to uniquely develop. If I operate with a photo editing software for edit photos, as an example clone stamp or insert very own cliparts, I generally collaborate with functional photo editing software. Relying on your demands, you might desire to resize your photo. You'll yearning to resize the photo to a smaller sized dimension if you are actually emailing a picture to a good friend. Usage the major JPEG graphic style if you desire to preserve all particulars for succeeding image editing. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the JPEG photo format if you yearning to simply deliver the picture by means of e-mail or post them to your website. Such a photo editing software for edit a photo contains very much image effects such as mask photo, correct brightness in a photo or photos embellish which make it possible to improve photos from people.

Edit a picture made simple with the good state-of-the-art photo editing software

Technical words to enhance an image are create collage, drawing a photo in a photo and improve pictures and so on. If I use a photo editing software for edit a picture, such as result brush or sophisticated illumination tools, I typically collaborate with Windows photo editing software. Right now you comprehend the secret to patching up and preparing your photos for output. If I deal with a photo editing software for edit a photo, as an example clone stamp or automatic straightening, I always take basic photo editing software. Do certainly not be actually scared to practice and find - practice creates better when it involves retouching your pictures. Enhance photos made easy with the good latest photo editing software for beginners and experts with many cool photo effects. It is in fact a wonderful resource that makes it feasible for you to achieve expert photo influences using essential, effortless to comply with actions.

[emilioizpw008-blog]

Easy to use photo editing software

Many experts are frequently make researches for the best photo editing software, but everybody has to know for himself which one is the best easy photo editing software for PC

If you have actually ever before considered somebody's Snapchat and also questioned why their photos look so perfect as well as your own don't, comprehend that you're only seeing one of their thoroughly chosen shots. They took loads of photos and also picked the most effective. What I was seeking for was a helpful photo editing software for Windows 10 for edit photos. Specialist digital photographers normally take numerous photos of their topics. Often it's very easy to offer your images extra life. If you're firing a street scene in the city, you can time it to get individuals strolling by, chatting, laughing or otherwise dealing with their day. For various other shots, you'll require to obtain creative. Perhaps as opposed to taking a photo of your buddy sitting at a pizzeria table grinning, you picture them as they're taking a sip of soda. This is still something you can phase, yet it looks a whole lot more genuine. Sometimes it's simple to deal your photos a great deal more life. You may believe that you should only use flash at evening time or inside, however that's not the case in all. If it is an exceptionally intense day outside and also the sun is developing severe shadows on your topic, activate your flash. By requiring added light into your topic, you will have the ability to fill up in those awful darkness and also create an even exposure.

Photo editing software for PC

Practical photo editing software and image editing software to edit an image or lens correction with many useful features free download

Never ever take a photo with the sun directly behind you. It develops monotonous, level light on the subject. If you shoot with the light sideways or behind the subject, you are able to shape with the light, producing a more fascinating image. Often the difference in between an excellent picture as well as a terrific image is the customizing. Manipulate images made easy with the powerful brand-new photo editing software for beginners and experts with a lot of powerful image effects. A little editing can deal with small concerns as well as increase a photo's optimal elements. Lights, sharpness, in addition to contrast are all elements you can adjust in your editing as well as enhancing program of choice. There are expert programs, nevertheless there are furthermore fairly a couple of less complex as well as a lot more economical options provided. Whichever program you choose, spend time obtaining comfortable with it to make sure that you comprehend exactly just how to operate with all its features. This application is a brand-new photo editing software with many awesome settings for fast and easy photo editing. This software includes a lot of beautiful image effects as for example photo collage, photo morphing or cut photo that make it possible to enhance pictures from your holiday. When starting out along with photography was actually exactly how to retouch my images, one complication I taken care of. Perhaps an image was rather black, perhaps it needed to have to be actually switched or even chopped. Digital images typically require some kind of adjustment just before finished output. Another practical scope of photo editing is often the imaginative rework of photographs.

Photo editing software

Edit a picture is easy with the powerful new photo editing software

This kind of photo editing software for edit an image contains many useful picture effects as for example brighten the photo, rotate picture or photos embellish which make it possible to correct images from your family celebration. Right here is a brief resource which I've put together to assist you patch up your pictures. The 1st step, definitely, is to shoot up your preferred photo editing and enhancing system. It is actually a wonderful resource that enables you to achieve specialist photograph results utilizing very easy, easy-to-follow activities. You may likewise desire to take a look at my inside story of the leading newbie picture editors for Microsoft Windows. Open the photo you want to tweak within the program and save a data backup copy. When I operate with a photo editing software for edit pictures, such as radial impacts or picture handling, I always work with Windows 10 photo editing software. Opportunities are you might have actually taken a photo with red-eye concerns if you are actually taking pictures of folks. This is simply eliminated with photo customizing computer program. This photo editing software for edit a picture has many picture effects like for example brighten the photo, rotate freely and crop photo which make it possible to enhance shootings. In this easy photo editing software, choose the red-eye extraction device in the food selection and the system does all the help you. If you have actually taken a photo in an inaccurate positioning, it is actually quickly dealt with little bit of loss in high quality through making use of a rotate device. The tool is a new photo editing software with a ton of helpful options for quick and simple photo improvement. You'll also actually wish to complete some chopping of your picture to get rid of disorderly settings that limelight off of your topic. When I use a photo editing software for edit photos, like color splash or image handling, I each time use simple to handle photo editing software. You can easily help make the leaves violet, change the entire image to white as well as dark, include a color splash outcome virtually just about anything you prefer. An excellent picture modifying system will definitely possess automated different colors equilibrium choices to readjust color issues in your pictures. Sometimes I just like to add a blurring result to my photos. What you can carry out right here is actually to choice areas of the image which are worthless and blur them out. This will definitely bring more attention to the key subject of your image. For example, if I had a photograph of a bloom as well as I desired to play down the particulars in the fallen leaves in background, I may incorporate an obscuring impact to the background. Polishing the graphic is actually the next step in the image repair process. What I ordinarily do when honing a photo is to precisely hone. Relying on your needs, you might wish to resize your picture. If you're emailing a picture to a pal, you'll desire to resize the photo to a much smaller sized size. Use the significant TIFF graphic style if you yearning to keep all info for coming image editing and enhancing. Meanwhile, you can take advantage of the JPEG photo style if you wish to merely deliver out the picture with e-mail or post them to your homepage. This photo editing software for edit photos supports a lot of beautiful photo editing effects such as pimp picture, resize photo or enlarge a photos that make it possible to enhance pictures from people.

Edit pictures and photos sharpening is simple with the photo editing software or photo editor program free download

Special words for image editing features are improve photos, colorize and mirror photos and similar. If I operate with a photo editing software for edit a picture, similar to concentrated impacts or automated straightening out, I normally take uncomplicated photo editing software. Right now you recognize the trick to patching up and readying your photos for outcome. I'd claim that certainly not all the above actions are actually definitely called for in a given condition. Don't forget to make use of your prudence to find which is needed. Don't wait to practice and find - process makes excellent when it relate to repairing your photos. Improve images made easy with the awesome new photo editing software for beginners and aces with a lot of https://myventurepad.com/editing-skills-every-photo-editing-software-user-must-know/ cool gadgets. It's an outstanding device that produces it achievable for you to accomplished specialist depiction effects making use of crucial, effortless to follow activities.

[mealha]

Five tips for photographing the old stuff you want to sell online

The internet is a big place—you should be able to find someone who'll buy your old smelly shoes. (ijeab via Deposit Photos/)

When it comes to selling stuff online, a strong lead photo is important. That’s true whether you’re hocking those vases you started making after you took a pottery class, the t-shirts you had made up featuring that clever line you couldn’t believe nobody had thought of, or simply just a bunch of things you don’t want anymore.

So if you’re looking to be the next Jeff Bezos, you should probably hire a professional photographer (and those vases probably won’t cut it, either), but if your ambitions are more along the lines of downsizing or making a buck off a hobby, you can definitely do the job yourself.

Using things you already own, you can turn a corner of your house into a makeshift studio that will help you take the best photos you can of anything you can’t wait to get rid of.

Ready your items

A perfectly shot, beautifully composed photo of a greasy, fingerprint-covered phone is still a photo of a dirty phone. Before even touching a camera, you’ll need to get your items ready to be photographed—grab a cloth and give them a dust-down. If there are fingerprints or grease stains, use a wet wipe or screen wipe to get rid of them. Also, plump up any pillows, iron out any creases, and generally just make things look nice. The more effort you put in before the shoot, the better your end photos will look.

Set up your "studio"

For small items, place a table near a window. They are a big and even source of natural light, which looks great in photos. Avoid using flashes or electric lights, unless you absolutely know what you’re doing.

Clean the table, remove any clutter, and, if you want, put a tablecloth on it. It’s going to be the background to most of your photos, so you’ll want to keep it as simple as possible. If you go for a tablecloth, avoid prints, and choose solid, neutral colors that contrast with the items you’re photographing. Black on black works for Wednesday Adams, but it won’t work for you here.

You probably won’t be able to easily move larger items, like a couch or TV, so you’ll have to photograph them in place. Before you do, clean up the surrounding area and throw open any blinds, curtains, shutters, and doors to let as much natural light in as possible.

Use the best camera you have

You should use the camera that will give you the best results. For almost everyone, that will actually be your smartphone, unless you have a recent DSLR or mirrorless camera that you're comfortable using. If you don't, don't worry—smartphone cameras are so reliable and easy to use that they're hard to beat.

If you have a smartphone with a built-in telephoto lens (like a Pixel 4, for example), even better. It's the perfect lens for photographing small objects.

Don't get too artsy

Simple, and well composed. This photo shows off the phone perfectly. (Harry Guinness/)

You’re trying to take functional photographs to sell something—not sexy shots for Instagram likes—so don’t go for any crazy angles and effects.

Instead:

<b>Fill the frame.</b> Whatever you're shooting should take up as much space in the photograph as possible.

<b>Shoot at a slight angle, rather than straight on.</b> This will give everything depth.

<b>Show the object properly.</b> Don't take upside down photographs, place your item at a weird angle, or otherwise confuse things. You want people to look at the photo and instantly know what they're seeing.

<b>Take lots of photos.</b> Get shots of the sides and back, and any important details. They won't be the main photos, but you might need supplementary shots. It's better to get them now. Also, the more options you shoot, the more likely it is you'll get a great photo.

<b>Watch the background.</b> You want the object to stand out. If it blends with the background, use a table cloth or piece of colored card so it's easy to see.

<b>Don't use portrait or HDR mode.</b> Smartphone cameras can apply a lot of computational photography effects—you can skip them here. It is unlikely they'll give you good results and will only distract from what you're trying to sell.

<b>Only take photos during the day.</b> You want as much light as possible. If it's dark, the images won't look as good.

Taking photos of screens

Phones are one of the best things to sell online. For this, you will definitely want a photo of the screen, but taking one can be a bit awkward. If the screen is off, you’ll get a lot of reflections, and if the screen is on, you can get a horrible moiré pattern—that weird interference effect that looks like black lines on your screen.

Small reflective screens aren’t that hard to deal with. (Harry Guinness/)

Dark screens reflect whatever is in front of them. Your two options are to either turn the screen on or control what’s reflected. For small screens, like phones, it’s actually pretty easy. Take the photos of the phone face-up on a table in a room with a nice plain ceiling near a blank wall, and adjust the angle of your photo until nothing distinct shows in the reflection—simple.

For larger screens, things are a bit trickier. If you can’t turn it on, try to make whatever’s in the reflection at least look neat. Ensure there are no reflections of your unmade bed or dirty dishes.

Larger, fixed screens can present problems. In the first photo, you can see me and my bed in the reflection. In the second, there’s a bad moiré pattern. In the third, however, by controlling the angle and what’s on screen, I have a good photo. (Harry Guinness/)

If you've ever tried to take a photo of your computer screen with your phone, you'll have seen a moiré pattern. It's what happens when the pixel grid in your smartphone camera and the pixel grid in the screen don't overlap perfectly. There are a couple of ways to avoid or minimize it:

<b>Shoot your photos at an angle.</b> Play around until you find one where the moiré pattern isn't visible. The effect can be pretty obvious if you stay head on.

<b>Move closer or further away.</b> This changes how the grids overlap and so changes the effect. Find a distance that works.

<b>Put something on the screen.</b> The moiré lines are most visible on blank space. If you display a colorful photo, even if there's a mild effect, it won't be noticeable.

Tidy things up in post

If you’ve got the chops, it’s worth tidying up any photos you shoot in Photoshop or whatever image editing app you like. You don’t have to do much—adjusting the color balance, brightness, and contrast can really make your photos pop. You can also use cloning or healing tools to remove any small blemishes you missed.

However, be careful not to rely entirely on Photoshop, or push things too far. If whatever work you did on the photo is easily noticeable, potential buyers might doubt the product looks as good in real life. You’re better off with good, natural-looking photos than something that screams, “EDITED!”

Sell, sell, sell

Once you’ve got your shots, it’s time to get selling. Just by putting in a small bit of effort, your images will stand out from the hoards of mediocre shots. Go through the photos you took and pull out the best few. You’ll want to upload enough images to fully show off your products, but not so many you overwhelm potential customers—like a bad real estate agent. Make sure the lead image shows the item off properly, then use any other images you like to show details and alternative angles.

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[kitproject5]

“Forever / Now is a 10-week project. Does forever mean forever? Can we ever be in the now? Is everything we do left in the past and can we shape our futures? What are the key issues that shape our work and lives today? All of these questions address our theme Forever/ Now.”

My initial idea for my Final piece was to primarily focus on the idealistic themes of former and now, things that have been either been here long before us or since we evolved and concepts  that  are in the present either positive or being negative as such, the type of person that I am i focused more so on negative factors just as I believe they are the real day to day issues. There's no point highlighting the positives of the world in my opinion as the negatives are what are causing real controversial issues, people call me pessimistic but in my opinion, I’m just a realist I accept the true nature of humanity and effect that it has on our world and society that we live in. The themes i initially I planned on focusing on were themes along the lines of music, decay, pollution, equality, racism, passion, and gender. After a lot of extensive research, I decided to get rid of the idea of decay, pollution, and passion as I could link all of them together and was making it to hard for myself so I dampened my project ideas down slightly.

If I’m completely honest I didn’t stick to my plan or schedule at all as it's not really how I do things I kind of just do it as I go along which is something I’m sure I will grow out of this because it causes me more bother than needed. if I had followed a plan I probably wouldn’t have rushed the last part of my project. Nothing happened to stop me in my tracks to not follow my plan unless you could blame laziness or procrastinating as preventing me from following my plan. If I could go back i would have followed a plan because it makes me look lazy and that i don’t care when in fact I’m passionate about photography and love what i do.

In total for this project i did a total of six shots that seem to go to plan and quite well, one that i really struggled on was when having to paint two of my models in black face paint for the theme of nudity, as it would take so long to do and took so many layers and when photographing them it didn’t come out as well as i wanted due to the skin then looking patchy i wanted everything to be perfect, the shoots of painting my models and my friend dressing up in female clothes were taken at home as it was more private for them and felt a lot more comfortable in the space of there own home, to achieve the images i used a flash with a wired receptor on it and a defuser to try and cut done the shadows, that was the real battle of it as trying to cut out the shadows was a real ball ache and took a while but after much practice i seemed to get rid of most of them or dampen it down a bit. In the future, i will do this in the studio for lighting if i was to do it again. I had the same problem with the car park shoot i did but there wouldn’t be a way around this unless i had a more equipped portable studio. My final shoot took place in the studio at college which went very well i could have been more prepared but apart from that, i can’t think on any negatives as such.

I was able to generate so ideas from extensive research from but a lot of it just came from my head or knowledge that i have gained from being alive these past 19 years.

My final piece is all about the different themes of forever and now that i have explored through a series of about 33 images that consist of the themes of nudity, equality, gender, and music. I feel that these themes link with the title of forever and now as nudity is something that has been around since the dawn of time we started completely naked and vulnerable not just physically but also mentally as we were naked to thoughts and what the world was. So as the theme of nudity i painted my girlfriend ruby who i painted her in black face paint to act as if she actually had some form of clothes on but was actually in her own natural nature that people are so awkward about in this day and age although its something that has been a part of us since the dawn of time, i also painted the two models because i wanted create a shocking and dramatised scene to make people feel uncomfortable when they look at as they do a naked body or there own as so many of us are uncomfortable with there own body, which is to do with the now i guess this links to social media or vanity as people care too much which then leads to a variety of mental health issues. i feel that i got my point across in the image and the reasons why i did it, in my opinion, it makes sense. The lens settings that i used were F.stop 8 a shutter speed of 1/125 and an Iso of 200, i used this for both photos as it created the best lighting when using the flash. It could have been better if it had been done in a professional studio but this is not the end of the world. The theme of gender was achieved by my friend Boris dressing up in female clothes and having his make up done to make him look transgender, my reasoning is that gender has been a thing for many years and has been misunderstood for a long time now mainly in the last few hundred years but before that it was more understood, for example, some native American times were all for gender equality, if you male and wanted to weave baskets and cook you could and you weren’t ostracised for doing so and if you were female and felt that you wanted to hunt and go to war you could. But in this day and age a boy wanting to be a girl or vice versa they become the clown of the town which is disgusting because we are all as one. So for this shoot i wanted to make it seem as if the subject was depressed as they are isolated for what they want to do so i made it look dark and gloomy by angling the flash in a certain way to create a dark shadow over the face which i really liked and came out quite well, i also had the subject to represent the subject using booze or drugs to numb the pain which usually can be the case or much worse. In my opinion, i don’t think it could have been any better i was very happy with the outcome. If i could have done to it differently i would have done it in a proper studio, but it wasn’t up to me in this case cause my friend wanted to be at home to do it. To be frank, though there is something about having a homemade studio and being free to do what you want, i guess you could say I’m attracted to that rugged vibe. the settings i used for this shoot were the same as the previous one as it was on the same night. i tried to keep the rules of thoughts in mind and using split photography which was hard to achieve with one flash but its all bit of practice, my favorite image would have been the image of Boris with the split photography as i feel it empathizes most with the feelings that are trying to be portrayed throughout out the images.

The next shoot which was my final, that would be included in my series of mages was of my friend Boris again of him portraying a rock star or musician however you want to call it, and imitating the smashing of a guitar that many rockstars have seemed to taken part in as the performance comes to an end which i find quite ironic as smashing a guitar is the instrument that will give a rockstar wings and there kind of just taking thought wings away from themselves, until they buy a new one. In hindsight, this is a perfect example of consumerism at its finest, but i best stop there as i can’t have any hate on the music industry as its done wonders for me, apart from that chart rubbish we are causing are earbuds to drown in there own blood. Pretty Much i included music into my Fmp as music is something that has been around since the dawn of time and is what keeps people connected to one another whether they like it or not. Everyone can find some way to bond over through music which is a beautiful thing when you think about it. As it goes its more than likely the most powerful thing in the world, its been here since the beginning of time and will be the only content to remain even when we human beings have left this sickening world that we so call home. Music is everywhere you can hear and find it everywhere and that will always remain the case. Through my project i tried to show the passion of music through buskers on the street and how happy it makes them, but then also the intense passion it gives other people which i tried to tell a story of through the use of my friend Boris by getting him to act cool and collective, angry and sad to show the different emotions through music.  My favorite shot was of the one where the subject is about to smash the guitar il like the angle of the body and the emotion on the face i feel like it dramatizes the image quite a bit, i also like the composition of the photo originally i wanted it to be a white background but i think the black makes a much better one as it toys with the image due to how music through time gives off somewhat of dark emotion as many musicians over time have suffered from a peace of mind which some don’t have the luxury of. I also wanted to smash the guitar but that didn’t go well as it was cheap and broke on the first hit, so if i was going to do it again i would buy a better guitar so it wouldn’t break as easy. but overall I’m happy with my final outcome.

My other section of the photo book is base on consumerism as it is a massive problem of the now and only relates back to a status threshold. I guess you could also say that consumerism has also been a thing since the BC times as many Romans relied on status and what the owned so they could make themselves look better than the rest of there bleak society, but there's was a tad different instead of having a nice car like this day and age it was more along the lines of how many slaves you could take with you to the bath house when you were having your weekly wash, i know its slightly drastic but it still follows the same guidelines. I wanted to try highlight how obsessed people are with consumerism in recent times and how most of us are all vampires sucking lives out of each other by caring more about what shoes you own or the new 1000 pound phone you just went and paid for which is not needed. I tried to portray this by photographing people on the street that look as if they suffer from this disease that we can’t find a cure for, so i managed to snap one of a couple where one is on the phone and both wearing expensive clothing which was a perfect example of the divide that people may have when in a relationship causing them to grow distant from one another due to the obsession f wanting to be better than everyone. I also got a snap of a different form of consumerism which was of a middle-aged lady that lives on my street who is seen walking around with a pram full of junk which goes to show she is clearly a hoarder, it shows that there's different form of consumerism and it really is an illness but some are worse than others, because its socially acceptable it be spending your money on junk if its fashionable or raises your status level but to be buying or collecting random junk that means nothing to other people then becomes frowned upon.

The way i have presented my work is via a presentation which i have made on InDesign which is a total of 40 pages and 30 images, i chose my sequence by putting gender together and chose the layout and buy trying to get my point across of the struggles of being transgender and the corresponding issues that surround it, i believe that it tells a story but i guess that's not up to me to decide its up to whom is marking my work. I then put equality next because i thought it links with gender and just makes sensei started off with the nudity section in that because i feel like its quite in your face and that's what i want it also tells a story of the equality amongst male and female of how we are the same but its frowned upon for a female to take there top off in public when its the same as a lad doing it there's no difference its exactly the same, i then incorporated race and disability into the rest of the equality series which i feel worked quite well i think maybe some of the images could be clearer on representing the theory of equality but i think it shows it depends how to deep you look into the images, i tried to work on the divide amongst race and culture by using objects that were in the viewfinder, I.e the shadow of the mixed-race man shoes a clear divide which is how it is in this day and age. I then went with consumerism next which i found hard to show because its to that easy to get a good shot of that particular theme as its everywhere so i found it quite busy and struggled to get good shots. The last section was music cause i wanted to finish with my best work in my opinion and go out with a bang i organized the studio work in that way to tell a story through the emotions of music which i have already mentioned earlier on in the evaluation don’t want to repeat myself i can be quite good at that is defiantly one of my vices.

Overall i really enjoyed this topic i enjoyed the theme and the range of photos that i came out with at the end of it, this topic had me quite engaged the hole way through. The only thing I’m not happy with is it may seem i haven’t got my point across to others but in my strange head, it works when i look at it, the skill i lack in is making my work easy for people to grasp. well, i may just be overthinking that part. What I’ve learned from this project is what I’ve learned from every other one i always seem to leave everything last minute and could improve on being in college more which i making an effort to do and being in college more would have benefited me for this particular project.

[ntrending]

Google Pixel 3 review: The best smartphone camera around (for now)

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/google-pixel-3-review-the-best-smartphone-camera-around-for-now/

Google Pixel 3 review: The best smartphone camera around (for now)

This year has been one of refinement for flagship smartphones. In August month, Samsung announced its Galaxy Note 9 and, while it’s powerful and has a few interesting new hardware tweaks—including a liquid cooled processor—it didn’t exactly revolutionize the Galaxy universe. Then Apple announced the new iPhone XS models, which provided a similar refinement to the iPhone X that came before them.

Now, we’re nearing the last stop on the 2018 new flagship smartphone train with Google’s Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. And like its competitive siblings, the Pixel 3 doesn’t disrupt that trend. There are changes and new features, of course, but if you’re expecting a profound smartphone revolution, better luck in 2019. What we’re left with, however, is an excellent offering from Google and one of the best Android phones around—mostly thanks to its impressive camera.

What is it?

The Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL are Google’s own hardware babies. They followthe Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, which sprang forth almost exactly a year ago.

The form factors haven’t changed much, but the screen sizes have shifted. The Pixel 3 has a 5.5-inch OLED screen, while the Pixel 3 XL extends its display all the way to the top corners of the device, pushing it to 6.3inches while cutting out room for the front-facing cameras in a notch.

Set the Pixel 3 down next to an iPhone XS Max and it’s easy to get them confused unless you notice the microphone slot at the bottom of the Pixel. In other words: 2018 phones have a“look” and the Pixel adheres to it rigorously.

Is it really “the best camera ever?”

Let’s get this out of the way first: I really do think the Pixel 3’s camera is the best I’ve used on a smartphone. It’s won’t replace a DSLR for anyone who knows how to use one, but the Pixel 3 is an excellent all-around imaging device that genuinely impressed me at times. Sure, it frustrated me at others, but the AI and computer processing that cranks away every time you take a photo feels like the future of cameras, at least outside of the hardcore enthusiast market—even if all that AI sometimes gets in your way by “fixing” something you tried to screw up on purpose.

Goolge has continued to press the concept of computational photography. Instead of trying to squeeze every last possible bit of quality out of tiny camera modules using traditional methods, Google is using that single rear-facing camera to capture as much data as it can and then crunching it all together to make an image that looks good, even under bad circumstances.

Photo features

Last year, Google introduced its Pixel Visual Core technology, which has a dedicated chip to process image data. In the Pixel 2, every time you pushed the button to take a picture, the camera would snap 10 individual photos and then mash the information from all of them together into a single image. It underexposed some of them to keep the highlights from blowing out, while it overexposed others to bring out details the shadows. It compared the photos to look for digital noise that shouldn’t be in the photo. Not only was it looking for mistakes you made, but it was trying to compensate for the physical boundaries of digital camera gear in general. Google calls it HDR+.

High dynamic range images sometimes look unnatural and cartoony (I find the Samsung Galaxy cameras the worst offenders in the smartphone world, but that’s also due in part to their AMOLED screens). Apple has started doing a similar thing with its photos in the iPhone XS line, which also now has a dedicated image processing chip. On the whole, however, I tend to like the look of the Pixel 3 images better because they seems slightly more natural right out of the camera.

Pixel 3 also adds a new low-light shooting feature called Night Sight, which goes beyond typical HDR to take even more frames with every shutter press. Night Sight captures up to 15 images, some of which are long exposures up to 1/3 of a second to let light soak into the sensor. It’s nearly impossible to hold a camera steady for that long (human hands start showing signs of shake around 1/30th of a second) so the Pixel uses its internal motion sensors to track how your hands shake and corrects for it.

Night sight works, to an extent. One thing that typically suffers in dark environments is color performance because more digital noise hampers tone reproduction. Cameras have made big strides like this in recent years—have you noticed how much better low-light scenes look in movies and TV shows lately?—thanks to improved camera tech, and Google is doing a somewhat impressive job using computational photography.

Google outright said this is a solution that would help you never have to use your smartphone “flash” again, which is good because the included LED light source on the camera is, well, bad like every other smartphone flash that has ever existed.

After the shutter fires

Google’s helpful AI doesn’t quit working when you take the picture, either. The Top Shot feature kicks in when it detects a face in the scene. If you have the “motion” feature enabled (which is similar to the iPhone’s Live Photos, which provide short videos along with your still images) it will analyze the other photos it took and try to find one where the person is smiling and not blinking. It will then suggest that you replace the shot you took with the good one.

I got mixed results from this, as well as some mixed feelings. One of the fundamental parts of photography is deciding which shots you show to the world as your finished work. We used to do it by making prints of a sheet of negatives (called a contact sheet) and then selecting the one we think looks best. Now, the AI robots are helping in that process and it can be hard to argue with them. After all, the AI is comparing your photo to nearly a hundred million reference photos and telling you which one is best, so who are you to argue?

Top Shot ultimately seems like an extension of what Google has been doing in its Google Photos app for years. It tries to find your “best” photos and brings them to the surface. This is even present in Google’s other products like the Home Hub, which acts like a digital photo frame, but only tries to display the highest-quality images from your library as determined by an algorithm.

While these are both examples of AI in action, it’s an important distinction that one happens while you take the picture and the other happens afterwards. They’re both guiding our perceptions of what it means to take a “good” picture.

Portrait mode

Blurry backgrounds in pictures of people are hot right now thanks to the proliferation of portrait mode and Google equipped the Pixel 3 with the next generation of that tech.

Unlike the iPhone, Google doesn’t have a telephoto lens to use for its portrait mode. Typically, with a DSLR, you’d pick a telephoto lens for a portrait because it won’t show the same kind of distortion on a person’s face that a wide-angle lens would. The iPhone and other smartphone cameras have a specific telephoto module for this purpose, but those cameras come with drawbacks. The sensors are typically smaller, which makes them create more noise in the images, especially in low-light. And the zoomed-in field of view makes it hard to take a photo without motion blur.

Google, however, stuck with a single main camera for the Pixel 3. It’s using what it calls dual-pixel tech to capture distance information with just a single camera module. On the whole, I found the Portrait Mode on the pixel more subtle than it is on other phones like the iPhone—and I prefer that. Right now, I see way too many overdone Portrait Mode images that look like a blurry mess and, while you can abuse the privilege on the Pixel 3, it’s harder to do and more natural looking.

Even when you adjust the amount of blur on the Pixel 3—a new feature in this model—the difference between maximum and minimum effect is clearly more subtle than the smeary backgrounds offered by other phones.

Zooming

The last bit of AI magic Google’s algorithm gnomes perform inside the Pixel 3 is Super Res Zoom, which allows you to give the appearance that you were closer than your wide-angle lens lets on.

Interestingly enough, this feature actually relies on your shaky hands to work. When you zoom in and take a picture, the camera takes several photos, each of which has a slightly different view because of the small shakes in your hands. The camera then compares that data and uses an algorithm to fill in more details about the scene than you’d get from a single shot.

The fact that it needs that camera shake to work is fascinating. In fact, if you shoot zoomed in on a tripod, the Pixel 3 actually uses the moving parts in the lens to give you slightly different perspectives so it can do its comparison.

Digital zoom has a bad name in the camera world, and for good reason. It typically results in a degraded image with more noise and visible artifacts that make the photo look jaggy. Those things are true here, but Google has done an above-average job of smoothing that over.

I know some camera enthusiasts who are still bummed about the lack of a true telephoto lens options, but considering the downsides that come with it (smaller sensor, noisier images), I’m OK with digital zoom in this case. It still isn’t perfect, but if you’re posting photos on Instagram, you have to zoom really far before anyone would even start to notice.

Front-facing cameras

While the rear-facing cameras are the most interesting part of the device for taking pictures, the wide-angle front-facing camera is a feature I found myself appreciating more than I expected. In addition to the typical front-facing camera, the wide lens offers a much bigger field of view. So, if you want to make a video of yourself talking while capturing other things happening in the background, this is a great way to do it. What about the rest of the phone? In my experience, the assessment that this phone is mostly a camera rang fairly true. The experience of using the Pixel 3 is a lot like using the Pixel 2. It now charges wirelessly (even through a case!), and the screen is noticeably different, but it ultimately works like a flagship phone.

Who should buy it?

At this point in time, I still think it’s kind of crazy to buy a smartphone simply because it has the “best” camera. If you can’t take a good picture with a modern smartphone camera, then it’s a matter of skill and understanding how pictures work more than it is about the hardware. But, I like the Pixel 3 a lot. In fact, I’ll have to think hard when it’s time to upgrade about whether or not this is the device that finally makes me jump ship from Apple for my personal device. And right now, the Pixel 3 is the best Android phone around. At least until the next one.

Written By Stan Horaczek

[karingottschalk]

Moments after I unpacked the X-T3 it became clear that Fujifilm had created something very special with this, the latest in its APS-C sized line of DSLR-style hybrid stills and video cameras.  I placed it in my shoulder bag and dashed off to the venue down the road where a 100 years commemorative event was being readied for the following day, and my first few minutes documenting the action with the X-T3 proved my initial impressions were absolutely spot on. 

With the X-T3, Fujifilm has hit the mark and is now realizing the promise of affordable, high-quality hybrid stills photography and video production that other makers’ cameras had dangled back way in 2008 with the 35mm and APS-C DSLRs of the day. 

I’ll go even further. With the X-T3, Fujifilm has delivered on the promise of a camera now almost completely forgotten about, a revolutionary camera which vanished almost almost as rapidly as it had first appeared, the Samsung NX1. The Fujifilm X-T3 not only picks up where the NX1 took us back in 2014 but signals the future of other top-end Fujifilm APS-C/Super 35 cameras, specifically the X-Pro3 and the X-H2. 

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens, the combination I have been trying out for this article.

The X-T3 picks us up where the Samsung NX1 dropped us off

Until Fujifilm released the X-T3, Samsung’s NX1 was the undisputed innovation leader in APS-C hybrid cameras capable of professional-quality 4K video as well as excellent stills. Now the X-T3 is the one to aim for and to beat.

The Samsung NX1 took everyone by surprise with a slew of features nobody could have foreseen, such as its 28.9 megapixel backside illuminate sensor (BSI), autofocus phase detection points covering almost all the sensor’s frame, subject tracking that was incredibly effective for its day, great 4K video, 8-bit 4:2:2 4K video out, a dynamic range and low light capability that was outstanding, high-speed burst stills, touch screen, fast and intuitive menu system, built-in Wi-Fi, an almost lag-free OLED viewfinder and, looking to the future, its H.265 video codec.

DPReview’s Pros and Cons lists for the camera included the same item, the NX1’s H.265 video codec, the Pro due to the small size of H.265 HEVC video files and the Con because many computers of the day were too underpowered to handle it well.

The relatively underpowered computers of the day back then are no longer much of a concern now, something I proved by putting the X-T3’s H.265 video files to the test in an Apple Store on a range of current computers from an entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro through an entry-level 27-inch iMac up to an iMac Pro maxed out with RAM.

The two entry-level machines were low in RAM for their CPU but they had enough video RAM and graphics processing power to easily handle my H.265 files whether in playback or editing in Final Cut Pro X.

Internal and external graphics processing units like the Blackmagic eGPU are the key to the big video files that cinema-quality cameras like the X-T3 and NX1 produce, especially when maxing out on resolution, bitrate, compression and aspect ratio.

I carried the Fujifilm X-T3 in this Think Tank Photo MindShift Gear Exposure 15 adventure shoulder camera bag throughout heavy downpours and the occasional sunnier days. Until this bag with its innovative gel shoulder strap, I was unable to carry larger shoulder bags due to longtime spinal injuries but now I can carry two cameras and several lenses as well as a host of other items large and small with impunity.

Although I well-tested the X-T3’s ability to shoot video with settings I would apply to making records of family and friends, choosing from Fujifilm’s legendary film simulations for instant television playback via HDMI, I shot most of my test video with the cinematic combination of F-log, the lovely 17:9 aspect ratio of DCI 4K, shot at 24p and 400Mbps, H.265 (HEVC) for 10-bit 4:2:0 on the SD card which would have been 10-bit 4:2:2 if I’d had an Atomos Ninja V monitor/recorder handy, and ALL-I movie compression instead of Long GOP.

Fair warning: if you choose to shoot whole projects at those settings, make sure you have plenty of internal hard drive space and plenty more fast external hard drives to store on and edit from.

I was pushing it on my ageing 27-inch iMac Retina 5K, with video playback stuttering whichever software I used, including the ever-reliable Kyno media management application.

For older machines like mine, be prepared to transcode your H.265 footage to ProRes using your choice of Kyno, EditReady, Compressor or any other capable transcoding software so your computer playback goes smoothly and your editing goes even smoother.

And be prepared to investigate how to use external GPUs on likewise ageing computers, and to invest in a workable solution.

Alternatively, choose H.264, Long GOP compression and 1080p if you don’t need to future-proof your footage as 4K.

“Simples!”

The Fujifilm X-T3

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens: a larger grip means less need for the optional metal hand grip, a wider and heftier body almost the same size as the X-Pro2 making for a good pairing between the two.

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens.: bigger and easier-to-grip dials meaning far less diving into the multi-level menu system.

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens: 3-way tilting LCD monitor. I would have loved it to be fully-articulated for plenty more viewing angle options.

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens: never having used this lens before, and being a little sceptical of kit zooms based on disappointment with my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS USM, I was pleasantly surprised by the optical quality and effective optical image stabilization of this lens.

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens: I found it effective for stills photography and video under available light, available darkness and the available gloom of a typically rain-drenched Sydney October.

Fujifilm X-T3: microphone port, head[hone port, USB-C port for charging, powering and data transfer, and micro-HDMI port for external monitor/recorder or for connecting to a display or television set. Best of all the door is removable for better access!

Fujifilm X-T3: two SD card slots and remote port for remote release cables, no longer requiring doubling up on remote and microphone into the same port with the need to switch via the menu.

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujifilm VG-XT3 Vertical Battery Grip and Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens: although the much-improved NPW-126S lithium battery delivers more stills shots than its predecessor, video drains the battery faster so I recommend the vertical battery grip for its two extra batteries.

Fujifilm X-T3 with VG-XT3 Vertical Battery Grip and Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS zoom lens.

Fujifilm X-T3 with VG-XT3 Vertical Battery Grip.

The Fujifilm X-T 3 for stills photography

Amazing feature film-quality video is anything but the whole story for the X-T3 – it is also an amazing stills photography camera.

The Fujifilm X-T3 for documentary photography and photojournalism

Fujifilm X-Pro 2 and Fujifilm X-T3: a perfect two-camera two-lens documentary photography and photojournalism combination?

I come from a newspaper and documentary photography background, having worked for newspapers, magazines and corporate clients from a ridiculously early age.

I did that work with a range of camera types and sizes, ranging from a Pentax Spotmatic SLR through Nikon SLRs, to sheet film view cameras handheld and on tripods, to Leica’s M-System masterpiece rangefinder cameras and then to a number of medium format roll film cameras in twin-lens reflex, single-lens reflex and rangefinder configurations.

I most found myself at home with rangefinder cameras, small, medium and large, the reason why I was so besotted with the Fujifilm X100 when it was launched in 2010.

As a result I immediately bought an X-Pro2 when it appeared and have loved it ever since.

There is more to documentary photography than the 18mm to 56mm focal length lenses that the X-Pro2’s unique Advanced Hybrid Multi Viewfinder can handle, though, and I have been hoping for an improved X-Pro3 or some other suitable companion camera that makes the most of lenses longer and wider than 56mm and 18mm.

I certainly hope that the X-Pro3 is on its way, but those other focal lengths continue to beckon and now, having tried the X-T1 and X-T2 and having appreciated them without loving them, I know that the X-T3 is a whole other thing altogether.

The X-T3 by itself or side-by-side with the X-Pro2

I loved the X-Pro2 as soon as I picked it up not only for its rangefinder-style optical viewfinder but also for its looks and its feel in the hand, in fact that way it leaps into my hands every time I get it out of my camera bag.

The day of the X-T3’s arrival I placed it in the bag alongside my X-Pro2, carrying three lenses that day, the Fujinon XF 18-55mmm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom, my Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R and my Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R prime lenses.

I had chosen those two fast primes after reading wedding documentary photographer Kevin Mullins’ blog at F16.click and seeing there results he was getting in the usual appallingly-lit churches and wedding venues.

I had worked as a wedding photographer to supplement my income as a kid, relying on flash units and medium format roll film cameras, so appreciated the speed and ease with which Mr Mullins creates his images.

I covered the 100 years commemoration event with the X-T3 and X-Pro2 draped around my neck with Peak Design SlideLite camera straps, relying more on the X-Pro2 at the start then quickly switching to the X-T3 after discovering how well it handled the venue’s available light, or more accurately its available darkness.

I rely on the Auto ISO feature, aperture priority auto exposure, reasonably high ISOs and shooting with fairly wide open apertures in those circumstances and found I was getting better results from the X-T3.

It proved easier and faster to use, faster to autofocus, produced less noisey images, and most surprisingly of all, felt just as good in the hand as the X-Pro2, with the result that I have been relying solely on the X-T3 in recent days, and have been loving it.

The Fujifilm X-T3 for colour photography

Fujifilm cameras are rightly celebrated for their colour science and the richness and veracity of their film simulations for JPEGs and video footage, but I tend to rely on raw files that I process in a number of different applications and plug-ins depending on whether I am after realism or pictorialism, or whether I wish to emulate analog films or go entirely digital in my effects via high dynamic range imaging by merging 5 or 7 exposure brackets in Skylum Aurora HDR 2019.

Since buying my X-Pro2 I have tried out a number of custom picture styles for JPEGs by following the recipes shared by photographers like Kevin Mullins, Thomas Fitzgerald and others.

They have proven to be great reminders of how I visualized the final rendering of my raw files but rarely if ever have I used my JPEGs for final reproduction.

If I were working for a fast-moving client with tight deadlines that deny me time enough in the digital darkroom then I would take my JPEGs more seriously, but those days are long over for me.

And then Fujifilm put Colour Chrome Effect in the X-T3 and what a difference it makes!

Colour Chrome Effect was the crucial step needed to persuade me to finally take JPEGs seriously.

For me, shooting JPEGs for reproduction is akin to shooting colour transparency film while shooting raw is not unlike shooting colour negative film then fussing and mussing it in the colour laboratory.

With an X-T3, my JPEGs to raw files keeper percentages would be more even than they are now when I often chuck out my JPEGs or use them as a quick reference and reminder and not as final art.

Single-shot image made on Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 LM OIS kit zoom lens, raw file processed in Iridient Transformer then Adobe Camera Raw using Modern 01 profile. This is the closest thing to shooting colour negative film available today.

Fujifilm X-T3 JPEG straight out of camera aka SOOC using Vivid/Velvia film simulation with Colour Chrome at maximum. This is the closest thing to shooting colour transparency film available today.

HDR image made with 5 brackets on Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R in available darkness then processed in Skylum Aurora HDR 2019 and Skylum Luminar 2018 using film simulation LUT. The camera’s eye-tracking continuous autofocus was impressive.

HDR image made with 5 brackets on Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R in available darkness then processed in Skylum Aurora HDR 2019 and DxO FilmPack using the Kodak Elite Chrome 200 film simulation. The camera’s eye-tracking continuous autofocus failed to sharply focus on the eyes here as in all the shots of men wearing spectacles.

HDR image made on Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 LM OIS kit zoom with 7 brackets there processed in Skylum Aurora HDR 2019, DxO FilmPack and Skylum Luminar 2018. Occasionally, I do landscape and cityscape photographs and for me the aim is to convey the look and feeling of being there are that specific time and place while revealing as much tone and colour information as possible. I lived nearby here for many years and have fond memories of the area despite it being rather despoiled now.

Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens. Fujifilm’s legendary colour science handles every situation with ease, no matter whether shot in available light or available darkness. Processed in Capture One Pro with Kodak Ektar 100 film simulation.

Fujifilm X-T3 photograph processed with Iridient X-Transformer then Adobe Camera Raw.

Photograph made with Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens at 18mm then processed in Iridient X-Transformer and Alien Skin exposure X4 using Fujifilm Provia 100F film simulation.

Photograph made with Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R lens then processed in Capture One Pro using a film simulation style from the 1Styles.pro styles and presets collections made for Capture One.

Photograph made with Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R lens then processed in Capture One Pro using a film simulation style from the 1Styles.pro styles and presets collections made for Capture One.

Fujifilm X-T3 photograph processed with Iridient X-Transformer then Adobe Camera Raw.

The Fujifilm X-T3 for monochrome documentary photography

Most of my photography in monochrome, or black-and-white as its more commonly known, is reserved for documentary photography in poor lighting or when the colours of my subjects and their environments carry little to no meaning.

These event photographs are typical in that the lighting in parts of the venue was low, of mixed sources with some continuous and others prone to flickering, where colour played little to no part in conveying information about the event and its participants, and where I was prepared to shoot in at high ISOs with resulting grain-like digital noise.

The X-T3, frankly, amazed me with its low noise at high ISO to the point where I could easily have shot at ISOs greater than 3200 which I usually set as my upper limit only to be used in emergencies.

I usually rely on my Fujifilm X-Pro 2 rangefinder camera when covering these sorts of events especially when they are in poorly-lit venues, using either the Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R or Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R, but have long been pining for a Fujifilm to release a professional-quality 18mm prime lens for shots like this one. This was made on my X-Pro2 and the loaner Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens. Although I prefer fast prime lenses for documentary work, this zoom lens acquitted itself well and gave me this image as a benchmark for what I was trying to achieve that day with the X-T3 and X-pro in tandem, using my two prime lenses and the zoom lens too.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

Made with Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon XF prime or zoom lens.

The Fujifilm X-T3 for video

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens, scheduled for release sometime in 2019, and equivalent to 24-120mm in the 35mm sensor format. This may prove to be a great alternative to Fujifilm’s current kit zoom lens, the Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS though you may wish to supplement both with one or more wide aperture prime lenses. Photograph courtesy of Photography Blog.

The X-T3 is remarkable enough for stills photography but it is even more amazing for video.

It allows you to take the low road, the high road or something in between.

The low road? Auto everything, H.264, Long GOP, 1080p, one of Fujifilm’s justly celebrated simulations of its own analog film stocks, 8-bit 4:2:0 and a lower bitrate, good enough for recording personal videos to view and share about.

The high road? Manual focus and exposure, H.265, All-Intra, DCI 4k, 10-bit 4:2:2, F-Log and 400 Mbps, more than good enough for television broadcast or digital cinema projection.

The in-between? Fujifilm’s beautiful Eterna movie film stock simulation and your preferred combination of all the rest of the above.

Coming from a mixed editorial photography and film cinematography background, I lean towards the high road but dipped my toes into the low and the in-between for purposes of comparison.

Fujfilm X-T3 lightly rigged for video

It is still early days for camera cages and accessories makers coming up with designs for the X-T3 and I do not currently have access to gimbals and other stabilization devices so used it handheld.

Equipped with an optically stabilized zoom lens, however, the Fujifilm X-T3 makes for a very good run-and-gun video camera and its great balance and weight easily accommodates popular video mics from makers like Australia’s very own Røde Microphones as well as headphones or earphones for a little more on-location discretion.

The X-T3 benefits from larger, faster SDXC memory cards especially when shooting video for the high road, and I have some suggestions in the list at the borrow of this page.

You will also need neutral density filters especially when shooting in available light outdoors as the X-T3 has a base ISO of 640 in F-Log and 160 in Rec. 709.

Documentary cinematographers often rely on variable neutral density filters aka VNDs while feature filmmakers choose sets of fixed value ND filters in circular screw-on frames, or square or rectangular filters for sliding into matte boxes or filter holders.

I use both, depending on the project and its circumstances, and there are some recommendations in the list at the bottom of the page.

I also recommend rigging your handheld X-T3  up with ample camera strapping for safety and better grip, and I equip every camera I use with Peak Design’s Clutch, Cuff and SlideLite.

Generic aluminium 58-77mm step-up ring and Genustech 77mm Eclipse ND Fader variable neutral density filter, formerly the most recommended VND available. More recently developed VNDs by Aurora-Aperture and SLR Magic now seem to be some of the most popular amongst independent documentary moviemakers.

The Røde VideoMicro compact on-camera microphone with cardioid polar pattern is affordable, small and effective for when built-in mics are not enough but when you want to travel fast and light.

The Røde VideoMicro’s furry windshield is a must-have for even slightly windy conditions outdoors.

The Røde Stereo VideoMic X aka SVMX is the company’s top-end on-camera stereo microphone and delivers superb quality in a surprisingly compact package.

The Røde SVMX comes with a pop shield and furry windshield to handle all sorts of outdoor conditions or can be used entirely naked indoors.

The Røde VideoMic Pro+ on-camera shotgun microphone is the company’s latest top-end on-board directional mic and comes with rechargeable removable lithium battery and integrated Rycote shock mount.

Still frames from DCI 4K video shot in F-Log then minimally graded with Fujifilm’s free LUTs

The video still frames below were shot at DCI 4K then downsized to 1080p to keep file sizes down but they give a good idea of the video image quality delivered by the X-T3 at high road video and in-between settings.

The X-T3’s Super 35 4K footage is eminently gradable, looks beautiful whether shot with F-Log or Fujifilm’s Eterna Rec. 709 film simulation, and I am looking forward to seeing what it does with Fujifilm’s Hybrid-Log-Gamma aka HLG profile when it is released via a firmware update sometime later this year.

With the arrival of HLG on Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds cameras the Lumix DC-GH5 and DC-GH5S last year and this, many documentary and feature moviemakers have adopted it as their go-to profile and the same may happen with X-T3 users.

I have shot all but one of these in F-Log with the exception of one as Eterna, and have graded the F-Log footage with Fujifilm’s recently updated set of three LUTs for F-Log along with some creative looks LUTs from LookLabs’ SpeedLooks and DFS aka Digital Film Stocks collections.

The X-T3’s Eterna footage looks like it is more than usable ungraded and can take a modicum of grading as well.

Establishing a colour grading benchmark by shooting in Fujifilm’s excellent Eterna analog film simulation profile. This is a quick and dirty test in less than amazing gloomy light on a typically rainy Sydney October spring day, but it appears that shooting Eterna delivers a slightly shorter dynamic range than shooting F-Log followed by applying Fujifilm’s F-Log to Eterna LUT.

Fujifilm X-T3 footage shot in F-Log then ‘FLog_FGamut_to_ETERNA_BT.709_33grid_V.1.00.cube’ applied.

Fujifilm X-T3 footage shot in F-Log then ‘FLog_FGamut_to_ETERNA_BT.709_33grid_V.1.00.cube’ applied.

Fujifilm X-T3 F-Log footage with Fujifilm’s free ‘FLog_FGamut_to_ETERNA_BT.709_33grid_V.1.00.cube” LUT applied.

Fujifilm X-T3 footage shot in F-Log then ‘FLog_FGamut_to_WDR_BT.709_33grid_V.1.00.cube’ applied followed by LookLabs’ DFS Linear Kodak 5231 film simulation LUT.

Fujifilm X-T3 footage shot in F-Log then ‘FLog_FGamut_to_FLog_BT.709_33grid_V.1.00.cube’ applied followed by LookLabs’ SpeedLooks Matrix Blue creative looks LUT.

Fujifilm X-T3 footage shot in F-Log then LookLabs’ DFS V-Log cameras profile LUT applied followed by DFS Log Fuji F125 film simulation LUT.

Fujifilm X-T3 F-Log footage with Fujifilm’s free ‘FLog_FGamut_to_FLog_BT.709_33grid_V.1.00.cube” LUT applied followed by curve.

The X-T3 takes video autofocus seriously and now so do I

For years there has been no end of to and fro online about whether serious moviemakers use autofocus or not, with the implication that real professionals only focus manually.

My motto is ‘never take anything for granted’ so I put the X-T3’s video and eye detection autofocus to the test in some rather trying conditions and found they certainly work well enough for use when shooting run-and-gun style video and during fast-and-loose handheld camera movements.

The Fujifilm X-T3’s autofocus, and autoexposure capabilities for that matter, are well worth putting to the test under a range of conditions.

From the evidence of the still-frame below and others I would me more than happy to rely on the X-T3’s autofocusing in a pinch, especially for use in documentary projects.

A great opportunity to try out the Fujifilm X-T3’s video autofocus and tracking capabilities while panning on fast-moving subjects in dull light during a typical gloomy Sydney October day. Looks good enough for me. Lens used was the Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom minus ND filter, at about 18mm and with aperture fairly wide open.

My Fujifilm X-T3 Pros and Cons

Pros:

Slightly larger body, dials and buttons – better grip, more stability in the hand, easier to locate without looking, easier to click or turn.

Slightly larger built-in grip – though I would still add the metal hand grip or vertical battery grip for larger lenses and portrait photography.

Size, shape and silver colour – aids in being ignored when shooting side-by-side with Canon and Nikon DSLR users as I look like an amateur playing with a toy or an old analog era camera.

Linear or non-linear focussing with focus-by-wire lenses.

Faster and surer face/eye focus detection – in available light, available darkness and with the face turned sideways, defeated only by subjects wearing glasses.

Faster and more accurate autofocus – in stills and especially video.

Flicker reduction using mechanical shutter.

Locking diopter adjustment!!!

More megapixels at 26.1 MP – leading to much less noise when shooting in available darkness at high ISOs.

Size, shape and silver colour – aids in being ignored when shooting side-by-side with Canon and Nikon DSLR users as I look like an amateur playing with a toy or an old analog era camera.

Minimal blackout of the electronic viewfinder.

Better video dynamic range than other APS-C and M43 cameras.

Beautiful stills and videos. 

Wide range of film simulation picture styles – augmented by Colour Chrome Effect, Eterna and F-Log.

Good low noise results at high ISOs. 

Built-in microphone and headphone ports – on-camera instead of only on battery grip.

Zebras – for accurate video exposure, with ability to set percentage.

Cons:

No in-body image stabilization – wait for the X-H2?

Three-way tilting LCD monitor instead of fully articulated LCD monitor – limits the operator’s range of positions relative to the camera, especially in tight spaces, and eliminates the possibility of mounting detachable hoods and loupes.

Small battery – while the NP-W126S delivers more sustained power than the NP-W126, shooting throughout the day requires carrying several of them and so I recommend the Vertical Battery Grip VG-XT3.

Blinkies only – for accurate stills exposure and not zebras and percentage settings as with video.

Links

This is an exhaustive list of hardware and software products that may be of interest to those using the Fujifilm X-T3 for stills photography or video production. I use or have at least tried out most of these products and can recommend them.

Many of them are available for purchase via my B&H Photo Video affiliate link account if you wish to help support may work in producing articles like this one, or you may wish to do so via the shorter list at the base of this page.

1Styles.pro – maker of film simulations styles and presets for Capture One.

8Sinn – maker of popular camera body-hugging camera cages and accessories, currently designing cages for the Fujifilm X-T3.

Alien Skin – maker of Exposure X4 raw photo editor and organizer.

Aurora-Aperture – excellent quality UV, neutral density and variable neutral density filters for photography and cinematography, including the PowerXND-II VND series featuring a range of 1 to 11 stops of light reduction.

Apple – Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter – … “a bidirectional adapter, it can also connect new Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port and macOS Sierra.”

Blackmagic Design – Blackmagic eGPU – external high performance graphics accelerator for photograph and video editing and grading, currently sold exclusively through Apple stores.

Blackmagic Design – Blackmagic Raw – “the world’s fastest RAW format with better quality and better features!” – imagine if this raw codec was implemented in all cameras, especially the X-T3!

Blackmagic Design – DaVinci Resolve – “DaVinci Resolve 15 is the world’s first solution that combines professional offline and online editing, color correction, audio post production and now visual effects all in one software tool!” – available in excellent free version as well as paid-for Studio version.

Breakthrough Photography – makers of some of the finest brass traction-framed and non-framed UV and fixed ND filters as well as the best brass traction-framed step-up rings though the company does not make every single size that may be needed. If the size you need is not available, consider the brass step-up rings made by Heliopan and Sensei, UV filters made by Chiaro and ND filters made by Formatt-Hitech and SLR Magic.

Chiaro – excellent high transmission UV protection filters in brass frames.

CoreMelt – Australian maker of plug-ins for Final Cut Pro X that are considered must-haves for all video editors, with its Chromatic plug-in especially essential for quality colour grading within FCPX.

divergent media – EditReady 2 – affordable macOS-only application for transcoding video files.

DxO – maker of DxO PhotoLab, DxO FilmPack and DxO ViewPoint as well as the new owner of the Nik Collection Plug-ins. Sadly, DxO does not support Fujifilm X-Trans raw files in its applications but they can be applied as plug-ins.

eGPU.io – macOS user community website dedicated to external graphics processing unit solutions for current and older Mac computers including those that predate Thunderbolt 3.

F16.click – Fujifilm X-Photographer Kevin Mullins’ blog, where he shares his excellent SOOC JPEG custom settings amongst other things. Like me he is a rangefinder camera-using documentary photographer and I recommend his articles on the X-T3 from that point of view.

Formatt Hitech – makes Firecrest Ultra ND and Firecrest ND fixed value neutral density filters in framed and unframed versions, the “world’s first hyper-neutral ND”.

Fujifilm Global – Application Software – free software including Fujifilm X Raw Studio, Fujifilm X Acquire and Tethered Shooting Software HS-V5.

Fujifilm Global – Digital Camera Firmware : Interchangeable Camera Body / Lens – check that you have the latest camera and lens firmware here.

Fujifilm Global – Fujifilm launches new mirrorless digital camera “FUJIFILM X-T3” – press release.

Fujifilm Global – Fujifilm X-T3 – product pages.

Fujifilm Global – LUT for F-Log (Look Up Table) – set of three free LUTs for X-T3 video, an excellent starting point when grading F-Log and other video from the X-T3. I particularly like the F-Log to Eterna LUT.

Fujifilm Global – RAW FILE CONVERTER EX 3.0 powered by SILKYPIX – free raw file convertor.

Fujifilm X/GFX USA

Fujifilm X Series Official Site

Image Alchemist – maker of presets for Capture One.

iridient digital – maker of Iridient X-Transformer and transformer software for other cameras’ raw files as well as Iridient Developer for processing raw files; helping get the very best out of Fujifilm X-Trans raw files.

Leeming LUT Pro – Australian director/cinematographer Paul Leeming makes “the world’s first unified, corrective Look Up Table ( LUT ) system for supported cameras, designed to maximise dynamic range, fix skin tones, remove unwanted colour casts and provide an accurate Rec. 709 starting point for further creative colour grading.” and is working on a LUT for the Fujifilm X-T3.

Lesspain Software – Kyno – unique application for macOS and Windows that is effectively a Swiss Army Knife media management toolset for moviemakers, that works in close conjunction with Final Cut Pro X and Premiere Pro.

LockCircle – run by Italian-Australian director/cinematographer Dante Cecchin, this Italian company makes some of the best camera cages and accessories for digital moviemaking.

LookLabs – makers of SpeedLooks and Digital Film Stocks aka DFS looks LUTs based on scans of film stocks and popular feature film grading looks.

On1, Inc. – maker of On1 Photo Raw 2018, soon to be upgraded to On1 Photo Raw 2019, raw image editor and organizer.

Phase One – Capture One Express Fujifilm, Capture One Pro Fujifilm, and Capture One Pro for all cameras – Express version is free, other two must be purchased, both offer tethered shooting on top-tier Fujifilm cameras, and all versions provide top-quality raw image processing of Fujifilm raw files with integrated Fujifilm film simulations coming soon.

Silkypix – maker of Silkypix Developer Studio Pro 9, Silkypix Developer Studio 8 and free raw developer software for Fujfilm cameras.

Skylum – maker of Aurora HDR 2019 and Luminar 2018 image editing and organizing software.

SLR Magic – makers of neutral density and related filters popular with professional documentary moviemakers, includingSLR Magic 82mm Self-Locking Variable Neutral Density 0.4 to 1.8 Filter (1.3 to 6 Stops) and SLR Magic 86mm Solid Neutral Density 1.2 Image Enhancer Filter (4-Stop) as well as a range of fixed neutral density filters.

SmallRig – maker of cages and accessories for cameras including the X-T3, with two cages in Pre-Order at time of writing, SmallRig Cage for Fujifilm X-T3 Camera with Battery Grip 2229 and SmallRig Cage for Fujifilm X-T3 Camera 2228.

Thomas Fitzgerald Photography – blog by JPEG and raw file processing expert whose ‘Fuji Jpegs: Shooting and Processing Guide’ eBook contains some excellent advice and recipes for getting the best out of SOOC JPEG custom settings.

Image Credits

Header image by Jonas Rask on commission from Fujifilm.

Press image product shots courtesy of Fujifilm.

Photograph of Fujifilm X-T3 and Samsung NX1 made on location at a local event as a 5-bracket HDR image with Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R lens then processed in Aurora HDR 2019 and DxO Nik Collection plug-ins.

My own product shots made as 5-bracket HDR images with Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro zoom lens then processed in Skylum Aurora HDR 2019, Alien Skin Exposure X4 and DxO Nik Sharpener Pro as plug-ins.

Help support ‘Untitled’

Fujifilm Wide Eyecup EC-XH W, especially recommended for shooting video and to block out sunlight.

Clicking on these affiliate links and purchasing through them helps us continue our work for ‘Untitled’.

8Sinn camera cages – B&H

Angelbird 256GBGB Match Pack (2 x 128GB) – B&H

Angelbird AtomX SSDmini (1TB) – B&H

Atomos Ninja V 5″ 4K HDMI Recording Monitor – B&H

Atomos Handle Adapter for AtomX SSDmini (5-Pack) – B&H

Aurora-Aperture variable ND filters – B&H

Bluestar Eye Cushions – B&H

Breakthrough Photography CPL, UV and ND filters – B&H

Chiaro UV Filters – B&H

Formatt-Hitech Firecrest fixed value ND filters – B&H

Fujifilm CVR-XT3 Cover Kit – B&H

Fujifilm EC-GFX Round Eyecup – B&H

Fujifilm EC-XH Wide Eyecup – B&H

Fujifilm EC-XT L Long Eye Cup – B&H

Fujifilm EC-XT M Medium Eyecup – B&H

Fujifilm EC-XT S Small Eyecup – B&H

Fujifilm MHG-XT3 Metal Hand Grip – B&H

Fujifilm NP-W126S Li-Ion Battery Pack – B&H

Fujifilm VG-XT3 Vertical Battery Grip – B&H

Fujifilm Fujinon XF Lenses – B&H

Fujifilm X-T3 Mirrorless Digital Camera – B&H

LockCircle camera cages – B&H

MindShift Grea and Think Tank Photo camera bags and accessories – B&H

Peak Design camera straps – B&H

Phase One Capture One Pro – B&H

Røde video microphones – B&H

SLR Magic variable ND Filters – B&H – SLR Magic was reputed to be working on a collection of fixed value ND filters though they do not seem to have appeared at B&H yet.

SmallRig camera cages – B&H

Sony 128GB M Series UHS-II SDXC Memory Card Kit (2-Pack) – B&H

The X-T3 is Fujifilm’s Finest Camera for APS-C Photography and Super 35 Video Right Now Moments after I unpacked the X-T3 it became clear that Fujifilm had created something very special with this, the latest in its APS-C sized line of DSLR-style hybrid stills and video cameras.  

[nuoaru]

A Perfect Circle at Starlight Theater, April 19th, 2017

So I waited almost a month and a half to post this, but in my defense, I’m lazy.  So I grabbed an alcoholic beverage, found the set list online, and sat down to travel back to that night.  Holy hell there’s a lot to remember, such as it being one of (if not the) best shows I have ever seen.  But I’ll get to that in a minute.

DISCLAIMER: If you didn’t already know, the vocalist Maynard James Keenan hates photography of any kind, so people were escorted out for even having their phones out.  So no pictures of this one.

So this story starts out the same way most of mine do.  So I was sitting on the couch, day drinking.

I don’t even remember what I was doing, but I was off work so it was probably Xbox related.  All of a sudden I’m random Facebooking (like I do) and a balloon pops up with Bryon’s face in it.  (If you read my blog about The Kills, he’s the guy who hooked Sierra and me up with free tickets, but obviously that’s a different story.  Obviously.)  “Do you work today or tomorrow?” is all it said.  Well I didn’t, so I sent back that I didn’t work til Monday, but I could still help out.  I assumed he had a work question, and my laptop was at home so I thought “why not”.

Well this my friends, is where this story takes a turn.  He asked me if I had any plans and I looked at my beer, the Xbox, and back to the phone and sent “no plans”.  Well spank a beaver’s ass, this guy proceeds to tell me he’s got two fourth row tickets to A Perfect Circle if I want them.  I looked at my beer again.  “Whoa this is some good shit”.  I put it down, and slowly started to piece it together.  I wasn’t blackout drunk, I just got offered free tickets to arguably one of the best rock bands today on a day off.  I put the beer in the fridge and said “I’ll see you later” and held the phone up in the air to reply so I didn’t drool all over it.  “Don’t fuck with me” is literally what I sent. It turns out his daughter had a game that night so he couldn’t make it.  “I would never fuck with you about Maynard” is what he sent back.  I hadn’t talked to Jennifer about it yet, but it’s Maynard, and I wasn’t being fucked with.  BY ANYONE.

Flash forward to the car ride, because of course Jennifer was going, because if you’ve forgotten, IT’S MAYNARD.  We left in plenty of time, which is good because the line was loooooong.  We paid for the more expensive parking, not to seem elite, but because we thought the walk was going to be shorter.  Well that’s not exactly what happened, but it was worth a shot.

So we start filing in, and I see a row that says 4, but it’s a few sections back, so I was a little disappointed. But it was still really close, and for free I’ll take it.  So we start winding through the sections and talk to the security guard for that section.  She says “you’re in the wrong section” (mind you, I’ve never been here before) and starts leading us to another section that was 444 or something (not what it said on the ticket, but apparently they understand more than I do) and handed us off to another guard who joked “you better not jump on the stage” and brought us to the 4TH DAMN ROW.  I was within spitting distance of the stage.  Jennifer and I just kind of stared at each other while the reality of the situation set in.  Immediately we got an earful from that section’s security guard that we better not have our phones out when the band comes out. I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t about to test it.  Here’s the only picture we got at the show:

The opening band was already playing, a band called Prayers from San Diego. They’re a two man industrial metal group. After the show, I saw overwhelmingly negative reviews, but I thought they were pretty cool. The vocals had a lot of Skinny Puppy influence, so I can see how people wouldn’t dig it, but we enjoyed it.  I completely forgot what their name was until I looked it up for this blog, so I haven’t really given them an off-stage listen yet.

I went up to get a couple drinks for us and was there for what seemed like FOREVER. I finally grabbed my drinks and met up with my friend Aaron Fox from the ol’ TMC days, and chit-chatted for a minute.  But then the stage went dark and I said “I gotta go” and went as fast as I could back to our seats.  The good thing is that once I got down towards the front, there wasn’t a lot of traffic seeing as not many people in their right mind could afford these tickets. (Thanks Bryon, yet again).

There was a see-through sheet covering the stage, and it was a blurry view of the band, and they had started the first few seconds of “The Package” by the time I got to my seat.  I’d never seen A Perfect Circle live before, even on YouTube, so I was afraid that was how the whole show was going to be.  But sure enough, hard guitars came in a couple minutes into the song, and the sheet dropped, so we could see the band in all its glory.

Let me be clear, of course Maynard James Keenan will always be the focal point of the show of any of the bands he fronts, because you can’t help but be drawn to him.  If aliens ever start abducting people, I’m pretty sure a Maynard song would be the perfect decoy.  But Maynard did not command the stage alone that night.  That honor belongs to Billy Howerdel.  Maynard definitely was the voice, but he stood still for an hour or two.  Billy traveled the entire stage and made eye contact with every single one of us, at one point throwing some object into the crowd which i found out later was an instrument used to slide the notes on a guitar.  I’ll have to make another entry later on all the bands that these people are in, because Maynard takes great musicians that are either from other bands or make other bands later.  But here’s a list of bands you should check out that include the members that played that night:

Tool

Puscifer (Matt McJunkins and Jeff Fried)

Ashes Divide (Billy Howerdel, Matt McJunkins, and Jeff Fried)

The Beta Machine (Matt McJunkins and Jeff Fried)

The Smashing Pumpkins (James Iha)

There was no member of the band that slacked that night.  Every moment of the show just charged us with more adrenaline and drained us of our vocals. The only member I wish was there was Paz Lenchantin, who is an excellent bassist and violinist. I can only assume that her absence is why they didn’t play “3 Libras”, which relies heavily on violin.  Speaking of missing songs, I know they have a lot of songs to choose from, but the three main songs they didn’t play that I was hoping for were “3 Libras”, “Judith”, and “Passive”.  Coincidentally enough, those are my favorite APC songs.  But whatever.  There’s not much to report on Maynard, he stood still the whole time.  He was flawless on the vocals, but it gave me more respect for the singers that run around the stage and can’t do a few notes.  I don’t want to take away from his performance, he was flawless.  But he had no chance to do anything wrong.  He was on a platform above everyone else.

Matt And Billy controlled the stage for their captain, sauntering across the stage and capturing us like a lead singer would.  It never felt as Maynard was depriving us.  I got this sense that he knew he was best served at the back delivering a perfect vocal performance while everyone else was giving their best to the crowd.  There’s not a lot I can tell you without “you should’ve been there”, but then again, without 170 bucks, you and another wouldn’t have been there.  Billy stared at Jennifer and I at least 30 times, and tossed his little glass toner thing (I’m still not exactly sure what it’s called) towards us, but it was a couple rows short.

Here’s the playlist:

1. The Package 2. The Hollow 3. The Noose 4. Weak and Powerless 5. Rose 6. Imagine 7. Thinking of You 8. By and Down 9. Thomas 10. People Are People 11. Magdalena 12. Vanishing 13. Hourglass 14. Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums 15. A Stranger 16. Blue 17. The Outsider 18. Gravity 19. Feathers (new song)

They ended the show and the lights came on.  I texted everyone I thought was still there and no one answered.  I waited a bit for answers and we went to the merch booth. There we proceeding to spend half of what the show would’ve cost on t-shirts. I also bought one for Bryon because HOLY SHIT WE JUST SAW MAYNARD FROM THE FOURTH ROW! I just haven’t given it to him yet.

Then we ventured out to the parking lot.  I took us into a direction that we definitely weren’t parked in, because I’m dumb.  Eventually we found the car and drove home.

A Perfect Circle should be seen live by you, and there really shouldn’t be any argument about it.  I’m just not sure how Jennifer and I got so lucky to see them on the 4th row.  Thank you, Bryon.