I have made a couple of minor updates to the DNGExport plugin that I released earlier this morning. This newer version fixes a problem having to do with the Embed Original RAW Image option. I have also added the initial implementation for the progress bar, however it is pretty rudimentary.

To download the latest version click here.

To download the Adobe DNG Converter click here.

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This weekend I decided to try my hand at creating a simple plugin that would allow me to export images as DNG files. My idea was simple enough - create an Aperture plugin that mimics the Adobe DNG Converter.

So, I spent a good portion of the day looking online for information on DNG. I downloaded the DNG SDK from Adobe and spent a great deal of time just trying to make heads or tails of it. In the meantime, I designed an interface that looks essentially the same as the Adobe DNG Converter’s preferences panel. This gives the user a few options on export.

Eventually I found out that the DNG SDK cannot write a DNG from an arbitrary RAW file format. In fact all it really can do is read a valid DNG file, and write one (isn’t that the same as making a copy?).

But then I realized all I really needed to do was to call the Adobe DNG Converter command line tool which is hidden inside the application’s package contents.

This isn’t ideal as the user will now see the little Adobe icon popping up over and over again in the dock, and the user must first install the DNG Converter before using my plugin, but it works.

So that I could say I finished an Aperture plugin in one day, I am calling this one a BETA release. Hopefully in the future I will be able to expand on it, adding more sophisticated options and freeing myself from the constraints of the command line tool.

So, if you would like to try it out, please download and install the plugin by following this link. You will also need the Adobe DNG Converter application, which is available for free from Adobe’s website.

A couple of release notes here. I haven’t implemented the progress bar, so don’t be alarmed. Maybe I will get that done on the plane tomorrow. Also, the plugin first exports the Master RAW file to your disk, does the conversion and then deletes the RAW copy. So if you watch in your Finder window you will see the files appearing and disappearing. And lastly if you try to export an image whose Master is not a RAW file (Jpeg or Tiff) it will still export the file, but it will skip the conversion to DNG and just leave it on your destination folder.

This pluign is meant to be essentially a macro. It doesn’t do anything you can;t already do with the Adobe DNG Converter application, but maybe someday it will!

Enjoy…

PS - I have only tested this on Leopard.

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Fraser Speirs of Connected Flow has some quick updates to FlickrExport:

1. Added a button to the registration sheet that takes you to a web page where you can retrive your serial number.
2. Fixed a number of memory leaks.

This brings the current version to 1.0.6. For more information and to download the latest version of FlickrExport, check out Connected Flow or download here

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Securely upload digital photography directly from Aperture to GLOBALedit. The customized export interface allows clients to create new jobs, update existing collections and transfer photography from the desktop into the networked enterprise workflow.

GLOBALedit is a professional online image management system that provides global access to massive phote collections and a suite of workflow tools that connect creative and business communities.

Download here

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If you are one of the many Pictage.com photographers out there who use Aperture, then you will want to check out their latest plugin.

This latest plugin has been completely rewritten form the ground up.

The new version offers background uploading, keyword categorization and the ability to select from your event list or create a new event from within the plugin. For more information on how this plugin came to be, please read my post over at Inside Aperture, or to download the latest version, follow this link. You must be logged into Pictage.com to download the plugin.

The Aperture to Pictage Plug-in streamlines your workflow by making image transfers between Aperture and Pictage easier than ever.

Enjoy the following benefits:

1. Seamless upload from Aperture to Pictage via integrated FTP engine
2. Create Pictage categories on the fly using Aperture’s keyword feature
3. Schedule and upload new events or upload to existing events directly from the plug-in

http://pro.pictage.com/products_apertureplugin.htm

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Reinhard Uebel has released a new Aperture plugin that allows users to add custom borders to their images as they export them. The plugin, called BorderFX is currently available as a free download in beta form.

BorderFX adds to the small selection of plugins which actually alter your images. Most plugins so far have been developed for the sole purpose of uploading images to web services, so it is really nice to see a new plugin which is modifying the image. Very cool!

If you want more information on BorderFX, be sure to check out Uebel’s blog. Bagelturf also has a short review of his experiences with BorderFX, available here.

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Übermind has released an update to their Aperture To Picasa Web Albums plugin. Version 1.2 of the plugin fixes a number of bugs and adds a change to the upload routine so that images get uploaded in the order in which they were selected.

Übermind’s latest release is available as a free 30 day trial or for purchase at a modest $24.95.

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We saw this on Bagelturf and were immediately interested. Apparently a photographer by the name of Ian Wood has been working on a nifty add-on for Aperture that allows users to embed GPS data into the metadata in Aperture.

This looks like a pretty promising add-on for Aperture users. So we will naturally continue to monitor its progress.

From Bagelturf a-la DPReview.com:

GPS2Aperture is a floating system window which can grab GPS data from either Aperture or Google Earth, let the user edit it and then send the data to either Aperture or Google Earth.

http://ianjameswood.co.uk/aperture/GPS2Aperture_beta.zip (3.2MB)

For instance if an image Version has incorrect GPS info, you can view the location in Google Earth, move around the the right location and send the edited location data back to the image Version in Aperture. Alternatively, use Google Earth to visually pick a location and add it to Versions that had no GPS data in the first place.

Note - GPS2Aperture makes changes directly to Aperture’s SQLite database as the interface gives no way to alter GPS or other EXIF data. It’s been tested on multiple computers and multiple Libraries without problems, but make sure you backup first, just in case!

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Over at Inside Aperture Micah Walter (editor of this website) has posted about David Riecks’s Controlled Vocabulary Keyword Catalog (or CVKC). The CVKC is a list of over 11,000 organized keywords for Aperture.

If you have ever worked with a stock agency you will know how important keywording can be. Many agencies use their own controlled vocabulary, so it will be interesting to see how David’s list matches up with places like iStockPhoto who ask their photographers to go through a process called disambiguation for each photo they submit.

For more information on David’s keyword list, check out his website at controlledvocabulary.com

To read the post head on over to Inside Aperture.

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Übermind has announced that the Aperture to Picasa Web Albums plugin has left its beta stage.

Currently the plugin is at version 1.1.1 and has received the the following fixes since its initial beta release:

1. Fixed some issues with software update functionality
2. Improved album cover loading time
3. Fixed erroneous quota display when storage space is greater than 1 GB
4. Warns about uploading non-jpeg images
5. Incorrect Username/Password error is more informative
6. Username name is now easier to read when logged in

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