It's Alive!

Well, here we are. I just checked the first blog post and it was dated August 24^th, 2014. I had probably been working on the back end of the site getting things running for the basic blog setup a few weeks prior to that. It’s almost been a full year since I started working on this idea.

So it is with great pleasure that I can finally say…

Welcome to PIXLS.US!

If you’re just now joining us, let me re-iterate the mission statement for this website.

PIXLS.US Mission Statement

To provide tutorials, workflows and a showcase for high-quality photography using Free/Open Source Software.

I started this site because the world of F/OSS photography is fractured across different places. There’s no good single place for photographers to collaborate around free software workflows, as well as a lack of good tutorials aimed at high-quality processing with free software.

Tutorials

I have personally been writing tutorials on my blog for a few years now (holy crap). I primarily started doing it because while there are many tutorials for photo editing, they almost always stopped short of working towards high-quality results. The few tutorials that did try to address high quality results were all quite a few years old (and often in need of updating).

With your help, I’m hoping to change that here.

Workflows

Workflows is something that doesn’t often get described either. Specifically, what a workflow looks like with free software. For instance, some thoughts off the top of my head:

• Creating a panorama image from start to finish.
• Shooting and editing fashion images.
• Taking great portrait images, and how to retouch them.
• What to watch out for when shooting macro.
• Planning and shooting great astrophotography.
• How to approach landscape editing.
• Creating a composite dream image.

These are just some of the ideas around workflows. It also doesn’t have to be only software-focused. There is a wealth of knowledge about practical techniques that we can all share as well.

Showcase

Quick - name 5 photographers whose work you love, that use free software. Did you have trouble reaching five? That’s another of the things that I would like to focus on here: showcasing amazing work from talented photographers that happen to use free software (and in some cases may be willing to share with us).

I even started a thread on the forum to try and note some amazing photographers. I will try to work through that list and get them to open up and speak with us a bit about their work and process.

By Us, For Us

I am floored by how awesome the community has been. As I mentioned on my blog, the main reason for me to write was to give something back to the community. I learned so much for so long from others before me and the least I could do is try to help others as well.

This community will be what we make it. Come help make it something awesome that we can all be proud of.

Go sign up on the forum and let your voice be heard.

Have an idea for an article? Let me know (in the forums or by email)!

Make Some Noise!

Finally, we are just starting out and are a small community at the moment. If you’re feeling up to it, please consider letting your social circles know that we’re here and what we’re trying to do. The only way for the community to grow is for people to know it’s here in the first place!