Bright Future Ahead for Nik Software!

Posted on July 13, 2013

Late Winter Afternoon Light on Merced River, Yosemite National Park
Canon 1DsMKIII, 24-70mmL @f/16, (5) bracketed shutter speeds, 100 ISO, Singh-Ray Thin LB Polarizer, Images colors and tonality adjusted using Nik Color Efex Pro and Viveza 2. Final image sharpened with Nik Sharpener Pro.
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

I’m not sure about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with the Internet. I love the instant access to virtually any subject one can conjure up, but I hate the misinformation that is out there by the self-proclaimed experts!

My initial degree from San Jose State University was in Journalism; I also went ahead and added an emphasis in Photojournalism, then went back to school and added an English/Secondary teacher degree (yes, I taught High School for three years). Every professor I ever had required that we check the facts, and then double-check them again. From day one, this was drilled it into me. The 5 W’s and H had to be answered in every story: who, what, when where, why and how.

Fast forward to our modern-day access to the world-wide web, and we are transposed into a wild west world where opinions run rampant and fact-checking takes a back seat (sadly). It makes it tough to know who and what to believe anymore. Unfortunately, the days of yellow-journalism are returning as writers have become their own editor.

Recently, I spent an entire evening searching the web regarding the future of Nik Software. If you have followed my blog within the last three years, or have attended any of my workshops, then you know what a huge fan I am of the Nik Software plugins.

Most of you are also aware of the acquisition of Nik Software by software giant Google. The initial speculation was rampant. The so-called Industry experts questioned the acquisition and speculated (I hate that word) as to the popular company’s future. Google immediately issued a statement calming nerves that they were not planning on killing the software and had plans to develop and take it forward. Again, the so-called experts speculated that Google just wanted to get its hands on the popular Snapseed app for its Android phones and would eventually dump the pro-level filters.

Unfortunately, my recent search on this topic turned up more of the same negative speculation. What lacked in each and every story that I read was any evidence that any person at Nik/Google was ever contacted for the story. Granted, software companies keep their plans secret, but I wasn’t trying to find out what new software was coming down the pipe, I just wanted to know if there were plans to continue with the existing software?

The Future for Nik Software Looks Very Bright

I have been a part of Nik Software on the pro photographer side for the past four years. I have gotten to know some of the key employees with the company and I have had the pleasure of getting to know Josh Haftel, who is now Product Manager G+ and who was in-charge of product management at Nik Software. I decided to get a hold of Josh. I was hoping he’d be able to bring me up to speed as to the future plans for the product and I’m excited to say, the future for Nik Software looks very bright!

One of the main rumors floating around is that the all of the original software designers were released. Josh told me this was not true. “As it relates to what Google is doing with the Nik products, we still have the same number of engineers, user interface designers, and quality assistance assigned to the plugins as we did pre-acquisition. We are working both on updates to the existing products as well as new products that we will be releasing soon. Nothing has really changed and we continue to move forward,” said Haftel.

“The acquisition of Nik is also really hard for most people to understand. Google doesn’t generally sell products, wasn’t previously in the high-end photography space, and is almost entirely focused on consumers. All of these points come together to paint a rather confusing picture which some people will summarize as ‘they bought Nik for Snapseed’, as Snapseed is consume-based, it was made free, and you can even see parts of it being added to the G+ app.

“Add to this a general lack of apparent motion in the plugins and voila, there is speculation that Google is killing Nik. Of course there are many reasons why Google bought Nik, and Snapseed was one of them. The reality is that there are a lot of things going on, and things aren’t readily apparent on the outside. I can’t wait until some of these new projects we’re working on are released!”

This was great news to hear and of course I wanted to know if I could share it with my workshop students and followers of my blog and other social media sites. Fortunately, Josh agreed.

I’d be remiss if I did not add that Josh is an excellent photographer in his own right. Thus, he has the rare ability to understand what the filters can do from both an artistic and engineering point-of-view.

Josh has also co-authored a book with Tony Corbell titled, Nik Software Captured. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is serious about processing with the Nik filters.

So there you have it. The future of Nik Software looks bright indeed and there is no reason to abandon your filters. If you have been on the sidelines waiting to purchase these incredible filters, then wait no longer. What used to cost $500+ can now be purchased for 149.00! That includes all six of Nik’s incredible editing plugin filters. You can order them by clicking Nik Software Plugin Filters. You can also try the filters for free for 15 days! I also want to mention to those of you who are new to digital processing, that the Nik Filters are plugins, meaning that they are not a standalone program; they need a host program and will work with: Photoshop, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements or Aperture.

The Suite includes: DFine (noise reduction filter), Viveza 2 (for overall and localized adjustments), Color Efex Pro 4 (59 filters for various affects – try Pro Contrast > Dynamic Contrast), Nik Sharpener Pro 3 (perfect sharpening without the guesswork), Silver Efex Pro (the best black-and-white filter on the market) and HDR Efex Pro (the best HDR filter on the market). All of these filters work on the patented U-Point technology, which makes image processing simple. For your Smartphone and tablet, don’t forget Snapseed – possibly the only processing app you’ll ever need!

If you order before the end of this month, you can use my code DSMITH at checkout and receive an additional 15% off your order. Starting August 1, this offer will no longer be available.

2013 Photo Workshops

1st Annual Grand Canyon Monsoon and Lightning Photo Workshop – August 19 – 23, 2013 (co-taught with Gary Hart) (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

2nd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – September 28 – October 2, 2013 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

2nd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – October 2 – October 6, 2013 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

5th Annual Arches/Canyonlands National Parks – Full Moon Over Red Rock, Arches and Canyons – October 15-19, 2013 (Hurry – Only (3) Spots Remaining)

3rd Annual Bryce/Zion National Parks – Hoodoos and Fall Color – November 4-8, 2013 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

2014 Photo Workshops

5th Annual Magic Light, Moonlight, and Pfeiffer Arch Workshop – Winter in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – January 15-18, 2014 (Only 7 spots remaining)

6th Annual Northern Arizona Workshop – Grand Canyon (full moon), Page (Horseshoe Bend and Upper Antelope Canyon) and Sedona – March 14-18, 2014 (Only 7 spots remaining)

7th Annual Springtime in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – Wildflowers, Misty Fog and Headland Color – April 14-17, 2014 (10 spots remaining)

5th Annual Kauai Workshop – Garden Isle and Tropical Paradise – June 20-24, 2014 (early-bird signup discount – contact me for details!) (10 spots remaining)

Software Discounts