RadLab basically acts as a filter, and when launched opens your image, and on the right hand side of the screen shows thumbnails of what your image would look like with the actions (or stylets) applied. Every time you apply a stylet, it updates all the thumbnails. AND you can then adjust the effects with several sliders after you apply each action. AND you can then save your “recipe” for use later on other images. AND after you apply the final recipe, you can always go back into RadLab and change it up (assuming you haven’t flattened your image). SERIOUSLY AWESOME!!! Check out the images below.

After clicking finish, you are brought back to Photoshop with a new layer containing the actions you’ve applied. You can then adjust the opacity of the layer, or double click on the smart filter (see below) to enter RadLab and tweak your settings, add new effects, or simply start over.

Here a few versions of my image with some of my favorite recipes applied…

For a bit more information and to check out all of Totally Rad’s awesome product line, click the link below.

So to summarize the rules, this weekend:

(1) You have to turn off, or black out the LCD monitor on the back of your camera. You can’t see the shots after you take them.

(2) You can only shoot 24 to 36 shots total

(3) You can’t import the photos or even look at them until 24 hours AFTER you shoot them.

(4) You have to make a print

(5) Scott has invited all who participate to take the $$$ they would have spent on film and processing and donate it to the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya. This is step totally optional (but I’ll bet you feel all warm and fuzzy inside if you do it You can donate by clicking HERE.

Now for the contest part…I’m currently reading a great book by David DuChemin called Vision Mongers. I’ll be giving one copy away to the winner. So how do you win? Upload your favorite image by the end of Tuesday, June 1st to the Boka Studios Facebook Page, and make a note on your submission that it is for the Old School Photo Challenge. I’ll be picking my favorite image from the submissions. Thanks and good luck!

As a parting gift, I’ll leave you with my rock eating monster…the dude can insert rocks into that pie hole faster than I could get them out, as I was pulling one rock out, he had two more fists ready to stuff…needless to say, the beach time quickly turned to grass time!

Grand Prize (Free editorial shoot with the disc of high resolution images)

Sherene Buffa

Consolation Prizes ($50 gift card for each time the name was drawn, good for prints or session fee with Boka Studios)

Jennifer Campbell Oconnor – $200
Cara Ruetz – $50
Kim Fuller Howe – $50

Winners, please email me at travis@bokastudios.com to give me your email address and claim your winnings. Thanks again to everybody for all your participation and for helping to spread the word about Boka Studios!

As usual, we’ll give you some examples of what you could expect from an editorial shoot:  Below you will find an athlete, a band, a model, a musician, and an author. Good luck in the contest!

And the winners are:

The Grand Prize (High School Senior Portrait Session, including the disc of all retouched images):

Congratulations Lisa Amico!

Consolation prize winners ($50 for each time the name was drawn):

Debbie Dunham – $100
Julie Owens Morris – $50
Lindsay Stairs – $250
Nancy Herchman Johnson – $50
Pamela Tesarz – $50

In order to claim your gift certificates, please email me at travis@bokastudios.com. Thanks again to all those who participated and congratulations to the winners!

The Grand Prizes

Week 1 (ended last week): Free engagement shoot (or any sort of “I’m so freaking in love with this other person I’m standing next to” shoot)

Week 2 (this week): Free high school senior shoot (2010 or 2011 seniors)

Week 3 (next week): Free editorial shoot (Bands, Musicians, Artists, Models, Authors, Athletes…basically anybody with some sort of skill they want to show off)

All of these sessions are a 2 hour shoot and include the digital files…that’s a $1,300 prize each week!

Consolation prizes (1 drawn for every 10 entries)

$50 gift certificate to Boka Studios (good for use on any session fee or prints, and can most definitely be used or stacked with any other offer…man, can you feel the love?!)

Rules

Each person can enter up to 3 times a day by doing any of the following:

1. Become a fan of the Boka Studios Facebook Page (and leave a comment on the blog or facebook page saying you became a fan)
2. If you’re already a fan, refer 5 friends to become fans (and leave a comment on the blog or facebook page with the names of the people you referred)
3. Send a tweet about the contest, including a link to the blog (be sure to include @bokastudios in the tweet)
4. Blog or Facebook about boka and this awesome contest (make sure to link back to this blog in your post, and then let us know you’ve done it)

All entries must be submitted by midnight on Sunday each week, and the winners will be announced on the following Monday.

Like last week, let’s kick off the week with a few images from a recent shoot to give you an idea of what you could be winning. I present to you Kelsey!

So, let’s get down to brass tacks!

The Grand Prize (Engagement Session, including the disc of all retouched images):

Congratulations Nicole Beaulieu!

Consolation prize winners ($50 for each time the name was drawn):

Abby Polando – $250
Allan Garcia – $50
Anna Brooks – $50
Anthony Sottile – $50
Charlie Warford – $100
Crystal Croffe – $50
Crystal King – $50
Crystal Warford – $150
Jennifer Bully – $50
Joe Brady – $50
Joey Lucchesi – $50
John Durkee – $50
Kaitlin Stacia Ufolla – $100
Kate Julia Bailey – $50
Katelyn Brackney – $50
Katy Crippen – $50
Kristin Martin – $50
Laura Jones – $50
Susan Reynolds – $50
Vaughn Bradley – $50
Yom Odamtten – $50

In order to claim your gift certificates, please email me at travis@bokastudios.com. Thanks again to all those who participated and congratulations to the winners!

But, it’s a big world, so in order to take it on, we need your help…and we’re willing to reward you greatly for it in the process! We LOVE contests, and we know you do too. So what we have done is put together the MOTHER of all contests. We’ll be offering three grand prizes over the next three weeks (one per week, for those of us with weak math and reasoning skills) as well as weekly consolation prizes. At the end of each week we’ll be drawing one name from our entries for the grand prize. We’ll then be drawing one additional name for every 10 entries we receive that week for a consolation prize (so basically everybody has at least a 1 in 10 chance of winning…pretty dang good odds!)

So here’s the skinny:

The Grand Prizes

Week 1: Free engagement shoot (or any sort of “I’m so freaking in love with this other person I’m standing next to” shoot)

Week 2: Free high school senior shoot

Week 3: Free editorial shoot (Bands, Musicians, Artists, Models, Authors, Athletes…basically anybody with some sort of skill they want to show off)

All of these sessions are a 2 hour shoot and include the digital files…that’s a $1,300 prize each week!

Consolation prizes

$50 gift certificate to Boka Studios (good for use on any session fee or prints, and can most definitely be used or stacked with any other offer…man, can you feel the love?!)

Rules

Each person can enter up to 3 times a day by doing any of the following:

1. Become a fan of the Boka Studios Facebook Page (and leave a comment on the blog or facebook page saying you became a fan)
2. If you’re already a fan, refer 5 friends to become fans (and leave a comment on the blog or facebook page with the names of the people you referred)
3. Send a tweet about the contest, including a link to the blog (be sure to include @bokastudios in the tweet)
4. Blog or Facebook about how awesome we are and make a reference to the contest (OK, so maybe that’s a bit presumptuous…but since I can use big words like presumptuous, so you should do it anyways…just make sure to link back to this blog in your post, and then let us know you’ve done it)

All entries must be submitted by midnight on Sunday each week, and the winners will be announced on the following Monday.

We’ll be kicking off each week with a few images from a recent shoot or two to give you a little peak at what you could be winning…so without further adieu, I present Lis and Trevor: