Hello Topaz Glow

...goodbye Fractalius and Windows! Yay!

It would appear that the good folks at Topaz Labs have acquired the Fractalius technology and have ported it to Mac. Oh frabjous day, callooh callay! Topaz Glow is like a Fractalius that you can actually understand and control with predictable results. I like it a lot. I have always had to run Parallels and Windows on my Mac to get that Fractalius filter, but now it's not necessary. The Topaz interface is much nicer - full size preview and just the names of the controls help me understand what the plugin is doing.

Bosque del Apache - "that cottonwood tree"

A beautiful scene. I love that arching tree framing the cranes. The color works well, too. The cranes stand out nicely against the golden earthy tones.

I'd just tried Glow and rejected it, but what you've done with it in this image is going to make me reconsider that decision. Being a Windows user, I can use Fractalius without any extra steps, but I immediately realized the user interface of Glow was a lot better when I saw it on the short Topaz introductory video. For me, a lot of the presets in Glow seem way overdone, but you applied it very effectively in a subtle way.

Thanks Dennis! I seldom use a filter at 100% opacity and I can see how the presets would look overdone at that default opacity. One thing I just love about both Impression and Glow is the fact that it lets you set the most common blend modes (multiply, screen, overlay, hard light, soft light, and normal) at the plugin level, plus it allows you to set the opacity of the effect, just like a layer in PS. This image used a pretty aggressive preset but I dialed it way down on the opacity.

Very nice, and subtle. As a Mac user who refused to use Parallels or whatever that other one is, I've always had Fractalius envy. Although I have several of the Topaz filters, I've never felt comfortable with their adjustment sliders but I may have to try this one.

Kerry, I knew you would get this! When I saw the Topaz preview I immediately thought of Fractalius and Pixel Bender. You did a great job with this and enhanced the natural glow of the scene. I love it!

I got Impression but cannot see any of the presets. Topaz & I have been going back & forth for nearly a week now but issue not solved :(

What a fabulous tree!
You confirmed my impression that this new software was a replacement for fractilius, which I bought recently but haven't figured out.

Once again you have captured the essence of Bosque. I am tempted to give Topaz Glow a try. The full sized preview alone is compelling.

Hi, Kerry, this is beautiful.:S3:

Anita, when I first got fractalius, I couldn't figure it out either. For me, I believe I was thinking too hard. It really is more a matter of experimenting with the sliders. Denise Ippolito has an e-guide for Fractalius that is very helpful.

I really like the colours and the tree branching out over the birds. I am wondering why the tree is so dark. Is it from the filter? The glow is perfect.

Jackie, this tree is huge and you are only seeing a part of it in this image. It was very early in the morning and the light was soft. The tree was shading itself with the branches and leaves above, and I actually boosted the light in the leaves as it was indeed very dark there.