Proposals are up and photographers are cashing in as American tourists flock to Paris, France to pop the question.

There has been a surge of romantic visitors to the City of Love since the pandemic ended with one firm that caters to engagement photography telling PetaPixel that interest keeps growing.

“Proposals are indeed more and more popular for the last two to three years now, especially since the end of Covid,” says Charlie, team manager at The Parisian Photographers.

“I think it has to do with a ‘travel revenge’ effect after Covid, mixed with an increased exposure of Paris on social media.

“Paris is always being represented as the capital of love, it may seem like a natural place to declare your love, and it is becoming as natural now to get engaged here.”

Charlie says that the team of photographers is covering “about 200 proposals” per year which is double the pre-Covid numbers.

A recent study conducted by The Knot, a wedding website, found that the number of Americans proposing abroad is higher than ever before.

CNN spoke with 33-year-old Rodrigo Mendoza who proposed to his girlfriend Ciera Rojas in Paris in June 2023.

“Before the pandemic, that was my first time visiting Paris,” Mendoza tells CNN. “For me, it was an extraordinary city, super romantic … and I said, ‘OK, when I find the chosen one, the right person, I’m going to propose here in Paris.’”

“Everything in Paris just felt so magical,” adds Rojas. “I can honestly say that I had a dream proposal. Everything was perfect.”

Part of the appeal may have something to do with television, the Netflix show Emily in Paris has inspired many tourists to travel to the French capital with views of the Eiffel Tower along the River Seine making for perfect shots.

There are many who will balk at the thought of a public proposal in front of a crowd of gawking onlookers, but there are others who relish it.

Florence Mailochon, a sociologist at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research specializing in couples and families, adds the concept of a public proposal is “an invention which without a doubt originated in the United States or the United Kingdom.”

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

I go full hands-on with the new version of Fundy Designer 11. Is it just an update to a tried and tested formula or does it have some new surprises in store for us? Here’s the full scoop on what’s new and improved. 

Fundy Designer has been around for a while. I’ve used it since version 8 and only recently became an ambassador for them, meaning I get to test the newest features early. It continues to be a robust tool in the arsenal of wedding, portrait, newborn, and family photographers, offering an array of features to simplify the album, card, wall art, and magazine design process. If you are a studio owner, then it’s an essential part of IPS (In-person sales for those not down with the lingo). If you’re a photographer and are not an Adobe InDesign expert, then this is going to be something you’ll want to implement into your workflow. Here’s a breakdown of its key aspects, along with what is going to blow your mind as we check out version 11.

Here’s the official list of what has been updated:

• New Design Wizard workflow
• New auto design functionality for Gallery Designer
• New auto-design functionality for Card Designer
• 10 new stock rooms are now included ($300 value)
• 12 new card designs are also now included ($200 value)
• 1 new album design set is now included ($50 value)
• Enhanced Native Apple Silicon support on macOS for improved speed (this has also been added to v10 via a free update)

Fundy Designer Version 11

Faster Image Importing and AI-Automated Skin Retouching

Importing was always reasonably quick, but this version feels much quicker and gives me the option of retouching the imported photos on their way in, along with a list of extensive presets. It only retouches the photos with people’s faces in them and leaves the others alone.

It also now gives you the option of saving even more time with the all-in-one design wizard. I mean, this is just genius as even if your client has not requested it, it’s going to be easier to upsell them into a bigger more comprehensive package by just showing them what potential products would look like. Thank you cards and save the dates can be created like this at the same time too. A toggle switch at the top of the design wizard makes it easy to include just the products you want, customized before it even does the design for you.

Intuitive User Interface

Fundy Designer maintains its reputation for a user-friendly design. The interface is intuitive, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced users. The drag-and-drop functionality makes changing photos around easy, and dragging the lines between the images to resize is genius. I do love the presets, though, and it’s always a good place to start when designing an album. Sorting images is as simple as clicking a button and selecting sort by date, name, rating, custom order, or story.

Smart Album Design

One of the standout features of Fundy Designer has been, since v10, its intelligent album design “drop zone” capabilities. The software automates the album layout process, integrating with almost all the major album companies allowing you to download all the different-sized albums they do, saving time for photographers while providing creative suggestions and differing layout options. Users still have the ability to manually control the design at any point, striking a balance between A.I. automation and personalized customization.

Variety of Templates

Fundy Designer 11 includes a diverse range of templates suitable for various photography genres and styles. Whether you are creating wedding albums, portfolios, or collages, gallery walls, or thank you cards, users can find the right template that perfectly complements their artistic vision. The template library is quite extensive, catering to different tastes and preferences and has been updated with additional designs in this version.

Image Proofing and Client Collaboration

Photographers who deliver and proof work for their clients will appreciate the built-in proofing tools that make collaboration with clients easy. Clients can review and provide feedback on the designs with a simple click-and-type interface, making the change adjustment process a seamless experience. This does feel like the easiest way to do things and stops the relentless back and forth between a photographer and their clients, and the client can see exactly what their product will look like and approve the design when changes are completed.

Auto-Design Your Gallery Wall

One of the best things about this new version is the ability to design your gallery wall. This version comes with several pre-made lounge design rooms with the ability to select different Gallery Wall layouts and swap them around just as you’d do within the album design software.

Just after importing, you can select again to retouch and then open your wall art design studio, choosing from the preselected backdrops, or you can even import your own. So, if the customer decides they want to see what their images would look like in their front room, you can ask them to take a picture (and provide measurements), and they can choose the wall art suitable for them. You even have the option of being able to calibrate your screen using the inbuilt measuring tool, allowing for accurate size-to-wall reproduction.

This makes in-person sales easy, as you can also add product pricing, meaning the client can see everything they need to make their own decision, and with the myriad of provided templates, you’ll have lots of ways to sell and upsell your products. If you’re like me and find designing gallery walls a bit stressful, this is a godsend.

Integration With Photo-Editing Software

Fundy Designer seamlessly integrates with popular photo editing software, allowing users to incorporate their edited images directly into the design. This integration enhances the overall editing and design process, creating a cohesive and polished final product.

Enhanced Native Apple Silicon Support on macOS for Improved Speed

So, while this was an inevitable (and much-needed) update as programs continue to offer enhanced capabilities and performance since the introduction of Apple silicon, it’s nice to see that this has been retroactively also applied to v10 for those who wish to continue using the previous version.

Regular Updates and Support

The Fundy software team have demonstrated a commitment over the years to improvement through regular updates, and I feel that this update is only adding to what was already a great product. 

What I Loved About V11

Maybe I’m a bit biased because I love this product already, but the snappiness of it has just been improved, the ingestion process is quicker, the bonus of extra templates is great, and the auto design wizard is just wonderfully well thought out. I also have a MacBook Pro with an M1 processor, and the speed increase on that is noticeable compared with that of my Intel iMac.

What I thought could be improved

Well, I would love to see a marketplace for templates or a way to create and share templates with other users. It could generate extra revenue for Fundy too, as this has worked for Aftershoot. I’d like to see the ability to be able to save the text going out to the client in the proofing section into a template in the design wizard to save me from copying and pasting from another application (although I’m told that this is coming in a future update), but these are minor things that bother me very little.

Conclusion

Fundy Designer 11 stands as a reliable and efficient tool for photographers selling their work.  If you’re seeking to streamline your album or wall art design process. Its user-friendly interface, intelligent design capabilities, and robust features mean it remains the most popular choice in the photography community.

Humidity hangs above still, dark water, where razor-edged grass sways beneath a relentless sun and ancient cypress with knobby knees reach toward a star-filled night. An insect’s buzz precedes its bite and the watery landscape hides creatures that slither, swim, flutter, and—most worrisome of all—chomp. 

This mysterious scene feels far removed from the developed regions of Palm Beach County, with its sandy beaches, luxurious homes, and inviting shops, restaurants, and other spots for vacationers. And yet, the solid ground of these contemporary places is lapped by an ancient swamp that has been forced to retreat for more than a hundred years. 

It wasn’t malicious intent that diminished the footprint of Florida’s wetlands, says Mac Stone, a natural history photojournalist who counts publications such as National Geographic among his credits. Born in Gainesville and currently a South Carolina resident, Stone first discovered the Everglades on a family paddling trip as a teenager. He returned 10 years later, working as a field biologist for the National Audubon Society. 

Stone travels the United States and the globe covering conservation issues, particularly those regarding wetlands and swamps. He’s been photographing the Everglades for more than 10 years, creating images of unexpected importance. “Conventional wisdom was that wetlands were bad, or at least useless,” he says. “Now we are trying to undo that.”

By “we” Stone means the scientists, educators, and advocates who are striving to restore some of the natural flow of these living and life-giving waters, a charge for the last 30 years of The Everglades Foundation. This nonprofit organization is planning to complete its $75 million endowment campaign, ForEverglades, by the end of 2024; it has already raised $60 million. The goal of the campaign is to ensure the future financial stability of the foundation, which is currently involved in 68 restoration projects including the building of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Upon completion, the EAA Reservoir and its stormwater treatment area will be larger than the island of Manhattan at a combined 17,000 acres. In tandem with other restoration projects, the EAA Reservoir and the stormwater treatment area will reduce Lake Okeechobee’s polluted discharges into east and west coast estuaries by 55 percent and send 120 billion gallons of clean freshwater south every year. 

For his part, Stone has provided 130 images to be published in a limited-edition book, titled ForEverglades, that will be presented to top benefactors of the campaign. Working to produce the book with Kathy Moran and David Griffin, past photography and design experts with National Geographic and other publications, Stone says his goal was to “take people to places they’ve never been.” 

That sentiment is key to successful conservation efforts, notes Marshall Field V, chairman of the endowment campaign and immediate past chairman of The Everglades Foundation’s board of directors. “Picturing the earth without certain places in it is grim,” he says. “If [our unique places] go away, the planet may go away with it.”

Stone agreed to share select images from his book with readers of Palm Beach Illustrated as an introduction of sorts to a part of their home that they haven’t met yet—or may never meet. 

“You can come to love a place or an ecosystem or wildlife in many different ways,” Stone says. “I think the key is to rally everybody to say, ‘Look at this system. This is home.’”

In fact, the Everglades and its surrounding areas play an important role in South Florida. Offering space for recreation such as fishing, hiking, biking, snorkeling, and boating, the Everglades is also the source of drinking water for more than 8 million Floridians. It is home to flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet.

“We think of ourselves as being connected to an ecosystem rather than part of it,” Stone says. He goes on to explain that conservation isn’t about stopping development but rather working with it to protect the elements that in turn make the area a desirable and sustainable place to live, as well as an economic boon to a state that heavily relies on and promotes tourism tied to its natural resources. 

Stone says his photographic endeavors have contributed to the scientific understanding of this area; as an example, he cites several summer months spent trying to photograph a giant sphinx moth, believed to be the sole pollinator of the endangered ghost orchid. Stone perched his camera 50 feet up a cypress tree to capture the precise moment of pollination. What did he find?

The moth appeared to be “robbing the nectar instead of providing any benefit to the flower,” Stone notes, clarifying that this hypothesis is still in need of more rigorous testing and evidence. “This information was new to science, and, to me, the perfect embodiment of how the camera has become the vehicle [of discovery].”

His process, in most cases, is anything but a quick snapshot. In fact, Stone often invests weeks or more orchestrating the tools to create an image and then sitting in wait for the right opportunity. Sometimes that means standing waist- or neck-deep in swamp waters, operating a drone or angling a flashlight to illuminate a cypress tree against a night sky—only to be photobombed by a SpaceX rocket, in what seems to be the perfect juxtaposition of Mother Nature and human nature. 

“All of a sudden on the horizon, this fireball is erupting, and it looks like a meteor,” Stone recalls. “My assistant was so freaked out—he thought the world was ending. But I’m just shooting through the entire thing asking myself, ‘God, what is this?’” 

“Mac uses his photographs to connect people,” says Jodi Mailander Farrell, vice president of development for The Everglades Foundation. “It’s hard to appreciate the Everglades if you’ve never been there, and you don’t support what you don’t know. His photos help us create the connection.”

As for Stone, he says he wants people to look at his work and ask questions: What does this look like? What does this feel like?

“All people need is a handshake or an introduction to the Everglades,” he says. “It gives them permission to fall in love with it too.” 

Julien James documents family stories through photography | Black History Month – CBS Los Angeles