Nik Software has announced the release of Viveza for Apple Aperture 2.1, a plug-in for Aperture 2.1 that aids photographers in making localized enhancements to brightness, contrast, or color without having to swap between applications. Everything can be done from within Aperture now, and since two of the most important elements in photography are color and light, Viveza uses U Point technology, which reveals easy-to-use controls that photographers can rely on to adjust brightness, contrast or color much faster and easier.

"With the power and popularity of Aperture, we want our customers to decide how and where they edit their digital photos," said Michael J. Slater, president and CEO of Nik Software.

As noted above, two of the most important factors in photography are color and light. Nik Software says that mastering the art of selectively correcting or enhancing each of these is now easier for every photographer. Viveza eliminates the need for complicated masks or selections (or expert-level knowledge of Photoshop, for that matter) since it integrates an award-winning technology called U Point, making Viveza the most powerful and precise tool to control light and color in photographic images.

The makers also confirm that U Point powered Color Control Points, placed directly on colors or objects in an image (sky, skin and grass are given as examples), reveal easy-to-use controls that photographers can employ to quickly adjust brightness, contrast or color.

So what Viveza basically does is that it allows passionate photographers to spend more time doing what they like best (shoot photos) and waste less of their time time editing. Not that photographers don't like editing images, that's fun too.

Click here and then follow the Features tab to learn more about Viveza. A free, 15-day trial version of Viveza is available too (registration in German).

As a registered customer of Viveza, you can grab Nik Software's useful plug-in for Apple's Aperture (v2.1) for free. The same product key is used for the Adobe Photoshop version of Viveza.