Are You Current On Your Version Of Adobe Photoshop?

I just read an open letter to Adobe that Scott Kelby has written and posted recently on his blog that may be of interest to any of you who are not working in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Adobe's possible plans for the next update are if you are not in the most current version of Adobe Photoshop, you may be paying the full list price for any upgrades when you want to go to the next version. No more hanging back with an older version of CS2 or CS3 and then saying I get caught up when the next version comes out.... If you don't do this, it might cost more than you planned to upgrade, so you better get upgraded now before it's to late. It's no surprise to me that Adobe needs to do this to keep users current as I constantly see people using versions that are several years old. Scott, who represents over 70,000 professional users as president of NAPP, has asked Adobe to give us more warning on this, but to be safe, you better update to CS5 before the next version makes it way to the public. I have always taught that Photoshop is one software that you don't want to get behind on as all available training on older versions almost completely disappears when the new version comes out. If you want to be working on a older version of Microsoft Office, or an older email program, that's fine, but not when it comes to Photoshop.... So if you don't want a possible higher upgrade cost.... Get upgraded today.... If you snooze on this.... Don't say you weren't told....

Upcoming Programs

     Lots of programs coming up...  This month I will be doing a 3-hour Canon Explorers of Light program at PPR on October 27. Hope those of you in the Atlanta Area can join me there. Space is limited and I understand it's almost full now, so please let  PPR know if you are attending. Got some nice door prizes from onOne, Nik, Adobe, Lensbaby, X-rite, Hoodman, and Triple Scoop Music.

      I will be in Orlando on October 21st speaking along with photographer Mark Maio at the Ophthalmic Photographers' Societies Annual conference sponsored by Adobe. The afternoon workshop will be a hands-on computer class where attendees can work on files along with us...

     On November 7th, I will be doing another Canon Explorers of Light Program in Boston for the Commercial-Industrial Photographers of New England. CPINE has invited ASMP members and local photography students to join in on this 2-hour long evening program. Hope you can join in...  Look forward to seeing you there.

Art Institute Of Atlanta-Decatur Exhibit

           After a few months of preparation, my first solo fine art exhibit is now open at the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur. I am very excited about this show as it coincides with Atlanta Celebrates Photography month. This exhibit entitled "Shape and Shadow" is sponsored by Canon Explorers Of Light. It is a collection of 20 of my multi-image illustrations of both studio and architectural subjects. I printed all the work myself and had the expertise of Digital Picture here in Atlanta to handle the final image mounting. Big thanks to Steve Inglima of Canon, along with Angus Galloway and Nicole Jacobs of the Art Institute of Atlanta for making all this happen for me. The show will be up for the next two months with a reception set for Friday Oct 28th from 6-9 at the AIA Galley in Decatur. For those of you who are in Atlanta, I hope to see you there.      

             I will also be doing a 3 hour program sponsored by Canon at Professional Photo Resources on digital photography on Thursday the 27th that is open to all, but space is limited and is filling up fast. If you would like to attend the program at PPR, please RSVP them soon. I will do additional programs at AIA for the students and faculty during the show as well. I hope you can find time to visit the exhibition during the next two months. For more info visit the Atlanta Celebrates Photography guide site at   http://festivalguide.acpinfo.org/listings/view/762

       http://festivalguide.acpinfo.org/listings/view/762

Maui Photo Festival 2011

        On thing I do a lot more of these days is teach at photography festivals. Just getting back from a week at the Maui Photo Festival. Always a great time there. Terrie, Beth, and Zane alway put on a great show. This year was no exception. It was held again at the Hyatt Resort in Kaanpali Beach which is beautiful area on the west side of Maui. First day while we had some free time, photographers Eddie Tapp, Jack Reznicki, Jay Fletcher and myself had a snorkeling day. It was documented by Eddie and he has posted it to Vimeo... Pretty Funny...  Take a look by clicking on this link.  

             

                                 http://vimeo.com/28203578   

Having fun with Eddie's Canon D10 waterproof camera.

Opening Night at the Maui Photo Festival 2011.

Attendees shooting Hula Dancers at sunset.

Last year I shot 16 gigs of raw files on these dancers. Tried not to overshoot this time.

Photographer Lewis Caryle set up some nice food sets to practice photographing on. Slipped in a few exposures with the Canon 90mm tilt/shift lens.

I was ready for a nice lunch after this class.

Jack Reznicki demonstrated his lighting techniques on photographing children.

J

Every morning, Jack and I would meet for breakfast by the pool, The hungry birds would wait above us in standby until we were finished so they could dive right in.

Sometimes they wouldn't  wait

This one was especially attracted to chocolate muffins

The light was always changing out there...    One minute it would look like this....

Then an hour later it would look like this.....

Any time spent in Maui with friends is a good time..... Aloha....

Webinar With Nik Software & X-Rite

On September 14 I will be doing a webinar sponsored by Nik Software and X-Rite Color Management on problem solving techniques in digital imaging. Register for this free event at:

http://xritephoto.com/ph_learning.aspx?action=webinars&eventid=1015&eventdateid=4806

Topics will include:

• Calibrating and profiling camera, monitor, and printer for complete color management using X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, ColorMunki Display, and ColorMunki Photo
• Using HDR Efex Pro to process multiple exposures
• Working with Viveza 2 to control luminosity and contrast
• Using Silver Efex 2 to create stunning black and white

Selection Tools In Photoshop Part-1

One of Adobe Photoshop's strongest features is the many ways we can make selections. Having so many different approaches to isolating pixels from each other gives us incredible flexibility in image compositing. Here's a quick Photoshop video tip to download on making selections with the Circular Marquee Tool. If you like this tip, I will be posting more of these as I prepare for a bunch of upcoming programs, webinars, and new on-line tutorials. Look forward to any of your feedback. To download the video, click this link.

http://www.divitalephotography.com/selections-1.zip

Photo Illustration... Irish Style...

In Orvieto, Italy, a couple of years back, I met this great Irish guy named Vincent O'Byrne. I attended one of his programs and it was really different and inspiring. Vincent is an advertising photographer based in Dublin, but perhaps he his best known for his Fine Art Fantasy Nudes.

I have just had a look at his recent high quality video production showing how he creates some of his Illustrative images. What I like about these tutorial movies is that he shares his creative process in a way to help to pre-visualize images. Vincent talks about the 'Spark of an Idea' and shows how he develops those ideas into hard copy images. He also shows how he works with his model in a live studio scenario, illustrating how he lights and poses the model for the perfect image. Finally, he takes his captures into Photoshop and composites them with the simplest of techniques. All in all, this is a fabulous production and great value for money running at just over 2 hours. Check out this sample clip on U-tube to get a taste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP30BqOPTzY

It is available as a digital download at http://www.vincentobyrnebeinspired.com/

New Kelbytraining.com Tutorials On-Line

Kelbytraining.com just released my third set of on-line digital photography tutorials. These new lessons follow me through a start to finish location job from client meetings to finished images. Location portraiture, tethered shooting, interiors, light painting, and multi-image special effects are all covered here. Check it out! Click to view lessons titles

California Photo Festival Coming this Fall

This October, Light Photography Workshops will hold their second annual California Photo Festival held in San Luis Obispo. Last year's festival was a lot of fun and education for everyone involved. Helene and I had a great time and we are both looking forward to the big event. This year will be bigger and better then ever with more hands-on photography classes and some of the best photography instructors in the industry. Check out all the info at www.californiaphotofest.com. We hope to see you there!

Photography Exhibition At The Art Institute Of Atlanta-Decatur

I am very excited to say that this fall during “Atlanta Celebrates Photography” month, The Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur will showcase my very first solo photography exhibition of my fine art images entitled “Shape & Shadow”. The two month long show will consist of my architectural abstract photography that I have been working on for the last decade along with some of my commercial montage illustrations. It’s a really great gallery right in the heart of Decatur with large windows facing the street. Canon Explorers of Light will sponsor the exhibition as all the work was done with Canon digital cameras and printed on my Canon large format printer. I am planning a three-hour evening Canon program on October 27^th at Professional Photo Resources in Atlanta open to the public to attend. The following night, October 28 will be an open house reception at the AIA Decatur gallery that I hope many of my Atlanta friends will be able to attend. The show will run for all of October and November at the Decatur Campus Gallery. Got lots of work ahead to get ready for this and I will give some updates along the way as I prepare for this. Here are just a few of the selected images I will be showing…. Hope to see you there!

Sunrise in the Grand Tetons with the DII

Just back from our first trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks where Helene and I were teaching this past week. We had a great group of attendees for the Digital Imaging Institute’s second annual “Imaging in Ophthalmology” workshop. Our days were long, but very rewarding as we started each day around 4 a.m. to be on the road by 5 for photographing in the best morning light. Instructors and attendees then spent the late mornings and early afternoons in digital imaging classes. Topics ranged from basic photography and Adobe Photoshop Extended, to advanced medical imaging and Raw capture processing workflow. Then it was back outside in the evenings to photograph again. Longest days of the year gave us good shooting light till almost 9 pm each night. Then we would meet back in class again to download and process images until late at night. From landscapes to wildlife, we had our hands full every day. Got lots of new material to work with for future tutorials and webinars. Thanks to Cathy and Mark Maio and all the instructors for making it a great week! Here’s just a sample of some of the images I did.

(click to enlarge images)

Lots of opportunities to photography the wildlife all week in the two parks.... Elk, deer, bear, moose, bison.... They got it all.... But there's more to it than that...

All week long, this grizzly bear and her three new cubs were hanging out up the street from the lodge we were staying at. Everybody got such good images of them except me.... When it came tho the best animal shooting situations, I never seemed to be in the right place when they were close to the road. Wasn't going into the woods after them, so I got what I got and have to work harder at it... Besides the photography skills, you need some luck mixed in with a lot of patience to be good at this. I got a whole new respect for this speciality in photography.

I am going to need a lot more practice to get good at wildlife photography. The only wildlife cooperating with me this week was this little guy.... Still never saw a moose....

Of course we had to stop and watch Old Faithful go off. It draws a big crowd.

I always find time to shoot some textures. Yellowstone was full of great color and texture. I will use these in other composite illustrations in the future. There kind of cool all by themselves as well.

On the last night of the workshop, we had a nice gathering with great food and wine, and watched the sun set from the open deck of the lodge. We all viewed samples of our week's work in a revolving slideshow as we excitedly planed for the next DII Imaging workshop.