Back From Alaska

            If you have never been to Alaska, you must try to plan a trip there someday. Helene and I are back from our cruise that took us from Seattle to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria. We had a great time with all our friends from Camera Craftsmen of America. Here are a few pictures from the trip to see.                                         

Finding the “Goodies” in Photoshop CS4

       As we move from earlier versions of Photoshop to new ones, we learn new tools and techniques to build on what we already know. Photoshop CS4 and CS4 Extended are no exception. Eventually, some of the older tools and filters will fade away as they make way for the newer streamlined workflows and effects. As we learn and get comfortable with the newer tools and interface, you my find that you sometimes miss the way you did a task in the past. I first noticed it in CS4 when I would stitch images together, I noticed there was a dialog box we had in earlier versions that was not there anymore that allowed individual control of the elements being stitched. I liked that extra step for complex compositing of images. After talking to the folks at Adobe, I found out that it was there and could be put back in…. It was there on my install disc all along with a bunch of other cool stuff that puts some the PS CS3 bells and whistles back into your PS CS4.       These plug-ins can be found on your PS CS4 install disk in the English folder. Inside of that folder is a “Goodies” folder containing lots of fun stuff to put back in your PS CS4. Besides the Photomerge extension, there is the older version of the Photo Web Gallery. I like the new procedure through the Adobe Bridge CS4, but I also like the older Photoshop version of Web Gallery as well. In the Goodies folder you have the older Web gallery can install and access from both the Tools/Photoshop Menu in Bridge CS4, or the File/Automate Menu in Photoshop CS4.       Other items you can install include the Extract Filter, the Pattern Maker and the Contact Sheet Plug-in. If you don’t have the install disc due to the original software being a downloaded version, you can find them on the Adobe Software Download site as well. You can’t just drag the whole thing into the PS CS4 Plug-in folder. There is an important read me file that comes with the plug-ins it that will tell you where to put each file. You really have to follow it to a letter. Directions are easy to follow for each plug-in. A few minutes of drag and drop files and you are ready to go….

Photoshop World Boston 2009

        Helene and I are back from Photoshop World #20. Hard to believe we have had 20 of them already. Attendance was a little down from others due to the tight economy, but it still was a busy show. I had all new programs this year and some that I had never done on stage before. Since I didn’t have a pre-con class this show, I helped Kevin Ames with his class running the computer for the live shoot everyone enjoyed seeing how make-up, prop-styling, and fashion photography all comes together at once. The theme this year is football, and we had some great moments of football fun at the opening keynote. Things moved pretty smoothly through the entire show. I taught a class on Photo Illustration for Advertising, Still Life Live Shoot, Creating the Perfect Panoramic Image, and Working with your Digital Photographer. Helene ran the portfolio review and taught a live shooting class on digital portraits. Then she taught her creativity class to a packed house in the trade show theater. On Thursday night I hosted the Art of Digital Photography panel where I share the stage with Jay Maisel, John Paul Caponigro, Joe Glyda and others to show a 15-minute presentation of my artwork. Always a lot of fun!

        Spent a bunch of time in the three story Apple store across the street from the conference center. They had the coolest glass spiral staircase… Took lots of pictures with my little Canon 870 to make some new montage abstract images.

         On Saturday Mark Maio and I had our first day long seminar under our new flag of The Digital Imaging Institute for Science and Medicine. We made or presentation to Boston area attendees at the Joslin Diabetes Center. We felt it went very well and got lots of great feedback to make each one we do better and better. Our next presentation will be in Atlanta at the Emory Eye Center on April 18th. Please feel free to pass along this info to any of your friends that have anything to do in the medical or scientific side of digital imaging.

        I had my first print competition at the state convention as a new member of the Professional Photographers of California this past month. I haven’t done one in a long time. Judging was pretty tough as they have very good photographers across the state. I was pleased to find in my returned case that I won EI Commercial Photographer of the Year and EI Illustrative Photographer of the Year. I have several different competitions I am working on now both for photography, and for the design of my new 20-page studio brochure that designer Mile Leidel of Steem created for me. (see the side bar link if you would like to download a copy of it) I am finally getting caught up at the studio so I can have time now to get another tutorial up...  I am working on new articles for Photoshop User and Professional Photographer magazine. Watch for those soon....   

Hands-On Digital Photography Workshop In Our Atlanta Studio

It's time once again for the Divitale/Glassman hands-on workshop held in our Atlanta Studio hosted by Software Cinema. Helene and I are looking forward to three days of in-depth digital photography training and would love to have you join us. For more information, please visit the software Cinema website link at http://www.software-cinema.com/page/6/jd_hg_09

Mark Maio and Jim DiVitale announce the start of the Digital Imaging Institute for Science and Medicine

To help bring digital imaging training into the medical areas, photographer Mark Maio has created the Digital Imaging Institute for Science and Medicine. As President and CEO of this new association, Mark has appointed me Director of Education. Mark and I have been working on these plans for a long time as we create our outline to help get the medical and scientific users up and running on the latest imaging techniques and Photoshop CS4 Extended. This expanded version of Photoshop has many additional features that are designed for the forensic, medical and scientific research side of digital imaging. From basic digital capture through specific area applications, we plan to provide a place for ongoing training through the web, seminars, hands-on workshops, and training DVD’s. Our first official daylong seminar is in two weeks in Boston right after Photoshop world. Information can be found on our new web site  http://www.digitalimaginginstitute.com.


Mark and I have been friends for over 25 years. We started out as instructors together at the Art Institute of Atlanta in the eighties. Both photography and education has been a big part of our lives. Mark is both a world-class medical photographer and consultant specializing in ophthalmic imaging, as well as an established fine art photographer with a permanent collection of work in the George Eastman House. I am very excited about the opportunity to help coordinate the training efforts for this new association as it starts out. Adobe is very excited to see where this can go as we start off small, by have really big ideas for it’s future. If you, or have any friends in the medical or scientific side that you feel would benefit form this type of association, please send us an e-mail through the web site.

I have been on the road teaching a lot this past month with programs in Atlanta and Raleigh NC. This coming week I have a Canon Explorers of Light program this Thursday for ASMP held at PPR Atlanta, and another 2-day Canon sponsored program in Chattanooga. Then it is off to Boston for Photoshop World and our medical seminar. Back in the studio we have been very busy shooting our Mizuno Baseball catalog for 2010. 

Helene has been very busy with multiple photographic projects in Santa Barbara. This weekend, she taught her “An Outlet For My Creative Self “ two-day workshop at Lepp Institute. Students learned all types of creative imaging techniques as well as solid business marketing applications. These are all good tune-ups for both of us as we approach Photoshop World in Boston. Working with Scott Kelby and his staff is certainly the best teaching experience we have all year. I have some new classes I have never taught before and I am looking forward to an exciting conference as usual. If you have never been to a Photoshop World, you should really make plans to attend one in the future. I will get a new imaging tutorial posted as soon as I can this week…