The Digital Photo Guy

$3 Webinar – Overview of Photo Editing Programs

Do you use Photoshop CS5 or Photoshop Elements 9 or Lightroom 3? Perhaps you use a combination of two or more programs. Do you know the differences among the three and which is best for your needs?

On Sunday, June 26 at 6PM Pacific Time, in a short webinar, I’ll explain how the programs differ and what’s best for beginner, intermediate and advanced digital photographers. Click this LINK to register.

How to Clean Your dSLR Sensor – Video

Cleaning your dSLR sensor is a critical part of an efficient workflow. How much time do you want to spend cloning dust spots off your images. And, Murphy’s Law says you will never see that final dust spot until after you print at 17″ x 22″, consuming a huge amount of ink. That actually happened to me the other day. A local gallery asked me for a print of Mono Lake Sunrise (left.) I didn’t see the two dust bunnies until after I printed. That required me to open the photo in Lightroom, clone out the spots and reprint, a monumental waste of time.

Cleaning a sensor is not rocket science but it requires the right tools and ability to follow instructions. The video of the webinar will be upload here later this week. In it, I show you the needed tools, where to buy them and how to use them.

Kids Grow Up So Fast

The hummingbird kids are both growing like weeds. As is usually the case, the second chick to hatch was significantly smaller than the first. I’m not sure if hummingbird chicks are like other birds where the big one throws the small one out as a survival tactic but both of these guys seem to be getting along and they’re now about the same size.

Mom has been spending more and more time away from the nest. In hummer age, these guys must be about pre-teens so they’re probably eating mom out of house and home.

As you can see, like many young, single mothers, mom is not the most fastidious housekeeper around. More photos after their eyes open.

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FREE Photoshop Elements Webinar

On Wednesday, May 18 at 7PM Pacific Time, the first 10 people to register will be able to join my Photoshop Elements in 6 Weeks class for a sample session. The webinar is 1 hour and this session covers Selection Tools. Non-paying attendees will not be able to ask questions or interject comments and will not have access to the recorded video afterwards.

To register, send me an e-mail and I’ll send you the log-in information. Registration is open until Tuesday midnight or when all 10 seats are filled.

Learning Lightroom 3.0

With the release of Lightroom 3.0, there’s been a lot of interest LR training. Recently, I received an e-mail from Adobe with a list of LR classes and workshops. From the list, I checked out the website of George Jardine, a Denver photographer/LR instructor and I was blown away!

George offers 3 video tutorials (over 16 hours) covering LR Library, LR Develop and Adobe Camera RAW (ACR.) These are not cheesy, jerky, blurry homemade videos but full up professional productions of LR and ACR tips and techniques for every level of LR, PSCS or PSE user. Best of all, George offers a “bundle” deal. The LR Library and Develop tutorials are $24.95 each and the ACR tutorial is $34.95. However, if you buy both LR videos for $$49.90, George gives you the ACR tutorial for FREE! It don’t get no better’n that!

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to immediately recognize George as a “Conscious-Competent” among Photoshop trainers. George is not just very knowledgeable but he knows how to transfer that knowledge to others in a clear, succinct manner without the over-hyped, self-promotion of many Photoshop trainers.

George gives you the tools so you can make better decisions about your adjustments. Unlike many so called “gurus,” George recognizes there are no quick & easy formulas for excellence, each of us needs to make our own decisions about our photography. George gives us the tools for making those decisions. Lest I sound like George’s #1 Fanboi, I’ve never met George and I get nothing by promoting his video tutorials. I just want my readers to get the maximum “bang for their buck” when seeking training.

Here are some photos that have nothing to do with LR training but how can I possibly post a photography blog without a few photos?

More BW Candidates

Over the weekend, I was at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo, CA on my annual trip to see what has changed out there. Usually, the answer is – “Nothing ever changes in Campo.” This time, there were big changes that surprised me. The museum has been cleaning up the depot area (visitors center) and, in general, spiffing up. This is good for the museum but detracted from the gritty, “boneyard” look of the past.

Nevertheless, I had several photos in mind for a BW conversion so I pressed on in my quest. The photo above was something I had seen last year and thought about for a year before trying it again. Even then, the original was far from perfect. It wasn’t even acceptable SOOC (straight out of camera.)

The initial BW conversion was done with a Lightroom preset (Blue-Hi Contrast.) I was never a fan of presets in the early days of the digital darkroom but I’m now liking the subtlety of the newer presets.

The lower left corner under the square beam was blown out white. I cloned part of the upper right corner and and patched it over the blown area. It came out fairly well if I say so myself. Let me know what you think.

Photoshop Elements $3 Webinar

On Wednesday, May 4, I’ll present a new $3 Webinar Series. This time, I’ll cover Basic Workflow in Photoshop Elements. A basic workflow is something every serious digital photographer should know. This is the process of turning good photos into great photos. In a basic workflow, the photo is cropped to focus the viewer’s eye, levels and color balance are corrected to add “POP” and sharpening is applied to create intensity.

To participate, please register at the Photography Webinars and Photoshoots Meetup Group site.

New Life for Old Photos

I’ve never been a fan of BW digital photos, mainly because I suck at it. Lately, I’ve been reviewing old photos to see if I could breath life into them through BW conversion. Here’s a photo from PSRM (Pacific Southwest Railway Museum) that I’ve never really liked but, in BW, it looks like it might have merit. This is titled Knuckle Bump. Let me know what you think.

I converted the original Canon CR2 to BW in Lightroom 3 then used Topaz Adjust to add a little “pop” by bumping the sharpening and tonal range. As usual, it loses a bit when resized and compressed for web use but I like the details and smooth transition from gray to black.

Photoshop Elements $3 Webinar

On Wednesday, May 4, I’ll present a new $3 Webinar Series. This time, I’ll cover Basic Workflow in Photoshop Elements. A basic workflow is something every serious digital photographer should know. This is the process of turning good photos into great photos. In a basic workflow, the photo is cropped to focus the viewer’s eye, levels and color balance are corrected to add “POP” and sharpening is applied to create intensity.

To participate, please register at the Photography Webinars and Photoshoots Meetup Group site.

AOL (Almost On-Line) Problems

AOL regularly goes on a tear and kicks back my e-mails as SPAM. There’s not a lot I can do about it but you have to wonder how many other false positives are undelivered by AOL. Those still using this antiquated system might consider getting a Yahoo! or Gmail account. Just sayin!