The Digital Photo Guy

Photoshop World in Las Vegas

PSW is just around the corner so I’m making last minute preparations. The actual conference is Thu, Oct 1 thru Sat, Oct 3 but there’s a day of Pre-Conference Workshops on Wednesday and a NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) Meet & Greet on Wed night. If you plan to be at PSW, let me know and we can make plans to grab lunch.

On Sunday, after the conference, there’s a VW show, Bugorama at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway that I hope to walk around for a while. There should be lots of photo ops at that show.

Afterwards, I’ll be driving up to Bishop, CA to photograph bristlecone pines in the Eastern Sierras with Rob Sheppard.

Photoshop CS4 for Photographers with Ben Wilmore

On Monday, Oct 19, at the San Diego Convention Center, Kelby Training will be offering Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers with Ben Wilmore. I’ve never taken a class with Ben but he’s said to be an excellent instructor. Ben drives around the country in a converted bus RV to take photos and teach Photoshop. This class is a fast-paced, lecture in a room for 875 people so don’t expect a lot of hand-holding. Also, CS4 concepts don’t always translate to Photoshop Elements (PSE) and there won’t be any help for that.

Photoshop Elements Webinar with Rob Sheppard

There are still a few seats left for the November 14 Photoshop Elements webinar with Rob Sheppard, editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine and author of dozens of photography books. Rob is working on a book about the newest version of PSE so, if you’re thinking of upgrading, you’ll want to view this webinar before buying PSE.

Someone asked me to describe a webinar. A webinar is like watching TV where you can interact with the people on screen. If you’ve ever watched Jeopardy and shouted the answer at the screen, you’ve experienced half of a webinar. In a full webinar, Alex Trebeck looks at you and says, “Sh-h-h, no help for the webinar audience.”

Anyone who still thinks of PSE is the ugly duckling step-sister of Photoshop needs to take a look at the new PSE. For most digital photographers, scrappers and busy people, PSE will do 90% of what PS CS4 can do. What can’t be done in PSE can be done through low-cost “plug-ins”, handy little tools that plug-in to PSE and acts like an original feature of PSE.

Future Photoshoot Workshops

Planning has started for Desert Wildflowers at Joshua Tree National Park and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the March-April 2010 timeframe. As always, each workshop will be limited to just 4 students so eveyone gets maximum assistance.

In November, I’ll be going to Salton Sea to photograph burrowing owls. This is a planning trip for future burrowing owl workshops so there won’t be instruction as such but past students are welcome to join me. Watch this site for details.

I’ll be going back to the Deer Park Winery in Escondido, CA for more scouting and planning in the next few weeks. Again, this isn’t a workshop as such but you’re welcome to join me and watch how I set up and devise lessons for my workshops.

Monday Morning Tip

Today’s MMT is a video of my workflow. Workflow is just a fancy way of saying how I do things. The video is about 15 minutes because I’m explaining each step but, in reality, I usually go through this in about 3-5 minutes after I download photos until the first image is done. After that, each image takes as little as 30-90 seconds.

During the Photoshop Elements portion of my Wild Animal Park Hands-On Photoshoot yesterday, one subject that seemed to intrigue the students was the ability to simply fix one RAW photo in Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) then drag & drop the same fixes to all the other photos taken under the same conditions. This is a real time-saver that I’ll address in a future video MMT.

Unlike regular MMTs that are behind a password and only available to registered readers, this MMT is open to all viewers.

Learn Photoshop Elements in 4 Hours… Win Cool Prizes!

Just added a copy of 1-2-3 of Digital Imaging to the pile of goodies. Some lucky student will receive this for being among the first 20 to register if their number is drawn.

We’re also giving away a copy of the 1000 page Photoshop World workbook. PSW is in October so the information doesn’t get any fresher unless you shell out $1000 to attend PSW in person. Remember, you have be among the first 20 students to register to be entered into the drawing for these prizes.

If that’s not enough, the first 20 registrants have a choice of 3 terrific gifts to choose from just for being smart enough to be on the leading edge of webinars. When you register, you’ll receive an e-mail with a list of gifts to choose from so register now!

Click HERE to read how you can learn Photoshop Elements in just 4 hours from Rob Sheppard, editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine. Don’t let the magazine title scare you, the class covers all aspects of PSE, not just outdoor or nature photography. Most of what this class covers also applies to Photoshop CSx. Best of all, you get 60 days of e-mail support in case you have problems applying what Rob’s tricks, tips and shortcuts.

Freebie! Depth of Field Calculator

Normally, I don’t write about freebies until I have them in hand but this one is gonna take some effort on my part (I have to make them) so I’m asking first before I waste time on something no one wants.

How many people want a free (except for SASE) Depth of Field Calculator? If you don’t know what a DoF calculator is, go here. If you don’t know why you’d want a DoF calculator, you don’t need it. If you have difficulty using a ruler, you won’t be able to use this. If you don’t know what depth of field is or why it’s important, you need to take my dSLR class. If you want one, leave a comment here. That way, I’ll know how much time and effort I’m facing.

Monday Morning Tip

Today’s MMT covers the last lens most amateurs usually want, a macro. A macro is any lens that allows you to make photos that are 100% of actual size. In other words, if an object is 22.2mm across, a macro will fill the entire sensor of a Canon Digital Rebel from side-to-side with the object. There’s an image in the MMT that illustrates this concept. As always, all MMTs are in the MMT archives on the Tips & News page.

For those who have read all 3 MMTs dealing with lenses for new dSLR owners and amateur photographers, here’s a great article that basically says the same thing I said except in fewer words. See if your Canon lens kit matches what he writes.

Something Truly Amazing and Humbling

Most photographers have heard of Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii but, if you’re like me, you just thought he was a mad Russian scientist. It turns out Prokudin-Gorskii was really a photographer in his own right and produced hundreds of color photos long before any of us ever thought of color photography. The Smithsonian bought his collection and has been restoring the glass negatives. Here’s a small sample of his work. The man was truly an artist, a visionary and a scientist, well ahead of his time.

San Diego Fair – June 13 to July 5

Since I’m caught up on writing Monday Morning Tips for the next few weeks, here’s a mid-week update for people around San Diego. The Del Mar Fair (aka San Diego Fair) has a whole potful of photography events that you might want to check out. This link will open a PDF listing the dates, times and descriptions.

It’s too late to enter the juried photography competition but try to check out the exhibit when you visit the fair. Looking at others works will often give you ideas for improving your own photos.

There are also four 2-hour Photo Shootouts (2x Daylight, 1x Night and 1x Twilight). Click the links for PDF entry forms. You’re given 2 hours to make a photo and take it to the judging area to be downloaded and judged. If any of my former students wins, I’ll have a prize for them. Just send me proof of your win and the prize is yours.

If there’s enough interest, we’ll organize a GTG (get together) at the fair one Saturday and we’ll have an informal shoot with prizes for the best photos. Either leave a comment below or send me an e-mail. We’ll need at least 6 participants for a contest.

Photoshop World 2009 – Las Vegas, Oct 1-3

Yeah, I know, most rational people intensely dislike Las Vegas but it is what it is. PSW is a great way to flatten your PS learning curve.

Yeah, I know, it’s expensive but if you’re serious about developing your PS skills, it is what it is. A single Photoshop class at UCSD will set you back $595. At PSW, for $500 ($600 if you’re not a NAPP member) you have a choice of nearly 100 classes over 3 days. And, at PSW, a day is NOT 8 to 5.

If you’re still reading, click here to read all about PSW. It’s not training, it’s bootcamp! Failure in not an option, you WILL learn!

If you’re really not able to make it to PSW but want to know what you’re missing, send me an e-mail and I’ll pick up an extra Proceedings for you. These are nearly 1000 pages of notes and handouts from the conference. Please note – these are not free. You will have to pay for me to buy and haul these back.

If you plan to be in Las Vegas but won’t attend PSW, you can get a free ticket to the Expo here. Some of the best free classes are at the Expo where sponsors and exhibiters like Adobe, Epson and Bogen offer short classes on a range of subjects.

Finally, if you plan to attend and want to meetup to exchange notes, leave a comment. It’s always great to have someone you can split classes with when two classes you want to attend are opposite each other. It’s like having a virtual you.

Local San Diego Clubs

There are several informal photography clubs in San Diego that schedule shoots on a regular basis. I haven’t attended any in a long time because 1) I don’t have time and 2) I tend to be a solitary photographer.

This Saturday, May 16, the San Diego Digital SLR Photography Group has a shoot scheduled at Old Poway Park. Check their site for details.

On Saturday, May 23, The San Diego Photography Meetup Group has a shoot at Balboa Park for memebrs who also belong to pBase. pBase, for those who may be unfamiliar, is a very large photo sharing site. When you click on my Photo Galleries page, you’re actually being redirected to my pBase account.

I may attend this shoot since I haven’t been to Balboa Park in ages. If you’d like to carpool from North County, let me know.