The Digital Photo Guy

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?

Death of an R1800

My Epson R1800 has been a real love-hate affair. When it’s working, I love the rich, vibrant colors on Calumet Brilliant Luster paper. When it clogs, which is frequently, I hate the stupid printer and the idiot who designed it. I’ve had this printer for over five years and I’ve produced wonderful prints which have hung in galleries and sold enough to pay for itself. But, factor in the emotional toll of not knowing when it will throw another clogging tantrum and I’m ready to chuck it off the roof. Well, it saved me the hassle by finally dying last week.
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I stopped by Fry’s Electronics to look at an R1900. As I hemmed and hawed about an R1900 and the dinky 11ml (milliliter) ink cartridges (see comparison to left,) it struck me that an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 with 80ml cartridges dropped my ink costs down to 75¢ per ml versus $1.27 for the R1900, a 40% savings. That pushed me over the edge. Before my wife could say, “What the *$%+!” I threw down the plastic and walked out with a $1295 printer. My rationale was as follows: More

Breaking News – Topaz Labs FREE Webinar

The long awaited Topaz Labs webinar has been scheduled for Thursday, December 16. Ashley Robinson, Product Manager, will present a demo of ReMask3, the latest iteration of this amazing tool and Adjust2, two of TL’s most popular programs. If you’ve ever pulled your hair trying to get a great mask of a frizzy haired person, ReMask3 will make your eyes pop out. That’s what happened to me when I saw the first version of ReMask at Photoshop World 2 years ago. Since then, it’s become the de facto, go-to tool for cutting out complex images from the background. So, if putting Grandma’s head on Grandpa’s body is your idea of fun, this is a “must see”. To sweeten the pot, Ashley will have several Topaz Lab’s programs as door prizes. The last time we did this, about 6 people walked away with prizes worth as much as $300.

We don’t yet have an exact time but it will be the afternoon in Central Time (1-7PM Eastern, 11AM-5PM Mountain, 10AM-4PM Pacific). Stay tuned for more details.

PSE9 – The Good & The Bad, No Ugly

After playing around with PSE9 for a few hours, my conclusion is that it’s only worth buying it if you’re already a power user of a previous version or if you’re currently using a version older than PSE 7 or you’re  buying PSE for the first time. If you’re on PSE7 or 8 and aren’t yet fully adept with it, PSE9 won’t do much for you.
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Flash in a Flash

In advance of the Flash Photography Workshop at Deer Park Winery and Auto Museum on November 13, here’s a quick MMT covering the basics of flash. I can’t cover all the details that normally take 4 hours but this will get you started.

Canon currently has two primary dedicated flashes, the 430EX II (US$280, above)and the 580EX II (US$445, below). The main differences between the two besides price are power (430 = GN43 vs 580 = GN58) and Master Mode. In multi-flash situations, the 430EX can only be used as a Slave while the 580EX II can be a Master or Slave. Is the 580EX II worth an extra US$165? Probably not unless you’re into flash photography. Having said that, my recommendation is to always buy the biggest, baddest flash you can afford as your first flash.

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Your Turn to Critique Me

I won’t have time to update the site this weekend so here’s something to occupy you until next week.

Here are my entries for the 2010 San Diego Fair. The juried photography competition draws about 3000 entries each year of which about half are accepted. Just being accepted is the first step. Placing 2nd, 3rd, 4th or Honorable Mention is the next step and winning 1st and/or Best of Show are the ultimate goals. Tell me your opinion in the poll at the bottom.

The first is titled Open. The second is Book of Accounts and the 3rd is Dinner with the President.

All the photos were processed to some extend with Topaz Adjust4. I tried to emphasize what was already there instead of slathering on weird effects or hide some deficiency in the photo. Each was acceptable as-is but Topaz Adjust4 enabled me to oversharpen or soften or saturate without inducing artifacts.
Click to see more entries