Soup Questions | Jason D. Moore Photography

Redirection

2008-02-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

You are about to be redirected to www.jasondmoore.com.

We're Moving!

2007-09-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

After a number of issues with Blogger, and having heard good things from others who have made the switch, I have decided to make the move over to a Wordpress-based blog that will live on my webhost as part of my domain.

Also as part of the transition, I have decided to drop the "Soup Questions" part of the name - though it will still be part of my Blogger site, which will remain live indefinitely as a backup and archive - and going with simply Jason D. Moore Photography.

Content will remain as it has been with the Photoshop & Photography Blogroll and its associated series as well as the Geographic Composition project and new posts will be published on the new blog starting with this week's P&P Weekly.

So please, update your links and feeds to reflect the new blog at www.jasondmoore.com/blog.

Thanks for you patience in the move as I work out all of the bugs and I hope to see you at our new home!

-Jason

Geographic Composition #8: Circles

2007-09-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week eight of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "circles." For one photographer it was about spead monitoring cameras. For another it was about a country's staple food. Two photographers looked towards nature for inspiration. One found circles at an amusement park and another in the momentary experience of a firework blast. And for another, it was about how a special circle formed something totally different when illuminated.

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

"Circle of Strife"
Mike Holley - Worcestershire, England
"Tortillas"
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
"Orb"
Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA
"Cropped Circles"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA
"Gone In Six Seconds"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA
"Dogwood"
Amy Archer - Sweden
"Heart In A Wedding Ring"
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY

P&P Blogger Profile: Derrick Story

2007-09-13T00:55:00.000-05:00

Derrick Story of The Digital Story

(Photo Credit: George Jardine)

Derrick Story runs the popular photography blog titled, “The Digital Story” and writes for O’Reilly as their Digital Media Evangelist. He’s also a contributing writer for Macworld Magazine and author of several books on digital photography. His photography business, Story Photography, is based in Santa Rosa, CA.

Why do you blog?
Blogging is the most efficient way for me to share information on a daily basis. On TDS for example, I can write and publish a helpful tip in about 20 minutes (that thousands of people can read almost immediately). That’s fairly efficient. I like the blogging platform because it lets me focus on the message and not get too bogged down in the tools.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Aside from the blogs I oversee (TDS, Inside Aperture, Inside Lightroom, etc.), I enjoy scanning Engadget, PhotographyBLOG, and I must admit, I like The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs.

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I’ve been a photographer since my teenage years working for the local newspaper. I got hooked on Photoshop 2.5, and have been using the application ever since.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
My assignment camera is a Canon 5D DSLR, and my favorite lenses are the 16-35 f/2.8 L II and the 70-200 f/4 L. But I like compact cameras too, especially ones that shoot good video also. My current pocket camera is the Canon PowerShot SD700. It takes great pictures, has image stabilization, and records clean video.

Mac or PC?
Intel Mac - MacBook Pro 17”

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
I think the iPhone is a great tool for photographers/bloggers on the go. I find that I’m doing a much better job of keeping up with email, monitoring my web sites, and communicating with clients and coworkers. Plus, it’s absolutely great for showing off photos, uploading images directly to Flickr, watching videos, and oh yeah, it’s a good music player too.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
I would absolutely love to have the new Canon 1Ds Mark III, but I don’t see one in my near future. Anyone out there have a spare body they can lend me?

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Get a photo buddy and/or become part of a photography community. If you have someone to go shooting with, and who will look critically at your photos, you will shoot more and improve faster. As for community, the nickname for The Digital Story is “your virtual camera club.” It’s a place for photographers to come together, learn new techniques, show off their pictures, and get feedback on their work. Being part of a community helps us improve as artists and craftsmen.

What inspires you to create?
I like to have things to show for my efforts. When I was working my way through college, I couldn’t generate enough income as a photographer only, so I mowed lawns too. Believe it or not, I found that work very satisfying because I could stand back and admire my work after I finished working on a yard.

Today, I can support myself making pictures and writing, and I find it very satisfying to create new things out of thin air.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Don’t take yourself too seriously. It inhibits growth and gets in the way of learning new things. Much better to have an open mind and be humble.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I live in a great place now (Sonoma County, CA), but I wouldn’t mind having an apartment in Vancouver BC too. I love the combination of Canadian-Pan Pacific culture with great outdoor activities.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m a walker. It’s a great form of exercise and allows me to clear the cobwebs out of my head.

What talent would you most like to have?
Wish I could sing...

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Fabulous
What is your least favorite word? Arrogant
What turns you on? Curves
What turns you off? Moody
What sound or noise do you love? Love to hear the sound of coffee brewing (the smell is not too bad too)
What sound or noise do you hate? Smacking lips and loud eating sounds.
What is your favorite curse word? Asshole
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Always wanted to be a tour guide in exotic locations.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Politician
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Whew, you just made it under the wire!

*Note: If you there is someone you would like to see as a part of the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with their blog's URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

PDF Sharing and Security

2007-09-12T07:49:00.000-05:00

We just upgraded to Adobe Actobat 8 Professional for an upcoming project where we will be compiling a number of documents into an electronic (primarilly CD-based) journal and directory. Along with my registration of Acrobat, I received 30 days of free training via Lynda.com to help me get up to speed with the new features of this version of Acrobat.

Before gearing up to put together last year's edition of this same project, I was not very familiar with all of the capabilities of Acrobat. I'd, of course, used the free Adobe Reader and have printed to PDF with the distiller function that came with version 5.0 but hadn't done much else until working with 7.0 Pro.

Even with working on last year's project, I only dealt with the sections of the program that I needed to complete the tasks. There was a lot of trial and error and trubleshooting to make the final product function to the client's specifications. It wasn't extremely difficult, but we had our share of challenges to work through along the way.

Upon upgrading to Acrobat 8 Pro and viewing the training videos, I was not only surprised and delighted by the new features that will make this year's project go even smoother and allow the user experience to be all the more seamless (namely the ability to create PDF Packages!), but I was reminded of some security features that will be quite useful for other applications as well.

(To see what I'm working with, click here to download a PDF containing a number of images I've had as part of my NAPP Portfolio. - 6MB)

First of all, the security settings. If you are going to make a PDF available for download from your website or you will be sending it to someone to view samples of your work, you will want to make sure that your images are secure and someone won't be able to simply copy your photos to their computer or print them without permission.

Go to the "Secure" button in Acrobat and select "Password Encrypt" and click "Ok." You can look through the other options in the dialog box but the one we're concerned with is the "Permissions" section. Here, check the box that says, "Restrict the editing and printing of the document..." and enter a password - and remember it! Select your desired print and changes settings (I picked "none" for both) and leave the box marked "Enable copying of text, images, and other content" unchecked. This way, viewers can't download your images. When you click "Ok" you will be prompted to re-enter your password and told to save your document before the settings will take effect.

(Note: In the "Manage Security Policies" dialog you can create a preset if you plan to use the same security scheme a lot.)

If you allow users to print, or if you're worried about someone swiping your images using the "Print Screen" function, you can add a watermark within Acrobat to add one more layer of protection.

Go to "Document>Watermark>Add" and in the dialog box, insert your text, setup the appearance options, and click "Ok."

To combine these two security techniques, apply your watermark before you apply the security profile, otherwise you won't be able to change the settings without removing the security settings and re-saving the file.

Brent Singley

2007-09-11T09:06:00.000-05:00

When reviewing my blog stats the other day, I noticed a link from the blog of photographer Brent Singley. It appears to be a relatively new blog without a great number of photos posted yet, but the ones that are look great. Have a look!

Photo copyright Brent Singley.

P&P Weekly: #47

2007-09-10T08:22:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Lifeboat" and "Sunny days"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#6268"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Sunny the Hereford in the Late Day Sun"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - "Inter-Tribal Pow Wow"
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography - "annika - Sept. 6" and "photographic legend jay maisel"
Mike of Creative Outlet and simply photography is back. He will be joining us in the weekly Geographic Composition project.
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Tango Central Park, III"
Dave at Dave Cross Online has been pretty busy at Photoshop World in Las Vegas.
David of Digital ProTalk has some great shots from his Photoshop World pre-conference wedding shoot. And "Lifestyles of the Rich"
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Online"
Richard of Europe in Black and White has just finished framing a large print.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery was able to get his hands on Nikon's new D3 and D300 at Photoshop World.
John of John Nack on Adobe shares a link to a recent 13 gigapixel image of Harlem.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a little Lightroom Q&A. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about a type effect, stopping an action, sharpening edges, and non-destructive dodge and burn.
Lynda of One Day at a Time - "Red Horn"
Jim of PHOTOBLOG By Jim Larimer - "Wash Day"
Scott of Photoshop Insider has a number of updates from Photoshop World.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day - "Cardone Espinas"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Untitled #71"
David of Strobist has post about an off-photographer camera and a good idea for lighting a car interior.
Terry of Terry White's Tech Blog shares his thoughts on Apple's new line of iPods.
Andy of The Global Photographer tells of photographic safari best practices.
Andy of Visual Realia - "Eyes Open"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #298"
Ben of Where is Ben? survived Vegas.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Geographic Composition #7: Danger

2007-09-07T08:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week seven of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "danger."

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

"Cardone Espinas Macro with Lens Baby"
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
"Violent Nature"
Amy Archer - Sweden
"Hot"
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY
"Terminal Thought"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA
"Down & Out"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA
"Heat of the Moment"
Mike Holley - Worcestershire, England

Kelby Training

2007-09-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

Just announced during the Photoshop World keynote, Friend-of-the-Blog Scott Kelby just launched his new site Kelby Training - "the most comprehensive educational resource for photographers, graphic designers, and creative professionals using the Adobe Creative Suite."

From the release on the NAPP site Scott tells us:

“We share our student’s passion for creativity, and as the leading resource for Photoshop educational DVDs, live training seminars, online classes, and award-winning books, it’s our job to not only boost their Photoshop skill level and give them a competitive advantage, but to make the whole process just like our training – easy, fun, and straight-to-the-point.”

Check it out!

Lighting A Background

2007-09-06T00:31:00.000-05:00

Last week when we were shooting interviews for a capital campaign video we were faced with the situation that we had many individuals on the schedule back-to-back without the time to setup in multiple locations to provide for a variety of backgrounds.

Anticipating this would be the case, we brought our entire light kit and a blue mottled background. We lit the subjects as normal - a Lowel Rifa-lite soft box as a key light and a Lowel ViP Pro-light for a backlight - and we added one of our Lowel Omni-lights for the background.

In order to provide variation using this single background, I draped the background cloth over a pair of stands with a crossbar and gathered the cloth in various configurations, securing it with a number of clips. We rarely properly fold this background because the wrinkles and creases actually add to the texture of the cloth, adding more interest.

Using the Omni with different colored gels set to either the lower left or right, only slightly forward of the background, I was able to create lots of shadow and more options than using the cloth alone.

Also, it is important to place your subject far enough in front of the background so that while you are focused on the subject the background will blur. Remember to use your depth of field to allow the viewer to focus their attention on the subject. If we had a larger space to work in, we would have actually placed the background farther back in order to make it even more abstract.

Below, you can see a layout of our setup from both an overhead and front view.

Too Hot!

2007-09-05T00:21:00.000-05:00

I was doing some shooting around the apartment tonight (don't worry, Kim's fine - bad joke) for this week's Geographic Composition entry. I have a variation on the same scene that I'll actually be posting for the project but thought I'd pop this one up as a teaser for Friday's "danger."

P&P Weekly: #46

2007-09-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone in the US had a restful Labor Day Weekend!

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Violent Nature"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#6294"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Mr. Darcy (A Baby Pygmy Goat)"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - "September Morning"
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography - "chalk"
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Information, Metropolitan Museum"
Dave at Dave Cross Online talks about his Kata knapsack camera bag.
David of Digital ProTalk is our newest member - Welcome! - and he shares his latest photos, photo tips, and processing techniques.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Catch the Wind"
Richard of Europe in Black and White has an article about how he packages his photos for shipping.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery has a new blog address and a couple of nice shots from Coyote Buttes.
Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception has a post about a music video he shot.
John of John Nack on Adobe reassures us that most of your photos suck and shares some uncategorized links - including one to my recent profile of him.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a video about DNG, shares the photography of Karen Kuehn and a couple more of his Friday Tips. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about fixing gaps in teeth, opening a new window, custom keyboard shortcuts, and taking a snapshot in Photoshop.
Lynda of One Day at a Time - "My Pleasure"
Jenny at Photo Two-Twenty shares her shot from this week's Geographic Composition.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG By Jim Larimer shares a couple of his latest prints.
Scott of Photoshop Insider got to shoot on the sidelines at a Bears game.
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips shares some tips for your Photoshop productivity.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "Doorway to a Ruin"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Untitled #69"
Mike of Simply Photography - "The Royal Box"
David of Strobist talks about assembling an inexpensive camera bag.
Terry of Terry White's Tech Blog wrote about Apple's new ringtone app, iToner.
Clayton of The C Spot has some final thoughts about his What the Duck bass.
Andy of The Global Photographer - "Sunset from Mount Kilimanjaro"
Andy of Visual Realia - "Yielding Shade"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #291"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Coupe de Ville"
Ben of Where is Ben? has been exploring Minneapolis.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Geographic Composition #6: Alone

2007-08-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week six of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "alone."

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA
"Jo Ann and Maguey with Lensbaby 3 B&W"
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
"Solo"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA
"This Path We Follow"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY

My First HDR Image

2007-08-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

For the last couple of days we were out in Western New York on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution doing interviews and gathering footage for a capital campaign video for a client of ours. (By the way, the interviews we did yielded some great quotes for the video, but I also feel they were some of my best work. I'll grab a few screen shots and post them next week.)

Anyway, back to the image above. This is the sanctuary of the church we were shooting in and while we were packing up I thought I would take the opportunity to try out the whole HDR thing. For this image, I took 5 bracketed exposures with my D200 on a tripod and processed using CS2's Merge to HDR function.

Once the image was made, I converted to 16bit and changed the drop-down menu option to "Local Adaptation" and made some adjustments to the curve - most importantly, moving the black point to the left edge of the histogram. Basically, I followed the same process as outlined in the posts I linked to on Tuesday.

This was just my first outing with HDR and, I must say, I really like the crisp-ness of the image and more true-to-life result. I can't wait to do some more experimenting. (Also, just a note about the image, unfortunately, the shadows on the cross make it look like there's a motion blur, which is unfortunate, and a little distracting.)

Digital ProTalk Blog

2007-08-29T00:14:00.000-05:00

Upon watching this week's episode of Photoshop User TV, I found out that renown wedding photographer and instructor David Ziser has a new blog called Digital ProTalk. David is an amazing photographer and, after sitting in on his Marketing 101 class at Photoshop World in Boston this past spring, I can attest to his great skill as an educator as well.

I am always in search of interesting blogs to add to my list of "Must Reads" and the equally interesting bloggers behind them to profile for my P&P Blogger Profile series. So, noticing that David is now part of the photoblogger community I sent him an invitation to fill out a profile. (You will be able to read his profile soon!)

To my surprise, about an hour or two after I sent the email, the phone at my desk rang and it was David on the other end. I have been repeatedly amazed by the approachability and genuine friendliness of the many photographers and Photoshop experts that I have encountered through the blog and in person at Photoshop World. And David was no exception.

On his blog, David posts photos from his latest shoots, tips on how to take better photos, and techniques to make the most out of Photoshop and Lightroom to help guide you in the right direction as you develop your photographic skills.

Stop by his blog to check out some fantastic photography and excellent tips. Welcome to the blogroll, David!

*Just a note: I will be working out of town in Chautauqua, NY Wednesday and Thursday this week. I'll try to have something to post when I return on Thursday but it won't be up until later in the evening. Until then, check out the Photoshop & Photography Blogroll member blogs and be sure to meet me back here Friday for this week's Geographic Composition. -Jason

Photoshop User TV...Again!

2007-08-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

Another special thanks to Friends-of-the-Blog Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski for mentioning this blog for a second time on the show making reference to my recent profile of John Nack. Thanks Guys!

For those of you who may be linking here via Photoshop User TV and have never been here before, in addition to my normal weekday posts, every Monday I write a roundup of what members of my Photoshop & Photography Blogroll are posting (view the list on the right). Also, each Friday a number of my fellow bloggers and I post images on a common weekly theme in our Geographic Composition project. In addition, I have a number of P&P Blogger Profiles that I have accumulated over the past year which you can find by clicking here.

Thanks again for the mention! And thanks to all of you for stopping by!

Creating HDR Images

2007-08-28T09:31:00.000-05:00

I just came across this post from Ryan McGinnis over at Backing Winds via Friend-of-the-Blog Jeff Revell.

Both Jeff and Ryan take us through the process of creating HDR (high dynamic range) images using Photoshop CS2's (and CS3's) "Merge to HDR" function.

I have never done anything with HDR myself, mainly because I was never sure about what it was or how it worked. Basically, when your scene has a wide range of tonal values where you want to keep as much of the detail in the highlight and shadow areas of your image as possible.

With HDR, you merge multiple images of the same scene taken at different exposures in order to create a photo that is closer to what you actually see with your own eye.

Ryan McGinnis' post on Backing Winds does a great job of taking you step by step through the process. One thing he mentions, though, that is important to note is what you need to do in-camera prior to uploading the files to your computer.

Shoot in RAW. RAW files, by their nature, carry more dynamic range and are better for creating HDR images.
Use a tripod. Because you will be merging multiple exposures of the same scene, it is a must that your camera is locked down. If possible, use a cable release.
Use your camera's bracketing function. Many DSLRs have an option that will automatically adjust the exposure by a set increment each time your trigger the shutter for a set number of shots (at least 3 but 5-7 is recommended). Your camera will take a "properly" exposed version, one underexposed, and one over exposed - or more if you choose to take 5-7.

Once you create your HDR image (now a 32bit image) you will want to convert it to 16bit. When you make the conversion you'll have the chance to adjust a curve to bring out the most detail and contrast for your shot.

Have fun!

P&P Weekly: #45

2007-08-27T09:13:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Death Valley Tree" (one of my favorites this week)
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#6348"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Cattle Show, 2007 Grange Fair"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - "Ellyce and Chris"
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography - "dad's view"
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Guitar Player, Subway"
Dave at Dave Cross Online sends us an update from his teaching cruise to Alaska.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography recently met Bruce Willis.
Mike at eyes on the road really wants a Nikon D3.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery a great wave image.
John of John Nack on Adobe does some photographic pondering.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips talks about upsizing in Lightroom. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about a pen tool tip and a tip about creating really tiny type.
Lynda of One Day at a Time - "No Longer Owned"
Jenny at Photo Two-Twenty has a greatly textured shot from this week's Geographic Composition.
Scott of Photoshop Insider reviews some of his equipment.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "Sombrero Viejo y la Plumas"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Life's a Beach"
David of Strobist has a post about Annie Liebovitz and the (red) campaign.
Terry of Terry White's Tech Blog is our newest member - Welcome! - always has some great reviews on the latest gadgets.
Clayton of The C Spot has been reconstructing his WTD Bass Guitar.
Andy of The Global Photographer will be leading an off the beaten path photo workshop in Moab, Utah.
Andy of Visual Realia and I really like his GC contribution "The Sound of E"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #288"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Vintage"
Ben of Where is Ben? recently had an interview in After Capture Magazine.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Geographic Composition #5: Metal

2007-08-24T00:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week five of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "metal." The selections this week range from the aged to the artistic to musical, to the commemorative.

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

"Crazy Little Curve"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA
"Rusted"
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY
"Remembering 9/11: a WTC beam up close"
Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA
"Horns"
Amy Archer - Sweden "Father Hidalgo"
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
"Sound of E"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA

P&P Blogger Profile: Terry White

2007-08-23T00:06:00.000-05:00

Terry White of Terry White's Tech Blog

Terry White - Director, North America Creative Pro Core Business for Adobe Systems, Inc. Terry has been with Adobe for over a decade and has extensive knowledge of Adobe’s Creative Professional product line. In his current position, he leads a team of Solution Engineers and Product Specialists that focus on Professional Publishing and Web Authoring. Terry is an Adobe Certified Expert and Creative Suite Master. He has been active in the industry for over 20 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit – Michigan’s largest Macintosh users group and is a columnist for Layers Magazine and X-Ology Magazine. Terry is the host of the top ranked Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast. He is also the author of Secrets of the Adobe Bridge and co-author of The iPhone Book and InDesign CS/CS2 Killer Tips. Terry is a key presenter at major industry shows around the world.

Why do you blog?
I enjoy sharing my ideas and reviews with others.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Photoshop Insider
Engadget
Macsimumnews

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Photoshop since version 2.5
Serious photographer since 2004

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
Nikon D80

Mac or PC?
Mac

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
Spiderlite TD5

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Nikon Zoom Telephoto AF VR Zoom Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8D G-AFS ED-IF Autofocus Lens (Vibration Reduction) - Black

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Less is more!

What inspires you to create?
Seeing something out there and thinking to myself, “I could do that and maybe even better.”

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Be of your word.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Somewhere warm year round, perhaps Hawaii

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Swim, write

What talent would you most like to have?
Singing

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Success
What is your least favorite word? Failure
What turns you on? Intelligent people
What turns you off? Racism
What sound or noise do you love? Silence
What sound or noise do you hate? Crickets
What is your favorite curse word? F@*k
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Comedian
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Fast Food
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Glad you’re here.

*Note: If you there is someone you would like to see as a part of the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with their blog's URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

A Few More From Last Week

2007-08-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

(Sorry for the delay in posting and for the error messages you may have seen. Apparently Blogger was experiencing some server issues which kept me from posting and you from viewing. Appologies for any inconvenience.)

Here are three more shots from our outing last week. Two of them were thoughts I had for the "On The Go" theme for last week's Geographic Composition but because I wasn't using our on-car camera rig (used primarily for video) they were a tad blurrier than I would've liked - though a little bit of blur adds a little something, given the theme. The other is a shot I took while laying down in a corn field just before taking the shots for this composite.

P&P Blogger Profile: John Nack

2007-08-21T00:37:00.000-05:00

John Nack of John Nack on Adobe

John Nack is a Sr. Product Manager for Adobe Photoshop. Prior to joining Adobe John was a web designer and animator at AGENCY.COM New York, where we developed online content for clients such as Gucci, Nike, British Airways, and Coca-Cola. That experience convinced him that design tools could and had to be better, leading him to join Adobe in 2000, working on the web animation tool in LiveMotion. John has been on the Photoshop team since 2002 and has worked on features such as Adobe Camera Raw, Smart Objects, Vanishing Point, the File Browser, and Adobe Bridge.

Why do you blog?
I’m inspired, both personally and professionally, by the work I see going on in photography, design, typography, and other creative fields. I’m grateful for other folks who take the time to share interesting finds, and I like to return the favor when I can. With my job it’s easy to get lost in the weeds, thinking that Photoshop and other software is an end unto itself, rather than a means to various creative ends. Sharing and reflecting on creative work helps me keep some perspective.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Tough question! I really like Core77 for their eclectic, well-edited mix of design-related info. I rely on the MXNA, Adobe’s (formerly Macromedia’s) aggregator of Web design-related feeds, for info on technology developments. And I enjoy The Online Photographer’s perspective on gear and developments in the world of photography.

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I started using Photoshop my freshman year in college, 1993. I was used to MacPaint-class tools, so when my friend pointed out Photoshop, it was a real revelation.

As for photography, I’ve had an interest as long as I can remember. As a little kid I used to snap away as much as my parents’ film budget would allow, and when they first got an SLR I loved experimenting with things like shutter speed.

Unfortunately I was too lazy to really learn enough, so I ended up drawing more as that came easily to me (and didn’t cost much!).

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
I own a Canon Rebel XT, which for most of my needs is great. Lately I find myself rather hungrily contemplating a 5D, though first I think I should invest in some better glass. Of course, I’m reminded of what my friend says when he teaches at high-performance driving schools on the weekends: if most of those guys invested a tenth as much into learning how to use the gear as they put into the gear itself, they’d be way better off than they are. Therefore I continue to want to make time to take more classes. Too bad it’s so much easier just to plunk down cash for gear than it is to become a better photographer.

Mac or PC?
Mac, since ’84. :)

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
I love Wacom tablets, though I’m sorry to say that my job keeps me in email far more than it lets me stretch my legs in Photoshop. That said, I find a tablet invaluable for any kind of drawing or retouching work.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Well, the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is a real beauty. I think the 5D would be great for indoor low-light shooting, and the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens would be a step forward there as well. I’d also like to start experimenting with polarizers and graduated neutral density filters.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Get out there! The picture you take or design you create is infinitely better than the one you don’t create. I think that patience and humility are essential. Just as with exercise, music, or most other worthwhile pursuits, know that your skills will take time to mature. Try not to take the work or yourself too seriously, and enjoy the process.

What inspires you to create?
I’d like the world to be a little more beautiful, a little happier, a little more truthful by virtue of my having been here.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Good grief; how about, “Don’t take a self-absorbed 30-ish software dude or his pronouncements too seriously!” ;-)

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Heh—not San Jose. I live here strictly because it’s where I work, and I didn’t want to waste my life commuting. I still miss New York.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
What is this “spare time” of which you speak…?

What talent would you most like to have?
Being made of liquid metal (mimetic poly-alloy).

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Passion
What is your least favorite word? Apathy
What turns you on? Possibility
What turns you off? Pomposity
What sound or noise do you love? I love steel guitar. And I smile when hearing just about any native instrument (steel drum, Peruvian flute, sitar, etc.) made to play The Godfather Waltz on a subway platform.
What sound or noise do you hate? The drone of meetings, and the bitching of suckaz.
What is your favorite curse word? Teabag.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Ice road trucker.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Processing anything bought or sold…
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? You’re okay, kid. You done good.

*Note: If you there is someone you would like to see as a part of the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with their blog's URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

P&P Weekly: #44

2007-08-20T09:35:00.000-05:00

Coming up tomorrow you can read a P&P Blogger Profile of Adobe's Sr. Product Manager for Photoshop, John Nack!

In the meantime, here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Little Bird"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#6152"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Jenn Gets the Guillotine at the Grange Fair"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - "USD 437" Great Stuff!
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography - reflections at the harbor today
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Gotham from Manhattan Bridge" and "Lenox Avenue"
Dave at Dave Cross Online is off to teach on a cruise to Alaska, poor guy!
Richard of Europe in Black and White is processing is images from his summer travels.
Mike at eyes on the road profiles photographer Bob Krist.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery has a great pano of the Grand Canyon - be sure to click on the link at the bottom of the post for the full size, scrollable version.
Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception has been sharing some recent "fan" mail.
John of John Nack on Adobe has some links for Lightroom web galleries.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a video about creating a desaturated effect. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about HTML color, smart guides, global light, and saving your own layer styles.
Jenny at Photo Two-Twenty - "A Tire for Three"
Scott of Photoshop Insider has been shooting out west and shares a story of his "fun" experience in Monument Valley.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "Another Sunflower"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Camelot"
David of Strobist has a post on Umbrella Specular Portraits.
Andy of The Global Photographer is off to Seattle for some lectures on his African adventures.
Tom of Tom Moore Fine Art Photography - "Heather and Robert"
Andy of Visual Realia has some great city shots from Harrisburg. Some of his best that I've seen. Nice work, Andy!
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #282"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Rocket Science"
Ben of Where is Ben? - "Empire Truck Rental" and "Hazelgreen, MO"

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Geographic Composition #4: On the Go

2007-08-17T09:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week four of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "on the go." Images of driving seem to dominate this week's selections, though we also have a sweet scene of ducks and a shot of a speedy rider.

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

"RPM"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA
"PeMex"
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
"Horse and Rider"
Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY
"The Chase is On"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA

Abstract #2

2007-08-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

Last March I wrote a post about creating abstract backgrounds using long exposures. Well, the other day as we were on our way back from shooting an interview for one of our projects, I had the chance to stop and take some shots - particularly in search for a shot for tomorrow's Geographic Composition.

As we were driving along through the country roads in Genoa, NY we pulled off so I could get a couple of shots in a cornfield - another one will be posted probably next week. The above shot is a composite of six 1sec. exposures with some light adjustments in Lightroom and put together in Photoshop by simply changing the blend modes of each layer (some to Multiply, some to Screen, some to Soft Light).

It's a great little technique for coming up with something interesting and different. I really like how this one turned out.

UPDATE: I just posted a variation of this in my NAPP Portfolio where I added a couple of Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layers with angled linear gradients in the masks to add the blue and red hue shifts.

P&P Blogger Profile: Andy Biggs

2007-08-15T08:53:00.000-05:00

Andy Biggs of The Global Photographer

I am a full time nature photographer, and I lead photographic safaris throughout Africa. Some years I lead 4 or 5 safaris, and others 6 or 7. I also lead workshops in the American West, as well as other locations around the globe.

Why do you blog?
I blog as a way of effectively communicating with my past, current and future workshop participants. I feel like I need a way of communicating in more personal nature, where I can write just about anything down. I strive to post content as often as I can, but sometimes it is a challenge.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Luminous Landscape
Engadget
The Online Photographer

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I started using Photoshop with version 6, and that is about the same time that I took up photography as a true passion. Before that I was just a casual shooter that picked up a camera only for vacations and family get togethers.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
I primarily shoot with a Canon 1DsMkII, but I also shoot with a 1DMkIII and an infrared converted Canon Rebel XTi. I am currently thinking of adding a 6x17 camera to the mix for animal-scapes.

Mac or PC?
Mac when I can get away with it. Mac at home, Mac on the road. However, unless Apple comes out with a lightweight laptop solution, I might move back to the PC just to save some weight on long safaris. Hey, a few pounds here and a few there really do add up.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
Right now it is my camera backpack that I am bringing to market in a few months. I have been working on this product for over two years, and I am so excited to start selling it soon.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Medium format digital. I love landscapes with oodles of detail, and the latest round of medium format digital backs would look great in my bag.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Photography isn’t about having the latest gear. Even though we will have new product innovations in the future, don’t get hung up on having the latest and greatest gear. I look back 5 years when I had a pair of Canon D30 3mp cameras, and I still think the images I captured were every bit as strong as some of the images I am shooting today. Photographs that stir the soul come from within and between your ears, and not with what is sitting on top of your tripod.

What inspires you to create?
I have a growing library of coffee table books, and I often refer to them for inspiration. So I have to say work from other photographers.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Whatever you choose to do, be the best at it that you can be. Give it 110%.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I would love to live in the Colorado Rockies, or perhaps back in northern California again. California is where I developed my passion for the outdoors.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
As many people might know, I am very social person. So I love to spend time with family and friends. I thrive off of the energy of others.

What talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be more creative. Creativity is something that is difficult to obtain. Once you think you have it, poof! Gone. Sometimes I like to think that I am a creative person, but other times I realize that I am more innovative than creative.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Yes
What is your least favorite word? No
What turns you on? Working with a new electronic gadget
What turns you off? Gadgets that don’t work.
What sound or noise do you love? The sounds of the African bush
What sound or noise do you hate? Traffic noise.
What is your favorite curse word? Doh! Not really a curse word, but anything Homer Simpson says has to be funny.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? I would love to direct films.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Anything involving blood. I would be passed out on the floor all of the time!
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? I listened to all of your prayers, Andy. Did you really want that 5.0 liter Mustang GT back in 1986?

P&P Weekly: #43

2007-08-14T00:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the new computer has finally arrived after a mixup by DHL. It's been a little slow going getting everything installed but once I am able to put it through its paces I'm sure it will prove to be an improvement.

In the meantime, here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "101 Cafe"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#5984"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "A Swim in Tinicum Creek"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - "Lightning Strike"
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography - while biking home from work
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Brooklyn Bridge IR2" and "New York Skyline, Vertical"
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a great tip about wrapping text around objects in Photoshop.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Blue Angels and More at Seafair 2007"
Richard of Europe in Black and White is back from a holiday.
Mike at eyes on the road shares the first shots of his day stalking the sun.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery has two posts (1,2) from his time at Tonto National Forest Park in Arizona.
Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception shares some behind-the-scenes shots from a recent workshop.
John of John Nack on Adobe is back from a recent trip to Ireland.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips shares a shortcut for switching modules. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about color, previewing adjustments, the quick selection tool, and resizing your window.
Jenny at Photo Two-Twenty - "A Mendocino Neighborhood"
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer - "Hill Top"
Scott of Photoshop Insider was recently interviewed on Photo Talk Radio.
Justin from Photoshop Quicktips and Seeley Media has a video about using calculations to create a grayscale image.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "Falls under the old bridge"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Untitled #66"
David of Strobist has an interesting post on using specular reflections as background elements and includes some sketches of the setup as well as examples of the effect.
Clayton of The C Spot won the guitar in the What the Duck auction. Congrats!
Andy of The Global Photographer is offering a new custom profile service for inkjet printers. And speaking of profiles, Andy is the next subject in my profile series which will be posted tomorrow!
Tom of Tom Moore Fine Art Photography - "Amy & John"
Andy of Visual Realia - "So Small a Flower"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #276"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Pit Stop"
Ben of Where is Ben? - "Exploring Maroon Bells"

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Two Months and Counting

2007-08-13T09:24:00.000-05:00

The P&P Weekly will be posted tomorrow instead of in its usual Monday slot due to a busy weekend.

Kim was a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding on Saturday so I got to meet a number of people that will be coming to ours. We saw some things that we might consider including in our plans, other things that wouldn't be "us," and had an all-in-all good time.

With the wedding this weekend, we both have been growing more excited about our own which is now exactly two months from today. As the groom got up to speak, he said how he wasn't at all nervous and I can honestly say that I'm not either. I can't wait!

As I wait for DHL to deliver the new laptop - it's out for delivery! - I will leave you with a shot I took on Friday of the tractor from the summer camp I went to as a kid and volunteered and worked at in college. (We're working on a video for them and I was down there last week gathering footage.)

Until then...

Geographic Composition #3: Reflections

2007-08-10T00:54:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week three of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "reflections." For some it was about the physical reflections on glass, water, or a mirror or even the simple fact that what we see is the reflection of light off of the subject(s). Others took the more contemplative meaning. And another went with a combination of the two with a surreal twist.

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

"I Wonder As I Wander"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA
"One Fish... Two Fish"
Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
"Live Crab"
Amy Archer - Sweden
"Anticipation" ("Where's the Camera #2")
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY
"Glass, Mirror and Light"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA

Impossible Shots

2007-08-09T08:45:00.000-05:00

From time to time I like to have a little fun and create images that are a little surreal. Awhile back I put this one together as an homage to M.C. Escher and his drawing of hands drawing each other.

I also once created an image of myself standing in front of a mirror with my hands held out in front of me and you saw the hands sticking into the frame - in addition to the reflection - so it appeared as though there was no camera. It was an impossible shot.

For tomorrow's edition of Geographic Composition, I have submitted a similar shot and thought I would share a link to some cool shots that I came across when I first attempted this type of image. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find one anywhere. Does anyone know of this type of shot and know where I may find more?

Royal Motel #2

2007-08-08T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here's another look at the sign for the Royal Motel that I used for my entry into last week's Geographic Composition. I think I like this one a little better because I have the ground in the shot, which allows me to add the graduated lens blur to add depth and I took a little more time on the mask of the sign so it's a little cleaner, selection-wise. I also removed part of an "apartment for rent" sign that was sitting on the lawn near the sign - which is why I initially went with the other shot.

Finally!

2007-08-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

They have the new set!

P&P Weekly: #42

2007-08-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Wildflowers"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#5606"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "American Flag Hot Air Balloon"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography has a photo on a billboard.
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography - "Meadow Walkway"
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Brooklyn Bridge & Willow" and "Trees #2 (Central Park) "
Dave at Dave Cross Online asks what his readers think about the iPhone.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Red Rock Waterfall"
Mike at eyes on the road has more tips for shooting on a rainy day.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery is trying out the Dragonizer action set.
Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception is stranded in South America
John of John Nack on Adobe has a post about gigantic typography.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a tip about using the target adjustment tool. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about actions, inverting, and filling layers.
Jenny at Photo Two-Twenty found a new site to share your photos.
Scott of Photoshop Insider has a new CS3 book out.
Justin from Photoshop Quicktips and Seeley Media shows us how to create an Apple-inspired design.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "After the rain"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Up Ship Creek"
David of Strobist shares a link to a site with a video about balancing ambient light and a flash.
Clayton of The C Spot has another shot up from the Upper Falls on the Cheat River.
Andy of The Global Photographer has one of his shots featured on the splash page of Naturescapes.net
Andy of Visual Realia - "Idleness"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #271"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Bling Bling"
Ben of Where is Ben? is going to be leading a Galapagos Islands workshop.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Geographic Composition #2: Signs

2007-08-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week two of Geographic Composition! Each week a number of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For this week, our theme is "signs."

Please take a moment to view the participants' blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

"Royal Motel"
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY

"The Crooked Path"
Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA

"Seventy"
Amy Archer - Sweden
"What Do You See?"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA

"Hill Top Sign"
Jim Larimer - Denver, CO

Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

"The Artist Is In"
Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA

Antique Sign

2007-08-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

Here's another shot from last weekend. This is an antique Arby's sign along my street. There seems to be an effort in North Syracuse to keep some of the old fashioned signs to give the area a certain amount of character.

(Sorry for the late posting, we spent most of the day taping at a local steel mill and just got back.)

New Home

2007-08-01T07:46:00.000-05:00

While out looking for shots for this week's edition of Geographic Composition I came across this sign marking entry into North Syracuse, NY - my new hometown. I had lived in this city as a child and had always known the street I currently live on to be called either Route 11, Main Street, or Plank Road. I had never questioned why it was called "Plank Road" nor had I ever taken the time to look closely enough at the sign to know - and I'm usually the type of person to notice such things.

Anyway, a little piece of American history.

Coming Soon!

2007-07-31T09:54:00.000-05:00

The new laptop is being built.

Since I do some work from home and we also use the same computer onsite for event work, the company just purchased a new laptop that will also be for my personal use.

It is a Dell Vostro 1500:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 1.8GHz, 800Mhz FSB, 2M L2 Cache
15.4 inch Wide Screen SXGA+ display with TrueLife LCD
2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 DIMM
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive

It will be running Windows Vista Business and Office 2007 as well as PS and GoLive CS2 and LR 1.1 once we load it all up when it arrives. (CS3 isn't quite in the budget yet.)

P&P Weekly: #41

2007-07-30T01:34:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Watching the day go by"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "#5580"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Jenn in Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - Jillian and Brian
Chris of Chis Orwig Photography is our newest member - Welcome! - "Yosemite - Merced River Reflections"
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "View from Belvedere Castle" and "Tree, Lexington Ave"
Dave at Dave Cross Online talks about using Zoomify with a pano.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Sunrise in Glacier"
Richard from Europe in Black and White was just mentioned in a magazine.
Mike at eyes on the road wrote a post about quality of light and not letting bad weather get in the way of your shooting.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery has a series from the Civil War Trail and others.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is a post about painting with light.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips shares a link to some web templates. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt talks about masks, spell checking and global light.
Lynda of One Day at a Time - "Speckled Clovers"
Jenny at Photo Two-Twenty - "Mendocino Church"
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer will be joining in the Geographic Composition project.
Scott of Photoshop Insider talks about new equipment insurance for NAPP members as well as some custom brush sets (also only for NAPP members)
Justin from Photoshop Quicktips and Seeley Media shares some news.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "The Lonely Rose"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "The Old Man of Saltlick Bay #3"
David of Strobist shares a link to Annie Leibovitz's Vanity Fair covers as a group shot master class.
Tom of Tom Moore Fine Art Photography has a really nice series from a recent engagement shoot.
Andy of Visual Realia - "Nature's Yellow"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #268, 269"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Reach for the Skies"
Ben of Where is Ben? - "Shooting Without Showers"

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Geographic Composition #1: Beginnings

2007-07-27T11:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the new weekly photo project Geographic Composition! Each week five of my fellow photobloggers and I will submit an image based on a common theme from our scattered locations around the world. Even though the theme is the same, our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live will shape the images we create and offer a varied interpretation on the topic of the week.

For week one, our theme is "beginnings." For one it is an image of a new member of the family, for another, a sunset. For one it is moving in to a new home, and to another it is a story of a man who tills the field hoping for rain in order to feed his family.

Please take a moment to view the participants blogs and also, if you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment below.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

Jenny Arnez - Rancho Cardova, CA
"Moving In"
Jason D. Moore - North Syracuse, NY
Jon Erikson - San Miguel de Allenda, Mexico
"Sunrise In Glacier"
Erik Persson - Seattle, WA
"Nellie"
Amy Archer - Sweden Andrew Smith - Hanover, PA

Hardware Difficulties

2007-07-26T14:27:00.001-05:00

Sorry everyone. The laptop I use at home decided to start the decline towards death last night right when I was going to start preparing a post for today. So I was a little preoccupied trying to figure things out - we're actually going to end up getting a new one - and didn't have time to come up with anything interesting for today.

However, be that as it may, tomorrow is the premier post of a new weekly photo project! So please come back tomorrow to see what my partners and I have come up with!

P&P Blogger Profile: Chris Orwig

2007-07-25T14:51:00.001-05:00

Chris Orwig of Chris Orwig Photography (Blog)

I’m a teacher, author, surfer, husband, dad, lover-of-life. (Click here for a video introduction.)

Why do you blog?
“Photography is about savoring life at 1/100th of a second.” Marc Riboud. It gives me a way to savor daily life.

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Quite a while, yet for me it’s more a question of creativity and I was brought up in a creative home and trace who I am and how I see to the early days.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
All kinds… Whatever is on my shoulder.

Mac or PC?
Either

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
The camera manual.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Equipment is cool but I’d rather be like Picasso… “If they took away my paints I’d use pastels. If they took away my pastels I’d use crayons. If they took away my crayons I’d use pencils. If they stripped me naked and threw me in prison I’d spit on my finger and paint on the walls.”

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Jay Maisel was once asked, “What do I need to do to create better photographs.” He replied, “Become a more interesting person.” And I concur.

What inspires you to create?
As a kid my mom told me, “there’s no such thing as bad art.” She lied, but that is a truth that I hold onto. It inspires me. It gives me freedom. It reminds me that it is about creativity and process.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Listen.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Anywhere with my three girls (wife and 2 daughters).

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Read. Bike. Surf. Hike. Camp, Play. Swim. Guitar.

What talent would you most like to have?
Authenticity.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Sojourn
What turns you on? Life.
What sound or noise do you love? My daughters' laughter
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Well done.

Chris Orwig

2007-07-24T12:26:00.000-05:00

On the search for inspiration, I came across the website and blog of West Coast photographer Chris Orwig by way of fellow blogger Jenny Arnez of Photo Two-Twenty in her list of photographers who motivate her. Take a look!

P&P Weekly: #40

2007-07-23T12:27:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lapse last week. I'm finally into the new place. We just have to pick up a couple of things and turn in the keys for the old place.

Be on the look out this Friday for the first installment of our new photo project! We're always open to suggestions for topics/themes so please leave your comments.

Now that I'm back, here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Seattle Skyline"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Motel Still Life #2"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Sherer's Hill, 5:48 p.m."
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography has a new blog with more great wedding photography.
Mike of Creative Sweet TV - Stack Mode in PS CS3 - "The Photoshop People Remover"
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com - "Southern View"
Dave at Dave Cross Online shares what he would look like as a Simpsons character.
Jason of Designfruit has a cool new t-shirt from Veer.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Locked Up With Locks"
Richard from Europe in Black and White is spending some time in Japan.
Mike at eyes on the road is back from Canada and shares some of his thoughts and a shot of fireworks.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery has a series from the Manassas Battlefield.
Joey from Joey Lawrence: Perception is back with a few of his new band promo shots.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is a post about Star Wars art.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a tip for deleting photos and offers inspiration via John Lehet. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt has some keyboard shortcuts for adjustment layers.
Photo Two-Twenty is our newest blog - Welcome! - and will be part of the upcoming weekly photo project.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer - "Orchid"
Scott of Photoshop Insider has a new video tutorial on converting to B&W in CS3.
Justin from Photoshop Quicktips and Seeley Media is back with a couple of new videos.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "Overlooking the dam"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Sideways"
David of Strobist has a great post about shooting underwater.
Clayton of The C Spot has also been "Simpsonized"
Andy of The Global Photographer has posted the configuration settings and a field report for his Canon EOS 1DMkIII.
Andy of Visual Realia - "Simplicity"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #261, 263"
Ben of Where is Ben? has so many great shots this week, I can't pick a favorite.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

I'm Well Connected

2007-07-20T19:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting today. At work we're at the front end of duplicating nearly 4,000 CDs and DVDs for various projects this month, which kept me more than occupied during the first half of the day. I left around lunchtime to come home and wait for the rep from the cable company (sometime between 12 and 5!) to stop by to hook up my cable and high-speed. So now, I'm all set!

P&P Workflow: #10

2007-07-19T11:43:00.000-05:00

by Jason D. Moore

Over the next couple of weeks we will be working with a local community theater's production of The Wizard of Oz. In the course of the show, there is a scene where the Wicked Witch of the West writes the words "Surrender Dorothy" across the sky. Being in a theater, they are unable to recreate that for obvious logistical reasons. However, through the magic of video projection, we created an animation to simulate the skywriting - albeit a simple soft-edged wipe across each line.

This may be a pretty basic tutorial, and one that I don't use too often, but I thought it might be helpful.

Step One: Create a new document of your desired size. (Here I used the standard NTSC DV size (720x540 with square pixels) because we are projecting it.) and type in your text. (I used Arial Narrow.)

Step Two: Next, right-click (Mac: Ctrl+Click) on your text layer and select "Create Work Path." Hide your text layer and create a blank layer above it. Your resulting view should look like this:
Step Three: Next, set your brush to a cloud shape (if you are going for this similar effect) and make sure your settings in the Brushes panel are appropriate to your desired effect.

Step Four: In the Paths panel, with the blank layer still selected and the work path highlighted, click on the button at the bottom called "Stroke Path With Brush"
And here is your final image (I added a Curves adjustment to ad more contrast):
*If you would like to contribute to the P&P Workflow, please email Jason.

The FSTOP

2007-07-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

"The FSTOP is an online magazine featuring the work of top advertising, editorial, and fine art photographers. Published six times a year, each issue explores the work of four professionals. Articles combine an in-depth interview with a comprehensive behind-the-scenes deconstruction of the process of creating one powerful image from the photographer’s recent portfolio."

(Via Strobist)

WTD Turns One!

2007-07-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

What the Duck, friend-of-the-blog, is celebrating it's first anniversary today!

Congratulations Aaron on all of your success! I don't know how you come up with such witty strips every day. Thanks for sharing with all of us! Bravo, my friend!

Scrim Jim in Action

2007-07-17T09:23:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is a shot of our new Westcott Scrim Jim setup. In this configuration we are using the heavier diffuser to flag off stray light as it filters through the leaves in the tree. Even though we were shooting in the shade - which often provides a softer, more even lighting scheme anyway - the Scrim Jim helped to eliminate any moving spots of light that would appear on the subjects during the shoot and distract the viewer.

We used a similar setup throughout the day and were extremely pleased with the results. We did notice, however, that it would be beneficial to have a second frame and stands so that we could setup one of the other surfaces behind the subject to stop down the background in the bright sunlight in addition to the one overhead.

P&P Weekly: Break

2007-07-16T08:34:00.000-05:00

Kim and I are in the process of moving into our first apartment together as we approach our wedding in October. So, as you can imagine, I've been busy carrying heavy things all weekend and didn't have the time or energy to write up the P&P Weekly for this week. Also, since my cable and internet won't be activated until this Friday, I couldn't even go online to see what everyone else was writing about in order to put it together, let alone post it.

With that said, I'll be writing from work this week so please bear with me as I make this transition.

In the meantime, please review the list of sites in the sidebar and see what my fellow bloggers have been posting!

Also, I've had a great response from a number of photographers interested in taking part in the upcoming photo project. We're up to 6 from various parts of the US and abroad. I don't want to exclude anyone and I want some representation from other countries so if you're interested, there's still time to participate. Also, if you have any themes or topics that you would like to see us cover, please leave a comment here.

Geographic Composition

2007-07-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

In response to my post from yesterday fellow blogger Jon Erikson, of San Miguel Photo of the Day, emailed me with a great suggestion for a collaborative photo project. He suggested that we develop a list of topics and each week the photographers involved would submit a new photo based on their interpretation of the topic for me to post here (I'm thinking on Fridays).

The part that I like is having photographers from all over offering a perspective from different cultures. Certainly me, being from the Northeast US, will have a different take than Jon in Mexico, which would be different still from someone from the Midwest or West Coast of the US, and even more so from someone in Europe, Asia, Australia, etc. The juxtaposition of the multiple views of the selected topic could be really interesting.

Right now, we have me and Jon and I would like to invite members of the blogroll and regular visitors to consider taking part. Without going overboard with the number of people, I'd like to get a broad spectrum of photographers involved from as many regions as possible (both US and, especially, non-US). Email me if you are willing to join us and post a comment here with ideas for topics you'd like to see and possible names for the project.

Thanks again, Jon, for the suggestion! And I look forward to getting things off the ground!

100 Self Portraits in 100 Days

2007-07-12T08:47:00.000-05:00

While looking at my site stats yesterday I came across a post from Blazing Monkey, one of the blogs that links to me, about 15 year old Icelandic photographer, Thorsteinn Cameron (Captain Cameron). Late last year he set himself to the task of creating 100 self portraits in 100 days.

It's a great series of shots from simple to wacky to surreal and back again, each shot showing a different side of the photographer (sometimes literally) and often utilizes varying photographic and post-production techniques. He tried to stretch his scope of vision and creative abilities with each outing and finally found his own personal style in the midst of this process.

It's a fascinating endeavor. I've always wanted to try something like this but have never had the time or discipline to keep it up. Every 6 months or so it seems I drag up this idea to do some ongoing photo project. I've posted twice before (here & here) about different concepts and an invitation to partner in a project like this - without any luck.

So, in another attempt to get something going, if you have any ideas and/or would like to work with me on something like this, please email me and we'll see what we can come up with.

IDP: Vincent Versace

2007-07-11T09:31:00.000-05:00

Scott Shepard over at Inside Digital Photo has a great interview with photographer, author, and trainer Vincent Versace about the differences between a photographer and an image maker and reasons for breaking the photo rules for the sake of the image.

Hear Vincent’s insights and philosophies about the techniques he uses to capture the moment and angle of the image rather than just a record of an object...
the difference between a picture and capturing the moment lies in the eye of the photographer. Using the right equipment for the assignment, being prepared for anything, and having the confidence in your vision are all concepts that impact your ability to take outstanding images...
Vincent is in process of writing an in-depth new book that hopes to teach photographers and enthusiasts to train their eye and mind to become a better photographer. An image maker can capture a shot, and utilize a range of available digital editing and image modification applications to enhance their story and vision. His philosophy begins behind the lens and feels that too many photographers today end up relying on the adage “I’ll fix it in PhotoShop” rather than strive to take better composed images at point of capture.

One of my pet peves that Vincent seems to share is when people will do something in Photoshop simply because they can and they think that it will show that they "Photoshopped" it. They use the tools and filters because they are there, not necessarily because an image will benefit from their use.

The mark of an artist, of any kind, is making the complex seem effortless. You see the results of the time and skill without seeing the effort. It's a lot like watching pairs figure skating or ballet. You see the grace of the dancer/skater lifting his partner in the air for a particular move but you don't actually see the strength that it takes (you don't see him straining). It's the lightness and smoothness that makes the difference; it's the skill and training that goes into it.

P&P Blogger Profile: Tom Moore

2007-07-10T09:52:00.000-05:00

Tom Moore of Tom Moore Fine Art Photography

I will try and give you the quick and dirty version here, but if you want the feature length version check this out.

First and foremost I am grateful father of a incredibly smart and beautiful daughter and the lucky husband of a beautiful and loving wife. While I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio we live and work in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Photography has always been a passion of mine but initially I never intended for it to be more than that. I went to school for Marine Policy and have an awesome job working for NOAA on restoring wetlands and coral reefs ever since. While I have always loved the art of photography, I never considered it more than that up until a few years ago when people started insisting they pay me for my art. So slowly over the last couple of years I have begun to grow a small photography business as my “fun job”. I use the quotes around fun because I guess everything is pretty relative as my NOAA job is pretty fun in and of itself, you won’t catch me complaining about being paid to dive on coral reefs. So here I am a few years later I still love my day job and my “fun job” is booming so much that I am starting to have to turn clients away (Having time with my family is still my first priority).

Why do you blog?
I started as casual reader of a few photography blogs (mainly David Hobby’s Strobist and Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider) from there I keep finding links to other blogs and other photographers. I found myself not only learning a lot from other photographers via their blogs but also gaining quite a bit of inspiration. More than once when I would create a cool new photo or come upon something new or interesting I found myself wanting to share it with the rest of the community, I found myself wanting to blog.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
David Hobby’s Strobist
Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider
John Nacks’s John Nack on Adobe

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Photographer since age 7 (gotta love the old 110’s) and a Photoshop user since the early 1990’s on an old school Mac Classic.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
I just got the brand new Canon 1D Mark III and it is sweet…

Mac or PC?
PC but I long to get back to the Mac

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
My off camera flash/lighting equipment (thanks to Strobist)

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
A set of four Pocket Wizard Multi Max’s.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Take lots of pictures, be creative, push yourself but remember success in today’s market requires both talent and business savvy.

What inspires you to create?
Other photographers and my daughter Olivia

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Always work in a career you find personally and professionally fulfilling. Also never under estimate the amazing impact that children and true love can have on your life, I am blessed to have both.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
San Diego, Hawaii or the South Pacific

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Run my photography business of course… actually I love to sail

What talent would you most like to have?
Teleportation

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Solution
What is your least favorite word? Problem
What turns you on? People who go above and beyond to make things work…
What turns you off? People who don’t even try…
What sound or noise do you love? Sailing at night (Ocean, Wind, Waves)
What sound or noise do you hate? Glass Breaking
What is your favorite curse word? F$%k
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Politician
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Anything not fulfilling
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Thanks for your hard work, do you mind going back?

P&P Weekly: #39

2007-07-09T09:27:00.000-05:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Friends-of-the-Blog Scott Kelby - for his kind words on his blog - and Dave Cross - for his mention of my blog on NAPP TV last week. You guys are great!

Just a quick note about the P&P Weekly for those of you for whom this may be your first look at it, I write up a weekly roundup of what the members of my blogroll have been posting. They quite often have so many great posts each week but I will choose the ones I personally find the most interesting to include. But I encourage you to visit their sites to take a look at what else they have to share.

In the meantime, here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Columbia"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Motel Still Life 1"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Jakey Takes a Breather, 8:30pm"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - "Cindi and Corey"
Mike of Creative Sweet TV - InDesign CS3
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com has a number of shots from Coney Island. My favorite from this week is "Coney Island Coaster"
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a tip about easily aligning text.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Grand Prismatic Spring"
Richard from Europe in Black and White is breifly back in town before heading out on a couple of adventures.
Mike at eyes on the road has been spending some time up in Montreal.
Jeff of Jeff's Photo Gallery is our newest member - Welcome! - and has some photos from a recent shoot at Great Falls.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is a link to a new Lightroom web gallery.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a video tip on sharpening in Lightroom 1.1. And over at Photoshop Killer Tips Matt has a series of tips for Camera Raw.
Lynda of One Day At a Time - "Into the Sun"
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer - "Cripple Creek House"
Scott of Photoshop Insider has a number of cool links in his news updates as well as some nice shots from the annual company cruise.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "The Race"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "No Place Like Home"
David of Strobist is enjoying his new working situation and shares some of the new things he's doing with his blog.
Clayton of The C Spot has a new shot of his dog Chico.
Andy of The Global Photographer has some shots from his recent safari to Tanzania. I'm a sucker for the elephant.
Tom of Tom More Fine Art Photography has a review of his new Canon 1d Mk III.
Andy of Visual Realia - "Written in Nature"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #250, 253"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "And Now For Something..."
Ben of Where is Ben? - Exploring Salton City

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Westcott Scrim Jim

2007-07-06T07:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we received a delivery from B&H of our new Westcott Scrim Jim kit. The medium kit comes with a 42"x72" frame, silver, white, and diffusion surfaces. We occasionally shoot some interviews outside and the surfaces would work great for reflecting the sun to light the shadow side of a face, diffusing sunlight altogether, or setting up behind the subject to stop down the background to allow for a more even lighting scheme.

Late next week we have a shoot scheduled where we will be putting the rig to work and I will try to snap a few of our setup with some before and after shots.

P&P Blogger Profile: Jeff Revell

2007-07-05T08:31:00.001-05:00

Jeff Revell of Jeff's Photo Gallery

I am a photographer for Uncle Sam. Actually, I’m not even really a photographer anymore; I’m a Supervisory Photographer, which means I just tell other photographers what to take pictures of.

Why do you blog?
I started taking pictures again for myself about three years ago and was inspired to start blogging after my buddy Scott Kelby first put up his Photoshop Insider blog. I just thought it was a great way of sharing what I was up to and where I had been shooting.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Obviously Photoshop Insider is my main staple. www.scottkelby.com
Terry White’s Tech Blog always has great stuff. http://terrywhite.com/techblog/
Finally I guess it would be PhotographyBLOG. http://www.photographyblog.com/

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I have been shooting since I was in high school. That puts it at about 25 years now. Having been a Windows user from the beginning of my computing days, I didn’t jump on board with Photoshop until version 2.5. At the time I was wrestling between that and Aldus Photostyler. After Adobe purchased Photostyler, it was all Photoshop from there on out.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
There are several that I like. I am a Nikon guy so I would have to say that I love the D80 but still have a warm fuzzy place for my D100. The D200 is also a very sweet rig.

Mac or PC?
I have been a PC guy for more years than I can count but I have recently started using Mac. I love both platforms and they each have their plusses and minuses. In fact I had to send my Powerbook back to Apple just two days after buying it because the motherboard fried. There is no such thing as a bulletproof system.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
I would have to say it’s my Tamrac Adventure 9 photo backpack. I was always leaving my SLR behind on business trips because I couldn’t fit it in my computer backpack. Now I have the best of both worlds, It is a great system that let’s me take my laptop, a digital SLR, three to four lenses, and a bunch of accessories with me on the plane. The best part though is that it is slim enough that I can slide it under the seat in front of me so I can access the computer during flights.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
I would love, love, love to have an Epson 3800 printer.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Shoot for yourself, not for others. It is great when other people like what you have done but the bottom line is, if you don’t like it, why do it at all. Also, try to find yourself a good mentor who can offer advice when you need it.

What inspires you to create?
I started shooting in high school and fell in love with the black and white process. To stand in the darkroom and watch the image I shot appear on the paper as it soaked in the developer was almost magical (and I still love the smell of fixer). I just really enjoy looking for items to shoot in creative ways. If you look at my car shots, you’ll never see one of the whole car. Anyone can take a picture of the entire car but that’s all it is. To me, the parts are more interesting than the whole.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Do what you can do, in the time you have to do it. There’s only 24 hours in the day, no matter how hard you try to squeeze in a little more. Also, don’t be a hermit. It’s a big world out there and everyone should try to see as much of it as they can in their lifetime. You can learn a lot about yourself by exploring other cultures.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I could definitely live in Hawaii for a couple of years. Maybe not for the rest of my life but certainly until I had photographed every waterfall.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
What spare time? I love doing things with my kids, traveling overseas, fishing with my friends, spending time with my wife, all the things there’s never enough time to do enough of.

What talent would you most like to have?
I always thought it would be really cool to play an instrument. I was so jealous the first time I heard Scott Kelby play the keyboards. What a talented guy.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Antidisestablishmentarianism (just because)
What is your least favorite word? No
What turns you on? Planning a photo excursion. My trip to Cambodia last year was unbelievable.
What turns you off? People that whine
What sound or noise do you love? The sound of my children laughing
What sound or noise do you hate? My alarm clock in the morning (unless it’s waking me to go fish or shoot a sunrise)
What is your favorite curse word? Is my Mom going to read this? I do have a tendency to curse at work a lot but s**t would probably top the list.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? I always thought that being a photojournalist would be the coolest job in the world, especially for National Geographic. Joe McNally comes to mind.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Have you ever seen the show “Dirty Jobs”? Just about anything that Mike Rowe has done on there would be on the list.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “You’ve done good boy, we’ll just overlook that other stuff. Now go see your dogs, they’ve been waiting for you.”

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

Look Mom, I'm On NAPP TV!

2007-07-03T15:08:00.000-05:00

I was at a meeting out of the office for most of the afternoon and missed the posting of the latest episode of NAPP TV by a little while. So, when I returned I saw that iTunes had updated my podcast list with this week's show and low and behold there's Dave Cross - friend of the blog - giving me a mention! Thanks guys for helping spread the word and for being such great supporters of Soup Questions!

If anyone is interested in reading some of the profiles that Dave spoke about on the show (including all 3 of the Photoshop Guys), click here for a complete list. And I'm always looking for new subjects, so please, let me know of someone you'd like to see profiled!

Lightning

2007-07-03T08:29:00.000-05:00

Ever since I was a kid I've loved thunderstorms. My parents would always laugh whenever there was any thunder or lightning so my brother and I wouldn't be scared of it. Now, I love to just sit at watch a storm move in and see how the lightning lights up the clouds.

Check out this site of lightning photos. Post links in the comments if you know of or find any other cool lightning shots.

P&P Weekly: #38

2007-07-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Off I go again"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Bench"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Morning Hike, Secret Swamp"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography shows us an example of adding textures to portraits.
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com writes about the new shooting regulations in NYC.
Dave at Dave Cross Online highlights our own Joey Lawrence.
Jason of Designfruit tells us of a project he's been working on called Songpull.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "On the Roof Again"
Richard from Europe in Black and White - "Bench III"
Mike at eyes on the road is catching up on processing from his recent trip to Colorado before heading out on the road again.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is his post about Dilbert, a Lego US Map, Samurai Hampsters, and the "art" of fruit flies on cocaine.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips and Photoshop Killer Tips. (There was an issue with Word Press last night when I was doing the P&P Weekly and was unable to review Matt or Scott's blogs at the time of writing.)
Lynda of One Day At a Time - "Fully Blossomed"
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer - "Approaching Storm"
Scott of Photoshop Insider
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. "Reading by the pool"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Hand in Hand"
David of Strobist has a post about how one of his readers created a DIY Soft Box.
Tom of Tom More Fine Art Photography - "Matt and Vanessa" and "The Flying Wedding Veil"
Andy of Visual Realia - "She Hath Wings"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #245, 247"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Archerman"
Ben of Where is Ben? is on his way to Rialto, CA.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Lightroom 1.1 Sharpening Tip

2007-06-29T16:58:00.000-05:00

With the new sharpening capabilities of the latest release of Lightroom you need to be able to tell how each of the sliders affect your image. Like with the Exposure and Blacks sliders, if you hold down the Alt key while adjusting any of the sharpening sliders the image will temporarily turn gray emphasizing how the image is effected. One of the great things about the new Lightroom sharpening, as evidenced by the image going gray, is that these adjustments are only on the luminance of the photo.

Graduation 2007

2007-06-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned on Monday, this past Saturday my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Marjorie, graduated from high school and I was tasked with the job of photographing the ceremony and grabbing all the family shots.

Now, I'm no event photographer, but I think there are certainly a few keepers in there. If you click here you can see a gallery - created in Lightroom - of my best shots from the day (23 of about 100). Just a note, I noticed that I've had to hit refresh once the page came up in order for the images to actually load.

In these shots you will mostly see Marjorie but you will also find Kim (with and without the family dog, Buddy), their youngest sister Sarah, and their parents Ken and Terry.

One thing I noticed was that whenever I moved up to get some shots, everyone with a point-and-shoot or video camera started moving towards me. Maybe it was my Nikon D200 with a 56-200mm lens or the fact that I was using a monopod instead of hand-holding it. Granted, most amateurs don't always know what a good angle to shoot from would be so they follow the person who seems to know what he/she is doing thinking that they will get the same shot. The difference isn't just the camera or the monopod but knowing how to compose a shot.

I get this a lot during events I do with work. I'm on the primary video camera for live events and I setup where I will get a good shot of the podium, good angles on the whole stage, and the ability to get as unobstructed shots as possible of everything else. It's not always the best spot for stills. But, without fail, whenever anyone wants a shot they will gather around my position to snap a few. I can't blame them, but I do smile to myself every time.

NOTE: All of the shots in the gallery were initially processed in Lightroom. Some sharpening was added to the faces in Photoshop (before Lightroom 1.1 was released) and, for a couple of the family shots, I replaced the faces of those who were blinking or looking away with those from other shots. That is why I take multiple shots of the same setup/pose.

P&P Workflow: #9

2007-06-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

Lightroom 1.1 Edition
by Jason D. Moore

Before:
Taken of my fiancee, Kim, at her parents' house in Bainbridge, NY on 6/23/2007 at 3:24:59PM (EST). Taken with available light, no flash. By the way, I used my future mother-in-law's cream-colored shirt as a reflector to cast the side light on Kim and Buddy. It just happened that way as she was sitting in the sun off camera which offered a nice soft light.

Nikon D200
Program Mode
56.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 lens
1/100 at f/5.0
ISO 400
Focal Length 62mm
RAW

In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.1 (Develop Module):

Basic:
White Balance: (Set to Auto in the camera and adjusted to:)
-Temp: 4941
-Tint: -13
-Exposure: -0.24
-Recovery: 0
-Fill Light: 11
-Blacks: 19
-Clarity: 27

Saturation:
Purple, Magenta: -100

Detail - Sharpening:
-Amount: 120
-Radius: 1.0
-Detail: 76
-Masking: 0

Lens Vignetting:
-Amount: -100
-Midpoint: 22

After:

Now, I'm not totally up to speed on all the new features and improvements in LR 1.1 but after just playing around with it, I must say that, at the very least, the sharpening is way beyond what it once was. Clarity adds some midtone contrast and it really added some depth.

There was one small thing I noticed so far that I'm not sure I like. When you are cropping, you do have the ability to constrain the aspect ratio or not. However, in this version, the icon isn't as obvious as to whether or not the aspect ratio is locked. The yoke on the lock is either up or down which isn't as quickly identifiable as locked or not as the older icon.

But all-in-all I like what I've seen so far.

*If you would like to contribute to the P&P Workflow, please email Jason.

Lightroom 1.1

2007-06-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

As you may have read already, Adobe has just released the update to Lightroom v.1.1 (You can download it here: Win, Mac). There are a number of discussions posted out there about what the new features are:

And Scott Kelby has some news over on his blog about the new release as well as a free version 1.1 PDF update to his Lightroom Book called "My Lightroom 1.1 Update Kit" that should be uploaded tomorrow.

I downloaded the update last night before bed and then again this morning at work. I am about to finally get a chance to play with it and I'll do a P&P Workflow post about it later on today along with my first impressions of the improvements and new features.

P&P Weekly: #37

2007-06-26T08:57:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Cadillac"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Car, Cuba"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Pohatcong Mercantile Basement Window"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography - Candice and Mark's wedding and tips for lighting headshots.
Mike at Creative Sweet TV has his latest video about Adobe Youtube Remix.
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com is taking a summer vacation from blogging in order to do some shooting.
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a tip about selecting similar layers.
Erik of Erik Persson Photography - "Hawk-Eye Shutter"
Richard from Europe in Black and White wrote a post about his recent printing experience.
Mike at eyes on the road writes about the first anniversary of That's My Monkey - Congrats!
Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception updates us on his current Eurotour.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is a link to a guy who got an Adobe Tattoo.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a tip about resetting the tone and a video about archiving photos. Also, over at Photoshop Killer Tips, Matt has posted about color coding actions, unit shortcuts, fixing skin color, and some tips about sliders.
Lynda of One Day At a Time has a nice shot of the Pacific Coast.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer has an interesting shot called "Piano, Plant and Photos"
Scott of Photoshop Insider shares some really interesting links in this week's Monday News.
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips and SeeleyMedia.com is back to posting.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. This week he has a number of shots from Dia de Locos en San Miguel de Allende.
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "2 plus 2"
David of Strobist has a great post about the depth of field of light.
Andy from The Global Photographer shares a nice shot of a giraffe and has a report on his recent and upcoming safaris.
Tom of Tom More Fine Art Photography is our newest member - Welcome! - and is new to blogging. He shares a little about himself and has a cool pano from a recent Colorado trip.
Andy of Visual Realia - "Out on the Bridges"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #242"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "It's Oh So Quiet" and "Theater of Dreams II"
Ben of Where is Ben? has some cool shots from Lower Antelope Canyon and shares some tips for travelers.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

That's My Monkey: Monkey 2.0

2007-06-25T08:06:00.000-05:00

Michael Snell of eyes on the road - friend of the blog - just announced a redesign of the photography site he and his brother Bruce - also a friend of the blog - manage, That's My Monkey, in honor of the site's first birthday. Congratulations on the first year!

In other news, it was a pretty full weekend so I have been delinquent with putting together the P&P Weekly for today. I'll work on it this evening and have it for you tomorrow. Also, over the weekend I wore the hat of "event photographer" for my soon-to-be-sister-in-law's high school graduation. Now, I'm not an event photographer at all, but I think some of the shots turned out. So be on the lookout for a few later this week.

In the meantime, congrats once again to Michael and Bruce!

Off-Topic

2007-06-22T08:11:00.000-05:00

I apologize for this being a little off-topic but, if you want to be technical about it, this is a photo so...

Kim and I have been deep into planning for our upcoming wedding (October 13th!) and each time a detail is figured out or another element is taken care of we find ourselves filled with more excitement.

Kim got her dress a couple of weeks ago, I was measured for my tux the other day, we're in the process of registering (through a cool site called http://www.idofoundation.org/ which partners with stores to donate a percentage of the proceeds to a charity of our choice - we're leaning towards Doctors Without Borders), we met with my friend Meredith who will be officiating, and we've just ordered our wedding rings (above). We wanted something unique and different and that would fit well with her engagement ring.

There's still a lot of little (and not so little) details to work out but I feel pretty good about where we are with everything. As much as I am excited about "The Day" I am even more overjoyed by the fact that I'll be married to such a wonderful woman.

Two Fish Illustration

2007-06-21T08:40:00.001-05:00

During the summer after high school, and again after sophomore year of college, I worked as a counselor at the camp I used to go to every summer growing up. My supervisor from those summers, Jake Souva, has just launched his own freelance illustration/graphic design services company called Two Fish Illustration & Design.

Jake has a very unique style, a vivid imagination, and is an all-around good guy. Take a few minutes to stop over and browse through his portfolios and enjoy!

State of the Art Blog: Paparazzi Product Placement

2007-06-20T09:17:00.000-05:00

I just caught this article over on PopPhoto/American Photo's State of the Art Blog. It appears as though celebrities may be taking advantage of all of the paparazzi shots taken of them. David Schonauer refers to a recent photo of Jennifer Aniston prominently holding a bottle of smarterwater - as she is their new spokeswoman - and since these shots get published all over, it's good advertising for the company.

For years, Los Angeles paparazzi have made a living shooting celebs walking out of Starbucks while slurping down lattes from the chain's signature cups. Talk about free advertising! Now, however, we may be seeing a new degree of confluence between celebrity photojournalism and product promotion. Jennifer Aniston, who recently signed on as a spokeswoman for smarterwater, seems to be traveling with a bottle in view, just in case the paparazzi strike... As much as celebs complain about the paparazzi,they have always known how to make good use of them. Expect to see much more of this kind of unholy marketing.

The Texture King

2007-06-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Sometime last year, I don't remember when or where, I came across a site called Texture King. This site offers totally free stock images of textures of all kinds. You don't have to be a member of anything, you don't have to sign in, all you have to do is go there, select the textures you like, and download the ZIP files. The site says:

The stock photographs on this site are free for use in any situation by anyone with only one exception. DO NOT sell, redistribute, or host any of the stock photos that are found on this site.

The above image was created using 8 different textures with a combination of blend modes, one mask, and a hue/saturation adjustment layer to remove some green that threw things off. I also feathered a duplicate layer in Multiply mode to add a little bit of a vignette.

P&P Weekly: #36

2007-06-18T08:50:00.000-05:00

It's been a tiring couple of weeks with work but I'm now back to a relatively normal schedule. So, back to it...

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Wheelin'"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Breakfast Special"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Intercloud Lightning"
Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography has a new home for his blog. In addition to his great wedding work, I particularly like his shot I'll call "486" from his recent trip to Colorado.
Mike of Creative Sweet TV has a new video up about a magazine-style retouching technique.
Dave at BeckermanPhoto.com has an interesting shot called "Under Bow Bridge"
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a keyboard shortcut for changing layer opacity.
Richard from Europe in Black and White has an article on how he creates his prints.
Mike at eyes on the road talks about high contrast black and whites in CS3.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is some links to DIY photo gear. He describes it aptly as "HWMS" or "How would MacGyver Shoot?" Also, he shares some info about printing in Photoshop CS3 and what he would look like if he were made with CS3 icons.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a video about renaming photos and a link to the photography of Neil and Susan Silverman. Also, over at Photoshop Killer Tips, Matt has posted about layer styles and your background layer, tool presets, resetting your warnings, and a tip for creating actions.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer continues with his alt-process prints.
Scott of Photoshop Insider has been teaching at the Sante Fe Workshops and shares some of his shots. I particularly like the shots of the boot and the man in this post.
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips and SeeleyMedia.com shares a number of great links from around the web.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. This week: "Dancing in the Streets"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Jean Robert"
Mike of Simply Photography: "Ring A Ring O'Roses"
David of Strobist has a cool post about using "voice-activated light stands" to create an interesting effect.
Andy from The Global Photographer shares hi Canon 1DMkIII configuration settings.
Andy of Visual Realia - "Art of Memory"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #238"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Theater of Dreams"
Ben of Where is Ben? celebrated his birthday (June 17) on the road in Los Osos, CA - Happy Birthday! He's been taking some interesting shots lately. My favorite so far, I think, is the bottom one in this post.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Adobe Magazine - June 2007

2007-06-15T09:09:00.001-05:00

As you may have heard - if you don't receive it, yourself - Adobe has just released their June issue of Adobe Magazine for Creative Professionals. I read the cover story a little while ago, written by magazine editor Kimberly Grob. It's a discussion with Jean-Francois Rauzier and Maggie Taylor about the process behind their digital composites and illustrations and how technology is catching up with their imaginations.

One of the points that I found to be particularly interesting - probably because it's so true - is that it takes so much time and effort to make things look simple, seamless, effortless. Whether there is a great deal of pre-planning or you're allowing the art to be created in the moment, it takes a hell of a lot of work to get every detail just right. At the scale these artists work - often in the billions of pixels - everything needs to be just so, because everything can be seen.

Grob also talks about the fact that Photoshop is a tool to help you unleash your creativity. While each filter, brush, selection tool, or action is meant to help you realize your vision, I see so often how easy it is to slip into the pattern of using something because it's there and thinking that it makes a high quality image. It's not, "Look, I can use this filter!" or, "I can put a person on a different background!" Granted it's a judgement call, and a very subjective one at that, but it's one thing to use a particular filter as an element in your overall process, but another to allow it to dominate your image. Besides, if you use the filters, etc. without massaging the image beyond that, your creation won't look original. It won't look professional. It will lack the sophistication you're probably looking for.

When creating out of the ordinary, crazy, innovative images it is important to find the balance between imaginative and realistic. Even with starkly contrasting elements and a unique vision the effort behind it needs to be invisible, the integration of all the pieces should be seamless, and the tools and effects used should enhance the image, not be the main subject of it. The viewer shouldn't be overwhelmed with the thought, "This was done in Photoshop."

Embedded Links on NAPP TV

2007-06-14T12:07:00.001-05:00

I know there has already been some talk about this, certainly on NAPP TV's site as well as Dave Cross and Scott Kelby's blogs, but I just got around to watching this week's NAPP TV and thought this new feature was just cool enough to mention.

One of the new features of the show as they continue with the construction of their new set and the rebranding, is the new clickable links. Whenever a site or event is mentioned, a URL will show up as a lower third and an icon will appear in the upper right of the screen indicating that you can click and be immediately directed to that site without having to pause the show. In case you may be confused by this new feature, watch this week's episode for a clever tutorial told in the style of one of those 50's "Hey, You Down There!" training videos.

By the way, the episodes shot on the temporary set have been getting better and better as the Photoshop Guys pile on more and more pizza boxes, snacks, and equipment - including their biggest fan (bad, I know). As always, you guys are not only educational, but entertaining as well. Bravo!

Reflections From the Road

2007-06-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

My apologies, once again, for my absence these past couple of weeks. It has been a whirlwind of activity taking us all over the Northeast in two directions at once each weekend.

We started off with one team here in Liverpool, NY with my brother and another crew down in King of Prussia, PA working with a conference based in New Jersey. Last weekend, my dad and a team were in Buffalo while my brother and I, as I mentioned on Monday, were down in Princess Anne, MD.

All 4 events went fairly well. No catastrophic failures, no serious glitches. And getting asked back for next year and/or renewing our multi-year contracts are definitely a good sign that we're doing something right.

In preparing for these events, we knew there were a number of things we had to do to upgrade our systems so that we could do multiple events at the same time as well as to improve on the issues we encountered in the past. We're always trying to get a little better each time.

This year, we bought new video switchers, new projectors and mounts, racked up as much as we could to minimize setup time, and mounted a robotic pan-tilt head on the truss we flew overhead in order to get better shots of the laying on of hands during the service of ordination (these have been religious conferences). This aptly nicknamed "God Camera" allowed us to get unobstructed views of the speakers at the podium, choirs performing on the stage, cutaways to some of the beautiful banners and backdrops they created, and even some shots of the crowd and an OTS (over-the-shoulder) of the organist.

Now, I'm a cameraman and my brother is a sound guy. I can direct and switch and Chris can run a camera, but neither is what we feel the most comfortable with, which added to the pressure of this event. However, since it was our 4th year in a row, we had everything pretty much under control. Next year, though, we hope to send Chris to do sound at the other conference while my dad would go to Maryland with me to switch so I can run camera. That way, we're all doing what we do best.

Up to this year rigging the truss and getting all of the images aligned was a bit of a trick and we had Chris along because he'd had some experience with rigging in college. Now, with the advancements we've made and having worked with him on it these past four years I am comfortable with everything we need to do, which will free him up to do the other.

All in all these were a couple of taxing but successful weeks. We had less stress than in previous years despite the added complications of doing more than one at a time. And equally if not more importantly, our clients were satisfied with our work, even blown away at times.

I'm Back, Sort Of...

2007-06-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

After another long weekend and almost 9 hours in a Ryder truck (minus about an hour for dinner at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach, DE - really good 4-cheese pizza, by the way) I finally pulled into home around 2:30 this morning after unloading all of our gear.

The events went well. We're all pretty whipped and happy for a day off or two to rest our weary bones. I'm in no state of mind to write anything intelligent or thoughtful right now, but I'll be back to blogging regularly in the next day or two.

Until then...

Inside Digital Photo

2007-06-05T08:47:00.000-05:00

Last week in the midst of my busyness I got an email from Scott Sheppard, CEO of Inside Media Networks and host of the Inside Digital Photo podcast, about his recent interview with Photoshop Guy - and friend of the blog - Scott Kelby.

I had first encountered IDP this past March when they featured a video tour of Photoshop Nomad - and another friend of the blog - Ben Willmore's home on wheels. It's definitely worth a look.

Back to Scott's interview with Scott, it's a fun look at the background of the NAPP, Scott's digital photo workflow, and what's been going on lately.

Learn about Scott’s current gear and workflow including a hands-on analysis of why he feels Adobe Lightroom is a better than using the tools built into Adobe PhotoShop CS3, especially if you are a professional photographer.
Scott also discusses the key benefits the NAPP organization provides to it’s members including discounts, tips, training, and best of all an extensive global community of other Adobe Photoshop users with which to network and share questions, ideas, and inspiration.
Hear why their semi-annual Photoshop World Conference & Expo is one of the premier technology learning events available and of course where to get one of Scott’s books. Scott Kelby is known for being the #1 best-selling computer/ technology author in the world for the past three years straight.
Keep up with Scott’s latest news at www.scottkelby.com and, if you are not already a member, join the National Association of Photoshop Professionals by visiting: http://www.photoshopuser.com

(And if you do, be sure to mention me as a referrer! - JDM)

My 38+ Hour Work Day

2007-06-01T04:42:00.000-05:00

I apologize for not having anything interesting to say today. We are in the midst of our conference season and will be virtually out of touch with the real world until Sunday, at which time we'll begin a brief recovery period before doing it all again next week.

Today - or shall I say "yesterday" since it's now 4:36am - was setup day. We unloaded our rental truck at around 8 and began setting up our gear. After a long day of hammering out many of the details and slaying all of the dragons that came our way - including me dropping a 70 pound speaker cabinet on my dad's head (we're both ok) - we finally had the chance to break free at a couple of minutes after 2am to head home for a couple of hours of shut-eye before our 8am call. That is, we thought we could get free...

When we went to have security lock up the main room with all of our equipment in it, they were less than able to adequately secure the space. So, with that, we decided that we would act as our own night watchmen and in a few very short hours the first session of the weekend will begin. And I won't be done until around 10:30pm tonight.

In short, I'm beyond tired and exist now in a state of pure exhaustion and, if I'm able to remain conscious today, I will be running mainly on the fear of screwing everything up. That said, next week will keep me from blogging much, if at all. My apologies. I'll try to put together the P&P Weekly, but I can't promise anything.

P&P Blogger Profile: Justin Seeley

2007-05-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

Justin Seeley of Seeley Media and Photoshop Quicktips

Justin Seeley is an Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert and graphic designer with nearly a decade of experience in the creative media industry. A recognized Photoshop trainer known for his straight-forward teaching style and creative prowess, his techniques have been featured on podcasts such as the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and Photoshop Tv, and his tutorials have appeared in publications such as Digit magazine. He is also the presenter for Total Training’s upcoming Advanced Photoshop CS3 series.

Why do you blog?
It’s the easiest way to interact with my audience on a daily basis and get them the necessary news as it happens.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider
Dave Cross’s Blog
PhotoshopNews.com

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Photoshop - 10 years
Photographer - 2 years (but I’m not much of a photographer)

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
Nikon D200

Mac or PC?
Mac would be my first choice. However, I am required to use both for training purposes.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
It’s a tie between my MacBook Pro and my Wacom Tablet.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
A Fully-loaded MacPro

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Never lose sight of your dreams and no matter what job lay in front of you, give it everything you've got!

What inspires you to create?
Music or television. I usually get that spark of creativity when watching a commercial or if a song happens to strike me the right way.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
"When success turns a man's head, he is facing failure." - Unknown

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I would love to live somewhere on the coast. Miami sounds nice…

What do you like to do in your spare time?
If I’m not working, you can find me on the golf course!

What talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able sing.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Inspiration
What is your least favorite word? Failure
What turns you on? Intelligence
What turns you off? Bigotry
What sound or noise do you love? Running Water
What sound or noise do you hate? Silence
What is your favorite curse word? Flatten (it’s the Photoshop “F” word)
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? PGA Pro What occupation would you not want to participate in? Tele-marketer
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Come on in… We’ve been expecting you!

*Note: If you would like to participate in the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with your blog's URL and he will send you a profile to fill out. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

P&P Blogger Profile: Joey Lawrence

2007-05-30T00:17:00.000-05:00

Joey Lawrence of www.joeyl.com

Joey L: 17 years old in years, 100 years old in life experience. Conceptual artistic and professional commercial photographer. www.joeyL.com. I havn’t been to a barber in over a year because I cut my own hair.

Why do you blog?
Huh? I don’t blog! I’m too busy. But I do keep a little news section and calendar to keep people up to date on where I’ve been on my website. I am very fortunate to travel around this beautiful Earth and meet the most interesting people.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
The Quran, The bible and perhaps a newspaper. (Nothing by those goons that took over Anne Landers though.)

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Three point five years/Two point five years

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
Most of my old stuff was done just with a plain old Minolta Dimage thing, but now I use the very schexy Canon 5D. When my Dimage broke I used a $5 disposable camera and nobody noticed. Right now I MAY just be using a pinhole camera, you’d never know.

Mac or PC?
I’ll be switching to Mac in about a week. I’m sure Windows is okay for some things though, I’m just becoming less of a fan each day. It’s not that important though, use whatever get’s the job done.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
Duct tape. I always find a use for it on shoots. One time I taped a strobe to a tree because I was frustrated with it’s stand.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
A tilt shift lense. I made one out of an old film lense, a body cap and some duct tape though. It works pretty well but I doubt it will survive the wear-and-tear I put my equipment through. That includes hopping fences, strolling through politically unstable countries and that urge I get to always light stuff on fire in the background of commercial work.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Experiment.

What inspires you to create?
I take a lot of acid.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Treat the dandelion as a flower. This is the most common thought running through my head, I’ve been thinking about this concept for a few years now.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Varanasi, India. It’s beautiful there. Time forgot it.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Try to answer the mass amounts of ridiculous e-mails I get.

What talent would you most like to have?
I still wish pokemon were real and I was the ultimate pokemon master.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? The
What is your least favorite word? Impossible. Cliché’s aside, it’s only because I can lick my own elbow you thilly goosth!
What turns you on? A very talented chick.
What turns you off? When girls type “lolz” on messenger chats. Laugh out loud… zebra? What the hell?
What sound or noise do you love? Music, it’s the closest thing to paradise I can experience with my ears.
What sound or noise do you hate? That sound of water in your ear.
What is your favorite curse word? Cuntassfuckeddyshitshit. I think I’ve actually said this once when I burnt myself with a hot glue gun.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Homeless man. I’m serious, it’s a very interesting lifestyle.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Anything to do with a circle-jerk.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
God: ”Hey babay… You got any more of your editing tutorial DVD’s left, my man? I can’t figure this shit out!”
Joey L: ”No God, but I am coming out with a new one soon”
God: ”Hey, nice product placement in this blog! I’m not stupid!”

On a more serious note, I can say the above because me and God are good pals. He wants you all to stop depicting him as an old man with a big beard though; this force we can only understand as God is much more complex than that.

Note: If you would like to participate in the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with your blog's URL and he will send you a profile to fill out. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

P&P Weekly: #35

2007-05-29T00:07:00.000-05:00

It's been an exciting week here at Soup Questions and the P&P Blogroll. After a couple of high-profile links to a pair of my profiles (one of Photoshop Guy Matt Kloskowski and the other of Strobist David Hobby) this bog has seen a huge increase in readership. For three days in a row I had more than 200 unique visitors, topping out at 698 last Thursday, bringing more visitors last week than I had in all of April and pushing 3,000 for May.

This is going to be a busy week at work, keeping me fairly out of touch. I have a couple of additional profiles prepared already - one of Photoshop expert Justin Seeley and another of talented young photographer Joey Lawrence. So be on the lookout for those.

In the meantime, ere’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll: (compiled on Sunday afternoon)

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "California Poppy"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Cloud"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "White Farm"
Dave at Dave Beckerman Photography: New York has a couple of nice infrared shots (1,2).
Dave at Dave Cross Online wrote about a recent session he taught at the Digital Technology Centre in Sarasota, FL. Also, you know Lightroom is $299, but for the same price you can get a NAPP membership ($99) and then use the NAPP discount to get Lightroom ($199). So, for the same price you can get Lightroom and all the training you need through NAPP. (If you do become a member, be sure to say you were referred by me!)
Richard from Europe in Black and White has a series of great shots from this week. Check them all out!
Mike at eyes on the road just got his new passport and is preparing for a couple of photo trips.
Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception - our newest member, Welcome! - is leading a new photo workshop at VGallery.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is a link to some CS3-inspired wallpapers.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a video about virtual copies, a link to an interesting wedding photography site, and 10 tips to get started with Lightroom. Also, over at Photoshop Killer Tips, Matt has posted about making multiple adjustment layers, dodge and burn tricks, levels tips, zoom shortcuts, and creating borders.
Lynda of One Day At a Time shares a photo from a recent hiking trip.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer has a couple of new shots from Prince Edward Island.
Scott of Photoshop Insider is just finishing his Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers. And Scott indroduces us to freshman NAPP team member Rafael Concepcion (RC).
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips and SeeleyMedia.com is the subject of one of the next P&P Blogger Profiles.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. This week: "Woman in yellow"
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "What lies beneath"
Mike of Simply Photography is back with a shot from Hong Kong. Sure brings back memories from my time there.
David of Strobist wrote about improving the picture quality of your webcam and a DIY ringlight.
Clayton of The C Spot has a shot he recently took for a developer in WV.
Andy from The Global Photographer just announced a Tanzania Photo Safari for June 2008.
Erik of The Journal: Life of a Persson - "The Stripes Have It"
Andy of Visual Realia - "Structure as Art"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #221, 222"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "You Sock" and "All Grown Up"
Ben of Where is Ben? - "Route 66" and "Exploring Superstition Mountains"

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Memorial Day

2007-05-27T15:51:00.001-05:00

Have a good Memorial Day weekend, everyone! I'll be back on Tuesday with the next P&P Weekly.

P&P Blogger Profile: Lynda Walldez

2007-05-25T00:03:00.000-05:00

Lynda Walldez of One Day At a Time

My name is Lynda Walldez, I’m 21 and live in Los Angeles with my parents.

Why do you blog?
Blogging is a very good way of practicing my writing. I also enjoy featuring my photographic work in every post. Blogging allows me to be as creative as I wish.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Post Secret, LifeDev, and Any Given Sundry

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I have been using Photoshop since July of 2006 and I have been a photographer since November of 2005.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
A Nikon D50 and an HP Photosmart R707

Mac or PC?
PC

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
My tripod.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
A telephoto lens.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Develop your own unique style, even if you are educated in photography. Innovation goes a long way in photography.

What inspires you to create?
A desire to desire to express myself. Sometimes all it takes is a concept or philosophy.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Everything has a process, so take life one day at a time.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Manhattan, New York

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Blog, draw, or journal

What talent would you most like to have?
The ability to play the guitar.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Eclectic
What is your least favorite word? Feet
What turns you on? A bold and sharp appearance
What turns you off? A soft and faded appearance
What sound or noise do you love? The rain
What sound or noise do you hate? Helicopters
What is your favorite curse word? Don’t have one

What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Modeling
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Housekeeping
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Enter into the joy of the lord.

*Note: If you would like to participate in the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with your blog's URL and he will send you a profile to fill out. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

Post #400 - Oswego County #2

2007-05-24T00:39:00.000-05:00

In honor of my 400th post, here is my favorite from last weekend's shoot.

Nikon D200
1/90 sec @ f/5.6
48mm
ISO 400

*UPDATE: A special thanks on this occasion to everyone who has made Soup Questions a regular stop and for all of you who have so graciously been a part of my ongoing profile series and who have offered kind words of support and links and well wishes, especially over the past few months. And I hope all of the first-timers will continue to come back.

According to my site stats, yesterday saw 248 unique visitors - a 1-day record for this site (Thanks for the link Scott!) - and I've gotten a comparable bump so far today (Thanks, David!).

I've got more profiles on their way for tomorrow and next week so be sure to stop by and check them out. And, as always, on Tuesday (because of the Memorial Day break) will be my next installment of the P&P Weekly catching up with what our blogroll members have been posting. So please visit their sites as well and enjoy the wealth of talent that is out there in the Photoshop and photography world.

Thanks!
Jason

Oswego County #1

2007-05-23T00:04:00.000-05:00

I finally had the motivation, and decent weather, to head out over the weekend and take a few shots. It was a nice overcast day which allowed for some really soft light and I was lucky enough to find a few spots that had a rough, aged look. It felt so good to be out there shooting, and then back processing, again. It seems like it's been so long since I've taken the opportunity. I hope to grant myself that pleasure again soon!

Nikon D200
1/320 sec @ f/9.0
26mm
ISO 400
Mostly processed in Photoshop CS2

Congratulations Are In Order!

2007-05-22T14:23:00.000-05:00

It has just been announced that Scott Kelby, friend of the blog, was named "the top-selling computer and technology book author across all categories in the US, based on Nielsen Bookscan data for the calendar year 2006." This is the 3rd year in a row that Scott has been honored with this distinction. Bravo, my friend!

P&P Blogger Profile: David Hobby

2007-05-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

David Hobby of Strobist

David Hobby: 42 years old; Caffeine-laced blogger; Staff photojournalist for The Baltimore Sun; Married to a wonderful woman; Father of two imaginative, inquisitive kids; Diehard University of Florida Gator; 3-time Southeastern U.S. Kickboxing Champion – ’84-’86. (Okay, I made the last one up.)

Why do you blog?
When I was younger, I always had unselfish mentors. I still do. Now, the internet makes it possible to pay the next generation forward on a much larger scale.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Not a fair question. I read about 50 blogs a day. But okay, I’ll bite. Consumerist, ProBlogger and WhatTheDuck

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Since I was 8.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
Nikon D2Xs, Nikon D2Hs, Canon G7

Mac or PC?
You’re kidding, right? Mac, forever.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
Nikon SB-26 speedlight.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Nothing, really. I have a core bag of glass and small flashes that I have shot with for a long time. No reason to change, other than to upgrade bodies.

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Shoot constantly. Study and reverse-engineer the techniques of shooters whom you admire. Major in something other than photography to bring something external to your profession.

What inspires you to create?
Honestly, I do not know. Other than the fact that it is a very satisfying thing to do.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Do not let fear of the unknown keep you from experiencing new things.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Paris. For a year.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
More family time.

What talent would you most like to have?
Fluency in many languages.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Imagination.
What is your least favorite word? Worry.
What turns you on? Travel.
What turns you off? Constricted thinking.
What sound or noise do you love? My kids’ singing.
What sound or noise do you hate? An alarm clock.
What is your favorite curse word? Dammit.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? I have never regretted being a photographer, so I have never given other careers a second thought. Is that weird?
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Anything that required my living in a suit and tie.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? What took you so long?

*Note: If you would like to participate in the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with your blog's URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

P&P Weekly: #34

2007-05-21T00:31:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Lupine" and "Sumpter, Oregon dining"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "Untitled #1809"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Carpentersville Tractor, 7:00 p.m."
Bruce at Bruce L. Snell Photography - "Cara and Charlie" and "Allen County Community College"
Dave at Dave Beckerman Photography: New York has a number of nice shots this week and has a link to an article about photography and web design.
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a tip about applying a layer style more than once to the same layer.
Richard from Europe in Black and White is back from a short trip and will be posting some recent shots soon.
Mike at eyes on the road has a shot from Lexington, KY and talks about photographic rules.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. Of particular note this week is a series of links on creative illustrations.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips shares his top 10 shortcuts. Also, over at Photoshop Killer Tips, Matt has posted about reducing noise in shadows, reducing PSD file sizes, fixing skin color, reapplying filters, and some Bridge preferences.
Lynda of One Day At a Time is one of our newest members - Welcome! Lynda posts her photos and shares her thoughts on life and photography.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer has a couple of new alt process prints, which, I think, have really added something to his photography.
Scott of Photoshop Insider wrote about Matt Kloskowski's Restoration and Retouching Book and a number of interesting items in his Wednesday News Update. On a side note, I got a sneak peek at Scott's tutorial for this week's NAPP TV. Scott has a helpful tip on taking care of dust spots using ACR.
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips and SeeleyMedia.com has his latest video on a little known feature of the crop tool. He also just launched a community forum and some new videos in his CS3 Learning Center. A late arrival is a link he has to Joey Lawrence Photography - excellent stuff!
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. This week he's posted a number of flower shots.
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "the groyne line"
David of Strobist is another one of our newest members - Welcome! - and has a post about taking group shots using two speedlights. Also, come back tomorrow for David's profile!
Andy from The Global Photographer has an article on using depth of field in wildlife photography and posted his latest photo of the day.
Erik of The Journal: Life of a Persson - "Watching Paint Crack" - I must say, that I've been really enjoying Erik's shots lately. Well Done!
Andy of Visual Realia has a nice series on Cunningham (McAfee) Falls.
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #217, 218"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Eat To The Beat," "Out Of The Frame," "It's Electric"
Ben of Where is Ben? - "Where's the Past?"

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Friday Tips: #4

2007-05-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

For this edition of Friday Tips I thought I'd throw in a couple of common, everyday shortcuts that are always good to remember.

Use your brackets to adjust your brush size. Your left bracket ([) will decrease your brush size and your right (]) will increase it.
Also Ctrl+ and Ctrl- will increase and decrease your zoom level, respectively, so you don't have to switch to the Magnifying Glass.
If you are using a Wacom tablet you can assign these to one of the touch strips to make it even easier.
Virtually everytime I use Photoshop, I find that the tools I use the most are the Move Tool, Brushes, the Type Tool, and I'm always switching back and forth between black and white when working with masks. Instead of heading over to the tool box, simply tap V for the Move Tool, B for Brushes, T for Type, and X to swap the foreground and background colors.

Vertical Panoramas

2007-05-17T14:19:00.000-05:00

Traditionally when you think of a panoramic photo the first thing that comes to mind is some scenic landscape that is spread out left to right revealing the expansive nature of a mountain range or canyon or seaside vista.

But don't let yourself get stuck in the mode of thinking that horizontal is the only way to go when it comes to panos.

Take, for example, this shot that I took while wandering through Redwood National Park last spring (18mm, Auto, 1/60s at f/3.5, ISO 720, Nikon D50). This is a fake pano in that I applied a crop to give the look of a panoramic shot rather than stitching multiple photos together. I did the majority of the processing in Lightroom with a little bit of lens correction in CS2.

Tall subjects like these redwoods or a skyscraper can really benefit from a vertical pano crop. Taking this approach can add additional emphasis on the height, helping to better illustrate the dramatic nature of the scene. But you aren't limited to just tall subjects. Even a scenic shot with either a lot of water in the fore or middleground or with a lot of sky can benefit from a vertical pano crop.

*While I haven't tried it myself, I would imagine that trying to compose a vertical pano from stitching together a series of overlapping shots taken while using a tripod might not give you the same effect as applying a crop.

In Search of Inspiration

2007-05-16T11:53:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what it is - the ever-changing roller coaster ride that is Central New York weather, a tad bit of cabin fever, or just a plain old dry spell - but I've been in a creative rut lately. It feels like it's been so long since I've gone out shooting for non-work-related reasons and I think this uninspiration has been affecting my job performance and overall mood recently. I hate when that happens.

So, in order to help get back into it and get my creative juices flowing a bit, I hopped on Photoblogs.org and came across Roumi Photos (featured above). This gallery is full of beautiful photos rich with striking textures and dramatic lighting taken in and around the Montreal area.

Take a few minutes to look around. I've already added this one to my list of sites to watch.

P&P Weekly: #33

2007-05-15T08:40:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) has some really nice shots this week. My favorites are "Salt Lake sunset" and "Valley of Fire"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "4948"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Jakey Gets a Haircut"
Bruce at Bruce L. Snell Photography spent some time recently with some of his fellow Kansas City wedding photographers.
Mike of Creative Sweet TV has his latest video on the new elements of the Clone Tool in CS3.
Dave at Dave Beckerman Photography: New York has a new look to his site. This week I like "Bethesda Overpass" and "Sidewalk, Spring"
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a tip about using a pattern with your brushes.
Richard from Europe in Black and White - "after rain handle"
Mike at eyes on the road compares a few views of Greensburg, Kansas and a pano from Kentucky.
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a really cool video tip about how to print your photos with artistic borders. Also, over at Photoshop Killer Tips, Matt has posted about reducing color noise, saving images for the web, and shares some of his favorite brush shortcuts.
Mike of Phoblography is back with a new shot called "Morning"
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer has a couple of new alt process prints.
Scott of Photoshop Insider was in USA Today last week - Congrats Scott! - and wrote about that as well as a number of news updates. Scott also posted a video on how to setup B&H Photo's Scott Kelby Location Lighting Kit.
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips and SeeleyMedia.com has his latest video on using Clipping Masks. He also has a video on creating lighting effects.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. This week I like "Marichis."
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Beach Baby"
Clayton at The C Spot - "More New River Railroad History" and "Secret Falls"
Andy from The Global Photographer is back from the Galapagos.
Erik of The Journal: Life of a Persson - "Link From The Past"
Andy of Visual Realia - "Simple Life"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #213, 214"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "Colors of Spring"
Ben of Where is Ben? stopped at the Cadillac Ranch.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

NAPP TV

2007-05-14T08:53:00.000-05:00

First off, due to spending Mother's Day with my mom (Hi Mom!) I didn't have a chance to write up this week's P&P Weekly. So I will try to get it out in the next couple of days.
When I opened iTunes this morning I noticed that PhotoshopTV no longer appeared in my list of podcasts. In its place I found a listing for NAPP TV. Dave and Matt mentioned at the head of last week's episode - very clever opening, by the way - that there would be some exciting changes on their way. I'm sure there will be an updated look and perhaps some new segments as part of the show, but beyond that it is pure speculation.

Up to this point, the tutorials in the show have still focused on techniques that could be done in either CS2 or CS3. My guess is they are shifting to a more CS3-heavy lineup of tips and will slowly phase out the mention of CS2, much the same way that they made the move from CS to CS2.

I love the show and, from having the chance to exchange emails and meet the whole gang in person, they're a great group of people and I look forward to seeing where this new direction will lead.

P&P Blogger Profile: Matt Kloskowski

2007-05-11T00:02:00.000-05:00

Matt Kloskowski of Photoshop Killer Tips and Lightroom Killer Tips

Matt Kloskowski is an Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (www.photoshopuser.com). He has authored numerous books and DVDs relating to Photoshop and spends his time teaching photographers how to bridge the gap between photography and digital imaging.

Why do you blog?
It seemed like a natural way to get the videos and tips that I teach everyday anyway, out there in an easier way.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
The Online Photographer
Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider
John Nack’s (Senior Photoshop Product Manager) Blog

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
Photoshop – 14 Years
Photographer – 5 Years

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
Nikon D200

Mac or PC?
I use both Mac and PC. Doesn’t really matter to me as Photoshop works the same on both. I use my MacBook Pro more lately because of its nice slim form factor for traveling.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
My Epson R2400 Printer. I love it.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
It’s a lens. The Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8. Wow… what I would give for that thing. I’ll post my B&H wish list should anyone like to purchase it for me : )

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Advice, long work hours, impossible projects, and criticism… they may all be difficult at times. But in the end, they all make you stronger and better for it.

What inspires you to create?
I just love it. It’s really all I’ve ever known. I never really think anything I do is good enough so I just want to keep trying to make something better.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I actually love where I live now. Living in Florida was my dream as a child so I’m already here. Aside from Florida, I guess I’d love to have a place in Tahoe during the winter. Or maybe even in Maui. I guess I’m undecided.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Golf, running, landscape photo shoots, but (most importantly) spending time with my family. My two sons Ryan and Justin (5 and 4 years) are just the coolest little guys to spend my free time with.

What talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to draw what I see.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Photoshop!
What is your least favorite word? Any racial slur.
What turns you on? See answer to “What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?” above.
What turns you off? Smoking
What sound or noise do you love? The sound of cheering when your number rolls at the Craps table.
What sound or noise do you hate? The sighs around the Craps table when some one craps out.
What is your favorite curse word? ...
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Jet Pilot
What occupation would you not want to participate in? The security guard at a Rap awards show
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Hey Matt! You up for a round of golf?

*Note: If you would like to participate in the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with your blog's URL and he will send you a profile to fill out. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

On The Road Again...

2007-05-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm out of town today shooting interviews and gathering footage for another installment of a series of videos for one of our clients. Depending on how we work things, it's looking like I'll be in the car for at least 9 hours for about 2 hours of work for a 3min video.

We're starting in Lake Placid - about 4 hours from home - and then driving to Cornwall, ON - roughly 2 hours from there - and then either back home (a little over 3 hours) or, if we carpool, back to Lake Placid before heading home - which would make it an even 12 hours if we did that. Whatever the duration, the 6am departure isn't fun.

Because we have a schedule to keep, I doubt I'll have a chance to get any shots in Lake Placid this time around. But I'll be back with tomorrow's Friday Tips!

Scott Kelby in USA Today

2007-05-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

I may be a little late to this since I was away from a computer all morning, but Jefferson Graham, a tech reporter for USA Today, just published an article on Soup Questions' friend, Scott Kelby (read it here).

Graham had actually emailed me the other day to see if I'd be available to talk to him about an article he was writing about Kelby fans. I'm not sure if it's a follow-up article or what, but I haven't heard back yet.

In any case, take a look at the article and, in case you've missed it, here's my profile of Scott Kelby from this past January.

From September 2005

2007-05-09T00:26:00.000-05:00

Taken in Fulton, NY over Labor Day Weekend back in 2005 on a Sony Cybershot DSC-F717. Processed in Lightroom, sharpened and selective lens blur added in Photoshop.

photographyVoter.com

2007-05-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

Any photographers that are familiar with Digg.com would be interested in learning more about photographyVoter. According to their site:

photographyVoter is a collobarative project that lets you share and vote for information, articles and photography resources with the photographyVoter community.

Paul O'Connor, the mind behind photographyVoter.com explains:

There's been something of a voice within the photography community for a Photography Section on Digg but that hasn't been forthcoming so we have launched this website to try and provide for this requirement. While still pretty much in it's infancy, the website is doing really well...

I'm still pretty new to it but it seems like a great resource for photography-related information, tutorials, and industry news. Paul gives a more in-depth interview on the history of the site and some of the thoughts behind it here. Give it a look!

P&P Weekly: #32

2007-05-07T00:15:00.000-05:00

Here’s what’s been happening this week in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:

Amy of 2007 Picture a day (or week) - "Mystery sea flower" and "Dusk"
Paul of A Clean Well-Lighted Place - "5040"
Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - "Horse and Old House (Mongo, Indiana)"
Bruce at Bruce L. Snell Photography talks about his style and shares shots from Kelley and Chris' wedding.
Mike of Creative Sweet TV has his latest video on Flash and Illustrator CS3.
Dave at Dave Beckerman Photography: New York talks about inspiration.
Dave at Dave Cross Online has a tip on using the patch tool and informs us of 3 new online courses.
Jason at Designfruit is looking for someone to help realign his website.
Richard from Europe in Black and White - "old school"
Mike at eyes on the road has a couple of shots from his time in Kentucky (1,2).
John of John Nack on Adobe always posts an interesting array of links from the world of photography, technology, and sometimes the unusual. This week, John has a post about CS3 fonts and a few upgrade Qs&As.
Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips has a B&W conversion tip and highlights Dave Hill's photography. Also, over at Photoshop Killer Tips, Matt has posted about working on a flattened image, dealing with grayed out filters, adding canvas space, and the illuminocity blend mode.
Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer has a number of new gum prints.
Scott of Photoshop Insider has two posts (the original and the update) on finding the perfect PC laptop for Photoshop.
Justin of Photoshop Quicktips and SeeleyMedia.com is back with a video on using CS3's B&W adjustments and selective color.
Jon at San Miguel Photo of the Day posts images of life in Mexico. This week I like "Grasses."
Shooter at Serial Photographer - "Untitled #53"
Clayton at The C Spot - "See You at the Station"
Erik of The Journal: Life of a Persson - "Volkswagen"
Andy of Visual Realia - "The Pike"
Aaron of What the Duck - "WTD #205, 206"
Martin of What the Heck Journal - "All Work - No Play," "Best Seat In the House," and "Lines of Broken Glass"
Ben of Where is Ben? has been exploring Sedona, AZ and lists a number of his upcoming seminars and workshops.

Update your blogs often! I will only include links to posts added since the last P&P Weekly.

As always, if you have any suggestions or notice a discrepancy, please email me.

Friday Tips: #3

2007-05-04T00:34:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, and you know what that means!

If you have multiple/overlapping layers of text and would like to select a particular one, or if you would like to quickly select all of the text on a layer, simply double-click on the type layer in the layers palette and all the text on the selected layer will be highlighted and ready for editing.
If you want to apply the same style to multiple layers, copy the style you'd like to apply, select in the layers palette you'd like to apply it to, and paste style. Or Alt-click and drag the layer style icon from one layer to another.
If you would like to duplicate a layer, you could drag it to the "Create New Layer" icon or you could hit Ctrl+J. Another really quick way is to select the move tool and Alt-click directly on the object and drag to duplicate.
When cropping, you can change the color and opacity of the area that surrounds your crop selection up in the Options bar. This can be a good way to help you visualize the resulting image - especially if you want to see what it looks like on a particular colored background.

Center Within a Selection

2007-05-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

I picked up this little tidbit from watching Corey's tutorial on this week's Photoshop TV. He breezed past it as he updated one of his Smart Objects without describing it and it was something I had never known before, so I thought I'd figure it out and share it with you.

You may know that there are many ways to align objects within an image or with other objects. You could use Photoshop's alignment options with the Move Tool or guides with Snap or use Smart Guides. But here's one more way that I can already tell will be extremely useful.

For me, there are times when I am designing a wrap for a DVD case and I want to center something on the back. Now, I could always create a separate document of just the back, center what I need to center, and then Place that into my wrap template. Or, and here's where the tip comes in, make a selection around just the back section - or any area you would like to work in - switch to the move tool and with your desired layer active use the alignment options to center (or otherwise align) your layer within the selected area.

File that one away for a rainy day.