"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Larry Becker.
Larry, please Finish the Sentence..."
My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
my Kata R-103 backpack bag. You know, I thought about it for a while and there are a bunch of things I absolutely love. I think the Bogen/Manfrotto NeoTec tripod is awesome because of how quick and easy it is to set up. Sometimes racing for that perfect sunset shot means quick setup and the Neo-Tec is awesome! Of course, my Really Right Stuff BH-40LR II is an amazing ballhead. I love and use regularly both of my 2 Nikon SB-600s (yeah, I’m too cheap to spring for SB-800s but no one would know if I didn’t tell them). And if you read my review in Photoshop User magazine, you know I love the Westcott Apollo softbox big time! But when it comes down to it, I use my camera bag every single day. - I loved this bag so much I bragged about how great it was to the staff here and we ended up buying 50 of them as gifts for all of our Photoshop World instructors. .
I’ve learned the most from..
Scott Kelby. Books, videos, online classes, seminars, and in person. No one I’ve ever met has taught me about so many things in so many areas..
If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
Europe, because that’s where the culture comes from. Okay, that’s a bit of a silly answer but you know what I mean. Besides, I have been all over this country and have enjoyed my travels. I love the Carribbean. But I’d love to visit England, Ireland, Italy and Spain. Throughout my school years there seems to have been interesting things about these European countries that especially interested me and I’d love to experience those places first hand.
My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
Boy! This is tough because I use Noiseware Pro, just about everything from Nik and onOne and I use them all almost every day. I have to call this one a draw. I just can’t imagine opening up Photoshop and actually trying to do something without the onOne and Nik suites and Noiseware Pro at the ready. Officially it’s a 3-way-tie!
I love the fact that Photoshop
so incredibly versatile and extensible. No matter what I think I know about it and what I learn from the Photoshop Guys, they keep coming up with cool new techniques and ideas every single week to take my skills in a new direction. Oh, and Adobe (and 3rd parties) adding functionality make Photoshop even more powerful and fun to use.
I hate the fact that Photoshop
purchases have become so convoluted. Okay, “hate” is a strong term but this is called “Finish the Sentence” and that’s how the sentence started. I’d rather change it to, “You know, it’s frustrating that Photoshop...” I’m sure I’m just one of many who finds the multiple suites and the extended version options to be just a little too much choice. -- Which suite is right for me? and how do I upgrade? and can I upgrade just a part of the suite?... I guess it’s a good thing at NAPP. Now we can give complete classes on which versions have which features before we even start training on how to use the various versions.
If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I would never have bought those darned stocks. Okay, here’s the real answer... I would have joined the NAPP team full time much earlier. I had a great time and great career working for myself before joining NAPP as the Executive Director three years ago. For 7 years I traveled the country teaching people how to use Palm PDAs. I had clients like Pepsi, GE, Sony, Palm, the National Assn of Realtors, and Lawrence Livermore National Labs. And I loved being the premier author and trainer in the Palm Pilot industry. I also loved arranging my schedule so I could attend every single Photoshop World and hang out with my friends. As it turned out, my NAPP friends were far better business people than the people at Palm were at leading their industry. I wish I had recognized earlier that my fun hobby of using and learning Photoshop and hanging out with my good friends was where I really belonged all along. I’m glad I figured it out though!
In 10 years
president Hillary, through her press secretary, Rush Limbaugh, will proudly announce and sign into law the first official Photoshop Appreciation Day in recognition for the years they have made politicians, Hollywood celebs, the economy, and even “the middle class” look better than they really are. Hey, stranger things have happened.
If I could give one piece of advice it would be
to do what you love. I know you’ve heard it before but it sure works for me. - I work with friends. I have a great family. And when I wake up every day I can’t wait to get to work, and at the end of the day, I can’t wait to get home. It hardly ever gets any better than that!
Your readers can find out more about me
by reading the posters in the local Post Office.
Ladies, Gentlemen, let's hear it for Larry Becker!
[The audience whistles and cheers]
Larry Becker is the Executive Director of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). Prior to joining the NAPP team as an employee, he was a charter member of NAPP as the owner of a central Florida advertising and marketing firm. After more than a decade working with marketing departments in technology companies, and several years at the helm of his own agency, Larry changed paths and went into the business of computer training and writing books about technology, where he traveled and taught for clients including Pepsi, GE, Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and Palm, Inc. (In 2002 for his extremely generous and polite nature, Larry was named as an honorary Canadian by Dave Cross) [
1 comment:
Great recreation, Dave! Sounds just like Larry! I can't even see your lips moving!
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