New canvas from APC

It's so hard to do this justice with an iPhone photo, but I just got a few new canvas prints from Artistic Photo Canvas and I gotta say, they are AWESOME! These guys are the real deal when it comes to canvas prints - you name a size and they'll make it happen, and in wonderful quality.

Can't wait to put my new Hawaiian pano up in my home, err, I mean my offce.

Photoshop 20th Anniversary

"Welcome to the 20th Anniversary of Photoshop – A Celebration with Adobe and NAPP!

Scott Kelby, Johnny Loiacono, Dave Cross, Matt Kloskowski, Russell Brown and members of the Adobe team will be taking the stage at 7:30pm PST on February 18th to pay homage to the program that changed and shaped popular culture forever… and you can watch it here LIVE!"

It's gonna be fun! A look at the past and future of Photoshop.... hope you'll tune in.

The Joy of Blogging

What fun it is to get blog comments like this (in this case in response to my blog post about HDR)

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"WOW Dave... I am suprised at this short article.

Ahh, so you and Adobe are the authority on HDR are you...? You [two] get to decide what it's called eh? Hmmmm, seems like arrogance to me I'm afraid.

As with all photography, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some like it, some don't. It's not up to you or anyone else for that matter to tell people what is right or what is wrong about any specific HDR'ed image - it's entirely 100% up to the person looking at it."

comment by "theMusicMan"
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I suppose I could have simply deleted the comment - yes, I moderate the comments on my blog, mostly because I still get spam - but I thought it might be interesting to highlight this type of comment.

By nature, I thought, everyone agrees that a blog is a place to share your own opinion. In my HDR post, I thought I was careful to use words like these (directly quoting from that post):
in my opinion
To me, that's always been the benefit of HDR
To each his own I guess
I'm not saying that everyone should think this way

But I guess - in my opinion - people interpret words the way they want, and somehow me offering my opinion - and explaining my personal taste - seemed arrogant to theMusicMan. Sorry dude, I wasn't trying to tell anyone what's right or wrong, just offering my opinion.

Blogs are all about personal opinions, no?

Okay, end of rant. Now I can have a wonderful weekend :)

Tips for Photoshop World

Before you go...

1. Make a plan of attack
Pour over the schedule and plan our your days: which classes you want to take, what vendors you want to talk to etc. Have a first and second choice for each class in case you're sitting in a class and it's not what you expected. In the next couple of weeks my PSW Planner PDF will be available to hep you plan out your class choices. (Remember, you don't pre-register for conference classes, just go to the ones you want).

2. Give yourself a budget
Chances are you'll see books, DVDs, plug-ins, or photo gear that you'll want to buy, Before you leave, give yourself an "allowance" to spend - or if your boss is paying, get them to agree to a budget.

3. Pack comfortable clothes and shoes
You'll do a lot of walking: to and from the hotel, between classes, around the Expo.... so comfortable shoes are a must! Room temperatures are really tough to control, so bring along a sweater, sweatshirt, hoodie etc just in case. (Yes, it's Florida, but inside there will be A/C)

4. Bring photo gear or not?
Of course if you're taking part in a pre-con photography session, bring whatever you need. If not, I'd still bring some kind of camera, but as to whether you need a tripod, multiple lenses etc is another question. I guess it comes down to how much "stuff" you can carry.

5. Bring a laptop or not?
I always travel with my laptop for email etc, but I wouldn't bring it to class (except for the hands-on pre-con sessions of course). Our conference classes are not really designed to be hands-on, so most people find that they don't end up following along on their laptop. Of course you'll probably want to try out back in your hotel room some of the techniques you've learned!


Once you're there

1. Check the signs for room numbers
Hopefully you planned out your classes, but track down one of the large signs to see what rooms your classes are in. There will also be notice of any last-minute additions or changes. I'd also do a quick walk around to get the lay of the land and see where things are.

2. Pick up some snacks at a local store
Convention food is always expensive, so find a close convenience store and buy yourself some juice, pop and snacks. You'll thank me later for this one. (In Vegas I always go and buy a case of Diet Coke since the Mandalay is a pepsi-only facility)

3. Look for the people in STAFF shirts
The people working at Photoshop World really are our staff, and their goal is to help you make your experience a great one. So don't hesitate ask a staff person for directions, where to find things, class suggestions, the latest gossip etc (okay, not the gossip part)

4. Bring your workbook to class or not?
This is a personal choice: some people lug the workbook to every class while others leave it in their hotel room. You'll find that some instructors make ongoing reference to their class notes while others don't. So again, it's up to you, but if you do end up leaving in your room, tear out some of the class evaluation forms and bring them with you.

5. Bring a laptop to class or not?
See #5 above. In a nutshell, I would advise against it. Sit, watch, observe, take a few extra notes but don't try to follow along on your laptop :)

6. Don't skip the keynote
The Photoshop World keynote is unlike any conference keynote you've ever seen (unless you've been to a Photoshop World before) so you really don't want to miss it!

7. Wear your name tag
The Expo is open to the public for part of the conference, so we'll be closely checking for name tags - you have to have one to get into the classes.

8. Talk to the instructors
Instructors really enjoy chatting with attendees! Having said that, when instructors are rushing off to teach a class or speak at the Expo is probably not the best time to ask a question :) But with a bit of patience you'll find the perfect time to chat or ask your favorite instructor to sign their book.

9. Talk to other attendees
You automatically have something in common with everyone there - Photoshop! I've heard plenty of stories of people making business connections and ongoing friendships that started simply with "so what do you do with Photoshop?"

My Interview with Firgs

Over at Design by Firgs, Firgs (a.k.a. Elizabeth Gast) has been interviewing NAPP instructors and staff. This time around it's my turn (Terry White and me actually). It was lots of fun since many of the questions came from NAPP members and via Twitter.

Plus I reveal some never before, um, revealed information about me.

You can read the whole thing here

The Debate over HDR

I can't remember too many topics that have brewed on-going debates as much as HDR has. In case you've been hibernating for a while, High Dynamic Range (HDR) has been around for a while, and - in my opinion - was originally introduced to allow you to get the full range of highlights and shadows in a challenging situation. Imagine for example shooting a room in a beautiful home, but the room has bright light streaming in from the large windows. It would next to impossible to capture the correct exposure for the room without blowing out the windows. Expose for the window light and the rest of the room would be too dark.

So along comes an interesting solution: take multiple photos on a tripod (bracketing multiple exposures) and use software to take the best of each exposure to create a finished piece. In my room example that would mean a nice mixture of a properly exposed room with the windows bringing in just the right amount of light.

To me, that's always been the benefit of HDR: getting the full range of light. In fact, in a discussion with Adobe over the future of HDR, I suggested calling it Full Dynamic Range (although "FDR" did sound a lot like a former President).

I'm going to be honest and say that I'm not a fan of the highly processed/bordering on fantasy style of HDR. Honestly, to me maybe one out of 10 photos looks good with that highly-processed look. Maybe I'm just seeing too much of it? I'm not sure.

What I do find surprising, since in my mind HDR is really a solution to a lighting challenge is when people say things like "this would be a great angle to take an HDR shot of this building". That means they are going looking for places and things to shoot as an HDR. To each his own I guess - personally I keep bracketing and HDR in my back pocket as a solution for an exposure challenge.

I'm not saying that everyone should think this way.... although I would say this: that slider that makes things look highly processed/fantasy/Harry Potter? Would you mind not pushing it quite so far? Pretty please?

Ask Dave debuts

Right on schedule, my new "Ask Dave" podcast started today. Each week I pick a question (sometimes two) and answer with a video capture.

One thing worth noting: the idea behind the podcast is answering as many Photoshop questions as I can, one or two each week. I'll try my best but I can't guarantee that I'll get to every question. Please remember, the "Ask Dave" podcast is not the place to get a quick response :)

If your Photoshop question is "urgent" and you're a NAPP member you might want to send your question to the Help Desk or post it in the NAPP forums. You could also try the forums over at layersmagazine.com.