Hi folks. Welcome to Tuesday. I’ll be your host for next few minutes. Please keep your hands and arms inside the blog at all times, and please, no on-camera flash photography.

Backing Up Your Photos and Lightroom Catalog With Matt
My buddy, and Lightroom Guru Guy Matt Kloskowski just released a new online class at Kelby Training Online called “Backing up Lightroom and Your Photos.” He covers stuff I haven’t seen covered anywhere (all that stuff that nobody every tells you how to do), so if you’re a Kelby Training subscriber, and you use Lightroom (or even if you just want to learn other back-up strategies for your photo library), make sure you check out his class (here’s the class outline).

Tim Tadder’s Awesome photography
Last week I turned you guys onto the sports portraiture of photographer Paul Aresa, and one of my readers, Stephen Kahn, thought that if I liked Paul’s work, I’d also dig Tim Tadder’s portraits, and boy was he right. This guy is totally awesome, and his post work is really sweet as well. Great look, and great photography, and lots of just very intriguing images. Here’s the link (you’ll dig it). Thanks Stephen for turning me on to Tim’s work.

Two More Cities Announced for my new “Photoshop for Digital Photographers Tour”
I just learned that I’ll be taking the tour to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday, November 2nd, and then down to my backyard (in a day that was originally going to be my Lightroom tour day), in Tampa, Florida on Monday, November 16th for my only Florida stop this year with my new Photoshop for Digital Photographers Tour. Hope I’ll see you either in Boston, Philly or Tampa in the next few weeks. I really think you’re going to like some of the stuff I’ll be showing—–it’s my latest editing stuff, and I can’t wait to share it with you! Here’s the link with details.

Beyond Megapixels Reviews Volume 3
I just came across this review of Volume 3 of my book, “The Digital Photography Book” over at the Beyond Megapixels blog. Here’s the link to check out the review. Also, I have a lot of people who are joining this series at Volume 3 thinking that it’s the most recent update of my book. Actually, all three books are entirely different, and ideally you’d start with Volume 1 first, then volume 2, and then after reading those, should you get Volume 3. It’s not a marketing ploy to get you to buy three books at once; it really how the books were designed. Volume 2 picked up where Volume 1 left off, and if you hadn’t read Volume 1, Volume 2 wouldn’t be as valuable to you. Same thing with Volume 3. Anyway, I just get a lot of questions about that, so I thought I’d try and shed some light.

It’s almost Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide Time
This week I’m turning in my picks for my 4th annual Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide, which will run in the next issue of Photoshop User magazine as the cover story (with over 125,000 printed copies), and then here on the blog, and of course, a live mini-version on the new season of Photoshop User TV kicking off in just a few weeks. Keep an eye out for more info here soon.

Tomorrow’s Special Guest Blogger……
…continues with our special guest series which focuses on full-time photo assistants, and this time we’re honored to feature Erik Dixon, assistant to photographer/educator Zack Arias (whose video guest post still holds the records as the number one most commented on Guest Post, or article, ever—see the link on the right side of this page. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt you to watch Zack’s amazing video post again, before you see Erik’s tomorrow. I promise, it will enhance the experience.

I actually got to see Erik’s Guest Post yesterday, and I have to say, it just flat out rocks, and like Zack himself, he raised the bar for photo assistant guest posts in the future. This is one you’ve GOT to make sure you’re here to catch tomorrow. You’ll be emailing this one to friends.

That’s it for today’s spectacle
By the way, using the word ‘Spectacle” reminded me of my assistant Brad’s new business card. His card reads, “Brad Moore. Studio Tech and Undisputed Master of Light and Dimension.” It was that or give him a raise, so I went with the title (however, that does not change the fact that Brad actually is the Undisputed Master of Light and Dimension. Just ask him). [insert cat sound]

See you guys tomorrow. I’m coming back just to catch Erik’s Guest Post again!