I was just trying to see how many times I could work the word “Photo” in the headline above.

Nonetheless, it is true—my good buddy Jeff Revell at PhotoWalkPro.com is hosting a free Photo Walk in Orlando, next Tuesday (the day before Photoshop World officially kicks off), so if you’re going to be in Orlando, make sure you jump over to Jeff’s site for all the latest info, when and where the walk takes place, etc. (He’s also just set up a flickr group for the walk).

Here’s the link with all the details.

Well, the party’s over, and I’m headed back home after a wonderful experience at Professional Imaging 2010 (photo above of me presenting by Jeff Revell).

Yesterday, they really had my scheduled packed from morning ’till night non-stop, with another Keynote, my Photoshop & Lightroom Killer Tips class, my Photoshop Master Class, two interviews, and a press briefing on the 20th anniversary of Photoshop. I’m beat!

Yesterday morning Jeff Revell and my brother Jeff came to the show for a while, and Jeff was pretty psyched to see they had some of his “Snapshots to Great Shots” camera how-to books for sale at the Pearson expo bookstore (that’s Jeff posing with one of his books above—photo from my iPhone).

(Above: A mix of the Dutch Translations of my books, along with some English language versions).

Last night we headed into Utrecht, and had an amazing dinner at a Spanish Tapas restaurant called El Mundo (recommended by a friend who lives in Utrecht), and then we headed back to “open shower” hotel because we had an early flight this morning.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to my sessions, and to all the folks who watch us on Photoshop User TV, or are a part of Kelby Training Online. I’m still amazed at how many people I met there who are connected to us in one way or another, and meeting all those people in person made the whole experience really fun for me.

Thanks to Adobe and everyone at PI 2010 for putting on such a wonderful, first-class show, and for the honor of having me be a small part of it.

(Above: one side of Nikon’s booth on the show floor at PI 2010).

Hi Gang: Had an awesome day yesterday at Professional Imaging 2010 at the NBC in Utrecht, Netherlands. The Dutch are just about the most gracious and fun folks to present to ever!

(Above: A shot of me aiming at something that I’m certain, after looking at my memory card, has no visual interest whatsoever. Photo by Jeff Revell).

The Ones That Got Away
I got into town on Saturday, after spending a day and a half in Brugges, Belgium shooting some of the most uninspiring photos ever (I think the chilly weather froze my creativity. Yes, that’s how desperate I am to describe my lack of ability to take a single decent photo in a day and a half of shooting).

(Above: Frank Doorhof during one of his Elinchrom portrait lighting demos).

A Man On a Mission
Anyway, the night before the conference started, I wondered if Dutch photographer Frank Doorhof might be teaching at the Elinchrom booth, since I read he was there last year (I first learned of his work via his lightning instructional videos on the Elinchrom Web site), and on YouTube.com and I’ve been a fan of his for a while now. I posted a comment on his blog on Saturday that I was a fan, and hoped to meet him at the show. When I did finally meet him, he told me he thought somebody was pulling a prank, and that it wasn’t actually me who made the post (I cracked up!).

(Above: Frank rocked despite the cramped space in the booth).

As expected; Frank was awesome!!! He’s a great presenter, and his lighting demos are top notch, and what he creates live in  front of a crowd with just two lights, in a very limited space, is just amazing! I watched four of his live demos yesterday, and even though he was speaking Dutch (which sadly I don’t speak), I still got a tremendous amount out of them (though he does speak perfect English, and I got to talk with him about all sorts of stuff during the day).

(Above: Frank shot live to a large screen flat panel display for the crowd to see as he worked).

Frank is Coming to a Blog Near You!
Of course, I asked him to be a Guest Blogger here on the blog as well, and he graciously accepted, so hopefully we’ll be seeing him here soon (he’s teaching three workshops in NYC—two are already sold out in advance—here’s the link). Anyway, meeting Frank was certainly one of the highlights of my trip. He was a very genuine guy, with a great personality, and you could tell he loves this stuff, and anytime someone is really passionate about their work, it shows. I also got two of his English-speaking lighting DVDs and I’ll be watching them on the flight home tomorrow. I’ll give you guys a review once I watch them.

Now, back to the show.
I did the opening keynote yesterday for Adobe (which I’m doing again today), and then I did a Photoshop & Lightroom Killer Tips session in the Adobe theater and it was standing room only. The Dutch are SO into this stuff, and I can’t tell you how many people I met that watch every episode of Photoshop User TV, or D-Town TV, or have my books, or are Kelby Training Online subscribers—it was just amazing (I’m still stunned be recognized this far from home).

I included some images here from the show floor, all taken with my iPhone (That’s all I had with me at the time), and although you can’t tell from the photos, this is a very happening show, with two separate halls, and cameras, printers, and softboxes on display everywhere (Dutch translations of my books were there, too, as Pearson Education Benelux had the first booth right inside the hall, so I did a book signing there yesterday after my sessions and met a lot of great people).

All My Books In One Big Book
One thing that they had which I had never seen before, but I absolutely loved—was an edition of all three of my “Digital Photography Books” (Volumes 1, 2, and 3) put into one single hardcover book (shown below). It’s big, and heavy, but it really works, and they were selling like hotcakes (they were sold out of a lot of my titles by yesterday afternoon. Also, David Ziser’s new book “Captured By The Light” was completely sold out by mid-afternoon.

Shows like this are so inspiring—just being surrounded by so many great images, and great photographers. If you’ve never been to a show like this, it’s a must-attend event.

OK, there was this one weird thing…
So, that’s it from here (well, right now, here is the lobby of my hotel, which is really nice by the way, but there is one really weird thing. The room is very modern, and I’m sharing the room with my brother Jeff, and my buddy Jeff Revell (from PhotoWalkPro) So far so good, but the shower has nearly a full length glass panel facing outward toward the bedroom, so when you’re taking a shower, everybody else in the room can see you clearly. It’s almost like they’re showering right in the bedroom itself. It’s not frosted glass mind you. It’s just glass. A lot of it. Right here. It’s really kind of…well…it’s kind of different. I’m working around it, by blinding “The Jeff’s” with a continuous high-speed flash aiming out into the bedroom. OK, I’m just kidding, but I did consider it).

If I can remember, I’m taking my DSLR tomorrow with a 50mm f/1.4 to get some decent shots of the show (rather than my iPhone photos), and maybe I can get someone to snap a few of me during my keynote.

Today’s my last day at the conference, and if you’re there make sure you say hi (I can’t tell you how many people I met yesterday who told me they read my blog every day. That really tickled me big time!).

Have a great Monday! (Heb een grote Maandag!)

Thanks to the nearly 800 photographers who came out to spend the day with me in Washington DC yesterday for my “Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers Tour.”

The DC crowd is just absolutely a blast to present to, and I had such a fun time teaching the class, and meeting lots of new people. Jeff Revell stopped by the seminar, as did Rob from Towner Jones photography (Got an update from Rob on the final numbers for the Worldwide PhotoWalk T-Shirts sales that he coordinated, and it’s amazing—$7,000+ raised for the Springs of Hope Orphanage just from those t-shirt sales).

Anyway, I had such a wonderful time, and I hope you guys did, too. Thanks for hospitality and hope to see you guys again soon!

Happy Thursday everybody, and a big thanks to Nick Onken for his Guest Blog post yesterday! Now, here’s what’s up:

Photo Walk Pro to Host Free Photo Walk at Photoshop World
Jeff Revell over at PhotoWalkPro.com (one of the sponsors of annual World Wide Photo Walk) is hosting a free Photo Walk the day before Photoshop World begins (so, if you haven’t signed up for a precon by the time Photoshop World starts, now you have something fun to do!). Jump over to PhotoWalkPro.com for all the details.

Catch Matt and Me with Bert!
Don’t know if you saw this one, but during the last Photoshop World, Photoshop Hall of Famer Bert Monroy had Matt and I on his Pixel Perfect Internet TV show as guests, and we did some Photoshop tricks, and talked with Bert and stuff, and if you get a sec, you can watch it right here.

Photo Induced is giving my stuff away!
Hey, I just saw where the folks at Photo Induced are giving away a boxed set of my three-volume set of “The Digital Photography Book” (includes volumes 1, 2, and 3). Here’s all the details.

New Fine Art Digital Workflow DVD from Mac Holbert & John Paul Caponigro
Just heard from Acme Educational that R. Mac Holbert and John Paul Caponigro have a released a new training DVD on Fine Art Digital Workflow. Mac and JP are absolute authorities on fine art printing, so I’m going to order a copy myself, but in the meantime, you can order yours right here.

That’s it for today
See ya tomorrow—have a kick-butt day!

OK, there is a slight distinction in the headline you see above from my normal football game coverage—I didn’t say “shooting from the sidelines.” This time, I actually shot from up in the stands, because I didn’t have sidelines credential.

Now, if you’re wondering how I got some “big glass” into the game, here’s the trick. The NFL has a rule that a spectator can’t bring a lens that’s more than 6 inches long (15.25 cm) into the stadium, and they measure the length as you come through the security. So, I measured my beloved Nikon 70-300mm f/3.5 – f/5.6 VR lens, and it measures (without the lens hood, and attached to a camera body), about 5-3/4″—just under the wire, so they let me in with it.

I shot with a D700, so to get even closer (I was a ways back from the field), I used the DX crop, so although it got me in much closer than I would set at full frame, it does crop your image down to 6 megapixels.

Our seats (I went with my brother-in-law), were right on the goal line, so when the action was down on our end of the field, we both took some shots, but when they went past the 50-yard-line in the opposite direction, we pretty much just put down our cameras and watched the game.

The half-time show was absolutely amazing to see in person (and especially seeing them build that huge stage and lightshow in less than 6 minutes). The Who sounded just fantastic in person (much better than I expected), and the stage looked so cool I had to snap a few shots of them, too (but again, I didn’t really have the right access or the right lens, but it was fun shooting them anyway).

Although I didn’t get a sidelines pass, as I was walking into the Stadium, I ran into my buddy Jeff Snyder from Adorama, who had sideline media credentials, along with his son (who was shooting his 9th Super Bowl). You can check out his blog about shooting Super Bowl week right here.

As I write this, I’m back in my hotel room in Miami (heading back home first thing in the morning), and I really had a blast. A good friend hooked me up with the tickets, and we hung out with him and his family during the game, and just had an amazing time (plus the Saints won, and as an NFC guy, with a few buddies as die-hard Saints fans too, I had to root for New Orleans, but honestly, I thought the Colts would take it. Glad they didn’t though!).

Saw lots of celebrities at a party before the game (Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Harry Connick, Jr. [he's told me he's been using Photoshop since version 1.0], Jerry Rice, LL Cool J, Hillary Swank, and we saw Brad Pitt and John Travolta a little later).

What a fun day. I know, I know—the fun’s over—now back to work.

A big thanks to everybody who joined me for the Dallas stop on my “Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers” tour. We had a blast that day, and saw lots of old friends (Mike, Big Daddy Don, Austin Mann, and even Frank Cricchio was there), and as always, made a few new ones, too! (photos above by Dave Gales and Jeff Leimbach)

My next seminar stop with this tour is in Washington D.C. on Monday, March 1st, and I hope you can join me there, because I’ve got some way cool stuff to share with you. Here’s the link with all the details. See you in D.C.!

There’s a bunch of training news that’s been stacking up, so I’ll quickly get right through it all in one post:

(1) My Dallas Seminar is Sold Out!
We have nearly 700 photographers registered for my “Photoshop for Photographers” seminar in Dallas tomorrow, so we are sold out (even after expanding the room). I’m really looking forward to seeing everybody, and if you read this blog, make sure you stop by and say hi!

(2) My Next Tour Stop: Washington DC on Monday, March 1st
I love DC (plus I get to hang out with Jeff Revell), and I’ll be there 1st of March with my seminar, so I hope you’ll come and spend the day with me. I’d sign up early, and reserve your seat. Here’s the link.

(3) Jim Smelzer’s “Senior Portraits Outdoors” Class Now Online
Jim’s other two classes on Senior Portraiture have just absolutely kicked butt, and I’m thrilled to let you know we just posted his new one this week (By the way—we post a new class every week now at Kelby Training Online). Here’s the link to his class (Jim is an absolutely fantastic teacher, and people are just lovin’ his stuff!).

(4) I’m Teaching At Professional Imaging 2010 in the Netherlands
I’m heading to Holland again, and I can’t wait! This time it’s to do the Keynote presentation, and a series of classes at the Professional Imaging 2010 event, Sponsored by Adobe, at the Nieuwegeins Business Center, Nieuwegein, Utrecht, NL on March 7-9, 2010. Here’s the link with details about the conference (by the way: I presented there a few years ago, and this is without a doubt one of the best run, best attended events I’ve ever been to anywhere!!!!).

(5) Want a kick-butt Lightroom Production Tip?
Although I’m doing a class at Photoshop World called “Lightroom Killer Tips” I came up with this tip after I finished the workbook for the class, so I did it on this week’s episode of Photoshop User TV. It’s really handy (hey, even Matt had to comment on it), so if you’ve got a sec, check out this week’s episode right here.

(6) Our “Photoshop 20th Anniversary Party is Sold Out”
We had seating for over a thousand people for the Photoshop Party of the Year, but those seats are now long gone as we’re sold out in advance. However, we’re looking at all sorts of ways to webcast, simulcast, podcast, and everything cast the event so no matter where you are in the world, you can join in the fun (and the tips), and it should be an incredible night, celebrating an amazing milestone, and I’ll have more details soon, but for now, keep the evening of Feb. 18th free, cause we’re going party like it’s….wait…that’s doesn’t work. Well, you know what I meant.

That’s it for now. Lots more to share soon. Hope to see you in person at one of these events, or online!

Hi everybody—-welcome to 2010. I’m back after a wild weekend shooting a College Bowl game and an NFL game (more on those tomorrow), but to kick off the New Year, I present my first ever “Best of 2009 Awards.”

It’s important to note right up front that I didn’t say “Best photography gear” or “Best Photoshop stuff” (though both of those are represented). Instead, this is just my favorite “bestest” stuff from 2009, (including things like songs, movies, travel stuff, food, etc.) presented in no particular order. Hope it starts off your New Year right! (By the way; make sure you read my disclaimers at the end of the list).

Best Photoshop plug-in update of 2009: Nik Software’s Viveza 2

My most-used plug-in of 2009: Topaz Adjust

My most-used plug-in on landscapes: Nik Software’s Color FX Pro

My Biggest goof of 2009: leaving all my camera gear in my hotel room in New York, the day I left for Italy

Biggest surprise of 2009: That the Nikon D5000 is a pretty darn good camera

Best new lens of 2009: Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Best candidate for replacement in 2010: Nikon 85mm 1/4

The Best five photographers you might not have heard of (not in any particular order):

1. Patrik Giardino (link) Note: I want to be him when I grow up.
2. Robert Seale (link)
3. Manuel Libres Librodo Jr. (link);
4. Costas Stergiou (link)
5. Stephan Cooper (link)

Best photo App for iPhone: Best Camera

Best iPhone App for working photographers: Photo Assist
…and it keeps getting better.

Best iPhone News App: USA Today. They did it right!

My favorite iPhone game of 2009: Flight Control
It’ll get you hooked!

Best travel App for iPhone: TripIt
If you do a decent amount of travel, you will fall deeply in love with TripIt.

Best coach seats in the sky: United’s Economy Plus

Would be best if they flew more routes: JetBlue
Roomy seats, but their in-seat TV and service put them over the top—they just need more routes.

Best reason to fly Delta: Go-Go high-speed Wi-fi Internet
Now that they’ve merged with Northwest, if they can just get the Northwest jets to have Go-Go, we’d be set!

Best way I’ve found to keep on top of everything happening in our Industry: Alltop.com
It’s better than any RSS reader.

Best all-around blog: Seth Godin’s Blog (link).
He’s my favorite writer of business books, and his blog rocks!

Best Football blog: ProFootballTalk.com (link).
I love Mike Florio. Lots of folks hate them, and are terribly mean to him, but they go there everyday just the same.

Best deal on a printer: The Epson 1900

Best printer for serious black and white: Epson 2880

Best HDR software: It’s still Photomatix.

Best Apple thingy I really love besides my iPhone: AppleTV
Ask anyone who has one.

Best thing I can’t believe is free: Google Earth

Best steak of 2009: Keens steakhouse, New York City (link)
The steaks are awesome, but the “old New York” atmosphere puts it over the top

Best gift idea of 2009: 16×22” framed prints shipped direct from MPIX.com

Best iPhone Movie Theater App: OneTap Movies

Best iPhone App to use during the Movie: Run Pee
It tells you when you can go to the restroom during a movie, and not miss any important parts. It’s does more than just that, too!

Best way to send large files: YouSendIt.com (link)

Best way to not be in the moment: Tweet what you’re doing

Best business book of 2009: Tribes by Seth Godin

Another that comes really close: “What would Google Do,” by Jeff Jarvis

Best real quality lighting deal: Elinchrom’s BXRI strobes

Best thing to put in front of your flash: A Lastolite EZBox Hot Shoe softbox

Best romantic comedy I saw in 2009: Love Actually

Or maybe it was this one: Maid of Honor
I know it came out in 2008, but I didn’t see it until 2009.

Best guy movie of 2009: Tropic Thunder
The Hangover was great, too, but Topic Thunder actually had good acting. Kinda.

Best song I used to not like, but bought after hearing it in the movie “I love you man” and now I actually really like it: Limelight by Rush (iTunes link)

Best old song I added to my iPod: Ebony Eyes by Bob Welch
I know—I can’t explain it, but I heard it in a store in the mall one day, and I was like, “Hey, that song wasn’t all that bad.” (Come on, sing with me: “Have you see that girl in the corner…I want to break her out of her chains…”). See, it kind of gets under your skin, doesn’t it? Here’s the link to it on iTunes (this is the best version–from his album “French Kiss.” Ooh La La!

Best really old song I added to my iPod: Tossin’ and Turnin’ by Bobby Lewis (iTunes Link)

Best old soul song I added: Work to Do by the Isley Brothers (iTunes Link)

Best classic rock song I added: Mississippi Queen by Mountain (iTunes Link)

Best new song: Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas (iTunes Link)
F to the E-R, G-I-E!

Best new song I love that I would never have guessed was sung by her: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Queen Latifah (iTunes Link)

Best song I bought after hearing it on my son’s iPod: Go Figure by Everlife (iTunes Link)

Best song that I have no idea who turned me onto it: Welcome Home by Coheed & Cambria (iTunes Link)

Best inexpensive gift for the guitar player in your life: Custom guitar picks from claytoncustom.com

Best shoot thru umbrella: David Ziser’s Zumbrella

Best paper for printing: Epson’s Exhibition Fiber

Best new restaurant: Ocean Prime (link)
They’re popping up all over.

Best thing Apple did for their MacBook Pro: Giving us the option to have a non-glossy screen
Yes I ordered with a non-glossy screen. I got it—I love it.

Best new fangled way to print your images: Printing on aluminum for a high-definition look (from ImageWizards). Link.

Most under-rated photographer of 2009: Dan Steinhardt

Best way to start a fight since the whole Mac vs. PC thing: Mention HDR

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS:

(1) I could be totally wrong about any of these—they’re just my opinions

(2) Some of these things could have actually come out in 2008, or even 2007. I’m old and lose track of time easily.

(3) If you disagree with any of my picks, that’s OK.

(4) If some of my picks make you seething mad, and you want to post mean comments to me, remember, you can start your own blog today, for free, and by this afternoon you can post your own list (don’t worry—everybody will be agree with all your picks). Here’s a good place to start (link).

Well, that’s it gang. I’m always on the lookout for great anything (songs, movies photo gears, iPhone Apps, restaurants, etc.), so if you have something I missed on my list, just let me know.

Photoshop Pranks!
The new episode of Photoshop User TV (which goes live some time today), is our year-end episode, and rather than doing the usual stuff, we foolishly decided to instead share our all-time favorite Photoshop pranks (ya know—stuff you can do to co-workers and friends copies of Photoshop so it kind of drives them insane, slowly. Painfully. Hilariously). That part is actually pretty cool, but after that, Dave and Matt went on to reprise the dramatic conclusion of “As The Snowman Turns” which…well…you just have to watch it, but be forewarned—-the acting is…well…you just have to watch it.

Here’s the link to watch the new episode, but just for the record—I apologize in advance for the whole snowman/monkey art nuoveau film at the end, which some viewers may feel is a trite, pompous soliloquy weighed down by an obvious lack of imagination saddled with awkward script that sometimes feels forced, leaving the viewer frustrated and confused as the monkey fails to establish himself as the hero of a post apocalyptic utopia where  the snowman, who phones in a somewhat pedestrian performance in what could have been his On Golden Pond moment, falls pray to a director whose cinematographic swan song may be this mostly unwatchable slow-paced and grossly clichéd story that barely stays afloat with two clashing perspectives that neither delight nor challenge the viewer.  (Note: the new episode is #215, so make sure that’s the one you watch).

Monday Night Football
Yesterday morning my wife and I flew up to Chicago to catch the Monday Night Football game featuring the Chicago Bears (my adopted team), who gloriously beat the Minnesota Vikings in Overtime, and get this—-I did not shoot the game. That’s right; I could have shot the game from the sidelines (in fact, my wife even encouraged me to go ahead and shoot), yet I chose to just hang out with my wife and friends and miss my chance to not only shoot The Bears from the sidelines, but my only chance to shoot Brett Farve playing probably ever. I should get some serious husband points for this.

Catch my short interview with Cafe Press
Cafe Press, the company that printed the “Channel 1, Group A” off-camera flash t-shirts for me (and my Worldwide Photo Walk t-shirts as well), asked me to do a short interview with them on a variety of topics (stuff like, “If you could lead a photo walk anywhere in the world, where would it be?”) and you can read it online right here.

Very cool Photographer and Photoshop Compositor
One of my readers, Mike V., turned me onto the word of Sean Busher in a comment posted here last week, and I took a look at his stuff, and it is very cool (I love it when great photography and great Photoshop skills come together). Here’s the link to check out his work (thanks for the heads-up Mike).

Epson videos
Our friends at Epson have posted a series of videos at the Epson Professional Imaging site about their printers hosted by folks I’m sure you know well, like Jay Maisel, John Paul Caponigro, Jeff Schewe, and Greg Gorman (among others). If you got a sec, they’re very well done, and you can catch them right here.

That’s it for this week everybody!
We’ll see you back here next year (that’s right—-I’m sluffing off on New Years Eve and taking the day off New Years Day). Hope you guys have a wonderful New Years, and see you next year!!!