Vital Stats:
Age 48; born in Lakeland, Florida; resident of the Tampa Bay area.
Occupation:
Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User Magazine, Editor-in-Chief of Layers Magazine; training director and instructor for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, President National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), CEO of Kelby Media Group, author of a string of bestselling technology books. Conference Technical Chair for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo, author of numerous Photoshop training DVDs and online courses, and co-host of PhotoshopTV. Nine jobs, little sleep.
Last Book Read:
Younger Next Year, by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge
Favorite Films: (In no particular order)
The American President, Notting Hill, 48 Hours, True Lies, Austin Powers, Trading Places, The Sting, Dave, Beauty and the Beast, Arthur, Groundhog Day, The Spy Who Shagged Me, Grease, Pretty Woman, Stripes, Galaxy Quest, The Holiday, and just about any good romantic comedy.
Favorite Bands/Musicians: (In no particular order)
Kenny Loggins, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra, Boston, James Taylor, Duran Duran, Eddie Money, Kiss, Chicago, and most disco songs from ‘78 thru ‘84 with the notable exception of “I Will Survive” and “I Love The Nightlife”
Favorite Restaurants:
Copagna’s Dugout Italian Restaurant in Clearwater, Charley’s Steaks in Tampa, Los Mariachis in Clearwater, Morton’s of Chicago, In/Out Burger, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Johnny Rockets, Flemings Steakhouse, Carmine’s on West 44th in NYC, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Il Fornaio in Burlingame, Olga’s Kitchen in Southfield, 5-Guys Burgers, Cheesecake Factory, and Ristorante Bravo in Ft. Lauderdale.
Interests/Hobbies:
Photography, TaeKwondo, Karate, Travel, Piano, Writing, Commercial Aviation.
Favorite Magazines:
PDN, Outdoor Photographer, Professional Photographer, National Geographic Traveler, and PC Photo.
Favorite Foods:
Penne with meat sauce. an In/Out Burger Double-Double, Peccadillo with yellow rice, Filet mignon stuffed with Maytag blue cheese, Spaghetti Aglio and Olio, my wife’s salad (known locally by friends and family as “The Salad”), the Prime Rib End Cut at Mortons, Chinese food, and the 1905 salad from the Columbia restaurant.
Latest Projects:
Just finished “The Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers” from New Riders Publishing. Now working on “Photoshop CS4 Down and Dirty Tricks.”
Accomplishments:
Wrote “The Digitial Photography Book, Vol. 1″ which became the bestselling digital photography book in history. Won the Benjamin Franklin Award for my book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, was named The #1 Bestsellling computer/ technology author in the world for the past four years straight. Earned my black belt in Tae Kwondo. Played in a rock band in Europe, started my own successful business, married the girl of my dreams, and have an absolutely wonderful little boy, and an amazing little girl. I’m one happy puppy!
Favorite TV Shows: (in no particular order)
Seinfeld reruns, Lost, Entourage, 24, Scrubs, So You Think You Can Dance, Hell’s Kitchen, Saturday Night Live, and Two And A Half Men.
I Stay Home to Watch:
Tampa Bay Bucs away games.
Computer Setup:
A 15″ Apple MacBook Pro, an 8 core Mac Pro tower with a 30″ Apple Cinema Display, an Epson Style Pro R2880 printer and an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer.
My Favorite Stuff
- Really Right Stuff Ballhead
- Hoodman Loupe
- Drobo
- Elinchrom RX-600 Strobes
- David Hobby Lighting Kit (stand, umbrella, hot shot mount)
- Westcott TD-5 Spiderlites
- Really Right Stuff L-Plate
- Prints from MPIX.com
- Lowepro Pro Roller 1
- Nikon SB-900 Off Camera Flash
- Epson P-7000 Backup/Viewer
- Gitzo G065 Laptop Platform
- BlackRapid R-Strap
- Epson Stylus Photo R2880
- iPhone
Favorite Software Programs:
Adobe Photoshop CS4, iTunes, Adobe InDesign, Keynote, Firefox, and Lightroom 2.
Favorite Diversion:
I love going to Disney World or Universal Studios with my family, and just hanging out. I also love to spend an afternoon at Barnes and Noble or BestBuy.
Favorite Web Sites:
Terry White’s Tech Blog, Digital Pro Talk, PhotoWalk Pro, John Nack on Adobe, MooseNews, MSNBC, Apple Insider, B&H Photo, St. Pete Times Bucs Blog, iStockPhoto, Amazon.com
Biggest Thrill:
Seeing the birth of my son and my baby daughter, and seeing my beautiful wife walking down the aisle to marry me (19 years ago).
Personal Philosophy:
You never go wrong by doing the right thing.
