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!)

The third installment of my popular “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it” series for Kelby Training Online went live this week at Kelby Training Online, and if you can check it out right here.

As always in this series, I do everything from scratch, starting with an empty studio, and taking you through all the steps, from setting up the backgrounds and lighting, then going into the live shoot itself, and then finally through the full editing and retouching process to create our final image.

Hope you guys enjoy the final installment of this three-part series (though I will be adding a new series of segments this spring).

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!

Just a quick update on where I’ll be teaching seminars and stuff:

(1) Washington D.C. on this coming Monday (at the Washington Convention Center) for my “Photoshop for Digital Photographers Tour.” There are only about 40-something seats left at this point. I hope you snag one of them! Here’s the link.

(2) I’ll be giving the Keynote and teaching both Photoshop and Lightroom classes at Professional Imaging 2010 in the Netherlands week after next, March 7th and 8th in Utrecht (just outside Amsterdam). You can get all the details (and watch a little intro video from me) right here.

(3) I’m teaching three classes, and hosting the Keynote at the Photoshop World Conference & Expo coming up in Orlando, March 24-26, 2010. Here’s the link. I’m also teaching a lighting session in the Bogen Imaging booth on the show floor as well (details on exactly when coming soon).

(4) I’m taking my Photoshop for Photographers Tour to Chicago on April 9th, and then on to Atlanta on May 28th. Here are the details.

Hope to see you at one or more of these upcoming classes.

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!

Now this is big!

Adobe has recently rolled out a special program to invite some members of NAPP (the National Association of Photoshop Professionals) to become private Beta testers of the next version of Adobe Photoshop, and start working with the future of Photoshop today.

Members who are invited to become Beta testers have to complete a non-disclosure agreement, and agree to abide by Adobe’s testing procedures (this isn’t a public beta, so Adobe is looking for your feedback and testing results).  We, at NAPP, put together a special video on what the requirements are to become an official beta tester, and the link to the video is in the invitation email, should you receive it.

If you’re a NAPP member, keep an eye on your email in-box sometime before Friday, as you may be invited to join the program (thousands of NAPP members around the world are being invited—just not all at one time, because of the large pool of eligible beta testers).

Once you’ve completed the forms and agreements, if you’re accepted into the testing program, Adobe will send you a notification email directly with further instructions, and how to download the software.

Thanks Adobe—we’re excited, and truly honored that you value the feedback and input of NAPP members enough to offer this first-of-its-kind private beta testing opportunity.

How about a trip report from AFTER the festivities? Who you hung our with, where you ate, and what you reminisced about? Inquiring minds want to know!

So, I thought I’d give a little behind-the-scenes look, but I have to warn you up front; you’re going to be incredibly jealous of the bling-bling, glamorous lifestyle we experience during high profile events like this (wink).

Now Boarding: Coach Passenger Kelby
We started our trip on Wednesday morning, getting up at 5:00 am so we can catch the first of our two flights—-the first departing at 7:05 am. The plane was packed—there wasn’t an empty seat to be found (in Delta coach), and I got pinned in a window seat on the 5-hour leg beside two people who have bladders like a camel, because they never left their seat. I had to beg them for a bio-break.

Here’s a few shots of the crew in transit:

iPhone photo above: Corey and RC, my Coach class flying buddies.

Dave Cross snagged a bulk-head seat with plenty of leg room. Matt sat two seats to the right. I was about 20 rows behind. I wanted to fire them both.

Larry Becker ensuring that the drink carts were not to be used at any time.

Your car is in Spot 41B
Once we landed, we picked up our sweet ride—-a Toyota Camry rental car. Yeah baby—that’s how we roll!

Above: NAPP’s Nancy Massé and Dave Cross livin’ that high life in the back of our Camry. Matt was driving. We all were scared.

Fine Dining Ahead
After we got all situated, we split up in different cars, because Matt, my buddy Dave Moser (NAPP’s Chief Operating Officer), Paul Wilder (NAPP’s head of IT) and I wanted to make the 140 mile trip up to Big Sur to try and fit in a sunset shoot. First stop—-In & Out Burger in Burlingame. Of course, we missed the exit, so we had to wait until we reached Palo Alto to catch the one there. The car smelled like a giant onion for the rest of the trip. It was totally worth it.

Big Blur
As we were approaching Big Sur (near Carmel), we noticed this giant cloud off the coast. Matt called it “Marine Layer” which is California code for “massive fog bank.” Within a few minutes, it engulfed us, and we never saw the sun again. In fact, it was so foggy we never took our cameras out of our camera bags. The iPhone photo below (taken by Paul) does not begin to show the amount of fog that surrounded us. It’s wasn’t like there was a lot of fog. It was more like we drove into a cloud, which didn’t go away until (wait for it, wait for us….) we actually got back on the highway.

The weather looks not all that bad in this shot, right? Multiply the fog by a factor of 10 to get what it really looked like. You had to drive with your headlights on at 4:00 pm.

On the Road Again
After our busted shoot, we headed back to a restaurant in Burlingame that is a favorite of Dave and mine from our trips out to Adobe (it’s right close to SFO airport). It’s called Il Fronaio—a friendly Italian restaurant with a great atmosphere. By the time we were done with dinner, we were beat, but we were still about 45 minutes from our fabulous Sheraton hotel room, so we hit the road again.

Dawn shoot at the Golden Gate Bridge
Since we missed our sunset shoot, we get up at 5:00 am again for a dawn shoot. We’d try and catch sunrise coming up over the Golden Gate Bridge, but shot from up high in the Marin Hedlands, hoping to catch the clouds over the top of the bridge. If it was possible to have more fog than we did at Big Sur, we had it. It was so dense, we couldn’t even make out the outline of the bridge, even though we were so close we could hear the cars. We waited in the Camry until 1-hour past sunrise, then we went back to the hotel.

Breakfast with Adobe
We all met for breakfast at 9:30 am with some of our friends from the product marketing team at Adobe. We were going to have breakfast in the Sheraton, but some of video crew had eaten there the day before and warned us off. So, we went across the street to iHop (Oh yeah. Living that glamorous life!). A few of us did impromptu interviews into Flip Video cameras (for that ‘live on the scene” feeling), and then Dave and I headed out to a meeting with Peachpit Press about the upcoming iPad launch (hey, I want to make sure some of my books are on there, right?).

Above: That’s Nancy, our Social Media Ninja, Tweeting from iHop.

OK, Back to Work
After that meeting, we piled in the Camry and drove to the Palace of Fine Arts theater, where we accidentally parked as far as humanly possible from the entrance to the theater. We got inside, took a quick look around, and then I had to meet with the video crew, the band, and all the presenters to make sure everything was falling into place. I wound up sitting backstage, among the shipping boxes and cables, to create some slides we realized were missing, while Scriv edited some last minute video.

My assistant Kathy Siler was there (she put all the logistics together for this, and worked with Adobe to make this whole thing happen, and she did a marvelous job. She’s used to it—she does the same gig for all the Photoshop World keynotes, so she’s an old pro. I mean—”a pro.” She is NOT old!). She was even busier than I was the whole time, but I think she likes it that way.

I spent the whole time working in the back until Kathy showed up with box lunch for Scriv and I, with a roast beef sandwich, a pickle and a Diet Coke. Mmmm. Pickle. Anyway, it was about 90 minutes from the start, and the whole crew from Adobe had arrived, and we started loading the presentation files on the laptop, while Russell Brown finished setting up for his part of the presentation.

Cocktail Party Minus One
Adobe threw a welcome cocktail party in the theater lobby for all the guests, and I had planned to go out and visit with everybody, but we had a couple of issues with the AV stuff, so I wound up working backstage with the video crew until we opened the doors 15-minutes before showtime. I did a quick clothes change, and started going over my notes for my hosting duties, and then it was showtime, so I let our director know to start the opening movie (which we had filmed on location in Tampa a week earlier).

Teaching Photoshop is a blast for me, but hosting something like this, with me on stage without a computer in front of me, is pretty nerve-wracking, so as the pre-recorded voice over introduces me, I take a big breath and walk out trying not to look as nervous as I really am. As the night goes on, I get less and less nervous, but I’m never comfortable until I get to show some Photoshop tricks—then I feel right at home.

Russell Steals The Show
Once NAPP’s part of the show was over (a little over one hour into the evening), I introduced Adobe’s Photoshop evangelist Russell Preston Brown. I’ve known Russell for years, and he’s a not only a really great guy, but a teriffic presenter, so once I introduced him, I snuck out through a side door so I could watch his presentation from the audience. I have to say, Russell’s presentation was nothing short of brilliant. It was so incredibly clever, funny, wild, and just fun, that if there were an award for live stage demos, Russell would win it hands down for his presentation that night.

If you haven’t watched our rebroadcast of the night (link), you need to watch it for Russell’s presentation if nothing else. Yes, it was that good (ask anyone who saw it). People will be talking about this one for a while (that shot above, by RC Concepcion, is Russell during his presentation).

The Party’s Over. Time to Call it a Day
Right after the show, I finally got to meet some of the audience members (the first time since I got there), and I saw some old friends, and friends from Adobe, but then I got called away to pose for some group shots, and then everybody left, and we started packing up all our gear and stuff. At around 10:40 pm, Dave, Matt, RC, Corey and I piled in our trusty Camry and headed for the In & Out Burger near our hotel. We had a couple of burgers, but we were all beat, and headed back to the Sheraton.

There’s a reason why they call it “Fog City”
Our whirlwind trip is just about over, but Dave, Matt and I met in the hotel lobby to catch a quick breakfast bagel at Noah’s New York bagels on Chestnut street, not far from the hotel (awesome bagel place by the way).

Matt got up at dawn to try the Golden Gate dawn shoot from the Marin Hedlands again, and didn’t want to wake Dave and me up, so he headed out there by himself, only to be totally fogged-in once again. Then it was off to the airport for our sold out Coach flights home. I wrote as much as I could on the plane (I’m working on a book, as always), but I took a nap on the 2nd shorter leg from Atlanta. We left the hotel at 9:30 am, and I got back home in Tampa at just after midnight, tired as I could be, lugging all my camera gear which never, not once, came out of my camera bag. Every photo I took was with an iPhone.

The Glitz and the Glamor
Well, there’s a look into the glamorous lifestyle of the “Photoshop Guys,” filled with luxurious rental Camry’s, Sheraton hotel rooms, fast food, box lunches, and packed full coach flights.

Although this probably isn’t as glamorous of an experience as you might have imagined, I will tell you this—-we laughed our way from coast to coast. I am truly blessed to work with such a great crew of people, who make all the traveling like this an awful lot of fun (even in coach. OK, especially in Coach), so between all the work, and box lunches, we’re all just cracking up all the time.

I think that’s what makes the whole thing work. None of us take ourselves too seriously, so when things go wrong, or take too long, or we’re sitting on a dirty old couch backstage trying to make up some last minute slides—-it’s all good. We pretty much have fun no matter what the situation, or accommodations, so basically—-that’s really how we roll.

WOW—-what a night!

No doubt, it was a lot of fun, but it was also very humbling to look out from the stage and see the Knoll Brothers (both Thomas and John Knoll), and about 70 of Adobe’s Photoshop engineers, along with lots of Adobe execs and directors, and well…I was incredibly nervous! (That’s me below posing with Thomas and John—-the Knoll brothers who originally created Photoshop,  right after the event).

(All photos by RC Concepcion)

Adobe’s own Russell Brown (below) did an absolutely hilarious, bring-down-the-house, totally amazing presentation about the history of Photoshop that was so good, he got a standing ovation.

Adobe’s VP of their Creative Business Unit John Loiacono was the featured presenter (better known as “Johnny L” to Photoshop World Keynote attendees—shown below before the doors opened), and Photoshop big wig Kevin Connor did the first public demo of some new Photoshop technology that had jaws just dropping (including my own).

We were also happy to be joined by Worldwide Design Evangelist and blog host Terry White, here pictured with Adobe’s John Loiacono.

Adobe’s own Julieanne Kost and Terry White did presentation as part of our look at the evolution of Photoshop, along with Matt, Corey, Dave (shown below), RC, and I. Lot of cool Photoshop tricks from everybody, and it was a really fitting way to celebrate an amazing 20 years of digital imaging magic.

We’re posting the entire event online (should be up later today) at this link, so if you didn’t catch the live event as it happened (the servers were absolutely slammed with people watching live from all over the world), you can watch it in its entirety later today. (That’s Daniel Bryant below, a video editor on our video team at Kelby Media Group, during dress rehearsal. Daniel directed the entire event for us, and did a kick-butt job!)

Thanks to everybody who came out to the San Fran event, and who watch from all four corners of the globe, and especially thanks to Adobe, and the Photoshop team, for creating something so amazing that we want to celebrate it’s birthday.

(Above: our own Corey Barker posing with John Knoll).

(Above L to R: John Knoll, Russell Brown, Thomas Knoll, Yours Truly, and RC Concepcion).

Greeting from San Francisco, where tonight NAPP (the National Assn. of Photoshop Professionals) and Adobe are hosting a special party to celebrate Photoshop’s 20th Anniversary, and we’re broadcasting the whole event LIVE on the Web, and you’re invited!!!

You’ll see live Photoshop tricks from:

• Dave Cross
• Matt Kloskowski
• RC Concepcion
• Corey Barker
• Julieanne Kost
• Terry White
• Russell Brown
• Johnny L
• and Yours Truly

Along with some “Surprise Guests.”

I hope you’ll join us tonight, no matter where you are in the world. It’s going to be an incredible night, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you guys saw a sneak peek of some Photoshop ‘things’ NOBODY has ever seen before!

Don’t miss it (it’s at 7:30 Pacific Time tonight!).

It’ll be broadcast on this page right here.

See you then!

-Scott

I’ve got a few more details for you about the Live Webcast of the big party/presentation/Photoshop love-fest happening this Thursday night (the 18th) in San Francisco celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Photoshop (if you hadn’t heard about it, here’s the link).

Anyway, here’s what I know so far:

(1) You sign up here (it’s free): http://www.photoshopuser.com/photoshop20th

(2) The Live Webcast starts at 7:30 pm Pacific Time (10:30 EST).

(3) There are some VERY special guests making an appearance that night.

(4) Matt, Dave Cross, Corey, RC, and I will all be on stage showing cool Photoshop stuff, as well as Adobe’s Julieanne Kost, Terry White, Russell Brown, and Adobe VP John Loiacono.

(5) That’s all I know. At least now anyway. Tomorrow, I may know more but hey, ya never know.

That’s it gang. I hope you can join us, because it’s shaping up to be an incredible night of fun/learning and Photoshop stuff galore!

Thanks to everybody who shared their views on the HDR issue last Friday (link). When it comes to HDR, it seems like most folks are on one side or the other, with very little middle ground—-you either like it or you really, really hate it.

One comment posted by a reader named Cory really stuck out to me. It’s short and sweet, but says volumes.

The biggest trigger point for most commenters seemed to be the amount or style of HDR tonemapping applied to a photo, and they seemed to feel that the over-processing was strictly to hide bad photographic technique.

So, if a photographer creates an HDR photo, and even if they over-process it, does that somehow instantly mean that they’re now a bad photographer?

Not everybody that uses over-the-top HDR effects uses them as a crutch. They may just like they way it looks—plain and simple, and the photo they tone mapped may have been a strong photo without the processing, but they just like it better with the effect. Is that wrong?

Somebody I talked with this weekend about Friday’s post posed a really fascinating question, totally on the other side of the gamut from what I just wrote:

“If a photographer took a photo, and they looked at it on their camera’s LCD and thought it wasn’t a very good photo. But then they were able to add an effect to it in Photoshop (or whatever) that turned it into what a lot of people then thought was a good photo, is that a bad thing? At the end of the day, they created a photo that people like. What’s the harm in that?”

I mean, we all take a bad photo or two now and then, but the fact that the photographer knew a process that turned that boring photo into an interesting photo, is that all that bad?

Apparently, for a lot of people, it is.