Canon 7D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS lens, 2 sec at f/22, ISO 100
I just got back from a weekend of camping, and tomorrow I’ll be on the road again for Photoshop World. Be sure to check out the Photoshop World Blog for some of my posts—I’ll also be doing a recap on it next week right here on my blog, too. See you back here next week! :)
This year, along with the normal crazy fun of Photoshop World (Las Vegas edition) I will be one of the official bloggers as well. Yay! So … if you want to follow along with all the fun then be sure to head on over to the PSW blog and check it out. I’ll probably be pretty silent here at NicolesyBlog.com until the end of next week—I’ve got a lot on my plate and lots of traveling (road trip, w00t!) … but I’ll still be hanging out on Twitter so head on over if you want to see what’s happening in my world.
And, btw, I’m giving a short presentation at the Peachpit booth on Wednesday at the PSW Expo at 2 pm (details here). Since I’m typically more comfortable giving Photoshop demonstrations then this will definitely be interesting (no promises, lol!) … so feel free to stop on by and say hi! :)
This past weekend (Saturday, July 24) was the third annual “Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk” … this year I led one of the Salt Lake City, UT walks starting at City Creek Park and we walked our way up through Memory Grove Park to the State Capitol. We had more than 50 people participate and it was a really great walk—the weather was perfect and there was a ton of stuff to photograph.
It’s really great that so many people can come together worldwide in one day in the spirit of photography and community. Our local photowalking group, Photowalking Utah, organizes several walks each year and I always have a great time … this one was no exception! :)
If you’d like to see some of the photos from this walk take a look at the Flickr group.
I’m in my third year of being a NAPP member (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and have to say that joining is a no-brainer if you work heavily in Photoshop on a regular basis. Being a NAPP member allows you a lot of resources you have access to on their website, the Photoshop User magazine (plus free access to back-issues online), discounts on their seminars and events (like Photoshop World) and tons of discounts on software, hardware, and other random things like free shipping and discounted hotel rates … and lots, lots more.
If you look at the discounts alone (one of the ginormous reasons I love being a NAPP member) then here’s an example of why it’s worth your while. For me, in just the last few weeks I will have gotten back nearly all of my one-year renewal NAPP membership fee (it’s $99/year). I purchased Photomatix and, with my NAPP discount I saved $25 (it’s a $99 software program). I also just pre-ordered the Photoshop CS5 Extended upgrade and saved $53. A few months ago I attended a Kelby Training Photoshop Seminar by Dave Cross and saved $20 on the class (it was $99 for non-NAPP members). So far $98 of the $99 I spent on my membership for the year has been paid for … which basically means that I get all the rest of the stuff they offer (magazine, tutorials, etc.) for only $1! But I’m 100% positive that I’ll find a way to get that paid for, too. :)
So you might wonder … “why are you telling me all of this?” The big news for creatives this week is the announcement of Photoshop CS5. If you want to upgrade then you’ll save some pretty decent cash by being a NAPP member. If you don’t have the full version yet and need to buy the whole thing then you really have no excuse to NOT be a NAPP member. Here’s the breakdown of the savings for NAPP members buying Photoshop CS5:
NAPP membership = $99/year
| Normal People | NAPP Members | Savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photoshop CS5 | $699 | $594 | $105 |
| Photoshop CS5 (Upgrade) | $199 | $169 | $30 |
| Photoshop CS5 Extended | $999 | $849 | $150 |
| Photoshop CS5 Extended (Upgrade) | $349 | $296 | $53 |
I will keep my NAPP membership for as long as they’re around … heck, I’d pay the fee even without all the cool discounts (but don’t tell them I said so!). If you want to check it out then go to the website here: http://photoshopuser.com. If you truly want to join NAPP I would sincerely appreciate if you used one of the links in this post or on the side-bar of my blog … but don’t worry, I’m not getting paid to gush about how much I love NAPP. It’s all from the bottom of my heart. :)
Last week I attended the “MAXIMUM Photoshop Tour” with Dave Cross. I’m a NAPP member so I’ve been to both seminars and Photoshop World and always enjoyed them thoroughly … this seminar was no exception! I consider myself an advanced Photoshop user so there are usually topics on things that I’m already familiar with, but the great thing about Photoshop is that there are soooo many ways to do one thing so I always learn something new that I can plug into my workflow.
If you ever have the opportunity to attend a NAPP seminar I would highly recommend it – you can find them at KelbyTraining.com. They are usually $99 for one full day of training, but if you’re a NAPP member like me then you get a nice $20 discount. At the end of the day I always feel like I get my money’s worth. :)
BTW, if you’re an avid Photoshop user and not a NAPP member then you should definitely check it out. It’s only $99/year and you get a magazine subscription, access to tons of online training and lots of discounts on gear, software, and other cool stuff. I’ve been a member for about two years now, and it’s so worth it. :)
Last week I had the pleasure of attending “Photoshop World” in Las Vegas, NV. I was only there for the Expo, but somehow those fellers over at Kelby Media Group were still able to exceed my expectations (I can only imagine what it would have been like if I was able to attend the conference as well!).
Julieanne Kost gives a demonstration at the B&H Theater in the Photoshop World Expo
I watched a few of the training sessions at the B&H booth during the expo; Corey Barker and Julianne Kost are really amazing teachers! Overall the Expo was insane. The iStockphoto booth had people decorating Munny dolls … some of them took several hours at the booth perfecting their designs. I visited several other booths, but one that really sticks out in my mind is MetalMural.com. You have GOT to check these out … I now know what I’m going to use for my printing service when I’m ready to start decorating my walls. :)
The crowd of iStock party attendees show off their Munny Dolls to the camera
Friday night was the big iStockphoto “Dollhouse Party”. This was the party to be at if you were at Photoshop World this year. We were required to decorate a Munny doll as our ticket to the exclusive party, and bussed out to a “secret location” (which was a crazy beautiful mansion). There were fire-dancers, a contortionist, DJ, open bar (for real!), and iStock even gave out more than $2k worth of cash and prizes to the best decorated Munny dolls. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year. (Check out this video of the party put together by RC and his awesome video crew from NAPP!)
Canon 7D, Lensbaby Composer, Double Glass Optic, 1/20 sec at f/2.0
I will definitely be going to Photoshop next year. Even if it’s just to catch up with some old friends and new acquaintances, it’s totally worth the trip. Plus it gives me an excuse to photograph the awesome lights of Vegas with my Lensbaby. ;)
I attended my very first Photoshop World this past weekend and had an amazing time! Here’s a quick rundown of my experience:
Keynote
It started out as being a hilarious spoof on Star Trek: TNG … I couldn’t stop laughing! These guys have a great sense of humor and wonderful attitude. John Loiacono also gave us a sneak-peek at Adobe Photoshop CS-”next”. There will also be an official Adobe announcement (hmm, wonder what that might be?) on September 23rd … all I can say is “I can’t wait!!!”
Classes
Holy guacamole, do you learn a ton at this event. I did my best to follow Matt Kloskowski’s advice on avoiding classes on topics you probably already know a lot about, and even snuck out of one of his classes on Lightroom for beginners! Ultimately, my absolute favorite Photoshop class was “Earth, Wind and Fire” with Corey Barker (the image above was made from techniques learned in that class). I really appreciate his style of teaching, and also love the fact that I learn something new every time he does a tutorial or lesson, since it’s so far from what I do every day within Photoshop. My favorite photography classes were two classes led by Joe McNally — wow, is that guy amazing or what! Such a great sense of humor, and, of course, a stellar photographer. I came out of his “Shooting for Major Magazines” class feeling extremely inspired (even teary-eyed inspired … ok, I know, corny but true!). Next time I attend PSW I am definitely going to a pre-con photography workshop with him!
Expo
This was a creative professional’s dream expo! I did my best to just browse so I didn’t actually buy anything, but I did get to see some of the top-of-the-line equipment and software. If you are in the area of Photoshop World, you need to check this out! (Especially if you are planning on buying anything … they usually have some good discounts to NAPP members and everyone in general on the last day of the expo.)
Party!
I was lucky enough to snag a pro-pass, and along with it I got to go to the coveted After-Hours party held at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay. The band “Big Electric Cat” was great! I brought my D200 and Ray Flash with me and got some really cool shots. I even had the chance to meet and shake hands with Scott Kelby. :)
People
This is definitely one of the best reasons to attend Photoshop World, ranked right up there with the classes. I met so many people and learned a lot by just doing some one-on-one chatting. I also had a chance to meet and hang out with a bunch of the iStock crew, most of them coming all the way from Calgary. Thanks again to Rob, Kelly, Adam, Megan, Dave and Kevin for being such awesome peeps and spending time with me!
Advice
So, for those of you who are thinking that Photoshop World looks like it might be a fun time, believe me when I tell you that it is! Here are a few things that I discovered personally that are some tips to keep in mind:
- Go to classes that teach things you know very little or nothing about. (Well, at least stick to the software you know, like don’t go to an Illustrator class if you’ve never used it before.)
- Wear comfortable shoes! (People told me this over and over, and I did follow their advice. They weren’t kidding … you really get to do a lot of walking!)
- And most important of all – have fun! These guys really do make it easy to have a good time, and the uplifting positive attitude of all the instructors and NAPP staff is probably what makes this event so wonderful. It’s really a great thing to see so many people together at one time (participants included) who obviously just love their jobs! It makes me feel like I’ve picked the right path for a career ( … now I just need a job!) ;)
To read more about Photoshop World and some upcoming Photoshop news, visit Scott Kelby’s blog (link).
This has been an amazingly crazy week! Saturday was Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk, which I participated in up in San Jose. That alone was a wonderful, full day of meeting new photographers and running around with a camera, asking several random people if I could photograph them! (One of my photos was even selected as the winner in San Jose.) Just this morning Scott Kelby himself announced the grand-prize and runner-ups … click here to view ALL of the amazing photos selected as winners from around the world!
I also started school this week. I had the wonderful privilege of serving in the US Navy for more than eight years, and so now I am happily using my educational benefits and taking classes, just for fun! This semester I chose to take several photography classes. I have never had any formal photography training (outside of high school) and so I thought it would be good to polish my skills. Aside from my one digital class, the others are very much film-oriented, and many of the students (and one teacher in particular) are very adamant about using film. I love film, always will, but right now it’s just too expensive (and not to mention time consuming!). Thankfully the teachers allow those of us who want to use digital, but they seem somewhat reluctant.
Being in this new environment really does seem like a “bizzaro-type” world. I have been involved in the computer-age high-tech social-networking world of digital photography for a few years now, and to be surrounded by people who dislike the digital age is very odd to me. I know they are out there, the “purists”, and I have nothing against them (although it does get old listening to the “film vs. digital” debate over and over). One day I’ll collect all my old darkroom materials and have my own lab in a basement … and even now it’s very tempting to do all of my classwork in film and print in the darkroom (if I could afford it) but I guess that, for now, I’m just more comfortable sitting in front of a computer. (But at least in the darkroom I don’t get sidetracked with Twitter, RSS feeds, etc.). ;)
On Saturday I participated in Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk in San Jose … and it was a blast! I met some really cool people, among them included TWiP‘s Frederick Johnson and Girls Gone Geek‘s Liana Lehua. Overall we had a good turnout (probably around 30+ people) and we walked, talked, and took plenty of photos along the way.
It sounds like we might be doing regular San Jose photo walks, so I really look forward to more opportunities to hang out with other photographers and learn a thing or two. I always find it so comforting to know that, even though we don’t always know the people we are walking with, we are all connected by something we are all passionate about … photography!
View Scott’s blog here to read more about this amazing event that transpired around the world. You can also click here to view the images taken by all the walkers in San Jose.
Nicole is a food & lifestyle photographer living in Seattle. She is an author with Peachpit Press and Craft & Vision, and is a Help-Desk Specialist with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Click here to read more about Nicole.