Photoshop World Day 2 Recap
Yawn! Not out of boredom... that yawn is from a full day of learning and shoving my brain full of inspiration at Photoshop World.
The morning started with a slew of classes covering topics from 32 bit HDR to organizing photos in Adobe Lightroom to creating composite images. It was all great stuff, as usual, but for me, these classes are more than just new techniques. They serve as inspiration for new work. While these professionals are showing off their latest images and processing techniques, I'm busy taking wild notes about how I can evolve and morph their ideas to match my style of photography.
Julieann Kost from Adobe Systems preparing to give a presentation on creating composite images in Adobe Photoshop CC. She's a Photoshop goddess and a fantastic instructor!
After a busy morning of classes, I went back to the expo floor for some more great demos. There were a few things that I spent time on today...
- Exploring different paper options from Moab, Epson, etc. There are so many different types of paper available to print on and each paper gives my photos a slightly different look. Although I currently have a "go-to" paper for my printing, that doesn't mean I can rest - new production processes enable papers to be made today that just a few months ago were impossible! Think about that - we're still inventing paper! How exciting for photographers that we get to play with all the latest paper offerings!
- Got up close and personal with Promote Control. I saw this yesterday but after more research and talking to the company, I've decided this is one of the coolest gizmos at the show. In short, it can do everything my camera cannot. Things like elaborate time lapse series, focus stacking, video racking, or (my favorite) custom HDR bracketing. The Promote Control plugs into the side of the camera and over-rides the camera to achieve things that otherwise would be extremely difficult (or impossible)! It's also weather proof for use in nasty weather and the battery life is rated at over 100 hours. Although I haven't purchased one, this is now on my short list of stuff that I want to take away from the show.
The Promote Control mounted on top of a Nikon D7100 camera on the show floor. It's a very easy to use tool with intuitive controls. Very cool!
- Purchased the Flixel Cinemagraph Pro software for Mac. I saw this on the showroom yesterday, but, like the Promote Control, wanted to learn more before committing. Essentially, this is a piece of software that lets me make still photos with a slight "video" feel to them. This is the kind of new technique that will let me stand out with my photography to catch the attention of future clients - I've learned that alot of being successful in this business is being innovative and this software will enable some new creative productions. It's hard to explain in words what this software does, so here's an example I've borrowed from their website.
- Explored drone photography to create a new perspective. This was probably the highlight of my afternoon - I spent several hours talking to the company that makes these little UAV drones with cameras attached that are enabling photographers to get a new and different perspective for their artwork. I can think of a TON of applications for this with our upcoming move to the United Kingdom and had my brain filled with new information about these nifty flying machines. Check out the pics:
The UAV drone seen here can pack up into a small backpack and weighs only a few pounds, yet it can take high resolution aerial images!
It's a terrible iPhone photo (I need to upgrade to a new iPhone - clearly!) but you can get a sense for how small these UAVs are.
- Finally, I spent a few minutes watching some various demos from Adobe. The first was an in depth look at the new Lightroom Mobile and how photographers can incorporate mobile technology into their workflow. The second presentation talked about using Adobe Photoshop CC to do 3D printing. In this case, this is the printer model for using a 3D printer to make an iPhone case.....
Who knew that Adobe Photoshop CC could be used for 3D printing? Not me!
The day concluded with a few more classes from instructors like Vincent Versace (the artist who gave me the award yesterday) and then a panel discussion from the best names in the industry about their current inspiration and projects. This panel, called the Art of Digital Photography, is one of the highlights of Photoshop World and left me with a lot to think about.
Finally, to conclude another great day at Photoshop World... here are some of the best quotes from today:
- 'Photoshop isn't sentient, but it does sense fear' - Vincent Versace
- 'This is a dead bird that I put on a scanner' - Julieann Kost
- 'It's not legally against the law to shoot at high noon' - Jay Masial
......and, the quote of the day:
- 'Carry a camera. It's easier to take pictures that way' - Jay Masial
Tomorrow wraps up another great Photoshop World, but I'll be back with more updates from the show in the afternoon. Until then, happy shooting!