Happy New Year – hopefully everyone had a rejuvenating holiday season! If you found a new camera, lens, phone, or other equipment under the tree and you’re looking to get out and shoot, you might be wondering where to start. Obviously there are technical hurdles to leap that are going to be specific to your setup, but the easiest way to learn is to just get out and do it, learning from mistakes, and focusing on one aspect at a time until it all comes together.
I also have a couple of well-reviewed how-to books on the subject, packed with great information on how to get going – sold individually, or as a bundle. And, when you’re comfortable enough with your camera – why not check out one of the many upcoming workshops and put your new equipment and knowledge to use in the field? Either way, I’m excited for you and your upcoming photography adventures in 2024!
This past weekend I taught a workshop at the beautiful and chilly Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle. During the field shoot I suggested to some that they photograph this particular maple. Their shots shown during the critique so inspired me that I returned to the tree on Monday. Cold and damp, and hidden by spreading boughs from passersby, I spent a couple of hours working the angles.
Photoshop is an indispensable tool that we use here at Art Wolfe Inc. to fine tune almost every photograph that Art creates. Whether an image is to be printed for the gallery, published on the web, or used to illustrate a book (etc.)… It’s hard to imagine our world without Photoshop. We will be making use of the new auto lens correction feature for aberration & distortion. And we’re anxious to try out the new auto-fill features. Here is more of what’s new directly from Adobe:
Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended software, must-have releases of the professional industry standard for digital imaging. With millions of users celebrating the product’s 20th anniversary this year, Photoshop CS5 builds upon a rich history of innovation and leadership with groundbreaking features and performance gains that boost creativity and workflow efficiency. Packing in more technological advancements from Adobe Labs than any other release and incorporating enhancements to everyday tasks requested by the Photoshop community, the software has greater intelligence and awareness of the content within images, allowing for complex and magical manipulation in just a few clicks. Here are a few of the key features:
· New selection technologies and tools—including Truer Edge technology, color decontamination, and selection and mask refinement tools—that allow photographers to fine-tune specific areas within an image
· Content-Aware Fill that automatically fills in the space when you remove an image element
· Superior HDR imaging with HDR Pro featuring automatic ghost removal and greater control with tone mapping and adjustments
· Automated correction of lens distortions, chromatic aberration, vignetting, and more
· Improved raw conversions and state-of-the-art raw photographic noise removal, additive grain, post-crop vignetting, and more—plus support for JPEGs, TIFFs, and over 275 proprietary raw formats—with Adobe Camera Raw 6. Easily add grain to make a digital photo look more organic or film-like. Enjoy more control when performing post-crop vignetting and even save favorite vignettes as presets. And sharpen images with better results and finer control over details.
· Precise recomposing or repositioning of any photo element for a more visually appealing result with easy-to-use Puppet Warp
· Natural and realistic painting with the Mixer Brush and Bristle Tips, which let you easily change a photograph into a painting or create unique artistic effects
· The integrated Lab B&W action for an easy and interactive way to convert color images; create gorgeous HDR black-and-whites with greater ease and speed; and take advantage of new black-and-white presets
· An accelerated workflow with faster performance with GPU-enabled cropping, powerful new selection technology, integrated Adobe® Mini Bridge for faster file browsing, and cross-platform 64-bit support
· Improved integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® for a complete photography solution
Pricing
Estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS5 is US$699 and US$999 for Photoshop CS5 Extended. Upgrade pricing and volume licensing are available. For more detailed information about features, OS support, upgrade policies and pricing, please visit www.adobe.com/go/photoshop.
Attend one or both live eSeminars on Photoshop CS5 delivered by Photoshop Product Manager, Bryan O’Neil Hughes.
May 6 10am P.T.
What’s New in Photoshop CS5
Learn how Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 software redefines the state of the art with a strong focus on photography; breakthrough painting and selection capabilities; and a wide range of workflow and performance enhancements. You’ll see the creativity and productivity enhancements that were requested by passionate Photoshop users.
See how Photoshop CS5 gives photographers a set of breakthrough tools to help you refine your images and get superior results faster than ever before. This seminar highlights key features and the reasons why Photographers should consider upgrading to Photoshop CS5.
