Congratulations to John “Doc” Strange!!! Doc chose Matt K’s “Mastering HDR” to help him get a start on HDR photography. My thanks to everyone who entered the contest, and NAPP for donating the DVD prize. Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t win as there will be plenty of contests in the future. Everyone can take advantage of my promo code “ajwood” if you want to join NAPP today. You’ll get a discount and DVD as a gift to you.

Helloooooooooooooo!!!

Thanks for joining me on the blog. Are you excited? I’m excited. As your newest NAPP Evangelist, I’m happy to be kicking things off with a DVD giveaway contest. Just who is NAPP you ask? Simply stated, “It’s where EVERYONE goes to learn Photoshop.” You can join the NAPP Nation right now and get a discount when you use my promo code “ajwood”.

Alright, one lucky person will win their choice of ONE of the DVDs listed in this blog post. Available DVDs include:

Live Wedding Shoot: From Start to Finish – David Ziser

Here’s your opportunity to be David’s “virtual assistant” during a live wedding shoot. Learn from a master photographer with over 25 years of experience in the industry. David is one of the best, and even non-wedding shooters stand to learn something new about lighting, composition & other applicable skills.

Lightroom 3 Power Session – Matt Kloskowski

If you already have experience using Lightroom and just want to know what’s improved in Lightroom 3 this is your DVD. Matt walks you through all the changes including importing photos, tethered shooting, slideshow movies & more.

Mastering Selections – Dave Cross

You won’t become a Photoshop Power User until you master the art of making selections. In this DVD Dave walks you through various selection techniques which are sure to make you a pro.

Channels & Masks – Corey Barker

Are you pretty good with Photoshop and looking to take that next step? Have you used Layer Masks, but just don’t feel comfortable yet? Corey walks you through the ins & outs of using Channels & Masks in this DVD.

Mastering HDR – Matt Kloskowski

HDR. Folks either love it or hate it. You just want to learn more about it and make your own decision on the technique. Let Matt K give you all the tools you need to be an HDR visionary.

To enter the contest simply do the following:

1. Leave a comment to this specific post stating which DVD you want & why.

2. Only one contest comment per person. Duplicate IP addresses will be void your entry. (Feel free to leave non-contest related comments or questions)

3. Use a valid email address, preferably one that you check so I can contact you if you are the winner.

4. You must be at least 18 to participate. (Kids have your parents enter for you)

5. This contest is global, there are no location restrictions.

6. Entries are also being accepted on my Facebook page. You DO NOT need to enter in both places, and only one entry will be counted.

Contest is open until Monday, November 15th at midnight CST. I will use random.org to draw a winner who will be announced in a separate blog post next Tuesday, November 16th. Winner will be contacted by me via email with instructions on how to claim their prize.

NOTICE – FTC law requires me to state I am not offered any similar prizes for hosting this giveaway.

If you have any questions about the contest send an email to “contact” @ this domain, with the subject “NAPP Giveaway”. You can also message me on Twitter or leave a comment. And don’t forget, anyone can take advantage of NAPP membership to improve their Photoshop experience.

CONTEST IS CLOSED - Read the Winner Announcement

I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in Orlando, and it was great to meet so many Twitter & Facebook folks in person for the first time. Chatted with Adobe folks at the Tweetup, and celebrated my 40+ birthday during the NAPP forum party. I met the genius that is @ErikBernskiold, chatted with fab designer @Firgs, hung out with the likes of @Elorg, @EGower, @AprilAndrews & the infamous @Vanelli. Caught up with friends Dawn, Terry & Heather, had a chance to chat some with David Ziser and his lovely wife LaDawn. I have been through most of the classes at PSW, so I was really looking forward to seeing new presentations. Zack Arias DID NOT disappoint. Walked away humbled, and excited at the possibilities. Of course, you can’t go wrong watching Joe McNally, and I enjoyed catching RC talk about websites for photographers & Rod Harlan share his knowledge of social media. Missed Alan Hess Precon, but had a chance to catch his session, and chat with him after the After Party. Some amazing talent at PSW, met Michael Green at the NAPP forum party (he’s featured in the Westcott catalog don’t ya know), Joey Wright at BB Kings (designers who photograph have an edge), chance encounter with Sandy Foster (from Dallas) at the NAPP forum party the day before she won the Vinny–CONGRATS AGAIN!!!

People ask me why I attend over & over–how could you not want to be around the best in the world as often as possible? I can’t emphasize this enough Photoshop World is THE learning conference to attend if you are a creative. I’ve been to Imaging USA, MacWorld & other events. Other conferences serve as infomercials for their presenters & vendors. PSW is not only a fun place to network with other creatives, THIS conference provides classes that educate, inspire & motivate the artist in all of us.

In summary:

Scott Kelby tells you what you missed at Photoshop World.

Terry Reinert has some ideas on what to do now that Photoshop World is over.

Here’s a quick Flickr gallery of snaps from PSW.

Finally, a shout out to @JustinSeeley, Patrick LaMontagne, @DawnMHSH, @TKRPhoto, @TigerBright, @RomyYoung, @MattKloskowski, @JanineSmith, @Edpflager, @Vanelli, @ScottKelby and all the Twitter peeps I finally met in person here in Las Vegas. It’s cool when the bond created through social media extends offline.

Checkout some of the pictures @JohnPoz took last night:

I’ll be posting more of John’s pics on my Flickr page later today.

Today there are TWO important announcements:

1. Signup NOW for Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk. Dallas registration is open, and I will have event details coming very soon. Only 50 spots are available, and just like last year THEY WILL GO FAST. If you didn’t attend last year find out what you missed on Scott’s blog.

2. Adobe Community Expert AND Photoshop Genius, Chris Tarantino will be giving a Retouching Webinar next Wednesday, May 27th. This event is so FANTASTIC I couldn’t wait until Monday to post. It’s only $10 which is INCREDIBLY generous for someone of Chris’s extensive resume. I may just have to bribe him with his favorite libation so I can get a front row seat.

As always, you can catch updates quickest from me on Twitter.

NAPP – You should already be a member if you have any interest in Photoshop. Really. Other people who know Photoshop will heckle you if you’re not a member. They’ll be like, “There goes that person who thinks they know more than Scott Kelby AND all his friends.”

Why NAPP? Why now? Well, yesterday NAPP members got access to an exclusive Watermark panel that can be downloaded for CS4. That alone is worth the $99 membership fee for some folks. So go join. Now.

Wacom introduces the Intuos4. This was all the buzz yesterday during the Photoshop World keynote, maybe due to a few folks winning the tablet. Brought to you by the leaders in pen tablet tech, it’s worth a look.

AppStorm – I have Erik to thank for pointing out this website. For new & experienced Mac users, here’s a place to go to find app reviews. Sure there are more apps for Windows, but I’m starting to focus on quality in my computing experience not quantity.

Alright, I’m out. A bit of sleep before the day really kicks off.

NAPP Twitter Folks – @mitzs put together a list of about 112 NAPP members who also use Twitter. Just another way for you Photoshop enthusiasts to connect.

50 Tips for Frugal Living – with all the doom & gloom in the economic forecasts, you might consider reigning in some of those frivolous expenses.

17 Gmail Tools – if you live in Gmail (and who doesn’t these days?) then you might already be familiar with some of these apps.

Pixelmator – if Pixlr wasn’t enough for you last week, or if you want an offline app, you might give this image editor a spin. Mac OSX only.

Periodic Table of Adobe Shortcuts – I had to use Firefox zoom to get a good look at these. Certainly wouldn’t mind a larger image size.

Viveza for Lightroom Review – Matt Kloskowski gives a quick review of Nik Software’s Viveza plugin now available for Lightroom.

OK.

Yesterday I threw up a post about the Bloggers I linked to in a previous domain. Today, I’m throwin’ up some mad links for new folks. In no particular order, here goes some link love:

Bernskiold Media – I have a feeling that if I had any idea what I was doing when I was younger, I would have been Erik. His website easily surpasses anything I ever did with Azarok.com, and it’s much more relevant to the times. Make his blog a daily read, and buy his photographs.

Design by Firgs – This site is a few days old, in its infancy and already has 119 subscribers. That tells you something about the power of Twitter, and the appeal of content. And really, who doesn’t love free stuff for Photoshop? You better hurry up and comment before she starts chargin’ for the party.

Pursuing Photoshop – Mitzs reminds me why I love teaching Photoshop so much. No matter how many times I demonstrate the same features over AND over again, for beginners each lesson is a creative discovery. Tell me Mitzs, do I dazzle you?

Janinealogy – Just discovered the blog via Twitter, but I’ve seen Janine’s work at Landailyn R&R. Just across the way in Ft. Worth, I’m always happy to promote local Photoshop services around the metroplex.

Sage Family Studios – Lisa just hopped on Twitter today, which is groovy because more people need to know about her excellent portfolio.

If you checkout the Photoshop User website you can see the NAPP Portfolios of Erik, Firgs, Mitzs, Janine & Lisa. You’re sure to be impressed, and certainly inspired.

UPDATE – I missed a couple of sites. Color Me Badd. That’s what happens when I blog two nights in a row.

My Home Sweet Home – I missed Dawn at Photoshop World this past September, which was funny given she was twittering about the event just like me. Dawn recently debuted her first screencast on her blog. Be sure to check it out and give her some feedback.

Antique Mommy – Dawn’s friend Tina writes some good stuff on her blog, and I was especially fond of her Bailout entries. This is a blog I read, and hope to read more often.

1. Just met a ton of people, including Twitter peeps Nancy, LeAnn, Dorothy & Jeff. This was really the best part of the trip for me. Not only did I make new business contacts, I had a great time with folks sharing our interests in photography and Photoshop.
2. I won a copy of the CS3 Master Collection my first day at the pre-conference. (This would ultimately doom me the next day)
3. I was a Photoshop Guru Award top three finalist in the Photo Restoration category. (I would have gladly traded out my CS3 prize for the Guru award)
4. I had a chance to chat with Scott Kelby, and had him sign his book for a friend back here in Dallas.
5. Afterparty at the House of Blues. Probably the largest showing I have seen this particular event. The club was packed, standing room only. I posted a Flickr photostream of Scott Kelby and the band.
6. Tweeting live from the event. I didn’t get as much posting done as I had planned, but a few folks commented on tweets. I’ll have a better plan of attack for next time.

You can click the thumbnails to see the TwitPics.

NAPP reminds me of the employee culture at Southwest Airlines. I’ve yet to meet a NAPP member or employee who doesn’t think the world of the organization. That’s truly a testament to the company that Scott Kelby has built. Twice a year they put on this conference, and it only gets better. If I would have changed anything it would have been some cooler announcements from Adobe, Canon or Nikon. Really, with a captive audience of 3000+, I expected some insider info, not confirmation of rumors learned two months ago.

The only regret I have is I didn’t take any pictures after the House of Blues event. There I was with my new iPhone, twitpicking away, and not once did I grab a photo of the cool peeps I met at the conference. Oh well, next time…

I hope to NEVER choose a winning photo ALL BY MYSELF ever again. There were a number of excellent photos, and it was not an easy decision to pick just one. Truly, it was not. Picking winner = Not fun. There were over 450 total photos that I went through, and I could have easily made a tie between several (if that were a choice).

At exactly 11:55PM after spending most of my day, and all evening wrestling with a decision, the winning photo came from Bradley Atchison.

© Bradley Atchison

If you’re looking for a great way to view a lot of photos on Flickr or any photo site, I highly recommend Cool Iris, a web browser plugin for Firefox. http://www.cooliris.com/ Not only does it render images beautifully (the upsizing of small photos is amazing), it has an image search function. I was able to pull in all 450 photos, without needing to navigate 20+ web pages.

UPDATE Aug 31, 2008 – Scott Kelby posted his choice for the Grand Prize Winner. You can also view all the city winners on the Photo Walk site.