by A.J. Wood

Adobe Releases Lightroom 3 Public Beta

If you haven’t heard by now then you must be sleeping… Adobe released the public beta for Lightroom 3. While this is one AWESOME moment for photographers and photo enthusiasts everywhere, let me repeat the mantra used by many of my colleagues today:

This is BETA software!

This is BETA software!

This is BETA software!

While I’m all for being on the cutting edge of technology, I’m not looking to get knicked anytime soon either. If you want to be the envy of all your buddies at least take a few precautions before firing up LR3. Use copies of images for the LR3 catalog. Keep in mind any changes may not work with the final release. Be prepared for wonky behavior on your computer while using BETA software.

Lightroom 3 is going to be a great release, Adobe having improved areas at customer request, e.g., noise reduction, file importing, printing, and added new features such as the Publish Services & Watermarking for improved workflows. You can check out Gene McCullagh’s blog for a quick summary of features or watch some videos over at NAPP’s Lightroom 3 Learning Center.

in Adobe 3 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Photoshop Questions? Just Ask A.J.

It’s a quick hit Thursday. I’d say I was recovering from my Photoshop World experience (which was AWESOME), but we both know I’ve been knee deep in work since coming back from Vegas. Plenty of things on my plate, but had to take a moment to announce some cool stuff:

1. Ask A.J. (brought to you by Tip Squirrel) – This new column launched this week. Head over to the Tip Squirrel blog and ask me those nagging Photoshop questions, you know, the ones that keep you stirring about in your chair, scraping your nails against your Wacom tablet. I’ll be answering as many questions as I can each week, and if you behave, I might even thrown in some video responses.

2. Lightroom Core Series – due to the popularity of this seminar, I’m repeating the classes this month. Part 1 – Get Organized kicks off next week on Oct 14th, followed by the Part 2 – Develop It on Oct 21st, and we’ll wrap up with Part 3 – Output/Export on Oct 28th. Advanced registration is $25, or $40 at the door.

Finally had a chance to work on a few photos from my Photoshop World trip. Might post some HDR stuff later, but you’ll enjoy the hazing I took during the Photoshop Challenge EXTREME. Alright, that’s it for now, back to work people.

in Adobe / Events 2 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Photoshop World – Midnight Madness

Good morning dear readers. If you haven’t been watching the #PSW hashtag then you might not have seen the announcement that I won the “Photoshop Challenge EXTREME” last night at Midnight Madness here in Vegas at Photoshop World. What a crazy night. I wanted to thank @NAPP_News for calling me out as a contestant, and @JohnPoz who also encouraged me to throwdown a Photoshop tip in public. I also have to thank @JohnPoz for taking photos of the contest so there would be public record of the hazing I took as a proud member of NAPP. (I couldn’t have gotten through without that final kiss of encouragement from @LayersTV_RC – OMG LOL!!!)

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.

in Adobe / Events 0 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Adobe Releases Photoshop Elements 8 & Premiere Elements 8

This week Adobe announced the release of Photoshop Elements 8 & Premiere Elements 8:

http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/consumer/

Terry White has this to say on his tech blog:

This new version continues to refine the great user interface and feature set of versions 6 and 7. Mac users will be happy to see this new version on the Mac (skipping version 7). While there is a lot to like in this consumer photo editing app, here are a few of my favorites:

• Mac users get the full Bridge CS4 app included with all the benefits of Adobe Camera RAW plus the ability to create panos and access to the new Photomerge Scene Cleaner and Photomerge Exposure

• On the Windows side instead of Bridge CS4 there is a new Organizer that works with both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements.

• Photomerge Exposure is amazing!

You’ll want to check it out Terry’s video review, and watch for my presentation of the new features of Photoshop Elements 8 next month after returning from Photoshop World.

Have a happy Wednesday, and don’t forget the best camera is the one you have with you.

in Adobe 0 comments
 by A.J. Wood

2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk

Hey folks. It’s another crazy week around here, and if you missed yesterday’s post it’s because there wasn’t one. I didn’t catch any events on the DFW calendar this week SO if YOU know of one leave a comment or email me.

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.

in Adobe / Events 0 comments