PhotoWalkPro

Another day, another great Photoshop learning experience.   I tried to catch as many classes as possible yesterday but as usual there was always something that I couldn’t get to.  That’s both the beauty and the frustration of Photoshop World.  You can tailor your class schedule to suit your exact needs but there are so many different classes to choose from that you always feel like you are missing out on something just because you can’t be in two places at the same time.  Yesterday I caught classes from Joe McNally (Big Light from Small Flashes), Jack Reznicki (Seeing the Light), Scott Kelby (Designing with Type), Matt Kloskowski (Photoshop Restoration Rescue), and Rod Harlan (Using Media in Social Media Marketing).  The last class was interesting because Rod, who is a long-time friend, used my blog, Twitter, and Facebook experience for his class to demonstrate how social media can be used for spreading your brand across multiple social media outlets.  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed sharing my experience with the class.

I also spent a lot of time on the Expo floor, checking out all of the vendors and catching some classes on the show floor.  It’s amazing how much teaching goes on here at PSW.  A couple of the classes that I sat in on featured Laurie Excell, Lisa Snider, RC Concepcion, and Dave Cuerdon.

Of course I capped of my night with the every entertaining Midnight Madness.  It was incredibly fun and, holding true to their motto, no one there learned anything about Photoshop.

Now it’s on to the final day to catch a few more classes, check out the closing ceremonies, and then hop a plane back home.  I have had such a great time here in Orlando and feel even more empowered to harness the power of Photoshop and Lightroom in my daily photography workflow.

Here’s a few shots from the show floor for you to check out.  Have a great weekend!

Hi everyone, I am trying to sneak in a post here before I head off for day two of Photoshop World.  Yesterday was a fantastic day and I couldn’t have had a better time.  Things got rolling with the keynote, which in my humble opinion was one of the best to date. I don’t want to spoil it for any of you west-coasters who will be traveling to Vegas in September but I can say that it was a rockin good time.

Photoshop’s main man, Johnny L, took the stage to discuss some very cool things like making an announcement that Adobe is going to officially announce the release of Photoshop CS5 in April.  He then brought Katrin Eismann to the stage to demo some of the fantastic new features in CS5, such as Content Aware Fill.  It’s amazing and a little scary at the same time.

After the keynote finished up I headed to my first class with RC Concepcion teaching about taking images to the web.  It was a great class and showed photographers that they don’t have to be some html or Flash guru to take advantage of all the free stuff out there and make some great looking websites to showcase their work.

My second class was with Zach Arias and I have to tell you, it was one of the classes I was most excited about leading up to the conference.  I am a big fan of Zach and the things he can do working with white seamless backgrounds and minimal lighting and I have been following him on his blog for some time now.  This is his first time teaching at Photoshop World but I’m pretty certain it won’t be his last.  Even more cool for me was that I got to hang out with him at the Peachpit Author party and he is such a great, down to Earth kind of guy.

After Zach’s class I checked out the Trade Expo floor, which looked a little small at first, but was actually jammed packed with exhibitors.  I know I didn’t see everything I wanted to so I will be heading back in today to further explore.  I’ll try and grab some photos to post tomorrow.

Finally, the evening finished off with the previous mentioned Peachpit party and then the legendary After-Hours party, which featured Big Electric Cat (Scott Kelby’s band), who just have to be the most photographed band in the World..  It was a great night and I got the chance to meet new folks, hang out with old friends, and make some new ones as well.

Okay, it’s off to day two.  See you tomorrow.

Photo by Ernie E

Well, what can I say, the weather was glorious, the cameras were clicking, and everyone had a great time at yesterday’s Photowalk in Orlando to help kick off Photoshop World.  You wouldn’t know it from the group shot above but we had a good sized group of photographers show up.  Of course I forgot to get the group shot before we headed off on our way so this was all that was left by the time the walk was over.  It seems that a lot of folks wanted to get back for the Tweet-Up and I was pretty slow bringing up the back of the pack. I guess it’s just because I was having such a great time.

I want to thank everyone that came out and shared the afternoon with us.  We had some great light at the end of the day and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off my first day in Orlando.

Here’s a few of my images that I managed to sort out before heading to bed.

My bags are all packed and I’ll be winging my way down to Florida today to take part in another Photoshop World.  I’ve lost track on how many I’ve been to but I can safely say that it isn’t as many as my buddy, Vanelli ( He doesn’t actually work for NAPP but you wouldn’t know it to see him working the crowds).

Anyway, having attended so many of the conferences I am sure of two things. One is that I will most certainly learn a whole bunch of new stuff.  It’s one of the amazing things about attending this conference.  You can go year after year and the content is always new, fresh, and relevant.  The second certainty is that you absolutely don’t want to miss the keynote on Wednesday.  It is always a must see and I happen to have it on good authority that this year’s just might be the best yet.  I can’t tell you any more than that but if you miss it, you will defintely hear everyone talking about for the rest of the week.

Finally today, don’t forget that my Photowalk will begin at 5:00 PM (or there abouts) so if you don’t have anything planned, please come out and join us for some great scenery and a lot of fun.  And don’t forget to join the Flickr Group so you can add your image from the photowalk.

If you see me in class or walking the hallways the next few days, please be sure to say hi.  Meeting new people is one of the many benefits of PSW.

With less than a week to go to Photoshop World, I thought I would post some additional information on my Orlando Photowalk.  If you happened to miss my earlier post last month, I will be hosting a photowalk in Orlando the day before Photoshop World officially kicks off.  I know that a lot of you that are going to the conference will be getting in town on Tuesday but aren’t necessarily going to any pre-conference classes.  Well here’s your chance to get out, take some photos, meet some new folks, and have a great time.

Never been on a photowalk before?  No problem, it as easy as taking a walk, then take a few photos, and before you know it, you are photowalking.  Okay, that’s a complete simplification but if you really want to know more about photowalking, check out my Guide to Photowalking.

So here’s the skinny on the photowalk. If you are going to be in the Orlando area and want to join in, head on over to Lake Eola by 5:00PM. The walk will start at the corner of East Robinson St. and North Eola Dr.  If you need to get directions, just punch this adress into your GPS or MapQuest: 227 N Eola Dr Orlando, FL 32801. That’s the address of the Panera Bread, which is on the same corner.

I’m going to be getting there earlier in the day to firm up our route but it’s a pretty fair bet that we will be circling the park around the lake. It’s a beautiful location with tons of things to point your camera at. If you are driving, you might also want to bring along a tripod for some night time city scapes.

The length of the photowalk will be anywhere from 1 to 1.5 miles but the pace will be nice and leisurely so just bring a pair of comfy shoes, your camera, and join in on the fun.  I hope to see you there.