So You Think You Can Be A Photoshop Evangelist?
As Adobe's Worldwide Creative Suite Design Evangelist, a lot of people walk up to me at trade shows or send me emails saying "I would love to have your job!" Well here's your chance to show Adobe and the world how great you are:
Calling all Photoshop gurus…
we are hosting a contest to find The Next Photoshop Evangelist and it could be YOU! To enter, you’ll need to submit a video showing us your Photoshop skills. The Grand Prize Winner will Win a trip to Photoshop World in Spring 2011 to demonstrate their video tutorial LIVE!
Now it's up to YOU! Find out the rules and more info on submitting your video here.
Here's a tip: having the coolest technique in the world doesn't mean much if you aren't good at explaining it to others. So while I'm sure that there are people out there that can do amazing work in Photoshop, to be an evangelist also means getting people excited and making them believe that they can do it too!
So let's see if you can impress me, because I am one of the judges 
July 27th, 2010
10:04
Apple Announces the Mac Pro Update I’ve Been Waiting For
My current "work horse" Mac is my NEW MacBook Pro core i7. Don't get me wrong, I have a Mac Pro in my home office. However, my current Mac Pro is the original Mac Pro introduced back in 2006. That's ancient in computer years. Before that purchase I was usually upgrading my tower with every other release (about every 2-3 years). Over the years I wasn't seeing significant enough performance gains to spend the money. Then they introduced an update in March of 2009 that made me think it's time to upgrade, but I just kept putting it off. Now that my favorite Adobe Creative Suite Apps are 64bit enabled with the CS5 release I knew it was time for some new hardware. The problem is I just didn't want last year's models. So once the new MacBook Pro core i7 came out, I ordered it (from work) day one! When I got it, I ran a speed test against my Mac Pro and was wowed by the fact that it BEAT IT! Granted that really shows just how fast the new MacBook Pros have become, but what it really showed me was just how slow my old Mac Pro was. So I waited and today Apple Announced the Mac Pro update I've been waiting for. Although there was no new case design, that doesn't bother me. It does seem odd though that Apple (a company focused on design) would continue use virtually the same design they introduced with the Power Mac G5 back in 2003!
There are 3 new configurations, Dual Core, Quad Core (8 cores) and Dual 6 Core (12 cores)
My only debate is do I spend the $5 grand on the 12 cores or settle for the 8 cores ($3,500). My gut tells me to go 12 core simply because I don't upgrade my tower as often as I used to and the faster the machine I get the longer it will last me. I have a little bit of time to think about it because Apple is not even taking orders yet. They're saying "August" for availability. I'll likely bite the bullet and go 12 cores to have the fastest Mac rendering speeds I can get. As far as video cards go I'll replace the stock ATi card for an Nvidia card to take advantage of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5's accelerated Mercury Playback Engine. <-this was a sneak peek video before CS5 was announced.
July 26th, 2010
12:03
Another Successful Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk
Although we got rained out on Saturday, we didn't let that stop us and those that could make it on Sunday (plan B) came out for a great time. This year we walked the Detroit Zoo for a change of scenery. In 2008 and 2009 we did Downtown Detroit and since not a lot has changed in 2 years, I wanted to try a different locale. The Zoo is one of those places that you can go every day and get something different because not only do you have the change in seasons, but you also have the "animal activity" factor. Depending on when you go and the mood of the animals you'll either catch some great shots of them interacting with each other or sleeping It will be great to see what everyone submits, here are a few of mine for kicks:
July 23rd, 2010
9:28
Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk is TOMORROW!
Although my walk is completely full with a waiting list, there are still plenty of walks you can sign up for around the world. Just head over to photowalk.com and who knows, you may capture the winning shot tomorrow.
If you're going on a photowalk tomorrow don't forget:
- your camera (I know, but I had to say it)
- extra charged batteries
- extra memory cards
- water
- more water
- umbrella
- the lens you think you might want, but don't want to carry, but will be mad that you didn't bring
- a tripod if you really want a super sharp shot, unless you just don't want to carry it (I hear ya).
- comfortable shoes
- lens cloth
- GPS (I'm a geotagging freak, ignore me)
- take the stuff out of your bag that you know you won't need (it's heavy enough as it is).
- a good attitude
- your best smile
- a backup point and shoot camera just in case your pride and joy has technical difficulties
Have fun!
P.S. Things come up!
If you can't make it, that's fine. We understand. No hard feelings. If you can't make it though there is someone else dying to have your spot. So please login to the site and click the Leave this Walk link above the map to free up your slot for the next person on the waiting list! It's the right thing to do!
July 23rd, 2010
3:23
A Robot Cleans My Pool
It's not quite the Jetsons, but close enough for me. Yesterday, I did a post about my generator, so I thought I'd finish off the week with another piece on home automation and that's my iRobot Verro 300 pool cleaning robot. This is definitely one of my other favorite pieces of gear. Drop it in, let it sink to the bottom and turn it on. Walk away and in about two hours your pool is cleaned! It's a robotic pool vacuum and it works GREAT! I was amazed the first time I saw it climb the walls. I've had mine for about two years now and this is one of those things that if it died today, I'd be ordering a new one immediately. It's easy to use and maintain and takes one more chore out of my life.
Here's a short video of it in action (though it's not very exciting to watch )
You can get the iRobot Verro 300 here.
July 22nd, 2010
3:51
Being on backup generator power for over 24 hours
Back in the spring of 2007 I had a whole house natural gas backup generator installed. After the big black out of 2003 that took out the whole East Coast, I knew that I never wanted to be without power for an extended period of time again. Like many preventative measures, you sometimes never have the problem you're trying to prevent. I used to joke all the time that buying that generator was the best (and most expensive) insurance I've ever bought. Since I had the generator installed the power never went off for more than 5 minutes in 3 years. Well that was until last week. I had gone out to run a couple of errands and just as I was wrapping up my last stop the sky had turned very dark (should have taken a picture) and I could tell that it was about to pour down raining any minute. I made it to the car right before the big rain hit and drove home. I noticed that it seemed a little darker than usual, but just figured it was the very heavy rain. When I got home I noticed a huge tree had fallen on my lawn. Although I knew that I was going to have to pay someone to clear that thing, I was very thankful that it didn't hit anything like the house or a car.
I hit the button for the garage door and pulled into my garage. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could hear the generator running on the opposite side of the rear wall. I walked into the house and all was fine. The house was cool, the lights were on and it was like any other time. However, the entire street was without power. That's when I said, "I'm finally getting some use out of that generator!" The beauty of it is, if the power is out more than a few seconds, it fires up and switches over automatically. When the power returns, the generator switches back and turns off. I love this type of automation. Most of my important gear is on UPS backups (see below), so for the most part the batteries in those units handle the switch overs quite nicely.
The next day, the generator was still running. As a matter of fact the power wasn't restored until that next evening. Although I don't wish for power outages because as a gadget junkie, they suck big time, I gotta say this was the first one that I actually enjoyed
My generator was installed by these guys.
For minor power disruptions I still highly recommend APC Battery Backup Units. These are not designed to power your electronics for extended periods of time. However, for your computers they will generally give you time to properly save your work and shut down. For other gadgets in your world (DVRs, Cable Modems, Routers, etc.), they'll preserve your settings and continue recording if the power is restored before the APC's battery dies.
July 20th, 2010
10:22
Adobe: Creating Digital Magazines
Continuing on the success of the Wired Magazine App for iPad released in May, Adobe plans to make the tools used to create that publication/App available to the general public later this summer. Check out more details here and here.
July 19th, 2010
1:57
Are You Sharing Too Much on Facebook?
My buddy A. J. Wood alerted us all to the fact that Walmart now has a Facebook Application that allows people to print their photos directly from Facebook to Walmart. Nothing wrong with that right? While on the surface that seems pretty harmless, it does open up photographers who post their images online, perhaps in hopes of drumming up more business to having their images printed by the people that they tag in the photo without their knowledge or consent. There has always been a lot of controversy surrounding Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy. However, the way I see it is that if you're really that concerned about someone ripping your photo off, then you probably shouldn't put it online in the first place. Nonetheless, A. J. offers a simple way to fix this one issue on his blog.
Control Your Content On Facebook
I actually like Facebook. Although I'm on Flickr, Twitter, and other sites, Facebook seems to be the popular choice of my friends, family co-workers, clients, fans, and just about everyone else I know and that's both a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time. Like I said above, if there is a photo that you don't want someone to steal, then you probably shouldn't put it out there. However, the same kinda thing goes for just about everything else. There's a fine line between what you might feel totally comfortable with sharing with your friends vs. if your employer (or potential employer) were to see it. We joke around, we post funny pictures, we might even make off the cuff comments, and it's all good until it's seen by the wrong person.
I'm actually teaching a class this September at Photoshop World in Vegas, on…. "Why you should be on Facebook." The class is really aimed at Facebook from a business use scenario and how being there can help bring in more new clients. However, one of the things I'll be addressing in that class is how to control who sees what.
So without giving away the whole class here, I will share one tip with you for now:
Use Lists!
I LOVE the Facebook "Lists" feature. When you choose Edit Friends from your Account Settings, you have the ability to create lists and add your friends to those lists. You can create as many Lists as you need to. For example, perhaps you have a list called "Close Friends and Family", or "Co-workers" or "People I actually know" or "Immediate Family", "Classmates", etc. Once you have these lists setup, you can use them to control just about ever aspect of your Facebook page AND YOUR PHOTOS. For example, perhaps you only want your "Close Friends and Family" to see personal pictures taken at your home and of your children. Perhaps you only want the "People you actually know" to see your Wall Posts. Maybe there was a company picnic and you only want your "co-workers" to see those shots. Get the idea? Although you have a mixture of "friends" on Facebook, you can still control who sees what.
Here's how to do it for a photo album: First create the album (or you can use an existing one). Then choose Account->Privacy Settings. The click Customize Settings and from there click Edit album privacy. Now you can go to the Album that you want to change and set the privacy for that particular Album to a specific or multiple lists and only those people will be able to see those photos.
Happy List Creating and I'll see you in Vegas!
July 16th, 2010
3:53
G Design updates their iPhone tripod holder for the iPhone 4
The good folks over at G Design have modified their popular iPhone Tripod Holder (original review here) to accommodate the slimmer iPhone 4 handset. Now that the iPhone 4 is sporting a 5MB camera and HD video, more and more budding photographers and videographers are taking it more seriously.
Addition of rubber grips
This is basically the same holder that they made for the iPhone 3G/3GS, they merely added rubber grips (bumpers) on both sides to fill the gap and hold the iPhone 4 in place.
Yes, it holds it tight enough even upside down
Just like the previous model there is very little danger of the iPhone 4 sliding out and falling to the ground. As you can see here I've got it completely upside down. Although I can't think of too many times that I would need to mount it this way (sideways/landscape is fine), it's good to know that it holds it in place if I do.
Not only would this work well for your next photo/product shoot or video project, but it would also be handy for those extended FaceTime sessions.
You can get the NEW iPhone 4 Tripod Holder here from their site. You can get the GorillaPod featured above here.
July 15th, 2010
3:57
What do Point & Shoot Cameras and GPS Nav Units Have in Common?
They are both on my endangered species list…
I wrote a post a while back asking the question, "Are camera phones the next point and shoot cameras?" Back then, I pointed out how I either carry my DSLR camera when the picture that I want to take really matters or I shoot casually with the camera on my smartphone (which is always with me) when it's something casual and in the moment. While point and shoot cameras will probably continue to have the advantage when it comes to better lenses, more megapixels and probably better quality files, smartphones continue to drive the one feature that matters most to most casual shooters: SHARING! Most people take pictures so that they can not only capture the moment, but also so that they can share them easily. Yet only a fraction of point and shoot cameras today include built-in WiFi and even then it's difficult to setup and use. The standard smartphone (iPhone 4 and various Droid models) have all gone up to between 5MP-8MP sensors. While it's true that point and shoot cameras typically come in the 8MP-14MP range these days, for the average person 5MP is plenty. Not only are these devices shooting great pictures, but they are also shooting great HD video! Although I love my Kodak Zi8, I honestly think that I won't be carrying it anymore by the end of this year.
What about GPS Turn-by-Turn Directions?
When I travel I live by my GPS devices. I'm the first to admit that I'm very directionally challenged. However, my beloved Garmin Nüvi 765T sits on a shelf now. Why? Because the Navigon App on my phone just keeps getting better and better. I paid for it once and it has had several significant feature updates. The latest update brings background multitasking support, weather info, the latest Maps and now finds available parking. Sure I could buy a new dedicated GPS that offers these features too, but why? I'm always gonna have my phone with me and the App on my phone will continue to get better with minimal cost in upgrading.
I think the days of these one trick ponies are over. Why carry a point and shoot camera, a GPS navigation device and a phone if your smartphone can do it all?
Don't believe me? Take a look at these videos:
A photo shoot done with a camera phone (iPhone 3GS)
A movie shot and produced (back story here) entirely on an iPhone 4:
Navigon demonstrating their New Clever Parking feature:
Also be sure to check out this book on what can be done with a camera phone: The Best Camera Is The One That's With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis (Voices That Matter)
I will cover the technology, gadgets, events and cool toys that have affected me in some way. I will also give recommendations on the products that I have actually used.
July 28th, 2010
12:09