Colin Smith of The Official Blog of Colin Smith and PhotoshopCAFE

Colin Smith is a best-selling author, trainer, and award-winning new-media designer who has caused a stir in the digital imaging community with his stunning photorealistic illustrations composed entirely in Photoshop. He is founder of the world’s most popular Photoshop resource site, PhotoshopCAFE.com, which boasts over six million visitors.??With over 14 years of experience in the digital imaging industry, Colin was formerly Senior Editor and Art Director for VOICE magazine. He is a regular columnist for Photoshop User magazine, PlanetPhotoshop.com, and the official site of the National Association for Photoshop Professionals. He also contributes to a number of other graphic art publications and Web sites, such as Mac Design magazine, Web Designer magazine and Computer Arts Magazine.?

Colin’s graphic design work has been recognized with numerous awards, including, MacWorld Digital Design and 3 Guru awards at Photoshop World 2001 and 2002, for his work in both Illustration and Web Design. He’s authored or co-authored more than fifteen books on Photoshop, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Photoshop CS and CS2 (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2005) and award-winning Photoshop Most Wanted: Effects and Design Tips (A Press/Friends Of Ed, 2002). Colin is also creator of the Photoshop Secrets Video training series (PhotoshopCD.com). He is in high demand across the United States as a lecturer, presenting his Photoshop techniques to Photographers and graphics professionals across the nation. Colin has consulted such companies as Adobe Systems, Apple and Disney Studios.

Why do you blog?
To have a more conversational voice on current progress and advancements in digital imaging.and to make people aware of things going on. Also to educate and help people to learn and become better at their craft.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
John Nack,
Gizmodo

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
About 15 years with Photoshop

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
Canon 5D

Mac or PC?
Both – mostly mac, I have 5 macs and 2 pcs

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
Wacom Cintiq

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Drum Scanner

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Keep practicing and learning. You can only get better at what your doing.

What inspires you to create?
Movies,magazines and great imagery

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
You can do anything you choose and be anyone you want to be

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
Dunno, I chose to live where I am because this is where I wanted to live

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time? What’s that? Jam on guitars and drive fast cars.

What talent would you most like to have?
Be able to Sing

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? yes
What is your least favorite word? no
What turns you on? Lots of things
What turns you off? Chaos
What sound or noise do you love? A Gibson Les Paul with EMG pickups screaming though a tube stack
What sound or noise do you hate? Spoiled Kids screaming for attention
What is your favorite curse word? Don’t curse – except for saying ass
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Movie Director or rockstar
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Politics or accounting
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Welcome, well done!

Note: If you there is someone you would like to see as a part of the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with their blog’s URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

Jennifer Robin of Robin’s Woods

Why do you blog?
Mostly as an artistic outlet. Keeping a photo blog challenges me to keep pushing myself to do better. It’s also a great place for my granddaughter to be able to keep up with what’s going on in Washington while she lives in California for the school year.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Wow, only three? For sheer reading pleasure, my current favorites are the Yarn Harlot, Sweet Juniper, and Ken Armstrong. I couldn’t limit myself to three photo blogs. I’m a photography junkie.

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I’ve been taking pictures since I was about 11 or 12, but never pursued the dream of being a professional until 1998. I worked as a portrait photographer and Photoshop retoucher for almost 5 years in a high end studio. These days, the forest and my log cabin are my studio, and Photoshop is in constant use.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
A digital dinosaur! It’s a 6 megapixel Canon D60. That camera was so anticipated back in 2002, there was a huge waiting list to get one. It has served me well, but it has issues.

Mac or PC?
PC, but I’m not afraid of a Mac.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
That would be a tie between my Wacom tablet and my portable light tent.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
A new camera! The D60 is notorious for problems with it’s auto focus. That, and some higher ISO’s sure would be nice!

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Turn off your flash, and keep it off. Actually, you may have situations when you have no choice but to use one, but try to learn to read the ambient light and harness it. That, and learn about composition. Nothing makes me battier then a poorly lit, well composed photo, or vice versa.

What inspires you to create?
My desire to share the beauty of my world, through my eyes.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
What goes around, comes around.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I live on 42 acres in the middle of a forest, with my own beach. Who would want to live anyplace other than that?

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Cook for friends and knit.

What talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to sing. I carry my tunes in a bucket, and it sounds like it.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Gob-smacked.
What is your least favorite word(s)? My bad.
What turns you on? The perfect kiss.
What turns you off? Filth.
What sound or noise do you love? The wind in the treetops, the lapping of water on the shore.
What sound or noise do you hate? Fingernails on a chalk board..
What is your favorite curse word? Shit.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? Hmm.  I wanted to be a stewardess when I was 18.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Septic tank pumping.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? My goodness, you’re looking fine for 135.

Note: If you there is someone you would like to see as a part of the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with their blog’s URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.

Rob Jones of Towner Jones Photography

Rob Jones and his wife, Rose Jones, own Towner Jones Photography, based out of Gainesville, VA.

Why do you blog?
I blog to help myself grow as a photographer, to become part of a larger community of photographers by sharing techniques and ideas, and as a way to reach my clients.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which ones would they be?
Photoshop Insider (www.scottkelby.com)
Lightroom Killer Tips (www.lightroomkillertips.com)
PhotoWalkPro (www.revellphotography.com/blog)

How long have you been using Photoshop/been a photographer?
I’ve been using Photoshop since version 3.0, and I’ve been a photographer since the mid-90’s when I got my first camera. When digital photography came on the scene the computer nerd and the artist in me both had an outlet – and I haven’t looked back since.

What type of camera(s) do you shoot with?
I currently shoot a Nikon D200.

Mac or PC?
PC. Yes, I’m a hold out for the PC, but I’m certainly not against the Mac. I have a background in computer engineering, so PCs have been close to my heart for quite some time.

What is your favorite piece of photo or computer equipment (other than your camera)?
My Dell 3007WFP-HC 30-inch monitor is one of my favorite toys. It has stunning color and sharpness, and you can’t beat having 30-inches of real estate.

What piece of equipment would you most like to get but don’t have?
Any of Nikon’s long reaching, fast glass… including but not limited to, Nikon’s 400mm f/2.8, 200mm f/2.0, 600mm f/4

What advice do you have for a novice creative professional/photographer?
Don’t be afraid to make lots of mistakes. If you’re shooting digital, learning to take better pictures is FREE! No book, seminar, class, video, whatever can replace practice on your camera.

What inspires you to create?
It all depends on the moment. Often it’s people (particularly friends and family), but many times it’s seeing something amazing done by another photographer.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
God has a wonderful plan for us, trusting in that fact, and not allowing the setbacks we face in life to steal our joy is the secret to real happiness.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you live now)?
I’d love to live in the Outer Banks of North Carolina – for now, I’ll vacation there any chance I get.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
My favorite “spare time” activity is spending time with my wife and daughter. When it comes to hobbies, apart from photography and messing around on the computer, I love to play saxophone and piano. If I’m not doing any of these things you’ll find me hiking, camping, or canoeing.

What talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be more athletic – I enjoy playing pretty much every sport – but I’ve never been coordinated enough to really hold my own.

From Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Sure
What is your least favorite word? Cornucopia (it just irritates me)
What turns you on? My wife, and (though my wife would have liked me to stop with my first answer) the smell of new electronics or photo equipment.
What turns you off? People who are inconsiderate, selfish, or rude.
What sound or noise do you love? My daughter laughing, well played saxophone, the ocean
What sound or noise do you hate? My daughter crying, when it’s caused by pain. (If you don’t have kids, this is a much different cry than that of a temper tantrum… this one tears a daddy’s heart in two)
What is your favorite curse word? It’s not exactly a curse word, but lately I find myself using “douche” as a way to describe someone who’s irritating me.
What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt? I’d love the opportunity to be a professional musician.
What occupation would you not want to participate in? Any job where I’d have to see people suffering on a regular basis. My heart hurts for people, and I don’t think I could handle it in large doses.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?  Well done, good and faithful servant. I love you and welcome home.

Note: If you there is someone you would like to see as a part of the P&P Blogger Profile series, please email Jason with their blog’s URL. Also, be sure to check out the P&P Weekly every Monday for news about this site and a roundup of what other Photoshop & Photography Blogroll members are posting.