Hopes & Dreams for 2010
*NOTE: Apparently, when you don’t set the publish time when you thought you did, the post won’t appear when you planned… I wrote this one for yesterday’s post and messed it up. So I hope you enjoy it today!
Now that we’re into the new year we are starting to see how all the resolutions and good intentions are either starting to slip already or, at the very least, the reality is sinking in about whether or not you can follow through.
I never really make resolutions with the new year. I tend to set goals for myself, things to work towards, rather than deciding to do things that I’m not really all that committed to.
The Results Are In: December 2009 Photo Contest!
As the year comes to a close, so does another one of my Monthly Photo Contests. Before announcing the winner for the December Photo Contest, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of our contest sponsors over the past year including Westcott, Scott Kelby, Mpix, IGT America, onOne, Unified Color, Photoshop Cafe, What the Duck? and Kelby Training. Thank you for all of your generous support and for working with me to encourage our fellow photographers to grow with every shot.
I’d also like to thank everyone who has entered my contests this year. Whether you won a prize or not, I want you to know that I saw artistry in each and every shot and you are all more than capable of doing great things behind the lens. Keep it up!
And now, for our winner…
What Are You Looking For?
To continue with what seems to be our theme of the week, I’d like to pose another question to you: What are you looking for in a video tutorial?
When you’re searching around on YouTube or Lynda.com or Kelby Training or wherever for Photoshop tutorial videos what separates the great ones from those that are only so-so? Is it the production values (video quality, sound quality, nice intro graphics, etc.)? Is it the personality of the presenter? Is it the language used (laymen’s terms vs. technical terms, “geeky” vs. down-to-earth, etc.)? Is it the unique nature of the tutorial itself? Is it how smooth the workflow seems to be? What is it?
I know, for most people it’s a combination of all of these factors, and I’m sure it’s true for you too, to a greater or lesser degree. But I’d like to invite you to examine your criteria for judging these sorts of tutorials a little more closely and share with all of us what exactly it is that makes a tutorial video stand above the rest.
At the same time, it’s easy to spot what we don’t like. It may be hard to know why, exactly, but we know it when we see it. Here, too, I’d like you to think about what tells you that a tutorial just isn’t worth your time.
Describe 2 tutorials: your ideal video and what differentiates it from the crowd, and what turns you off straight-away.
As you may have guessed, I’m doing a little market research as I prepare my entries for the So, You Think You Can Teach Photoshop contest. It’s true, that I want to do everything I can to create the best videos I can so I will, hopefully, win the contest. But even more than that, my interest lies in furthering the value of such videos so that regardless of any sort of prize that may be at stake, the videos I produce will help others become better Photoshop users and more effecient artists.
So, any input would be greatly appreciated!
And, again, if you have any techniques, concepts, or sources of inspiration that you’ve always wanted to know how to do, please let me know!
Thanks!
Photo Contest Reminders
We’re coming up on the end of June already and that means the deadline for my June Photo Contest is almost upon us! There are already a number of great shots submitted but there is still time for you to send in up to 3 entries for your chance to win a free 8×10 of one of my photos. Complete contest rules can be found in the bottom half of my “Contests” page.
Also, I’m excited to announce that we’re almost at the halfway point in my BIG Photo Contest and we’ve already received 26 photos so far! I know there are 22 people registered so you better get crackin’ so you will get your collection of shots in on time to be considered for the grand prize worth over $1,000! Once again, complete contest rules can be found on the “Contests” page.
I hope you will send in your work to be a part of one or both of these contests. And while you’re over on the Contests page, please be sure to check out what our sponsors have to offer. They each have some great products and services that every photographer can find useful.
BIG Photo Contest Update
I am pleased to report that in addition to already having 11 members of the BIG Photo Contest Flickr Group, with a few submissions already coming in, we have locked in 6 official sponsors offering some fantastic items as part of our Grand Prize package as well as some prizes for 3 runners up! All told the Grand Prize winner will receive over $1,000 in prizes and services from our very generous sponsors! (Fitting for my 1,000th post, wouldn’t you say?)
Here’s a rundown of who our sponsors are and what they are contributing to the contest:
onOne Software is the creator of an award-winning series of plug-ins for Photoshop that are designed specifically to help you improve your workflow and increase your productivity. To that end, onOne has recently announced a new free version of thier popular PhotoTools 2 called PhotoTools 2 Lite. They have also just announced a new iPhone app for Canon users so they can control their EOS DSLRs via a WiFi enabled computer.
As part of the prize package the winner will receive a full version of the onOne Plug-In Suite 4.5.
Unified Color offers full-featured HDR editing with an intuitive and natural interface making your HDR experience run smoothly with amazing results.
Unified Color is including a full copy of their excellent HDR software, HDR PhotoStudio. Read my review of HDR PhotoStudio.
The great folks over at Mpix make up the largest professional photography lab in the United States. They provide an unparalleled quality of products and services in the photographic printing industry with an equally impressive turnaround time with almost all orders shipping within 24 hours.
The winner of the BIG Photo Contest will be getting $250 to spend on Mpix services.
Photoshop Cafe is run by Colin Smith, a best-selling author, trainer, and award-winning new-media designer who has caused a stir in the design community with his stunning photorealistic illustrations composed entirely in Photoshop. Colin is also known as a pioneer of HDR photography. He is founder of the world’s most popular Photoshop resource site, PhotoshopCAFE.com, which boasts over 20 million visitors.
Photoshop Cafe is providing a copy of Colin’s instructional DVD “Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers” with over 6 hours of tutorials.
This sponsor needs no introduction to regular readers of the blog. Scott Kelby and other members of Kelby Training team work tirelessly to bring quality education for creatives around the world. Their mission is to make you better at what you do and to help advance the technologies we use everyday to make the creative community better.
Scott Kelby is donating a signed copy of “The Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers” for the winner.
What the Duck is an awesome daily comic strip that pokes fun at everyone and everything associated with photography – from clients to art directors to the technology itself through the life and times of our little friend, the duck.
What the Duck will be giving the winner a What the Duck Plush as well as a signed print of their favorite WTD Strip.
As I mentioned above, that is not all! The first runner-up will receive a full copy of the onOne Plug-In Suite 4.5 and $50 to spend at Mpix! Also, 2 additional runners-up will get $50 in Mpix services.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our very generous contest sponsors for helping me celebrate my 1,000th post and by making this our biggest photo contest to date! Thank You!
So, where to you go from here? How do you enter for your chance to win? Well, get all the details for the BIG Photo Contest and submit your shots to the BIG Photo Contest Flickr Group by July 31st.
Good Luck!
Three More Sponsors for the BIG Photo Contest
I received word yesterday of three new sponsors for my 1000th Post BIG Photo Contest!
The details are still coming together but I am excited to announce that Kelby Training, onOne Software and Mpix have joined our list of official sponsors for the contest, which already includes:
- Photoshop Cafe – “Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers” DVD
- What the Duck – What the Duck Plush & Signed Print
- and Unified Color – HDR PhotoStudio
A HUGE thanks goes out to all of our sponsors for your support and generous offerings.
Click here for complete contest details and to start working for your chance to win!
The Results Are In! May Photo Contest
Before we get to the results, I just want to say how each month I am amazed by the talent that is out there that comes from each of the entrants. You all make my job very difficult and I am very grateful for it! Keep submitting and sharing your vision with us!
Also, be sure to scroll all the way down to find out about the next two contests that are currently underway!
And now, the moment we’ve been waiting for, the prize of a 1-year subscription to Kelby Online Training – courtesy of my buddy Scott Kelby, himself – is:
“light at the end…” by Zarah Masales
Congratulations Zarah! I know you will both learn a lot and grately enjoy all that Kelby Training offers. I wish I could win, myself!
As always, there were more excellent shots than there were prizes available and, in no particular order, here are some other favorites from the collection:
The June Photo Contest is now open. Enter your shots today for your chance to win a free 8×10 print of one of my shots (a $50 value).
And if that isn’t enough photo contest for you, submit your photos by July 31st into my BIG Photo Contest celebrating my upcoming 1,000th post. Click here for full contest rules and a complete listing of prizes.
Post #950! And the BIG Photo Contest!
I like to celebrate even the small milestones in life. And so it is today with my 950th blog post. I never want to forget all of the readers out there and those who have taken the time to comment and contribute to the life of the blog over the years. And a very special thank you to everyone who has been such a huge support by linking back, talking me up, sponsoring, guest posting, participating in projects, and just being great Friends-of-the-Blog. It really means a lot and you all have helped make this little corner of the web what it is, whatever role you play.
Thank You!
950 is a nice round number, and certainly a laudable goal in its own right, but it means that the next big milestone is a really big one. One that can’t be passed by with a casual mention on a single day. So, it’s not going to be…
I am excited to announce today that between now and July 31st I am putting out a call for entries into my Biggest Photo Contest yet!
Here’s how it’s going to work:
- Collect 5 of your own images that depict each of the following (in any order):
- Aged, Worn, or Old
- Travel or a Journey
- Part of a Whole
- Geometric
- Your Best/Favorite Shot Ever - These can be new images or photos from your archives, but they have to be YOURS (with the Worldwide Photowalk coming up you should be able to gather some really great images.)
- Images can be processed or otherwise manipulated as much or as little as you deem necessary.
- Submit your images by July 31st to The BIG Photo Contest Flickr Group with a note in the title or description about which category each image falls into.
- This is an open contest. Anyone can enter.
- The images will be judged as a group based on:
- Overall Artistry
- Originality
- Composition
- How well each image fits the categories - The winner will be announced in Post #1,000 which is scheduled to appear in early-mid August.
- The prize package is still in the works, but I can assure you that it will be bigger than any prize we’ve given away to date in any of our contests. Come back regularly for updates!
- That’s it!
The race to #1,000 is on! Good Luck!
NOTE: If you would like to donate or sponsor a prize for The BIG Photo Contest, please email me at sponsors@jasondmoore.com TODAY!
UPDATE: Our prize package is growing and now includes prizes from our official sponsors:
- Kelby Training - Signed copy of Scott Kelby’s Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers book
- Mpix - $250 in Mpix Services to the Grand Prize winner, $50 in services to 3 runner’s up.
- onOne Software - a copy of Plug-In Suite 4.5 for the winner and 1st runner up.
- Photoshop Cafe - “Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers” DVD
- Unified Color - HDR PhotoStudio
- What the Duck - What the Duck Plush & Signed Print
- For a prize package worth over $1,000!
P&P Weekly: #94
Welcome to week #94 of The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll’s P&P Weekly!
Click here to become a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. A great resource for training, tips, and connecting with other creatives.
And as always, take a moment to grab one of the chicklet links to show your support for this blog and, for blogroll members, be sure to pick up your P&P Blogroll Member badge link.
Finally, here are some of my favorites from what’s been happening in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:
- Paul of A Clean-Well Lighted Place – “Statue of Liberty“
- Stacey of A “Focus” in the Wild – “Skywatch Friday“
- Igno of A Photographers Life talks about “unscreening” our lives. One of Igno’s images was also just selected as NAPP’s Image of the Week! Congratulations!
- Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania – “Apples“
- Amy of Archerfoto – “Caught in mid fall“
- Richard of Black and White Photography – “Angel“
- Bruce of Bruce L. Snell Photography – “Patty and Jared“
- Kerry of Camera Dojo – “Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise 35“
- Jason of Canon Blogger – “Tuesday Tricks“
- Patrick of Chuprina Studios -”Red Desoto“
- Colin of The Official Blog of Colin Smith - “PhotoshopCAFE live with CS4 Learning Center“
- Crash of Crash Taylor Photography – “Jemma and James“
- Mike of Creative Sweet TV – “CS4 is Here!“
- Dave of Dave Cross Online – “Should you upgrade to CS4?“
- David of Digital ProTalk – “Where Has All the Business Gone – Part 2“
- Doug of Doug Stremel Photography - “Walkerman – Day 2“
- Erik of Erik Persson Photography – “US Aqua Pure Drinking Water“
- Marshall of f/11 – “Whaddya know, clouds“
- Syv of Foto-Biz.com – “A Very Wise Wacko“
- Eric of Graphic Tips – “Sending HTML Emails“
- Scotty of IndoGrahams – “From the Crater of Bromo“
- Marcus of Invisible Green – “Apple on a Rail“
- Jen of Jen Rinaldi Photography - “Christa + Mark = Engaged!“
- Jenny of Jenny Arnez Photography - “Best Friends“
- John of John Nack on Adobe – “Photoshop Extended Upgrade Options“
- Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips - “The Lightroom Conspiracy“
- Mike of Mike Palmer Photography – “Get Low“
- Dave of New York Photography – “Dancing Hasidm“
- Heather of One Shot Beyond Photography - “Emil & Stef“
- Mike of Photography Reloaded – “Auto Exposure Bracketing Camera Settings for HDR“
- Scott of Photoshop Insider - “Kelby Training Launches Photoshop CS4 Power Session“
- Jeff of PhotoWalkPro – “Must Have Accessories for Your Photography“
- Troy of Ramblings Around Texas – “Alaska Sunday XXIV“
- Jennifer of Robin’s Woods – “(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Tuesday Edition“
- Roger of Roger Madsen Photography – “Dusk” – An Awesome Shot!
- Sam of Samuel Barr Photography – “The Calm After the Storm“
- Shawn of SDuffy Photography – “Saturday in Occoquan“
- David of Strobist – “Best Buy Liquidating Nikon SB-800s“
- Terry of Terry White’s Tech Blog – “Adobe TV 2.0“
- Richard of The Airstream Chronicles Continued – “A Drive By the Gallery“
- Derrick of The Digital Story – “It’s Not Just Your Photos at Risk“
- Dewdrop of The Flight of a South Georgia Storm Chaser – “Skywatch Friday“
- Andy of The Global Photographer – “Photo of the Day“
- Rob of Towner Jones Photography – “New Feature, Contest Reminder“
- Michael of travel+photography – “Eureka Springs, Arkansas“
- Lori of VirtualPhotographyStudio.com – “Part Time Photography“
- Andy of Visual Realia – “Reverent Aisle“
- Stephen of Watch This Space – “Fluid“
- Scott of Weekly Photo Tips - “SanDisk 16GB Extreme III Card for $24.95\“
- Aaron of What the Duck - ”WTD #575″
- Ben of Where is Ben? – “Photoshop CS4: Up to Speed Book“
- Christopher of Written By the Light – “Lightroom 2: The Missing Manual“
Please be sure to visit the great blogs of our other members found in the sidebar. And if you would like to be considered for The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll, email Jason.
Worldwide Photo Walk Press Release
5,500 Photographers – 241 Cities – 43 Countries – Participating on August 23
TAMPA, FL – August 14, 2008 – Scott Kelby and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) are pleased to announce that as of today, 5,500 photographers from 241 cities in 43 countries have signed up to participate in Scott Kelby’s first-ever worldwide Photo Walk scheduled for Saturday, August 23. The Photo Walks are organized to celebrate the release of Scott Kelby’s latest book – The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (an update to his earlier world’s bestselling book on Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®).
Registration is free and open to all photographers – amateur to professional – from around the world. Photo Walk groups are limited to 50 participants in each city and advance registration is required. Sponsors of this global landmark event are NAPP, Adobe, Wacom, CDW, Mpix, Peachpit, Epson, Kelby Training, and Photo Walk Pro.
A grand prize, valued at $5000, will be awarded to the single best overall photo of the day taken from all the Photo Walk locations. In addition, the best photo from the day, chosen by each local Photo Walk leader, will receive a copy of Kelby’s Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers. Prize details available at http://www.photoshopuser.com/photowalk/prizes.html
Kelby’s Photo Walk is a fun, social photography event where photographers get together for two hours, usually in a metropolitan area or a trendy section of a city, to walk around, shoot photos, and generally have fun with other photographers. Each Photo Walk has a local assigned leader that chooses the route of the walk and the ending place (a local restaurant, pub or café) where participates will look at each other’s photos from the walk and make new photography friends.
About Scott Kelby
President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals; editor in chief of Photoshop User and Layers magazines; training director and instructor for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, CEO of Kelby Media, and number 1 bestselling computer and technology author worldwide; technical chair for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo, and co-host of PhotoshopUser TV podcast.
About NAPP
NAPP is the largest digital imaging and design association worldwide with more than 70,000 members in 105 countries. It is the leading resource for Adobe Photoshop training, education and news. For more information, visit www.photoshopuser.com.
Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) Exam
UPDATE: I PASSED!!!
Today at 3pm (EST) I will be sitting down to take the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) Exam for Photoshop CS3.
I’ve been studying a lot over the past week and rewatching Friend-of-the-Blog Matt Kloskowski’s ACE Bootcamp class over at Kelby Training to help get into the mindset of the exam. As Matt talks about in the class, you need to know how Adobe wants you to do things, not necessarily the way you know how to do it. So, in some cases, it means re-learning how a particular tool, panel, or function works. It also means spending time on some topics I’ve never had the need to work with before – like 3D – and areas I’m not as familiar with – color management.
Even though I’ve been reviewing the exam guide and Photoshop Help files I’m still pretty nervous. I’ve been working with Photoshop on an almost daily basis for about 6 years and taking in as many tutorials, videos, books, and classes as I can stand (a lot) and afford (not as much), but there is still a part of me that isn’t too sure how I’m going to do. I can figure out how to do just about anything that comes my way, or at least come up with something that will work or find a resource to show me the “right” way. And I’m certainly ahead of the curve with my skills. But is that enough?
Wish me luck!
A Few Tuesday Links
I know yesterday’s posting of The P&P Weekly is just chocked full of links to peruse but I thought I would send a couple of more your way as we welcome a some new members and take a look at a couple of other things out there in the world of digital imaging.
New Members:
- Stacey of A “Focus” in the Wild
- Jason of Canon Blogger
- Marcus of Invisible Green
Other fun stuff:
- Get live updates from Photoshop World.
- Check out Kelby Training for some excellent online classes to help you with your Photoshop and photography skills!
P&P Weekly: #69
For those of you who may be new regular visitors,Welcome! “The P&P Weekly” is published each Monday and lists of my favorite posts from the previous week written by members of The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll – listed in the sidebar – and is also where I write updates on coming features and general news about this blog. Thank you for coming by the blog and I hope you will continue to make this a regular stop along your web journeys!
It’s been a big weekend for Jason D. Moore Photography. First off, my recent video on the cover to Matt Kloskowski’s Layers book was featured on P&P Blogroll Member Scott Kelby’s blog and, in its wake, I’ve had a little over 1,300 in 3 days! February was, up until this month, my highest month to date and I’ve gotten almost as many unique visitors this week as I got all last month! Thanks also go to Matt and his continued support over the past couple of weeks with links as well.
Because of the growing numbers of visitors, the blogroll is growing too! This week, we welcome 2 new members, Eric Saar and Kerry Gerrison, with another member possibly joining us this week. So please be sure to check them out as well as all of the other members’ blogs.
And finally before we get to this week’s list please take a moment to grab one of the chicklet links to show your support for this blog and, for blogroll members, be sure to pick up your P&P Blogroll Member badge link.
Here are some of my favorites from what’s been happening in The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll:
- Kathleen of A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania - ”Jenn, Spring Break“
- Amy of Archerfoto - “Danish Saturn“
- Dave of Dave Cross Online has just updated his online gallery.
- David of Digital ProTalk just launched a new class for wedding photographers over at Kelby Training.
- Joey of Joey Lawrence: Perception has a post about his recent workshop in Wisconson.
- John of John Nack on Adobe talks about trends in logo history.
- Jennifer of Laughing Lion Design tells (reminds) us iStock’s free weekly photos.
- Matt of Lightroom Killer Tips talks about PSDs and Drive Space.
- Mike of Mike Palmer Photography – “Barbed“
- Dave of New York Photography – “Dad’s Birthday“
- Matthias of Pabst Photo – “The House on Piles“
- Jim of PHOTOBLOG by Jim Larimer – “136 Elati“
- Clayton of Photographic Design is teaching at an upcoming workshop.
- Andy of The Global Photographer reviews Seagate Barracuda hard drives.
- Stephen of watchThisspace – “Pyramid“
- Aaron of What the Duck – “WTD #435, 437, 438″
- Scott of Weekly Photo Tips did an interview with photographer Carmen Bike.
As always, please take a few minutes and visit the great blogs of our other members found in the sidebar. And if you would like to be considered for The Photoshop & Photography Blogroll, email Jason.
Kelby Training
Just announced during the Photoshop World keynote, Friend-of-the-Blog Scott Kelby just launched his new site Kelby Training – “the most comprehensive educational resource for photographers, graphic designers, and creative professionals using the Adobe Creative Suite.”
“We share our student’s passion for creativity, and as the leading resource for Photoshop educational DVDs, live training seminars, online classes, and award-winning books, it’s our job to not only boost their Photoshop skill level and give them a competitive advantage, but to make the whole process just like our training – easy, fun, and straight-to-the-point.”
