Peg Fredi – Simulating Alternative Processes / Waxing Prints

Alumni, Printing, Workshop  Comment
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This week at The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop (taking place at Brooks sponsored by Epson) Peg Fredi wanted to simulate the look of the alternative process prints she’s been making with digital contact negatives. She tried several toning solutions – variations of traditional warm toning solutions. She found that she like the black of the inkjet prints, which is even blacker than alternative process blacks. She tried several paper types, ultimately deciding on Epson Velvet paper, which she then planned to wax (with butcher’s wax) to enhance the surface further. Actually, waxing print surfaces has been around a long time. It adds an extra dimension and quality to any print. And it doesn’t affect longevity. It pays to experiment. You may find new solutions that are just right for your work.
Have you finished your prints in unusual ways? Tell us about it! Comment here!
See Peg Fredi’s work here.
Look for upcoming Epson Print Academy dates here.
Check out The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshops here.
Check out my Fine Digital Print workshops here.

Steve Robeck – Thinking File Structure

Alumni, Software - Photoshop, Workshop  Comment
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This week at The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop (taking place at Brooks sponsored by Epson) Mac Holbert and I reviewed file structure at the end of the week – by processing student work. Everyone participating in the workshop got a valuable review of the file building workflow Mac and I use and recommend. Steve Robeck also got more than one possible window into the art of interpreting digital files. Time and time again, you modify how you apply a tool, eliminate it from the process, or add another. In this case we added a Photo Filter adjustment layer applied selectively to the highlights to add subtle warm ambient color and we used an additional Hue/Saturation layer to increase the saturation of yellow accent colors throughout the image. Adopting a consistent file structure and working methodology is important. And, knowing when and why to make exceptions is equally important.
Look for upcoming Epson Print Academy dates here.
Check out The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshops here.
Check out my Fine Digital Print workshops here.

Carlos Conseco – Print Surface

Alumni, Printing, Workshop  Comment
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This week at The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop (taking place at Brooks sponsored by Epson) Carlos Conseco discovered how important it is to test materials and evaluate images side-by-side. He printed one of his best images on a variety of surfaces – Epson Watercolor, Velvet, Ultrasmooth Fine Art, Luster, and Exhibition Fiber. They were all good. Each material added something new to the expression of his print. Materials affect print quality in technical ways (glossy papers produce blacker blacks) and aesthetic ways (matte papers seem softer and more organic). So he slept on it before making his final decision. The most important thing he learned was that materials matter.
What papers do you like? Why? Comment here!
Look for upcoming Epson Print Academy dates here.
Check out The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshops here.
Check out my Fine Digital Print workshops here.

Epson Print Academy – New Dates

Event - Seminar  Comment
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The Epson Print Academy is gearing up for another tour. There are two tracks.
Track I programming includes …
Jack Reznicki seminars and hosts.
Video presentations by top industry experts.
Track II programming includes …
Andrew Rodney    Color Management
Jeff Schewe        Raw Conversion
Greg Gorman     Black and White
Mac Holbert     Fine Art Workflow
J P Caponigro    21st Century Dodging & Burning and The Art of Proofing
Video presentations with Michael Reichmann, Henry Wilhelm, and Epson Professional Product Managers.
Which track should you attend? Find out here.
Nov 8, 2008       Atlanta
Nov 16, 2008     Washington DC
Dec 6 , 2008      New York
Dec 13, 2008     Dallas
Jan 31, 2009      Seattle
Feb 7, 2009       San Francisco
Feb 21, 2009     Los Angeles
Feb 28, 2009     Boston
Mar 14, 2009     Chicago
Mar 21, 2009     Toronto
April 4, 2009      Minneapolis
April 25, 2009    Denver
May 3, 2009       New York
May 9, 2009       Los Angeles/Orange County
May 16, 2009     San Francisco
May 23, 2009     Vancouver
Get more details on dates and locations here.
Track 1 costs $79.95. Track 2 costs $149.95. This is one of the best deals around. Sign up now!
Check out Schewe and Reichmann’s video tutorial here.
Check out Holbert’s DVD The Dirty Dozen here.
Check out my DVDs here.
Check out my Fine Digital Print workshop series here.
If you attended the Epson Print Academy tell us what you liked and what you’re looking forward to. Comment here!

JPC on thirdeyephotozine.com

Creativity, Interviewed  Comment
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Recently Rayhaan Traboulay interviewed me for his online magazine thirdeyephotozine. Here’s an excerpt.
RH I recently had a discussion with a friend about creativity within people. I
find that people either generally “have it” or don’t. I believe that you
can’t really teach it too much. Theres room for improvement and critiques
and so on, but I find it is either innate in someone or it’s not. Would you
agree or no?
JPC I disagree – strongly. To be a successful creative person in any field, it
takes perseverance, intelligence, hard work, skill, talent, and luck – in
that order. Everyone is creative. Different people have different creative
strengths. It helps to find the areas each of us are strongest in and to
develop skills within other areas to become more versatile. Creativity is
not contained to the arts. Some of the most creative people in history and
with us on the planet today work in the fields of science and business. We
all have something to offer. And something to learn from each other.
Do you think you can learn to be more creative? Comment here!
Read the rest of the interview here.
Read more interviews here.
Read and hear my comments on my images here.
Find free PDFs on making artist’s statements here.
Hear my free tips on becoming more creative here.
See my images and get free portable galleries here.

Picture Perfect South American – Cruising Through Life

Workshop  Comment
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Vincent Versace, Laurie Excell, and I will be coteaching in a South America cruise February 5-17.
There are some fabulous landings scheduled. Find out more here.
M, February 5   6 PM                 Valparaiso, Chile
T, February 6                             At Sea
W, February 7    7 AM – 6 PM     Puerto Montt, Chile
T, February 8                             At Sea
F, February        7 AM – 8 AM     Pio Xi Glacier, Chile
S, February 10    6 AM – 7 PM     Punta Arenas, Chile
S, February 11    12 PM – 8 PM   Ushuaia, Argentina
M, February 12    8 AM – 9AM    Cape Horn
T, February 13    8 AM – 6 PM    Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
W, February 14                          At Sea
R, February 15                           At Sea
F, February 16    8 AM – 5 PM    Montevideo, Uruguay
S, February 17    6 AM               Buenos Aires, Argentina
What do we do at sea? Seminars. Find out more here.
T February 6
9-11    Excell     Photography Basics
3-5    Excell        Beyond the Basics
R, February 4
9-11    Caponigro    Illuminating Creativity
3-5    Caponigro    6 Simple Steps to Good Color Management
F, February 6
9-11  Caponigro    Creating a Master File
1-2    Caponigro    Essential Camera Tests
4-6    Versace    Lighting on a Laptop Like a Sunbeam
S, February 8
9-11    Caponigro    Creative Sharpening
M, February 9
9-12    Caponigro    The Power of Color
1-3    Caponigro    Black & White Mastery
4-6    Caponigro    The Art of Masking
T, February 11
9-12    Versace    Lighting on a Laptop Like a Sunbeam
1-3    Versace    Seeing Is Believing
4-6    Versace    Image Harvesting
W, February 12
9-12    Versace    Retouching on a Laptop
1-3    Versace    Unleashing the Raw Power of Capture NX
4-6    Versace    Framing Versus Composition
What do you do with the little remaining time? Have a great meal at one of the many onboard restaurants. Get a message at one of the onboard spas. Go swimming in the pools and hot tubs. Or, enjoy retail therapy in the onboard shops. Find out more here.
Want to come? Sign up now here!
Insights Members get $1000 off. This offer is good for the next 5 members that register only.

Photoshop World Highlight – The People

Event - Seminar  Comment
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–
Sure, the training is excellent! But, the best thing about Photoshop World is the people. These people are not only talented, intelligent, and passionate but they’re also one of the nicest groups of people to work with anywhere. You get this feeling everyone here: with the instructors, the staff, and the attendees. The folks at NAPP are an exceptional organization, not just professional, but personal. I told Scott Kelby how impressed I was with this when he welcomed me to my first Photoshop World. His response said it all, “They’re not customers; they’re members.” The sense of community is very strong here.
Find out who all these people are here.
Find out what you missed here.
Watch for upcoming announcement for Photoshop World Boston in spring 2009.
If you attended any of the sessions, let us know what you thought! Comment!
Check out cobloggers coverage of PSW at the links below.
Corey Barker
John Paul Caponigro
RC Concepcion
Dave Cross
Laurie Excell
Martin Evening
Scott Kelby
Matt Koslowski
Deke McClelland
Joe McNally
John Nack
Moose Peterson
Jeff Schewe
Colin Smith
Ben Willmore
David Ziser

Photoshop World Highlight – PSW Keynote

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Adobe announced today  that CS Next is coming soon.
What’s Next? John Loiacono highlighted three key concepts that characterize the new release. Timesavers (real speed increases), Integration (transparently with Macromedia products), and Cutting Edge (daring new features).
Sign up for advance notice on upcoming announcements 9-23-08 here.
For me one of the most interesting things at Photoshop World is the keynote address. Adobe always unveils new technology / features that are either soon to be released or might be slated for future release at a later date. You get futurecasting about new possibilities in photography based on what’s actually in development now. It’s these presentations that make me feel like I’m truly in the 21st century.
John Loiacono and John Nack did a great job this morning. Their presentations were so smooth it was almost easy to overlook that what they were showing you were radical new ways of making photographic images. A tsunami seemed like a gentle wave. This may have helped many of us overcome a feeling akin to vertigo as we watched our photographic world change before your eyes.
1    Adobe’s free online service PhotoshopExpress soon to be compatible with mobile devices – store, share, adjust your images online – free … think Facebook meets PS
2    Configurator – a soon to be release utility that lets you customize and share your PS interface
3    ultrahigh resolution (multi-gigabyte) stitches with zooming capabilities – zoom into any part of an image and reveal amazing detail you couldn’t see with the naked eye
4    context sensitive scaling – scale an image without distorting key image areas
5    360 degree stitched panoramas that can be easily retouched or even rendered as a globe
6    paint directly on 3D renderings
7    super-fast preview and rendering of filters
Congratulations to today’s Photoshop Hall of Fame Inductees – John Nack and Martin Evening!
If you were there, tell us about it. Comment!
Check out cobloggers coverage of PSW at the links below.
Corey Barker
John Paul Caponigro
RC Concepcion
Dave Cross
Laurie Excell
Martin Evening
Scott Kelby
Matt Koslowski
Deke McClelland
Joe McNally
John Nack
Moose Peterson
Jeff Schewe
Colin Smith
Ben Willmore
David Ziser

Photoshop World Highlight – Epson Print Academy

Event - Seminar  Comment
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Everyone had a good time at the Epson Print Academy today. We always do.
This special half day version of the Epson Print Academy Track Two for Photoshop World runs lean and fast with fantastic content by Photoshop Hall of Fame Inductees – Andrew Rodney, Jeff Schewe, and John Paul Caponigro.
Rodney         Color Management
Schewe         Image Optimization
Rodney         Printing to an Epson Printer
Schewe         Advanced Black and White
Caponigro    Fine Art Printing – Performance Printing & The Art of Proofing
The handouts (for attendees only) are phenomenal. They’re electronic! So they’re green (no wasted paper), accessible anywhere, portable, with no limit to length, able to accomodate many file types (text, images, actions), and frequently updated. After you attend, you can always get the latest versions.
But wait, there’s more! Bonus prizes are often given to a few lucky attendees, like prints by Schewe, posters and DVDs by Caponigro … sometimes printers are even given away.
If you were there, tell us about it. Comment!
The Epson Print Academy is gearing up for a national tour again.
Stay tuned for important announcements at the end of the month.
Check out upcoming Epson Print Academy dates here.
Check out Schewe’s Photoshop News here.
Check out Rodney’s DigitalDog.net here.
Check out all of our books here.
Check out my free printing downloads here.
Check out my DVDs here.
Check out my workshops here.
Check out cobloggers coverage of PSW at the links below.
Corey Barker
John Paul Caponigro
Dave Cross
Laurie Excell
Martin Evening
Scott Kelby
Matt Koslowski
Deke McClelland
Joe McNally
John Nack
Moose Peterson
Jeff Schewe
Colin Smith
Ben Willmore
David Ziser

CoBlogging – Photoshop World Highlights

Event - Seminar  Comment
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I’ve started an experiment.
Here’s the idea.
1 – Invite movers and shakers at Photoshop World (link) with blogs to make one short post a day during the event highlighting something that excited them that day.
2 – Invite those movers and shakers to invite other movers and shakers to join.
3 – Invite attendees to participate by commenting on the movers and shakers posts and include links to their blogs in their comments. Yes. If you’re at Photoshop World, you’re invited to post and link from your comments on any of the posts from the list of blogs below.
Photoshop World is so jam packed its impossible for any one person to do (or grok) it all. The diversity of experience and perspective collected here should be very exciting. Let’s see how long the list grows.
Look for more Photoshop World highlights at the links below.
Corey Barker
John Paul Caponigro
Dave Cross
Laurie Excell
Martin Evening
Scott Kelby
Matt Koslowski
Deke McClelland
Joe McNally
John Nack
Moose Peterson
Jeff Schewe
Colin Smith
Ben Willmore
David Ziser