Coney Island

Last Saturday we went with our friends Luis and Michael to Coney Island. Michael wanted to ride the Cyclone.



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Learning Photoshop

(inspired by kitchenbeard)

I had and used Photoshop at a basic level and was stuck there for a long time before I decided to push through and become more competent with it.

I now can't imagine life without it.

I had depended on online tutorials (and still do for some things) but there were four books that made a huge difference for me. I'm showing the CS3 versions of the first two even though I used the CS and CS2 versions - the last two aren't version specific.


The Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers

I loved this book. It is completely indexed by the end result - removing color casts, adjusting rgb flesh tones, better black and white using channel mixer, removing hot spots, opening up shadow areas - and not only does it increase your functional abilities but you use a broad range of PS tools and capabilities. You need to go elsewhere to learn more about the tools but as a way to see why they exist and how to use them for an end result it's great. The best starting point I can recommend. I still refer to it.


Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC

This is grouped by higher function - color correction, basic image adjustments, photoshop filters, layer effects - and tells you what to use and how to use it. I went back and forth between these two books - looking up a function in the 2nd to learn more about what I'd done in the 1st.


Photoshop Color Correction

This book hasn't been updated in a while but it was the first book that really clarified how to control colors in PS. I still use what I learned here as about 1/2 or more of what I do in PS with every photo. I just leafed through it and it's still essential. Since you can get it used for less than the cost of postage this is a no-brainer.

And if you find yourself learning more and feeling confident, then:


Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace

Now that I understand it, LAB space is simple. Before I got this book it was baffling. This book is not perfect but it's a great way to learn about LAB and then, by contrast, a whole lot more about RGB, CMYK, and color contrast. I must have leant this to someone as I can't find it...

I never took a class in PS and I find that I need to use it regularly, a couple of times a week, to keep my skills fresh. I never consider it a waste of time.

(no subject)

one more from Coney Island.

Contrary to my nature, this one is exactly as it came out of the camera.