Living In Layers | By RC | November 21, 2008 | 1 Comment
So, I am taking a couple of days off from the grind, hanging out with the incomparable Moose Peterson at the You Can Do It Too Workshop here in Mammoth, CA.
Spending a couple of days with good friends like Moose and Sharon, and talking a little bit about web setup is just what the doctor ordered. Even if it means that I am yawning like crazy, have a bit of a headache, and am winded… ahhh.. altitude illness. This however is more than made up for by Sharon’s Tortilla soup and earthquake cake. Mmmm Mountain food is good!
Jean-Francois O’Kane Shoots Using Softboxes
Jean-Francois O’Kane does a great job of going over some of the uses of softboxes in his most recent online tutorial, and if you are interested in taking a look at how softboxes will help your photography, it’s short enough to warrant a look. Click on the link below to see the video:
Jean Francois Okane - Bridal Portraits using softboxes .
Layers Blog Winner
Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to congratulate Doug Zeliff for winning this week’s Layers TV blog contest!! Way to go Doug!
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you guys back here on Monday morning.
Living In Layers | By RC | November 20, 2008 | 1 Comment
Happy Thursday everyone! Hey.. if you’ve been admiring the magazine cover for this month, then you might want to check out the work of Matt Murphy over at the Black Coffee Project. Matt’s an amazing illustrator and has some really cool work to share with everyone. I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Matt about some of his work in our Layers Spotlight Interview. Make sure you click on the link below to check it out. Matter of fact, this will help you answer this weeks Layers TV Contest, where we’re giving away a ticket to Photoshop World this March! Make sure you check out both the episode, and the Matt Murphy interview.. you’ll be glad you did:
Matt Murphy - Layers Artist Spotlight
Layers TV Episode 62 - Photoshop World Ticket Giveaway
Configurator Lives
I am a HUGE fan of the Configurator application, and I am happy to report that it is finally up at the Adobe Labs site! If you want to find out more about the Configurator, we have a couple of good resources for you to get started:
Dave Cross - A little about the Configurator
John Nack - About Configurator
John Nack Configurator Video
Adobe Labs - Configurator Download
Freeway has a Black Friday Offer
Just got this in and though it important to share: “From now until December 7th, anyone purchasing full-priced copies* of Freeway Pro or Freeway Express directly from the Softpress Store will receive an iTunes gift certificate via email. This certificate is fully transferrable, and makes a great holiday gift. Freeway Pro buyers will receive a $50 certificate and Freeway Express buyers will receive a $20 certificate.” Click on this link for more information.
Tom Green - Rain In After Effects Pt 2
Tom green takes us through the second part of his tutorial on how to create rain from After Effects into Flash. Make sure you check it out by clicking on the link below:
Tom Green - Rain from After Effects Into Flash
That wraps it up for today everyone. We’ll see you guys here tomorrow for the Layers Blog contest winner!
Living In Layers | By RC | November 19, 2008 | 3 Comments
Hey everyone. Adobe Max has been awesome! The picture above was taken from Treasure Island (click on it for a bigger view) thanks to William Palank, a NAPP member that was totally cool in taking me out for a shoot. He’s also got some amazing stuff on his website so make sure you check him out!
I’ve attended a couple of classes on Thermo, met up with Lee Brimelow, Steve Holmes, and Alan Musselman - which was a total plus. I tell you, the next event is going to be in Las Vegas, and I think if you want to see how to take the creative suite to the next level, you have to come!
Layers TV Winner
Make sure you check out the newest Layers TV episode on the right. While I am at it, I want to congratulate Daniel Enloe for winning this week’s Layers TV contest. Woo Hoo! Remember, if you are new to Layers TV, make sure you click on this link to get to the Layers TV archive. There’s tons of cool episodes there.
The LaCie Cinema Rugged
From a gear standpoint this should rock. Lacie just came out with a rugged drive that can let you play your content over a TV. From their site:
“With the new LaCinema Rugged, you’ll be able to access and enjoy your files on any television. You can watch television shows and movies, listen to music, and create photo slideshows to share with your friends and family. Created for LaCie by world-famous industrial designer Neil Poulton, the LaCinema Rugged goes beyond ordinary multimedia hard disks with its sophisticated all-terrain design. It features HDMI upscaling, allowing you to watch movies and television programs on your HD TV, or even enjoy your photos in full HD resolution.”
For more information on the Lacie Drive, click on the link below:
The Lacie Cinema Drive
Rain in After Effects - By Tom Green
Tom Green has it easy - he gives a shout to Corey on Layers TV and talks about how Corey works hard at making reflection effects, he has it easy by putting stuff in motion. I have to tell you, Tom makes it very easy indeed. Make sure you take a look at his video at the link below:
Tom Green - Rain in After Effects
That’s it for today. Make sure you tune in tomorrow for the winner of the blog contest!
Living In Layers | By RC | November 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
Hey everyone, I’m in sunny San Francisco attending Adobe’s premiere event, Adobe Max. I have to tell you, it’s awesome! With close to 200 classes, and 5,000 guests, this event is huge! The opening keynote was hosted by Kevin Lynch from Adobe Systems. He talked about what the big A is cooking up for all of us.
Many things were discussed at the Keynote, but there were a couple of things that were of specific interest. The next version of the Flex builder application, codenamed Gumbo, was released to the Max 2008 crowd. Also released was Cocomo, a Platform as a Service that allows Flex developers to easily add real-time social capabilities into their RIA (rich Internet applications). Project Thermo is now a little more revealed — its new name being Adobe Flash Catalyst.
Finally, Adobe AIR 1.5 and Flash player 10 got some serious speeches, showcasing applications that are being developed for the New York Times, The Red project, and a project for the state of California called the California Museum Legacy Trails - developed by California’s First Lady, Maria Shriver - who made a special appearance!
The most meaningful portion for me was the moment where Kevin was talking about Adobe’s commitment to bringing Flash10 to the mobile phone market. According to Kevin, the landscape is changing so much that users are viewing sites primarily on mobile phones, and the computer is becoming a third option, with TV emerging as a new second option. To that end, having Flash10 available on the mobile phone is a big push, and Kevin showcased it working on a couple of phones - the HTC touch, and a Nokia phone. A big gasp from the crowd came when Kevin pulled out AN IPHONE from the pile, and stated that they are close to having it working, but need to get it “some approvals or reviews from others ” which I assumed to be Apple. This was a brief but meaningful mention of Flash coming to the iPhone, which I thought was a very cool thing!!
I have some video on the conference, and I’ll be sure to post it over the next coming days. Stay Tuned!
Smart Contact Sheets with Terry White
Terry White’s got a great tutorial on how to develop smart Contact Sheets in InDesign. This definitely warrants a look over:
“I know what you’re thinking: “Shouldn’t this be in the Photoshop section?” After all, whenever you hear the term “contact sheet,” you probably immediately think images and Photoshop. Also, if you looked around the InDesign interface, you wouldn’t really find anything that says contact sheet; however, Adobe Bridge CS3 and InDesign have this secret relationship that allows you to do some really cool things with automating image placement and metadata”
Click here to read more
Contest Time
Go to the Contact page, select the Layers Blog dropdown, then fill in your name, email address and answer to this week’s following question. Remember, the contest will end Thursday 5PM,. and the winner will be announced Friday morning.
The Contest Question: What is the prize that we are giving away on the Layers Magazine Back Page Design Contest (you can find the link on the homepage)
The Prize: A 1 Year subscription to Layers Magazine, as well as a copy of Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting by Bert Monroy
Have a great week everyone!
Living In Layers | By RC | November 14, 2008 | 2 Comments
Happy Friday everyone. Its just a few days away from Adobe Max out in San Fransciso, CA November 16-19, and I have to tell you.. it’s still not too late to register for this amazing event. There is an incredible amount of speakers and content available there.. and I already have my schedule pre-printed for the classes I want to go to. I’d be very serious to see about what’s in store for the other Max venues.
Now.. if you are going to check out anything on the site, check out the Maxing of the Max website link. It’s a neat little clip on how they made some of the interactive components on the site.
To visit the Max Site, click on this link.
Sean Duggan on Exposure Blending
This is a great article from Sean Duggan on exposure blending with Photoshop. If you are shooting RAW, this is definitely something to check out:
“One classic technique that digital cameras make very easy is blending more than one exposure together for contrast control, increased dynamic range, or creative purposes. A variation on this technique is to apply different RAW-conversion settings to a single RAW file and then combine the files into a single image. Let’s explore both approaches and look at the proper camera technique behind the scenes.
Click here for the Rest of the Article
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