PDN’s Free Virtual Trade Show Mon/Tues 5/24-25 2010

I thought I’d send a quick e-mail before this free two day event begins. It looks like a great opportunity to learn from many experts in the photo community.

The event is PDN’s Virtual Trade Show, and the focus is on wedding and portrait photography. Many topics, including SEO, self-promotion and branding will be covered.

Live show dates are May 24 and May 25, 2010
Live show hours are 10AM – 7PM EST

If this event is like the last one I wrote about in Dec. 2009, the content should be available via download sometime after the event.

UPDATE: I just learned that the content will be available online beginning on 5/26 for those who register for the event. It will then be accessible for two months.

Here is an overview from the conference agenda, which includes some of the featured speakers:

Learn how to approach wedding shoots differently and how to run a more profitable business by increasing client purchases. Explore the virtual expo and find the best suppliers for your needs. PDN PhotoPlusVirtual Events presents exciting Webinars with world-renown photographers and industry experts…

–Laura Novak
–Simon Goble, RebekaFluetand Robyn Pollman
–Catherine Hall
–Allen Murabayashi
–Jim Garner
–Doug Gordon
–Gene Ho
–Judy Host
–Suzan Moody

The main page to learn more or to register can be found here.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Launch Streaming Live 4/12/2010 at 11am EST

I thought I’d send out a quick announcement that the Adobe CS5 Product Family launches today, Monday 4/12/2010. A streaming webcast launch begins at 8am PST (11am EST), and requires a free registration, which you can find a link to here. When you register, you’ll see some “sneak peek” videos of what’s inside (screen shot below). These and other sneak peek videos are also available here.

I’m looking forward to trying out Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop CS5, primarily for quickly extending backgrounds. It’s very common for me to have to extend a background to create a more panoramic look, or just to add some background to achieve a 4×6 ratio for a client who wants pictures in that very popular size.

Below are direct links to the ten Creative Suite 5 press releases with the headlines of each one linked to the release on Adobe.com (I think that reading the releases is one of the best ways to see some of the highlights of what’s inside each Creative Suite bundle).

1. Adobe Unveils Creative Suite 5 Product Family
2. Adobe Delivers Creative Suite 5 Design Premium
3. Adobe Announces Creative Suite 5 Web Premium
4. Adobe Debuts Creative Suite 5 Production Premium
5. Adobe Launches Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended
6. InDesign CS5 Powers the Transition to Digital Publishing
7. Adobe Releases Illustrator CS5
8. Adobe Introduces Flash Catalyst CS5
9. Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 Redefines Nonlinear Editing
10. Adobe Helps Prepare the 21st Century Workforce with Creative Suite 5

For a great 45 minute overview of Photoshop by Terry White of Adobe, including a look at the new “mini Bridge,” which is an embedded version of Bridge available as a panel inside Photoshop CS5 and CS5 Extended), and a new Edge Detection tool for selecting challenging images (it looks especially good for hair), click here.

And for a directory of videos covering CS5 applications, visit this page on AdobeTV.com.

Hands-on Review: Epson PowerLite 1735W Multimedia Projector

As a photographer and educator, I’ve been using multimedia projectors for more than 15 years. They are, in my opinion, magical devices that can essentially turn a small laptop into a huge “slide projector.” But in many cases, you never quite know what the results will be until you connect to a projector at a company or educational institution. And not too long ago, any projector in the $1,000-1,500 range was either too heavy to carry around, or was just not worth using for projecting images.

All of the Epson 1700 Series Projectors, including the 1730W and 1735W look like this from the front. A sliding lens protector is hidden when the projector lens is exposed (control for it is located just above the lens). Photo courtesy Epson Inc.

Enter the Epson PowerLite 1735W Multimedia Projector. In this review, I’ll give an overview of the 1735W as well as a similar widescreen projector in the line (the PowerLite 1730W), and I’ll cover the topics I believe are most important to photographers and video professionals/aficionados. I’ll end with some overall Pros and Cons and give my thoughts on the product as a whole.

WHY USE A WIDESCREEN PROJECTOR?

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