PHOTOSHOP – Page 18 – The Imaging Buffet

Quick Review: Rangefinder October 2008 Issue

I just received the Rangefinder October 2008 issue, which is published by Rangefinder Publishing. It is the Fine Art Issue, and weighs in at 250 pages. It is truly spectacular, and that’s why I’m taking time to mention it. As a former Editorial Director of a photo-related magazine (Digital Imaging, and later renamed Digital Imaging Techniques), I know how much work goes into to putting together a magazine (and Rangefinder is much bigger than the one that I worked on).

Here are a few reasons why I think the issue is so impressive:

â€¢ The art portfolios, well-written articles and advice from many photographers, including Eric Meola, Lois Greenfeld, Michael Eastman, Mary McGrath, Andy Katz and others are truly stunning;
â€¢ The layout and design of the issue (as usual) is fantastic.
â€¢ The imagery and tips from “My Lessons from the Lemon Grove” by Deanna Urs are excellent;
â€¢ The new Promo Guide, with special offers on a wide range of products and services is well thought-out and organized;
â€¢ John Rettie’s overviews of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Adobe CS4 and onOne Software’s Focal Point are very informative.

I was also very happy to see that many of the articles are available as downloadable PDFs on this page of the Rangefinder website.

It’s also great that the printed magazine is free to qualified photographic professionals. You can find the page to submit your information for a free print subscription here.

Over the last year, I’ve contributed some of my images and tips to a few Rangefinder and AfterCapture articles. They are available below for download.

Adobe CS4 Launch Broadcast Video Available On-Demand

1700 Person Years of Work. That’s what I learned went into the making of the updated Adobe Creative Suite 4 applications when I watched the one hour Adobe Launch Webcast last week. I enjoyed the presentation and learned some things about the upgrades that I found to be very impressive. For example, in Adobe Premier Pro CS4, there is a text video search option that allows you to search text that is converted from the speech in the audio track of a video. It was described as a Karaoke-like search because you can watch the text being highlighted as the actor speaks. That part starts at about minute 24.

You can view the Adobe Creative Suite 4 video webcast on-demand below (You may want to turn your speakers down-it’s a pretty powerful intro!)

Throughout the video, a number of industry pros demonstrated how they are now using the CS4 apps, which was very interesting. The demo reels alone are worth a look. Some other interesting items covered in the video:

-There are hundreds of new features across the Suite.
-There are 6 suites: 2 Web; 2 Design; 1 Video and 1 Master Collection
-The apps are now available in 19 languages, and are being sold in 178 countries.
-There are new 3D controls in Photoshop CS4 Extended, and they are demonstrated as well.
-You can now also export a PDF from Adobe Fireworks CS4.
-Dreamweaver CS4’s new CSS styles footer which helps to work with CSS web designs.
-A 442 Megapixel image (2.2GB in size) was moved around effortlessly on-screen in Photoshop CS4.You can also view the video on Adobe TV at this link. I also recommend checking out the many free training videos on Adobe TV. There, you’ll find coverage of helpful info like interface changes in Photoshop CS4.

According to Adobe’s CEO, Shantanu Narayen, this is “the biggest launch in Adobe’s history.” I wonder how many hours are in 1700 Person Years of Work? Feel free to do the math and please let me know. My calculator is in the shop for repairs :). I wonder if I can figure that out in Photoshop CS4? I may have to convert it to pixels first.

To see the full lineup of CS4 products and new/upgrade pricing (all of which include either Photoshop CS4 or Photoshop CS4 Extended), visit this page on Adobe.com.

Sponsored Links

Check Pricing on AdobeÂ® PhotoshopÂ® CS4 and other Adobe Products

Find all current special offers on Adobe products. (One of the current offers is 30% off Lightroom 2: Purchase a full or upgrade version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, along with a full or upgrade version of Photoshop CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, or Creative SuiteÂ® containing Photoshop CS4 or Photoshop CS4 Extended).

Coupon code for PhotoshopCafe.com (10% off any order):
Enter the word: cafeimaging in the coupon code box at Checkout.

PhotoshopCAFE Launches Photoshop CS4 Learning Site and Free Magazine

This info just came across my e-mail in-box. I just took a look at the new PhotoshopCAFE Photoshop CS4 Learning Site and I must say that it is impressive. There are free Photoshop CS4 video tutorials, as well as an excellent 70 page CS4 Superguide that contains a great overview of new features contained in the following applications: Photoshop CS4 and CS4 Extended, Flash CS4, Illustrator CS4, Indesign CS4, Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, Premiere CS4, After Effects CS4, Bridge CS4. I know what it takes to write tutorials and articles like these, and I think they’ve put together an excellent team to share information with users of the apps.

This new feature walk through of Photoshop CS4 is also excellent.

PhotoshopCAFE has also launched its own magazine, entitled Creative Studio (CAFE), which will be a quarterly online (and free) publication. The first issue of the magazine is the CS4 Superguide. You can find all the CS4 Learning Site content, and download the PDF on their site at PhotoshopCAFE.com.