Week 5 winner of our Grand Tetons print giveaway: Bob Dent of Denver, CO. Bob will get a fine art print of Oxbow Bend by Nat Coalson. Congrats Bob! Only three weeks remaining… details and entry at http://www.jacksonholephotoworkshops.com

A few weeks ago, I visited Cape Cod and had a great time shooting around the coast, harbors, lighthouses, etc.

While I was out there, I was thinking a lot about Lightroom 3 beta and how I might improve my workflow and the quality of my image files. I captured a whole bunch of frames to put Lr 3 beta to the test. Here is the first example.

This is Nauset Light, in Eastham. I arrived about 45 minutes before dawn. (I like to shoot lighthouses before sunrise or after sunset, when we can actually see the light!)

1.6 sec at f/16, ISO 250
Canon EOS 5D mark II
Canon EF 24-105 at 35 mm

The first image is the original capture. The second is the final image, processed entirely in Lightroom. Lens Corrections, white balance changes, sharpening, improved demosaicing on the raw capture… I was really impressed with what Lightroom could do with this capture. One more example of a photo that may never need to see Photoshop

Let me know what you think!!

Last week’s winner of our Grand Tetons print giveaway is Christie King from Topeka, Kansas. Christie will receive a 16×24 fine art print of Snake River Overlook by Bret Edge. Congratulations, Christie!

The drawings are open to everybody and no purchase is necessary to win. Enter today at JacksonHolePhotoWorkshops.com

You’ve all responded positively regarding the photography workshop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that I’m presenting with Bret Edge June 10-13. We only have 3 spots left; if you want to come, sign up now. See you there!

Here’s one shot from my recent journey through Cape Cod. This is Nobska Point Lighthouse, in Falmouth Mass.

This is the first photo on which I’ve used Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5 and the new and improved “HDR Pro”.

The HDR Pro script in PS CS5 did a pretty good job of making the blend, which I then finished processing in Lightroom as a TIF. In Lightroom, I also used the Lens Correction feature, which works great.

What do you think? Comments and critiques always welcome!

Last week’s winner of our Grand Tetons print giveaway is Steven Peckham from Longmont, Colorado. Steven will receive a 16×20 fine art print of Denizen by Nat Coalson. Congratulations, Steven!

If you haven’t already entered, do it today at JacksonHolePhotoWorkshops.com

The drawings are open to everybody and no purchase is necessary to win.

In the last few weeks I’ve had the great pleasure of attending and presenting at two superb photography events: Vermont Professional Photographers annual convention (http://vtprophoto.org/) and the Moab Photo Symposium (http://www.moabphotosym.com).

In Vermont I was on the jury panel of the PPA competition at the state level, and presented a full day workshop on workflow with Lightroom and Photoshop. In Moab, I did two small, hands-on digital printing workshops; one using Photoshop and on with Lightroom; plus a presentation to the full group about the overall digital photo workflows based on Lightroom with a bit of Photoshop.

While I was traveling between these trade shows I had little time to blog, tweet, chat etc but now that I’m back home in Colorado I wanted to thank the wonderful people who invited me to these important events promoting the art and craft of photography.

If you’re in the area (or OK with travel) I can recommend both of these events to any photographer serious about developing their skills and professional connections within the industry.

Adobe Announces Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended software, must-have releases of the professional industry standard for digital imaging. With millions of users celebrating the product’s 20th anniversary this year, Photoshop CS5 builds upon a rich history of innovation and leadership with groundbreaking features and performance gains that boost creativity and workflow efficiency. Packing in more technological advancements from Adobe Labs than any other release and incorporating enhancements to everyday tasks requested by the Photoshop community, the software has greater intelligence and awareness of the content within images, allowing for complex and magical manipulation in just a few clicks. Here are a few of the key features:

• New selection technologies and tools—including Truer Edge technology, color decontamination, and selection and mask refinement tools—that allow photographers to fine-tune specific areas within an image
• Content-Aware Fill that automatically fills in the space when you remove an image element
• Superior HDR imaging with HDR Pro featuring automatic ghost removal and greater control with tone mapping and adjustments
• Automated correction of lens distortions, chromatic aberration, vignetting, and more
• Improved raw conversions and state-of-the-art raw photographic noise removal, additive grain, post-crop vignetting, and more—plus support for JPEGs, TIFFs, and over 275 proprietary raw formats—with Adobe Camera Raw 6. Easily add grain to make a digital photo look more organic or film-like. Enjoy more control when performing post-crop vignetting and even save favorite vignettes as presets. And sharpen images with better results and finer control over details.
• Precise recomposing or repositioning of any photo element for a more visually appealing result with easy-to-use Puppet Warp
• Natural and realistic painting with the Mixer Brush and Bristle Tips, which let you easily change a photograph into a painting or create unique artistic effects
• The integrated Lab B&W action for an easy and interactive way to convert color images; create gorgeous HDR black-and-whites with greater ease and speed; and take advantage of new black-and-white presets
• An accelerated workflow with faster performance with GPU-enabled cropping, powerful new selection technology, integrated Adobe® Mini Bridge for faster file browsing, and cross-platform 64-bit support
• Improved integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® for a complete photography solution

Pricing

Estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS5 is US$699 and US$999 for Photoshop CS5 Extended. Upgrade pricing and volume licensing are available. For more detailed information about features, OS support, upgrade policies and pricing, please visit www.adobe.com/go/photoshop.

Learn More

Visit AdobeTV to see videos highlighting the new Photoshop CS5 feaures. Go to http://tv.adobe.com/product/photoshop/

Attend one or both live eSeminars on Photoshop CS5 delivered by Photoshop Product Manager, Bryan O’Neil Hughes.

May 6  10am P.T.

What’s New in Photoshop CS5

Learn how Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 software redefines the state of the art with a strong focus on photography; breakthrough painting and selection capabilities; and a wide range of workflow and performance enhancements. You’ll see the creativity and productivity enhancements that were requested by passionate Photoshop users.

Register at: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/event/index.cfm?event=detail&id=851960&loc=en_us
May 27  10am P.T.

Photoshop CS5 for Photographers

See how Photoshop CS5 gives photographers a set of breakthrough tools to help you refine your images and get superior results faster than ever before. This seminar highlights key features and the reasons why Photographers should consider upgrading to Photoshop CS5.

Register at: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/event/index.cfm?event=detail&id=851960&loc=en_us