Posted by Nate on February 26, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Yesterday afternoon, I spent a few hours with the AIGA and guests at the new Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce at Town Square, reviewing the new features in Adobe’s new Creative Suite 4.
Most of the feedback I had going into this demo about CS4 was pretty negative. A few people I talked to love the new interface, but a lot of people hate it. I’m on the fence still… (All the new apps have a tabbed interface familiar to some web development applications).
Some say that it still seems a little “clunky” performance-wise. That has a lot to do with your internet connection and the system you’re running it on. This is a professional-grade software suite, folks. Your Dad’s PC or your sister’s laptop just won’t do for these pro applications anymore. My rule of thumb: your hardware should cost more than your software. If it doesn’t, you’ll probably have some struggles.
Here’s the highlights from my notes from Wednesday’s demo:
CS4 Bridge is beefed up. Review mode is very cool, contact sheets and web galleries are upgraded big time.
CS4 Photoshop functions similarly to the way PC photoshop has for years, with the tabs and rotation through open photoshop docs. Mac users will eventually like this, I think.
Photoshop’s new content-aware scaling is cool. I gotta play with this more before I give an opinion.
Photoshop’s new press and hold zooming, flinging / panning, rotating previews, etc. is very cool. You need a beefy graphics card to use it though. Again – hardware is vital to CS4, love it or hate it.
Photoshop’s Adjustments Palette is new. Could take some getting used to, but overall looks to be a nice improvement.
Photoshop’s Pixel Grid View could be very cool to web users.
Photoshop Extended has improved the use of 3D tools a LOT.
Illustrator CS4: Mutiple Artboards are new (finally!) Freehand users will dig the hell out of this.
Illustrator CS4 has a whole new way of doing gradients, which I’m pretty sure I’ll hate for a while.
Illustrator CS4 has a blob tool. This is sweet. you can modify vectors via painting them out – big time saver.
InDesign CS4 has a new links panel, that’s interactive. You can jump to a link and double click to view details of the link.
InDesign CS4 has real-time preflighting at the bottom left of your screen. Looks cool, but scary to simply “trust it”.
InDesign CS4 can access Kuler from a menu now. Nice.
InDesign CS4 can export .swf (Flash) slideshows, sites, etc. This is huge to print folks who may never make a leap toward interactive or online design.
Flash CS4 has some serious overhauls in it. Don’t take my word for it. Go straight to the source. I don’t do Flash. In fact, I kinda hate it for most things. Another topic for another time.
Fireworks CS4 – seems like it’s got some minor tweaks. Again, go to Adobe. Not a Fireworks user.
Dreamweaver CS4 – additional support for Spry. If you know what this means, you don’t need my review.
Perhaps the most versatile takeaway from the event for me was the discover of the new Acrobat.com. It is still in beta, but it’s awesome as is. Go there, check it out. Sharing screens, files and documents will be completely revolutionized once this is accepted. ConnectNow (free screen sharing), MyFiles (free ftp), Create PDF (up to 5 PDFs free), Buzzword (free word procesor that is shared with other invited users).
Whether it’s intentional or not, Adobe has seemingly “had it out” for smaller, innovative creative software companies that produce plugins, scripts, etc. over the years. (Reference: Kai’s Power Tools, Macromedia, Quark, Aldus, Extensis, Alien Skin, among others). Now, it seems they’re targeting utility software companies, too. By using Acrobat.com, you may never need to .zip or stuff a file again. You won’t need any proprietary screen sharing software, and even some internal project management software could easily go by the wayside, too. The other companies may argue that theirs is more complete, or more stable or more ____. The simple fact is that people demand convenience and speed. Acrobat.com delivers both. And the price (free) isn’t painting a pretty picture for smaller software developers, either.
*EDIT: Event photos can be found on Flickr. Here’s the LINK.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 18, 2009 at 5:49 pm
This is an awesome example of the three divisions of Black Diamond Digital: Design, Photography and New Media…
Hera Beauty Las Vegas Expert Stylists, Kat and Whitney wanted to showcase their brand of wedding & special event beauty magic, but didn’t want to spend a lot to do it. In three half-day sessions, I shot several great models who aren’t models (that’s the point). You would never know it. They’re hot!
Then, working hands on with Kat, we designed a logo and a look that speaks to the fun side of weddings. The type that little girls dream of – before it gets stressful!
Well, bookings are up, and many, many compliments later, we present: heralasvegas.com. Check it out and give these ladies a call for your next wedding or special event.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 16, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Recently, I met Peter Lik and Michael Fatali, two of my favorite master nature photographers.
Today at the WPPI Show here in LV, I briefly met Jerry Ghionis, an award-winner portrait & wedding photographer. What a nice guy, and even more impressive: completely helpful and honest about his tricks / techniques. How do I know this? Because I bought one of his PicPockets. These are awesome – they’re basically flash cards for photographers in tough lighting situations, etc. Each discloses the situation, and what camera settings were used to get the shot on the flipside of the card. As I’m frequently on tight deadlines, these will undoubtedly be a huge benefit for me as a shooter. I think I thanked him at least 3 times, and I’m pretty sure he knows he’s appreciated, since I said that at least twice.
Be sure and visit Mr. Ghionis’ site. You’ll be glad you did if you appreciate great contemporary portaiture.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 15, 2009 at 9:46 pm
It’s always a good time for continuing education. If you’re interested and in Las Vegas this summer, please consider enrolling in some of the Adobe Creative Suite Workshops at UNLV.
In particular, the Adobe Lightroom Seminar is the workshop that I’m instructing in August. Here’s the rundown, followed by a link:
INTRODUCTION TO ADOBE LIGHTROOM WORKSHOP
With today’s consumer-meets-professional photography trends, shooters can find themselves managing thousands of digital images. Working with large amounts of software might mean less time to spend on retouching. Not the case with Adobe Lightroom 2. This is used as a helper application alongside Adobe Photoshop, but stands strong as a single application (Mac or PC). Learn to cross from print to web and export top quality images by the dozen with this introductory to Adobe Lightroom.
*EDIT: Late February / Early March Registration Opens. I’ll update when it’s open.
CLICK HERE TO ENROLL OR SEE COMPLETE INFORMATION.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 10, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I’m not much of an interior decorator or anything like that, but I know cool design when I see it. If you want so see cool lighting design, you should check out the collections of lamps from Varaluz. (They have one of my favorite logos and brand identities, too).
Black Diamond Digtal photographs many of these awesome lamps for Ron and Tonja, and we’re eagerly anticipating this year’s catalog once it’s finished.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 10, 2009 at 2:39 pm
You know those websites that have images of products that leave you guessing about what you’re going to get?
During the month of February, we’re working with some exciting cutting edge companies who are ready to upgrade their online product photos. Yours can be one of them. Just call our studio at 702-685-4444 for rates and availability.
Here are a few sample products we’ve photographed in the last few months.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 10, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Imara Corp. website features many photos from Black Diamond Digital Imaging.
Today I had a chance to browse the new Imara Corp. Website. Last October, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Berkeley, California’s Decision Counsel and Imara Corp. to photograph the staff, the products and the headquarters in Menlo Park, CA. Special thanks to Sal, Randy and Lauren at DC. Great job, ladies and gents.
If you’re looking for top-notch web solutions, check out the brand-spankin’ new company website for Decision Counsel.
Continue Reading
Posted by Nate on February 3, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Hey folks, starting this month, I’m going to blog about the people we work with, the companies that we respect and love to watch grow: “Cool Client,” “Cool Friend,” etc… you get the idea.
For the first of these posts, I’m excited to introduce you blog readers to Taka Designs, a partnership between Rachel Wenman and Orly Adani. You must check out the website, and get a look at the way they transform living rooms and workspaces from standard to extrordinary.
Their product is cool, the website is cool, and if you come by for one of our First Friday Parties, you’ll meet the cool Rachel and Orly – they love to support the small independent studios like ours and the galleries downtown (… and maaaaybe the Beauty Bar on Fremont Street, too).
Black Diamond Digital is participating in a special partnership with Taka Design. If you’re an artist who Taka is representing with their projects, we’re offering duplicating and prepress for your art pieces starting as low as $30.
Continue Reading
Posted by Jake on December 8, 2008 at 10:13 pm
CNN reports that December marks the last month of production for Polaroid Instant film. They are saying it is due to the popularity of Digital Cameras. I can see that, but imagine how many great photos are going to be lost because people don’t print out their digital photos.
Otis Burns still takes the same camera on his road trips today. At every motel where he spends the night, he takes a photo of the view from the room — whether it’s a pastoral landscape, a brick wall or the parking lot. And on the back of each photo he writes the details of the setting: the room number, the town and the date.
“Sometimes magic seems to happen and a deceptively simple picture outside a Motel 6 can say a thousand words,” Sean Burns said of his father’s collection. “Polaroid photos take [only] a minute to develop, but sometimes art takes decades.”
Read the full story here
Continue Reading
