Happy Canada Day!

To all my Canadian friends, Happy Canada Day! Enjoy your holiday!
I will have to wait to celebrate my Canada Day until Friday when my family and I land in Ottawa - although I do believe that poutine is on the menu tonight!!

VIDEO: Live View on D300

In this video I take a quick look at the Live View feature of the Nikon D300.



Here's an example of the kind of shots I was experimenting with (as shot, no Photoshop):


Also mentioned: Early Bird discount for Photoshop World and Pre-Conference sessions

BTW, just for fun, try recording something using a built-in web cam like the iSight camera - it's really challenging to figure out which direction to move objects so they show up properly on the camera.....as you can clearly see from my videos ;)

Contest time

The other day I posted some info about the Nikon Photo Contest, which lead me to think about other contests. Here are a few I've come across....

[via presentation zen]
Slideshare announced the "World's Best Presentation Contest". Entries are due by July 31st. Judges include Guy Kawasaki, Bert Decker, Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds. The prizes include a MacBook Air, Amazon Kindle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, and even copies of Presentation Zen. Check it out.

Here's a web site that's described this way: "Logo and Website Design Contests. Community of designers and web developers. New contests almost every day!" click here

A little late finding out about this one: deadline is July 1: 38th Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest

If you're going to Photoshop World, you can enter the Guru Awards. Details here

And some contest winners:
Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
National Geographic International Contest Winners

Matt's post on Photoshop dialogs

Yesterday Matt Kloskowski was the guest blogger over at Scott Kelby.com and wrote a very interesting article on what dialog boxes he'd like to see either tweaked or added to Photoshop. A very interesting read, followed by a challenge. Matt included a layered psd with all the bits and pieces you need to make your own dialog, and a Flckr group to post your results.
There's lots of really great, practical ideas there......
...and at least one that goes for the cheap laugh (go me).

Matt's guest post
The Flickr group
The dialog I want in Photoshop

Setting up a remote camera

via the strobist, here's a very informative video on setting up and using Pocket Wizards to remotely fire a second camera - great for sports photography (as demonstrated in the video)



The video features photographer Max Simbron: here's his full post on this topic

Pull-down menus in Acrobat

I've had more than a few people ask me how I made the "interactive" pull-down menus in my PSW Planner pdf. Well, take a look at layersmagazine.com this Friday and there should be a movie tutorial from me that shows how to do this using Acrobat Professional. In the meantime, having you looked at all the other tutorials over at layers magazine? Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Lightroom, InDesign and much more! Check it out!

Win an Epson printer

Yesterday I mentioned that NAPP members can get a $75 discount off the Epson R1900. Well that very same printer is being given away as a prize this week on Photoshop User TV!
Watch this week's episode to learn about 3D text from Illustrator, an action to create darkened edges, using Layer Comps to help in the preparation of web buttons, and for a chance to win the R1900.
Watch it right here!
Here I am mentioning 11 reasons to visit my blog ;)

Here and there

If you're in the market for a new printer and you're a NAPP members, take a look at the Epson Stylus Photo R1900. Until June 28th, NAPP members get a $75 discount off the MSRP of the R1900. And Matt Kloskowski recorded 3 video tutorials featuring the printer — a quick overview and how to print from Photoshop CS3 or Lightroom — to help you decide if this is the printer for you!!
NAPP members, visit www.photoshopuser.com for details.
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In a free web-cast, Rick Sammon will share his top digital photography tips, including his "10 Key Ingredients for Cookin' Digital Photographs." He'll also discuss his favorite photo philosophies, including: The Camera Looks Both Ways; In Picturing the Subject We Are Also Picturing a Part of Ourselves." You'll get to see Rick's favorite people, landscape and wildlife images from around the world. Some Photoshop talk, too! Attendance is limited, so register now.

Date: Thursday, June 26 at 10am PDT (17:00 GMT)
Cost: Free
Duration: 45 minutes
Meeting link: oreilly.com/go/pictures
Teleconference dial-in:
(select the number that is closest to your location)
East Coast US: +1 617 231-0350 and pin 8136507
West Coast US: +1 213-455-0500 and pin 8136507
Questions? Please send email to webcast@oreilly.com
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If, like me, you love photos of dancers, you'll love the galleries of Lois Greenfield, Just stunning, stunning work!
Take a look