Mark S. Johnson Photography » News & Announcements

Presenting “What’s New in CS5: A Series of Ten Video Tutorials That Introduce Photoshop CS5’s Most Notable New Features”

Thu, 13 May 2010 06:00:55 +0000

Please join me for the next ten days as we explore Photoshop CS5’s most interesting and useful new features. Each day, we’ll examine one of CS5’s remarkable additions.

If you’re too excited to wait ten days (or if you’d like to support this site), click here to download the entire ten tutorial series for $9.95. For the next two Thursdays, these CS5 videos will replace the Photoshop Workbench, but don’t worry, the Workbench will return to its regular spot on Thursday, May 27.

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Here’s a schedule of upcoming tutorials:

Thursday, May 13 – Content-Aware Fill and Heal – 9:52
Learn secrets for retouching with Content-Aware Fill and Content-Aware Spot Healing.

Friday, May 14 – Refine Edge Refinements – 12:39
Discover how to use the Refine Edge (Refine Mask) dialog in a compositing workflow, while exploring the dialog’s new Edge Detection, Smart Radius, Refine Radius, Erase Refinements, Decontaminate Colors, and Output To features.

Saturday, May 15 – Tools Enhancements – 9:45
Take a journey into CS5’s tools enhancements, including a Crop tool Rule of Thirds overlay, a straightforward Straighten button, a scrubby Zoom tool, a Neutral Density Gradient preset, and several others.

Sunday, May 16 – Camera Raw Improvements – 8:02
Take a look at Adobe Camera Raw 6.0’s new features, including 2010 Processing, vastly improved Noise Reduction, Add Grain, and two significantly improved styles of Post Crop Vignetting.

Monday, May 17 – Automated Lens Correction – 7:08
Learn how to use the Lens Correction Auto Correction panel to search by lens criteria and automatically remove geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting.

Tuesday, May 18 – Layers Enhancements – 6:57
Take a peek at several new and improved layers features, including Paste in Place, drag-and-drop smart object layering, Layer Styles defaults, and many others.

Wednesday, May 19 – Puppet Warp – 6:16
Discover secrets for realistically warping parts of a subject using Puppet Warp’s remarkable (almost sci-fi) features.

Thursday, May 20 – A Giant Leap for HDR – 16:38
Take a look at the revamped Merge to HDR Pro feature and the new single image HDR Toning dialog, including HDR presets, ghost removal, and a powerful new slider-based interface.

Friday, May 21 – Bridge Enhancements – 14:28
Explore improvements to the Batch Rename dialog and learn how to watermark in the Output module.

Saturday, May 22 – Painting on a Photograph with the Mixer Brush – 14:30
Learn secrets for using CS5’s Mixer and Bristle brushes to realistically blend paints with colors in a photograph.

In other noteworthy news, I’ve decided not to write a Photographer’s Photoshop CS5 Companion eBook. Instead, I’m pouring my energy into two other exciting projects.

In addition to releasing the “What’s New in CS5″ videos, I’m making wonderful progress on an eBook about the spectacular world of HDR. It will feature both Photomatix and Photoshop tutorials, as well as useful workflow information that is absent in many other HDR books. The eBook will also include an image showcase packed with evocative images designed to inspire ideas for your own work. I’m hoping to release the HDR eBook this summer.

My other project is a complete departure from anything I’ve ever done. If you have children (or a child inside), they’ll be intrigued by my upcoming children’s book about a boy who dreams of flying. I’m co-writing and co-illustrating the book which features camera-based illustrations that employ HDR and several other creative techniques never seen before in children’s books.

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement!

Mark

Fill Your Viewfinder with a Kaleidoscope of Autumn Color

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:02:29 +0000

If you’ve ever dreamed of capturing Vermont’s quintessential white-steepled churches, majestic mountains, covered bridges, rustic barns, and maple-lined roads, join Charles Needle and me from Oct. 3 – 8, 2010 for autumn’s prismatic display.

Our home for the week will be the award-winning Topnotch Resort and Spa (named one of Conde Nast Traveler’s “Top 10 Spas in North America”) located just minutes from charming Stowe village.

To download a PDF flyer with all of the picturesque details, please click here.

Happy New Year!

Mark

P.S. If you can’t wait till autumn for your dose of color, there are a few remaining spots in our Callaway Gardens workshop. Register by Jan. 15, 2010 to receive the Early Registration Discount. To learn more, please click here.

Seasons Greetings!

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:01:48 +0000

Happy Holidays to you all!

This season always reminds me just how fortunate I am. For life’s many blessings, I feel a profound and overwhelming sense of gratitude. My days are filled with the presence of loving, generous, creative, and kind people. Thank you for being among that group.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as blessed. This troubled world needs our help, so I’m asking you to be a force for positive change. I encourage you to generously share your time, money, or knowledge with someone in need. The “Sites to Improve the World” section of my “Links to Other Great Sites” page lists several organizations that are working to improve planetary circumstances. With a young daughter in my life, I feel especially passionate about children’s causes. Therefore, I’m making a donation to The Children’s Hospital. Whatever you feel passionate about, please take a moment to find out how you can lend a hand to the cause. Thank you!

Warmest holiday greetings!

Mark

Celebrate the 200th Edition of The Photoshop Workbench with the Ultimate Collection of Photoshop Tutorials – Photoshop Workbench Volume One!

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:02:53 +0000

Photoshop Workbench Volume One (Episodes 1 – 200) – DVD VERSION

To purchase your copy, click here.

To view a list of the complete contents, click here.

Photoshop Workbench Volume One is a two DVD set featuring Episodes 1 – 200 of Mark’s world-renowned Photoshop Workbench series. With a selling price of $79.95, you can add this incredible collection to your educational library at a cost of only 40 cents per Workbench ($79.95 for all 200 episodes).

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Representing more than 58 hours of inspirational Photoshop training, these videos illuminate techniques in Photoshop versions CS2, CS3, and CS4. No matter the Photoshop version, Mark’s friendly and conversational approach to teaching invites you to explore a non-destructive editing style that sets your mind at ease and encourages you to use Photoshop in a joyful and imaginative fashion.

Each Workbench is presented in its original quality and size (640 x 480 or 1024 x 768 pixels), and many are Radiant Vista website recordings that are only available on this DVD. The Table of Contents is keyword searchable (Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 only) and contains large image thumbnails for easy tutorial recognition. Simply click the title of the Workbench that you wish to view, sit back, and enjoy the learning experience.

Please be aware that this DVD is designed for playback on both Macs and PCs, but is not intended for television viewing.

Click here to read some Frequently Asked Questions about the Photoshop Workbench DVD

Click here to download the Press Packet

Flash Workbench Clarifications

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:02:50 +0000

I’ve been receiving some feedback regarding the Flash-based workbenches and I want to clarify the misperceptions.

A few weeks ago, many viewers complained that they were able to hear but not see the Quicktime Workbenches that I’ve been running for the past four years. After some research, we discovered that the latest version of Quicktime v 7.6.4 has a bug that causes playback issues when videos are streamed on the internet. As people upgraded their version of Quicktime (or iTunes bundle), they were no longer able to see the videos. The problem affected people using PCs regardless of which web browser they use, but only affected Mac users running Opera.

We learned that Flash could provide a short-term solution to the problem, though it did come with larger file sizes and reduced quality. Using Quicktime was not an option until we found a way to ensure that everyone was able to see the videos.

The Flash solution is (hopefully) only a short-term fix. We’re continuing to research a Quicktime solution so that the Workbenches will go back to the way we all love them. If we do stay with Flash, it’s our hope that we’ll find a better compression scheme that allows for the same high-quality and low file size that we’re all used to.

I apologize for any inconveniences or misunderstandings.

For any of you who are tech savvy and would like to offer possible solutions, please email Alex at web@msjphotography.com.

Sincerely,
Mark