dekeBlog

This week in the dekeLounge, we fulfill the promise we made a few weeks ago, and visit the through-the-looking-glass other worldly effects of the new HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5.  Hip dekeSters know, of course, that HDR stands for high dynamic range, meaning that the results capture both ends of the shadow-to-highlight continuum. Photoshop CS5’s HDR Pro lets you combine bracketed frames of the same subject that were shot at different exposures, which allows a wider range of luminance data to be combined in one image.The result is a compilation that in some ways more closely mimics the way our eyes—rather than our camera sensors—are able to take in a broad range of light information. What that means in practical terms is that you can create an image that resonates with depth and detail.

What that means in dekeLounge terms is that, cocktails in hand, Deke takes me on a tour of the wonderland that is HDR Pro. Here are the handy highlights: Read more » 

There is nothing better than sitting back under the flattering lights of the dekeLounge with a charming guest who can keep up with me and Deke. This week the intrepid and hilarious Terri Stone, Editor-in-Chief of CreativePro.com and InDesign Magazine stops by the lounge to entertain and inspire us. Inspire us, within the confines of making content that actually means something to the creative professionals who inhabit dekeVille. As you know from listening to me through some 80 episodes, this is a delicate balance of words and pictures, not to mention the brilliance and peculiarities (ahem) of writers like Deke.

Here's the conveniently bulleted recap of this week's show with Terri: Read more » 

If you missed our Martini Hour Doodle Revolution episode with Sunni Brown (or more likely, you haven't found 37-odd free minutes to listen to it) check out this five-minute take on Sunni's attempts to overthrow the anti-doodle establishment. Read more » 

Or something like that. You see this episode begins with a peek into the author/editor process. How, in Amsterdam, under the influence of a small amount of Jenver, the glowing light of Deke's iPhone, and a hefty dose of denial, we hatched a plan about how it would be great to create a new chapter to the fifth version of Deke's book, Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One. The theme of the new chapter is Pro Photography tools, and it includes exercises on HDR Pro and Photomerge.

Flash forward: chapter complete (after time and pain spent), beautiful book on the shelf, and we once again decide to take a swim in our bottomless pail of optimism regarding what we can accomplish in a given amount of time. Under the influence of a small amount of gin, the glowing lights of the dekeLounge, and a hefty dose of denial, we decide to do a show about Photomerge and HDR Pro. And of course, we really only get halfway through. (Because we're not supposed to take the "hour" in our show's title literally.) Thus, this week's show is really all about stitching panoramas in Photomerge. Don't let it tell you otherwise.

Turns out, as automated as the photostiching phase of the process is, there was quite a bit to talk about: Read more » 

Some of you have been asking when my Photoshop CS5 One-on-One: Advanced series is coming out. And I was all prepared to tell you this Friday. But lynda.com, being the incredible juggernaut of a video publisher that they are, began releasing it today. Chapters 13 thru 18 are up this very second. That's more than 100 movies, so it should keep you occupied for now. (If not, I totally suck.) The remaining Chapters 19 thru 24 will be up in 10 days.

Here's a live-action frame from the series. My director told me that, in retrospect, my spendy Elie Tahari shirt "looked a little disco." Let me assure you that this is one of the best shirts I've ever owned. It's a matte forest green with some excellent under-collar and inner-sleeve highlights. In the video, I don't look disco, I look positively wet. Meaning that I glisten. Like someone is misting me. Which is not necessarily what you want in a training video. But it's what you get.

That said, who gives a tinker's gumph what I look like? Read more »