Photoshop CS4 for October 08 Workshop Participants

Well Folks:

The Photoshop gods have decided to release a Photoshop update pretty much during the workshop.  The upgrade is from CS3 to CS4.  That's either good or bad timing depending on how you view glasses half full of water.  I am excited about the upgrade and know that CS4 will GREATLY enhance, improve, and speed our digital workflow.  I've been looking carefully at the updates and they are very exciting.  Lot's of WOW factor!  It's a whole new world.  Again, this is a significant upgrade that will shake up and improve the way we work on images.

So, here is the plan.  If CS4 is available by the time the workshop starts, I will teach the new CS4 tools and techniques.  So no matter what version of Photoshop you currently have, either plan on upgrading to CS4 if it is available, OR simply download the 30 day free trial and install it just in time for the workshop, so that you can follow along during the workshop with your 30 day free trial.

Remember if you are only planning on using the trial,  Do not install until the workshop begins, so that you can make sure to have access to it during every weekend of the workshop.

I would think that it will be ready by the workshop, but in the event that it isn't, you will need CS3.  Note that they have disabled the CS3 free trial!

Here is the link to the webpage where you can be notified when the new version and trial becomes available.

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=cs4_notify&loc=en_us

I will be shooting in the Tetons from Sept. 24 to October 5th, so I might be hard to reach......

Adam

Harvest

Without even looking at a calendar it is apparent when an equinox or solstice in nigh.  There is a definitive moment when in total presence and clarity, I stop for a second, and say to myself "Fall is in the air."  I can't put my finger on it, and I can't describe exactly what it is, but when it happens... I know.  All of the times that I have scented that change in 36 years come together as an annual moment of continuity in my physical existence.  This happens every year for each changing of the season, and I have no doubt that my senses are far more accurate than the calendar's interpretation.  It is around these events that I feel most alive, and for a while after college and before settling down, these profound moments coincided with traveling.  A summer job ends and there is time to roam until the ski season starts.  You meet travelers along the way on similar journeys.  Now that I am settled into one community, I can experience elements of that change that I haven't experienced since I was the reason for my parents nesting.  My parents nested down for the winter in 1972 for me; and from 2005 on.... I nest for my child.  It is time to harvest from the efforts of the year.  I won't wait until December, I want to have a few months to enjoy the fruits and to ease into a cozy nest for winter with my closest loved ones.  I feel this excitement today, as we reach a new plateau with our daughter.  This week the whole family will travel together to my old stomping grounds in the Tetons.  Again, the circle is coming round.

Commercial Use Authorizations, Mt. Rainier National Park.

Mount Rainier National Park Mission Statement

"Together we preserve, for future generations, the natural and cultural resources in Mount Rainier National Park.  Through a variety of high quality park experiences, we promote park values, personal connections, and responsibility for the environment in our local and global communities.  With integrity, teamwork, pride, and motivation, we demonstrate environmental leadership and deepen our understanding of the park’s ecosystems.  We value our diverse range of individual contributions by showing respect and concern for each other and the park.  The Mountain inspires stewardship.  Its protection and preservation is our legacy."

Mt Rainier National Park is truly a unique and special place.  It is an island of ecosystems and climates, with many scientific, experiential, and creative treasures.  In putting together the Mt. Rainier Institute of Photography's application for a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) in the park, I came across the park's mission statement.  It was such a relief to read it and to know that the park is in such good hands.  Part of Mt. Rainier National Park's General Management Plan is the Commercial Services Plan, which includes administering concessions and commercial use authorizations within the park.  By administering all commercial services within the park, the resource that Mt. Rainier National Park is can be protected.  Both Concessions and CUA holders are held to the highest standards when operating in MRNP.  By using a service that is operated under a Commercial Use Authorization and administered by the National Park Service, you are not only getting the very best in business practices, you are helping to protect the resource.  There are several companies operating photography workshops in Mt. Rainier National Park without Commercial Use Authorizations, and in addition to operating illegally are not operating within the scope of good environmental practice.  They and their clients may be subject to disciplinary action from the National Park Service.  CUAs are available to these companies and I hope that you will hold them to this standard.  As you investigate the available options please keep this in mind.

Adam