Nearly without exception, human beings the world over are fascinated by the photograph. A photograph is a timeless, compelling, emotive and honest representation of our world; of the places we’ve been, the events we’ve witnessed, the people we’ve met and loved. The photograph is a reflection of our world and ourselves; our mind’s eye projected onto cotton vellum or computer screen. The persistence of vision ex machina. Indeed, the photographic image is the true iconography of the modern world.
For the photography enthusiast, these are very exciting times. In the span of less than 10 years, we have witnessed the evolution of photography from a mostly silver halide film-based process to a completely digital process. The individual photographer now has the capability to shoot, ‘develop’, and create prints using an entirely digital workflow, and completely within the comfortable confines of his or her own study.
This new-found freedom from film and the complicated processing thereof is largely due (of course) to the ready availability of affordable digital cameras and photo-quality printers; but it is due also, in no small part, to the efforts of the people at Adobe Systems. Adobe is committed to empowering the digital photographer by providing the most powerful and excellent tools available for rendering, manipulating and printing digital images. Among the most popular and successful of these tools is Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Although one of the original design intents behind Photoshop Elements was to make many of the most common image enhancement tools more readily available and noticeable to the novice user, there is still much depth behind this initial surface. Fortunately for both Adobe and its customers, talented writers such as Philip Andrews have resolved to explore this depth and, in easy-to-understand language and step-by-step guidance, provide access to you, the reader.
Advanced Photoshop Elements for Digital Photographers is a beautifully rendered and compellingly written exploration of the advanced features and techniques that can be accomplished with Photoshop Elements. Through the use of many sample photographs, screen shots and clearly illustrated examples, Mr Andrews provides us with the tools to turn our images into exciting and compelling works of art.
From careful and thoughtful descriptions of the basics of tonal adjustments and camera and scanner settings to detailed explanations for creating traditional photographic effects such as lith print style reproductions, Advanced Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Digital Photographers will provide you with an entire arsenal of tools for adding emphasis, detail, and clarity to your images and for exposing and enhancing their inherent beauty.
If you love photography as much as I do, you are in luck with this book.
Enjoy.
Mike Leavy
Engineering Manager for Elements products
Adobe Systems, Inc.