Acknowledgments

This book would not exist if it weren’t for the help, support, opportunities, and encouragement from so many people over the last eight years. It is my great pleasure to be able to thank so many of them in such a public way.

My deepest thanks go to Nikki McDonald, who provided the original spark of an idea for this book, somehow nudged all the stars into alignment to make it come to pass, and provided fantastic feedback and encouragement along the way. You rock! I owe a special debt of gratitude to the awesome team of folks who were down in the trenches with me every step of the way; Cathy Lane, my development editor, who kept me on track, asked all the right questions, made sure I wrote in complete sentences, and remained as steady as a rock throughout; Ethan Myerson, my technical editor, who watched my back and kept me honest; and Becky Winter, Mimi Heft, and Danielle Foster, who made the book look so awesome on the inside and out. Thank you all so much!

Thanks to everyone at Peachpit, but especially Ted Waitt, Scott Cowlin, Sara Jane Todd, and Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel for believing in this book and in me.

My heartfelt thanks go to all my friends at iStockphoto for all that you have taught me, and all the laughs and memories we’ve shared over the years. I want to specifically thank Bruce Livingstone for getting this party started, and Kelly Thompson for keeping it going strong. Special thanks goes to Lobo, Andrew Wedderburn, Donald Gruener, Michael Zwahlen, Ethan Myerson, and Joy Griffith for picking up my slack every time I was up against a deadline. A deep bow of respect must to JJRD, and all the members of the iStockphoto content team, whose passion for kick-ass imagery knows no bounds. I am eternally grateful to all of my fellow contributors who willingly shared their hard-earned tips and tricks that have enriched this book beyond measure. I wish I could have packed more of you in! I also want to give a shout out to everyone in the forums, who really are the lifeblood of this place as far as I am concerned. Cheers to you all!

In addition, I’d like to thank Scott and Kalebra Kelby, Jeff Kelby, Jim Workman, Jean Kendra, Dave Moser, Larry Becker, Pete Bauer, Mike Mackenzie, Julie Stephenson, Jeanne Rubbo, and all the staff at the National Association of Photoshop Professionals for creating and nurturing an organization that is such a vital resource to so many, and that has given me so much.

My deep gratitude goes to Crackskull’s Coffee & Books for keeping me well caffeinated; otherwise, this book would have been six chapters instead of 12.

I am grateful most of all for my wife, Paloma, and my son, Quinn, for providing all the love, encouragement, and patience this project required. We did it!