Droste Effect – Photoshop

I an earlier blog post I introduced Pixel Bender a new extension for Photoshop CS4 and CS5 from Adobe Labs. In this post I’ll show you a filter which lets you create a Droste effect with an image. The filter is free to download and once it is installed you can apply it from inside Pixel Bender. It was created by Tom Beddard who is author of a lot of really wonderful filters – you can see more of them here.
The Droste effect is an image effect named after a Dutch cocoa company called Droste. In 1904 it produced packaging for its cocoa product showing a woman carrying a tray with a box of cocoa and a cup on it. A small version of the package appeared on the cocoa box on the tray and so on – each version of the image being successively smaller than the last.

To create the Droste effect you must first have Pixel Bender installed so, if you don’t, visit my earlier post to learn where to find it and how to install it. Then, you’ll need to download the Droste filter from: http://tinyurl.com/pbdroste.

Unzip the folder and copy the .pbk file to your Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS5\Pixel Bender Files folder. Restart Photoshop and the Droste filter will be in place.

Start with an image that is square with some element of interest centered in the middle of the image. I chose a flower against a neutral background – start with something simple as you learn how the filter works – then plan to use a more complicated image later on.
Make a note of the size of the image by choosing Image > Image Size and write down the image width and height.
There is a physical limit to the size images you can use with Pixel Bender which is 4096 x 4096 so make sure your image is smaller than this. I suggest you start with smaller images still as they render faster.
To run the filter, choose Filter > Pixel Bender > Pixel Bender Gallery and select Droste from the dropdown list. If you have used the filter previously, hold Alt (Option on the Mac) and click on the Reset button to reset the filter settings.
Set the Size [0] and Size [1] sliders to match the width and height of your image – my image is 530 x 530 pixels.
By default, you should see a typical Droste file image with straight edges.

To turn the straight edges into a curved spiral, deselect the TransparentInside checkbox.
If the image is off center, the spiral will look askew at this point. To change the center point of the image and align it with the center of the spiral, adjust the centerShift [0] and [1] sliders – each of these operates in a different dimension. Adjust the center of the image until the spiral looks correct.
To adjust the placement of the final image, use the Center [0] and [1] sliders.

If you do not have an image spiral that completely fills the image area you will see some black background color outside the spiral. You can control the color used for this background by setting the BackgroundRGBA values. The [0] setting controls the Red value, [1] controls Green, [2] controls Blue and [3] controls the opacity of the background. The default is that all sliders are set to 0 and the Opacity slider to 1 which gives the black color. You can view the current background by setting Levels to 2 and the LevelsStart value to 1. Then create your own background color and, when you’re done, increase the Levels value to back up again to around 7.

To make the spiral tighter or looser, adjust the RadiusInside value. Set it to a very small value to get a small number of loops and to something like 50 to get one with lots of loops. The default setting is 25.

Decreasing the OutsideRadius twists the spiral more tightly. The default value of 100 makes the spiral looser.
Periodicity is the number of times the image repeats in each loop of the spiral. If you set this to 2 the image will be repeated twice per spiral – the Default value is 1.

The Strands value sets the number of loops in the spiral. If you set this to 2 you will have two interlocking spirals and if you set it to three you’ll get three strands/spirals and so on.

Other interesting effects include using the RotatePolar value. By setting it to, 90 as shown here you will get different spiral loops on the screen. Having done this, you can then select RotateSpin to adjust the effect.

If you enable HyperDroste then adjust the FractalPoints value, you will create an image that is reminiscent of a fractal style image.

If desired adjust the Zoom value to zoom into the design.
Use RotateSpin and RotatePolar with FractalPoints and HyperDroste to fine tune the effect.
When you have a design you like, click Ok button to apply the Droste effect to your image.
Once you know how the controls in the Droste filter work you’re ready to apply it to a more complex image.
To get best results, start with a square image with something of interest in the center and make sure to set the image dimensions in the filter before working with the other sliders.

Helen Bradley is a Lifestyle journalist who divides her time between the real and digital worlds, picking the best from both. You can view her site at helenbradley.com. She writes and produces video instruction for Photoshop and digital photography for magazines and online providers world wide. She has also written four books on photo crafts and blogs at Projectwoman.com.
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Photoshop CS5: Oil Painting with pixel Bender

One of the cool new tools of Adobe Labs is Pixel Bender. This free extension lets you one of a series of filters that with the extension to your images in Photoshop CS5 will apply. But that's not all-Adobe also offers a simple interface for Pixel Bender, which allows you to create your own filters. As a result, build a community around Pixel Bender filters with custom made users to share with others. In this post I'll show you how to get started with Pixel Bender.

You will find the pixel Bender extension here: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/pixelbenderplugin.html.Make sure that the version that corresponds to your operating system and version of Photoshop CS5 (32 or 64-bit). enlargement is a. mxp file, and you need to install Adobe Extension Manager.

You can install the extension by double-clicking the file with Adobe Extension Manager.If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, you must use the Adobe Extension Manager run as administrator.So, from the start menu, locate the entry Adobe Extension Manager, click the right mouse button and select run as administrator. the reason for this is that the extension be placed in a folder available only if you must have administrative privileges. If you try to manually start the program, choose file > Install Extension, and then locate and select the extension that you just downloaded.
Accept the license terms, and the extension will automatically be installed in the correct Photoshop CS5-program folder.
When you are finished, close the extension manager, Photoshop close and open it.

Pixel Bender will not work on images larger than 4096 x 4096 so your image resizing, if necessary. If you want, you can add an image to a smart object converted before you apply a filter.
With pixel Bender-open an image and select filter > Pixel Bender > Pixel Bender Gallery.Here you will see a list of filters in the drop-down list box that are looking at CircleSplash. Select the filter oil paint and then adjust the settings.Styling, you can change the length and angle of the brush strokes – the larger values best look.Clean the softness of the effect is adapted and usually looks good on about 7 or 8. Colorization more or less, you can apply color to the image.BrushScale changes the size and the length of the dark brush strokes-a small value indicates dun lang lighter brush strokes and a larger value shorter thick dark brush strokes. BrushContrast will the contrast of the brush strokes and probably better can be left on a value of 1.
In short, adjust the sliders until you get a result that you want.If you are not sure how a slider affects the image drag it all the way to the left or right to see the effect. from there.
When you are finished, click OK to apply the result to the image. Unlike most filters those images to look like an oil painting painting to convert, this is a good in identifying edges in the image, so that the painting looks more realistic.

Helen Bradley is a lifestyle journalist who her time between the real and digital world, choosing the best of both. you can display for its Web site at helenbradley.com. She writes and produces video instruction for Photoshop and digital photography for magazines and online providers worldwide. She wrote four books on Photo crafts and blogs on projectwoman.com.

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Silkypix Developer Studio software updates

Japanese software developer that Ichikawa Soft laboratory has released updated versions of the Silkypix Developer Studio Pro and standard raw conversion software support should be extended to the recently released D3100 DSLR from Nikon.

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 Student Teacher Edition [Mac]

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software helps you create the ultimate images for print, the web, and video. Enjoy all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and painting capabilities in industry-standard Photoshop CS5, and experience fast performance thanks to cross-platform 64-bit support. Also create 3D extrusions for logos, artwork, and motion graphics; edit 3D objects with advanced tools; and create and enhance motion-based content.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Student and Teacher Editions

New Adobe Creative Suite 5 Student and Teacher Editions give students--and now educators--access to low prices on full versions of the latest Adobe design software. The low prices enable educators and students in K-12 and higher education to acquire print, web, video, audio, and mobile design tools to more easily produce standout work. Using the software, students can develop the digital communication and creativity skills they need for academic and career success. Adobe Student and Teacher Editions include Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection, Design Premium, Web Premium, Production Premium, and Design Standard software, as well as Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software and other individual CS5 products.

Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended provide unparalleled editing and enhancement control with powerful new selection-refinement tools that produce superior results with complex subjects and state-of-the-art noise removal, sharpening, and raw-image processing with Adobe Camera Raw 6. Click to enlarge.

Create powerful images with the professional standard

3D extrusions
Easily explore new creative directions: Create 3D logos and artwork with Adobe Repoussé technology. Twist, rotate, extrude, bevel, and inflate these designs, and then apply rich materials like chrome, glass, and cork.
Advanced 3D editing capabilities
Push your creative boundaries with powerful 3D editing tools--even paint directly on 3D objects. Add 3D objects to your designs and create amazing composites. Illuminate your scene with real lighting, and animate your objects.
Motion content editing
Paint, add text, and clone over multiple frames of an imported video sequence using your favorite Photoshop tools.
Easy access to core editing power
Get just the tools you need--exactly when you need them--when performing common editing activities. Adjustments and Masks panels guide you in making precise edits.
Extraordinary creative tools
Achieve realistic painting effects with the ability to mix colors on canvas and create natural brushstrokes. Merge multiple exposures into stunning high dynamic range (HDR) images. Move, remove, warp, or stretch any image element.
State-of-the-art photography
Easily merge multiple exposures to extend the dynamic range with more power, precision, and fidelity than ever before. Convert to black-and-white in new ways. And use Dodge, Burn, and Sponge tools that intelligently preserve color and tone details.
Image analysis
Use measurement and counting tools to extract quantitative information from images. Record and export data for further analysis. Import DICOM files as frames or as a volume to directly analyze and edit your image data.
Industry-leading raw image processing
Enjoy superior results when you convert raw images with the Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which offers support for over 275 camera models plus nondestructive editing so you can experiment without harming your original photo.
Automated compositing tools
Easily create a single image from a series of shots that have different focal points, smoothly blending color and shading and extending your depth of field. And take advantage of accurate, automatic layer alignment.
Efficient media management
Manage your media visually with Adobe Bridge CS5 software. Enjoy more flexible batch renaming plus the ability to access files in the context of your work using the customizable Adobe Mini Bridge panel.
Powerful printing options
Get outstanding prints in less time with automation, scripting, and a print dialog box that's easier to navigate.
Broad file format support
Import and export hundreds of file formats, including PSD, AI, PDF, NEF, CRW, TIFF, BMP, Cineon, JPEG, JPEG2000, FXG, OpenEXR, PNG, Targa, DICOM, OBJ, KMZ, Collada, U3D, 3DS (import only), 3G, FLC, MOV, AVI, DV Stream, Image Sequence, MPEG-4, and FLV.
Extensibility
Personalize Photoshop and extend its capabilities. Use developer-created custom panels to accomplish specific tasks. Visit the Adobe Photoshop Marketplace for third-party plug-ins and resources. And check out Adobe Community Help for tips and tricks.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom integration
Enjoy tight integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software (sold separately), easily moving files from Lightroom to Photoshop CS5 to create HDR images, panoramas, and multilayered Photoshop documents. Roundtrip your files back to Lightroom.

The Edge Detection and Decontaminate Colors features help you make highly precise selections of complex subjects quickly and easily, enabling faster, more accurate compositing of multiple images. Click to enlarge.

Magically remove unwanted detail in your photographs with Content-Aware Fill. In this example, the boat has been removed from the photo by making a rough selection around the subject (left) and then filling the area with the Content Aware option selected in the Fill dialog box. Click to enlarge.

With new tone-mapping and alignment technologies, sophisticated controls, and an updated dialog box, HDR Pro helps you to produce a variety of creative outcomes from a single set of source files. Click to enlarge.

Recreate the look of your favorite film with the new Grain feature. Left: Original photo. Right: After grain has been applied.

The Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in includes new features for better sharpening, adding grain, removing noise, and producing creative vignette effects. Click to enlarge.

You can use Puppet Warp to interactively reposition, reshape, and transform key objects in your photos. In this example, rose photos, like the one above, were twisted and layered to form a wreath and the letters in the center of the composition (left).

Top new features of Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended

Intelligent selection technology
Photoshop CS5 takes the time and frustration out of making precise image selections and masks, providing you a faster way to extract subjects from their backgrounds and create realistic composites. New intelligent selection technology offers better edge detection and faster, more accurate masking results of complex subjects, like hair. Automatic color decontamination helps you eliminate background color around the edges of a selection, resulting in more seamless compositions when placing extracted subjects on new backgrounds.
Experienced Photoshop users know that the best
selections are created by constantly adapting the selection technique for differences in the subject's edges--one method for hair and another for the edge of a building. With Photoshop CS5, you can produce highly accurate masks and selections faster and more simply than before with a set of new adaptive selection-edge modification controls. Smart Radius automatically matches the best selection approach with the subject's changing edge characteristics, and the extra view modes assist you in previewing the quality of your selections. The Refine Radius and Erase Refinements tools customize your masks and selections as you make them. These tools, in combination with the color decontamination settings, help eliminate any residual background color from around the edges of your selections.
Content�Aware Fill
One of the most exciting new features in Photoshop CS5 is the remarkable ability to remove an image element and magically replace it with details that match the lighting, tone, and noise of the surrounding area so that it looks like the content never existed. Now, you can make substantial changes to photo composition quickly and easily, as even large complex subjects can be seamlessly erased.
You can use Content-Aware Fill with the Spot Healing Brush or as an option of the Fill feature to replace content in an active selection. Selecting the Content-Aware setting with the Spot Healing brush changes the way the tool fills in the areas you paint. This retouching approach is designed to account more fully for the structure and detail of the image elements that surround the painted area, providing a near-invisible result when removing unwanted objects. Alternatively, you can select the object to be removed, and then replace the area with synthesized details from the area surrounding the selection, simply by using the Content-Aware option in the Fill dialog box.
HDR Pro for creativity and precision with the next generation of high dynamic range imaging
With just a few clicks, you can go beyond the capture capabilities of your camera by combining multiple exposures into a single high dynamic range (HDR) photo that preserves the full tonal range of a scene with high contrast. Photoshop CS5 introduces HDR Pro for more control over the HDR merging process and greater adjustment power over the mapping of tones and the styling of HDR output, resulting in images that range from photorealistic to highly surreal.
HDR Pro offers extended controls, an enhanced dialog box, and improved image processing. New algorithms enable more accurate alignment of source files and automatically deghost any problem areas that occur when trying to merge source photos where subjects have moved during capture. You can even select a source file to be used as the sole reference for any ghosted areas or allow the feature to do this automatically for you.
New tone-mapping tools and adjustment controls give you the power to implement your own HDR vision, producing photos that range in style from fully textured images of high-contrast scenes to wildly hyper-realistic creations. Save your favorite styles as presets and apply them to multiple groups of source files to provide a common look and feel to your HDR photos. And for times when you don't have multiple source files, create the look of an HDR-processed image from a single photo with the new HDR Toning feature that allows you to mimic the tone-mapping results traditionally achieved in high dynamic range photos.
Together with the existing Photomerge feature (which allows for image stitching), the exposure-merging capabilities of HDR Pro can add up to high-bit-depth, 360-degree panoramas ideal for composite photography, video, and beyond.
The Auto Stack Panorama/HDR files option in Adobe Bridge CS5 and the new panelized Mini Bridge groups source files together into stacks for quicker creation of HDR images in Photoshop CS5. You can even start the creation of an HDR file by choosing Tools > Merge To HDR from the Mini Bridge panel inside Photoshop.
State-of-the-art raw-image processing
The Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which ships with Photoshop CS5, now supports more than 275 camera models as it continues to provide you with the industry-leading conversion of raw files. In addition, the utility provides advanced, nondestructive image editing and enhancement for raw files, as well as for other standard formats, including JPEG and TIFF. Now you can remove noise, achieve better quality sharpening, and creatively apply new styles of vignettes and film-like grain.
You can now shoot at higher ISO settings with confidence, because the updated controls in the Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in remove the noise common in such high-ISO images (as well as in photos captured with long exposures and pictures from consumer cameras) while still preserving excellent color and detail.
New controls for adding grain and additional post-crop vignetting settings join many creative options already available in this utility, such as the Adjustment Brush and the Graduated Filter. For the first time, you can add grain-like texture to photos as part of your nondestructive editing workflow. Adjust amount, size, and roughness of grain to easily give composites a more natural, seamless appearance by matching levels of grain across all source images--or simply use the feature to make a digital photo look more organic or film-like.
Updated post-crop vignetting options offer more creative control over the corner darkening and lightening process, and your favorite vignette effects can be saved as presets for quick application across multiple files.
Upgraded sharpening options produce clearer photos with fewer artifacts while providing better control over key details, especially when working with high-resolution pictures produced by multi-megapixel cameras.
Extraordinary painting effects
With a new Mixer Brush, a Bristle Tips feature, and a new mechanism for blending colors, Photoshop CS5 redefines the way you paint. You can take advantage of more natural and realistic painting effects, making it easy to take your imagery and designs in new artistic directions.
The Mixer Brush lets you define multiple colors on a single tip, and then mix and blend them with the underlying hues on your canvas, achieving creative results that rival traditional painting media. When starting with a photo original, you can use a dry, empty brush to blend the existing colors while at the same time adding a painterly effect to the image. Mixer Brush settings provide extensive control over the wetness of the canvas colors, the load rate that determines amount of paint loaded on the brush, the mixing rate between brush and canvas colors, and whether the brush is refilled, cleaned, or both after each painting stroke.
In conjunction with these new mixing features, Photoshop CS5 incorporates unprecedented control over stroke characteristics of its painting tools with Bristle Tips. Bristle Qualities define key bristle properties such as shape, length, stiffness, thickness, angle, and spacing, which affect how the color is laid on the image as you paint.
The Bristle Brush Preview feature provides a visual representation of these changes, and you can save your tip configurations for future use, allowing you to build a customized collection of Bristle Tips to experiment with when using Photoshop brush tools.
Puppet Warp
Puppet Warp gives you more freedom when pushing and pulling elements within an image. The feature lets you recompose an image to make it more appealing, or to fit a specific layout, by allowing the precise repositioning of any element within a Photoshop document, or selection, by simply clicking and dragging. After you reposition an object, Photoshop adjusts the rest of the image to account for the shifted pixels.
After choosing Edit > Puppet Warp, click on your image to drop pins establishing anchor points where you want image parts not to move, and handles that you can use for warping. Then drag any of the pins to reposition the picture elements. Use Puppet Warp to swing a raised arm to a person's side, warp and stretch text to create new effects, or reposition intrusive objects in a photo to create a more pleasing composition.
Automated lens correction
The Lens Correction features in Photoshop CS5 create better quality captures by removing or correcting the three most common lens-based errors: geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting. This means you can use a wider range of lenses with the confidence of producing images of the highest quality. With the aid of the Adobe Lens Profile Creator (available separately as a free download from labs.adobe.com) you can produce custom profiles characterizing the optical aberrations of your camera lenses. When installed and selected in the Lens Correction filter in Photoshop CS5, the profile automatically removes or corrects the three types of distortion.

Use the extrusion settings and controls in the Repoussé dialog box to quickly style your 3D model. Click to enlarge.

Quickly add drama and realism to your models with interactive control of scene lighting (right), material selection (left), and the creation of shadows (above) with the new Shadow Catcher feature. Click to enlarge.

The controls in the 3D section of the Preferences dialog box (above) allows you to fine-tune the rendering system in Photoshop to achieve the best 3D design experience.

The Lens Correction feature located in the Photoshop CS5 Lens Correction filter provides camera- and lens-specific correction for three of the most common lens-related aberrations.

Black & White Technique action both converts and tints color photos to produce sophisticated monochrome images.

The Lens Correction filter in Photoshop CS5 is redesigned to include manual adjustment controls under the Custom tab, and settings for locating and applying custom Lens Correction Profiles (LCP files) under a new Auto Correction tab. Installed profiles that match your camera and lens combination are used to apply precise distortion corrections to your photos. Suitable profiles can be located easily based on the EXIF data automatically recorded with the image, and if a suitable profile is not present in the Lens Correction filter, then with a single click within the dialog box, you can search online for the correct profile to meet your needs.
Individual error types can be selected in the filter's settings, as can options for handling any transparent areas that surround the corrected image.
Easy 3D extrusions with Adobe Repoussé (Photoshop CS5 Extended only)
Repoussé is an ancient metalworking technique for embossing artwork on the surface of metals such as gold, silver, copper, tin, and bronze. Photoshop Extended offers a powerful new feature, inspired by this traditional technique, for creating eye-catching 3D artwork.
Use Adobe Repoussé to easily convert 2D artwork into 3D objects and then create depth by altering the extrusion properties of the 3D model. Easily extrude text to create logos and 3D artwork for use in websites, video frames, or layouts.
Starting with a text layer, a path, a selection, or a layer mask, you can convert the content to 3D with the Create New 3D Object section of the 3D panel. After the conversion is complete, you can alter the look of your 3D model by manipulating its key extrusion properties--depth, scale, bend, shear, inflate, or twist--in the Repoussé dialog box.
In addition to manipulating these properties, you can inflate the front or back of the extrusion and/or apply a custom bevel. Sections of objects (internal subpaths) can also be inflated by creating a selection first and then adjusting the Internal Constraints settings in the Repoussé dialog box. The 3D Axis widget allows on canvas rotation of the of the model
Enhanced 3D realism and rich materials (Photoshop CS5 Extended only)
Bring your 3D creations to life with the materials that ship with Photoshop CS5 Extended. You can select materials from the library of included presets, download additional materials by choosing 3D > Browse 3D Content, create your own, or even edit existing materials to customize them for your needs (in the materials section of the 3D panel). Test a variety of looks for your 3D models and extruded designs by adding different materials or textures to their surfaces. Materials that feature reflection or refraction properties can be rendered with the new Adobe Ray Tracer engine. The Repoussé dialog box, and the Materials section of the 3D panel, both contain options for applying a single material to all surfacesâ??as well as choosing different treatments--for individual sections and surfaces of your models
Use the 3D Material Drop tool and the Material Load tool to easily load a material and drop it into different meshes, allowing you to sample and apply materials interactively. New overlay controls provide instant feedback about where specific materials and meshes are located in your model, and the updated 3D axis widget now works with lights and cameras as well as 3D objects.
With the Shadow Catcher feature, you can now easily generate a shadow on the ground plane of a scene, and then adjust how the shadow interacts with image content of other layers by altering its opacity and its softness. To further enhance realism, you can use an HDR image to light your scene, or re-create traditional depth-of-field effects in your rendered scene by adjusting the zone of sharpness with the new Distance and Blur controls.
Better 3D performance and workflow (Photoshop CS5 Extended only)
Take advantage of better performance and immediate rendering feedback thanks to the improved Adobe Ray Tracer (ART) engine in Photoshop CS5 Extended. ART 2.0 brings substantial improvements in performance when you interact with and edit 3D models. ART 2.0 progressively renders 3D scenes with an option to re-render after a pause, or even perform selective renderings, all while providing more immediate feedback and dramatically reducing the time it takes to preview key areas in high quality.
You also get faster previews and more responsive interaction thanks to changes made in the OpenGL engine, which now fast-tracks the delivery of complex 3D geometry to the video card. Overall workflow performance has been optimized with improved import, interaction speeds, and better merging of 3D objects into a single scene. To aid with fine-tuning and adjustment of these performance features, there is a new 3D section in Preferences.
User-inspired productivity enhancements
Photoshop CS5 helps boost productivity and creativity throughout the editing workflow with dozens of enhancements inspired by Photoshop users.
Streamlined creative reviews through integration with Adobe CS Review
Collaborate with colleagues and seek client comment quickly and easily with Adobe CS Review, a new CS Live online service* designed to simplify and accelerate the design review process.
With CS Review, you can avoid the hassles of large email attachments, logon problems with FTP servers, and time-consuming next-day air deliveries usually associated with client reviews by instead initiating a secure, shared review. Comments are displayed in near-real time and in context, providing convenient feedback on your images and designs. You can access the CS Review service from within Photoshop CS5.
Faster performance with cross-platform native 64-bit support
Tight deadlines and large file sizes make performance a high priority for many Photoshop users. Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended deliver cross-platform 64-bit support, allowing you to perform day-to-day imaging tasks up to 10 times faster. Video and photo professionals, especially, benefit from the extra performance, as gains are even greater if you regularly work with very large files, where processing can be up to ten times faster when you take advantage of higher addressable RAM amounts--limited only by what your hardware accommodates.
To help you tweak the performance of your setup, Photoshop CS5 lets you adjust history, tile, and cache controls in combination.
Greater access to key resources via flexible custom panels
Photoshop CS5 offers easy ways to integrate and extend your workspace with customized panels. With the aid of the Configurator 2.0 panel utility (available separately as a download from labs.adobe.com) you can produce your own panels, bringing together your most used tools and menu selections and incorporating your favorite web feeds or video tutorials.
Stay connected to the greater Photoshop community and all facets of your digital life directly from within Photoshop CS5 by using panels you create or those produced and distributed by other users. You can access anything that lives on the web--favorite blogs, video content, even your email--with these integrated panels. You can even expand content beyond a panel's standard viewing area when you need a magnified view.
Easier interface management with Live Workspaces and Workspace Switcher
Creating dedicated, task-specific workspaces that mimic your individual workflow increases productivity and efficiency by hiding the features you don't use and exposing the ones you do. New Live Workspaces auto-save any changes you make to a task-specific workspace, so that if you switch to a different workspace and then back again during an editing session, your panels remain exactly where you left them. The number of entries displayed in the collapsible Workspace Switcher can be altered, and the position of each workspace can be rearranged. This provides quicker navigation between frequently used setups.
Superior black-and-white conversion
Photoshop CS5 continues to support the tradition of producing finely crafted monochrome photos with the inclusion of new ways to explore an endless variety of black-and-white looks. You can use the integrated Lab Black & White Technique action, located in the Default Actions group of the Actions panel, for an easy and interactive way to convert color images. Create gorgeous HDR black-and-whites with greater ease and speed by taking advantage of the new and updated features in HDR Pro. Take your monochrome creations in new directions with conversion presets in the Black & White panel.
Price: $999.00

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Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 3

This Apple-certified guide to Aperture 3 starts with the basics of image management and takes you step by step through Aperture's powerful editing, retouching, proofing, publishing, and archiving features. It delivers comprehensive training - the equivalent of a three-day course - in one project based book. With complete coverage of Aperture's new features, you'll learn to organize your photos using Faces, Apple's face detection and recognition tool, take advantage of Places to find photos by the location where they were shot, and retouch your images precisely with new nondestructive edge-aware brushes. You'll create advanced slideshows that include HD videos, titles, and layered soundtracks, and with the full-screen Browser you'll now be able to use every inch of your Mac display to browse and edit. Real-world exercises feature professional photography from a variety of genres, including fashion, sports, wedding, commercial, and landscape photography. About the Author: Dion Scoppettuolo is a photographer who has taught classes on Aperture and other Apple products world wide. Before starting his own company, he was at Apple Inc. for 7 years, where he worked as a Senior Product Manager on Shake, Motion and iPhoto, and was involved in the first release of Aperture.

Price: $54.99

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The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

Since Lightroom first launched, Scott Kelby's The Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers has been the world's #1 best-selling Lightroom book. In this latest version for Lightroom 3, Scott uses his same step-by-step, plain-English style and layout to make learning Lightroom easy and fun. Scott doesn't just show you which sliders do what. Instead, by using the following three simple, yet brilliant, techniques that make it just an incredible learning tool, this book shows you how to create your own photography workflow using Lightroom:

1) Scott shares his own personal settings and studio-tested techniques. He trains thousands of Lightroom users at his "Lightroom Live!" tour and knows first hand what really works and what doesn't.

2) The entire book is laid out in a real workflow order with everything step by step, so you can begin using Lightroom like a pro from the start.

3) What really sets this book apart are the last two chapters. This is where Scott dramatically answers his #1 most-asked Lightroom question, which is: "Exactly what order am I supposed to do things in, and where does Photoshop fit in?" Plus, this is the first version of the book that includes his famous "7-Point System for Lightroom," which lets you focus on mastering just the seven most important editing techniques.

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers is the first and only book to bring the whole process together in such a clear, concise, and visual way.
Price: $49.99

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Upgrade

Adobe Lightroom V3 Upgrade for Windows and Mac. Lightroom provides an efficient way to import, select, develop, and showcase large volumes of digital images.

Price: $99.00

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 software helps you bring out the best in your photographs, whether you're perfecting one image, searching for ten, processing hundreds, or organizing thousands.

Create incredible images that move your audience. Experiment fearlessly with state-of-the-art nondestructive editing tools. Easily manage all your images. And showcase your work in elegant print layouts, slide shows, and web galleries, as well as on popular photo-sharing sites. All from within one fast, intuitive application.
Above all, it's your images that matter. Make them as great as you imagined they could be using the leading-edge image processing tools in Lightroom. From sophisticated exposure and color controls to superior noise reduction and sharpening, Lightroom provides what you need to create stunning photographs.
New Key Features:
Superior noise reduction (NEW FEATURE) - Achieve amazing, natural-looking results from your high ISO images with all-new state-of-the-art noise reduction technology. You won't need more than what's built into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 to get the cleanest images at any ISO.
Accelerated performance (NEW FEATURE) - Get your digital photography tasks done fast and have more time to shoot and promote your work. Already quick performance has been dramatically accelerated in Lightroom 3, saving you time from first look to final image.
Support for DSLR video files (NEW FEATURE) - Take advantage of new support for video files from most digital SLR cameras, which allows you to easily manage and organize both still photographs and video files side by side.
Image watermarking (NEW FEATURE) - Easily embed your identity or your brand and logo in your images with more options for customizing their look. The new watermarking tool lets you apply text or graphic watermarks to a photo
Price: $299.00

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