July 3, 2009

PS User Group San Jose to meet July 14

The next meeting of the San Jose Photoshop User Group is scheduled for July 14. Group organizer Dan Clark writes,

Photoshop questions? Samples of your Photoshop work? Bring either to our next meeting. We'll have an evening of Photoshop show and tell, as well as answers to your questions. Let's see some tough questions and nice work! Please send questions and sample files ahead of time to: dan at weinberg-clark.com

For complete info & directions, check out the event page.

Notes about PS printing performance

Recently an iMac user asked about ways to speed up large scan & print jobs in Photoshop:

In your opinion, would a Mac Pro significantly accelerate the processing [while printing]? Is the printing engine in Photoshop multiprocessor aware?

I put the question to Photoshop printing engineer Dave Polaschek, and here's his reply:

While Photoshop's printing code isn't multi-threaded & is mostly disk-bound*, another core may be used by the OS for color management if you're printing in "Printer Manages Color" mode. More cores won't hurt.

That said, the disk (or better, disks) in a Mac Pro are significantly faster than the disk in an iMac, which will help since every printed job is spooled to disk. Plus you can put more RAM in a Mac Pro, which will help in preparing the image for printing.

As with most things in Photoshop, the two biggest gains you can get in speed are:

1 - Put in as much RAM as you can afford and the machine can hold. When friends are buying new Macs, I tell them they should have an absolute minimum of 1G of RAM per core, and 2G per core will still be a noticeable improvement over that. For running Photoshop with big images, I've found some operations which run over 10x faster since I moved from 4GB to 8GB of RAM in my quad-core Mac Pro just because it keeps all the images and intermediate data in memory.

2 - Put in the fastest disk (or RAID array - four 500GB disks in a RAID array are cheaper and faster than a 2TB disk, and the default controller in my Mac Pro could do RAID with no new hardware) you can afford after you're done buying RAM. When we do have to read or save a file, or spool something to disk, that fast disk will mean less time spent looking at progress bars.

[Question via Colin Smith]

* In other words, the speed of printing depends on how quickly data can be moved to/from your hard drive.

July 2, 2009

Feedback, please: Copying hex values

Designer/Twitter crazy person Sam Potts made what I thought was a good suggestion earlier today:

The Copy Color as HTML in the color panel is awesome. Everyone uses it all the time. However, times have changed and my guess is that most of the people who use this are writing their colors in CSS. So you always have to delete the color="" part after you paste it into a style sheet.

It would be awesome to simply have a "Copy Color Hex Code" option and get #CCFF00 instead of the full color="#CCFF00" tag.

Or, to cover both bases, add to the panel menu:

Copy Color as HTML ---> color="#CCFF00" as it is now

AND

Copy Color as CSS ---> color:#CCFF00

I know it's a tweaky query, but if you have a preference, please chime in.

Thursday Photography: CBGB to crazy cheesy

• Fish hover in space in Michael Itkoff's Perch on Ice.
• The Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year set features some lovely images, all freely shared. [Via]
• NYC:
  • Martin Sobey's colorful on-street photographic installations punch up the street in front of my old office.
  • A bit further down that street lie the ghosts of CBGB, living on through a panoramic virtual tour.
  • If your camera doesn't make city cops nervous enough, try a riflestock camera mount.
• Extreme cheese-rolling: Guaranteed to end in tears. (And cheese.)

July 1, 2009

Super cool video stabilization technology

Adobe researchers Hailin Jin and Aseem Agarwala*, collaborating with U.Wisconsin prof. Michael Gleicher & Feng Liu, have unveiled their work on "Content-Preserving Warps for 3D Video Stabilization." In other words, their tech can give your (and my) crappy hand-held footage the look of a Steadicam shot.

Check out the demonstration video, shot at & around Adobe's Seattle office. (Hello, Fremont Lenin!) It compares the new technique to what's available in iMovie '09 and other commercial tools.

As with all research papers/demos, I should point out making technology ready for real-world use can require plenty of additional work & tuning. Still, these developments are encouraging. [Via]

[Previously: Healing Brush & Content-Aware Scaling on (really good) drugs.]

* If you've created a panorama using Photoshop, you've used Hailin's (image alignment) and Aseem's (image blending) work.

June 30, 2009

Adobe is closed this week (and what that means)

I just saw Daring Fireball point to an SJ Merc story relaying the rather banal news that most Adobe offices are closed this week. So they are*. I'm no expert on company expense management, nor am I a corporate spokesperson (see blurb at right), but I feel like sharing a little perspective.

Let me first mention that these Adobe shutdowns are nothing new. I've worked here for 9 years, and the company has done the shutdowns off and on throughout that time--at least since '01 or '02. I didn't hear the news of this one and say (as DF does) "Uh-oh."

Mr. Gruber reasonably asks, "At a software company, shouldn’t every week be a productive week?" Sure, but I'll bet you know what it's like to work near holidays: it's harder to make progress when lots of your colleagues are out of the office. If that's going to be the case, why not just schedule a break & save a bunch of money on facilities, security, and so forth?**

I'd rather have everyone be gone at once (and thus more likely back at once) than to run at reduced strength for weeks on end.

Gruber also writes,

And I can only guess that on some, if not most, teams, there is subtle (or even not so subtle) pressure to keep working from home on whatever your current project is.

Nope. As I understand it, a few teams with time-sensitive projects may get permission to work through the break, but everyone else is taking the time off. Because the breaks aren't a surprise, most teams built them into their schedules a long time ago (just as they do with holidays). Adobe offers very generous PTO benefits, to the point that people don't use up enough time off. A week-long shutdown is a way of saying, "No, seriously, guys--we want you to take some vacation. Get the hell out of here, enjoy yourself, and come back refreshed."

Anyway, my inbox for Monday shows 70 mails, vs. 300+ for a typical day. Clearly somebody is taking vacation seriously. Collectively we're taking it all in stride.

* So why am I continuing to blog? For one thing, I'm drumming my fingers with nervous energy, waiting for a baby to arrive, and I need the distraction.

** For a company of ~7,400 employees, saving a week's worth of summertime energy & other infrastructure expenses translates to real money. Meanwhile Adobe HQ (already the first existing LEED Platinum-rated green building) is upgrading this week to even more energy-efficient HVAC. The 20-story yellow crane I saw yesterday can't do its thing while people are inside/below.

June 29, 2009

GridIron Flow now shipping

It was my pleasure to help the GridIron Software folks officially launch Flow this morning. I got to reveal a previously unannounced feature that's dear to my heart: Flash panels (screenshot) that run inside CS4 applications*, offering immediate context for your file (what files went into it, what files are derived from it, how long you've spent working on it, etc.).

If you haven't seen Flow, check out this 2-minute overview:

For a deeper dive, Dave Cross from PhotoshopUser TV & Layers Magazine has created a solid 10-minute tour that shows the Flash panels in action (also available on Vimeo).

A single-user license for GridIron Flow is $299, and a three-user license costs $399, via the GridIron store. [Update: Use promo code "NACKONADOBE" to save $50.]

[Previously: GridIron Flow saves Adobe designer's bacon]

*Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks

June 28, 2009

Sunday Photography: Playing with Time

• I dig Andrew Curtis's Cinco De Mayo Carnival timelapses (not to mention the infectious soundtrack). He's uploaded this clip and many others as iTunes video podcasts. (Check out Dizzy Driving.) [Via]
• SignalTheorist created a long-exposure capture of a Roomba doing its thing. [Via]
• David Coiffier captured rugby, fire-breathing and more in extreme slow-mo.
• Gorgeousness ensuses in The Colors Of Light Art Performance Photography.

June 27, 2009

P-Shop the News

It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I've been getting a ridiculous amount of enjoyment this week from this episode of "Auto-Tune the News":

I've gotta meet these guys & learn more about how they manipulate video to create their little mash-ups.

June 26, 2009

Friday Type: Animated excellence, great logos, & more

• In motion:
  • Chris Gavin's stop-motion TXT ISLAND rocks*.
  • "This summer...," it's Big. Red. Text! [Via]
• Bleh:
  • Why can I not resist mentioning this jock strap font?
  • Bibliodyssey features a "Grotesque Alphabet" from the 16th century.
• Logos:
  • myInkBlog rounds up some cool Logo Inspiration With Clever Typography. [Via Bruce Bullis]
  • To that batch, I'd add this Mummy logotype.
• Music:
  • Metallica's "Master of Puppets" rendered in the Modernist style. [Via Khoi Vinh]
  • Check out the Chopping Block's billowing treatment for Phish.

* To quote a YouTube commenter: "When I saw all the cranes piling up the buildings, I though 'OMFG, this guy is nuts! Look at how much time he spent!'" Agreed.

June 25, 2009

Photowalk with Adobe folks

As part of Scott Kelby's Second Annual Worldwide Photowalk, Adobe folks are leading four walks, hosted and joined by members of the Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge and/or Camera Raw teams. Lightroom PM Tom Hogarty writes,

Space is limited, so sign up quickly to walk and shoot with Adobe's digital imaging team:

• San Francisco, CA (Led by Tom Hogarty, Lightroom/ACR Product Manager)
• San Jose, CA (Led by Bryan Hughes, Photoshop Product Manager)
• Seattle, WA (Led by Tina Carter, Digital Imaging Support Engineer)
• Stillwater, MN (Led by Melissa Gaul, Lightroom Technical Evangelist)
• Hamburg, Germany (Led by Sven Doelle)

Enjoy!

Infographics in motion

• Hot Rocks: The NYT presents an interesting 2:30 overview on the dangers of drilling deep to tap geothermal power.
• Realtime 3D Airtraffic Network Simulation: Lufthansa's Brand Academy features "a 14-meter-wide, 180-degree projection [that] lets the visitors dive into the fully navigable, realtime 3D visualization of 16,000 daily Lufthansa and Star Alliance flights." Check out the video. [Via] Update: Looks like the links have been pulled, at least for the moment. Check out alternate links (courtesy of Ken Beegle) in comments.

June 24, 2009

Hughes on PS TV; Julieanne on PS

• My friend & fellow PM Bryan O'Neil Hughes recently sat in with the Photoshop TV guys, and you can see him in the current episode (starting around the 11-minute mark). Bryan discusses Configurator, some future directions for Photoshop, and more.
• If you're not yet subscribing to Julieanne Kost's great Photoshop blog, you might want to check it out. She provides bite-sized sets of tips each day (or thereabouts), and the tips are nicely categorized. You can also read her blog right inside Photoshop CS4 if you'd like.

Assorted Pixar Awesomeness

• Former Pixar production artist Lou Romano has posted a wealth of materials (videos, photos, paintings, and more) showing how the art of UP came to be. He shows how everything from gouache & miniatures to Photoshop & After Effects come together to explore & prototype the work.
• In a follow-up post, Lou has shared higher-res images of the complete color script for UP. [Via]
• The Art of the Title Sequence celebrates the wonderful end titles from WALL-E, interviewing director Jim Capobianco and animator Alexander Woo. [Via]
• Amazon lists Tim Hauser's The Art of UP and The Art of WALL-E.

June 23, 2009

Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 Now Available

Lightroom 2.4 (Mac|Win) and Camera Raw 5.4 (Mac|Win) are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms (Help->Updates) in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2. According to the Lightroom Journal, these updates include camera support for the following models:

Canon   EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i/EOS Kiss X3 Digital) Canon   PowerShot SX1 IS Epson     R-D1x Hasselblad   CF-22 Hasselblad   CF-22MS Hasselblad   CF-39 Hasselblad   CF-39MS Hasselblad   CFH-22 Hasselblad   CFH-39 Hasselblad   CFV Hasselblad   503CWD Hasselblad   H2D-22 Hasselblad   H2D-39 Hasselblad   H3D-22 Hasselblad   H3D-31	Hasselblad   H3D-39 Hasselblad   H3DII-22 Hasselblad   H3DII-31 Hasselblad   H3DII-39 Hasselblad   H3DII-39MS Hasselblad   H3DII-50 Kodak   EasyShare Z980 Nikon   D5000 Olympus   E-450 Olympus   E-620 Panasonic   Lumix DMC-GH1 Pentax   K-7 Sigma   DP2 Sony   A230 Sony   A330 Sony   A380
Note: Hasselblad support is for the 3FR file format only. The Hasselblad FFF file format is not currently supported.

Check out the rest of the entry for details on Lightroom bug fixes, as well as DNG format options and & spec updates.

A special GridIron event on Monday

By now you've probably heard my enthusiasm about GridIron Flow--a very cool workflow management tool. If you have time & want to see more, come to a special event on Monday (June 29th at 12pm EST; time zone calculator). I'll be making an appearance* to show off some slick Creative Suite integration the GridIron guys have put together. Hope you can join us.

* Caveat: If Project El Segundo launches early, all bets are off!