New Adobe Lightroom Workflow PDF eBook

In this ever-changing world of digital tools, I have recently reworked my digital workflow using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I chose Lightroom because of it’s intuitive and powerful controls as well as its user interface. I have found that 80% of what I do in post processing with careful shooting techniques can be done in Lightroom and can be done faster than using Adobe Bridge and Photoshop alone. Adobe Lightroom also has much more advanced image editing and RAW processing tools - allowing me to concentrate on the images. Because I teach workshops and seminars on digital workflow I have put my workflow into an 89 page PDF e-book which covers everything from image capture to output using Lightroom and Photoshop. The e-book sells for $29.95 and can be purchased at here. At $29.95 you basically get an advanced digital workshop in book form.

Nikon Advertorial for Digital Photo Pro Magazine

Nikon and Digital Photo Pro magazine featured Michael and his work in an advertorial in the November/December 2006 issue of Digital Photo Pro. The advertorial which appears on the inside back cover, also included an interview with some interesting questions such as “What turns you on creatively? What’s your dream photo assignment?” and “If you could have diner with an artist from any era, who would it be?” One of the technical questions asked in the ad was “What is your favorite camera feature?” My response was: “The D2Xs has many incredible features but the white balance eye (Nikon calls it the Ambient Light Sensor) on the top of the camera is one feature that I use all the time. In a few seconds I can create a custom white balance for the light I am shooting in by just pressing two buttons and pointing the camera at the light source. It is a great feature for all lighting scenarios but especially when shooting at last light and the color temperature is changing every few minutes.” Also featured was the gear that I used to capture the image - a Nikon D2Xs and a 17-55mm DX Nikkor lens. The ad featured an image of Melisa Collett shot in Diablo Canyon just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico on a route named “Evil” 5.10d/11a. My thanks to Nikon, Digital Photo Pro and to Eric Barth who shot the portrait image used in the ad.

Adobe Lightroom Podcast featuring Michael Clark

During my workshop on Digital Workflow (May 2006) here at the Santa Fe Workshops I recorded a Podcast in which I talked about my work with George Jardine of Adobe. The Podcast is available now on iTunes. To check out that Podcast go to iTunes and type in Adobe Lightroom in the search box and all of the Adobe podcasts will come up. My Podcast is entitled: Podcast #20 (Enhanced Podcast): Michael Clark.

The podcast is a lively discussion with George of some of my adventure images and includes those images in the podcast so the viewer can follow along. This is the first Podcast I have participated in and was a great experience and it is a great new form of marketing for my work. I also sat in while Nevada Weir, with whom I was teaching the Digital Workflow workshop for the Santa Fe Workshops, taped her Podcast. Look for her Podcast as well - she had some very interesting comments on her work and the state of photography and her images are amazing! George also gave a very informative and exciting preview of Adobe’s Lightroom for our workshop participants. It was great to see a demonstration direct from one of the creators - my workflow changed after his presentation! Thank you to George and Adobe for choosing myself and my work and for coming out to Santa Fe and participating in our workshop.

2006 ASMP Best Of Issue Extended Interview

ASMP's 2006 Best Of issue's extended interviews have been uploaded to their website. The interview also includes a sampling of Michael's images from the Adobe assignment. To check out that interview go to:

http://www.asmp.org/culture/bestof2006/Michael_Clark/index.php.

Michael featured in Nikon World Magazine

The Summer 2006 issue of Nikon World Magazine includes a feature on Michael and his work. Along with the magazine, Nikon also recorded an interview for nikonworld.com with Michael speaking about his work. Since Nikon World Magazine is not available on newsstands Nikon has graciously sent me a pdf copy of the article which is available for download. To download that article click on the following link:

http://www.michaelclarkphoto.com/NWSum06_mclark.pdf

It is a great honor to be included among Nikon’s photographers in Nikon World Magazine and I look forward to working with Nikon in the future.

Extended Nikon World Magazine Interview with Michael

Nikonworld.com recently posted an extended audio interview with Michael talking about his images, how he got them and the equipment used to capture the images published in the Nikon World Magazine article.

You can check out the interview at http://www.nikonworld.com/. Click on Portfolio in the left-hand menu, then click on Portfolio Archive and choose Michael Clark from the list of Nikon photographers. The opening spread of the Nikon World Magazine article will appear (as below) - just click the "play" triangle below the spread and the interview and images will start. The interview lasts about 15 minutes and includes commentary on the images that Nikon chose for the article.

On Assignment for Adobe Lightroom

Michael recently shot demo files for Adobe’s new digital specific software named “Lightroom” currently in beta stage. For this assignment Michael was asked to shoot mountain biking and freeriding, an extreme form of mountain biking involving jumping off rather large cliffs and taking big risks. We chose Moab, Utah as our location and mountain bikers Ryon Reed, Ed Strang and Kathy Parent. We shot at Bartlett Wash, the Fin near the Porcupine Rim Trail and up on the Chili Pepper trails above Moab. It was an exhausting 24 hours of shooting up at 4 AM and out till 10 PM the night before.

Adobe needed a series of exciting images for the upcoming launch of Lightroom and we got a good sampling of extremely risky mountain biking images to satisfy their needs. In all we shot over 30 GB of images in a 24 hour period! That is over 3000 images with a Nikon D2x and D200. The images will be used on the box and a few will also be included with the software as sample images as well as to demonstrate the software.

It was a pleasure working with Adobe on this project! They gave me a lot of creative freedom to come up with exciting and visually stunning images. And I feel like I am ahead of the curve having used Lightroom extensively already and having had a personal demonstration by one of the Lightroom creators. Look for my Lightroom workflow later this year.

Read the enxtended article Behind the Scenes: On assignment for Adobe Lightroom.

ASMP Bulletin 2006 Best Of Issue

Michael’s recent work shot for Adobe Lightroom was chosen by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) for their “Best Of” issue in the ASMP Bulletin. ASMP is the world’s largest organization for professional photographers. The bulletin is a quarterly publication for it’s members and the “Best Of” issue features the best assignments and work produced by it’s members from the last year. In addition to the interview inside, one of Michael’s images was also chosen for the cover and the full interview will appear online on the ASMP website (www.asmp.org). This is a great honor to have my work chosen for the “Best Of” issue and I must extend a huge thank you to Adobe and George Jardine for the assignment and for allowing me so much creative freedom. If you'd like to download that issue of the bulletin you can do so at the ASMP website- here is the link: http://www.asmp.org/pdfs/bulletins/2006/bestof06.pdf.

Michael partners with Leslie Alsheimer for Digital Workshops

Leslie Alsheimer and Michael Clark have combined their expertise and talents recently announcing a new series of Digital Vacation Workshops. We teamed up because we saw a niche that wasn’t being filled - workshops that will amplify digital skills and knowledge, and take care of it’s participants from start to finish. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Leslie, as she is a woman of many talents with whom I have worked with on a number of projects. Not only is she the first person I call when I need expert Photoshop advice, but over the years she has also assisted me on photo shoots, and as has even modeled on occasion (as below). On top of all that she is a talented photographer whose clients include Nikon among many others. She has taught workshops for the Maine and Santa Fe Photo Workshops, Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the Nikon/American Photo Mentor Series. In addition to our exclusive private instruction services, we currently have three workshops scheduled for this year and are developing several more exotic workshops in locations such as Russia, Italy and Southern France for this Fall and 2007. If you want to see what all the hubbub is about check out our website at http://www.santafedigitaldarkroom.com. For more information on our extensive workshops please email us at info@sfdigitaldarkroom.com.