The Photo Canvas Blog

It doesn’t get any better than this… The world’s biggest convention devoted to all things Photoshop at one of the world’s most exciting resorts – Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip. Between August 31 and September 3, 2010, there’ll be more than 100 classes and seminars lead by 35 amazing instructors – plus hands-on photo field trips, a big technology expo, cool parties and, of course, all the fun and madness that is Las Vegas.

Artistic Photo Canvas will be doing PSW in style – this time setting up shop right inside the doors to the Tech Expo at Booth 305. Not only is our booth a traveling gallery for the amazing work of celebrity, pro and amateur photographers displayed on about 40 gorgeous canvases – it’s also a focal point for lots of fun, and some great prizes too. In fact, we’ve got so much going on this year, we’ve penned this handy guide so you don’t miss out on any of the APC action!

Can’t make it to Photoshop World this year? …Keep reading! You can still win some great APC prizes via Twitter and Facebook during the event!

We’ve Got a Secret

There’s something really big brewing at APC and, if you’re a Photoshop World attendee, you can to be first to find out about it. Plan to stop by our booth each day of the Tech Expo to pick up that day’s secret word. Enter it at the APC website and you’ll not only be in on the secret – you’ll also get a $10 APC eGift Certificate and be entered into our drawing to win an Apple 16GB WiFi + 3G iPad! (One eGift Certificate per person for the duration of the promotion. Enter the contest up to four times – one secret word per day of the Expo plus one bonus secret word available at the Official PSW Tweetup. No purchase necessary.)

A Killer Deal to End All Killer Deals

APC’s Show Special is so good we can’t even talk about it in a public forum. Suffice to say the APC Show Special will be the single best deal on the floor of the Tech Expo – and if you miss out on it, you’ll be kicking yourself later.

APCs HDR Walkshop™ in Old Las Vegas

Registration was full in less than 24 hours, but check out this previous post to learn about the good times High Dynamic Range photography enthusiasts will be having in Old Las Vegas during APC’s signature event on Wednesday, September 1 with HDR master Brian Matiash and his gifted bracket shooting mate, Jacob Lucas. If you’ve missed out on this one, don’t fret! Future Walkshops are already in the works. If you are registered for the Walkshop, don’t be late to the rendezvous point – there’s a waiting list of folks eager to take your spot! And remember, if you bring the APC Prepaid Card you receive on the Walkshop to the APC booth on Thursday or Friday, September 2 or 3 – while wearing your new APC t-shirt – we’ll double the value of your Prepaid Card.

RSVP for PSW on Facebook (whether you’re going or not)

If you RSVP for Photoshop World on the Artistic Photo Canvas Facebook page – whether you are attending or not – you’ll be automatically entered into our drawing to win one of two custom 16×20 gallery wraps from APC. The first will be given away to a randomly selected PSW attendee. (Just visit our booth and ask if you are the pre-determined winner.) The second gallery wrap will be given away in a random drawing of all people who RSVP’d – with the winner to be announced on our Facebook page after PSW wraps up.

Find Alan Hess

APC has once again teamed up with renowned concert photographer Alan Hess to bring some fun – and more stunning canvas prizes – to Photoshop World. For the duration of the conference, Alan and APC will be tweeting about Alan’s whereabouts. If you catch up with Alan, get his business card, write your name on it, and bring it to the APC booth at the Tech Expo, we’ll enter you into our drawings to win signed canvas prints of Alan’s amazing photographs – including this killer shot of every PSW attendee’s favorite rock star – Scott Kelby! If you’re not already following Artistic Photo Canvas on Twitter and Alan Hess on Twitter, follow those links and watch our tweets to find Alan! (You must be present at the APC booth during the drawing time to be announced – via Twitter, naturally – to win.)

Twitter Tips & Prizes

One of APC’s favorite customers and evangelists, Christopher Stampar, will be tweeting canvas ideas and tips for the duration of Photoshop World. If you’re the first to retweet a tip, you’ll win one of the very nifty iFotoGuide iPhone apps. iFotoGuide apps are the perfect replacement for those cumbersome travel guides to some of our country’s most photogenic national parks. Be sure to follow Christopher Stampar on Twitter for some great advice on canvas printing – and your chance to win!

Throughout the conference, you’ll also want to keep an eye on the messages appearing in your Official Photoshop World Conference App for iPad and iOS4. You could snag some APC loot by being among the first to visit our booth after an APC prize alert is pushed to your iDevice. (There will be prize alerts for other vendors on the Expo floor, too.) The app author, Shawn Welch, has created an incredibly useful and attractive application that is about so much more than prizes. If you don’t already have it downloaded on your iPhone and/or iPad, you need to do it now!

APC will also be at the Official PSW Tweetup on Tuesday, August 31 from 7:30-ish ’til ? (on the patio outside the conference registration area). Find Team APC to get a bonus entry in our iPad giveaway by snagging the secret word. If you’re really lucky, you might also snag a killer, limited-edition PSW-themed “My Photos ROCK…” t-shirt!

Free Admission to the Photoshop World Tech Expo

Even if you’re not registered for the Photoshop World Conference in Las Vegas, you can still attend the PSW Tech Expo for a day (or even two) as a guest of APC! Just click on the Expo Pass thumbnail to the left to get to the full-size version. Print the APC Free Expo Pass out and present it at the Expo doors on Thursday, September 2 or Friday, September 3 when the event is open to the public. You’ll score free admission for two – a $40 value. There are dozens of classes and demonstrations taking place on the Expo floor every day – so, in addition to taking in the latest offerings from APC and the many other exhibitors on the floor – you can also take advantage of some great, free training presented by some of the biggest names in photography and Photoshop!

Meet Brian Matiash

Brian Matiash, the leader of APC’s HDR Walkshop in Old Las Vegas, will also be hanging with the APC crew throughout the Tech Expo. Brian will be there to answer your questions and share his insights in an informal setting. If you’ve ever wanted to spend some QT with one of the most respected pros in the world of HDR photography – this is your chance. Swing by, say hello, talk HDR, and discover why Brian’s work is exclusively printed by APC on canvas. For an occasional “heads up” when Brian will be swinging by, follow Brian Matiash on Twitter.

Win David duChemin’s “Within The Frame” cover photo on canvas

World and humanitarian photographer, David duChemin, is a big fan of APC gallery wraps, and we’ll be displaying one of his favorites – the cover photo from his best-selling book, Within The Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision in our booth throughout the show. Ever generous, David is working with APC to give away the very print you can see and touch on the Expo floor. For your chance to win David’s stunning 20″ x 30″ gallery wrapped canvas, watch this space for details – coming soon.

End of Show Giveaway

What better way to wrap up Photoshop World than with another gallery wrap giveaway? PSW attendees that fill out their conference questionnaires will be automatically entered for a chance to win a custom 20×30 gallery wrap from APC. The winner will be drawn during the Closing Ceremonies and announced live from the stage. You must be present to win.

Masterworks On Display

Prizes and promotions aside, the big reason you’ll want to hang with APC at Photoshop World will be to check out the exceptional quality and service that set Artistic Photo Canvas so far apart from all of those digital photo labs that “dabble in canvas.” We’re hanging the work of more amazing photographers including David duChemin, RC Concepcion, Brian Matiash, Scott Bourne, Dave Cross, John Batdorff, and many other gifted APC customers. You’ll definitely be inspired. And if you’ve ever wanted to meet in person some of the friendly APC-ers that you’ve talked to on the phone – Lew, Bob, Melanie, Mike and Camille will all be there. We can’t wait to meet you. Rock on!

By Brian Matiash, Photographer

So, you finished reading HDR Best Practices Guide – Part I: In The Field, and went out for a shoot. You had all of your wits and your gear about you when you set up your tripod and fired off those lovely brackets. You’ve got the raw materials (fine, pun partially intended) and now it’s time to refine them into something truly beautiful.

My original intent for Part II of this HDR Best Practices Guide was to delve into the actual tone-mapping and post processing steps around HDR. But, I felt that I would totally be glossing over an extremely important part of the whole HDR photography lifecycle by ignoring Image Management. So, I decided to devote Part II of this Guide to this topic because a clean home is a happy home. Part III will nose dive into the goodness of Photomatix, Photoshop, and everything in between.

I could write a whole book on the importance of image management. Many people already have. Your images are your primary, precious resources. As such, they have to be properly cataloged and inventoried so that you know exactly what you are looking for, how to find it, and how to deal with it.  Image Management is critical when you’re simply dealing with single images. Imagine what happens when you’re dealing with several brackets per HDR image. Here are some ‘Best Practices’ that I religiously follow to help prevent myself from losing sanity over my abyss of brackets.

Best Practice #1: Create/Maintain/Live By Your Rules

Think of self-imposed rules and what they really are. Boil it down and they are sanity checks and benchmarks that, when adhered to, help foster a healthy and functional working environment. The creation of these rules must be accompanied with a commitment and resolve to stick to them.  Get in the habit of ignoring them and you may as well not create them at all.

Continue reading…

At Artistic Photo Canvas, we love that we’re able to keep our finger on the lively pulse of the photography community. We know that HDR photography is much more than just the “Hot Topic du jour.” We see all of the wonderful detail and tone in the images that our customers share online and – best of all – we get to see, on a regular basis, that HDR images make for some truly amazing looking canvas prints.

That is why we are excited to announce APC’s very first HDR “Walkshop” … a walking workshop to be led by our good friend and renowned HDR Photographer, Brian Matiash. Brian’s skills and expertise in the realm of HDR photography are highly regarded – as are his mentoring abilities in sharing the nuanced shooting techniques and post-processing mastery he’s known for.

APC’s HDR Walkshop will take place next month during the Photoshop World Conference & Tech Expo in Las Vegas. For those of you that don’t already know, Photoshop World is the world’s largest Photoshop convention. The skills that are learned… the friends that are made… the good times (and the Expo deals) that are had… are legendary.

This September will mark APC’s sixth PSW Expo – where we have the great pleasure of meeting in person so many of our amazingly gifted customers. We wanted to organize something special for our friends at the show this time – and we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about sponsoring this event. Working with Brian has been incredible. His passion for photography and HDR and teaching are contagious.

If you’re able to go, we can pretty much guarantee two things: You’re going to learn a lot about HDR photography. And you are going to have a really good time doing it!

The official registration page has all of the details about the Walkshop – and the extra goodies we have in store for you. Head on over and check it out for yourself by clicking the banner below. We can’t wait to see you in Vegas. And we can’t wait to see the awesome HDR images that you create!