Two Awesome New Contests!!!

When people ask me what they can do to make themselves more visible. I simply tell them to enter and win contests of any kind! It’s a great way to get exposure and fine-tune your craft. No to mention, heaping the great rewards of cool super cool prizes.

With that, there are two great contest under way right now and both have some super cool prizes!!

Shoot on the Sidelines with Scott & Mike
The first contest is a new sports photography contest over at Scott Kelby’s blog called “Shoot on the Sidelines with Scott and Mike”. This is a brilliant new contest devised by Scott and famed sports photographer Mike Olivella. This contest is absolutely incredible! Remember what I mentioned earlier about getting exposure and fine-tuning your craft? Well this contest is does both! Because the prize itself is a gem of an experience! I don’t think anybody can explain the details better than Scott himself. Click here to hear Scott explain all the details of this new contest in this exclusive video.

How Photoshop CS4 Saved the Day
The next contest is a new contest hosted by Layers Magazine and its’s called “How Photoshop CS4 Saved The Day”. What they are looking for is you to share you or your company’s experience with how Photoshop played a vital role in “saving the day”.

From the contest page: Click here to go directly.
“..We want to hear from you how Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 saved the day. [Insert soundtrack of Mighty Mouse theme song.] And we want to give away cool stuff. LOTS of cool stuff. (We want a lot.)

So here’s the deal ….

Tell us about a time you were in a jam — perhaps a project was tanking faster than the Titanic or it was on you to wow a client back into the fold — and you used Photoshop CS4 to pull through. We want to know about it. Basically, we’re looking for creative solutions to everyday challenges. You know … all those “I pulled it off again!” victories you get from working in a creative industry.”

I have certainly experience numerous occasions where Photoshop was there the save me. Now your success story can be a vital role in taking your skills to the next level. Sounds awesome!!, Huh? You can get the full details and enter the contest here.

August 4th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (0)

Retro Tron Effect

Inspired by the new Tron clip released this week. Corey uses Vanishing Point to create a retro Tron effect based on the original 1980’s version. Continue Reading »

July 31st, 2009 | Corey Barker | Effects, Tutorials | Comments (26)

Outrageous 3D is Live!!!

My newest and most highly anticipated online course: Outrageous 3D with Photoshop CS4 Extended is now live at the Kelby Online Training site. This course takes an extreme approach to 3D in Photoshop by demonstrating some of the most outside-of-the-box techniques around. As a designer, I’m always striving to take advantage of all tools available in Photoshop. With the addition of 3D in Photoshop Extended, there’s a whole new world of untapped possibilities. The best part is you don’t have to be a 3D expert to use the tools effectively. The course takes you through the basics of 3D in Photoshop and then moves into more advanced techniques as the course progresses. By the end, you’ll have the know-how to implement eye-popping 3D into your work immediately like in the graphic above. Find out more about the course by visiting the Kelby Training site. Have Fun, Be Creative!

July 29th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)

G-Force

Summer’s not over yet. Corey has chosen the logo from the new movie G-Force to recreate for this week’s tutorial. Continue Reading »

July 24th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Effects, Tutorials | Comments (17)

Down & Dirty Coming to Indianapolis

If you live in or around the Indianapolis area, mark your calendars because in a few weeks I will be bringing the Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty seminar tour to your area on August 10. I am super excited to continue the seminar tour especially in one of the few cities I have yet to visit. This is a full day of nothing but Photoshop awesomeness!! We will explore techniques that will allow you to create jaw-dropping effects made so popular in tv, movies, and magazines. Perhaps even a few surprises along the way. Don’t miss out as these events have been selling out fast. You can register for the event and get more info including prices, show materials, and future seminar dates by checking out the Kelby Training Live site. We are constantly adding new cities to the tour so keep checking back for a seminar near you. Have a great weekend!!!

July 24th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (4)

Photo Walk: Was yours as interesting as mine?

Did everyone enjoy their photo walks? I must say it was rather interesting here in Tampa. I woke and was gearing up to leave and noticed that it was raining. Which is all too typical here in the summer, but a damper when if you are going to walk around outside for a few hours. However in true Florida style, the rain lasted just a few minutes and the sun came out. I finally made it to the walk site and met up with Matt who was rallying the walkers. I decided to give myself an assignment this time around. I thought it would be a good idea to mainly shoot textures. Being a designer and artist I can always use textures and patterns for whatever. Once I geared my brain to seek out textures, they just popped up everywhere. I wanted to share this because it was an extremely interesting observation experiment. When you out shooting you are looking for that great shot but it’s interesting when you narrow the focus of what you are looking for. By concentrating on textures, I found myself noticing things I never would have considered. When you are out shooting, most tend to look at the whole scene rather than the small details or parts that make the whole. By focusing on a specific aspect and employing some creative thinking you can achieve something very interesting. For instance, a drainage grate on the street is nothing exciting, but if you move in closer and concentrate on the shapes and patterns as they are cropped in your viewfinder. You will see elegant patterns emerge that you didn’t see before. Try it! It really is quiet interesting.

Ultimately I had a great time and got to meet some very interesting people along the way. I will be using some of my discoveries in upcoming tutorials right here on Planet so stay tuned? Again, would to here how your walk went and perhaps see some interesting images.

July 20th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (9)

Harry Potter

Manipulate the magic of Photoshop to recreate the title graphics from the new Harry Potter summer movie. Continue Reading »

July 17th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Effects, Tutorials | Comments (29)

Photo Walk is here!!!

That’s right!!! The time has come for Scott Kelby’s Second Annual Photo Walk sponsored by Kelby Training. This has probably got to be one of the biggest photography events in history. Right now there are over 30,000 people signed up around the world. That’s almost three times what it was last year. If you are going, you will want to check out Scott’s blog today as he has some last minute thoughts before you head out to your walk. You can also get some last minutes tips at the photo walk website where there is a blog hosted by our very own Brad Moore.

I will be going to Matt Kloskowski’s walk here in Safety Harbor, FL. It’s right at the tip of the bay here in Tampa. So we might be able to get in some waterfront shots. I am just bringing my D40. It really does give me some great shots. It’s going to be fun! If I get any really outstanding shots I will post them here on the blog next week. Good luck and happy shooting!!!

July 17th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)

Contest Winners Announced!

In case you haven’t checked the contest page yet we have posted the winners of the latest Planet tutorial contest. The entries are getting more creative and it’s getting tougher to pick the winner. You can check out the winners here. The next contest will be starting in the next week or two and I am thinking this time I am going to add a little twist to it. Make sure you check back soon to find out. In the meantime, the enjoy the winning images and all the fun tutorials right here on Planet!!

July 13th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (4)

Photo Walk Numbers Climbing | PS Instructor Kit Available

Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk is getting close and there’s already over 20,000 people signed up in more than 200 cities around the world. More are getting added every week. If you plan on attending, you better sign up soon as these things fill up fast. Whether your a novice photographer or a professional who just wants to engage the social aspect photography by walking with other photographers talking about shooting and critiquing each other’s work. It’s a great way to meet new friends with like interests and hone those photography skills just a bit more. You can never have too much practice!

Just released today is the Photoshop educator’s instructor kit. Based on The Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby. This new kit was created for those instructors in a classroom settings that are teaching Photoshop on a regular basis. It provides lessons, video tutorials, test questions, and additional materials that go beyond what is in the regular book keeping the content of your lessons fresh and students learning more. Scott himself has provided a short video explaining the kit in detail. Click here to watch the video and learn more.

July 6th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)