Tutorial on the Painting with the History Paintbrush – Photoshop

Russell Brown (www.russellbrown.com) has created a really good tutorial on how to use the History Paintbrush in Photoshop.

Those of you who’ve taken my Photoshop classes know that I don’t often teach this tool. I actually think it’s an awesome tool – but of course I’m ALL about non-destructive techniques, and this isn’t one of them. This technique changes original pixels permanently (there are work-arounds, but they’re rather indirect). So, I recommend knowing how this tool works, what you can do with it, and then knowing you can use it for more of your “quick and dirty” retouching and repair needs.

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Great Black and White in Photoshop

I’m often asked how to turn a color photograph into a Black & White image. Some people use the Black & White setting on their digital camera (and some use Tri-X film – often using manual filters!). The problem with traditional Black and White settings is that the resulting images lack dynamics, but with Photoshop, we can control the dynamics and contrast in an image, with a lot of power and ease.

In this Tutorial, you’ll learn about the power of the Black and White Adjustment Layer, and how do perform some cool special effects using this very simple and powerful tool.

Photoshop’s 21st Birthday!

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Adobe Photoshop turns 21 today. I want to thank Photoshop, the Knoll Brothers and all involved for giving me so many years of fun, and helping me to make a living as well!

This image is how I got my start with Photoshop. Version 2.5, and the upgrade to Version 4.0 (skipped 3.0!) Look! Dual-Density Floppies!!!

Since Photoshop is old enough to drink, but can’t (it has NO THUMBS!) – let’s all raise a glass in honor of this amazing piece of software!