The Digital Darkroom

Your digital darkroom is really a very simple place. It consists of a Graphire, Photoshop and a digital camera to collect the files you need.

Time was there was no such thing. A darkroom was just that - dark with a red safe light. The working surface had three trays (assuming you were working in black and white) filled with Developer, Stop Bath and Fixer. There was also the enlarger, the timer, dodge and burn tools (generally home made), packs of paper, a place to hang the wet pictures, that stuff to help the water dry on the wet negative and all of the other chemicals for developing the film.

There sure was a lot of stuff one needed in ones modern chemical darkroom.

Timing was critical when you were making your prints as was the temperature of the chemicals. A cardinal rule of the darkroom was to never, ever let the tongs that took the print out of the developer touch the stop bath and if you did you had to stumble about in the dark to find the sink to wash the tongs.

The biggest enemy in the darkroom other than light was dust. The tiniest speck could ruin a print and so could someone opening the door at just the wrong time for that matter.

OK - so there were two enemies - dust and light.

The single biggest reward in the darkroom was flipping on the lights after developing, stopping, fixing and washing a print to find an absolutely gorgeous black and white picture in front of you ... and you did it all ... from film camera to negative to print! What a rush it was!

Having this gorgeous piece of photographic art in ones hand generally led to dashing madly from the darkroom to show the masterpiece to the nearest family member. That made all of the other things worthwhile!

Now it's the Digital Darkroom ...

There is one thing we can be absolutely sure about and that is technology is constantly changing how we do what we do.

In this case technology has replaced all of that chemical darkroom 'stuff' with digital darkroom 'stuff' ...

... stuff like your computer and Photoshop and the best tool of all - your Graphire.

• all of the chemicals and trays and other stuff has been replaced by your computer
• the negatives from your camera and the enlarger have been replaced by Photoshop, and
• the dodging and burning tools have been replaced by the Graphire

It sure is a neater package (the digital darkroom) but it can sure be a tad more difficult to master, especially Photoshop.

To help the new Wacom tablet user get the most out of their tablet and Photoshop I have included some tips and techniques on the most commonly used tools (selections, cloning, local control etc). These tips and techniques will show you how to optimize your Graphire and Photoshop to achieve the best results possible.

All things being equal your skill with Photoshop is the difference that makes the difference between an improved photo and an incredible photo.

The main problem with Photoshop is the same thing that makes it such a powerful digital editing product. There is just so much to learn and it is a daunting task for most.

Sure ... you can wade through the Photoshop Manual but that only explains the tools and product manuals are - well - boring.

Or ...

You can search the web for Photoshop tips and techniques but that is an overwhelming task and you really don't learn the basics of how each tool in Photoshop works. You may find a technique to do exactly what you want but does it really improve your overall comprehension of digital editing with Photoshop.

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Note:
I just did a search for Photoshop Training - there are 55,000,000 pages with that term! Yikes!!
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What you need to do to get a solid foothold on Photoshop and maximize your skill in your digital darkroom is to learn how to use the tools from someone who knows how to teach what they know about the extensive array of Photoshop tools ...

With a thorough understanding of Photoshop you can produce outstanding images and perhaps you will even have a new career in front of you - but - have you priced the cost of formal Photoshop training recently?

I have and it is very expensive! Hundreds of dollars for a basic introduction to Photoshop course then pay the same again for intermediate training and even more for advanced information.

Now you have the opportunity to learn Photoshop from beginner level to the advanced levels from a master of the subject at a fraction of the cost ...

Learn Photoshop In A Day

This value priced 550 page manual complete with over 170 sample images to work with is an incredible bargain. All of the information you can learn from a formal course (classroom or on-line) with the corresponding high cost is yours for a fraction of the cost working at your own pace with this amazing course.

The step-by-step instructions means the manual is both easy to follow and easy to understand from start to finish, section by section.

Because there are over 170 sample images included you will not spend precious time searching for an image of your own to use with the sections in the manual. You simply open the sample image and get on with the lesson immediately which saves time and keeps your learning moving forward. The sample images were chosen to maximize your understanding with hands on practice.

The easy to follow instructions save time and reduces the learning curve so you will be working with your own images much, much sooner.

The logical progression of each manageable section provides a solid base of Photoshop knowledge and, more importantly, a sold base of understanding.

Producing an Index and a full Table of Contents in a 550 page manual is an amazing value which makes it very easy to find any topic or keyword you want, quickly and easily.

And ...

Working with the techniques and sample images is an enormous amount of fun! You will eagerly look forward to each new lesson and before you know it your Photoshop skills will amaze you, your family and your friends. What a sense of achievement and pride this will provide!

To review the extensive list of topics covered, Click Here!

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