Adobe Photoshop CS2 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor’s Guide to the Creative Use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC: I picked this book up at a bookstore the other day because I was curious about the amount of copy within this book - in other words, I couldn’t just stand there and read it in the store. But, the copy didn’t detract from the images that were scattered throughout the book - just enough to support the text and to show how to follow photographer Martin Evening’s advice. There are 704 pages filled with content plus 30 pages of Photoshop Shortcuts on the free CD-ROM. And, while Adobe does justice to explaining DNG (Digital Negative) files and its Bridge, Evening goes further to make these tools part of the professional photographer’s personal arsenal. A must have for any digital photographer. The only problem is that I paid too much for my book - it’s cheaper at Amazon.

If a film is made and no one sees it, does it make an impact? Submit your film to Media That Matters and be heard.

If you want to make an impact, this is the festival for you—Media That Matters will bring your social-issue short to audiences around the world! Sixteen winners get an international distribution deal—DVD, broadcast, web streaming and hundreds of community screenings. Plus many films get cash awards. Media That Matters launches in NYC with a premiere and awards ceremony (previous presenters have included Tim Robbins, Chuck D and David Cross). The shorts are distributed to educators with a Teacher’s Guide and integrated into activist campaigns all year long. Deadline: 12 January 2007. Visit the site for more information and entry form (no entry fee for students!).

You’d probably never believe it (or maybe you would), but the U.S. Government provides some nifty photos that are basically free from copyright except, possibly, for commercial use - but only in some instances. Some sites also have print-quality resolutions available. As a bonus, I included another non-governmental link at the bottom that will blow your mind if you don’t know about it already.

Public Health Image Library (PHIL) from the Centre for Disease Control – Warning! Some images are unsuitable for children because they’re fairly graphic (seriously graphic). But you can find natural disaster, bioterrorism, and influenza photos, illustrations, and videos here for the asking.

CIA Publications Homepage – This undercover operation hands out free maps and flags from all over the world.

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by Jennifer Schrock

“Doesn’t that cost a mint?� a visitor asks as he eyes a ground source heat pump unit and the plumbing that brings recycled rainwater to the toilets in Rieth Village, a three-building academic complex at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College which was completed in the spring of 2006.

“Do you mean up-front or over the long haul?” Luke Gascho, executive director of Merry Lea queries. Gascho is an advocate of full-cost accounting and challenges his guests to consider not only the cost to construct a building but also the expected lifetime of its materials and the expense required to maintain heating, lighting and cooling. Often these factors alone can justify a “green” expenditure, without even considering the benefits to the environment that are more difficult to quantify. Read the rest of this entry »

Review Santa Fe is the only juried portfolio review event in the United States. Up to 100 photographers are selected to participate in two days of reviews with esteemed curators, editors, art directors, publishers, gallery and agency reps, and alternative market professionals. Participants will be given an opportunity to indicate their preferred reviewers, and every effort willl be made to match participants with their choice of reviewers. Work derived from all photographic processes, both traditional and digital, are accepted, as well as mixed media work that is photo-based. Both fine art and documentary photography, and all combinations thereof, are acceptable. This review event is open to all photographers internationally. Deadline: 15 December 2006. Lots of cash for this one…Visit the site for more information and entry forms.

Following in the success of their first book ‘Digital Art Masters: vol 1,’ 3DTotal would like to announce their Call for Entries for the second book of the series ‘Digital Art Masters: vol 2′. ‘Digital Art Masters: vol 2′ will again be showcasing some of the finest 2d and 3d images from talented artists across the globe. Initial submissions need to be of your final image only to enable entrance into the selection process. Chosen artists then need to supply an additional text overview with ‘making of’ and ‘work in progress’ images. Deadline: 31 December 2006. Visit the site for all the details, including samples of what this company expects from you (when you arrive at that page, go to “submit” and then go to the top entry on the pop-up menu).

This looks like fun - and it’s free to enter this Photoshop contest! Each week for four weeks, the Crestock judges will pick five photos from their image library. Your entry must be based on one or more of these photos, but you are free to do with them whatever you like. The Judges and the public will cast their votes, and the entry with the highest score will win. The winning entry will hold a high level of creativity, technicality and incredible visual impact, be it pure eye candy – or with a twist of humor. You must be signed in to submit an entry. What do you win? A variety of tech goods! Visit the site for more information (week one is already underway, 3 December is second week deadline, new photos for that week will be posted 29 November.).

At right: A winning design by Brandon Alms from the Desert Space Foundation’s contest to design a universal warning sign for the Yucca Mountain site.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue its first-ever Million-Year-Long regulation regarding nuclear waste. But will humans even be here in a million years (let alone Yucca Mountain???)? Here’s the background…In 2002, after Congress and President Bush approved plans to store power plant nuclear waste material inside Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the EPA was placed in charge of laying out the repository’s building codes, designed to last 10,000 years. But opponents of the Yucca Mountain plan filed a lawsuit which argued that the regulation did not extend far enough into the future. After the courts agreed, the EPA extended the regulation by 100 times, to 1 million years.

As a rebuttal, or as commentary, or as statements, several artists have created posters, sculptures, and mausoleums specifically for this issue and for Yucca Mountain. Visit the PBS article to see the work and to learn more.

International Fashion Awards will give young designers throughout the world the opportunity to participate in an international Fashion Design competition. The contest, which will take place every 18 months, has the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan Government, and five of the most important Fashion Design Schools in Europe.

The aim of this event is that young fashion designers under age 35 have access to a new media platform, as well as the opportunity to commercialise their collections. The five Fashion Design Schools supporting MANGO in this event are: the Institut Français de la Mode, Paris; Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, London; Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen (The Royal Academy of Fine Arts), Antwerp; Istituto Marangoni, Milan; and the Escola Superior de Disseny, ESDi, Barcelona. Deadlines for entry: 30 November 2006 - 2 February 2007. Visit the PDF for detailed information about your entry.

CMGF07 is a four-day premier Midwestern event catering to 3D and compositing effects. It takes place 25-28 January in downtown Chicago. The festival features an awards ceremony, industry mixer, HD screening, a 4-day educational conference, and year-round online coverage. Current partners include School of the Art Institute, North Michigan Apple Store, Screen Magazine, and Midwest Media Group. This they will give special attention to work at HD resolution. The DEADLINE for entry is 8 December 2006. Visit the site to submit a motion picture for consideration.