Software and Vocations

[glennab]

Hi Volunteers

There are two things about which I'm curious, expecially given the superb quality of the restorations I've seen so far.

1. What software are you using to do your restorations?

2. What do you do for a living (i.e. how do you come by your expertise)?


I'm working on an ancient G3 with OS9.2 and Photoshop 7.  Hoping to upgrade soon!!

My trade is as a graphic designer, working for a publisher of tourist guides and maps (what else, since I live in Florida!).

Would love to know more about the rest of you.

As ever, my best to you all,

GG

[milanab]

housewife and mom..self taught.no formal training.  high school graduate only.  probably one of the only ones stuck in corel paint shop proX .  hubby is out of work right now but planning on getting cs2 when possible and spending lots of time on the tutorials...even though i hate tutorials...hahaha
i got started by working on my dads pictures from this time in the service 1953-54 in Korea USAF.  he was undergoing cancer treatments and needed a distraction or two

[pcraft]

Hi Glen...   I use Adobe Photoshop CS but do, more often than not, use CS2 on a friends machine...

I'm a warehouseman... My main duties are receiving, forklift at times.. This may bring you to wonder how I learned to use Photoshop... Well, I came across Adobe @ version 3 and have been a registered user ever since then...

Going back over 35 years ago, I worked as a commercial artist for a screen printing company.  Art at that time was the love of my life... But the pay sucked...  lol  I had friends working in factories that were making a fair amount more than I was, so, I made the switch for strictly monetary reasons...  I got away from the art field for about 8 years or so, until I happened across Adobe Photoshop 3...  It amazed me what could be done with this miraculous program...  For most of the time since then, I've used it mainly as a hobby.. Although I do take on freelance work for the last 5 years, now and then..

I was basically self taught up until around version 7 and then cam across NAPP ( http://www.photoshopuser.com/ ) and around October of last year my wife and I attended the Photoshop CS2 Power Tour in Toronto...  That was a gas, very entertaining and quite amazing...  lol

I guess that's about it...  I hope that is the sort of stuff you were looking for Glen?   :)

Robert

PS. I'm working on a PC with Microsoft Windows XP Professional with  3.40Ghz and 2 GB of Ram..

[Ratz]

Hi Glen, I use Photoshop Elements 4,I love it, although it doesn't have everything that CS2 has, I find it adequate.My son is a graphic artist and got me interested in Photoshopping and taught me how to use it. In real life I work at a gas station, which I like a lot. It pays the bills and gives me spare cash for my other passion, which is photography.
Kind regards from Vicki. :)

[Ziaphra]

Self taught stay at home Mom and I use PSPv9. :)

[SoleAngelus]

Started out in college, taught myself most things, an now i work as a graphic designer for a charity, im using Photoshop CS2 on a windows based self built machine  :funny: :P

Dan

[Veronica]

Hello GG,

I am self-taught as well, and my software of choice is ULEAD PhotoImpact. 

I am a "newly" single mom of five, and started playing with PhotoImpact when my youngest was born almost five years ago.  Computer graphics is one of my hobbies. 

For a living I am a self employed Medical Practice Management consultant.  About 90% of my clients are on SCO Unix.  I have had my business for almost 12 years now and work from home.  My clients are in Texas, Nevada, Idaho, California, Oregon and Washington.

I do have Photoshop as well, but PI is just so much easier for me.  I keep saying when I find more time I will play with my PS more.  It is just finding the time.     ::)

[glennab]

Hi!

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm amazed at how many of you are self-taught.  Awesome!  For any of you wanting to get further into Photoshop, Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, has several DVDs and books on photo restoration available (through the organization and also in book stores).  I've found them really helpful.

Hope to hear from more volunteers in the future.

Best wishes,

GG

P.S.  My name is Glenna -- aka GG -- no offense taken at being called Glenn, though.

[Peter_AUS]

Self taught, learning more and more each day in Photoshop CS2.  Stay at home dad on a disability pension with two daughters and wife.

NAPP is a good choice if you are USA based as the freebies and extras just don't work down here in Australia and the costs are three times the price there.  I did join once but found I didn't get what others probably did from the membership.  Tutorials spanning over several issues wasn't that helpful either as you had to wait to learn the next steps.

Katrin Eismann books I think are very helpful and easy to read and follow most of the time.

[capriccio]

I'm also self taught, using CS2 and a Wacom Intuos 3 that replaced my 8 year old Graphire (Santa was gooood last year!) ;)

My degree is in music education, but I only taught 2 years. I have a 14 year old son with autism and bipolar, so I had to get more flexible with my employment about 8 years ago when the first trouble started. I work for my mother, who's a real estate agent, doing her marketing, PR and website (http://www.carolwaldrop.com - wanna move to Atlanta?) j/k. I use Adobe products for just about everything, except I can't afford Flash yet - waiting for CS3 suite - so I use a cheap flash exporter called AnFx.

I'm also a single mom, have been for almost 13 years now. But I look at it as, I only have one child now instead of two.

I'm in the beginning stages of starting a graphics company catering to real estate agents. My site is http://www.jwarddesigns.com but there's nothing there yet except a DVD project I did for my neice's school chorus.

My "real" name is Julie. I go by that, Jules, Capriccio, Capri, Cap, MOOOOMMMM or hey you. Like Ziaphra and others here, I hail from worth1000.com. :)

[Ausimax]

Self taught and still trying to learn, currently using CS2, also use Gimp, PhotoImpact 6 and PhotoStudio 5, only reasonably new to Photoshop and have much to learn about the abilities of the program.

In real life I am retired, Most of my working life was related to Earthmoving, Construction and Quarrying. About a year ago I bought a digital camera and revived my interest in photography and image editing.

I am looking to getting started here, hopefully I can help restore someones memories. and learn something myself at the same time.

Max

[Ptollemy]

Self-taught, started out on Photoshop 7, currently using CS2 in an PC environment.

Peter_Aus: I'm sorry that NAPP didn't work out for you. As another Aussie member it can be frustrating that a lot of the benefits are US based; however I find the members site tutorials really helpful, and for me, the members only helpdesk is worth the price of membership alone.

I agree that Katrin Eismann's books are very helpful; I am currently slowly working my way through her restoration book.

My day job is as an executive support officer for the State Government. I'm also studying a Bachelors Degree in Internet Studies, which is how I discovered Photoshop. In only a short time I was totally addicted. I can see that it will be a life-long passion. :)

[clinttmbg]

I learned the adobe and aldus products in high school. I had a great teacher skilled at writing for grants. I learned all of the software in high school and worked my way through college doing traditional(pigment and brush) and digital retouching. I went to our community college to get  a degree and realized that I had alot to learn about design if I wanted to work in print!

After learning what I needed I began work for the phone books, the quick printers, the unemployment check, and presently I work for 3 magazines. I use Photoshop CS for the restorations I do.

Lately I just try and convince the photo-picky bosses to look at Camera Raw technology.
Then they ignore me. Fun huh?

Whoa, did that turn into a rant?
::)

[Russell]

1) For retouching, I usually only use Photoshop and the HSB Noise plugin.  Those and the old trusty Wacom Intuos!

2) I learned Photoshop in college, as a photography major, starting with PS2.  When I graduated in 1997 (around PS5?) every photographer in town was eyeing digital, so assisting these guys became fairly lucrative and it became my specialty.  After 7 years of professional retouching for commercial photographers and ad agencies, I've now moved on to videogame development during the day and teaching digital imaging to university classes at night.

[Kenny]

For restoration I use Photoshop CS. I'm disabled but I still build a few computers in my shop and I'm the unofficial IT guy for the office where my wife works. (imagine that   ::) )