This Friday we were treated to a fabulous in-depth and inspirational presentation by David Rowley : “The Magic of Layers Explained”.

For those of us who face the notion of layers with trepidation I am sure that Dave's infectious enthusiasm has given us the prompt we need to explore this extremely powerful and creative aspect of Photoshop (and Paint Shop Pro!).

Dave made clear the significance and importance of layers in a way that I for one had previously not appreciated. Although this may not be an area we can all immediately pick up and run with, I am certain that many of us will wish to explore this further, and Dave has produced a series of instructional DVDs to this end.

Dave rose to the challenge of some grilling questions from the floor and ably not only only satisfied his inquisitors but was inspired to expand them into other fascinating areas! He showed us the basic concept of layers and how they could be used to enhance images such as his view of Prague.

Personally I was intrigued and inspired by the use of layer masks as I had never fully understood all their applications, but now I am definitely going to find out more about this.

Dave also comprehensively showed how a series of subtle changes and enhancements can without doubt improve an image, without significantly changing its basic form, by use of his skilful application of various adjustment layers and actions to impart a period feel to the photograph taken on a TV drama set.

Although there was a lot of take on board on the night (and I notice some swots had brought notebooks!), taken a step at a time, I am sure that we could all add some new strings to our digital manipulation bows following Dave's uplifting presentation – Now where's this month's copy of Digital Camera magazine?

Phil

Have a look at Dave's web site where you can watch video's showing the techniques that he demonstrated on Friday.

davro-digital.com