I am pleased to give you the man himself…

Corey “The Laddy” Barker

click the pic to visit Corey’s website

1. What’s a typical day like for you at NAPP HQ?

Well first of all there is no such thing as a typical day here at NAPP HQ. Working for Scott really keeps you on your toes. You just never know when he’s going to show up with the next big idea or project. To be honest, I thrive on the spontaneity. Not knowing what’s coming is rather exciting. Some people like working in a structured, corporate environment. I just couldn’t handle it. Part of being a creative involves a huge element of the unexpected and we get that almost every day here.

2. How did you come to work for NAPP?

I had been a NAPP member for quite a few years and even attended about half a dozen PSWs before joining the team. I always thought it would be so cool to do what these guys did. Then one day on the NAPP member page there was a short video by the Photoshop Guys announcing an open casting call for the next Photoshop Guru. At the time I was thinking, “this is my shot” but I was reluctant because I thought I wasn’t really good enough. So I spent an entire weekend and put together a whole portfolio presentation and sent it off. I eventually received an email and was asked to interview with Scott at PSW in Las Vegas since I was attending anyway. It went so well that I was too excited to attend any of the sessions for the rest of the event. I got the call about a week and a half later and the rest, as they say, is history!

3. Before you were NAPP staff, you would spend time in the NAPP Forum Battlegrounds – if you had time to take someone on in a Photoshop battle now – who would you want to be your opponent and why? -from a NAPP Forum Member

I would probably say either Bert Monroy or Felix Nelson. Those two are a couple of the very best digital artists I have ever seen. Would I beat them? Probably not, but I would learn so much more along the way!

4. When you first started, who inspired you the most? Who inspires you the most today? Why?

Well as I said earlier. Bert and Felix are two huge influences on me now. But when I started I was greatly influenced by Scott Kelby’s early books and even the WOW book series back when Jack Davis was doing them. I also learned a tremendous amount from Ben Willmore. This man bleeds Photoshop knowledge. Today these same people inspire me but as I have matured as an artist I start to seek my inspiration in things like movies, TV and web. There are so many ideas in the world, all you need to do is stop and look around.

5. Being the Photoshop Laddie has brought a certain amount of fame to you- are there times when you want your anonymity back? If yes, when & why? -from a NAPP Member

No, not really. The fame hasn’t really reached the point where it’s become annoying. In fact the only time I have been recognized outside of an industry event (i.e., PSW, seminar, etc) was one time when I was at the Apple store here in Tampa and someone noticed me and asked if I was Corey Barker from Layers TV. It’s weird when someone knows you but you have no clue who they are.

6. Are you currently working on a book? If so, what is it about and when is it going to be out? -from @StudioDee via Twitter

Actually, I am currently working on a book that is a collaborative effort among several other authors, one of them being Bert Monroy, on 3D workflows in Photoshop CS5 Extended. We are each contributing a chapter to the book. Due out mid-late summer 2010. Other projects are in the works.

7. What is your favorite part of the Photoshop World Conference?

The entire conference is my favorite part but, to be specific, I love when people walk up and show me samples of their work that employed a tutorial or technique they learned from me. It’s really gratifying and impressive to see how creative people get. Oh, and I love Midnight Madness. So much fun!

8. Is there ever a time when Photoshop is not open on your computer? What programs are usually open on your computer? -from a NAPP Forum Member

I always am running Photoshop but I also run Illustrator, Safari, Mail, iTunes, Quicktime Pro, and Bridge. These are the apps that are running on my machine 95+% of the time.

9. If you could swap places with any other NAPP staff member for a day, who would it be and why?

No one, all these guys are crazy! LOL! That’s not true. If I had to choose I would say probably Felix Nelson. I’d like to get inside his head and get a handle on his creative thought process. We are all unique in that regard but I’m curious how a fellow artist sees the world.

10. If you had kids or pets, would you name them after Photoshop filters? If yes, what would you choose to name them?

No, I love what I do, but having a pet named “High Pass” is just asking for ridicule. I do have a cat named Blue. Don’t ask where that came from.

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A big Thank You goes out to Corey for taking the time out to answer these questions in the middle of the PSW/CS5 madness and adding to the NAPP interview series.

I had met V before because I had attended several Photoshop World conferences in the past; and as anyone that has attended a PSW knows, you can’t escape meeting him. Either he will find you, or you will find him. It’s just the way it works. But, although I knew him, I had never really hung out with him on a one-on-one basis. Watching him at the conferences was like watching a social butterfly flying around the room at the speed of a hummingbird’s wings. In other words – a total blur. But, everywhere he went, he was greeted with smiles and left the person, or group of people, grinning even bigger. It was marvelous. So few people that I knew of could have such an astounding and positive effect on those around them like V could. To be around that kind of energy made my own smile grow bigger. So when V asked me to come get a taste of his new adventure, I instantly said yes! I couldn’t wait.

And I continued to smile and feel excited right up to sitting down at his kitchen table only to hear Michael describe to V what kind of photo shoot he wanted to pull off…

“Sunrise?” I gasped, suddenly remembering all the times I had gone without sleep the week before due to the PSW conference we had all just come from. “You want to shoot at sunrise? Really?” I couldn’t get my head around it. I am not now, nor have I ever been, nor do I think I ever will be – a morning person. The thought of getting up before the sun was not my idea of a good time.

But, I was in it for the adventure. This, I knew, was a once in a lifetime event. So, I just shut up, kept my lack of sleep grumbles to myself, and tried to get to bed early the night before – which ended up being sometime shortly after midnight. I snuggled into bed, closed my eyes, and the next thing I know there is V standing over me in the darkness.

“Firgs, don’t get up. It’s only 2am. I just wanted to check on you. It’s ok, go back to sleep Firgs.”

Hummm… was I buying this? Groggy and not awake yet, I rolled back over because V had already left the room.

One minute later, he was back, with Michael right behind him. Both of them were now running around the bedroom – “Firgs! Get up! You over slept! We’re running late Firgs!!! Come on Firgs, get up! Get up! We’ve got to go pick up the model and we’re late! Firgs! Come oooonnnn!!!”

I contemplated killing the both of them. But it was hard to plot their deaths because I was laughing so hard. It was hilarious. They were like two puppies that were just over excited and couldn’t wait to see you and have you go play with them out in the great big wide world. The fact that I had only gotten 3-4 hours of sleep didn’t matter anymore. Their energy and excitement was contagious. I think I may have actually sprang from my bed and I couldn’t wait to follow them out the door.

We picked up our model, a lovely and beautiful woman that, naturally, was a friend of V’s. She was not a morning person either, but I noticed that she was also smiling through her rough snarky jokes about being awake before the sun. She was loving this just as much as I was. We were eager to see what this morning would bring.

We packed up the car and headed to the beach where we set up. I was appointed “Official Light Stabilizer” – meaning I was to use my whole 5’3″ body to keep Michael’s 7’4″ and very expensive light from crashing to the ground due to the high winds the early tide was bringing in. At one point, while I was standing there, bracing that light for all I was worth, V came by and put a camera around my neck. “Shoot with that, I’ve set it up for you, you’ll be fine.”

Feeling a huge gust of wind at that same moment almost knock me and the light over – I wondered if V was just a touch out of his mind. I didn’t have much time to think about it though. The sun was coming up and our model had changed into her dancing costume and was already gracefully moving along the shoreline with the ocean crashing behind her. When I looked up, I had to catch my breath. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I had ever witnessed. Somehow, I managed to fumble well enough to get the camera on, continue to hold and brace the light, and click the shutter.

For one morning, Vanelli had turned me into a photographer. It was a moment that I will never forget.

When we got back to Vanelli’s house, we eventually ended up huddled around the computer in his den talking about the days events and what we wanted to try next. It was then that I spotted an overly large stack of business cards. At guess, I would say there were at least 150 to 200 of them – all different, and all with hand written notes on them. When I asked V about them, he mentioned that they were all from the conference the week before. My eyes went wide. “What do you do with all of them, how do you keep track of all those people?”

“It’s easy. When I get their card, I’ll put a note on each one to remind me of what we talked about or what they looked like, and then I’ll come home and email them all.”

I was impressed, and humbled. I too had collected cards throughout the week, but I never really thought about what I was going to do with them when I got back. Outside of all the photography lessons I had received that day, I was learning a few more. How to correctly network, and how to really invest in others as a human being. The social butterfly was now a very impressive business man in my eyes.

My mini-vacation with V was, in the end, empowering, the most fun I’d had in a long time, and the word ‘amazing’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. If you get the chance, do yourself a favor, photographer or not, go on an adventure with V. You’ll never be the same again.

Below are the ten commenters (yes, I know, I made that word up) and their websites. Please take a moment and visit them by clicking their pics. Browse their galleries, and if you see something you like, make a note of it or them.

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I’d like to introduce you to Laura Ross – publicist and voice of the Peachpit Twitter account. If you want to get the dirt on what’s new and exciting in the world of digital education, Laura is the one you want to talk to!

And now, over to Bernskiold.com for another great interview from the Peachpit crew!

Also, I want to send a big “Thank You” to Pola for the interview and to our stand-in video guy – Rod Harlan! Thanks Rod!

And now, over to Bernskiold.com for more interviews, today with Julianne Kost!

After the interview, be sure to check out their websites: heropotamus.com and cowshell.com.

Don’t forget to check out Bernskiold.com for more interviews!

First of all, a little back story: the camera we used was a little hand held video recorder that belonged to Erik. My job was to recruit people to interview, come up with questions to ask, and then hold and operate the camera while Erik acted as our official reporter on screen. Due to being pressed for time and battery power, we did all interviews (with the exception of one) in one take. Erik did a great job!

Me on the other hand…

This was my first time recording video and I didn’t realize until it was too late that we had a horrible glare from the Wescott lights behind Richard. At the time I tried to move so that you could see less of the lights and more of Richard. To my absolute horror, you will see that my moving caused a green dot to bounce around and on his head while he gives his interview. Something we didn’t discover until we began to edit all of our video.

I now understand that I should have studied Richard’s new video book “From Still To Motion” a whole lot more! And I want to send my deepest apologies to Richard for such a rookie mistake. He was such a class act, and I botched it.

But here is your chance to not let this kind of thing happen to you! Richard is such an awesome guy he is letting us pass on a special discount code to our viewers so that you can get 35% off of his new book at PeachPit Press! How cool is that? Just go to this link and use the code TOMOTION when checking out. Don’t let green dots spoil your video world – get Richard’s new book today!

Thank you Richard! I vow to read your book from cover to cover so that if I ever get this chance again, I can give you the video you deserve.

And now I’m going to send you over to Erik Bernskiold’s site: bernskiold.com for a video from Media Cats owner AJ Wood!

Because of that I am pleased beyond “punch” to give you…

Scott “Approved by Chuck Norris” Kelby

(click the pic to be taken to Scott’s blog)

1. We all know that you have a lot of things that you do- but have you ever counted all of the “job hats” that you wear? How many are there? What’s your favorite?

I think I have nine jobs (I only know because we always make the joke “Nine jobs—no sleep”), but actually I do get a decent amount of sleep—mostly when I’m driving.

My favorite hat is live instructor. I love to teach live seminars and the chance to meet other people who are as passionate about this stuff as I am. I also love the whole planning and execution of Photoshop World. It’s about the most fun “work thing” I get to do all year, but calling it work is a bit of a stretch. It’s more fun than anything else.

2. How do you plan your day? What are the secrets to your multi-tasking skills? -from @StudioDee via Twitter

I must look a lot more efficient and organized on the outside, than what really is on the inside. When anyone talks about me being organized, my assistant of nearly 8 years (wonder woman, Kathy Siler) just cracks up. She keeps a lot plates in the air so I have the time to do the writing and speaking gigs, along with sneaking in photography and travel when I can. She pretty much keeps me on track, but from what I’ve been told it’s a bit like herding kittens.

The one thing that takes a lot of time is writing book, and I kind of get in a “zone” and turn the rest of work out and just keep my head down on that. During that time, I don’t answer emails very quickly and I’m hard to reach by phone, but it kind of has to be like that because I’m easily distracted (Oh look—-shiny object!)

3. Pointy, choppy or jazzy? Explain them and then pick one and tell why you chose it. -from Erik Bernskiold via email

The Pointy, Choppy, and Jazzy things are what Photoshop User TV viewers have called my hand gestures. When we first started the show, I would sometimes make a pointy gesture toward the camera. Well, I did until someone wrote in, enraged that I was pointing all the time, and really let me have it. The problem is—that only eggs us on, so the next show, we all started pointing at everything, and now it’s just part of us.

Same thing with choppy. I changed to using an open hand to gesture (apparently I gesture a lot with my hands). I thought it was be safe to do the open hand gesture, and then people wrote in that they couldn’t watch the show because of all the “chopping” Scott is doing with this hands. I’m not making this up. So, it became a chop-fest, and it still is to this day from time to time, but overall I had to try and hold back the chopping.

“Jazz Hands” is really a Matt thing. He did it in a show and now he’s adopted it. So if anyone makes a gesture anything like it, Matt looks at us and says, “Did you just do jazz hands?”

Now, of the three—-I’m a choppy guy myself. I miss that one.

4. In the Digital Photography book series, you talk a lot about getting tack-sharp images out of the camera, yet I always hear you say on Photoshop User that all images need to be sharpened. I’m confused. What is your definition of sharp? -from Danelle via the comments on DesignByFirgs

My definition of sharp is—an image that is really sharp in the camera, and then made even sharper in Photoshop. You always need to add sharpening to every photo after the fact in Photoshop. Those two together make tack-sharp images, but if the image isn’t pretty nice and sharp in the camera, Photoshop won’t make it tack sharp. It can help, but you need both pieces—in camera, and in Photoshop, to create that stunning sharpness we’re all looking for.

5. Where do the ideas for the tutorials come from? How do you decide what gets used and what gets tossed? - from Wargy, a NAPP Forum Member

We’re each responsible for coming up with our own tutorials, so we’re always on the lookout for what’s happening around. What are other Photoshop users doing right now? What’s happening in popular design—in photography—in compositing, then we try and figure out: (a) how it was done, and (b) how to simplify it. If you don’t mind spending a few hours—you can do anything in Photoshop, but we see our job as making Photoshop accessible to everyone, so we always try to find an easier, faster way to do everything.

The job of finding which tutorial is both extremely fun and sometimes extremely frustrating. It’s a blast when you come up with an idea, or someone sends in an idea for a tutorial, and you can totally nail it. It’s frustrating when you’re on a deadline and don’t have a killer tutorial. That’s when it gets tough. We only want to put our best stuff out there, and so we’re constantly on the hunt for new ideas, especially when we get stuck.

As for what gets tossed—we pretty much make that call individually. Every once in a while, one of the guys will come in my office (or I’ll go to theirs) and we’ll show a finished project and ask “Whatdayathink?” If it doesn’t get a “Hey how’d ya do that?” we usually know we need to go back to the drawing board.

6. What is your favorite part of attending PSW?

Meeting all the people face-to-face that we do all this for. So much of our job is creating content that goes out to people, that it’s a real kick to actually meet these folks in person. This is going to sound kind of silly, but the people who come to Photoshop World are by-in-large really, really nice people. I’ve met some incredible people and have become friends with folks I’ve met at the conference. There’s a real sense of “We’re all in this together” that permeates the conference. You can feel it, and it rubs off on everybody. I’ve never had an experience like it (ask anybody that’s been to one).

7. What do you envision as the future of PSW – say 3 years from now?

Well, Photoshop World has to change as our industry changes. Right now we’ve been adding a lot more content for photographers, and we’ve been able to bring in some new faces, like Zack Arias for example this year, and I think you’ll see us evolving and growing the show in new directions based on where the industry is going. The conference has to mirror what’s happening out there, and it always has. Having fresh new content, instructors, techniques and of course a new Photoshop every 18 months doesn’t hurt.

8. Scott, do you ever give yourself time off? -from ecaps1 via Twitter

All the time. I take about six to seven weeks vacation a year with my family, but since my wife doesn’t want me to announce to the world, “Hey, for the next two weeks I’m out of the country—–the house is empty—-help yourself” I blog ahead of time, and don’t tell anyone I was gone until I get back. In fact, I could be on vacation right now as I’m writing this interview (but sadly, I’m not). Anyway, I have more free time than it must seem that I have.

9. If you could pick one Photoshop Tool to snag from the tool pallet and use in real life on a regular basis – which one would you pick and why?

I would pick the Clone Tool, because if I could clone myself, I’d be on vacation right now. I’d also clone a few key people at work. I’ve got some amazing people at Kelby Media Group and if I could clone a few of them, we’d be a Fortune 500 company by now.

10. If you could get Big Electric Cat signed up to play in the venue of your choice – where would that be and who would you want to open for you?

OK, this is a tougher question than it sounds. My first instinct would be to play Madison Square Garden in New York City, which is historically “the big time” or I think the Staples Center in LA would be cool, too. But then I started to think it would be better to play the “St. Pete Times Forum” in Tampa, because then all my friends and family could come, but then I realized if I got to play Madison Square Garden, I could take some of the gate and bring my friends to New York for the weekend, so I’m going with that one.

Now, the opening act thing is a bigger problem. I’d love to have Aerosmith open for us, but the problem is—they would blow us off the stage (Aerosmith is one of my all-time favorite bands), and then people would start throwing things at us (probably concession stand food) so I’d probably have to settle for a lesser group. Maybe the Village People? Insane Clown Posse? Air Supply?

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I want to thank Scott and all of the NAPP staff for helping me put together these interviews. It has been SO AWESOME having them all here!

Now originally I said one a week until PSW and that would mean that the interviews would stop here. But, I have been having so much fun with these, I say – Let’s keep going!! There are still some people on my “Interview Hit List” and I am determined to get them here! And I have a plan on just how to do that while at PSW next week.

The fun is not over yet so stay tuned!

So I am very pleased to announce that she is the next installment of the NAPP Interview Series!

Kathy “Wonder Woman” Siler

1. How did you come to be Scott Kelby’s assistant?

I answered an ad that wanted someone with Mac experience and thought, why not?  I interviewed on a Tuesday and started on a Friday and have loved every minute of it.

2. What’s a typical day like for you at NAPP HQ?

There is no “typical day” when you work for Scott, that’s what makes it fun.  Never a dull moment!

3. Kathy, what’s Scott really like to work with? No really, honestly… we won’t tell! -from ecaps1 via Twitter

Really he is exactly how you see him at PSW or at seminars. I have a friend who tells me all the time “you don’t have a job, you just go to work and have fun all day.” Not true, it’s definitely work but we have fun doing it.

4. If you could turn the tables and have Scott be your assistant for the day -would you do it? What would you have him do?

Ha! I’d have him actually come in to the office. (He’ll get me for that one). Really though, he’s usually running in so many directions with travel, writing and teaching that a full day in the office as my assistant would be a vacation for him.

5. What part of your work as Scott’s assistant is your favorite? -from Erik Bernskiold via email

Hmmm, I think I’d have to say Photoshop World.  As busy as it is for us it’s also a lot of fun.

6. What’s the strangest thing that has happened to you while working with Scott? -from a NAPP Forum Member

The strangest thing probably happened recently. Can I answer this after the Orlando PSW? Can’t let the cat out of the bag early. LOL!

7. How does your work life change while at PSW?

It really doesn’t, other than location.

8. If you could trade places with any other NAPP staff member for a day who would it be and why?

I’d have to say Nancy.  Have you seen her desk?  It would be a blast just to play with the toys for a day!

9. If Scott gave you a week off for a vacation and a big fat bonus to do whatever you wanted with it – what would you do and where would you go?

Oh that’s easy – Italy with a one way ticket.

10. Do you ever worry that Scott will abandon his current lifestyle to really go raise miniature Shetland ponies? Would you offer to still be his assistant if he did?

Nope, But I’d talk him into it if I could. I love those little furry guys!

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Thank you so much Kathy for being part of this series!

We have ONE more week until PSW… think we can get Scott to show up here next week? Humm.. We shall see!!!

It is my great pleasure to give you…

Felix “The Cat Herder” Nelson

(click the mini pics to see them in large view)

1. What exactly does being creative director entail? -From NAPP Forum Member

That’s a tough question right off the bat.  Like many of us at NAPP, our titles don’t accurately describe what we do on a daily basis. If I had to give you a short answer, it’d probably be that I’m responsible for the overall look, feel and voice of everything we produce.

2. Is it hard to get all of the great creative minds at NAPP all working in one direction? -From NAPP Forum Member

Absolutely yes! It’s like herding cats. Individually, everyone has so much too offer. We have so many great ideas that its difficult to focus all that creative energy. We constantly joke about us having some type of attention deficit disorder because we’re so easily distracted. Just wave a shiny object at any meeting and watch how quickly we get off track. It isn’t unusual for meetings to cover multiple topics from sports and music to movies or the latest tech gadgets. And yes, we eventually talk about the project we’re working on too.

3. What’s a typical day like for you at NAPP HQ?

Hmmm, another tough one. Lets see, I always start off the day with a plan for what needs to be accomplished, but 9 times out of 10, that plan changes in the first few hours. There’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure.

4. How did you come to work for NAPP?

I met Scott Kelby through a mutual business associate, Doug Gornick (the original Creative Director of Photoshop User magazine), when Scott was producing Mac Today magazine and doing one-day seminars. I designed several magazine covers for Scott, and worked with Doug in other ventures. Years later, after NAPP was formed, Scott was looking for a full-time Creative Director and contacted me about it. The rest is, as they say, history.

5. Have you ever had a time where you’ve just run out of ideas for a project? If yes, what did you do?

Yes, all the time. I’m blessed to be surrounded by several creative and talented people, so it usually only takes a few minutes of tossing ideas around with them, to unlock my brain and get back on track.

6. Out of all of the PSW posters you have done, which one is your favorite?

I’ve never really thought about that, lets see… The themes have been so different, and there are several that I thought captured the themes really well. I guess my favorite would have to be the “Tool Time” poster. Not only was it the first poster I created for PSW (so it has some sentimental value), but I thought the idea of putting Photoshop tools on a clock to convey how our training could make you more productive and save you time, was pretty clever. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut.

7. Have you ever just stopped what you are doing for the soul purpose of Photoshopping some one’s head onto something or someone strange? If yes, who was it and what did you do to them?

Hahaha! I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve done that! If I get a hold of your image, there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll do something inappropriate with it. The moral of the story is… don’t let me get your picture. I won’t name names, but I can tell you the list is pretty long. I will let you know who the most recent person to fall prey to my foolishness was (drum roll please). It was Moose Peterson. You’ll have to ask him about that one.

8. Did you ever have a design that got approved for final print that you feel really shouldn’t have ever been approved in the first place? - from ecaps1 via Twitter

You know, as a designer and artist I never feel my artwork is completely finished or final. There’s always something you can do to make it better. There’s always something you can add, or a technique that might work better. But this is a deadline driven industry, so at some point you have to just stop, make sure that the image or design meets your standards and let it go.

9. What is your favorite class to teach at PSW and why?

I used to teach an illustration class that I really enjoyed. One of my favorite projects of the day was showing how to draw a Ferrari, completely from scratch, using only Photoshop, in twenty minutes. Not only was it challenging but it usually went over pretty well with the audience.

10. If you could trade places with any other NAPP Staff member for a day, who would it be and why?

That’s an easy one… nobody. I have the opportunity to work in so many departments, on different projects, with so many talented people. I couldn’t imagine coming to work and doing anything else. But if you asked me the same question a few weeks before Photoshop World, I might have a different answer (I’m kidding of course… sort of).

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Thank you so much Felix! I’m so excited to have you be a part of this. You can be sure I’m going to try to find you at PSW in March!