Mike
Gondek, an Adobe Certified Expert, comes to us from Chicagoland
(Silicon Prairie). His professional experience dates back to 1985 as
Advertising Manager for an imagesetter reseller. He has been a
Typesetter, Art Director, Photo Retoucher, Color Specialist,
Videographer, Packaging and Web Designer.
As
Creative Technologies Manager for a major downtown Chicago Advertising
Agency, Mike managed a Technology Research Lab, Creative Applications
Phone Support, and was responsible for beta testing, training and
upgrading the agency creative software & hardware technology.
His interest in typography dates back when he hand carved type at the
early age of 7. While taking his drivers license classes at sixteen
Mike took an eye exam, and discovered he needed glasses and had very
high color depth perception. This explains his ability to see better in
the dark and further tests by the eye research institute revealed he
sees about 408% more colors than the average person. Mike put this
skill to use doing color corrections on Kraft, Marlboro, Amoco,
McDonalds, Miller Brewing and image analysis for the US NAVY.
Currently Mike is an independent consultant who does photo retouching,
digital photography, packaging design, website usability
testing/redesign and teaches classes nationwide in graphics
applications and design. His is an avid Scuba diver who loves taking
his video underwater. Visit his website at www.mikegondek.com
Whether you're new to Photoshop or want to use it at a more advanced
level, this book will give you must-have techniques to work more
quickly and achieve dazzling results. You'll begin with core Photoshop
and DV fundamentals, then move on to titling, working with still
photos, and advanced tricks for specific effects. This one-stop
resource gets right to the point and walks you through procedures with
loads of images. Whether you're on a Mac or PC, you will benefit
quickly from the authors' expert advice.
This full-color book, based on Adobe Photoshop CS, provides complete
information on how to master Photoshop and incorporate it within the
video workflow. Everything from working with files to creative
typography and animation is included in short, cookbook-style chapters
with sample files on the DVD. The end result: dazzling and
professional-looking videos.
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines Photoshop CS3: Photo Effects Cookbook by Tim Shelbourne and published by O'Reilly Media, Inc. Find out why Mike says, ''...after seeing this book, it has me interested in checking out the rest of the cookbook series from O'Reilly. You'll want to also.''
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines Dean Collins On Lighting: Live at Brooks Institute of Photography 1991 and published by Software Cinema. Although, this was presented in 1991, Mike believes the content is timeless material.
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines How to Wow - Mastering Flash by Colin Smith and published by Software Cinema. Mike strongly recommends Mastering Flash which will show you how to wow your audience with Flash and the amazing content you will generate after completing this training.
Adobe has updated Photoshop to version 8, officially known as Photoshop CS. Total Training is on top of the situation bringing what Mike Gondek considers the best Photoshop training resource available.
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines Illustrator CS Killer Tips by Dave Cross and published by New Riders, (2004, 288 pages). Read on to find out why Mike says, ''This is a great book to read for any illustrator user.''
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines Digital Photography Hacks: 101 industrial Strength Tips & Tools by Derrick Story and published by O'Reilly, (2004, 332 pages). Read on to find out why Mike says, ''If you have a digital camera and want to improve your images learning from a book written in an easy to read format, then you will enjoy this book.
Illustrator is the first commercially sold Adobe product and has evolved into version 11 officially known as Illustrator CS. There are many features buried into this excellent program and it is much easier to reveal them in video than a written book.
Adobe is creating quite a stir on the COW releasing their new video collection. One of the most exciting upgrades is Adobe After Effects 6. Total Training (T3) is shipping over 40 hours of After Effects training on DVD and updated for 6. Infact T3 beat Adobe and started shipping their product before the actual AE6 shipped. Are you interested in the most comprehensive After Effects training course, read Mike Gondek's review and he will tell you about it..
One of the biggest attractions at NAB 2003 in Las Vegas was Adobe Encore, which took top honors in many awards races. Many attendees were pleased to learn Adobe's maiden voyage into the DVD authoring market was a well thought out meeting ground for Adobe's many tools, with Encore DVD the logical hub for DVD authoring. How well does the shipping product meet user expectations? Read on to find out Mike Gondek's reaction to Adobe's new offering...
Mike Gondek takes a look at Creating Motion Graphics Volume 2: Advanced Techniques by Chris & Trish Meyer. This book is 403 pages of Full color and is published by CMP Books. Read on to find out what this book has in store for you...
Mike Gondek takes a look at Real World InDesign 2 by Olav Martin Kvern & David Blatner. ~ This book is published by Peachpit Press. Read on to find out what this book has in store for you...
September of 2000 Foveon announced a 16.8 million pixel image sensor a first of it's kind. Foveon has been pushing the digital industry with their revolutionary image sensor. Sigma, known for making quality professional lenses, announced their first digital camera and being first to host the Foveon chip in November 2002. Foveon has drawn much attention and hopefully their technology will be found in more products soon. Mike Gondek reviews this camera for Creativecow.net.
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines Real World Digital Video by Pete Shaner and Gerald Everett Jones and published by Peachpit Press, (434 pages).
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines Photoshop 7 Killer Tips by Scott Kelby & Felix Nelson and published by New Riders, (2003, 210 pages). Read on to find out why Mike says, ''Everyone who owns Photoshop should get this book.''
CreativeCOW leader, Mike Gondek examines the highly respected After Effects training series from Total Training, now in a single volume overview entitled What's New In After Effects 5 featuring host and author, Brian Maffitt.
