Today Adobe announced the release of a free public beta version of Photoshop Lightroom 2.0. You can download a free version from AdobeLabs.com. Admittedly I am having an issue creating a profile to download it, but it could just be me.

I must admit I am a huge fan of the look of HDR photos although I yet to try it myself.  I think I may need to make some time to play around with it soon though. There are a lot of tutorials out there on how to create HDR photos including this one from abduzeedo.com. Of course there are always ways to “cheat” the effect as well. Have you dabbled with HDR photos? Any tips?

Using Photoshop actions can be a huge time-saver when you do repetitive tasks or certain modifications on a regular basis. We all know how time consuming post-processing can be, and no doubt those of you who do professional shoots such as weddings will know this all too well. Epic Edits Weblog has a great step-by-step tutorial on How to Create Photoshop Actions.

The Forward Events team are taking to Britain’s highways this year with a series of events designed to enhance beginner and advanced photographer’s skills by means of free seminars. The closest to our dear old capital is in a town I in particular am very familiar with - Hatfield, just outside the M25.

The Hertfordshire event, as with the others, is entitled Retouching Masterclasses and is given by Adobe expert, Guy Gowan.

This could be a good opportunity to spruce up on Aperture and Photoshop skills as well as the chance to hear ‘Environmental Portrait Photographer 2007′ Uzair Kharawala describe how to use simple off-camera flash techniques to great effect. The image is of his winning shot at the SWPP Convention.

On a related note, once the event is over - steer clear of the Hatfield Arms. Unless you’re an Arsenal supporter.