The number of photographers who now use Photoshop has boomed. Even those cynics who once regarded digital imaging as the end of photography as we know it, had to revise their opinions once they saw how much one can remain in creative control of the imaging process.

My own involvement with digital imagng began some 12 years ago. And it was a combination of things, such as my involvement in the UK Digital Imaging Group, plus experience gained writing for magazines like 'MacUser' and the 'British Journal of Photography', which led me to the idea of writing a book about Photoshop specifically for photographers.

I am lucky to have a close relationship with the Photoshop engineering team and have been a Photoshop alpha tester since version 6.0 of the program. This means that I am one of the select few authors who are able to have an active role in the development of each new version of Photoshop from the early stages, and offer feedback and sugggestions on new features, long before the program hits the shelves.

Adobe Photoshop 5.0 for Photographers, was first published in August 1998. The Adobe Photoshop for Photographers series has already sold over 120,000 copies worldwide, been translated into Finnish, French, German Italian, Korean and Spanish. And Adobe Photoshop 6.0 for Photographers gained a COOL 2 Award from PEI magazine. It has also been given an Editor's Choice Award by The Designer's Bookshelf .

One consequence of writing these books, is that I often get invited to present seminars on Photoshop around the world. For example, I am a regular speaker at the Photo Plus East Expo in New York City. And you can check out my seminar schedule by visiting my main photography website.

I am also a member of 'Pixel Genius', and have helped to develop plug-ins for Photoshop, in particular, PhotoKit Color. Pixel Genius is a collaboration between Jeff Schewe, Bruce Fraser, Andrew Rodney, Mike Skurski and myself. Pixel Genius is more than a software company, it is a collective of Photoshop experts who are able to share their expertise via the PhotoKit customer forums and, more recently, the Photoshop News website, that was setup by founding member, Jeff Schewe.

Before all this, I was a London-based professional photographer working freelance, mainly for fashion and beauty clients. I still consider myself first and foremost to be a working photographer. Digital imaging has extended the number of skills I am able to offer to clients and greatly increased my annual turnover. Today, I enjoy being able to manipulate the pictures I shoot. And because I am a working photographer, I like to think that the advice and the photography examples I provide in the book have some relevance to fellow photographers -- amateurs and professionals alike.

For those who are interested in biographical details, I was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire and studied photography at the local Salisbury College of Art. I moved to London in the early eighties, where I full-time assisted photographers, Serge Krouglikoff, Kenneth Bieber, Bill Ling and James Wedge. Working with James was a particularly rewarding experience and provided lots of opportunities for foreign travel. After leaving James's studio, I built up my own freelance career working as a photographer. Today, I live in Stoke Newington and work from a studio in nearby. Clients include: Anita Cox, Errol Douglas, Goldwell, Hitachi, Indola, Rainbow Room, Remington and Wella. I am also a regular contributor to What Digital Camera magazine.

These days, the Digital Imaging Group rarely holds any meetings, but the spirit of DIG lives on in the Prodig mailing list, co-owned by Ed Horwich and myself. If you would like to find out how to join this mail list, visit the Prodig web site www.prodig.org.

My interests outside of photography and computers include outdoor activities like hiking and travel. I like reading modern novels and listening to all types of contemporary music, but especially indie, dance, ambient, jazz, soul and R&B blues music. Whenever I get the opportunity to visit the United States, I love to take time out to drive around, explore small towns and investigate the local music scene. The best gig of 2004 was getting the chance to see Scissor Sisters play live in a small Seattle night club.

It is hard to say which photographers have influenced me most. With so many good photographers out there providing inspiration, I am inclined to think first of pictures I've recently seen in magazines, exhibitions, books or posters. It is the unsung heroes who through organisations like the Association of Photographers, have helped defend photographers' rights and championed their cause. People like Janet Ibbotson, Gwen Thomas, Mike Laye, Martin Beckett, Adam Woolfitt and Jonathan Trapman. In this intensely competitive business, the contribution these people (and many others) have made to protecting the rights of UK and European photographers is sometimes easily forgotten.

The photographic industry has gone through many changes. The advent of digital imaging has made high-quality digital imaging an affordable reality for many. It has also brought about less welcome changes, such as the way clients are able to purchase and commission original photography. Such changes are inevitable, yet I believe there are also many ways in which photographers are able to adapt and take advantage of new technologies and thrive from this digital revolution. Never before has it been so easy to communicate with so many people across the world through visual images.

Martin Evening 2005