Mikkel Aaland's Update on Lightroom Iceland Adventure at Photokina

[Note: Mikkel couldn't get this blog entry up from Prague, so he asked me to post it for him---cw]

Cologne, Germany--I'm winding up a week at Photokina, the world's largest photographic trade show held every two years here in Cologne. I spent a good deal of the week as a guest in the Adobe booth, talking up our Adobe Lightroom Iceland Adventure and showing off some of the tips and tricks we learned on our week long adventure in Iceland this summer.

I'm amazed at how many Europeans have already downloaded Lightroom Public Beta 4, which was made available two days before the show started on Tuesday. Several of the beta testers already knew more than I did about the recent release!

After talking and listening to others talk about their experiences with Beta 4, here are some critical features that need to be implemented before the final release:

• Interconnected magnification and scrolling views in the compare preview in Library. (Already available in Before/After preview in the Develop module.)

• Ability to select multiple formats for Export, like Image Processor in Photoshop. (At this time you can only choose 1 format at a time to export.)

• Ability to create multiple versions of the same image (black and white, high contrast, spilt tone, etc.) and maintain previews of each version in the Library. (Something like Versions in Photoshop Elements 4-5 for Windows.)

Other things I heard requested include:

• Ability to make multiple sizes of different images on the same page in the Print Module. (Like Picture Package in Photoshop)

• Email JPEGs command from within the application. (Like iView Pro, iPhoto and numerous other applications.)

• Stacks in Library mode that can contain multiple related images. (Like the feature found in Photoshop Elements 4.0 and 5.0 for Windows and like the stacks used by Apple Aperture.)

Several users--including me--experienced performance issues with the De-Noise feature in the Develop module and Spilt Toning (also in the Develop module). Several people complained of display issues with the Windows version, but I was assured that this problem has been fixed and the current download works fine.

Not all was work at the show, of course! I had the pleasure to meet up with Adventure team member Michael Reichmann, who showed me some impressive video blogs he posted from Cologne. Michael never stops amazing me. Addy Roff was at the show and so was Peter Krogh, two other Adventure team members. One night at Cologne brewery, Peter and I and Photoshop creator Thomas Knoll launched into an hour-long Geek discussion about Lightroom. I wish I could remember all the content...it was fascinating at the time. But, even after all the beers I do remember learning Peter is actually descended from Danish royalty. At least that is what I remembered he said...

Another night I also had the pleasure of meeting Photoshop Super Stars Katrin Eismann and Martin Evening, who were also special guests of Adobe. I really liked them; they both are so dedicated and professional in what they do.

Fred Shippey, my good friend, and tech editor for my book Shooting Digital (shown with me here), stopped by the Adobe booth often and encouraged me to drink more water. He's a pro at trade shows; he worked for Kodak in the old days. Fred also wrote up a nice piece on the Adobe Lightroom Iceland Adventure for the Photokina Show Daily. Thanks Fred! Educator and fine art photographer Harris Fogel also stopped by the Adobe booth, but conflicting parties kept us from really spending time together.

I'm spending a few days with friends in Prague, then returning to San Francisco on Wednesday. Time to get to work on the Lightroom PDF Derrick Story and I are working on together. [Ahem, good idea, Mikkel!---cw, aka "Your Editor"] I certainly picked up a lot of useful tips I'm anxious to share with everyone.