Adobe Lightroom Adventure 2006: The Ultimate Photographer's Road Test
SEBASTOPOL, Calif. -- Renowned photographer and author Mikkel Aaland is the quintessential early adopter, always one of the first to master new digital photography software -- and to wring every bit of functionality out of it in the process. Shortly after the public beta release of Adobe Lightroom software, a digital imaging workflow solution for professional photographers, he devised the ultimate road test to put Lightroom through its paces in the field: Adobe Lightroom Adventure 2006.

Aaland invited eleven acclaimed photographers to join him in Iceland, where the long midsummer days are suffused in some of the most spectacular light on the planet. From July 28 to August 5, 2006, this intrepid crew -- joined by three top Icelandic photographers -- is shooting by day and using Adobe Lightroom beta to import, select, develop, and showcase their large volume of digital images each night. Adobe is represented by four imaging specialists who will both shoot and assist other photographers as they work with both the Lightroom and Photoshop applications. The journey and a sampling of the resulting photographs are chronicled in the Lightroom Adventure blog at http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/adventure. And Aaland is capturing the lessons learned in the field for his book on Adobe Lightroom, to be published by O'Reilly Media in early 2007.

Premium sponsors for the Lightroom Adventure are Adobe, ExpoImaging, the Iceland Tourist Board, Icelandair, Lowepro, and O'Reilly. Additional sponsors supporting the event are Epson, Fosshotel, Graystone Travel, Hertz, the Oflun Group, SanDisk, and SAS Radisson 1919 Hotel.

"The Lightroom Adventure is a celebration of learning through collaboration," said Aaland. "I've worked with a network of amazing photographers through the years, and I've always shared their hard-won knowledge in my books. When I sat down to write about Lightroom, I decided to harvest that knowledge in real time, through a collaborative shoot. The Lightroom Adventure is also a true collaboration between artists and Adobe. They're supporting our in-the-field testing of Lightroom, and will use our feedback will help make Lightroom an even better tool for photographers."

"We appreciate all of the feedback we continue to receive for Lightroom beta from the photographic community and we're excited that even more skilled photographers will be putting Lightroom to the test in the field," said Kevin Connor, senior director of product management for Digital Imaging at Adobe. "We designed Lightroom beta to be powerful and portable, with the ability to run on the most commonly used systems including laptops. We're looking forward to their feedback, as we fine tune the beta to suit photographers' workflow needs, whether they're in studio or away at a shoot."

The photographers joining Aaland in Iceland for the Lightroom Adventure are:

• Bill Atkinson, landscape photographer, digital printing pioneer, and member of the original Macintosh team at Apple.

• Maggie Hallahan, freelance photographer who shoots both for editorial and corporate clients.

• John Isaac, former chief of the United Nations Photo Unit, now an independent photographer, shooting almost exclusively digital.

• Peter Krogh, owner of a full-service commercial photography studio in the Washington, DC area, is both an award-winning photographer and author.

• Christopher Lund, a top Icelandic photographer.

• Ari Magg, photographer based in Iceland.

• John McDermott, a San Francisco-based freelance photographer who shoots globally for corporate, advertising and editorial clients.

• Richard Morgenstein, a location photographer specializing in environmental portraiture.

• Michael Reichmann, a world-renowned nature photographer and photographic educator who is the publisher and primary author of The Luminous Landscape website.

• Chris Sanderson, Lightroom Adventure videographer.

• Sigurgeir Sigurjonsson, one of Iceland's most respected and accomplished photographers.

• Derrick Story, photographer, author, and O'Reilly's Online Editorial Director.

• Martin Sundberg, an award-winning photographer specializing in portraiture and extreme sports.