Last month, I listened to a panel discussion at the Microsoft Pro Photo Summit. Ever since, I've been trying to put together a comprehensive post about "orphaned works" legislation currently pending before the US Congress. (Here's a link to the full text of the Senate version.)

The term "orphan works" refers to pieces of intellectual property for which copyright is indeterminable. Read more » 

• On one hand, you can imagine legitimate reasons for wanting to be able to display or disseminate artworks by unknown (and unknowable) artists without fear of legal reprisal. This site in particular is a big believer that, once you put it out there, it becomes part of the Great Internet Ether. The purpose of copyright law, after all, is to further creativity, not inhibit it.

• On the other hand, we all know the attraction of public-domain art. It's remarkably easy for digital imagery, in particular, to get separated from the name of its creator. Who wouldn't want to stake an illegitimate claim on a really great piece of orphaned work just because, hell, it's a nice piece and who wants to pay the artist adequate compensation?

I mentioned last week or thereabouts, that Tim Grey, Deke's collaborator on the upcoming Channels and Masks One-on-One book, has a new book of his own, Take Your Best Shot. Well, it's out now, it's looking good, and it's evident that Tim has enough attitude (and knowledge) to play in Deke's sandbox. Need proof?

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Hey gang,

Because today is Friday, and according to conventional wisdom, nobody reads blogs on Friday, I thought I'd invite one and all to join in on an extemporaneous contest.

So here goes: I want you to submit a really simple Photoshop tip -- one of those key-and-click things -- that absolutely blows you away each and every time you run into it. Read more » 

It was Lightroom 2 Release Day, and I've put together a roundup of what our friends in the web world are saying about the latest version of Adobe's photo management and processing tool. See what actual Adobians, The Digital Story, Scott Kelby, and the leader of the Lightroom 2 Adventure (one of my authors; yes, Deke, there are others) are finding interesting and cool about the new release.

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