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?

• First of all, the title. Not only is it a clever reference to shooting and digitally developing your best shots (why waste time with your in-the-event-the-best-shots-are-unable-to-fulfill-their-duty shots?), but it’s also about Tim’s fearless willingness to answer questions. For years, Tim has been answering questions in a daily (almost) email wherein he picks one question about digital darkroomery and answers it in his no nonsense way. I’m not kidding, he’s been doing this for years (one just popped into my inbox); you too can subscribe here and see for yourself.)
• Second, Q and A is fun to read. Remember Dear Abby? Add Photoshop and a slightly sassier authoritativeness and you get Tim. Here’s an example from the book:

  Q: How much memory do I need to be able to use Photoshop effectively?

  A: More. More than you have now. I often describe memory as being like money, in that you can never really have too much. It isn’t literally that way with memory, because operating systems and applications have limits on how much memory they can address, but generally speaking when it comes to digital imaging, more is always better. Quite simply, as far as I’m concerned, memory represents the single best return on investment when it comes to computer performance. But I suppose you want real numbers, not corny analogies…

  At 4GB, you’re doing pretty darned good. Photoshop pretty much has all the memory it get use anyway, and there’s enough left over for other applications (and the operating system, don’t forget). Above 4GB, at least today, there’s a point of diminishing returns. If you’re running a 64-bit operating system, such as the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, you’ll be able to access considerably more memory.

  However, if the applications aren’t 64-bit (don’t worry, Adobe has announced that a 64-bit version of Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop are on the way), you’re not going to get a huge benefi t in terms of performance. So, if you’re trying to keep your computer under budget, I’d recommend 2GB. If you aren’t quite as worried about budget, I’d go with 4GB. And if money is no object, I’d suggest 8GB or more (and if you are in that category, why not buy enough copies of this book to put it on the The New York Times best-seller list?).

• Third, Tim discloses his Pet Peeves and proves he thinks in swear words just like Deke, check out this Design Element (and the text if you can read it.)

So while you’re anxiously waiting for Chef Deke to whip up his next batch of One-on-One treats, try Tim’s book to quench your thirst for digital imaging authors with attitude.