silverorange stuff

How They are Organized

Each tutorial has been about 5 pages demonstrating a specific topic on 4 different images (available for download to follow along). Readers also have two options for contributing and providing feedback. Similar to a weblog, readers can comment and reply directly to the tutorial or they can head over to the dedicated forums for further discussion which the author actively participates in.

Although primarily text-based tutorials with a number of screenshots, there is the odd video demonstration. The screenshots have also been designed with cleaver mouse rollover effects to illustrate before/after or to display what the histogram, channels or curve would look like for each image.

Currently the tutorials can only be viewed from the website with no provided way to download. This is unfortunate but not a deal breaker. Downloaded pdfs may be a popular request but I'm not sure they would benefit from this. They work well as an online resource and not something you would need to reference frequently. If necessary, all you really need is the provided psd sample files to remember how a technique was done.

Tutorial Details

At the time of this review, there has been five months of tutorials.

• Free Preview: Tonal range and the Curves tool
• August: Landscapes: Creating Dramatic Skies
• September: Black and white — Part One
• October: Toning Colour Images
• November: Portraits — Part One
• * December: An introduction to LAB Color mode

Conclusion

I have been very impressed with the level of detail and time taken to produce these well written tutorials. Overall the tutorials are extremely well done with a great deal of explaining the process. They are not designed to teach you Photoshop basics. They lean more on the advanced side showing multi-step image processing focusing on controlling the areas of interest.

The free tonal range and the curves tutorial is exactly how the others read and will provide a perfect example of what to expect for each subject.

Pricing

Three payment methods are available and have increased since its opening launch. Prices are listed in GBP and are £5 ($10 CND) for individual tutorials, £25 ($50 CND) for 1 year of access or £75 ($150 CND) lifetime membership.

Chromasia is still new at writing tutorials with not much of an archive. It's a judgment call if the life time membership is worth the not knowing if the monthly tutorials will continue for years to come.

Either way, I would rank Chromasia in my top 3 photoblogs that are daily must visits. Personally, I was willing to support their efforts and pay for the reduced introductory lifetime membership.

I look forward to future content. It's better and more interesting then many books I have read.