There really are those moments in life, and more specifically in your professional life, when you really, really know why you do what you do. For myself and two members of my team (Rufus Deuchler and Jason Levine), this moment came last week during our seminar stop in Seoul, Korea. Now, for the record, this was my 19th stop in Korea and I have always loved visiting this wonderful country. The people of Korea are some of the most friendly and welcoming people that I have ever met – not to mention that the country is absolutely beautiful, the cities clean, the food fantastic and (of course) the beer top-notch. From the moment I leave, I already begin to look forward to my next visit – and this time was no different.

Unbelievable! Almost 3000 attendees – eager to learn more about CS3 techniques…

I often tell stories of seminars past that I have had the pleasure to conduct in Korea, of the crowds, the enthusiasm for our products, and the professionalism with which my Korean colleagues arrange and execute them. And, in fact, I had mentioned to Jason several times leading up to the trip that he was in for a real treat – this being his first trip to Korea. Thankfully this time I wouldn’t need to fight jet-lag, as I was coming from Sydney and the WebDU conference – just a mere 12 hours in a plane and I’d be there!

The venue was once again the hotel Grand Intercontinental (the site of a very infamous story which will never get told in the blogosphere) – which is definitely on my list of favorite hotels in the world. After a day of preparation with our translators, we were well rested and ready for a day of evangelizing, and our Seoul friends did not disappoint! In fact, Min-Hyoung (our Korean Group Marketing Manager extraordinaire) had treated us to a wonderful Korean BBQ (one of my favorite foods) the night before, where he had expressed serious concern about the fact that they had been forced to close registration at 6000, due to the venue, which could only seat 2500.

It’s so funny to see my old picture… pre-ponytail and goatee!

Dear reader, there is nothing that can excite an Adobe evangelist more than to tell us, not only is the venue huge, but we’ll be flirting with the fire code – with people literally sitting on the floor, in the aisles and standing (some of them did for 5 hours!) at the back of the room. Having told Jason what to expect, I was still smiling as he voiced his surprise at the size of the venue – and the throng of attendees waiting to get in when we arrived that morning. At the appointed start time, people were still filing in – so many that we had to postpone the start of the session by 15 minutes! As the lights came down and the opening intro (a really cool Flash piece that the Korean team put together) for our session began to play, there were some 2300 people seated and more than 200 standing/sitting in the aisles – with more still filtering in! How quickly 8 hours can pass… At the end of the day, after numerous autographs, photos, and huge smiles, we all agreed, “Ah, Korea, how I love you!”

Our shout-out to the Adobe Korea team for a job well done!

I’ve got a few more pictures in my Flickr stream – along with pictures from our weekend in Beijing for those who are interested. And now, it’s off to Taiwan, and then on to Hong Kong… maybe I’ll see some of you there! Cheers!

You know the old adage of the two truths in life – well, I think there are actually three! The third, of course, being tourists that are always getting in the way of your nice pictures. Believe me, with all the travel that I do, it happens way too often. Thankfully, Photoshop CS3 has a brilliant way of removing the tourists. I show this in almost every demo stop, and was recently asked if I could write up the technique – so, here it is.

Obviously, the first thing that we need are a few photographs. Here are three pictures that I took in front of the Graz city hall, and as you can see, there is a tourist in every one of my pictures, basically ruining the shot. The other thing that you might notice is that all of the pictures were taken without a tripod (I’m not dragging one all of the world with me!), because the framing of each shot is different. (more…)

Wow, what a tough challenge! When my good friend John Schuman left the CSBU Evangelism team, I really didn’t think it would take so long to find a replacement – no offense to John! John’s incredible passion for Adobe products and their place in education has propelled him on to greater heights within Adobe, leaving a definite hole in my team. When I posted here that I was looking for a replacement, I found that there were many of you out there interested in the position. It’s a true honor to have received so many great and talented applicants. And, thankfully, I can finally announce the newest member of my team, Paul Burnett.

I first met Paul almost 10 years ago in Melbourne, Australia. Paul was working as a contractor for Macromedia at the time, and I was on my first of many tours to Australia and the APAC region. Paul had drawn the short straw and got to present with myself and a couple of other crazy Americans in a series of seminars, which unbeknown to us at the time would become a regular occurrence, leading to numerous tours throughout the APAC region.

Through the years, Paul has worked as a sales engineer and evangelist with Macromedia, and lead his own company MaD while continuing to provide services as a freelance evangelist for Adobe. During his independent years, Paul has been the creative and developer force behind numerous award-winning sites created with Macromedia/Adobe software. Paul recently joined the Adobe Australia team as a Business Development Manager.

Paul’s experience through the years has made him a master at Flash, Director, Dreamweaver and more recently Flash video, AJAX, Flex and AIR. With all that knowledge, experience and an incredible stage presence, Paul will be a welcome addition to the team. If you get the chance to experience one of Paul’s presentations in the future, I’m sure you’ll agree that his new title of Senior Worldwide Evangelist for Adobe’s Creative Solutions is aptly earned.