Lights... Digital Camera... Actions! delivers over 600 original iNovaFX Photoshop Actions and a 248-page interactive eBook into the hands of photographers who want to take their images to the next level. And the one after that.

This is author Peter iNova's tenth digital photography eBook since 2000. His recent dSLR-series with coauthor Uwe Steinmueller includes three Canon and four Nikon titles. Prior eBooks have traditionally included a repertoire of customized iNovaFX Actions.

"This is a new work from the ground up," said iNova, " and all of these Photoshop Actions are for digital images 6MP and larger. Each brings a special treatment to the image that will correct, enhance or transform the shot."

Photoshop Actions are procedural programs that automate all of the features of Photoshop to achieve a desired result. They launch with a single click of the mouse button and work automatically, stopping only for user's customizing touches.

Actions! eBook users load the iNovaFX Actions into their copy of Photoshop 7, CS, CS2 or CS3 and can immediately start creating a huge range of effects, corrections, enhancements and transformations. A user can quickly convert any image into convincing oil paintings, airbrush art, watercolors, wood block prints, graphic cartoons and outrageous abstracts.

"Loading the Actions into Photoshop is a snap. We have organized them into several categories," said iNova, "Some fix things like barrel distortion and incorrect white balance. Others transform the image into dozens of forms of artwork.

"Some format the images into unique display treatments for printing or photographic illustration. Others treat the image in ways that have never before been seen.

"Check out the iButterfly Action that transforms any image -- a portrait, perhaps -- into a graphic butterfly. Kids get it right away. 'Can you do that with my picture?'"

Some of the iNovaFX Actions amplify Photoshop's own Filters. Over a hundred embellish the central concept into new significance, as with the Extrude filter, which is almost never applied by Photoshop users.

One of the iNovaFX Actions, iExtrudeSpikes, turns any image into a wall sculpture bristling outward from the page.

Some of the Actions work their magic with just a few steps. Most have several dozen discrete operations and a few have over two hundred precise steps as they work through complex image transformations.

An entire series is dedicated to formatting images into faux film frames. Roll film rectangles and squares are joined by 35mm single frames and film strips, plus 4x5 sheet film frames. One adds a common artifact, seen only on roll film; edge fog.

"One of my favorites is the iShatter-series," said iNova, "and these don't alter the image directly, but add a broken layer of glass above the picture.

"One looks like you dropped the frame, another looks like someone punched the image in the face (it wasn't Memorex). I applied one to a macro shot of a $50 bill and called the print, 'Can You Break a Fifty?'"

The new eBook rises above iNova's eight-year tradition of releasing titles on CD. The new title is available in a Premium Edition on a fast 1-GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive.

"This new medium gives the user several advantages," said iNova. "You can keep hundreds of megabytes of images with you on the flash drive along with the instantly-reading eBook and all the Actions. Just plug it into the USB port of any Windows or Mac computer and fire up the eBook. No installation is required."

Nearly all the images on the eBook are interactive. Roll the mouse cursor over the shot and it changes into an alternate version. A/B comparisons are in-register. Some are up to 10 images deep.

Image resolution is exceptionally high. Images may be inspected on-screen at up to 400 percent magnification without stretching pixels.

Lights... Digital Camera... Actions! is available from GM Books at gmbooks.com.

The CD Standard Edition is $64 and the USB Thumb Drive Premium Edition is $69. All viewing software, special images and extras are included in both versions. Windows XP, Vista, Mac Tiger and Mac Leopard compatible.

Imaging Resource readers can save $6.50 on all shipping costs while sharing profits to help support this site. To get the discount, visit http://www.imaging-resource.com/cgi-bin/nl/pl.cgi?dgn to order.