The first photoshopped image: Jennifer in Paradise
I have been a Photoshop user since version 3.0. I learnt it on my first job as a DTP artist at Star Publications (M) Bhd in 1994. My art college days were void of computer studies back then. Instead I learnt traditional painting, graphic design using Letraset, photography and art history. Suffice to say I took to the digital revolution in graphic design very quickly, As an illustrator I realised I could make changes to my drawings and the thing people have come to like the most about photoshop, messing about with photographs, creating all sorts of things that could take you hours to do in a dark room. Adobe recently celebrated 25 years of Photoshop, a software that has become an institution. It only seems fitting to pay homage to this historical image, titled Jennifer in Paradise, the first image to be manipulated and created by Photoshop founders John & Thomas Knoll. The girl pictured here is Knoll's then-girlfriend Jennifer, topless on the beach in Bora Bora, gazing out at To'opua island. The young couple worked together at Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm's special-effects company, and were enjoying some well-earned R&R after working 70-hour weeks on the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Looking back, Jennifer says: "It was a truly magical time for us. My husband actually proposed to me later on in the day, probably just after that photo." Little wonder that John would name the photo Jennifer in Paradise. I've included the splash screen of the first version right up to Photoshop CC today in the gallery below for those that want to reminisce.
