John Paul Caponigro is a photographer and Photoshop artist who combines deep technical knowledge with stunning artistic sensibility. His images in which massive rocks float above desolate plains are surreal yet grounded in real-world photographic detail. As a photographer Caponigro know that the way light falls on an object is key to giving a scene the aura of truth.

Caponigro has perfected a technique in which he combines multiple exposures to add shadows and highlights to an image. He calls it "Painting with Light."

In this excerpt from the second edition of his book "Adobe Photoshop Master Class: John Paul Caponigro," the artist not only shows you his technique step by step but also reveals the philosophy behind it. You get a peek into the mind of a master.

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Excerpted from "Adobe Photoshop Master Class: John Paul Caponigro, Second Edition" © 2003 John Paul Caponigro. Reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Peachpit Press. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.