Image Handling: Open, Save, Close (Video Included)

1. Pull down menu File > Open...

2. Shortcut [Ctrl + O]

3. Double-click in empty area

4. In the Options bar, click the button to launch the Bridge (built-in image browser)*, find an image on your computer and double-click its thumbnail to load it.
*In Photoshop 8 and earlier versions, pull down Window > File Browser.

5. Pull down menu File > Open Recent > select image from the list of recently opened images.

Methods # 1, 2 and 3 above call the dialog box Open which is pretty much a standard system filebox except for a preview area at the bottom. Another good feature is the "Favorites" button in the upper right corner. Do add to your favorites the ASAP folder (screenshot); chances that you will use it often.

NB Opening camera raw files in Photoshop CS automatically launches the Camera Raw plugin.