Digital Camera Class 4

Click click click....that's all I could hear as I glanced around the computer room at 19:54 this evening. It was the noise of a class full of students heavily engrossed in the task that I had set for tonight.

The task for tonight was to alter a set of images that I had provided and to correct various elements in them. Such as remove some over-head cables, or to remove a burnt car wreck from the beach.

I started the class with a simple demonstration of how the Clone Brush and Scratch Removal tools in Paint Shop Pro worked.

Paint Shop Pro from Corel, is one of two graphics packages installed on the school computers, the other is Adobe Photoshop.  Experience has taught us, despite its alleged reputation, every student that has come through the door of my class has left and said how much easier Paint Shop Pro is, and that's why we continue to use it. If I can show you fantastic ways to alter images, and get great results in an easier manner, why would you choose do to do something the hard way!?

There were 14 images in total, the reasoning behind that, was that there would be more than sufficient to keep even the brightest student in the group going until beyond 9pm, although I did say that if anyone did finish all 14 pictures to my satisfaction they could go home early!! 

I gave a set of simple instruction out in class, they were printed in black and white, if anyone would like a set in colour then you can click here to download the notes, and print them off on your own  printer.

Here are a selection of photographs of tonight's class busy editing their photographs!

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Next week we will be making some old fashioned looking photographs from modern images!

eBay - Saturday Workshop

Thank you very much to all that came along to the eBay workshop today. All in all I think it was a rather successful session, and I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves.

As promised if you click the link below you will be able to download a copy of today's classes presentation. 

http://www.christopherjthomas.com/downloads/ebaypresentation.pdf

It is in PDF format so you may need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. It's on many computers so you may be lucky. If not you can download that separately from http://www.adobe.com and choose Downloads.

Click the link below to open it, or if you want to download it to your computer's harddisk then right click it, and choose 'Save Target As'

If you are interested in Photography, you might like to look at the galleries on my site as well, by clicking here: http://www.christopherjthomas.com

Any comments about today's class, or questions arising from it, please feel free to email me.   All feedback is encouraged. If you also have any questions about any of the other classes that I teach, and would perhaps possibly be interested in joining a class, then please do get in touch.   My address is chrisjthomas@gmail.com

Regards

Chris

Digital Camera Class 3

A practical session this week, I wanted the class to bring their camera's into school with them, and I'd set them a photo shoot exercise.

The problem with doing a camera class in the evenings at this time of year, is that we are limited to the things we can take pictures of during the hours of 7 and 9pm at night! So considering that, tonight's practical photography session was based on the words 'Shape, Form and Texture'. The brief was to take at least 6 good photographs, and the students were to interpret the words in whatever manner they wanted.

I then gave them plenty of time to take their camera's and wander around the school, looking for difference sources to take images of. 

We finished off with a look at Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 on my Apple Mac laptop. Looking at how to use the Clone Stamp tool.

Adobe Photoshop Elements - used by many, but no where near as easy as Corel Paint Shop Pro.

Next week we will be using the computers for the first time. Paintshop Pro has been installed for us, and we will be seeing how easy it is to modify pictures and enhance them!

See you then!

Open for business!

The Barry Adult Education Centre will be open today and this evening for all classes!

Please be a little careful in the car park as there are still a few patches of snow and ice!

See you later on!

Chris

PC Maintenance Class 2 Term 2

Tonight's class was a hardware session. The main point of which was to demonstrate how easy it is to take apart a desktop computer, compared to the complexity of a laptop.

Here is a selection of photographs from tonight's hand's on session:

Keith and Roger hard at work organising the bits and pieces they have to build this computer. It was a box of components when I gave it to them.

Our other team had a laptop to dismantle.

If nothing else, they would learn that this is why we don't upgrade laptops in the same manner in which we might with a Desktop PC.

Getting there.

Removing the small harddisk from the laptop.

Keith and Roger

Underneath the laptop, this model has a trap door where the memory is located.

The coloured spaghetti that are the power cables of the Desktop PC's power supply.

Inside the case of the PC before Roger fits the mainboard.

Almost done!

Class of 2013!

Digital Camera Class 2

Tonight's Class was an introductory look at how Photoshop / Photoshop Elements works. However I started the session off with a look at the Agored Course materials and student work files. I went through the criteria of what is expected of all the students.

This is the main screen for Adobe Photoshop Elements. I gave the group a guided tour quickly of the main icons/tools down the left hand toolbar. I demonstrated how you can remove parts of the picture using the Clone Stamp Tool.

I did want to demonstrate how Paintshop Pro works, however the software had been removed from the computers. I have however put a request into the school for this to be rectified within a fortnight, when I'd like the group to have some hands on time. 

Myself I use an Apple computer, and have no choice but to use Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, however my prefered choice of software for editing is Paintshop Pro.

Next week we are going to have a practical session to start with, and I have asked the students to bring in their cameras, and hopefully afterwards, we can have a demonstration of Paintshop Pro.  

Fingers crossed.

PC Maintenance Class 1 Term 2

Happy New Year!  Welcome to another New Year of Night classes  Welcome back to another PC Maintenance Class. 

Not wanting to stress anyone out on the first night, I planned a nice and relaxing session on Preventative Maintenance.  This session was all about the various things you can do to prolong the life of your computer. Taking care of it, looking after it, putting measures in place to lessen the impact of potential issues, and most of all preparing for a problem should it occurr.

To download a copy of the presentation used in class, click on the link below:

http://www.christopherjthomas.com/downloads/PreventativeMaintenance2013.pdf


Next week, time to get out the screwdriver again!!   

Digital Camera Class 1

Happy New Year!

Classes started tonight with our first Digital Camera Class of the New Year.

Tonights class, an introductory session to the kinds of things we will be looking at during the course.

A copy of the presentation shown in class can be downloaded with the link below. Please not you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the file.  

http://www.christopherjthomas.com/downloads/classes/photography/Digital%20Photography%20January%202013.pdf

Visit www.adobe.com if you need to download a copy of Acrobat Reader.

This course is an Agored Accredited class, and you need to keep a student file. You will find the templates for your file here at the below link:

http://www.christopherjthomas.com/downloads/classes/photography/

For further information on the Kodak Top Ten tips, visit the following website:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/corp/top10tips/index.jhtml