Last week was the final one before half-term, and as usual it was an entertaining few hours. Once again it was mainly about Lightroom, and my knowledge of it continues to grow. I have also recognised that it is another one of those programs that I have never really used at all. I used to routinely install it on my main machine alongside Photoshop or Photoshop Elements; but I never really used it to create catalogues, let alone use it to edit images!
It is obviously a very useful and flexible programme and one that can do an awful lot of work on images except, perhaps, using layers and a couple of other advanced tricks that you won't need every day. The afternoon this week was again in the 'Small Hall' and was more hands-on with a central theme - shadows. We had been asked to take in with us a torch (or other light source, my original idea of fa flamethrower proved to be against Health & Safety Advice) and something to create shadows with. Now, others took in glass orbs, figures, keys, a spanner and all sorts of goodies. The wealth of approach was very good to see and made me pause with second thoughts around my idea (albeit a little too late!). Those that know me will know of my love and interest in all things Dragon-like. I've written stories and poems about these semi-mythical species and have been captivated by them for decades. Indeed, when on a vacation with the family a few months ago we went to a pottery place ('China Blue', always evokes the song by the late and great Pete Bardens) where you could spend time painting plain pottery figures. Lisa did a lovely flying pig, Laura did a colourful robot and an egg and I did... a figure of three Dragons (all intertwined). I spent ages painting it with coloured slip, and chose a variation of colour across the three dragons. Of course, when you paint in this way you don't see the colours as they will be, only the colour 'in potentia' as it were. It is only when they are delivered a few weeks later that you see them in all their glory. I was pleased with the overall result, and looking around for something that might have interesting shadows, decided that I'd take it in due to the shape and the shadows it casts. My only issue turned out to be when my torch started to lose its vibrancy partway through the task! Also, the shadows were fine and the dragon figure vibrant when in the foreground, but a flexible approach to all things creative is always a useful thing to have in your toolkit, and thus when I saw what my colleagues were doing; I spent some time thinking about what I had already done and what I could do next and came up with a new idea. Once I have finished what I want to do with it all, I'll post it here (if it's any good that is!). Talking about things being any good, I also have to start deciding upon 6 images that I can have printed at A3 size to put in my Unit 1 portfolio. Now, I don't have 6 yet and I know that they should all have a bit of a theme running through them, so I'm going to spend some time during this half-term considering some ideas and options and hope that I'll hit upon an idea that pleases and entices me! Homework for this week is to take and present just one image that tells a story. It can be edited and staged so it's not reportage as such. So once again, it is something that I'm going to ponder upon during this week. Add to the fact that the Maldon Camera Crew topic for this time is 'People' - I have a lot to think about! Anyway, I'm off to think about photos, themes, people and dragons, so I'll catch you next time. Take care all and keep snapping ... A R C
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Third week of school and it was quite hands on. The morning was mainly taken up with how-too's around Lightroom, Folders and Catalogues. Now I'm not a convert to Lightroom - yet. Although over the years I have usually had it installed on my various computers in one iteration or another; I've never really got to grips with it. Using Photoshop Elements (from version 2) I was fairly adept at achieving what I wanted too, and thus never found a reason to use Lightroom. It would sit and sulk on my computer, like a recalcitrant child who refuses to eat their broccoli.
In the last couple of weeks however, the sessions around Lightroom have been enjoyable and of benefit. It's interesting - I have found the tips, tricks and basic setup incredibly useful and am now in the process of getting it onto a Mac and my main PC rig so that I can start creating a catalogue on each and begin using keywords (which will be incredibly useful). The afternoon session was around lenses and aperture, and saw us all getting up and using our cameras to demonstrate how the same shot, with the same settings, will look differently on different kinds of camera (Full-frame, APSC etc.). Our homework is to come up with a plan to take some photos using a light source but where we are taking the photo of shadows only; not the object creating the shadows. We then have to take in the objects and take the shots in class. This is going to be an interesting exercise and one very different from any we did at Level I. We were also advised to get 'Pintrest' so I downloaded it to my phone again, reset the password I had forgotten ages ago, and logged back in. Like Instagram, I think it might be one of those apps that everyone seems to have but which will take me some time to start using (which is why I delete it from my phone and promptly forgot the password ages ago!). So, a few things to do before next week and thus I'd better toddle off in search of inspiration and objects that will create interesting shadows... Take care all, keep taking the photos! Alan Our Tutor, Richard, did a sterling job this week. I say this not to curry favour (or any other food-based bribe) but to acknowledge a job well done. In the past I've taught many things to many people, from basic Driving through specialist Driving (and examining candidates) the finer points of law and its interpretations by courts to a huge variety of computing elements (from the general self-build to specific types of computer builds such as Digital audio Workstations [DAWs]). I've taken courses and qualifications in Teaching and Assessing and spent the last 10 years of my career doing more teaching and assessing than I ever imagined I would.
One to one teaching is easier than teaching a group. Hands-on kinetic or experiential training is easier than didactic. When you have a group of 10 or more which have a wide variety of skills, knowledge and listening skills; the tasks become even more difficult to achieve. The main points of the session yesterday was Lightroom and Lenses. Richard did a masterful job of trying to keep everyone on the same element at the same time. Now a while ago I taught some 30 primary schoolchildren how to create their own webpage (under overall supervision by the class teacher and having been DBS checked). The children were put into pairs, and they then had to come up with a name for their page. Each page had to have a theme, some writing, at least one image, some colour, a background and some basic research displayed on the page (as quotes or references). This took place over 8-10 weeks. Each session I took was easier than Richard endured yesterday. The session was entertaining (sometimes for the wrong reasons) but obviously quite stressful for Richard; who at no time lost his cool (at least outwardly!). He kept control and drove forward with the tasks so that everyone left the session in broadly the same position and with the same knowledge. It's not easy dealing with disparate people with disparate levels of experience; but I came away with more knowledge about lightroom (enough to know I should continue with it and persevere) and some extra knowledge about my own camera equipment. And in the end, isn't that the mark of a true educator? Stay safe all and keep snapping... |
Alan MitchellI'm always trying to capture that fleeting 'moment' in time -whether by taking a photo or writing a poem. My attempts to capture that illusive feeling, sight, sensation or sound in some way is, to me, magical. Archives
March 2023
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