tim_schroeder

Wow! Great responses and so quick! Thanks!

I would like to set up a system whereby I shoot a portrait with my

10D, and the image goes straight to the computer immediately. I

would then like it to pop up on the monitor so I can show it to

customers (and decide whether to reshoot). I am thinking this is

done by portrait photographers all the time, but I have no idea how.

First, how does the camera connect to the computer? Second, what

software is used to pop the picture straight up? Any suggestions

would be greatly appreciated. I am not even sure how to compose the

search to see if the question has already been asked. Thanks!

Hello Everyone,

I have been using ACDSee to manage my pictures for quite some time.

However, I am not entirely happy with the way ACDSee handles RAW

images. It also seems that they release a new version every two

months, and each release has more glitches than the last. Has anyone

had this same experience with ACDSee? What do other photographers

use as a thumbnail management program with their RAW files? Any help

would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

For what it's worth, it would be fairly easy to replicate in photoshop. You would just need to scan a piece of roughed up blank 35mm film, and then rough it up some more in photoshop (for texture, you could overlay the patterns from paper or cloth). Then take the two pictures of the figures, add some blur. Finally, put it all together and add noise, and then paint in the scratches and tears. That's how I would do it, anyway.

Hello All

I am using Coppermine to post pictures on my server, but frankly I

find most of the themes to be too plain or too cartoonish. Does

anyone out there know of a nice professional-looking Coppermine theme?

I'd like something that resembles a professional portfolio. Black

background would be nice, but anything clean and sharp is what I need.

Thanks in advance!

- Tim Schroeder

Thank you! That's exactly what I was looking for!

I am looking to purchase a set of wooden blocks in different shapes

(cone, sphere, cube, cylender, etc) to use in teaching composition and

lighting. I believe they are sometimes called manipulatives. I have

scoured the online planet, and have found nothing. Does anyone know

where I might be able to get these online? I live in a small town in

Alaska, so going down to the local art store is really not an option.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I have a friend who is suffering from Maccular Degeneration (eyes are

starting to fail). But he wants to buy a digital camera to photograph

friends and family on occasion. My suggestion is that he buy a camera

with a large LCD screen with high contrast ratio. He is looking for a

consumer camera, not a pro or prosumer model. Has anyone purchased

anything with those specs? Any thoughts at all would be greatly

appreciated.

If you're lucky, a thunderstorm will blow through. There are few images more dramatic than shooting a wheat field while the sun is low behind you and a dark thunderstorm is rushing towards you. Of course, this is one of those "right place, right time" images that can be hard for visitors to catch.

I am re-reading Richard Zakia's Perception & Imaging. This is the best photography book I have ever read, and it doesn't even deal directly or exclusively with photography.

Hello All,

 

I live in Alaska, and do not have access to a large local camera

store. I am looking for a decent waterproof camera backpack that puts

the weight on the hips, not the shoulders. But I am big guy, and find

that most of the packs are simply too small. Does anyone have any

advice about a large waterproof camera backpack? If not, my next plan

is to buy one in Seattle during my next trip down south. That way, I

will be able to "try it on" before I buy one. Does anyone know of a

large enough photography store in Seattle that might have a good

selection of such bags? Thanks

Well, I may be biased since I live here, but Southeast Alaska is a photographer's fantasy land. There is no shortage of spectacular vistas, incredible wildlife and interesting people. But it can be spendy getting here from Anchorage (costly in Money if you go by air, or costly in time if you go by ferry). If you do get down to Southeast Alaska, then Juneau is a great stop. Skagway is awesome if you do the railroad trip. Sitka is simply stunning on a sunny day. Good luck, and Good Travels!

I teach digital photography at the local community college, and

nothing is more exciting than watching students grow in creativity and

confidence as the semester progresses. Since the class I teach is for

absolute beginners (many do not know how to turn on their cameras), it

is important that the class be interactive and immediately fulfilling.

The average age of the class is around 35, so it's definitely not a

traditional class for students seeking a career in photography. Most

students take the class for personal enrichment. The class meets one

night a week (16 weeks total) for three hours straight. I have

developed a series of activities and assignments which help students

focus on composition, technology and criticism. I would like to share

some of these in hopes that other teachers might do the same. I am

always looking for new ideas, and this might be a great place to trade

insights. Any responses (expecially those new suggestions) would be

GREATLY appreciated.

 

Some Key Assignments:

 

1 - The first assignment is simple: Take pictures of chicken eggs.

There are no other restrictions. The goal is to get students to

visualize a common item from different perspectives. I am always

amazed at how creative some students get with the eggs, and this in

turns drives the other students to stretch for future assignments.

 

2 - Take pictures which convey the emotions you draw from a basket (I

have a series of widely divergent emotions to choose from)

 

3 - Take pictures which may be viewed as "disturbing" by others. This

one students always balk at, but it invariably produces the most

powerful images of the class. When we review images at the beginning

of each class, students begin to see how compelling images can really be.

 

4 - Take/Edit a self portrait which utilizes compositing in photoshop.

Some students hate this one (since most photographers like the other

side of the camera better) and some love it.

 

5 - And of course the tried and true assignments: character portrait,

color theme, telling a story, sense of place, texture weather, and

dreaming.

 

 

Some Key In-Class Activities

 

1 - After listening to a short lecture from Terry Barrett's

"Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images,"

students break into groups and are handed a sheet containing six

images. They classify the images and then compare their responses

with other groups. This works wonders at getting students to

understand that people take pictures for different reasons, and with

different voices.

 

2 - To teach students how to break down what they see into smaller

shapes, I take a closeup picture of a public place in the same

building the class is located. Then I hand the students empty mats to

peer through (4x6) and send them out to find where the picture was

taken. The first group back with the right answer gets extra credit.

 

3 - I believe that all forms of personal expression are related,

expecially those among the fine arts. So, I take my students into the

ceramics classroom where the ceramics instructor talks about how he

sculpts. The same concepts about lines, shapes and color come through

clearly. Students begin to perceive that their work is related to

other forms of expression.

 

4 - As a class we watch and discuss the DVD "They Drew Fire" about

WWII soldier artists. At the end we discuss which images were most

compelling, which they remember most distinctly, and why. Patterns

emerge very quickly.

 

5 - I also have students work in class on various photoshop projects

(like compositing images based on a pre-determined set of original

images), but to be honest I have not found any particularly powerful

photoshop in-class exercises.

 

6 - At some point in the semester, I break out the studio lights and

students take pictures of each other. This is another one where

students feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. But I believe it

is important for students to understand how it feels to be directed,

in order to be able to give appropriate direction to their models later.

 

7 - The last night of class, I break the students into groups and give

them research or photo projects to do by the end of the class. The

projects always involve a technology or a concept we have not learned

in class. The goal is to prepare them to learn after the class is

completed. I want them to feel confident that they can teach

themselves with a little research and practice.

 

Well, those are the highlights. Obviously, an intermediate class or

an advanced class would be very different. But this one seems to work

well for complete novices.

 

Any thoughts? What would you suggest? If you teach, do you use

similar exercises?

 

- Tim Schroeder

As it turns out, the program which best met my need was an open source program called "Coppermine." My advice to anyone looking for the same thing is to locate a server hosting site which supports UNIX, and which has a program called "Fantastico." This program allows you to install certain open source programs with a few clicks, rather than having to FTP and untangle unzipped files and documents. Works like a charm. Emaxhosting.com was the server I went with, and I have been very pleased.

Thanks for the quick and comprehensive responses! I will begin research immediately.

I teach a digital photography workshop (for beginners) at the local

community college. I am seeking a portfolio management program that

will allow my students to upload their assignments via the web,

critique each other's photos and read instructor reviews of their

assignments. I am particularly fond of the way Photo.Net manages

these upload/critique functions, but I need a program that also allows

me (or the students) to control access to their images. The college

has access to a server, so I just need the image-database software

with web interface. Have you seen any programs like this? Any leads

at all would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time.