Panoramic Photography Class Offered At Lakeland Community College

Epcot Panorama by d4rr3ll *

Would you like to know how to create panoramic images including Quick Time Virtual Reality Images? Would you like access to specially designed tripod heads, and software that facilitate stitching together still images? If so, you may be interested in taking a course in Panoramic Photography at Lakeland Community College this spring.

Course Description:
PHOT 2600 - Panoramic Photography Introduction to theory and methods of production of Quick Time (TM) Virtual Reality images. Students study and produce both QTVR Panorama and QTVR Object Movies. Course is appropriate for photographers, graphic designers, and others interested in panoramic images. Although not a prerequisite for this course, students will benefit from having taken PHOT 1100 Basic Photography prior to taking this course. (4 contact hours: 2 lecture, 2 lab)

Instructor:
Frank Gwirtz
I have worked in the visual arts for over 30 years. I have a varied background that has included work in painting, printmaking, graphic design, photography, film, video, digital imaging, and interactive communications. I have produced a variety of commercial work for corporations, large and small, including brochures, television commercials and multimedia presentations. I have also produced a substantial body of personal work including paintings, serigraphs, photographs and documentary films.

Cost:
$330 for non Lake County residents + $64 Lab fees

Meeting Dates:
Every Tuesday evening, January 14th through May 5, 2008
6 p.m.

Location:
Lakeland Community College
7700 Clocktower Drive
Kirtland, OH 44094-5198
Building H, Room 32
map and directions

For More information:
Photography Department: Dr. Bruce W. Cline, 440-525-7218.
Instructor: Frank Gwirtz, frankgwirtz@windstream.net
Registrar's Office: 440.525.7101

*This image is not associated with the class but is shown here to illustrate the type of images that can be created with the software and techniques taught in the class. For an example of a Quicktime Virtual Reality image, visit here.

Put Your Pictures in Video Greeting Cards With JibJab.com

Click here if the video does not work

You can now create animated movies with your own photographs using the site JibJab.com. The card above is free and allows you to import five different photos into the animated snowball fight. You can upload your own faces, or pick from the list of famous faces that Jibjab supplies. Other cards have a small charge based on credits you purchase. The results are hilarious.

I inserted my face along with the famous people above. The faces of Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey came from the photos provided by Jibjab. I uploaded the Albert Einstein and Halle Berry images and cut out their faces.

The website is easy to use, allowing users to upload photographs and isolate faces using a services of movable dots. Once uploaded, the faces can be inserted into the card of your choice. You may recall Jibjab is the site that creates those funny political animated videos are all over the media. Here's a review of the e-cards that appeared in the Seattle Times.

You can feel comfortable uploading your photos to Jibjab. Jibjab is a licensee of the the TRUSTe program, an organization that reviews the privacy policy of companies to make sure it is consistent with government and industry guidelines concerning the use of your personal information.

Happy New Year!

CPS Photo Classes Start January 9 & 12

The Cleveland Photographic Society will be offering a new round of classes in Fundamentals of Good Photography, beginning January 9. Also, NEW for 2008 is a course designed for those just beginning to explore photography Basic Digital Photography, with classes starting January 12. And for those who found Photoshop Elements or a similar software package under the tree, new classes in Introduction to Digital Photo Editing will begin February 9. Click here for all the details.

As a part of their enrollment, all students in the Fundamentals and Editing classes receive a FREE four month membership in CPS, commencing with the first week of classes. Students in the Basic class receive a FREE two month membership in CPS.

I took the Digital Photo Editing class last year and found it very helpful. For the first time, Photoshop Elements (and Photoshop) made sense. The class also provides a CD with the step by step instructions and the projects demonstrated.

January 30th Exhibition of Work By Alternative Process Photographers

The Cleveland Society of Alternative Process Photographers presents the opening of an exhibit entitled "The 21st Century with a 19th Century Vision".

The Cleveland Society of Alternative Printers seeks to encourage, enhance and preserve the 19th Century photographic techniques known as The Alternative Processes. These processes include, but are not limited to: Daguerreotypy, Platinum, Albumen, Collodian, Cyanotype, and Gum Bichromate printing methods among others.

The work of the following photographers will be featured:

Herbert Ascherman
Jeannette Palsa
Charles Caito
Roy Woda
Richard Wolf
Ryan Durdella
Bruce Gates
Greg Martin

Where:
The Plain Dealer Gallery
1801 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

When:
January 30th, 2008
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Please note that the gallery is not a public space and anyone wishing to see the exhibition other than the opening must make arrangements.

Create Post-It Art with Photoshop Elements

Proving that the artistic uses for a product are limited only by your imagination, the Capstrat design firm created a mural completely out of Post-It note pads. They outline the process as well as how to use Photoshop/Photoshop Elements can be used to analyze an image and translate it into a Post-It creation. Visit their site for detailed instructions as well as how to use Photoshop/Photoshop Elements to create an image like the one above.

For more creative uses of Post-It note pads, visit the Shoplet.com Office Supplies blog.

Learn from 87 Different Photography Blogs

It is amazing how much you can learn reading blogs, tutorials and watching videos on the Internet. This listing of blogs is the most comprehensive one I've seen of useful photography information.

Thanks to Daniel Hellerman's Photography Minded blog for bringing to my attention this comprehensive listing of photography blogs. It was originally compiled by Brian Auer and published in his Epic Edits Weblog. The illustration above is from his blog.

Here are the sites:

1. digtal Photography School — (RSS)
2. JMG-Galleries — (RSS)
3. Photocritic — (RSS)
4. 365 Portraits — (RSS)
5. Strobist — (RSS)
6. Kwerfeldein — (RSS)
7. Joseph Szymanski — (RSS)
8. File Magazine — (RSS)
9. PhotographyVoter — (RSS)
10. Photopreneur — (RSS)
11. The Daily Critique — (RSS)
12. Catchy Colors Photoblog — (RSS)
13. photodoto — (RSS)
14. daily dose of imagery — (RSS)
15. NYCgraphix Blog Photo — (RSS)
16. Photoshop User TV — (RSS)
17. DIYPhotography.net — (RSS)
18. Earthbound Light — (RSS)
19. Earth Shots — (RSS)
20. fotohacker — (RSS)
21. Digital Shot — (RSS)
22. DSLRBlog — (RSS)
23. goldengod — (RSS)
24. Neil Creek - Photographer — (RSS)
25. Words: Irrational — (RSS)
26. Alphatracks — (RSS)
27. MAKE: Imaging Blog — (RSS)
28. outafocus — (RSS)
29. Stuck In Customs — (RSS)
30. A Walk Through Durham Township — (RSS)
31. Photography Tip — (RSS)
32. Tips From the Top Floor — (RSS)
33. Planet Photoshop — (RSS)
34. Chase Jarvis Blog — (RSS)
35. Beyond the Obvious — (RSS)
36. Rick Wezenaar Photography — (RSS)
37. Motivation — (RSS)
38. LeggNet’s Digital Capture — (RSS)
39. Digital Photography Blogs — (RSS)
40. Photojojo — (RSS)
41. Absolutely Nothing — (RSS)
42. Words in Images — (RSS)
43. About Photography — (RSS)
44. Photowalking.org — (RSS)
45. photonovice.net — (RSS)
46. Single-Serving Photo — (RSS)
47. Assignment Construct — (RSS)
48. San Miguel Photo of the Day — (RSS)
49. F/1.0 — (RSS)
50. RDD Photo — (RSS)
51. Current Photo Contests — (RSS)
52. xlt’s photo blog — (RSS)
53. Photoshop Insider — (RSS)
54. Photo Business News & Forum — (RSS)
55. kebrunella — (RSS)
56. Camera Porn — (RSS)
57. Paddling with a Camera — (RSS)
58. PopPhoto Flash — (RSS)
59. Flak Photo — (RSS)
60. A Visual Treat — (RSS)
61. Light and Shadow — (RSS)
62. Dan Heller’s Photography Business Blog — (RSS)
63. Photoshop Support — (RSS)
64. Autofocused — (RSS)
65. Rickmann Design Photography — (RSS)
66. The Work of Daniel Hellerman — (RSS)
67. Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection — (RSS)
68. Taking Pictures — (RSS)
69. Sharing My Light — (RSS)
70. Brian Larter — (RSS)
71. Hey Girl, Nice Shot — (RSS)
72. Keen Eye — (RSS)
73. LiBeCo.nl — (RSS)
74. Jeff’s Photo Gallery — (RSS)
75. eclectic — (RSS)
76. John Nack on Adobe — (RSS)
77. Rob Galbraith DPI — (RSS)
78. Found Photography — (RSS)
79. mannedspace — (RSS)
80. The Online Photographer — (RSS)
81. My Camera World — (RSS)
82. Phill Price — (RSS)
83. Changing Perspectives — (RSS)
84. Complete Digital Photography — (RSS)
85. Itsy-Bitsy Photo Blog — (RSS)
86. Pengkuei Ben Huang — (RSS)
87. Thalia’s Musings — (RSS)

Brian Auer's post links to an excellent overview of RSS, which stands for Real Simple Syndication. It is a way of keeping up with activity on one or more weblogs without having to visit each one. If you are not using RSS to keep up with your favorite photographic areas of interest, you owe it to yourself to get started now. The Digital Photo SIG blog uses RSS to populate the headlines on the right side of the page with new headlines on photography.

Learn About Composition in Less Than Five Minutes

Want to learn the basics of photographic composition in under 5 minutes? Click on the video above for a brief overview in a five step framework. Thanks to Lifehacker for blogging about this post that originally appeared on Videojug.

Make Your Own Holiday Cards from Stock Photos

Are you looking for a way to personalize a card with images of your family? Check out this tutorial from GraphicReporter.com blog written by Lesa Snider King. She’s a stock photographer and chief evangelist for iStockphoto. Her personal mission is to teach the world to create—and use—better graphics. I had the pleasure of meeting her this past year when she spoke to the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group.

Her directions feature photos from iStockphoto, a wonderful service that provides a large variety of photos at economical prices. In addition to these photos, you can use those that are available for free legally through a Creative Commons License on sites such as Flickr.

These techniques can be used for greeting cards of any kind.

Take Pictures of Christmas Lights

Have you tried taking pictures of holiday lighting displays but never quite got what you want? If so, You'll like this post.

This post came to my attention from the Lifehacker blog. You can view the video in the web page by clicking on the image below. Happy Holidays!

Buying and Using Your New Digital Camera: Saturday, 12/15 1-4 p.m.

In the market for a new digital camera but don't know what to look
for? Have a new digital camera and want to learn how to use it? Join
the Cleveland Photographic Society on Saturday, December 15 from 1 to
4 pm to learn about CPS and to get your camera questions answered!

They will also preview the Photography Classes that start in January:
Fundamentals of Good Photography
Introduction to Digital Photo Editing
Basic Digital Photography (new class)

Stop by, get to know the group and bring your cameras and questions.
Refreshments will be served.

Date: December 15, 2007
Time: 1:00 PM
Ends: 4:00 PM
Location: 9543 Broadview Rd, Broadview Heights, OH
map: http://www.clevelandphoto.org/meetings.cfm
Cost: FREE