 Number 291 - August 2007 |
|
| A Secret Training Site for Photographers? | |
| By Mark Mattson, Computer Users of Erie, Horizons June 2007 | |
|
Photography is an art, something that becomes a reflection of the person that practices that art. No two people will see or photograph a scene in quite the same way. A delay of a second or so can have subtle, or radical, difference between the photo of another shooter imaging the exact same scene.
The creative process goes beyond the camera as well...the manner and techniques used to process and edit the images themselves are also a reflection of the individual, and can follow an entirely different path form another. Even though an art form, there is some training that needs to go along with it. New techniques are developed all the time, particularly in the realm of the image editing process, and any serious hobbyist, or professionals that need to keep up with them as part of their business, needs some degree of training. Seminars, classes (both live and online), and video training, are all ways of learning. But there is another route, that many of you may not be familiar with--podcasts. Podcasts are audio or video programs that are delivered via the Internet direct to your computer. Originally targeted for downloading to an iPod (hence the name podcast), many users are using them exclusively on their desktop or laptop, for convenience and ease of viewing. There are many podcasts available from a wide array of websites, but one that makes it easy to find them is to utilize the Podcast section ofiTunes, the Apple-run music service/store. iTunes is a free software download, with a version for both Windows and Mac platforms. Download it from I currently have 21 different podcasts dealing with photography and Photoshop I am subscribed to at the present. Some of them are previews for the now-released Photoshop CS3, |
and probably will not be added to any further .But there are many of them that are updated if not weekly , at least monthly. There ARE a couple that are added to on an irregular basis, sometimes going months between new episodes.
The most popular podcast for Photoshop users is undoubtedly Photoshop TV. New episodes are posted every week on Monday, running anywhere from a half hour to an hour or so. This video cast features a wealth of tips, tricks and tutorials aimed to improving your skills with image editing. Other podcasts aimed at the editing end of things include Photoshop Kitchen, Photoshop Alley, Michelle's Digital Touchup, and the Radiant Vista Tutorials. There are others, but these are the ones that are most-often updated, next to Photoshop TV (now listed as NAPP TV). For those of you interested in podcasts for the imaging end, the most listened to offering seems to be The Digital Photography Show. Logging in at anywhere from 50 minutes to an hour and a half, this weekly show presents a wealth of information relating to photography itself...ways to improve your imaging, new gear, new techniques, and all else relating to imaging. An added bonus to several of the podcasts are the contests sponsored by them. Photoshop TV has a weekly trivia contest, with some prizes awarded to the winner. The Digital Photography Show podcast holds contests which can span weeks, oftentimes offering a nice prize of a graphics tablet from Wacom, the major sponsor of this show. Their contests usually involve submitting images you have created, to be judged by the hosts and a guest professional photographer. All these podcasts are free to subscribe to, and cn be an invaluable source of infonnation. Why not give them a try, and see how you like them? |
|
Number 291 - August 2007
|
|