Hurricane damage

Tara, I love the photo of your rose. Great job!! The buildings are interesting, too.

Holly's Week 2 Photos

What a weekend!! I hope everyone is safe and has power by now!! I went out walking and took a few photos of fallen/wind swept pieces of nature. I plan on going out again within a day or two to capture more photos of sunrise/sunset backgrounds. Be safe everyone!!

This I found in a neighbor's garden. I believe it tells the story of how sad this past weekend was!!

Hi class,
Three days afer Irene hit still no power. We now have a brand new generator thanks to her. We had 6 trees come down across driveway here in Colchester. My name is Dave Petrosky and happily married with 2 kids. My wife started school today and the kids are delayed a week. My favorite thing to do is Snowmobile in Vermont with friends and Family.

Ron, did you have to use a special setting on your camera to see the bright colors? The photo is beautiful.

Week 2 Blog

Hi everyone!

This picture is the Old North Church in Boston, Mass. I like how the sunlight is shining down the people while walking the freedom trail.

This picture below is a "21st century" architectural design by M.I.T architects, and is part of MIT on Kendall Square, Boston.

Below is my favorite photo of all time. I took an up close picture of my one rose left in the garden after the hurricane and played around with it in Picasa and came up with this Focal black and white, which allowed me to modify the outer petals and brighten the center. Comments are welcome!

Status Update

Hi Everyone...  So sorry, I just became aware that the syllabus has been unavailable for the past several hours... I called my ISP and fixed the issue and it should be available now.  In the meantime I have posted it below....

I hope you have survived the hurricane without too much damage.  We are without power at home in Redding and don't expect it back until the week-end or later.  I don't have water at home much less internet access.  If I am a bit slower than usual in answering emails it's because I have to wait to get to school to see them.

Let me know of any issues you may be having in getting up and running.  This week we begin our creative activity and photograph in a "built" environment.  Think geometry, filling the frame and light.  Don't take pictures of whole buildings from a distance.  Look more closely at angles, space,  design and a more in close view of things.

Have fun.....

Syllabus!

Syllabus

Digital Photography
Albertus Magnus College
Jerry Nevins, Professor
Contact Me

Mod 1 August 22- October 15 , 2011

Class Blog, MOD 1, 2011

Class Blog, MOD 2, Oct - Dec 2010

Class Blog, MOD 5, 2010

Class Blog, MOD 4, 2010

Class Blog, MOD 1, 2009

Class Blog, Mod 5, 2009

Digtial Editing 101 Video tutorial

|Class Blog From Mod 3, 2007|Online Galleries | Readings |
Video tutorials|Class Blog From Summer 2007,Class Blog Mod 3, 2008,Class Blog, Mod 5 2008,Class Blog, Mod 1, 2008,Class Blog Mod 2, 2008,Blog for Section 2, Mod 4, 2009,Blog for Section 1, Mod 4, 2009,Class Blog from Mod 2

Grading Criteria

Detailed Grading Rubric

Overview:

This course in Digital Photography is designed to develop your skills in pixel based photographic design and printing. The dream of film-less photography his finally become a reality. Cameras, printers, inks and paper have evolved that are able to not only match traditional continuous tone photographic quality, but can also extend traditional possibilities. In this first introductory course in digital photography, we will use this new found power to create, edit, post and share our images electronically. These tools lend themselves perfectly to an online course.
About this online course experience:
This is the first year that online courses have been offered in the Art Department at Albertus Magnus College. The power of using online portfolios is now proven. The promise and potential of offering a course not bounded by time or space has amazing implications. In a traditional studio art course, there is a very high degree of interaction not only between the instructor and students, but just as importantly, between the students enrolled in the course. Art production is about learning craft, design, history, culture and self expression. Students synthesize these elements to create a portfolio of work that reflects not only their newly developed skills but also is tangible evidence of the more important appreciation of Art within the particular medium studied. There is much subtlety in the process.
The potential pitfalls of an online experience then are about the lack of your direct contact with the instructor and other students. To overcome this, we need to create a lively online community. To that end, I have created an online class blog here:http://mod5digitalphoto.blogspot.com/. Your success in this course depends upon your active participation in this blog. Here you will post your images to share with the class. Use this site to react to other's work, write about your own ideas, and communicate to the rest of the class your successes and challenges faced in working through the assignments. To learn how to post to the class blog, see this. Also, watch the video tutorial I prepared for you on how to post to the blog.
As a studio art course, you will be assessed not by tests or writing papers but mainly by your visual work leading to a final portfolio of images. Your ability to grow in the medium, try on new ideas, learn to communicate using the language of this medium, to appreciate ideas and trends in historical as well as contemporary photographic art will all contribute to your grade.

Course Goals: ·

To become proficient at the technical aspect of photographing with a digital camera and working with those images including digital editing, saving, sizing and posting those images.

To develop and practice skills using digital photography tools and the Internet including emailing and posting to a web site.
To learn to shoot with digital cameras... and learn to maximize the quality of the output from them.
To appreciate more about the "Photographer's Art" through the study of historic and contemporary trends and to apply that appreciation to your own work.
To develop the habit of looking closely at the visible world around you in order to represent it in terms of aesthetics and truth.
To begin to learn about the history and aesthetics of fine art photography and to apply that understanding to your completed assignments.
Topics:
To understand the use of all tools found in Picasa software.

Understand managing image files... saving, opening, uploading, posting, etc.

Gain proficiency with image editing for maximum image impact.

The use of scale

Electronic images… their scaling and use: imaging for the Internet

Assignments: 

Week 1

---

Download and install Picasa Become familiar with saving your images to your computer's hard drive. Know how to move images to your computer from the camera. Create folders on your hard drive for each week's work.Post an image of yourself on the class blog and tell us something about yourself. You may shoot a self portrait using the self timer on your camera or more creatively, shoot a reflection of yourself in glass, mirrors, steel, shop windows... what can you imagine? Try using the search term "self portrait" in Google Images. Not to stress about this one though... have fun! E-mail me if you have any issues, problems, etc. Click the "Contact" button above.
Look at these self-portraits posted to Fotothing. Create your own Fotothing account to post your images to.
Read 10 tips for great pictures at Kodak. Read Digital Camera Controls
Read my article on pixels and resolution.
Read this discussion about the focal length of lenses
By the end of week 1, you are comfortable with using your camera, moving images around and posting and emailing them. All systems are working! Picasa is installed and working, you can open and edit your pictures, you know how to post to the class blog, upload to fotothing, link to me as a "friend" and communications with me and other members of the class are easy.
You have posted your fotothing.com address in the blog. I can't find you otherwise.
You have posted a portrait and introduction of yourself to the class on the blog and have done all of the reading.
Read through my syllabus for the Introduction to Photography class offered in the day program as a darkroom course. Pay particular attention to the section entitled "The Classic Approach" Click through the many links regarding cameras, lenses, film, etc. to learn about technical issues in photography.
Week 2
Introduction to Composition
We will learn to use line, mass, value (tone), contrast, color, and selection consciously in the creation of your images.
A big part of the photographer's art lies in one's ability to organize the visual chaos of the visible world. You learn to clarify, simplify and present your environment with intention and control. Here, we will learn to go way beyond "taking pictures", accepting whatever "comes out of the camera", and move to "making photographs" through your careful looking at your subject before shooting.
Reflect on the concept of selection and looking at the edge of the frame to consciously decide what to include and not incude in your image. Appreciate light and form and how that is central to your work for this class.
Look at the work of Edward Weston. Consider this image:
Edward Weston used his 8"x10" camera to photograph this small green bell pepper set in a simple wooden bowel by window light. Notice how he moved in, and filled the frame with the form of the pepper. The simple elegance and direct presentation of the pepper has transformed it from a mere description of an ingredient in tonight's dinner to an image that is transcendent.
Read Photography—Not Pictorial, Edward Weston, Camera Craft, Vol. 37, No. 7, pp. 313-20, 1930
Browse through Weston's other natural forms.
Assignment: Downtown
Photograph shapes, reflections, light and pattern in an urban or town environment paying particular attention to the shapes you select in the frame and the quality of light on the subject.
Avoid being far away or showing a whole building. Always shoot with natural light. Never use flash in this class... get in close, fill the frame.
Read about Paul Strand.... His work in New York City in the early 20th Century defined how photographers could use new ideas of modernism championed in painting to great effect.
Read The Art Motive in Photography, Paul Strand, The British Journal of Photography, Vol.70, pp. 612-15, 1923
Browse through my portfolio of images from my "Connecticut Towns" project, particularly Stonington and Noank
You may work in black and white. Picasa makes it easy to convert and tone your images. Adjust the tones using Picasa's advanced editing tools.Submit your best two images on the class blog and post 6-10 or more to your fotothing album. (Links in academic expectations below).
Week 3
Assignment: By the Sea
Look at Weston's work at Point Lobos, California. What kind of light did he photograph under? How did he move in and compose what ever he was looking at?  For each photograph, consider the point of view Weston and the camera position.
Weston got down, got close to these rock forms on the beach. I want you to do the same
Read this short biography of Ansel Adams.Watch this slide show of selected images from his classic work in Yosemite National Park.
You are to visit the beach, and look carefully at form, light, composition and line. Examine tidal pools, rock formations and sand patterns with the curiosity and freshness of a young child, say a toddler. Move in close, fill the frame. Submit your best two images on the class blog and post 6-10 or more to your online album. (Links in academic expectations below). If you live well inland and would prefer to visit a waterfall or brook with moving water, that would work too.
Week 4
Shadows and Light
Consider this gallery of photographs by amateur Greek photographer, George Christakos. Notice how the photographs are about the quality of light... and shadow. Shadows take on a materiality that is just as strong as the architectural elements depicted, perhaps stronger. Use the widest focal length setting on your lens. Look for shadows as geometric form this week. Start around your home, downtown, or anywhere your travels take you. Look down, look up, fill the frame.
Light reflecting directly off water can be interesting... throw in dramatic clouds...perhaps at sunset... convert to black and white...
Chairs, railings, your back deck, light streaming in through windows casting shadows.... shadows made by people walking downtown...
Read this short Britannica entry on Minor White.
Read Equivalence: The Perennial Trend Minor White, PSA Journal, Vol. 29, No. 7, pp. 17-21, 1963
How can we use light as poetic metaphor?
Submit your best two images on the class blog and post 6-10 or more to your online album. (Links in academic expectations below).
"A very receptive state of mind... not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second's exposure conceives a life in it". -Minor White
In Windowsill Daydreaming (left), Minor White has found a projection of light rather than shadow to photograph. Can you find a beam of light to photograph?

Week 5
God is in the Details: Altered scale: Large images from tiny object(s) (The macro project)
Read The Photographer's Eye, John Szarkowski, Introduction to the Catalog of the Exhibition
Most of your digital cameras have the wonderful ability to get really close to things and keep it in sharp focus. This is called "Macro" photography. Find out how close your camera can get and shoot everything this week from this distance. My Nikon coolpix can get to within 3/4" of the subject and keep it really sharp. Each camera is different so look it up in your manual. If you have a scanner at home, consider using it as you digital camera for the week. Scanners capture remarkable detail... better than digital cameras....
Browse through Albertus graduate Robyn Thomas' online portfolio of scanned flower forms. She filled our MacDonough Gallery with 16"x20" prints of these wonderful images as her senior project as an art major. All of these images were created using a flatbed scanner. She paid attention to design and light. She discovered form inside the flowers rather than just taking a picture "of" a flower... the flowers were a springboard to exploring formal elements of art and design.
Diane Vetere has been published and shows internationally. Click "flowers" at the top of the page. She let her lilies die in the soft drink, Sprite, creating beautiful forms that she scanned and made large 24x24" prints.
Technique: When scanning a flower, leave the lid of the scanner up. Preview the bed of the scanner then select just the area you want. Only then click scan. Here is where you choose how large a scan you'd like. Since most of our work is posted online, this won't matter... If you'd like to make prints, go back and reread my article on resolution.
If you don't have access to a scanner take a look at:
Chrissie's macro picture a day from Belgium.
More Florals.... Visit a greenhouse... how's your garden? Mariam El-Mofty from Egypt. Use the macro setting on your camera, move in close!
Submit your best two images on the class blog and post 6-10 or more to your online album. (Links in academic expectations below).
Week 6
The Digital Portrait
I call this assignment "How to Fry an Egg".... Everyone thinks they know how to do it but when you come right down to it, there is a lot of technique involved and there is plenty of opportunity to mess it up.
Here's what I'd like you to do... Find someone you know, love and trust. This can be a child, spouse, best friend, parent... you get the idea. Take them by window light. Watch the light on the face, wait for an open, truthful expression and create a simple but beautiful portrait. (No flash!). Use a piece of white cardboard, a sheet or other white object to reflect light back into the shadow side of the face. Take your time... there's no rush. If your model puts up a fuss, find someone else. Can you do it?
Use the Picasa tools to adjust light, contrast, grayscale (if you'd like). Hold the camera vertically, use the telephoto (zoom in) setting on your camera, steady your hand or use a tripod. Don't make your subject smile, just relaxed and truthful. No candids either....Crop the photo like this....
Post your best 2 images to the blog, tell us about them and add an additional 6 - 10to your online gallery.
Another worthy window light portrait with no reflector. Notice what happens on the shadow side of the face with no white reflector. Notice also that the window itself is not included in the shot.
Okay... you can do your pet... but it's harder... look!
Tips... No direct sunlight, simple background, quiet expression... take your time.Fill the frame. These portraits, if done well will be far better than most commercial work from low end Sears Portrait Studio images up to high end commercial photographers... Most commercial work is over produced and artificial. For your work to be good in this assignment, I am looking for a simple, true, honest and direct portrait... it doesn't get better than that.

Week 7
The surrealist aesthetic: composited and constructed realities.
You have to systematically create confusion, it sets creativity free. Everything that is contradictory creates life. ::: Salvador Dali :::
A while back, The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford celebrated the return to its permanent collection it world class examples of Surrealism in their permanent collection. The show was entitled  Dalí, Picasso, and the Surrealist Vision "Surrealism is a style in which fantastical visual imagery from the subconscious mind is used with no intention of making the work logically comprehensible." Read more at the online Art Encyclopedia.
Look at the work of Dali and Magritte
"Surrealism is an artistic, cultural and intellectual movement oriented toward the liberation of the mind by emphasizing the critical and imaginative faculties of the "unconscious mind" and the attainment of a state different from, "more than", and ultimately "truer" than everyday reality: the "sur-real", or "more than real" Read more here.
Go to the Athenaeum's site and start your paintings.
Read Article on Photographer Man Ray... Surrealist and Dadaist
Post 1of your surreal constructions to the class blog... post a total of 6 -10 images to your online portfolio.
To save your creation from the Athenaeum site, bring up your image, hit the "print screen" key on your pc keyboard. (Use grabber on a Mac). Make sure that the objects are de-selected if you are capturing the image before publishing it (while still in the JAVA application or there will be odd squares and messages on the image. Go to your image editing application, Paint, (not picasa) and go to menu item FILE>NEW>ENTER then after the new blank file opens, EDIT>PASTE. Select the area of just the image using the rectangle select tool. EDIT>COPY. This puts this portion of the image in your computers memory or clip board.Next FILE>NEW again, EDIT>PASTE and there it is... cropped and ready to save.. Remember to save the file as a .jpg (It will be a .bmp by default in Paint and Fotothing or the blog won't accept that file.Now upload from there. All PC's come with a free image editor called Paint located in the Accessories submenu... Remember, Use your free built in image editor called Paint... to find it hit the start button, PROGRAMS> ACCESSORIES>PAINT. Save the file as a jpeg (.jpg), not a .bmp.


Academic Expectations:

Post at least twice a week to the class blog. Care about the quality as well as quantity of your creative work, help and collaborate with others in the class, communicate openly with me…. Do your best. Your portfolio posted to Fotothing will be the tangible evidence of your progress in the medium but your overall contributions will play a role in determining your grade as well. Don't wait until near the end, then run around and try to get your work done in a rush... that's like skipping class all semester. Go shooting each week, post each week, let me track your progress on your fotothing.com portfolio. You may keep working on earlier assignments until the end. You may replace earlier work with newer work you like better. Your final grade is based on "The Big Picture", that is, how well you have tried to understand the assignment and worked to create pieces reflecting the spirit of the task at hand, your progress in the medium, your contributions through posting comments on other's work on the class blog as well as on fotothing, Effort counts!
Technical Requirements:
-A digital camera with usb cable to connect to computer usb port or a card reader, connected to your usb port (preferred).
-A reliable internet connection from home. Broadband is preferred and is cheaper than dial up for most people at this point.
-A Pentium IV CPUor a dual core cpu, windows computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista. You should have at least 1 gb of RAM. (2 for Vista) Your browser should be Chrome, Internet Explorerv.6.0/7.0 or Firefox. You will need to install the shockwave flash player plug-in availablefree here in order to view the video tutorials I have created for you.
-Know how to install software, create online accounts, upload text and images, and how to save your work into folders on your computer and how to locate and browse to those folders to retrieve it.

Tradition of Honor: As a member of the Albertus Magnus College Community, each student taking this course agrees to uphold the principles of honor set forth by this community, to defend these principles against abuse or misuse and to abide by the regulations of the College. In art work, that means you have taken all of your photographs and have not appropriated any of the images presented as your own.

Special Needs and Accommodations: Please advise the instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester or mod. Those students seeking accommodation based on disabilities should provide a Faculty Contact Sheet obtained through the Academic Development Center in Aquinas Hall, (203) 773-8590.

Suggested reading:
Photography And The Art Of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop For Film And Digital Photography (Paperback) by Freeman Patterson "On those frosty mornings when I grab my camera and tripod, and head out into the meadow behind my house, I quickly forgot about me..."

Photographing The World Around You: A Visual Design Workshop For Film And Digital Photography (Paperback) by Freeman Patterson "This book about observing and photographing the world around you is a gift to you from my students - hundreds and hundreds of photographers who..."

Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition) (Paperback) by Bryan Peterson "The human eye sees in much the same way as a 50mm lens, and therefore, the 50mm focal length lens is appropriately called a normal..."

Photographic Composition (Paperback) by Tom Grill, Mark Scanlon "Behind every photograph is an idea..."

Organizing and Editing Your Photos with Picasa : Visual QuickProject Guide (Visual Quickproject Series) (Paperback) by Steve Schwartz

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Shot of the day

I guess our assignment was to practice how we frame a subject to include only what we want it to represent. I visited the Stevenson Dam in Monroe this afternoon. I used the top and sides of the dam to form borders for this image. I think this was one of my best shots. Please visit my Fotothing page for more shots and let me know if you agree. I am also open to any suggestions anyone may have.

Syllabus

Good morning!  I'm reaching out for help.  I cannot access the online syllabus for some reason and therefore do not know what is due this week for class.  Would someone be so kind as to forward it to my school email abpascale@albertus.edu ?

Any help would be truly appreciated! 

~Angela

Welcome to Digital Photography 1

Angie,

Thank you for your comments on the last photo I posted to this blog; however, I can not find your profile on the class blog.
Dawn, Faye, Lakisha, & Dominique, I look forward to working with all of you. I can not see the photos that you posted to the blog. I think we are experiencing technical difficulties. I also can not get to the syllabus are are not sure of what's due this week.

Regards,

Ron

Ron's week 2 blog

Hi everyone, and thank you for the comments on my photos. Due to the power failure, I am unable to access Fotothing from my home PC, and my internet connection at work blocks that website. I plan to log back on to Fotothing ASAP and upload some of the photos I have taken this week. In the mean time, enjoy this photo of one of my favorite subjects - my cat Lily.

Week 1

Hi my name is Dominique Bisson! I am excited to be taking this class, I love taking pictures, and I am thrilled to actually learn how to use my camera. :) Below is my self portraits! one picture belows shows my reflection in my parents screen door, and the second one is a rflection of my eye in a mirror. My fotothing username is dnbisson

 

 

Introductions

Hello Everyone...

Well... here I sit hearing the noise of the rain coming down outside patiently waiting for Irene to pass on through...

This is my second Photography course and I'm excited to continue learning. My Nikon D40 has become my love and since the last class I have started bringing it everywhere with me. I will be graduating in December and intend to continue with my pictures especially since I'm headed to South East Asia for a News Years trip to celebrate graduating- I can't wait!

My user name for fotothing is faytography1.

I have been thinking about what I would do for my focus during this MOD for Photography II and I've come up with the following so far:

Landscapes- primarily focusing on skylines
Light and shadow- to build on my use of black and white
Reflections

I am also having challenges uploading pics tonight, it keeps saying there is an internal error and I can't seem to access our syllabus?...Ah! Technical difficulties... :) I will follow up again with another post including pics.

Week 1 Introduction

I will say I am challenged. I have always wanted to learn the how to's of photography and it looks promising. My name is Dawn Laughlin you will see me online as dsbond and dlaughlin depending on where you are seeing my work. We are one and the same. The self portrait I have posted was done with a Nikkon Coolplex P3 VR (Nikkor 3.5 x Optical Zoom) The two self portrait images are reflected in a side view drivers side mirror with a circular wide angle mirror attached. The portrait is convered with raindrops drops I can be found at Fotothing as dlaughlin.

Self Portrait/ Introduction

This was my second try at my self portrait through Picasa. I think it interesting the way the drops come alive through the lens.

Picasa update

I just retouched my picture in Picasa. Bear with me class ehile I fumble through these post until I get it right. But this picture seems to be the quiet before the storm that I want it to symbolize.

Week One : This is Me

Hello All, My name is Lakisha Franklin and I am looking forward to learning formally about digital photography.


This picture seems to symbolize to me the quiet before the storm.

This is still me

So I guess I am not as blog savvy as I would like to believe. This is my second photo that caught my eye on my way to a puddle I wanted to capture my reflection in.

Lakisha Franklin

My fotothing id is: LFrank

Week 1 photos

Hi everyone - my name is Holly Fischer. I am anxious to learn a lot more about my Kodak EasyShare Z760 camera and the uses that are available. I have been experimenting with different options while on vacation this passed week. One of my favorites from the trip was a school of dolphins swimming by at the Jersey shore. My reflection of me is in a mirror, staring at my favorite food, and the camera was on a tripod.

Week 1- Introduction of Self

Hello! My name is Angela Pascale and I am excited about taking this photography class. This is my first online class so I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the different areas to look/create/join, but I'm sure it will be rewarding. I have no photography experience other than point, shoot, click. I am using an Olympus VR 310 with 14 megapixel and 10X zoom. I'm hoping it will be sufficient for this class.

This first photo you see above is a reflection of me, at one of my favorite places to be....the beach!

This one is a more traditional 'reflection' piece. I am looking into a closed up store window.

 

This one is my favorite! It is my reflection in the ocean. I was leaning over a pier trying to get an image, and the way the light was hitting my skintone, it looks like fire and smoke! Plus, I also see Freddie Mercury in the darker shades of gray.

Also, my Fotothing user is abpascale. Thank you!

Me and My Twin

Hi Everyone,

My name is Tara Velez. I'm excited about this class and looking forward to learning more about a passion that I've had for many years, the art of photography. I have a Sony Cyber-Shot 8.1 mega pixels camera that was given to me a few years ago and have yet to learn how to navigate throughout all the features available. I hope by the end of this class that I will become a better Photographer and possibly upgrade to a better camera. This photo above of my good and bad side reflection was made possible by using a tripod and the camera internal self-timer feature. I also created a "Fotothing" account and looking for feedback on posted photos. My username is velezta.

Looking forward to blogging with all of you.

Is that a Yellow Bus in the Harbor? Nope just a Duck Boat in Boston, MA.

Mommy the tide is coming in, get me out of here!!

Introduction-Week One

Hello! I'm Jennifer Liseo, and this is my 16-month-old daughter, Lucy. Because I am in digital photography II, I will be using her as one of three "themes". I am considering fall foliage and "hands at work" for two more themes, but I need to play around a little bit first. I shoot with a Nikon D3000 with the standard lens that I got as a mother's day gift last year. I would like to say that I have the camera all figured out, but with a young child and a full schedule there is still a lot to learn! My fotothing username is jliseo, please add me, especially if you are in digital photography I, you can check out what I shot when I took the course last year if you like. I can't wait to see everyone's work!

Attendance

As you probably know by now, the college requires me to take attendance.  As this is an asynchronous online class, I will be taking attendance each Sunday evening, sometime after 9 PM.  For this week, one attendance record will count for your post to this blog and the other attendance record will be for your setup of the fotothing account.

Sadly, students who accumulate 4 absences in the first two weeks will automatically be withdrawn from the class by the college administration... no questions asked.  It's very important  to come to class and show up and do your work here.  If you have any questions or  concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me via e-mail or call me at home.

Week one blog

Hello! My name is Ronald Rogliano and I am looking forward to my first online class. My fotothing screen name is rprogliano. Both of these pictures are reflections of me in the mirror and chrome cover on my Harley.

What's due this week?

By next Sunday night, I'd like you to download and install Picasa, Set up your fotothing account, post your fotothing screen name to this blog along with a short bio and picture of yourself (can be creative... see my frying pan self portrait)

Make sure you post at least 1 picture to fotothing.com so that I can add you as a "friend"  That system won't allow me to add you unless you put a picture there.

Review the videos on how to post and editing a photo.  Getting everything set up and rolling is key this week.  Let me know of any issues related to logging on here or posting....

Digital II:  Post a short bio and picture... propose 3 portfolios or term projects for my comment.  Comment on your favorite ideas on the other 2 classmates in the comments section.  Accompany your ideas with a picture that best illustrates your idea.  It may be your own or one you found anywhere on the internet.  I want you to be committed to your project by a week from Sunday.

Welcome to Digital Photography!

Hi Everyone and welcome to the blog for the Mod 1, 2011 online digital photography class!

This class may be unlike any other class you have ever taken. You success is entirely driven by your shooting and creative activity. Weekly assignments are designed you get you to see and think more "photographically". There are no tests or papers due in this class.... rather, you will be creating an online portfolio of your work as you move from week to week. Quality AND quantity count. Keeping up with your work on a week to week basis also counts. Everything you need to complete this class successfully can be found in the class syllabus linked from the list of links on the right. I'll post a step by step "What do I have to do this week"? list of things to do. Not to worry though! This class is designed with the beginner in mind and it IS supposed to fun and enriching... I am here to help you succeed.

Any season of the year is good to be taking this class... Summer into early Autumn is a particularly good time as its great to get outdoors to shoot. ..Allow yourself time to shoot each week during daylight hours... it's your assignment to do so each week. It is light out until 8:00 pm now but getting shorter with each passing day...The very best light to shoot under is the hour or two up until sunset... say after 6 pm or the hour after dawn. The light is beautiful then. I will be encouraging you to use light expressively throughout this class and no flash pictures are allowed! With your work, try to make a point of shooting while you have light... You might want to change your routine and allow yourself 15 or 20 minutes in the morning before heading off to work to do your shooting.

....You can post to the blog and your portfolio from any computer on the Internet from any where in the world. I'm looking forward to getting started with you...

-Jerry