Just went through everyone's blogs. Some of them look great, others haven't been touched since Feb. 4th. A straight month! I am going to tally up all your grades over break so that you know exactly where you stand, but if you haven't been doing the projects, you should already have a good sense of that. You have done all the projects, then you are doing awesome!
Your only assignment during break is to take some photos of something fun and post them with a blog entry about what you did over spring break. Basically, a summary of what you did over break. That posting won't be due until the Thursday after you return, so the only think you need to actually do during break is to take some photos which you were likely to have done anyways.
Summary of assignments so far, reverse chronology:
Grid Project
Silly photo edited in Pixlr.com
Ran an anti-virus program, posted screen shot on blog.
Backed up data to Mozy.com, Adrive.com, or other free online storage site. Posted a screen shot on your blog.
Post a day in the life slide show presentation.
Posted two Animoto videos. One on the Urban Landscape and one on whatever.
Posted on the various music formats and differences in quality after ripping a CD in multiple formats.
Posted your five favorite Urban Landscape photos after editing them in Picnik.
Posted a link to your Flickr account with your 20 favorite Urban Landscape photos.
Created a Blog. Took some time to customize it. Made an initial posting.
I think that was everything...
I will give you extra credit for each substantial blog posting your make. It can be on anything that you want. Your dog, how much you love beer, whatever.
Have a fun, safe break.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Class summary for 3/1
In class, we used Fallon's images to go through the process of putting your grid project together (thanks Fallon). We are going to use Pixlr.com for all the editing. A quick recap:
-The largest file that Pixlr supports is 3500 x 3500 pixels. Start with an image that big for your canvas.
-Edit the files using Levels. Set the white point and black point to where the data begins. Move the middle slider to obtain a pleasing mid tone.
-Crop the images down. To get a perfect square, you have to hold down the Shift key as you drag one of the corner handles. You can then re-position the area to be cropped. Hit Enter/Return to apply the crop.
-Re-size the images to 812 x 812 pixels. This will result in all 16 images fitting on the large grid image with 1/4" space for borders and between the images.
-Once the individual image is cleaned up, copy and paste the images into the large grid image. Cmd + A to select all, Cmd + C to copy, Cmd + V to paste.
-Move the images into position. Unfortunately, Pixlr doesn't have a provision to create a grid for positioning, so you will have to create a shim of the appropriate size to use as a guide for positioning.
-Create a shim of 51 x 900 pixels. Since we are using a resolution of 203 for our images at 17.25 x 17.25, 51 pixels would results in a .25" shim. Create one for vertical and one for horizontals.
-Use the shims to position each image, then move the shims to position the next image.
-Save your file as the native Pixlr format which is PXD.
We will add to this workflow on Wednesday.
No excuses, you need to have your 16 images cleaned up by Wednesday or you will receive a 0 for the whole project.
-The largest file that Pixlr supports is 3500 x 3500 pixels. Start with an image that big for your canvas.
-Edit the files using Levels. Set the white point and black point to where the data begins. Move the middle slider to obtain a pleasing mid tone.
-Crop the images down. To get a perfect square, you have to hold down the Shift key as you drag one of the corner handles. You can then re-position the area to be cropped. Hit Enter/Return to apply the crop.
-Re-size the images to 812 x 812 pixels. This will result in all 16 images fitting on the large grid image with 1/4" space for borders and between the images.
-Once the individual image is cleaned up, copy and paste the images into the large grid image. Cmd + A to select all, Cmd + C to copy, Cmd + V to paste.
-Move the images into position. Unfortunately, Pixlr doesn't have a provision to create a grid for positioning, so you will have to create a shim of the appropriate size to use as a guide for positioning.
-Create a shim of 51 x 900 pixels. Since we are using a resolution of 203 for our images at 17.25 x 17.25, 51 pixels would results in a .25" shim. Create one for vertical and one for horizontals.
-Use the shims to position each image, then move the shims to position the next image.
-Save your file as the native Pixlr format which is PXD.
We will add to this workflow on Wednesday.
No excuses, you need to have your 16 images cleaned up by Wednesday or you will receive a 0 for the whole project.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Class summary for 2/23
Today we spent the whole class using and learning about www.pixlr.com, an advanced online image editing application. Unlike www.picnik.com and www.photoflexer.com, Pixlr is designed to look and function like Photoshop. Depending on how you look at it, this is good or bad. If you don't have any experience using Photoshop, the interface isn't very user friendly. However, if you have used PS, then it will look very familiar. In terms of this class, it is really nice because it is likely that you will take additional digital imaging courses in the future which will likely utilize PS. Thus, the time you spend learning Pixlr will be well spent as nearly everything is the same.
For homework you are to take a new photo of a friend. Then, using Pixlr, you are to manipulate it into a goofy photo. Then downsample it to 200px wide, save it to your computer as a JPEG, then upload it to your blog and write a little about what you think of Pixlr and if you had any problems using it.
For homework you are to take a new photo of a friend. Then, using Pixlr, you are to manipulate it into a goofy photo. Then downsample it to 200px wide, save it to your computer as a JPEG, then upload it to your blog and write a little about what you think of Pixlr and if you had any problems using it.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Computer Security
Okay, you probably know that you should have an anti-virus program running on your computer that you keep up to date and regularly use it to perform a scan of your system.
Unfortunately, that is the very least that you should be doing to insure you and your data is safe on your computer. PC World magazine recently published the best article on computer security I have ever read. You should definelty read it. I guarantee there are real threats out there that you never even thought of.
PC World article "11 Hidden Security Threats".
If you are having weird computer problem, I would suggest your using an online safety scanner. There are two that I am aware one. I have used Microsofts's Windows Live OneCare safety scanner a number of times. It will search for virus, all manner of malware, registry errors, and it will also defragment your hard drive and give you the option of deleting unnecessary temporary files.
Unfortunately, that is the very least that you should be doing to insure you and your data is safe on your computer. PC World magazine recently published the best article on computer security I have ever read. You should definelty read it. I guarantee there are real threats out there that you never even thought of.
PC World article "11 Hidden Security Threats".
Back to this issue of anti-virus software, with numerous excellent, free options now available, there is no legitimate excuse not to use one. If you think that it isn't necessary, then just ask a room full of people how many of them have had a virus of other malicious software cause havoc on their system. I currently use Microsoft Security Essentials on my laptop. It is non instructive. I have used AVG Free for years and currently have it on my desktop computer, but it constantly tries to convince you to "upgrade" to a paid version. I have also used Avast Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware in the past, but was annoyed by the audio alerts to scan my system. That being said, if you like to be reminded to run the scans, you will really like Avast!
Of course, there are plenty of other commercial products on the market that may offer additional features and possibly better protection. That being said, I have been using free products for years and have been very happy with their performance which is to say, I haven't had any virus problems.
Of course, there are plenty of other commercial products on the market that may offer additional features and possibly better protection. That being said, I have been using free products for years and have been very happy with their performance which is to say, I haven't had any virus problems.
If you are having weird computer problem, I would suggest your using an online safety scanner. There are two that I am aware one. I have used Microsofts's Windows Live OneCare safety scanner a number of times. It will search for virus, all manner of malware, registry errors, and it will also defragment your hard drive and give you the option of deleting unnecessary temporary files.
Trend Micro, a legitimate provider of computer safety programs, has a similar online scanner service named Housecall. I haven't used it, but it is highly regarded.
1990 students, I want you to read the PC World article. I also want you to run your anti-virus program and take a screen shot verifying that it has been ran. Post that screen shot to your blog.
1990 students, I want you to read the PC World article. I also want you to run your anti-virus program and take a screen shot verifying that it has been ran. Post that screen shot to your blog.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Do you know where your backup is?
Do you have all your data backed up? Is it a current backup? Is it a complete backup? Haven't you lost dat at some point in your life? I know you have......
At minimum you should have all the data on your computer backed up. This is to say, you should have a complete copy of all the data on your computer that you care about. There are a variety of ways to do this. You can choose to use an external hard drive hooked up via USB, firewire, or eSATA. You can also back up your data over a network. This can be saved over your local network or remotely on a server. Ideally, you should have an offsite copy of your data. This is to say that it is not on premises. This way, if the worst should happen, a fire or a flood, then your data will still be safe. Online backup has a ton of advantages. It is offsite and if you are using a reputable service, then they are keeping multiple copies of the data at multiple locations. The major drawback of online backup services are that the initial backup of your system can take a very long time. A few of the services offer an initial backup via an external hard drive. Then all subsequent backups are performed online. Mozy.com and a number of other online backup services offer a free 2GB service so that you can back up some data and get a feel for how it works.
Introduction to RAID for photographers
Crashplan
At minimum you should have all the data on your computer backed up. This is to say, you should have a complete copy of all the data on your computer that you care about. There are a variety of ways to do this. You can choose to use an external hard drive hooked up via USB, firewire, or eSATA. You can also back up your data over a network. This can be saved over your local network or remotely on a server. Ideally, you should have an offsite copy of your data. This is to say that it is not on premises. This way, if the worst should happen, a fire or a flood, then your data will still be safe. Online backup has a ton of advantages. It is offsite and if you are using a reputable service, then they are keeping multiple copies of the data at multiple locations. The major drawback of online backup services are that the initial backup of your system can take a very long time. A few of the services offer an initial backup via an external hard drive. Then all subsequent backups are performed online. Mozy.com and a number of other online backup services offer a free 2GB service so that you can back up some data and get a feel for how it works.
Local Backup
Simple device to turn any external hard drive into an automatic backup system
Article on backing up automatically using SyncBack on a PC
Apple Time Capsule
Drobo
Internal Drives, Network Attached Storage, USB hard drives, firewire, eSata
Introduction to RAID for photographers
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/raid-for-photoshop.html
Online backup
Good write up on how online back up works
Comprehensive listing on companies offering online storge
Crashplan
Sugarsync
JungleDisk
Intronis
"Free" online backup
Monday, February 8, 2010
UT Alert system - You should sign up
UT has an alert system in which they can text and email you when something important is happening on campus that you should immediately be aware of.
I encourage you to sign up. I am signed up. It never hurts to be aware of what is going on around you.
You can sign up here.
I encourage you to sign up. I am signed up. It never hurts to be aware of what is going on around you.
You can sign up here.
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