Photoshop has been around for 11 updates, going from Photoshop 7 to Photoshop CS, and now is on its 4th version of CS. One could wonder how can this program improve any further, what more can it do, what more could I possibly want? I asked all these questions, and honestly considered not bothering with CS4 for my personal use ... until I tried it.
There are several new features that make CS4 a faster, more creative tool, and not all of these tools are intuitive, although they are easy to learn and master. And, there is no better person to help you master what you need to know than the principle instructor for this course, Ellen Anon, co-author with her son Josh, of the book Photoshop CS4 for Nature Photographers. Ellen knows Photoshop inside and out and is a masterful teacher.
But in this course we wanted to get passed the basics of learning Photoshop and instead explore its creative possibilities as they apply to digital photography. That's why we called this course 'The Next Step' because we want to take you beyond Photoshop, and beyond a straightforward recording of an image, on to a higher level of photography, one that will incorporate and implement traditional steps for making a great image even better, but also in exploring your creative side, and how Photoshop CS4 can help you with this expanded vision. It is a truly exciting concept!
This class is not for beginners but for those who want to delve
deeper into the tools of Photoshop that will help you produce
better pictures. You will need to know the tools, where the menus
are, and how to create layers and adjustment layers.
If you feel you are comfortable with 15-25% of what Photoshop
has to offer, then this workshop will expand your knowledge into
the remaining portions that are useful to photographers, educators,
lab technicians, and artists.
In this workshop we will approach Photoshop from a photographer's
perspective, not that of a designer or a computer geek. Our emphasis
will be upon practicality, what works for photographers and what
methods, tools, and techniques you can use to improve your photography,
both after using Photoshop and before, as you shoot images with
Photoshop's powerful image editing features in mind.
Participants should have an interest in furthering their knowledge
and understanding of Curves, sophisticated Sharpening techniques,
selectively applying filters, Masks and Channel Masks, Color Management
and Color correction, Advanced spotting techniques, and techniques
for Compositing images to control depth of field.
This workshop is for the photographer who has been working in
the digital darkroom but now wants to increase their skill level
to the more advanced levels of Photoshop. A basic working knowledge
of Photoshop CS is required.
A brief bit of history first: For the past fifteen years
Mary and I have been teaching our Complete Nature Photo Course
and Advanced Nature Photo Course, creating what we believe to
be the most intensive and complete instructional course on nature
photography anywhere in the country.
In the last few years, however, as Adobe Photoshop and other imagery
programs developed, and as digital cameras became more common
and more sophisticated, we came to a realization - photography
is changing to digital.
To some this is viewed as an abysmal turning point for photography
while for others it is correctly viewed as a new frontier, one
which will allow photographers to produce a whole new spectrum
of images. While there is continuing debate about 'digital enhancement'
or 'digital manipulation,' one thing is clear - digital imagery
allows a photographer to truly capture all the tonal values of
an image, something that film cannot do because of its more restricted
exposure latitude. For that reason alone, digital photography
has tremendous merits.
Embracing this new technology, and realizing not only the importance
of Adobe Photoshop's powerful image editing capabilities but also
its very real intimidation, all of our several courses are DESIGNED WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER in mind.
Although Adobe Photoshop is an extremely powerful and complex
piece of software, and can seem frighteningly complex and intimidating
to beginners, the fact is there are a rather limited number of
tools and procedures a photographer must or should know to produce
great prints, images for a web site, note cards, or even composites
where two or more images are combined.
Our Digital Photography/Photoshop courses here at Hoot Hollow
were designed with the photographer in mind, and are fine-tuned
to provide the information you'll need to know and to master Adobe
Photoshop at several skill levels - introductory or basic, intermediate,
and advanced.
Time Frame: Photoshop can be demanding mentally, and
for photographers accustomed to being afield shooting images,
time spent behind a computer might be drudgery. Our time frame
will hopefully alleviate some of this, by providing plenty of
time at the computer while still giving you, the photographer,
some time to shoot or relax, or if you wish, to use the computer
lab to your full advantage.
Our formal classroom instruction will begin at 9AM and continue
until noon, where we'll break for lunch (served at Hoot Hollow),
and followed by an afternoon session that will continue to 5PM.
There will be a break for dinner (served, along with breakfast,
at your farm bed and breakfast, the Mountain Dale Farm), followed
by 'open computer lab time' most evenings back at Hoot Hollow.
In the evening, after our formal class sessions conclude before
dinner, we meet again for this open computer time. Sometimes we'll
continue with a confusing or hard-to-grasp Photoshop topic we
covered earlier, or review principles and concepts covered earlier,
or we'll simply allow you to practice and work, with the instructors
in attendance to provide guidance and help. On at least one evening
we'll also do a Participants' Portfolio, where we invite our students
to bring along as many as 40 digital images that we'll project
and share with the class. This is always fun and popular, and
is often a great way of sharing ideas on photography, on places
to travel, and on subjects other folks may wish to film. For those
that request it we'll also critiquely review 10 images as part
of this review. These evening sessions are optional (everyone
always comes, however) and we try to conclude formally by 9PM
to give the instructors some time off, but the lab remains open
as does our meeting area and open bar where most folks gather
to talk and relax after a rewarding day.
Our Participants: This course is designed for photographers
who are seriously interested in furthering their knowledge of
Adobe Photoshop CS and in applying their knowledge and skills
in meaningful ways. Although we mentioned this earlier, this workshop
is for the photographer who has been working in the digital darkroom
and has a basic working knowledge of Photoshop CS. You must have
some basic knowledge to attend this class - you need to know the
tools and their location, where various menus are located, and.
how to create layers and adjustment layers. If you are not comfortable
with these requirements we'd strongly suggest that you consider
taking our Intermediate Course first!
This is a course for those with experience
and an understanding of Photoshop and who are now ready to further
their skills to produce better images. This class is not for beginners
but is for those who want to delve deeper into the tools of Photoshop
that will help you produce better pictures. We will
build your expertise by explaining every step and every technique
as we go along, and often showing the cross-referencing Photoshop
has for doing any procedure in more than one way.
Photoshop is an extremely powerful program. Users often feel as
if they've mastered the program when they have learned the basics,
sometimes feeling that the rest of Photoshop is unnecessary or
too complicated to be worth knowing. If you are comfortable with
Photoshop, if you feel that you know 15-25% of what Photoshop
has to offer, then you're ready to go further, with this workshop.
While there is much in Photoshop that is devoted to the graphic
artist, there are a huge number of tricks and secrets that the
photographer can apply.
Preparation Beforehand: Although we'll have all the material
you'll need to learn Photoshop, we suspect that you'd like to
work on your own images the other projects we will work on. Participants
should bring with them an external portable hard drive, a thumb
drive, or a personal CD or DVD with images that can be opened
in Photoshop on a PC platform. Most CDs, if written in one session,
should have no problem being opened on a PC if written on a MAC,
or vise-versa should you write a CD at Hoot Hollow and take home
with you.
Location: All of our courses are taught on the grounds
of the Hoot Hollow Institute of Nature Photography,
in either our studio or in our computer lab. Hoot Hollow is located
in central Pennsylvania, northwest of Harrisburg, east-southeast
of State College, and near RT 522 between Lewistown and Selinsgrove,
Pa. The nearest full-service airport and car rental is in Harrisburg.
Lodging is at a farm vacation bed and breakfast located about
six miles from Hoot Hollow. It is a 'target-rich' shooting environment
in a rural area rich with landscapes, farm scenes, farm animals,
and nature subjects. Breakfasts and diners are served at the farm.
Price: The tuition for the Digital Photography Courses
are $1,795 and includes all instruction, lab fees and supplies,
meals (you will not go hungry!), and lodging based
upon double occupancy from Sunday through Friday nights. The fee
does not include transportation to, during, or from the course.
In this course we will be covering the advanced features of Photoshop that will enhance your images and you will become intimately acquainted with these features. We will be working with several menus and palettes that may be new to you, or at least intimidating. We'll be working Curves, the History Palette, Channels, Filters, Masks, and Adjustment Layers.
Learn the power of Curves, How to use the History Palette for more than just 'undos,'Learn sophisticated Sharpening Techniques,Advanced Spotting Techniques,Learn the power of Adjustment Layers,Learn how to selectively apply Filters, Color Corrections, and Contrast Controls without making time-consuming selections. We will cover Layer Masks and Channel Masks and Color Management.We'll cover the techniques necessary for Compositing images to control depth of field and to provide exposures beyond what film could ever hold, truly giving you the ability to capture, or to create, the images that YOU ACTUALLY SEE. We'll discuss Production Features such as Keyboard shortcuts, creating Actions for repetitive tasks and streamlining workflow. We'll also address the individual needs of student's Workflow.
Most importantly, we will be photographing during this course as well, and our location provides a wide variety of photographic subjects from macro and flowers to forest landscapes and waterfalls, from reptiles to livestock. We'll be with you on your photographic quests, suggesting and helping with your technique, and always thinking about the digital potential we will cover and exploit in our classroom hours.
Sunday: Welcome dinner and orientation. Introduction
to Hoot Hollow and a review of the objectives for the week's course.
Monday through Friday: In the field photography and Computer
Classroom Lab time with Ellen Anon and Joe McDonald where we will
cover the topics listed above. Depending upon the field work time,
the Lab time is generally from 9-5 with a lunch break, served
here at Hoot Hollow.
Saturday: Question and answer session followed by graduation.
Conclude by 11AM.
Please note - the exact, daily itinerary is subject to some change and modification based upon the group's progress. All of the above topics will be covered, but we do not want to be held to a fixed timetable - your comprehension and understanding is more important to us than a set schedule. If some topics require our teaching during the evening, we'll do so.
Joe McDonald has been a full-time professional wildlife
and nature photographer since 1983. He is the author of six books
on wildlife photography and another on African Wildlife, as well
as a how-to video produced with his wife, Mary Ann, on Photographing
on Safari. His work has appeared in every major nature and wildlife
publication published in North America. Along with operating their
own stock photography business, Joe is represented by over a dozen
stock photo agencies worldwide, including Corbis, Animals Animals,
Auscape, Okapia, and others.
In addition to maintaining an active and informative website,
www.hoothollow.com, Joe is columnist for OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER,
writing the 'Big Game' column, and Joe and his wife Mary Ann are
Field Correspondents for NATURE'S BEST Magazine, and KEYSTONE
OUTDOORS, writing a photography column, and Joe Van Os's web magazine,
www.photosafaris.com where they write a regular column on wildlife
and nature photography.
For over fifteen years Joe and Mary Ann have been teaching photography
courses and leading photography tours and workshops. Their very
popular photo tours and safaris have them afield for over twenty-five
weeks each year. Joe has worked with Photoshop for several years,
mainly for creating sales promotional material and for web site
use. Now, with the advent of digital cameras, he is using Photoshop
nearly daily. He is a member of the National Association of Photoshop
Professionals.
Ellen Anon is a freelance photographer who specializes
in all types of outdoor photography. She is the author of the
highly acclaimed 'Photoshop CS4 for Nature Photographers
(as well as the similar titles dealing with CS2 and CS3!). Her
images are poetic statements, vivid in color and intent, imaginative
in their portrayal, and comforting in their beauty, and are included
in collections in several countries. Ellen earned a Ph.D. in psychology
and is a clinical psychologist who evolved into a professional
photographer in the mid 1990's. She is represented by a stock
agency in Japan and her photos have been used in numerous books
(including Sierra Club's "Mother Earth"), articles,
calendars, posters, promotional items and billboards. In addition
she has been Art Morris's teaching assistant for several years
on his larger bird photography workshops.
In recent years she has become increasingly involved with the
various aspects of digital photography from scanning film images
to using digital SLR cameras to using Photoshop to enable her
to make her gallery prints at home. She has attended courses at
the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging. She has begun sharing the
knowledge she has acquired via individualized instruction and
now these workshops, so that other photographers can make the
transition into the digital world with ease and fun. Ellen is
a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
Rick Holt has been involved with photography for over
twenty years. In the last three years he has become a Photoshop
junkie. After taking courses at the local art schools and colleges
he found that many Photoshop courses were too oriented towards
graphic artists as opposed to the photographer. Feeling unfulfilled,
he took a workshop with George Lepp which as just the beginning.
Rick now teaches "Photoshop for Photographers" classes
at local colleges in the Lehigh Valley. He continues to attend
workshops throughout the country to "keep up." In the
last year he has attended workshops with industry leaders like
Tim Grey, Sean Duggen, and Dave Cross. Rick believes that the
digital darkroom has brought the creativity and control, once
recognized by black and white photographers, to any photographer
with a computer. You can go beyond the limits of film and recreate
what you saw and felt when you recorded the image. In Rick's past
life he was co-founder and CEO of Fiberoptic Medical Products.
Rick is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
If you've read the above biographies, you'll see that all of
us are dedicated photographers that are interested in sharing
our knowledge and helping people. I've been involved in teaching
my entire adult life, from teaching assistantships in graduate
school to a six-year stint as a high school biology teacher before
starting my career as a wildlife photographer and photo workshop
instructor. Ellen has taught college level courses as well as
individual instruction, and has been assisting Art Morris with
his birding workshops for years. Rick is actively teaching Photoshop
right now, and feels, as both Ellen and I do, that knowing Photoshop
will take you (quoting from Rick's bio) "beyond the limits
of film and recreate what you saw and felt when you recorded the
image."
I intend to make our Digital Courses every bit as successful,
in terms of the knowledge conveyed, the quality of the experience,
the intensity, and, just as we've done with our CNPC and ANPC
courses here at Hoot Hollow.