Time Line of Assignments

This class online will start January 5th, Online. This gives us the from now to the start to get everyone ready, codec issues resolved, time for you to make sure you have everything you need (computer, camera, editing software, videos tried out, etc) before we begin. Too soon for you to start? contact me for future classes.

1. Read through the 4 hyperlinked pages as listed: About this Course, Sample Time Line, FAQs, Sample Videos
2. Before I would shell out $250, I would want to check out the instructor: About, Workshops
3. Make sure you can download, see and hear the videos. (I can mail you a CD of the course if you wish); problems, go here: FAQs
4. Have internet and email access.
5. Plan on buying the textbook (about $16 on amazon--you will enjoy the course and learn more if you do the minimal readings listed with the lessons)
6. Have or plan on buying a digital camera (a point and shoot compact is fine, a sub SLR is better, and a digital SLR is the best).
7. Understand you can post and upload images for the course anytime you wish from anywhere: home, cafe, friend's house, etc.
8. Have or plan to buy digital editing software. I recommend Photoshop Elements (2.0 is about $10-$20 on ebay) any version. See Online Course Materials.
9. Once everything is kosher, (you'll need to send me a check for $250 or paypal (fergyart@yahoo.com).
10. I will send you an invoice and you are registered.
11. You will then receive information to full access to the course with videos and you are free to start even before the start date if you like.

Cost: The cost for a 3 credits where I live is $450 and higher. Since its not for credit and I don't have the overhead a university has,

$250 for an 12 week course will be the cost for clayarters. This is really more like a 14/15 week course because I will be helping everyone get set up/consulting with any problems so they can begin on Sep 22 over the next 3 weeks. If you know someone who is a non clay person and in a different business and is interested, the cost is $350. At any time I can create a new course for any period of time for any group of people. We are not bound by semester like timeframes.

I am also open to restructuring to shorten or lengthen the course to accommodate people or other business. This means that if you are not that interested in learning with others or the sense of community the atmosphere of the class offers as we move along from lesson to lesson, you can purely work at your own speed and I will look at your lessons as they are completed and provide you with feedback after you post your lesson.

If you say, “Tony, I'd like to do your course in 1, 2, 4 weeks etc.” That is fine. I can do that and will work exclusively with you or you can join the class and work ahead. I'm very flexible. Know that I am here to help and available for the duration of the course. That said, anyone should be able to successfully go through the course and come out with a respectable amount of proficiency in digital photography and editing. Your images will look much better, you will know how to edit (really edit properly) and you will know how to adjust your images for a variety of uses.

What you Get: Without sounding like a commercial, you get
●24 lessons,
●23 video tutorials I created for the course you get to keep (average of 4.5 minutes each),
●Instruction and guidance
●Access to both the left side and right side of my brain for the duration of the course.

This averages out to 2 lessons a week with an 12 week time table of coursework. I figured 12 weeks is practical for people's schedules. Again, if you feel like doing it in less time, go right ahead, I will be available to you the entire 12 weeks. The course unofficially begins 2 & 3 weeks earlier to consult with you over any questions, video codec problems, etc.

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to see what the lessons and video are like. Essentially, you would be doing the lessons and posting your results in moodle (or facebook if everyone prefers that—I've used this with my students and it worked very well). I will figure this out in the next week or so so it works best for everyone. Wherever we post, we would all be able to look at, discuss, make suggestions, etc. in a professional and kind hearted and honest fashion week to week. Posting is asynchronous meaning you post whenever you want to and respond whenever you want to, making this perfect for anyone's schedule, traveling or otherwise. If you want to post every 2 weeks all your lessons (4 on average) that is fine too--this is actually how we did it when I taught for the local college here. Since there are no grades or deadlines, this should be fun and relaxing, yet challenging as you will be learning some new and important content and knowledge that you will be able to apply to many aspects of your life that have anything to do with photographic imagery.

Online Course Description:
This introductory course will cover the fundamentals of digital photography, composition, and presentation. Artists will need to supply their own computer, internet access, digital camera (any type) and photo editing software. Information on selecting a digital camera will be covered during the first part of the course and you can email now if plan to take the course and will be buying a camera before the course starts. Artists will post questions, reflections on the discussion board and images directly regarding the lessons. The instructor will respond, facilitate discussion, help, provide guidance as you progress through the lessons.

Prerequisites: Working knowledge of Computer operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, Linux. If you can surf the web, you can take this class. If you already haven't, you will learn to resize images and upload them to our discussion area (if you've sent a picture to anyone, you can take this course).

Materials: artists are required to supply their own digital camera and photo editing software. Videos are downloaded, not streamed, and viewed on your own computer. Once downloaded, you have the rights for personal use. The value of the videos go beyond the scope of the course as a reference point for you should you need it in the futures. More info below.

Textbook: Digital Photographer's Handbook by Tom Ang; 2006 edition: ISBN-10: 0-7566-2355-3. This is more than a textbook, it is your digital Bible, Koran, Kabala, Upanishads, etc. It will help you in more ways than one beyond the duration of this course with digital photography and related things like scanning, printing, etc.

Course Outcomes: All lessons are built around these course outcomes which are from MNSCU (Minnesota State College and Universities System) where I have taught on and off since 2000. If you have a good work ethic and like having fun learning something new, this is the course for you. Please note, this course is designed for beginners. If you are interested in a more advanced course, contact me. We will put emphasis on traditional, digital photo techniques and digital editing. If you want more theory and criticism, just ask. Click below to see what you will learn with examples from previous student work:

10 (or more) Things You Will Learn in Introduction to Digital Photography, Online:

Online Course Materials

1. Digital Camera: Almost any digital camera will work for this course. Of course, if you can swing it, buy the best camera your budget allows. If you plan to eventually learn to shoot your artwork professionally, you want 6 mega pixel and higher and expect to pay $400 and up and DSLR is the way to go (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera where you can attach and detach the lens. Anyway, a camera that not only has automatic, but is fully manual (allows you to set shutter (shutter priority) and aperture (aperture priority) is optimal because you will learn so much more about what a camera can do and "see." Shutter and aperture priority (Aperture refers to the size of the lens opening. Shutter speed controls the amount of time the shutter is open) will allow you to do such things as capture very fast moving objects or show them in movement as well as affect longer exposure times to capture a water fall, fireworks, as well as having great control over your depth of field, etc. Automatic works very well these days but it doesn't leave much room for tweaking. Lucky for us, anyone can now tweak in your digital editing software to mimic some of these manual camera features.

A digital DSLR camera is the ultimate camera for this course (I use a Canon Digital Rebel and Canon 40d) but there are many comparable cameras that have built in lenses and are fully manual as well as automatic. These are called point and shoot or pocket cameras and there are many out there that I can't believe the quality of the images in the $150 to $250 range. My experience says you can't go wrong with Canon or Sony. That said, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Fuji, etc. are all making great cameras these days. So, use one you have or find one you like.

Doing a current search on "Camera Reviews" or "best digital SLR" or "best digital camera" etc. will produce a starting point for your choice in a camera. I would go to a local camera store and play with the cameras and see what I like as well as asking the sales people what they suggest.

Cameras I currently recommend:

DSLR Full Frame DSLR

Canon EOS 40D or 50D Canon EOS 5D Mark II (21 mega pixel version)

Canon Digital Rebel (any), XS, XSI, etc. Sony

Nikon D40, D50, D60, D90, D300 Nikon D700

Olympus

Compact Sub-Compact

Canon Digital Elph 990 Canon Digital Elph 1100

Sony W180 Sony H50

still updating

2. Photo-editing software: Please view the information on Photo Editors.

3. Required Textbook: Digital Photographer's Handbook by Tom Ang; 2006 edition: ISBN-10: 0-7566-2355-3. Click on Tom Ang and it will take you to Amazon where I believe it is the least expensive. You could maybe make it through this course without the book, but for $16, why not get your full money's worth?

4. Online Digital Editing Videos: Video tutorials I've created will be available for download during the entire course. Currently, there is only a sampling.

Photo Editors

You need to have a computer that can run the digital editing software. The easiest way to do this is to download a trial and try it out. Most laptops will run editing software no problem. Even computers up to 5 years old can run most editors but depending on how large your image files are will determine if you have to wait around for your software to do functions. Below are 3 of many digital photo editing software packages and their system requirements you could use for this class. The easiest way to know if it works well is to download and try it out:

1. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or now, 7: Visit this site (they also have 30 day free trial) http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/systemreqs.html

The link above is for Elements 5.0. The videos I created are using Photoshop Elements 2.0 because it works on everyone's computer (so far) including 5 and 6 year old computers but you can use any editor you wish as what is demonstrated is common to all editors and nearly in the same places in the menu systems.

Keep in mind you can pick up used copies of Photoshop Elements on ebay for cheap ($10 to $20). Also check Amazon. COM, etc. Any version of Photoshop Elements will work because the functions and editing techniques you learn are present in all versions Windows or Mac and also present in nearly every photo editor or demo I've every played with. The newer versions stream line some things and have added abilities like picture packages so you may want one of those. More than likely, your digital camera if you have one, came with a photo editor. Worst case scenario is you download a trial version and use that.

2. Mac Users will like Aperture if they choose not to go with Adobe products.

3. The Gimp (FREE, yes, it's free): http://www.gimp.org/

Please note regarding digital photo editing: you can find nearly anything you need online if you search around. Closer to home: if you don't know how to do a command, use your "help" in your digital editing software. In "help" they will tell you exactly how to perform the function. If all else fails, ask me.

Minimal Technology Needed

1. A computer with internet access and the ability to upload images (you may have used any of these before to upload images: facebook, flicker, snapfish, or picasaweb to name a few of the photo hosting places.

2. We will be using AVI and QuickTime files for the video tutorials with some of the lessons. Check the FAQ section for updated solutions to any video problems.

3. Word Processing Software or word-pad, basic text editor, or email that allows you to create and save documents.