Lost Aussie on the loose

Pondering on Painting

 

I've had a lot of emails recently, kindly and gently asking me when there will be a new Online Class.  And the answer is probably quite soon.

I've been pondering long and hard about what I would like to do the next class about.  The classes take a lot of work to prepare and I like for them to be special, with lots of key learning and also appeal to the mixed media photographer/artist kind of person who is looking for something special and different.

The pondering usually takes as much time as the making of the class.  Once I have the syllabus nutted out in my head it does not take long to formulate class samples and then do the videos.... but it has to be straight in my head first.

So ... as a preliminary hint, I think the next class will be about Digital Painting - in Photoshop. 

I have lots of programs and plug-ins that will paint for me digitally but really you can do quite a lot in Photoshop without resorting to expensive plug-ins.

So let me know if this might float your boat!  The class should work with Elements just as well as Photoshop ....

Stay tuned!

Digital Magic Updates

Across on the Digital Magic Blog I am opening registration for the Fall session of the Photo Magic Class.

This class is jam packed with Photo Editing tips, Portrait retouching skills, fab Blur, Bokeh and other special effects including the use of Displacement Maps.  We will also look at techniques for uploading your images to the web, including design of Avatars, Buttons and Custom Blog Banners!  Lots and lots of digital goodness so I hope you will consider joining me, if you have not before.

If you subscribe to the Digital Magic Online Newsletter there is a $20 discount coupon code available in the current issue.
Subscribing is as easy as signing up in the sidebar of the Digital Magic Blog!!

The newsletter includes Digital Magic updates as well as a spotlight on two of my thriving students - Bonnie and Nancy as well as current industry news and some FREEBIE Photoshop Stencil brushes.

Happy reading and Enjoy!!

A Letter to Summer

Dear Summer,

It's so lovely to have you here.  I'm sorry that I have not been outside so much to see you but I have been rather busy indoors with my latest online class.

I did  sneak outdoors for a bit today with my camera and snapped a few new pics of the lovely baby Cone Flowers, pulled some weeds and tipped my toes in the pool.
That's still a little cold though and I think I will be waiting for some of your hotter days to make that adventure a little less chilly!

Don't forget me though, I wait months and months for you to get here and you know I love you so much more than Winter and I promise to get out and see you more soon.

I remain, respectfully yours....

Works in Progress

I'm busy working on projects for the new Photo Magic Online Class and enjoying working with tools that are less often used but ones that have much creative potential nevertheless.

Registration is now open for the Class which starts on June 24th!

I hope to see you there!

 

*News* - Photo Magic - a new Online Class

Well I have finally got my "A" into gear and posted a new Online Class.  This one is called "Photo Magic" and will be geared for all levels of of Digital Divas (and Dudes).

We will be looking at basic photo editing - cut, crop, straighten adjust, doing the Fab Face thing (ie. erazing zits and some frown lines), employing a little creative Mojo with the texture, blur and bokeh thing as well as getting your images all zippy and slim for the web, blog and even teaching you how to make your own Crackin' Header and stuff.
And that's just the short version!

Anyway, I'm excited.  I think it will be fun and applicable to just about anyone who has a camera, be it a Point and Shoot or super dooper DSLR,  and wants to make their images SING! - Beethoven or Kings of Leon - your choice!

And yes, there may be a little crossover from the Digital Magic class but there will always be snippet or two that I did not tell you last time and hey, you don't want to miss out? right?

ALSO - I have set the Digital Magic and Journal Magic Classes to run as self-paced learning modules.  So if you were waiting for those to appear again, the good news is that now you can sign-up and take them any time.
They really are quite different from the new class that is on offer.

So, now I feel like I am in good shape.  NO, the videos are not made yet, ask any good friend (or my husband) - they are usually done in the wee small hours and the 10th one at that.  For me, the conceptualizing of the Class is the hardest part.  Production we can deal with!

I just hope you will join me for the next fun ride!

A Little Photo Magic

I'm working behind the scenes on some new Online Class material which I hope to have ready for offering in the next day or so.

I'm excited as it's a step or two above just adding a texture or two on an image and calling it pretty!

There's nothing like gaining a better understanding of your software, regardless of the tutorial and being able to take your own images to the next level with a little imagination and know how!

I'm also going to be offering some quick out of the box tutorials for bloggers and photo enthusiasts and some other good stuff which I am not yet ready to "talk" about!

So, stay tuned!

In This House

Surprisingly enough, this little house still serves as "home" to a family of birds all year round, including the winter.  It's one of THOSE things that has been carted around over 4 household moves and seems to have weathered all manner of climate changes and provides good shelter for those who call it home.

I wish I could offer it's inhabitants some measure of respite from the Winter.  Even with 3 furnaces, I am struggling to keep a house warm with temps outside in the low 4F department - thanks to polar winds that are whipping around the trees and undermining even the best efforts that double glazing can manage.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrr..............

As my current Online Class draws to a close I am blessed with a little more creative time on my hands.
I've fired up my "Big Bertha" (printer) and been able to implement some of my newfound "printer profile" strategies
AND
after an abortive Photography Class on Monday, managed to experiment with my camera set in full Manual mode this afternoon - who would have thought?

My best learning for the week so far though has been:
1: If tripods are required for Photo Class, don't leave the hotshoe camera attachment sitting on the workbench in the basement!!
2: If you plan on taking pictures in "said" class, please make sure to INSERT the darned CF card into the camera BEFORE you leave home.  Remote control does not work THAT well!
(and before you say Spare .... it was in another camera!)

Ah well, live and learn ...... if I was perfect, I'd be boring :-)

Dare I Tell You..

... that my Christmas Tree is still not up and aside from a few Pointsettia gracing the hearth and some Cranberry candles perfuming the air - the house looks no different to usual!

I suppose there is still time to do something festive, but to be honest, with the boys not here this year, I just do not have the heart.

I may just content myself with decorating the blog in festive garb - as I am working on the new class for January, and Photoshop seems to be on the boil non-stop.

Oh and if you would like to look at pictures without the distraction of dialogue - check out my TUMBLR blog.  It's a little haven of new stuff that has no relevance here.

Illio Friday - Diary

It's ages since I contributed to Illustration Friday and I guess a day late and a dollar short, but better late than never!

This week's topic is Diary.

I have been busy with my sons arriving from Australia and continuing to work on my online classes, which are going like gang busters.

If you want to sign up for the next session then I suggest you do not wait. There are limited spaces left and I will close registration soon!

The Change in Pace

  My foray into the world of online teaching has been and interesting one so far and brought many changes to the way things work at home! 

It's a strange feeling, being driven to my computer each day, pushing it to it's limits as well as developing a pattern of work that allows me to tend to my online flock, create engaging and technically correct content and yet still allow time for all the 'regular' domestic (and international) chores to be taken care of.

I'm grateful that there are still a few moments here and there where I can play with the pixels for my own sake and not have to second guess whether what I'm doing will translate well into a class demo or can be replicated on 3 different versions of Elements and 4 versions of Photoshop :-)

Having said that, I am finding this teaching experience to be very rewarding, and delight in helping students unlock the mysteries of Photoshop (and Elements)!  Their Ah Ha moments are awesome!