One of our courses could be the perfect gift.
See details of our full range of courses on our website.  

Gift Certificates are now available for all of our courses. Enroll your gift recipient and you will receive a certificate by email which you can print out yourself. No worry about postal delays and getting it on time for Christmas. You can then present the gift personally.

Christmas Gift Certificates can be ordered up to 12 noon 24th December 2011.

So don’t delay, enroll your loved one today!

See enrolment details on our Fees Page.

The advantage of the rangefinder was its compact size over its main rival the SLR. Some also had interchangeable lenses. The biggest advantage of this camera in pre-autofocus times was the photographer could focus the lens through the viewfinder.

You could say this latest system camera; the Olympus Pen E-PM1 is related to the rangefinder design. Olympus has always strived to make their cameras as small and compact as possible, producing a range of half-frame 35mm film cameras some years ago. The Pen has most features found in a DSLR in a very small and compact camera, which allows for various accessories to be added to it.

The biggest advantage is different lenses can be acquired and attached to it. Though the 14-42mm zoom lens that comes with it really covers most eventualities. But for compactness, the lens can be taken off when stored in a small bag or even pocket. There is a range of lenses available for the Pen to make the camera even more versatile.

Anyone looking at a photo of this camera will note there is no built-in flash. However there is a flash hotshoe and a flash is bundled with the camera. The advantage of this is the flash is further from the lens resulting in a reduced chance of red eye. The disadvantage is this is one more piece of equipment to carry with the camera. But with more powerful flashes available for the camera, this increases its flexibility.

Further system accessories include a number of different viewfinders available, both electronic and optical. These are of great benefit as the view can be seen in very bright conditions (always a problem for viewscreens) also holding the camera to your eye keeps it that little bit steadier. A viewfinder is also a much more comfortable proposition for photographers who have been around for a while.

There are many other functions in this camera, most of which are found in other models of camera. Movie modes are now becoming standard, even in DSLRs and this camera is no different. Even there is an attachable microphone available to improve sound quality.

In all a lot of camera in a very neat size. Though one would wonder about having to carry around a compact camera and all the bits and pieces to go with it. On its own it is a compact, though not pocket sized with the lens attached. But with a suitable and very tidy bag, all the accessories you should need for it will fit comfortably.

There is a range of Pen cameras all with varying degrees of features, some with built-in lenses. So make sure when you are choosing, it is the right Pen that you are looking for.

Main Specifications:

Effective Pixels: 12.3 megapixels
Memory Card: SD
Image Recording: RAW (12-bit lossless compression), JPEG, RAW+JPEG, MPO (3D still)
Movie Recording: AVCHDAVI, Motion JPEG. Records in HD at various sizes.
Viewscreen Size: 3 inches. Approx. 460,000 dots
Shutter: 60 sec to 1/4000 sec
ISO: Standard 200 – 1600
Exposure modes: Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and other scene modes

This camera will suit perfectly when taking our Creative Photography Course

I had roughly planned a route beforehand and I pretty much covered it in the end and then some. I started in Las Vegas and then on to Grand Canyon (with a bit of Route 66 along the way), through Monument Valley, Mesa Verde and Durango, Colorado and up through the Million Dollar Highway in the Rocky Mountains to Grand Junction, Colorado. Up through Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park and back down through Idaho and Utah, passing Salt Lake City and Bonneville Salt Flats. I continued south through Great Basin, Nevada and east into Utah to Bryce Canyon and then back to Las Vegas.

The Grand Canyon and Monument Valley did not disappoint. I found myself constantly taking photos. No sooner did I take the camera from my eye when something else caught it. Naturally these places are best photographed early and late in the day but even when lighting isn’t the most flattering, you just can’t help but take photos anyway.

Colorado and the Rocky Mountains offers a feast for the photographer. Not only is there outstanding and dramatic natural beauty, there is also the human element. There is a historical interest from the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde to the pretty much preserved mining towns like Silverton high in the Rocky Mountains.

Yellowstone National Park is a great place for photographing the slightly more unusual. The geysers here are probably the main attraction and rightly so. The eruptions of Old Faithful go off every 93 minutes so you would be very unfortunate to miss one if you visited there. However it is the colours of many of these geysers that attract the photographers eye. Wildlife is also usually plentiful in Yellowstone National Park, though on my too short a visit, all I saw was Buffalo.

There are landmarks of American history all over this area of the country, mainly representing the movement of people to the west. North of Salt Lake City is one of these more famous historical points known as the Golden Spike. Here the final spike was laid in the first railway linking East to West or coast to coast. The well preserved steam locomotives are attractive but so is the people who perform the reinactment of the ceremony of placing the Golden Spike back in the late 1860′s.

My journey then took me to the Bonneville Salt Flats, which was a bit disappointing as there were no speed tests the day I was there. However it was well worth seeing. Next was the Great Basin in Nevada. I took Highway 93 from Windover south as far as Panaca. This was 300 miles of little or nothing to see. Only one or two small towns along the way and very little sign of human habitation in between. Probably one of the loniest areas in the world.

I headed east to Utah for what was to be the highlight of the trip in photographic terms, this was Bryce Canyon. Some may refer to it as a mini Grand Canyon but it offers something very different. At certain times of day, mainly in the late afternoon, the sun hits the rock formations and they appear to glow. The rock formations, some known as “Hoo-doos” are much more dramatic looking then what you would find in Grand Canyon. It amazed me how you just walk a few feet along the rim of the canyon and the rocks appearance changes completely.

Although I started my trip in Las Vegas, I only spent one night there on my arrival. At the end of my trip I spent three days before going home. This city doesn’t need any introduction as it is one of the most well known in the world for what it is about, and it is all of that. The hotels along the strip are simply massive, you could spend most of a day in each exploring, eating and of course, gambling. Most of the hotels have a theme, mainly cities like Paris, New York, Venice etc. But they are all very attractive despite their theme park style of architecture. One attraction in Las Vegas doesn’t get the notoriety it deserves, this is Fremont St, which is now pedestrianised. It is the original gambling strip in the city with the original casinos like the Golden Nugget. The real attraction is the “roof” over the street which is the worlds biggest video screen, it extends for three blocks. At night on the hour all the lights go out on the street except for the screen and a set of songs from a famous band or music artist is played.

As a photographer and a biker, this trip was fantastic and everything that I had hoped and then some. I hope you enjoy just a very few of the images from my trip. Just click on the image to get a larger image.

Diarmuid Moriarty
School of Photography.com

If you would like to learn how to take great Travel images, join our Travel Photography Course.

Nikon D5100

The camera is smaller and neater then the D5000 but this doesn’t mean it has taken anything away. In fact some features have naturally been added and improved. One feature is the 1080p HD video and another is the 921k dot LCD screen, which can be used as a viewfinder for both stills and video. The screen is also hinged so it can be positioned in all sorts of different angles, enabling viewing from most positions.

The D5100 has a 16.2mp Nikon DX CMOS sensor, very similar to what is in the D7000, which is the next step up in Nikons range. Understandably the D5100 wouldn’t have other features the D7000 has but the final image quality would be very similar.

The D5100 has all you would expect from a DSLR. The standard exposure modes including Manual plus the usual scene modes. A maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 sec is adequate for practically all situations and an ISO range of 100 to 6400 will also suffice. However the ISO can be extended up to 25600 ISO.

A new set of features included with the D5100 is the Effects modes. On the exposure setting dial is “Effects” and these are a set of preset effects that can be added to an image when shooting it. One such effect is selective color where a color is keyed in and preserved in the image while all other colors are converted to black & white. Some may see this as an added gimmick but as this particular effect is commonly used in photography, it may be a nice attraction for some.

In the School of Photography we would recommend this camera as perfect for use in our courses.

In the last few years photography has changed considerably. More users have switched to using digital cameras, and the quality of the cameras have increased. To reflect the constantly changing world of modern photography all our courses are periodically reviewed, updated and revised to provide our students with the most up to date information and learning experience possible. Our latest update is the Glamour photography course, which has been thoroughly updated with new images, text and videos and also ported to our e-learning system. This means new students can log onto all their e-learning courses from the one location using a single log on. Used by countless universities and colleges worldwide, our new e-learning platform  means that future changes will be simpler, faster and ongoing which will provide the student with both an easy to use and current photography course.

The Glamour Photography course includes 30 full lessons with over 300 images including…

* Finding and working with models,
* Finding locations,
* The creative photographic knowledge you need
* The Home and Studio lighting equipment guide
* Lighting guides with image, videos and examples
* Strobes, Flashguns, Softboxes, Umbrellas
* The Posing Guide
* Filters and Glamour Techniques
* Organising a ‘Shoot’
* Directing the model
* Model Release Forms
* Post processing the image
* Selling your Images
* Projects and feedback on your own work and more…

To enroll in our New Glamour Photography Course or find out more please visit our Glamour Photography page.

We are pleased to announce our newly updated Freelance Photography Course for 2011. Freelance photography has moved on quite a lot since the previous update  and these changes are all covered in the new online course. The course has also been added to our e-learning environment for easier contact with your personal tutor and uploading and marking of projects.

If you are considering taking your photography to the next level and make money on a part time or full time basis, the Freelance Photography course 2011 is for YOU!

For full details see our Freelance Photography Tour Page.

Enroll today by going to our Fees Page.

As part of the Environmental Photographer of the Year, the Young Environmental Photographer of the Year categories promote the talents of anyone under the age of 21, whilst the remaining categories are open to photographers of all ages.

The Young Environmental Photographer of the Year is divided into two groups, one open to anyone under the age of 16 and the other open to those aged between 16 and 21. Photographers are encouraged to highlight issues important to their generation, explore their place in society or celebrate people, places and animals that they value. This competition actively encourages entries from beginners, as well as photography students.

The competition is completely free to enter and encourages entries that are contemporary, creative, resonant, original and beautiful. The winning photographs come together to form the most outstanding collection of environmental, social and natural photographs in the world. Individual pieces are judged on impact, creativity, composition, originality and technical abilities. Winners receive cash prizes and all winning entries are displayed in the Environmental Photographer of the Year exhibition, launched in London. Copyright is retained by the photographer.

See past winning entries, competition details and news coverage from 2010 at www.epoty.org. You can also watch a brief video of the 2010 Awards Ceremony. You can also keep up to date with any new developments by joining our Facebook group.

The competition will run until 31^st July 2011, with judging taking place throughout August and September.

Please Note: School of Photography.com is not responsible for the content of this post. For any further information or to contact epoty regarding this matter, please go to their website www.epoty.org.

Fig 1 - Tatra Mountains, Slovakia Original

It seems most of us take the bulk of our photos during the summer. The weather is pleasant and we generally have more time due to holidays/vacations. This is also true for the landscape enthusiast. Even though most scenic locations may look better in autumn or spring, summer may be the only time for most to enjoy taking landscape images.

Fig 2 - Photoshop Elements: Replace Color

Year round, there is ample opportunity to take good landscape images, however Autumn is argueably the best time. The colours in the foliage are at their most varied and vibrant.

The image in fig 1 was taken at the beginning of August. The colours in the foliage are dull and there is very little variation in the shade of green. This is typical of most locations at this point in summer. However here is a way of transforming that dull summer snap to a colourful autumnal image without leaving your seat.

In Photoshop Elements this can be easily achieved. Go to Enhance>Adjust Color>Replace Color. The dialog box in default shows a type of negative lith image of the photo. Using the Color Picker, select the shade of colour you want to alter. The lith type image will alter showing how much of that shade is in the image and effected by any changes made. Fuzziness can increase or decrease the shades within that general colour.

Once the shades are selected the colour can be altered dramatically. In fig 2 you can see a colour box called “Reset” (circled in yellow. Double clicking on this opens another dialog box indicated as “Select Target Color”. Here the colour can be changed using any one or more of the features in this box. Our colours for fig 3 were chosen by moving the slider down to an orangy/red colour and then fine tuning this in the larger Color window.

This dramtic but simple adjustment only takes about 10 minutes to perform. Naturally some experimentation is needed to get the effect just right.

To learn more about Digital Imaging or Landscape Photography, see our range of courses.

The Algarve, Portugal

Whenever a subject is composed it is “framed” by the photographer within the frame of the image itself. We see the four sides of the image area and try to fill that area as best we can with the subject. At least this is what most of us try to achieve.

Another form of framing is to use your locality or a prop to isolate your subject better and create a natural frame within the image itself. By “natural” it means using a subject to frame another that would compliment or naturally interact with the scene. For example if you shoot a room interior from another room, you may use a doorway to frame the scene; a natural way of viewing the scene.

In our example we have a scene taken in The Algarve, Portugal. Some of the beaches along this coastline have large cliffs that have been eroded over time, leaving lone pillars and caverns through rocks. In this image a cavern was used to frame the rock pillar. This frame has enhanced the image by giving it depth and hiding any unwanted elements to either side of the rock pillar. Also the deeply shaded rock in the foreground and the brightly lit pillar in the background have added contrast to the image.

This example shows that when you are creating a frame for your image, it doesn’t necessarily have to be square, it just has to help isolate your subject better.

I spent one day in Central Park. It was a Saturday in June so it was very busy. It is an amazing place with every sort of man, woman and child imaginable doing anything and everything imaginable you could do in a park, and most of it was legal!

It is probably one of the most comfortable places to take candids and portraits of people. Those who generally make a spectacle of themselves (and there are quite a few that do) would nearly expect you to take their photo. The image of the roller skater is a typical example. Those skating where there to put on a show as was the case with this fellow. The more bottles you could balance on your head, the more your life was complete! So for those who are not generally comfortable shooting candids, me included, Central Park is a relaxed place to do it.

The amenities in Central Park include boating, baseball, Crochet, cycling, skating, to name just a few. There are also plenty of buskers and street entertainers there, particularly at the weekends, to keep you entertained.

The gymnastic group pictured here is a typical scene. A group of people who put on a short show usually performing tricks or stunts. Of course the hat is always passed around before the show is over.

There are also plenty of places, both open and hidden away, for a person to sit and relax. All these activities can give plenty of opportunity for candid images.

Central Park is really just one example I am using of places where an opportunity for candid images is great. In most cities and even towns around the world, there are parks that have similar amenities and attractions. Any given weekend you can go for a stroll through your local park and possibly find something worth shooting with your camera.