Naturally these images are outstanding because they are selected from hundreds of project submissions. In fact only a handful of images are selected through the course of a year.

Here are the first two images chosen for our Student Gallery.

The Lake – Rubina Danji, Markham, Ontario, Canada. Image submitted for a project in our Digital Imaging Course.

Glass and Grapes – Sumayyah Balamesh, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Image submitted for a project in our Creative Photography Course.

The images can be viewed in our Student Gallery.

More images will be added to this Thread through the course of the year so watch this space!

It is at this time of year when the snow is on the ground and skies are dark and grey that we dream of better weather as the year matures. During the months from January to March a good percentage of travel plans are booked. This gives people something to plan and look forward to but more importantly, the earlier in the year you book, the better chance of getting the flights/destination/accomodation of your choosing.

So you may have booked your trip and you are just now impatiently awaiting for the time to come. True you probably still need to arrange many things and possibly purchase a few supplies for your journey such as clothing, etc. but there is plenty of time. This time allows for even more preparation for your trip.

One aspect of travelling we think of is taking photos. They may be just quick snaps to show where you have been, who you were with or who you have met. Or maybe you are hoping to capture some real top quality images, possibly to show publicly? Getting these photos may even be the reason for taking this trip. Whatever the reason, a bit more thought and preparation will yield much better images for you to show whether it is to friends and family or even for publication purposes, and will look even better in years to come.

Our Travel Photography Course is the ideal way to prepare for your trip. Not just in strict photographic terms but will also give you an insight in planning a trip, particularly for those who are not very experienced in planning a trip. In fact even before you book anything, this course will give insight into the best ways of going about it.

For those who are just interested in taking quick snaps, this course will be of benefit. Most of us now display are photos publicly on the Internet in social networking websites such as Facebook. We all know how poor some of the images we come across can be. With a bit of knowledge and training your photos will stand out on these websites. Simple things like understanding the lighting conditions can improve your photography immensely.

For the enthusiast photographer who wants to improve their skills, this course is ideal. It will take the quality of your work to the next level. This isn’t just about technical issues such as exposure, it is also about understanding the lighting, weather and getting to know the people and locality you are in. The course shows how best to immerse yourself into the surroundings of your destination.

So if you’re planning or have already booked that trip, whether it is an hour away or 24 hours away, give yourself that extra knowledge and preparation to not only improve your photography but to make that trip a much better experience.

Join our Travel Photography Course today – Enroll!

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.

This level 2 specialist course has 34 lessons in 3 modules for rapid progress and easy understanding.

Module 1 teaches you about the subject, and basic equipment needs, new techniques using what you probably already have to improve your portraits, composition and more.

Module 2 then moves onto lighting, and  portrait studio equipment you can also use at home, how to set up various lighting combinations to give you a variety of portrait styles.

Module 3 takes you into the realms of portrait styles and post processing your images for maximum quality and effect.

Just like all of our courses, this Tutor assisted course encourages you to do several graded practical projects and online quizzes giving feedback on your own work. If you get stuck or don’t understand something, and would like additional information on the lesson’s content, just ask!  Your personal tutor is ready to hear from you.

Start learning Portrait photography at home or the office in your own time today.

Portrait Photography Course

Our new course has everything you may have already experienced from the School of Photography:
- Comprehensive instruction -
- Hundreds of example images -
- A fully documented Travel shoot -
- The ins and outs of travel photography as a business -
- Projects -
- Tutor Feedback -
- A Graded Certificate for Framing -

In short everything you need to know to improve your own travel photography images.

The course is in 3 modules, the first module will show you what equipment you really need and how to put your own personal travel kit together. Learn what goes into planning a travel photography shoot. Module 2 will take you further by showing you how to cope with the various terrains and climates you may experience no matter where you are going. Module 3 introduces how to process all those images you capture and weed out only the best. We show you how to digitally enhance your images using RAW files. If you are interested in running your own travel photography business, we show you how to get started and where to sell your images. Finally, we show you a day by day account of a travel shoot to Rome, documented from preparation to the finished images!

You CAN learn how to capture stunning images on your travels. Each lesson is designed to improve your photography techniques so you can get more creative and don’t miss out on an important shot just because you don’t know how to capture it.

Just like all of our courses, this Tutor assisted course encourages you to do practical projects and gives feedback on your own work. If, after reading each Travel Photography Course lesson, you would like additional information on the lesson’s content, just ask!. Your personal tutor is ready to hear from you.

Start learning Travel photography at home or the office in your own time today.

Read more

Course Fees

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.

Hazel Llewellyn Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire, UK  Title: Fern Unfurling

Seyed Medhi Mirian, Raleigh, NC, USA Title: Gilmore-Barrios Wedding

Cischa Swanepoel, Amersfoort, Netherlands Title: In Touch

Tahir Hussen Pirbhay, Camp Fouquereaux, Mauritius Title: Mauritian Hindu Wedding

Tomasz Zajaczkowski, Baldonnell, Dublin, Ireland Title:  Born to Fly

All these images and more can be found in our Student Gallery 9

http://www.schoolofphotography.com/courses/galleries/category/23-gallery-9.html