The Cornwell Learning Center offers a connection between technology and learning - where you can learn with the help of technology, and you can learn how to use technology to expand your world. We offer activities from the most basic to the latest developments, and there are a variety of ways to get involved. If you just want to come in to check your eMail or search the web, Cornwell members are welcome anytime.
SCROLL DOWN for more info about the range of activities we offer through GROUPS, COURSES, TUTORIALS, TRAINING, and SERVICES.
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WHAT HAPPENS in the LEARNING CENTER?
GROUPS such as our
Special Interest Groups
(SIG's) are FREE and open to all. Enjoyable and easy going learning activities. We currently have them in these areas.
Click HERE for descriptions of each. Then, come and join us.
COURSES in the
Learning Center are typically short and targeted, concentrating on a few selected aspects of a program or subject - less confusing, more enjoyable, more useful. Many of our courses are FREE to Cornwell members. The Learning Center has couses of several types and levels of interest, such as:
- BASIC COMPUTER CLASSES is a series helping you into
take your first steps with a computer, offereing short courses in Windows, beginning E-mail, introduction to the Internet, and basic Word processing.
Watch for upcoming Course Descriptions
and schedules.
- SHORT SUBJECTS is a set of one time, one hour lesson on a single subject.
Watch for upcoming Course Descriptions
and schedules.
- ADULT ENRICHMENT series includes eBay, Genealogy, Building a Website and similar interest areas. This also includes courses from our CREATIVITY series including courses in digital photography, audio editing, video and the like. Watch for upcoming Course Descriptions
and schedules.
- PRODUCTIVITY courses in programs such as Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and similar office applications and are offered as demand suggests, or by individual...
TUTORIALS - your best bet If your needs are more individualized, or if the course you need isn't scheduled when you need it. We do this for individuals, and groups up to three.
Call 704-927-0774 and ask for John Bambach to make your appointment.
TRAINING tailored to the specific needs of your business -- as you need it. Look at these examples of how we work:
VIDEO - Corporate Training
BROCHURE - Tailored Training
SERVICES using the technology are also available, from H-323 video teleconferencing to video production to consultation. Call for info.
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PHOTO Special Interest Group - Open to all.
We had a particulary strong showing last month, both in terms of the number and quality of submissions and the attendance. First, tho', there’s this announcement of our upcoming meeting:
Wednesday, November 21, 7-9pm
Assignment: “Repetition”
Program: About our next assignment, “Windows”
IN THIS EDITION
Assignment notes for the coming meeting
Program notes
Last Month's meeting notes
Announcements -- all else
plus
Notes on Color Theory
Notes on Black and White photograhy
Notes on Monitor Calibration
Info about Monthly Photo Submissions
ASSIGNMENT for this coming month - “Repetition”
At our October meeting we considered several images that had been submitted in the past, where the assignment had been “Patterns.” As we looked at each we tried to distinguish what we might consider “Patterns” from what could also be considered “Repetition.” The group came up with several elements of consensus:
- Not all patterns say “Repetition” – some photos of gravel, or grass, fabric and the like show clear patterns; they have lots of similarly sized and colored elements. At the same time our group felt that a mass of many similar things may make a good pattern but the individual elements could be so small that the “repetition” of individual shapes was lost in the overall context. Technically, there’s repetition but it doesn’t stand out in a way that communicates the idea.
- “Repetition” suggests clear shapes, clearly repeated – a photo of a fence winding along a grassy shoreline has individual shapes so clear that each can be seen as a separate thing, whose identity is reinforced in multiples rather than lost in a complex pattern. See how the repetition of the vertical slats that makes up the fence and in the undulating, wavelike layout of the fence as it goes off into the distance. A third element is the shadow cast by this fence on the sand.
You don’t need to be limited by this discussion. Rather, consider these thoughts as you come up with your own, unique photo. Take off in an unexpected direction if you’re inspired – I hope you do!
Please eMail your photos by noon, the day prior to each meeting, so I can get them all online for your viewing that evening.
Please eMail your photos by noon, the day prior to each meeting, so I can get them all online for your viewing that evening.
PROGRAM for upcoming meeting
As is normally the case, our Program for this month will be something oriented toward next month’s assignment, which will be:
Windows
LAST MONTH's meeting
The assignment was, "Portraits" and we got some beauts! Special thanks to Tod Brabson who compiled these results in the midst of mega-storm Sandy. He’ll have to tell you what Sandy has to do with all this.
As always, group selections don’t suggest a “best” but provide some feedback to us all about what spoke to our group based on the criteria we use. We had a large number of submissions (which we cull to 25 for viewing at the meeting). Here are your top eight picks. Click on each thumbnail for larger view.
untitled
Morgan Speir |
untitled
John Mebane
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Mountain Cathy
Ralph Oliva
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untitled
Wando O’Neil
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untitled
Morgan Speir
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untitled
John Mebane
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Male Portrait
Hilda Spain
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Female Portrait
Hilda Spain
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In each, the person’s face is prominent, the light is interesting, and the backgrounds avoid distractions.
For all you who like to work ahead (alright… for both of you), our photo assignments for the next few months include:
JAN Trees (I think that I shall never see…)
FEB Holidays (there’s no place like home for…)
MAR Food (…glorious food)
APR Rain (…in Spain)
MAY Photojournalism (click HERE)
JUN Clouds (I’ve looked at both sides)
I guess, with only two assignments left, we need to create some more, huh?
Alright, then – eMail your Portraits to by noon, Tuesday, November 20th. As always, attaching a file to an eMail, rather than including your photo within the body of the message, is the best method.
Looking forward to your photos.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you know of someone who’s got an interest in photography, either doing it or learning more about it, invite them along. At they say… bring a friend.
A new and ongoing assignment... for ALL MONTHS
Each month we have a different assignment which, in most months, we evaluate and discuss. This theme is different. Along with the theme for any given month we're adding this as a theme for all months. Submit one or two, for sharing only, and we'll show them monthly and compile them for later. At some point this will become its own exhibit. It's a long-term idea for anyone's contribution.
"PHOTOGRAPH the change you want to see in the world."
Gandhi's comment, "Be the change you want to see in the world" was the genesis of this thought. So, what gave birth to the thought?
It was Margaret Bourke White who took most of the photo's we think of when we think of the Mahatma, particularly the one of him and his spinning wheel. Read that story HERE.
Somewhere I'd heard of an interchange between Gandhi and Bourke-White in which he commented on photography as a very worthy endeavor -- that spinning was better but photography was worthwhile. I tried to locate the exact quote, to no avail. I was left with this morphed thought that I'm suggesting as an ongoing theme for our photo community -- something we'll "shoot for" each month.
Here are some starter ideas...
 
 
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NOTES on Color Theory from our July 2011 program
Last month's program looked at color, with an introduction to different models or ways of looking at how colors mix. That is the basis for this month's assignment.
So, what is this assignment about? Send us some nice photos of something that is mostly made up of complementary colors.
Complementary colors for light would be:
RED with CYAN
BLUE with YELLOW
GREEN with MAGENTA
Complementary colors for paint would be:
RED with GREEN
BLUE with ORANGE
YELLOW with PURPLE
WARNING...
WARNING...
WARNING... here comes the explanation (aka, theory).
Most of us were introduced to a color wheel in school which consisted of primary colors (RED, BLUE, YELLOW) which were used to create all other colors. If you mixed RED and BLUE you got PURPLE, but there was nothing you could combine to make either RED or BLUE, hence, they were primary colors by definition.
Colors across each other are complementary. They tend to work well together. Think RED and GREEN and you think of Christmas. PURPLE and YELLOW are wonderful floral colors together. So it goes.
What was new to many of us was the idea that there are other primary colors when you're talking about light (which photographers usually are).
SUBTRACTIVE COLOR (CMY)
If you start with a white sheet of paper the PRIMARY COLORS for your printer are CYAN (light blue-green), MAGENTA (pinkish purple), and YELLOW. You print all other colors by mixing these, and BLACK, as needed.
It costs about sixty dollars when you run out.
It's called the SUBTRACTIVE model since you filter, or "subtract" from white to get the color you need. Where two primaries overlap you get secondary colors. If you overlap all three, full strength, you get BLACK (or nearly so, which is why printers also use black ink).
This model is referred to as CMY, initials for the primary colors. If you add black, it's CMYK.
In the SUBTRACTIVE model, complementary colors (directly across from each other) are:
CYAN with RED
MAGENTA with GREEN
YELLOW with BLUE
ADDITIVE COLOR (RGB)
On the other hand, if you start with a black screen, as with a computer monitor, a TV, or a screen in a darkened room, there is no color... until you add it... with light.
Here, your PRIMARY COLORS are RED, GREEN and BLUE. On a TV or a computer monitor there are only these three colors - nothing else. Nothing. Every other color you see is a combination of RED, GREEN and/or BLUE pixels lighting up in whatever proportion is needed to mix the desired color. Your computer does this for you; when you look at a blue sky in your photos the computer turns on mostly BLUE and GREEN and may add a bit of RED. If your photo includes YELLOW the computer tells your monitor to mix GREEN and RED. Yup. GREEN and RED makes YELLOW on a monitor. All three colors, full strength, produce... uh... WHITE.
This model is referred to as RGB, for the primary colors.
With the ADDITIVE model, complementary colors are the same as, but the inverse of, those in the SUBTRACTIVE model:
RED and CYAN (primary and secondary reversed from SUBTRACTIVE color)
GREEN and MAGENTA (ditto)
BLUE and YELLOW (ditto)
In other words, the PRIMARIES in the SUBTRACTIVE model are the SECONDARIES in the
ADDITIVE model, and vice-versa. As a result, when we're dealing with light, complementary colors are the same no matter the model.
HERE is a link with an alternate description. It's fun to Google stuff like this, too.
So... choose any color model you want (color wheel, subtractive, additive) and show us a photo of something that is mostly made up of complementary colors.
With light, that would be:
RED and CYAN
BLUE and YELLOW
GREEN and MAGENTA
With paint, that would be:
RED and GREEN
BLUE and ORANGE
YELLOW and PURPLE
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NOTES on Black and White from our March 2011 program
My usual suggestion on this is to shoot EVERYTHING in color, and then reduce that to monochrome if you like. For users of the free photo editor from Google, Picasa, it's a simple matter once you chosen your photo:
Go to EFFECTS
Apply one or more of the following effects:
B&W, or
SEPIA, or
B&W, then WARMIFY, then SATURATION
That last option lets you first convert your image to monochrome. Then using the WARMIFY effect lets you add a sepia-like color to it, but with a different look than just choosing SEPIA (compare for yourself). Then, adjusting SATURATION let's you choose how strong or subtle your warm "toning" will be. For example...
Original |
B&W |
Sepia |
B&W + Warm |
B&W + Warm
+Desaturate |
You can see all these examples, larger, by clicking HERE.
Original |
Here are those same effects using a mountain scenic: |
B&W
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Sepia |
B&W + Warm |
 B&W + Warm
+Desaturate |
If you're a user of Photoshop, or similar image editor, your options are even more varied. In addition to "toning" like that described above, you can also add effects similar to putting colored filters over your lens while shooting black and white film.
Choose your photo and choose Image > Adjustments > Black & White
Then play with the color sliders to see the effect of different "color filters" on your black & white "film." For example, a "red filter" will make red things lighter and complementary colors darker. That's why a red filter, on black and white film, makes clouds stand out -- it doesn't do a thing to the white clouds but it makes the blue sky darker, so the clouds stand out against the darker sky tones. Ask Ansel.
You'd do well to check the notes on Monitor Calibration, below, and adjust yours before all this so that what you see on your screen is a good indication of what others will see, also.
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NOTES on Montor Calibration from our October 2009 program
It's something that nags at all of us, where we see one thing on the monitor and another on paper, or different results on different monitors. Which is right?
While there are complex standards for these things, basic adjustments that will get you well into the ballpark aren't too difficult.
Click HERE to go to a site you can use to get your monitor calibrated for a full range of grey tones. This is especially important when we're working in black and white, and is a prerequisite to good color on your screen. It's a single chart you can use for reference. Read it carefully and follow instructions.
Click HERE for a site that will appeal to engineers, explaining the parts that most the rest of us don't even want to know but that engineers will find essential. You know who you are.
If you liked that last one, you'll really want to click HERE for a step-by-step on everything from gamma to white-point. Egad. (BTW, this page is offered by Adorama, who sells stuff, including monitor calibration systems.)
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Monthly Photo Submissions
We encourage up to two entries from each photographer each month, asking that you indicate a first and second choice in case we have more entries than we can manage as a group (we need to limit total entries to 25 on a given month). If you'd like to send one or two additional photos for viewing and posting online, but not judging, we're glad to include them.
Send your photos to jbambach@mpbconline.org by noon the day before the meeting (please?). If you don't get an eMail confirmation that we've received your submission, within 24 hours, please call John Bambach (704-927-0774 x602).
See our galleries from previous months (in the left column) for an idea of what we do. For more on the group, what we do and what we're about, download the following documents. Then come join us!
PHOTO SIG - Description (PDF) »
PHOTO SIG - 10 Questions (PDF) »
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For more information about all our courses and activities at the
Learning Center,
contact:
John Bambach
704-927-0774
jbambach@mpbconline.org
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