Lightroom - Tutorials and practice

Tutorials used:
5 How to get started - 10 Things - Terry White
CC How to get started - 10 Things - Terry White
General workflow - Infinite Skills
Workflow basics - Key shortcuts - Adam Lerner
Basic image adjustment - 
Learn in One hour - Serge Ramelli
Creating depth - Exodist Photography
Hue, Saturation and Luminescence - Ed Gregory
Adjustment sliders - Ben Willmore
Adjust tone curve - Infinite Skills 

Notes (to self):
Catalog - Restricted to one open at a time; holds all linked files.
Files remain non-destructive.
Move files/folders within Lightroom to avoid unlinked resource issues.
Retain original file name and track through keywords, ratings, picking and colour labels.
Use broad descriptive keywords on import: seasons, night, landscape and specific labels, to locate images when reviewing or editing.
Use Year-month-day - event format for folder creation.
If catalog becomes slow to use/search, use optimization feature.

Workflow practices developed:
Import images, name folder using convention, add broad labels;
Review images and add specific keywords, colour code, rate or pick selected images;

Identify image for adjustment, create a virtual copy (not required); and
In development, select Tone>Auto and review how L/room processes.
Adjust lens corrections, chromatic aberration, crop and profile correct as required. 

Adjust settings to suit the images purpose:

Exposure - Adjust the overall light/dark of image;

Highlights - Adjust detail of the bright areas only;

Shadows - Adjust detail of the dark areas only;

White/Black - Adjust the extreme points to avoid blocky areas (Alt + slider assists greatly);

Clarity - Defines edges and good for landscapes, especially if blurry. Avoid use of people as it can highlight unwanted features;

Contrast - Adjusts available differences between the light and dark areas. Good for foggy/hazy images but using may require additional adjustments to exposure, highlights and shadows;

Vibrance - Mostly used to effect the pop of an image by adjusting overall colour;

Temperature - Adjust the level of cool and heat viewed in an image, blue more cool, yellow more warmth;

Tint - Adjust the green/magenta balance of an image.

White balance picker - Find a neutral area (white, grey, black), move the picker until the RGB values are as equal as possible +- 0.1 - ie: R 92.5, G 92.4, B 92.5 and click done.

Other tools: Adjust image on a gradient or on a circle using other tools. Useful to highlight/reduce specific areas.

Hue: The specific colour, within a group of colours. Adjusting the hue will change the colour for another colour within the same group. (Red - Pink, Green - Yellow).

Saturation: The power of the colour. for example at the apposing ends of green are Bright Green and Green Grey.

Luminescence: How bright or dull a colour is.

Details: Adjust to sharpen image and reduce any noise produced. Excessive amount can cause unnatural results.

Export: Set up x2 JPEG export presets for future use.

Practice results: 

Wire at sunset
Original: 
El Gorah Barracks, Western Boundary (c 2004)

Simple crop, clarity turned up.

Cropped, lots of saturation and noise reduction. Post-crop vignetting added. Spot removal processed.

Paris

Original: Paris France (c 2004) 

Cropped, detail adjustments with dehaze. A gradient placed at the top for darkening effect. Colour, black, white, shadow and highlight adjustments. 

 

Brisbane at night

Original: Brisbane CBD from Story Bridge (c 2004)

Cropped with detail (sharp/noise) adjustments, as well as saturation increases to greens, yellows and blues. Highlights, blacks and whites adjusted. Spot removal processed.

CSFrost

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Hitch

Ocean Beach 2015 

Hitch Frost is my (nearly) 4 year old
Border Collie

June 2012

He is named after author Christopher Hitchens


I seem to have a lot of pictures of him, which will give me lots of practice editing 

The Certificate III in Graphic Pre-Press application use focuses on Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator. I am going to take the next few days to ease my way into setting up these programs, building a collection of templates and preset layouts  to assist in future work flows and allowing for more creative time 

However before I get too deep in the course programs, I am going to start with Lightroom to build up my available resources of original material for graphic design 

My goals for the week are:

1.  View/read as many intro and basic tutorials of Lightroom and Photoshop;

2.  Replicate templates and workflow techniques;

3.  Add my photographs to Lightroom, label resources and replicate any other techniques enhancing my own images;

4.  Process selected images in Photoshop, replicate techniques learnt using my own images;

4a. Get Giffy; and

5.  Post regular updates of lessons participated in and examples of enhanced work.

Somerset Beach 2015

3 of 10 shots

A few times I have been able to get lots of shots in sequence and will also be looking at creating .gif's

CSFrost

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Jason Little

'On those moments where you pull back, you regret it'  

Jason Little (The Leap - By The People). Photo: Behance. 

Jason is the Creative Director at RE, a design consultancy agency based in Sydney and is responsible for the creative vision produced. RE aims to work with clients to build 'notorious branding' and Jason achieves these goals by fostering a working environment which draws on the teams creativity and culture. Source: tractor.edu.au

Jason has a long history of diverse experiences in education, work, travel and social activities; Which influences the creative design works produced.

'Jason has spent the last several years running agencies as creative director in Sydney and Paris. He has helped companies and organisations through imagining and designing new experiences to encourage new behaviours. He is also Chairman of AGDA in New South Wales (The Australian Graphic Design Association), establishing new ways in which the industry can evolve and collaborate. Jason has a strong focus on large-scale transformations for destinations, corporations and organisations with previous work including the brand identities for The City of Melbourne, Optus, Seat, One Degree, and the Sydney Pavilion at the Shanghai Biennale'. Source: By The People 

Jason is co-founder of For The People; An agency built with the goal of  developing Strategic Relationships, Venture Services and Social Collaborations. 

Sydney Dog and Cat Home - Jason Little

I am inspired by the work for the Sydney Dog and Cat Home as it demonstrates creativity combined with social justice. Visually simple, digitally/technically enhanced and advanced, unique; A very effective campaign to encourage the better treatment and care of vulnerable animals through community involvement, education and interaction. - CSFrost

Brief: To re-brand the Sydney Dog and Cat Home as part of a reinvigorated push for donations whilst maintaining their ongoing adoption success.

Solution: The logo is now made up of interchangeable dog and cat icons – thousands of them. One is generated for every pet that arrives at the shelter. 

Each animal receives its own 15 minutes of fame.

The Sydney Dog and Cat Home elevates each new resident to celebrity status – complete with glamorous photos that capture their true quirks and personality.

Jason  Little - online

Behance

The Loop

Pinterest

By The People

Documenting the journey of creating the For The People agency is the By The People project produced in collaboration with students of the University of Technology, Sydney. By using text, audio and video, By The People aims to provide a resource for the design industry and anyone looking to start up a business. Jason is a co-creator of this valuable insight into the graphic design and creativity industries during the digital age.


By The People Resources

The leap - Introduction to stepping out on your own.

Great expectations - Rising to the challenges of starting your own business.

Where is the manual - Practical points discussed about keeping your business running.

Our worst client - Self branding and marketing.

Sense check - Day to day life.



Employment Opportunities

RE - We Need You

For the People - Careers

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The Scientific Method

'Systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses' The Oxford English Dictionary 

The scientific method is an ongoing process, which usually begins with observations about the natural world. 

Human beings are naturally inquisitive, so they often come up with questions about things they see or hear and often develop ideas (hypotheses) about why things are the way they are. 

The best hypotheses lead to predictions that can be tested in various ways, including making further observations about nature. 

In general, the strongest tests of hypotheses come from carefully controlled and replicated experiments that gather empirical data. 

Depending on how well the tests match the predictions, the original hypothesis may require refinement, alteration, expansion or even rejection. 

If a particular hypothesis becomes very well supported a general theory may be developed.
-Wikipedia

Physicist Richard Feynman explains the scientific and 

unscientific methods of understanding nature

Fact in science

'tomorrows experiment may succeed in proving what you thought was right, wrong. So we are never right, we can only be sure we are wrong' Richard Feynman

In science, a fact is a repeatable careful observation or measurement (by experimentation or other means), also called empirical evidence. 

Facts are central to building scientific theories. 

Various forms of observation and measurement lead to fundamental questions about the scientific method, and the scope and validity of scientific reasoning.

In the most basic sense, a scientific fact is an objective and verifiable observation, in contrast with a hypothesis or theory, which is intended to explain or interpret facts.
-Wikipedia

Fact and the scientific method

Apart from the fundamental inquiry into the nature of scientific fact, there remain the practical and social considerations of how fact is investigated, established, and substantiated through the proper application of the scientific method.

Scientific facts are generally believed independent of the observer: no matter who performs a scientific experiment, all observers agree on the outcome. 

In addition to these considerations, there are the social and institutional measures, such as peer review and accreditation, that are intended to promote factual accuracy (among other interests) in scientific study.-Wikipedia

Scientific Reasoning

One thing is common to all forms of science: an ultimate goal "to know." 

Curiosity and inquiry are the driving forces for the development of science. 

Scientists seek to understand the world and the way it operates. To do this, they use two methods of logical thinking: inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning.

Source: Boundless. “Scientific Reasoning.” 

'We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology' Dr. Carl Sagan

Scientific/Rational Skepticism

Scientific skeptics attempt to evaluate claims based on verifiability and falsifiability and discourage accepting claims on faith or anecdotal evidence. 

Skeptics often focus their criticism on claims they consider to be implausible, dubious or clearly contradictory to generally accepted science. 

Scientific skeptics do not assert that unusual claims should be automatically rejected out of hand on a priori grounds - rather they argue that claims of paranormal or anomalous phenomena should be critically examined and that extraordinary claims would require extraordinary evidence in their favor before they could be accepted as having validity.
-Wikipedia

Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a
"Baloney Detection Kit".

Ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim:

1. How reliable is the source of the claim?

2.Does the source make similar claims?

3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else?

4. Does this fit with the way the world works?

5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?

6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point?

7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?

8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence?

9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory?

10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?

Aliens, Princess Diana & Moon landing.

Online Resources:

Center for Inquiry: - Promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.

RationalWiki: - Analyse and refute psuedoscience and anti-science claims.

Green Facts: - Producing factual content of complex scientific consensus reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-specialists.

Histography: - Interactive timeline that spans across 14 billion years of history.

Snopes: - Researching urban legends (check Snopes before posting/sharing).

Hoaxes.org: - Explores deception, mischief, and misinformation throughout history.

The Dunning-Kruger effect. 

CSFrost

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NASA - Multi-media galleries

'We reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind' 

The United States Government's National Aeronautical and Space Administration vision is gained by employing thousands of people who have been working around the world - and off of it - for more than 50 years, trying to answer some basic questions. What's out there in space? How do we get there? What will we find? What can we learn there, or learn just by trying to get there, that will make life better here on Earth?

All of the digital information, images and video gathered by NASA has been released into the public domain (with few exceptions). This vast collection, often taken with state of the art equipment, is accessible with minimal restrictions for personal and commercial use.

The collection is breathtaking ... in it's beauty, diversity of content and availability.

Delta II rocket launch, carrying the NASA  spacecraft Kepler (2009)

The NASA Image and Video Libraries contain hundreds & thousands of media files in categories including training, construction, research and development, space launches and the subsequent off-earth missions. 

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a research element of NASA responsible for satellite and remote robotic missions. JPL spaceimages have an incredible collection of planetary images from our solar system including the Mars rover missions and the Voyager 1 and 2 missions which are now travelling beyond the furthermost reaches of our sun's influence.

Humankind's view beyond our heliosphere has been captured with incredible detail since 1993 when the Hubble Space Telescope commenced returning spectacular images in unprecedented definition.

Messier 81, or M81, looks sharp in this new composite from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes and NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer.

Hubble spaceimages of The Milky Way galactic group and beyond.

Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake of ESA captured this photo on Jan. 29, 2016 from the International Space Station, as the robotic
arm in Japan's Kibo laboratory successfully deployed two combined satellites.

The Hubble Space Telescope is now reaching the end of it's operational life and is due to be replaced by the larger and technically advanced James Webb Space Telescope, which will continue to add to this already amazing media collection. The JWSP multi-media gallery already contains many images and video of the telescope's construction process which is due for launch in 2018.

Mid 2020s: The Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope, WFIRST, which is 100x larger than the HST will launch and the observatory will begin operations after travelling to a gravitational balance point known as Earth-Sun L2, which is located about one million miles from Earth in a direction directly opposite the Sun.

Other Resources:

NASA Image of the Day

NASA on the Commons/Flickr

NASAImages

Great Images in NASA (GRIN)

Visions of the Future - A stunning collection of future-vision inspired graphic designs created by NASA/JPL.

'we strive to be bold in advancing the edge of possibility so that someday, with the help of new generations of innovators and explorers, these visions of the future can become a reality. As you look through these images of imaginative travel destinations, remember that you can be an architect of the future'.

Copyright 

Common term explanation: The short version: All publicly available NASA images are on nasaimages.org, which is co-operated by the Internet Archive. It is most likely legal for you to use them for any purpose (commercial or otherwise) unless there’s someone famous in the image.

NASA Legal: NASA still images, audio files, video, and computer files used in the rendition of 3-dimensional models, such as texture maps and polygon data in any format, generally are not copyrighted. You may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages. This general permission extends to personal Web pages.

Internet Archives legal: The NASA imagery offered on NASAIMAGES.ORG is generally not copyrighted. You may use this NASA imagery for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits and Internet Web pages (personal or otherwise). This general permission does not extend to any use of the NASA insignia logo (the blue "meatball" insignia), the retired NASA logotype (the red "worm" logo) and the NASA seal (the "NASA Properties") whether or not used in conjunction with images obtained from NASAIMAGES.ORG. Notwithstanding the foregoing restriction, you may use the NASA name and the NASA initials only as indicators of the original source of the NASA imagery. 

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