$250, 12 weeks of online instruction, videos and help with your lessons by artist & educator, Tony Ferguson	Tony Ferguson, Online Digital Photography Course 1©2008 www.tonyferguson.net
Introduction to Digital Photography, Online Join this course anytime
10 (or more) Things You'll Learn, About this Course, Sample Lesson/Video(s), FAQs Q: I am having some problems looking at your video samples from the course.  What do I do? A:  This is usually a codec issue. The current videos are windows .avi format which should work no problem on Windows platforms.  For Mac users, you may need to update QuickTime.  The first two solutions should work for almost everybody. 1.  Probably the simplest as easiest thing to do if you have a Mac and wish to use Quick Time to view the files, is this http://perian.org/     and maybe this one as will if perian doesn't work:     http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx 2.  For Windows users, make sure you are up to date and have Windows Media Player (this link allows you to select specifically for your Operating System) and Windows or Linux users, the XVID codec should solve most problems:   http://www.xvid.org/Downloads.15.0.html; Mac Users:  http://n.ethz.ch/student/naegelic/download/ (One note on the wmcomponents, you have to restart Safari to activate the new program.  Only wmcomponents mentioned that in the download instructions) 3.  For Windows users, Here is a codec checker to see what codecs you have and what you can update: http://www.jockersoft.com/english/codecinstaller.php 4.  For Windows or MAC people, after you update your current media browser, and if you are still having problems, make sure to download www.xvidmovies.com/codec and run 1.1.3 (or newer) for Windows or Macintosh.  If you are on a PC or MAC and have tried these so far working solutions for some students, and you still can't get it to work, contact me.  If you are using Linux, you can open anything usually. 5.  Here is a media player which is known to work on nearly any computer or operating system.  It's not as pretty, but it will work: Download VLC - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ Version VLC 0.9.2:  Windows  or  Mac OS X Q: I'm a very busy person with a crazy schedule.  Are there regular class times for this course? A:  No, since this is online and for professional development, it is up to you to complete lessons when you wish (which is done on your own computer) and post them at your convenience (I will provide instructions on how to do this later).  On a daily basis I will check to see who has posted what and provide some sort of feedback.  I do recommend that you 2 lessons a week and post your results (Instruction will follow after signup). Q: Are there grades or deadlines? A:  No, since this is online and for professional development, it is up to you to complete lessons when you wish and it is encouraged that you average 2 lessons week so that you continue to develop and improve your knowledge base.  Q: I am not really a group person and like to go at my own pace.  Can I do this? A:  Sure, you can work ahead and post and share whatever you wish.  I will be available the duration of the course.  If you want to start before or after a class, contact me so I can check my schedule, I may be able to work with you one on one.   Q: If I miss the start of a class, can do I have to wait until the next one to start? A:  No, since this is online and for professional development, I can work with you one on one if you wish which means we can start anytime.  It is to your advantage to work along with the class because you will learn more and share more and usually its a lot of fun to see what people are taking pictures of.  It is also an opportunity to ask that artists questions; and overall, is a very positive experience for all.  But if you are like me, some things I like to learn on my own terms and time frame--so I am willing to work with anyone whatever their needs are, again, schedule permitting.   Q: Why are you courses so much less expensive then a community or college course or adobe training/workshops? A:  I do not have the overhead an institution has.  I am a one man/family show.  My art/computer/software background & knowledge also serves me well in being able to develop specific training for a variety of types.  Being a studio artist and small business also serves me well to understand what small businesses need to aesthetically, technically and creatively to stay competitive.  As business people, image is everything and you or I may think we are wonderful, but if our presentation of our work or service, images, video, web, etc. are not professional, it will only hinder our development and business.  The problem is many people don't take the presentation of their work seriously. I come from a family of do-it-your self-ers.  And it is in this spirit that I offer professional development training to artists & small businesses so that they can invest in their knowledge and equipment to do-it-their selves saving thousands of dollars over the life of their work and career.  Therefore, I can charge less making the knowledge and experience I have accessible to all people's who wish to take their digital training or photography from an amateur status and begin to move into a professional approach yielding professional results.  There are numerous other benefits and areas I won't go into now when you want to take a new creative and technical approach to your photography. Q: Do I have read anything?  What do I have to read exactly? A: Read assigned pages as they will help you develop your photography.  You are smart or you wouldn't be interested in this course. I can teach anybody anything that has a good work ethic.  Most of you can probably look at the pictures and understand visually what Ang or myself is talking about and assimilate that into your approach.  There is not a great deal of text and what Ang has to say in the text book is very valuable.  I looked through many many books on digital photography.  Ang is still among the best. Q: Where do we discuss the images or anything else? A: We will post via moodle, the image gallery, and there we will discuss and offer feedback.   Q: What is Moodle? A:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle Q:  I've heard about your photography workshops where you actually shoot participants work during the workshop teaching them to light, shoot, take photographs, and how to edit those images in Photoshop, Elements or other editor.  Will I learn how to take pictures of my artwork in this class? A:  No and yes.  This particular course I am offering is a nuts and bolts with a fine art approach to digital photography and digital editing.  It does not deal specifically with how to set up a copy stand, light your artwork, the tips and tricks of camera settings for artwork, or editing your artwork (although in some of my videos I do show how to edit images of artwork in the lesson).  With this course, you will enter into about the top 10% of people with knowledge about how to really use what your camera can do, traditional understanding of f-stop, shutter speed, etc. and how to once you have a well composed image, how to edit it properly for a variety of uses.  This is crucial knowledge to taking professional photographs of any type for a variety of uses.  The advantage of this course is you have a co-pilot during your flight/journey of learning about digital technology, your camera, taking photographs, and editing.
To see a demonstration of the course in action.  Contact Me.