About Select Digitals:
Select Digitals was created to share my interest in digital and CCD imaging, web & graphic design, and radio controlled model aircraft.
New Content:
“Top Gun Flies the REACTION 54 Jet” If you have ever been interested in RC jets, you will certainly be interested in this article.
Digital Photography & Imaging:
“Preparing digital images for a slide show” Includes lots of Photoshop tips and tricks.
“The CCD Edge” Introduction to ccd imaging. PDF version.
“123di: A Photographer's Library In A Box” A review of the "The 123 of digital imaging Interactive Learning Suite." 123di is a software suite written for *all* digital imagers, including Photoshop and Nikon users. 123di explains both the *why* and the *how* of the digital workflow.
If you want to advance your knowledge about digital photography and learn how to improve the quality of your images, you will certainly want to read this review.
Adobe:
“Marketing with Adobe” This article describes how I created a web page and banner for a sales campaign. I used Adobe's Illustrator, Photoshop CS2, and Dreamweaver 8 to create the web page and banner. There are lots of images in the article along with numerous tips and tricks. For a quick overview of the process of creating the ad described in the article, you can watch a short flash presentation. The flash presentation will start automatically.
Video How to Create a Banner Ad With Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop Two part video showing techniques I use to create banner ads.
Trillium Composite The trillium is considered to be the "Easter Lily of the Pacific Northwest." The composite was constructed from 5 separate images and shows trillium growth from early, pure white to crimson maturity. The background is an old moss-covered cedar log. I used Photoshop's lasso and magnetic lasso tools to extract the flower components (nothing fancy here) from their original images. I used a small amount of feathering as I cut out the components. This helped to smooth out the edges. After the components were organized on the canvas, I used some sharpening and curves to achieve the final image. The 13x19 prints I made of the composite turned out quite well. I may, at some future time, return to this project--I can't get enough of this beautiful flower.
HP Learning Center Recently, I discovered free online courses given at the online HP Learning Center. I have completed three courses: Introduction and Advanced Adobe Photoshop CS2 and an Introduction to Adobe Illustrator. All of the courses were taught by Joanne Watkins. The Photoshop CS2 course lessons were full of information I need to create more professional looking composite images and artwork. Surprisingly, the introductory course also included a lesson on color adjustment and photo retouching, subjects that are usually covered in advanced classes. I have always wanted to learn Illustrator and the HP online course helped me get off to a good start. Below are some of the practice image and artwork assignments I completed during the courses:
- Sunset creating a reflection image,
- Flowers practice selection and mirroring,
- Sunflower With Gradient selection vignette, and gradient techniques,
- Sunflower With Pattern using patterns and borders as an image background,
- Vinca “making a picture” from an image with one flower,
- Cowboy simple image composition,
- Old Mission masking exercise,
- Yucca Plant masking and vignette,
- Roadside Wildflowers masking and vignette,
- Butterfly using masking and gradients to combine three images for a final composite.
- Mountain Landscape was created using basic drawing tools.
- Shapes and 3D. I particularly enjoyed learning how to create the flower.
- Logo using paths for the text.
- Poster the final course project.
I can strongly recommend these courses to anyone wanting to learn how to create better images and artwork. Check out the Learning Center, from time to time, for other courses that might be of interest.
WordPress:
WordPress Blog Select Digitals has entered the Web 2.0 Age with a new WordPress Blog. I installed the latest version of WordPress as described in "How to Install and Style WordPress 2.5." I then modified the theme. Visit the Blog to learn more about the installation and styling.
“How to Install and Style WordPress” This article has just been extensively revised and updated. In the article, I describe the installation process for WordPress. I then show how to customize the default theme using new graphics and CSS styling. At the end of the article, there is a link to my new WordPress blog and additional information about installing and styling the latest version of WordPress.
Radio Controlled Model Aircraft:
“Radio Control Pylon Racing: Turn Left—and Fly Fast!” This article describes a pylon racing competition. The Sanderson Field RC Fliers(SFRCF) hosted a sanctioned Academy of Model Aeronautics(AMA) pylon competition on September 6 & 7, 2008. The competition was sponsored and organized by the Pylon Racers of Puget Sound(PROPS). The event was held at the SFRCF home field in Shelton, Washington.
“SFRCF Welcomes the Public: Hands-On Flying for Future Pilots” This article has many images showing how the Sanderson Field RC Flyers (SFRCF) participated in the Port of Shelton Autumn Festival. SFRCF provided model aircraft for display and an information booth. In addition, SFRCF provided trainers and aircraft during their fly-in in order to give the public a chance to experience the thrill of flying radio controlled model aircraft.
“Flying Over Hunter Farms” SFRCF scheduled a fly-in at Hunter Farms for Saturday, October 11, 2008. SFRCF maintains grass field at the farm. Even without the flying, I can highly recommend a trip to Hunter Farms if for no other reason than to experience the atmosphere and scenery of the Skokomish River Valley.
“Learning to Fly at SFRCF” In this article, I describe what it's like, for a senior citizen, to learn how to fly a radio-controlled(RC) aircraft. If you have ever wanted to do this, you might want to take a look at this article.
“2008 With the Sanderson Field RC Flyers — A Retrospective” This is a new member's 2008 retrospective of the Sanderson Field RC Flyers(SFRCF). The article includes a flash slide show of the maiden flights of a a scale F7F Tiger Cat and a SU-26 Sukhoi.
“A Portable Battery Pack for the Flight Line” This short article describes a great portable battery pack that can be used at the flight line to power your battery charger(s).
Select Digitals' current gallery of digital photography is, “Favorites”. The gallery features nature, landscape, and wildlife photography. The many colorful images were taken in
- Belfair, Washington
- Cordova, Alaska
- Mariposa, California
- Olympic National Park, Washington
- Fort Worden, Washington
- Prineville, Oregon
- Seattle, Washington
Nearly all of the RAW digital images I take receive some processing in Photoshop and other software. One image, Licorice, is a composite image consisting of Licorice, a black Labrador Retriever, and a river scene, both taken at the Alaganik Slough Recreation Site, Cordova, Alaska. I will always remember this wonderful dog as he is portrayed in the image. Another image, Sunflower Galaxy, required specialized software for CCD image processing and is a composite of multiple images taken over five hours. See “The CCD Edge” for an introduction to CCD cameras and CCD imaging.
- Image Index Index to all gallery images.
Tips & Tricks:
“How To Create Quality Articles With Inline CSS” Learn how to create quality online articles using HTML inline CSS. There are times when it is not possible to use internal or external style sheets. Most article directories, for example, do not allow this. In these cases, and when allowed, you can still style your articles with inline CSS. When you use inline CSS, you can also be sure that your styling will be applied to the article body. Read this article to learn how to create your own standards-based article template and how to style your articles with your own personal touch.
Video “Optimizing Videos and Slide Shows
for Small Screens” Video showing techniques I use to optimize videos and slide shows for publication on small-player screens.
"Create Your Own HTML and CSS Templates" Learn how to create your own HTML and CSS templates and validate them at W3C.
Books & Magazines:
- 123di eBook on mastering digital photography and Adobe Photoshop. Excellent!
- outbackphoto.com Great eBooks covering, in detail, the digital workflow.
- course.com This is a terrific source for hands-on textbooks on Photoshop, and many other subjects.
- digitalphotopro Subscribe here to a magazine filled with informative articles, tips, and tricks for the digital photographer.
- layers The how-to magazine for everything Adobe.
Reviews:
- Website-Articles.net is a new article directory service designed—from the get go—especially for article marketers but has many advantages for all content producers. Besides allowing the inclusion of images and other multimedia, the service has removed many of the limitations caused by the restrictive submission guidelines commonly found at other article directories, including those at even the best-known ezines. In addition, there are no distracting ads surrounding the published article that can lure the reader away from the article. If you want to distribute your content-rich articles to a wider audience—and get the clicks, too—you will want to read this review.
Digital & CCD Photography Web Sites:
- dpreview.com This site is a must if you are interested in digital cameras. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter.
- luminous-landscape.com This is a comprehensive site for inspiration and practical information for the digital photographer.
- images by Tom Carrico CCD imaging information and quality astro-images.
Places, Adventure & Travel:
“A White Christmas for Shelton, Washington” Christmas in Shelton, Washington, for 2008, was a white one. This article shows what I saw on a short walk in the snow a few days before Christmas.
Flash “A day in seattle” I captured the images for this FLASH slide show in order to show what a tourist might see during a one-day visit to Seattle, Washington. The show will start and run automatically after a moment. Please note that many of the images are pretty “raw” and have not received the care I would give to them for prints or for a slide show distribution.
Video Alaska Adventure If you've always wanted to see and photograph wild Alaska, this site is a must--fabulous trips and fabulous guides. Watch the Video
“Five Days in Cordova” This article chronicles my summer trip to Cordova, Alaska. Includes a Video for each day.
Video The Newberry National Volcanic Monument The Newberry National Volcanic Monument might be one of Oregon's best kept secrets. Watch the video for a sample of what you can see and photograph there.
Affiliate Links:
The affiliates listed below provide products we at Select Digitals use and can recommend without reservation.- ix Web Hosting The quality web hosting service we use.
“Characteristics of a Good Web Hosting Service For Content Providers and Online Marketers” In this article, recently published at EzineArticles.com, I describe the characteristics of a good web hosting service for anyone serious about an online presence. If you are looking for a service that meets—and exceeds—the basic requirements, you might want to check out IX Web Hosting.
- 123di The digital photographer's library in a box. A no-cost demo is available for download.
This elegantly simple site entry page is based (with permission) on the work and philosophy of Jakob Nielsen.
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