OCA The Art of Photography Course Discussion Including Assignments and Submissions

Status
Not open for further replies.
gercam said:
I have now completed my first exercise
http://gerricampbellphotography.wordpress.com/
Any crit welcome re blog - I am struggling with right hand menu slightly. Dont really know hwo to get it the way I want it.
The actual post also looks really big - are the photos too big? Any advice very gladly accepted.

Anyway enjoyed doing it and now need to write others up and get on with assignment
Click to expand...

Yep a good start but you dont appear to have the camera horizontal. Assuming you are on a tripod and neither camera or tripod have a spirit level you can buy a camera one cheap enough that will slot into the flash hot shoe.

The course is all about learning :D
 
Thanks for your comments. Hadn't even noticed photos will edit photos and repost.

On another note, does anyone know how to draw rectangles/lines on images with photoshop elements?? Have googled it and it is driving me nuts- think my brain can't cope :)
 
gercam said:
On another note, does anyone know how to draw rectangles/lines on images with photoshop elements?? Have googled it and it is driving me nuts- think my brain can't cope :)
Click to expand...

I ended up exporting them as jpgs and opening them in paint in order to scrawl all over them :D

Why make life more difficult then it has to be?
 
lucyb said:
Hi and welcome onto TAOP. I'm glad you are enjoying it so far. The write-up is good. I don't think you need to change anything, but in future you could consider how you will use what you've learned - like being aware of how the focus point controls where the eye goes (but you've alluded to that when analysing the photos).

I'm using a custom menu widget in combination with categories for the menu on my blog.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. Have had a look at your blog and really like it. Very clean and easy to navigate- exactly what I am trying and failing to achieve. Have looked at the custom widget site as well. Did you find it easy to do? Think I am too tired tonight- will look at it again tomorrow :)
 
Still dithering over my blog theme and layout; I'm quite a structured person so looking for a clean uncluttered organised look. If it is of interest to anybody just starting out, I had a wander around the OCA Flickr forum yesterday and one of the tutors commented on a thread that the learning blog should ideally have links to each assignment at top of page. Under each link should be the assignment, the tutor report, your reflections on the tutor report and any changes you've made to the assignment in light of the feedback and reasons for it. Sounded like good advice to me and food for thought.
ps. can't wait to start TAOP properly; doing a bit of reading here and there but most spare time is taken up at the moment with house refurb :-)
 
@carol - I wouldn't stress over the blog or the layout or even links to the assignments as long as they are on the blog and links to them are so easy to create:

- blog: Its a learning log, some people will have these as word documents some people will have them as physical note books, some as blogs on the web. You'll be fine. Take a look a other people's if you need some suggestions.

- layout - I'm using blogger and I never used anything like this before so like your photography be prepared to learn as you go along and not worry about what you dont know at the moment. Your photography and understanding is what the course is about, not your blog skills :)

- assignments. Tutors sometimes differ on how they want your assignments but for TAOP its most likely just a PDF file. In term of the blog for tutor assessment and formal assessment url links to your blog for each assignment for assessment, tutor feedback and any changes are easy to create and document.

- excercises. Look at these perhaps as small individual activities allowing for thinking, preparation, photographing and write up. These can be addressed as small parcels of activity so you can likely fit this into your life quite easily rather than looking at the whole and thinking it a long and complex activity. I think if you approach it like this you will adapt to the course much easier imho
 
Have the prices gone up a fair amout since the start of this thread, by £300 odd or am i looking at the wrong course(£975)?
 
ThyJones said:
Have the prices gone up a fair amout since the start of this thread, by £300 odd or am i looking at the wrong course(£975)?
Click to expand...

They went up in the last month or two, in line with all other uk universities being given the go ahead to up their prices.

Old boys network being shareholders / investors is probably the most reasonable explanation.
 
ThyJones said:
Have the prices gone up a fair amout since the start of this thread, by £300 odd or am i looking at the wrong course(£975)?
Click to expand...

Yes which is why everyone rushed to join up before the prices went up, as they are frozen for 5 years.
 
Well sat here feeling rather pleased with myself.
As we have had builders in etc, i was hoping to have hours to do stuff, however having to move the room around, i was unable to get to the pc to type up any exercises.

Just finished typing up the focus at different apertures as a word doc, due to my internet being slow, adding stuff to wordpress is a mare, however managed to type up and publish focus at a set aperture.

Bit of a noob question, but no doubt some may be thinking this (not just for blog use), but you know when people add to a page i think it's a hyperlink (didn't have pcs in my day at school), where when you click on the word/words it takes you to another page etc, how do you do them, was shown a few years back doing my ECDL, but have forgotten. Yes i know, the village is missing an idiot.

Anyway, time to have a beer and sort clothes out for an early morning trip to Richmond park.
 
Byker28i said:
Yes which is why everyone rushed to join up before the prices went up, as they are frozen for 5 years.
Click to expand...

Typical, just my luck lol
 
Reidy36 said:
Bit of a noob question, but no doubt some may be thinking this (not just for blog use), but you know when people add to a page i think it's a hyperlink (didn't have pcs in my day at school), where when you click on the word/words it takes you to another page etc, how do you do them, was shown a few years back doing my ECDL, but have forgotten. Yes i know, the village is missing an idiot.
Click to expand...

Quick google would have given you this - http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/need-to-add-hyperlink ;)

Hope that helps.
 
On my Wordpress editor, there's a link icon, like a chain link. I just click that and there's boxes for the URL and what you *** the link text to be.
 
I am trying to finish my next exercise on my blog and for some reason some of the photos are not showing up when I look at the preview on wordpress.Would it have anything to do with me trying to post the photos side by side? Anyone got any ideas?
 
Last edited:
Byker28i said:
Have you coded to put them in a table
Click to expand...

No i thought you could just put them in - I guess that is where I have gone wrong :)

On another note, when I come to doing assignment on contrasts, how many photos can I use that I have already taken and how many do I have to go out and take?
 
gercam said:
No i thought you could just put them in - I guess that is where I have gone wrong :)

On another note, when I come to doing assignment on contrasts, how many photos can I use that I have already taken and how many do I have to go out and take?
Click to expand...

It was strongly suggested to me to take new photos for assignments, however using shots from your current catalogue is ok for exercises provided you don't go over the top with it
 
gercam said:
No i thought you could just put them in - I guess that is where I have gone wrong :)

On another note, when I come to doing assignment on contrasts, how many photos can I use that I have already taken and how many do I have to go out and take?
Click to expand...

How did you add them then? I'm on the app at the moment but there is a post with a tutorial a few pages back on how to use tables to format the pics/ thumbnails.
I just use the insert image, insert with a small pic linked to a larger pic. Reason being is my page s only about 1000 pixels wide with the right menu.

Have you got anything displayed?

As for photos, it's best to take new images for everything to prove you are learning. You can of course also refer back to previous pics you've taken, but use it in context to something you've recently taken meeting the requirement of the exercise/assignment.
 
I read in the paperwork that you can only use images that have been taken since you started the course, so if you have something taken since you started that should be ok.
However like Byker said if you take new images, they can see your progression.
 
Having reread notes I can see now where I got confused- I had missed the words "in preparation for the assignment" when it mentioned going back through previous photos. Thanks for all your help
 
I dont see any point in using old images to be honest. The whole point of the course is about your photography development.

Whilst sometimes the excercises appear relatively simple others take you out of your comfort zone. I'm only about half way toward Assignment 2 and already I've photographed things I wouldn't have taken before and have sometimes I've been surprised by my resulting images and so would in future consider it takin them again

I suppose the way I think about it is that its a photographic learning journey rather than the just (hopefully) the end result so that you will become better from the taking the photographs...imho :)
 
Byker28i said:
How did you add them then? I'm on the app at the moment but there is a post with a tutorial a few pages back on how to use tables to format the pics/ thumbnails.
I just use the insert image, insert with a small pic linked to a larger pic. Reason being is my page s only about 1000 pixels wide with the right menu.
Click to expand...

here you go, this was the link if you want to use tables to format multiple tables: http://www.techbuzz.in/how-to-insert-tables-into-wordpress-posts-pages.php
 
That's ridiculous. I'd raise a complaint with the office. Sorry, forgot, is this your first assignment? If so I'd be asking to swap tutor as you've no confidence in them.

I sent my assignment off on 25th Sept, heard nothing yet. Give it another week and I'll be sending assignment 4. :bang:
 
I would definitely raise a complaint with oca directly and see if you can transfer tutors as your current one is obviously not pulling his weight or making any real effort if he keeps loosing your work.

If you want I can send you my tutors name and you might be able to transfer to him, as I've mentioned previously I've had no issues with him and my feedback has always been quite prompt.
 
how quickly would you expect a tutor to give feedback? Its been over a week now since i submitted my first assignment and silence. I got an email last week saying he would look over them when he time to properly digest, but frankly hes been a bit of a letdown since day one as far as getting involved goes.

Regarding old and new photos. I made that mistake too and submitted previously taken shots, he told me to submit a few sets of new images just to show that ive done some.
 
essexash said:
how quickly would you expect a tutor to give feedback? Its been over a week now since i submitted my first assignment and silence. I got an email last week saying he would look over them when he time to properly digest, but frankly hes been a bit of a letdown since day one as far as getting involved goes.

Regarding old and new photos. I made that mistake too and submitted previously taken shots, he told me to submit a few sets of new images just to show that ive done some.
Click to expand...

Well I generally get acknowledgement within 24 hours and feedback within 48 hours of that. Going from what's in this thread, there seems to be no standard across all the tutors as to how quickly they should respond to feedback. If that's the case in definitely going to see if I can stick with my current tutor as much as possible through the entire course.
 
do any of your tutors look at your blogs and post comments just on the exercises?
 
Mine doesn't, at least he's not commented on any. He just overlooks them when I submit my assignment, there again I tend to batch upload all the exercises just before I submit my assignment.
 
My first tutor was excellent. Lots of detailed feedback from both exercises, blogs and assignments plus pointers towards other photographers or ideas. Prompt feedback also, usually the weekend after submission, or if I had a query within a day or two of my email.

My current tutor is slow, I suspect a cut and paste for my last assignment bar two lines of personal stuff. Slightly disappointing but having been on student study visits I also know there's some other great tutors out there.

If you have concerns, do speak to the office. They are understanding.
 
Thanks guys

OCA have confirmd thay they expect assignment feedback turnaround time of 2-3 weeks, for some students it may be quicker. The first assignment may take a bit longer as it has to go to the OCA. Mine unfortuately took 6 weeks

I now have my feedback - YAY

In summary he commented on the images and also on several aspects that I should consider to improve my photography as well as how I presented the assignment.

He also commented on my blog regardig images, layout and suggestions of how to improve, given I intend to progress toward the degree

Clearly I'm hoping this was a one off but for the other guys I'd recommend:

a) a time of submission as for an eta
b) chase if not received at eta time
c) as above after 3 weeks
 
Got my last assignment back, some things to consider and put in the blog as feedback.
 
Think I got wrong end of stick with mine, been drop boxing him all exercises and got email back saying he just wants to see assignments, not everything I do, but know he looks at my blog and Flickr.
Hopefully going out and taking photos tomorrow for next 2 exercises and can hopefully get them written up over the weekend, had plans for last weekend, but family bereavement, makes you realise the important stuff.
Looks like weather will hopefully be better, so planning on making most of cyclists round Richmond park for panning exercise.
 
Productive day so far. I managed to get out and take the photographs for 4 of the exercises, and have written 2 up and added to my blog.
Got some housey type stuff to do now, but hoping i can make a start on the next exercise write up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top