It has again been a while since I last posted here.  A long, cold winter, while not conducive to doing a lot of running outdoors, has been good for working on various projects indoors.

One project has been to start working on some photography courses:  both the camera skills and the more technical post production use of Photoshop.  To that end, early in the year I subscribed to Lynda.com .

If you want to learn how to use just about any major software, Lynda.com is an amazing site.  For a flat annual fee you get unlimited access to countless courses that are of top notch quality.  I have been taking courses for several months now on Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher, Access, and WordPress.  As well they offer a huge array of photography courses.  I have learned a lot so far, and have so much more to learn as I have only scratched the surface of what is available.  The annual cost for unlimited access is less than what you would probably pay for a weekend seminar on any one of these topics.

Embed from Getty Images
Anyway I have been having a lot of fun learning about various topics and have put quite a bit of it to practical use with various projects I am involved with.  With the number of courses available and the number of topics I want to learn about, at times I’ve felt like a kid in a candy store. Embed from Getty Images

Vicoria-by-the-Sea, PE

One that has been especially fun is editing my photos from last summer in Photoshop.  I can’t help myself, it just blows my mind what you can do with this amazing software.  The final result is a selection of my favourite photos from my cross-country Tour du Canada last summer which I have now posted under the Gallery tab.  Many of these photos were posted on my blog over the course of the summer; however, I think I have been able to spruce them up a bit.  At the same time I have played around a little bit with various effects such as converting a photo to B&W or to a painting.  Please feel free to leave comments as you view the Gallery.

I also bought a new camera: a Canon 70D which I am learning how to use.  Hopefully some of what I have been learning in the courses will stick in my mind as I get out and have an opportunity to use my camera over several trips we have planned in the next few months.   If nothing else, I am going to have fun!

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