START - Progress and Windows 7!

As you can hopefully see I've progressed with the sites design, some what and am rather happy with how it looks:

My next major task is to arrogate all the random feeds I've suggested Start to sign up to, i.e. Twitter, Blogspot and Picasssa. I initially aimed to use Twitter and Googles API to do this but was just running into constant problems. Which was a shame but being a slight novise to PHP I couldn't afford to waste to much time.

What I did manage to do was use MagpieRSS which with some coding grabs Twitters and Blogspots RSS feeds and displaying them in your PHP. Magic! Some of the usefull links I've been using:

http://workbench.cadenhead.org/twitter-rss-to-html/
http://www.hiash.com/blogger.php
http://magpierss.sourceforge.net/

Due to the none pleasant working conditions of Center Court when its warm weather, lack of air flow and bad sewage smells, and thanks to the lame guttering I've chosen to work from home for a couple days. Which has been far more productive than in the office this is down to a few key points:

• Windows 7 - Microsoft really have got it going on here kicking dust in OSX's eyes due to a number of reasons, mostly their Task bar (admittedly they've just copied Linux and OSx here but if it works why complain!), I also like their snap windows to edges system which I've been using heavily on this project.
• 1000watt sound system, keeps me going
• 27inch screen also helps!

Train the Trainer - Photography Basics - Beyond the Snapshot

Aim of this Session:

• To help you improve upon your current photography skills, and to alert you of standard techniques and to apply them in practice.

By the end of this session you should:

• Be aware of some of the key photography rules
• Be able to apply these rules to your own photos
• Hopefully take nicer photographs.

What makes these following images stand out:







The thing which makes images stand out from others is that they have a good composition, a photo's composition can be broken down to rules:

• Focus
• Rule of Thirds
• Lines
• Headroom

Focus
Might seem obvious, but keeping prominent parts of the image in focus:



Rule of Thirds:
The golden rule of thirds, keep areas of interest at every third of the image.



Lines:
Another technique to gain interest in key areas of a photo. Use lines to guide the viewers eyes to key areas of the image. (below the path attracts the viewers eyes to the rider)



Headroom:
Leaving too little or too much space around an object. (below the object is to small compared to its surroundings, doesn't attract your eye's attention)



Further reading:

Top 10 Photography Composition rules:
http://www.amateursnapper.com/photography/10-top-photography-composition-rules
Rules of photo composition:
http://www.colorpilot.com/comp_rules.html

Please feel free to leave comments if you require any further information in certain areas.