First Composition 101 and 102; Now Composition 103--Content Writing for the Internet--A New Course from UCR

Content Writing for the Internet--a new University of California--Riverside course

First there were Composition 101 and 102. 

Now...introducing...  

Composition 103: Content Writing for the Internet

The must-have course for any student who plans to work online begins on Jan. 29, 2013.

The skills you learn in the class are valuable for a lifetime:


1. Have your work edited and formatted for Internet use.

2. Learn to write engaging blog posts and online articles.

3. Access to the many opportunities available for online work.

The instructor, Matthew Bamberg, has written and instructed online since 1999 and offers his valuable experience and editing skills to help you improve your online content from blog posts to full-length articles, including formatting of text and image. 

A prolific writer with ten published non-fiction books, four blogs and hundreds of articles online, Matthew Bamberg's online journalism experience covers a wide range of general interest articles written specifically for Internet publication.

Take advantage of this valuable opportunity that can open up a new world of employment opportunities and skills to your career.  

Book About What Photographers Need to Know About the Cloud on Kindle and NOOK

Book explains what photographers need to know about the Cloud

Here it is now available on Kindle--Photography Applications for Cloud Computing. If you're not sure what platform is best for backing up and/or storing your photos, this is the book that addresses this important task.

To be sure, Backing Up is Hard to Do, but it's also a good way to skip the external hard drives and have your photos in high resolution (in Photoshop Raw, JPEG, TIFF) anywhere you go.

Not all storage services are alike--some are less expensive than others and some don't really store your photographs at all, instead backing up only computer, deleting the files on the server when you delete them on your computer.

Photography Applications for Cloud Computing is also available on the NOOK.

It's All About Light in Photography

The American flag in a stream of sunlight

It's all about the light in photography. If you're a sharpshooter, you'll be on the lookout for light. Light shining down alley ways, light from behind, back light, light from below, light through translucent materials and multicolored light. 

In the photograph above note the sunlight peeking though the American flag--light in all its glory isolated through the stars and stripes, creating a glowing image of an American city.

Important for light is also the background. Look for isolated, well-lit foregrounds with dark backgrounds. Try photographing into the light for the silhouetting of objects.

Finally, there's the light seen flowing down the subway stairway just under the opening to the outside. Along with this light comes the unique perspective of looking up into the wide open sidewalks and buildings in the city.
bridge photos

Vancouver High Rises--A Closer Look

Rectangular windows in close-up of a Vancouver, Canada high-rise

Circular-shaped balconies in close-up of a Vancouver, Canada high-rise

Patterned guardrails in close-up of a Vancouver, Canada high-rise

Modular design of a Vancouver high-rise

Circle-shaped balcony guardrails on a Vancouver high-rise

Extended balconies of a Vancouver high-rise

Canada flag reflected on glass of a Vancouver high-rise

Concrete and glass balconies in Vancouver high-rise

People engaged in different activities on the balconies of a Vancouver high-rise

Glass cubicles of a Vancouver high-rise

The highrises in Vancouver are all shapes and sizes, but some look strikingly similar when you look at them from a distance.

Peering into the balconies with a zoom lens seems as if it might be a bit intrusive. Despite that, the effect of seeing a series of close-ups of Vancouver high rises is nothing less than stunning--shapes, lines and forms that appear to be geometrically perfect.

 These image show you how detailed the collaboration of architects, designers and construction workers can create such artistic looking works when one small part of the building is magnified in a photograph.

Using a zoom lens, though you can get a peek at how each one is different and, at times, view the activities of the residents. Living in these giant buildings gives the impression of a densely populated city with people packed in decorated boxes that soar into the sky.

These images were taken on a summer afternoon when the sky was clear with pleasant temperatures in the 70s about ten years ago. 

vintage digital art

Cameras for Travel Photography

Cameras for travel photography need to be mobile and easy to put in a backpack so when you're traveling it doesn't become a cumbersome chore to carry it from plane to plane, airport to taxi, taxi to hotel, hotel to shooting destination.

I manage with a Canon 5D because I don't want to give up my full-size sensor. I want the full-size sensor so I can get sharp photos at 100 percent resolution on my computer. That's a sticking point for me.

Now that I'm looking for a new camera, the 5D Mark II makes sense to me because of it's price and power. Finally, I'll get jpeg images at 12 mp, which is ideal for the microstock photography websites.

Advanced amateurs and some professionals who want a smaller camera opt for a dSLR with a APS-C sensor (20.7×13.8 mm to 28.7×19.1 mm). These cameras are considerably less expensive than the full-size sensor models.

The difference in image quality, though, is not that noticeable and the microstock and some stock agencies have no problem accepting them if the images are sharp throughout and don't have noise.

If you do opt for the smaller body (and smaller sensor) go for one that is over 16 MP so you get an image resolution of 12 mb for jpeg photos, the ideal file size that buyers look for and buy more often.

Keeping all of this in mind, these cameras are your best bet:

Canon EOS Rebel T4i with 18-55mm EF-S IS II Lens , 16MP APS-C sensor (22.3 x 14.9 mm) $691

Nikon D5100 CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens , 18MP APS-C sensor (23.6 x 15.7 mm) $547

Olympus E-PL5 Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black)  Four-Thirds sensor (17.3 x 13 mm) $599

Mapplethorpe Redefined in Patti Smith's "Just Kids"

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe

Probably the most interesting book about photography that came out in 2012 was a nonfiction book by rocker Patti Smith about her relationship with the controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Smith writes a book filled with vivid details of two incipient artists in their early twenties living in New York City, revealing a relationship that breaks the boundaries of sexual orientation.

If you're at all familiar with Mapplethorpe, you are probably aware of an artist's work that is synonymous with photography perfection, one who well known for his flawless photographs of flowers. More than that, though, Mapplethorpe was also known as the photographer who brought  AIDS under the microscope when he photographed men with deadly Karposi's Sarcoma lesions that appeared on the skin of some of the first sufferers of the disease.

The images stirred up controversy among the media and rocked the art world with shocking documentary photography from a little-known New York artist who ultimately climbed the that world's ladder of success.

Before this time--the 1970s--Mapplethorpe's intimate partner was a woman, not a man as most people might have expected from an artist who also photographed lurid sexual acts among men, so technically perfect that the acts became secondary to the quality of the photography.

Robert Mapplethorpe as depicted in Patti Smith's Just Kids as a perplexed man is unsure of his sexuality, a man who sought comfort in a stable relationship with another artist--a poet and musician--that sparked an intimate relationship  beyond the bounds of common assumptions.

Just Kids moves from one Manhattan scene to another adroitly through a series of encounters with offbeat personalities with excruciating talent, a tight-knit group of Warhol friends whose art rocketed them to fame, adding a new dimension to pop culture and art

The book's descriptive language and sequential forays into a world unknown to most should be on every contemporary artist's reading list to gain both knowledge and understanding of a man whose art become more popular among the mainstream each day.

Great Wall Mutianyu China in HDR

Great Wall (Mutianyu) in China HDR

Sometime around the 7th Century BC, the Great Wall in China had begun to be built. The image to your left is the Great Wall China in HDR.

 While it isn't the original Great Wall (this part was rebuilt for tourists) it is in the same place as the existing wall was. To see what's left of the existing wall, you have to go into an area that's not for tourists and marked accordingly, a short distance away from the section that was rebuilt.

There you'll find some of the materials that were used to build the original--wood, stone, brick and dried mud. This part, however, is not very impressive as the wall is directly under you, mostly buried underground.

The Great Wall China in HDR was created by electronically merging three photos of different exposures. In doing so the shadows that were blackened  and highlights that were blown were brought back to life with some details.

There are a couple of facts you should know about the Great Wall before you head out. The first is that it's a few hours from Beijing. The road is good most of the way, but gets bumpy as you approach it. Once you get there, you'll find about a dozen venders selling Chinese goods. Watch your wallet here as they will try to trick you by giving you the wrong change. If possible have low denominations of RMB (Chinese money) with you.

You don't have to go hungry here. The food in Northern China is notoriously unappealing, so I'd stay away from the stands lining the walkway to the entrance. You'll find that there is a Subway right near the parking lot. You can't miss it. The food there is similar to that in the United States.

Finally, go there rested. The walk up and down is extremely arduous. It leaves even the most physically-fit person breathless. Remember, too, that the Great Wall China is considerably high up. If you have any mobility problems, look at it from below. Getting up there is likely to get you injured.

To get up to the top you can walk, but it's quite lengthy and leaves quite a bit more walking once you get to there. The best way to see it is take the ski lifts up (be careful here, too) and then walk from one tower to another (about an hour-in-a-half), then take the lift down. You also have the option of taking the sled down. To be sure, you don't go down a snowy slope, but instead down a metal track. It's a lot of fun, but you have to go fast enough so that the person in back of you doesn't bump from behind.

Compared to Beijing, the air is fresh and clear. Most of the time it's dry. The best time to visit is in the fall when the leaves are changing. That can be spectacular. 

colorful greeting cards

Jasper Johns American Flags

Three Flags by Jasper Johns

Making the American flag into American art, Jasper Johns , an artist in the 1950s who used the American flag in many of his works, refined the work of the Dadaists. Jasper Johns American flags are one of the most iconic works in twentieth century American art.

The Dadaists were artists who one generation earlier had viewers experience the experimental works that didn't particularly mean anything sacrosanct, but were just there in their color, shape, and form.

Johns painted a plethora of American flags: standalone flags like the ones you find when you type his name into Google images. He also painted flags inside of flags with shadows accompanying each one so that they look three-dimensional as in the image "Three Flags" image above, which was painted in 1958.

Today, his paintings attract a large following and are shown in museums throughout the world. Photographers can appreciate his work because of its photo-like quality.

route 66 prints