Orientation Quiz

A. What is something that is going well in your life?
I have great friends who have helped me tremendously this week.

B. What are your specific goals for this class?
To become proficient at Photoshop CS to the point that I can work for paying clients and meet their needs.

C. What was your first experience with computers and imaging technology like?
I first experience with computers was in 1977 when I took a course in programming. Back then our biggest concern was to not drop our punch cards. If you dropped a stack of punch cards with your program coding and they got out of order, it was a disaster. As for imaging technology, I took several classes in digital photography that also covered Photoshop. The last class was the year that Photoshop CS-1 was released. That class was a very positive experience.

D. Do you usually work on a Mac or a PC and why?
I'm a PC chick and have been quite happy with PCs until I got a new laptop recently with Vista on it. Maybe next time I'll cross over to Mac.

E. What is your experience level with Photoshop or image editing programs?
I've done some "just for fun" work with Photoshop Elements (version 2 or 3 I think). I've had some limited class work with Photoshop CS. I've also used JASSC which came on my desktop computer. It's pretty basic, but for adjustments like brightness, contrast, saturation, it's fine.

F. What is something you liked about your day today?
Tonight I got everything out of my house that flooded Monday. I packed and moved my entire household in less than 3 days - with the help of some very generous friends. So starting in the morning I can concentrate on my new place and getting everything in order for a fresh, dry start on higher ground.

G. How do you plan to use what you learn in this class?
I can play with Photoshop and photo manipulation for hours. But what I really want is to be able to do web design and some computer graphics and desk top publishing professionally.

H. What would make this class go very well for you?
A balance of pacing - fast enough that I learn as much as possible - slow enough that I don't get lost. This is a massive software package with a lot to learn.

I. How do you plan to make this class go very well for you?
First, try to stay on target with assignments and deadlines. This is not the type of class I could easily recover from getting behind in my schedule. Second, learn from others. Whether it's a program issue or a new appreciation for another photographer's style, I can always learn something from my peers as well as my instructors.

J. What do you do for creativity?
I write. I'm a member of Write Women, a writing group in Sitka that meets weekly. Also I do a variety of artist dates to fill the inspiration well.

K. Who are John and Thomas Knoll?
Brothers who created Photoshop.

L. Do you own or have access to a color image scanner?
I did Monday morning. I don't think it was damaged in my flood, but I won't know for sure until I find and set up my desktop computer system in my new place.