On Apr 7, 2006, at 10:54 PM, David Mann wrote:
On Apr 8, 2006, at 12:25 PM, Shel Belinkoff wrote:
Trying to read it straight through became a snooze real fast.
I tried that with a Javascript book once. Every lunchtime I'd read
through about half a chapter.
A few chapters in I realised that it was too much to comprehend by
itself, so I just sat down and started coding. The book has served
as an excellent reference since then, although some of the API
stuff at the back can be difficult to follow through the various
interfaces.
- Dave (learns by doing, not by reading)
I tend to read books like "Real World Camera Raw..." in short spurts,
stopping to experiment with new ideas or capabilities I hadn't
realized existed before, seeing how to apply them to a theoretical
problem. Once I get the gist of an idea, I read another little bit
and do the same over again. Many of the things I've read in RWCR and
other books on Photoshop remained relatively theoretical, back of my
head stuff for a long time. Until I started processing work for real,
for an exhibit or a client ...
Then I find that the concepts of how to get things done efficiently
pop up. I may not remember how exactly they were done, but I know
where to look. IN the course of putting together the "Ramsey"
exhibit, I visited putting into practice my developed notiongs of RAW
workflow, backup strategy, naming conventions, automating Photoshop,
and about a dozen other things I'd learned over a year's time of
studying the books and diddling a little at a time with concepts and
ideas.
I feel we all learn better in our time and pace, by reading and by
doing combined. The doing is very important ... need and motivation
drive learning to new levels that way.
Godfrey
