What you can do in Photoshop

Believe it or not, with a little experience it's not too difficult to create something like this on Photoshop. On the left you can see a 'mega city' I created in less than 2 hours.

To do this I used the same simple skills I explained in my tutorial Replacing Backgrounds using Photoshop. I just took a photo of one city then added buildings and parts of other cities behind it, using different layers. There are around 8 different cities in this image. I recall having at least 15 different layers when I created the image. All it takes is some experimenting with layers, the magic eraser tool and other tools.

If you have any queries about how to make a similar image using Photoshop, just leave a comment here.

Joining the gym? Part 2

If you're signing up to a gym for the first time and you've read Part 1 of this post, you're ready for this. You're not going to build muscle or drop the kilos just by going to the gym. In this post you will discover what else it takes to achieve these goals. You have probably heard this a million times before. When you start lifting weights or a new fitness program, don't expect overnight results. This is so true. It takes time, but if you go the right way about it, you will get results. The gym can help you get excellent results but it can also be a big waste of money if you don't know what you're doing.

Motivation is the key
Firstly you need the motivation to keep returning to the gym. It is so easy to loose the motivation and just give up. I stay motivared by always having rests. If you try going 6-7 times per week you will probably quickly loose interest. Go just 3 times per week. If you go 3 times, you're not wasting your money, you're muscles have time to recover and you wont loose interest so quickly. Also only get a 1 month membership (if they don't have 1 month memberships get the shortest they do have). At the end of each month have a 1 - 2 week rest. After the 1-2 weeks you'll be far more excited about returning.

Get your own program
When you first sign up, know exactly what you want to achieve. If you're unsure see Part 1 of this post. You will get the best results if you have your own personal program. You could try searching the internet for a program but there is one problem with this. The people writing these programs know nothing about you, so it's not personal. I recomend either asking to have a trainer at your gym create you a program (many gyms will do this free of charge). Or join an online fitness forum. There are always people on these forums who will be happy to help you and they usually know what they're talking about. Just sign up and post a thread. Try to include:

• your age
• what you want to achieve
• your height and weight
• how long you've been training
• details about your diet

Just be honest and with this information other members will be sure to help you create a good personal program.

A good diet is essential
You could work out every day for 12 months, but if you don't eat the right food you wouldn't see any results. I see this happen all the time, people spend hours at the gym but wonder why they're still so skinny or why they aren't loosing the weight. It is always because they don't have a good diet. If you're serious about building muscle you need to eat a lot. (obviously not junk food) Protein is crucial if you want to get bigger. You could try protein supplements but make sure you research them well first, they often have side effects. I'm no expert on diet, so I suggest you do your own research. Just remember without a good diet you wont get the results.

In summary, only get short memberships and have breaks to stay motivated. Get a personal program made for you, to help achieve your goals and eat well. If you follow the points outlined above you will see the results. Just keep at it.

Thinking of joining the gym? What you need to know

Will your New Years Resolution be to get into shape in 2009? Signing up at the local gym can be a good step towards this. In this post I will teach you the secrets to a gym membership.

Know what you want to achieve

Before you even find a gym think about what exactly you want to achieve. There are two main reasons people will go to the gym.
1. Cardiovascular fitness. Many people just use the treadmills, bikes, etc, to improve their fitness or burn off some calories.
2. Weight training. Most gym's have a good range of machines and free weights you can use to build up some muscle. Consider what muscles you want to work on. You need to ask yourself some questions. Upper body? Lower body? Why do you want to build up muscle? How often are you prepared to go to the gym?
If you're thinking of joining the gym just for cardio, I would reconsider. You can achieve the same results without joining a gym just by jogging, walking or playing sport. Maybe consider purchasing your own running machine or exercise bike. Also you will discover going to the gym just to spend an hour on the exercise bikes can be incredibly boring.

Finding a gym

After you have considered the points above and you still want to join up, you need to find a gym. Again there are some factors you need to consider. Do your research before buying a membership.
1. Price. You don't want to be spending too much on your membership. $60 or less for a 1 month membership or $500 or less for a 12 month membership are fair prices. Some gyms have very cheap deals for new members. But you need to remember these are only for new members. So after your first membership expires, the cost of another membership will probably jump considerably. Ask about a trial membership. Many gyms will offer very cheap or free, 1-2 week trial memberships for new members. I will come back trial memberships later.
2. Location. Ultimately you want a gym within 10 minutes or walking distance from you. The further you have to travel, the less likely you are to continue going. If you can walk there this can become part of your work out.
3. Equipment. Good quality equipment is important. Does the gym have equipment you can make good use of? Does it have enough equipment? Is it in good condition?
4. Other people. A gym session is always more enjoyable if you go with someone else. If you know someone else who already goes to the gym think about going with them. Just don't let them become a distraction at the gym.
This website may help you search for a gym.

Signing up at the gym

When you have chosen a good gym, it's time to sign up. The following point is probably the most valuable piece of advice I can offer you.
Do not buy a 12 month membership. When you first sign up they will try to convince you to buy a 12 month membership. They will tell you how you save so much money when buying a 12 month membership, just ignore them. Unless you are a die hard, gym junkie, I can almost guarantee you will not regularly go for 12 months. Nobody does. Chances are over 12 months you're going to get sick, suffer injuries, go on holidays and have other commitments. There goes at least 2 - 3 months of your membership. Yes, many gyms will allow you to suspend your membership, however this can be a long, tedious process, involving a lot of paperwork. Then the main reason not to get a 12 month membership is you will loose motivation. My guess would be 90% of people who buy a 12 month membership loose motivation and only go for 3 months or less. Would you want to pay for something you're not going to use?
As I mentioned earlier try to get a 1-2 week trial membership. This wont cost you much (if anything) and at the end you can decide whether you want to continue going afterwards.

If you still want to sign up to a gym, read Part 2 of this post, which will offer more advice for after you sign up. Remember to leave a comment if you have any further questions.

New Only Adelaide Domain

Just quickly, Only Adelaide can now be reached at www.only-adelaide.com, instead of only-adelaide.blogspot.com as it was previously. Hopefully this new address is easier to remember and also quicker to type.

Replacing backgrounds using Photoshop

This tutorial will explain how to replace a boring or plain background with a more interesting background using Adobe Photoshop. There are a number of ways this can be done, but this is the method I use and it's fairly simple. All you need is Adobe Photoshop or ImageReady and some photos. As an example I have used this photo I took in Glenelg you see above. The sky in this photo is just plain blue, not very interesting. So I'm going to replace it with a more interesting sky.

Firstly you find the image you want to change and open it up in Photoshop. In the layers tab this should appear as 'Layer 1'. Next in the left toolbar find the magic eraser tool. Now using the magic eraser click on part of the background you wish to have replaced. You should get something like this:

Depending on the image, it may take several clicks to fully erase the background. Also sometimes the magic eraser will erase part of the image which you want to keep. If this happens just undo the magic eraser and try adjusting the contrast before using the magic eraser again.
Now when you have completely cleared your background like shown below, you must create a new layer.

Now you need to find the image you wish to replace the background with. The image can come from your computer or the internet. To make things easier try to find an image that will contrast well with your existing foreground. For example a dark stormy sky would look silly in the background of my Glenelg photo. But a dusk, orange sky would fit in quite well.

When you have found an appropriate background image simply copy and paste it into your new layer. When you copy and paste it, it's probably going to appear above your foreground image (Layer 1) .All you need to do is find the layers tab and drag layer 2 below layer 1.

Now usually your background image will be either too big or too small. To fix this, make sure you have layer 2 selected and go to Edit then free transform (or Ctrl T). Now you can expand or move the image to however you like. When you've finished just click the tick above your image or the cross if you don't like it.
Now you've got your new background in place. If you want you can make more adjustments from here to improve it, just mess around with it. Experimenting with the different tools is the best way to learn more.