Just coming to the end of a course that was offered free by the local council, I’ve been one of a few guinea pigs for a distance learning based L1 course with the NTLC. We can’t use photoshop for any submissions other than resizing the files. I’ve managed a couple that I am actually pleased with:
My Environment 2 by LostInTheNorth, on Flickr
Weather 2 by LostInTheNorth, on Flickr
light and shade 3 by LostInTheNorth, on Flickr
lines 1 by LostInTheNorth, on Flickr
In most cases a grad filter would have helped but I lost mine a while back and havnt replaced them.
The course has been useful in making me think more about composition and camera setup before pressing the shutter button. I still use photoshop but not as much as I used to and in most cases its just a quick WB correction or a crop. Sometimes I’ll add effects to try and change the image like noise or a filter.