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I agree with you completely but what are we going to do about it?
CLARB has too much power and they are undermining our industry. I will not join  ASLA and at a workshop a few weeks ago nearly everybody said they same, why spend money we do not have on joining ASLA when we cannot call ourselves landscape architects until we pass the exams so why…[Read more]

Each soil must be understood for its own traits. Often a civil engineer will be needed on the team.
I worked on a project where the soils were a crumbly shale. They were not going to erode but more likely would collapse. Now I am working on a project 45 miles from that one. Soils are old Great Lakes dunes, 98%sand. Easily eroded. Forest cover…[Read more]

Thanks 

Both Painter and Sketch Book are solid programs. Just wanted to second that.

Corel Painter, Sketch Book Pro and Gimp are programs that come to mind. The last one I mentioned is even free. Hope that helps

5 x 5 is fairly typical and the size is fine for smaller trees but larger shade growing trees can pose problems. 
What size of tree are you specifying? The grate that you select should have an opening that can be enlarged to allow for the calipher to grow in size. 
Grates cost with angle iron 1300-3200. With installation you are looking between 3…[Read more]

Tyson,
Thanks for the response. Following are the answers to your questions:
– The grate will probably be about 5′ x 5′
– The type of tree is not final but it will be a xeric, hardy ornamental
– Staking will most likely be installed
– The installation will be a concrete plaza for pedestrian use
– The project is private
– The grates do not have to…[Read more]

Samuel I’m curious as to what your classmates went into to and how they broke into those areas?  I’ve never understood how people transition into other fields with this background unless they have friends who help them get a foot in the door somewhere.  99% of the general population hear Landscape Architect and think we are just glorified g…[Read more]

Thanks! Forgot I had that as my picture. 
Well mostly it is the cost associated with photoshop and need of its use around the office. I think I only know 20% of what photoshop really can do and i believe that most everyone in the office is the same way. So with that in consideration, is there anything that can give the same affects as photoshop…[Read more]

First I love your picture…GO Rams. 
Second what is your reasoning for wanting something different than Photoshop? It is a very robust program that has served me well. What are the end results you are going for? Are you painting, just doing collages, want to have shadows and perspective capabilities, layers, and so on. 
I would think having a b…[Read more]

Thanks. Will check it out. Looks pretty good so far. Is there a lot of setup involved to get a standard setup?  Can you give any other options as well? 

To Add to this: When I started out I did the mistake of going the laptop route. If you plan on doing 3d modeling and graphic post-production (even CAD), I would strongly discourage anyone from getting laptops. I built a tower in school and still use it this day. When I was in studio all my classmates used expensive and newest $$mac books$$ only to…[Read more]

You may want to go work in one of the environmental consultants before committing to an MLA – in most cases it’s an expensive proposition (both in time and $).  If you can work your way into one of the higher end ones you will have the most exposure to the type of work you seemed to be interested in.  Also, judging from your comments, it would b…[Read more]

your budget seems awfully low for a full workstation laptop.  I paid over $2500 ten years ago for my MacBook pro (used mainly Adobe CS on it) but it still works fine (with the software package I got for it)- can’t say the same for the pcs my peers all bought.  The nice thing about the macs is they had been more longer lasting, so over 6+ yrs it p…[Read more]

Thanks 
Part of the question was what software was available and recommended. 
But i think most of the recommendations are out of his current price range at £1000s
Thanks again

I agree with you there. I don’t know the full story of Winston’s background so I just gave him a broad suggestion on how he may be able to use his degree to help himself out better financially. Maybe it makes him a better la, maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know, that’s up to him to figure out and communicate that with the employer. It certainly doesn’t…[Read more]

Thank you for the mention Dave. We’re working hard on updates in the near future to improve the number of available trees and their rendering quality. Would love to see some of your designs sometime.

These days the hardware in a mac is the same as a PC. The only reason to buy a mac is if:
1. You need software specifically designed for a mac2. You are already invested in the apple eco-system3. You want the most stylish computer on the market
Unless a software package (not just a version of it) it’s typically better to go with a windows…[Read more]

Thanks for the replies 

I am currently using a Mac book pro and have a mix bag of programs since I transitioned from a dell tower. I am using f/x cad with land f/x with parallels on windows 7. Land f/x is great for rendered plans for client presentation as well as full construction plans. I haven’t used Vectorworks so I’m no help there. Do note that regardless of the…[Read more]