Photography

{160/365} – Tentative Textures

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So, after my first attempt at making a texture, this time, I really spent more time thinking about what I wanted to do, and the look I wanted to achieve.  Then, I rewatched Kim’s video lessons that are part of the Art of Texture ecourse, and plotted my photos of the day based on what I thought I might create. 

First, I made another set of custom brushes for Photoshop.  Just in case you have no idea what I’m talking about, in Photoshop, as you know, you have a brush tool.  The brush tool is really basically a stamp.  It comes loaded with many shapes and sizes, but you can also buy, or find for free, custom brush sets that can be loaded into your palette.  So, your custom brush could be a butterfly, or a grungy edge, or text, or anything you want.  So, that’s what I mean when I say I made a custom brush set – a set of brush tips that can be loaded into your brush tool in Photoshop.  Anyway, here they are –

marblebrushessamples 

I made these from a photograph of my marble front step.  And then, using these brushes, my leaf brushes from the other day, as well as the photo of my front step and a photo of my linen shade, I made this:

Marble Linen Texture 

And I used it here –

oldbookswithmarblelinentexture 

When I was pulling books of my shelf to set up this little still life, I fell in love with my 1888 copy of Robin Hood.  So, I scanned the cover, some of the text and illustrations inside, and created this brush collection and this texture:

RobinHoodBrushesSample And then this texture:

Robin Hood Texture 

And this image uses both of my creations today –

Old Books 

And now, I’m quite exhausted.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll conquer my vintage edition of Swann’s Way.  Or maybe I should actually read it first.

{158/365} – My First Texture (and boy is it UGLY)

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I don’t know if I really have any interest in making my own textures, but when Kim throws a party, ya gotta go, right?  So, I’m taking her Art of Texture class, and learning her secrets, and there are plenty, let me tell you. 

Anyway, first I attempted making my own Photoshop brush set.  I gathered some leaves from my doorstep, and scanned them into Photoshop.  Then, I made brushes –

Fallleafbrushset 

Yep, here they are – and I’d share them with you, but I don’t know how to make a zip file, and I don’t know where to store them – and I really don’t think anyone would want them, they’re not so good.  So, maybe as I get better, I’ll figure out the technical aspect of sharing, and when I move to the new blog, I’ll have a sharing area.  But for now, it’s all just practice.

And it’s a good thing it’s practice, because again, it’s not so good.

As in down right, bad, as in ugly.

Here’s my first texture (and, part of the reason why it is so terrible is because I waited too long to start this project, and there is no light in my house.  So, I photographed (see I got my photo of the day in!) my brick wall, and it was all fugged up with camera shake):

leaftexture 

See my leaf brush – at least I go that right.

And here’s the texture on a butterfly – because nothing looks horrendous on a butterfly:

Here’s the before:

butterflywithtexture 

I actually like what it did to the color, but you can’t really see any texture.  But, because the texture itself is out of focus, I didn’t get to involved with it, or invest too much time finding an image that would be perfect for it – I just tried it out. 

It’s all a process, like anything else, and I’ll probably get better.

Or I won’t.

{158/365} – My First Texture (and boy is it UGLY)

| 11 Comments

I don’t know if I really have any interest in making my own textures, but when Kim throws a party, ya gotta go, right?  So, I’m taking her Art of Texture class, and learning her secrets, and there are plenty, let me tell you. 

Anyway, first I attempted making my own Photoshop brush set.  I gathered some leaves from my doorstep, and scanned them into Photoshop.  Then, I made brushes –

Fallleafbrushset 

Yep, here they are – and I’d share them with you, but I don’t know how to make a zip file, and I don’t know where to store them – and I really don’t think anyone would want them, they’re not so good.  So, maybe as I get better, I’ll figure out the technical aspect of sharing, and when I move to the new blog, I’ll have a sharing area.  But for now, it’s all just practice.

And it’s a good thing it’s practice, because again, it’s not so good.

As in down right, bad, as in ugly.

Here’s my first texture (and, part of the reason why it is so terrible is because I waited too long to start this project, and there is no light in my house.  So, I photographed (see I got my photo of the day in!) my brick wall, and it was all fugged up with camera shake):

leaftexture 

See my leaf brush – at least I go that right.

And here’s the texture on a butterfly – because nothing looks horrendous on a butterfly:

Here’s the before:

butterflywithtexture 

I actually like what it did to the color, but you can’t really see any texture.  But, because the texture itself is out of focus, I didn’t get to involved with it, or invest too much time finding an image that would be perfect for it – I just tried it out. 

It’s all a process, like anything else, and I’ll probably get better.

Or I won’t.

{157/365} – Almost Through the Viewfinder

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So my ttv project is almost underway – I didn’t shoot through the viewfinder, but I did shoot at the viewfinder. 

Duaflex 

Jealous of those that participated in Hula Seventies workshop in San Franscico on ttv, and then inspired by Tammy Lee Bradley, I googled the instructions on how to make a ttv contraption ( I like this one, anything alcohol inspired is good by me), and then I trolled ebay looking for a Kodak Duaflex.  In theory, you can still shoot actual film with a Duaflex, which takes 620 film.  While the film is discontinued, you can either shave down the take up spools of 120 film, or you can respool your 120 film onto the 620 take up spool.  Neither option is all that appealing to me, so I don’t plan on using this baby for anything other than ttv.  I don’t think it appeals to many others, either, since you can get a Duaflex on ebay for under $10 – which is more than I paid for this one, which came with the inoperable flash (good for prop purposes though!).

When I opened my Duaflex package at work today, I was immediately transported back to my childhood, and my grandparent’s apartment.  In my grandmother’s bedroom, the bottom drawer of her dresser was designated as my toy chest.  In it was a doll I called Uncle Bessy (yes, she was  girl doll, I don’t know why I called her Uncle Bessy), and a broken twin lens reflex camera.  I’m not sure she had a Duaflex, but as soon as I looked through the viewfinder, it felt the same.  And, worked the same, too – snap snap, no photo.  But, fun nonetheless.

cameradip2 

So, tomorrow I’ll head to the liquor store to get the top of my contraption.  My husband will be assigned the actual construction of said thingy.  He doesn’t really get it, but he’s ok with it.

Kodak Reflection 

This was a complete accident – but it turned out kind of cool, don’t you think?

I was going to do my postponed diptych tutorial today, but my webhost provider, Dreamhost, did an upgrade, which shut the site down for a few hours, and now I’m too tired.  So, if you’re interested in how I made the above dip, I’ll show you next Tuesday (either here, or at the new blog . . . update on that very soon!).

{157/365} – Almost Through the Viewfinder

| 14 Comments

So my ttv project is almost underway – I didn’t shoot through the viewfinder, but I did shoot at the viewfinder. 

Duaflex 

Jealous of those that participated in Hula Seventies workshop in San Franscico on ttv, and then inspired by Tammy Lee Bradley, I googled the instructions on how to make a ttv contraption ( I like this one, anything alcohol inspired is good by me), and then I trolled ebay looking for a Kodak Duaflex.  In theory, you can still shoot actual film with a Duaflex, which takes 620 film.  While the film is discontinued, you can either shave down the take up spools of 120 film, or you can respool your 120 film onto the 620 take up spool.  Neither option is all that appealing to me, so I don’t plan on using this baby for anything other than ttv.  I don’t think it appeals to many others, either, since you can get a Duaflex on ebay for under $10 – which is more than I paid for this one, which came with the inoperable flash (good for prop purposes though!).

When I opened my Duaflex package at work today, I was immediately transported back to my childhood, and my grandparent’s apartment.  In my grandmother’s bedroom, the bottom drawer of her dresser was designated as my toy chest.  In it was a doll I called Uncle Bessy (yes, she was  girl doll, I don’t know why I called her Uncle Bessy), and a broken twin lens reflex camera.  I’m not sure she had a Duaflex, but as soon as I looked through the viewfinder, it felt the same.  And, worked the same, too – snap snap, no photo.  But, fun nonetheless.

cameradip2 

So, tomorrow I’ll head to the liquor store to get the top of my contraption.  My husband will be assigned the actual construction of said thingy.  He doesn’t really get it, but he’s ok with it.

Kodak Reflection 

This was a complete accident – but it turned out kind of cool, don’t you think?

I was going to do my postponed diptych tutorial today, but my webhost provider, Dreamhost, did an upgrade, which shut the site down for a few hours, and now I’m too tired.  So, if you’re interested in how I made the above dip, I’ll show you next Tuesday (either here, or at the new blog . . . update on that very soon!).

{155/365} – Dippy Dips

| 5 Comments

I was going to link-up with Touch Up Tuesday today, and do a little tutorial on diptychs, but I had such a bad camera day, I’m just going to quit while I’m ahead, and post what I’ve got.

Today, I was filled with inspiration – truly – I had diptych ideas coming out of my eyeballs.  But, my vision and my camera karma just did not come together today.

First, I wanted to do a self-portrait story – about not only the changing seasons, but about how I feel about my home – very rooted, very grounded.  I envisioned my legs like tree roots, and I saw the two photos next to each other – my boots in a pile of leaves, and a tree, with bare branches.  Easy enough you would think, right?  First, I knew I would probably be home after dark, so I really needed to get my outdoor shots before I went to work.   Unfortunately, while the streets department will move like lightening if there’s a movie shoot, they extend no such courtesy for the Wendy Ramos diptych studio.  So, when I went out this morning, the garbage cans still lined the street, and it was really hard to find a good place to photograph my boots without a garbage can in the background.  So much for the wide angle vision.  After I got a shot that was ok, I didn’t really consider composition  when I shot the tree, and when I put the photos together at lunch, this is the garbage I got:

Completely and utterly unpleasing to the eye.  For a diptych to tell a story, you have to be able to look at the photos, process them together, and then, hopefully, the narrative will be clear.  However, if the shot is badly composed, like this one, you can’t look at the photos in a cohesive manner; the problems in composition are too distracting.  Bad dip.

So, because I was still thinking I was going to try to do a tutorial, I went back in my archives, and found a different photo to replace the tree:

falleavesdip 

But now, without the tall tree, with the bare limbs, my story was gone.  Boo.  I have a color story now, but not my vision.

But, did I give up, no!  On the train ride home from the prison, again, I saw stories – and I like this one –

 

Composition?  Pretty good, interesting.  Story – also, pretty good – looking out the window, a thoughtful contained moment in time, while the world rushes by, lot’s of things going on in these photos.  But, the photo quality with the iPhone, through the window?  Meh.  They say the best camera is the camera you have with you, and I guess that’s right – but this would have been so much better with my DSLR.

{155/365} – Dippy Dips

| 7 Comments

I was going to link-up with Touch Up Tuesday today, and do a little tutorial on diptychs, but I had such a bad camera day, I’m just going to quit while I’m ahead, and post what I’ve got.

Today, I was filled with inspiration – truly – I had diptych ideas coming out of my eyeballs.  But, my vision and my camera karma just did not come together today.

First, I wanted to do a self-portrait story – about not only the changing seasons, but about how I feel about my home – very rooted, very grounded.  I envisioned my legs like tree roots, and I saw the two photos next to each other – my boots in a pile of leaves, and a tree, with bare branches.  Easy enough you would think, right?  First, I knew I would probably be home after dark, so I really needed to get my outdoor shots before I went to work.   Unfortunately, while the streets department will move like lightening if there’s a movie shoot, they extend no such courtesy for the Wendy Ramos diptych studio.  So, when I went out this morning, the garbage cans still lined the street, and it was really hard to find a good place to photograph my boots without a garbage can in the background.  So much for the wide angle vision.  After I got a shot that was ok, I didn’t really consider composition  when I shot the tree, and when I put the photos together at lunch, this is the garbage I got:

Completely and utterly unpleasing to the eye.  For a diptych to tell a story, you have to be able to look at the photos, process them together, and then, hopefully, the narrative will be clear.  However, if the shot is badly composed, like this one, you can’t look at the photos in a cohesive manner; the problems in composition are too distracting.  Bad dip.

So, because I was still thinking I was going to try to do a tutorial, I went back in my archives, and found a different photo to replace the tree:

falleavesdip 

But now, without the tall tree, with the bare limbs, my story was gone.  Boo.  I have a color story now, but not my vision.

But, did I give up, no!  On the train ride home from the prison, again, I saw stories – and I like this one –

 

Composition?  Pretty good, interesting.  Story – also, pretty good – looking out the window, a thoughtful contained moment in time, while the world rushes by, lot’s of things going on in these photos.  But, the photo quality with the iPhone, through the window?  Meh.  They say the best camera is the camera you have with you, and I guess that’s right – but this would have been so much better with my DSLR.

{154/365} – Diptych

| 6 Comments

 

Hmmm, those are some bags under my eyes.  Eh, whatever, it’s all good.

I’ve always liked the concept of diptychs, but I’ve never really used them correctly.  Correctly, I think they tell a story, and there’s a visual connection between the two photos.  Mostly, I make diptychs to consolidate things on the blog or solve spacing issues – for instance, when I want two place two photos side by side on the blog, but I know WordPress will format it funky. 

So . . . and this is just coming to me – like wow! zap! lightbulb!  This is going to be a week of diptychs.  Awesome.  So, tomorrow, for touch-up Tuesday, I’ll show you how to make one.

And what’s the story here?  This leaf has been lying in front of our house for about three days.  And, the strange thing?  I have no idea where it came from.  There are no trees on our block that grow this size leaf.  There are no other gargantuan leaves on anyone else’s doorstep.  The mystery leaf.  And, then, I was thinking back to Picture Fall, when we were prompted for the 80th time to photograph a leaf, but in a new way, and I thought about gathering leaves into a fan, and taking just this shot.  And, now was the right time for this shot.  The leaf struck me, it appeared to be a geisha fan, and I picked it up, and it worked.

{154/365} – Diptych

| 5 Comments

 

Hmmm, those are some bags under my eyes.  Eh, whatever, it’s all good.

I’ve always liked the concept of diptychs, but I’ve never really used them correctly.  Correctly, I think they tell a story, and there’s a visual connection between the two photos.  Mostly, I make diptychs to consolidate things on the blog or solve spacing issues – for instance, when I want two place two photos side by side on the blog, but I know WordPress will format it funky. 

So . . . and this is just coming to me – like wow! zap! lightbulb!  This is going to be a week of diptychs.  Awesome.  So, tomorrow, for touch-up Tuesday, I’ll show you how to make one.

And what’s the story here?  This leaf has been lying in front of our house for about three days.  And, the strange thing?  I have no idea where it came from.  There are no trees on our block that grow this size leaf.  There are no other gargantuan leaves on anyone else’s doorstep.  The mystery leaf.  And, then, I was thinking back to Picture Fall, when we were prompted for the 80th time to photograph a leaf, but in a new way, and I thought about gathering leaves into a fan, and taking just this shot.  And, now was the right time for this shot.  The leaf struck me, it appeared to be a geisha fan, and I picked it up, and it worked.

{153/365} – Tea with Lemons

| 2 Comments

In preparation for the new site (coming soon!), I photographed, what else, tea with lemons.  I photographed my Lemon as well, but I’m going to use that in the new blog, so you’ll just have to wait for that one!

lemons 

teawithreallemons

And, as an aside, I had fresh lemons in the house because I roasted a chicken for dinner.  Did you know that if you put lemon rinds in the chicken’s cavity, the bird stays sweet and moist?  Perfect bird every time.  Thanks Oprah! 

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