Week 35 ~ Glass

You know, perhaps I should have combined this post with the last, as I was still enthralled with the whole capturing water thang. While this week's theme was glass, I couldn't resist using some food colouring and a fast running tap (sorry Sydney Water...) to shoot even more images of water, this time - in a wine glass! And talk about a ghetto set up, the above shot was set up in the kitchen sink with the OCF pointing to the side of the sink and bouncing onto the glasses I had set up in the sink. Of course, the blur and bokeh is due to the Lensbaby Composer, a most magical lens.

The shot below used a similar set up, this time instead of the kitchen sink, I had the wine glasses placed within a white box and bounced the OCF away from the glasses thereby diffusing the light. Using selective focus, I wanted to convey the 'barely there' qualities glass can sometimes have:

If you are interested, the first image above is available for sale over at Red Bubble here.

New Beginnings

There's something in the air at the moment, as everywhere I turn, there's change of some sort going on. Some of the changes are minor, others not. Some are game changes, others not. Some are simply part of life and living and some are even exciting and squeal worthy.

This morning, Red Bubble, the website where I sell my photographic prints,  had a major site change. My day, being what it was, I didn't get to spend much time browsing there, but my initial thinking is that I quite like the new look. I've just noticed that my avatar makes me look as though I'm peering out of a porthole, and you can just see that Nutella jar I'm about to tuck into - so that is quite cool! I like the serif and slightly larger font - but that may be an age thing. Or maybe my computer suddenly has larger font...

I've also recently upgraded my camera, and this is one of the images from my first session out with it. More changes; getting used to where features are located; learning the new features.  The steep learning curve begins again. The first and last images from my beloved 50D, were of flowers. I was determined to change that pattern, and start with something a little more adventurous than flowers! (See what I did there - I forced a change upon my comfortable routine...nothing like jumping right out of the comfort zone.) Moody, misty landscape shots in the Blue Mountains National Park seemed a little more adventurous.

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.
T.S. Eliot

So now, if you'll excuse me, what I need is a good night's sleep so that I can awaken tomorrow and embrace the changes that simply keep coming my way.

Can You Make Large Canvas Prints With Your iPhone Images?

"~ the twins ~" by Adriana Glackin | RedBubble:

 

In short, the answer is yes. But you do need to follow a few steps in order to be able to obtain large prints. Below are the steps I used to create a canvas print as large as 684mm x 508mm of the above image.

You will need:

* iPhone image

* gloss photo paper

* inkjet printer and scanner

* photo editing software

Method:

1. Open up your photo editing software and import your iPhone image.

2. If you're using PS, select File > Print. This will open up the image and position it on the "paper". I selected A4 sized paper and then set the size so the image would fit within that A4 paper.

3. Go into your Printer Properties and select gloss paper and the highest quality printer setting you can. In the case of my printer, I also made sure the actual printer also had those settings. (probably an unnecessary step)

4. Once you have printed the iPhone image onto your gloss photo paper, pop that image onto the scanner.

5. Go to your photo editing software program and select File > Import. You'll see that you have your printer as one of the options. Select it.

6. Select Advance Mode in the scanning tabs. You should be able to see that you can now select the Output Resolution. You will want to increase this to as high as you can. The above image was scanned at 500dpi, giving me a file size of 68MB. I can scan images on my printer to a maximum of 99MB.

7. There are other settings you can fiddle with, such as Data Size and Image Settings. Other than making sure the Image Setting is "Photo", I don't fiddle with any of the other options. I then select Preview, and this does an initial scan.

8. If you're happy with the Preview Scan, then hit the Scan button and the image will then be carefully scanned and popped into your photo editing software program.

9. Once your scanned iPhone image is done, this is where you can make any further edits, changes, add textures and so on.

The above image had already been edited using a couple of iPhone apps and once it was scanned, I simply added a couple of my textures, tweaked the vibrancy and curves and then I was done. I'm sure there are other ways this can be done, but I thought I'd share how I do it.

I hope this has been helpful - and have fun scanning those iPhone images :)

One Week Only - SALE @ RedBubble

It's SALE time over at RedBubble! For one week only, you can receive 20% off your Calendar, Greeting Card and Postcard purchases.  The lovely people over at RedBubble have made it possible to set the starting date on your calendar. That means if you want to get a head start with your Christmas shopping, then buy your calendars this week and choose "January 2011" as your starting date.  Or you may realise that you don't have a calendar in the house (how did that happen?) , again order your calendar this week and choose "July 2010" as your starting month.

Don't forget Greeting Cards and Postcards - yes people still do write them and send them and RedBubble have so many cool and amazing designs.  The slideshow above shows just some of my designs, but you may prefer:

landscapes  cityscapes  floral  people  babies  pets  still life  vibrant colour  blur  

simplicity  abstract  nature  retro  vintage  graphic design  hearts  fantasy art  

Whatever you prefer, you have only until 23rd June 2010 to get your 20% off.  Please use the following Promotional Code during the checkout process:

Handshake03934015

And - pssttttt! Feel free to pass the code on - don't just keep it to yourself.  Happy Shopping!

How different Photographic Treatments change the look of a Subject

Take a bunch of hydrangeas, a hand painted ceramic bowl, a string of pearls, a cedar table, some floaty organza and a couple of torches.  Add to this mix your favourite camera equipment and your editing skills.  Get busy and arrange the items in a pleasant fashion. And now experiment!

In the first photograph, a standard 50mm lens – the plastic fantastic, diffused torchlight, and a long exposure of a couple of seconds was used.  The diffused torchlight was used to “paint” the light onto the hydrangeas.  The brightness, contrast, levels were then adjusted in Photoshop to get this final results.

There’s a real trend toward adding textured layers to photographs these days.  Adding textures really changes the feel of the photo.  It somehow ages the photo, giving it a real retro/grungy/moody look.  I recommend you shoot your own textures or if you really prefer, you can obtain free textures by simply searching Google for “free textures”.  I’ve used 3 different texture layers (my own) to the original image, and have blended them using varying opacities and blending modes.   I find I use overlay, soft light, hard light and multiply the most.

This image is identical to the image above - it has been layered with textures to change it's appearance to a more moody and vintage look.

This final image was shot using a very different technique – in fact it’s a blend of two techniques that I enjoy – the dreamy Lensbaby and the Through the Viewfinder techniques are absolute favourites of mine.  Different brands of Twin Reflex cameras will also yield varying results.  So, in these final two images, I used the Lensbaby Muse with the +4 macro filter; I inserted that into the “tube of darkness” which directly points to the viewfinder on the top of the Twin Reflex Camera.  Using the Muse lens, really softened the overall look of the image and the square format plus some cross-processing, gives it an aged appearance.  Follow this link if you’d like to know more about the Through the Viewfinder technique.

Through the Viewfinder using Lensbaby Muse +macro 4 filter and Argus Argoflex Camera

Through the Viewfinder using Lensbaby Muse + macro 4 filter and Kodak Duoflex Camera

Coming Soon - How to apply textures to your images.

Canon 50D - Noise Problems

Back in July 2009, I bought my Canon 50D and so far I’ve very much enjoyed the photographic journey.  My photographic tastes are eclectic – I don't to stick to any one genre of photography...lol...I love all sorts from close ups, or using a lensbaby, doing long exposures, seascapes, landscapes, portraits, abstracts.  I enjoy checking out what other 50D owners produce with their camera, you can learn a lot from talented photographers who use the same equipment.  So it was a little disturbing to come across various forums around the web that discuss noise issues with the 50D.  I was alerted to this by Simone Byrne (please go immediately and check out her seascapes and landscapes – they are to die for!) Simone and I managed to upgrade our camera gear at about the same time, so I keenly view her work and hope that one day I can display the skill levels, commitment and passion that she does when it comes to photography.  If ever there was a case of it being the person and not the gear who is responsible for the photograph, then Simone definitely fits this saying!

Anyway, back to the noise issue with the Canon 50D.  Simone, like many others, is experiencing serious noise issues, while I am not.  Have a look at the following forums to see some lively discussions.  

PhotoMalaysia

Luminous-Landscape

Better-Photo

Australian Photography

DPreview

Photo-Forum

There seems to be a few opinions to explain the noise, but one thing seems clear - you’re either experiencing noise, or you’re not – there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.  Are there faulty batches?  Is there a patch that can solve the issue?  Are Canon aware of the problem and what are they doing to keep their Canon fans happy?  

I’ve done my own little experiment and have included the results below.  Please judge for yourself, and feel free to leave a comment letting me know how you’re going with your Canon 50D camera.

Umina Rocks early overcast evening ISO 100

Umina Rocks early overcast evening ISO 250

Umina Rocks early overcast evening ISO 400

100% ISO 100

100% ISO 200

100% ISO 400

I didn't bother with experimenting with higher ISO's in this instance. No noise reduction, whether in-camera or during editing, has been used.

How Time Flies when you're having fun

Getting Ready, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

The month of December always leaves me feeling a little teary and emotional. There’s more that 101 reasons why this is so. The recurring theme seems to be, however, the passing of time. How fast did this year pass, how fast have the past 5 years been, is it possible that such-and-such happened 14 years ago, is it really that many years since I finished school, I've been married for how long? – and on and on it goes. I question dates when events occurred, do the math and realise that in fact so much more time has passed than I thought. And of course, another sure sign of the passing of time is to see policemen and doctors, who were always so much older, are now in fact considerably younger – how and when did that happen? Aren’t they a little young to be fully trained?

The other sure sign of the passing of time is to see your children come to the end of another school year, and for those of us in Australia that coincides with the middle of December. If that isn’t a reminder that time flies by, add to that the milestone of reaching the end of compulsory education and you start to truly wonder where the time has gone. Our Teen has completed his compulsory education and will go on to complete his final two years of schooling. Schools celebrate this milestone with a dinner dance/formal where the students dress up and celebrate the event. For our family, that took place this past week and of course I’m being very proud and extremely biased when I say that I think our Teen looked very handsome and so grown up. Seeing him with his peers, many of those known since they were all in kindergarten together, was a truly surreal moment. They were all so grown up, handsome, well groomed, tall and – gasp – no longer babies... I can vividly remember his first day of school – and as corny as it sounds, it does feel as though it was yesterday...sigh... Is it really possible that 11 years have passed in the blink of an eye?

If the passing of time isn’t enough to make you realise it’s a fact of life that cannot be controlled or stopped, there’s the looming New Year’s Eve to contend with, now mere days away. I’ve given up writing out my list of New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, knowing that time passes so quickly and indiscriminately, I simply try and embrace the year ahead and all the adventures and wrinkles that come along with it.

If you’re a regular read of this blog, you’ll know that I like to share images that I come across in my interwebs journey. This time, I share with you a portrait of my Teen getting ready for his School Formal. I’m also sharing two links to some beautiful writing that depicts the essence of the passing of time. Written by two RedBubble members, I encourage you to click on the links and read their prose. If you’re a RedBubble member, please feel free to comment on their work.

youth's passing by Jordan Busson

The Pendulum of Life by Margie Avellino

Monday iMage Madness

It's been a while since I've showcased some of my image finds on this blog. Lately I've been showcasing those finds on my tumblr account. Today I thought I'd showcase some new RedBubble members - those that have recently joined the site. Take a look at the gorgeous thumbnail images below - the first four are t-shirt designs while the second four are gorgeous photographic prints. Click on each thumbnail to view the image in full - it's well worth it. If you're a RedBubble member, and you like their work, why not leave them a comment. Enjoy!







T-Shirt designers:
1. heyhodesign
2. Idkbbydoll
3. FluidBotDesigns
4. ConceptStores

Photographic Artists:
1. Yagosan
2. Roxana Crivat
3. Richard Carey
4. -Wink-

Book Review - "Presenting: Miss Bertie Page by Mel Brackstone"

I am absolutely delighted to share with you the arrival of an online purchase I made several weeks ago. I don’t know if you know or not – but recently RedBubble partnered with blurb, the creative online book publishers to offer a new service to all RedBubble members: publish your own photography/art books and sell them online! It was also at about that time that Mel Brackstone was capturing the dreamiest of images of Miss Bertie Page – doing what she does best - using a handmade loupy lens thanks to Matt Penfold. “Hmmm...”, me thought, “...wouldn’t it be great if I had a book where every page was a loupy lens photograph of Miss Bertie Page as photographed by Mel?” Luckily with the magic of perfect timing and the internet I’m now the proud owner of a “Presenting Miss Bertie Page by Mel Brackstone” Let me say the ordering process is straight forward, with emails sent to confirm your purchase as well as a confirmation email sent when the book is actually shipped.

I could not find fault with the sturdy packaging, and the book arrived in perfect condition.

The pages have a beautiful satin feel to them and are a good weight while the colour rendition is comparable to the images on Mel’s site.
With Christmas only a few short weeks away, why don’t you consider making your very own blurb photographic art book? Or you might like to purchase one created by another artist, like I did. They’re a wonderful gift idea, and really, you can’t beat online shopping! If you’ve created a blurb book, add your link here for all of us to view and admire.

Where have all the Spiders' Webs gone?

September Rain, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

I would love to boast and say the reason there are no spiders’ webs around my home is due to the fact I am fastidious and clean my eaves and gutters regularly. But that’s not the case. The photo I’ve included was taken over two years ago. The spider web was huge. I have iron verandah posts and plenty of shrubs and trees perfect for web making, and yet, not a decent spider’s web has been formed in such a long time. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of spiders. In fact last week I almost picked up what I thought was a dead huntsman spider – he wasn’t dead at all, and only moved at the last minute before I picked him up. Luckily spiders don’t frighten me, or I would have been in trouble. The flower pots on my verandah are riddled with red back spiders, but no webs. We used to have magnificent St Andrew’s cross spiders spin their webs amongst the rose bushes, but they’ve moved out as well. So, what’s going on? Where are they all? How can I invite them back? Where do I send the photo shoot invitations out to these unknown spiders who once resided in my garden? I really miss being able to take photos of their webs. I’m a much more patient person now with a few more skills under my belt and I would love nothing more than to take photos of their glorious homes. I will simply wait patiently until the spiders return. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, then pop your feedback into my comments below.

If you would like to buy this image as a greeting card, wall art, canvas or print, it is available for sale at my gallery over at RedBubble.

What gifts are you buying this Christmas?

That's the thought on lots of people's minds at the moment as Christmas 2009 quickly approaches. I've started my Christmas shopping by selecting some t-shirts and photographic prints over at Red Bubble where I am a member. Logging onto the Red Bubble website today, I noticed a fancy-dancy new tab for people looking for gift-giving solutions. Not only does it look fab and you can type in your favourite keyword to search whatever your little heart desires, but you don't need to worry about parking, or the shop not being open or traffic or tired shop assistants! It's all on-line, and you can shop in the convenience of your pyjamas and it's delivered to your door - what's not to love! Go on, check it out...Happy Christmas Shopping!

2010 Red Bubble Calendars are Here

Here we are at the end of September 2009 and already promoting art calendars for 2010. Yes, I realise that retail outlets ordered their 2010 calendars months ago, but we Red Bubble artists are a little different. We spend the year creating the images that will be used for the 2010 calendars, so how can we possibly market fresh images for 2010 when in early 2009 they're still in our head? Well, that's how I'm explaining the reason why Red Bubble calendars are available so late in the year...



The calendar I'm excited about this year is the compilation of images taken at this year's Fifties Fair at Rose Seidler House at Wahroonga. Using a 50mm f1.8 lens, a great portrait lens, I captured candid portrait of guys and gals in their best 50's gear. Culling the several hundred images down to about 60+ was hard enough - and these can be seen on my flickr account - culling them down to 12 for the calendar was sooo difficult. So, without further ado, here is the 2010 Fifties Fair Calendar available for sale on Red Bubble:

If you would like your Fifties Fair calendar for 2010 to be customised with images from my flickr gallery, then drop me a line and let me know. And yes - Red Bubble deliver world wide and the calendar quality is excellent.

While I don't want the rest of this year to fly by, I can't wait for 2010 so I can hang my Red Bubble calendar in my kitchen for all to see!

Books I Need to Read - Aug 09

I've always had a booklist over the years, but I thought I'd start to share it online. Reading is one of those things I could do all day, everyday if only I had the chance. Sometimes I get so caught up with the story and characters that I'm reluctant to put the book down for fear of leaving the characters frozen mid-action!

Reading this weekend's papers has yielded a nice little variety of books that I'd like to get around to reading one day. Sometimes I base my selection on the reviewer's summary, as the list below shows. More often than not, a good looking book cover with beautiful typography is enough to get me interested in picking the book up and reading the back page summary.

"orange on purple" by Wiezo (available as a greeting card, wall art, canvas, framed print from RedBubble)

The House in Via Manno by Milena Agus & translated by Brigid Maher

Tainted by Ross Pennie

Lost Boy by Brent W. Jeffs

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

How we live and Why we Die by Lewis Wolpert

Tell Me No Secrets by Julie Corbin

Feature Monday

Today - my feature images are taken from the RedBubble home page:

"_two sisters_" by Louise LeGresley"

"Stellar Sealions in the Mist" by underdoc

"Vague Horizon" by Silijo Selman

"A Walk through Paris #5" by Mike McGlothlen

and only because it seemed to fit the theme, "~ teacakes in the afternoon ~" by Adriana

Valley of the Waters - Wentworth Falls

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Valley of the Waters with two other photographers - Peter Hill and Tatiana R. These two are absolutely passionate about their waterfalls and landscapes and will go to all sorts of lengths to get the shot perfect (and by that I mean, getting up at a ridiculous hour even in winter in order to capture the scene in it's best light) . I was also fortunate enough to borrow a spare Canon 30D  - which, of course, I fell instantly in love with...sigh....

I'm in the process of considering an equipment upgrade, and after using the Canon 30D, I think the upgrade will be happening sooner rather than later. I'm looking forward to our next outing, and shooting some more of our beautiful surroundings.

To view more Blue Mountains and the waterfall images please go and view Peter's gallery here  and Tatiana's gallery here.  Their works are available for sale as greeting cards, matted prints, wall art and canvases through RedBubble.  when you view their gallery of images, I think you'll agree that getting up at "stupid o'clock" is well worth it if it means being able to achieve such wonderful results.

To view more in my series of the Blue Mountains, see my flickr gallery.

 

 

 Peter and Tatiana in action - if you've taken a look at their galleries, then you'll see that getting up at "stupid o'clock" is certanly vital to getting the perfect shot.  And yes, that means not only all the necessary camera equipment, but also good shoes, cap - rearward facing, flask of tea, chocolate and a beanie - preferably with a pom pom, good shoes, and a heap of patience and stamina. 

undergrowth 3, originally uploaded by Adriana_G.



 

Is the "I was asleep at the time" the Perfect Excuse for us all?

I've been reading about this poor teenager's misadventure at a local tattoo shop, and how she fell asleep whilst being tattooed. She allegedly asked for 3 stars to be tattooed on her face, fell asleep, only to wake up with 53 more stars on her face than she asked for. Oops!

Of course, that got me thinking - what things have you done and wished you could have used her excuse of falling asleep at the time? I know there was a prominent Australian businessman who back a few years ago used the "I don't recall" excuse when questioned over some questionable dealings at the time; then there was the US president (at the time) who "didn't have sexual relations" with a certain person...if only they had used the excuse that they too were asleep at the time instead of the excuses they used...

So, if "I was asleep at the time..." is the excuse of our day - then how will you be using this excuse?

Poster was created in response to a on-the-spot challenge over at RedBubble.

Steve Leadbeater - Feature Artist

Steve Leadbeater is a Melbourne based artist who creates images using the successful blending of typography, graphics and photography to create original Tshirt designs as well as greeting cards and wall art. The image that introduced me to Steve’s online gallery was this simple, yet very effective message:

It doesn't matter by Steve Leadbeater

Surely such a statement resonates with those of us who create pieces and display them in online galleries for all – or no one - to see. His style is deceptively simple, yet complex in meaning. I’ve included a few more of my favourites. Please visit Steve’s online gallery, and see which of his designs resonates with you.

Seize the Sound by Steve Leadbeater

THROUGH OTHER PEOPLES EYES by Steve leadbeater

Adler tessy deluxe typewriter by Steve Leadbeater

Drawing Day 09

What is Drawing Day all about? It's all about the art of drawing, of course! It's the day you're encouraged to drop everything and simply draw. Visiting the Drawing Day website, you'll find the various websites participating in this artistic day. I've had a lovely browse through many of the pages, and have picked my favourites here. If you're a member of any of these sites, then go and comment on those works - give a little encouragement to your fellow artists. Enjoy!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="424" caption="Batukarang by FriellaAnakIndonesia"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="339" caption="Draw Your World by KuyaChan (DeviantArt)"][/caption]

Nes On Pennyroyal, originally uploaded by the manx.  As seen on Flickr

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="327" caption="Repose by bojancica"][/caption]

More or less to CRAPULOUS than meets the eye?

The term Crapulous refers to the feeling you have when you've eaten or have drunk far too much. If you're not sure, check the link and the little robot man will also pronounce it for you.



Well, I propose that a new meaning be given to the word Crapulous. You see, I visit this photographic website, that shall remain nameless. Their acceptance criteria is quite stringent. They don't want simple flowers or kittens or cute puppy dogs, and that's fair enough. They have high standards and want them maintained. They like dark, moody, art shots with just the right amount of grain, of movement, of tilting, of textures, not too processed and not to raw. Viewing the accepted images can be quite breathtaking - there are many stunning images. To date, all the images I have attempted to upload have been rejected. It's quite common to receive rejections, and as long as you don't let it get to you, then that's ok.



Earlier this week, I decided to take a look at all the images of mine they had rejected. Obviously, I'm biased, but I think they're fabulous. They think otherwise, they think they're crap. And b-i-n-g-o - we have a new use for the term Crapulous!



I present to you one of my Crapulous images: