Lensbaby 2.0 - A New Found Love?

LB 005, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

I feel very fortunate in that I've recently been able to borrow a lensbaby 2.0 to try out and have a play with. This weekend was the first opportunity I've had to have a real attempt at using this tricky little lens. I did take it away with me for the girlie weekend last weekend, but really had no idea what on earth I was doing. This week, I was able to read up a little on how to use the lensababy and have a real go at taking some photos with it.

I haven't ventured very far, just my garden and my neighbour's garden. I'm pretty pleased with the results so far - gosh, between the Black Glass, my old filters and now this lensbaby, I think I've got enough fads to last me for a while! I can't wait until next weekend to go a little further afield and see what I can do with it.

Why do I like the lensbaby? I think it's the unpredictability, the shallow dof and the other-worldly feel it has to it. It's really difficult to duplicate the same effect - well, for me it certainly is...and it's part of this photographic, learning journey that I find myself on. Visti my flickr site to see more of the lensbaby images I've taken so far.

Photographic Art Sale

[caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="212" caption="10% OFF all my Photographic Art"][/caption]

That's right - buy any of my photographic art pieces and receive 10% off.

This offer is valid until 26th July 09 - Hurry - don't miss out! 

Tell your friends, tell your family - Shipped worldwide.

Mackinac at Midnight

Mackinac at Midnight, originally uploaded by kklawiter.

Flickr's "blog this" functionality makes promoting artists and their images so much easier. Then, if you connect your blogs and networking sites, that means that it becomes quite effortless to promote your favourite finds from the web. Would have loved to link this direct from Karri's RedBubble site, but flickr's "blog this" is hard to beat.

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]

Parking Critique Posted

Parking Critique Posted, originally uploaded by Mixed Species.

Would love to carry a handful of these little stickers around! :D

Word of the Day - Happy

Having discovered www.oneword.com, I try and visit it when I can and come up with something that remotely makes sense. Trouble is, with a time limit, and a visible timeline that runs to red far too quickly, you don't realise just how much you rely on the backspace button when typing up a simple phrase.
It's just a little bit of fun, a little bit of pressure and far more enjoyable than doing crosswords. Of course, now that I'm following oneword on twitter, it's easy to be reminded when a new word appears.

The images below are ones I've chosen to suit today's word - HAPPY - and have been found on Redbubble. Please click on the images to visit the artist's online gallery.

 

Absolute Joy by Rough Diamond

 

 

Have a Nice Day by thartranft

 

Happy Cloud TShirt by SavannahSaurus

 

the party of the crocodile by Gillian (: Cycling Trivialities :)

Feature Monday

For the sheer feeling of serenity this image exudes:

endless by Debbie Black

For the dizzying effect these fun contraptions produce:

Round round we go by Scott Ruhs

For the wonderful memories of a long lost reunion and memorable family holiday:

Perth city after sunrise in duotone by Martin Pot

For the vibrancy and gorgeous pattern:

Starglow by Webgrrl

For the feeling that it was produced in another time, and for it's sensuality:

Espresso Bagagli by Peter Zentjens

Art Pain?

Is that what you're left with if you lose images from your hard drive without backing up?  It must be...  Luckily one of my New Year's resolutions is to back up all my data - images, documents, the lot, before I lose precious data.  I recently lost a whole stack of brushes I had made in Photoshop, the "art pain" wasn't too bad, as I know at a push I can create them again or at least retrieve them from the saved .psd images I now have multiple copies of. 

I've had several external drives sitting here, simply waiting to be used, and today I bought even more blank cd's and dvd's so I can burn multiple copies.  You just never know what hardware will fail, so it's best to keep multiple copies and to store them in different locations - ideally off-site would be great.  Next on my to-do list is to investigate online storage of my images, but at the moment I will be content with the multiple back-ups I'm creating.

Before you get too involved in 2009, have a little think - when was the last time you backed-up your images and documents?  This task is really not one you want to put off till tomorrow, as you may wake up tomorrow to find your only copy is now on a dead drive.  And then you'll experience the suffering, the agony, the regret of what it's like to have 'art pain".

"Art/Pain" by Cathie Tranent

Please visit Cathie and buy her work at RedBubble.

A visual feast of photographic beauty

It's been a while - I haven't forgotten about this visual blog.  Life just gets in the way sometimes.  I have all these intentions to journal all manner of things, and sigh never quite get these.   So I give you this visual feast of images found on RedBubble and belonging to photographic artists whose work is brimming with passion and soul.  Each image is a feast not only for your eyes, but your heart.  Of course, I couldn't resist including my image on here as well...

 

On a night like this by Sarah Moore

 

 Touch Me 20 by Alexander Edwards

 

whips and chains by Nicole Goggins

  

faint heart never won fair maiden by algaia b

 

 ~ the colour of my love ~ by Adriana Glackin

 

 

Images of Home

I'm feeling a little uninspired at the moment, listening to the wind play havoc outside, it makes me a little glad that it's a staying at home day today.  Although, I could also be basking at the beach, sinking my feet in the warm sand and listening to the waves lap the shore instead of the howling ghostlike wind outside.  Amanda Cotton's image "Steps in the Sand" won a recent challenge in "A Photographer's Craft", with her entry of seaside serenity.  The warm light is really quite enticing and reminds me that I really need to book my summer holidays.

Amanda Cotton's "Steps in the Sand"

 

Quite a contrasting image is Karri Klawiter's "And the light still shines" - such a sad scene, to leave a home in such a state.  Whatever happened to the occupants?  What levels of hardship and despair must they have faced?  Did they manage to take any possessions with them at all?  It's heartbreaking to see that a person's life can unravel so spectaculary and leave this as a legacy of their despair.

Karri Klawiter's "And the light shines on"

 

This final image, although captured in black & white by Adrian Rachele,  there's a life and vibrancy to it and you know that the people who call this their home love to be where the action is.  What with the pub and fish & chip shop - you may never need to go grocery shopping again!

Adrian Rachele's "Home"

Lines in Art & Nature

Many a conversation, a piece of art, begins with a humble spoken or drawn line.  Whether man made or found in nature, lines surround our everyday.  So when the challenge went out in "A Photographer's Craft" to submit images showing strong lines, it was always going to be interesting to view the results.  There are also many a quote pertaining to lines - we are said to read between the lines, we can draw the line, we don't want to be found behind enemy lines, we can live with silken lines and silver hooks, our faces are lined - it's endless - they are everywhere.  Strong lines in nature and those that are man-made are beautiful, they have symmetry, they appeal to our senses and make us feel comfortable, below are images from the latest challenge.

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="215" caption="Diagonal by Rose Atkinson"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="177" caption="Golden Reeds by PeterG"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="175" caption="New York City 8 by Adrian Rachele"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="166" caption="Wall by Karri Klawiter"][/caption]

A Symbol of Hope - Fine Art Photography examples

What does the term "Symbol of Hope" mean to you?  Wikipedia defines hope as being the belief of a positive outcome, especially in relation to an amount of depair or wanting or wishing or suffering.  We can hope for such basic, trivial and mundane things such as "I hope my washing dries before it gets dark", "I hope there's chocolate in the cupboard for me to snack on" to a deeper, more urgent need to hope - "I hope she'll be alright", "I hope I can make it to the hospital in time", " I hope a cure for cancer can soon be found".

It's always interesting when asking artists to depict an abstract emotion such as hope.  It can be more challenging than it first seems - how do you show hope in an image?  And what does hope sybolise to you?  As august is Cancer awareness month here in Australia, it was timely to ask artists from "A Photographer's Craft" to submit images to this challenge.   These artists have also donated works through "The Gift of Art" where all the artists' proceeds are being donating to the National Cancer Insitute. The disease that is cancer affects each and everyone of us.  I don't think I've come across a person for a long while, who hasn't in some way been affected by this disease.  I am hopeful of a cure, I am hopeful that as a society we are doing all we can to assist those researchers in finding a cure, and to help those who are living with the disease.

The following images were submitted by those artists who wanted to show their "Symbol of Hope".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether it's the early morning rays of light, a dove in full flight, the fresh face of youth, a guardian angel watching over you, the strength that is nature or your faith in your God, it's important that we hold that sense of hope.  Thanks goes to Adrian Rachele, Mark German, Dana DiPasquale, Sue Wickham, lallymac, Redtempa, Tom Vaughan and Karri Klawiter for taking part in the challenge and allowing this images to be shown on this blog.

In Photographic Art - What moves you?

They say artists are a sensitive lot and there's no more obvious a place to display their emotions than in their art.  It's interesting how different factors will draw out that emotion.  The skill in a great photographer is to connect with their audience so that some of that emotion us also felt by the viewer.  The subject portrayed can be a person, an onject, a location - basically anything than can convey an emotion from familiarity right through to taking your breath away. 

Below are some images that resonated with both the photographer and their audience in a recent Emotional Attachment challenge over in "A Photographer's Craft".  There's no right or wrong way in how you should feel when viewing a photographic piece - the ideal would be to feel.

 

"Sisters Two" by Adrian Rachele

The look of despair and sense of helplessness is apparent in this photograph taken after visiting Auschwitz.  The heavy shadows, the play on light, the expression and the Black & White treatment all convey that deep sense of sadness.

 

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"On Her Way" by Sue Wickham

Quite a contrast with the first image - this glorious bride has that look of expectation and excitement in her face. I can remember my own wedding day when I look at this beautiful bride - and I remember all the emotions that go with such an exciting day.  Sue Wickham has captured the moment and beautifully edited this image that will resonate with other brides and their parents.  It's the moment the bride begins her new life with great expectation!

 

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"Waiting to say goodbye" by Dana DiPasquale

A photograph of an inanimate object is sometimes all that's needed  to open the floodgates of memories from another time. Dana DiPasquale while visiting family for a funeral captured this image - anything to keep busy while trying to forget the sadness surrounding the family gathering.  The lone chair, the warmth exuding from this image and the way it has been portrayed shows the richness of family life.

 

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"Alone in paradise" by Debbie Black

The image of paradise can take many forms, afterall we're all different, so what is paradise to one, may not be to another.  This image taken on Michaelmas Cay on the Great Barrier Reef holds great signifance to Debbie Black, the photographer.  Firstly, taken whilst on honeymoon - paradise in itself! And secondly the location is truly spectacular.  You can feel the warmth of the sand, the coolness of the salt water, the gentle sea breeze, and the lone figure on the beach really does make you feel as though you are alone in that paradise.

 

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"Beautiful Creation" by lallymac

"Home is where the heart is" and for lallymac, this dawn image will always remind her of  happy times and new beginnings.  New beginnings as a photographer in capturing such an image with sharp silhouettes and gorgeous warm tones of morning.

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There would be no greater compliment to a photographer than to let them know "you get their image" - their purpose of recoding that image, that moment - has been achieved.  Go and view these artists' on-line galleries, and tell them you "get their images"!

 

 

Featured Artist - Mary Trebilco

A month ago, i was fortunate enough to conduct a brief on-line interview with the photographer, Mary Trebilco.  Mary displays her work on RedBubble as well as Flickr, and her specailty is flower and macro water droplet photos.  Below is a small sample of her work.

      

 

 

What camera do you use?

I use a Canon Powershot S3 IS, which a friend recommended to me a couple of years ago. As a total amateur, I was desperately in need of help choosing the right camera, so I’m grateful to him for pointing me in the right direction. I just love it…. although I have a lot to learn yet before I’ll get the most out of it.

What is your favourite colour?

Tough question, really… because (especially when it comes to photography) I love all colour – and it depends on the situation. When it comes to clothing, I’d have to choose burgundy. But I love being surrounded by warm tones (probably because I live in Tasmania), so I tend to decorate with burnt ochre/terracotta shades.

What triggered your love for Macro H2O images?

A friend introduced me to Flickr late last year, and I was absolutely enthralled with the brilliant macro water shots I saw there from some very talented artists (like Angelique Brunas. When I finally learned how to use the SuperMacro setting on my new camera, I was amazed to find that I could get close enough to capture refractions etc. It’s rather addictive once you start, isn’t it?!

4.What else do you like to photograph?

I love to capture sunrises, sunsets and other scenic shots, but my main love is macro… either water drops, feathers or flowers – especially flowers – but I love it even more when you can combine two or more of them!!

What are your inspirations when photographing?

Colour, colour, colour…. and light. I’m not a colourful person normally, but I’ve come to love capturing rich or bold colours in my photographs, and the right light on something pretty will stop me in my tracks.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Travel the world (with my camera, of course) .... but I’m afraid I don’t have anywhere near enough money to do it with!! ;-)

Sepia Toned Photographs...

 Can something as sombre, and dark and moody and timeless as sepia photography, be created with the secretions of the cuttlefish?  Well, that was once the method of producing those rich brown tones...today however, I prefer to use my graphic editing program such as Photoshop CS2 to give me those same rich tones that create the most wonderful mood.  Below are some examples of how well sepia can work on a number of subjects:

 

 

"Darkened Hope" by Karri Klawiter

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"Double Vision" by Tom Vaughan

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"Small in Sepia" by Debbie Black

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"Languishing in the afternoon sun" by lallymac

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"will nobody love me?" by Adriana Glackin