My view this morning!

It’s really unusual to have snow this early in the year on the ridge opposite the front of my farmhouse.  Sometimes, the larger peak Mount Leinster does have a dusting in mid November but normally we only have it on the whole range in the thick of winter (if at all) so I was delighted to wake up to this pretty picture first thing this morning!

Hilary joined me just before half past ten to felt for the first time, our project was a simple felt vessel.  We had a chat about the basics of felting over a warming freshly ground coffee (part of a Going Green swap package from Chaimama via Ravelry) and then got stuck in selecting and weighing fibre.  The Icelandic wool batts (available from my Etsy store) are excellent for sculptural felt and it is important to have roughly the same amount of fibre on each side of your resist hence the weighing!  Hilary decided to make a round vessel with the main colours being my favourite apple green in combination with a gorgeous turquoise.  We sub-divided the wool into four equal piles giving us two layers to lay out for each side prior to any surface embellishment.  Once the two layers were laid and wet out lightly Hilary then added some turquoise mulberry silk and some swirls of wool in another complimentary turquoise/greeny shade.  As I have mentioned before using more soap than usually advised coupled with a lot less water seems to work really well with the Icelandic wool. 

Hilary sealing the edges

Once Hilary’s vessel passed the pinch test I cut out a very small hole to release the resist.  As you seal and work the cut edges the opening will always widen so a good tip is never to make the initial cut too big!  When sealing the edges use a lot of soap on your hands, this helps you to make a nice clean edge.   Now the vessel was worked by hand both on the bamboo blind (we had started with bubble wrap and progressed to the blind as the fibres started felting together) and in very hot  soapy water in the sink.  Hilary also threw the felt onto the table to help shock and full it, then kept stretching it to form the final shape and help the wool form the memory.  Finally all the soap was rinsed totally out of the felt, the vessel was reshaped, the texture and form admired and all that was needed were a few images to mark a great mornings felting!

Hilary with her stunning first piece of felt!

For some reason the image uploader is playing up this evening so check out my Flickr images for a larger shot of the finished vessel, the texture is beautiful!

A dry, crumpled hydrangea flower is a reminder that summer is now a distant memory. The leaves on the trees have shrivelled and died, and now we wait patiently for Spring’s new growth amidst long cold and wet days. C   

They say too much exposure to the sun can cause premature wrinkles and creases on your skin… doubts? Ask this violet scorching under the strong southamerican sun.
-Dicen que mucha exposición al sol crea arrugas prematuras…ah no? preguntenle a esta violeta que se achicharra bajo el sol sudamericano. M

Photo of the day – close-up study of oyster mushroom gills:

Click on image to order note cards or prints on Redbubble.

Oyster mushroom

I  have changed my shooting style for portraits lately and thought I would give you a little insight because until recently I was big on studio shoots with everything controlled including the lighting. I now shoot almost solely with diffused natural light (partly because my D3 lets me…ISO…ISO…ISO).

To ensure we have the light, we book our portraits in the brightest parts of the day. This gives us the best chance of light without worrying about sun direction and if it rains, I will fill with a little off camera or bounced flash (very rare though). With outdoor shoots, we book them either early morning or late afternoon.

With the permission of the parents, I have posted the shot of the lounge room for you to see what I was working with and a couple of the shots. I simply turned the lounge around and used one of my black materials as a background for the baby and used the red lounge as a background for the girl. We stayed indoors today due to the heat.

When shooting portraits, I always carry…
Different coloured pieces of material for backdrops (stay in the car unless needed)
My flash unit (used with remote trigger or flexy cable)
Reflector
Clicker for getting there attention

These shots were shot at 1600 ISO (cause I can with my D3) at between f2.8 & f4.0 at 1/125.

I picked these 3 just as a sample. They are as shot except for a little colour/tonal adjustment in photoshop with a total of 6min spent for all three shots.

Remember that more often than not, simple is better. These are not award winning portraits, however, they a simple and clients love and appreciate them because it is something they can’t do. They last shot is how I would finish it as a fine art piece with a texture that I shot in Italy. This took another 4min!

621 // November 27, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving! It has been a very relaxing and yet eventful past few days. Hubbie and I have escaped the city as of earlier this week, and have enjoyed some fresh mountain air. Along with a couple of personal friends who joined us, we had a huge turkey feast on Thursday with his family and gave thanks to not only each other, but those we could not be with on that day.

I also had some time to shoot some new labels I created for Crooked Keg. Their brand-new Scarecrow II Pumpkin Ale was a huge hit among the guests up here, and was quickly gone before the day was out.

Oh, and I have to mention that the fresh mountain air must be the remedy for the common cold or bronchitis. Mom joked that the ill used to be sent to the mountains for any respiratory illness… and she might be right. For those concerned, I am feeling 100% better than I have been the past two weeks! We went on a short hike today up Mayflower Gulch (12,415 ft) just south of Copper Mountain, and had nothing but clear lungs, blue skies and beautiful weather.

I have so much to be thankful for, and I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

je sais. Je sais.

Comme des vieilles chaussettes, comme mon nabaztag qui parlait trop , comme la vieille robe  dans le fond de son placard, comme ma tenue de sport,  comme les pulls de mami, comme les endives au fromage et les épinards…….

Je t’ai zappé, délaissé, oublié, laissé crever…..

Non… Non…

Oh non, pas les gros yeux, pas le regard grondeur, pas la moue pleine de reproche.. Promis, promis je vais essayer de plus t’abandonner petit blooouuuggg

___________________

———————————————————————-

une   pensée toute particulière a twiny.

Another gray day yesterday at my mom’s, but at least I got this photo I’m pleased with:

Click on image to order prints from Redbubble.

Colorful leaf

My aunt is currently renovating her house. Since she knows I deal with interiors and decoration, she called up to ask about a good paint color for her house walls. I suggested to her, why doesn’t she try out wallpapers. Now she hasn’t been to my house yet. So she had no idea about the kind of wonder wallpapers do to our homes. So, when I suggested it her wallpapers, her immediate response was, “Aren’t they limited in patterns?”

This is just another myth about wallpapers. Wallpapers are available in every kind of shade, pattern and texture you can think of. Also as I have already mentioned in my previous post, a variety of other kinds of materials like jute, silk, metallic are also available.

Patterns like stripes and geometric are the evergreen ones. You can get unlimited styles in them. You can always find a new perspective every time you look at them. They never grow old or boring.

Also wallpapers are available in a multiple number of textures which gives a chic finish to your walls.With so much to select from, once you finish wallpapering your house, it will definitely be a dream home!

#4: Dupioni

the poem will follow I suppose.

One of my biggest roadblocks that I encounter is my hypersensitivity to just about everything.

Today, I’m just going to focus on the aspects of this that relate to food and eating.

As you know, today is Thanksgiving. Due to various personal reasons, I am spending this break with a friend and her family.

Thanksgiving has always been a bit of an issue with me due to my acute awareness of texture. I always find the turkey too dry and rough, the cranberry sauce too powdery, and many other things like that.

At my house, our Thanksgiving dinner has always included such non-traditional foods as Macaroni and Cheese, chicken nuggets, and similar. 

However, while here, I intend to eat a more typical Thanksgiving meal. It’s only polite that I observe my hosts’ traditions. I will probably eat mainly vegetables and pumpkin pie.

Sometimes, you just have to eat what you can and skip over what you can’t without saying anything about it.

Just a quirky shot I got in Firenze as we were looking for taxi to take us the the Da Vinci lookout…I think!
Looks like a seriously high maintenance dog!

Nikon D3
28-70mm f2.8 Nikkor lens
F9 @ 1/125
ISO 400

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Earlier, in june this year, Japanese architecture studio Schemata poured color epoxy on the top board of school desks which were used in elementary schools. The now ‘Flat’ desks were before uneven due to time deterioration or scribbling. Although the school desks all have the same shape, they gradually gain individual character through the personal items of the pupil, like a school bag or a hat. However, in this project, the individuality of the desks is regenerated through colors, thanks to the craftsmanship and expertise of Nakamura Shuhei. He reset the the unevenness to ‘flat’ with translucent color epoxy. Deep points are mirrored by dense colors and shallow points by more transparent shades. This project is part of the ‘Flat Project’ series.

Currently schemata is displaying their ‘Flat’ project series in an exhibition at happa gallery, Tokyo.
New additions include ‘flat’ tables.

-

via designboom

This is an 11 image stitch with people in the shot…moving people. The software is so good these days that it even works out where people should and should not be. The begger was shot separately to ensure the building and him were sharp.

Nikon D3
28-70mm f2.8 Nikkor lens
F4.5 @ 1/40
ISO 3200

The final piece has two textures oner it and some noise to break it up a little.

Students embarking on a career in hairdressing are often quite anxious to skip the prelims and jump into the inventive part of the course. In this exceptional career, not placing the emphasis on the fundamental principles can only lead to catastrophe. Making major mistakes when it comes to hair does not allow for easy camouflage. The basic principles including learning texture, shape and balance. These are the fundamentals of any great hairstyle and then it leads to a little more creativity in the pattern creation. Proportions are elements that the upcoming hairstylist must be come adept at as well. They must be able to use their sense of opinion. Often the pupil is oblivious that there are basic techniques that must be mastered when it comes to the tools of the trade. These are blow dryers, curling irons, and straighteners just to name a few. A student in hairdressing must learn to adapt solid study habits, patience and endurance. As we mentioned there isn’t much of a allowance for mistakes when it comes to the hair. They must also learn to be observant and prepared to stay attuned to the world of fashion. In many cases, they complement each other.

Three Apprenticeships I went through and all were a life experience. These three gentlemen had a different knack to what they did, and hopefully the students who come out of the hairdressing schools will please appreciate the value of learning under a Master. Though there are not any Degrees in my profession that will give you the level of Master. When you apply for the stewardship you will be able to tell immediately if it is a good fit for you!

Joseph Kellner

The Real Hair Truth Facebook.com

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I forgot to mention yesterday that I did weigh the Icelandic wool and divided it into two piles.  There was just over 400g per layer and interestingly enough not much shrinkage overall by the time the rug was complete, possibly even less than 20%. 

Starting to lay out the Jacobs fleece

Cotton fabric between the layers of wool

I should also have said that I used green silk hankies both within the fleece and at several points near the edge of the rug but that the white silk tops around the outside might not be silk at all but is more likely to be tencel.   It felt quite different in the hand but as I don’t know where I got it from so this is just an uneducated guess!

My finished hearth rug!

Eric Swesey

Still might stain it, not sure. Portrait of my Uncle’s Cabin in Washington.

“Echoes 36″ – Acrylic on Canvas, 12 x 12 x 1.5″

This is the final version of what I was calling Painting Two. That previous post and this one show you all the different stages it went through.

To resolve it, I needed to close up some of the holes and unify the color a little more. If you saw this one in real life, you would see a lot of heavy transparent and translucent layers of paint. It has now been added to the Echoes Series.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I might not get to post, because of family members staying at our house. We will be heading out to my sister’s cabin in the woods, each contingent taking one, two, or three menu items. Mine are pecan pie and cranberry-orange relish. Easy! We will be picking up my two aunts — my Dad’s remaining siblings, 90 and 94 years young. There will be 14 at dinner.

I am thankful for simple things like family time and the joy of sharing! Happy holiday!

]]> http://kkphotooftheday.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/pasteup-2005/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:48:57 +0000 fiercekitty http://kkphotooftheday.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/pasteup-2005/

For years now, we have been using and teaching a slightly more powerful approach to digitally coloring scanned sketches/drawings/artwork (art) in Adobe Photoshop. The de-facto technique for coloring scanned art in Photoshop is to switch the document color mode to ‘RGB Color,’ set the blending mode of the layer containing your artwork to ‘Multiply’, and create multiple layers containing color underneath your artwork. What if I told you that a few extra (simple) steps before you picked that first color could make you better, faster & stronger? And what if I gave you an Action to do it?

While there is essentially nothing wrong with the Multiply approach, it falls short with regards to flexibility, speed and creative potential.

The larger pain points being:

• Your artwork layer still has white data in it, and you are not using it. The action of modifying the artwork layer becomes somewhat conflicted: “Do I erase or paint white?”
• What if you want white line-work? or orange? Multiply has you somewhat boxed in here.
• Any fill or action dependent on transparent pixels will fail, as your artwork layer contains no transparent pixels. This leaves you missing out on some pretty substantial & speedy tricks.
• The mess seems to multiply (no pun intended) as you continue to add and color additional artwork layers within the same file.

Setting the blending mode of the layer containing your artwork to Multiply is a seemingly a hacky attempt to separate the parts of the artwork you want, from the parts you don’t. Conveniently, Photoshop has a better solution for this — it’s called Channels and it has been there since the beginning.

Before you start: scan your artwork, and open it up in Adobe Photoshop. Resize if necessary, and if it’s not already there, switch the document image mode to grayscale [Image menu > Mode > Grayscale]. Most scanning software will allow you to scan directly to grayscale.

1. First, adjust your Levels [Image menu > Adjustments > Levels]. You want to clean up the lighter areas of the of the scan, removing noise and lighter grays. Adjust the darker end of the levels so that you have some true black information with the greatest possible tonal range in between. Ideally you want to get this right in one go, as your image can get pixelated looking if you keep opening and adjusting Levels. If it’s not right, revert the adjustment (undo) and try again.

2. Locate the Channels panel [Window menu > Channels], it should look like this… containing one channel named ‘Gray’.

3. The Photoshop-using free world is divided into two camps, those who use Channels, and those who never touch them. Spiritually, Channels represent the tonal values required by each color (or channel) needed to display/print whatever is currently visible on your canvas. Since we are now looking at a grayscale file, there is only one channel and it contains just the tonal values required to draw your stuff.

Functionally, all you need to realize is that Channels are essentially constantly updating saved selections, and if you Command click (right click on Windows) on that Channel preview icon you are going to select just the lighter side of the tonal information currently visible on your Canvas.

So command click (right click on Windows) that channel preview icon. You will know things are working if (like the image above) you see the selection/dashed line show up on your canvas.

4. We don’t necessarily want the lighter side of the tonal information we just sampled, we want the darker side, the line work. To accomplish this we will invert the current selection via the [Select Menu > Inverse] command.

5. So here we are, we have successfully & perfectly sampled just the dark tonal values from our artwork. Now we need to convert the selection on the screen into a new clean layer. We DO NOT want to do anything with the default “Background” layer that is currently selected and active, we want to create a new layer and then turn off the visibility of the original layer. You can do all of this while the selection sits there on your canvas. Note: in order to shy the visibility of the “Background” layer, you first have to create another layer above it.

Before we move forward you want to make sure that the NEW layer is visible and selected (highlighted) in the layers panel (see above).

6. Convert the Photoshop document to RGB (or, CMYK if that’s your fancy) color mode [Image menu > Mode > RGB Color].

7. The last step is to use the current selection to fill that information into our new layer. You can use any color you want, but black will start you off in a manner that’s identical to the scanned image. There are two ways to fill the using the current selection:

• [Edit Menu > Fill]: Use whatever color you wish, Blending mode Normal, Opacity 100%.
• Option (Alt on Windows) + the Delete Key (two above the Return Key) will fill with the current foreground color, while Command (Control on Windows) + the Delete Key will fill with the current background color. (Those are some powerful keyboard commands – use them for good, not evil.)

Deselect the current selection via [Selection Menu > Deselect].

From here, the sky is the limit. What you are looking at is essentially the same starting point you had using Multiply, but with much more potential. As you move forward, here are a few more things to consider:

• By creating a full canvas white layer below your artwork layer, you will be able to better see the full tonal range in your artwork layer.
• If you enable the Transparent Pixel Lock (shown above) on your artwork layer, you can endlessly use the Fill command [Option + Delete] to change the color of your artwork.
• If you need to edit or retouch your artwork layer, just use the Brush & Eraser tools. If you want to mask parts of it out (without destroying it) then use Layer Masks.
• As you create new layers, consider keeping each color separate (layers are free), use that Transparent Pixel Lock / Fill trick to quickly cycle through color options.
• Shadows (black) and Highlights (white) work great on their own layers. This is where using Multiply and other layer blending modes come in real handy with shadows and the blending of color layers.

The core Photoshop techniques behind this approach should come in handy quite frequently. Everything shown here was done in Photoshop CS4 but should work identically in the last few versions of Photoshop. With regards to coloring drawings and illustrations, there a few great alternate approaches that take advantage of Adobe Illustrators vector toolset. Leave a note below if you are interested.

Lastly, thanks to the excellent folks at Adobe, most everything Photoshop can do can be recorded in an Action, therefore you can simply download and load up the ‘Prep For Coloring’ action below and accomplish most everything shown above in one click. It works best if you run it on a Grayscale mode image thats fresh off the scanning bed.

rachel is represented by women management, paris.
you may recognize her from the SS09 diesel ad campaign.
taking it a few years back, you may remember her from the FW06 D&G campaign.
the cover shot styling is so over the top with texture. fuxwidit!

imagesource | tfs

This was just a typical door at Tivoli Vecchio. Every door I went passed, was an amazing, unique piece. I have warmed, increased contrast and added a texture to frame it. Attached is also a screen capture of the layers I created to finish this print. Even simple images like these can be broken up into small pieces and finished like a fine art piece. No actions/preset in the world can do this!

Single capture on my D3
28-70mm Nikor F2.8
ISO 400
f4.0 @ 1/250th

620 // November 24, 2009

Estes Park, Colorado.