My Olympus E-500 came! Only downside, the lens hasn’t. Since I can’t really post anything about the new DSLR I’m going to post about my other new camera!

Meet Flap-Jack

Now Flap-Jack needs a good cleaning. I opened the box and started snapping pics, so please overlook his grime and grit. As for the name, I have no idea where it came from, but it fits in my nutso little mind.

All photos taken today are with my old Point and Shoot, so no comments on the quality k?

This is the basic idea of a TTV shot (through the viewfinder)

You take an older camera with a huge viewfinder (In my case I’m using a Kodak Duraflex 3) and shoot through the viewfinder with your camera. Typically a sleeve or something of the sort is needed to block excess light (I totally didn’t use one today) and you use a better camera than a point and shoot.

But the results are interesting. I can’t wait to see what happens when everything is set up as it should be and I have the new camera.

I’m hoping (knock on wood) that the lens will be here tomorrow. If not, you may be watching my meltdown on CNN tomorrow.

First of all, this photo was taken a few years ago early morning on some very lonely road on my way home from Lubbock. No map and no idea, I drove eastbound because if you drive far enough you’ll end up in Dallas. That’s how it is here. You see a lot of this kind of thing in the country. This little shack probably has some use. At least it sets the scene for what it’s all about in this part of the country.

Lists interest me. I like reading bloggers lists and I like writing my own. The photo above influences this list:

Ten country favorites:

1. The smell of fresh cut alfalfa. Food for my horse
2. Big tractors–all kinds
3. Irrigation systems
4. Cattle ranches and oil fields. Maybe that’s two but they often share the same plot of land.
5. Miles of farm land with nothing else to be seen but maybe a tractor and a passing pick-up truck.
6. Cotton fields just before harvest
7. Small towns with great big silos
8. High school football. During the season, that is all that matters.
9. That thunderhead building in that big Texas sky in May.
10. The cafe on the corner where you can walk in, be greeted as if they know you, drink a glass of sweet tea and reflect on a hard days work.

having too much fun with textures this morning.  ttv is by far my favorite today…

this texture was picked up from borealnz found here.

It is better to give …, originally uploaded by [ r ♥ c e y t ♥ y ] {I br♥ke for bokeh}. tweet tweet

than to mmmmp. Not so sure about that one. Tell me what YOU think.

New presets are available. Two of them. Both used in the photo above. A simple TTV one, that can be used with any other preset, or on its own, and The New Black preset.

I’m now on Etsy and there will be more free stuff soon!

The New Black Pak!

Now available as a download for Lightroom and ACR – all in one. You get The New Black and TTV. Use them individually or in combination.
PLEASE NOTE: Mediafire is having problems. Their servers are unresponsive and so some people are having issues downloading. Leave a comment here with your email (it won’t show up on the site but I’ll see it) and when I get a few moments later today, I’ll email the preset on over. Apologies!

I’ll have the PSE files reddy later today.

Cheers – off to decorate cookies. 12 dozen of them. I thought I should release this before as it might be a while before I’m done…

Examples of the mix and match nature of this pack of presets.

Presets applied, no tweaking.

I spent last Sunday taking pictures of my works framed. These Botanical Blueprints are printed on metallic paper which brings out the best in them. See them all on my etsy shop: www.depuis.etsy.com/Botanical-Blueprints

Botanical Blueprints - Carnations

It’s no secret that Flickr is a source inspiration, whether or not your into photography. I’ve found art projects on there, recipes that I love and, of course, thousands of photos. Today, I’m in love with the TtV still-life group on Flickr. They use the old cameras with the bubble lenses and rig it up to their digital cameras. I tried to make my own with my Duaflex, but I got the measurements wrong, and I think I need to use a different lens.

I hope you enjoy these beautiful images, and click on the photos to see more from the photographers.

]]> http://squidart.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/new-beach-pictures/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:32:15 +0000 Katie Frank http://squidart.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/new-beach-pictures/

After our wonderful weekend in St. Augustine, I came home with a slew of new photographs. Here are a few that are now listed in my etsy shop. Enjoy!

Beach Reeds

A Windy Day

Beach Flare

A Friendly Gathering

Welcome Home

The moon woke me up the past two mornings around 3 a.m. Its brightness shown through my large west window in my bedroom and shadows danced on the fence as the night air whispered secrets in the trees. I got up, checked the baby, and sat at the kitchen table looking across the back yard.

I would like to ride under this moon. Unsure how my horse will handle, I may walk him across the field early morning before the sun rises and ride him only in the round corral just to see what he does. Yes. I may do that tomorrow morning.

Well, while I’m sitting here, surrounded by cardboard, an Exacto knife and some duct tape (all very “it puts the lotion in the basket” sounding right? I’ll explain in a bit), patiently waiting for an eBay auction to close on a vintage Polaroid  Proflex camera I have my eye on, I figured I would post a blog. Introducing my latest acquisition, a vintage Kodak Duaflex IV. I bought it with a couple of  things in mind.

First, I have accepted that I am, in fact, addicted to cameras and camera equipment. As this is an addiction that is pretty much harmless (except, possibly, to my bank account) I’ve determined that I do not need a twelve step program (grant me the serenity to stop searching for new lenses) and I’m just going to roll with it. I am, however, being selective in my purchases, always wary of my habit of going all gung-ho for one new thing after another until I have a large collection of unfinished projects awaiting my attention.

Second, I’ve been wanting to try TTV (Through the Viewfinder) photography for quite a while after coming across the TTV pool on Flickr and falling in love with the vintage feel of these photographs. Basically, TTV photography rigs up an SLR camera, such as my Nikon D90, fitted with a macro lens, to an old viewfinder camera such as the Kodak Duaflex, using a very “high-tech” (eh-hem) cardboard and duct tape contraption to block out the light between the two. (ahhhh it all comes together now.. .I am not in fact a crazy kidnapper). You can see an example of said contraction here.

So, here I sit, as mentioned surrounded by all the makings of my own TTV contraption (sorry I don’t have a better name for it), staring longingly at my new toy wishing it was already built and I was out taking photos with it. (A note…it’s not at all lost on me that, while I sit here writing this blog, I could be putting this together but, have I mentioned my penchant for procrastination??)

I will be posting more about my progress with the TTV camera as well as trial photos in upcoming posts. Next project? Well, I just won the bid on the Polaroid but really, it’s anyone’s guess.

Cheese!

Kodak Duaflex IV

I finally found my Ansco Twin-Lens camera and now just have to make a few adjustments to shoot through the viewfinder. My initial test shots were nowhere near being focused but they had an interesting, and unique to each shot, bright spot in the image.The image on the left is, as everyone can clearly see, a windsor style chair with a large plant in the background. I do like the roughness this can bring back to photography especially when living in an area, and age, where film has simply become impractical. I suppose it could all be handled through the mail but where’s the instant gratification in that? I will be posting my progress right here for your voyeuristic pleasure so stay tuned and keep coming back!

About a year ago I went into the local used camera store.  Specifically with the intention of picking up a  non-working camera.  For just $12 bucks I was the proud owner of a twin lens Argus 40.   Broken and mechanically about as useful as a paperweight… until the addition of a tube and some gaff tape.

The idea being that the ground glass is the only component that really matters.  A digital camera with a macro lens is used to take a picture down the tube.  It deliberately looks like a copy of a copy.  Called Through the Viewfinder (TTV) photography, it’s quite popular with the Flickr community.  And those folks might just be on to something.

Because lets face it… even though you have a Lamborghini in the garage, sometimes you just want to take out the VW Bug.  Feel the imperfections of the road.  Crank down the window by the handle, not just push a plastic button.  Rejoice in simplicity.   Savor a little bit being out of focus.  Give serendipity the opportunity to stop by and say hello.

Onlangs mocht ik de trouwdag vastleggen van Inge & Kris en ze vroegen specifiek naar ttv-foto’s! Driewerf hoera!

Hieronder alvast één foto van de ceremoniewagen.

Hi Hi!!

I’m begining to fall in love with doing sets of images. It’s just a nice feeling of completion to get 3 that work really well together. *Makes me happy!

Prints available here on Etsy…

Prints available on Etsy…

Also, just a quick note – Thanks to Alice Buscombe for the lovely pink flower in the photos above!! She has a photographic exhibition Through Scape at the Meeniyan Art Gallery – Access Gallery from the 26th of September to the 2nd of Novemeber.

x

This photo should have been posted on Wordless Wednesday for today I am wordless. I haven’t a clue what to write about. When this happens, I tend to add to my already existing list of “favorite things”. I like that list. But not today.

For now:
What we remember from childhood we remember forever – permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen. ~Cynthia Ozick

Photographed by Laura Burlton

These three are from a project Miss Mads and I did for her book report. Her idea, I just helped. The book was some wayside school book. This one was inspired by the part where the teacher turns the students into apples….

– License

Some of the photos I have shown on this blog have been processed to appear to be taken “through the viewfinder” (TtV). Because I do not have all the needed items to actually photograph through a viewfinder of a camera such as the Duaflex or even a Starflex, I have created my own images using Paint Shop Pro.

First of all, TtV photography is simply taking a picture of any subject through the viewfinder of camera with another camera. One must carefully select that first camera because the lens matters (Duaflex or other). And each lens has its own personality. You will need a macro lens (the lens of the camera taking the picture) for focusing on the Duaflex viewfinder. I do not have a macro lens at this time. There is some construction that goes into taking the image and with a little research online and some willingness, it looks like it can be a lot of fun. My photographs are not true TtV.

What I have done to process my TtV-like photos is as shown below. This is very easy and more advanced step can be taken for additional effects.
YOu will need:
1. Paint Shop Pro (or other similar photo processing program–they all have these commands).
2. Your picture
3. A mask (grunge border, TtV border, etc.)

Where do you find such borders? Go to flickr.com. A friend sent me a variety of these borders to get me started. I’ve started making my own in PsP. Be careful when using borders found on the web since some require permission to use.

This is the mask I will use in this tutorial.

My photo is as shown below. I took an average photograph of my horse, Carter Joe, resized it to the same size as the mask above (380 x367). These must be the same size. Follow the instructions in your program to resize your image.

I then used Sepia for the color change and lightened/contrasted it to the desired effect.

Once you have your photo resized and processed in the manner you desire, you are ready for the next step.

Have on Paint Shop Pro both the mask border image and your personal image open.
Click on the mask border image, go to Selections tool at the top and click Select All.
Click Edit on toolbar and then copy.

Then go to your personal image, in this case the horse.
Click Edit on toolbar and then Paste as a new layer.

The mask border will now be on top of the horse picture.

On the Layer pallet on the far right side of your screen, click blend mode.
Scroll down and click multiply. You will then have your TtV image.
But you are not done.
Click on the tool bar Layers and click Merge (Flatten All)

The final result:

21. Texas blue bonnets
22. Gummy bears
23. Cowboy boots
24. Faded blue jeans and t-shirts
25. Hearing the train in the distance
26. Playing in the rain
27. Chalk boards
28. Kisses
29. Gramma’s quilts
30. Drinking milk from the carton

Rough photo illustration that I am working on for Group Magazine. All shot through the Viewfinder.

Here are some new images I’m selling on Etsy…

There will be heaps on the way thanks to my hubby and his friend, Pat, who set me up with one of the most burly computers I’ve seen in a long time! Many GB of RAM and massive amounts of storage… Can’t wait to play!!

This is the first PC I’ve had since I was about 19 with the exception of the computers I use at work.. I’m not switching teams as I still have my MacBook, but *sigh* I’m so excited!!!