Category Archives: Photography

Sep 30

Family makes our house a home.

Amen to that! I am thoroughly enjoying The Good Life with Amy Tan at Big Picture Classes. This week, we are stitching on our layouts, and collecting magazine images to collage and create a “vision board”:

According to Christine Kane, “A vision board (also called a Treasure Map or a Visual Explorer or

Creativity Collage) is typically a poster board on which you paste or collage images that you’ve torn

out from various magazines. It’s simple. The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with

images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want

to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires.”

I have not done this yet, but I do something similar when I cut things out of magazines and newspapers that are significant to me and paste them into my Smash book. Amy is encouraging us to do this on a clipboard, so we can see it more easily, and actually, she has made a pretty collage on a manila envelope:

I will do one of these probably later in the week, and in the mean time, I will clip out things I like and put them on my clipboard. This should be fun!

For stitching on paper, Amy gave us a template to use (a house, which I love) that we cut out, and use to trace around on our layout background.

Once I traced the house onto my paper, I put the paper onto an old mouse pad, and punched small holes every half inch on the lines. I didn’t have the right color of cross-stitch floss to use, so I ended up using some baker’s twine which fit the bill nicely. When I saw this template in the classroom, I knew how I wanted to use it right away, so I grabbed my camera and took some impromptu shots of my husband and daughter, which was easier than I thought (they can sometimes be rather camera shy)! So today I got going on my layout, and after I was finished, dear Hubby informed me that Amy’s layout was gorgeous, and I should have done one like hers! At least he’s honest. ;-)

Stitching on paper is easy, and even if you don’t know how to sew or cross-stitch, you will not find this difficult. I enjoy it, and I will probably end up wanting to stitch on everything now!

There is one other thing I would like to share. Ali Edwards’ blog today is about a “photo walkabout” with Liz Ness of Great Photos Plus. She has video posted there which was really great. Four talented women got together at Canon Beach in Oregon for a photography adventure of sorts. They randomly drew an idea from a box, and following that direction, explored the area in search of images to photograph which would fit the requirement (in this case it was looking for shadows….on a rainy day, no less.). At the end of the day, I’m sure they had some fantastic images. Ali suggested to her followers that we so some exploring and see what we can come up with for our ‘weekend lens’. I just happen to be going to the coast for the weekend with my husband for our 6th wedding anniversary, and we will be taking our cameras along. I am über excited, and cannot wait to see what we can come up with. Of course, I’m not following any piece of paper, I’m going to shoot everything!! See you next week!

Jun 28

Fun with panorama photos

Earlier in May, I had fun using my Pano iPhone app to take a photo of our Mother’s Day luncheon. How was I going to include everyone at the table, I wondered, and then I remembered this lovely app, and voilá, it worked! I printed out that photo and put it into a layout that used in my May 11 post. It was so easy and fun, I tried it again while at the airport recently with my daughter, because I think the airport is cool. This panoramic shot ended up being bigger than my first one because this one is a complete 360° view. It turned out rather well, I think. If you have an iPhone and want to try it, I recommend the app Pano ($1.99 on iTunes); it does a really nice job of stitching each frame together, and makes the process easy for you with guides visible on the left side of the frame for a seamless flow of shots. This evening I printed out the photo to a 2×22″ size to make a two-page layout by printing each half of the photo on 8.5×11 photo paper using landscape orientation (without borders). I trimmed each half and carefully adhered them to two pieces of 12×12 cardstock. So, how to fill the 1″ gaps on each edge? Just to be different, I decided to make faux envelope flaps, something akin to Maya Road’s mini kraft envelopes. And then–my usual state of “what do I do now with all the usable space that’s left?” confusion. I freeze up when I have too many choices and options for such a nice slice of “real estate” on my page. So I kept it simple and documented just the essentials with rub-ons and stickers, save for one embellishment sticker. I know, I know, chicken! I could have gone for broke and done so many wonderfully artistic things to this layout, but I left it alone and played it safe (what would Ali Edwards have done?). It’s not exciting, not jazzy or spiced up. But it’s a cool panoramic photo that I really like.

FAT: Fresno Air Terminal

Handmade envelope flaps are easy to make using kraft paper, bakers twine, and a small eyelet. Airplane sticker by Evalicious.

Go ahead and have some fun with your iPhone photo apps, or just use whatever photo capabilities you have on your cell phone. While you’re having fun this summer, remember that not having a camera with you does not mean you will miss out on some really great photos. See what you can do, and whatever you come up with, don’t forget to scrap it! Have fun!

Apr 26

A new photo-art collaboration to tell you about!

I am trying to feel better. Feeling less than normal just really sucks, and although I do not like the “H” word, when it comes to illness, I’ll just go ahead and say it. I hate it! Well, today, sitting here at the computer is not quite the torture it was yesterday, so I’ll talk a little bit about a new project Hubby and I have come up with. He has a new exhibit at our local art museum coming in August. He will be showing a large selection of his black and white photography, from his pinhole series, to Lost Lake and the surrounding foothills. It will be amazing. Then, several days ago, he approached me about an idea that I am really excited about: printing out smaller versions of his exhibit pieces, and creating a hand-made book, for sale at the museum. Since I love making journaling and notebooks, I have begun to explore hand-stitched books, particularly Japanese stab binding, and other forms of hand stitching pages into hand-sewn covers. This should turn out incredibly, if we can pull off what we imagine it to be. We will create one book for ourselves to be a sort of prototype to show, and then when we are perfectly happy with it, we will continue to go on to create maybe six more to display and sell at the museum. I am so excited! Each book will be quite an undertaking; knowing that we are both perfectionists, I’m guessing one book will take several days to complete, being that every detail will be done by hand. I know it will not be easy, but I am so happy we will not need to rely on third party red tape, or publishers. It will be a local, hand-crafted endeavor we will enjoy doing together; a collaboration of love that I know will make us feel proud and feel good! More details and progress notes when the times arise!

Apr 14

Seeing the beauty of everyday.

My brother lives in another town, and I don’t see him much. He doesn’t have a Facebook account, and he’s not much of a telephone conversationalist, just like myself (must be in the genes…). So when earlier in the year I decided to get myself a Picasa account, and we both realized that we both have Flickr accounts, bingo. We found that bridge to keep us close. We both share a love for photography, and both of our spouses are active in it as well. I practically live for those emails notifying me of new activity on either of his web album accounts, and I keep him posted as well. I love going through his photos; he has a really good eye, and I get to see what’s going on in his world. I think I rather bore him to death with my scrapbook layouts, but I do occasionally throw his boys into my little projects which I know he appreciates. Again, I still rely on searching for a photo to give me some inspiration for what to write on this post whenever I feel tongue-tied, and today was no exception. Here are some of my bro’s most recent pics, which I think are really cool.

"Waiting for Godot" My brother, waiting for his wife. Love the title.

"Wilson's Cyclery" A cute little bike shop in my hometown that's been around forever.

Dogwood. I love the dark background and the crisp detail.

So, Facebook is not the only good way to keep in touch and stay close. Thanks, Flickr and Picasa! Happy photo-taking!

Mar 19

Digital gridlock

I didn’t know what to write about today. I just know that my blog posts don’t feel complete without a photo, and as I have mentioned before here, when I don’t know what to say, I go fishing through my photos to see what inspires me. I love this photo of my nephew and my brother’s dog; I “stole” it from my brother’s Picasa web album with the intention of putting it into a layout. So tonight, I didn’t quite know how to do it justice (I guess I must be tired), so I started playing around with templates I have not used yet, and different photo effects to see what would happen. It would be interesting to take one great photo, and see how many ways it can be manipulated into new pieces of art. Some day. For tonight, this is what I did: I wanted to combine black and white with the original color photo. I love grids, and I love word art. So here you go; nothing special, but it was a learning experience nonetheless. Until next time, everyone.

Feb 24

Fun with photos

My husband is a photographer, and he’s currently preparing for an exhibit of his work to be shown at our local art museum in August. I get to reap the rewards of his “mistakes”; as he fine-tunes his images and prints them out; some he doesn’t like but instead of tossing the photos, I take them off his hands. I have made book covers with them to fold around books I have, as well as scrapbook extras and homemade notebooks out of them. He only works in black and white, and prints on matte paper, so they’re fun and easy to work with. This evening, I decided to make a scrapbook page out of a reject, just for fun. We always joke that while no one may pay attention to his work right now (save for some friends and the museum) , I say he’ll be like a Van Gogh and reap the rewards posthumously. One day, I tell him, his little “rejects” alone may be worth thousands, like the notes of Picasso discovered in an attic! Anyway, I appreciate my husband’s photographic work for more than one reason (notice my banner?), and the most important may be that I love him so darn much! Thanks for tossing your mistakes to me, honey!

Feb 11

Let the photo speak…

I have a confession to make: I was at a total loss today about what to post. Is life that boring and uneventful? No, I’m just brain-fried from work today. So, I came up with this little idea of going to my photo folder, randomly picking a photo, and talking about the story behind it. This is what we have:

This is my little girl and her daddy. This photo was taken on the last day they saw each other, before my ex had to hop on a plane and go back home. These two hadn’t seen each other except once when  my daughter, Noelle, was 5, and before that, she was 2, and has no memory of it. She’s now 11, and is getting to know her father, relatively speaking, for the first time. Unfortunately, he doesn’t live close by, and she gets quite sad because she has missed so much, and doesn’t want to miss any more. But at least she now has him in her life.

Long story short, mistakes were made, and Noelle’s father and I should never have gotten married or remained together when I found out that I was pregnant. We thought we were doing the right thing, however wrong we were. He was so unhappy, he moved out one day while I was at work, and I came home to a half-empty home, and a half-empty heart. It took at least two years for the tears to finally stop, and to get my life back into a forward-moving direction. I still have regrets (and most likely always will) about not appreciating my baby as much as I could have during that time. I was not in the present moment like I should have been; I was not the mother my girl deserved. But Noelle was too young to remember having her father around, and fast-forward ten years, out of the blue, she began asking questions about him. What is he like? Where does he live? Who is his family? And, the touchy one: What happened between you two? No, I do not tell her all of the truth. I tell her what she needs to know; that Mommy and Daddy just weren’t happy together and Daddy needed to go someplace else where he could find that happiness on his own. All other inquiries, I suggested one day, she should ask him about, if she’s interested. Luckily, she was and she did. I was always hoping that they would eventually find a way back to each other and renew that sacred relationship between father and daughter. I’m a believer that a child needs both parents equally, even if they cannot live together. And when we did contact him, I discovered something magical that gives me a wonderful feeling: all that water has passed under the bridge (and the bridge didn’t burn). There has been a tremendous amount of forgiveness and healing that has taken place between Noelle’s father and I; no regrets, no bitterness, no animosity, no unhealed scars. We speak to each other just like two people who happen to be in love with the same little girl and want nothing but the best for her. Complete cooperation, understanding, and respect between us, and we are so lucky to be able to be on the same page there. I feel so happy for Noelle to be able to have her daddy in her life; the one man who calls her his princess, the one man who loves her as much as I do…and I am so happy that there are no bad feelings to hide in the process. None. ZERO. I have been blessed, I know it, and I am so very thankful. That is just another reason why I love photos; they preserve the memories and keep the significance of life fresh and alive.