Nathalie

Two wonderful days of mucking around with paint and paper.
Thank you Nathalie Kalbach for a wonder experience learning new techniques, exploring new ideas and having great fun!

A card...

Cards are not my thing. I'm not good at making them. I think they need greater precision and orderliness than my art journaling skills allow me to be capable  to achieve.

So the task I set myself was to make a card for a card making friend. Now that's a challenge that I truly struggle with. Her work is always witty and neat and then she doesn't like pink or flowers or "froofy" things on cards.








My solution was to use the structure of a folder I saw when we were in the craft store in Westbrook in March and to make a Get Well card that wasn't overly sentimental and was cheery.








I then found friendship quotes that could be twisted slightly to say get well.

DLP

 Documented Life Project has me working on a different form of journaling and I am really loving it and pleased with what I have made into my own process.

On the side

The weekend is being spent with some of my scrapbooking buddies. The table is all set up and here we have paint water with drinking water on the side. Or paint water with red nose on the side. And a side note "Red Nose" day is raising money for kids in poverty not SIDS.

Part of the day has been spent catching up or at least keeping up to date with the unPlanner whose PAC (pocket art card) challenge for the day was to make a pocket and fill it. I used a playing card as the PAC base and then small tags.

Silly

Nothing really needs to be said :).  Silly captures it all completely.

From above

I actually had a different shot from above the table I was working at but it was such a clear shot that you could read all the notes some of which were a tad confidential so I have photographed the page I did from my "Journals of Maddy". She wrote about the trip to see Wind in the Willows at the Botanic Gardens with Lynne and Kate. 

Self portrait

Spent the day catching up on my "unplanner". Still have the photos to insert but managed to get lots done. 

Aperture

In trying to learn more about aperture I googled ...what else does one do?...and found the following article from Dave Johnson (Dave Johnson is a writer and photographer who has covered technology for magazines such as PCWorld and Wired. He is currently the Editorial Director for eHow.com's Tech channel. Dave is the author of How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera, and over a dozen other books. )
I've posted it here mainly so I can reference it again easily.

One of the most striking differences between your iPhone and a large camera like a DSLR is the way the two cameras focus and control depth of field. In a DSLR, depth of field is easy to manage by changing the aperture—a large aperture like f/4 results in a relatively narrow field of focus, for example, while a small aperture like f/20 delivers deep depth of field in which most of the photo is in focus.

On the iPhone and other smartphones, though, you don’t generally get that kind of flexibility. Without an aperture dial, you get little control over your depth of field. And thanks to the laws of physics, the tiny sensor results in a large depth of field in most of your photos.

You don’t have to be satisfied with that, though. Take control of your iPhone’s focus to capture the photos you want to achieve.

Specify the focus. This is hardly a state secret: All but absolute iPhone beginners know that you can tell the phone where to focus by tapping on the screen. If you want the foreground in focus, tap on something close to the camera. Want the background in focus? Tap a background subject. If most of the objects and people are about the same distance from you, this won’t matter very much, and you can rely on the phone’s autofocus to do the work for you. But if you have something very close and somewhat distant, you can definitely affect what’s in focus.

Tap and hold to lock the focus with the Camera app.

Separate focus and exposure. The problem with that common trick is that the iPhone sets both exposure and focus with the same tap. If your foreground subject is also dark, you can end up over-exposing the photo. To solve that problem, install a better camera app – popular favorites include Camera+ ($2) and Top Camera ($3). Using either of these apps, you can tap separately to focus and specify where to set the exposure. The end result: You no longer have to live with under- or over-exposed photos just because you chose to set the focus point.

AfterFocus lets you adjust the parts of the image you want to focus after the fact.

Lock the focus. You don’t need to install a new camera app to take advantage of this fancy focusing trick: You can lock the focus on the iPhone sort of like holding the shutter release button halfway down locks focus on a traditional digital camera. Tap and hold a spot on the screen for a few seconds until you see a yellow box flash around your finger. Let go, and you’ll see the message “AE/AF Lock” on the screen. You can now re-compose the shot, and the focus and exposure will remain the same until you tap the shutter release button.

FocusTwist shots a short video and then shows you a still photo derived from it.

Simulate a DSLR’s depth of field. The smaller a camera’s image sensor, the larger the depth of field it creates. That’s why smartphones and compact digital cameras can’t compete with Digital SLRs when it comes to taking photos with romantically blurred backgrounds. There’s help, though. Try an app likeAfterFocus ($1). Open an existing photo or take a new one, and then outline the areas that you want to be in sharp focus and in blurry relief. The app then blurs the background for you, giving you a convincing shot with simulated depth of field.

Control depth of field after the fact. One of the wonders of modern engineering is a camera known as Lytro—it uses a sophisticated array of sensors to capture sharp focus everywhere in the scene at once.

Afterwards, using special software, you can change the focus point just by clicking. Want the background in focus and the foreground blurry? You can do it in one click, and then change your mind as often as you like. You can simulate that same effect on your iPhone with FocusTwist ($2). This app shoots a short video of a scene and presents it as a still image. When you tap in the image, it changes the scene to show that part of the scene in focus. You can also share your variable-focus creations online.

This is my effort using the instructions above. 

Registration folder

Something starting with R was the prompt... so here is the Registration folder for the Art Retreat. I thought having "say Yes" on the front of mine fully recognized my word for the year Embrace !!!

Covered

How serendipitous was this...the photo prompt for today was covered and the bathroom wall at Michelle's Scrapbooking store in Palm Beach FL uses the covers of books to cover the walls. 

It was at the end of a long day of glorious art activity and then the end of what seemed a long ride to the store and there in the bathroom was jst the photo I needed for today. I have taken other photos during the day.

Here's Dyan getting all wired up

And a typical shot of Dina and her cheezy smile

The crowd of adoring fans and art makers...

My tags at the end of day one...

But I must also include here a recount of the text messaging conversation I had last night during dinner at my accommodation.

Last night I went to the very windy Tiki bar for dinner. One ordered from the take out place in the "hotel" a relatively divey motel, thank god I'm getting it for nothing. Anyway the time started out with a few other patrons there and I had to share it with someone so over the course of about an hour and a half I sent texts to Sue and Bernadette and here is the bulk of mine interspersed with a couple of Bernadette's questions...

OMG. Chose this place partly because it had a restaurant. The "bar maid" has just told two relatively drunk patrons who just arrived that "things will get interesting" soon when I start drinking. Their response would you like a shot? She's just had it!

The new patrons names are Spanky and Randy

I thought it was interesting when Bob and Mindy from up state NY were here but they pale into insignificance.

Bernadette asked:You have to find out the barmaid's name!

Darlene

Spanky has just shared that she worked down here in 82 in a whorehouse

She is now saying she struggled as a nurse with the younger generation

And Darlene has had her second shot

Surprise surprise Spanky and Randy have just revealed they started drinking at 10 this morning.

Bernadtte: Oh I thought Spanky and Randy were blokes.

Uh uh Spanky is in pink and very tanned

I need to start a list of words one shouldn't attempt after a long days drinking ... realistical is one. Oh and now ... phonomenemeal

Darlene  has just given them vanilla and peach snots I'm sure she said snots...and Spanky's wise reply was "that would make a good sipping drink" as she downed it as a shot

Three guys have arrived one it would seem is an NYC cop and they have just said last night they went to a bar that is a real dive bar!!!! What the heck is this on their scale of things. It is only 7:20!

I just broke to Darlene it is only 7:15 oh my another woman has arrived saying her night last night was so messed up she lost her keys and then her cigarettes and then the young guy took her up to her room. A dive bar book needs to be made from these texts. 😎
I got home safely and my room is far enough away from the bar that closes at 2. The door is locked. 

Striking a balance :)

Having time off from work has given time to explore my Art Journaling more specifically in this case getting my "Journals of Maddy" pages done. I've also been exploring different texturing processes.

Then I've also been exploring using photos and images that can provide me with the collage material I want.

Clutter...

...not really. I couldn't find a spot that truly shouted or even muttered "clutter" thanks to following the KonMari method of the life changing magic of tidying up :). I have pretty well kept to the standard of putting things away and keeping drawers tidy...this is my t-shirt drawer. 

 I spent a lovely time today working "with" Louise, via skype, on my ATCs to take to the retreat later in the week. I'm very happy with the outcome and the output.

I started a new sheet that I can use for other pieces...I have to finish the flowers which I may well do on the morrow in the process of avoiding the big chill.

Connected

The Documented Life Project is a challenge I've taken on again this year and so each Saturday in January i have spent hours getting things done in my un-Planner and loving it. Today the technique was one that inspired me to try without constantly referring back to "instructions" I felt comfortable enough to do my take on it from memory without double checking what the artist said. I found myself just going with the flow of everything and getting bits and pieces in order. I've been connected all day to the process and the paints and the inks and the project

In order to get images I have deiced to use my photos in different ways. In the NY Times this morning was an article about parrots- many of which are Australian and the photo of two parrots together made me think of my through word for the year- Embrace. I photographed the image and then uploaded it into the Waterlogue App and saved it then printed it and finally cut it out and pasted it onto my page. I'm not completely happy with the page but this project is all about experimenting and finding one's artistic expression so it works in the realm.

This morning I felt happy with where my hair was going so used Photo Booth to capture and image and have been happy with it... happy enough to use it for my profile photo in a couple of places :).

Sidelight

When the light source is directly to the side of your subject, you get side lighting. A light source to the side is ideal because it produces tiny shadows that give your subject some texture. Food photographers base their entire business on creating side lit images with barely perceptible shadows. That’s what makes the nooks and crannies in food photography look so delectable.




Side lighting is also perfect for portraits. Many photographers shoot indoor portraits using some kind of side lighting. When they don’t bring their own professional gear, they rely on their camera-mounted flash. Wouldn’t that produce front lighting? It would if you were aiming the flash directly at your subject. The pros, on the other hand, know that you get a much better effect when you point your flash head at the wall behind you and bounce the flash off of it. This not only makes the light less harsh and direct, it also lights your subject more from the side.

Having now done a little research about the photos I have tried to take ones making use of practical and house bound decisions given the light ...

New start

The new year has begun and so has my resolve to try to do some different challenging things. 
The Capture Your 365 Days has been a photo challenge that many have taken over a number of years. I've decided this year to give it a try on my own terms. Katrina Kennedy provides a great process and support with ideas, support and inspiration for photography.
My participation is utilizing their prompts if i need them and also posting on my blog via my phone access. So a fresh start with this and a fresh start with the Documented Life Project. Today i spent time trying to begin utilizing the un=planner. It is the third year of this project and I've attempted it every year. This year I'm not going to stress myself about it but use the inspiration and learn a bit...I hope :).

A day with Seth Apter...

the highly textured background

 A day spent at Little Bird Creations studio, the class was Folded Foto Folio. The description for the day...

In this workshop, you will learn a variety of techniques from the worlds of mixed media, painting, book making, photography, and collage. We will start with creating highly layered and textured backgrounds using acrylics, gesso and paper. These in turn will become the pages of a one-of-a-kind accordion book, to which you will add your own handmade covers. Next comes your own photography, to be added as the focal image of each page. And finally, you will create your own personal touches throughout the book using your choice of collage and mixed media materials. Everybody will have the opportunity to make several books and in the end, you will leave with both a unique photo journal and a host of techniques that you can apply over and over to any number of future projects

The use of acrylics

The use of gesso

Further use of acrylics

One folded foto folio

The second folded foto folio peeking at the edge of the photo