Dead T-shirts

Day 122: Inspired to action by a discussion with a friend about hoarders, I decided to do a little "de-stuffing." De-stuffing occurs at least once a year, and is defined as a purge of unnecessary items, sometimes mild, sometimes brutal. It keeps me from being buried in objects I never use, and as any half-baked psychologist would undoubtedly assert, it provides a sense (largely false) of being in control of my life. To this end, I binned half a dozen pairs of old shoes, set aside overly snug pants to be taken to a thrift shop, and sorted a dozen t-shirts into a pile to be turned into rug strips. As you have heard me complain several times, I'm desperately short of material for my posts, so I thought I'd have a go at converting rug strips into an Orb with PaintShop Pro. Orbs are fun to make, and often give quite unexpected results. My first attempt was rather blasé, so I backed out of it and hit it with a "wave" distortion. My rug strips became Rickrack! The Rickrack translated into a delightfully psychedelic Orb. So how do you make an Orb from a photo? Start with a square. Using the distortion tool in the photo processing software of your choice, convert the polar coordinates from polar to rectangular. Then flip the image vertically, and convert the polar coordinates from rectangular to polar. You'll probably have some other options available for changing the background colour, etc., but those three steps (polar to rectangular, flip vertical, rectangular to polar) are crucial to success and must be done in that order.

Kaleidoscopic Dandelion

Day 158: Spring is here! With it, the first of the dandelions has opened in my yard and, while not a particularly interesting subject photographically speaking in the natural view, they do lend themselves nicely to special treatment with software. In this instance, I used the "kaleidoscope" feature on a square-cropped image with the flower centrally located. My initial reaction upon seeing the result was, "Quilt!" although it would be horribly tedious to piece as shown. That said, it could be simplified fairly easily to use as a block pattern or, with a bit more modification, as the layout for an entire quilt top. Fiber artists often draw their designs from nature. Photo software gives us yet another tool, sometimes shortcutting a few steps in the inspirational process. No, I'm not likely to be making this one myself, but perhaps my dandelion will seed itself in the back of another quilter's mind.

Ohop Creek Deception

Day 13: Just look at those puffy clouds and that pretty blue sky! You'd think it was summer on Ohop Creek...until you look at the bottom photo which shows that typical Pacific Northwest "white sky" during a brief break in the rain. Yes, the clouds came out of a box, i.e., they're a filter in my photo processing software.

Today needed all the outside help it could get. Gloomy, wet, dismal, and me with a list of things to do which I'd rather have postponed indefinitely if that was in my character. I am guilty of having put one off for a number of months (I only go to the doctor as an alternate to booking a mortician), but even that is behind me now, and with nothing more than a "take it easy for a while" caution to see me out the door. My driver's license is good for another six years, and I have a stockpile of millet flour and molasses which should last me at least 12 months. Even if the summer skies are a deception, little Ohop Creek brightened the hastily-revised agenda for this dreary and somewhat tedious day.

Skipper Spotlight

Day 320: A few days ago, I was fiddling around with post-processing effects in response to a photo challenge, starting with a base image which otherwise might never have seen the light of day. Oh, I got the Woodland Skipper in focus, but without capturing any major field markings or characteristics, automatically excluding it from anything I'd use for a "field guide" shot. The background was bland and to my eye, the lavender seemed to be intrusive, and the highlights on the insect's body were too bright. In other words, the image only marginally escaped being thrown in the trash. When I remembered that I was one image short of completing the photo challenge, I decided to see if I could gussy it up a bit.

First of all, I added a feathered blur filter leaving only the Skipper and a bit of lavender in focus. Lens flare provided some colour for the corners and a rule-of-thirds glow, and a "sunlight" filter warmed the image overall. I diminished the highlights and deepened the midtones as a final touch to bring Mr. Skipper out of anonymity and into the spotlight. Still not a "field guide" shot, but even in my world, sometimes it's not always about science.

Tea-Time

Day 31: Seriously, I had other things to do with my time today, but I got started on this idea and didn't want to quit until I was done. The motivation was an on-line photo group assignment, the last of twenty given to participants at the first of the month. Although I am primarily a coffee drinker, I do enjoy a cup of tea at least once a day. Many of my favourites are difficult to tell apart when laid out on a backing, so I included a number of herbals in this composite as well.

The operative word in that last sentence is "composite." Fourteen images went into the making of this sampler; the background,  twelve close-ups of various teas, and one shot to capture both spoons which were then "lifted" and reinstalled here. I don't have a lot of fancy software, so this meant hours of trimming, erasing and blending, particularly with respect to the spoons.

Starting at 1 o'clock, the teas are
1. Jasmine
2. Sassafras bark
3. Earl Grey
4. Chamomile
5. Goldenseal (home-grown)
6. Chai Spice blend
7. English Breakfast
8. Licorice Spice (licorice root and spices)
9. Pinhead Gunpowder
10. "Floor sweepings" (bag tea, liberated)
11. Peppermint
12. Rose mint (home-grown)

It's time for tea!

Learn Something New

Day 28: I cannot recall when I heard this piece of advice, but it was a very long time ago and I have sought to live by it ever since. Perhaps it's because my maternal grandmother was a schoolteacher, and instilled in me a desire to inquire into the whys and wherefores of many subjects. "Knowledge," she would say, "is the most valuable thing you can have."

The last ten days have brought me to greater manipulative skills as far as post-processing of photos is concerned. Not only did I learn how to create a "tiny planet" with my PaintShop Pro photo editing suite, I also had a breakthrough with regard to adding curved text to an image. The manual which came with the program was sorely lacking in instructive material for the process, so I resorted to an on-line source which explained how to effect curved text using a much later version of the program. Substantial trial and error and many notes-to-self on a scratch pad finally brought me to a repeatable set of directions for text which followed a circular path. However, I was not content. I wanted to be able to add upright text to the lower portion of the image, as opposed to letters which went upside-down as they marched around the rim of the circle. I was less successful in finding details on line, but having accomplished the first part gave me some clues for achieving my goal.

As you might guess from the photo above, all other projects have been in suspension as I sought to master this skill. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to tend to my knitting!

Sunflower Stitchery

Day 365: My birds are grand little gardeners. They've planted millet and milo throughout the flower beds, and I never know where sunflowers may pop up. Burdened by the recent rain, this one was nodding close to the ground, so I supported it with chrysanthemums for the photo which, as you can see, has been processed to give it the look of a piece of framed needlework. Now I find myself wishing I still had the old PC Stitch program on this machine so I could turn it into counted cross-stitch!

My regular readers will notice that the lead-in says that this is Day 365 of 365 Caws' Year Four, and I find myself having to make an admission of fault. 365 Caws began on October 14, 2010, and at the end of the second year (if memory serves), the count was off by ten days. I glossed over it at the time, figuring that nobody was really keeping track, but it bothered me. Somehow, though, I've managed to lose another four days. Therefore, from now through October 13, I will be posting "make-up" entries so I can start with a fresh slate on the 14th.

Hoya Orb

Day 228: It's been a while since I made an Orb. This is a fun bit of post-processing which is easy to effect with almost any halfway decent graphics software. A certain degree of artistry is involved, but not enough to be intimidating, even for folks who have just graduated from Windows Paint. You'll want to have an assortment of images to play with, if only to learn how to position your subject to get the best results. Flower photos are a great place to begin.

The first action you will take is to "promote the background layer" (Layers menu). Once this is done, crop the image into a square. Do this by changing the settings for "canvas size" (not "image size"). Let's say we're working with a 4320 x 3240 pixel image. Set the canvas size to 3000 x 3000 to give yourself a little "wiggle room." Now because you've promoted the background layer, you'll be able to slide your image around until you have your flower fairly well centered (centering is not a requirement, but until you get used to making Orbs, you'll get a higher percentage of attractive results). Once you have your flower in a good position, "merge" the layers (Layers menu). If you look at the image information at this point, it will tell you that you have an image measuring 3000 x 3000. Save the file.

Here comes the tricky part! Follow the directions exactly, because if you mix up Step 1 and Step 3, the results won't be an Orb. In the Effects menu of your photo processing software, select "Polar Coordinates." It may be a sub-menu under "Distortion" or something with a similar name. I use PaintShopPro, but other software should use similar terms.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!

1) Convert POLAR to rectangle.
2) Flip the image top to bottom.
3) Convert RECTANGLE to polar.

The most common error in creating an Orb is to start with Rectangle to POLAR because most photo processing software lists it first. You must convert POLAR to rectangle in Step 1, or the Orb will not work out right.

Orbs remind me of those wonderful glass paperweights. Make yourself a whole collection, because this version won't ever need to be dusted!