Realistic paint technique in Photoshop

This technique will make any image look like it was hand painted. Instead of deciding between oil or acrylic all you need to do this "painting" is Photoshop and a graphic tablet (mouse painting not recommended). A file prepared this way would look great on canvas or photo paper. It would be perfect for a shot of a child or a family portrait. You can a add your own personal touch, and it would make a great photo gift.

Photoshop Realistic Paint Technique: Posted by D Sheppard on Instructables

While doing a few digital paintings in Photoshop I developed a simple technique to somewhat emulate the look of real paintings using brushes in photoshop.

Probably the kind of thing "painter" would be used for, but heres what I do in photoshop.

This is very simple, but I've been asked a few times what precisely I did to get the look, so I thought I would share it.

Of course, while the technique is still simple, using it in practice takes time. Its not a filter or anything.

Out of the box

We have recently been working with Michael Iaquinta of Montages by Nature. He is an artist located in Shoreline, Washington who takes landscapes to a whole new level. Or levels as the case may be. We have printed for him large landscapes on metallic paper. He will then cut them up in to panels and mount them at different levels and depths in a thick frame. It is a unique take on landscape photography. With the way the metallic paper responds to light at different angles and viewing perspectives, this technique accentuates the effect.

Now that is big

This is the largest photograph ever produced in one sheet. The Legacy Project turned an aircraft carrier in to a camera obscura and hand applied the emulsion to a custom made canvas to create it. The specs on what it took to make this image are mind boggling.

The Legacy Project to Exhibit the World’s Largest Photograph -Photo Reporter

The world’s largest photograph, the Great Picture, which is 3,375 square feet, premiers at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design at the South Campus Wind Tunnel Gallery in a showing that will be held September 6–29, 2007.

Only a handful of museums are large enough to display the photograph, which is a history-making gelatin silver image 3 stories high by 11 stories wide. The photograph was created over nine months in 2006 by six well-known photographic artists collectively known as The Legacy Project and 400 volunteers, artists and experts. The $65,000 photograph was made using a shuttered Southern California F-18 jet aircraft hangar transformed into a gigantic camera obscura. The largest camera ever made, it measures 44' 2" high by 79' 6" deep by 161' 6" wide. To darken the hanger, 24,000 square feet of 6 mil black viscuine, 1,300 gallons of foam gap filler, 1.52 miles of black gorilla tape and 40 cans of black spray paint were needed. The aperture was a one-quarter inch (6mm) pinhole 15 feet above ground level, with no lens or other optics used.

Working in their jet hangar/camera, the group hand-applied 80 liters of gelatin silver halide emulsion to a seamless 107' 5" by 31' 5" canvas substrate custom made in Germany. Development was done in an Olympic-pool-size developing tray using 10 submersible pumps and 1,800 gallons of black-and-white chemistry.

The Guinness Book of Records preapproved and is now evaluating applications in two categories: world’s largest photograph and camera.

Big and small

Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle got their start in food and commercial photography. They met at the Paris "Arts Decoratifs" art school and blended their styles to create these truly unique miniature fantasy worlds under the name minimaim. What better to showcase the detail in their small set ups than large prints. The contrast between the big and small is perfectly illustrated. The image below is from an exhibition they had in 2005 at the Fraich Attitude gallery in Paris. Their website is full of whimsical images that will have you imagining that your food has a secret life after you go to bed at night. [Found via Design *Sponge]

Helvetica and beyond

This poster would be a perfect addition to any graphic design office. Even if you can't read the language, I am sure you are familiar with Helvetica. It is a great collection that showcases the history of Swiss graphic design. The high-res pdf generously supplied for download can produce a pretty large poster. Hmmm....I think I might know a place that could print it for you. [Found via Creative Review]

89 Swiss Poster Posted by Xavier Encinas (on the Swiss Legacy blog)

Last year when Richard Hollis released his new book, Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920–1965, Jannuzzi Smith organised a presentation, discussion forum, and book launch. For this occasion, Jannuzzi Smith designed a poster using all the illustrations of the book. A very useful tool to have always around.

How Flickr could help fix your photo

James Hays and Alexei Efros, a research team from Carnegie Mellon University, have developed an algorithm that will analyze the millions of images posted on photo sharing sites (like Flickr) to replace a portion of an image that may have been obstructed or you would like removed. The algorithm then sorts out the possible images to be used based on the orientation of the object, the light source, the height of the camera used to take the picture, and the color shades of the image that will best match the original.

Photo tool could fix bad images: by Mark Ward for BBC Technology News

To find suitable matching elements, the research duo's algorithm looks through a database of 2.3 million images culled from Flickr.

"We searched for other scenes that share as closely as possible the same semantic scene data," said Mr. Hays, who has been showing off the project at the computer graphics conference Siggraph, in San Diego.

In this sense "semantic" means composition. So a snap of a lake in the foreground, hills in the band in the middle and sunset above has, as far as the algorithm is concerned, very different "semantics" to one of the city with a river running through it.

The broad-based analysis cuts out more than 99.9% of the images in the database, said Mr. Hays. The algorithm then picks the closest 200 for further analysis.

Next the algorithm searches the 200 to see if they have the elements, such as hillsides or even buildings, the right size and colours for the hole to be filled.

The useful parts of the 20 best scenes are then cropped, added to the image being edited so the best fit can be chosen.

Early tests of the algorithm show that only 30% of the images altered with it could be spotted, said Mr. Hays.

Color deconstructed

If you are interested in learning more in depth about RGB and color workflow, I have two good resources for you. The first is posted on photoshopessentials.com titled RGB Color and Color Channels Explained. The article breaks down how Photoshop 'sees' color and translates each color in to a number equivalent that represents what our eye perceives as red, blue, or green.

The second is a new self help guide released from Adobe that details the best color workflow in all the new Creative Suite 3 softwares. Kind of a long read, you might want to jump to page 21 if you only use Photoshop. [Via]

These articles should give you a better understanding of how color is created in Photoshop and how to get the best output from your files.

Tim Lanterman in 3 man show with a little help from Mighty

Tim Lanterman, John Wagner and Bill Timmerman will be opening a show this week of their most recent work at the Modified Arts gallery in Phoenix. We did the scanning and imaging to help bring Tim's pieces to life. We were very honored to be a part of his artistic process. They are some beautiful images. We wish all of them the best of luck and great success with their show. Opening reception is August 17th between 6 and 9 PM.

Commercial photographers, Tim Lanterman, John Wagner, and Bill Timmerman have produced a second show of their personal work for Kimber Lannings, Modified Arts gallery, downtown Phoenix. The show will open on the 17th of August, a third Friday, and run till the 14th of September. Tim Lanterman will be showing a new color series of panoramic, landscape photographs. The new work is inspired by painters from the Victorian landscape tradition. John Wagner's emotionally rich photographs, which tend to journal his life experience, will include people, landscapes, and urban settings. This show will feature the most current of his toned gelatin silver prints. Bill Timmerman will also be showing a new series of his toned silver prints of images taken during an eight day hike in the Grand Canyon this year. The Canyon is typical subject matter, but these images although on the traditional side, are not what you consider typical. The show titled "Photographs 2" will be open to the public during the third and first Friday's select evenings and by appointment - call 602-462-5516.

DIY 'Snoot' for your flash

This "snoot" is easy to construct. You just need some gaffers tape and foam paper. Then you can customize it as you need to and get dramatic lighting effects, like this one.

All the steps are posted on Instructables.

Speedlite "Snoot"

Learn how to make a "Snoot" for your speedlite flash with easy to find items you may even have around the house!

Step 1

Get gaffer's tape and foam paper. Look in the craft supply area of Hobby Lobby or Michaels to find the foam paper, and if you have friends at the local theatre (plays not movies) you can often get a bit of Gaffers tape at no charge. Else, check with a camera shop that carries lighting supplies.

Make your images glow with the Orton Effect

This look, called the Orton Effect, was named after Michael Orton a photographer who was the first to use this technique by merging two images together; one in focus the other out of focus. Michael pioneered this method before the days of Photoshop. He originally used slide film to get his results. Now it can be done with a few simple steps in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or GIMP. This tutorial posted by PCIN.net is written for Photoshop Elements 5.0.

The Orton Effect - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

1. Open your image (Image 1)
2. Duplicate the background layer (Right click on the background layer and choose duplicate) and name that layer Sharp
3. Create another duplicate of the background layer.
4. Change the Blending mode of the Sharp Copy to screen
5. With the Sharp Copy layer selected, right click and choose Merge Down (Image 2)
6. Right click on the Sharp layer, choose Duplicate and name this layer Out of Focus
7. On the Filter Menu, choose Blur - Gaussian Blur (Image 3)
   Depending on the resolution of the image you are using, the amount of blue needed will change. Use enough that the shapes are still visible, but detail is not. For this 6.1 Megapixel image, a value of 15.9 was sufficient.
8. Change the blending mode of the Out Of Focus layer to Multiply. (Image 4)

This effect does a great job on portrait photography as well.

Kurney Ramsey wins Director's Award

We were pleased to learn that an image we recently printed for Kurney Ramsey, Jr. won an award. His New Cars piece was given the Director's Award and will be in the Halpert Biennial show at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at the Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. until October 6th. You can view a larger version of the image on his website. Or better yet, if you are in North Carolina, stop by the exhibit.

The Halpert Biennial '07 is a national, juried two-dimensional art competition and exhibition program designed to recognize new works by emerging and established artists residing in the United States. It has grown wonderfully over the years and features some of the most exciting new visual art being produced in the country.

Thanks for sharing Kurney! We are happy to be a small part of your success.

Star gazing and astrophotography

Living in the middle of the city I only get to experience a small portion of the wonders the night sky has to offer. I enjoy the convenience of city life, but I am envious of the view that some get every night. Like the residents of Sky Village, a remote community of astro enthusiasts located besides the Chiricahua Mountains southeast of Tucson. Another great place to experience Arizona's night sky is in Flagstaff thanks to their Dark Skies Coalition. It is also home to the Lowell Observatory.

Once submerged in to the complete darkness of night you may be inspired to try some astrophotograhy. Jerry Lodriguss has a great website with impressive galleries that include all the technical data used to create each image. He also has several books that he has written on the subject to help get you started.

Finally, this image is an artist's rendition of what our own galaxy, the Milky Way, would look like from a distance. This image has been added to our NASA For Sale Gallery. It is available in 20x20 and has one version that shows our solar system's location and one without.

Happy star gazing!

How to make half spheres in Photoshop

Here is a quick step by step tutorial on how to make half spheres in Photoshop courtesy of one of our For Sale Gallery artists, Kerry Randolph. The steps are typed out below. You can also check out this Flickr discussion group page for a larger image of the tutorial. Thanks Kerry!

Half Sphere Tutorial:

1. Make a Sphere
2. Duplicate Layer
3. Make an oval and Fill
4. Select it and Inverse
5. Delete upper half
6. Select inverse again and make a copy of the original sphere and put a motion blur on it to give it a cut in half look.
7. Select soft airbrush at 40% and fill in the bottom area of the oval.
8. Tilt as you wish.

Walla

Get published in National Geographic

This is a golden opportunity to have one of your images published in National Geographic magazine. They are holding a photo contest and the winners in 4 categories (people, landscape, animals, and photo essay) will win a digital SLR camera kit, and best of all, will be published in their magazine. The contest begins tomorrow, August 1st and ends October 31st. Review your portfolio for your best shots, and get them entered! For official rules check out this site.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST Official Press Release
National Geographic readers around the world have the opportunity to take part in the 2007 National Geographic International Photography Contest. And, for the first time, readers of National Geographic's English-language editions in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and United Kingdom will be able to participate in the contest that was inaugurated in 16 of its local-language editions in 2006.

Charles Brooks receives masters from Professional Photographers of America

We recently worked with Charles Brooks on 4 prints he submitted to the International Print Competition held by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). If even one of them received high honors he would reach his ultimate goal of earning a Masters of Photography. So, we have been waiting with bated breath for the judges to tally their scores. We just heard today that not just one of his images was selected for exhibit, but all 4. Where Elves Play, the image seen here, was also accepted in to the 2007 PPA loan collection where it will go on a world tour. Way to go, Charles!

The results are in from the Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition, and I am a very happy cowboy!

I can't help but share this with you, because it means that I have now earned, after two years of work, my Masters of Photography through PPA. All four images were accepted for exhibit at the January 2008 PPA National Convention. One in particular, Where Elves Play, was accepted into the PPA 2007 Loan Collection which means that the PPA will publish the image, as well as, include it in their world tour exhibit next year as among the most outstanding images of the year from their membership. This is my fourth Loan Collection print since 2003.

A special thanks to Mighty Imaging who made these prints perfectly for the competition. They do extraordinary work!

Thanks, Charles! We think you do too.

Typographics

This video put together by Ryan Uhrich and Marcos Ceravolo at the Vancouver Film School is a entertaining illustration on how typography is used in design. The placement of text is a key part of what makes an effective visual graphic. If done wrong, the impact and your emphasis are lost. It is a well done piece and good review whether you are a graphic designer, in advertising & marketing, or just watching for fun.

Enlarge your photobooth strips

Remember cramming you and 4 of your friends in to a tiny photobooth making faces at the camera? Ahh memories. Well, it is not too late to recreate one of those days from your youth. Photobooth.net offers a comprehensive list of photobooths that still exist out there waiting for your best silly grin. I was pleased to see that there is one in Phoenix at The Trunk Space. They also offer resource on renting one for your wedding or a big event, like Ron Cowan did for these shots taken at his wedding. They also have listings of movies and TV shows that have used photobooths, books featuring the hazy vignetted shots (MTV's TRL has a great one if you want to see celebrities striking a pose), as well as artists that have utilized photobooths to create their work; most notably Andy Warhol.

These little strips look amazing when blown up. You can make a large 10x50 panoramic print or cut it in to 2 up strips and place them side by side for a square print. If you are more in to the art side of it, you can montage several shots together for a surreal effect ala Herman Costa. If you have an old strip sitting in a drawer somewhere, making an enlargement of it for your fellow photobooth companions would make a great gift. All you need to do is scan the strip large enough to make the print size you are going for, or we can scan it for you.

Thanks to John Nack for the find. It brings back so many memories.

Tips for making your room look bigger

It is a topic that brings a lot of visitors to our blog... How to decorate a room so that it looks bigger? Many of the articles written by interior designers agree. Instead of cramming several smaller items in to an arrangement, use one large piece as your focal point on the wall. Freshome uses this and other suggestions on how to making the room look more spacious.

5 Tips for Fooling the Eye and Making a Room Look Bigger:

“In a small space, everything counts.” - That’s the main idea behind this article, and how we can make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks.

Small rooms can feel confining and uncomfortable. Luckily we can utilize certain design concepts that fool the eye and make our rooms seem much bigger and spacious.

#4 Cut the Clutter

...Don’t cover your walls with a lot of pictures. One large painting [or photograph] works better than a group of small paintings. If there’s too much going on, all clamoring for attention, it can make the room feel busy and crowded. So, when decorating a small room, create a focal point, one area or feature that will draw the eye.

Another good reason to print your images

A couple weeks ago we talked about the importance of printing your images in our Wireless memories? post, so that later on in life when you wonder what happened in 2007 you have more than just a memory card to look at. Here is another excellent reason to print out your images; vanishing media and file formats. Right now jpegs, tiffs, CD's, DVD's, and the various media cards are the standard in saving your files. Can you be sure that it will be the same 20 years from now? Or even 5 years from now? Remember floppy disks and zip drives? Where as the a printed image will look just as good 20 (or even 100) years from now. This article talks about the problem as it relates to libraries and their constant struggle to keep up, but the photography industry is also learning the same painful lesson.

Warning of data ticking time bomb: BBC Technology News

The growing problem of accessing old digital file formats is a "ticking time bomb", the chief executive of the UK National Archives has warned.

Natalie Ceeney said society faced the possibility of "losing years of critical knowledge" because modern PCs could not always open old file formats.

...Ms Ceeney said: "If you put paper on shelves, it's pretty certain it is going to be there in a hundred years.

"If you stored something on a floppy disc just three or four years ago, you'd have a hard time finding a modern computer capable of opening it.

"Digital information is in fact inherently far more ephemeral than paper," warned Ms Ceeney.

Personalized music poster

This would be a great gift idea for any music lover. Or just a cool way to make a personal statement using your favorite bands as the backdrop. We would be happy to print it, of course.

Make a huge printable poster from your iTunes album art!

This is a instructable describing how to cumbersomely export your existing iTunes album art and arrange all the covers into a huge grid, leaving you with a gigantic, colourful and vibrant mishmash of popular culture ready for printing and, maybe later, your wall!

I decided I wanted to do this a couple of nights ago and now I've come up with a method, it's not really complicated but can be rather time-consuming depending on how large your library is.
I have around 800 albums with attached album art and it took at least an hour, granted most of that time is spent watching your computer doing all the work for you.

The process requires you to download some free applications (links supplied) and you also need a new-ish version of Photoshop (I use CS3) although I'll show you an alternate way of getting basically the same results with Google's free digital photo organizer, Picasa2.

You can't keep me in a box

That is Kerry Randolph's moto. Kerry is a digital artist, and after looking at his work you will see what he means. Kerry recently joined the group of artists offering work on our For Sale Gallery. His work is unique to say the least. They are almost like looking in to an alternate universe. To see Kerry's work visit his gallery. Kerry has many more images than we could fit on his gallery, to see his entire portfolio you can visit his Flickr page. All of them are available for purchase.

Kerry Randolph does some of the most amazing Digital artwork that I have ever seen. His imagination is endless, and he astounds me each and every time I view his work. His use of color, form, texture and sense of movement are incredible. I can never wait to see what he’ll come up with next. Each piece of his art is complex and takes a long time to absorb. When you really look at his work, small details pop out that you don’t see at first.

Paint like a master

In Photoshop that is. Or you could use Illustrator, InDesign or GoLive for that matter. Dr. Woohoo, a New Mexico based artist and designer, has built a pretty amazing website called In The Mod. There he has deconstructed several different master works by well known artists to their most basic element; color. You can download the color palette of your favorite artist directly in to Photoshop or Illustrator as a .ASE file and build your own masterpiece. Or perhaps you were so inspired by Cezanne's painting of Mont Sainte-Victoire that you want to decorate your room in the same colors. Well, you can download the palette here. There are also tools that will connect the similarities in color palettes between the painting you are viewing and all the other paintings in their large database. Some fun stuff to play around with or good place to find inspiration for your next design project.

Wireless memories?

Scott from Visualville posed a question that I have been wondering for years. Where have all the pictures gone? With more and more people converting their entire lives to digital, the absence of real printed pictures is creating a large gap in our tangible history.

There was a time when photos, (prints), were precious. A fireman once told me that normal folks will only run back into a burning building for one of the three P's... People, Pets and Pictures. Could you lay your hands on 100 meaningful printed images from your life? I doubt if I could. We are making more and more digital images and fewer and fewer prints. Where have all the photographs gone? Will we have our memories as we grow older?

Would you run back into a burning building for your memory card? I think not.

Fly away

We have just added some amazing nature photography to our For Sale Gallery courtesy of Richard Simonsen. He has dedicated hours on end to capture some stunning close up shots of loons and other birds. Since tomorrow is Independence Day, I thought his shot of an eagle was particularly appropriate. Richard also has some images of the Blue Angels and other scenic shots from his travels around the country. To see all of Richard's work visit his gallery.

Richard’s images of the Minnesota State Bird, the Common Loon, come from immersing himself in the life of one family of loons over two summers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of northern Minnesota. His photograph of the underwater loon made in the fall of 1997 is a classic image of one of nature’s best underwater hunters.

Step up

Creating any wall arrangement can be a quite a project. Adding an angle on top of it makes it even more of a challenge. Better Home and Gardens has some great tips on how to make a knock out photo gallery for your stairway. Taping up paper templates first to confirm your arrangement can save your walls from unnecessary holes.

Tips for Creating a Stairway Photo Gallery:

Think of a place in your house that you and your family pass by several times each day. That is the perfect place for family photos: Everyone in the household will have the opportunity to enjoy the montage as they move through the space.

...Before hanging pictures, consider the lighting. If the stairs are dark, add overhead spotlights on a track. That will not only improve the view, it will make the stairs safer.

A montage like the one shown here allows a lot of flexibility. Pictures from different times, in a variety of sizes, and in various frames can work together because of their family ties. Yet you'll get a more cohesive look by keeping the mat and frame colors in a similar range.

Blink of an eye

How would you like a camera that could totally eliminate red eye and even better not need any flash at all? Kodak is working on that. They are developing a sensor that will read not only the color but also the brightness of what you are shooting. The new technology will be implemented in cameras they release in 2008.

Kodak's New Sensor May Eliminate Flash: Dory Devlin for Yahoo Tech

Here's how it would work: The new technology would increase light sensitivity of existing image sensors by two to four times. That means a camera's shutter speed could increase, which would reduce camera shake and blurring problems. If it works, it also would allow photographers to shoot in low light without producing grainy, speckled photos.

The proof is in the pixels. In most digital cameras, each sensor pixel detects either the color red, green, or blue and places them into a pattern named for Bryce Bayer, the Kodak engineer who developed it. With the new high-sensitivity technology, half of the pixels will be panchromatic, or clear, so they will capture only the brightness, not color. That means a 12-megapixel camera would have 6 million panchromatic pixels, 3 million green pixels, 1.5 million red pixels, and 1.5 million blue pixels. In comparison, today's 12-megapixel cameras have 6 million green pixels, 3 million red, and 3 million blue.

Streets of New York

If you are located in the Southwest then right now, like me, you are searching for activities to beat the heat and potential boredom of the summers here. Spending a day gazing at photography in the comfortable climate controlled environment in the Phoenix Art Museum fits the bill nicely. In their own words, "Cool art. In a cool place." Since their renovation earlier this year the PAM has been showcasing work on loan from the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson. Their current exhibition entitled On the Street: The New York School of Photographers will run until September 2, 2007 and features work from such greats as Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and the infamous Weegee.

Photographic pioneers honed their craft on the streets of New York: Richard Nilsen for the Arizona Republic

In the 1930s, new technology transformed photography.

The introduction of the Leica and Contax cameras that used 35mm film meant that photographers no longer had to lug around enough equipment to sink a small boat. These handheld cameras - then known as "miniature cameras" - gave their users mobility, anonymity and speed. And it put them out on the street.

The new genre, usually just called "street photography," changed the way we looked at photographs.

In Europe, the Leica freed Henri Cartier-Bresson and André Kertész. In America, it gave the Farm Security Administration photographers, including Russell Lee, Ben Shahn and John Vachon, a lightness and agility that gives their photographs a sense of life caught on the fly that the more formal work of, say, Walker Evans - who used the old large-format cameras - could ever have with his equipment pinned to the top of a tripod.

The 35mm camera put the photographer in the immediacy of the moment.

But it is the urban streets, and especially those of New York, that gave the genre its classic look. It was in New York that the "grab shot" on the street became almost gospel. New York is a city just waiting for its close-up.

Next stop 50 miles

If you ever needed a good reason to go to a rest stop, besides the obvious one, this is it. William Wegman recently installed large photographic murals of his infamous weimaraners in two rest stops in Maine. A third to be installed in 2008. The five paneled piece entitled "Flock" is shown above.

Renowned photographer unveils mural at rest stop: Kristen Andresen for Bangor Daily News

Photographic murals, each approximately 5 feet tall by 35 feet wide, were installed earlier this week in the northbound and southbound plazas in Kennebunk. A third will be on view in a West Gardiner plaza, which is slated to open in 2008.

A panel of art experts and transportation officials selected Wegman's submissions from a pool of 50 artists. His international stature, ties to Maine and the accessible nature of his work set Wegman apart, McNeil said. So, too, did his willingness to work within the group's $100,000 budget, which is far less than a comparable work would fetch on the open market.

"I think we're getting a lot for our money," McNeil said.

Are you ready for your close up?

This week Kodak announced a new line of consumer cameras that are due to come out between now and September. Looks can be deceiving, these small cameras pack a powerful punch. The M753 & M853 models will capture images that are large enough to print 30x40's. Plus they come in pretty colors. Full write up by Digital Photography Review.

Kodak Brings Style within Reach with New M-Series Zoom Digital Cameras

The KODAK EASYSHARE M753 and M853 Zoom Digital Cameras are equipped with 3x optical zoom lenses and 7- and 8-megapixel resolution respectively, which allows consumers to print clear, crisp images up to 30” x 40” in size.

Take the plunge

What a great way to make your own expandable lighting or backdrop set up! There are simple to follow step by step instructions posted on DIYphotography.net. The site is also full of countless other project ideas and tips.

Super easy hardware store light-backdrop stand:

Tim Boesenkool has sent this awesome idea on how you can make a DIY backdrop stand that reaches all the way to the ceiling, without getting in a fight with your wife.

I have two sturdy light stands but with the work I'm doing it isn't really enough, and I'm tired of propping reflectors on wobbly chairs etc. Because I don't have excess room I need something with small footprint as well.

So cruising around the hardware store I discovered a great cheap, no assembly required solution and I have two stands for under 50 bucks.

Digital dentistry

Go ahead show those pearly whites. Or maybe they're not so white, well you can fix that. If only it were this easy in real life without spending hours in the dentist chair. Image Trends recently released two new Photoshop plug-ins that will automatically whiten teeth and remove skin glare. Two very common problems in portrait photography. Full write up by CNET.

Cheaper than a dentist: Photoshop teeth-whitening filter

The company's PearlyWhites and ShineOff plug-ins cost $49.95 each. The plug-ins work on Windows, but Mac OS X versions will be available later.

The filters can operate in a batch mode, allowing Photoshop users to edit large groups of images in bulk. The PearlyWhites plug-in doesn't need to be told where teeth are located--the often-laborious selection process. Instead, it applies its changes to white areas that it finds surrounded by flesh tones, said Michael Conley, vice president of marketing and sales.

Shades of Grey

Looking for a new decor theme that will impress? Why not try black and white photography? It made an impression on Sara Denning who wrote the article below. She leads by describing a home that made such an impact on her that it inspired her to write the article.

Black and White Art on Your Wall: by Sara Denning

Add drama and sophistication to your home! Years ago I attended a party that took place in a Deco style stucco house that I will never forget. It represented the height of sophistication from that period of decorating style. As I entered the front door, I was struck with the low lit interior and the boldly striped wall paper. The living room was all beige with white accents. The dining room walls were terracotta and a classic Greek keystone pattern ran around the bottom of glossy black crown molding. Throughout the house were at least a dozen black and white photos of architectural buildings and etchings. Obviously I was impressed. Any moment Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall could have walked through the door!

You might not be ready for something quite this dramatic. However, the look of black and white art on a wall can make a highly sophisticated statement. When you are shopping for black and white images, keep in mind the main elements that viewers notice are line and mass. You can select highly distinctive pieces with bold lines and large mass shapes. Many images will have grey tones throughout and these will help soften the overall look.

The size of the image will determine the level of intrigue that the viewer experiences. For example, a series of small images will invite closer inspection and a single large image will increase the power of the subject.

We have several artist in our For Sale Gallery that feature black and white work; Ray Lusson, Mark Culbertson, Art Holeman, Kevin Dyer, Christine Taft, and Reflections Photography (who's image is displayed above) just to name a few. All of them are reasonably priced and ready to add to your new look.

God Save the Queen

The Sex Pistols' song that helped spur the punk rock revolution of the late 70's serves as inspiration for an art show Panic Attacks! at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. They are will be displaying work from Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Peter Hujar just to name a few. Whether you are a fan of the music or not it is hard to dispute the impact the movement had on culture and art.

BBC News has a slide show that features a sampling of the pieces at the show. It made me want to see more, but alas, a trip across the pond is not in my immediate future.

Panic Attacks! will run until September 9th.

Larger than life

These images by Mark Robbins were printed life size for his 2003 installation at the Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art creating a powerful impact on the viewer. I particularly like his choice of placement and juxt a position. The subject is set along side their environment almost as you would set a plant in the corner of a room. The people have no higher level of importance in the piece than how they choose to arrange their furniture.

Model Homes: The Photography of Mark Robbins by Julie Lasky for the Design Observer

Mark Robbins' Households is a collection of portraits in which the sitters are sometimes sitting rooms (or kitchens or bedrooms) and the people are polished, draped, and arrayed like furniture. Composed to resemble architectural plans or elevations - or in some cases the triptychs of medieval altarpieces - the images represent home dwellers and their environments.

...Slim margins separate the people from their interiors, building facades, urban settings, and one another - even when they are shown side by side.

Is that discreet white border a margin of privacy? A form of containment? A strip of mortar gluing together the bricks that form an establishment? By atomizing and rebuilding his pictorial edifices, Robbins deconstructs the identities and relationships they represent.

Milestone

"2007 will mark the first time that more prints will be made from digital than analog (film) sources."
-DIMA

We still get a fair amount of film that customers need scanned for printing. A well exposed medium format or 4x5 piece of film still beats out digital in detail for large prints, but we are definitely seeing less and less of it.

Coming to the surface

Microsoft released their newest innovation in computer technology today. Their Milan surface table top computer is run entirely on touch manipulation. There is no mouse and no keyboard. It looks very similar to what Jeff Hahn demonstrated at the TED convention earlier this year. Read our write up on it here. The implications for the creative market are endless with a tool like this, but without a keyboard how do you blog?

Microsoft hopes 'Milan' table PC has magic touch: by Ina Fried for CNET News

At first glance, Microsoft's secret project looks like a 2007 version of the sit-down arcade game Ms. Pac Man.

But if this machine were running the game, you could just take your finger and flick away the monsters chasing the heroine.

Microsoft on Wednesday is taking the wraps off "Milan," five years in the making and the first in what the company hopes will be a long line of "surface computers." The Microsoft Surface tabletop PC, for which the company has created both the hardware and software, offers shades of the technology seen in the sci-fi thriller Minority Report. The whole unit is controlled entirely through touch; there's no mouse or keyboard.

To paint, people can pick up a paint brush or just dip their fingers in virtual paint cups. Sharing photos is similarly intuitive. A stack of pictures can be easily sorted through and shared. To resize a photo, just stretch two fingers apart. Pivot the fingers and the image rotates. More than one person can be interacting with the computer at a time.

Another mighty artists joins our gallery

We are so blessed to be able to work with such talented artists. We have added another photographer to our For Sale Gallery; Colleen Miniuk-Sperry. Colleen left her corporate job in February of this year to pursue her passion for photography. She has been published in Arizona Highways magazine. If you take a look at her gallery of images you will see why, it is some really amazing work.

To purchase one of Colleen's images check out her gallery.

This is not a photograph

You may think your eyes are deceiving you, but this is not a photograph. It was not done in Photoshop either. It is some pretty amazing airbrush work by Dru Blair. It took 70 hours to paint. Even in the close up of the image it is nearly impossible to differentiate it from the real thing. Thanks to Don for the find!

Painting of Tica by Dru Blair:

This is a painting completed in February 2005. It was a Portrait Class project that I decided to finish in my spare time after the workshop. It probably took a total of around 65-75 hours to complete. The small images are step by step photographs taken during the painting process, and the large image is the final painting after detail and skin texture are added with an eraser and colored pencil. The main colors are blocked in at the beginning, but refinement is withheld until the very end.

Rare early color photography

These autochromes were recently re-discovered and will be on display for a limited time this October at the George Eastman House in Rochester New York. Autochrome processing was an early form of color photography that utilized color dyed potato starch that would transfer the image on to the photo-sensitive glass plate creating a positive image. This is the story of how they were re-discovered and came in to the museum's possession.

A Splash of Photo History Comes to Light: by Randy Kennedy for The New York Times

At first glance the two pictures seem to be gorgeous anachronisms, full-color blasts from the black-and-white world of 1908, the year Ford introduced the Model T and Theodore Roosevelt was nearing the end of his second term.

But they are genuine products of their time, rare ones, among the few surviving masterpieces from the earliest days of color photography, made using a process developed by the Lumière brothers in France and imported to the United States by the photographer Edward Steichen a century ago this year. They were taken by Steichen, probably in Buffalo, and are thought to be portraits of Charlotte Spaulding, a friend and student who became his luminous subject for the portraits, which resemble pointillist miniatures on glass.

Digital photography as wallpaper

What a great way to jazz up a room! This one is designed for a child's bedroom and they wisely finished it with latex to prevent any crayon or other kid related additions to the artwork. Why not use a similar idea for a master bedroom? You could cover one wall with a serene nature scene and wake up every morning in your favorite locale. The right image it could be a fantastic accent wall in a living room or dining room as well.

He also has an excellent way to solve the low resolution problem when trying to take digital files larger than they are meant to go. He changed it to a vector file using Illustrator CS2. Thanks to Lifehacker for the find!

Geekdad: Large Format Printing as Wallpaper

Last year, we decided to redecorate our kids’ rooms. We stumbled across the idea of “large format digital printing” while researching ideas for wall coverings. It seems print houses have discovered another use for the large format: turning photographs into wallpaper for your home. Dizzy with ideas for a photo-based wall, we decided to create some custom wallpaper for my son’s room.

... He and I love to watch Formula One together, so we decided to use some photos I had taken the last time I attended the U.S. Grand Prix. A little Photoshop work made the image more interesting, but I had a problem. Even using a plugin to blow up the photo, it was only half of the resolution I needed to fill the whole wall. The solution was found in Illustrator’s Live Trace feature (links to .pdf). With a little finesse, the photo was transformed into a scalable vector file.

Images that pop out at you

If you are a fan of DIY then Instructables is the place for you. They have thousands of tutorials. Everything from how to build a home made lava lamp to hand made alternatives to photo equipment. They also have some pretty cool Photoshop tutorials. This one shows you how to add a 3D effect to your images.

Creating a 3D effect with image editing software:

Here's how to make a neat effect to make it look like the subject of a photo is popping out of the background. This can be done with GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) or Photoshop.

step 1 Get a good base photo
A good base photo will have a prominent subject with strong lines, strong perspective, and an uncluttered background. You should also use as high a resolution image as possible.

This image doesn't have super strong perspective, but if you look at my other images, you'll see that an image with strong perspective works best.

Art for sale!

We have added another artist to our For Sale Gallery. Ray Lusson is an Arizona native who decided to flee the heat of the desert for cooler climates. (Since it was 102 here yesterday, I can't say I blame him.) He now runs his own gallery in Depoe Bay, Oregon. One of Ray's reoccurring themes is something we don't see a lot of here in the desert; water. His tag line says it all: “Arizona Desert Rat Gone Coastal and Has the Photos to Prove It.”

To see Ray's work visit his gallery.

First Trillion-Pixel Image

This is some pretty amazing technology. I bet this image has enough information to wallpaper your house. Hope you like pink.

First 1 trillion-pixel image; by Donald Bell for CNET

Medical imaging specialists Aperio have broken the 4GB file size limit on the TIFF image format by creating their own format called BigTIFF and offering the format into the public domain (an amazing fact in its own right). To showcase the power of BigTIFF image resolution, Aperio has released the first terapixel image. The image shows 225 pathology slides of breast tissue and can be viewed and explored online (it looks surprisingly like a pink version of Google Earth once you start zooming in).

The image's actual file size as a compressed BigTIFF is 143GB, so don't expect to be shooting terapixel photos on your digital camera anytime soon. To make this kind of resolution useful, Aperio had to use a high-power oil immersion ScanScope slide-scanning system to get the necessary detail.

(via Medgadget)

Art Appreciation

More specifically photography. It is good to see that photography has been getting more attention lately in Phoenix. Richard Nilsen wrote a multi-part piece for the Arizona Republic in conjunction with the opening of Latent Image, a show starting this Friday running through August at the Mesa Art Center. It is really a fascinating article that covers many aspects of the industry from its beginnings, the key players, to what technology has added to the art form . Although there is too much information to post here, it is worth investing the time to read it for yourself. Here is a teaser...

Art that Clicks; Richard Nilsen for the Arizona Republic

The best photographs do the same thing as the best paintings or sculptures: They vivify our sense of being alive and bring us into contact with the world we often pay too little attention to. They act as caffeine for our senses, our thought and our emotions.

That's more than a snapshot attempts.

"What is the difference? Why are my snapshots not art?" asks Douglas Nickel, director of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, one of the world's best institutions for the collection and study of photographs.

On the gallery wall, you see a landscape by Ansel Adams or a still life by Edward Weston or a portrait by Richard Avedon. They carry something beyond the charge that wallet photos of your family has.

"Sometimes someone can come up with a really great picture," Nickel said of the amateur, "but their meanings are private - they mean something to them and the people around them. Art photography is meant as public statement. Art has a public function. It is meant to make a more universal statement about the condition of the world."

Like all art.

Because of photography's popular image, the gallery and museum world was slow in accepting it as art. Most museums didn't include photography in their exhibition schedules until a century after its invention, and color photography had to wait until the 1980s to be taken seriously.

When photographer Alfred Stieglitz tried to interest the nation's museums in photography in the early years of the past century, he initially got no takers.

"Photography can't be an art," he was told over and over, "because it's made by a machine."

Odd. You could say the same thing about a piano.

Finally, in 1924, the Boston Museum of Fine Art accepted Stieglitz's collection - grudgingly.

Times have changed: In 2005, a single photograph made by Stieglitz sold at auction for $1.4 million.

Continued Education

I found this post on Design Observer, a site dedicated to writing about design and culture. The post by Michael Bierut is a reprint of Michael McDonough's list of the Top Ten Things They Never Taught Me in Design School. Although Michael McDonough is an architect, his ideas translate to any design/creative profession. He observations are very astute. It is worth reading the whole thing, but I especially like #9.

Michael McDonough's Top Ten Things They Never Taught Me in Design School:

1. Talent is one-third of the success equation.
Talent is important in any profession, but it is no guarantee of success. Hard work and luck are equally important. Hard work means self-discipline and sacrifice. Luck means, among other things, access to power, whether it is social contacts or money or timing. In fact, if you are not very talented, you can still succeed by emphasizing the other two. If you think I am wrong, just look around.

6. Don't forget your goal.
Definition of a fanatic: Someone who redoubles his effort after forgetting his goal. Students and young designers often approach a problem with insight and brilliance, and subsequently let it slip away in confusion, fear and wasted effort. They forget their goals, and make up new ones as they go along. Original thought is a kind of gift from the gods. Artists know this. "Hold the moment," they say. "Honor it." Get your idea down on a slip of paper and tape it up in front of you.

9. It all comes down to output.
No matter how cool your computer rendering is, no matter how brilliant your essay is, no matter how fabulous your whatever is, if you can't output it, distribute it, and make it known, it basically doesn't exist. Orient yourself to output. Schedule output. Output, output, output. Show Me The Output.

Graffiti your walls

Curbly is a very active community site where you can post pictures and ideas on DIY projects, get inspiration and advise from other creative people, designers, and the like. If you have not visited it yet, you should. That is where I found this great idea for using graffiti to decorate your home wall space. By selecting close up sections you can abstract the colors and textures that will compliment your decor.

Graffitti Artists Work = Contributers to My Home's Art:

I'm on a budget. My home is important to me. Art is important to me. When you throw these things together, walk into my apartment, and check out whats hanging on the walls, you see the results of artwork on a budget. Most of the pieces are my own work. I wish I didn't have to resort to my hanging so much of my own work, but dang it's easy on the budget.

One day I realized that I could use someone else's graffitti as sweet color-infused art in my home. I grabbed my digital camera and shot about 45 pictures of the least offensive (although if offensive grabs you, by all means, go with it) graffitti I could find. I then printed some of my favorites, put them in affordable frames, and organized them in coordinated groupings. It's cheap, not labor intensive, and happens to be a fun scavenger hunt activity.