Making me Crazy

This series is making me a little crazy.  First of all, I’m obsessed with the colors and patterns.

But it’s the picture taking that is making me crazy/frustrated. The only way I can see these colors is to turn the surface of the object at a certain angle. The lens can’t be parallel with the surface or it casts a shadow on the image. The resulting picture is sharp in the middle, but very fuzzy top and bottom.

Any clues how I can get more of the image in focus? I’ve tried smaller aperture and that hasn’t helped. I’m using my 18-55mm lens with 10X magnifier screwed on the front. The camera is 6 inches or closer to the object.

Or you could just tell me you like the shallow depth of field… that it doesn’t bother you at all!

Technical Stuff

Suppose I want three images to become one, like this:

I can create that in 5 minutes or less using MS Publisher. I know it is also possible in Photoshop and I’ve probably even done it there. But here’s the question: will the end product be that much better that I should bother to learn it in Photoshop?

(I will learn it. Eventually. Just feeling lazy today.)

More Abstracts

I shot a whole bunch more abstracts… but I have to try again tomorrow when I’m rested… With a smaller aperture.

Handmade Paper

I got to play in Kathleen’s studio today.  We used packing materials from various things shipped to her house for our handmade paper experiments.  We used a new 8.5X11 inch frame that her husband Stan made. I love the way they turned out.

Steal Like an Artist

The exhibit in the Cathy & Jesse Marion Art Gallery at SUNY Fredonia that ran from March 8 through April 7, 2013 was called “Gone Viral” with the subtitle “Medical Science in Contemporary Textile Art.”  It featured the work of Sonya Clark, Anna Dumitriu, Paddy Hartley, Lindsay Obermeyer, and Laura Splan.  I was lucky enough to catch it the day before it closed.  It was a collection of photography, mixed media, sculpture, and installation.

Perhaps because I have dappled with wool and beads myself, I was particularly taken by a series of round needle-felted and beaded objects that looked like cell parts I remember labeling in biology a long time ago.

Other pieces in the exhibit reminded me of the work of friends and acquaintances:
The stitching and paint on printed pages reminded me of Deb’s pages.

The beaded works that seemed to take their form from the insides of cells reminded me of Courtney’s paintings.

There were photographs of constructed “costumes” (which I didn’t get pictures of) that reminded me of Jodi Staniunas Hopper’s work from Women Create.  The uniforms and dress that were embellished with embroidery reminded me of the Judith Olson Gregory exhibit that was in this very gallery a while back.  The crocheted hospital gown reminded me of Mark Newport‘s superhero costumes.  The theme itself took me back to Deborah Orloff’s series of hospital images.

There is nothing new under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 1:9

I am nervous to google and find out how many others have already employed my latest “original” idea.

None of this is to diminish the creativity of the artists.  The works themselves are deeply personal – an expression of a truly original process.  The resulting product speaks to us because we have had another deeply personal experience that is similar enough that it helps us understand the context of this new work, and perhaps it gives us a little insight into the artist who made it.

Abstracts

I’m experimenting with some abstracts…

Messing around with Black and White

I’ve been watching some tutorials on black and white and experimenting… I learned some new tricks in Lightroom, too, that will be helpful when editing in color or in B&W.  I love the internet.

Oak Leaf