What’s wrong with this picture?

Hey, hey now, play nice…   and disregard the only model I had available at the time… me 🙂

So, what’s wrong with the photo I’m holding?  Edges – no, there supposed to be blurred and mirror the edges.  This is a big print on canvas and they provide the wrap.  Composition? lighting?  No and no, at least not as far as I’m concerned.  This happens to be a favorite of mine… It’s back-lit, it has lots of red,  it’s my favorite flower …poppy, and it has all the textured imperfections I love.  Try again.

How about now?  Anything…  Now?  Look real close… across the yellow center.  Yup, that’s right… I forgot to remove the watermark before sending this big, ink consuming photo to the printer.  A complete “DUH” moment if ever there was one.

On the bright side, I did not send this out to be printed… How horrifying would that have been to open the box and see it.  Or even worse, never notice it and sell it like that… I can’t even imagine.

The .psd file I used was originally saved to be used for a note card and also had a couple layers of text, a saying, which I unchecked to print this.    What can I say, I didn’t check all the layers, because there was one, which because as you can see the opacity is turned way down on that watermark,  looked completely blank… and even when I resized this to print big, I still missed the faint watermark.

Okay, I know some of you are asking… why did I put the watermark there in the first place, especially since it is barely visible?  If you’ve been following this blog, than you probably know this is not my first post on the subject.  I do think of a watermark as a “stop sign” of sorts.  Sure, some will blow right through it like it’s not even there, and there will be no police waiting to stop them, but for many, who follow the rules, they will stop, take a look, and keep on going {lol, not a bad analogy if I say so myself 😉 }   I recently shared a post on Facebook on the topic of watermarking your photos and the debate why or why not photographers use them with some useful links.  So, back to why I use a watermark.  If I am posting a photo to social media (Flickr, Facebook, etc)  that has “print potential,” I like to use a watermark.  I make it faint so as to not detract from the image as much as possible, and put it somewhere not so obvious and where it may be a little more difficult to Photoshop out.  It’s just a little peace of mind.

The photo/file, renamed and saved and all layers not necessary to the final print version deleted, was reprinted, turned out perfect, and my initial excitement to seeing this photo printed BIG promptly returned.     But!  I will still double check…triple check… each layer before I send this photo or any photo to the printer again.  Lesson learned!

TGIF and A Tip of the Day

Lovely texture courtesy of JaiArt.

Happy Summer!  As you can see, I’m running a bit behind…  Which is another reason I cannot wait until the weekend and some much needed time to catch up, even if just a little bit…   My photo library is bursting and all week long I have been jotting down ideas for photos that I have, just waiting to set aside some me time to work on them.  If you’re hoping to do a little of the same, I have a tip/link to share that will get you started and quite possibly completely off-course and into another aspect of your photography…. but in a good way!

If you have been following me, you know I love applying textures to my photographs, among other things…  Have you been wanting to give it a try, but not quite sure where to start?  Well, the gang over at Light Stalking have a quick and easy video tutorial by Sebastian Michaels & Photoshop Artistry,  with a PDF cheat sheet, and (best part) free textures to help get you started (here). I even picked up a couple tips from this tutorial… give it whirl.  I’d love to see how you apply some of these techniques, just share a link in the comments.

Have a great weekend!

Til next time,
Maria

Winter Getaway

Cold and cloudy days have been more the norm of late, but then again it is mid January after all… so nothing unusual.  And in the morning, the little bit of snow that fell this evening will give everything a fresh clean look… for a a little while at least.   Still, I can’t feel a little envious of those who take that winter getaway, some place warm & sunny.

Since this is not something that is in the cards, at least not this winter, I’m doing the next best thing… revisiting my beach vacation photos from this past summer.

So tonight, as a burrow in under mounds of blankets on this cold winter night, I will drift off to sleep with visions of a warm moonlit stroll along the beach… on my winter getaway.

Til next time,
Maria

 

 

 

 

 

The obsession continues

I don’t know what it is about these structures that I find so interesting . . .  their size, that they can stand the test of time, or the hint of an era gone by.  

 

This past weekend, however, I actually had an opportunity to explore some local barns up close and even rummage around on the inside for a change.

To be continued . . .

 

Til next time,
Maria

 

In any direction

Happy summer all!

It’s here in full swing… and green.  When summer comes to my neighborhood, the world seems to get smaller.  Those big trees I showed you covered in ice from the winter are now a canopy of green surrounding the house in which I only get a glimpse of a sunrise or sunset. It can get a little claustrophobic… sounds a little weird right.

My dream home: A little Craftsman cottage with a big front porch (okay let’s put one on the back while we’re at it), with a view that goes on for miles…

Okay, so it’s not “little” and definitely not a “Craftsman” but that porch!  On a recent photo outing traipsing through the country side of Lancaster, PA,  I spotted this red something sitting on a hill in the distance and of course had to find it for a closer look, but then I lost sight of it as the road dipped and turned.  The road took us back to the land of traffic lights and shopping centers (which now a days are never out of sight for long), stopped at a light, having pretty much give up on it . . . and there it was!  Part of it was hiding behind a white pole barn and across the street from all things… a shopping center 😦

This is what I love about the photography I do.  I love recreating that very first feeling… what I first imagined this big red house must look like, must have looked like back in it’s prime.  … as if I am sitting on that front porch on a warm summer day.

Enjoy your summer adventures,

Til next time,
Maria