Keeping With The Times

living, learning, and keeping with the times

Johnny-Jump Up Still Life

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How about this perfectly imperfect pot of johnny-jump ups?johnny-jump up, still life, keeping with the times, be still 52 class, Kim Klassen, melancholyI was out in my garden doing a bit of weeding and I spied this sweet little bunch sitting so prettily in the lawn.

Oh how I love thee.

Simple. Imperfect. Perfect. I know I planted some seeds once, but I haven’t seen you for years … welcome back.

Also, welcome to my Hoosier cabinet in its new home—our pantry! Now that’s perfectly imperfect. I had been earnestly purging and organizing and was thinking how I could really use some more shelves. Long story short, hubby helped me drag it upstairs and I spent a blissful day setting up my treasures.

Take a gander at that side lighting! Its from a north-facing window and is my preferred light. I like the whiter, bluer tones and generally steer away from the yellowish tones. It’s a matter of taste but this is how I see it. The lighting in this room is not perfect (but it’s perfectly imperfect) so I use a piece of white foam core to bounce some light back onto my subject. For the above image I used my 40mm lens on a tripod with a slow shutter speed and an ISO of 250. I also used the timer to reduce shake. I ran Kim’s “Melancholy” LR preset and upped the saturation just a bit.

Here’s a pull-back of my scene.

hoosier

I’ve had this cabinet for over 20 years and it continues to delight me. It truly is the simple things in life that are the best.

Be Still 52 Class

Day 4 “Make it Happen”

 

Waterlogue Pears Sketch

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I’d already had so much fun with this photo of my three pears but when I ran it through Waterlogue I knew I had to create a layout around it. So when I saw the Notepaper Video Tutorial by Susie Roberts I just knew what I had to do!

Waterlogue Pears

Love that quote…

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Elements from Art Play Palette by Anna Aspnes

Texture Tuesday: Lavender and Soap

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There’s nothing like a bath and there’s nothing like a bath with fresh lavender bits floating around in it.

I have a wonderful little kitchen/herb garden growing on my deck again, and this year I added lavender to the mix. So lovely! This image was created for the Be Still 52 class which I’m enjoying so much.

just breathe
Spring is such a whirlwind here. The first signs of green are like a miracle and then every day there’s another miracle and another and another… it’s very hard to keep up with all the photo opportunities!

Then there’s the clean-up of the yard, garage, flower beds and lawns … running to the greenhouse (10 times) and hauling plants and pots and soil around.

I’m exhausted and by the time I sit down at the computer at night to write something my body complains and I truly cannot stand it for very long. That’s when a bath with Epsom salts, Aveda body wash, and fresh lavender come to the rescue. Ahhhh, bliss…

Be Still 52 Class

Day 2: Room to Breathe

Joining in the fun today for Texture Tuesday!

kk_rainyday

Friday Finds – Stillness

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For Friday Finds this week I’ve been playing around with a minimalist style of botanical and high key photography. High key photography uses unnaturally bright lighting to blow out most or all harsh shadows in an image.

Let me tell you it is not easy but it forced me to slow down and really look at what I was doing.

I love the part about gathering materials and arranging them; there’s something so soothing about order and simplicity. I had to stop, look, and listen (be still).

Friday Finds, Minimalist, Keeping With the Times

Each of these four images was taken separately at different times of the day.

I set the plants on a piece of foam core outside out of direct sunlight, and set my camera on a tripod over top of them. I used low shutter speeds, high ISO’s, and apertures between F9 and F11. I also used a flash at times (gasp).

Even then I had lots of processing to do. I took them into LR and used curves to adjust the white background while limiting the effect on the plant itself. Those shadows are tricky!!

When I created the collage in Photoshop of course the whites were all different – if you hover your mouse over the image you will see the “before” collage. So again I used a combination of curves and levels adjustments. Then I dodged some pesky areas.

I was inspired by this beautiful blog Still by Mary Jo Hoffman. Her work blows me away and she’s a kind person who likes to share her techniques.

Anyway I shall not go on and on. I simply wanted to share that I’ve “found” something that makes me feel passionate. I’ve always loved this style but only tinkered with it. Now I want to learn more.

Side note: any images you may see on my Instagram feed were taken solely with my phone and edited in PicsPlayPro.

Now I’m off to see what everyone else has discovered this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

“app” happy wednesday #5

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Welcome to “app” happy wednesday #5!

If you’re new to the party, this is a weekly link-up to share your photos edited with “apps” of course!

  • Use any “app” you like and perhaps explain how you used it.
  • Did you use just one? Did you combine apps?
  • Simply create some art. Post it on your blog or Flickr or wherever you are uploading your work, and then come back here and link it up!
  • Visit a few friends to see what they are up to and perhaps learn some fabulous new tips and techniques.
  • Spread the word about the link-up, the more the merrier!
  • Each party will start at 5:00 am on Wednesdays and will stay open until the following Sunday night at midnight.

Spring is here and I’ve been busily potting up my bedding plants #fromthepottingbench of course!

So here’s my rustic ladle pot holding a cute little succulent. I think this one is a lot about perspective. After I had taken photos with my DSLR I picked up my phone and suddenly felt so much more creative. I think it’s because I don’t have the expectation that it needs to be perfect.

I used the Distressed FX app with Lora and Lade. Lora brighten up the focal point, and Lade added the texture and wonderful vignetting.

"app" happy wednesday, succulent, ladle pot, rustic, keeping with the times

So what have you been up to this week? I’ve seen a few samples of your work around blogland and Instagram – do tell how you accomplished it all!

Please link back with a text link or use the “app” happy wednesday button.

*sorry … this series is closed

“app” happy wednesday #4

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Welcome to “app” happy wednesday #4!

If you’re new to the party, this is a weekly link-up to share your photos edited with “apps” of course!

  • Use any “app” you like and perhaps explain how you used it.
  • Did you use just one? Did you combine apps?
  • Simply create some art. Post it on your blog or Flickr or wherever you are uploading your work, and then come back here and link it up!
  • Visit a few friends to see what they are up to and perhaps learn some fabulous new tips and techniques.
  • Spread the word about the link-up, the more the merrier!
  • Each party will start at 5:00 am on Wednesdays and will stay open until the following Sunday night at midnight.

This is a #latergram since I took this photo while we were still in Arizona. We have a gorgeous gold wall in the main living area which is a perfect backdrop. I set my Ball jar full of sunflowers on a small rustic table in front of it and snapped away! I always seem to like the most simple setups and you would think there isn’t much going on here. But actually there’s the gold wall, turquoise table, Ball jar, sunflowers, water, textures and word art. That’s 7 things that went into this little vignette. Next time you take a photo and edit it, count how many things went into creating it—you will probably be surprised!

Have I told you how much I love these Ball jars? It’s a little keepsake I found while rummaging through antique shops in Prescott with my real life blog friends, Terri, Barbara, and Melinda.

"app" happy wednesday, picsplaypro, mextures, over, instagram

First I cropped the image in PicsPlayPro and then I used Mextures (first time) and applied “Cool as Ice” by Matt French. I like the washed out effect that it gave the whole image. Then I added the text with Over using the font “Windsong”.

Easy peasy today! I look forward to seeing what you came up with this week!

Link back with a text link or use the “app” happy wednesday button.

*sorry … this series is closed

Scentless Chamomile for Texture Tuesday

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Good Tuesday Morning!

I had to rummage through the archives for something yellow and came up with these lovely wildflowers which some would call weeds (some would call them even worse than weeds).Scentless Chamomile for Texture Tuesday

But really, they are such pretty “worse than weeds” wouldn’t you say? I’m looking forward to seeing them blooming by the wayside again this year.

Chamomile-Chair3-copy

I’ve been going full steam ahead on several projects as well as trying to clean the house, paint the dock, and tidy up the yard after a long winter. I’m running out of steam… so this is going to be a quick post – I just didn’t want to miss another TT …

Don’t forget “app” happy wednesday tomorrow! Please come by and link up your mini masterpieces created with apps – apps of any kind! It’s just so much fun!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com where the theme today is “yellow”

kk_3003

Texture Tuesday: Heavenly Hydrangea

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Today I have two treasures to share with you. First up is the Ball Jar, found while browsing antique stores in Prescott, AZ with three of my blogging friends: Melinda, Terri, and Barbara.

It was Terri who alerted us to the jars. She collects them and even knows the dates they were manufactured according to the typeface used for the logo. I figure this one was made sometime between 1910 – 1923.

Hydrangea in Ball Jar, Texture Tuesday

Hydrangea in Ball Jar, Texture Tuesday

Second up is the hydrangea. It was so dreamy I couldn’t decide whether I liked it in the Ball jar, or just a plain old white vase, so I went crazy and posted both versions today.

Hydrangea White Vase, Texture Tuesday

Hydrangea, Texture Tuesday

Hydrangea White Vase, Texture Tuesday

Tomorrow I’ll be posting my Waterlogue version and what I did to get the results I wanted.

BTW, don’t forget that “app” happy wednesday is tomorrow and I really hope to see you there! It’s a fun place to share your photos edited with apps and maybe learn a few tips and tricks from fellow bloggers.

Check it out here: “app” happy wednesday.

Have a wonderful day!

 

kk_berrily (LR Preset)

kk_sybil texture on Soft Light

Simple Things Sunday

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Simple Things Sunday

Since Earth Day was April 22nd, the theme at Focusing on Life for the month of April is “The Earth”.

That brought to mind the wonderful frog hunt I went on with my grandsons a few years ago. They were filled with excitement and awe at the prospect of seeing a frog, forget even getting to hold one!

It was a very special experience for me too. You know the ones. The ones that stick in your head for years. The stuff that great scrapbook pages are made of?!

Anyway, whenever I see a frog I think about what my oldest daughter told me; that the health of frogs are an indicator of how healthy the environment is.

“Most frogs require suitable habitat in both the terrestrial and aquatic environments, and have permeable skin that can easily absorb toxic chemicals.

These traits make frogs especially susceptible to environmental disturbances, and thus frogs are considered accurate indicators of environmental stress: the health of frogs is thought to be indicative of the health of the biosphere as a whole.”

Save the Frogs

I can only hope that my grandchildren are able to hunt for frogs with their grandchildren.

And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of a whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?

Chief Seattle, 1854

 

Friday Finds: The Colours of My World

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If not for the evidence found in this little fellas coat, I would say that winter is not going away this year.
_DSC8323-copy

Rabbit, Spring

And if not for these …

Rabbit-Spring-PussyWillow-copy

Rabbit

Rabbit-Spring-PussyWillow-1-copy

_DSC8295-copy

Spring, Rabbit, Keeping With the Times, Friday Finds, Kim Klassen

and if not for these …

Geese

It’s been a cold, snowy, gray/brown week. But also a happy, productive week.

I finished up a tutorial, went for lunch with the ladies and visited a greenhouse!! where I bought some sweet little succulents. I felt overwhelmed with happiness and anticipation of the new gardening season that is sure to come, right?

As this is the Easter week-end, hubby and I will be spending some time with our family (so excited).

I hope you have a wonderful and happy Easter!

Texture Tuesday: Wabi Sabi

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Texture Tuesday, Perfectly Imperfect, Wabi Sabi, Kim Klassen, Barb Brookbank

Right now my whole world is the colour of a pussy willow; off-white, cream, brown.

Yesterday I observed a rabbit that had this exact colouring! It’s starting to change from the snowy whiteness of winter to the dusty brown of summer.

We have old dirty snow, brown grass, and tangles of branches everywhere.

It’s beautiful. It’s my world, and I feel alive.

Today Kim talks about Wabi Sabi. Oh my! it’s the only reason I got this posted this morning. I won’t say any more… you must pop over to read about it! Thank you Kim!!

Disclaimer:

I’m going into town today with the girls, and I’m making a bee-line to the flower shop …

Have a wonderful Tuesday and thank you for stopping by!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

kk_sophia

Amazing!! Free Offer from Digital Scrapper!!

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Digital Scrapper, Premier, Free Offer

A Little Bit of Whimsy by Barb Brookbank

Here’s an amazing offer that you really should check out. Every month Digital Scrapper releases 4 training videos, a kit, quick pages, and layered templates. It’s all part of a “Premier” package for the low cost of $8.99/month.

But here’s the deal! There’s a promotion going on right now where you can get the goodies for the whole month of April for FREE!! This has never happened before, and most likely will not happen again.

I can personally attest to the fact that if you are interested in learning how to use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, this is THE place. I am a scrapper, but I’ve learned 95% of what I know about Photoshop at this site and have applied that knowledge to my photography, editing, and design skills.

I can also tell you that Linda Sattgast and her family are the most down-to-earth, friendly, and honest bunch you are ever going to run across! I feel like they are friends…

So I truly encourage you to take a look at this incredible offer. What can you lose? Check it out here Premier Free Trial.

Make sure to read the entire offer – from beginning to end (fine print!)

And, no… I did not get paid to write this!

Happy Thursday!!

Texture Tuesday: For the Love of Simplicity

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Antique Wooden Bowl

I love simplicity in everything whether it’s art, decorating my home, or life in general. And even though I can’t claim that my whole lifestyle is simple, I do try to keep it that way.

Antique Wooden Bowl

I have the luxury of keeping my life simple. I hope I always do.

Happy TT!!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

kk_justatouch2

A Trio of Visual Triangles

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Texture Tuesday

I have this thing about collecting little jars and filling them with dried bits and pieces. Here we have some birch branches, a sprig of yarrow, and some poppy seed heads. I considered this arrangement for quite some time and decided what I like about it is the orderliness of it all.

The image is made up of three visual triangles:

  • The jars themselves; shorter to taller then back down to shorter. The little small one in the middle draws the eye across the bottom.
  • The three dried sprigs.
  • The colours; dark gold yarrow at the top, a brown and beige label on the left, and the dark bottle on the right.

Yes, I am a little bit obsessed with triangles. I believe it goes back to my days at “Get It Scrapped” where Debbie Hodge devotes several classes to just this concept. Then she teaches a class about how to throw out the whole idea of visual triangles … wait a minute … hmmmm … anyway I now look for visual triangles everywhere I go. I think I love them. You can see it at work on some of my decorating when I created “My Quirky Autumn Mantel“.

Couple things to note today. If you are an Instagrammer, there is a fun little challenge going on called #prettywaterlogueapril hosted by @prettyhandygirl. Check it out on my feed “keepingupblog“, it’s nothing but fun!

Focusing on Life  has a new theme for April, which is “Earth Day”, lots of fun there too! You can participate on Instagram, your blog, or flickr – check it out!

And don’t forget to check out all the beauties over at Kim Klassen dot com for Texture Tuesday. I used Kim’s kk_1808 for my image today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Also check out Still Life Photography at Cheryl McCain Photography.

Friday Finds: My Long Lost Photos!

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Tulips

You know how some days you get up, you have a plan; you know exactly what you should be doing but an hour later you find yourself immersed in something totally off-track?

Well that was me yesterday. I started out fully aware that I should be writing a tutorial but I ended up organizing photos in Lightroom … then 8 hours later I realized the day was gone …

But oh my goodness, a light bulb has come on. Suddenly I am able to see photos that have been buried for years and years.

I must admit it started out quite rocky when I imported the first batch and couldn’t find them, and then when I did, I couldn’t figure out how to move them. So I went and sat on the sofa for a few minutes and thought to myself “Barb! just use your head!” So I went back to the computer and followed my instincts based on what I’ve learned over the last year or so. I had to let go of my Windows Explorer and Bridge “brain”. I had to think differently.

Anyway, loooong story short, I’ve organized over 20,000 photos so far and it all makes perfect sense! Oh and hey! there are those vacation photos from 2009! wow! and look at all my flowers and still life images! and look at the grandkids – how much they’ve grown!! Now my husband will be able to look at all the photos I’ve taken (something he’s been wanting for years). I am so stinkin’ proud of myself! Plus, everything is also backed up, neat and tidy.

So that explains my tulip image this morning … it must have aged while waiting for me to find it!

Winter Waterlogue Wonderland

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Winter Waterlogue

This is a scene I saw many times during this (almost past) winter. Every time I walked by I took about 10 photos because it was truly magical.

I can’t remember everything I did to edit the photo, but the main app I used was Waterlogue. And then because I’m a scrapper I had to create a layout with it using some great new products from designer Susie Roberts. I really love the white cardstock, it’s great for blending and creating artsy images.

So now that I have hundreds of winter photos, I’m so done with it. However, we still have a foot of snow in our yard and more is on the way … oh winter, please let go …

 

Cardstock – Blank Canvas by Susie Roberts
Alpha – Rubber Stamp by Susie Roberts

 

Medalta Pottery Still Life

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Here’s another photo of my lovely Medalta pottery bowls, and while I started the edits in LR, I did allow myself to take it into Photoshop to finish it up.

I’m so much more pleased with the results this time.

Medalta-Still-Life

I used a series of similar images in a collage last week for Friday Finds. I had challenged myself to see if I could create a collage from start to finish in LR, and while the results weren’t great, I posted it anyway. It’s part of my ongoing struggle with LR, which I am proud to say I am slowly conquering. Slowly.

This morning I received an e-mail from Pinterest saying that they had removed one of my pins due to a copyright complaint. Gasp! I almost had a heart attack! But they were quick to explain that the complaint was not directed toward me, it was against another user. Hmmm, in the future, I think I’m going to be more careful, maybe visiting the original site and reading their policies before I re-pin something. Stealing content is the last thing I want to be accused of. This has been my first brush with the dark side of Pinterest.

Today this country bumpkin is heading into “town” with friends for a day of shopping and lunching. The perfect antidote to the March blahs…

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

kk_anne

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Pink Tulip Still Life

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.

May your heart be as light as a song.

May each day bring you bright, happy hours.

That stay with you all the year long.

It’s a beautiful Monday morning; sunny and bright, and I just returned from my walk with the “ladies”. Apparently there’s snow on the way, but so what else is new for March?

But I’m excited to start a brand new week. I signed up for “The Art of iPhoneography: Self Portraiture” with Susan Tuttle. Whoa! what a challenge this is going to be! especially when I hate to see myself in photos… I think I’m going to be heavy into the blurs and the textures and shots of my feet.

I’m also trying to catch up with Start to Finish and Beyond Beyond over at the cafe. What an inspiring lesson for Day 47 of 2B! It’s bursting with tips and inspiration!

I learned a little tip about WordPress this week. If you’ve ever written a post in Word and then copied and pasted it into your blog, you’ll know that it comes with so much strange formatting that it’s just not worth the trouble. Well, I learned that if you press Ctrl Shift V as you add it to your blog post, the text is stripped of all that annoying stuff. I think that’s pretty cool!

What are you up to this week? I’d love to hear!

 

Medalta Pottery in White: Friday Finds

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Medalta Bowls Still LifeSo Kim is back, and I ventured into the S2F classroom and oh, my, goodness. What a treasure trove of inspiration I found! It was just what I needed and I had to stop midway through a video to run and set up my still life. I love it when that happens.

When I watched how she set up her photo shoot, it reminded me that I have a pretty amazing spot to catch the light (if I’m early enough), and that would be our bathroom. In my previous post “Direction” I had revealed how I set up a small table in the bathtub. Today I covered that table with an old flour sack and hung some cotton tea towels on a foam core board as a backdrop. I found the tea towels at Williams Sonoma and they were worth every single penny. They wash beautifully and end up with just the right amount of wrinkle. When I’m finished with them I hang them on a back of a chair so that they don’t get fold lines since fold lines drive me nuts.

OK, so what did I find this week? First up, I found this beautiful big white Medalta bowl to go with my smaller bowls – major score!

I found that I could edit and save my collage in Lightroom with the help of Kim’s free template. I’m becoming a lot more comfortable with Lightroom (never thought I’d see the day) but this is the 5th version of my bowl collage, and I’m still not completely happy with it. In Photoshop I use lots of masks to control where adjustments appear and I haven’t figured that out in LR yet. What I did find amazing was that after I added my three images to the template, if I made an adjustment in the Develop Module, it was reflected in the template – way cool. It has been a great learning experience!

So that’s it for today! Thanks for stopping by, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you found this week!

Friday Finds

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Oranges-Still-Life-copy-2

There are a couple “finds” in this photo, the most recent being these yummy little Mandarins. I found them in a little store as I made my way to my country home this past week. It was the bright colour that caught my eye and at the time I wasn’t even thinking of photographing them. I picked up a bunch of daffodils too, which will soon be making an appearance here.

An older “find” is the four white Medalta bowls … swoon … . As I’ve mentioned before, I love to collect Medalta pottery. The cup I used in my “Heart Chocolate” is Medalta. I didn’t realize how much I love the white pottery … .

I find that I don’t have much to say these days. Yikes, I need an infusion of inspiration. This is where I say I’m not going to complain about the weather. I’m not going to complain about the weather. I’m not going to complain about the weather.

OK. I’m not going to complain about the weather.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Texture Tuesday with Kim Klassen

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Hover your cursor over this image to see the “before” photo.

 

I think I may have become so accustomed to playing with iPhoneography that it has spilled over into my TT creations. I’m also working on a tiny laptop with questionable monitor colours. So I guess I’m asking you to forgive me if my image looks a bit, shall we say, different today.

Oh good heavens! I need to get over it – I’m just having fun! We’ve been suffering through dangerously cold temperatures with ghastly wind chills on top of it, so if I want to go a bit wild on my Tucson doors, I guess that’s what I have to do.

When I added Kim’s “cherishedscripted” texture with the “Hue” blend mode, something magical happened. Hover your cursor over the image to see the “before” photo and you’ll see what I mean.

Here’s the texture I used:

kk_cherishscripted-example

I also ran a couple Photoshop filters to simultaneously sharpen and blur the photo.

I know spring is around the corner, at least that’s what the calendar tells me. And that’s what the stores are telling me too. They are overflowing with colourful capris, and t-shirts, and light jackets, and I’d be lying if I said I had resisted the urge to pick up a “few” new things … it’s a form of dreaming, I guess.

So what about you? Are you caught in the vise grip of winter too? or are you enjoying spring? Do tell!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

How to Write an Action to Re-size and Save Images for your Blog and a Special Offer

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Writing Actions in PhotoshopI’m pretty sure most of us know that our images need to be re-sized before uploading to the web. The photo needs to fit within the width of your blog, and it needs to load fast or you will lose readers. True story.

I’m no expert on this subject, but I found a great article at photoshopessentials.com which gives an in-depth look at why, and how to do it. It’s very informative and enlightening and explodes a few myths about size, resolution, etc.

However, I thought I’d go over how I do it and show you how to write an action to automate this task. One click of a button and your image is re-sized and saved in a folder. Perfectly sized and hard for someone to steal it for printing purposes, although they could steal it and use it for the web, but that’s just not cool.

Actions can only be written in Photoshop, but don’t despair, I have a little surprise for you and you’ll find it at the end of this post.

Since Photoshop CC has a bit different dialog box, I wrote this action in CS6. So here we go:

How to Write an Action in Photoshop to Re-size and Save Images for Your Blog

To start with, make sure you have a folder created where you want to save your re-sized images.

  • Open a photo that you have already adjusted exposure, white balance, and cropped etc. Make sure all your edits are complete before re-sizing.
  • From the Actions panel, make sure that Button Mode is not checked. Actions can’t be written in Button Mode.
  • Click on the down-facing arrow and choose New Action. In the Dialog box, type in the name you want to use for your action. I’m using the name “Resize and Save for Web”.
  • Choose Default Actions as the Set. This will save the Action in the Default set (of course). You can create your own sets, but I won’t go there right now.
  • Choose None for the Function key, and choose a Color if you like. This will give the Action a Color when in Button Mode. For this Action, I did not choose a color.
  • Click Record. Everything you do from now until you press the Stop key will be recorded. It doesn’t matter how long you take, PS will sit there and wait all day if it has to so you can go slow and make sure you take only the steps that you want recorded.
  • In the Menu Bar, choose Image > Duplicate, and click OK.
  • Choose Image > Image Size.
  • Make sure that Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions, and Resample Image are checked.
  • Click on the down-facing arrow and choose Bicubic Sharper (best for reduction).
  • Set the Resolution to 72 Pixels/Inch.
  • For the Pixel Dimensions, set the Width. I set the width to 760 Pixels/Inch because that is the maximum width for images that will fit on my blog. Yours will most likely be different. Accept the Default Height to maintain proportions. Click OK.
  • In the Menu Bar, choose File > Save for Web. Choose JPEG, Medium with a Quality of 45. Click Progressive. I left the rest of the settings at the Default. Click Save.

Free Photoshop Action

  • Navigate to folder where you want to save your re-sized images. Accept the default name of your image. If you give it another name, the action will save every image with that name and of course will end up overwriting every image you run the action on.
  • Close the duplicate image, then close the original image (do not save the changes).
  • Click the Stop key.

Here are the final Pixel Dimensions for my image. Notice that the file size went from 28.7M to 1.11M. The other thing to note is that I do not touch the Document Size dialog box when re-sizing. It gets reduced automatically.

Free Photoshop Action

Clean as a whistle and faster than a speeding bullet!

But the fun part today is my little give-away! I will write a custom action for the first 10 people who comment. I can only record it to the point of re-sizing the image since I can’t create a path to a folder on your computer. Once you run this action on an image, you will have to then save it yourself.

If you want a custom action, make sure you say so in the comments, and make sure that I can contact you.

You give me the info – I give you the action!

Want a few more tips on Photoshop? Check out my page “Photoshop Tips”!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

The Doors of Barrio Viejo

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barrio viejo

This is one of the images I took while on our photo walk in the Barrio Viejo, Tucson. I liked how the green window frame and the green leaves on the tree had some of the same tones; almost neon. I also liked the way the tree was creating a frame across the top of the building and drawing the eye in.

I’m contemplating having this put on canvas and then hanging it in our little kitchen. The tiles on the counter are this same blue, with some rusts and greens and reds – sounds perfect! Hope I follow through!

I’m a bit out of the loop – I see TT is about love this week so here’s my nod to love…

barrio viejo

kk_seriousmagic on the top photo

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com

 

Butterfly Wonderland, Arizona

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Last week I visited the Butterfly Wonderland in Via de Ventura, Scottsdale, with the “ladies”.

Whoa! I didn’t know where to start. There were hundreds of these beauties flitting around, landing anywhere they pleased, including on my head. They weren’t shy, that’s for sure.

At first I was using my 55-200mm lens but it didn’t take me long to figure out that all I needed was my 18-105mm, and at times, my 40mm f2.8.Butterfly Wonderland, AZ

I wanted to get this fella with his wings open, but that was near to impossible. It’s too bad because they were the most gorgeous bright blue, but every time it landed, it closed it’s wings. Still pretty, though!

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When we finished at the Butterfly house, we all went for lunch at Mimi’s and enjoyed about an hour and a half of eating and talking (pretty much nonstop). How fun! Just like we’ve known each other for years.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Monday!

Just Playing With Poppies

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Good Saturday morning everyone! Hope this finds you well!

I’ve been playing around with my Nikkor 40mm f2.8 and was reading that with this particular lens, the best images are taken at least 6.4 inches away from your subject, and then on to portraits and landscapes.
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But then I captured this … I think I was about 1 inch away from this poppy.

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Perhaps it has to do with getting the best possible focus, and not taking into account artistic expression.

Lately I’ve been studying up on my camera and my lenses and its amazing how much more control I’ve gained over my photography. A quick push of a button and a turn of the command or sub-command dial and you can change ISO, exposure, metering, etc. You all probably know this, but I’m a slow learner, or at the very least, I’m slow to study up on my equipment.

Having said all this, I still end up deleting over half my images, mostly due to dreadful exposure or focus.

What’s one thing that you’ve learned, either about your camera or a lens that you’ve found helpful? What lens do you love the best? I’m dreaming about the Nikkor 18-300mm f 3.5 – 5.6 … dreaming, I said … .

LR Presets and Actions in Action!

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I took these shots around 4:30 in the afternoon when the sun is lower and the light is warmer. In the winter in my house, the sunshine pours in and splashes across entire rooms. It’s a real mood booster and I’m always expressing gratitude for it (even though it shows the dust … oh my … the dust …).

So that’s what I love about these shots – the warm sun and how it makes me feel.

Still Life Photography

Still Life Photography

Even though it’s Texture Tuesday, I didn’t use a texture. But don’t worry – I used Kim’s LR preset “kk_berrily”. I love this preset but it doesn’t work on everything – it tends to flatten colours and tones. I think it worked here because of the sunlight. Then I ran an action from Florabella called Warm Vintage which I’ve seriously become addicted to.

Have you ever run an action and then picked it apart to see how they do it? Well, the Warm Vintage action de-saturates, adds warm tones, adds a subtle bright haze, and then a warm bluish tone. Knowing that has led me to try writing some of my own actions – they don’t always turn out, but it’s a great way to learn.

Today I’m off to get my haircut! woo hoo, do I need a “do” or what! The dust will just have to wait!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Spring Fever in January

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Oh my, the sun is shining, it’s 8 degrees Celsius and I can hear water dripping off the roof. It’s January in Alberta and I have windows open, fans running, and the sun is pouring through the windows. Bliss.

This is not the photo I set out to take this morning. I had been carefully arranging tiny pine cones and clay pots and nothing was working when I turned around and saw this succulent sitting quietly (of course) in my window garden. What gloriousness! And there’s my rosemary in the background! I had hoped that that would survive at least until Christmas but it has outdone itself and is thriving.

I need to get to work, but I think I have spring fever so a little watering and re-potting of plants is in order. Then I’ll get to work … I promise …

Happy weekend everyone!

Friday Finds at Kim Klassen dot com

 

 

Learning by Teaching and a Photoshop Tip

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Late last year I was asked by Cheryl from Cheryl McCain Photography if I would be willing to write a guest post for her new “Frugal Still Life Photography” class.

I must say I was quite honoured that she would ask me! I decided to just be myself, to keep it simple, and this is the image I came up with. I wrote a bit about my process; how I set up, photographed and then edited the photo.Poppy Seed Heads Still Life

There’s nothing like writing something down to make things clear in your own mind and I believe I learned a thing or two as well!

I’m studying the dials and settings on my camera all over again. I was pretty proud of myself for always shooting in manual, but truth be told I still had/have a lot to learn; settings I never use (but should be) and little tricks and tips that hopefully will improve my photography. So thank you, Cheryl, for the boost!

Today I want to share a tip about how to pick a color off the internet and use it in Photoshop. I mentioned in My Holiday Tablescape post that I had sampled a color from the Tiny Prints site to use on the menus I was creating. One of my readers (hi Viv!) asked me how I did it, so here it is!

In Photoshop or Photoshop Elements:

  • Click on the Restore Down icon in the upper right corner and make sure you can see both Photoshop and the site where you want to grab the sample.
  • Get the Eyedropper tool and in the Options Bar set the Sample Size to 3×3 Average. Click anywhere on an open document.
  • Hold down the mouse and drag it over to the internet site and drag around. Watch the color chips in Photoshop and let go of the mouse when you see the one you want. That’s it!

Hope you enjoyed this little tip, and have a wonderful week everyone!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com 

For my image today, I added a layer of kk_3003 on Soft Light.

Texture Tuesday

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Texture Tuesday Pansy

What do I dream about? When I thought about it, I didn’t really have an answer so when I challenged myself to come up with one, my garden came to mind.

Yes, I dream about my garden. I miss being able to walk outside to pluck even the tiniest little bloom. I miss my potting bench (which was a simple dream of mine that came true), and I miss photographing flowers. I had to dig around my files this morning and I came up with this tiny pansy bouquet. Such a simple little thing and at the time, I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I do now.

What’s one simple thing you dream about?

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen dot com