Happy Thanksgiving

IMG_6604-2, originally uploaded by cinda marie.

Greetings,
Now this is a picture of what? Turkey legs roasting on an open fire. It was indeed the closest picture that I could find to the all American turkey tradition. Even in difficult times we all eat too much on this holiday.

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect our year is soon to come to an end and to be thankful for all that we have. We can look back and think about the accomplishments of this year and tie up some loose ends before we start into the next. What important event has happened this year? How can I make a difference to make next year a better year? I know that some are having a down turn in their finances, but if you work at being the best that you can be, you will be ok. Things seam to always work out for the best. Remember, when one door is closed another is opened.

I like to start each day asking myself; how can I make a difference in someones life? I think about how to put a smile on someone's face or show them that I care. I'm thankful for my family and friends.

What is wrong with this picture? This shot was a quick snap at a fair a few years ago. I struggle with outdoor pictures that some areas get too much light and other areas are too dark. I have a Photoflex white disc that I did not have with me that day but wish that I had. The disc is about 3 feet when extended and would shade some of this direct light out and I could have used a flash to lighten up some of the dark areas.
The Photoflex disc twists up similar to an auto window sun screen with a final size of less than a foot disc for easier handling when carrying it about. I wish that I could carry all of my little photo aids with me but that would be impossible unless I was willing to tote a mule pack.

I highly recommend the Photoflex products and especially this item. It has a reversible cover that has different tones(gold tone and silver tone) to aid when taking out door portraits or close photos. You really need to have an other person with you to hold it up while you take the picture. I have put it on stand when shooting by myself, but tends to blow around if there is any kind of a wind. It works best if you have someone hold it in the correct position to either reflect light into dark areas or shade out a white spot.

Gobble, Gobble Happy Thanksgiving!

Big Island Hawaii

Big Island Hawaii, originally uploaded by cinda marie.

Aloha, I think that I'm ready for a trip to the Big Island Hawaii. I was viewing a few pictures today and ran across this one. I feel a sudden peace when I think of the song to my soul from the sounds of the ocean hitting on the rocks. We all need a little break from the day to day routine if only in our dreams. This picture was taken at the south most shore of the Big Island of Hawaii. Hawaii has it's own time, Island Time... It's a retreat to time past when schedules really do not need to be met.

USING PHOTO SHOP ELEMENTS TO ENHANCE PICTURES...
I have recently taken a class at a local community college on Photo Shop Elements, the program is quite impressive for the cost. I normally use Adobe Photo Shop CS3, for the cost of the program it is well worth looking into. You can obtain many of the same results as in the higher end Photo Shop. Many of the tools and actions are very similar to Photo Shop. The program will store and file your photographs as well as quick fix them. Although, some of the results from the quick fix feature are not too my liking. The program is easy to navigate and you could be well on your way of photo corrections within a few hours of training.

Once you begin to correct photos you may get lost in the awe of it. It is always best to keep your photographs as close to normal as possible. This meaning that the artistic values can some times be just too much and take away from the true honesty of your picture. First, learn what each tool does to the photo. Experiment, have fun and remember not to edit your original. Always SAVE AS and create a new image, it is preferred to SAVE AS a TIFF file or PSD file to retain the original value of the picture. JPEG files reduce the quality as you open and close them..... If you don't like the out come just don't SAVE the image and your original will return....

Enjoy the perfect sounds of the ocean today!

YES WE CAN..

Art Alley Rapid City South Dakota 2008, originally uploaded by cinda marie.

Hi!
This picture was taken at Art Alley in Rapid City South Dakota. I think that Obama must have had a visit to this creative walkway when in search of his campaign theme. It may have been here that he picked up the slogan YES WE CAN.. I think that the Artist Alley concept is a great idea; an artist can with a simple nod of the head put his statement in the Art Alley. It draws a great deal of attention and is one of the highlights in Rapid City.
Every artist likes their work to be shown for others to enjoy this is a simple venue but effective. In Europe, being and artist is a great honor and people have a high regard for your talent. In America, an artist is not encouraged or promoted in the same manner.

Promoting your ART....
If you are trying to break through in the creative world use every venue available to you. There are grants and contests. Talk to your friends and see if they know anyone in the Art World. Join Art Groups that meet locally and also online. Try local Cafe and Public Buildings that maybe willing to show your art work. If you are a photographer; use Photrade or Istock to get your pictures out there. You will get some great feed back on how to improve your skills. Talk to people that are making a living in Art. Make a website showing your art and learn how to promote and market it.

Good luck! YES WE CAN!!!

Fire and Flora in the Fall 2008

Fire and Flora in the Fall 2008, originally uploaded by cinda marie.

Hello,
This picture was taken in Minnesota a few weeks ago at the Woodland Lake Wildlife Center. It was a great place to enjoy nature at it's best. The hiking trail brought back memories walking through the leaves and listening to the crunching sounds. There was a young red fox that crossed my path, much to quick for me to get a great shot, but still great memories.

That is one of the things that I like best about photography; you are recording your life and memories. It is a great way to bring back the cherished happenings of your life. When you get older and can not get out you still have the memories of your life in this exciting form of media.

PICTURE FORMAT AND SIZING FOR PRINT AND FRAIMING
For several years I had taken photographs and never spent the time learn the best way to get your prints on paper. I had several high end photo printers but never got the results that I was determined to have. I almost gave up until I was forced to understand Picture Format and Sizing which helps in selling and framing your pieces.

My Camera, the Digital Canon 40D shoots in a 2x3 format. This means that a multiple of 2"x3" would be a perfect fit for a 4"x6", 8"x12", 12"x18", 16"x24" finished prints. If you would like to have a final print in the more common frame sizes you would need to crop the picture to a 3x4 format, an example would be taking about 4" off the longest side of a 16"x24" print. When cropping use constraints on your photo editing to achieve the correct ratio. When shooting with a 2x3 format camera keep in mind the picture out come. You may want to take a few shots with a 3x4 format in mind, knowing that a small amount will but cropped off in editing. The picture that I'm featuring today really could be cropped to a 3x4 format without forfeiting the interest of the picture. I have several photographs that just look better as a 2x4 format and cropping would take away from the intent of the photograph. Matting and Framing is very expensive for this size unless you get into do-it-yourself projects.

The cameras that shoot in a 3x4 format gives you prints in the standard sizes for framing; 8"x10" and 16"x20", etc. This makes it less expensive to frame photographs, because the standard size has not changed since the good old film days. These cameras are usually used for portrait photographs.

Personally, I do as little cropping as possible because your end result will be sharper. For the most part I shoot the picture as intended for a final result and only crop to straighten the picture or clean up an edge.

Happy Cropping!!!!

Mount Rushmore National Monument South Dakota 2008

Mount Rushmore National Monument South Dakota 2008, originally uploaded by cinda marie.

Just a reminder to all VOTE tomorrow! Every vote will count, it is indeed a close race.... We are so blessed to be able to have the right to speak out and vote. Do you think that we can get the next President to join these former Presidents?

Go VOTE...and may the best man win....