I met a guy taking pictures with two very beautiful leicas in the botanical garden yesterday. I told him about RB, and he asked whether t…
I met a guy taking pictures with two very beautiful leicas in the botanical garden yesterday. I told him about RB, and he asked whether the feedback you got on here was soft (in words I can’t quite remember). It got me thinking a bit. How “nice” should we be? Is the purpose of this website purely to help us feel good about our photography? I know I love getting affirmation. But is this by itself a good thing, if we aren’t learning anything new we didn’t already know. Another thing… I tend to comment on the photos I like… I think most people do… what about the photos that we don’t like, but we can see what is trying to come out of the photos. I guess this is a bit self-reflexive. But… just some thoughts
I have just learned a really useful little tip for Sharpening images in Photoshop which I thought I should share with you all. Until n…
I have just learned a really useful little tip for Sharpening images in Photoshop which I thought I should share with you all. Until now when I sharpened an image in CS3 with Smart Sharpen I used to sharpen and then leave it at that. As you may well know over sharpening can produce exaggerated noise and produce “halo” effects on your edges which look plain nasty. Here’s a few useful tips to help you improve the quality of your sharpening. – Always sharpen to a NEW LAYER (Merge all to new layer using SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+E on PC’s) – I always convert this layer to a smart object to allow me to modify any applied filter effects. – Always change the blend mode on this layer to LUMINOSITY. This massively reduces the halo effects on your sharpened image. (Try over-sharpening an image and then changing the blend mode to luminosity just to see this in action) – Follow these guidelines for smart sharpening for the best results For STANDARD SHARPENING – Amount 100, Radius <=2 / For SOFT IMAGES – Amount 140, Radius <=1 / For PORTRAITS – Amount <=5 Try these guidelines out and see what you think.
Soul Softening Therapy… Simply some of the best Lyrics ever…...
Soul Softening Therapy… Simply some of the best Lyrics ever… Sorry richard… no… it’s not Metallica this time! ;-) xox Starry, starry night. / Portraits hung in empty halls, / Frameless head on nameless walls, / With eyes that watch the world and can’t forget. / Like the strangers that you’ve met, / The ragged men in the ragged clothes, / The silver thorn of bloody rose, / Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow. I’m going to create a picture to go with this… And… Take a look at me now… Finishing With I’ll just Turn the Page… Aww… “I do it for the money / And I can change my life / and I can be what society wants me to be…” “If I could start my life all over again / I would make the exact same choices / that I’ve made…” See? Who said Metallica couldn’t do it softly??? :-P Outta here…................................................................ ciao 4 now Jennifer B / feels softer / you see! / temporarily… xox
Thanks to dogpriest for the title….... Many people struggle with the word ‘kindness’. / Many people feel that ‘kind’ people can be w…
Thanks to dogpriest for the title….... Many people struggle with the word ‘kindness’. / Many people feel that ‘kind’ people can be walked over, abused, hurt and treated badly. Why? Well, because they are ‘kind’ and they will not mind. They will forgive, as always, and still see the good behind the words and actions. ‘Kind’ people are seen as ‘soft’ and are often encouraged to ‘toughen up’. / Well…...in my experience, ‘kind’ people are not always born that way. Experience makes us that way – often bad experiences and a lot of pain, hurt and trauma. / I’m tired of being seen as ‘too soft’ and ‘too nice’, professionally, – to me there is no such thing. I have had enough pain, fighting and hurt in my life…now…I just want peace…and I just want to be…..me….....and let other people be…them…. / I don’t think I’m asking for too much. / Please read this and, the next time you think someone is being ‘too soft’ – look beyond the ‘kind’ face, listen beyond the words you hear and really feel… / you might find that you see them differently….and you might then understand where their compassion comes from. Kindness Before you know what kindness really is / you must lose things, / feel the future dissolve in a moment / like salt in a weakened broth. / What you held in your hand, / what you counted and carefully saved, / all this must go so you know / how desolate the landscape can be / between the regions of kindness. / How you ride and ride / thinking the bus will never stop, / the passengers eating maize and chicken / will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, / you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho / lies dead by the side of the road. / You must see how this could be you, / how he too was someone / who journeyed through the night / with plans and the simple breath / that kept him alive. Before you know kindness / as the deepest thing inside, / you must know sorrow / as the other deepest thing. / You must wake up with sorrow. / You must speak to it till your voice / catches the thread of all sorrows / and you see the size of the cloth. / Then it is only kindness / that makes sense anymore, / only kindness that ties your shoes / and sends you out into the day / to mail letters and purchase bread, / only kindness that raises its head / from the crowd of the world to say / it is I you have been looking for, / and then goes with you every where / like a shadow or a friend. By Naomi Shihab Nye
Thank You Bits and Pieces Group For Featuring and Supporting My Writing “Passions Desires Soft Cotton Sheet” and my work !!! I am so…
Thank You Bits and Pieces Group For Featuring and Supporting My Writing “Passions Desires Soft Cotton Sheet” and my work !!! I am so excited Wooo HOOO and so excited about Leah Highland’s here / Wonderful collaboration of the piece It truly has been a wonderful day !!!!!!!
Ever wonder how to get that soft glamour look in a portrait like in my image She’s Got It Made In The Shades...
Ever wonder how to get that soft glamour look in a portrait like in my image She’s Got It Made In The Shades / / I use Adobe PhotoShop CS3 (PS), but earlier versions will work as well, and the techniques can be adapted to other similar photo editing software. Also note that I use a Mac so I’ll be using the OPTION key which is the ALT key on a PC and COMMAND key which is the CONTROL key on a PC. So if you’re on a PC substitute the appropriate keys. Open your image in PS. / Duplicate the layer. / Select Levels from the Image->Adjustments menu item and make any necessary level adjustments and click on ok when you are satisfied. / Select the burn tool and set it to burn shadows at an opacity of around 10% ±3%. While keeping the mouse button down burn the dark area you wish to enhance. / Now switch to the dodge tool by hitting SHIFT-O which cycles through the burn/sponge/dodge tools. / Set the dodge tool to highlights with a similar opacity to what we had with the burn tool. / Use the dodge tool to enhance the lighter areas of the image. / I suggest that you only do a little bit at a time of dodging and burning and alternate often between them. / These two tools act as a controlled contrast. / Once you are satisfied with the burning and dodging, duplicate that layer. / Temporarily turn off all layers except the one you just created. You can do this by OPTION-clicking the layer you wish to remain active. / Now here comes the fun stuff. / Open up the Channels palette which is usually right next to Layers. Assuming you are in RGB mode you will see the RGB composite channel, and the individual red, green, and blue channels. For most people the red channel is the smoothest, and lightest on skin. / COMMAND-click the icon for the red channel. You should see the “marching ants” which means that a selection has been made. / Now click on the RGB channel and switch back to Layers. / Making sure the layer we previously made active is selected, add a layer mask by clicking on the layer mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette. / It will look like part of the image is missing. OPTION-click the “eye” on the active layer to bring back the other layers. / Unlink the mask from the layer by clicking on the little chain icon and then click on the image icon in the layer to select it. / Go to Filters->Blur->Surface Blur. Adjust the setting to a fairly strong blur and click OK. / The image should now have a very smooth look to it. / Set the blend mode for that layer to Luminosity and adjust the opacity to taste. That is basically how I do this effect. Feel free to experiment and come up with your own techniques. I hope this was helpful, and not too confusing. It’s easier to do this than to explain it. lol! :)
Many thanks to Bits And Pieces Group for featuring Tulip Love Affair...
Many thanks to Bits And Pieces Group for featuring Tulip Love Affair this week :D A few days ago, I sold my first button/badge at Zazzle from someone named Charles(whom I dont think I know)....and after that I started making more buttons where previously I had very few buttons in my store…and a fellow zazzler by the name of Susan bought a button from me just yesterday. Although these are small sales, they make me very happy (am I normal?) :D These are the 2 buttons that I sold so far in Zazzle Gallery :D I want to share with you some of Susan’s oil painting works on Zazzle products, I’m sure you will find them beautiful too! (Just click on any of the item to enter Susan’s store):D
In just a short 17 hours, before I went to bed last night…I posted Soft Clouds...
In just a short 17 hours, before I went to bed last night…I posted Soft Clouds . From that time, I received TWO features, 42 comments, 7 favoritings, and 106 views. / I am so surprised and amazed with the response I got from this photo! It makes me so happy :D / I would like to thank everyone who have viewed and taken the time to comment on this, to the ones favoring this, and to the hosts of Freedom to Shine , / Roger Sampson , Solareclips And thanks to the hosts from A Beautiful Blur , / Heavenandus , OrphieG , and Cougarfan . / THANKS!!!! :D Here are some other products from my ZAZZLE gallery: / Why not have Bonnie by your side while surfing the web on this beautiful mousepad! ;D / Yay! Some Bonnie Stickers!! :D / OR, Bonnie on a mug!! :D :D / You can also wear her on a shirt! /
”!http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/framecolor:black/framestyle:flat30/mattecolor:off%20white/product:framed-print/size:small/view:pr…
I have been away for 24 hrs. On dial up that is forever .. LOL.. I fear tonight I am off to bed.. The Grandchild came over for his first Halloween Trick or Treat.. It was such a smile.. But then before bed I wanted to see a fast look at RB.. And Lo and Behold I found that my favorite flower capture was given a feature in Nirvana’s Group.. I really am happy for this.. I want everyone to see the beauty .. Thanks to everyone who makes RB what it is… / Chuck n Kathy…
Many thanks to the hosts of A Beautiful Blur for featuring Always By Your Side:...
Many thanks to the hosts of A Beautiful Blur for featuring Always By Your Side That’s Estella, Udon’s favourite gal in the house :D This is a shot of Udon half asleep. If you look closely, he has his paws over her, now you know how protective he can be of his gal! Udon’s growing fast, he’s now about 25 kg and he has only achieved half of his potential. He has some dental issues….his lower set of teeth is not fully developed and the vet said he’s a late developer. He also has another problem. He has only 1 testicle and nope, the other one has not popped out yet or maybe it will never pop out. He’s still my Baby even though he seems “incomplete” ;D Always By Your Side Here’s some other photos of Udon Do I look like a seal pup? Can you pack me along? Udon’s little washroom Thank you for the all the love and hugs you have showered on Udon, he loves you all!! ^ _ ^
The house warming party turned into a huge, fucking disaster, it ended up as one big brawl, hahahaha, oh and I deleted the other post bec…
The house warming party turned into a huge, fucking disaster, it ended up as one big brawl, hahahaha, oh and I deleted the other post because I changed my mind, I read that poem over in a different, post-party frame of mind, and decided it was a load of shit, sometimes things just work out that way.
Just found another RB artist who seems to specialise in beautiful soft and delicate works. Might be worth a visit to see some of the w…
Just found another RB artist who seems to specialise in beautiful soft and delicate works. Might be worth a visit to see some of the wonderful gentle images she creates. click here
My image Silence III was the winner of fog on fresh water challenge in the Shots in the fog group...
My image Silence III was the winner of fog on fresh water challenge in the Shots in the fog group Thank you all for your support! Per E.
This is in response to this journal. I have cho…
This is in response to this journal. I have chosen this image here, She sleeps softly / I love this image for many reasons and let me explain how it came about in the first place. This is my beautiful partner. It was taken on the night that we got married, while she slept. When I first met her, and got to know her, she was a very different person. / And, as the weeks went on, she slowly but surely started to let me in. One morning I woke up before her. I turned over and there she was, so peacefully sleeping. She looked more peaceful then I had ever seen her before, and it was a side to her that I never previously had the honour of seeing. / Without knowing it she had opened up to me. / She had let me in whether she wanted to or not. That day was a turning point for both us. From then on she continued to show me this soft, cute side of her that I just fell very quickly in love with. This photo is what I saw that day, and every other morning from then on. Its been taken from my perspective, as though laying next her. Its a constant reminder of the moment I began to see the real her and taken on a night of such importants to us both. I love this women and hope to continue loving her for as long as possible. L.
Just found out that my new Equine tee has been featured in the great All soft and cuddles group, i am over the moon, thanks so much you g…
Just found out that my new Equine tee has been featured in the great All soft and cuddles group, i am over the moon, thanks so much you guys,dawnxx /
There is a discussion on changing the redbubble guidelines on pornography to include more of the soft porn we have been seeing around the…
There is a discussion on changing the redbubble guidelines on pornography to include more of the soft porn we have been seeing around the galleries lately. Please come and add your perspective to the mix. If you want to add your support to changing the guidelines you can vote here
Thank you so much to the host of this fun and upcoming new group for Featuring Fallow Deer Fawn!!! I am thrilled to be among the other Fe…
Thank you so much to the host of this fun and upcoming new group for Featuring Fallow Deer Fawn!!! I am thrilled to be among the other Features!
Thank you to the hosts of the All Soft And Cuddlies group for featuring “Sweetpea And Tewie-Chillin”!! I am proud and so happy to be amo…
Thank you to the hosts of the All Soft And Cuddlies group for featuring “Sweetpea And Tewie-Chillin”!! I am proud and so happy to be among your chosen Features!!! /
You can reach a lot of people using the Internet, but creating personal and lasting relationships is a more difficult task. It requires a…
You can reach a lot of people using the Internet, but creating personal and lasting relationships is a more difficult task. It requires an openness and reciprocity that doesn’t come easily to most people. Not that we artists don’t have the ability, but exposing ourselves emotionally outside of our art takes practice and a thick skin. There’s also a tension between wanting to sell our art and not wanting to be too salesy nor abuse others with self-promotion. So, how can we promote ourselves using a ‘soft sell’ or ‘no sell,’ yet create sales? Here are a few ideas that members have shared in the Selling Group. 1. Share information, help others, and give encouragement on RedBubble It’s easy to get mired in the minutia of everyday life. No one can fault you for addressing personal priorities and work, but it only takes a moment to comment on an artwork, t-shirt, or a bit of writing. Share your expertise or give another member an encouraging sentence or two about how their work made you feel. These activities help elevate your profile – and work – on RedBubble. The more people that view your work, the better your chance of receiving a personal referral. If you’re interested in sharing ideas or have questions about selling art, join the Sales/Sharing Group here. We don’t judge and we don’t bite. Also, check out the RedBubble site and individual group forums. 2. Network web-wide with kindred spirits Track yourself and your interests with Google Alerts and Google Blog Search, among other tools. Alerts and Blog Search help you find websites that have content related to your artwork, t-shirt designs, interest areas, etc. A practical example would be for the Game of Kings to track websites that talk about chess. Chess destinations and fans would surely be interested in learning more about a stellar collaboration featuring artwork about chess. Track them, and then contact them with a friendly head’s up about your work. 3. Add people to your RedBubble Watchlist, Favorite work, and Comment on work Here’s a case of quality over quantity. Discover new kindred spirits, curate your Watchlist, and make insightful and positive comments that spur conversion and relationships. These relationships can bring helpful advice, collaborations, and again, referrals. There have been a number of times that my work didn’t suit a friend’s aesthetic, so I referred them other RedBubble artists. I sent a quick Bubblemail to these artists to note my referral. It’s good karma, and the artists appreciated my thinking of them regardless of the outcome. 4. Publish a blog or website about your subject matter, geography, technique, etc. The key to a blog is updated content. Ask yourself if you can commit to updating at least once each week – if only to post a quote and a link to relevant resources. Readers can visit your website directly or subscribe to a feed of its content. Did you know that you already have a RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed in your RedBubble profile? Just go to your Profile page, click on Journal, and then find the “RSS” button in the address bar of your browser. You’ll see a page like this one: Simply copy the RSS URL from the browser bar and add it to your iGoogle, MyYahoo, Feedburner, or other newsreader account. Outlook and Apple Mail accept feeds too. Here are a few members that have used their blogs and websites to drive sales on RedBubble: Matt Moylan and Lilformers Helen Nehill and Bowerbird Blues As well as, Ron Moss, Bryce Casselman, Diesel Laws, Soniei, among many others. Please post your blog/website below. 5. Develop a rapport with industry websites Giant caveat – DO NOT simply email a thought-leading website with a generic note and URL, e.g., “please highlight my t-shirt.” Try to develop a rapport with the author first. Start by reading their website. Make sure their content matches your artwork. Ask what it takes to be featured on their website. Send them occasional links to related articles unrelated to your artwork. You’ll make friends in no time. We previously discussed tactics for contacting periodicals, magazines, etc. here. RedBubble can help you find the best press contact for your announcement; learn more in the Sales Group PR forum. 6. Give a little, get a lot Everyone loves freebies, chotchkes – whatever you want to call them. Email a digital postcard to a friend or contact. Embed you message in your artwork and subtly note your URL in the email body copy. Create business cards or product cards. Here’s an example from the always-giving Nuh Sarche. Another way to share is to show works in progress. Sam Dantone is painting a wall mural. It’s not for sale, but I loved that he shared his progress on RedBubble. Whenever I think of costal scenes, I’ll return to this mural and then browse through his portfolio. I could go on forever, but I’m interested in the things that members have tried. Add you comments below, or join the conversation here. Thank you. Regards, / Jason
Once again I’ve been inspired by Mel Brackstone, an artist who really does look at the “a…
Once again I’ve been inspired by Mel Brackstone, an artist who really does look at the “art” more than the science of photography. Apart from the brilliant landscapes and seascapes and peoplescapes she creates using hi-tech precision lenses, she also dabbles in the dark art of the “lensbaby”. Mel recently posted some lensbaby work that had me salivating and thinking about creating such a contraption. She kindly lent me a custom made bendy lens known as a MelHolga so that I could have a play with it and see how it was constructed. (the MelHolga was made by Ran, check out his artbending Trials revealed that the particular MelHolga she sent me was suitable only for very close work. In order to achieve more distant focus, I tried various lenses that I had lying around and as it turned out my 3x loupe not only worked but was just the right size to fit neatly into the rubber bellows of the MelHolga. With this arrangement the lens can now focus from infinity to really close, about 250mm (ten inches) and can be manually offset (laterally and/or tilted) to achieve genuine “tilt shift” and selective focus. I have compared the field of vision with my zoom lens and this indicates that it has a focal length of about 75mm (the Holga is 60mm) this is not bad for portraits and street photography though it’s obviously not wide enough for expansive landscapes. Measurements indicate smallest diameter of about 22mm which which results in an aperture of approximately f/3.5. My Canon 450D can only be used with this lens in full manual mode with no aperture setting at all and no metering or focus confirm, the only settings that can be changed are ISO film speed and shutter speed. The focus is soft and can be moved around the frame to some extent though there is a lot of guesswork involved. I think with practice some more consistency could be obtained. Because the loupe has a single element plastic lens there is a substantial amount of flare and chromatic aberration and also soft out of focus edges. This lends itself to mono conversion for many images, particularly when used in bright light. When tilted there is severe distortion in most of the frame which tends to be in lines or rough triangular shapes. It’s these characteristics which make this an interesting lens to play with. I’ve been taking a few shots with it and it produces some really pleasing results. There’s something very appealing about trying to achieve artistic images in the camera, I’ve also found myself paying much more attention to framing because this lens has no zoom capability. For anyone who’s interested, below these images I describe how to make a bendy loupe lens for very little cost. Thanks are due to Ran who made the original MelHolga :-) / Nuns gathering ? this is a detail from the image above, I couldn’t resist LOL / This is the “Bendy Loupe Lens” The total cost of making this lens from scratch is about $25 and an hour (more or less) of fiddling around. What you’ll need: / / A body cap to suit your camera. (about Aus $7.50 on the net) A cheap plastic loupe (Aus $8.95 from Jaycar) Rubber bellows from an older style mountain bike fork (I picked this up from a bike shop though most no longer have them, they should be available on the net if you go looking. If you can’t find this, Canondale leftie boots are still available or an automotive steering rack boot would do though you may have to add some packing to get the lens to sit firmly) / / How to make it: Use a hole saw or a large spade bit to cut a hole in the middle of the body cap just the right size for the narrow section of the bellows to fit firmly. (first use the hole saw or spade bit to cut a hole in a piece of scrap material so the the size can be checked before you cut a hole in the cap. If you don’t have the right size hole saw or spade bit, use an undersized one and file or sand the hole to the right size. Turn the rubber bellows inside out and clean thoroughly before use, remember that any loose dirt or dust inside them could end up inside your camera. Insert one end of the rubber bellows into the hole in the body cap, then fold the protruding end back inside the bellows on the camera side. This keeps it neat and secure. Press the loupe into the bellows, so that the inside face of the lens is about 32mm (1 ¼”) from the back of the body cap. Attach to camera and start shooting :-)
Wow just found out that I have my 3rd feature this weekend, by the fabulous new All Soft and Cuddles Group. / !http://images-1.redbubble.n…
Wow just found out that I have my 3rd feature this weekend, by the fabulous new All Soft and Cuddles Group. / Wow Many thanks you guys I am truly delighted, dawnxx
Hey all! Omg omg, im nervous!!!! But i have a how-to to share! :D / Actually a girl from the photoclub told me about this tutorial site…
Hey all! Omg omg, im nervous!!!! But i have a how-to to share! :D / Actually a girl from the photoclub told me about this tutorial site, and i want to tell everyone who doesnt know yet about this cool a** thingie! / Ta-DA!!! Its the soft focus effect!!! Not to confuse with diffuse glow filter. / You can see the before and afters in my portfolio. “The eye anatomy” and “soft focus” are the results. The “originals” are also somewhere there too. / Trust me, its dead easy. Even i can do it. Takes a minute to process an image. TRY IT!!!!! / So here we go. This is the illustrated step by step tutorial, but its in russian, but the commands are for the english photoshop, so not hard to understand i hope. http://www.interface.ru/home.asp?artId=18661 / Just in case its not clear, lemme translate it. / Aight, so: 1. Press CTRL+J to double the layer / 2. Press Shift+CTRL+U to turn it to black and white / 3. Go to Image>Adjustments>Posterize and set the level to about 7 / 4. Where the layers are, right click on the top layer and select Blending Options, then switch Blend Mode from Normal to Overlay / 5. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur and play around with the pixel radius till u see what u like / 6. Voila!!!!!!! Here u go! Got a pic with lovely natural HOT HOT soft focus! Enjoy! See how easy???!!!
Thankyou so much to the Hosts of the group ‘Image Writing’ for featuring *So…
Thankyou so much to the Hosts of the group ‘Image Writing’ for featuring Soft As A Feather – enjoyed this shoot at Abbotsbury so am happy they turned out so well and getting featured! / also: Thanks to whoever voted for ‘Come Fly With Me’ in the ‘Added Beauty’ Challenge for the Art By Bubble Hosts Group- happy with this!
Solo Exhibition v 16 For the homepage showing of …
Solo Exhibition v 16 For the homepage showing of Softness / Let me know what you think of my recent art vs photography : ) I’m a split personality heehee Thank you Fran (is you see this)
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