Photography TK Designs

Saturday, October 13, 2012

When In Doubt, Don't Just Throw It Out

Okay, I admit it. Not every photo I take is a masterpiece. In fact, some are downright atrocious! Have you ever taken a photo you knew would be perfect only to find out that your hand shook when you pressed the shutter button, or your composition was a little off? Or maybe you didn’t even notice that big stinky garbage can in the background.

I don't want to call myself a pack rat, but some photos, even though they're terrible, I just can't seem to throw away. So what do you do with photos like that? Let them gather virtual dust in your digital archives? You can, but why not try to save them somehow!

Here's an example of what I mean. I took this photo over a year ago:

What's wrong with it, you ask? 1.) It doesn't look so terribly bad at this size, but when you enlarge it, you see just how blurry it is.

Not good! 2.) The original is covered with dirt, spots, and distracting elements. All those little black spots on the flower are actually bugs. If they were clear, that would be AWESOME because I love bug photos . . . but they're not, they are blurry little smudges. 3.) Now this is what really irritates me! The tips of the flower petals are cut off in the reflection. How I wish I had taken a couple shots of this scene.

But since I didn't, it's photo editing to the rescue! The first thing I did to try and save this photo was remove all those spots:

A lot of work? Yes, but it sure does look better! Next, I removed the distracting elements like the cut off lily pads in the background and that light streak across the flower reflection:

So, what was that third thing that bugged me? Oh yes, the composition. I really want to see the entire reflection. So I started reconstructing:

I shrunk the photo just a little, and started cloning in the details.

Such a small thing, but now I feel much better about it. Now what?

Now it's time to treat this photo like any other (good or bad). Give it a brighten/contrast adjustment, check it for digital noise, and sharpen it a little:

Now I'm just loving it! But wait . . . don't you think I should check it out at full resolution first?

Man! Even after all that hard work, it still is a poor photograph. Does that mean all the time and effort I put into it is completely wasted? Not necessarily. When in doubt, don't just throw it out. Turn it into digital art. There are a variety of programs out there to help you with this. Among them are Corel Painter Essentials, Foto Sketcher (which is free!) and my personal favorite, Topaz Simplify, a plugin from Topaz Labs that works with both Photoshop and Paintshop Pro etc.

This part takes a little experimentation. Let your inner artist out and play around with settings, run the photo through a program or two, do a little dodging and burning to get the effect you want. That's what I did to try and salvage this photo:

Hmm . . . still seems to look like a photo. Well good! That's what I want. What I'm really concerned with is: Does it look decent at full scale? Let's take a look:


Click Here to See Full Resolution

This image doesn't do it justice, but you can see it's better. For a more realistic view, you can check out different portions at full resolution here. Just click on the spot you want to see and a window will pop up with a closeup view.

Now let's see if all that work was worth the effort?

And there you go! Another photo saved from the recycle bin.

If you enjoyed this post, I'd love it if you stop by my Facebook page and give me a little "like" to stay up to date with what else I've been up to! Feel free stop by my shops and have fun browsing:

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/PhotographyTKDesigns

http://www.zazzle.com/photographytkdesigns

http://tracie-kaska.artistwebsites.com/

Friday, January 27, 2012

ANIMAL CRUELTY IS A FELONY

Hi, my name is Blackberry. Strange name for a cat, you say? I get that a lot. My adoptive family gave it to me when my sister and I came to live with them. We were just six weeks old. That was 2 ½ years ago. The family had such a hard time coming up with a name that would really represent me. Nervous doesn’t begin to describe my apprehension as I waited for the verdict. You see, I wasn’t the first pure black cat to be adopted by this family. The last one they referred to as ‘Polka-Dot’. I won’t go into any details, but when that boy would turn his back on you with his tail standing tall, all they could focus on was that bright pink…Anyway! Where was I? Oh yes, my name. I have what they tell me are ‘glorious white claws’ that remind them of thorns. Since I am a black cat with thorns, what better name for me than: Blackberry!

Life was fun as a kitten. Like many cats from my generation I learned a lot of my life skills on the computer. The first mouse I ever caught was on the screen. It was my dream to become a world famous hunter. I would pretend to be a vicious black panther and pounce on anyone or anything that moved.

As I became a teenager, the dreams of my childhood began to disappear. I knew I had to figure out what to do with my life. I played with the idea of becoming a model, but the only photographer in my area didn’t have the skill to keep up with my antics and could rarely get a good shot.

My sister matured faster than I did and settled down to raise a family. I admit it, I was angry. I didn’t understand how she could give up her freedom and all the fun we had as kittens for a pack of brats! That was a really dark time for me. I left home. Moving from the upstairs to the downstairs was a huge adjustment....That’s how my drinking problem began. I admit, it was a hard habit to break. I struggle with it to this day. Thankfully I have a wonderful support group that helps me close the lid on my addiction.

When my sister’s kittens were born I was amazed to see that all but two of them took after me. It took a while, but I finally learned to accept them. When I saw the love my sister had for those helpless little creatures, it got me to thinking seriously about my life. It ended up being a major turning point.

That’s when I decided to become a therapist. I discovered I had a unique talent for helping humans deal with their pain. I just instinctively seem to know where a human is having trouble and I climb up and lay on whatever part is hurting. I generate heat that simulates that of a heating pad. The humans around me are always amazed that I know just where to go and just how to lie to provide the most relief. It is more than a career for me. I’ve genuinely grown to love all those I care for.

I live in a great area for a cat. There are so many big trees to climb and plenty of mice to chase. But there are dangers as well. Last week I was out having some fun and I wandered a little too far into enemy territory. I was running around reliving the dreams of becoming a world famous hunter when out of nowhere a blinding pain sliced through one of my front legs. I was too stunned to know what had happened. I just knew I had to get home. When my family let me in, I put on a brave face and went to lay by the fireplace. I didn’t want to worry anyone, so I didn’t say a word. No one knew I was hurt.

I’m a social cat and I needed to be with my family. I made my way to where they were and sat up in front of them. I wanted so badly to jump in my adoptive mother’s lap, but I couldn’t. Someone came to pick me up. I couldn’t help it, I cried out in pain. I tried to be my affectionate, social self but I couldn’t move. Everyone came, gathered around, and tried to figure out what was wrong with me. They could feel that one of my front legs was swollen and there was a small spot that was sticky where I had been hurt. Very gently, they probed the area and discovered what appeared to be a small cut near my joint. I heard someone say, “It looks like he might have gotten caught on a nail.”

They called the vet and took me in to be examined the next morning. The car ride was uncomfortable, but everyone kept telling me how brave I was. The doctor could see right away that my leg was broken and was almost certain she felt a foreign object in my shoulder. She took an x-ray to see just what was going on.

When the results came back, we were all stunned and horrified. I had become the victim of a senseless crime. I had been shot. The bullet was still inside, and my leg had been shattered. They couldn’t fix it. I was going to lose my leg and perhaps my life…

The doctor gave me some medication for the pain. Then my family took me home so they could discuss my future and what would be best for me. Could I live a happy life with only three legs? Would I be completely defenseless against predators? For two long days they deliberated. I was determined not to let it get me down. There is no use to worry about something you have no control over.

The pain medication worked wonders. I pushed past my awkwardness and went back to work. I have a patient who suffers from severe arthritis, so I put my own problems to the side and found a way to get into her lap to comfort her.

My family loves me, and they are determined to take care of me despite my newfound disabilities. I am going in for my surgery today. The doctor says I should pull through just fine. I’ve lost one of my nine lives, and I mourn the loss deeply. But I am a fighter, and I am determined to value and cherish the eight I have left.

Animal cruelty is a serious crime. In Washington State it is a felony, and a violator can face up to 5 years in jail and a fine of $10,000. Visit the links below to see what the laws are in your area and how you can report animal cruelty.

www.pet-abuse.com and www.aspca.org

If you know an animal who is recovering from a serious injury, why not send them a card to let them know
you care. Their adoptive family will appreciate it more than you know.

Visit Greeting Card Universe to find the purr-fect sentiment: www.greetingcarduniverse.com

And stay tuned for updates on Blackberry's recovery.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Rejection Is Not Failure!

Have you ever taken a photograph that you’ve instantly fallen in love with? I know I have. A photographer, whether professional or amateur, is conscious of more than just the object they are photographing. Sometimes you are not even photographing the object in front of you; you are photographing the mood, ambiance, or even the emotion of a scene. When other photographers look at it they oftentimes will see exactly what it was you were trying to convey.

When I took this photograph, I was so pleased with how it turned out. I fell in love with how the light made these rose petals seem to glow. They seemed to me almost transparent and fragile against such a dramatically dark background. Of course I wanted to share it with others. What better way to do it than turn it into a greeting card.

I submitted it and waited as patiently as I could for it to be released to the public. After nearly six weeks of waiting as the reviewers deliberated the fate of my card, the email with their decision finally came—DECLINED!

My jaw dropped to the floor, “But I was so proud of this photograph!” I thought. I was told the petal in the foreground was out of focus and didn’t meet the standards for a good greeting card. The photographer in me argued, “But that petal SHOULD be out of focus. This is a photograph about romantic light—not just about a rose!”

I am not a professional photographer, so I knew I needed some extra help to see things objectively. Some said my photo was lovely; others gave me some constructive criticism to improve my skill in photography.

As I processed the information, I made an important breakthrough:

"A Greeting Card is NOT a Photograph!"

A Greeting Card Designer may use a photograph as an element in their card, but that is all it is—an element!

Someone purchasing a work of art is buying a ‘technique’. If it is a photograph, they want it because of what the photographer achieved “in camera”. On the other hand, someone purchasing a greeting card is purchasing a ‘message.’ They are not interested in how the look was achieved, they are looking for something to convey their own special message to their recipient.

Once I was finally able to grasp this concept, I started searching through my old photos for an ‘element’ to add to my greeting card. I eventually found a picture I had up until that moment considered a scrap photo. Yes, they were rose petals, but there was no ‘wow’ factor.

That was how the Photographer in me viewed it. But I had to start thinking like a Greeting Card Artist. What was stopping me from changing the background and deepening the color to give it the mood I was trying to portray?

As I sat down to work, I turned off the inner-photographer that was berating me for committing this photographic atrocity, and began to tweak, cut, clone, paste, and patch. I grudgingly admitted it was looking pretty good . . . but I still preferred my ‘real’ photograph.

Then something magical happened—I added the words. I stared at the finished product, stunned. It was beautiful! (at least I think so!) I compared it with the original. To my surprise, there was no comparison. I had just created a ‘Marketable’ greeting card!

This has a bit of blur because it's just a screen capture. CLICK HERE to see actual card.

So the moral of this story is: Rejection of a greeting card is not the rejection of a photograph. A photograph is not a greeting card—it is only an element of that card, even if it covers the entire surface!

Now I am off to change the name of my 'junk photo' folder to my 'elements' folder!!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Behind The Design - Garden Snails

Snail Mail Greeting Card

When you see an intriguing keepsake or greeting card, do you ever wonder: "What's the story behind this one?"

Nearly every day, my children come running to me, "Mom! We've got a photo opportunity for you!" On this particular day they were especially excited. "We found SNAILS!" So I grabbed my camera and headed outdoors. This is one of the photos I took. It looks so elegant and lovely, but that's not how I felt about it that day . . .

Now imagine my surprise when I stepped out onto my front porch and was greeted with a scene like this:

Snails EVERYWHERE! The 14 snails in this picture were just a few. Altogether there were between 35 and 40 of them. It looked like an infestation. I like little creatures, but 40 is too many even for me to handle. EWW! They were climbing all over each other, up the walls, in the grass . . .

Then one of my children pointed at our picnic table. "Mom, it's a snail race!" And sure enough there was a team of them racing to the top:

Looks like number 5 is burning rubber! Nothing left but the trail (right)

After I got over my initial shock, I settled in for a photo shoot. One of my sons picked a flower and set it on the ground. Within a minute they were there to devour it:

Needless to say, I won't be looking at snails in the same light again!

Greeting Card Universe offers a variety of cards featuring snail photographs. Take a look at these and wonder, "What's the story behind this one?" Or better yet, DON'T!:

Greeting Cards by (left to right) : Lisa's Photography Designs, Photography TK Designs, StudioPortoSabbia, and Heart To Hand

Of course I have to share a few of the gift items I designed for this set:

Slow Without Coffee Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy mug

Slow Without Coffee Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy by PhotographyTKDesigns

Personalized Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy mousepad

Personalized Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy by PhotographyTKDesigns

Personalized Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy keychain

Personalized Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy by PhotographyTKDesigns

And this one is my favorite:

Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy Fine Art Photograph wrappedcanvas

Garden Snails On Gerbera Daisy Fine Art Photograph by PhotographyTKDesigns

You can view the complete set here: Garden Snails On Zazzle

Follow my 365-Day Photo adventure on Facebook!

Friday, October 7, 2011

2012 Calendar of Unique and Beautiful Flowers

2012 Calendar of Unique Flowers

Now that flower season is coming to a close, I decided it was high time to start organizing all of my flower pictures. I had no idea just how many I had! Is 22GBs too many?! Yet I can't seem to part with them.

I took time to sort them all by color and tagged them so it would be easier to find what I was looking for. The obsessive compulsive in me coming out? Perhaps. As I was going through them, I picked out some of my favorites and decided to do something useful with them instead of letting them sit in the dark recesses of my computer to gather virtual dust. I turned them into 2012 Calendars and am currently making matching gift sets for each of the photos. I'm enjoying this project immensely.

I thought I'd share some of my favorites. Don't worry, I didn't upload all 22 Gigs!