gRapes... gigantic

okay, admit it... it does make your mouth watery, huh?

Not quite there

The Return of the Strawman

The Strawman was one of the first pictures I posted on this blog. Sometime ago, I decided to texturize the photo. This was before I've heard of the technique using Photoshop or some other computer software. It might have already been done but I was just not aware of it. So I did the texturizing the old way. Yes, I painted on the printed photo using acrylic paints.

When a computer graphic artist saw this displayed in my house, he asked what kind of software I used. LOL... When I told him that I didn't use any, he couldn't believe it.

Goes to show that old-school approach still rocks.

blue botanica

i'm not sure if i posted this before. if i have, then i apologize for the redundancy.

don't know what the botanical name for this. rose, mimi and i were up the hill behind our lot, and rose found this. i did multiple shots of it using a canon a590is point and shoot, and rendered the jpeg images (the camera can only shoot jpeg) on picturenaut as an hdr image. the final image was tone-mapped to get that blue saturation.

the photo is not tack sharp because the images would not align perfectly. i think it's still a good shot. don't you think? hey, are you still there?

the pooch with the cute nose and ...

Mimi is the hardest to take picture. She moves every second and there is no way I could get her to stay still. I believe that this was taken as Rose gave her a treat as I tried to compose her picture. Shot taken with Rose's point and shoot. Not bad, I say. A bit blurry but I think it sort of adds to some character, don't you think?

Mimi would like to hear from you :)

h on time

herAclitus: on time... he was named after the pre-socratic philosopher because the dude's smart, and feisty.

the original photo ofthe cat was taken with the nikon fe. later on scanned and exported to PS Elements. the concrete andthe big ben cloack were added during post-processing. does h think he's cool?

a chair is still a chair

Here's another using my modified semi-fish eye set up. About a quarter of the image was cropped -- so you can say that this is a 3/4 shot :)

I really like the way this came out -- kinda like a post-modern still life -- you know like how the great photographers would capture a chair and call the image art. I know mine does not compare well but if you use your imagination you'll know what I mean. No? Okay I tired. But you have to admit that this little image is cool. Right?

Give peace a chance

Art for Art's Sake has been renamed to Observations. I decided to change it because everytime I google Art for Art's Sake, I get million hits... none of them about this blog. The direction too somewhat changed.

I started this blog to showcase my artwork (mostly photographic, although there are some other mediums I have also used). The intent was for friends and family to see what I was up to concerning new art projects. I think that has not changed. But lately I have this desire to reach out to more people -- maybe artists like me. Frustrated, disappointed, sometimes manic, other times depressed, fascinated about the arts, happy and sad, sometimes encouraged, but always looking forward for better days.

The extent I now want is to blog ideas. Not just techniques. But iDeas. This is a quantum leap in terms of epistemology. [For those who may not know this big word, it's only a hi-fuh for "why we think the way we think?"] I plan to elaborate more on this later. Perhaps, at the end of the day, all we are saying is "give peace a chance."

How to make your own vintage postcard

This appeared in my previous post at the LensBaby Studio Forum back in July. why on earth should I post this again? well y'know, my friend -- after several glasses of cheap wine, everything seems to make sense. So here goes -- How to make your own vintage postcard:

1. Go out on the street and take a picture of your fancy with your Lensbaby. This will be your main postcard image.

2. Take a picture of that concrete you are standing on. You will need this later on for texture.

3. Download the pictures on your PC or Mac. Open pictures in your Photo Editor (I still use the original version of Adobe Photoshop Elements because I refuse to upgrade – but that’s another story.)

4. Layer the two pictures together. Choose “Normal” for the image you wish to be the postcard. Choose “Overlay” for the image of the concrete. Play around with the slider until it starts to look like a texture. Make sure you’re happy with the result. Flatten the layers and save as either tiff or jpeg. This is now your postcard image composite.

5. Wait we’re not done. Scan an old photo with a border. It does not matter what it is as long as it has a border. Grandpa’s graduation photo that has been gathering dust and cobweb would make a good one. Download that old photo and open it in the same Photo Editor.

6. Resize this image so it’s a bit larger than the postcard image. All you need is the border.

7. Copy the composite postcard image that you just saved and paste it as a layer on the old photo. Re-align the image until it covers Grandpa’s face. Make sure you don’t cover the borders.

8. Flatten the image, save and you’re done. Print the image and send it to Grandpa. Tell him that his portrait is underneath the postcard :)
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[Canon 5d, LBC, f4]

My Latest Fave Shot

I took this one a few days using my modified fish-eye set up (mentioned in previous posts) after Rose's b-day. She had the Friday off because our Governator here in California decided it would be good for the Kuh-leef-or-nee-yahh vood-jet actung die ziegheil. Anyway, Rose and I tried out this japanese restaurant for the first time.

The image was texturized using an old negative I dug out from my mom's photo album. I think this really works, which make this picture my latest fave. Hope you enjoy.