I just reformatted my photo gallery presentation for Mission Inn and wanted to point it out. The newest items from our 2008 stay at the Mission Inn are mostly on page 2 of the gallery. The new rotunda and pergola shots were well received at the CBU Gala this year and silent auction for school scholarships. Everything in the galleries can be ordered from me--even if you don't see it in my store. I retired about 5 works this year have not included those (in case you don't find one you saw earlier.)
You can see the new gallery at this link: http://www.rltphotoartist.com/AdobeFlashMissionInn
I would very much like to thank the growing number of friends that follow my work. It is tremendously gratifying to create art that hangs in their own homes.
My best to all,
Renee
http://www.rltphotoartist.com/ Thanks for stopping by....
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Website Publishing
It's been a while since I have shopped for WYSIWYG website publishing software. Back in the olden days--I used FrontPage and Adobe Pagemaker....then Dreamweaver (I own a very ancient copy).
I bought a new copy of Microsoft Office Publisher and thought it would be just great because it lets you just plop anything anywhere. It gets tricky when you publish because things are "taken care of" on the ftp side of things.
Additionally, if you make any changes and go back through their interface and publishing "magic", you end up with a bunch of new names for your pages and the graphics on your pages and a folder/organization system that is more complicated than necessary. In fact, you spend a lot of time trying to figure out where files were uploaded by the helpful wizard.
I am looking for a program that lets you plop down graphics anywhere without worrying about tables and columns but still lets you work in source code anytime you wish. After that, I would like to arrange the files and use the FTP program of my choice to upload files my way. I have used CuteFTP for years and I like uploading my own files directly to the server without any user interface rigamarole.
Any ideas out there?
Thanks in advance,
Renee L. Theuer
www.rltphotoartist.com
I bought a new copy of Microsoft Office Publisher and thought it would be just great because it lets you just plop anything anywhere. It gets tricky when you publish because things are "taken care of" on the ftp side of things.
Additionally, if you make any changes and go back through their interface and publishing "magic", you end up with a bunch of new names for your pages and the graphics on your pages and a folder/organization system that is more complicated than necessary. In fact, you spend a lot of time trying to figure out where files were uploaded by the helpful wizard.
I am looking for a program that lets you plop down graphics anywhere without worrying about tables and columns but still lets you work in source code anytime you wish. After that, I would like to arrange the files and use the FTP program of my choice to upload files my way. I have used CuteFTP for years and I like uploading my own files directly to the server without any user interface rigamarole.
Any ideas out there?
Thanks in advance,
Renee L. Theuer
www.rltphotoartist.com
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Beading Enthusiasts Unite
I always have admired people who could make neckaces, earrings, and bracelets and I thought it was just too hard to learn how to make beautiful things. But, we were planning to go to the Tucson Gem and Mineral show again this year and I wanted to learn how so I could buy some beautiful semi precious gem beads. My goal was to make some pretty things right in the hotel room in Tucson after each night of the show because I am into instant gratification! Aren't we all?
So, I bought a kit which featured a booklet called "Jewelry Making for Dummies." In just a few hours, I learned how to make some snazzy things with the plastic beads and base metal "findings" (pieces you need to finish jewelry such as beading wire, clasps, earring wires and hooks).
What a hoot! Now I am totally hooked and have found a couple of great companies to order beads from. I really like http://www.artbeads.com/ because the postage is included in the price and there is no minimum. Another great company is http://www.limabeads.com/. They have nice gemstone beads that are color coordinated into very attractive groups. Beadaholique http://www.beadaholique.com/ is also great. You can "feed your need to bead" there. Great findings and easy to find items on their site or at http://www.amazon.com/ including the tools you will need like cutters, pliers and special gizmos that turn a crimping tube into a bead. What a country!
The kit is available at Joann's or http://www.joann.com/. Trust me, this is something you can teach yourself. After that, all you need to do is find money to spend and friends to give your jewelry creations to. The former is harder than the latter.
ENJOY!
So, I bought a kit which featured a booklet called "Jewelry Making for Dummies." In just a few hours, I learned how to make some snazzy things with the plastic beads and base metal "findings" (pieces you need to finish jewelry such as beading wire, clasps, earring wires and hooks).
What a hoot! Now I am totally hooked and have found a couple of great companies to order beads from. I really like http://www.artbeads.com/ because the postage is included in the price and there is no minimum. Another great company is http://www.limabeads.com/. They have nice gemstone beads that are color coordinated into very attractive groups. Beadaholique http://www.beadaholique.com/ is also great. You can "feed your need to bead" there. Great findings and easy to find items on their site or at http://www.amazon.com/ including the tools you will need like cutters, pliers and special gizmos that turn a crimping tube into a bead. What a country!
The kit is available at Joann's or http://www.joann.com/. Trust me, this is something you can teach yourself. After that, all you need to do is find money to spend and friends to give your jewelry creations to. The former is harder than the latter.
ENJOY!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Digital Photography for Kids
I remember the first time my dad showed me a print developing in a photo tray. It was magic and it changed how I viewed the world. 5 years ago, I handed my then best digital camera to a very smart little 4 year old. She took some pictures of my cats and a portrait of my husband and I that I just love.
There are a lot of cameras out there that will stimulate their interest from very young ages all the way to adult. Let them take pictures of whatever they want because they are using digital--not film. Buy them a bigger memory card than the one that comes with their camera (a 1 gig SD card can be had for around 15.00 these days) and let them have some fun observing their world. Make sure that you back up their pictures (see my previous blog about this)http://rltphotoartist.blogspot.com/2008/06/going-going-gone.html With a small card they have to erase lots of pictures so they have room for more. If you buy them the biggest card, the will literally have hundreds of pictures--thousands on many of the types out there. I just know there is a young Ansel Adams out there that needs to see what he or she took along the way.
Just a thought for those of you who have young photographers blooming out there. It is one of the least expensive hobbies there is once you set them up with some inexpensive equipment or even a camera phone. Even those hundreds of pictures that teenagers take of themselves at arm's length are documenting an important part of their lives. It's a wonderful way for them to discover and begin to study the beauty in the world around them. Go to www.bestbuy.com for a start.
Please visit my site for more examples of my work. Thanks for reading my blog and a shout out to all the young photographers out there in cyberspace.
www.rltphotoartist.com
Renee :-)
There are a lot of cameras out there that will stimulate their interest from very young ages all the way to adult. Let them take pictures of whatever they want because they are using digital--not film. Buy them a bigger memory card than the one that comes with their camera (a 1 gig SD card can be had for around 15.00 these days) and let them have some fun observing their world. Make sure that you back up their pictures (see my previous blog about this)http://rltphotoartist.blogspot.com/2008/06/going-going-gone.html With a small card they have to erase lots of pictures so they have room for more. If you buy them the biggest card, the will literally have hundreds of pictures--thousands on many of the types out there. I just know there is a young Ansel Adams out there that needs to see what he or she took along the way.
Just a thought for those of you who have young photographers blooming out there. It is one of the least expensive hobbies there is once you set them up with some inexpensive equipment or even a camera phone. Even those hundreds of pictures that teenagers take of themselves at arm's length are documenting an important part of their lives. It's a wonderful way for them to discover and begin to study the beauty in the world around them. Go to www.bestbuy.com for a start.
Please visit my site for more examples of my work. Thanks for reading my blog and a shout out to all the young photographers out there in cyberspace.
www.rltphotoartist.com
Renee :-)
Friday, June 6, 2008
Please think before you declaw your cat
Declawing a cat is not like a toenail trim. It is amputation of the toe bone near the claw and it seems to be an "American thing."
Click here for more info: http://declawing.com/htmls/outlawed.htm
I have had many cats and always nice furniture at the same time. If you spend time scolding the cat by saying no when the cat begins to scratch, you can train him or her not to do it. Cats hate to be told 'No'. If you add hitting a bit of newspaper against your own hand, this reinforces the no. Never hit a cat or spray a cat with water. They want to please you and hearing your displeasure stated firmly will do the trick.
If you train them consistently and patiently, they will learn to act properly in your home. When we get a new cat or kitten in the family, I leave them in a room without furniture when I go out, such as a bathroom or laundry room, so they can't get themselves into trouble while I am gone. I train them to use the scratcher boxes you can get at Target that they can stand on and scratch or give them scratching posts made out of rope or carpeting. I rub catnip liberally on the items that I want them to scratch and praise them for scratching these.
Each cat is different. Some are extremely easy to train and then some are just downright stubborn. Whatever the case, you will be doing your cat a tremendous favor by not amputating his claws.
Cats are very intelligent and loving creatures. I never thought they were until my husband and I got our first cat--a Siamese mix named Maia that taught me everything I know and love about cats. Please take a moment to explore these links before making up your mind to do this. They can't speak up for themselves so those of us who oppose this inhumane practice must. And if you still decide you are going to do it after educating yourself, you must never let the cat outside again as it will not be able to defend itself. As a responsible cat owner, you are responsible for keeping your declawed, defenseless cat safe indoors.
http://www.declawing.com/
Click here for more info: http://declawing.com/htmls/outlawed.htm
I have had many cats and always nice furniture at the same time. If you spend time scolding the cat by saying no when the cat begins to scratch, you can train him or her not to do it. Cats hate to be told 'No'. If you add hitting a bit of newspaper against your own hand, this reinforces the no. Never hit a cat or spray a cat with water. They want to please you and hearing your displeasure stated firmly will do the trick.
If you train them consistently and patiently, they will learn to act properly in your home. When we get a new cat or kitten in the family, I leave them in a room without furniture when I go out, such as a bathroom or laundry room, so they can't get themselves into trouble while I am gone. I train them to use the scratcher boxes you can get at Target that they can stand on and scratch or give them scratching posts made out of rope or carpeting. I rub catnip liberally on the items that I want them to scratch and praise them for scratching these.
Each cat is different. Some are extremely easy to train and then some are just downright stubborn. Whatever the case, you will be doing your cat a tremendous favor by not amputating his claws.
Cats are very intelligent and loving creatures. I never thought they were until my husband and I got our first cat--a Siamese mix named Maia that taught me everything I know and love about cats. Please take a moment to explore these links before making up your mind to do this. They can't speak up for themselves so those of us who oppose this inhumane practice must. And if you still decide you are going to do it after educating yourself, you must never let the cat outside again as it will not be able to defend itself. As a responsible cat owner, you are responsible for keeping your declawed, defenseless cat safe indoors.
http://www.declawing.com/
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Working in the RAW digital format
It is bound to happen. You start printing larger and larger pictures and that dreaded pixelation becomes more and more of a problem. So, you start looking at the RAW format to get higher resolution images that won't lose their mojo when you print them. You tell your camera to shoot in that format and then you can't see them when you download the pictures.
Adobe has a plugin just for this and when you download it into the right directory, you are good to go. If you have CS3 you probably already have it. I needed something upfront for sorting out the many duplicates that I take but I had to have a browser format with a larger viewer. I searched the internet and downloaded a trial version of BreezeBrowser Pro from Breeze systems. I worked it hard during the trial period and was happy enough to purchase the full program at $69.00. http://www.breezesys.com/BreezeBrowser/index.htm
What I like about it is that you can work with the huge files, see them very clearly in a large browser window and put a check mark on the ones that you want to send to another file for producing slideshows and albums. It is very user friendly and I agree that this is the program that should have come with the camera. (The Canon OEM software is a real disappointment in my opinion and I tried very hard to make it work for too long.) Once you have reviewed and culled your pictures down, you can see them in Photoshop and do your magic there.
You can see if it is right for you with your free trial. Also I have included a link below that has more detail on several others besides BreezeBrowser Pro. I have paid more and gotten a lot less in software. It is nice when you get something that works well and makes like simpler if you end up with hundreds of files like I do.
Just make sure that your particular camera is supported and that the program works with all other programs you are using. The website does a good job of running down the features--I just know that it works for me and may be what you are looking for too.
Thanks for reading my blog. If you like digital photography and large format printing, please subscribe to my blog. (There is a widget on the upper left of my first page of the blog.) With this particular type of photography, the best information is the most current information. I have lots of books but magazines and the internet are extremely valuable for keeping up with the latest solutions.
For more information on my work, please visit my website ww.rltphotoartist.com
Also, this excellent article that will give you more background on the RAW format and some more programs to choose from. Hope this helps get you started in finding the right solution for you.
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/why_use_raw.html
Renee :-)
Adobe has a plugin just for this and when you download it into the right directory, you are good to go. If you have CS3 you probably already have it. I needed something upfront for sorting out the many duplicates that I take but I had to have a browser format with a larger viewer. I searched the internet and downloaded a trial version of BreezeBrowser Pro from Breeze systems. I worked it hard during the trial period and was happy enough to purchase the full program at $69.00. http://www.breezesys.com/BreezeBrowser/index.htm
What I like about it is that you can work with the huge files, see them very clearly in a large browser window and put a check mark on the ones that you want to send to another file for producing slideshows and albums. It is very user friendly and I agree that this is the program that should have come with the camera. (The Canon OEM software is a real disappointment in my opinion and I tried very hard to make it work for too long.) Once you have reviewed and culled your pictures down, you can see them in Photoshop and do your magic there.
You can see if it is right for you with your free trial. Also I have included a link below that has more detail on several others besides BreezeBrowser Pro. I have paid more and gotten a lot less in software. It is nice when you get something that works well and makes like simpler if you end up with hundreds of files like I do.
Just make sure that your particular camera is supported and that the program works with all other programs you are using. The website does a good job of running down the features--I just know that it works for me and may be what you are looking for too.
Thanks for reading my blog. If you like digital photography and large format printing, please subscribe to my blog. (There is a widget on the upper left of my first page of the blog.) With this particular type of photography, the best information is the most current information. I have lots of books but magazines and the internet are extremely valuable for keeping up with the latest solutions.
For more information on my work, please visit my website ww.rltphotoartist.com
Also, this excellent article that will give you more background on the RAW format and some more programs to choose from. Hope this helps get you started in finding the right solution for you.
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/why_use_raw.html
Renee :-)
Working with RAW digital images
One of the great things about shooting in digital is being able to see if you captured your priceless images--not having to wait a week or two for them to come back from processing. The other great thing is you have the choice with the higher end digitals to shoot in the RAW format--which allows you to produce sharp prints when you enlarge pictures to 24 x 36 or more.
You can find the definitions and full descriptions about RAW on the internet or on your camera's website. This blog will talk about working with large files and being able to "see" them in your photo program. Adobe has a great plugin on their website if you are using CS2 or earlier. It works just fine once you download it into the directory that holds all the plugins.
But I needed a browser that was easy to use and would show a preview that was big enough to really scrutinize the picture. When you are working with 8gig cards you end up with hundreds of pictures in RAW and they can routinely be upwards of 30 mb each when you shoot in this format. I have a nice computer but it is 4 years old and even with dual processing, it is not fast enough a lot of the time when I am working with such large files. I went out on the internet and found a couple of nice programs--one of which I will talk about now.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Going Going Gone
I just finished a blog about Carbonite and how great it works. That got me thinking about the restoration work I do (click here http://rltphotoartist.com/index_restorestuff.htm) and then about picture and movie preservation in the future--say the next 25-50 years.
People start looking for their baby pictures in their late 30's and early 40's. Right now, many of those pictures are stained and discolored black and whites or faded color pictures and slides. I can bring back most of that with my restoration work.
However, I think about these same people and what they are doing about preserving the pictures of their own kids right now. So many of my friends have digital cameras and keep all of their pictures of their children in their computer. In the 50's and onward, our parents didn't have any choice but to save fairly archival quality pictures and slides and movies on good paper and film. There is some fading, but usually there is enough for restorers to work with to produce a decent result.
What I am afraid of is what will be left for the babies and kids today if parents take pictures only with their digital cameras and don't back up those masterpieces to cd or quality prints using name brand inks and quality paper. Everyone is busy taking care of their kids--running them to day care, soccer, music lessons and all that. This is just not a priority for some people.
Furthermore, just think of the changes we have been through with computers and storage already (5.25 and 3.5 inch floppies, computers and laptops that die with pictures of the family on them and no way to retrieve the pictures, VHS tapes that fade away to nothing.) Data recovery on an average consumer hard disk drive is still hard to come by and the price is pretty steep in my opinion--unless you are the FBI. This next generation of kids won't have a faded photograph or slide to take to someone like me to be restored. They may not have anything at all to remember their childhood with if their parents don't take the time to back up their data on some type of backup besides the faithful family computer with an average life span of about 5 years.
It seems like my parents took a lot of pictures of my brother and me. But there are precious few left after numerous moves in an Air Force family. I treasure the ones I have and I am grateful to have them. But, my parents never thought about preservation and how important these pictures would be to us some day. This may be the last time you think about this for the precious few years that your children are adorable little ones. Make a decision to do something to preserve their pictures for them--whether it is a cd backup in your safe deposit box, a cd backup at a friend's house and one at your house or offsite digital storage of some type. It can be as easy as uploading your pictures to Target (http://www.target.com/) , Kodak (http://targetphoto.kodakgallery.com/Welcome.jsp) or Shutterfly (http://targetphoto.shutterfly.com/) and having them make the cd and pictures for you. Whether you have it done by me or someone else, time moves on and the next generation truly deserves to have those adorable pictures of them in embarrasing poses.
Who knew that one of the few best ones I have left is of me at 2 years old picking my nose? Thanks, Dad!
come visit my website at http://www.rltphotoartist.com/
http://www.carbonite.com/ backup storage for the lazy but well meaning type.
People start looking for their baby pictures in their late 30's and early 40's. Right now, many of those pictures are stained and discolored black and whites or faded color pictures and slides. I can bring back most of that with my restoration work.
However, I think about these same people and what they are doing about preserving the pictures of their own kids right now. So many of my friends have digital cameras and keep all of their pictures of their children in their computer. In the 50's and onward, our parents didn't have any choice but to save fairly archival quality pictures and slides and movies on good paper and film. There is some fading, but usually there is enough for restorers to work with to produce a decent result.
What I am afraid of is what will be left for the babies and kids today if parents take pictures only with their digital cameras and don't back up those masterpieces to cd or quality prints using name brand inks and quality paper. Everyone is busy taking care of their kids--running them to day care, soccer, music lessons and all that. This is just not a priority for some people.
Furthermore, just think of the changes we have been through with computers and storage already (5.25 and 3.5 inch floppies, computers and laptops that die with pictures of the family on them and no way to retrieve the pictures, VHS tapes that fade away to nothing.) Data recovery on an average consumer hard disk drive is still hard to come by and the price is pretty steep in my opinion--unless you are the FBI. This next generation of kids won't have a faded photograph or slide to take to someone like me to be restored. They may not have anything at all to remember their childhood with if their parents don't take the time to back up their data on some type of backup besides the faithful family computer with an average life span of about 5 years.
It seems like my parents took a lot of pictures of my brother and me. But there are precious few left after numerous moves in an Air Force family. I treasure the ones I have and I am grateful to have them. But, my parents never thought about preservation and how important these pictures would be to us some day. This may be the last time you think about this for the precious few years that your children are adorable little ones. Make a decision to do something to preserve their pictures for them--whether it is a cd backup in your safe deposit box, a cd backup at a friend's house and one at your house or offsite digital storage of some type. It can be as easy as uploading your pictures to Target (http://www.target.com/) , Kodak (http://targetphoto.kodakgallery.com/Welcome.jsp) or Shutterfly (http://targetphoto.shutterfly.com/) and having them make the cd and pictures for you. Whether you have it done by me or someone else, time moves on and the next generation truly deserves to have those adorable pictures of them in embarrasing poses.
Who knew that one of the few best ones I have left is of me at 2 years old picking my nose? Thanks, Dad!
come visit my website at http://www.rltphotoartist.com/
http://www.carbonite.com/ backup storage for the lazy but well meaning type.
Graduation Day
I can remember attending what I am calling my "last graduation ceremony" like an alcoholic remembers his last drink. My niece was gorgeous, I was so proud of her when she walked up to the platform and received her degree. I got a wonderful picture. She has a very successful career, a terrific husband and we love them both!
But something about the insanely boring speaker and so many thoughtless and immature graduates around her throwing tortillas and stuff throughout the entire ceremony just leaves me limp and lifeless when someone invites me to another one. I have managed to survive a great number of days without attending a graduation and still have most of my friends.
So, in honor of graduation this year, I would like to send you to a link of a really terrific graduation address from Conan O'Brien in 2000 to the Harvard Graduating class--his alma mater, by the way. I don't think they were throwing stuff yet in 2000 so I imagine it was a lot of fun for everyone there.
http://www.february-7.com/features/conan.htm
Thanks in advance for reading my blog. If you come back this way again, please visit my website at: http://www.rltphotoartist.com
But something about the insanely boring speaker and so many thoughtless and immature graduates around her throwing tortillas and stuff throughout the entire ceremony just leaves me limp and lifeless when someone invites me to another one. I have managed to survive a great number of days without attending a graduation and still have most of my friends.
So, in honor of graduation this year, I would like to send you to a link of a really terrific graduation address from Conan O'Brien in 2000 to the Harvard Graduating class--his alma mater, by the way. I don't think they were throwing stuff yet in 2000 so I imagine it was a lot of fun for everyone there.
http://www.february-7.com/features/conan.htm
Thanks in advance for reading my blog. If you come back this way again, please visit my website at: http://www.rltphotoartist.com
What is a Mobile Photography Studio?
I have portable professional studio lights that travel with me on short notice. I bring my camera and set up a studio in your home or business and use my own backdrop or a favorite place in your home. Setting up a studio in a familiar environment results in beautiful, relaxed pose portraits that bring out the best in a subject.
Next, I take a minimum of 25 shots from our sitting and create an Individual Portrait Slideshow view on your own television screen. This unique DVD is yours to keep whether or not you order prints from me. Additional DVD Copies are only $10.00 each.
The fee is only $75.00 for me to bring my studio into your home and to guarantee 25 poses on a High Quality DVD Slideshow to conveniently enjoy on your own TV.
If you wish for me to print some of the pictures on portrait paper, you pay only for the poses you choose. I'll mat them and frame them for you or you can take the finished pictures anywhere else for matting and framing. Prices for additional services here... http://rltphotoartist.com/index_mobilestudio.htm
At this price, I will travel up to 25 miles. If you a slightly further away, give me a call and let's chat. Or, you can email me at webgoddess@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading my blog.
http://www.rltphotoartist.com/
Next, I take a minimum of 25 shots from our sitting and create an Individual Portrait Slideshow view on your own television screen. This unique DVD is yours to keep whether or not you order prints from me. Additional DVD Copies are only $10.00 each.
The fee is only $75.00 for me to bring my studio into your home and to guarantee 25 poses on a High Quality DVD Slideshow to conveniently enjoy on your own TV.
If you wish for me to print some of the pictures on portrait paper, you pay only for the poses you choose. I'll mat them and frame them for you or you can take the finished pictures anywhere else for matting and framing. Prices for additional services here... http://rltphotoartist.com/index_mobilestudio.htm
At this price, I will travel up to 25 miles. If you a slightly further away, give me a call and let's chat. Or, you can email me at webgoddess@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading my blog.
http://www.rltphotoartist.com/
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Adding and Editing Music to use in your slideshows.
I love making slideshows of my pictures and adding music. It is really easy to do in Easy Media Creator from Roxio--again, they do not answer emails if you get a bad disk or have trouble with your downloads so caveat emptor.
It is also easy to make excellent slide shows with a program called Microsoft Plus Photo Story. You can find it at this link if you would like to chek it out. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspxI started with this program and only moved to Roxio when I could only put one song on each slideshow. That keeps you pretty limited to about 50 slides and 4 seconds each. Moves along pretty quickly but good to work with just the same. This is a great program for those cat pictures and trip to Lake Mead to feed the carp.
You can even make a slideshow with the Cyberlink Power Director that I talked about in the previous blog. All of these programs have annoying quirks that you discover in working with them. Especially if you are trying to use the Apple iPod version of songs...M4P or Mp4 or whatever. You can easily convert songs to Mp3's and things get a lot easier when you are working with Photo Story, Roxio or Cyberlink programs. These programs have a tendency to just ignore songs in iTunes--they play dumb until you show them an Mp3 file. (Apple is a real pain in the a**--deciding which iPod can play what on which computer--what can synch and what can't...the whole proprietary "this is OUR software that you are using to play on Our iPod using Our iTunes and you will do what we say you can do and when. By the way, you have to update iTunes today or you just won't be able to play your songs until you do.) I do love my iPod even though their iTunes software does not play well with others. For more, see item #10 in this article from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130994-c,macs/article.html
For those advanced users that want to have a little more freedom with their music (shortening songs for the menu of a dvd, adding a few ditties together as one song or having the music fade in and fade out, do buy the piece of Roxio software called "Sound Edit". I have never had a problem with this little gem of a program. I just used it last night to clean up narration that I had recorded on a slideshow of my trip to South America using Cyberlink Power Director. I had clicks and noise from the microphone I used. By the time I finished working with the narration file, I sounded like a pro...well, I sounded better and clearer and louder on the narration. So, it worked for me. Give it a try. That is one Roxio program that I bought with version 8 and it has been great.
Check it out at http://www.roxio.com/
Also, check out art for sale at http://www.rltphotoartist.com/
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Renee :-)
It is also easy to make excellent slide shows with a program called Microsoft Plus Photo Story. You can find it at this link if you would like to chek it out. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspxI started with this program and only moved to Roxio when I could only put one song on each slideshow. That keeps you pretty limited to about 50 slides and 4 seconds each. Moves along pretty quickly but good to work with just the same. This is a great program for those cat pictures and trip to Lake Mead to feed the carp.
You can even make a slideshow with the Cyberlink Power Director that I talked about in the previous blog. All of these programs have annoying quirks that you discover in working with them. Especially if you are trying to use the Apple iPod version of songs...M4P or Mp4 or whatever. You can easily convert songs to Mp3's and things get a lot easier when you are working with Photo Story, Roxio or Cyberlink programs. These programs have a tendency to just ignore songs in iTunes--they play dumb until you show them an Mp3 file. (Apple is a real pain in the a**--deciding which iPod can play what on which computer--what can synch and what can't...the whole proprietary "this is OUR software that you are using to play on Our iPod using Our iTunes and you will do what we say you can do and when. By the way, you have to update iTunes today or you just won't be able to play your songs until you do.) I do love my iPod even though their iTunes software does not play well with others. For more, see item #10 in this article from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130994-c,macs/article.html
For those advanced users that want to have a little more freedom with their music (shortening songs for the menu of a dvd, adding a few ditties together as one song or having the music fade in and fade out, do buy the piece of Roxio software called "Sound Edit". I have never had a problem with this little gem of a program. I just used it last night to clean up narration that I had recorded on a slideshow of my trip to South America using Cyberlink Power Director. I had clicks and noise from the microphone I used. By the time I finished working with the narration file, I sounded like a pro...well, I sounded better and clearer and louder on the narration. So, it worked for me. Give it a try. That is one Roxio program that I bought with version 8 and it has been great.
Check it out at http://www.roxio.com/
Also, check out art for sale at http://www.rltphotoartist.com/
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Renee :-)
Converting Digital Video Movies to DVD
There are a lot of really nicely packaged software suites out there in the affordable range ($59.00-$120.00) that promise to make it easy to take your home movies from your camera to a nice dvd that you can share with your friends.
However, all of the software programs that I have tried over the past few years have always assumed that you already understand a lot that maybe you don't.
I spent literally weeks one summer learning how to convert my own old camcorder vhs tapes to DVR dvd's. They worked just great in the DVR player that I had used to make the conversion from analog tapes to digital. Then, the real frustration began. I could not get the dvd's to work in any of my players at home. I tried every dvd player and kept getting error messages. Obviously, I did not get it.
What was the problem? I started madly searching for products that would solve the mystery of being able to make a simple, readable DVD that I could send to friends. I bought a VSO product http://www.vso-software.fr/ called Copy to DVD and discovered there are Audio_TS and Video_TS (Title Set) elements (files that are VOB/IFO type files). I saw these files when I put the DVR dvd into the computer but it still didn't make any sense. I finally figured out that the video_TS files are the big deal and they need to be double clicked over to the other side so the dvd can be created. Take a look at Copy to DVD for a trial copy. I had looked all over the internet to try to find how this works with no luck.
Then, I started to get bolder. I had a new Everio digital camcorder and I wanted to make copies of my videos for friends. The directions from JVC made absolutely no sense to me--you had to make little files on your desktop and blah blah blah. The tech people helped me but I lost everything the first time I had to restore my computer.
I figured out that if you right click on the start button on the lower left of Explorer (Microsoft) go to "explore" and then find the hard drive of your camera (make sure it is on). It is the one that says HDD. The Camera comes with a basic editor from Cyberlink called PowerDirector Express. http://cyberlink.com.tw/ It took me a very long time to edit each video because this program crashed constantly until I learned that you edit each clip and then add it to the timeline. I was putting all the clips on the timeline and then editing into the middle of the timeline. They don't tell you that, but I finally discovered it. I also learned the value of constantly saving a project.
So now, I thought I was pretty darned smart. I had learned about the files that make up a dvd and that you could edit on a timeline and create a .wmv file. It will play on the Windows Media Player (http://mediaplayer.d0wnloadz.net/) and it could be made into a cd or vcd that promises to confuse the heck out of your friends--trust me on this. That still wasn't giving me what I wanted. Then I figured out that you need to convert (render) the .wmv file into an .mpg or aka mpeg. You do this in the software. But you aren't through yet! You have a nice mpeg file but now you need to get it on a dvd in a format that your friends will appreciate. Believe me, they get really tired of you saying, well, how old is your dvd player?...or are you playing it in your computer and does your computer have a dvd player software installed in it? Uh...that leaves most people thinking that maybe they are really too busy to play your lousy cd of your cats and vacation to Lake Mead to feed the carp.
Now, this step separates the men from the boys....you have learned how to edit a dvd in Microsoft's movie making software http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx that comes with your computer or with the movie making software that comes with your digital camcorder. You have a nice movie now and what comes next?
Enter Roxio's My DVD Creative Suite--you can find it on the internet or at Costco. Be advised that they are not available to help and they won't even respond to emails if you have a problem with your disk so caveat emptor. However, they have a program that allows you to take your .wmv file and convert it to something a dvd player can read along with a nice set of menus. (A menu is that part that shows when you first put it in the player--it allows you to move up and down to select a movie or chapter.) Gotta make sure everyone is following along with me...
One really helpful thing to know that took me a while to find out is that you can make a dvd without a starting menu. The friend puts it into their player and it starts right up. This is perfect for your parents or people in a hurry like my husband and I.
I have spent a fair amount of time with Roxio's Easy Media Creator 8, 9 and now 10 version and they PROMISED all kinds of things that the new version would do that the old version wouldn't....but as soon as you fall for the upgrade scheme, you learn that you need to upgrade again for that little part of the software that is just critical for that cool thing you wanted to do all along...you know what I mean if you have ever bought anything from them. Every time you load up the program, a little box in the middle tells you the latest upgrade and how if you bought this one more thing, you would be so cool. Don't fall for it like I did. They tease you into thinking that you can make BluRay discs...then you find out that you didn't understand and now you need to buy something else.
Now, I have begun to work with the upgraded Cyberlink Power Director (from the Express version mentioned above). http://cyberlink.com.tw/ You still need to know about converting .wmv files to other formats....however, they explain each of the types of formats such as avi, mpeg1 and mpeg 2 and so on. You can edit a video or slideshow, render it to a dvd friendly format, and then create a menu or not.
After spending a summer popping DVD's in 6 different dvd players to see if they worked in all of them, I learned that all the work of editing the scenes, adding music, adding transitions and titles is useless if the silly thing won't play at your friend's house. The most important thing is that the DVD's must work in all brands and types of players--especially all the types that your friends have.
Hopefully, this will help someone just getting into the idea of taking a movie off their camcorder and making a dvd for posterity. The camera manufacturers have been working on hardware that puts all the video on a disk in one simple step. This is good if you don't care about the 30 minutes that you carried the camcorder around your neck shooting your feet. However, jump in there and give it a try.
If I can figure it out, you surely can.
PS...the URL for VSO is: http://www.vso-software.fr/
and the URL for Roxio is: http://www.roxio.com/
Thanks for reading my blog. Please visit my site at
http://www.rltphotoartist.com/ and check out the things that I do in my work.
However, all of the software programs that I have tried over the past few years have always assumed that you already understand a lot that maybe you don't.
I spent literally weeks one summer learning how to convert my own old camcorder vhs tapes to DVR dvd's. They worked just great in the DVR player that I had used to make the conversion from analog tapes to digital. Then, the real frustration began. I could not get the dvd's to work in any of my players at home. I tried every dvd player and kept getting error messages. Obviously, I did not get it.
What was the problem? I started madly searching for products that would solve the mystery of being able to make a simple, readable DVD that I could send to friends. I bought a VSO product http://www.vso-software.fr/ called Copy to DVD and discovered there are Audio_TS and Video_TS (Title Set) elements (files that are VOB/IFO type files). I saw these files when I put the DVR dvd into the computer but it still didn't make any sense. I finally figured out that the video_TS files are the big deal and they need to be double clicked over to the other side so the dvd can be created. Take a look at Copy to DVD for a trial copy. I had looked all over the internet to try to find how this works with no luck.
Then, I started to get bolder. I had a new Everio digital camcorder and I wanted to make copies of my videos for friends. The directions from JVC made absolutely no sense to me--you had to make little files on your desktop and blah blah blah. The tech people helped me but I lost everything the first time I had to restore my computer.
I figured out that if you right click on the start button on the lower left of Explorer (Microsoft) go to "explore" and then find the hard drive of your camera (make sure it is on). It is the one that says HDD. The Camera comes with a basic editor from Cyberlink called PowerDirector Express. http://cyberlink.com.tw/ It took me a very long time to edit each video because this program crashed constantly until I learned that you edit each clip and then add it to the timeline. I was putting all the clips on the timeline and then editing into the middle of the timeline. They don't tell you that, but I finally discovered it. I also learned the value of constantly saving a project.
So now, I thought I was pretty darned smart. I had learned about the files that make up a dvd and that you could edit on a timeline and create a .wmv file. It will play on the Windows Media Player (http://mediaplayer.d0wnloadz.net/) and it could be made into a cd or vcd that promises to confuse the heck out of your friends--trust me on this. That still wasn't giving me what I wanted. Then I figured out that you need to convert (render) the .wmv file into an .mpg or aka mpeg. You do this in the software. But you aren't through yet! You have a nice mpeg file but now you need to get it on a dvd in a format that your friends will appreciate. Believe me, they get really tired of you saying, well, how old is your dvd player?...or are you playing it in your computer and does your computer have a dvd player software installed in it? Uh...that leaves most people thinking that maybe they are really too busy to play your lousy cd of your cats and vacation to Lake Mead to feed the carp.
Now, this step separates the men from the boys....you have learned how to edit a dvd in Microsoft's movie making software http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx that comes with your computer or with the movie making software that comes with your digital camcorder. You have a nice movie now and what comes next?
Enter Roxio's My DVD Creative Suite--you can find it on the internet or at Costco. Be advised that they are not available to help and they won't even respond to emails if you have a problem with your disk so caveat emptor. However, they have a program that allows you to take your .wmv file and convert it to something a dvd player can read along with a nice set of menus. (A menu is that part that shows when you first put it in the player--it allows you to move up and down to select a movie or chapter.) Gotta make sure everyone is following along with me...
One really helpful thing to know that took me a while to find out is that you can make a dvd without a starting menu. The friend puts it into their player and it starts right up. This is perfect for your parents or people in a hurry like my husband and I.
I have spent a fair amount of time with Roxio's Easy Media Creator 8, 9 and now 10 version and they PROMISED all kinds of things that the new version would do that the old version wouldn't....but as soon as you fall for the upgrade scheme, you learn that you need to upgrade again for that little part of the software that is just critical for that cool thing you wanted to do all along...you know what I mean if you have ever bought anything from them. Every time you load up the program, a little box in the middle tells you the latest upgrade and how if you bought this one more thing, you would be so cool. Don't fall for it like I did. They tease you into thinking that you can make BluRay discs...then you find out that you didn't understand and now you need to buy something else.
Now, I have begun to work with the upgraded Cyberlink Power Director (from the Express version mentioned above). http://cyberlink.com.tw/ You still need to know about converting .wmv files to other formats....however, they explain each of the types of formats such as avi, mpeg1 and mpeg 2 and so on. You can edit a video or slideshow, render it to a dvd friendly format, and then create a menu or not.
After spending a summer popping DVD's in 6 different dvd players to see if they worked in all of them, I learned that all the work of editing the scenes, adding music, adding transitions and titles is useless if the silly thing won't play at your friend's house. The most important thing is that the DVD's must work in all brands and types of players--especially all the types that your friends have.
Hopefully, this will help someone just getting into the idea of taking a movie off their camcorder and making a dvd for posterity. The camera manufacturers have been working on hardware that puts all the video on a disk in one simple step. This is good if you don't care about the 30 minutes that you carried the camcorder around your neck shooting your feet. However, jump in there and give it a try.
If I can figure it out, you surely can.
PS...the URL for VSO is: http://www.vso-software.fr/
and the URL for Roxio is: http://www.roxio.com/
Thanks for reading my blog. Please visit my site at
http://www.rltphotoartist.com/ and check out the things that I do in my work.
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