Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
New Mission Inn Photo Gallery
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....
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....
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 :-)
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