Saturday, April 1, 2017

Trials and Tribulations, and New Work on the Way


I have several pieces that have been laying around my studio that haven't been shared due to the fact that I didn't have a decent, fully functional camera. After much research and thought, I finally bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. It was more than I really wanted to spend, but I needed something that would take excellent artwork photos, and a DSLR costs that much just for the body; then, in addition, you have to buy various expensive lenses for different purposes. Another point against a DSLR is that I realized that I didn't want to be bothered with lugging around a bunch of lenses, which I would have to be changing all the time, so a high-end fixed-lens camera seemed like the perfect choice.

So now, if the weather cooperates, I will be able to photograph those pieces, along with everything that needs to be re-photographed because I originally used my cell phone, and the photos are seriously lacking in quality. Especially since I'm going to be building a new website, I want the image quality to be as high as it can. I don't really want to upload my current photos, and then have to go back and replace them.

But now I have a new problem; setting up the new camera is somewhat (read: a lot) daunting. I'm afraid it's going to take a while. It has so many features, I'm not even sure what some of them mean! So in the meantime, I'll have to keep using my phone, unless they are flat and can fit on my scanner. Sheesh!




Anyway, I'm finally taking time from my technical studies to make some art! Here are a few sneak peaks of what's happening in the studio. Taken, of course, with my cellphone.



Materials used: vintage book cover, vintage maps, antique engineering drawing, monotype, book pages.  This one has a ways to go, but so far I'm satisfied with it.



I hope you are all having a great weekend, and making some art! Namaste, my friends.






6 comments:

  1. I ended up buying a Canon point and shoot because just even that took a bit to get used to. If I need really high end photos, there's a guy in town who charges $30 a photo. So, expensive if I've got a few to do, but I find I can get by for a lot of things with my own photos. Good luck with that... such a pain! Work looks good as its growing.

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    1. Valerianna, I had a Canon point and shoot myself, but after several years, it acquired some problems that make it difficult to use (like the screen doesn't work, so I can't tell if the artwork is really parallel to the camera, and I can't delete photos, and it won't connect with my computer. I think I will eventually figure it out, but it may take a while. Thanks for the good words about my work!

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  2. 8 years ago I bought a fancy fixed lens Fujifilm EXR that reckoned it could do just about everything but after much trial & error the best results (for me) are just using the auto function with the macro on for closeups & suppressing the flash & taking lots of photos in search of that one good one that works. Old Man Crow often takes better shots with his iPhone! love the new beginnings and look forward to seeing the new website

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    1. I think this camera will take really good photos - it has a one-inch sensor - but it's going to take me a while to learn about the features and settings. I don't have an iphone, and my phone photos tend to be out of focus, not really sure why. It takes terrible pictures in low light. I refuse to give up though; I'm just too stubborn!

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  3. The great learning curve. Best of luck with the new website and this piece is looking wonderful!

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    1. Thanks, Mary Ann! Sometimes I wonder if the learning curve is too steep for me, but I'm trying!

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