q & a

Thursday, October 11, 2012














































my desk Tuesday afternoon while racing down the back stretch preparing for my Wed. Design Basics presentation (avec lovely handout) + nasturtiums & constant companion in her bed under my desk Missy Darn D ;-)

I love the smell of nasturtiums the stems & the blossoms

Thought  I'd begin a regular q & a post - any burning questions you'd love to ask of me, Oliver or any of les Gang ? Personal, art, design, creativity, photography, Nova Scotia related ?? Ask away in the comments ;-)

This question from from Norman (we've been friends forever & met while both at art collage - NSCAD)

a technical question- do you fiddle with the individual colour levels in photoshop? pump up one or more over others? not so much picking your brain as wondering if your previous experience hand-printing/developing colour photos skews your "colour thinking" one way or the other. I never printed colour myself - just b+w - but i know you could mess with individual colours to a certain extent. filters, weren't they? like the contrast filters for b+w? - n

I do fiddle with almost every photo, in Photoshop, before posting it but never with colour balance. I think I've trained my eye to seek out super vivid colour & light. That said I do almost always shift the "lightness" or "darkness" just a titch and I boost the contrast which does help make vibrant colours even more so. I sometimes remove a blemish on a flower, remove a cat hair (ya huh ?) or 2 or 3 or a neon for-sale sign on a lawn off in the distance of a landscape - I will remove the little things that end up looking like lint to the eye. I also do occasionally crop my images & sometimes drastically. But overall I am pretty much from that purist camp that the art & magic should happen with the shutter opening & closing. Hmmm do digital cameras even have shutters ? I know nothing about the technical aspects of photography - it's shameful and a tad embarrassing.

Presentation workshop teaser - I'll post about that fantastic experience tomorrow but let me leave you with these hints. An audience of 50+, a podium (shut Up !!) and a microphone .... I die ! (Rachel Zoe-ism) stay tuned s'il vous plait.


6 comments:

  1. Love the Q+A idea! Here is one: I notice your desk does not have a Wacom tablet, do you do everything with a mouse? tail wags ~moose
    enjoy that podium!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did you have your campaign? "Own the podium" I hope you got gold!

    ReplyDelete
  3. thanks for the thorough/thoughtful response. "Levels" (Command-L) is my default adjustment in p'shop - handles contrast, brightness & a host of others all w. one slider & a drop-down menu.
    can't wait to hear the deets of your workshop! glad you had fun. i can sense your confidence, interest and determination growing by leaps/bounds with each of these presentations you take on - you go, girl! xo n

    ReplyDelete
  4. can't wait to read about it! I am going to pick some of my nasturtiums. Gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm jealous, some little teeny black bugs devoured my nasturtiums. Are yours really still blooming?

    Of course your presentation went well ... WE never doubted it girl.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful images dear Susan, especially the nasturtiums...I love the fragrance of the flowers and foliage and also those of marigolds.
    xoxoxo ♡

    ReplyDelete

Hey ! We LOVE comments here at 29 Black Street.
Thanks for stopping by.