# Framed! Cropped, processed and...



## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Six months ago I never would have thought I would be taking better photos, processing them, framing them, sticking my name to them and putting them in a photography forum.

You guys are 2cool. Thank you for your help and encouragement in all its many forms.

rosesm

Camelia










Hot Rod


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## MT Stringer (May 21, 2004)

Veery good. That hotrod looks great!
Mike


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Hot Rod & Flower*

Really like what you have done with the framing. Especially the car. Keep up the good work and keep posting.
SH


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## chicapesca (Jun 7, 2004)

Holy cow! Those are beautiful! I like the hotrod, but I really like the Camelia. Well done Karen!


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Wow! Hot Rod is HOT! The picture is super on its own. Adding Ray's frame makes it really better in many ways. Draws my eye focus right into the shot itself. Great job. Rich

p.s. I see you tried something really different with the "blur" or "soft focus" on the flower. Stretching some every day,...aren't you? Well done...RG


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

ROOMM ROOMMMM! Now that really grabs your attention. Nicely done Karen.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Karen, You ought to sell that Hot Rod shot to a Hot Rod or Auto Parts shop! My wife likes it too!

Rich


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## spotsndots (May 20, 2005)

Ditto what they said about that HOTROD...2cool


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

I'm glad you like them as much as I do. That camelia keeps drawing my eye, I think I'm going to have to print it off. lol

Rich, in Picasa, I used the 'Soft Focus' for the camelia, before I put it into photoshop and played with the frame. (edited to add: sounds like you know about it already lol ). It's an amazing feature and I will use it again and again (just forewaring you lol). (You might want to try that for the photo of your granddaughter with the carpet and wall lines that you put up before. Depending on where you manually put the focus, you might well be able to give a smudgy effect on those lines.  )

The frames are pretty basically based on Ray's tutorial, but I like tweaking things so instead of Gaussian Blur, I used one of the movement blurs and moved it further.  I liked the idea of movement relating to the hot rod.

My son took the original photo of the hot rod but it needed cropping as there were bright yellow and white coloured distractions and other vehicles and bikes around it, so I narrowed down the view and then fiddled with the framing (I was going to put both our names at the bottom but didn't for 2 reasons, one - privacy, two - too long and I think signatures are better to be something one needs to look for, rather than have it in-the-eye).


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2007)

*????*

I do not see a camelia. All I see are two identical shots of the hotrod. ??? (Nice wax job!)


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Computer/site/ether playing up? Refresh the page -JAW- or exit the site and come in again - mine does that sometimes too. Glad you like the waxing, it took me all week to get a polish on that thing. Okay, I'm kidding. You know I am.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

my car...


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## MsAddicted (Jan 25, 2005)

Koru, you've come a long way! Looking great


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Busy Lizzy (Impatient)










_(Can't get it as good as yours Captain Mike, but it's been great fun trying.)_


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

hmm I think I need to stretch my wings more and try out some different frames.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)




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## GoingCoastal (May 24, 2004)

Very Nicely done. seriously fine work K.

D.


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## Captain Mike (Nov 20, 2006)

Koru said:


> Busy Lizzy (Impatient)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Are you kidding....totally awesome...what beautiful colors...well done, and thanks for sharing...

~Captain Mike


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Guess my old mind can't adjust too fast.. I prefer the thinnest frame. The pictures in the others are fine. For my taste, too much frame. Rich


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Like 'em Karen. That car frame looks like frosted glass. Well done. 

Big frames don't bother me as long as image and frame don't clash with one another. I use to go to many photography exhibitions in my college days and most of the times the prints were mounted on large (mostly white colored) photo mats. Example, a 5x7 print mounted on a 16x20 photo mat. 

But today, the new trend now seems to be leaning toward thin shaped borders of broken, dis-jointed dark and scratchy looking lines mounted flush on photo mats. Guess that makes Rich a trend leader!


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

D, thank you. I'm glad you like them. 

Glad you like the busy lizzy pic Capt. Mike... I couldn't quite get the frame like the shadow box effect one you did. I guess sometimes we create something that can stand on its own when we're trying for a certain effect.

Rich, I understand what you mean. I think sometimes the extra colouring can be overpowering. Personally, I like the quirky aspect in the frame sizes... though sometimes I need to view the 'framed' photo as if it were a whole photo. That's given me an idea for something a little different. Thanks for that. 

Ray, I haven't given much thought to going to photograph exhibitions. How
silly of me... actually come to think of it there is a big local show next month where there is a photograph contest. I might go and see what it's like.  thanks for the idea.


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## drred4 (Aug 12, 2005)

I like both, but have an affinity for flames on vehicles.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Arrowtown:










The six foot high mark is just over the top of the roof, so they were tiny. This is a chinese dwelling that was used in the 1860s when gold mining was rife. The walls inside these houses were lined with newspapers, this particular one had a fiction story that obviously went from one week's paper to the next.

The original photo's shadows were fairly dark so I tried out the Contrast Mask and it worked a treat.

I thought I'd give the texture frames a go, just to see how they come out... this one wasn't too bad but there was a big difference in the black stroke thickness... It was easy to tell how thick was too much and too little. I tried to keep them noticable but relatively thin. Any thicker than they show here and the frame overpowered the photo. It was an interesting exercise.


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## MsAddicted (Jan 25, 2005)

What an interesting hut. I didnt see the story at first, just the pic and I was about to say you cant post a pic like that without the explanation!!! But you didn't  

Imagine living there. 

Too bad about the shadows, they are still quite deep must have been really distracting before you lightened them. Were you cropping out something on the right hand side of the photo or did it just not all fit in the frame? I am not sure about the textured frame...what about making it just a little wider and then making the texture coarser? It seems a little to fine grained but maybe thats just me.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

MsAddicted said:


> What an interesting hut. I didnt see the story at first, just the pic and I was about to say you cant post a pic like that without the explanation!!! But you didn't
> 
> Imagine living there.
> 
> Too bad about the shadows, they are still quite deep must have been really distracting before you lightened them. Were you cropping out something on the right hand side of the photo or did it just not all fit in the frame? I am not sure about the textured frame...what about making it just a little wider and then making the texture coarser? It seems a little to fine grained but maybe thats just me.


Unfortunately I took this before I came to this forum and learnt differently. hmm I do have some other photos of the same area. I'll hunt them out and see what I can do. 

There was a little river running not too far from the small Chinese settlement. We wandered over and along it as it was full of history - that's where they panned for the gold. The edges of the river were decorated in ice (the river was mostly in shade as the mountains around cut the light most of the day). I imagined those Chinese panners with their little bodies standing in the freezing mountain river with ice and snow all around, still determined to Get Rich. brrr Oh, and this little hut? It was a three roomed house. Just imagine living inside something so small? 'Worldly goods' would be fairly non-existent I would think.

Interesting you mention making the frame a little wider. I tried to coarsen the texture but it looked bad. I'll spend some more time fiddling (when I get a chance) and see what I can come up with. The textures I see on Photoshop seem to be very limiting. I haven't figured out yet if I can make my own.


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## MsAddicted (Jan 25, 2005)

Wow, a 3 room hut? Talk about living in close quarters. I hope they were very comfortable with each other. I wonder if they came to get rich or if they came to work for someone else? I wouldnt have thought that they came just for themselves but maybe. A life of hardship, impossible to even imagine really.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Got the frame _almost_ worked out (Rusty that was tricky for me to work out!) and fiddled with it a bit. 

There's _nothing_ like learning new things.


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## mastercylinder60 (Dec 18, 2005)

that's sweet, ms. sweet.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Very nice..Karen.....Getting private lessons now???? Good job. Rich


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## Dances With Fish (Jul 24, 2006)

I am very proud of you Karen.......
You have come along way in a short time...
AINT THAT RIGHT ADDY???? HAHAHAHAHA


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Glad you liked it mc... where's your photos? I'd love to see them. 

No Rich, not private lessons. I just spent some time this morning seeing if I could work out how to do the deceivingly simple frame that Rusty has used. I'm not going to tone it to the same colour - I came close to gettting it right but needed another layer I think.

I _think_ it's the frame that helps that rose pop right out of the photo.

DWF, who's Addy?


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

i discovered the 'move' tool today... talk about makin' life easier! whew!


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## Dances With Fish (Jul 24, 2006)

Very cool Mrs.....K SWEET


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## Chris (Aug 2, 2004)

Awesome shots of both of them Karen. The Queenstown picture is really neat too. You are doing very good with yoiur picture taking and processing skills. Keep up the good work.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Wow! Getting too smart for me now. How's about a Tut???Sweet....
Check your greenies.
regards, Rich


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

I like that Karen. At first the redundancy in the far left and right images bothered me but after I looked at the whole composition for a while, I like the way it transitions between images. I would have never looked at it like that but will be conscious of it if I ever try one. Nice job.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Now that I can see a little better (mornings are great for that, aren't they??? ) I can tell I have obviously messed up with my measurements. I will have to be very careful with keeping things uniform if I'm going to present something like that again (or I could just do the quirky thing and be all over the show I guess lol).

I don't much like how 'messy' the layers looked as I was doing the job. I think I even had a layer I never used. I'm somebody who believes the back of handsewing is as important as the front and so I don't much like the somewhat unorganised 'look' my desktop had as I was doing the job. Maybe a little more practise will help me clean that up.

I understand what you mean by the 'redundancy' area Ray... I looked at it from another angle (perhaps not very well represented in this image). I think it brings a heftier focus into the central photo that you wouldn't normally get with a 'standard' triptec (if there is such a thing as a standard triptec).

Rich, I will have another go at a new image and will write the instructions as I go. I have Photoshop 7 and I'm not sure if anyone else has the same programme. I looked at BillLovesFishin's instructions and after a little stumbling managed to get this far. - thanks for the greenie comment! 

Thanks DWF and Chris, glad you like it! 

rosesm


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

cementing the montage idea into my mind (sort of) and learning the new skill of flipping the photo so it becomes a frame of itself but horizontally challenged.


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## Gator_Nutz (Sep 27, 2006)

Wow. I love it. The pictures are magnificent and the frames really set them off nicely.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

New skill: Cut Out Vignetting

Now this one _really_ got my creative buds twirling... I love it, but I think I'm a little biased.


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## chicapesca (Jun 7, 2004)

Wow, I love it! It is beautiful, the poem is too, they go perfectly together!


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Glad you like it Liz... here's one for you all. 










Thank you.

rosesm


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Most excellent Karen. I see a photography/poetry book a coming!

Just hit me... for one our future photo contests or for a long running post, you could write a poem, then everyone take a photo to match or enhance your words. That could be a blast.


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## Dances With Fish (Jul 24, 2006)

You word your poems very nice......They are so enchanting....Mystique(did i spell that right) Cool...I like em


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## Gator_Nutz (Sep 27, 2006)

I love associating with creative people. It's so much different than my usual, daily acquaintences. I look forward to coming home every day, to see my lovely wife, and to spend a little time winding down with great people, great photographs, and splendid poetry.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Yep, surely a different bunch here than around the water cooler at work....???

Nice place to drop in, visit and .... still be at home.... my thanks to all of you for keeping this place a lively yet comfortable destination each day. Rich


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Dorado-Mahi said:


> Most excellent Karen. I see a photography/poetry book a coming!
> 
> Just hit me... for one our future photo contests or for a long running post, you could write a poem, then everyone take a photo to match or enhance your words. That could be a blast.


-JAW- had the exact same idea as your second idea. I've been working on a couple of ideas for a while and I'm getting closer to putting a poem up for you all. 

-JAW-'s other idea was a calendar with photos and poems, I'm working hard on that one too.

The little skills that I'm gathering together in this thread are all helping me towards achieving both those things. It seems like a long process at times, but every step is a step closer.

I'm glad you all like these poems and photos. Combining different creative outlets is pretty much the creme de la creme in creativity for me. I love it.

And you know something? What better place to share that achievement, than here because

2coolers rock!​
rosesm​


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

new skill - to create a background by using a photograph and controlling the manipulation to what i want.










i think i could have lightened the background slightly more. not too bad an attempt on the first go.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Very nice adaptation of your prior leaf shot. 

I'd like to see you soften the edges of the colored leaf photos somehow. I don't exactly know how. Maybe "blend" or "blur" them.. just so that they wouldn't appear to be so harsh against the background of the bigger B&W picture. Maybe shape them differently than a rectangle??? 

Nice poem, too. Rich


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

richg99 said:


> Very nice adaptation of your prior leaf shot.
> 
> I'd like to see you soften the edges of the colored leaf photos somehow. I don't exactly know how. Maybe "blend" or "blur" them.. just so that they wouldn't appear to be so harsh against the background of the bigger B&W picture. Maybe shape them differently than a rectangle???
> 
> Nice poem, too. Rich


thanks for your thoughts, Rich, much appreciated as always. i think i'd like to try to take leaf shapes from the original and scatter them... or rather, place them just so  ... i've an idea forming now. thanks! 

you're right about the edges of the colourd parts being hard... they do need softening. i used a thin dissolving frame around their edges but obviously it wasn't enough. will work more on this.

rosesm
k
ps glad you like the poem.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

new skill: to realise that not every dud photo should be deleted.

from this:









to this:


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Sweeeett... Karen! It's a winner for sure. Looks like a Lensbaby shot.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Holy smokes...something out of nothing..if I down/upload about 2500 of my bad shots to you, can you do that with all of mine..?? Rich

p.s. re your earlier comment about making the leaf inserts into leaf SHAPED inserts!!! Wow!!! what a great idea...let's see you do it, now...Rich


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Ray, it's the simple 'soft focus' in Picasa. First I let it do it's 'i'm lucky' thing where it brings the light/contrast etc back. In this case it ended up coming back so out of focus I was wondering what on earth I'd created. Then I used the 'soft focus' option to pick up the first licks of sun as it rose this morning, ensuring the blurred areas were definately still in the out of focus area.

Then I just saved it and fiddled in photoshop to put the writing and sig on and to do a basic thin frame.

Using that little soft focus program helped me to figure out where your lensbaby focus should be.  Try it, it's honestly great fun. 

Rich, line yours up after mine. You may have a ten year wait though. 

shaped inserts... *sigh* why don't i learn to say these things to myself instead of out loud? lol okay, i'll get to it. shaped leaves. *rolling eyes*


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

using the lasso tool and free transform (i need some more practise and i'm not too comfortable with the leaves i chose).


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

You,.... seriously now......, ought to frame and sell your work...Or, maybe you already do...
That leaf adaptation is great. 

Rich


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Koru said:


> using the lasso tool and free transform (i need some more practise and i'm not too comfortable with the leaves i chose).


Some very nice work. I would just caution that on my monitor the word "at" gets a bit washed out in the background.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Rich, no I haven't framed and sold my work, at all. Do you really think I'm ready for doing that? hmm I'll give it some serious thought. rosesm

Charles, yes I saw that 'at' was looking too pale. I think I might allow it to sit on top of a leaf, hmm actually I might move both the areas of writing out to the edge a little more. Thanks for pointing out how it looks on your monitor. rosesm


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Yes, I think you'd sell some at outdoor craft shows, and maybe at gift shops. You NEVER KNOW until you try....

Coupling poetry with good photographs sounds like something my wife's buddies would buy.

Rich


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

another triptych (unexpected)
[_notes to self:
(a) put the bottom layer down first (i still need to figure out how to size the bottom layer correctly), then place the images on top.
(b) remember to 'boarder' the bottom layer at some point._ ]


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Deffinatly a blooming artist,should look into publishing a book,love your work!!!
Steve


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Very nice. Great depth of field in the hot rod shot, and nice frames too.


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