The Twirl Technique

Leave a reply

For the October Education Night, Elyssa presented the twirl technique.  This technique uses a number of different Photoshop filters to create abstract, digital images.  The basic method to create a twirl starts with bringing a photograph into Photoshop. First run the Mezzotint filter, then zoom blur, duplicate the layer.  Next, run the Twirl filter on each layer in opposite directions followed by changing the blending modes of the layers to bring out different colors and patterns.  After demonstrating the basic technique, Elyssa went over some advanced variations of the process.  A more detailed tutorial by Pure Emotions Photography can be seen HERE

Circle Theme

Leave a reply

The optional theme for the October image review was Circle.  It was wonderful to see the different interpretations of this category from the group members.  The images presented for review varied from straight photographs of circular objects to highly post-processed images that became a circle.

If you are interested in learning more about our group, check out our About page.

Brad-2016                 Joan-3-circle

Elyssa-2016

In the October Education meeting, Elyssa did a presentation on the Twirl technique used to create the image shown above.

Natick Artists Open Studios is this weekend: Oct. 15-16, 2016

Leave a reply

If you live in the Natick area, you probably know how great the Natick Artists Open Studios is.  For those who aren’t in the know, this weekend is your chance to see first hand all of the great, local talent in Natick. This talented group of more than 70 people have contributed to downtown Natick achieving cultural district status.

Why are we sharing this with  you?  Because four New England Light Painters artists are participating again this year.  Not only will you be able to see a wide range of amazing art of all genres, but you will have the opportunity to meet NELP photographers: David Kahn, Virge Lorents, Wanda Metcalf and Elyssa Conley.

NAOS will take place this Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. We look forward to meeting you.

NAOS_16_bro091316_sm (1)-1

You may view the full size brochure here

Upcoming Exhibit: Motion

“Motion”
Natick Community Senior Center
New England Light Painters
Group Show
November – December 2014

All members of New England Light Painters (NELP) and other local photographers are invited to submit their work for this special group exhibit at the Natick Community Senior Center.

Motion images may be captured by any image-making tool one wishes to use (camera, phone, or some totally unexpected device.) Motion may be created by the image’s subject or by the device’s motion.

Both conventional photographs and manipulated creative photographs are welcome.  We would like to feature multiple works per artist, so consider submitting works of a similar sub-theme or grouping.  Also, keep in mind this is a public venue so please use discretion when selecting your subject matter for submission.

Your submission for judging will be by email.  Images must be in JPG format, no larger than 1200 pixels wide/high.  File size must be under 500KB (use sufficient compression).  Your image file name should be in the format:

<YourName>-<ImageTitle>-#W-#H-<Price>.jpg.

The #W and #H are the width and height of the framed photograph (including the frame), in inches; price in whole dollars (no cents) or NFS if print is not for sale.  For example, JohnPublic-MyPiano-20W-16H-175.jpg would be a valid file name.  Submit your images by email to Virge Lorents at virge.lorents[at]gmail.com.  You will be notified by email if your work has been selected for this exhibit.

All accepted photographs submitted for hanging must be framed and wired (no sawtooth).  Please make sure your framed artwork is labeled with your name, preferred contact information (email and/or phone number), artwork title and price, and make sure the exhibit organizer has all of this information.  We will prepare labels for each piece with this information, and an exhibit price list.

Rules:

  • Each artist may submit up to five (5) images by email for judging (no fee).
  • All work submitted for hanging must be framed and wired (no sawtooth).
  • Interested parties will contact you directly if they are interested in purchasing your work.
  • Sold work must remain at the Natick Community Senior Center for the duration of the exhibit.
  • The Natick Community-Senior Center and the Town of Natick don’t carry any insurance for displayed artwork.  NELP is not responsible for any artwork.

Schedule summary:

10/05/2014 (5 pm) – Images for judging due by email (virge.lorents[at]gmail.com) – You will receive confirmation of submission via email.  If you don’t receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of submission, please follow up with Virge.

10/09/2014 –  Artists notified of images selected.

10/31/2014 – (9 – 10 am) – Framed work due at Natick Community Senior Center. If unable to drop work off at that time, other arrangements can be made.

11/01/2014 through 12/30/2014 –  Show is open to the public.

01/02/2015 (9 – 10 am) – Pick up work at Natick Community Senior Center or make other arrangements.

Adobe’s Photoshop Photography Program

Leave a reply

Greetings!

Beginning September 16, 2013, until the end of the year, Adobe is offering a Creative Cloud subscription for Photoshop and Lightroom for $9.99/month (read: $120/year), with no increase after the first year. According to their blog post, this will be THE price for the 2 products, for the life of the subscription (all things subject to change, of course). This offer, geared towards photographers, is based on feedback Adobe has received from the photographer community.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m getting one-hundred-dollared to death for software upgrades (that I may or may not need). No sooner do I buy the “XYZ Collection version N” for a reduced price of $99 or $149 (or whatever), 6 months later (or less) I get the email to upgrade to “XYZ Collection version N+1” for only $99! ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

That being said, knowing you’re going to pay $120/year, in advance, for the latest and greatest Photoshop and Lightroom (presently, I only use Photoshop) might not be a bad deal. Do I always need to have the latest and greatest? Probably not. But, as I understand it (please correct me if I am wrong), Photoshop CS6 will be the last boxed/downloadable version of Photoshop (aside from Elements) going forward. So if in 1, 2, 3 years I do want the latest and greatest Photoshop, I will have to pony up for a Creative Cloud subscription at whatever the current price is. End of story.

The caveat for this once-in-a-lifetime-offer, you have to already own Photoshop CS3 or newer to get the deal (no problem for me, I own CS3 thru CS6, I’m good… a sad confirmation of the one-hundred-dollared to death assertion).

I understand $120 annually is a good chunk of change, especially for the casual photographer that isn’t necessarily making money at this, but if I casually add up all of the money I’ve spent on Photoshop thus far (initial investment, continuous multiple version upgrades, etc.), I’m averaging close to, if not over $120 a year… and that’s just for Photoshop!

All said and done, I’m probably going to go for it. At the moment I can afford it (that too being subject to change), so I might as well drink the Kool-Aid now and get it over with. If it doesn’t work out, I can always cancel my subscription… at least I think I can. 🙂

Good luck with your decision… bottoms up!

You can read about the details here on Adobe’s Blog.

-Dennis

P.S.  As I post this, I just received an email with an offer to upgrade to VMWare Fusion 6. (*sigh*)