Prints Changes

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Mark Tisdale

I only seem to be blogging changes to my site as of late, and for that I apologize. Hopefully with this last piece of the puzzle now in place, I can get back to working more on the art side of things.  You can go ahead and put air quotes around last now, as sooner or later, I will find something else to redecorate here.

Ah, and I’m getting ahead of myself, you’re still wondering what the change may be.  Long time watchers probably know that I have been fulfilling my prints through redbubble as my main outlet for quite some time.  This involved sending readers offsite anytime I wanted you to take a look at a new piece of work.  Now, the gallery is integrated with my site.  I’m still offering a very limited product selection at redbubble and remaining part of the community there, but I wanted more control over how my art is presented and what the product offerings are.  For instance, now, if you’re interested in just getting a print and then handling the matting and framing locally (or yourself if you’re so skilled), I’m happy to report that’s now possible!

New Prints Page

My New Prints Page!

And on the presentation side of things, you can now get a much better look at my work including full screen slideshows in each gallery.  This is one of the things I am most excited about!  The previews previously were okay but getting to see it larger lets you get a better feel for the details!

I definitely hope that you will all drop by and give the new prints gallery a look.

On an not entirely related note, I have also started a new personal project. We’ll see how long I really last at this, but it’s in the same vein as the 365 day self-portrait challenges and other similar challenges. Mine is really flexible, though because I know I would never hope to complete anything quite so strict. Mine just requires me to do something artistic each day. I’m up through 15 days now at least!  By no means does that imply I have created 15 masterpieces or will even over 365 days, but it keeps the mental juices flowing.  I hope you’ll check out my progress on my 365 day art challenge page and check back in later to see how far I make it.

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Five Nights in Paris – Part Two

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Mark Tisdale

Continuing from my previous post of featured photos in Paris, after an early morning at Sacre Coeur, I made my way to Notre Dame de Paris.

Large Panoramic Photo - Notre Dame de Paris in Winter

Notre Dame de Paris - Panoramic

Although as you can see there were a lot of long shadows, there was equally awesome light for my visit to Notre dame.  The cathedral is a genuine medieval relic and is a UNESCO world heritage site!  And I’m just a sucker for large old cathedrals.  There’s something special about these buildings, much like the ancient stone circles. They are community projects from a time when subdivisions didn’t blossom overnight.  The people who sat down plans for these buildings did so with the understanding that other generations would finish their work.  Notre dame de Paris was begun in 1163 and completed in 1345!

Photo of Notre Dame de Paris

Streets of Notre Dame

And here’s a front view of the Cathedral.  It’s quite an imposing edifice, isn’t it?  And it’s packed with details like only old world construction is.

Photo of gargoyle from Notre Dame de Paris overlooking city

Overlooking Paris

Speaking of the details, here’s an example from the tour that allows you to climb to the top of those front towers.  The gargoyles are mostly not original.  Some were removed due to changing tastes, and the final straw was the cathedral was damaged in the 1790′s in the French Revolution.  It was decades later before interest was revived in the decaying cathedral due to Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame.  At that time, renovations were undertaken which included the return of the Gargoyles.  There was controversy over the restorations by architect Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.  Some felt that they weren’t true to history.  Regardless, what has come down to us today is truly beautiful.  In the distance of course, is the Eiffel Tower.

Photo of Tour Eiffel on the Seine River

Tour Eiffel sur la Seine

And that’s where I would be by the time the afternoon sun was shining golden on the mammoth Eiffel Tower.  It’s amusing that it was met with equal controversy in its day and never intended to be there permanently.  Now, who can imagine Paris without it?

Photo of the Triumphal Arch in Paris

Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile

I also wandered over to check out the famous triumphal arch at Place Charles de Gaulle at the end of the Champs-Élysées.  I have to say, short of the roads being closed, there’s no way to get a car free photo of this mammoth arch.  They do add some scale to the photo, though.  I definitely understand the reason behind the almost cliched long exposure night photos taken of this arch – as it blurs the cars into light trails.  Perhaps I should have hung out longer for them, but I was running on empty by the time I got here.

Musée du Louvre Photo

Musée du Louvre

The last day in Paris was principally taking in the Louvre museum.  It was an undertaking to say the least.  I spent hours and hours here and even had a meal there to avoid leaving and still could only have seen a tiny portion of the art and history that’s housed here.  It’s truly a labyrinth as I became irreversibly lost on more than one occasion finding myself going in circles instead of to an exhibit for which I was hunting.  If you have more than a few days in Paris, I’d consider doing the museum in two parts.  If not, be sure to do Wednesday like I did for the longer hours.

This and the prior post is truly just a portion of the photos from my trip.  If you enjoyed, please consider reviewing the whole album on my website.  It includes more of all the places I visited and even a few not featured here at all just due to space concerns.

Paris 2010 Photo Album

Also, I’ve begun posting prints to my online gallery.  Please do check them out to see what I’ve chosen as print worthy.  And please, let me know if there’s something you saw in the album that wasn’t selected for prints you feel should be.  Those opinions are always helpful!

Paris Print Gallery

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Five nights in Paris – Part One

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Mark Tisdale

It’s precious little surprise to anyone who reads my blog that Paris was not the highlight of my month across the pond last winter.  However, I have to give Paris its due, it was an incredibly photogenic city.  I don’t think it’s any secret that when taking photos, every picture is not a keeper.  In Paris, however, I was amazed at the ratio of keeps to drops when I was making the first round of edits.  To be honest, even some of the drops are perfectly respectable photos, they were just made redundant by others I had selected in the first round edit.

photo of Notre Dame de Paris at night - January 2010

Notre Dame de Paris at Night

I arrived in Paris later than expected due to fog in Dublin.  Combine that with hunting for the right train to take me into central Paris, transferring to the Metro and then wandering in Montmartre trying to find the hostel… well, in winter, this all adds up to it being dark by the time I had shoveled down some food and found my way to Notre Dame de Paris.  No surprise that the cathedral was beautiful.  It’s regarded as the best example of French gothic architecture for good reason.

Tour Eiffel Photo

Eiffel Tower at Night

I wandered along a route from Notre Dame along the seine soaking in the architecture and getting a feeling for the lights of Paris.  It was a bit of a walk but worth it.  What a pity that the lights of the Eiffel Tower are under copyright because I was quite happy with how this one turned out!  At least I have it for my own memories!

Paris catacomb photo

The Bones!

The next day in Paris was rather dreary, but that made it the perfect day to be far beneath the streets in the catacombs!  Yes, those are all human bones and you haven’t seen nothing – that’s just a minute example of the stacks and stacks of bones that were deposited there in the 1800′s when they emptied the city cemeteries into these old subterranean quarries.

Photo from atop the Eiffel Tower looking towards Monmartre

Looking Towards Montmartre

By the time I came out, it was still overcast but clearer and in the winter, you can’t count on better weather, so off to the Eiffel Tower I went.  I made it there in time for dusk. When cloudy, the skies at dusk tend to also reflect the city lights.  It made for a very atmospheric view.  This view is overlooking the river Seine.  The bridge closest is Pont de l’Alma.  To me, the most interesting point is that tiny spec on the high point about a 1/3 from the right of the photo.  That’s the tall hill in Montmartre where basilica Sacre Coeur sits.  So, in a way, yes, I could see my hostel from there.

Photo of Basilica Sacre Coeur - Paris, France

Sacre Coeur!

And the next morning, Sacre Coeur, just a short walk (but a long climb) from my hostel was where I was bound.  It sits on the highest ground in Paris.  The architecture is truly beautiful, and to give you an idea how tall that hill is, there’s a funicular that goes up the hill to take those who aren’t up for the climb.  But the good pictures aren’t from the train, so here I am near the start of the uphill hike.  The view from the basilica steps were incredible.  I can only imagine what they are if you go to the top as they only took exact change (automated entry, no human beings) and I never made it back.

Photo from Interior of Sacre Coeur - Paris, France

Interior of Sacre Coeur

A snapshot from the inside of Sacre Coeur, so yes, it was every bit as lovely inside.  Definitely among the top of my massive churches visited.

I’m going to have to break this into multiple posts to feature the number of images I want to.  As I said, Paris was incredibly photogenic!  Maybe the most of any city I’ve visited.

If you don’t want to wait for the rest of the featured shots, all the photos from the first round edit are already available to wander through on my website in my Paris 2010 album.  You can also see more of the places I featured above there.

I’ve also actually begun posting prints to my online gallery, so if you’re interested at seeing what I’ve selected as print-worthy so far, check out my Paris Prints.  I’m still working on them, but if you think I’ve skipped your favorite, please let me know what it is, it’s always helpful to have feedback on print selections!

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Creating Photo Art

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Mark Tisdale

Although “plain” photography is my first love, I have also been branching out into photo art the past year or so. I am forever amazed at what a difference layering on different textures can make between a photo’s start and end.

Photo of Notre Dame de Paris untouched and layered with textures

Notre Dame de Paris Before and After

This is my most recent piece of photo art.  Quite honestly, the beginning photo was really just intended to be a personal photo.  It was my first night in Paris, and by the time I got settled in to explore it was well past dusk and into inky night.  If I was trying to take a photo at this time for print purpose, I would have filled the frame with something aside from the inky night sky to the right in the original frame.  All that said, I do *like* the starting photo, and I could certainly have dodged and burned a bit to bring out more details and balance the photo.  As I said, though, for all intents, this was just a photo to remember my first night visiting Paris.

And here is where the magic of layers in photoshop enter the picture.  You may be wondering what texture layers are?  They can be a lot of things!  A photo of broken concrete, a picture of a cracked wall, photos of peeling paint, scans or photos of cloth and old yellowed letters and paper.  The sky is probably the limit here!  Heck, it could be a picture of the sky!  It’s somewhat akin to the old days when you took multiple exposures on the same roll of film, often done accidentally.  The results are somewhat unpredictable but you do begin to get an idea of what textures you may want.  In this case, I know there were multiple layers of rough concrete and some cloth involved.  If anyone is interested, I will try to retain the layers on a future project and provide a more detailed example of the steps.  I normally do not save the layers in the end because of the huge amount of space the resulting file takes.

Screenshot of photoshop blending options

Blending Options

There’s more, of course, than just stacking layers of hypothetical concrete pictures on top of your photo, because obviously, if you stack playing cards one on top of the next, you won’t see the playing cards at the bottom anymore, this is where a couple of photoshop tools become very important.  What you see to the right is the menu that you can activate on each layer to change the way they interact with one another.  If I take my picture of Notre Dame and add a photo of cracked concrete over it, I want my bottom layer to show through a bit.  There is an opacity option in photoshop as well so I can make the top layer somewhat ghostly, and I do use that to control the amount of the effect sometime, but my favorite controls are to the right.  And knowing which one to select is one part experience and one part trial.  It costs you nothing to put that layer of concrete over Notre Dame and click through each of these until you get an effect that you like.  You can also go back and change it at will.  In my experience, I often also add copies of the original photo and also vary the blending options on that as well.  Maybe I added a layer of concrete, but I want to bring back more of the color of the original image for instance?  Heck, even taking your original photo and just duplicating it with a different blending option can create some pretty novel results.

The gist of it is keep trying.  You may end up dumping every layer you started with in the beginning.  On more than one occasion, I’ve dumped my original texture layers when I find something that has more impact on a particular photo.  You can also reduce the effect through the opacity controls and layer masks or even lightly erasing part of the adjustment layers that you don’t like.

Photo Crop from the larger image

Cropped from After

I don’t think you can entirely appreciate the results with textures without seeing a close-up. This crop is not quite 100% of the final image (still too large to easily fit here), but I wanted enough for you to see some of the textures that shine through, particularly the woven cloth texture.

This is by no means intended to be an in depth step by step how to post, just giving some insight to the process and suggesting that there’s a world of information out there on how to do this.  Feel free to ask questions and I’ll try to help where I can.  Also be aware that although I’m using Photoshop for this, you don’t have to shell out money on Photoshop to do the same thing, there’s a free alternative called Gimp.  I don’t have any real experience with Gimp, but my understanding is that the interface is not the same but it has the same capabilities.

There are repositories of textures online – typically with the request that you share the final results or possibly that your work is non-commercial.  Google is your friend on this one.  But, and I think more interestingly, it leads you to look at the things you photograph in a whole new way.  Sure that old building is neat, but wow, look at the peeling paint on that fence!  Imagine the results of that in  your textures!

To see more examples of my growing portfolio of photo art, please be sure to check out the photo art page I’ve added to my site.

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New Website Unveiling

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Mark Tisdale

It’s been bubbling in the back of my mind for awhile now to re-do my website.  It was, to put it kindly, a Frankenstein behind the scenes.  I’d like to think that from the outside looking in, it was rather coherent, but in truth it was a mixture of hand-coded pages, a WordPress blog, and a gallery2 photo album.  These all had their fine points, but getting a coherent “skin” around them was a challenge.  I had improved it over time, learning some PHP coding so that the parts of the site that were uniform weren’t re-coded over and over.  I won’t tell you what a nightmare updating the menu was before that!  Oh wait, I just did!  So, cutting out some of the techie talk, I learned some PHP and CSS along the way and there’s nothing bad about that.

But I wanted a website that I could update easily and change the look of but wouldn’t spend weeks on it every time.  I’d rather be taking/editing pictures!  I knew that of the tools I’d used, WordPress was the one I liked best.  It’s pretty easy to make site-wide changes and kind of like the iPhone’s Apps, if there’s something  you want to do on WordPress, there’s likely a plug-in for that!

Screenshot of my new website

The New Site Frontpage

And thus we arrive at the new site, it was about a week of off-and-on editing, all done behind the scenes until the last day when I put the new site out there.  Anyone visiting that day, well, I apologize.  There were lots of bugs to iron out once it got there but things seem smooth now (fingers crossed!).

The full-on gallery is gone now.  It was redundant as until recently I’d posted pretty much the same work on my flickr account.  And since it is sort of a raw-feed if you will, work that’s just had a rough edit and some honestly little more than snapshots, it didn’t seem like it needed to be replicated over and over.  So, now, everything will go to flickr and be mirrored here for those who’d like an all in one destination to check out what’s new with my work.  And things that are print worthy, will obviously go on to my prints gallery.

Speaking of new, I’ve finished the round one edit of my Paris photos.  I will post some blog posts later with some featured shots and my thoughts about the places, etc., but for the impatient amongst you, please feel free to check out my Paris photos.  I know it’s no secret from long time readers that Paris did not grab me the way some other cities have. Having had my first wander through the photos from those five nights, though, I have to admit that it’s probably among the most picturesque cities I’ve visited.  I was overwhelmed by how many keepers I felt I had amongst my photos from such a short time.  It was, as if, I’d found a place that, like some people, seemed incapable of taking a bad photo.  Welcome your thoughts on the photos posted for you early explorers!

I’d appreciate any feedback on the new site.  I hope in addition to my ease of use, the new design focuses attention more on my photography and will make it easier for people to explore what I’m doing here.

One last favor, for those who receive my updates via e-mail, please let me know that this came through.  I had to do some database surgery to pull my subscription list over from the old site.  Everything appears okay, but only the first post will actually confirm that.  So, testing, testing, 1, 2, 3!

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