Turning Photos into Diaramas

So Picmonkey added a new filter feature. Imitating Tilt-shift photography, this filter lets you turn just about anything into a setting inside a diorama. The effect looks like the opening in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. I'm not sure what practical application there is in turning your town into a toy but it is fun to do.
This is a sample of what I worked on today.

This photo was taken a couple of years ago from the second floor of our city library. The park on the east shore of Boardman Lake is very real and very lush. Here... it looks like bits of plastic trees on a flocked cardboard lawn.

This is the south shore of Betsie Lake in Frankfort. The effect didn't really take here like I wanted it too. I still see too much reality in this one.

The water in this picture of the West Bay marina looks as phony as I could hope. The yacht in focus looks like a borrowed battleship. I think I might have too much effect in this one since the marina itself has become so blurry. But it still looks like a diorama.

This photo, taken from Wayne Hill, started out blurry and diffused because the day was so hazy. The Park Place Hotel stands out here with the same quality as the Mr. Roger's opening. However, I think there is too much scenery to make this work the right way.

The goal in tilt-shift photography is too start out above, but not on top of, your subject. A 45 degree angle is preferred. But that isn't always going to be possible. So long as you are above the subject, you should be able to get a good shot that is easy enough to manipulate. Because you are boosting blurs and colors, you want to make sure that you also have a crisp shot, clear colors and haven't added any other effects before you apply this one. I think this would have better if it had not been such a hazy day.

 Since I am not an expert, I am not certain what I did wrong with this one. The effect seems flat and the little out building that is in focus doesn't quite have the toy quality that I was going for.
This one is of my dad's birthplace. To me it still seems too lifelike and real to be the diorama that I was looking for. Even in the next one, the effect seems diminished compared to what I was looking for. But then, I wasn't above my subject either.

To me it doesn't look all that different than the real life town of Suttons Bay.

This is a picture of down town Grand Rapids from my Urban Hike a few years ago. The hills that Grand Rapids sits on gives enough variations in height to make this work better than it otherwise might have.

Not too bad for a learning experience eh?

Learning and Gathering Phase

When the artwork is not being produced there is much absorption of information. Currently going over the old typography books and falling in love with fonts all over again. Which is probably obvious from the exemplars I've posted. I am also trying to dig into the brain pan and find all the places that I have hidden some great informational gems. I have to be honest and tell you that this political campaign season has really piqued my interest and is taking up much of my time.

So while things swirl in a chaotic cloud in my head, I leave you with a few bits to absorb on your own. When the dust settles we will see what has been left.

First: Print Magazine's online source has a variety of great visuals and some in depth articles. This one featuring Czech poster design was fascinating.

The magazine covers all things related to design, color history and meaning, typographers and foundries, theory and application.

Print will also clue you in on some great things that you may not have otherwise discovered in terms of small imprints and magazines from around the world.

In other places around the web, art seems to abound. I found a drawing on pintrest and followed the story here. It takes a while to navigate this blog. But Tommy Kane has an interesting take on life and art in his surroundings.

And of course there is the work that keeps the bills paid. Winter is not really cooperating with the light for photography when I am home so I am also focusing on the baking of recipes and translating of said recipes. It looks like the busy season will commence for us in the middle of the grey bleak midwinter. Oh well... I guess that is how life goes.

Photography Practice

Just a small collection of the food I've photographed from my own kitchen. I am looking at the end of the year and wondering, after 51 posts to www.amgerman.wordpress.com if this is something that I enjoy enough to keep doing. Retrospection can be such a pain.

I love this. I have always loved food. And I have always loved writing. Now that I am getting better at the photography aspect I am more comfortable with this. Am I comfortable with calling myself a food photographer? Not just yet. Am I comfortable with the concept of an identity change away from visual arts (canvas and the like)? No.

I want to see myself as an artist. I miss getting my hands dirty and playing in paint. But I also have to acknowledge that I may never have the ability to live on my own and have the space to work with. I can make my tiny kitchen work to crank out this stuff. But I need a little more room for the art that I do in paint and canvas. I also need to not feel like I am always in the way when I work. 

Still so much to consider. But there is always the art of creative cooking! 

Studio Lighting

The weird weather has made it mandatory to find a way to do studio lighting. The only sunny days which would have given me the perfect light for the dramatic food shoots have been my work days. And the sun dashes behind shelves of clouds the second I get in my car. No point in racing home for a photo shoot. What cop would believe that was why I was speeding home?

There are cupcakes languishing in the fridge waiting for their close up and the grey days keep piling on. Gotta do something so we can eat the last 4 tempting treats.

Blog Changes Arrived

What do you do when you are laid up with a bum hip? You change your blog template and watch stupid banal movies on Netflix after you've binged on Jessica Jones.

So I think that I am settled with this look. It is fresher, doesn't take a lot of energy away from the posts and leaves off the weight that the darker background had.

As for banal and stupid movies on Netflix.... I don't know why I am still watching this drivel.

Pantone 2016

The 2016 color of the year has been announced from Pantone. This year, it is a winning duo the pale pink of rose quartz and the pale blue of serenity. Why two? Gender equality.

A politically correct choice of color?
No secret, I hate pastels. And I am a little bit biased against the colors because I so strongly dislike pastels. I don't know why we can't have more jewel tones. Last year's marsala was a nice deep color at once serene and bold. And so perfect to go with jewel tones as a balance.

Now these colors, the shade of a tepid sunset. I can't wait to see what next year's color will be.

Germany in Nuts

Working on some baking prep work I got a little crazy with the hazel nuts before roasting. Germany in Hazelnuts.