This week I have been fiddling around with Photoshop Elements, trying to teach myself how to create a photo collage. This involves learning about layers. I found a great video here which shows how to create a simple 4 photo collage template. There is also a downloadable cheat sheet which takes you through the steps in case the video moves along too fast for you. It does for me. I find it much easier to follow written instructions.

One of the reasons I've become interested in photo collage is because in January I found out about the Take 12 Challenge which is being run over at Ella Publishing. The idea is to take 12 photos on the 12th day of each month of this year which is of course 2012. By creating a scrapbook page for each month using each set of 12 photos, a fascinating, personal chronicle of the Year 2012 will be the result.


I can't remember whether I've officially signed up for the challenge, but I did dutifully snap 12 photos on Jan 12th and Feb 12th. and I've marked my calendar to remind me to take a further 12 on 12 March.

Now, the lovely people at Ella Publishing have created a Guided Inspiration Pack, which can be purchased and which looks like great value. However, being the perverse individual that I am, I've decided to try creating my own templates and layouts. I have, however, followed closely the video which shows how to use one of the templates provided in the inspiration kit.

These are 6 of the 12 photos I took on Jan 12 when I was invited to dinner at my next door neighbours' home. The dessert at the bottom left was my contribution. You can see that I still need some practice, because the spaces between the photos are not all the same size. Maybe having no spaces between the photos would have been the easier way to go, but as I've pointed out, I can be quite perverse.

Later in the week I happened across something else which got me even more interested and excited about photo collages. 

The Graphics Fairy is one of my most favourite blogs and I always try to check out her Brag Monday posts, even if I don't quite get there on Monday (which is Tuesday here in Aus.) This week her craft pick was a beautiful Dr Seuss inspired collage by Beth Conklin from Here on Earth . Beth has combined several of the Graphics Fairy's images with photographs of her daughter to create a gorgeous, whimsical image.

Beth's profile states that she is a photographer and a lover of old photographs. In my previous post I mentioned my love of old photographs. Now I actually have a reason to buy old photos ... hurray!  I also love taking photos, so it seems that Beth and I have a couple of things in common. Beth also states that she is a digital artist.  I've fallen deeply and unequivocally in love with Beth's work and I want to ... have to ...  be able to create images, not the same as, you understand, but just as beautiful.  

Yes! That's what I'll be ... a Digital Artist. So here I am ... at the bottom of yet another steep learning curve, and very excited to be here too. Maybe by December my Take Twelve Challenge pages will be displaying images as beautiful as those at Here on Earth

Outfoxing Foxing

This week I've traveled back to the late 1930s, journeyed to Townsville, trekked to Papua New Guinea and wandered, a little bit reluctantly, back to the Gold Coast. All of this without leaving home.

No, I haven't been reading books. Well actually I have been reading a book, but that's not how I got to visit all those places. No. I've had a lovely time scanning photos and creating a slide-show for a client. The slide show is to be shown at the celebration of her mother's 75th birthday on Saturday. There were ninety photos in all, capturing moments from her mother's babyhood right up to the present day.

I'm a bit of a nosey parker, so I just love scanning other people's photos.  I get transported to other times and places, just as I do when reading a book. I also get glimpses into their lives and get to share their happiest moments. By the time I've finished the project I feel that I've known them for ever!

Now, anyone who knows me will know that I love old photographs, nearly as much as I love books. Especially those old sepia ones. I've even been tempted to buy antique photos and display them in my own home, even though I don't have the foggiest clue who the subjects are!

Some of my client's photos were 74 years old at least. So it was troubling to see the impact that the ravages of time had had on some of the very old ones, such as this one.
  

As a scrapbooker I've learned that 'foxing' is one of the most common causes of damage to old photographs, and that photos stored in damp, humid conditions are very susceptible to foxing.  My client's mother grew up in tropical north Queensland where it's hot and extremely humid for 6 months of the year, so it's not surprising that some damage of this nature has occurred.  I also learned that, sadly, foxing can't be repaired on original photos. 

Thank heavens then for the wonders of the digital age!  Computers and software programmes such as Photoshop Elements make it easy to turn back time and magically erase foxing, age spots, creases, discolouration, etc from scanned copies of damaged photographs. 

The scanned image after I'd attacked it with PS Elements

According to Wikipedia there are several theories as to the cause of foxing. One of these is that it's a type of fungal growth. So if you have any photos showing signs of this type of damage my advice is to store them away from your undamaged photos.

Some other things I've learned about keeping photos from sliding down the slippery slope of deterioration are:


*  keep loose prints stored in archival-standard storage

   containers
*  store these in a clean, dry area away from potential 

   hazards such as leaking water pipes, etc.
*  when placing photos into albums or scrapbooks make sure

    that the pages are made from acid free and lignin free

    paper.  

Don't you wish it was that easy to keep the human body safe from the ravages of time?

Life is What Happens

It's been a very long time since I've been here. I won't go too deeply into the reasons for this. SufIfice to say, in the words of John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans."


During the time I've been away I've had some teeny-tiny bites from people wanting to use the services of Allow Me To


One was from a lovely woman who had been traveling overseas with her husband. I'll call her Vee. Vee contacted me towards the end of June 2011 saying that she had about 1000 digital photos of their trip, which she wanted made into a slide show. Thankfully she had saved them onto a flash-drive in the order that she wanted them to play. Vee also wanted background music and was happy for me to choose it.


Under normal circumstances this would have been a breeze (read: "only a tiny bit daunting"), Well heck, when has my life ever been a breeze?


As it happened, I had just been offered, and accepted, a semester contract as a full-time Teacher-Librarian at a private school about 40 minutes drive away. So there I was, teaching and managing a school library in a totally new environment by day, and by night, trying to turn this lovely lady's precious memories into something Vee would be happy to show her family and friends.


This is the text message she sent me after she and her husband had viewed the DVD for the first time:


"WOW!! What an amazing job u did with the DVD! We couldn't wait to c it 2night so had a sneak preview last night & LUV it! The Gallipoli part even brought us 2 tears with ur excellent choice of music. Thanku sooo much 4 all the time & effort you put in2 it. All the music u chose captures the feel of ev'where we went. The whole thing is just gr8 and we can't wait 2 show it 2 our friends 2night."

Here's the thing though. When it came time for Vee to pay me I had absolutely no idea what to charge for my services. We eventually settled on an amount, but I suspect that I undercharged, given the amount of time I spent on the project. Not to worry. It is true to say that I learned a lot about video editing during the process, and for that I thank you Vee.


I also know that it's true that I'm at the very bottom of a mountainous learning curve when it comes to running a home business.