Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Pre-Travel Doings
It's hard to believe that in just 9 days I'll be London-bound. The question on everyone's lips is if I'm finished packing. Alas, I'm sorry to report that there is still a long way to go. The process of getting ready has been quite an experience in itself. From tracking down kites and tripods to making hotel reservations and scanning travel books, every day has been full of planning and scavenging for things I need to bring with me. It's not that I'm a heavy packer but that there is so much to consider when traveling to another country. I'll get it all done though. Just wait and see.
To keep my head on straight and take a break from all the details though, I've been looking for some British and French-related literature (I'm spending a weekend in Paris) to read with my new traveling companion, Pigwidgeon. On the list of possibilities are:
To keep my head on straight and take a break from all the details though, I've been looking for some British and French-related literature (I'm spending a weekend in Paris) to read with my new traveling companion, Pigwidgeon. On the list of possibilities are:
- The Count of Monte Cristo (French)
- I Capture the Castle (England)
- Watership Down (England)
- 84 Charing Cross Road (England)
- Under the Greenwood Tree (England)
Do you have any suggestions for reading material? What's your favorite British or French book?
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Adventures in GIMP (Photo Editing Exercise)
In preparation for the many photos to be taken on our British adventure, I've done some photo editing to explore some of the options available for making our photos even more stunning.
Original
Cropped
Desaturated - Using GIMP, I desaturated the image. There are 3 types of desaturation options, each of which gives you slightly different results. I chose the "average" option because I liked the way it brought out the light on the floor and offered better contrast.
Threshold - Once again using GIMP, I manipulated the image using the Threshold tool. The tool allows you to manipulate the histogram (I changed the image from the automatic 105 to 35). The effect brings out the key aspects of the image and creates rather cool looking pop art.
In addition to these techniques, I also tried playing with saturation and brightness in the color image but both washed out this little kitten and gave too much emphasis to the background. I can only blame the lighting. The successful techniques above though may be worth trying if you have a backlit or otherwise unevenly lit picture.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
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