The Gryphon's Feather Studio

visiting the graveyard

  

 

Visiting the Graveyard

by Mary Oliver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I think of death

it is a bright enough city

and every year more faces there

are familiar

but not a single one

notices me,

though I long for it,

and when they talk together,

which they do

very quietly,

it's in an unknowable language—

I can catch the tone

but understand not a single word—

and when I open my eyes

there's the mysterious field, the beautiful trees.

There are the stones.

— Mary Oliver,

from "Red Bird"

Give your computer photo editing moves like your iPhone's!

Ever wish you could edit photos on your laptop or desktop as quickly and easily as you do on your iPhone or iPad?  You can! 

My inbox had an email from the Nevercenter folks this morning advertising a HUGE sale on their CameraBag 2.5 app for Mac & Windows.  

It is normally $20, but is on sale for a very limited time for $8.  

Nevercenter also has a free, 15-day trial version, so you can check it out before purchasing.

I'm not affiliated with Nevercenter in any way.  I've purchased their apps for my computer, iPhone and iPad.  The original Camerabag app was one of my favorite iPhone apps when I started shooting with an iPhone in 2009.  It was the third app I purchased, and a version of CameraBag has been on my phone ever since!  Their apps have been winning awards for years.

The computer version is available for Mac & Windows (PC) systems.   It offers 150 filters, and the ability to create  and share your own, as well as access the shared filters of other users.  There are a number of great features, but the best part is you can keep it simple! You can just apply their filters, and play with your photos!  Or, if you are interested, you can go in-depth with creating filters and using the photo editing tools. The computer version also supports the use of RAW image files, if you shoot your images in that format. 

 

In my opinions, one of the best thing about Nevercenter's products is the information they include in the "Support" section of their website. I took a quick screenshot of their website from my phone.  You can see they have tutorials and videos for whatever level of experience you have using these sorts of applications.  I clicked on "Getting Started with..." which led me to a page that even explained how to open the app.

 

I had CameraBag 1.5 on my laptop. When Nevercenter updated to 2.0, the update was so huge, and offered so much more, you had to purchase the update.  It wasn't expensive, but I didn't want to spend the money at the time.  When I finally wanted to update, the offer had expired.  I didn't want to pay $20 for the new version, so I just kept the old, which of course, I didn't use as much. 

But, $8?! Heck, yeah!  That's a hella deal! (it's what? 60% off?) I thought I'd pass the info along to all of you, just in case you might find $8, for a terrific piece of photo software, appealing! 

If you are using a Mac, then you already know about the Mac App Store.  You can buy it there for $7.99 using your iTunes account.  If you are PC/Windows, you can buy it directly from Nevercenter, and use the sale code SPRINGSALE when you check out. You can pay via credit/debit or Paypal.  I used the Mac App Store. What? It's a penny cheaper there!  Just kidding, using the Mac App Store was easier - just needed to enter my iTunes password instead of entering all my address and billing info into the Nevercenter site checkout form.  (yes, I AM that lazy.)

You're welcome!

On Riddle Road

Sometimes I shoot images because the content sets fire to my imagination and the rising smoke and resulting ash end up as a story. (the written kind)

This one is in progress.  

© 2013 lkludwig, all rights reserved.

 

a very (n)ice time

I loved ice skating when I was a tween/teen.  All winter long, you could find me, as often I could be there, at the ice rink at Buhl Park. We wore pompoms on our skates that matched hats & mittens, or sweaters, since we didn't wear coats. We went at night, and sometimes, we'd look up and see the stars in the ink dark sky.

I've missed a lot of family fun this winter due to responsibilities.  I had steeled myself to miss this outing also since, I am as they say, up to my eyeballs.  Joe was bravely going to take three children by himself. But, I loved ice skating. loved. loved. loved. I even loved the smell of wet mittens and sweaty skates that permeated the lodge.  I treated myself, and to the delight of my littles, I went- it was a short trip- just a couple of hours, but that was all I needed. 

After one attempt at going 'round the rink, I assumed command, ordered everyone back inside where I swapped everyone's rented, ancient, figure skates for rented hockey skates, and back out to the ice we went! 

I remembered.... gliding, forwards, backwards, in circles, and was working on my figure-8s... in between coaching the big littles away from the boards. Convincing my older children to believe me that if they stayed off the wall, they would be able to skate by the time we left, was the only hard part of teaching them to skate.  The older two have gone skating before, just not with me, so as soon as we stepped onto the ice, the wall hugging began.  One at a time, I wheedled them away from the boards, my left hand in theirs, my right at their elbow.  Glide, glide, left, right, left right, bend your knees a little, find your balance, glide, glide.  Don't look around yet.  Just move your feet.... 

By the time we left, both of my older littles could make their way around the rink, solo.  I was so tickled.  I can't wait to go again.  Or, roller skating... my mom was a competitive roller skater, so I learned to skate early, outside on sidewalks.  I can't do all the stuff I can do on ice, but I like roller skating, too! Maybe that will be next.... 

In college, I was one of those crazy people who took extra PE for just for fun. Once, I forgot to drop a PE class that was a single credit - I realized I just wasn't going to have time for a fun class with work and studying.  The class was a half- term class and somehow, I had forgotten the dates for dropping those classes were different.    So, imagine my chagrin, when I realized I was going to eat a one credit 'F' in ice dance, for goodness sakes!  Now, imagine my relief, when grades came, and I earned a 'B'  in a class I never attended.  never. not ever. not even once. I can only guess that anyone whose name the teaching assistants recalled earned an 'A.'   (I'm thanking the Universe still to this day.)

fries with sea salt & fresh-ground pepper

necessary fortification for writing

freshcut fries from Burgh'ers... there was a burger, too, a Pitt's Burger but I ate that delicious mess right up, instead of taking photos. As you can tell by the empty white bag, the fries didn't go to waste, either.

using the native camera in my iPhone 4

sole app: Strip Designer

 

ART & SOUL PORTLAND!!!

 

REGISTRATION OPENS TODAY FOR ART & SOUL PORTLAND 2011!!

I'm teaching several workshops, including two very new ones!  My classes include Natural Beauty, The Big Time Book, iPhone-ography, and iPad-ology!  Yep!

I've put together videos for the iPhone and iPad classes, as well as one for The Big Time Book class.  Enjoy!!

 

 

 

The Light of Service: December 1

On this day, a celebration begins.  Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, celebrates that long ago (more that twenty-one centuries ago) one day's worth of oil burned for eight full days. 

There is one extra candle lit first every single night of Chanukah. This is the shamash, the service candle, the candle that lights the others. It is not part of the eight candles that celebrate the miracle.  

On a menorah, eight candles are lit to commemorate the eight days the fuel burned, when there was only sufficient fuel for one day.  The shamash sits apart from the other eight, in the middle, raised or lowered depending on the confiiguration of the menorah. 

The shamash is the candle that serves the others. 

On this first day of Chanukah, and through the coming week, let us use our photography to be the shamash- the candle that lights the others.

We can use photographs to show others the miracle of light, and the idea of serving with the gifts we have. 

journal page

Artist's Cafe

(First, just an FYI-I am hard at work on finishing the book I am writing.  Knowing I'd be sorta absent, I stored a few posts for the blog.)

 

Kelsi Maree Borland had contacted me to let me know a piece I had written for the November/December 2008 issue of Somerset Studio, The Poetic Eye I was being reprinted in Artist's Cafe: Best of Somerset Studio Art & Design.  I received my contributor's copy of this lush, 14 page semi-annual magazine, and to my surprise, my work was featured in not one, but two articles! 

I was paging through the magazine when I found The Artist's Profile piece that Ricë Freeman Zachary wrote for Somerset Studio in 2003!  I was confused at first, thinking, "This isn't what Kelsi contacted me about...  What happened?" Puzzled, I flipped a couple more pages and found the Poetic Eye I piece.  TWO articles!  How fabulous!!  I should have noticed the cover text, perhaps!  I definitely am grateful to Kelsi and to Christen for choosing my work!  Thanks!!

 

Here's a look at some images from The Poetic Eye I article.

And here is a glimpse of the Artist's Portfolio piece that Ricë wrote way back when! (thank you so much, Ricë!)

 

I have to tell you that when I read this article, I was amazed at how much my life has changed in the seven plus years that have passed since Ricë interviewed me by telephone. 

Besides differences between my personal and family life then and now- which are nothing short of immense and miraculous, I was struck by the fact that I shot FILM then, for gosh sakes!  Film!  The journals below span a four year time frame.  The photos you see in the journals are a mix of 120 film (medium format- Hasselblad & Holga), 35mm film, Polaroid-(600, Spectra, SX-70).  I manipulated the images various ways- solvent transfers of photocopies using acetone and xylene, cyanotypes using negatives created on transparencies,  Polaroid transfers or emulsion lifts using 35mm color slides, Polaroid pack film and a DayLab! Every new method I'd try was a fun and exciting exepriment!  I had forgotten!

And, even with ALL the changes my life has undergone in the past seven years, one thing remains the same- my studio space is still in the kitchen! Clearly, something about that works for me!

journal page spread in progress