26
Why editing matters
Yes, I will do a life update soon. We got married, there’s several projects we’re working on, and heading down to the second reception in Blackfoot soon. I’m sure a mega-post is coming one of these days.
Today, though, I wanted to show off some of what I’m currently working on. Last week, I spent some time with the Stewart family, taking family photographs. I did the same thing about two years ago, and it was a blast. This year, we went somewhere entirely different, but had just as much fun. While I don’t do nearly as much photography as I would like most days, I always look forward to group pictures like this. Between shy toddlers, cranky toddlers who just wanted to play, and a camera battery that was on the verge of dying (long story) we managed to get some great photos.
I tend to troll lots of photography blogs, and there is a debate between many photographers about post-processing. Some frame it as a film vs. digital question, others frame it as a quality of work issue. I have met amazing photographers, like my uncle Tom, who manage to take amazing photographs right out of the camera, be it digital or film. There are times I wish I had that talent, but it’s not how it works for me.
Instead, I tend to put a lot of time and effort into post-processing. Sometimes it is as simple as correcting levels, other times the editing is more extensive. I have worried in the past about trying to get the perfect photo out of the camera, but I find I end up with a much better finished product when I am more willing to just snap a photo and worry about editing it later. This picture of the ever-cute Ivy is a great example — I wasn’t trying to compose the photograph or get the settings perfect. She was smiling, and I snapped a set of photos. There were actually 3 photos after this one of the exact same position, but she had been distracted by the rock she was sitting on.
There are about 100,000 things I think I could still do to make this photograph perfect. In the end, though, even 20 minutes spent on this photo made it several times better. I also am very very glad that in college I took a photography and film development class. I feel like I have a better understanding of the principles of how photos would have been edited. Either way, though, I think post-processing can really turn an OK photo into a great photo. There are photographers who can do without it, but I admit I fall firmly into the category that thinks, in the end, the finished photograph is what is important. For me, that means a little less time composing a photo and a little more time in Photoshop.
7
Card Weaving
I’m going to start this by saying it is entirely Jaspenelle’s fault. For Peter’s 28th birthday, Jaspenelle gave him a tablet weaving setup – and he got interested in the craft. Then I got interested, because at this point Peter was a cute guy that I liked and tablet weaving actually seemed pretty awesome. I talked him into making me my own loom. A little over two years later, and I still thread up and work on a card weaving / tablet weaving project every now and again. It’s not an everyday thing, because, frankly, threading it up can be a real pain because the cats want to be so darn helpful. Once it’s threaded up, though, it’s a great project for knitting night or entertaining myself on the bus.
My brother-in-law gave us a set of beautiful hand-made wooden cards to use. Peter has threaded up a project, and while they are a little more sticky to use, they’ll be great for re-creation items where we are going for “more authenticity”. Usually, we use a basic playing card that’s sliced to square and punched with four holes. I have yet to figure out a way to make them in bulk and get the edges smooth. Luckily, most of the time, we don’t have to re-make the cards very often. About once every three or four projects.
The basic idea of card weaving is that you can control each individual thread in a weaving pattern in eight different ways – four threads, each that can be turned forward or back. This means you can make lots and lots of awesome patterns, some of which vary front-to back, others that are the same. Either way, the straps are very thick, strong, and flexible. Is anyone interested in a tutorial?
In either case, here’s a few of the projects both Peter and I have done.
As usual, plenty more photos on the Flickr set.
