All Paths Lead to the Ocean IV

All Paths Lead to the Ocean IV

Well, hello all. My apologies for not blogging in a while. My life was very busy there for a while and I will blog about that later. I just thought I'd share today's art project. I took one of my older photos and revamped it in HDR. This is a process called High Dynamic Range. I use a fantastic program called Photomatix Pro to process my photos. The idea is to take a photo with 3 different exposures and then process it with this software package and end up with a, well, dynamic, photo. It is possible to cheat though, you can use the same photo 3 times in the software and have the software change the exposure settings for you. I love HDR photos. Google the term if you want to find more samples. There is a trick to applying HDR processing. Some artists tend to overprocess their photos and the results can be disastrous. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


p.s., this is Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver, B.C.

Barbie, you're too KIND!

What a great way to start the year.  I bought a Barbie doll at a local thrift store.  I paid $2.  She was lovely, her left leg didn't bend properly but she was worth having.  She looked pretty old and wouldn't you know it Mattel stamped her info on her butt.   Made in Japan it said.  Copyright 1958.  Wow, I thought, should I do some further research?  I went onto one of my favorite vintage product research sites.  

Ebay, yes ebay has sold listings that you can research that can give you a pretty good idea what an item might be worth.  I had never sold anything on ebay so I thought what have I got to lose?  I only paid $2.  Well, as intimidating as the process was, I mustered up some entrepreneurial energy, took some photos and listed the fab barbie. I had her on for a minimum bid of $7 and I set my reserve at $120.  7 days later, she sold for $272.00 I was so excited.   As soon as those paypal funds cleared, I rushed to adobe.com and upgraded my Photoshop to the latest version.  Barbie paying for the entire upgrade.  Thanks again Barbie, you're too KIND!