Category: photography

Remember and honor

On By CarynIn photography
Photo description: headstones lined up at the Black Hills National Cemetery

Today we honor those that made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Our flag is flying, and we remember.

Stereoscopic in the woods

On By CarynIn photography, Uncategorized

I took a walk in my woods with my phone and tried taking some more stereoscopic photos. These are all parallel view (I still can’t do cross view, and my eyes ache from trying.)

Photo description: a look into the woods between two trees, this one doesn’t have much depth, it is mostly foreground and background
Photo description: path up a hill through the woods, this one came out better, there are objects in the middle distance that help set up the depth and I feel like the framing works
Photo description: path through a thicket, this is my favorite of the three here, there is a branch in the foreground that comes forward, and all the brambles next to the path give a nice sense of depth

Here are my tricks when I’m having trouble merging the two photos to see the 3D image: take off my glasses or put them on, make sure there isn’t a glare on the screen, move the screen closer then farther away. There are some images that I simply cannot get the trick to work, sometimes it is the day or hour, and sometimes I suspect poor composition. My favorite stereoscopic (and stareograms) images are the ones so well done that it just pops together with very little effort.

Parallel view bluebonnets

On By CarynIn photography

I was obsessed with Magic Eye pictures in the 80s, and recently found out that the same eye unfocusing technique can be used with photos taken at slightly different viewpoints then framed together. So I have started experimenting with my own photos.

Photo description: original photo with bluebonnet field with trees in the background

There are two different basic ways that the photos can be presented. Parallel view, where the left eye looks at the left picture and the right eye looks at the right picture, and Cross view, where the left eye looks at the right picture and the right eye looks at the left picture. I can’t do the cross eye viewing, so can’t double check my work, so I’m only presenting parallel view today.

Photo description: stereoscopic presentation of the same bluebonnet field, parallel view

For me, I unfocus my eyes until I see three photos instead of two, and I can then focus on the middle photo, which looks 3D.

I’m also learning about framing and composition. Experiments will continue.

6 years

On By CarynIn art, Craft, photography
Photo caption: rusted iron spiral in the shape of a number 6

Today is the sixth anniversary of my blog! I did have a name change over that time from “of chickens and craft” to “critters and craft”. I do still have four chickens, and Wing Ding the Black Star hen is still laying eggs, even when there is snow on the ground, but things aren’t quite so chicken centric over here anymore. Now critters, we’re all about the critters, and making things.

The sixth year anniversary token is iron. I found a photo I took of old rusted farm equipment and did a little Photoshop magic. I like using AI generation to change the ratio of photos and fill backgrounds on my own photographs and work. No fleecing other artist’s work in a dodgy way, and it is hard to anticipate all the potential uses of a photo when the shutter snaps. The original photo is below.

Photo description: rusted iron spiral from old farm equipment sitting in the grass

I also appreciate the search function in photo apps. It is still improving, but it only took a minute to find this photo in my gallery with the search terms “rusty iron”.

Here’s to more posts on critters and craft!

Happy New Year!

On By CarynIn Craft, photography
Photo description: laser cut Happy New Year ornament made from birch plywood held up against the blue sky

I tried cutting this shape from purple heart, but it was too brittle and crumbled coming out of the machine. The plywood is a little better; it still has some flex but still breaks easily with the thinness of the design. As I experiment, I hope to learn solid design parameters as applied to laser cuts. Let the experiments continue!

I hope y’all have a year full of creativity and purpose! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope it brings some inspiration and amusement.