| Author |
Message |
 
JohnPreston
| | Posted on Sunday, February 5, 2006 - 2:15 pm: |  |
Thanks Marie.
The more I find out about macs the better they look. Kind of eying the new imac but want to wait and see if the IBM chips have any bugs. iPhoto looks like a nice program, too. |
marie
| | Posted on Saturday, February 4, 2006 - 7:12 pm: | |
John, I have a Mac powerbook running the latest OS - 10.4.4, I think. I love my Mac and would highly recommend one. For so many years I had to have multiple computers, one for the productivity applications and another for my geek stuff. Now, one computer is all I need. Also, I don't have to worry about viruses and spyware. Everything just works! |
John Preston
| | Posted on Saturday, February 4, 2006 - 1:23 pm: | |
Marie,
Which mac and which OS are you using. I need to get a new computer this year and am seriously considering the switch to mac. Also which version of photoshop do you recommend. I too have had the best results with auto white balance (versus the specific settings) outdoors. The next best seems to be indoors with flourescent lights, but every camera is probably different. |
marie
| | Posted on Friday, February 3, 2006 - 7:54 pm: | |
First of all, John, I love your work. Really nice stuff.
Now, on to the issue of photographing. I set the white balance to auto and then take my pick of outdoor light. I don't take photograph my pieces inside; I am too lazy to set up the proper lighting, and the photos are blurry when I don't set up the proper lighting.
A few other things that help (I use a Mac):
* If you have Photoshop, the "perspective crop" comes in really handy. You can straighten out the image when you don't hold the camera quite straight.
* When I use my ultra-compact point-and-shoot camera I sometimes have to run the "enhance image" option in iPhoto to make the photo look like the original work. I don't have to use this option as often with my better camera.
* After I shoot the picture. I compare the image on the screen with the original. Sometimes I have to adjust the color balance a tiny bit.
* Occasionally the digital cameras have trouble when there is a really large area of very light or very dark values. When there is a lot of white on the page, the mid-value can come out too dark or the white can come out looking gray. When there is a lot of dark on the page, the light values get washed out. When this happens, I go back outside and reshoot the image. I zoom in to the critical area, hit the exposure lock, and then zoom back out to the full image. |
greg
| | Posted on Friday, February 3, 2006 - 2:17 pm: | |
Mineral Point is a nice area. I live west of Madison
and it is exactly as Eric described....
deciduous......is my word of the day.
what a great word.... |
Eric
| | Posted on Friday, February 3, 2006 - 1:56 pm: | |
Yeah, nice work John. As you know, the southwest area of Wisconsin is nice. Lots of rolling hills, deciduous trees. In fact it's like that all the way up the Mississippi, along the Iowa and Minnesota border. The southern part of the state from Madison and Janesville east to Milwaukee is mostly flat farmland. Northern Wisconsin is all lakes and forest. Lots of pine trees and birch trees.
Overall, of the midwestern states, Wisconsin might have the most variety as far as scenery. Although that point is definitely arguable. |
John Preston
| | Posted on Friday, February 3, 2006 - 1:12 pm: | |
Such kind words...Thanks Greg and Tachee. I'm smitten with the midwest landscape after growing up on the east coast. Many people have urged me to see Wisconson, and so far I've only gotten into the SW corner, near Mineral Point(?). What are the other areas like? |
greg
| | Posted on Friday, February 3, 2006 - 12:36 pm: | |
well....Mr. Preston if you are ever in Wisconsin
you should stop by! |
tachee
| | Posted on Friday, February 3, 2006 - 10:33 am: | |
whoa! mr. preston! i've been running with the big dogs. incredible work. |
John Preston
| | Posted on Thursday, February 2, 2006 - 9:21 pm: | |
Gee, thanks guys! That's me. Actually 1/8 to 1/4 sheets is about as big as I go in watercolor, probably because I mostly like no.8-12 size brushes. |
greg
| | Posted on Thursday, February 2, 2006 - 5:18 pm: | |
wow.....wonderful landscapes.
I had no idea. sorry.....guess I should have googled you! :)
how can you work that small? |
Raliegh
| | Posted on Thursday, February 2, 2006 - 5:10 pm: | |
I hope you don't mind if I speak up for you John, I have viewed www.gallery51east.com and if this is the same John Preston when he posts we all should pay attention! |
greg
| | Posted on Thursday, February 2, 2006 - 12:50 pm: | |
Thanks, I can play with the balance.
do you have any of your work posted on any of these
boards? I see you are quite active in your
responses. Maybe I just missed the right chat session. |
John Preston
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 - 8:03 pm: | |
Greg,
If your camera has adjustable white balance you can take your pick. If not, I would experiment and compare the images together on your monitor. |
greg
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 - 5:37 pm: | |
Digital images?
should you set your piece outside in the direct
or indirect light? or inside in a controlled
environment? These are not for reproduction
purposes, just accurate repros for submission.
ideas? thanks |
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