Relocated

It's been a while since I looked in on Sculpting with Soup. It's been nearly 6 months since the last post! Looking at it now, I feel kind of sad to have abandoned the thing but we must move on...

The reason is I decided one blog was more than adequate for me and as I worked out that more people blogrolled Living with Mr. Fleas than any other of my blogs, I made that my consolidated blog. There's photos posted when I get around to them and a separate section, updated when I get around to thinking about it. So, please pop along to

Living with Mr. Fleas

I thank you!

la mort lente du vélo

a moment's conversation

I see blogger has introduced a video insertion facility. Previously, if I wanted to post ''movelets'', I'd have to deconstruct the AVI file from the ixus camera, record enough snapshots and assemble a GIF animation in Paintshop Animation Workshop. I put the inferior quality down to this crude process but now I see it's really down to the camera's inability to record with precision. I really don't know why they bother! lol.

Having said that, I am fond of the concept of ''movelets'', and I'm seriously considering getting hold of a budget digital camcorder to do them justice. Also, I'll need more sophisticated editing software than MS Movie Maker provides - I'll have to get my Christmas wishlist started.

A moment resting our tired pins in Le Musée d'Orsay's main hall, I noticed the ghostly silhouettes passing the other side of the glazing behind the grand clock (the museum was once one of the main railway stations in Paris). It is, if nothing else, a good example of what defines a ''movelet''; recording movement, but not a movie.

It reminds me, in a way, of something which might belong in Jacques Tati's Playtime. I've also played around with some of the very basic effects provided and the sepia version is quite fetching, a bit Metropolis, and an edge enhancement filter gave it the look of a line drawing animation. I could play all day if I had the right tools.

All fairness to my little camera, it is showing its age and it was performing indoors with available light. And if you're wondering about the black border, that was the operator's fault. I haven't worked out how to fix the playback to show in portrait mode (yes, because I recorded it with the camera balanced on its side, like a fool!)

a moment's conversation

boardwalk

demon

bougainville

dulsori

jack gardner's flood

tibetan dance moves

milou (ou 'snowy')

blown

still life on green

submergence

stratton church bells

jack gardner's memorial

Who was Jack Gardner?
I love this little green by the side of the main road out of town. There's not much to it, just lawn and a dozen or so mature trees. The River Churn splits at its north end, the major part slipping between the green and community housing. There are three bridges, including the weir where the river divides, and a small central one reminiscent of Monet's painting. Although the town is small and surrounded by agricultural landscape, it's still good to find pockets of greenery within.

There are several ways to walk back from Town and I just happened to choose this one and was taken by the greenery and the strong early evening shadows. I took the view with the altered image below in mind, I wanted to try to strip away all superfluous detail. I was aiming for monochromatic but didn't figure on the sky, so we have a new tag; bichrome.
I'm getting into 'curve' manipulation with photoshop, it's very painterly in approach. The green channel is enhanced and both cyan and magenta reduced. This left an odd greenish cloud in the top left corner which wouldn't tone down satisfactorily so I erased it with clone brush. Sorted!

jack gardner's memorial

shoot out at the fantasy factory

old age & young boy

I fear the Ixus is showing its age more and more. One digital camera year is equivalent to 12 human years. I might have to replace it - definitely with another Ixus, of course!

Pole Boy was taken as surreptitiously as I could as we walked passed, not wanting him to become self-conscious. There's a series on telly here called Coast. Last night they mentioned a seaside photographer, Peter Henry Emerson - a pioneer of the art who used a great wooden thing with a simple lens, all carried on a stout tripod, and recorded images on silvered glass plates. The contemporary expert asked to talk about him, with a twinkle in his eye, said (I paraphrase), ''photography today is largely about editing, whereas back in the day it was about recording the image''. I think it is true.

The ''depth of field'' in Pole Boy was modified by duplicating the image layer, blurring this new identical top layer and erasing that portion containing the boy - a cheap and simple trick. I wanted something to add to my Almost.... blog. Too impatient, I forgot to save the duplicate layer version before jpegging (rule no. 1!). What I could have, should have done further is mute the colour saturation levels of the background as well. (sigh)

pole boy @ womad