Pretty in Pink Treasury

Etsy allows us to create collections of 12-16 items, which I think of as mini art-galleries. These collections usually have a color theme. I try to add another theme as well. Here I have chosen pink as my theme. This treasury will expire on June 2nd. Hope you take a look before then. Click here for the treasury.

People Photography Tips from Mark Alberhasky

Mark Alberhasky offered detailed critiques at the Roswell Photographic Society meeting on May 25th of our people photographs. The group has meetings twice a month. Once a month we bring our photographs in for critique and the other meeting is a lecture/workshop.

I learned a lot and want to share some of his comments. He said that photographs of people sell really well. He lectured that "It's not about taking the picture; it's about meeting the person." After you meet the person, then taking the photograph is easy. Mark's mentor taught him get close by cutting the distance between the subject and the camera in half to improve people photographs. And, to be more specific, he suggested shooting 360° around the subject. And, in contrast of getting close, he suggested shooting wide to crop later on. But these ideas apply to different scenes and situations.

Mark is a believer, like I am, of "shoot, shoot, shoot!" The more you shoot, the better the photos. Explaining, he said, "Shoot 20-30 until you get the one you want."

He talked a lot about lighting. He suggested using a rear sync setting on our cameras. He said to practice the background first and then add [just a little] flash. Mark said, "Use pop up flash in bright sun to add light on the face." This will help bring out the whites in the eyes. Look at the manual to see how to lessen the strength of the pop-up flash. During the critiques he suggested using the vibrance tool in lightroom. And of course, he said we will have to learn how to use artificial lighting if we want to make portraits.

Towards the end, he suggested writing down the idea you want to convey in the photograph. Other general comments that apply to all types of photography included a suggestion to make the image out of balance to "create energy in the frame." Continuing, Mark suggested running your eye around the frame and ask if there is anything you don't need in the frame.
Learn more about Mark Alberhasky on his site.

Life IS Good Award

Thank you to Carole (ReadingSully2) for nominating me for the Life Is Good Award. As part of this award, I answer the following questions that Carole has posed, create my own list of six questions and nominate six people for the award.

1. What is your favorite fantasy? My favorite fantasy is having a solo art show, which has just happened at the Roswell Tea House. In February my fantasy will be winning first place at the SE Flower Show with a flower photograph.

2. Have you ever experienced anything in the supernatural realm....deja vu, premonitions, ghosts, or feel you experienced some kind of miracle....religious, spiritual, healthwise, etc. Yes, there was a day when I especially was worried about my then 6 year old for mom reasons, and I prayed that the children would not go out for recess. I was really surprised when it started raining heavily around recess time, and they did not go outside.

3. If you were going to write a book, what would you write about? We have recently thought of a wonderful story about my youngest, who persuades a kidnapper to let him watch the end of a TV show, and ultimately stalls and foils the kidnapper. I would write this children's story.

4. Would you choose to live your life differently if you had the option of starting all over again? Or would you just stick with the life you have. I am so happy. I would do it all again even the bad because I learned a lot from all of that!

5. What is your number one item on your bucket list? I would like to get remarried.

6. If you could meet someone, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you ask them? I would love to ask Barbra Streisand to sing a song. Perhaps Just a little lovin' or Papa Can You Hear Me?

Lyrics from Just a Little Lovin' (Early in The Mornin') - Barbra Streisand
Just a little lovin'
Early in the morning
Beats a cup of coffee
For starting off the day
Just a little lovin'
When the world is young
And makes you wake up
Feeling good things
Are coming your way
This old world wouldn't be half as bad
And wouldn't be half as sad
If each and everybody in it had
Just a little lovin'
Early in the morning
A little extra something
To kinda see them through
Nothing turns the day on
Or really gets it dawning
Like a little bit of lovin'
From some lovin' someone like you
This old world couldn't be half as bad
And wouldn't be half as sad
If each and everybody in it had
Just a little lovin'
Early in the morning
Just a little lovin'
Early in the day
Just a little lovin'
Early in the morning...
     Written by: B. Mann & C. Weill

To me a nice welcome to each day is an important part of living. I have a bunch of silly songs I sing to my kids to get them up and moving everyday (which isn't quite Barbra's meaning... but mine!) Like:  "Good morning to you! Good morning to you! You look like a monkey. You belong in a zoo! Good morning to you."

MY NOMINATIONS:  First of all I must nominate Jessica Rogers on Etsy for her amazing, motivating Photo of the Week blog post. My nominees from Atlanta are Chris Blor, MammaSays, Little Purple Cow Productions. I nominate BGGarden fromTwitter. And, a college classmate Karen at MyPointsInTime.

If you want to participate please answer the following and nominate six bloggers as well. Paste the pretty badge into your blog, and have a mag day! (Nominees and the rest of you, feel free to comment here with your answers or on your blog.)

1. What is your favorite song and why?
2. How did you get involved in your work/business?
3. What makes a day really special?
4. What do you do for exercise?
5. What is one thing that you REALLY love to do?
6. Give one art/writing tip to readers.

Magnolia Photographs on YouTube

View many of my Magnolia flowers on YouTube in this video. Most of these photographs are hanging at the Roswell Tea House until May 29, 2010 in Roswell, Georgia. I chose Sara Evans' song titled perfect because these flowers, like a relationship, are perfect in their imperfections. Learn more about the art show at www.hazelberger.com/magnoliasonmagnoliastreet.html.

Billy Currington's Cup of Joe

Billy Currington is all country and has many great songs. My favorite songs of his are "Good Directions" and "People are Crazy." "People are Crazy" can be found on The Little Bit of Everything CD. There is a story in this one that surprises you when you are listening. It's chorus says, "God is great, beer is good, people are crazy." The song explains what one crazy person did with all his money.

I started writing this blog because the lyrics in Everything refer to cup of joe, which I gathered was coffee, but have wanted to know for certain. Currington sings.

"The way you stumble in the kitchen
Lookin' for that first cup of joe
How you put on your mascara starin' in the mirror
On your tippy toes
If you wonder why I love you baby
I can't boil it down to just one thing, yeah

Everything

Every little thing about you baby

Turns me on (if it ain't one thing it's another)"

So a friend of mine posted a blog about joe this week, so here's the scoop on joe.

"Good directions" is another story in song. This one is about a boy selling turnips who encounters a cute girl. He sends her on her way, but wishes he'd been a little more assertive. This song is on the Doin Something Right CD.

How to Make Photography ACEOs Art Card Editions and Originals

Picturing This:  One of my first sales on Etsy was a customer requesting an ACEO of an image. Actually, I don't think she was for sure, but I got the idea that I should create an ACEO of the image as an offering, and I might have a sale. I did a little internet research and made my own way of creating ACEOs.

ACEOs are minature art, 2.5" by 3.5", that artists are "trading" and collecting like they would collect art (If we had the walls and money). They are a nice way to check out someone's art skills without breaking the bank. They usually range in price between $3 and $8. The images are exactly the size of baseball cards, so they fit in baseball card sleeves for storing.

Having sold many ACEOs now, I thought I would share what I am doing here. First, I create an 8.5" x 11" document in Adobe Illustrator. Next, I save six images as 2.5" x 3.5" psd documents with aceo_ as the first part of the file name (so I remember they have less pixels and don't use them as originals for photography printing).

I then return to my Illustrator document, below, and select File/Place from the menu and pull in all six images one at a time. Use the ruler and guides so that they are lined up perfectly for cutting. I print these images on my favorite photographic paper and let them cure.

Finally, I take my images to my frame shop and ask them to dry mount the papers to a mat board, so the color becomes the back of the cards. I select a light color, so that my writing will show up on the mat board. The framer mounts and cuts the ACEOs for me. I write the title on the back of each ACEO and sign the back. After the ink dries, I place the ACEO in a plastic sleeve from Clearbags.

Take a look at my ACEOs on Etsy. I am taking 4 pages of ACEOs to the framer today, so look for them in my shop in the coming days. I ship my ACEOs in a notecard from my Etsy shop. I participate in a forum on Etsy about ACEO it is called 7 card draw. Read more here.

Magnolias on Magnolia Street

Dear Carine, Thank you so much for allowing me to hang my images in your tea house. I am crazy about magnolias and how fitting the restaurant is on Magnolia Street. I have polished up thirty-two of my images that are of the beautiful tree. This is a very exciting happening in my life. I hope that your customers enjoy the art. Hazel

Dear Gittel, Thanks so much for your hours of volunteering as our president for Women in Focus. I am so glad to have joined the Women in Focus board as Vice President. Thank you for helping me procure this show at the Teahouse. This is a great opportunity that you have opened the door to. Hazel

Dear Jim, Thank you for having such a beautiful tree on my street and introducing me to these glorious flowers. Hazel

Dear Children, Thank you for all your opinions about my photographs, your ever lifting and carrying my boxes and your swift setting up and tearing down my tent to enable my art career. Thanks. Love, Mom

Dearest Reader, Thanks for following my blog and viewing my art. I am always open to feedback and appreciate your support. My show opens today May 3rd and I hope you live close enough to stop in for lunch one day this month. Hazel

Magnolias on Magnolia Street -- May 3 - 29, 2010 at The Roswell Teahouse -- 108 Magnolia Street in Roswell. Learn more on my site. Here are a couple more images to wet your appetite.

Dear POE team, Thanks for all the advice, ideas and support over the past year on Etsy. It really has helped me professionally to be on the team. Hazel