Testing if it is possible to embed images from ipernity.
And it seems to work just fine. I’ve been using ipernity photo sharing website since 2013. On January 2017 ipernity almost got closed, but then it became saved by ipenity members association. Now ipernity is an independent and non-commercial photo sharing community. It means the web site is owned and maintained by users of themselves. In the future ipernity allows only free trials, and subscriptions of paid accounts then goes for server and service costs only.
The bright side of opportunism
I read the dictionary definition for opportunism, and it does not sound very nice:
“Taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others.”
However, if one do care for consequences, and also think about advantages, then it can be a win win situation 😀
So, the bright side of opportunism is to grab on every possible possibility especially not to miss the opportunities, which can cause also some positive consequences.Â
stairs of knowledge
At the university I got exited by the shadows on the ceiling above stairs. I spent half of my lunch break waiting for peeps to walk on the right spot. Sometimes point and shoot technique is not good enough, and one really has to put some effort to get the right moment captured. And yet there is also a lot of luck or  more likely coincidence involved. If standing long enough in a crowded room, there will come moments when peeps form groups interesting enough.
therapeutic photography
Previously I discovered a concept of ‘photo therapy’. Then I found a better one for amateur photographers, and that is ‘therapeutic photography’, which is something like: “.. the purpose of these projects range from personal growth and insight, creative artistic statement, increased personal and social agency, as a catalyst for political or social change or community-strengthening.”
a quick and dirty picture enhancement
Somewhat accidentally I discovered an editing method to enhance the picture. Here are the step by step instructions for GIMP:
1) Duplicate layer.
2) Run ‘Colors>Auto>Equalize’ for the top layer.
3) Switch layer mode to ‘Value’ for the top layer.
4) Try to change the top layer opacity to find a pleasing amount.
This definitely does not work for all pictures but quite often it is a very quick method to enhance the contrasts and colors. Finally just merge the layers and do your usual magic.
a random picture from archives
I’m trying to see ordinary things in different ways. Basically options are limited into point of view, light and context. We can shoot the object from different sides and distances, and change the light and background. All the rest is editing, which is not necessarily photography anymore.
Predicting the future
During New Year’s Eve peeps do often spend time “playing fortune telling games”. The idea is of course not to take it seriously but just have some fun and keep traditions alive. One of these games is called as “predicting the future from small items hidden under coffee cups. Several symbolic items are hidden under cups turned upside down and then one of the “players” leave room while others “shuffle” the cups. Then the person is called in to rise three cups and find out her/his future for the next year.
My mother thought me this game with the following nine objects:
Project art
 ART |
 IS |
 CONTINUUM |
“What is art?”
I got inspired by a person who quite often made questions that does not seem to have anything to do with the topic. These are so called rhetorical questions, which means there are no reply expected. I’m not sure if they really are such thing because at least I would still expect them to be on topic. Although, one can always build a some sort of a “pons asinorum” between the topic and any comment.
No time to edit
Jasper Johns early artworks question how we look at, perceive and make art. He does not distinguish between subject and object in his work, or art and life for that matter. In his eyes they are both the same thing. Johns believes that we should not look upon a painting as a representation or illusion but as an object with its own reality.
That made me think my own photography from totally different perspective. I like to photograph my everyday life on daily bases. But do I really want to represent it? Or do I rather want to create something “with its own reality”? I guess both. I still like to become a better documentary photographer. But I also want to seek new ways to see things. Or even create new things.
I have somewhat learned enough basic editing and want to learn something new. But as always I’m lazy, or I have no time to do more complex editing step by step. So, I decided to try ready made scripts and see what they are good for. The challenge is to find good subject for the script, and vice versa, good script for the subject. So, less step by step editing in the near future and more use of ready made scripts. And maybe some day I find time to learn how to do fancy script myself.
Sideways
Sideways was an idea to turn the picture 90 degrees either left or right in purpose. The goal was to see how the interpretation of an image changes because of this. But this theme turned out much more difficult in practice than I thought. Only on few images I was able to achieve something new and interesting. One thing that may work is the direction of light. Objects where light usually comes from above get new interesting look when lit either from left or right. Then usual western way to see the movement going from left to right can add some interest. But at least I learned something new on CSS when writing this post. Font opacity and background image width seem to be supported finally.
