Up, Up and Away!

I have always wanted to take a hot air balloon. I decided to share a few photos from this day on my facebook site to see which one would be a favorite This one clearly received the most votes. This was the first time I asked for a facebook vote and am currently featuring it on my website. I enjoyed the feedback from everyone who took the time to post.

I was going to the grocery store but once I had this hot air balloon in my sights, I took off on a chase for it. I drove from south Gage to the South Wannamaker area via 4-70 because of the Fairlawn exit detour chasing this hot air balloon.  I didn't think I would ever get close enough to take the photo I wanted.I finally parked on a side street in a residental area where others were taking photos. I looked to my left at one man and then straight ahead at the power lines, that was not going to be good enough for me. As the balloon floated gracefully by, I took off on foot running up a grassy hill because it looked like it was going to land in an open field over the ridge. That was not the case.

On my hike to the top, I am not sure if i twisted my right foot or tripped in a hole but i fell. I wondered if the individuals in the basket could see me chasing them. I was short of breath but I didn't care, i was going to get that photo of that hot air balloon no matter what...or at least give it everything I had trying. I hobbled to a nearby electrical box in this new development area west off Wanamaker & 41st. (SW Mission Ridge Rd) I used that box as a tripod and only snapped a couple pics before it was up in the clouds past the grass. I finally made it to the grocery store two hours later. Talk about a moment I almost missed .....for a hot air balloon, it moved fast!

In My Mind's Eye

"In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice." ~Ansel Adams (1902-1984)

I created jounral entries in the past as a step by step on certain projects but I have decided to put all my entries under one journal, In My Mind's Eye. I am a Graphic Designer with a college degree from Fort Hays State University. I studied photography and I am constantly searching for that unique image to capture. I always enjoyed taking photos on family vacations to Colorado since I was a teenager. This website along with my facebook site is an attempt to share just a glimpse of my journey. Welcome & enjoy!

BES Letterhead

Boston Entomological Society

 
For this Liquidlibrary Identity Challenge I created a logo that represents BES and what they do, find unique insects. I wanted the logo to be unique and one that every one would recognize and associate to BES. It is a simple image that will also appeal to families and work in conjunction with the new museum.

For the letterhead, I selected Environment® Willow Neenah Paper.
The 100years element could be set up on a word processing template for the stationary when composing the letter, then pulled off the template when necessary, this way no letterhead is wasted for the anniversary.

For the back on the bus. card, the black ink could be an additional one ink overrun on existing shells when cards are needed. With it being 100 years and counting, it works even if they hand out a card 'after' the anniversary.

For this winning entry, I will receive 3 months subscription to the liquidlibrary.com stock photo and illustration site.

To view all the  Entries, go to:
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album500&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php 

If you are interested in logo identity design for your business, please send your contact information. ~tscp

Study Hall Tattoo

"Study Hall Tattoo"

Original Photo images:

(click on thumbnails to enlarge)

Tattoo DETAILS:

 

For this image, I converted the textures to greyscale, adjusted the brightness & contrast with Photoshop. Overlayed each image over the knee area at various opacities. With Photoshop, I used Multiply, Darken, Overlay and Hard Light modes to create the tattoo appearance. Once the image was in place, I used a soft brush tool to 'hand draw' over each image to give the ink pen effect.

 

This shows a sample of the steps for creating the tattoo....

The images below reveal how the stock photos were added to the tattoo...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock images provided for the April Photos.com Challenge:

 

I was pleased when Graphics.com announced "Study Hall Tattoo" placed second in the April Challenge. With this winning entry, I received three months of access to the Photos.com collection.

Link to view the six winning entries & browse the pages for all the submissions for April:

http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&inclue=view_album.php&set_albumName=album340

 
"Butterfly Wishes"

The story of a little girl blowing butterfly wishes into the wind and turning everything around her into color. This was my second entry for April. "Butterfly Wishes" required more time than I originally wanted to spend for a challenge. I kept working on it when time allowed.  It was exhasting downloading the assortment of butterflies I wanted for the final image. Every butterfly image is a separate layer, with the background cropped out and then placed within the Photoshop file. The partial blue duotone cast created in Photoshop added to the overall image of the girl blowing her wishes into the wind and them coming true around her.

Something Old, Something New

I submitted the enteries below for the March Photos.com Challenge.
(Click on thumbnails for a larger view of the images on this page.) 

Forget Me Not Keepsakes

 
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

"Forget Me Not Keepsakes" was my original concept for this month's entry.
I scanned and included the above images for my design.

Shortly after I started working on the image, due to other projects, I had to put this aside. I revisited it on March 27th. As the contest deadline of March 31st approached, I decided to add a flower image to each pearl of the necklace. All the photos in the pearls can be found in my Galleries. This entry I titled,  Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. It includes all six images below.

This was the Photos.com Challenge:
Can you create a new design using five of the supplied six photos?

 
 

 For the calling card, I created subtle effects to soften the printing of the hand & the rose. Also, I added shading to add depth to the original card. My forgot me not image was the main flower used. The printed wreath reminded me of the supplied images, I used five of the images below to fill in the wreath. Once completed, the wreath was a combination of 100+ layers. With over 50 pearls in the necklace, I added a different flower image to each pearl. Twelve pearls are from the the stock images above. The rest of the pearls have flowers from my personal photos, all on my site in the photo gallery.

The entry, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue"
was selected as one of the six winning entries for the month of March. For this winning entry, I will receive one month  subscription access to Photos.com with more than 360,000 professional-quality stock photos.

On Monday, April 7th Graphics.com featured "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" on the site's home page. Check out this link, go to:
http://www.graphics.com/index.htm

To view all the March Entries and the six winners, go to: http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album244&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

This entry is available in my wallpaper gallery.
5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 photo prints are available.

Thanks for visiting!
~tscp

Dream of Provence Letterhead

Dream of Provence
Gentle Breeze 

 
For this Liquidlibrary Identity Challenge I created a business card and letterhead design for DreamOfProvence.com, a Web site selling French bath and body care products.

For the letterhead, I created a soft gradient on the bottom half, the top half is 100% white for a  softer look. I added the address information by flowing the text down the side so it would appear the leaf was floating in a gentle breeze. On the business card, I used a vertical layout so the key elements of the letterhead design could be added.

For this winning entry, I received a three month subscription to the liquidlibrary.com stock photo and illustration site.

To view all the  Entries, go to:
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album170&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php 

If you are interested in logo identity design for your business, please send your contact information. ~tscp 

Exploring Wonderland

I submitted artwork for January's Photos.com Challenge this month.
I used my original photo of this monarch butterfly on a zinnia. With the six images provided and titled it, "Entering Wonderland". Two weeks ago, Graphics.com featured it on the site's Home Page. I was thrilled to be on the front page of the Graphics.com site.  I submitted this art Sunday evening(jan.13) and Monday morning I discovered it was on the Front Page by reading this posting:

From: Barbara Garber (thebags)   (Mon Jan 14 07:58:09 2008)
CONGRATULATIONS ... your first try and your image is featured on the home page. Now that's really something!!!

This was the Photos.com Challenge:
Can you create a new design using two of the supplied six photos?

 

 

......I used all six images in "Exploring Wonderland" along with
my second entry below titled: "New LIfe"

 

To view all the January Entries and the six winners, go to: http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album124&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php&page=1

This was the first month I entered the photos.com challange.

I have since added to my New Life Series. Samples of both entries are under the Desktop Wallpaper.
5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 photo prints are available. ~tscp