Latest Image on xTool D1 and Laserburn

Here's an image I engraved on 1/16 basswood plywood.

Select Churches from South Carolina

I like to photograph churches. The neat thing is that many are beautiful architectural and historical buildings. And most don't require a ticket to see and photograph. I have traveled around mid and upstate South Carolina taking pictures of churches. I choose churches with interesting styles and features. I have created several books which are available on Magcloud. Click Select Churches from South Carolina to have a look.

A hefty card stock for mounting photographs

 I have searched the world over for a decent thick cardstock to mount my photos on. I finally found the perfect paper. It is:

Accent Opaque White Cardstock

This is a very substantial cardstock. Works well for making cards. I use it  to mount my photos on. It is made by international paper and is available at various outlets.

• EXTREMELY HEAVY-WEIGHT CARDSTOCK - At 97 bright white, our 120lb. Cardstock is brighter and thicker than other card stocks and features a smooth surface resulting in crisp, vibrant prints with minimal show-through

I love this paper.

I use a spray adhesive to mount my photos on this paper. A J-Roller comes in handy to ensure good contact is made although hand pressure works as well. I trim to size using a paper trimmer.

Backlighting Existing Photo Prints

If you have a light table, you can use it to produce some interesting effects on existing printed images. The idea is to place your image on the table and photograph the image again - with the back light from the table. The photo print paper I use is thin enough to let some light through. I have used a texture print below the main print for a different look. Also, you can use multiple prints below the main print to block off a particular area on the main print for highlighting. You can come up with some interesting effects using this method.

Photo Mug from Shutterfly Review

I recently purchased a photo mug from Shutterfly. I choose the collage design, which I believe required 14 images. You place your images in various spots. You do not control the size of the images.  I recieved my mug within 5 days of placing the order, which I thought was pretty good service. It was packaged in a styrofoam box which protects the mug in transit. The image quality on the mug is excellent. My only complaint is that there is one photo which is out of bounds with the rest of the images. You can see that in the images below.

I decided on the collage because I couldn't determine from the available products how to make a simple white mug with one photograph.

The quality and finish are excellent.

Green Grasshopper.

Check out this awesome photo from 500px: http://500px.com/photo/47169344

Review of Walgreens Wall-Art Panel

I received my 5x7 Wall-Art Panel from Walgreens last week. I received this free as a gift from Walgreens. The panel is about 3/16" thick would painted black. Your photo is attached in some way and coated with a UV resistant scratch free glossy finish. I must say that I am impressed with the workmanship. There are no bubbles, no peeling edges, and the image looks great. The panel has an easel back (as does the 8x10 version). Larger versions have a keyhole hanger on the back. The panel looks good and I can recommend it for your photos.

Nature Macro Shot Pet Peeve

I love all wonderful nature macro shots on flickr, G+, 500px, and other sites. I just wish more people would take the time to do some research and find out what it is they are photographing and add this as a caption or comment. If you are really interested in nature macro photography - surely the name of the species is important? You can use bug and plant identification sights on the web or get some field guides. I think the value of an image is lessened if the species name is not listed, no matter the wow factor of the image itself. The worst offense is to leave the image untitled. Really? You don't know what is generally? You can't tell it is a butterfly, ant, or grasshopper. A general name is better than nothing.

If you have tried to identify and can't, say so. Ask for help. Give some details about the image - where, how, when, what. Someone out there will know or have an idea about what it is.

Take a chance on the species name. If some one knows better and corrects you, Great! You learned something.

Once again, in my mind, the most spectacular image in the world is degraded if you don't know what it is.

Review of Refrigerator Photo Magnet from Shutterfly

I received a free Photo Magnet from Shutterfly and decided to give them a look. The physical size is 3"x5". The photo is mounted seamlessly on a magnetic backing. The magnetic backing is about 1/16" thick, much more substantial than the magnet sheets you can run through your printer. The photo I submitted was rendered beautifully. The quality of the piece is excellent.  I recommend the Shutterfly Photo Magnet for your refrigerator or as gifts. They can also be a great advertisement for your work.

Walgreens 5x5 Photo Cards Review

Walgreens has added a 5" square photo card to it's selection of photo printing options. The cards are sold starting in groups of 20. They come with 20 envelopes. I recently had the opportunity to get 20 cards for free. Here are my impressions.

1) The quality of print is very good. The photos are printed on card stock.

2) You are able to select from various templates, including a single photo. Templates range from thankyou, birthday, wedding, graduation to one single photo. I chose the single photo with no text for the front.

3) You can add a small photo and text on the back. Cool. You could print your message, address, phone number, etc. on back. My cards look equally good - front and back. On the back, you do get a small "Walgreens" logo centered at the bottom. It is small enough not to be a problem.

4) The envelopes fit the cards and are plain white, fairly thin paper, but sufficient.

I printed one of my photos with my name and address on back. I will use as an advertisement for my photography. Overall I am please with the quality. The delivery took a little over a week using the standard US mail option.

Twenty cards would normally cost approximately $30. This seems a little pricy, but the ability to personalize a card and have it professionally printed may appeal to some at this price.

Magnet

Photo Gallery Magnet

Shop our collection of exclusive Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

How to use Lightroom to create a pdf book

How to use Lightroom to create a pdf book and print/sell via MagCloud. Look here: MagCloud

Aluminyzed Metal Print from AdoramaPix Review

  AdoramPix recently introduced Aluminyzed Metal Prints (link will open in a new window). They had a special 40% off sale so I purchased an 11"x14" image because  I was curious to see how these look. I have purchased the "metal paper" prints before and was very pleased with them.  As luck would have it, my first image package was "lost?" in the mail, even though the USPS claimed it had been delivered. Adorama  promptly sent out a new order. When it arrived I was happily surprised. The image looks great, as if it is in the metal. Viewing from different angles is cool, as different areas are highlighted. The aluminum is about 1/32 thick. It it very sturdy and has a wall hanger and/or desk support attached.
 
  The quality is excellent and the color is great. The problem is going to be deciding which images will work for this   type of process. I don't think darker images would work as well. It's going to be trial and error I think. Perhaps the best  way to decide is to have the images print on "metal paper" first. If they look good that way, they most surely will look good as an Aluminyzed Metal Print.

Added 3 Jan 2013: The prints are very durable. They can be wiped clean of dust without affecting the image. The print has a built in support that can be used to display the image on a shelf without a frame. I am very pleased with the aluminyzed prints.