ROTA FORTUNAE

"Rota Fortunae" is yet another old photo I've recently edited. I'm not sure about the colors. Had to force myself not to stay within my usual favorite family of lavender/purple -- which is the actual color of this African daisy. But I'm trying to break out of habits of seeing, and thinking, too! An earlier color combo with brown petals, looked like the steering wheel of an old galleon, but none of the other contrasts within that version were interesting. When I hit on this color combo it gave me the feeling of an old, maybe medieval print of the Wheel of Fortune. And those bits of fuchsia pollen at the center just tickled me no end. So I'm letting it rest for now as is.

Hopefully, someday I'll have a better photo editing program. I'm getting bored with the combo of colors available, and even more so, look forward to being able to change colors independently of each other. Even adjusting for hue and saturation doesn't change the range of colors that automatically appear together within the total picture. I.e., the programs I have only change all of the colors of a photo at once, within a palette based on the major single block of color. (I imagine this palette or range is determined by a ratio of percentages of all the colors within the total photo.)

Yes, I can use the Paint program to color areas, but it's such a painstaking task to do with a mouse. And given shapes and textures, sometimes just impossible to do without looking as retouched as some models do on magazine covers these days. :-) I only use it with very small areas and then only if I absolutely feel I must in order to "rescue" the photo. (Blush! I have a program with which I can draw on a mousepad using a "stylus." Which would be a vast improvement over a mouse, for sure. However, I'd have to set it up on my computer [involving a USB port splitter I got that's just gathering dust and re-organizing my crowded desk space -- no small task -- to accomodate the large drawing board], deal with all the glitches that there will inevitably be, and then learn how to use it. Sigh. Too much right now for this old lady.)

Of course, maybe if I were more patient and thoroughly explored the programs I already have there'd be some really helpful functions I could use. Since first using a computer back in the 1970's, I've always tended to learn program functions as I stumble over them. I.e, I only read manuals in dire emergencies, much preferring a hands-on approach. What can I say? No patience for all that frustrating translating from techie words into action. I'd rather just experiment at the keyboard. And trip over useful functions like I did the other day, one that was hiding in plain sight all along: Miscrosoft Office Picture Manager offers rotating of a photo by as little as one degree. This will be really helpful with that occasional tipsy photo I accidentally take. :-)

NOTE: In most browsers you can click on a photo to view a larger version. And here’s the link if you wish to read an Introduction, Background, & Technical Aspects post about this blog.

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‘til next take, may you enjoy life in the ever changing light,

[aka: Patricia Kelly] **** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or photos, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”) ****

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

"The Yellow Wallpaper" was clearly heavily computer manipulated. I'm neither settled on this version, nor on the title. But with all that, there's still something I like about these shapes and colors. So I'm sharing it anyway.

It also illustrates something I'm questioning more and more that's actually a combination of varying factors: camera and computer screen resolutions, printer quality, my eyesight (cataract concerns), etc. How much of what I like in the "artsy" effects I create post-production are truly effective, when viewed on better computer screens/systems and by younger eyes, and when printed by a better quality printer? (And this doesn't begin to address the problem of color inconsistency.) Sigh. I'll just have to hope something of what I see comes across, won't I?

As to that title, it's from a horror story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Here's a plot summary if you're interested in knowing more. I read it the first time decades ago, and it still chills me on reading even this summary.

P.S. at 6:00pm -- I just now read in Yahoo news that we were "hit" by a solar storm yesterday and will feel the effects for another day maybe. As these solar flares go the report said it teeters on the edge of being a major one, a "space hurricane." Relevance here? I initially had thought to name this photo either "Solar Storm," or "Corona." The first thing I saw (and still see) was the suggestion of pictures I've seen of the sun's coronal flares, especially at the top of my photo. This may also explain my awful headache now for two days and even worse mood. There may be no scientific proof that such phenomena effect humans this way. I can only say I appear to react to certain of both Moon and Sun changes, based on hind sight without foreknowledge. Which of course, is not proof but does give me pause.

NOTE: In most browsers you can click on a photo to view a larger version. And here’s the link if you wish to read an Introduction, Background, & Technical Aspects post about this blog.

* * * *

‘til next take, may you enjoy life in the ever changing light,

[aka: Patricia Kelly] **** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or photos, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”) ****

Of water dragons and new years ...

In honor of the Year of the Water Dragon

HAPPY