Random Stuff We Like: Another Book…

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Tim

Remember, the title of this blog section is “Random Stuff We Like” so I am going with the “randomosity” (a word I think I made up) of that title with this entry…

I like history. Always have. I think that history is so important in how it helps us to understand who we are, how we got where we are, and even help us with planning our future. Not to sound cliched, but we can (and should) learn so much from history.

One of the great side benefits of traveling and taking photos of places and architecture is that you get to explore, and many of the places you explore are of some historical interest. Walking up the well worn stone steps of the Acropolis in Athens for instance, it takes very little imagination to hear the voices and sounds of the people who did exactly what you are doing, thousands of years ago.

Unfortunately, I think we all suffered through history the way it was presented in school, be that grade school or university, or both. It was presented as a bunch of names and dates that we were forced to memorize and these things had seemingly no real connection to our lives today. They were often events that happened in far away places and long ago and had no real “human” quality to them, no way to relate to those people and events.

That is why it is so exciting when you find an author who tells history in a way that not only allows you to relate to the the events and the people who play a role in those events, but makes you feel like you are there.

Erik Larson is one such author. I have read several of his books and have enjoyed his telling of the events in each of those books. The one I have read lately (just finished it today) and have enjoyed the most, is called Isaac’s Storm. It is the story of the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900.

The way the story is told, the pace, his style, the bits of information he includes almost as asides that help to flesh out the time period and the people in it, is wonderful. All history should be presented this way.

The book, of course, can be found in your local bookstore or online and will not disappoint you in the way it pulls you into the story of the deadliest hurricane in history. That makes it a perfect entry for “random stuff we like…”

Enjoy.

TMG Philosophy: The Other Side of the Lens

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Amanda

I have a camera. I love my camera. I take pictures. I love taking pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Almost daily. Okay, daily. I’ve always felt alive behind the lens, excited to see a new shot, thrilled by the drastic changes of just a slight shift in angle, hypnotized by shadow and light, lines and forms. You can take a shot of the same place at first light and then again in the evening glow, and it can seem to be a completely different site. You can take a shot of rusty metal from 10 feet away, and then again 10 inches away and you might not be able to tell it’s the same texture or surface.

Not only do I feel alive, I feel comfortable. If I’m having an off day or off moment, I can pick up my camera and settle in to the familiar, knowing I’ll see amazing stories and fantastic images on the other side of the lens. You can imagine, then, my comfort level plummeting when my sister asked me to help her out and participate in a photo shoot for her hairstylist portfolio. Participate…as in be on the OTHER SIDE OF THE LENS…like a model. “No thank you,” is what I wanted to say. I knew that “no” was not an option, and certainly wasn’t going to “thank” her. So after some stammering and blinking…and more stammering, I relented.

And I survived. I survived, but not without some extremely comical facial expressions and stories captured permanently. Think blackmail material. Seriously…how awkward can one person be??!! Well, I sure showed them. After all, I’m used to capturing details, not being captured. I’m sure I was supposed to learn a lesson in stepping outside my comfort zone and facing a fear. Maybe I did. Maybe I grew just a little bit. Maybe I didn’t. The other side of the lens did give me some insight though. I was reminded that we all have talents. I got to see my sister use hers and shine that day, creativity oozing from her fingers and captured in the photos. I got to see a very talented photographer at work who amazingly made me feel about as comfortable as I was going to be on the other side of the lens! I watched others come alive while having their photos taken, vibrant, confident and lovely.

We all have talents. It is up to us to figure those out and use them. We must use them, not waste them. And we can’t let fear, or fear of failure hold us back. “Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” ~ Henry Van Dyke

SketchUp IMHO: SketchUp and Layout

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Tim

In the past blog entries, I have talked about why I like SketchUp so much as a design tool. One of the main reasons I like it and it works so well for me, is that the Pro version of SketchUp comes with a separate program called Layout. The addition of this program is one of the things that makes SketchUp as a whole, so powerful. SketchUp is a very intuitive program for quickly creating detailed 3D objects, and Layout allows you to use those objects and all the work you put into them, to quickly create your working drawings without having to recreate the objects.

In a nutshell, this is how it works. You can create your 3D models in scale in SketchUp and create all the details and views on all sides and then import that model into Layout to create the working drawings. In case you do not know, working drawings are the scale drawings that need to be created to allow a shop to build something accurately.

You can set up templates and pages in Layout and then bring in your objects and quickly and easily lay them out (get it…?) on the page, add dimensions and notes and thereby create a working drawing. You can create as many pages as you need to communicate your design, even import photos for reference and added clarity, and then export them as PDFs for anyone to print and look at.

I mentioned above that Layout comes with the Pro version of SketchUp. The Pro version sells for about $495 (which is terribly reasonable for what you can do with the program). It does not come with the free version of SketchUp.

I have included a few pages below from a set of drawings that we created for a project a few years ago that was built in our shop. The pages show how you can create scale elevations (front on views of the different sides of an object) quickly and easily once you have created the 3D model.

Nate’s Notes: My First Camera!!!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Amanda

I know what you’re thinking…I’m too young to handle the responsibility of such valuable technology and equipment. Well, wait till you see my photos! I know Momma needs help with taking pictures because she is always saying she needs more shots. Daddy has had a lot of super hero duties lately, so I thought I could help.

I took these pictures the other day.

My books!

My Legos!

My cars!

Benson- My dog dog!

My books, my dog-dog, my Legos, and my cars!! Aren’t they great?! I really love the lighting and the blurry effect. Now THAT is texture.

Well, I was happy to take more, but Momma came into the living room and found me with her camera. She had some interesting things to say. She looked like she had eaten hot sauce (I’ve tried that!!!) and was holding her mouth in a weird smile. Obviously she was excited to have my help! Clearly she knew she needed me! For some reason, though, she walked slowly to me and gently took the camera from me. She then put it up on a very high shelf. Hmmm. That’s strange…but then she told me she’d get me my own camera to use. Oh! Well, THAT makes sense.

Later that day, she gave me my very own camera! I was excited until she put it down on my desk. After I recovered from the initial shock, I managed to climb to her camera and capture these images to show you…the horror. THIS is what she gave me to work with!

I’ve never been so insulted. Look at the silly person that pops up when you push the button…and the grainy view through the lens. I just looked at her with her goofy smile and blinked. This was a baby camera! For babies…NOT me! Today, her smile was NOT spreading to me. Today, I needed to be alone. With my camera.

THIS is what she gave me??!!!

Grainy view through lens…*sigh*

No comment…*sigh*

TMG Philosophy: And Now, For the F-word…

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Tim

I want to take this opportunity to talk about the “f-word”. No, not that one. The four-lettered one! Oh wait – I know what you are thinking… No, the word I am talking about is one that we should all be more offended by than the one you thought I meant at the start of this…

I am talking about fear. Yeah – that f-word.

Fear, at best, can cause us to do stupid things and encourage us to make stupid choices. Oftentimes it does things even worse than that. It makes us hesitate to do something or even not do something altogether. How is that worse you ask…? How many times have you thought about complimenting someone or something someone does and you stop yourself? Often it is out of some misplaced, silly, stupid fear that it could be awkward or embarrassing for you in some way if you say something to the person. Think about that for a second. Really – we would rather not say something to someone that just might make their day simply because it might be awkward for us…?! How self-centered and pathetic is that…?

Also – how often have you had a dream or desire to learn something new by taking a class, go visit some far away land, try a new restaurant, try a new hair-style, make a new friend, learn to play a musical instrument, etc…? What stops you? Most of the time it is fear. It is just such a nice convenient excuse. If I learn to play the piano, I won’t be as good at is as so-and-so and they might make fun of me. Really?! You really think your friends and family will make fun of you for trying something new? No, they won’t so take the risk and get out there!

The world around us provides all sorts of adventure on a daily basis. We are creative, curious, inquisitive people and I believe we are meant to explore. That could be exploring an old abandoned village in the Middle East, or exploring a new look with a new haircut. Either way, it could be a great adventure and why deny yourself the fun of that adventure? Don’t let the fear of the unknown (many times things you cannot control anyway!) stop you from the life of adventure you should enjoy.

So, let’s agree that the f-word fear and everything it stops us from enjoying in life, should be more offensive than that other f-word. What do you think…?

Random Stuff We Like: CameraBag2

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Amanda

No, I’m not talking about the latest carrying case for your camera. I recently was introduced to CameraBag2, a photo effects desktop app designed to make it quick and easy for anyone to creatively edit photos. Oh, and it’s fun! Who doesn’t want or need more fun?

1962 style effect with Safety Film border

Silver effect with Eroded border

Plastic style effect

Here are my Top 10 reasons I quickly fell in love with the app, making CameraBag2 another Random Thing We Like (or love in this case).

It is easy to use– The main editing screen remains uncluttered, making the interface easy on the eyes, straightforward, and effortless to explore.
You can experiment with many different styles (about 20) to apply to your photo ranging from the nostalgic 1958 look, to the old-time saloon effect, to the crisp and clear wedding style.
The rollover preview feature for each photo effect makes it quick and easy to see the image in real time before you apply the style.
You can choose from over a dozen different borders to apply including some fun ones like Eroded, 35mm Bleed, and White Slide.
A number of Adjustments can be made to your photo. I was surprised to be able to crop, straighten, tweak the brightness, color, tint, exposure and more!
The Quicklooks feature allows you to see your image with each style, border or adjustment effect side by side. This is easy and great for those who need visual comparison to make a decision!
You can combine multiple photo effects, like tint, with matte finish and a safety film border…kind of like layers!
It’s cheap! I paid $14.99 on Steam.
This really is for anyone. Sure, photography purists may scoff at the “cutesy effects” and deem this app shallow…but why not get anyone and everyone engaged and excited about taking and editing photos?
Did I mention it is fun? It encourages experimentation…which is fun. And cool! You can see some of our fun on our www.tmgclearedart.com website.

I would recommend this to anyone to try. Visit Steam today to begin your editing bliss. Have fun!

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Monthly Archives: March 2013