What Words Would You Use to Describe a Daffodil?

Ginter's Gem inspired by a
local landmark.

For me, I never would think one of those words to describe such an iconic flower of spring would be Variety!

I thought it would be interesting to check this show out held by the Virginia Daffodil Society at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond VA April 6-7.  But to be honest, I really don't know what I expected.  I just thought it would be a good place to go to get some images I could get as the base of some photographic art pieces I would like to do.

I also got to see the premier introduction of a new variety that was created in honor Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens called Ginter's Gem.  It was really cool to see a flower introduced that was inspired by a local landmark.

See the video below to get a peek of the beauty of these fun daffodils!

VA Daffodil Society Show from Jillian Chilson on Vimeo.

Photo Collages without PhotoShop

Photos used with permission from artist Donna Doyle. 

Things just get Busy!

Schedules each day fill up quickly.  Sometimes, all the work that goes into showing off our work seems overwhelming... especially if you want to create a new banner for your web site, create a Facebook cover image that shows off multiple images or just want to create a collage for a blog entry.  And if you don't feel comfortable with Photoshop, the task can feel overwhelming very quickly... so we just avoid the task!  

But to keep our web sites, blogs and Facebook pages fresh and active, sharing new work is critical.

There is a wonderful utility website that will look like you spent a lot of time putting together different types of collages without Photoshop called PicMonkey.com.

What will PicMonkey Do? 

PicMonkey will help you quickly create the following collages for free that can help add that finishing touch to your look.  

• Banners for you web site.
• Cover Images for your Facebook business page and personal pages. 
• Collages for your blog and Facebook posts
• Creative collages for Pinterest

Getting Started

To make it easy, put copies of the images you would like to use in a folder on your desk top.  Using PicMonkey, you will not need to resize them. PicMonkey will do that for you.  If you are taking time to create these collages, make sure you are using high quality images to give a good impression. Even lighting, no glare, proper exposure and sharp focus will all help accomplish this.  

PicMonkey will do that for you.  First of all, go to http://www.picmonkey.com.  If your folder is open, you can drag the image to the Create A Collage heading.  Or you can click on Create a collage and click Browse to load your images into the palette.

The highlighted area will read Create A Collage, but will look like this when you hover your mouse over it.  You can drap the images for your collage into this space.  

A Quick Overview

PicMonkey is one of those sites where as you click around, it will make sense.  It's pretty easy to use.  I am including detailed instructions for those of you who run into something that doesn't quite make sense.  But don't worry. You can't mess things up.  If you do, just clear your palette and start over.  

This is what your palette will look like: 

1. Photo Palette - These are the photographs you are working with.  
2. Formatted Layouts - Here you can choose from a variety of different looks to create your collage.
3. Swatches - You probably won't need this function since your focus is showing off your work and not miscellaneous swatches. 
4. Background Design - Here you can choose border sizing, shape, color and transparency of the background. 
5. Open - If you want to add more images to your project, click here. 
6. Save - Self-Explanatory! 
7. Share - Here you can share your collage through email, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. 
8. AutoFill - This is cool.  Let the computer fill the template in with your images automatically.  You will be able to make changes and adjustements from there.  
9. Clear All - Don't click here unless you want to start over!  
10. Rotate and Resize - If an image is going the wrong way, click on it and rotate it using the arrows.  If you want to adjust the size of the collage template, click on the lock to unlock and type in the new pixel size you would like.)

Select a Template

Now you are ready to choose your Formatted Layout. 

Click on the Layout Icon.  

Hover each selection to see  the different designs possible.  What you need the collage for will help narrow the selection. 

It's ok if the collage you pick isn't exactly what you want because you will be able to add, remove and resize the photo cells.  

Hint: If you are looking to make a banner, then Ducks in a Row is the way to go... 

Fill in the blanks

This is the fun part!  You can either click and drag the photos to where you would like it in the design OR you can click the Autofill button.  

If you want to edit the template, you can!  

• If you would like to add a photo that isn't included, you can drag it into the border of the design and wa-la!  It's added to the design.  
• If you want to resize, hover over the border of the image you want to change.  The cursor will turn to an arrow and you will be able to drag the edges to where you want them to be.  
• If you want to change a photo out or move it to a different spot, click and drag it where you would like it to go.  
• If you want to remove a photo cell, hover over the image in the template.  An "X" will appear.  Click on it once to remove the image.  Click on the "X" again to remove the cell.  
• If you would like to move the image around in the photo cell, just hover over the image and click and drag.  You will be able to position it as you wish.  
• Sometimes we size specifications we are trying to fit.  Under the project, the pixel is listed at the bottom of the screen.  Click on the number if you want to keep the proportions locked.  If you want to change the proportions, click on the lock to enter the sizing you would like. 

This is one of the Facebook Cover layouts. Here, I removed a  photo cell to alter the look of the template.  

Changing the look of the Background

Click on the Palette icon to adjust the background.  You can adjust the spacing, the rounding of the corners, background color and the transparency of the background (not the photos in the cells.)  

Just have fun playing with these adjustments!  You can see I reduced the size of the borders and added some rounding to the corners.  I kept the back ground white because that's what I like.  

Just have fun when playing with these settings!

Are you done?  

You are now ready to save the image and/or share it socially.  These options are in the menu at the top of the screen.

Here are the options you can choose when saving a project.  

First, name the project.   You can also choose between a .jpg and .png format.  When it doubt, just go with .jpeg.  If you decided to add transparency to your background, the best choice will be .png so that the effect will carry over into the file.  

I am a little confused on the back they gave men's names to the image quality.  But at least they show a description for the name when you click on it and what the pixel size will be when you save it.  

I have had the best luck using Sean.  Afterall, he's gorgeous!  (I feel back for anyone named Roger - Low quality and tiny.  lol!) 

All kidding aside, I really do prefer saving my files at the Sean quality.  If you look at my banner at the top, you will see that I sometimes add a text image to my collages to help with branding.  If I used the Pierce quality to save the project, the text came out really pixelated and looking really bad compared to the images.  However, saving the project with Sean, fixed that problem.  

Sharing

I think after going through the rest of the program, this will be pretty self-explanatory.  But this is what the screen looks like.  It will ask to connect to the different web platforms and will ask for your log-in.  If you don't want to deal with that, you may actually want to just save your project as just described and load it yourself on the appropriate site.  

Even with all I wrote, this is a very simple utility program to use.  And best of all, it's fun!  

A Great Way to Start the Year!

"Road to No Where" - Assateague Island MD - Accepted into the Ex Arte Equinus VI, an international competition. Prints available. 

I was so excited when I received the news just before my birthday!  The last thing I expected was to become internationally recognized for what I do with my photography.

Earlier in the day, I saw a post from Art Horse Magazine that the level of talent soared with the Ex Arte Equinus VI competition for artists and photographers who submit work from all over the world.  My first reaction was, "Well, at least I tried.  Always next year!"

Later, I checked my email.  Went into my junk folder to do the mindless delete.  That is where I saw the email that arrived shortly after noon notifying me I was accepted from among very stiff competition. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was.

The field of talent involved in equine photography and art is actually very crowded.  There are some incredibly talented folks out there internationally, especially in Europe. To have my piece recognize as among them is so much more than I could have asked for, especially after the challenges of this year.  Photography really took a back seat and rebuilding my health took priority.

The catalog of winners will be available for viewing online by this summer.  If you would like to see the quality of the art, you can check out some of the past editions.  I am amazed by the level of talent in Ex Arte V, so I am really looking forward to seeing the works that will be included for this year's edition.

Happy New Year!

My image of hope for 2013 taken in Fredericksburg, VA.  Prints available. 

Here, you can see how I rang in the new year.  My illness decided to wreak havoc with me last night and I was feeling soooo frustrated.  I don't even know where to start.  All I could think is I don't want to spend another year with the same challenges with the asthma and trying to build up my immune system.  I felt really trapped.

I started thinking of some friends who have faced some pretty impossible situations in their lives.  It has been cool to see how in time, they were able to turn those situations around.  Life may not taken the path of their choosing, but they made the best of it and are now thriving.

I still felt horrible, but the last thing I wanted to do was feel sorry for myself as I entered the new year.  This is an image from a horse rescue in Fredricksburg VA I have had on file for awhile.  I loved the image, but I have never quite known what to do to process it.  The other attempts felt forced and I was never happy with it.  I decided to get it out again at 11:30pm last night and make another attempt to create the final image I was looking for.  At 1:30am, I was happy with the final product.

So I am going to make this horse photograph my image of hope for this year.  It's an image that I have struggled with for awhile, but on the night I needed it to, it came together for me.

Wild Pony at Assateauge Island, MD - Road to Nowhere

Road to Nowhere - Remnants of old Baltimore Ave - Assateauge Island, MD.  Prints and greeting cards available. 

This spring, while I visited Assateague Island in Chincoteague,Virginia, I decided to take a little detour (2 hour round trip actually) to check out the Maryland side of the island.  I am so glad I did.  It's amazing how the terrain of one island can have so much variation.  Plus, it was a benefit that it was much easier to get a view of the wild ponies!

I took the beach trail while I was there.  It was a challenge, but I am so glad I did it.  I found a lone pony enjoying a lone pony enjoying a snack.  It was pretty cool finding a pony without others in the vicinity.  It felt like my own special discovery that I could experience myself.

One surprise I ran into on the walk was the deeply deteriorated  road.  The sedimentation that had developed over the years and the textures really fascinated me.   Later in the walk, I discovered that this road was built around 1952 and named Baltimore Ave. in hopes of developing the island.  However, a noreaster came through in 1962 washing the road out.  After the storm, discussion began to turn the land into a national park.  Now, this part of the island is the Assateague Island National Park.  The Virginia side is the the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

It was noted on one of the tours that the Native Americans visited Assateague Island often for hunting purposes, but were smart enough to never settle there!

I found this particular segment of the road when I went to check out the lone pony I mentioned above.  When I looked at the road, I thought it would be so perfect to have a wild pony in the scene.  Since that wasn't possible, I just took advantage of the situation for what it was.  In this image, I combined elements from three images.  I combined the road with the pony that I found a couple hundred yards away.  Then I used a cloud shot from the nearby beach to get the detail for the sky that I wanted.

I look forward to sharing more images from Assateague soon.  It definitely was a photographer's paradise!!!

Amateur Photography Competition Virginia State Fair

Do you also like taking photographs?

The new State Fair of Virginia is having a photography competition for amateurs. Could be a fun chance to put your photo foot out there! Check out the details on P.4 of this PDF doc. Entry deadline is Sept 7.

One of my images from the 2011 Virginia State Fair.  

I found out about this while I was doing a search.  A new organization is putting on the State Fair of VA this year and I was curious about what they would be doing for photography.

If you decide to enter, good luck!

Getting Over the Hump

Sometimes, I just want to throw in the towel.  But something inside of me won't let me.

I have tried really hard to keep up with my photography despite of the lung issues I have been dealing with, but my body just wouldn't let me during the heat and pollution of the summer.  It gets really frustrating because I am ready to get back into life and all the gifts it has to offer.

One thing I have kept hearing from doctors is they have never seen anything that I have been going through before.  As a result, what they have been doing to treat me has been stabs in the dark.  I have recently started seeing an alternative medicine doctor out of desperation to start feeling better.  It's the beginning of the journey and I am combining his treatment in addition to my traditional treatments.  While I am at the beginning of this journey, it does seem that my lungs and my body are showing new signs of strength that have been absent for so long.  Lungs are working hard to clean themselves out and my body doesn't feel as weak.  I have a long way to go, but it is wonderful to be able to see some improvement.

Basically, since I am not getting well as fast as I would like, I took this image that I took at Chincoteague VA to make myself feel a little better.

In the meantime, I am dreaming of long hikes, riding my bike and kayaking!  At least these things in small doses right now are wonderful therapy to help me and my lungs to grow stronger!

Celebrating 100 years of the Japanese Gardens at Maymont Park

It's all about the stepping stones!  Kids and adults alike love crossing the pond with the stepping stones that float in the
pond.  It's a great place to view the coy as well.  There is a nice pagoda to enjoy the view as well.
(Yup!  That's where I am sitting to take this photo.)  

What is Maymont?
Richmonder's love Maymont park.  It is such a local institution.  In short, a wealthy steelman from the 1900's left his property to the city of Richmond so that the citizens of the city could enjoy the land.  In short, it is a large beautiful park that has enough to places to explore to last the entire day.

If you would like to learn more about this fabulous place, check out their web site.  It is definitely well-worth a visit and it's just a plain Richmond-thing to do!

The Goals
It has been quite awhile since I ventured down to the Japanese Gardens because of the health issues I have been working through.  I had a few really good days earlier this spring and I really wanted to make the trek down to the Japanese Gardens.  It is quite a climb down and back, but it is so worth it.  And I figured if I wasn't as strong as I thought I was, that was ok.  It was a start and I could always turn back knowing I at least made a part of the trip.

Obviously, I made it down and back just fine feeling pretty strong.  I was so excited.  Not only that, I was looking forward to seeing what photographs I got.  It really did turn out to be a day of renewal for my heart and mind while I was down there.  For one, capturing the beauty that surrounds me is very refreshing.  If I am having an off day, getting the camera out is the quickest way for me to find that joy again.  Photography is a way I found to celebrate the world around me.

The Japanese Gardens are known for their large coy (foreground).  They enjoyed
this spring day through frequent leaps out of the water. 

This was a fun day too because I also gave myself a couple challenges to meet with the images I was to take.  One, I wanted to create images that were composites of the same image with a range of exposures from light to dark.  Since it was a bright sunny day, it was a perfect day to capture the wide ranges of light. Two, I wanted to create images unlike any I have seen of the Gardens.  As you can imagine, the Japanese Gardens is one of the most photographed places in Richmond.  There are times I look around me and wonder if they even allow people into the park without a camera!   (Those of you who live here know exactly what I mean!)

The fact there was an exhibit coming up that I could attempt to enter just seemed like an extra bonus.

The Process
Even for the best photographers, it can be a challenge to find a unique perspective at a place of great familiarity.  The things you know best can be the biggest challenge to photograph.  It is easier to go to an unknown place and to work with a fresh perspective untainted with the many stereotypical images filling your mind.

Once I got down to the Gardens, I felt depressed because I was only seeing the visuals I have seen so many times before.  So I just sat for awhile.  And I soaked in the  atmosphere around me.  I focused on how I felt as a result.  Since I felt peace and relaxation, I decided to made that the inspiration for my images.  Then I started to see the park in a new way.  Shortly later, I shot these two images.

Once I got home, I painted manually painted in the level of exposure that I liked best from each exposure.  I enjoy doing this because I can add another layer of creativity.  I can add a little more of the atmosphere that I felt while looking on each of the scenes.

The Result
Well, I didn't get juried into the exhibit to celebrate the Japanese Gardens.  That was a little sad for me, but looking at these images does make me forget that one detail because I see all the challenges I was able to meet through these images... physically and creatively.  Plus, it reminds me that I am taking these images for the right reasons.  I stretched myself to get these images and I did reach all the goals that were important to me.  While I can always learn and improve on what I do, I am so happy when I see these images and I am glad these are the stepping stones that are placed along the way.  I hope they make others happy as well!

I entered the top image into the show.  Even though it didn't get juried in, it will be on exhibit on my wall during the Art Walk this Friday at Crossroads Art Center!  I hope you can stop by for a peek...  The framed 11 x 14 print will be available for $90.