Are You Axin' Me?!?

Many of you have written with questions and I thought I'd use today's post to answer a couple of them.

QUESTION from Codie: “What is your way of taking photos? How do you get them so clear?? What type of camera do you use? Your lighting??...type of bulbs...watts...etc...-photo editing program...do you use one???”

The ANSWER: I take all of my photos in my art studio ... I set up large sheets of white paper to use as a back drop; I spread out a few more to use as the foreground.

My camera is fairly new and there was a steep learning curve for me ... my old digi-camera was about 6 years old and a lot has changed since then. The camera I use is a Vivitar Series 1 ViviCamX30. It takes movie clips, voice overs, and does all kinds of kewl and magical-like things I haven't even begun to understand!

Two settings I do understand, and use all the time are: 'Macro' and 'Daylight.'

The specifics are: 10.1 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, 2.5" LCD monitor, digital anti-shake. I purchased mine quite inexpensively at a 'Big Lots' in West Palm Beach, Florida. I think it was a 'one and done' deal though, as friends in other parts of the country have gone to their 'Big Lot's' and couldn't find them ... it's possible that this was just a one-store, or one-state bargain.

I edit my photos in an ancient program Microsoft bundled 10-12 years ago with Microsoft FrontPage. It was originally known as "Altimara' and was an Italian image editing product. Microsoft bought 'em out 'cuz the product was awesome, (easier to use than Photoshop and does just as much), but about 8 years ago, for some unknown reason, Microsoft suddenly stopped supporting the program. I'm prolly one of a handful of people on the planet that knows this software and uses it daily. It's called "Image Composer" and it's still possible to find some info about the product on the web. Unfortunately, it can't be purchased or downloaded anywhere.

When I'm working on my photos, I always tweak the settings: especially "Highlights" ... that's where the superior color comes from! I also 'sharpen' every photo just a bit. No matter what photo editing program you use, you should be able to find these settings, or something similar, in your software. Practice tweaking your images with these settings and soon your photos will look awesome!

And that's about it; oh, and no flash, EVER!

QUESTION from Ruth Ann: "I left a question for you in a comment but you didn’t email me back; how come?"

The ANSWER: Unless you’ve set up your personal Blogger account to publish your email address in comments, I have no way of knowing what your email addy is. So, that makes it pretty much impossible to respond to you via email, LOL!

The best way to have a two-way with me is to subscribe to the comments post you’ve commented in. Confused yet?

LOL, in other words, when you’re leaving me a comment, notice the box that reads, “email follow-up comments to ….” If you check that box, when I respond to your question or comment on the blog, you’ll receive an email from Blogger advising you that I’ve responded … and provide you with my response. Easy-peasy!

I’m sure this answer will help a bunch of you because I wondered the same thing myself when I first starting blog-hoppin’ … so, thanks for asking Ruth Ann!

QUESTION (from Karly): "You keep mentioning that you 'blend your colored pencils with Gamsol and a stump.' What the heck is this stuff?"

The ANSWER: This is a really good question because I have a tendency to assume that everyone is working at the same experience level. Thanks for reminding me there’s a lot of people just beginning to stamp, scrapbook, alter, and make cards. I’ll try to be more aware of that fact in the future.

To answer your question, Gamsol, a Gamblin product, is the brand name for Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS). OMS is generally quite inexpensive; I purchase mine in 16 ounce cans online from DickBlick. When you color with a high-pigment colored pencil like the Prismacolor’s, the OMS ‘melts’ the pigment allowing it to be thinned and moved. This is a very simple technique and can be accomplished by anyone at any skill level.

One precaution: some people have allergic reactions to OMS … you should always use OMS in a well-ventilated area. And always keep your OMS covered as it will evaporate rather quickly. I transfer a small amount of OMS in to a small dauber top bottle, tapping my stump on the spongy surface to pick up the Gamsol as needed. Practice makes perfect but it’s a quick study!

A stump is created out of paper that has been tightly wrapped into a long, thin cylinder. They are available in any art store; I purchase mine online where ever and when ever I can find stumps that have been made in Taiwan ... you'll have to search for them, but sometimes you can find Taiwanese stumps at DickBlick.

Why Taiwan? For the most part, paper stumps are manufactured in Asia. You wouldn’t think that there could be a difference in paper stumps, but there most definitely is: always try to purchase stumps made in Taiwan as opposed to those made in China. They can be harder to find that those made in China but they are absolutely worth taking the time to find. So, listen to me now, believe me later ... or spend the extra money and try both; a side-by-side comparison will definitely convince you!

Between colors, you ‘clean’ your paper stump on fine sandpaper. I always try to sand my stumps’ points extra-sharp; a sharp point makes it easier to move and blend color in small spots such as those found on rubber stamped images.

Over the years, I have tried several different brands of colored pencils. Without question, the Prismacolor ‘Premier’ colored pencils manufactured by Sanford, work the best for me. They can be more expensive than the others but well worth the price; and don’t forget that a colored pencil will last for many years.

If you don’t want to jump in and spend a lot money for sets (Prisma’s come in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 120, and 132 pencils), try purchasing individual pencils (Dick Blick sells single pencils), and see if they’re something you’d like to invest in. I think you will, so I’d suggest that if you can find a good buy (try eBay), on a set, go for it! I don’t think you’ll ever regret your decision to purchase them and these pencils will perform beautifully for you for years.

Finally, when coloring your image with pencils blended with OMS, no fixative or preservative needs to be applied to keep your colored image bright, clean, and smudge-free.

If I didn't answer your question this time, I'll do this again next week, too.

Thanks so much for sharing your day with me!

~Hugs, Deb