Photo Mash-up #2

Remember how I told you I was doing photo mash-ups with one of my Flickr friends? Well, after many days of lamenting at my own lack of creativity and trying to brush off my monthly (it might be turning into weekly) existential crisis, I was able to decide on which photos would be my #2 for No More Sideburn Bob.

NMSbB sent me his #2 (and #3) forever ago and I felt bad for not sending him one back. I sent him this pathetic sounding email saying "I'm trying to think of better shots for this project since I feel like most of my surrounding are a little boring..." Typical me. But that's part of my existential crisis - I'm thinking I want new surrounding. You know, like a new skyline perhaps??? We'll see.

ANYWAYS - NMSbB was nice enough to message me back with very kind words reminding me that he's not used to my surroundings and what I may think is boring, he will think is interesting.

Back to reality.  I thought about it and decided I'd send him shots from my photo walk last weekend.

Here was his #2 shot 


And here's mine


Here's my finished product


Here's NMSbB's finished product


I realized after I had processed this one, that this would've been so much better for the postcard effect than the last one. Don't get me wrong, the effect was pretty on the last one but I would have preferred to use it for this one. But you know, that's the beauty of this project: we can't get ideas for the photo until both photos have come in and we start processing them.

I used Image Blender, Cross Process and PicFx.  The effects turned out nice!  When I sent the photo, I had forgotten he had also done a facade so when I went to blend them, the bikes magically placed themselves on the grass.  How serendipitous!  And how weird are those phantom facades?  There's a road by my house that's been under construction FOREVER and I'm guessing these were demos for some development companies or something.  I'm not sure but they're weird and kind of pretty in their own way.

Here's a link to my set - which features the original and processed photos
Here's a link to NMSbB's set

Enjoy!

Photo mash-ups!

Sorry for the lack of updates!  Work has got me really busy with last-minute video preps for our team building weekend starting tomorrow so...I've been stuck.

On another note - I've been making some pretty cool friends via Flickr and one of my favourite collaborators, No More Sideburn Bob, has invited me to do this awesome photo mash-up collab with him.  The idea is we each take a photo, label it with corresponding numbers, email them to each other and see how we mash them up!

Example:

    PLUS    

EQUALS


By No More Sideburn Bob


By me.  I took a cue from his and decided to run it through a few more apps so it wouldn't look like too much of the same thing - since we are using the same blender app.

I brought both photos in to Image Blender (which he told me about), ran the mash-up through Swanko Lab, Lo Mob and finally, through Pic Grunger.  With his street shot and my flowers, I thought it would make a nice post card looking photo so I messed with the colours in Swanko Lab, added the border with Lo Mob and the creases with Pic Grunger.  I think they both turned out really well!
He sent me his #2 & #3 photos (which are totally awesome shots btw) and now I have to think of something that will mash-up nicely with them...

Hipstamatic Disposable - Sharing cams is fun!

Hipstamatic Disposable - you are AWESOME!!  I love the filters and the customization of the amount of FX you can have on your photos!


You can have a little or a lot 

These two shots were taken with the El Mario cam that I was sharing with fellow Flickr-er Sideburn Bob. He was the one who prompted me to take part in the 366 Project for this year!  But I think it's an even bigger deal that I'm sharing cams with other friends because I'm giving him an Atlanta perspective while he's giving me a Copenhagen perspective!  I love that!  I love the aspect of sharing different parts of the world with each other!  Heck, sharing different parts of the same city is pretty awesome!

There are some downsides to this app, though.
There's no Flickr Sharing within the app.  *Sad Face*  Flickr Sharing would've been awesome!  I get that it's "base" is in Facebook and there's sharing that way but I'd prefer Flickr Sharing since I like all my photos there.

The other downside is in the Hipstamart


Some cameras are unlimited - which is AWESOME (unlimited Unicorn MG!).  Other cameras are limited.  Limited cameras range between 9 cameras for $0.99, 36 cams for $1.99 or 99 cams for $3.99.  While those prices aren't terrible, it kinda sucks that you get a limited amount.  I told myself I wouldn't get a limited camera but I kinda fell in love with the features of the Foxy X69.



Shallow depth of field? Sweet! I love that with the Loftus Lens. I'm glad it's an option with the Hipsta-D.  Yeah, I caved and bough it.  I might cave and get the others but I'm holding out for unlimited cams for all soon!  *Fingers crossed*

Anyways - I was thinking that I could maybe try spicing up my 366 project with the challenge of using a single camera and taking a photo per day for the first 24 days of that particular month but I won't be able to post them until the camera is finished.  This is where the Flickr Sharing would be extremely useful.  I'm still thinking about it...

All in all, the Hipstamatic Disposable is a pretty cool little thing.  I saw an article on their FB page about a band who shared Hipsta-D's for one of their shows.  Pretty neat! 

I feel like it's helping me think more creatively while sharing cams with other friends.  What types of photos can I take to make it fun for everyone?

Check out my slowly growing album on Flickr and let me know if you have a Hipsta-D so that we can share a cam!

Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

366 Project for 2012

It had not dawned on me that this year is a leap year until I was invited to a 366 group on Flickr.  I hadn't been looking to start another photo-a-day challenge until this realization so I'm feverishly back-tracking my photos to January 1st.  The only gap I can find is that I didn't take a photo on the 2nd and if I did, it's on my Unicorn Hipstamatic Disposable app - which I still have 15 shots left to take before I can see any photos!

Right now, I'm having mixed emotions with the app because, while I love the idea of sharing cameras, I hate that I can't see anything until it's done. I guess I'm feel more of that anxiety since I know I took some photos with it yesterday (while it was being all crashy-crashy) and I can't submit them to my 366 project until I'm done.  And who knows when that will be?!  Just kidding.  I guess I can take some filler photos to get them all out so that I can have those.  Ugh.  I hate that I have to do that.

I guess I should've thought about the 366 project first.  I mean, I had every intention to do it but I wasn't really feeling it - until I got that invite.  It was the push I needed to challenge myself this year.  And on top of that, I have some added pressure: the person who invited me to the group also invited me to share a Hipsta-D camera with him as well so...I'm feeling the pressure for some neat photos!  Not to mention I felt like I lost yesterday with the whole crashy business.  Not to worry though!  While I was recording some music, I had my phone updating in the background so I'm hoping to get some shots worthy of sharing very soon!

Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Here's a link to the set on Flickr!

Sick Day

Sunday, I was sick. Very sick. Well more like sick to my stomach I suppose, but I was feeling very ill. All day Sunday, the BF and I rearranged The Blue Room to reorganize my crafting area so that I could start crafting again and it was making me anxious.
*Stomach problem #1 (of the day): Anxiety: I hate to say it but I'm a bit of a pack rat. I love keeping things that remind me of people or certain times in my life and I don't care if I never use them again - it's the thought that counts, right?
After awhile of moving stuff around and throwing stuff away, I became all panicky and defensive. My BF played it cool and didn't pressure me and I think I ended up throwing more stuff away. The more I cleaned, the better I felt - sort of. I kept looking over at some poison pellets that we left out for the mouse that invaded our house the other night. It started making me paranoid.
**Stomach problem #2 (of the day): Paranoia: I was freaked out about that damn mouse. I thought it was going to jump out at me while I was taking things off shelves so I was in a constant state of panic and fear.
After the room was to where the BF liked it, we decided to get some food from a Chinese spot that does Vegan items in our area. We usually go to the one in Gwinnett but this one is way, way closer.
I got what I usually get - Tangerine Chicken. It's a little spicy and always good. Or so I thought.
***Stomach problem #3 (of the day): Tangerine Chicken: It tasted great. I skipped over the peppers because I can only handle so much spicy food but I ate most of it and was looking forward to eating it the next day.
We ate our dinner and moved our mattress back upstairs (we were sleeping downstairs to avoid the mouse since its last known whereabouts was upstairs) and we got ready for bed.
****Stomach problem #4: Paranoia (again): I kept hearing sounds. Sounds that the mouse had made when it was scratching at the base board of our sink, sounds that sounded like it was running around our bedroom, mocking us. It freaked me out so I moved downstairs.
While I was downstairs, I kept hearing noises like the mouse was walking around, clicking its claws on our floor. That's one sound that freaks me out more than anything. I tried to doze off, telling myself that the mouse - if it was downstairs - would find something else to do. And then it hit me. The Tangerine Chicken. It came rushing out of me. It burned too. Okay, okay - too much detail about the return of the Tangerine Chicken...
So I waited it out but my stomach was burning and churning all angry. I watched the Travel Channel and tried to sleep. I emailed my boss and told her I wouldn't be coming in on Monday at around 2am and I tried to go back to sleep.
I eventually fell asleep at around 3:30am but I woke up at around 6:30am when my BF was leaving for work. I couldn't go back to sleep until around 10am and I slept till 2:30pm.
I had a dream about the bakery we passed on the way to get Chinese food. I kept reading they had the best NY style pizza in all of Alpharetta on Urban Spoon. So I went. And took photos of course! I probably shouldn't have had the pizza (because of my stomach) but I did. The pizza was meh. I wouldn't say "best" NY style pizza... I also go 2 mini cannolis. I had half of one and it was okay. I really want the Key Lime Pie though. I love Key Lime Pie more than anything.
It was an interesting day I will say. I'm just glad I was able to sleep finally. And I was glad I was able to sleep last night too - with limited paranoia.
Enjoy the bakery photos! I love them! And I'd love to go back, or to another bakery, for more photos.

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Katzi's Project 365

After wandering around various Flickr groups and seeing what sets my new contacts have, I noticed a lot of them have or have had 365 projects. Naturally, I thought to do it since I'm trying things I never did before - like NaNoWriMo last year. NaNoWriMo was a great experience and even though I didn't finish, I'm totally going to do it again this year! So, why not take the leap into Project 365?
And since it was my first ever trip to Fox Bros (!), why not feature their fabulous fried dill pickle chips as the first photo to kick off Project 365?!



Check out my Project 365 set on Flickr and make sure to keep checking back for more photos daily!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

How the flower photos came to be

I think my career as a flower photographer with my iPhone has only just begun!
It started with a trip to Whole Foods where I shot some really pretty orchids that looked animalistic. They turned out okay but I wasn't really thinking about shooting more flowers. Well, I was but we were on a schedule - we didn't want to be late for Sherlock Holmes! Sadly, the other flowers were forgotten. Whole Foods always has such beautiful flowers!
Then, on one of our many trips to Target, my BF and I split up and I ended up in the flower section. Lucky for me! That was when I shot my first set of flowers and they came out amazing, if I do say so myself! So much so that I joined a bunch of flower groups on Flickr AND I also joined a bunch of groups dedicated to the wonderful world of iPhoneography and the most wonderful app in the world: the Hipstamatic (but you already knew that).
I've been checking my Flickr like crazy to see how well people are responding to the flowers and it seems like everyone likes them a lot. The comment on this photo made me so happy today! I truly appreciate all comments like that and when people "favorite" my photos! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside - like I'm doing something people enjoy and appreciate. It's always nice to feel validated with something you're doing.
Now, that may make me sound like I feel a little neglected but that's not the case at all. Truth is that I've always been wanting to put my work up online but I've been afraid of it attracting negative comments. I bit the bullet posting these photos as a way for my friends to find them and nothing bad happened. No negative comments, no nothing. So I started posting more and more and I'm still on the hunt for more of my friends from the 1999 era of band photos specifically. But along the way, I've taken a slight detour - especially since I got my iPhone.
But that did open a can of worms - in a good way.
I've also recently started a Vimeo page. So I guess the realm of the internet isn't that bad. Maybe I'm just too shy...

And maybe I'll start an iPhone 365 project, like say...today! Huzzah! We'll see...

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Start a Hope Revolution!

My friend Krystyn, of HOPErevo, is trying to bring kindness back - in a BIG way. There is so much sadness and negativity in the world and this is a way to make it right.

Follow these simple steps and start making a change for the better - one message at a time.



I've been making handmade postcards for some time with the same kind of messages. I guess I just never had the guts / motivation to start leaving them where people could find them. Now I can with many thanks to Krystyn.

Start following the revolution on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/HOPErevo

Join the Facebook Group

And most importantly, add your photos of spreading hope to the Flickr Pool!!


♥
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.