Archive for ◊ September, 2009 ◊

27 Sep 2009 Weekly Photo Contest – 9/27/09

If you have not won a prize in our weekly photo contest, chances are you have not been entering.  This week’s competition will center on “Greetings”.  Send us a picture you think would make a great greeting card subject for your chance to get some free stuff from me.  Get it?  Do it.

Check out our weekly photo contest rules for more information, and enter this week’s contest early for your chance to win. 

26 Sep 2009 September Favorites – Digital Picture Frame Greeting Cards

This week I got busy putting together some greetings for friends and family using some digital picture frame greetings as a change of pace to other forms of well wishes.  Since nobody else I know does this sort of thing, I thought it might be nice to show off some of the unique variations that people could use to send and display their thoughts.  Though it is possible to create digital scans of physical cards and display those in a picture frame, creating ideas from photos and matting can be nicer.

The first creation for the week uses a digital calendar page to create a rendering that is also a birthday greeting, lending some additional uses for your favorite digital calendar page images.  A similar technique could be applied to recognize other important events worth preserving within a given month.  Since this idea was off the top of my head, I figured others could easily imagine their own applications for this kind of image.

One way to turn a calendar into a greeting card.

One way to turn a calendar into a greeting card.

The next item offers a nice digital photo matting picture of a favorite fall scene, and a sentiment that got some notice from one recipient.  With these digital creations, it is possible to bring lasting and unique images with loads of flair, all with some of your own photographs.

Turn favorite matted photos into special greetings.

Turn favorite matted photos into special greetings.

In my third creation, I combined an offset digitally matted photo with a humorous angle.  I can make up this kind of stuff all day long if I am not careful, so I let this digital plaque go out to someone who would rather forget how old they are.

I used an effect and off set to make this image stand out.

I used an effect and off set to make this image stand out.

Last on the list is another humorous greeting card design that combines a beautifully matted digital photo into something the recipient may look at several times before they stop to read what the card actually says.  That is one way to test how well people look at what you send them. 

Did you read that card I sent you?

Did you read that card I sent you?

In the past postings, I have placed other digital greetings among the weekly offerings.  If your wit and vision for creating one of these unique greeting cards is burning to get out, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort in trying to do it yourself by letting me put the idea together for you.  Who knows, maybe you are the next Hallmark Cards just waiting to happen.

If you want me to create a unique design from your photos or specifications, just send an email to jdir@bhotechnologists.com and tell me what you have in mind.  Please do not attach photos to your email.  I will tell you everything you need to know about how to start getting the most from your digital picture frame content.  If you want to use any of the work posted on this site, just pay $3 per image at how to buy matting services and then send me an email to let me know what you use or want to download.

Thanks for visiting, and come back often.  If you like what you see, tell your friends.  If you don’t, then just keep your mouth shut.

20 Sep 2009 Weekly Photo Contest – 9/20/09

Our weekly photo contest is a great way to celebrate your memories in pictures and share them with others while winning prizes.  In keeping with the theme of “blooming idiots” for this week, enter your favorite flower macro shot for a chance to win weekly, monthly, or even a yearly prize from just one entry.

Check out our weekly photo contest rules for more information, and enter this week’s contest early for your chance to win.  You cannot be an award winner if you do not enter, so hurry up already.

19 Sep 2009 September Favorites – Blooming Idiot Week

One of the first things an amateur photographer does with their new digital camera is go out and start taking macro shots of flowers, bugs, and anything little that might look nice or artistic.  After they tell themselves their shots have just created a new art form, a little voice in their head tells them to try to start selling their pictures to people who have never seen such beautiful perspectives before.

Well, that is why I call this path the “blooming idiot” approach, and dedicate this week’s theme to all those who have, or will wander down this path with me.  Just look what I have for you to enjoy.  My first item is a digital plaque that expresses high sounding sentiments, and a nicely matted flower photo of some delicate blooms which reflect the sentiment.  It looks nice, and gave me something to do with one of my flower macros.

Flower macros can be used to make other stuff.

Flower macros can be used to make other stuff.

Next, I made this unusual looking digital calendar page offering which took one of my more artsy flower shots, dressed it up with nice colored matting, and put it on a richly textured calendar box design.  Application number two for my close up flower shots.

Make lame flower photos worthwhile by letting me dress them up.

Make lame flower photos worthwhile by letting me dress them up.

On my third pass to enhance my eye for macro flower shots, I created this fancy digital photo matting around my shot of the partially rotting flower bloom to confirm the claim that nobody else has a flower shot like this one, even if they have some of the same kind of flowers. 

Get your macro shots looking extra special with my matting help.

Get your macro shots looking extra special with my matting help.

In my final offering, you will not only find a doubly beautiful digitally matted photo of more open blooms, but the digital award where the picture appears carries recognition to a level which has never been seen until now.  I was particularly happy to accept this award, as tears of joy wet the tops of my shoes.  With this, I close my presentations, but I want to leave you with one more idiotic mental image that occurred to me this week.  When you see people yawning at work, don’t report them to their supervisors; just think of them as empty human Pez dispensers looking for a way to be filled.

I accept this award whole heartedly...I feel like a hero.

I accept this award whole heartedly...I feel like a hero.

If you want me to create a unique design from your photos or specifications, just send an email to jdir@bhotechnologists.com and tell me what you have in mind.  Please do not attach photos to your email.  I will tell you everything you need to know about how to start getting the most from your digital picture frame content.  If you want to use any of the work posted on this site, just pay $3 per image at how to buy matting services then send me an email to let me know what you use or want to download.

Thanks for visiting, and come back often.  If you like what you see, tell your friends.  If you don’t, then just keep your mouth shut.

13 Sep 2009 Weekly Photo Contest – 09/13/09
 |  Category: Uncategorized  | Leave a Comment

Greetings to all weekly photo contest fans.  It is a new week and a new Matte Watch challenge, so grab your cameras and get out there for this week’s chance to win rewards that just keep on coming.  The theme for this week is “bad photos.”  Enter one of your not-so-great photos that you think is your own award winner.  Check out our weekly photo contest rules for more information, and enter this week’s contest early for your chance to win.

12 Sep 2009 September Favorites – Bad Photo Week

One of the premier advantages of digital photography is the ability to immediately cull out bad photos.  Instead of wasting time and money filling up drawers and albums with all those terrible compositions, over exposed, and under exposed pictures, we can simply delete them before we head out to the store to buy those prints, or load up our digital picture frames. 

As I scan back through my albums for “keeper” shots, there are still more bad photos I have taken and kept than there are good ones.  The reason for this is varied.  Often I keep pictures of seemingly uncorrelated junk because it reminds me of a place I went, or a time I enjoyed on one of my walks.  I know my pictures are bad because people who look at them ask, “Where is that?” or “Why are you taking so many pictures of weeds?”

If any of this sounds like the kind of experiences you get with your own photos, then take note of this week’s creations made from nothing but bad photos, (as if some past weeks have not.)  When you add the extra dimension of letting me create a digitally matted photo, digital award, digital plaque, or digital calendar page, you will start hearing a different tune about your bad photos.  Though you may still hear some of the same old questions about your pictures, many will preface their remarks with, “Oh! That’s pretty.” or “That’s interesting, where did you get that?” Thus is the power of my digital creations.

See for yourself with this week’s offerings.  The first item is a digital plaque which includes a quote from my favorite sage regarding the future of digital camera technology.  The center piece of this plaque is an under exposed twilight shot I took of some tall grass and scruffy trees at Heritage Park in Olathe, KS.  I particularly enjoyed this day in the park with my wife, so I kept the bad photo, but look at it now.  Beautiful.

You do not need perfect photos to create a thing of beauty.

You do not need perfect photos to create a thing of beauty.

Next in line is the digitally matted photo I took during a walk on part of the Mill Creek trail that passes through Shawnee Mission Park, KS.  This photo of the lush greenery we saw on our walk takes me back to that spot, headed for some shade on a warm summer day.  The digital matting accents tell the world, “I meant to do that,” when I took the shot.  Now, before you respond with, “So what?” let’s move on to the next item.

Digital photo matting accents the statement you were making with your photos.

Digital photo matting accents the statement you were making with your photos.

This week’s digital calendar offering features the soft highlights of a small grassy area along a walking trail near our home in Overland Park, KS.  Made from a combination of textures, highlights and shadows, this picture beacons for you to come and spend a few minutes relaxing comfortably in the soft lush grass.

Passing time with digital calendar creations that shine.

Passing time with digital calendar creations that shine.

When you think you have taken a photograph with few redeeming qualities, because you are not even sure where the bad picture came from, you can always hold out for making it an award winner.  Under the right circumstances, bad photos can fire up the competitive spirit like nothing else.  I have rewarded myself with this stunning digital photo frame award, so the question is, “Are you going to be next?”

Find your own reason to be recognized with digital awards.

Find your own reason to be recognized with digital awards.

If you want me to create a unique design from your photos or specifications, just send an email to jdir@bhotechnologists.com and tell me what you have in mind.  Please do not attach photos to your email.  I will tell you everything you need to know about how to start getting the most from your digital picture frame content.  If you want to use any of the work posted on this site, just pay $3 per image at how to buy photo matting services then send me an email to let me know what you use or want to download.

Thanks for visiting, and come back often.  If you like what you see, tell your friends.  If you don’t, then just keep your mouth shut.

06 Sep 2009 Weekly Photo Contest – 09/06/09

At Matte Watch, you can get in on the inspirations by entering your photos into our weekly photo contest, and winning free awards and photo treatment prizes.  The theme for this week will be “favorite cities.”  Check out our weekly photo contest rules for more information, and enter this week’s contest early for your chance to win.

05 Sep 2009 September Favorites – More from Art

A new month begins with the continuation of last week’s theme of images created from pictures of famous and valuable art works transformed into new ideas.  Many thanks to the Nelson Museum of Art in Kansas City for allowing visitors to take non-flash photos of the beautiful works of art displayed on the site.

My first presentation was put together as a commemorative birthday digital plaque greeting, using a photo from the modern gallery at Nelson.  Although my composition seemed to underwhelm the recipient, I will just have to try harder next year I guess. 

Digital plaque greetings?  It can work.

Digital plaque greetings? It can work.

This week’s digital calendar cube sports a picture of David slaying Goliath, with some nice gold tones to enrich the central theme of the painting used to adorn the image.  The work is just one variation the many possibilities you can commission me to complete from your own artistic digital photo endeavors.

Artistic compositions can make good calendar pages.

Artistic compositions can make good calendar pages.

My digital matted photo of the week can be used to display in a digital picture frame with a portrait orientation, using another lively painted subject and a nice looking outer matte.  Digital photos can help bring interesting works of art into your home at a tiny fraction of the cost for purchasing and matting prints or the paintings themselves, with a prolonged life span, because these pictures can be displayed without the deterioration of their physical counterparts.

Matted photos can be displayed with a portrait orientation.

Matted photos can be displayed with a portrait orientation.

The digital award presentation for the week goes to my wife for reasons known to the both of us, that I have decided not to detail in my blog.  Let it suffice to say that this award is richly deserved on a number of levels.  I hope these weekly offerings touch your own imagination and inspire you to work with me to bring them to life.

Even unusual awards can have value to those who receive them.

Even unusual awards can have value to those who receive them.

If you want me to create a unique design from your photos or specifications, just send an email to jdir@bhotechnologists.com and tell me what you have in mind.  Please do not attach photos to your email.  I will tell you everything you need to know about how to start getting the most from your digital picture frame content.  If you want to use any of the work posted on this site, just pay $3 per image at how to buy photo matting services then send me an email to let me know what you use or want to download.

Thanks for visiting, and come back often to see what is new.

Photo Mats Resources