This post is in response to Dan Antion’s CFFC – Crayola Box of 8 challenge. This week the color is, my favorite, purple! You can see Dan’s original post here: The Crayola Box of 8 – Purple — CFFC – No Facilities. He’s got a purple painted cow that you won’t want to miss.
Because purple is my favorite color, you’d think I’d have a lot of purple stuff. Oddly enough, I don’t. My Facebook page has bunches of purple images, and my Pintrest account, as well, because I collected purple for a while several years ago. But as far as actual tangible stuff, I really don’t. I was surprised.
The windchime above was made by my daughter especially for me, so it is a custom job. I loved all the purple she put into it and I sleep below it every night. Then, I have my hat collection with a couple of purple hats, and the warm, purple hat was crocheted by my other daughter. I guess they know me pretty good.
Nature’s Purples
Purple ViolasPurple IrisPurple Wildflowers
Purple Hats and Accessories
Me in my Purple Witch HatPurple Cowboy Hat Adorned with Purple FlowersMe in my purple crocheted hat
Purple Architecture
Gray house with purple trimBlue and purple houseBlue house with Purple Door
Other Purple Stuff
Fountain with Purple Lights, Glenwood Springs Hot Springs PoolIce Sculpture with Purple Lights, at Cripple Creek Ice FestivalPurple Neck Pillow
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This post is sponsored by the Time Travel Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.
I couldn’t come up with any black foods, but black is a good color for transportation.
Black Toyota CorollaBlack ATVBlack Electric Bike
Black Pot Belly Stoves
One of my favorite black things are pot belly stoves, which come in all sizes and various designs, but they are all beautiful.
Pot Belly StovePot Belly StovePot Belly StovePot Belly Stove
Black Birds
Ravens and Turkey Vultures are pretty elusive, but I’ve managed to snap a few pictures. I also threw in one of the wild turkeys and a couple of the black and white woodpeckers, which I call Tuxedos.
Turkey Vulture on the groundTurkey Vulture on the groundWild TurkeysBlack and White WoodpeckerBlack RavenTurkey Vulture in the skyRaven at the top of a treeBlack-capped ChickadeeTwo Black and white Woodpeckers
Black (and white) Cat
This section is a tribute to my cat, Rowdy, who fell prey to coyotes the beginning of last summer. His black stands out beautifully against his white, creating a lovely contrast. I miss him something awful. Here’s to Rowdy.
Black and white cat on a multi-colored blanketBlack and white cat close-upBlack and white cat headshotBlack and white cat on a stack of tiresBlack and white cat in a pot
Black (and white) Blue Heeler
This section chronicles the life of my dog Timber. As a puppy, he was a little devil-dog, but he’s three now, and has grown into a beautiful blue heeler. Blue heelers get their name from the way the black and white fur mixes, making them look like they are blue, but the patches on his face are distinct.
Black and white puppyBlack and white puppy looking at a black and white catBlack and white puppyBlack and white puppy guarding the laundry bagBlack and white dog in the tall grassBlack and white dogBlack and white dog by the waterBlack and white dog sittingBlack and white dog running down road with man dressed in black on a black bike
Other Black Stuff
I threw in a couple of doors for Dan. 😉
Inside of solitary confinement cellOld-fashioned SwitchboardBig Black PigBlack horse with brown coltBlack doorBlack Monarch Boutique HotelCorner entrance to Black Monarch Hotel
This post is in response to Dan Antion’s CFFC “Crayola Box of 8” challenge over at “No Facilities”. This week’s challenge is Brown. You can see Dan’s post for this week here: The Crayola Box of 8 – Brown — CFFC – No Facilities
Disney was as kind to warthog’s as it was unkind to hyenas in its movie, The Lion King. Pumbaa the Warthog is a well-known Southern African cartoon figure among many people, young and old. This is intriguing to me as warthogs, together with poor unloved hyenas, are both part of the Southern African ‘Ugly Five’ group of animals.
I always laugh when I see warthogs running about in the veld. I immediately think of ‘pigs in blankets’ and they are definitely ‘bush snacks’ for many carnivores. So, let’s learn a bit more about these funny looking creatures.
Warthogs are day animals and spend most of their time foraging for food. Socially, they are found in three groups: solitary boars, bachelor groups, and matriarchal groups which consist of adult sows with their young and yearlings. Outside of mating, the boars seldom associate with the sows and play no role in rearing the piglets. Did I mention that warthogs are a member of the pig family? Warthogs are the only pigs that have adapted to living and grazing in savannah like habitats.
A few interesting features of warthogs are that they kneel on their front knees while feeding and foraging and they shelter in (frequently borrowed) burrows at night which they enter tails first. Although they like more dry surroundings, warthogs enjoy wallowing in muddy water every day. This wallowing process is how they stay cool on hot days in the same manner as elephants and buffalo.
Picture caption: a solitary male warthog
Warthogs tend to breed and give birth at the beginning of the rainy season in regions where the seasons are defined. In other environments, warthogs can breed all year around. Warthogs generally have two to three piglets in a litter.
Picture caption: Two young warthogs
Although I said these creatures are bush snacks for lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and painted dogs, they have longer legs than most pigs and can run very quickly. They are difficult to catch and also difficult to photograph.
Interesting warthog facts
Warthogs have two pairs of tusks
Warthogs trot with their tails in the air
Warthogs can run up to 55 kilometres per hour (35 miles per hour)
Warthogs fight in a ritualistic way and use their heads and tusks to try to push their opponent over.
Warthogs have warts on their faces which act as a cushion for blows from their adversaries. Large warts also help protect their eyes during fights.
A group of female warthogs with young is called a sounder
Mama warthogs like orderly behaviour and the piglets always run in a fixed order in a line and not in a disorderly group.
Warthogs are attentive mothers; they leave the sounder when about to give birth and find their own burrow or hole. Mama remains in this hole with her young for the first six to seven weeks after birth, only leaving for short periods to graze.
Warthogs are hunted for their tusks which are carved for the tourist trade in eastern and southern Africa (don’t buy these!)
Warthogs communicate using a variety of different noises including loud grunts, growling and squeals. Clacking noises are used by males to entice females.
Picture caption: warthog foraging and grazing.Picture caption: Close up of a male warthog
My Youtube video of a sounder having breakfast:
Poem about warthogs
This poem is extracted from my favourite of my own books, Lion Scream.
Home Thief
I am not beautiful My head is too big My face is covered in wartlike protrusions To protect it during fights I have four large tusks *** I prefer to trespass On ready-built homes It’s easier if aardvark does the digging Creating a safe hole And I just move in *** My babies enter first I have up to four Backing in leaves me prepared to protect them From many predators Who view us as snacks
During a trip to Babanango Private Game Reserve we had the good fortune to come across this giraffe with large white patches on its face. Very unusual. The guide was very patient and waited for me to get my shots.
Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta is also the author and illustrator of seventeen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of four poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Like this post? Are you a fan of this blog series? Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.
Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ
Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3
Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares: 14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare. https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil
I saw Dan Antion’s post on No Facilities for this week’s CWWC Challenge, and since I live and play on dirt roads, this challenge is right up my alley, so to speak, I thought I’d join in on this one.
Here’s this week’s challenge: Dirt roads or dirt pathways or trails [Bonus if Red is Included]
And here are some of the dirt roads along my way and some things found on them:
En route to Cripple Creek, ColoradoBarrel cactus getting ready to bloom on property where I live. Blooms will be red when they open. (Don’t know if that counts)Dirt road transportation: electric bikeMcCoy Gulch cutoff, Cotopaxi, ColoradoDirt path around Sands Lake, Salida, ColoradoWild flowers add color. These are black-eyed susans.Heavy duty transportation on rough and rocky dirt roads. ATV above Hillside, Colorado.Me and my Jeep JK near Cripple Creek, Colorado.Old cabin above Hillside, Colorado.
During our recent trip of Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, we had a good sighting of a secretary bird roosting in a tree. That sighting prompted the creation of this poem which tells you all about this fascinating bird.
Ode to a Secretary Bird
My mouth smiles, a grin spreading from ear to ear
When I spy the Secretary Bird perched in a tree
It looks around, hoping its favourite food will appear
A slithering snake its equivalent of scones and tea
An eagle type body perched atop legs like a crane
Giving it a height of up to 1.3 meters; tall for a bird
Crazy feather spikes surround its face – a bad hair day
Or does it think it’s a lion with a shaggy black mane
During a courting ritual, its frog-like call is heard
The rest of the year, a calm silence holds sway
Picture caption: Secretary bird with its black crest up. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
***
Breeding usually takes place once in a year
During spring and summer when food is plentiful
The male helps to incubate the eggs, he’s quite a dear
Mating with one female for life, he’s also faithful
Preferring to stay grounded, it will fly if it must
Legs sticking out behind it in a ridiculous way
Outside of mating or nesting, it does its thing alone
When it needs to run, you only see a cloud of dust
With a wingspan of two metres, it creates a great display
Living out its life within a fifty square kilometre zone
Picture caption: Secretary bird stretching in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
***
Grey tailcoat and dark knee-length pants its claim
To male secretary status – it even has goose-quill pens
Carried behind its ears, the combined cause of its name
Also called ‘Devil’s horse’ by its traditional African friends
In honour of the great speed at which it hunts its prey
Including reptiles, amphibians, and mammals like rats
And venomous snakes which it beats to death on the ground
Popular due to their diet, people encourage them to stay
At keeping land free of vermin, they’re better than cats
Once they were numerous, but they no longer abound
Picture caption: Secretary bird in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
***
This bird’s endangered classification mankind’s great shame
Along with its relatives, buzzards, vultures, and harriers
The fault of human greed and selfishness, nothing else to blame
I’m grateful some are protected behind fences and barriers
An important feature in the South African coat of arms
It’s chest a protea, also endangered or vulnerable to extinction
Powerful legs formed by a crossed knobkierie and long spear
Symbolism as the protector of the nation one of its many charms
You’d expect its status to afford it a measure of distinction
The loss of this messenger of the heavens not something people fear
A fascinating YT video featuring a secretary bird (not my video):
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of three poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Like this post? Are you a fan of this blog series? Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
__________________________________________
This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.
Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ
Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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This post sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.
Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.
Last week, I did my first CFFC photo challenge, and it was so much fun, I had to give it another go. I’m doing a double challenge again this week. Thanks to Cee for posting such intriguing caategories. You can find out more about Cee’s Fun Poetry Challenges here: https://ceenphotography.com/fun-foto-challenge/
Most of my photos are of wild animals. The only farm animals photos I have are of horses. So, the first three are of horses.
Photo by Kaye Lynne BoothPhoto by Kaye Lynne Booth
Weathered Wood
The other challenge category was Weathered Wood, and it just so happens I’m a big fan of old buildings.
Old Cabin, Turrett, Colorado – Photo by Kaye Lynne Booth Old Schoolhouse, Turrett, Colorado – Photo by Kaye Lynne BoothOld Cabin in disrepair, Turrett, Colorado – Photo by Kaye Lynne BoothStairs in an old ore mill, Bonanza, Colorado – Photo by Kaye BoothMiner’s Cabin, Gold Camp, Colorado – Photo by Kaye Lynne BoothCabin built from old water tower used to water the trains, Monarch, Colorado – Photo by Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; and book 1 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
I found this challenge through a post which Robbie Cheadle made earlier this week, where she posted several lovely photos. You can see Robbie’s response to this challenge on Roberta Writes. I went to Cee’s blog to see what all the fuss was about and it sounded like fun, so I decided to join in with this Saturday post. You can find out more about Cee’s cool challenges here.
The smallest of the bird species comes in a variety of colors with a plethora of different types of Hummingbirds all over the world. Above is a male Rufus Hummingbird drinking from one of my feeders while hovering in mid-air.
Photo by Kaye Lynne Booth
The small blooms of a Geranium flower.
Photo by Kaye Lynne Booth
The Indian Paintbrush flower comes in bright, dazzling orange.
Photo by Kaye Lynne Booth
Dwarf Marigold growing in my garden always brightens things up for me.
Photo by Kaye Lynne Booth
A butterfly lands on the tiny blooms of a purple bell flower.
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; and book 1 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
Listen. A month ago I saw one of my bank statements and I saw that Adobe had been paid $119 in February. They’ve been getting the same $119 for five years. Uh? For what? Apparently I had signed on to an app for a one-time signing of a PDF contract. That was how Adobe got me. I’ve been paying 119 a year for that one-time signing. I should have seen it. I didn’t.
Software did it to me. Adobe. Photoshop and its minions, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. Adobe has such a tight grip on the photo image market, it’s like an octopus with twenty four tentacles. I’ve been on fair terms with the awesome app for a long time. I’ve been using Photoshop CS5, which is about fifteen years old.
I figured that as long as I’ve paid Adobe through the years, I may as well install all the photo apps to which I am entitled. The latest Photoshop. The latest Lightroom, the latest Lightroom Classic.
Here’s where the confusion starts. There’s a guy on Youtube who looks like a Hindu version of Peter Lorre. His face is motionless, frozen into an amused smirk. He’s so good with Photoshop he just riffs with heavy duty stuff like “eliminating the background”. And he does it with a few clicks and brushes. Isn’t that fundamental with a thousand images you’ve taken? Wouldn’t it be great to have a tool that automatically erases the background?
That’s what’s happening now in Photoshop. It can do that! The Revolution has come! Not for me, not yet: I’m following Frozenface’s instructions and it’s not happening. That’s one aspect of Photoshop. There are hundreds of ways of doing the same thing. I follow FlatFace’s steps and I’m not erasing any background. I’m erasing the foreground. I WILL figure it out.
So I’m running two versions of Photoshop, I also have Lighroom, Lightroom Classic and Canon’s Digital Photo Pro. And all the Windows photo apps, all the Microsoft photo appos, all these image apps jumping in my face and saying “Use me! Use ME!” All these programs are supposed to run harmoniously together and shepherd my precious images towards their apotheosis.
I’m not comfortable with this stuff. I’m especially confused by the shift in terminology and the way “Save As” has become “Exports As” and now there are Collections instead of Folders. Folders had to give up their guts and ride the Adobe Train.
I’m lost and confused. I don’t know where my photos are any more. I don’t know how much duplication has happened and how much drive space these previews and previews of previews and preview previews for comparison photos, before and after, showing how many iterations of the same image exist.. Over and over again. Where they are. They’re on my computer. I can click and make an image appear. In fifteen different programs. Everyone loves photography. The internet is all about photography. And video, don’t forget video.
I think it must be okay. The people at Adobe are experts. They must have deep insight into the process of editing and transforming images or they wouldn’t be able to anticipate what photographers and graphic artists will need in the future. Even with the latest mega Terabyte solid state drives, space will always be a major consideration.
Hell yes I need a tool that can erase a background from an impromptu portrait snapshot. Hell yes. I just have to figure out the procedure. Right now I’m erasing the faces that I’m hoping to preserve. Maybe I need a better Youtube teacher than Mister SmirkFace.
It’s okay to be confused. Don’t let it alarm you. Ever since Walt Disney took control of this culture’s imagination things haven’t looked right. You never know when a set of whiskers will appear on the side of a woman’s face. Or dogs are fitted out as astronauts and interstellar explorers. Dogs, pigs, mice. Disney was a major zoophile. Things haven’t looked right for the last sixty years.
Where do archetypes end and stereotypes begin? Ask Walt Disney. Ask his ghost, I don’t care. He has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do.
I’m still confused. I expect to be less confused as I get familiar with this new software. OR…I’ll toss this shit and go back to Canon DP Pro, because it’s just easier.
Arthur Rosch is a novelist, musician, photographer and poet. His works are funny, memorable and often compelling. One reviewer said “He’s wicked and feisty, but when he gets you by the guts, he never lets go.” Listeners to his music have compared him to Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Randy Newman or Mose Allison. These comparisons are flattering but deceptive. Rosch is a stylist, a complete original. His material ranges from sly wit to gripping political commentary.
Arthur was born in the heart of Illinois and grew up in the western suburbs of St. Louis. In his teens he discovered his creative potential while hoping to please a girl. Though she left the scene, Arthur’s creativity stayed behind.
In his early twenties he moved to San Francisco and took part in the thriving arts scene. His first literary sale was to Playboy Magazine. The piece went on to receive Playboy’s “Best Story of the Year” award.
Arthur also has writing credits in Exquisite Corpse, Shutterbug, eDigital, and Cat Fancy Magazine. He has written five novels, a memoir and a large collection of poetry. His autobiographical novel, Confessions Of An Honest Man won the Honorable Mention award from Writer’s Digest in 2016.
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Mind Fields: I’m Confused
Posted: July 16, 2021 | Author: artrosch | Filed under: Commentary, Mind Fields | Tags: Arthur Rosch, Commentary, Internet, Mind Fields, Photography, Writing to be Read | 4 CommentsListen. A month ago I saw one of my bank statements and I saw that Adobe had been paid $119 in February. They’ve been getting the same $119 for five years. Uh? For what? Apparently I had signed on to an app for a one-time signing of a PDF contract. That was how Adobe got me. I’ve been paying 119 a year for that one-time signing. I should have seen it. I didn’t.
Software did it to me. Adobe. Photoshop and its minions, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. Adobe has such a tight grip on the photo image market, it’s like an octopus with twenty four tentacles. I’ve been on fair terms with the awesome app for a long time. I’ve been using Photoshop CS5, which is about fifteen years old.
I figured that as long as I’ve paid Adobe through the years, I may as well install all the photo apps to which I am entitled. The latest Photoshop. The latest Lightroom, the latest Lightroom Classic.
Here’s where the confusion starts. There’s a guy on Youtube who looks like a Hindu version of Peter Lorre. His face is motionless, frozen into an amused smirk. He’s so good with Photoshop he just riffs with heavy duty stuff like “eliminating the background”. And he does it with a few clicks and brushes. Isn’t that fundamental with a thousand images you’ve taken? Wouldn’t it be great to have a tool that automatically erases the background?
That’s what’s happening now in Photoshop. It can do that! The Revolution has come! Not for me, not yet: I’m following Frozenface’s instructions and it’s not happening. That’s one aspect of Photoshop. There are hundreds of ways of doing the same thing. I follow FlatFace’s steps and I’m not erasing any background. I’m erasing the foreground. I WILL figure it out.
So I’m running two versions of Photoshop, I also have Lighroom, Lightroom Classic and Canon’s Digital Photo Pro. And all the Windows photo apps, all the Microsoft photo appos, all these image apps jumping in my face and saying “Use me! Use ME!” All these programs are supposed to run harmoniously together and shepherd my precious images towards their apotheosis.
I’m not comfortable with this stuff. I’m especially confused by the shift in terminology and the way “Save As” has become “Exports As” and now there are Collections instead of Folders. Folders had to give up their guts and ride the Adobe Train.
I’m lost and confused. I don’t know where my photos are any more. I don’t know how much duplication has happened and how much drive space these previews and previews of previews and preview previews for comparison photos, before and after, showing how many iterations of the same image exist.. Over and over again. Where they are. They’re on my computer. I can click and make an image appear. In fifteen different programs. Everyone loves photography. The internet is all about photography. And video, don’t forget video.
I think it must be okay. The people at Adobe are experts. They must have deep insight into the process of editing and transforming images or they wouldn’t be able to anticipate what photographers and graphic artists will need in the future. Even with the latest mega Terabyte solid state drives, space will always be a major consideration.
Hell yes I need a tool that can erase a background from an impromptu portrait snapshot. Hell yes. I just have to figure out the procedure. Right now I’m erasing the faces that I’m hoping to preserve. Maybe I need a better Youtube teacher than Mister SmirkFace.
It’s okay to be confused. Don’t let it alarm you. Ever since Walt Disney took control of this culture’s imagination things haven’t looked right. You never know when a set of whiskers will appear on the side of a woman’s face. Or dogs are fitted out as astronauts and interstellar explorers. Dogs, pigs, mice. Disney was a major zoophile. Things haven’t looked right for the last sixty years.
Where do archetypes end and stereotypes begin? Ask Walt Disney. Ask his ghost, I don’t care. He has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do.
I’m still confused. I expect to be less confused as I get familiar with this new software. OR…I’ll toss this shit and go back to Canon DP Pro, because it’s just easier.
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Arthur Rosch is a novelist, musician, photographer and poet. His works are funny, memorable and often compelling. One reviewer said “He’s wicked and feisty, but when he gets you by the guts, he never lets go.” Listeners to his music have compared him to Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Randy Newman or Mose Allison. These comparisons are flattering but deceptive. Rosch is a stylist, a complete original. His material ranges from sly wit to gripping political commentary.
Arthur was born in the heart of Illinois and grew up in the western suburbs of St. Louis. In his teens he discovered his creative potential while hoping to please a girl. Though she left the scene, Arthur’s creativity stayed behind.
In his early twenties he moved to San Francisco and took part in the thriving arts scene. His first literary sale was to Playboy Magazine. The piece went on to receive Playboy’s “Best Story of the Year” award.
Arthur also has writing credits in Exquisite Corpse, Shutterbug, eDigital, and Cat Fancy Magazine. He has written five novels, a memoir and a large collection of poetry. His autobiographical novel, Confessions Of An Honest Man won the Honorable Mention award from Writer’s Digest in 2016.
More of his work can be found at www.artrosch.com
Photos at https://500px.com/p/artsdigiphoto?view=photos
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