TJ Prints...

Been one busy week. I could hardly touch or even think of the camera. In between my work and my projects, and the exhausted body and turbulent sleeping, my inspirations for new photos was lost amid this atmosphere.
However, not everything was gone in a thin air. I've been trying my best to represent my photos already and I've managed to build a website and register my own domain, as well as working on a catalog (which is not over yet).

I've got some up and down comments about the prices that I've settled already for my pieces, but I wouldn't know the public's opinion until I try to show them myself. Everything will be evident by the time when the expo comes. So far, I'm not sure how good they are still. I'm not sure how I'm going to cope psychologically, because I'm sure there will be much stress, either I sell something or not, the stress is there.
My daily schedule for the time being is, go to work, come back home, and work on something; no exercises as I was planning, and sometimes I can't even stay awake in the afternoons because of the exhaustion, with the return of the traffic jam into the streets of Kuwait (with school return) and the erratic behavior of drivers on road and the stress coming with that. Sometimes I don't even feel like having my lunch and all what I look for is my bed. To keep it even busier, some car issues and meetings pampered me this week.

Back to my projects. As I've mentioned before, the projects with Geltani and Ayvarith recordings are on hold for now. I've made a model catalog but not being able to print it yet because I'm waiting for the next week to get some framing samples to photograph and put in the catalog as well (so customers can choose what framing they would like to have for their prints).
In the beginning I had to design a sample page, and thanks to my Bulgarian friend (you can tell she's a multi-talented) who worked with me to put the final touches to the overall look:

Sample catalog page. Click to enlarge (large image). And please don't be shocked for the price!

Ten pages of that kind were designed for old and new images, six of them are from Ireland and four of them are from Kuwait. There will be a cover page and some introduction page just before the beginning of the catalog itself.

The cover page. Seems final even though I'm not sure that it is to my satisfaction.

As for the website, I've been working the whole week (along side with the catalog), but the work seems far from finished with it, but the basic layout is there. I've registered the domain for a year so far, which was relatively cheap in fact and in hope that it will be so for some long time to come.

TJ Prints

I've included the catalog in the website already, but I had to turn off the Portfolio section after some technical problems. Typical with me. Nothing goes right easily. However, the work is still on.

The whole thing with the sales and selling my prints, makes me think of reducing my contribution to the stock photography websites like Mostphotos and Canstockphoto, as well as Bigstockphoto. I might keep my work uploaded in these websites, until revoked.

I can't wait until the national day here comes in and I might have some time to relax and sleep as much as I want (and stay awake as much as I want). Maybe new opportunities to use my camera are to come soon...

Here We Go...

They are here finally. Signed, sealed and... framed. Soon to be delivered hopefully. It did cost me a fortune somehow but I have some hopes on selling those and gain some profit to cover up for my losses in February so far (specially after paying up the bills for electricity and water).

Signed, sealed, framed.

However, the experience here in taking this picture was something I wanted to do long time ago. Funny though that I had to fix my camera with the flash unit attached to it, by my spiderpod (or gorilla pod as some call it I think) and all is wrapped on a toy car. The flash was pointed upward to bounce of the ceiling even though the ceiling is not close so much, but the illumination was fair I'd say. For an experiment like this I didn't think of doing HDR out of the situation. Too bad I didn't think of taking a picture of the set!
The experience is new to me but the idea is old in fact. I always wanted to do such a panorama where the image can be kept flat instead of being wrapped, and that implies that I can't use the VR-head and rotate the camera on location, but I have to move the camera in a straight line as much as possible in order to keep the perspective, and the blend should be then some sort of a collage for all the images.

In Photoshop there is definitely a "collage" blend, but of course the Photoshop era was long gone. I had to sort things out with a baby called PTGui. However, using PTGui with complete manual control, means there are things to be done, unlike the totally automatic and relatively easy processing in Photoshop.

On another note, I've dug up some old photos that I didn't touch or process before. Or should I say panoramas that I didn't stitch before.
Because of my search for some material to add on the list and prepare a catalog for some prints-to-be, I've began sweeping through some of the old pictures and folders, and of course I had to stop by 2010's Ireland's collection. There, I've discovered one small panorama that I didn't touch and post before, but I've prepared the HDR slides already!

Once Upon A Gothic

Maybe one of the reasons that made me look away from this image is the fact that there are some people in the image and usually stock sites don't like images in that way (or let's say they ask you to put on a model release for each person in the image sometimes!). Anyway, things have changed as it seems. Looking back at this image and looking at my workflow now it is amazing how many things have changed about my considerations and techniques.
The HDR slides for this small panorama were taken on tripod without VR-head. Generally, a small panorama like this (4 slides) might not cause much of a headache in stitching. However, the bracketing for HDR was done in -3,0,+3 sequence, and THAT proved to be a problem. Back then, I thought such EV level is something good to include extremes of highlights and shades, but judging from my position now, I think -2,0,+2 is enough (and even this might cause some problems at certain atmospheres). I think now it is the time to use metering from the camera to decide on a proper range of EVs, specially before working with a full panorama.
In case you are wondering about the title, this is because I think the architectural style here is Gothic; elongated windows and sharp tops. They say the medieval architecture in Ireland was greatly influenced with this Gothic style and some argue as well that it was brought to the island from southern France in that specific era.

I'm in a rush now to do many things before the time of the expo comes; a catalog, and even a website. For this rush, my recordings for Alexander's story - 6th chapter, and also working on my Geltani project, all are on hold for the time being. All what I'm hoping for is to cover up for some of the expenditures I had to bear this month, by selling some of these prints for real. I've wiped out all my salary already and no way to save anything now...

Canvases...

Exhaustive week! I'm trying to prepare myself for an expo by next month, and I'm trying to get things ready before and also, trying to learn more about what to do and what I can do, and most importantly, pricing. As some experts (or so I think) are saying on some websites as I surfed about the topic, they advise not to sell myself short (i.e. selling cheap). I believe this is true since I did already suffer for taking these images in the first place (from here and from Ireland, singular shots and panoramas). Yet to come, framing them in proper frames.

I. Canvases Around:

I made the prints in two batches (i.e. two days) and even though I wanted to print more panoramas and I had some ambitions about making a very large print (2m x 2m; ~ 6ft x 6ft) yet for the time being and for such an experience like this, I think it is too early to do so (specially on canvas papers).

The shots, and just for fun, were shot with flash using my new flash gels to balance the color of the tungsten lighting in the rooms. The sizes of the major panoramas here were fixed with dimensions around 50cm X 50cm (maybe around 1.5ft x 1.5ft). One of them in fact had few centimeters in height more than its width but I can't remember which! The rest of images were printed around the ISO size of A2 (in fact smaller since there is a margin and a crop).
Now, I've picked my images to the framing shop and chose some different frames, and it did cost a fortune. I think selling those for a range of 100KD to 300KD would be fair (~$360 to $1080) and it won't be something I'm exaggerating with. What brings my budget down even more, is the fact that I've paid the bills of electricity and water for the house (without telling anyone), as I'm supposed to be the man of the house at the moment. The consequences of that are around one third of my salary is gone. Another third have gone with preparations for the expo, and some of the last third of my salary is gone on daily expenditures. I'm waiting for the end of this month, and I don't know how I will manage till then. We have a celebration coming along for the national day of Kuwait on the 25th and 26th of February which will fall on Saturday and Sunday, and I'm not sure an extra day would be given here (for Saturday, since it is part of the weekend). I need more sleep here.

II. Back to Ayvarith:

Now, because of the busy week I had here, and because I'm getting myself busier with my new books, I didn't get the time to work more on Geltani script and language, but I managed to snap some time to record the 5th chapter of Alexander's story. You can read the Ayvarith version and listen to it in here, or you can read the English version of the story here.
Now it is the time to record chapter 6, which is something impossible to be done in one day like I did with the previous chapters already. Thus, chapter 6 will be done on several days, if not weeks, or months! I just know my lazy nature already and how much I give myself some excuses just to delay things. I have to banish these habits, but I don't know how...

For the time being, I'm so sick of driving my car and the damn peace of gear which was supposed to be ordered since the end of the December, is not here yet and no one called me to pick the car to the garage. I hate cars and their problems more than I hate Satan himself. I'm starting just to hate the idea of going out of home because I know the suffering in advance. This said, maybe it is time now to rely a bit more on my credit card and stop paying things in cash or by direct deduction (by ATM card). I have enough, but I hate to believe, that this month I'm not saving a single penny...

Rain Rain Rain...

Things are going frantic here. Thursday (today) is the election day for parliament members and we have also one day off (mainly for the occasion of the birth of prophet Mohammed, not the elections). The week was sluggish but nice one with some rains here and there (typing this as the rain is pouring outside). Rains here are a bless despite all the fuss and the mud you might have to step on, like in my work place!
Not much progress, in this week, with my various projects or photography, but only with one inventive perspective (well, not so inventive) done to some old panorama, and might enable me to manipulate older panoramas as well in the same manner:

Circulorum

The "perspective" in use here was Transverse Mercator; one of the rarely used perspectives (or projections). Supposedly, the Transverse term is a note that this projection is suitable for vertical panoramas or a panorama taken in landscape orientation I'd say. However, my panorama here is not vertical of course, but it yielded some result that I didn't think of before, and with the scattered rocks it helped me create a view similar to that of the classical magnetic field experiment with iron filings. I think such perspective is not suitable to just any scene, but only few like this one, which would be helped out by such projection style to add order to chaos.

For the time being I'm trying to figure out my options as I might join some expo with my sister. Not an easy decision, nor an easy work to be done. I despise the paperwork and this project is heavily loaded with it. I might as well create a logo and make it my official logo for future uses. There are many details that have been discussed, and I get a headache almost instantly.
On the other hand, I have 3 thick books waiting to be finished with. I'm reading 2 books and trying to divide the time equally between them but I think I failed so far, as the book concerned with flash photography is taking my interest the most.

Well, maybe it will be hard to take shots at night the few coming days, so I might as well just sit calmly and organize my camera backpack and my tools. There might be a travel waiting for me in June to Chicago, but I'm not optimistic about it. It is just a training course related to work, and most probably I won't be given the grant that's necessary for my training (by my work place). Not that I care much about it, but I think I do need some vacation somehow.

I'm going now, as the water seeped through my window with this heavy rain... wishing for a better week coming in advance...