New Style Print

The lack of sales since my return from Japan has been striking and with much of my time being spent on my new shop, Inter Alia, I've been rather ignoring Eyeshoot.

I decided today to try a new style of print using a shot from my weekend in Henley as a bit of a guinea pig. I've incorportated my logo in the white border and while I think it looks nice, I can't quite decide if it's tacky or classy?

Smashing

Here's an original Treasury, you don't really see too many with yellow featuring. I think that this is the first time my Lemons and Teapot print has been used.

Smashing
by Mia Beads

A really original Treasury

I came home after a seriously hot weekend with friends where we spent lots of time in their pool, eating, drinking, reading newspapers and catching up on gossip, not to mention a few scorchingly hot hours at the Guards Polo at Windsor Great Park which was rather an experience!

I was pleasantly pleased to find my most popular Treasury print in a Monty Python themed selection in which it feels very at home!

Spam (Monty Python)
by pinkquartzminerals

A beautiful Treasury

I really shouldn't be blogging after so much wine, but I reckon I can just about manage this....

URBANITE - Urban beauty in blue and vermillion
by Curisoity Killed

Bbq Prep and Demolition

"Let's have a bbq, " they said, "we'll go and get the food and would you mind getting it ready?". Of course I said "yes", we havent' had a barbie for ages, none this year, and the weather was lousy all last year and we didn't manage, so the prospect was good.

The (male) hunter-gatherers did their thing and returned to the kitchen and offered me, two packs of beef mince, two packs of sausages, one French loaf, a pot of yoghourt and three courgettes......Out of this offering plus the meagre contents of my fridge and my well stocked store cupboard we are having the following:
Home made Moroccan spiced burgers, shop bought sausages tarted up with extra seasoning and herbs, oven roast red onions and courgettes with thyme, home made herby humous, plain yoghourt with masses of herbs, Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumber and feta), basmati rice with coriander spice, peas, herbs and lemon. It's taken me hours and I'm knackered! But at least I won't have to deal with the cooking of the meat and I'm certainly not washing up....

...later...

It was all delicious and I prepared far to much food as usual. There will be plenty for lunch tomorrow.

A good days shooting

The proper grown up shoot went really well today. I have 800 pictures to sort through and tweak ready for the website and brochure designs. It's certainly nice to earn some money, but I won't actually be getting that for a while.

We're having our first bbq of the summer to round the day off.

Productive (sort of) but frustrating

I've had my first go at making a digital collage sheet today and frankly, who'd have thought it would be so much bloody hard work. I scanned the lovely old cigarette card album on the good Epson scanner after a quick crash course - what fun, I can't believe I've gone for this long without scanning anything. Then I made an A4 sheet of the cropped images in Quark which looked great and then discovered that the resulting PDF file weighed in at a whopping 160MB which is too big to even think of emailing to anyone. Then started my epic delving into the weird and wonderful world of PDF sizing, compressing and other never before ventured into areas of the menu options. I made a pathetic plea for help in the Etsy forums and after a slow start got a really impressive array of very helpful and sensible advice, I'm really very grateful for so many intelligent replys on quite a technical subject.

Then I realized what I had done wrong. I'd imported all of the scanned jpgs into Quark and resized them so I could get lots onto one A4 page (sorry Americans, but I'm using my own paper sizes for this project.....) which is why the resulting file size was so massive. It also meant that the resultant prints just weren't good enough. When my little brain finally cliked into working mode, it realized that I really should be offering the images at 100% original size. So I started again and fitted two pages of the album onto my Quark page at 100% which looked much better with the text being much more legible. Then I exported this as a PDF with minimal compression which made a file of 7MB, much better. Opened in Acrobat and saved as an optimized PDF (thanks to advice from Etsy forum person) made for a lovely clear image of a respectable size. Then I printed it out on my excellent inkjet and it looks great. Mission accomplished. The next dialemma will be offering digital collage sheets with only two pages of an album, so should I be offering more pages for the $3.50? Perhaps I'll offer three pages. Now I've cracked it, making new sheets will be much faster and more efficient, so less time spent. I'll upload the first ones if I get a chance tomorrow. I've started drinking some rather nice red wine now, so I'd better not do it tonight or else it will all go wrong!

I've got a proper grown up shoot tomorrow. It's for the website of a recruitment company and I've got to shoot their employees at a lovely white building which is very helpfully literally over the road from home, I can see it from my kitichen window. I'll be using my super long and heavy 80-200 lens on a suitably sturdy tripod. There are two batches of people, two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon which will at least give me time to dash home to un-burden my memory cards and recharge mine and the camera batteries. Then there will be quite alot of computer tweaking to get the warped, overexposed images which are wanted.

I hope it all goes okay, I really need some more real work for my portfolio.

New Shop!

I've finally done something I've been meaning to do for ages - I've opened a second shop on Etsy! It's called Inter Alia - Amongst Other Things and will be selling old books, various printed ephemera, other old stuff and possibly digital collage pages if I can get organized with the scanner.

I've only uploaded a couple of things so far, but when I can get access to my photographing table, I'll whack a few more on and then start promoting it properly. I'm really looking forward to visiting all my local charity shops and the like for new material!

Fingers crossed for me please!

Laying down the law

., originally uploaded by multum in parvo..

I really laughed when I saw this in the Northern Quarter on Sunday, it just amused me that I'm not the only one who appreciates a well stickered parking sign. I'll have to remember to have a look again soon to see if it's been re-decorated.

Artists and their lovely mess and bright, shiny yellowness!

Here's a really great treasury with one of my all time favourite pictures being used for the very first time:

Living with an Artist can be.....but always in the end.....worth it!
by Debra Linker


And a stunning yellow collection too!
In Sharp Contrast
by Old Bag Crafts

Shopping in Morecambe.

Shopping in Morecambe., originally uploaded by multum in parvo..

I have rather a soft spot for seedy seaside towns and living in Manchester I'm perfectly placed near to quite a few. This lovely little scene was shot in Morecambe which on the day we visited was seriously seedy, sad and depressing....

Cool, Fresh, Greeness

I just love this Treasury, I think it's one of the nicest I seen for a while!

The Nature of Etsy - a walk in the garden
by Oldbagcrafts

The Great British Seaside Hotel.

The Great British Seaside Hotel., originally uploaded by multum in parvo..

Please take a seat

A first time outing for one of my pictures in:

Stand by Me.....Unless you Prefer to Take a Seat
by BeadNestDesigns

trawberr t a

trawberr t a
Originally uploaded by multum in parvo.

Spotted this a few weekends ago in the pretty village of Silverdale. I wonder if the sign lasted long enough to get any customers!

Thursday Morning Treasury

My Willow Blossom print seemed to have a few extra views when I looked this morning, and then on checking the Treasuries I found that it was in a rather nice one called:

332 and Unprepared
by CharmantShop

I still feel like my head is full of cotton wool and not inclined to do anything productive. I've uploaded a ton of stuff to iStock over the last couple of days and already the rejection emails are coming in. They always say that I've over filtered and that there's 'artifacting' at 100% which I can never see and if I could see it, I obviously wouldn't submit that image. I've a couple which can be resubmitted, so that's what I'll be doing next.

Being Productive for a change

While I've been feeling really off colour for the last few days, I've been spectacularly unproductive. I'm lazy and unmotivated at the best of times, but on the (thankfully) rare occasions when I'm ill I do nothing of use to man nor beast.

But I've started to do an epic upload to iStock of my photos from Japan, I've almost reached my limit for the time being, but it's a fairly labour intensive performance doing all the keywording etc and then you have to wait with crossed fingers that they will actually accept your work. Once accepted you then have to keep your fingers crossed that people in the outside world actually want your images and more importantly can actually find them amongst the millions which are there.

Here's my stuff.

Kool Kids

Liberty and Friends were featured in this yellow selection:

Kool Kids
by Leahgiberson

Click here to go straight to the Etsy Treasury page

This is a great selection, I particulary like the Lunastrella camera by Johnwgolden. I've not come across his work before, but will certainly have a good mooch around in his shop as it seems to be crammed with some wonderful graphic goodies!

Drawing on the walls

A nice Treasury for a sunny Sunday:

American Graffiti
by Scentualsensations

Click here to see it at Etsy

Cool Blue

The cough and sore throat which has been snapping at my heels for the last week has finally caught up with me. This lovely pale blue Treasury is just what I need.

Coolness of Blue
by stardust79

Click here to go straight to Etsy.

A change of direction

I've been wanting to do something a bit different for a while now and as I have more time to be creative these days, I've just started playing with layers and textures in Photoshop which I've never done before. I'm not really sure what I'm doing and am picking up bits of info from various photo magazines and from the outrageously informative Lynda.

Here's what I've been up to - if anyone actually looks at this, please bear in mind that it's very much an work in progress and excuse the naff font, it's just for me to play with!

Damp and Mossy, a bit like a Manchester summer....

We've been drowning under rain here for the last few weeks. I'm no fan of hot, dry summers, but even to my taste it's getting a bit much for the second week of July.

When I checked the Treasuries last night (after retuning from a supper down the road, in the pouring rain.....) I was rather pleased to see my Japanese Moss Garden used in a lovely selection:

Mmmmmm.......smell the mossy goodness
by sleepingcatbeads

Click here to go to the page on Etsy.

By the Seaside - My Third Treasury

After posting about the gloriously fragrant rain last night, my mind has turned to summer and the seaside and I'm finally able to show off my latest Treasury, which is called By the Seaside. I've been working at home for the last few days and many, many pictures have remained secretly invisible to me on Etsy, rather irritatingly that includes my own Treasury which I had to put together blind....

Anyway, I'm back at my old PC at my former office where I can view every single beautiful Seaside picture and I've laboriously stitched two screenshots together in CS2 to bring you:

By the Seaside
by me

Rain

I've just been standing on the threshold of my terrace while the rain is pelting down, it smelt wonderful and was beautiful.

Treasury spot for a new print

I listed a new print today and it's just appeared in a very nice Treasury, the curator picked it up really fast!

+++ Fern Hill +++
by porosoff

Click here to go to the page on Etsy

New Mosaics

I've been revamping my mosaic collection. I've always liked these, but I felt that I needed to make some higher resolution ones for larger prints and so on. I've kept the main subjects, added a blue one and edited the images in them to make use of some newer photos.

Why so Blue?

It has recently come to my notice that the majority of my photos are blue....I wonder why this is. If you were to ask me my favourite colour, it certainly wouldn't be blue. Why does it appeal to my eye so much?

This is a popular photo...why?

It's all in the composition.
Originally uploaded by multum in parvo.

This photo is my most looked at on Flickr with 5006 views. The view count shot up over a couple of days and I've not been able to find out. It's rather a little mystery.

Late Sunday Lunch at Carluccio's, Manchester

I've felt faintly guilty that since I changed the name of this relatively new blog to reflect my passion for food, I've made not one single foodie post.....and that includes all of the delicious food we ate in Japan.

So I'm starting now, but not with Japan!

We were away for the weekend in Morecambe for a wedding at the newly refurbished and restored Midland Hotel and by the time we arrived back in Manchester the afternoon after the main event, we were famished and I knew that there was nothing at all in the fridge to make a meal with - and when I say that, there really isn't as I am the self-confessed queen of making a meal out of nothing. We decided to go to our favourite Indian cafe, Al Faisal's for some of their delicious chicken tikka and the usual accompaniments of chick peas, rice, salad and some grilled minced lamb, but that area of town is currently in disarray due to the roads being dug up. By the time the traffic let us through, the shutters had just gone down. So we had to start again in our aim to eat. Carluccio's was our next prospect and we planned to meet our chum Adam there to have a gossip. Eventually we arrived about an hour after arriving in Manchester and we were suitably famished.

I've a funny relationship with Carluccio's, I think the stuff they sell in the shop is really good and great quality adn their deli counter is wonderful, but I'm always somewhat dissapointed with the menu, I've never quite put my finger on it, but that's the way it is.

Peter and I ordered the following to share as a starter:

Antipasto di Verdure £9.95

Roasted halved peppers filled with pesto, fresh green bean salad with mint, caponata, oven-roasted tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella.

It was mostly very nice, the caponata was deliciously rich, the pesto in the peppers was lovely (Carluccio's pesto is the only shop bought one I ever buy, it's really very good indeed), the green beans were a bit of a non event with tasteless mint, there were a few massive caperberries which is always a good thing and some very nice olives. Served with two dry slices of ciabatta. It was a just what we wanted and fairly filling.

It's the main course I have trouble chosing at these restaurants, I often find the pasta dishes dull and tastless, the risottos are generally okay but far to big, rich and calorific for my liking, so I often rely on the specials as I did on this occasion.

Saltimbocca di Pollo £9.95
Chicken Breast Wrapped in Parma Ham served with Pesto Potatoes and Rocket.

I really don't like Parma ham but I decided no to ask them to cook the dish without as I really wasn't in the mood for a battle and I suspect that they wouldn't have done it very graciously so I just hoped that it would taste like bacon. It didn't taste like bacon, but had the very piggy taste I dislike about so many 'premium' hams, but it didn't really spoil the dish for me as the chicken was very good. Tender, tasty and plentiful served with perfectly cooked waxy potatoes with just a hint of pesto - I'd have liked more of that but then I can eat vast amounts of the green goo. The hot, wilted rocket was a surprise as I had been expecting a salad, it was much better than a salad as it soaked up the very abundant winey, buttery sauce very well indeed.

Overall it was a good meal when we were really in need of one, satisfying, pretty enough for me to want to take photos of it, reasonably priced and we'll inevitably go back as it's on our local circuit. Oh, the service was nice and relaxed and friendly too.

Carluccio’s
3 Hardman Square,
Manchester,
M3 3EB
Tel. 0161 839 0623

Sorry, more Treasuries!

Here's a wonderful Front Page Treasury curated by Button Envy and featuring my Manchester Graffiti Prints in the middle of the second line, it's their first time being featured and I've not sold any to date, so lets hope this helps!

The Girl Who Knew 2 Little..... by Button Envy

Click here to go straight to the Etsy page.

Again, a first outing for Sad Girl with Bear which I shot in Barcelona in the Spring, fingers crossed for sales.

The Wardrobe of a Poetess by LillyMoon

Click here to go straight to the Etsy page

A big Thank You to both Etsians for featuring my work!

Birthday Treasury

It's my birthday today and I've done absolutely nothing interesting at all. My one treat was a visit to my local organic, vegan co-op to stock up on spices. I really do remember when birthdays were different to every other day.

But, I've been in two beautiful Treasuries today which has cheered me up no end! The Ministry of Silly Walks seems to be really popular with curators, it's popped up over and over again which is great!

The Color of Sand by ZsBcreations
Made it to the Front Page - well done!!

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Now playing: Beth Rowley - Sweet Hours
via FoxyTunes You can link directly to it here

If wishes came true by uncorked

Click here to see it in Etsy.

I've also made my second Treasury today, it's a beautiful collection of pale anti-summer colours!

The Opposite of Summery

Click here to see it in Etsy

It's like a view to the past....

You know how it is when you take photos, it's all consuming from the minute you pack up your kit and head out to the beach/garden/seedy back streets/holiday wherever... to the first press of the shutter and it continues all the way back home, checking the screen to see just how great your pictures are, to the computer, the recovery cup of tea/gin and tonic/ to the uploading and the frantic tweeking and the uploading to Flickr/Etsy/your own site. Then people start to say nice things and you might sell a couple of prints. Then you sort of forget. It's very sad.

But there's a solution from the brilliant people at Photojojo which is a super dooper weekly photography mailing list which gives you some great projects to do and loads of really imaginative stuff to look at. We'll they've launched a genius little thing called Time Capsule, what you do is link with your Flickr account and twice a month you'll get an email with a few of your 'most interesting' (that's Flickr speak) pictures from last year. I've had mine today with five pictures from last year - a few which I took at friend's perfect English Country Garden including scenic chickens, a flower shot on a lightbox and stencil graffiti of a Dalek!

I think that everyone should sign up to Time Capsule, it's a great tool guaranteed to make you smile when it arrive in your inbox, Photojojo never spam you ever it's always really good quality content.

Do it today and rediscover your best pictures from a year ago!

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Now playing: Beth Rowley - I Shall Be Released
via FoxyTunes