ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

Course 2 – Day Nine: Double – Rotate Your Image

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In these days of smart phones with camera apps, and digital cameras there will be occasions when you have taken a photograph and having uploaded it found that its orientation is wrong – maybe you would prefer a vertical image to be horizontal, or wnat to flip your image so that the subject faces the other way – so if it makes sense rotate your image to create that special effect to create that more interesting composition.

There are hundreds, if not millions, of programs and free online sites which offer to do this job for you, and indeed I have tried a few.  And as with all things you will need to experiment to find which one(s) you are most comfortable in using.  But surprisingly enough the Windows Paint program is usually sufficient to do tasks like this.

 

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I will direct you to this article ‘Paint 101 – Crop, Resize and Rotate Images’ written by Cynthia – it is clear, concise, easily understood with clear diagrams.  I will however say, that not every flavour of Windows has paint on it, but most do.

So what photograph did I choose for rotation to create a special effect; I was near the Mussenden Templeand took this photograph of two rocks in the sae.  A simple straight forward photograph, with little dynamic effect as a normal horizontal image.  However by rotating it 90 degrees to the right the image has changed perspective, it seems odd, almost threatening – what do you think:

Horizontal - no rotate

Rocks near Mussenden Temple

Rotated by 90 degrees - and the photograph seems more threatening and odd

Rocks near Mussenden Temple – rotated 90 degrees to the right

 

I know as photographs go they are not very awe inspiring, but because it was not a dramatic scene, it I hope shows more clearly how one simple change of view can change how a photograph looks – rotate with care of course, but do try it, you will at times find it a useful tool

 

 

 

#developingyoureye

#rotatewithcare

#photography101

 

 

 

Course 2 – Day Eight: Edge – Straighten Your Image

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I am back again, finally I have been able to find time to continue on with my challenges.  This challenge is to use an editing tool to check the alignment and adjust the image so that your edge is perfectly.

What is meant by this; well how often have you taken a photgraph and then when you checked it found it to be slanted to one side or the other?  Steve Patterson has given a very interesting article on using Photoshop to achieve this perfection, but the problem is that Photoshop is not the most inexpensive software on the market.  However the article and what he talks about is worth reading:

Adobe Photoshop photo editing and photo retouching tutorial image

Adobe Photoshop photo editing and photo retouching tutorial image

 

An alternative in Windows 10 has been written about by Ashley Blood, How to Straighten Photos in Windows 10.  There are plenty of other articles, these are just two after my first search.  Now to my problem,  I was lucky enough to be able to visit the Bolshoi showing of their national costumes when it visited Belfast.  The exhibition was held in the old Crumlin Road jail (gaol), using the old cells and the connecting corridor for display purposes.  Lighting was difficult, as was trying to get the images.  I have put together a slide show of the images, but there was one image of a tutu which clearly not straight, and by using the tactics in Windows 10 Photos, I have made some adjsutments.

 

 

Now to my problem:

Edge - Straighten your image

 

And after adjustment, it doesn’t look like much was done, but even subtle changes can make a big effect.

Edge- Straighten Your Image

The exhibition was a show stopper – if it hadn’t been for the fact that it was already in jail, I think my aunt who had accompanied me to the show (and is a devotee of ballet) would have tried to “borrow” one of the costumes!

 

Education – How much do we educate about sex? ?

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This year National Geographic has launched a new TV series on the world “Original Sin: How Sex Changed The World”; I am catching up with this series, but I can tell you it is interesting in how much sex education we still don’t educate our youth about.

How did I pick this up, well of course our local newspapers who used it to republish about Robiinson & McCambley (a story past its sell by date), with a few added twists about the TV series, but also used it to republish photographs of Mrs Robinson and Mr McCambley; but then I put the article down in my tray and left it, because in itself it was the TV series that was of interest not the replay of Robiinson & McCambley, who by now have moved on with their lives.  The reason why I am now writing is the story of Republican Mike Yenn, “the President of Jefferson Parish and happily married with one daughter”.  While Yenni doesn’t appear to have much of a record when it comes to being for or against LGBTQ rights, he is a member of the political party that, in its most recently adopted platform, officially defines marriage as “between one man and one woman,” calls pornography harmful “especially on children,” and wants to police which restrooms trans people use in an effort to protect women and children from sexual predators

Now going back to Robinson & McCambley, the story was news at the time, it is not now, what is news now is the abysmal level of sex education in our schools, and the impact it is having on society. It is not enough, as the USA have since found, to preach abstinence. We need to to be honest with our youth, and education them properly about sex and relationships, in all its forms, we can no longer hide behind various texts in the belief that they will protect them.

But sex education is a hot potato, …sex education is political because it is a good way to get elected… particularly if you take a purely conservative point of view and support the vociferous minority who don’t want it taught in school as it is a parents right to do so – well I would argue that our history indicates that we don’t do it well at home or at school. I am not saying we shouldn’t do it at home, what I am saying is that we need to start teaching about sex and relationships properly in school to augment what is taught at home.

We cannot allow … political agendas to stand in a students right to know…

By all means watch the National Geographic program for its titillation when the various high profile people hit the screen, but don’t forget that statistically most new cases of sexually transmitted infections occur in youth and young adults! Sex education must be considered  is a failure, when it is considered right that drinking bleach is a good birth control.

We owe it to our youth, both the current and those to come, to provide a balanced and well funded and taught sex education system that is without bias – not only will this enable our youth to make considered decisions about their lives, but it will also help us as a country who is trying to reconcile its various budgets, including the NHS. Spending on education is not a hit and miss, if we get it right we save money in other areas, and we have a richer, better educated society.

Further reading:

 

Human Rights – The Legal Act in the UK

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Human Rights ActI asked a friend who is retired with a wide set of experiences in dealing with Human Rights, to give me his impression on the removal of the Human Rights Act from the UK, and what impact it would have.
He believes that repealing this Act which brings into domestic law the European Convention on Human Rights, will be a difficult job for the UK Government. Attempts here (N Ireland) to have a Bill of Rights expanding on those rights conferred by HRA are doomed in the short to medium term, despite the Good Friday obligations. He is part of the Human Rights Consortium and during the past 10 years or more since he started to attend, virtually no progress has been made.
He believes that Brexit will further complicate matters as various parts of these islands work out relationships between each other and the EU.
On the Consortium, they have encountered a lack of interest in the Bill of Rights, with the UK Government, the Irish Government and the NI Executive playing each other off. The DUP, mean as usual, don’t really have much of an idea about the value of rights, unless they are to their narrow benefit. It’s rather depressing!
He feels that one possibility is that Scotland, opposed to repeal or amendment of the HRA, might have its own Bill of Rights. It has vehemently opposed the “regressive” proposals for a British Bill of Rights.
On a case by case basis, any repeal of the HRA will be aired by the UK courts, ending up in the Supreme Court. The courts will not want to have to do what is essentially the work of Parliament. That relationship between Parliament, Government and Judiciary can be fractious at times, particularly here (N Ireland) where issues such as sexual orientation and abortion grab the attention of a very religious and conservative Attorney General.
hr-actN Ireland is still awaiting the reserved judgements in the two marriage cases and the Ashers appeal. And it looks like the current Attorney General in N Ireland is being very wide in his interpretation of his role, and there have been requests that he stand down or stop pursuing his own agenda which seems to definitely have a very select bias from my own and others  observations.
As with all these things we will have to wait and see how things develop, but of one thing I am certain the removal of the current Human Rights Act will not be to our benefit, and I honestly believe that LGBT rights and other diversity groups will suffer if it is taken away.
Links to further reading

A visit to Cullera, Valencia

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The drive from Real Monasterio DeSanta Maria de la Valldigna to Cullera is a relatively unexciting drive, it takes you along the CV 600 then the CV605 and takes about 28 minutes.

 

Part of the way is well signed, but when you get close to the town then things got slightly more difficult, but with luck and guesswork we found our way to the metal bridge at the Oliva/Gandia end of town and then down to the beach area.  Parking was relatively easy, as at this time of the year there was free parking up to 8.30 pm – please note that during the various holiday seasons parking charges are in force, don’t get caught out, it does get costly.

Cullera Beach - 1

Cullera Beach – 1

Cullera Beach - 2

Cullera Beach – 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having successfully parked and made our way to the beach we walked up to the restaurants strip, and Eli my guide took me to her normal eatery – the service was attentive, and the food was lovely.  It was added to by being able to sit outside and look out over the sea and beach area and to see families and individuals enjoying themselves. There was a fair cross-section of ages, and a lot of those on the beach appeared to be Spanish.

Having finished and paid for our lunch, we then decided to go for a stroll looking at the few shops with things to sell – a lot of it was you would guess for the tourist market, but there were still some items of interest.  There was no point of us walking into the main part of the town, as it was Saturday and after 1.30pm which meant that the local shops had closed for the weekend.

At the end of the strip but the blue fountain, we were able to get a glimpse of the castle on the hill – or more rightly I should say  it is a fortress built in the 13th century over the old Moorish fortress.

Cullera - Fortress -2

Cullera – Fortress -2

Cullera - Fortress -1

Cullera – Fortress -1

It was then back to the car, calling into the Ale-Hop – a shop which seems to have a wild mix of items, but for myself I loved the books which they had for drawing and writing – wonderful exotic backs and covers, and not expensive for what you where getting.

 

ale-hop-cullera

ale-hop-cullera

The drive back to Oliva was uneventful, and everyone went home having had a wonderful day, both in terms of place and weather.

 

Links:

Real Monasterio De Santa Maria de la Valldigna

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Today I had the lovely task of chauffeuring two friends to see the Real Monasterio DeSanta Maria de la Valldigna, followed by travelling to Cullera for lunch.  Both of these locations are located in Valencia, and both for completely different reasons are worth seeing.

Valldigna - Two Friends

Valldigna – Two Friends

 

The monastery is set in superb grounds, in a lovely valley, with a lovely backdrop of mountain ranges.

…The monastery was founded in 1297 by James II of Aragon. Since the beginning, it was one of the most important monasteries of the Cistercian order. It was founded by the monks of Santes Creus in the Tarragona province. The whole Valldigna valley belonged to the monks, according to a royal order.

The monastery was inhabited by monks until 1835, when a revolt in the Valldigna valley took place after the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal. After that, the monks were forced to abandon the monastery. Most of its goods and works of art were sold, plundered or destroyed….(Wikipedia)

I was immediately taken by the tranquility of the location, of the range of buildings and outhouses, and with the internal art work shown in the main building in the grounds.  The interior of the main building shows only a flavour of what it must of looked like at the high of its occupation by the monks.

20160917_113312

Valldigna – Interior

Valldigna - roof atrium

roof atrium

 

I fell in love with quietness of the location, and with the beauty of the craftsmanship and thought which had gone into the plans for the monastery.  It obviously was a place of work, but also of contemplation and spiritual retreat.

 

I have been smitten by this monastery and will be returning at least once a  month so that I can sketch and paint some part of it, and also to take time out to recharge my batteries.

 

Links:

Course 2 – Day Seven: Glass — Interact with a Surface

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Experimenting with glass as a surface can create multi-layered and unpredictable shots. Consider this landscape from an estate near Inverness, Scotland:

glass

It’s a lovely scene, but what happens when we place an old, creaky window between the viewer and this garden?

window

Even if you prefer the view without the window, note how this pane of glass introduces a story and adds a layer of complexity to the image. What’s the story behind this estate? Who’s looking out the window?

#developingyoureye #surfacetension  #acomsdave

The challenge here was to find a photograph which generated interest, which was if possible outside the normal framework, and could lead to a story being formed, and also provide different surfaces for the viewer. I have also created a challenge within a challenge, in that I am only using my camera on my phone for these photographs, and the phone is now three years old.  I went out looking over a number of days and nights in Oliva, Valencia, and these are the pictures I have selected along with the surface:

Now choosing a favourite picture for this challenge was difficult, mainly because they were all giving a different story, and not one of them was what you would call a stupendous photograph, but in the end I have chosen Reflections on Reflections, a picture taken through glass at dusk, with little shade and a hint of flash of a shop selling high end sun glasses.

Surface - Reflections on Reflections

Reflections on Reflections

with a close second was, Shape of things to come, a photograph of a paint shop window whose display was of almost gouda quarters in different colours with paint tubes set in some of the holes.

Surface - shape of things to come

Shape of things to come

 

I hope that you will enjoy my choices, and would welcome any comments that you have.

 

 

 

 

Recruitment Drive

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NIGRA is on a recruitment drive for you!
The law in Northern Ireland on gay relationships was changed through the actions of NIGRA and Jeff Dudgeon’s legal case which went through the legal system in the United Kingdom and then to the Europen Courts of Human Rights. NIGRA and Jeff did not do this on their own, it was through the efforts of many fundraiser throughout the UK and Ireland that this was managed. The case was won, but the fight still needs to go on to achieve full equality. If you have time and want to help then contact us through our website (http://nigra.org.uk/) – we have room for everyone!
So this is a recruitment plea asking you to give  us some time and help us develop the various projects which we have in mind:

  • An ‘Online’ LGBT Archive so that we can record our history, both the past and the current as it unfolds.  Recruitment - LGBT ArchiveWe need to interview the players in out history before they leave us, we also need to develop photographic evidence of artifacts before we arrange for them to be deposited in the Ulster Museum with whom we have now agreed a facility for depositing items like placards, photographs, home videos of historical moments, paintings etc.  Documentation can be deposited with the PRONI (Public Records Office Northern Ireland), and we have already done this for items from Jeff’s case and also from PA’s archives
  • Monitoring of Stormont and Westminster, particularly now we are through the Brexit vote.  We need to ensure that we know what is said and what is planned, and where necessary activate the community as required when we need to pressure our politicians.

These are only two of our projects, there are others, and off course we would welcome suggestions from you.
Please contact us and volunteer.
 
 

Course 2 – Day Six: Landscape — Crop Your Image

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In today’s challenge, which I am a little behind in doing (ugh!) I was to walk in the footsteps of masters like Ansel Adams and focus on landscape photography.

Landscapes generally focus on wide, vast depictions of nature and all of its elements, from formations to weather. In this genre of photography, you won’t find much of a human presence: nature itself is the subject. A focus on nature isn’t mandatory, however — you can also capture a sweeping panorama of a city.

Landscape

Today, I was to take a picture of a landscape. Focus on the gestalt — the entire setting as a whole, like the shot above of the English countryside in Kent — rather than a specific subject or focal point within the scene. The setting itself is the star.

Oliva, is a small Spanish town with beaches and a seaport close by, but it does not have what you might call spectacular scenery on the doorstep; so when I was looking at this challenge I tried a number of different shots and subjects to try and match the challenge, and this is my selection:

My final selection came up with the diversity that the town has to offer if you go hunting for it, but, it takes time and patience – it is not always obvious where your journey is going to take you, but it is worthwhile and usually productive.

However for the challenge I had to choose one, and this is my choice,

Landscape of road bisecting orange grove trees

Road in the distance

I would have loved to choose the either of my two photographs for the Old Quarter, but they are not landscape – but this I believe has merit.  It reflects the farming background of Oliva, its rich history in producing oranges and all the off-shoots from oranges; but what it doesn’t reflect is the fact that prices for oranges have been driven down through the ground, and that the younger people do not want to work on the land for peanuts.

#developingyoureye #Oliva #Orangegrove #Oldtown

 

 

Course 2 Day – Day Five – Moment of Motion

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#developingyoureye #moment #motion #chance

That ‘Moment’ in Time

Today’s project set us the task to define a moment in our lives and share it with the viewers!
But, the task must convey to us movement, as a way of conveying time and fleetingness.

I then started keel-hauling my albums to find that one defining photograph and one defining moment.

The Ensemble of Moment

Lots of photographs came up, and some came close to defining that moment; for example:-

  • Spooky Funfair
  • You missed a beat
  • A burst of speed
  • A spectre awaits
  • Carrying the torch
  • Regal afront
  • Dead to the world
  • Leading the charge
  • Let’s exchange
  • That’s a stretch

Various cameras/smartphone cameras were used to take the photos, depending often on what was available; on most occasions taking photographs had not been the main thought of the day (hic).

Job to Do

What has come out of this review of some of my albums, is that I need to reorganise and re-title and also to tag my pictures to make them easier to find and analyze.

My choice of the Moment

So which picture have I decided to use as my main one, well it is the one titled ‘Dead to the World’ – it is the complete opposite of all those movement ones,it is off two lads (backpackers I believe) who completely exhausted fell asleep in Cardiff Museum in the main hall, where all the attendants allowed them to sleep, and even quietly directed visitors away from them.  The frame of the pillars again was chance, I was upstairs, looked over the banister rail and saw the lads and took the photograph – poor chance

Motion - Dead to the World

Dead to the world