Intuition

[Terri Ficenec]

Hi Kim,

I'm so glad you put the window back in. It really adds to the moodiness and mystery. This turned out really well! (And the shot on the easel really gives a nice feel for the piece)

For the photography side of things... if you're having trouble getting the camera exactly square and you're shooting with a tripod and your camera has a zoom, the zoom lens can really help to line things up. If you get the camera straight out along the midline of the painting, first you can adjust the side-to-side angle of the camera and check that it's right by zooming in until each of the top and bottom edges of the painting just touch and are parallel with the top and bottom edges of the camera's viewfinder. So now the horizontal angle of the camera is correct. Then you can adjust the vertical tilt of the tripod (adjust the height crank if necessary!) and check it by zooming in until the left and right edges of the painting line up with the left and right sides of the viewfinder frame. . . so now you've got vertical tilt right... Zoom back and forth between the top/bottom and right/left edges to make sure all 4 are square (because sometimes tweaking one messes up the other Adjust just the zoom to frame the shot the way you want it and take the picture.
(If that's all too much information in this thread, let me know, I'll zap it out! )

[Kimberly Dow]

Thanks everyone. I don't mind the photography tips here either. I will get it eventually with all this help!

[Sharon Knettell]

Kim,

I want to say first that this a really lovely painting with an understated but effective use of color. The design is well executed.

The lens problem is another thing. There are lenses and there are lenses. I have a Nikon lens that DOES NOT DISTORT. It is a 55 mm. macro. A small fortune, but it has a 1 to 1 ratio ( as it was explained to me , a photo dunderhead) and is especially useful in copying flat surfaces like art work. As a result I am able to photograph my billboards without any distortion.

This is one reason I am loathe to buy any kind of camera that does not allow for lens changes. Also zoom lenses are notorious for distortion, fixed lenses, digital or otherwise are best.

[Julie Deane]

Hi Kim -

I watched your progress on this and another forum. I was impressed by the lengths you will go to work on a piece until you are satisfied with it. Way to go! I like your final status. Interesting juxtaposition of those gray colors with the warm tones. Kudos!

A book I found really helpful for photography is "Photographing
Your Artwork" by Russell Hart. ISBN 0-89134-449-7. It not only tells the nitty-gritty for paintings, but for sculpture, stained glass, installations, etc. It's older and deals with only film cameras, but the essentials are there.

[Kimberly Dow]

I hope no one minds, but I decided to post a new one of this. I finally got a fairly straight shot of it. Plus, I kept going back and tweaking a few things. So, anyway - it is completely finished now.

[Cynthia Daniel]

Very nice, Kim!

[Kimberly Dow]

Thank you ladies!