tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1619663016760958162024-03-13T06:05:40.061-07:00Dream Big Live RealPractical Tips for Creative MindsLaura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-37637923904632579612014-04-13T11:49:00.001-07:002014-04-13T11:49:48.477-07:00Photo: Desert Dunes<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><strong>Desert Dunes</strong></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3blI5JKTcnQ/U0rZeLBs0KI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/5yv--Ei66YI/s1600/DesertDunes_web.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3blI5JKTcnQ/U0rZeLBs0KI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/5yv--Ei66YI/s1600/DesertDunes_web.JPG" height="406" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Desert patterns of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes just before sunset.</div>
<br />
<em><u>Location</u></em><br />
Death Valley National Park, California<br />
<br />
<em><u>Technical Info</u></em><br />
Canon 50d<br />
Tokina 11-16mm Lens, 16mm<br />
f/13, 1/125s, ISO 100<br />
<br />
Playing around with the "Diffuse Glow" filter in Photoshop (Filter => Distort => Diffuse Glow) really gave me the stark, desaturated look I had been hoping for when I took the original image. In real life, the sun reflected off of the sand ripples and across the background mountains really giving a harsh desert feel to the environment. The camera captures whatever it can, and then it's a huge process to infuse the image with original feeling of being there on the day. The Diffuse Glow filter option seems to work well when there is sufficient contrast in the image, so I did some work on the <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/midtone-contrast.html" target="_blank">Midtone</a> contrast first before using this filter to achieve the results you see here.<br />
<br />
For reference, this was the original image out of Bridge (I tweaked a few knobs here from the original image, but do most of my work in Photoshop):<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9iKhiY1cNWU/U0rbOoatyzI/AAAAAAAAAdc/a1GEbz2L9_k/s1600/DesertDunes_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9iKhiY1cNWU/U0rbOoatyzI/AAAAAAAAAdc/a1GEbz2L9_k/s1600/DesertDunes_orig.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Original Image for "Desert Dunes"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hope these ideas help you too!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span> Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-26113779939578051902014-04-12T21:09:00.002-07:002014-04-12T22:19:41.203-07:00Eyeline Layer in PhotoshopI wanted to expand on one of the steps in the workflow snapshot of my "<a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2014/03/photo-life-on-farm.html" target="_blank">Life On The Farm</a>" photo. I've been adding what I call an 'eyeline' layer to all of my recent photo processing and plan to keep using in the future. The layer is designed to add extra support to where I intend the eye to travel over the composition. It's intended to adjust the grouping of objects across the canvas (as opposed to local adjustments to separate nearby objects like blades of grass).<br />
<br />
Before Eyeline Layer:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-58AF-Vs7cRY/U0oMSSL8yXI/AAAAAAAAAdA/FhMYUIyi5Zs/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_no_eyeline2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-58AF-Vs7cRY/U0oMSSL8yXI/AAAAAAAAAdA/FhMYUIyi5Zs/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_no_eyeline2.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">No Eyeline Layer</span></div>
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After Eyeline Layer:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y-1rurQS3Rg/U0oHhxjtUYI/AAAAAAAAAc4/fcJsmbfsCoE/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_with_eyeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y-1rurQS3Rg/U0oHhxjtUYI/AAAAAAAAAc4/fcJsmbfsCoE/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_with_eyeline.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Finished Image with Eyeline Layer</span></div>
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It's a subtle effect, but I find the final image has a more 'set' or 'complete' sense about it. The effect is definitely noticeable when toggling the two layers back to back.<br />
<br />
<u>To construct the 'eyeline' layer</u>: <br />
* Add a "Levels Adjustment Layer" in Photoshop (that's the half light, half dark circle icon at the bottom of the layers window; and select "Levels").<br />
<br />
* I don't actually touch the levels curve, I've done this entirely so I can subsequently paint on the mask (default is a white rectangle) attached to the layer.<br />
<br />
* Change the Layer Mode from "Normal" to "Multiply" <br />
This will apply "Multiply" to the entire image which will darken everything initially (notice the increased color saturation as well). <br />
<br />
* <u>Now for emphasizing the eyeline</u>: Grab the Paintbrush, set the paint color to black, and start painting the path you intend for the eye to follow through your composition.<br />
<br />
Using the full 100% opacity, this effect will appear rather extreme, but I start here to block in the main concept. From this point, I add secondary darker or lighter areas as supporting 'eyelines', and I back off the layer opacity as needed (for this example, I set the opacity of the Eyeline layer back to 45%). <br />
<br />
For reference, here's the Eyeline Layer Mask I used for this image:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-npvMbU-xWfc/U0oHf2JmqaI/AAAAAAAAAck/BVqN__XdXps/s1600/Eyeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-npvMbU-xWfc/U0oHf2JmqaI/AAAAAAAAAck/BVqN__XdXps/s1600/Eyeline.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyeline Layer Mask for "Life On The Farm"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I've been really enjoying the effect of emphasizing specific areas of the composition using this method, and hope you find this technique useful too!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A
Knauth</span></span> Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-4761744424358611642014-04-01T07:01:00.000-07:002014-04-01T07:01:15.364-07:00Photo: Blue OrchidAbstract image of a mysterious blue orchid glistening in the sunlight.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><strong>Blue Orchid</strong></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BgYNiWIspSo/Uzjwqq5wllI/AAAAAAAAAbk/NzrgDMPa1dQ/s1600/BlueOrchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BgYNiWIspSo/Uzjwqq5wllI/AAAAAAAAAbk/NzrgDMPa1dQ/s1600/BlueOrchid.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is a blue orchid dendrobium I purchased at my local supermarket. I have seen whole plants of these available in the past year or so (both at the hardware store and grocery store) under the name: Blue Mystique<br />
<br />
Someone did some strange science to the orchids to make them grow this way. Ordinarily, I'm all about appreciating the amazingness that is pure nature, but the colors here were just so striking, I had to take a picture!<br />
<br />
I don't have the technical details for this image because it was taken on slide film back in the day. (The automatic feature of digital cameras to record the metadata with the image is so nice!)<br />
<br />
<em><u>Equipment</u></em>:<br />
50mm Macro Lens<br />
Minolta 600si Camera<br />
Slide Film<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blog
Post by Laura A Knauth</span> </span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-89425887686254065942014-03-30T21:30:00.000-07:002014-03-30T21:32:32.382-07:00Photo: Life On The Farm<div style="text-align: left;">
Appreciating green pastures and a little red barn.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Life On The Farm</span></strong></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mU3YqDKaN0/Uzjf2CV9m-I/AAAAAAAAAas/3SID982EThM/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_web3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mU3YqDKaN0/Uzjf2CV9m-I/AAAAAAAAAas/3SID982EThM/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_web3.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I relied heavily on the RAW file for this one to recover the detail in the sky (which would have been completely blown out white otherwise). That's just the start for me though these days, as I've been playing quite heavily with some Photoshop darkroom-esque techniques along with some LAB color tweaks. I'm still learning all about what you can do with LAB color, but I'll post the techniques I've had the most success with in a later post.<br />
<br />
For this image, I spent quite a bit of time working on the <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/midtone-contrast.html" target="_blank">midtone contrast</a>, and sorting out groups of nearby tones (evening out local unexpected dark patches after applying adjustments to larger regions like the foreground or the sky). When doing this sort of thing, I've been filtering any black and white specific edits (like midtone contrast, dodging and burning), to <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/dedicated-luminosity-and-color-layer.html" target="_blank">dedicated luminosity layers</a> to avoid adding funky colors. For those interested in seeing what kind of steps it took to arrive at this image, I included a snapshot of my Photoshop Layers window down below along with the image out of Adobe Bridge. It's not the most streamlined of flows, but hey, it's what I did. I'm still working to speed up the process so I have more energy to process more pictures!<br />
<br />
<u><em>Location</em></u><br />
The Palouse, Washington<br />
<br />
<em><u>Technical</u></em> Info<br />
Canon 50d<br />
Canon 18-200mm Lens, 18mm<br />
f/13, 1/20s, ISO 100<br />
<br />
<em><u>Filters</u></em><br />
Circular Polarizer<br />
<br />
Behold the Photoshop gymnastics in my layers window:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sRZi-U60tR8/Uzjm_5zGtJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/xx0NbqIi3oA/s1600/Life+On+The+Farm+Workflow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sRZi-U60tR8/Uzjm_5zGtJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/xx0NbqIi3oA/s1600/Life+On+The+Farm+Workflow.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura Knauth's Photoshop workflow for "Life On The Farm"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
... and these are just the layers left over from what ended up working. The ultimate goal is to have only adjustment layers (the lines that have the down pointing arrows) until the very end so any subsequent tweaks would propagate to the final image. The big break in the middle is where I copied over adjustments made to a copy of the image in LAB mode. Then I realized I wanted to make a few more adjustments and piled on another group of layers for the final product.</div>
<br />
Image right out of Bridge:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7Oq9PeCq2w/UzjrKKpCeJI/AAAAAAAAAbU/8XcUR-J70WQ/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7Oq9PeCq2w/UzjrKKpCeJI/AAAAAAAAAbU/8XcUR-J70WQ/s1600/Life_On_The_Farm_orig.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Intermediate state of post-processing "Life On The Farm" : Copyright Laura A Knauth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've been importing the picture in 'Neutral' mode to remove all camera color processing with the intention of having more color options as a later step in Photoshop (a default camera setting like Landscape mode would have had punchier colors at this point). <br />
<br />
I always am curious to see people's before and after images. Hope this is a helpful comparison!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-76351056168954507172014-03-28T16:16:00.004-07:002014-03-28T16:26:10.737-07:00Opportunities for CreativityThis is a quick follow-up post to: <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2014/03/where-does-creativity-come-from.html" target="_blank">Where Does Creativity Come From?</a><br />
<br />
As I was watching a movie the other night, I realized there are a few specific techniques I've been incorporating into my life which have helped to spark my creativity, so I thought I mention them here too.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<strong>Turning Disappointment into Enthusiasm</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>
</strong></span>The times when I've been really excited to watch a particular movie, read a novel, or play a video game, but it doesn't turn out as I'd hoped, I try to take some time to wonder about what it was that sparked my interest so much, and what I would have done differently to make it a more rewarding experience. Usually, there's something about the characters, the setting, the situation that is a really compelling and worth further exploration. It's something that resonated with some part of your own experience, that calls for further understanding.<strong> It indicates some interesting idea that you have to offer, just aren't quite aware of yet</strong>. Someone else wasn't able to make it take shape, but you can!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyteray/8654010430/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyteray/8654010430/" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0IyjVfxl5Rg/UzYCUGgUE-I/AAAAAAAAAac/bCMj_ODmX5E/s1600/DayInTheLife_web.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I've found this exercise to be a gold mine of creative ideas. Instead of thinking you've wasted your money or your time, you become engaged trying to figure out where you thought the story should have gone, what aspects of the character you thought aught to have been developed, what would have been a worthwhile resolution? I usually have quite a few notes to jot down initially and also after letting these things rumble around for a few days. <br />
<br />
There are a lot of movies and books out there, and plenty of them don't deliver. It's a map to buried treasure for you. Even the mostly great ones have some aspect to them you might have tweaked in some way if the artist had called you up personally for your opinion, right? So pretty soon, there you have it: <strong>a big stash of cool ideas all your own</strong>. For writing, I usually need about at least three interwoven compelling ideas to come up with what I think is a strong story: a particular setting interacting with particular characters that are triggered by some compelling scenario. Whenever one of these pieces is missing, I'm grateful for my stash of previously collected ideas. I thumb through my notes and frequently find just what I'd been looking for.<br />
<br />
This doesn't have to involve just storytelling though, it could be anything. For photography, I go through a similar process for the pictures or paintings I look at. Maybe something about the overall structure grabbed me, but I loose interest when focusing on the details. I still find it worthwhile to identify what worked & separate it from what didn't. And even if I really like the whole picture, I still ask myself: if I was standing right there, how would I have framed it? what would I have tried to do, and is that more or less likely to work? That way instead of potentially being disappointed, you become either inspired or empowered. <strong>The goal is to stay actively engaged one way or another</strong>.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Noticing</span></strong><br />
As I go about my day, I've been trying to make a point of noticing some detail about some part of my experience that I hadn't noticed before. I've gone on hundreds of walks through my neighborhood at this point, but whenever I call on myself to pay attention and notice things, something new and unexpected never fails to be right in front of me. Hidden in plain sight. It's kind of like <strong>awareness training</strong>. <br />
<br />
This doesn't have to be anything huge, <strong>just true & you hadn't noticed it before.</strong> It could be a pattern on a manhole cover, new shoots popping up for springtime, a funny little bird chirp, whatever. You don't have to know where it fits in yet. <strong>Like kindling, it's all fuel for creativity</strong>, somehow, somewhere.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Reverse Engineering The Fantastic</span></strong><br />
If it was going to happen, what would it look like? This is a favorite question I ask myself to kickstart my creativity. <strong>You deliberately turn off your inner critic & just suppose that something you didn't think was possible could happen</strong>. Then, you try to build upon anything and everything you know to figure out it would work. So instead of spending your energy tearing down an idea, you engage your energy to built it up. It's a fun process and you inevitably end up realizing that with just a few tweaks to the initial premise, it's actually not so far outside the realm of possibilities as you previously thought. The story I'm currently writing started largely because I began speculating about a possible science fiction interpretation of Welsh fairy lore. You never know where these things are going to end up. It's like being a detective, but you're trying to uncover something true without putting too much pressure on yourself. I wonder if this is a process of many science fiction authors of the past, like Jules Verne or HG Wells, let alone actual feats of creative engineering. From Star Trek communicators to smart phones?<br />
<br />
And as always:<br />
<strong>What if?</strong> It's the classic spark for many a creative endeavor.<br />
<br />
So there are a few more practical tips and exercises that I've found valuable for collecting kindling & firing up my creative engines. Hope these ideas help you too. :)<br />
<br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Blog Post by Laura
A Knauth</span> </span></span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-84228393286802901332014-03-26T15:02:00.001-07:002014-03-29T07:45:35.132-07:00Where Does Creativity Come From?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Where Does Creativity Come From? </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">From Wondering.</span></strong><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From asking questions, and pursuing the answers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Knock, and the door will open."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Unbinding Yourself</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What limits your life options, what crushes your spirit is accepting someone else's limiting beliefs as your own. This is the case for external judgments about you personally, or any 'facts' you accept about life in general. A little example: If someone says with certainty: "The Egyptians worshiped cats" and you accept their opinion as truth. You've just limited yourself. Some limitations are subtle, some are more obvious; both can have big consequences. As I've been doing historical research for my novels, one of the most valuable skills I've learned (and realized it applies just about everywhere in my life) is to <strong>put a mental "in your opinion" after every declarative statement that crosses my path</strong>. It's such freedom!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And even for personal matters, this approach applies to critics, bullies, all authority figures alike. Because what if they are wrong? No matter how sure they sound, if you are the one who accepts their incorrect opinion as fact, you are the one who's limited yourself. In my little example, I would digest the statement: "Egyptians worshipped cats" as: Egyptians depicted cats in their writings. It's someone else's interpretation that this involved "worship". <strong>That <em>opinion</em> goes in my mental slush pile.</strong> (Symbolically, a big bucket of proposals that are not likely to get any of my 'funding,' so to speak.)<strong> I might come to the same conclusion, but maybe not, and certainly not by default.</strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, it is still useful to know what everyone else assumes so you can respond effectively to your environment, but that doesn't mean you need to accept their assumption for yourself. To wrap up the example: just what the Egyptians were truly communicating by carving representations of cats remains an open question; it's a placeholder as you continue more research to sort out the rest of the puzzle. (Incidentally, I've become increasingly convinced most of the ancient writings are <strong>symbolic</strong>, not literal, which makes all the difference … BTW, everything seems to point to an aspect of the development of consciousness, but that's for another blog topic and future novels.)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There's just one small example, but it's shocking to realize how much of the history books, news shows, and all manner of 'common knowledge' are just opinions. Adopting opinions as facts ties you to the status quo. It's fine if the status quo is great, but what if it's gone off track? How can you find a creative solution if you are confining yourself to someone else's false opinions? <strong>Your mind loves solving problems, but can't do it if it's cluttered with false associations.</strong> So, learn the art of mental digestion: separating facts from opinion, and unleash your creativity!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Mental Digestion</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's not all or nothing. The art of mental digestion is kind of like the process of digesting food. You don't just inject food directly into your veins; <strong>even the healthiest food would become toxic if undigested</strong> (except apparently for </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_water#Medical_use" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fresh coconut water</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">). Your body transmutes the food molecules from what you ate into something useful to build your cells and discards what it cannot effectively process. <strong>The process of mental digestion aught to be the same</strong>. Instead, we are raised to memorize every word of text books, injecting the material directly into our minds without filtration, without transmutation. We are strictly graded through school for 100% absorption, as if injecting that content directly into our veins.<strong> It's kind of like downloading a program directly from the internet without running a virus scan.</strong> Risky! </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyteray/8598300385/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyteray/8598300385/" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DO-UNJbgpD8/UzOkba-GPkI/AAAAAAAAAaM/XOPWljn2VaU/s1600/Water+Trails.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that I see it in this way, accepting whole heartedly the best known methods of even the most illustrious authority figures, the most revered historical figures, is a risk I can no longer take. If all is well, the extra step of checking everything, of running your own virus scan, might not be necessary, but if you are feeling constrained, uncreative, or things are beginning to go awry, it might be worth a look to reconsider what you had accepted as obvious truth.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">We are in an era where authority figures assure us they've checked everything 'for our safety' and therefore the most rational thing we can do is accept their best known methods. I bought into it for so long, but now disagree. <strong>I think each person individually is capable of sorting out the best solution for the most important issues that effect their own lives.</strong> Medical, financial, career, world view, whatever it is: No approval needed, no waiting for statistics needed. It's a difficult transition process to look to your essential self for support, not external authority figures, but it has been one of the most freeing experiences of my life. Like a tree that has been bound for years 'for safety' to protect it from the high winds, the trunk has become all spindly; now there is a danger when cutting those bindings that the spindly trunk might fall over. It's a gradual process of learning how to reliably depend on yourself, to responsibly strengthen your core. But you have to start somewhere. Bit by bit, from here, forward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">When you are prepared to extract only partially what you hear, identify and deprioritize the opinions, you can safely consider an infinitely wider range of experiences <strong>and find some value in them all</strong>. (It's true, time and energy is a factor, so it is beneficial to put yourself in scenarios where you expect a high priority return on investment.) It's a challenge; I'm not saying authority figures can't help, but just to be mindful there's some tendency to get boxed in so much that you deprioritize your own authentic judgment. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And with this approach you realize that <strong>some important tip can come from just about anywhere</strong>, so you pay attention, you become more appreciative of more human experiences. Maybe the garbage man, maybe someone posting on their blog, maybe anyone at all knows a health tip that has not yet been formalized by medical science. If your mental digestive fire is strong, you might figure out how part of that tip cap be applied to improve your life. Just saying... </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Another example</u>: There are many books I've read while doing historical research that I consider pivotal in shaping my current understanding and helping me frame future novels, but I'm hesitant to share them because I actually disagree with the author's entire premise. ;p What I monumentally appreciate is the authentic data points those books uncovered. <strong>Once I extracted those facts from the author's opinions,</strong> I found those books to be immensely valuable. But if I recommend the books here as some of my favorites, people would probably assume I agree with every word or even most words which is not the case at all - doh! I suppose it's like finding the particular piece you were missing; it's not the same for everyone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">By strengthening your own digestive fire to extract more useful data from a wider range of experiences, your creative impulse, your pattern matching skills have such a wider base of useful material to draw from. I have found it greatly improve my own creativity and perspective. <strong>This approach also undercuts elitism and values the perspectives of more people.</strong> I say that is good. So, if you're looking to boost your own creativity, I recommend these tips to remove artificial limitations, broaden your scope, and let your inner wondering go to work!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span> </span></span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-21021490359967802892014-03-24T21:43:00.000-07:002014-03-26T13:21:12.617-07:00Perspectives from a Female EngineerThough I hardly paid any attention to being specifically a 'female'
engineer while I was at school or in the workplace, I realized my
perspective on the topic might be helpful to someone, particularly since I
never even considered the thought of being an engineer even once until the
month before I started college. Maybe (hopefully) the situation has drastically
changed by now, but up through high school, I didn't even really know what an
engineer was; if someone would have asked me, I would have probably said a
train operator. ;p<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, how can you know
what you want to be when you grow up if it isn't even on your radar? <br />
<br />
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I was always proficient at math and science, but was the
only one in my senior year high school math class who didn't initially sign up
for a field trip to tour the engineering school at my local university. When I
realized that everyone in the class was going on the day, I think I decided, 'why
not?' & scrambled to get on the bus after all. I had been interested in just
about everything at school but had no particular career path in mind.
(Unfortunately, I was too scared of being an entrepreneur at the time, so never
considered you could potentially forge a responsible career for yourself in something
like writing or photography. Another blind side on the ol' radar, for another
post …)</div>
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But anyway, I realized that the engineering degree plan
looked essentially like my standard high school class schedule. And also, almost all of the classes were mapped out (only two or three elective slots the entire four years). Since I was bewildered at how to put together my college class schedule to work towards a degree, I found the defined plan of the engineering curriculum a relief. I thought there was no reason I couldn't give it a try to see what
happened. By that time, I had figured out electrical engineers did things like work on
computer chips. The Pentium had just hit the market and I thought it would be
really cool if I could work on something like that one day. (And six years
later, I found myself doing exactly that. :) </div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Being Female in a Mostly Male Workplace</span></strong></div>
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The first class I took where I was the lone
female among a classroom full of guys, I quickly realized that if I did the
work and showed I wasn't getting any special handouts, <strong>the topic of gender in
the engineering environment was absolutely a non-issue.</strong> I was a bit nervous initially, thinking I might be belittled or bullied or something, but I can't even say I
noticed a hint of any negative undercurrent related to me being female at all.
Discussions almost always centered around some sort of problem solving with everyone
focused on the task at hand. That continued straight through from
college, grad school, and into the workplace. </div>
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I think there was one comment in my 18 or so years in an
engineering environment where one person asked me something about my hair after
a meeting. (In a nice way, just totally off topic.) It actually threw me for
such a loop that I probably paused for several seconds honestly trying to
figure out what language he was speaking. ;p I was probably thinking through
all the engineering acronyms to figure out what something called H.A.I.R. might be, and what it had
to do with our project. Ha, ha. So yeah, while on the job, very rare to be talking to fellow engineers
about anything other than engineering, in my experience.</div>
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<strong>The only real effect I noticed about being the lone female
in a room full of engineering guys is you stand out more.</strong> I suppose that is
added pressure. Sometimes it's fun: unexpected people wave hi to you as they pass
by & you're pretty sure they are in your class or on your team, but can't place
them, so you just wave hi right back (and try to remember more people for next
time). On the other hand: I was highly motivated to be as useful & sharp as
possible which I think did take a hidden toll, but that was my issue, nothing
anyone else did or said. (I was the kind of person who would have thought a 'C' was failure, an indication I was on the wrong track, but most of the guys would probably have interpreted a
'C' as 'average', and continued on with no problem.) I suppose in an age where some extra scholarships
were preferentially given to females, I was highly motivated to
show that my grades were what got me there, not any special favors.</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">The Worst</span></strong></div>
<br />
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I can honestly say that the worst treatment I ever received
as a female in the field of engineering was from a women's support
organization: WISE (I think it stood for Women In Science and Engineering). I
was usually so busy through college that I didn't even think to join any
special groups outside of class, until the last few months before graduating
when I'd heard a recommendation to join this women's organization which was
offering $500 for being in their program. Since it involved attending a few
meetings, writing a few essays, and doing some outreach, I thought: Why Not?
So, I completed all their checklists and received a mock $500 check at the
final banquet where they touted my academic accomplishments as if they were their
own, and then … they of course refused to honor the check, quoting (rather
hostilely, I might add) some bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. They were just using me. What a waste
of time and human spirit. And I had been banking on that $500 to buy supplies
for grad school, too ... sigh. I would not recommend any fake support groups to anyone
in college.<strong> Just do the work to develop your own character and capabilities,
because that's all you need to apply for grad school, or a job, or anything
really.</strong></div>
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Actually, there was one other bad situation at work where a creepy
old guy sent me an offensive email; but I replied via email (so it was on record)
telling him not to ever contact me again, and that was the end of that. I think there are
a few guys from older generation who are honestly bewildered to see a female in
engineering, but if they comment at all, it's usually something like: "Golly
Gee Willikers, a female in engineering? Never would've thought it."
Which is totally benign: amusing actually. It's as if they honestly can't
believe their eyes. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The younger guys don't even seem to give it a second
thought. (Now, there are definitely some jerks out there, but I'm not counting
them as part of this blog topic if they're jerks to everyone.) Maybe I was
fortunate, or just listened to my gut to maneuver myself into good teams, but
most of the people I worked with were absolute gems. Many became good friends. (I still
remember going to see the Ballet around Christmas one year with about four engineering guys. Looking back on that, it's kind of funny, but at the time, it just seemed
like hanging out with my work buddies.) </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Summing It Up</span></strong></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
So, if you're wondering what it's like being a female in the technical field of
engineering, <strong>I've found that if you just do the work helping to solve problems,
the guys are happy to see you</strong>. If anything, you're just changing things up a
bit to make it interesting. That's my experience anyway (in both electrical and computer science engineering). One caveat is that I
always steered away from management positions (which may be a different story); the politics of it just never interested me at all. There might be some
lingering machismo good 'ol boys attitude in upper management, but since I have no experience
there, so it's not fair to comment. I was always interested in solving technical problems, so kept
maneuvering 'sideways' in my career to keep learning new technical skills
(probably not to the benefit of $$, but certainly for my soul). It's just what
I was drawn to. </div>
<br />
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But in general, if you've never considered engineering as a career
option, know that the coursework in college is essentially just an extension of
high school. If you can do it there, you will most likely have no extra
troubles with it in college. Engineering is basically a big vocabulary
lesson; after that, it's common sense and problem solving, as with any career, I suspect.
And if you know someone who might be intimidated at the prospect of being a
lone female engineer in a room full of guys working on a technical problem, in
my experience, it's all about the work and nothing about appearances. As it
should be. Go humans!</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-27802498461333301832014-03-22T21:28:00.002-07:002014-03-22T21:32:39.153-07:00Opposed to BusyworkI had to rant today about the waste of human potential that is busywork. Over the past election cycle, there was much talk from vaunted economists across the news shows about economic policies to stimulate the economy in a way that amounts to paying people to <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:John_Maynard_Keynes#.22The_government_should_pay_people_to_dig_holes_in_the_ground_and_then_fill_them_up..22" target="_blank">'dig ditches and fill them up again</a>.' And lo, over the past several years, I have been stopped countless times in long lines for road construction where people are literally digging ditches and filling them up again. (Most of the roads had already been recently resurfaced and were in fine shape.) A sign usually stands nearby proudly declaring: "Your Tax Dollars At Work." I am not impressed.<br />
<br />
The idea seems to be that the government wants to pump money into people's hands so they buy more things and stimulate the economy. That may a fine strategy and am not debating it here, but if that's their objective, why give people busywork to take up all of their daylight hours in the process? Why waste their energy like that, their creativity? It's an insult to human ingenuity not to mention productivity.<br />
<br />
If you truly intend to stimulate the economy with the true spirit of freedom, instead of paying people to burn energy (busywork), offer a grant to people who present a reasonably viable entrepreneurial strategy. Why not essentially give them a boost to start their own business? The very material prospect of receiving funds if you can come up with a business model would encourage people to really think about what they could offer. It would engage people's creativity, their enthusiasm, their true hope for what <strong>they</strong> can contribute to the future.<br />
<br />
Some new businesses may indeed fail, but the experience for those new entrepreneurs would still be incredibly valuable, and would help inform better strategies for their future endeavors, whatever they may be. And at the end of the day, a failed attempt at starting a business would leave that person (and the environment) no worse off than if they had spent that energy digging a ditch and filling it up again. Regardless of the outcome, it would encourage a certain spirit of integrity, ownership, and authenticity.<br />
<br />
And many of these new businesses would succeed, many by filling a demand for a currently unoffered service. Who knows where that creativity could lead? What unexpected options it could bring to the economy? More options and more stability. I suppose this general idea of an entrepreneurial spirit is similar to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit" target="_blank">microcredit</a> or microfinance in that it sees the dignity and value in what the 'masses' have to offer. <br />
<br />
Busywork is bad enough for children and teens as a kind of 'babysitting' in schools, but it continues in subtle ways through adulthood with different fancy sounding names like: Keynesian economic policies. Is it to bamboozle people, or do the policy makers not realize how amazing people are if given the chance to think? Busywork treats adults like children; assuming they won't do anything productive if left to their own devices. We can do better! People can be amazing if given the chance, and especially if given incentive to be inventive. Get the creative juices flowing!<br />
<br />
End of rant - thank you. :)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span> Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-87294687245292355502014-03-19T21:39:00.001-07:002014-03-20T17:12:39.602-07:00Volunteering : For the Win!I had forgotten the many benefits of volunteering, but recently remembered it was one of the lessons I'd taught myself way back during high school. I remember spontaneously deciding to volunteer to help setup the photography darkroom before class: I wanted to learn about how to mix the chemicals and learn more of the 'behind the scenes' technical details about the equipment. Not only did I gain the sense of satisfaction from reliably setting up the darkroom so we could all produce our creations, but I ended up establishing a much stronger relationship with the photo teachers on the campus. In that position, you can't help but learn random tips and tricks along the way: hearing about photo contests, learning about new equipment or techniques you would have never thought to even ask about, and other opportunities here and there. <br />
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One of the big bonuses happened after I graduated: my college charged a prohibitive fee for their darkroom usage (I was going to put all photography on hiatus), but due to the connections I had established with the high school photo teachers, I was able to continue using my old high school darkroom and other photo equipment all throughout my undergraduate years. :) I don't think there would have been any way I could have negotiated to use the high school darkroom during my college days if I hadn't volunteered there during my time as a student. Valuable life lesson!<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Producer Not Consumer</span></strong><br />
Since I'm in the process of starting a new career, I've cut back on membership to places around town that I love visiting, but can't justify the expense right now. <strong>I recently realized that volunteering at these places is a wonderful way to continue my involvement 'for free' and even significantly enhance the experience</strong> by meeting the people behind the scenes and learning so much more than I would as a paying customer. We're talking botanical gardens, wildlife reserves, nature parks, museums, galleries ... Whatever your interest, I highly recommend investigating volunteer opportunities. When there's so much conditioning nowadays to be a consumer, it's very refreshing to realize when you are volunteering, you have become a producer of what you love.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Foot In The Door </span></strong><br />
When trying to break into a difficult industry (publishing, photography, ...), volunteering drastically reduces your cost to an organization. Maybe some training overhead, but otherwise <strong>you position yourself as a no-risk trial run for what could turn into a career down the road</strong>. It's a gesture of goodwill, and people are generally so appreciative for the help of someone with initiative and drive to learn. It's a nice change of pace from a 'job' environment. And if it's not something you really are enjoying after all, you are the one in the driver's seat who can try something else without drama. Hopefully though, if you are a good fit for that environment and prove yourself reliable and fun to work with, you will probably be on their A-list and the first to know about any job opportunities or other 'insider' insights. If nothing else, you are in a great position to make some strong networking contacts.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Networking and Opportunity</span></strong><br />
Many times, it's the people you meet and unexpected opportunities you hear about that make the largest long term impact on your life, rather than a short term paycheck. That's where volunteering comes in. <strong>With your wider range of contacts, you hear about random opportunities, tips, and other insights that might not have otherwise crossed your path.</strong> Many times in life it's who you know that leads to 'lucky' breakthroughs, and volunteering at something you love to do can help shine a light on opportunities there you didn't know were available to you.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Finding Volunteer Opportunities</span></strong><br />
I've either <strong>contacted individual places directly</strong> to find volunteer opportunities (many have websites with volunteer listings), and I also found new places to volunteer that I hadn't known existed by doing a <strong>Google search for 'volunteer' and city name</strong>. I found a few websites that list pre-scheduled local volunteer events posted by various organizations. It's been a fun way to explore the city!<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">One More Example</span></strong><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyteray/8730386392/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyteray/8730386392/" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eTzSgxvO_dQ/Uyt-Ag24ByI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/GqvwXuTkYzY/s1600/CherryBlossomFantasy_web2.jpg" height="312" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Cherry Blossom Fantasy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved</span></td></tr>
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I just got back from a volunteer session in a local nature park where we helped propagate local plants. I didn't know what to expect, but it was such an interesting learning experience. Turns out, you can cut new shoots from many different trees and shrubs in springtime (we looked for 'pencil width' shoots just as they were just budding), clip any stray stems, put the stick in at least 5 inches of soil (with about a foot out of the soil), and with regular watering, voila! new plant. Amazing :) The measurements would change depending on the type of plant, but that's an example. (We were focusing on large shrubs.) Gardening costs can really add up, so I unexpectedly learned how to save $$ in my own garden for the future! Hey, if you have a neighbor with a gorgeous looking plant, you could just ask to take a small clipping to grow one of your own. State forests in my area appear to allow taking clippings for small personal quantities. For national forests, you can apply for a <strong>free use Forest Products Permit</strong>. (I'd put a general link if there was one, but it looks like each forest has it's own permit, so you'd have to find the one for your area.) <br />
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So, above and beyond to thinking of volunteering as giving back to the community (which can be wonderful all by itself), I've found volunteering at something that fulfills your hearts desire simultaneously offers so many of these other unexpected benefits ... not to mention the high likelihood of making new friends with shared interests.<br />
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Hope these tips help send more opportunities your way.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span> Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-17213285998478835142014-03-18T18:50:00.000-07:002014-03-26T13:27:30.434-07:00Buying Food In BulkI had mentioned in an <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/01/unexpected-benefits-of-paleo-raw-foods.html" target="_blank">earlier blog post</a> that I was getting a nice discount from my local health food grocery store from buying food by the case (seemed to be about 30%). I've since found an even better option: <strong>buying wholesale directly from the distributor</strong> (eliminating the middle man of the grocery store and saving even more). <br />
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I had heard it was possible in some cities to visit distributor directly, but at the time of my original post, it didn't seem possible in my area. I had called around to what I thought were the local distributors in my area, but they were not open to the general public (only other grocery stores). Maybe the search engines recently improved, who knows, but I tried searching again recently and found a produce distributor that sells directly to consumers in my city. Yay, the savings! <br />
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Due to seasonal demand organic avocados from the grocery store were $65 for a case of 36 - ouch (but still much better than buying individually).<br />
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Buying wholesale, a case of organic avocados cost me $53 last month.<br />
A case of organic lemons (40lbs; 95 count) was also $53.<br />
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<strong>These are savings of about 50% off from the regular grocery store prices.</strong> I've arranged my finances so my food bill is the most significant portion of my annual budget. Savings like this really help.<br />
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<strong>Buying wholesale directly from the distributor also means much fresher produce.</strong> Your food isn't waiting around for who knows how long in the back of the grocery store. You pick it up right from the big trucks that deliver it to the city.<br />
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The key with buying wholesale produce is that you have to eat it up in time. I have a system worked out for the avocados where I ask for 'green' or 'firm' avocados directly off of the truck. (Otherwise they heat them up so they ripen from green to brown, and I can't usually get to them all in time if I buy them pre-ripened.) I store them green in the fridge and pull out a couple every day. After an initial 4-5 days, the first avocados have ripened & the next two are staged to ripen the day after that and so on (I eat a lot of avocados). ;p<br />
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If you eat a lot of a particular kind of fruit, vegetable, or whatever, it may very well be worth your time to look for a wholesale produce supplier in your area to see if they sell to the public. We're talking mangos, oranges, grapes, ... <br />
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The place I found is very convenient. I call in advance to place my order and can then pick it up on whatever day I've arranged. There is a sales office with a little parking strip outside, so I can drive my car right up (dodging the big trucks along the way). They also accept credit cards (but some wholesale suppliers might only accept cash from the general public, so I'd ask in advance). <br />
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If you're interested, try this key word search on google maps for your city: <strong>Wholesale Produce</strong><br />
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Glad I finally found this option for my location. Persistence is key ... as always!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span> Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-79422335273573505012014-03-16T19:17:00.002-07:002014-03-24T22:03:14.486-07:00Health Insurance Strategy : UpdatedI posted last year about my<a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/03/health-insurance-strategy.html" target="_blank"> health insurance strategy</a>, but have made a major change since then. My insurance strategy has been to buy high deductible policies (across the board for any insurance) for true emergencies only and save a reserve fund to handle smaller matters myself. <br />
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Last year, I left my corporate career to pursue writing and photography on my own (technically unemployed), but bought a high deductible health insurance policy through Blue Cross Blue Shield. I put in over $1000 in premiums since buying the policy (using my own after tax money) which was painful since it's a policy I hope I never have to use - it had essentially a $17,000 deductible. I thought I was being responsible.<br />
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<u>What changed</u>: I received a letter from my health insurance company that due to the 'Affordable Care Act', my old policy would no longer be available. It was being replaced by essentially the same coverage (still a $17,000 deductible), but would now cost <strong>3x</strong> the premium. <strong>What was a $71/month premium would now be a $220/month premium.</strong> What the !?!?!? That's $2640 per year. We're getting on par with my food bill here. It's essentially a mandate to go back to work for someone else. All for a $17,000 deductible policy I hope I never need to use.<br />
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At this point, I cannot endorse supporting what seems to me a failed system. <strong>In the spirit of capitalism to vote with your dollars, I canceled my health insurance policy.</strong> Looking back over the last 20 years, the only time I visited the doctor was for stomach troubles. The first thing I'd told the doctor was that it felt like I had food poisoning all the time. He never asked me about food; just ran every other test in the book over the next year. They charged my insurance company thousands of dollars, poked & prodded me, all to just pat me on the head and tell me I probably had IBS. Experimental pills were prescribed to mess with my colon; I opted out. (After subsequent self experimentation, I've concluded I was gluten sensitive. I removed gluten from my diet, and my acute issues went away. Many of my<a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/search/label/Health" target="_blank"> health posts</a> discuss my food strategies which I hope make it less likely that I will need chronic medical attention.)<br />
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<u>The Rub</u>: There is going to be upcoming penalties for people who do not buy policies & have to pay taxes. My understanding is the penalty will kick in for anyone with income after deductions (last year, the standard deduction limit was $10,000 per year for individuals). Looks like the penalty is $695 per person by 2016 or 2.5% of your income if that's greater. This does effect my options for converting retirement accounts to a Roth IRA which utterly stinks. Hopefully there's an exemption somewhere I missed for wannabe writers... <strong>This mandate seems illegal to me since I'd be paying a penalty even if I'm no burden on the system.</strong> I mean, if you are paying for all medical expenses out of pocket or do not have any medical expenses, why are you charged an additional penalty 'just in case' you might not pay at some point in the future? Seems like a racket.<br />
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So, as scary as it is since for most of my life I had thought the system 'would take care of me', I'm saving my premiums per month to pay for everything out of pocket. Maybe the good news is they won't order so many weird tests since I won't have insurance & would be more interested in discussing options... I'm just doing the best I can here with what I know. <br />
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Anyway, it's done for now, but I'm always learning; let me know if you have any comments or feedback! Thanks :)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blog
Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span> Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-66571920700600523542014-03-15T20:41:00.000-07:002014-03-31T08:51:32.011-07:00Word Power<span style="font-size: large;">The Art of Rhetoric</span><br />
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Why don't they teach this in schools? As I was doing research for my novels, I stumbled across the subject of rhetoric: templates of speech that create resonant power and drama. <strong>I feel I've found a missing piece of myself</strong>! Turns out, the most memorable authors throughout history, the most memorable speakers are most likely using the techniques of rhetoric. It's a skill they either pick up by reading other books steeped with these patterns, or study it directly as was done in Ancient Greece and through the nineteenth century. <br />
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From Shakespeare to Dickens to Melville to Emerson and Lincoln (just to name a few), all of these authors have used rhetorical devices to communicate their ideas. And perhaps, that has made all the difference? Having a compelling idea is one thing, but having the tools to communicate that idea in a compelling way commands attention and adds undeniable style. There are these two essential factors to make something useful happen: <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/inspiration-capability.html" target="_blank">inspiration + capability</a>. <strong>Rhetoric provides the capability to support inspiration.</strong>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Farnsworths-Classical-English-Rhetoric-Farnsworth/dp/1567923852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394939236" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Farnsworths-Classical-English-Rhetoric-Farnsworth/dp/1567923852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394939236" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5khXCo6ym0/UzmNA78tQtI/AAAAAAAAAcE/84rcD13F3fk/s1600/ClassicalEnglishRhetoric_thumbnail.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(I don't get anything for the link;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">it's just for reference)</span></td></tr>
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I've read several books on rhetoric by now, but the best so far has been:<br />
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<u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Farnsworths-Classical-English-Rhetoric-Farnsworth/dp/1567923852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394939236" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Classical English Rhetoric</span></a></u><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">by Ward Farnsworth</span><br />
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I checked it out of the library and took so many notes that I was basically transcribing the book, so I finally just decided to buy it outright. ;p <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<strong>Aristotle is the classic source for rhetorical techniques and it looks like there are several free options to download his work on </strong><a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=aristotle%20rhetoric%20AND%20collection%3Aamericana" target="_blank"><strong>archive.org</strong></a>. I haven't looked through them yet for the best one, but I'll update the link when there's one in particular that I end up finding most valuable. I liked Farnsworth's book because he includes many literary examples from authors frequently studied in school, and I find his concise organization of eighteen particular rhetorical devices (with many variations) to be incredibly helpful.<br />
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So often in students are almost made to revere literary 'geniuses' of the past, to feel inferior themselves, when in fact, these authors and speech writers have become skilled in basic rhetorical patterns of speech. Not to take anything away from them, but study rhetoric for yourself so you can reap the benefits too; power to the people!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Breaking the Rules</span><br />
The one comment I've received so far on my writing from professional publishers is that I 'need more sentence fragments'. Well, as a college grad, this remark initially made me scratch my head. But, my writing was grammatically correct; but no snarky people could nitpick anything; but ... but ... Well, I now have the sense of what that comment implied. Rhetorical devices are not something you would use to get an 'A+' in grammar school. In fact, using rhetoric would probably get you points docked off a 'perfect' sentence structure. Grammar school is one thing, true life is another; <strong>what's more important, perfect sentences, or powerful sentences?</strong><br />
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The key with knowing rhetoric, with infusing yourself with the underlying patterns, is that you know inherently come to know when to 'break the rules' to create deliberate power and drama. <strong>Rhetoric is about learning to trust your ear, not just your mind.</strong> It's motivation to free yourself from rigid grammatical bonds. It's about staying true to the underlying purpose of the sentence, and knowing why you organized your sentence in that particular way. It's not about 'breaking the rules', but deliberately communicating more effectively. Yeah!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mental Jujutsu</span><br />
<strong>Even if you don't have aspirations to be a writer, at least take a look at these rhetorical devices since countless politicians (or their speech writers) employ these techniques.</strong> If nothing else, use it to immunize yourself from the emotional pull evoked by these rhetorical patterns; it's mental jujutsu! Politicians can use it to incite people to 'join the cause', to pull the population this way or that. At by studying rhetoric yourself, you can separate the technique from the actual idea itself to gain better perspective.<br />
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I was so relived to discover the art of rhetoric for myself. It really does imbue prose with a kind of poetry. I have a long way to go to decondition myself from rigid grammatical dogma and instead absorb these underlying rhetorical patterns into my very bones. I'm excited to do it though because I can see it's the path to true creative freedom. Hope exploring rhetoric helps you too!<br />
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Post by Laura A Knauth</span></span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-39178329893803252342014-03-14T20:24:00.001-07:002017-11-27T07:48:52.672-08:00The Wonders of Eucalyptus OilHey, I'm posting again after a long hiatus! (I was doing massive amounts of research for my historical novels.) It's great to be back. Today, I just wanted to give a quick tip about a home remedy that has really saved me this past year: <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Eucalyptus Oil vs Dust Mites</span></b>
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About a year after I moved into my home, I started having some bad allergies (itchy eyes, stuffy, that sort of thing) and occasional contact allergies on my toes - very itchy. I had no idea what the problem was for years and tried various things with no benefit. Even after I had narrowed the culprit down to dust mites, none of the remedies I tried were effective. I tried cleaning out the air ducts. It cost something like $600, a big investment for me, but had absolutely no effect. Replacing the carpets with hardwood floors was <i>way</i> out of my budget, so I tried periodically steam cleaning them. Though it was a time intensive process, it seemed to bring temporary relief (the hot steam kills the mites), but I still had issues with my shoes, socks, furniture, ... <br />
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Finally, I discovered eucalyptus essential oil. Hurrah! Relief!! All I've been doing to rid myself of these allergies and itching is to put two eye dropper squirts of eucalyptus essential oil in a spray bottle filled with white vinegar & walk through my house spraying the carpets, sheets, pillows, lounge chairs, stuffed toys, curtains, whatever. I do it daily every morning while I'm still sleepy eyed and waking up. The vinegar solution I buy is from Costco: it's pre-diluted to 5% acidity. For me, I don't notice any color fading issues, but use your discretion. I also don't notice any unpleasant vinegar scent either, just eucalyptus. It's dry in minutes. I picked vinegar as the base because it has other disinfectant properties I like, but I don't know that it's essential for the dust mite issue - it's just what I've been doing. I also haven't experimented with the amount of eucalyptus oil in the vinegar, I noticed that two dropperfuls was working, so it's what I'm continuing to use.<br />
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I also put a solution of eucalyptus essential oil and vodka in a spray bottle and spritz my socks before putting on my shoes. (And sometimes combine that with a dusting of eucalyptus oil infused baking soda to help freshen my heavier shoes.) It's worked like a charm for me.<br />
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<u>One more use</u>: I also put a squirt of eucalyptus oil in the washing machine water and a squirt in the dryer (I pick something like a cloth or non-delicate item; hasn't left any marks as far as I can tell). The clothes or sheets or towels come out with a fresh scent and seem to be dust mite free!
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Eucalyptus Oil vs Colds</b></span> <br />
All winter, I either put a dropperful of eucalyptus oil in the humidifier water or in my diffuser to disperse the oil into the air. I think it really helped to purify the air; I made it through the winter without going down for the count, anyway. The times where I started to feel a cold coming on, I took the extra step of putting a few drops of eucalyptus oil in a large glass bowl, pouring steaming hot water over it, and breathing in the steam (with a towel tented over my head to concentrate the steam). It seemed to me to really help clear up my lungs.
<b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Score</span></b><br />
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Eucalyptus Oil : Winner!<br />
Common Nuisances : 0<br />
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These are just my random tips, but I noticed a big benefit from using eucalyptus essential oil in these ways. I had no idea eucalyptus oil was such an effective deterrent for dust mites. It really saved me a lot of money (from having to replace my carpets, shoes, and who knows what else). It's so amazing to finally find a decisive solution to these increasingly bothersome issues. And I love that the solution involves buying individual quality ingredients rather than an expensive pre-packaged mixture of who knows what. I've seen eucalyptus essential oil at regular health grocery stores, but I've been trying to only use therapeutic grade essential oils which I order online.<br />
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Hope these tips help!
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog
Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-2532983913997988942013-05-29T12:45:00.002-07:002013-05-29T12:53:58.713-07:00Photo: Morning On Mount RainierRosy morning sunlight dances over beautiful Mount Rainier with Edith Creek and purple lupine wildflowers in the foreground. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Morning on Mount Rainier</strong></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGZFI9O9ZkE/UaZVotguFMI/AAAAAAAAAXc/OmqPBXIyRr0/s1600/Ranier_Morning_Falls_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGZFI9O9ZkE/UaZVotguFMI/AAAAAAAAAXc/OmqPBXIyRr0/s640/Ranier_Morning_Falls_web.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
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I played around with some <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/orton-diffusion.html" target="_blank">Orton Diffusion</a> to evoke a more peaceful morning effect.<br />
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<em><u>Location</u></em><br />
Mount Rainier National Park, Washington<br />
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<em><u>Technical Info</u></em><br />
Canon 50d <br />
18-200mm Lens, 20mm <br />
f/11, 0.6s, ISO 100 <br />
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<em><u>Filters</u></em><br />
Circular Polarizer <br />
3stop Reverse ND Grad (probably ... forgot to take filter notes)<br />
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I'm a huge fan of digital RAW mode after this. The golden morning light surprised me, and I was so rushed to whip out the right filters and setup the shot that I ended up accidentally taking this with -2 EB from a previous experiment. Doh! The glancing light on the peak was done by the time I noticed what happened, but I was able to salvage the photo by adding back the +2EB in DPP. Whew!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-41975101672113434822013-05-29T12:40:00.000-07:002013-05-29T17:25:50.157-07:00Orton Diffusion<span style="font-family: inherit;">My second
favorite photography post-processing technique (following <b><a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/midtone-contrast.html" target="_blank">Midtone Contrast using Unsharp Mask</a></b>) is Orton-style diffusion. I have been using this for the past couple years to
varying degrees in just about every image starting with <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/photo-morning-on-mount-rainier.html" target="_blank">Morning at Mount Rainier</a>. The Orton effect adds an almost mystical, dreamy element to the atmosphere which
you can dial up or down depending on your preference.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I first learned
about the general idea of the Orton technique, I was using it globally on whole
image, but I've come to apply it now by default only to a small degree just the
shadow areas (since shadows in real life appear to the eye just a bit more
blurry than bright areas). The camera usually just makes shadow areas more noisy
which can degrade the overall impression of the image, even if it's not
immediately noticeable. So even if I'm not looking for a noticeable Orton
effect, whether it's just for gently blurring the shadows or taking the edge
off sharpening artifacts, I love Orton diffusion!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>The Orton Technique<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Orton
diffusion effect is achieved when sharp and blurry images are superimposed. This was
originally done in the camera using multiple exposures, but I like the control
of leveraging Photoshop to dial in this effect in post-processing. There are
many ways to do anything in Photoshop, but here's my usual method for the Orton diffusion effect. (I made a macro of these steps to speed up my workflow.)</span></div>
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** The hotkeys listed are for the PC; for Mac, you would use the Option key instead of Ctrl</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWNBJ8NbQGM/UaZVrY641XI/AAAAAAAAAXk/kjaZ1WWcMSI/s1600/Orton_Layers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWNBJ8NbQGM/UaZVrY641XI/AAAAAAAAAXk/kjaZ1WWcMSI/s320/Orton_Layers.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="right">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orton Diffusion Example Layers</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Duplicate
the Image on a new layer </span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance: Click New Layer Icon; then Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I labeled this layer 'Orton Base'</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Optional:
Open Levels and set the midpoint slider to around 1.6</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This brightens the image to compensate for
global darkening that comes in the next steps. (Although, you could play around
with omitting this step.)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Duplicate
this lightened Image on a new layer (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Filter
=> Blur => Guassian blur</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I use anywhere from Radius: 3 - 10 if I want
an obvious Orton effect</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I use around Radius 1 - 2 for a final
shadow-only application</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes I also play around with more
extreme Radius settings for funsies :)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Change the
Layer mode from Normal to Multiply</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I label this layer Orton Blur</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Merge this Orton effect on a new layer (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E)</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I label this layer Orton Final; (Or you could
leave out this step if you want to do further modifications)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Optional:
Duplicate the 'Orton Base' layer and move it to the top of the stack</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dial back the Opacity % as desired. (I start
with 30%)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This blends back even more of the original
sharpness.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">You could also selectively restore more of
the original sharpness using a layer mask</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Optional:
Create a final layer composite (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E)</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I labeled this layer 'Orton Composite'</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>To
restrict Orton diffusion effect to the shadow areas only, I add these extra steps</u>:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Copy the
pre-Orton image</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alt+Click the eye next to the pre-Orton
layer (The <em>Background layer </em>in my example)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click this layer to select it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ctrl+A</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ctrl+C</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add a
Layer mask to the Orton Composite layer</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Select the Composite layer and then click the icon with the dark rectangle and
little white circle (next to the fx icon)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alt+Click
the Layer mask thumbnail</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This allows you to edit the pixels in the
mask</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">By default the screen will turn white since
the mask is currently empty</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Paste your
image into the mask (Ctrl+V)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Invert the
pixels in the Mask (Ctrl+I)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click the
Composite Orton layer thumbnail to view the Final result</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">(This assumes all of the intermediate
Orton-related layers are still de-selected.</span></li>
<li>I took a screen capture of my layers panel after all of these steps to show as an example</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I use all of these steps to create an Orton-style diffusion
so often, all of those steps now seem totally straightforward. As with anything, it gets easier with practice (especially if you are liking the results). <strong>At a
minimum, you can also try just blurring a duplicate layer, setting the layer mode to Multiply, and then tinkering with
the Opacity % for a simple, basic Orton effect.</strong> However, I find the complete steps listed above preserve the overall light/dark impression of the image which I usually find
valuable. I recorded a macro once I got familiar with the proceedure and particular settings I liked (which really helps to speed up the future process).</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>In Summary</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Figuring
out how to give your image an impression of sharpness without looking
overdone (especially for the web) is challenging. Using an Orton diffusion effect in the shadows for the final
sharpened image has been giving me just the right backoff I've been looking
for. It can also be helpful for giving images a dreamy, painterly atmosphere that I find absolutely beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orton_(photography)" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orton_(photography)</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hope you find these tips helpful!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth </span></div>
Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-48560524932041285042013-05-28T12:08:00.001-07:002013-05-28T12:08:46.520-07:00Photo: Enchanted at Proxy FallsIncorporating unexpected elements of the landscape can add unexpected delights!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Enchanted at Proxy Falls</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWrQX8Ze94w/UaT_4D6UoUI/AAAAAAAAAXM/l9SVkqR5KT0/s1600/Proxy_Bokeh_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWrQX8Ze94w/UaT_4D6UoUI/AAAAAAAAAXM/l9SVkqR5KT0/s640/Proxy_Bokeh_web.jpg" width="562" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Proxy Falls has so many different cascades; the volume of sound from this place was amazing! I remember being drenched standing anywhere near the main blast, but off on the sides the spray wasn't quite so aggressive.This particular location was particularly enchanting since you could be fairly close and still look up at the water as it was pouring over the rocks and mingling with the sun.<br />
<br />
I thought the unexpected droplets on the lens helped convey the moment. Kisses from Proxy Falls :)<br />
<br />
<i><u>Technical Info</u></i><br />
Canon 50d<br />
18-200mm Lens, 18mm<br />
f/16, 6sec, ISO 100<br />
Circular Polarizer<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-10656190484234977332013-05-27T14:16:00.002-07:002013-05-27T14:30:39.043-07:00Dedicated Luminosity and Color Layers in PhotoshopI've found that using dedicated luminosity or color layers in Photoshop has been a very helpful technique. It provides more control for your intention by eliminating unintentional artifacts.<br />
<br />
Here's the essential idea:<br />
<ul>
<li>Use Luminosity mode when adjusting light/dark tones (or for sharpening)</li>
<li>Use Color mode for color-specific edits</li>
</ul>
<br />
Actually LAB mode has native capabilities that essentially do the same thing (since L is a separate lightness channel, and 'a', and 'b' are the color channels). I've been using the RGB mode primarily though (so far), and for this color mode (RGB: red, green, blue), both the lightness and color information is mixed together, so adjustments intended only to effect light or dark values, might tweak the colors as well. These artifacts might be subtle, but over several adjustment layers, I found myself noticing the impression of my image to be increasingly 'off' from what I was expecting. Being very specific about whether the adjustment layer is intended for the light/dark (luminosity) or color and setting the Photoshop layer modes accordingly has helped me to create adjustments that function as I originally intended.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Luminosity Mode</span><br />
If your processing technique is only intended to effect the light or dark values, then try changing the layer mode from 'Normal' to 'Luminosity' in order to prevent side effects of your adjustment from unexpectedly effecting color tones. Adjustment layers where you might find this useful are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Curves or levels adjustments to brighten or darken the <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/midtone-contrast.html" target="_blank"><b>midtones</b></a>, or overall dynamic range</li>
<li>Sharpening techniques (since it is usually achieved by increasing contrast around edges)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Combining Modes</b><br />
Sometimes, I like when the 'Multiply' layer mode adds some color saturation as it darkens, but sometimes I don't (which is when I would use this Luminosity clipping technique). If you want to use photoshop layer modes like Multiply (darkening) or Screen (lightening), you can also 'mask' these effects with the luminosity mode by adding a new 'dummy' adjustment layer (I usually use levels) and "<b>clip</b>" the light-related adjustment adjustment layers to it. (alt/option+click the line separating layers to clip the top layer to the bottom) Then set the dummy layer mode to 'luminosity', and any layer clipped to it (you can stack them) will be restricted to luminosity-related changes only. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Color</span><br />
Likewise, if your processing adjustment layer is only intended to effect the color, I would try changing the adjustment layer mode from 'Normal' to 'Color' which would prevent unexpected light/dark tone artifacts. I find this most useful for:<br />
<ul>
<li>Local Color adjustments (fixing lens flare artifacts, toning down a distracting element, ...)</li>
<li>Vibrance/Saturation adjustments</li>
</ul>
<br />
So, that's the basic idea. I've been finding it very helpful in all my <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/search/label/Photography" target="_blank"><b>recent processing</b></a>, and hope you find it useful too!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post By Laura A Knauth</span></div>
Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-33233620805067118292013-05-27T14:05:00.003-07:002013-05-28T12:09:58.745-07:00Photo: The Long BridgeThe Astoria Bridge towers over the remnants of an old dock one foggy morning.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Long Bridge</b></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9gio0QXP9bU/UaPBzu8ZRRI/AAAAAAAAAW8/1dzYOXmBKb0/s1600/Bridge_Into_Fog+sm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="406" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9gio0QXP9bU/UaPBzu8ZRRI/AAAAAAAAAW8/1dzYOXmBKb0/s640/Bridge_Into_Fog+sm.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><u>Technical Details</u></i><br />
Canon 50d<br />
Canon 18-200mm Lens, 18mm<br />
f/11, 1sec, ISO 100<br />
<br />
This was one of the first images where I started paying close attention to <b><a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/dedicated-luminosity-and-color-layer.html" target="_blank">dedicated luminosity and color layers</a> </b>when post-processing in Photoshop. I find this technique very useful for reducing unexpected artifacts and allowed for more control. More details are available in the article.<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-89102909166369273542013-05-26T15:14:00.000-07:002013-06-04T11:33:28.163-07:00Pondering a Tavern Tale<span style="font-family: inherit;">I read
this old parable a long time ago and have always kept it in mind. I couldn't
find the original source material, or the original author, so to paraphrase:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A man
walked into a tavern, and found a group of patrons arguing about how many teeth
are in a horse's mouth. He suggested they all take a look at the horse in the
stable outside to find out …<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">at which
point they promptly beat him and tossed him outside.</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why bother measuring what can be measured when you could
just have a contest about who has a bigger ego? Sigh. Take a look at most news
'shows' today and you will likely see glaring evidence of the same bad behavior as the author of this parable was warning about hundreds of years ago.
Life is complicated enough without distractions from the cult of personality. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Critiquing the Skeptic</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While you might expect salesman types (or news
personalities) to be most susceptible to personality-driven, ego-based arguments
instead of fact-driven focus, I'd caution for the same vigilance even for the
most esteemed in the academic community as well. Most modern academic inquiries
seem to be based on skepticism - that is, putting proposed ideas to a rigorous
test, then either: finding any crack or failure which would invalidate the
idea, or else having found no failure, giving the idea an official stamp of
approval. A valiant attempt. But unfortunately, I think this approach ends up
<b><a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-options-thank-you.html" target="_blank">discarding too many good ideas</a></b>, too many true facts, along the way. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If a champion of an idea makes a mistake in their
presentation, the ultimate idea may still be right even if the implementation
by that particular champion is flawed. How many times have you seen a news
clip, video, or read a quote from a random person in the news who's main idea
you agreed with, but cringed at their bad choice of words. It's a case where
you know the underlying idea is better then how it sounds. All too often you
see the result: bad presentations create easy 'straw men' that are easily
dismissed or ridiculed. The lesser argument can appear to 'win.' In this way, <b>skepticism can lead to these same personality-based arguments</b> overshadowing truth-based inquiries. The danger is when such criticism deters others from ever looking at that badly framed idea
again. It creates a blind side where
potentially real truths are left unknown, unmeasured.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Skepticism takes a disastrous turn when questions are intended to destroy rather than to understand. It becomes a vehicle for another top-down, authoritarian
system so pervasive in our modern society: Only validated experts are
qualified to examine data. It's as if they presume to valiantly eliminate thought viruses from
infecting a supposedly childlike population. Destroying ideas that challenge the system becomes like a feather in their cap, and it's 'for your safety'. (Same goes from my
experience in the corporate world, where people are also rewarded for killing new
proposals 'to meet schedule' just as you might expect they should be rewarded for creating new
ones.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Look for Shreds of Truth, not Cracks of Failure<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But what if everyone took on that <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-ceo-of-your-own-life.html" target="_blank">responsibility for themselves</a>? While it is definitely valuable to understand the best <i>currently accepted</i> theory from the experts, I would caution very strongly from stopping an
inquiry there. Now if this latest default position happens to meet your needs,
then you're done. But if you are still dissatisfied with limited options, I
don't think it's reasonable to despair, thinking the official line is the only
reasonable course of action. I think it's reasonable to hear other possible
options, regardless of the source. I love this approach; it can be so
invigorating and inspiring. The key is to look for shreds of truth, not seek cracks
of failure. With this approach, you are not an unsuspecting childlike consumer
that must be fed only sanitized options, you are autonomous investigator,
looking for glimmers of hope in a motley universe. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For example: rather than reading only approved
textbooks or talking only to an approved authorities, you could read fringe books, listen to podcasts, or watch YouTube videos just to find one useful phrase or idea (although hopefully you can prioritize so
the odds are better). And you will definitely have to activate your best pattern matching mind filter (serious discrimination skills needed) because there will likely be a lot of misguided tangents to sift through. But for all that, you
may find that just one phrase becomes like a key, unlocking a whole new <b>viable </b>approach. That one idea could be life changing, opening up huge opportunities or cost savings. The very approach you stumble upon from random fellow human beings might become lauded by experts in the next 50 years, but has just
not been officially recognized yet. It's a common blindside in our society. How
often do you hear: "No one could have seen it coming." … Really? How about taking a look at the
people who were thrown out of the tavern, so to speak.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Remedy</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Going back to the parable, if too many useful facts are
being ignored due to the tendencies ingrained in modern society, I think one good option
is to figure out how to make the best use of that true information. Could be a
business opportunity, or just something simple you can incorporate to benefit
your own life. Anyway, good ideas are usually just a fraction of the total
energy compared to what it takes to convince someone else the idea is right.
Why bother with that anyway? Such arguments really do seem mainly ego driven. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It could be because I'm coming from an engineering
background, but I say the best remedy for unrecognized (or ignored) facts is to
find out a useful application of those facts and then test it out yourself. If
the idea really was bad or the fact turns out to be useless, then at least you
didn't expend your time and reputation defending it. If the idea is truly good and useful,
then you will benefit </span>(<b>since knowing something that is true, but no one else believes is technically a business advantage</b>). <span style="font-family: inherit;">And when you succeed, people will probably notice and
then ask you what you're doing. Problem solved; no yelling. Seems like a decent
plan to me. :)</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Blog post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-26558240032533180072013-05-23T22:04:00.002-07:002013-05-23T22:05:50.268-07:00Photo: Portland Nightscape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Love that blue hour just after sunset. The longer exposure times combined with that lighting really help to reveal some incredible sky color that is not immediately apparent to the eye in real life. It's one of the rare times where differences in the camera's vision compared to your own can work wonderfully in your favor. Combine the quality of this lighting with some water reflections, and it's hard to go wrong. :) </div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Portland Nightscape</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OM_xmFHKR0c/UZ7uE4R96bI/AAAAAAAAAWs/B3f7a-1lIXM/s1600/Portland_Night_web2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OM_xmFHKR0c/UZ7uE4R96bI/AAAAAAAAAWs/B3f7a-1lIXM/s640/Portland_Night_web2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright
Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please
contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
At the time I took this photo, I didn't know about the <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-zen-filter-6-stop-nd.html" target="_blank">six stop ND filter</a> (which I now use for most water-related shots), but the naturally low lighting just after sunset naturally allowed for a surface blur across the water and helped reveal long colorful reflections. (I hadn't expected the blurred boats near the dock (they were barely moving to my eyes), but love that it adds a subtle impression of movement in the scene. <br />
<br />
<u><em>Location</em></u><br />
Downtown Portland, Oregon <br />
Hawthorne Bridge reflection in the Willamette River<br />
<br />
<u><em>Technical Info</em></u><br />
18-200mm Lens, 24mm <br />
f/5.6, 83s, ISO 100 <br />
Circular Polarizer + 3 Stop ND Grad<br />
<br />
This was actualy one of my first shots with my Canon 50d camera, and seeing it reminded me of a particular quirk I had to learn about the camera at the time in order to get this shot. In order to leave the shutter open beyond 30 seconds (the limit of my camera in Aperture or Shutter priority modes), I set the camera shutter time to 'bulb' and use a cable release to manually hold the shutter open. I had to play around with the exposure to find an aperture/time combination that worked well. But on Canon cameras, just switching the camera 'on' isn't sufficient to enable the 'bulb' shutter setting. There's an additional tick on the power dial which is a required setting before the camera can be set to bulb shutter mode.<br />
<br />
Hope this helps!<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-77233915302332619202013-05-22T15:19:00.000-07:002013-05-22T19:51:28.882-07:00Self Correcting Systems<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>There are many paths, </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i> but some are more efficient than others.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I see huge benefits to setting up or supporting self correcting systems vs micromanaging self destructive systems. That may sound obvious, but I think many inefficiencies in modern life stem from continually supporting essentially destructive systems without realizing that a better option might be available; that is, investments that change the nature of the system so that it automatically corrects itself in the future. As a first step, here's a simplified picture of these two types of systems: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" style="width: 50%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZWb7IIQNoo/UZ0UdHFLK-I/AAAAAAAAAWc/84SJR6fmmk8/s1600/Divergent_Graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZWb7IIQNoo/UZ0UdHFLK-I/AAAAAAAAAWc/84SJR6fmmk8/s200/Divergent_Graph.jpg" style="border-style: none;" width="195" /></a>
</td><td valign="top"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--KV62GbadsY/UZ0UUBG98aI/AAAAAAAAAWE/Hf0kszBo9Kw/s1600/Convergent_Graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--KV62GbadsY/UZ0UUBG98aI/AAAAAAAAAWE/Hf0kszBo9Kw/s200/Convergent_Graph.jpg" style="border-style: none;" width="191" /></a>
</td></tr>
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I am attempting to show the trend of two systems over time. In my example, the ideal functioning of the system is in the center, along the Time (or horizontal) axis. In the day to day functioning of the system, noise or external events can bump a data point away from ideal. As time continues to increase, the datapoint, the result of the system, would follow one of the trendlines shown. Once the ideal functioning of a divergent system is perturbed, the trend of that system will follow the trend lines of the divergent chart, leading ever <b>away from ideal</b>. If a point on the convergent system is perturbed from it's ideal, over time, the convergent system will trend back <b>toward ideal, </b>re-establishing the balance point with minimal external effort required.<br />
<br />
There is a useful 'path to victory' in both systems (along the Time axis), but <b>divergent systems are high maintenance</b>, while <b>convergent systems are self-correcting</b>. Divergent systems require authoritarian oversight and constant micromanaging to make sure they continue to function properly; and there is a constant danger of over-correction. 'Fishtaling' is a constant threat when correcting divergent systems since what was supposed to be a correction can instead cause the system to spiral out of control in the opposite direction. Only tiny deviations can set off a chain reaction that can cause a response that moves far away from ideal. But once you setup a convergent system, further maintenance is minimal. The convergent system 'fights' external inputs that seek to push it off course. Sounds like a good idea to me!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" style="width: 50%;"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2fnbY12kEew/UZ0Ubu9LXYI/AAAAAAAAAWU/xHP4BRrETJw/s1600/Divergent_Detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2fnbY12kEew/UZ0Ubu9LXYI/AAAAAAAAAWU/xHP4BRrETJw/s320/Divergent_Detail.jpg" style="border-style: none;" width="320" /></a>
</td><td valign="top"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SIWuC0FyPo/UZ0UZieuMqI/AAAAAAAAAWM/sboo9c-AuLc/s1600/Convergent_Detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SIWuC0FyPo/UZ0UZieuMqI/AAAAAAAAAWM/sboo9c-AuLc/s200/Convergent_Detail.jpg" style="border-style: none;" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For some real world examples: you could think of driving your car in reverse as a divergent system. It can be done in a pinch, but extreme care must be taken with every course correction to ensure the car does not veer wildly out of control. A much more stable system is driving your car forward. Once you set your course, physics supports holding the car in that line.<br />
<br />
You could say fission (used by modern day nuclear reactors) is a divergent system, but fusion (a process of the Sun) is a convergent system. Constant energy must be expended to prevent fission reactions from running amok and causing destruction in a cascade runaway. With fusion, energy must be expended to maintain the reaction; if the energy input stops, the reaction ceases. Automatic fail safe.<br />
<br />
When I go on walks or am doing chores, I think it's a useful thought exercise to wonder about the various factors or issues effecting my day to day life and try to see whether they fit into more of a self-correcting (convergent) system, or whether they are more destructive (divergent) systems.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Health</b></span><br />
Last year, I realized the very functioning of our bodies might be tied to this concept. I began to consider whether we are born with convergent, self correcting bodies, analogous to a convergent system. It's common to see references of children's remarkable ability to heal quickly, and equal jabs about the opposite effect as we age. Is that really natural? What if over time, our bodies become compromised as a <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-is-healthy.html" target="_blank">result of mistaken advice</a> or otherwise improper maintenance and in essence, move gradually from a Self Correcting system to a Self Destructive system?<br />
<br />
For an added perspective: Imagine the area inside the system graphs above represent minimum structural integrity - aka: staying alive. If you run off the graph, game over. Now it's true a large enough external trauma could bump you outside the limits of either graph. But if a trauma is survivable, or during the day to day jostling of regular living, I'd say the odds are significantly improved for long term optimal functioning in the self correcting system. (Depending on the severity of a particular trauma or recovery timeline, some intervention might still be recommended even with a self-correcting system, but it's likely to be far less intensive and far less risky.)<br />
<br />
It suspect most modern medical approaches follow a divergent, self destructive view the body. It suggests that our bodies are prone to failure and requires constant, expensive, interventions to maintain health. This intervention often leads to side-effects, which are accepted as normal collateral damage. (Now in cases of acute trauma, I am all for emergency intervention, but most health costs and most dire statistics are from the chronic conditions.) What if our time and energy, our effort and our dollars are instead be spent not not on constant interventions, but on re-establishing our natural self correcting mechanisms? <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-options-thank-you.html" target="_blank">Modern medicine does not often emphasize this as an option</a>, but since reducing medical costs and increasing longevity are some of the most sought after solutions in our modern life, I think this approach worth a test. My <b><a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/search/label/Health" target="_blank">Health blog posts</a></b> cover more specifics about my latest health strategies.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finances</b></span><br />
It's also useful to consider how the different divergent and convergent systems fit into financial strategies. Instead of accumulating increasing monthly debt bills and then trying to win the lottery (divergent system), a better strategy might be to setup a more convergent system such as: to reduce or eliminate fixed expenses and set up <i>systems </i>of income (<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPassive_income&ei=a36dUY-FN6muigLw5ICwAg&usg=AFQjCNF2HsMOf0x4TQQPJJzxxydKn1ysVA&sig2=BWNp1HUJ7qnD4cVYXQ7yLA&bvm=bv.46865395,d.cGE" target="_blank">passive income</a>, for instance). I would certainly love a windfall anytime, but for planning purposes, striving to setup <b>systems of income</b> seems a far more stable and long term lucrative approach than hunting for single treasures.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Summing It Up</b></span><br />
There are many surprising and 'hidden in plain sight' examples of divergent systems through varied aspects of modern life. Just wanted to share some ideas to hopefully inspire creativity towards more efficient long-term solutions. I'd say trying to hold the ideal line in a divergent, or self destructive system should be a final resort in an emergency, or as temporary stop gap. But on a day to day basis, instead of spending energy chasing after 'fires' and worrying about micromanaging the individual effects of random noise or unexpected external events, whenever possible, I find much larger financial, energy, and time wins by recognizing opportunities to <b>support or create self sustaining systems. </b><br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog Post by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-26306841861284005442013-05-21T10:47:00.001-07:002013-05-21T10:51:11.800-07:00Photo: Looking UpHere's a nature photo taken in an unlikely place <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.545454025268555px;">—</span> a parking lot <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.545454025268555px;">—</span> with an unlikely camera <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.545454025268555px;">—</span> a point & shoot. It's all about perspectives. ;) One of the mantras in many photo books recommends: when the sky isn't particularly compelling (perhaps on solid gray days), then compose shots without the sky. ...So extending that theme: if you are in the middle of a parking lot, try leaving out out the concrete. ;p<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Looking Up</span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pTkznipWJzA/UZuw9ej-oCI/AAAAAAAAAV0/3r-d6ahhMJY/s1600/Looking_Up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pTkznipWJzA/UZuw9ej-oCI/AAAAAAAAAV0/3r-d6ahhMJY/s640/Looking_Up.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
These are springtime flowers on a sunny day from one of my favorite perspectives: the wide angle close up. Contrary to most flower shots, I didn't zoom in, but set the widest angle possible and moved the camera as close to the subject as it could stay in focus.<br />
<br />
This was a spontaneous photo moment. I didn't have any fancy gear with me and just was heading back to my car when the lovely flowers in the median caught my eye. I remembered I had a little point & shoot camera with me, and it was nice to find a creative way to reflect on the moment. The camera is essentially touching the ground with the lens pointed back up at the flowers. Needless to say, I had to spam many many shots through trial and error since I couldn't look through the viewfinder, but it was a lot of fun!<br />
<br />
<i><u>Technical Info</u></i><br />
Lumix ZS19, 4.3mm with Macro mode enabled<br />
f8, 1/800, ISO 100<br />
Fill Flash<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fill Flash in Daylight</b></span><br />
I wanted to highlight that I overrode the camera settings to force the flash to fire. This is a helpful technique for shooting subjects in the midday sun where the normal camera settings can have a tendency to expose for the background leaving the subject in the dark. The remedy is to force the flash to fire; it acts as fill flash, allowing the subject to shine. :) It probably looked strange to passersby seeing me use the flash in the daytime, but this shot wouldn't have happened without it!<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by my blog!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-71631071269963163662013-05-19T10:12:00.003-07:002013-05-19T10:42:21.859-07:00Good Ideas vs the Status QuoOne of the
true life lessons I accidentally learned while studying for my engineering
degrees was: even ideas that far surpass what's currently out there will not
gain traction unless that idea <b>in practice</b> is a more convenient and cost
effective compared to what already exists. (Technical example: Even though
silicon is not a material conducive to efficiently produce lasers (a big
limitation for silicon-based microprocessors), today's computers are still
silicon-based because the manufacturing process for working with silicon are so
cost effective compared to what might theoretically be the preferred choice:
Gallium Arsenide.)<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Whenever a
new idea comes on the scene, in order for it to be adopted as the new standard,
it has to not only be inherently better on paper, but also has to overcome the
tremendous <b>inertia of the existing infrastructure</b>. It's good to keep this in
mind, because when working on your own new ideas, it can be frustrating to
realize that a more efficient solution to common problems might exist, but
everyone seems to be ignoring it. Instead of spending energy complaining about
why these 'brilliant' ideas are not adopted, it can be useful to figure out the
practical reasons why the existing systems prevail. <b>There is a cost to
manifesting new ideas in an existing environment.</b> Unless someone's really
good at marketing, it seems to me only <i>incrementally</i> good ideas will
fall by the wayside, and only ideas that improve the status quo by at least an <i>order
of magnitude</i> (ie: a paradigm shift) have a chance to gain traction. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When taking
on the responsibility of manifesting new ideas (as an entrepreneur),
unexpected, but practical problems, might actually provide crucial insight as to why the
current paradigm does exist. That experience can at least provide valuable
insight about the true complexity of the problem. Not to say the existing
paradigms are the final solution, but at least realizing the true complexities
of a problem removes artificial frustrations about why what appears to be the
obvious solution is not adopted. Blindsides happen when focus is too limited
and you are still buffeted by unseen effects from the full system. At least
making the effort to solve the problems you see would (at worse) reveal more
factors to take into consideration. You can then rework the problem from this
new perspective, or you might decide what you thought was a problem, is
actually a decent solution.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So it seems
a big win either way to put your energy where your mouth is, so to speak. By
investing energy in<b> <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/05/inspiration-capability.html" target="_blank">your own ideas</a></b>, you either learn more about crucial
variables you had overlooked, or you are successful at providing a helpful solution to
a tough problem!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-by Laura A
Knauth</span></div>
Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-14764405379063433172013-05-17T12:06:00.001-07:002013-05-17T12:15:27.104-07:00Photo: BeachcombingSearching for treasure on the Oregon coast...<br />
<br />
<center>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 25px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Beachcombing</span></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McuYS2qhIjU/UZZ-gsluiiI/AAAAAAAAAVk/3z0HG7CwV48/s1600/Beachcombing+redo.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McuYS2qhIjU/UZZ-gsluiiI/AAAAAAAAAVk/3z0HG7CwV48/s640/Beachcombing+redo.tif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Copyright Laura A Knauth, All rights reserved.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Please contact me for any usage or licensing options</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</center>
<br />
I have to say I really love this image even though it is simple. Typifies the cloudy days that are still beautiful in the Pacific Northwest. This is haystack rock near Cannon Beach, Oregon.<br />
<br />
<u>Technical Info</u><br />
Canon 50d<br />
Canon EF-S 18-200mm Lens, 60mm<br />
f16, 1/10s, ISO 100<br />
<br />
<u>Filters</u>:<br />
2-stop Graduated ND Filter<br />
Circular Polarizer<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Adding Final Processing Sparkle</b></span><br />
A processing technique I've recently found and will start incorporating in all my future images is to add a final tweak to boost the brightest whites of the photo. Seems to really make the image sparkle. I started re-opening a copy of the image in Camera Raw and bumping up the Highlights slider in the Tone Curve tab slightly to the right (starting with +10 or so). I also check whether bumping down the 'Dark' slider slightly to the left adds an appealing effect. Sometimes that can really add richness to the tones.<br />
<br />
I've been watching what these sliders do to the tone curve in Camera Raw and have started mimicking that recently in Photoshop directly using a final Curves adjustment layer. Doing this step too soon in post-processing might take away more detail then you intended, so I've been saving these final adjustments to the end. Just wanted to mention this technique because I've realized that just when I thought my images were essentially finished, I found I liked the image much more after trying these final highlight or dark tone tweaks.<br />
<br />
Hope you find this useful!<br />
<br />
-by Laura A KnauthLaura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161966301676095816.post-71848818955645292742013-05-16T17:07:00.000-07:002013-06-25T15:15:30.145-07:00Inspiration + CapabilityHaving a
good idea is not enough. A good idea needs capability as the driving force to
bring that idea to fruition. The famous quote is: "<i>Genius is one
percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration.</i>"
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--wtne8uqW3M/UcoT-wB-K3I/AAAAAAAAAY4/2YEHfOYs8Dk/s1600/Balance_Inspiration_Capability.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--wtne8uqW3M/UcoT-wB-K3I/AAAAAAAAAY4/2YEHfOYs8Dk/s1600/Balance_Inspiration_Capability.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Buddha and Augustus to symbolize</span><br />
<strong>Inspiration in Balance with Capability</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Inspiration is akin to picking out your destination on a map.</li>
<li>Capability is operating the vehicle that takes you there.</li>
</ul>
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One without
the other leads to troubles. Continuing the analogy:</div>
<ul>
<li>Without
inspiration, you might drive around aimlessly in circles or endlessly haul
someone else around to fulfill their wishes.</li>
<li>Without
capability, you stay put and dream of lovely places never to be physically
seen.</li>
</ul>
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In other
words, <strong>imbalances</strong> in Inspiration or Capability lead toward negative tendencies
that trend either towards: Pathetic or Pointless:<br />
<ul>
<li>Inspiration without Capability => Pathetic (harmless, but no action)</li>
<li>Capability without Inspiration => Pointless (harmful or useless action)</li>
</ul>
<br />
The Remedy:<br />
<ul>
<li>Inspiration balanced with Capability => Useful Action</li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
In other words ... <b>Dream Big, Live Real </b> for the win :)</div>
</div>
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Staying 'in the zone' of balanced inspiration + capability requires constant vigilance (and especially requires <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-ceo-of-your-own-life.html" target="_blank">taking responsibility for yourself </a> ... before something else
does). Keep trying to optimize through experimentation, notice the results, and
iterate ever onward! As you continue along your path, you might decide shift your
intended goal, or upgrade your transportation along the way, so to
speak.</div>
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At the moment, I tend to be inclined more towards the inspiration side of things and am constantly
trying to improve my capabilities to properly express my intentions. I still
have a way to go in that regard, especially since I've recently changed my
intention to focus on writing and photography full time. (I was a design
engineer for years; and would say my long stint in corporate America was trending way in the opposite direction.) It helps me to think about these two dual goals - merging
inspiration with capability - to effectively prioritize my time and energy, eliminating distractions, and at least working to solve the <b>right </b>problems. And as an entrepreneur, it's definitely crucial to realize
that even producing good work is not enough; advertising will be a huge
component. (Yeah, definitely still a work in progress . . .)</div>
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As children,
we start out with grand inspiration, but lack experience, the capabilities to
achieve those visions. I think it is <b>a crucial life challenge to develop
capabilities without loosing sight of our own initial inspiration</b>. I think
we are susceptible, especially in the modern environment, for our capabilities
to be honed in service of someone else's goals, not our own. A very dangerous
blind side. After finishing so many years of earnest training, we might become
like little assassins - our capabilities serving to manifest the intentions of
another. That may sound dramatic, but it's so easy to become sidetracked. It's
a straight up difficult process to '<b>become who you are</b>'. Talk about a
moving target!<br />
<br />
And after all, learning capabilities is in a sense like
programming yourself. Even admiring someone else's work might dim your own
memory of what you wanted to achieve, just as it might also open a door to a
toolset that allows you to fulfill your own dreams. It's a tricky balance, but
I find keeping in mind these two pillars of inspiration + capability, both
together, helps inoculate against pitfalls of distraction or hijacked
intentions. I think achieving this balance in stride is true <a href="http://dreambiglivereal.blogspot.com/2013/04/happiness-is-not-juvenile.html" target="_blank">maturity and joy</a>. (And in some sense, you could even think of walking as controlled falling.)</div>
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In some
sense, capability is like the structure that creates the opportunity to manifest your
soul's desire. Finding and
honing the right capabilities to support your own inspiration seems to be the
name of the game. Hope these thoughts help you too along the way!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">-by Laura A Knauth</span>Laura A Knauthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12545299197683398234noreply@blogger.com0