somewhere ideas :} . . .somewhere you could only go to make wishes

this is our somewhere brief. . . somewhere you can only go to make wishes. . . i looked this up on the internet, i looked it up on google images, but it only really came up with things that had nothing to do with wishes, and these types of plants with seeds on, and i couldn't find any other really interesting pictures because most of the sites that i tried looking on were blocked.

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i like this picture because everyone knows that if you blow the seeds of this plant then so wishes "will" come true. . . i like how there is the sky in the background, that is out of focus, and that is dark blue and one side, and light blue at the other side. i like how the top of the plant is out of focus, and the bits closest to the camera is in focus, and i really like how some of the seeds have been blown away, and how they are still in focus, and how they are not that far away from the plant. 

i like this picture because i think it is peaceful, and quite soothing, i like how they have the one seed floating of slowly, and how half of the seeds are in focus, and half arn't. i like how they have the bud of the plant bold with no seed petals at one side, and at the other there are loads of seeds, i like how the soft cotton in the background is blurry and how there is only one in focus. and i really like how the background is just white, because it makes it have more meaning, and you can see more detail of the plant.

this is not one of my favourite picture of this type of plant, i dislike how all of the seeds are all piled at one side of the plant, and i also dislike that there is a fallen seed on the bud of the plant, because it makes it look quite messy, i dislike that the picture is so dark, i think it would look nicer if it was lightened up a bit because it will make it look more like a wishful emotional picture, and not just a picture of a plant. . i do like how the plant is in focus, and how the background is out of focus. and i do like that you can see a lot of detail on the cotton bit of the plants.

i think this is an amazing picture, i think it has a lot of meaning to it, and that if you make a wish with this plant, it looks like it would almost defiantly come true, i like how there is a picture of the sky and trees in the background, and how they are a lot out of focus, and i really like how the sun is behind it, lightening it up, and how it is giving it a yellow/orange tint, with the most amazing shadow in this picture, i also really like how the sun is reflecting of the cotton a little bit, and how it is brighter then other bits, and how there is different levels of the plant, and how the sun is just shining just around the plant, and nothing else. but the thing that i dislike is how unfocused the background is, and how there isn't really anything special in the background, and it kind of brings the plant to a lesser meaning. 

i really like how there are 2 rainbows, covered with a bit of the clouds and rain, and i really like how there is a tree right in the middle of the picture, and i like how it is in the middle of the rainbow as well, i like how there is almost a ring of shine coming from the rainbows, and i really like how all of the tree is in shadow and how you can only see the black outlines of the tree, i like how most of the ground is in shadow and is almost black, but there is a bit of colour and detail shadowing up from behind the tree, i like how there is a smaller tree on the left that is nearly in shadow, but all of the leaves aren't and how you can still see the colour.

i think this image is actually really cute, i like how there is one cotton seed floating through the air, and how there is one little ladybird just sat on the seed, i like how the ladybird and the seed is in focus, and how all the background is out of focus, i like how there is mainly one colour in the background, and how it is really plain and simple, and how it makes the people looking at the image focus all its attention on the ladybird and the seed, and i like how it makes the image look really soft and airy, and it makes it look like a wish has come true.

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helens photography faces :}

                                                 this is one of my favourite pictures becasue it looks like its a magical moving ball or something, and how jakes hands are controlling it. i like how it is in focus, and then the pink ball is not in focus, and is moving, the main thing that i dislike about this picture is how dark the picture is.

on this lesson we were changing the settings on the camera, and we were taking different portrait pictures, and seeing how the different effects would come out, and i was trying out different positions to get different effects, and i was sitting down, standing up, and doing different things to see how it would come out. we moved the lights to different positions to shine on the face, and used some different colours on the lights to get different effects,  and i put some pictures in black and white, and i put some pictures in normal colours, to see what was different about it. i enjoyed doing this work with the portraits because of the different looks and the different facial shapes of people, and the different effects you can get with that, i will be doing more of the portrait pictures after christmas when i get my own camera.

somewhere you can only go in your dreams ideas: brief

these are some pictures of google that i liked and i thought was appropriate for this brief.

i think this picture is really sweet and romantic, and i think it works well for the, somewhere you can only go in your dreams, i think that the pink on this picture is really good, and how there is a light background on the picture, and how there is a blur of pink in the background in the corner. 

i really think this picture is amazing, and i would love to go to this place in my dreams, and i love how there is bright green grass on the floor, and how there is a dark blue lake with the refections of the trees, and shines, of the lakes waters, i love how the sky is bright and white at one side, and how the sky is dark and deep blue , and i really like how there is no petals on the water, and how the water is light and slow.

i think this picture is magical, i got it off google, and it is a picture of space, i thought i would use these for ideas, so i could just show what pictures i liked for different briefs and meanings, i think this would be an amazing picture if i could actually take it myself, thats why i put it in the , "somewhere you can only go in your dreams" . . . i like how the picture is basically one colour, with sparkles and glitter like stars, i like how the red looks like clouds, and how there is a fire in the middle of the picture.

i really like this picture because i think that there eyes explain all of the meaning, i like how they have put her behind the leaves, and have put some of the leaves out of focus, and how they have put some of the other leaves, and the girls face in focus, i like how her skin looks really soft and smooth, and how her eyes are just glowing, like she is in her dream, i like how dark her eyes are, and how they have a nice glow to it. 

i really like this picture, because there is a bush, with raindrops on, and how there is snow on it, i like how this picture looks like somewhere you can go in your dreams, and how this picture isn't very difficult to take, all you need is a nice bush, and a nice white winter, i really like how the background is the normal city street background, and how it is out of focus, and i like how they have just got a bush that is in focus.

i really really like this picture, i love how it is a picture of clouds from space, and how it looks a bit like snow or something, i like how the background is black, and how the outing of the earth is a light blue, the only bad thing about this picture is that it is taken in space, so i couldn't get an image like this. but i just got this picture to show what i like and what i find interesting in pictures.

i really enjoy looking at this picture, and how there are floating balloons just making an image, and just floating upwards into the air, i really like how all the balloons are in different colours, and how there are nice smooth clouds on the picture, and i like how some of them have things hanging of them, i really like how simple and beautiful this picture is. 

i think this is a really simple and elegant picture for this assignment, i like how there is one big flower, in pink, and how there is a blurred background, and how there is the flower and a couple of leaves in focus, i like the shadowing of the picture, and the lighting off the sun, and i think this would be a good simple picture for "somewhere in your dreams"

i think this is another amazing space picture, i just love how there are different colours of the stars and must in the sky, i like how the stars look like glitter, and how the picture looks like different colour smoke, with a shine of light in the middle of the smoke. i also used this picture to show people what i like in a image.

Joan Charmant : photo manipulation.

i got these pictures from . . . http://www.joancharmant.com/index.php . . . .this is an artist that tries different things with photo manipulation.

about joan:

 Identity

- My name is Joan Charmant, born june 1978.
- I live in Bordeaux, South West of France.
- Software Engineer.

Technology
- I'm developping a piece of open source software called Kinovea, to analyze motion in video.
- Kinovea was finalist at the Trophées du Libre awards 2009.

- I contribute to framalang, a french translation team focused on free software and free culture.

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Please tell us more about your art and design background

I have virtually no academic background in art. My dayjob is as software engineer.
I had been involved with graphical arts, but more as a catharsis thing. I almost never shared those works.
I started photography manipulation in 2004, when I stumbled upon UFO pictures and wanted to see how hard it would have been to fake.

While looking for tutorials I found the website Worth1000.com and I started to spend days and nights entering contests there.
It took a lot of trial and error and a fair ammount of constructive criticism from other members, until I could be happy with some of my images.

I've always been addicted to this moment when an idea/concept comes to life into something tangible. I don't think it's specific to art though. Software design and engineering in general is much like the same.

Can you tell us a bit about where you get inspiration for your ideas?

I guess my inspiration mostly comes from scif-fi short stories and novels. I have that huge collection of books, from Clifford Simak to Greg Egan via Phillip K Dick and all the others.
I always like taking a concept and see where it goes when pushed in one direction or the other.

I'm fascinated by a lot of things, nature, technology, science, cultures differences... I'll compulsively look for reference books everytime I stumble upon a area unknown to me.
The consequence is that when I design an image, I will often make connections between remote concepts and come up with (hopefully) something fresh or bizarre.
I will try to mix contrasting ideas and feelings. For example, I like to apply a domain-specific logic to think about something completely unrelated.


Could you describe for us your typical 'start to finish' workflow when working on a photo manipulation?

Well, when I start thinking of the theme, I try to isolate myself and let my thoughts wander. Pictures flow until I get to an interesting visual.
From there, I try to forget about the pictorial content and focus on the concepts. I try to push and stretch the concept in various directions, until I suck up the “juice” of the idea.
Once I have that elemental juice, I start looking for sources. It allows me some degrees of liberty on the scene setup.

I will collect various set of images to account for perspective coherence. Perspective is the most limiting factor when you don't shoot your own sources.
To overcome this issue, I'm working my way around 3D modelisation lately. Hopefully, this will allow me to use small objects exactly at the target perspective.

Merging the main parts will generally give me some time to think about the concept a bit more. I write down whatever potential nice additions comes to my mind during that process.
When the image structure is almost finished and I'm adding small bits, I try to take a step back and have a fresh look.

When I'm done with structure and local color adjustments, I'll generally apply overall adjustment and enhancing.
At that point I consider the final image as a photography and try to simply make it look pleasant to the eye.

What technical equipment do you use? (mac/pc, tablet, software, camera, etc)

I use a PC, and an optical mouse. I had a cheap tablet but never got the hang of it.
Even though I'm a free software enthousiast, I keep using Photoshop as it has some features I can't live without (like layers grouping).
I'm currently learning Blender3D to get more control over small objects in the scene.


Do you have any tips for upcoming artists and designers?
- Fix reality in your sources whenever you have to. Don't say "It was already weird in the original".
- Try to avoid foreground objects coming straight from an edge.
- If you can provoke the same emotion with less elements, it will have more impact.
- If something is supposed to be huge, balance it with some tiny people.

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i like this picture because i think it is really cute, but also really sad, because there is a baby dragon who has just come out of its egg, and the first thing that it see's are people on a boat, dragging a dead dragons head to the shore, i think this is really sad because even though they are dragons, and aren't real, it still shows what damage that people can do to other creatures, i like how the baby dragon is still near the place where it was laid, and how it is just sat there staring at the dead dragon, i like how they have added extra details to the dead dragon by having blood turn the river red. i like how they have got the shadowing, on the dragon and on the rocks, and i like how there are water falls in the background.

i like how this picture is bright green and how there is a little women playing with her flute, and looks like she is floating, i like how this plant has a big lizard eye in the middle, but till looks upset, i also like how it is a really big plant, and has little swirl plants on them, i like how the background of the forest is all blurred and how the front bit is in focus, the thing that i dont like about this picture is that it looks quite fake with the girl sat there, and how there is no big shadows. i personally think it ruins the picture.

i really like this picture because she has a blue and metallic look to her, and i like that she looks quite sad, and like she has just been romanced, and she looks like she has a broken heart, i like how there is a bird flying onto her, and i also like how half of her body is missing and how there is black wire, like in a tape. i like how the background is blurry and how the front is in focus.

i really like this picture, because i really like cactuses, haha, i like how they have placed the cactus houses onto lilly pads, and how there is a glow in the picture, i also like how they have placed a small person in a boat on the way to the lillypads, i really like the background in this picture, because it makes the place look peaceful and calm.

this picture personally creeps me out, and makes my nose feel funny, i really like how they have changed the skin into wood, and how they have kept the wrinkles of the mans smile, and eyes, it makes the picture look more realistic and makes the wood look movable and flexaible, i like how they have kept the teeth and gums normal, and how they havent taken the shine away form the smile.and also how they have kept the eyebrows in the image, because it makes him look more normal and human. i really like how they have added a nail into his nose, and how they have made splinters and broken bits of wood around the nail, it does make me feel funny, but i do really like this picture.

this picture really creeps me out, the fact that she looks dead, and there are metal spiders crawling on her creeps me out, i like how they have put them on her face and how one of them is cutting her, and how they are crawling on her eyes, and i like how there is a doctor out of focs in the background, so it makes the picture look more freaky.

i think this picture is really cool, because of how they have opened it, and also put a zip onto it, i like how it opens like a banana, and how there are strange clock like things coming out of it. i like how they have got the plain background, so its not taking the attention away from the orange, and how there are details on the fruit to make it look more realistic.

 really like this image, i like how there is a calmeleon on a branch, and how there are some real bits of the animals, and then some machine bits of the animal, this makes it look like a wind up toy or something. . i like how they have kept the natural background, and how some of the background is out of focus.

i find this picture very creepy and interesting, i like how they have the dog, and then the features of the spider on the dog, i like how they have the dogs body, and most of the head, but has taken the eyes and changed it with spiders eyes, i like how they have put more then 2 spiders eyes, to make it look more interesting, i like how they have placed a little spider on top of the dog/spiders head, and i like how there is one square of grass in a square underneath the dog, but the only bad thing about this picture is that the tongue of the dog looks a bit fake and edited.

i think this picture is very interesting, i like how they have kept the lizard in the natural shape, but changed the whole of the head into a flower head, i like how they have kept the colour of the flower, and of the lizard the same, and how there are still details of the flower still there, and i like how both of the things have its own details, but still looks a bit of the same, i like how they have got a fence post underneath the lizard/flower, and kept the focus in the background so that there are more information and more eye focus onto the lizard/flower.

i personally dislike this picture, but only because i hate ladybirds, but i think this picture is actually really cool because of how they have got that puma growling and has its eyes closed a little, and how there is a ladybird on the puma's head, and how is it placed in a very good place and it makes it look more realistic. . i like how they have placed a flying ladybird in the background out of focus, and how there is a plain outside background to keep its attention onto the puma and ladybird. 

i think this picture is actually amazing, i really like how there is a tube of battery, and how it has little details of writing on the tube about batteries, and how when you squirt the tube batteries come out of it, i like how they have the lid still on the picture, and how there is one battery that has been made, and the is all bendy and looks melted, i also like how they have kept the background plain and white, so you can see more detail on the picture, and of the batteries, 

i think this picture is really clever, i love how instead of the dog peeing on the car, the car is peeing on the dog, i like how it is a monster truck, and how the wheels are really dirty, and how the car is tilted onto one side, and how there is oil coming out of the car. i like how the dog is doing nothing about it, and is just led there. i like how there is a blank white page so that there is more detail and information on the picture.

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