The Beauty of Simplicity to Improve Your Images

Embracing the beauty of simplicity in today’s world is a much need. In my daily life for 2019 I started by reducing my internet time starting with the number of google searches, twitter feed reviews and Facebook contact. My personal life goal is to reduce the number of plastic bags I use. I know this is a small step, but very important for the environment. Now, I am taking it to my art.

How to make something simpler and find the beauty of simplicity? Many options are available with photography beginning with zooming in on your subject.  Yes, fill the frame with your subject!! If zooming is unavailable or you want to simplify an existing image, you may try cropping the image. So many sensors offer incredibly large files and frames, that cropping is easy to do and you still have a big, beautiful file for posting on line or printing.

Removing lines from a composition is another option for simplification and finding beauty in the simplicity. Also, this will allow the image to take on a more abstract rendering. Moving from subject reality to a surreal rendering.

Another option to simplification is to reduce the variety or magnitude of color. This can be difficult, especially of me, when vibrant colors are one of my signature traits. But it can also be a way of seeing differently. It will also help you find the leading line or composition high point you want to stress in your work. I have seen this work very successfully with some beautiful black and white work.

For me, finding beauty in simplicity required I combine all of these techniques; zooming in, reducing lines and eliminating color.  I started with looking at the human body and here are some pieces that are in my pipeline.

Untitled Female Nude

nude in black and white

V Shapefemale nude in black and white

Thanks so much for stopping by and heres to looking for the simplicity in life to find beauty! More of my work can be viewed on my website.

Valentine’s Day Photo Clip Art

Active now on my Etsy store are some new and exciting Valentines Day photo clip art. I know you may be still recuperating from the December holidays, but finding photos and clip art for your February Valentine’s Day projects is just a click away. These Valentines Day photos and clip art are terrific for enhancing your website and allowing you to bring in the romance, friendship and love spirit alive. In addition, they are also great as artwork for making your own cards or invitations, especially those sent electronically.  They do, however, print wonderfully.

Shot in studio the photos and clip art images are sharp and colors are vibrant. There is nothing like a splash of red to liven up your webpages or projects and, in addition, provide an overall happy and positive feeling for the viewer. Delivered via instant download they are ready for your use immediately.

Valentine Day Clip Art Photo

TERMS OF USE
The Valentines Day photos and clip art images are high quality Royalty Free jpeg (.jpg) file. It may be used on your Etsy shop, website, blog or in a creative or personal project. You may resize, crop, print or manipulate the image and sell it as part of a new product you create. You may not sell, resell, give, loan, share or transfer the actual image or jpeg file to any third party. Susan McAnany maintains the original copyright and is the sole owner of the image.

image of heart shaped candy box surrounded with red roses

You can check out more Valentine’s Day Photos and other stock images and clip art at my Etsy Store.

My fine art prints can be viewed on my website and at my Etsy or Saatchi Art sites.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Happy New Year – 2019

fireworks clipart

As we say goodbye to 2018, there are so many things to be thankful for and happy anticipation for the projects and events awaiting this new year!

So thankful in 2018, I was able to travel on several occasions not only to capture some great images, but I am also grateful for the experiences that travel provides. Any trip whether international or domestic gives opportunity to open up to world different from the one we work and live in everyday.  And if you are taking pictures, like I usually am, it is a delight.

I am thankful for the love and support and sales I received for my art this year. Nothing validates an artist more than sales. And when they are not there, love and support keeps me going. Thank you to my family, friends and of course clients!

I am thankful for my health and the health of my loved ones. I keep loving and positive thoughts for friends and family not doing so well. May this year be better for you.

I know 2019 will bring a host of new opportunities and experiences for me and hopefully you. And along the way, lets make some great photos!

Happy New Year!

Susan

Check out more of my work on my website.

Textures from Tuscany

Along with the beautiful scenery, outstanding food, wine and friendly people, I was happy to find great unique textures in Tuscany and not your regular brick walls and peeling paint. These were old; definitely vintage in nature if not historic and gave added to the ambience and richness of the area.

Now you may be asking what I want to do with photos of textures from Tuscany? Texture photos are great for using in Photoshop as an overlay to create more depth and interest. They are also a terrific addition to a dull sky and allow you to put your individual touch on an image. Another idea is they are helpful creating a unique vignette.

Textures can also be used in Photoshop when working on a composite image. Compositing an image is a Photoshop technique where multiple images are brought together with layers and masking to create a new image. Using textures, layers and masking will help you develop your unique vision and style for an image.

Lastly, if you are a Crafter, texture images are useful in a variety of ways from scrap booking to decoupage and will help to stimulate creativity on a project.

Here are a couple of textures from my trip to Tuscany:

 

texture for photoshop overlay
Rust, Yellow, Brown Texture
gray texture for background
Gray Texture

Check out more of my textures at my Etsy Store.

Also, check out more of my fine art prints at susanmcanany.com.  Thanks so much for visiting and keep creating!

Sunrise Over The Bay

The sunrise over the bay this morning was awesome and very inspirational. I truly love this time of the year as the days are getting a tiny bit shorter and sunrise comes a few minutes later each morning. Both of those circumstances allowed me to capture this image below with my phone.

Sunrise Over the Bay

Enjoy and I wish you many beautiful sunrises and sunsets to enjoy!

More of my fine art prints can be viewed on my website.  Prints and digital downloads can be viewed and purchased at my Etsy shop.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all!  This morning I listened to the reading of the Declaration of Independence written 241 years ago. I tried to imagine what it was like for the people in the Colonies while they fought for the freedom and rights we now take so for granted. The hardships and obstacles they faced were tremendous and yet the conveniences were few. No cell phone or land line service existed, no internet, no cars, no in door plumbing, thus they must have been very determined.

After listening, I felt extremely proud and humbled to be an American. Also, I felt so thankful to those who crafted that document and secured our freedom. Thankful to the many who fight today and have fought throughout the years to protect our rights as U.S. citizens. It also made me realize how fragile those rights are. They can easily be eroded and greater effort needs to be made to preserve and protect them.

I hope all US citizens take a few moments to read or listen to the words of our forefathers and the great document of the Declaration of Independence and remember just how luck we are this 4th of July!

Stars & Stripes

Happy July 4th

Thanks for reading and more of my work can be viewed on www.susanmcanany.com.

Macro Photography and Mushrooms

Recently, I had an opportunity to use macro photography with some mushrooms that had sprung up in my front yard. We had been having a period of a lot of rain and it was interesting to watch these grow and then die in a matter of days due to the heat and sun. In one section huge amounts of mushrooms crowded into a small, multi-level area creating an interesting texture. It also created challenges in macro photography. How does one position a tripod with such little space to maneuver?

macro photography and mushrooms

mushroom patch

Here are a few tips for macro photography:

  1. Use a tripod or something to prop and stabilize the camera. You will need this because your shutter speed will be very slow.  A very high ISO could help provide a faster shutter speed, but also will produce some grain and noise in your image. On the images below I had my camera positioned on the ground with some cushioning beneath.
  2. Lock the Rear Mirror in the up position or use the Live View function. Refer to your camera’s manual to learn the specifics on how to do this.
  3. I find it best to use manual focus and a camera shutter release. Also taking multiple images with different focus points is useful if needed in post processing to achieve the necessary depth of field.
  4. Observe how the light is hitting your subject and position yourself to maximize the most dramatic effect.
  5. One thing macro photography does require is an abundance of patience. So be calm and enjoy the process.

As I worked the subject more, I was able to isolate a few mushrooms grouped together that created a more interesting photograph.

macro photography and mushrooms

Macro image of mushrooms in rocks

Lastly, I found one mushroom standing by itself with some great filter light. This one ended up my favorite macro photograph which reinforces the notion that less is more!

macro photograpy with mushroom

fine art print, mushroom art, mushroom photograph

Thanks for reading and to see more of my work, please visit my website!

Textures For Creative Projects And People

Textures are abundant in our everyday life and I like to keep on look out for them. This current batch comes from a piece of equipment that just saw its final days. It is interesting to see the wear and tear twenty years left on this pump. After a brief thought about what time and experiences do to all of us inside and out, I reached for my camera.

First I explored the exterior surfaces looking for level planes that would yield interesting textures. Much of what I found was distressed and rusted surfaces that I knew immediately would be useful.  Next, we opened it up and the interior surfaces yielded some great textures also. So now this pump will live on in my creative projects and maybe yours!  Many of these I have added to my Digital Images-Textures at my Etsy Shop. If you have a few moments, pop on over and have a look.

These textures are great for many of your creative projects. All my digital images are high quality Royalty Free images downloaded as jpg files.  They may be used on any website, blog or for a creative or personal project. The textures are great also for use as scrap booking backgrounds or as a Photoshop texture overlay. You may resize, crop, print or manipulate the image and sell it as part of a new product you create. You may use the file multiple times.  However, you may not sell, resell, give, loan, share or transfer the image or jpeg file to any third party. As with most images the artist/photographer (me) maintains the original copyright and is the sole owner of the image.

Here are a few textures I uploaded today:

clip art texture of distress blue metal

 

texture image of rust stained blue metal

 

Clip art of wood textures

 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. To view my Fine Art Photographic Prints, please visit my website and www.susanmcanany.com.