Saturday, November 5, 2011

Photography Tip - Rule of Thirds

Composition – Rule of 3rds
 When looking to composing an image, consider placing your primary subject in one of the crossing corners created by dividing your photo into 3 equal parts both horizontally and vertically. 
In this image of Crystal Mill in the Colorado backcountry, you will notice the mill is on the top right 3rd, and the water runs across the bottom 3rd line and the water fall is near the left 3rd. As you will notice, this is a stronger composition than just placing the mill in the center of the frame. Experiment with subjects and 3rds and see the difference. 
Photo courtesy of Shetzers Photography

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

EMERALD POOLS

EMERALD POOLS - May 5, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  Our first full day at Zion Nat'l Park.  We got off the shuttle at the Zion Lodge to hike up to Emerald Pools.  After the hike we picniced and found ice cream at the lodge.

SUPPLIES USED:  Cocoa Mint papers & stickers by Cloud 9


Saturday, September 3, 2011

BODIE LIGHT

I can't believe it is September and I've done my first layout of our travels in 2011 - Talk about way, way behind!!! 

When I saw this file created by LisaJane, I knew I had to skip ahead and scrap this photo of the Bodie Lighthouse.


BODIE LIGHT - May 26, 2011 - Outer Banks, North Carolina

JOURNALING:  General Information - Bodie Lighthouse observation trail

PHOTOS:  Images by Shetzers Photography

SUPPLIES USED:  Lighthouse cut file by LisaJane at FileKutz, BasicGrey Granola and Basics White patterned paper, Stickles Waterfall glitter, Stampabilities Black ink, Tim Holtz Distress ink in Faded Jeans, Doodlebug Design paper frills in Lily White, Diamond Glaze, Sand paper, mini pop dots, Recollections mini round gems, Recollections faux pearls, Autumn Leaves For the Record journaling stamp, Tsukineko Goose Bumps, Cricut Expression, Sure Cuts a Lot software, Bernard MT Condense font

TECHNIQUE TIP:  This wonderful file from LisaJane at Filekutz matched the photo of me in front of the Bodie lighthouse so well, that I knew that I just had to use it.  I wanted a fairly simple layout in terms of patterned paper but wanted to recreate the comotion that is always found near the seashore with breaking waves and lots of birds.  I decided to cut out several extra birds and waves from the cut file and re-create a seashore on this page.  A little glitter and diamond glaze to mimic the water and a little round gem to mimic the light in the lighthouse and I was all set.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

WONDER

WONDER - May 4, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  To get to our campsite in Springdale, we had to drive through the tunnel.  It was a tight fit

SUPPLIES USED: National Park paper, Best Occasions paper, K&Co Boy Scouts title

TECHNIQUE TIP:  I don't know about you, but I love to buy the most unique patterned paper but then I struggle with how to use it because "I don't want to cover it up".  Anyone else ever had that problem?  Well, this paper had a great map of Zion National Park that I wanted to use as my background, but I wanted to leave a large portion of it visible so I decided to only add two other more solid looking papers and create an interesting weave pattern to it to add some texture and dimension.  I didn't want my title "floating" on the layout, so I anchored it by placing a round journaling tag behind the O.  A couple of ribbons and butterflies on my solid paper and I accomplished my goal of having the majority of my patterned paper visible on my completed layout.


Monday, August 29, 2011

UTAH BOUND

UTAH BOUND - May 2010 - Utah

JOURNALING:  May totals:  2,912 miles in 45+ hours of driving

SUPPLIES USED:  K&Co Road Trip papers and embellishments

TECHNIQUE TIP:  There are times when a scrapbook page does not need any photos at all to tell a story, but a map and good journaling will do the trick.  On this layout, I wanted to show an overview of our trip from the very southern tip of Texas all the way into Utah and its beautiful National Parks.  The K&Company Road Trip paper and embellishments were a perfect match for this travel themed layout.  The background paper that I used was very busy so I needed lots of "white" space to come from my embellishments.  A very simple daily calendar sheet and colorful but simple title helped add interest without making it too busy.  A small map to outline our journey took the place of where I would normally put a photo - Don't be afraid to substitute maps and other memoribillia for spots normally reserved for photographs.