What are you working on with PSP (in August 2025)?

[Sue Thomas]

5 minutes ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

Great photos and a nice demonstration of the techniques from that masterclass. The small detail of the out of bounds of the birds make it much more interesting to look at.

I appreciate those kind words. What I  really appreciated even  more , was that you noticed the out of bounds.  I chose to mirror one of the images, to allow me to have tail feathers and wing feathers out of bound. As always, I firmly believe it's those tiny details  that makes all the difference.  

[Sue Thomas]

1 hour ago, Sue Thomas said:

I appreciate those kind words. What I  really appreciated even  more , was that you noticed the out of bounds.  I chose to mirror one of the images, to allow me to have tail feathers and wing feathers out of bound. As always, I firmly believe it's those tiny details  that makes all the difference.  

This is a quick question to everyone.  As I'm  curious to know. I know what my answer is. Do you add a shadow  to the out of bounds portion of a photo?

Edited August 9 by Sue Thomas

[Cassel]

1 hour ago, Sue Thomas said:

This is a quick question to everyone.  As I'm  curious to know. I know what my answer is. Do you add a shadow  to the out of bounds portion of a photo?

For me, it would depend on the surroundings. I would add a shadow but it would have to either be a lifted shadow or even a cast shadow, depending on where the surface is.

[Sue Thomas]

7 minutes ago, Cassel said:

For me, it would depend on the surroundings. I would add a shadow but it would have to either be a lifted shadow or even a cast shadow, depending on where the surface is.

That would be my answer too.  I'm  certain  we have had this discussion  before, quite a while back. It came to mind when I was doing the out of bounds.  I added a cast shadow.

[Julie Magerka]

On 8/6/2025 at 10:40 PM, Susan Ewart said:

I love the colors you chose Julie.  That's interesting information.  those bridges are huge.  How did you get the lifted effect, is that part of PSE?

The lifted shadows on the frames come with the frames which I downloaded from somewhere. I added a bit on the map to make it more in line with the others.

[Julie Magerka]

On 8/8/2025 at 3:55 PM, Susan Ewart said:

Magazine Workshop 2024 page 1 (lesson 2 of the workshop)

Before I forget; the background paper is from bgazarek_crisp-fall-fair-paper-03 (DigitalScrapbook.com).  I changed the color of to fit the layouts.  this is one of my grandfathers cameras and I think it is stunning in design. It's just a really pretty camera.  In the reflection you can see the leaver at the bottom that folds out to advance the film.  Great design!  Why didn't Ricoh design super cars instead of photocopiers, they would've kept the camera line because, sexy cars and sexy cameras is cool. But sexy photocopiers, I don't think so.  

That camera & flash make me think of photo-journalists from earlier days who would be popping flashes as they did their work. Love this.

[Julie Magerka]

18 hours ago, Linda Rexford said:

This is beautiful and I love your bumble bee!  That's a great new word, but I don't know if I'll be able to remember that one!  

Whenever I've come across the word "pulchritude" it was often used to refer to the shapely contours of a voluptuous woman! 😊

[Julie Magerka]

I have been working on plenty of layouts b/c of the heat wave. Too stifling to be outside, except for a dog park visit early in the morning.

I feel I can't post them here b/c I use PSE 2024 for most of them. I gave up on Affinity a while back and have used PSE more and more. It has become rather intuitive, just as PSP did after I began as a member here and learned so many techniques. A friend (much younger than I) moved to Australia a while back, and she posts some great photos on her FB page. I use them to have projects to work on, and she enjoys the results. Also, another friend sent me a bunch of old family pix that I've been turning into layouts as a keepsake for her and her sister. It keeps me learning and creating, and I need that focus as an antidote to life these days. 

However, I do check in to look at the work and the wonderful comments that accompany the creations. It's the community vibe that makes this place special.

[Susan Ewart]

3 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

This is a quick question to everyone.  As I'm  curious to know. I know what my answer is. Do you add a shadow  to the out of bounds portion of a photo?

I would think you do as well.  Yours does make it look like it really is 3D coming out of the frame.  Finding the right shadow to use to convey 3 dimensions would take some experimenting to see what you like best.  I would also opt to add a shadow.

[Susan Ewart]

18 minutes ago, Julie Magerka said:

I have been working on plenty of layouts b/c of the heat wave. Too stifling to be outside, except for a dog park visit early in the morning.

I feel I can't post them here b/c I use PSE 2024 for most of them. I gave up on Affinity a while back and have used PSE more and more. It has become rather intuitive, just as PSP did after I began as a member here and learned so many techniques. A friend (much younger than I) moved to Australia a while back, and she posts some great photos on her FB page. I use them to have projects to work on, and she enjoys the results. Also, another friend sent me a bunch of old family pix that I've been turning into layouts as a keepsake for her and her sister. It keeps me learning and creating, and I need that focus as an antidote to life these days. 

However, I do check in to look at the work and the wonderful comments that accompany the creations. It's the community vibe that makes this place special.

Is there a place we would be able to see them?  

[Linda Rexford]

8 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

It is that time of year again, the drawing close of another season, when the Hummers arrive on or around the 2nd Aug, and stay until the end of the month. Making their long jounrney back south for the winter.  Always a joy to see them. I know it's almost a week, but  I have been intending to go over some of the techiniques demonstrated in last weeks masterclass. 

Beautiful layout and photos.  The out of bounds does make it more interesting.  We feed the hummers here, but they are here all summer.  Right now, the babies have fledged.  I can tell because I have to fill my two feeders every other day!

[Sue Thomas]

3 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

I would think you do as well.  Yours does make it look like it really is 3D coming out of the frame.  Finding the right shadow to use to convey 3 dimensions would take some experimenting to see what you like best.  I would also opt to add a shadow.

What promted me to do the out of bounds on the bottom two  images, was that when I looked at the bottom one,  its background could be any background paper,  once I  out  of bounded the wing, it really did appear to have just flown into the layout.  It pays to spend time  looking at the photos you have spent time taking, as for me  it is those images  that  more  often than not determine my layouts. 

Edited August 10 by Sue Thomas

[Sue Thomas]

29 minutes ago, Linda Rexford said:

Beautiful layout and photos.  The out of bounds does make it more interesting.  We feed the hummers here, but they are here all summer.  Right now, the babies have fledged.  I can tell because I have to fill my two feeders every other day!

I am privileged  only to see them passing through, as they travel further  north to breed. Some years, I  may get one or two, not any  at all some years  in the Spring.  August, is when I  can set my watch by them. 1-3rd is when they arrive, in abundance, staying until the last day in August.

[Susan Ewart]

12 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

I am privileged  only to see them passing through, as they travel further  north to breed. Some years, I  may get one or two, not any  at all some years  in the Spring.  August, is when I  can set my watch by them. 1-3rd is when they arrive, in abundance, staying until the last day in August.

Both you and Linda are lucky.  I've never seen one here (Edmonton, AB).  When I lived in British Columbia, both in the interior of the province and on the lower west coast we would see them all the time.  I miss them.  

[Mary Solaas]

Lab 15 Mod 7 - and I am finally in July of this year!  This was a scraplift. I did most of the requirements, but did not do a paper flower, instead I did a heart and paint splashed it. I did do the thread border as described; and the torn edge as described (around the background); I did do the paper doily as described; I did do the paper made text for the title as described (that was great using the selection from a vector object); the background is several layers with the picture of Forked Deer River muted; I did outline the text as Selection>Modify>Selection Borders. The picture is AI from CF Spark. The font is Bodini MT Black. The paper I used for the title is one I made using Effects>Distortion Effects>Wavy.

[Susan Ewart]

2 hours ago, Mary Solaas said:

Lab 15 Mod 7 - and I am finally in July of this year!  This was a scraplift. I did most of the requirements, but did not do a paper flower, instead I did a heart and paint splashed it. I did do the thread border as described; and the torn edge as described (around the background); I did do the paper doily as described; I did do the paper made text for the title as described (that was great using the selection from a vector object); the background is several layers with the picture of Forked Deer River muted; I did outline the text as Selection>Modify>Selection Borders. The picture is AI from CF Spark. The font is Bodini MT Black. The paper I used for the title is one I made using Effects>Distortion Effects>Wavy.

I love the background desaturated photo, so perfect for this layout.  And OMG MARY!  one more and you are caught up.  What an incredible accomplishment.   

[Corrie Kinkel]

4 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

Both you and Linda are lucky.  I've never seen one here (Edmonton, AB).  When I lived in British Columbia, both in the interior of the province and on the lower west coast we would see them all the time.  I miss them.  

The only time I have seen them was when my daughter lived in Washington State and I was lucky that they had just arrived when I came. But I had no luck in taking a photo, they are so quick.

 

Edited August 10 by Corrie Kinkel

[Corrie Kinkel]

On 8/9/2025 at 10:14 PM, Sue Thomas said:

This is a quick question to everyone.  As I'm  curious to know. I know what my answer is. Do you add a shadow  to the out of bounds portion of a photo?

Yes in most cases, but it sometimes depends on the background too

[Ann Seeber]

When we lived in Warwick, we had hummers all the time. I found keeping up with their feeders to be tedious. Now that we moved to Middletown (1/2 hour away) I see no hummers at all. Occasionally there will be a passing stranger and I'm lucky to see it. I now miss seeing the beautiful little guys zipping around. They are awesome!

[kasany]

On 8/10/2025 at 7:04 PM, Mary Solaas said:

Lab 15 Mod 7 - and I am finally in July of this year!  This was a scraplift. I did most of the requirements, but did not do a paper flower, instead I did a heart and paint splashed it. I did do the thread border as described; and the torn edge as described (around the background); I did do the paper doily as described; I did do the paper made text for the title as described (that was great using the selection from a vector object); the background is several layers with the picture of Forked Deer River muted; I did outline the text as Selection>Modify>Selection Borders. The picture is AI from CF Spark. The font is Bodini MT Black. The paper I used for the title is one I made using Effects>Distortion Effects>Wavy.

You used ine effect with fonts:) 

[Susan Ewart]

Magazine WS 2024 Page 2 (lesson 6 in the WS)

The cover story.  This one was from my grandfather and I think this one, which looks like a train engine from the front, was what got me started collecting.  My "collection" was only my parents and grandfathers cameras for many year.  Then I started finding them in thrift stores, very cheap.  The odd time now, I can get one from auctions cheaply, but it's quite rare as they seem to command more money than I wish to put out. 

[Sue Thomas]

Well I started out with one photo, then, I came up an idea, using 3 photos and the technique from the creative scrap split photo effect.  Lab 10-8.  I use this technique  quite often when creating templates.  This time I  opted to use circles, instead of rectangles. I did deviate after a while. I used a cutout on the photos, as I wanted the photo apear below the  top background paper.  Selected the vector frames, from vector  shape, selected, promoted from the layer, which was the  background layer, as I wanted to keep the pattern as is.  I then expanded, and did the same again.  For the text I used the simple outlined text, which you can also find somewhere in  the  creative scrap. Haha, I didn't want to cut off the beak of the  avocet, so i did another out of bounds, also added Carole's punches, and my own date stamp.

Edited August 12 by Sue Thomas

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Sue Thomas said:

Well I started out with one photo, then, I came up an idea, using 3 photos and the technique from the creative scrap split photo effect.  Lab 10-8.  I use this technique  quite often when creating templates.  This time I  opted to use circles, instead of rectangles. I did deviate after a while. I used a cutout on the photos, as I wanted the photo apear below the  top background paper.  Selected the vector frames, from vector  shape, selected, promoted from the layer, which was the  background layer, as I wanted to keep the pattern as is.  I then expanded, and did the same again.  For the text I used the simple outlined text, which you can also find somewhere in  the  creative scrap. Haha, I didn't want to cut off the beak of the  avocet, so i did another out of bounds, also added Carole's punches, and my own date stamp.

OUTSTANDING!  What a creative layout.  It's amazing these birds can eat with such a thin long beak, it looks so delicate.  So bizarre to see a leg bend in two different directions.

[Sue Thomas]

35 minutes ago, Susan Ewart said:

OUTSTANDING!  What a creative layout.  It's amazing these birds can eat with such a thin long beak, it looks so delicate.  So bizarre to see a leg bend in two different directions.

They are one of my favourite  shore  birds. They are elegant  birds. The avocet sweep its bills from side to side, with its tip just below the water's  surface.  Their bills are purpose built.  I watch them for hours on end. 

What you are seeing is the knee bent, and the ankle flexed, while the webbed foot hangs, and not spread out, as it would when standing on it.  

 

Edited August 12 by Sue Thomas

[Susan Ewart]

30 minutes ago, Sue Thomas said:

They are one of my favourite  shore  birds. They are elegant  birds. The avocet sweep its bills from side to side, with its tip just below the water's  surface.  Their bills are purpose built.  I watch them for hours on end. 

What you are seeing is the knee bent, and the ankle flexed, while the webbed foot hangs, and not spread out, as it would when standing on it.  

 

I could watch them for hours too.  I hope to get to see them feeding one day.  I was going to guess elbow and wrist thinking in terms of human anatomy.  I got some learning to do.