Blodget Blog

Blodget Blog Today I set up a new Wordpress blog on my new blodget.net website. So far so good. I evn have posting from Flickr and audio enclcosures working.

Magnolia

Magnolia
Originally uploaded by jimblodget.

This is the first painting I've done with Painter 8 using my own custom oil brush. I like the look. I also used the round camelhair brush. On the left I was using the clone color, but it looked too photographic. So, from the center to the right I sampled various colors and hand painted sections of stems and branches. It looks more natura that way.

I started the painting by brushing in the background blue with a large brush. It ended up looking like water instead of sky, but it's kind of interesting. I also uploaded a detail of the painting to Flickr so you can see the brush strokes. After I painted the sky I worked from left to right and roughed in the flowers and some of the branches. Then I switched to the camelhair brush to paint the branches and add some detail to the flowers.

RockYou Slideshows

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RockYou offers free Flash based slideshows with transitions and captions. The sample above uses photos I took at Pacific City on the Oregon coast. I first resized the images down to 520 x 390 and then uploaded them one at a time to RockYou. They then give you the code to embed on your own blog or web page.

Rhododendron

Rhododendron
Originally uploaded by jimblodget.

I'm continuing to experiment with Painter. I did this little 5 x 7 inch oil painting to try some new brushes. I used a Van Gogh Artist brush to start and then used a number of Impasto brushes and finished up with a Round Camelhair Oil brush. I took the reference photo in the rhododendron gardens in Eugene, Oregon.

iSight Test 2

iSight Test 2

This is the same sample video clip as in the previous post, but this one is stored on YouTube.com. I wanted to see the difference in the video playback interface of the two services.

Vimeo Test

iSight Test on Vimeo

Today I discoverd Vimeo.com which is another video storage and sharing web service. In addition to letting you embed the video on your own web page or blog this one let's you download either the original mpeg-4 file or the flv. I tried downloading the flv file and uploading it to our Breeze server and it worked. Here's a link to the file on Breeze - http://breeze.chemeketa.edu/p61749394/

Hellodeo

This little video was made at Hellodeo.com. It's a new free web service for recording and playing back video on the Web. I used my MacBook on a wireless nerwork to record this short sample piece. After you make the recording, they give you a snippet of code which you can copy and paste into your blog or web page. Couldn't be easier.

Forrest Painting

Forrest
Originally uploaded by jimblodget.

This week I installed Painter 8 on my new MacBook. This is my first trial painting based on a digital photo I took at the Basket Slough wildlife preserve near Rickreall, Oregon. I used a couple of "Oil" brushes on this 12 by 16 inch image. It took me two hours to complete it. As I compare it to my other paintings done in Painter 5, I find I really prefer the custom brushes I made in version 5. I'll have to do a lot of experimentation to duplicate those brushes in this new version since I can't figure out how to import the older version brushes.

I printed this image on my Epson 1280 on Epson Velvet Matt Heavyweight paper. I looks very rich, but too soft. Most of the brush strokes blend too much with the underlying paint.

Flickr Photos on Slide

I'm trying Slide.com again, this time on my MacBook. I like the way you can create a slideshow from a Flickr RSS feed.

Gliffy Web Illustration

Create drawings, flowcharts, floorplans and other illustrations with Gliffy which is a draw program that works in a web browser. People can collaborate on the same drawing and drawings can be embedded on web pages, blogs, and wikis. The program is a Flash application so nothing is downloaded and run from your computer. You can also save drawings and each drawing has four differtent versions at various sizes.

Flowers

Today I experimented with using flash fill to photograph backyard flowers. I then used iPhoto to make a slideshow and exported it as a movie and uploaded it to Jumpcut.

Xacti C5 Test

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This is a brief test to see if we can upload an mp4 file recorded with our new Sanyo Xacti C5 camcorder that records directly to a SD card.

Jumpcut Video Storage

Jumpcut is a free web service for storing and sharing your video. This one is different because it gives you online video editing in your browser. You can upload files up to 50 Mb. they give you the code to embed your videos on your won blog or webpage. The quality seems to be quite good even when you choose the Fullscreen mode.

Kaboodle

Want to save a list and share it with friends, family, or the world? Kaboodle is a new free web service that let's you do just that. This one has a slightly different twist on the usual social bookmarking services like Furl or Delicious in that it automatically grabs an image and description from the web page of interest and then lets you add your notes and tags. You can add a Kaboodle button to your browser's toolbar (IE or Firefox). A free account lets you add as many lists as you want and you can invite people to add to the list (group lists), comment on list items, and rate (vote on) items. You can also add a badge to your blog or webpage. (See below).

Photography

www.kaboodle.com

BubbleShare Slideshows

I just discovered a new web service called BubbleShare. It's free and is currently in beta. You can upload your photos and share them with friends and family. You can also make slideshows. I like the way you can add audio to each slide. Below is a sample.

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vMix - First Test

vMix - First Test
I uploaded my first video to vMix and it worked. It is a QuickTime movie and vMix converted it to a Flash video. They let (encourage) you to embed the video on your own web pages, so below is a sample.


Videos by vMix Member:
JimBlodget

VMix Video and Slideshows

VMix is a new free web service for storing and displaying your videos and slideshows. Below is a sample slideshow I just made. It's all done online in a web interface. the service is in beta. So far you can't use your own mp3 file for the audio in the slideshow.


Videos by vMix Member:
JimBlodget

View of the House that Nobody Sees

View of the House that Nobody Sees
Originally uploaded by jimblodget.

I made a 20 foot pole out of PVC pipe, strapped a mini tripod to one end, attached a small digital camera, set the self-timer, raised the pole and took the picture. Getting the proper exposure and focus was tricky because the camera sets those when the shutter release is pressed, not when the picture is taken. So, I had to point to a similar subject at ground level,press the shutter and quickly raise the pole. Eight seconds is barely enough time to stop the pole from swaying and position the camera.

Odeo.com Free Recording on the Web

All I can say is Wow! You've got to check out Odeo.com. It's a free web service designed for recording and sharing audio on the Web. You can send email invitations to friends and family or you can copy and paste code into your blog to embed a player like you see below. They even give you the direct link to the mp3 file so you can podcast it or link directly to it.