Images from the fall of 2011 and posts I made on a different website back then…

One thing I did while I was playing with iPhoto and learning to use it was that I “fixed” pictures which were just too uninteresting or weird by making them look more like a piece of graphic design (which of course most of them were, since they were human-made) or art.

So, just for fun, here are some crazy pictures of things around Gruene.

Then, of course, once I had started that, I had to go in and take some pictures I liked but that didn’t work for one reason or another and play with them, too.

I had a lot of fun with this and hope that you enjoyed, or at least didn’t hate, the Made Art pieces here.

From a soon-to-be-defunct blog. Images taken Fall Break 2011.
One of the things I like to do, have thought about doing, think is cool (or some such), is to do a series of shots that are all about the texture. I like the idea, but I have so far found that my ability to produce what I am looking for is lacking.

If you want to see a wonderful motorcycle picture, see Dora’s from the Digital Academy weekend. (The biker picture is excellent as well.)  If you want to see a wonderful brick walkway picture, see Cynthia’s from the Digital Academy weekend. Unfortunately neither of mine worked out.

However, I do like what I did with the corrugated metal that was on a building on the main street, just around the corner from Hunter Rd.

Here is the series:

Corrugated Metal Series- 1

Corrugated Metal Series- 3

Corrugated Metal Series- 5

What I wrote and did:
Of the whole series, I think 1 and 3 are the best, followed by 5. However, I am not sure about what other people would think. I have gotten positive comments on 1 and 5, but not so much on 3. So why did I put up all five and not just the three best? Because I took them to be a long swathe, getting smaller and smaller. If I just did three it might be better, but it might not.

Why I thought better of it:
I realized that really, with pictured art as well as words, a person showing each step is not necessarily the best choice. Sometimes the point is to show a progression in a larger movement. So I am going to edit this and leave only 1, 3, and 5. I think the series is actually stronger without 2 and 4.

What this means:
It means that even after the Digital Academy weekend is (mostly) over–because we are having lunch tomorrow–I am still learning.

I am moving things from a soon-to-be-defunct blog. These images were from Fall 2011.

I love to look at antiques. And the antique store in Gruene, on the corner of Gruene and Hunter, has some amazing collections. They don’t have any blue glass I don’t already own, which is good, but they do have some other wonderful things.

Almost all of these pictures had to be lightened because I took them Saturday morning when I still didn’t understand light and the camera and what controlled what. However, I think they are good and I like looking at them.

Though I had intended to post them in no particular order, I ended up putting them in the order I found them in the store. I wish I had known then that I could figure out how to lighten the photos in iPhoto, because there were many other things I would have taken pictures of. Nevertheless, I did get some I liked and I will share them with you.

Spurs that jingle jangle jingle:

Yes, I learned that song in first or second grade. If you don’t know the song, you may wonder why I mention that. It’s because it is a folk song about a single guy who would rather roam than commit–but enjoys his multiple girlfriends in various towns.

“Oh Bessie Lou, Oh Bessie Lou,
Though we’ve done a heap of dreaming this is why it can’t come true…
Oh Sally Jane, Oh Sally Jane,
Though I’d love to stay forever this is why I can’t remain…”

And the chorus says:
“I’ve got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle,
as I go riding merrily along.
And they sing, ‘Oh ain’t you glad you’re single?’
And that song ain’t so very far from wrong.”

I’ve thought up other lines over the years, because it is that kind of song.

“Oh ‘Manda Jo, Oh ‘Manda Jo,
Though I know I said I love you, this is why it isn’t so…
Oh Sarah Kate, Oh Sarah Kate,
While I said that we would marry, this is why you shouldn’t wait..
Oh Lisa Lyn, Oh Lisa Lyn,
You may see me, but I really don’t know when…”

Early modern kitchenware:

I liked the fact that the owners or sellers put this stack of light blue plates in/on two white and red kitchen tables.

99 plates of blue willow:

There were so many… I don’t know if they are really blue willow, but they are white and blue and the idea of 99 bottles of beer on the wall came up as I looked at the stacks of plates. I’m not sure why, except that there seemed to be so many.

Chichenitza bag and serapes:

I liked the fact that they placed an unzipped travel bag of leather, tooled with pictures of Chichenitza, on one or more colorful serapes, typical of the “cultural” fare sold around Corpus Christi as Mexican forty years ago when I was a young girl living there.

Brown leather purse:

I will say that this was the first of four attempts to get this purse captured in the camera and surprisingly it was the best of the bunch. I was sure I would have gotten better with each snap of the button, but such was not the case.

Gruene antique store toys:

I think of this picture as “airplane with bunny” but that seems a little odd, so I gave it the more prosaic title. I don’t know why, since I went with 99 plates and jingling spurs; I suppose I thought there was enough frivolity for this post already extant.