June 5, 2012

That's the Jazz

 
As a fan of kaleidoscopes, mandalas and designs in the round, I have long longed for kaleidoscope software. Plus, I just love getting lost in the possibilities of a photo. There are many, many thousands of photos I've taken through the years. When I sort through them to determine which ones are "keepers", one of the criteria is whether or not they might make good fodder for such software. Someday. The different programs have been geared for PC's. At home, I'm an Apple girl. User friendly products, from my first SE to this Mac. There were complicated workarounds for making round designs, but nothing simple. I have done them, but haven't had the time necessary to do many. 

Enter Apps. I have been a bit slow in my march to App land; computer and phone. However along with some photo apps for the cell phone, I found one that is proving very fun for kaleidoscopes on the Mac. ScopeWorks. It took a little time to sort through some of it's challenges but now I'm loving it. 

In hopes of using rounded designs as the base layer for some stitching, I think these are going to do the trick. The images do not end up very large but that isn't really necessary for my purposes. 

Oh, and I will likely be boring you with them semi-regularly. Need be, you can use them as sleep aids. Stare at them for awhile and see if you don't feel a bit drowsy. Or dizzy. 

If I had thought through the posting idea earlier, I would have tracked the photos used and included them with the end results for comparison. I've done a few hundred already so will not be able to back track on many. A variety of photo types have been used; from landscapes to images made of other things I've made. The only rules are using my own images and pushing the possibilities. Always. Pushing those possibilities. That's the jazz.  

Hope your week is going round well! 

4 comments:

Linda Starr said...

kaleidoscopes are endlessly appealing, these are wonderful.

Teresa Evangeline said...

I love kaleidoscopes and once thought of collecting them. I am not an app person, have barely made it into the 21st century. But I do love your header photo and those crazy greens. I look forward to seeing what you conjure. :)

Sea Mist and Sunsets said...

Hi Linda,
"Endlessly appealing". Exactly. One of the best treats with this program is that the images change on the screen in an 8x8 or so version, rotating manually, much the same way a hand held kaleidoscope works. Or on its own. Fun to watch in this large way and to be able to select the portions of the image you want captured.

I neglected to mention that I think ScopeWorks functions on any system, not just Macs.

Glad you enjoyed the images Linda. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Chris

Sea Mist and Sunsets said...

Hi Teresa,
Yes, I do seem to be on a crazy green kick. Didn't realize it until I returned to the blog tonight.

When changing the header I usually blend the font colors with it to keep things from getting too busy overall. Now it appears that not only is the kaleidoscope image in those greens but what I'm wearing in that photo as well. An unplanned spring celebration!

Oh, a kaleidoscope collection would be fun to see. So many have wonderful casings. And it seemed in the 60's and 70's there were a number of folks designing fun versions.

Hugs dear one,
Chris

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