Cough-Wink-Cough

Tuesday. Photography. 

Mr. S arrived shortly after I did. He explained that the art department was having their yearly planning session (which I was there for last year, covering a different teacher), and that he wanted to explain the assignment to the class. Okay, then... 

Their "open house" was the next day, only they call it something different now. They've shifted it to now as the students are getting ready to choose their classes for next school year, and the event is more about the various elective teachers and other programs promoting their offerings. 

Mr. S instructed his students to pick their best photograph and upload it to the slideshow that Mr. S was going to use for his open house presentation, to try to entice students to choose photography next year. They had to do it in a certain way so that Mr. S didn't have to go through and fix it later. 

I completely understood what the kiddos needed to do, but it kind of did need to come from him. 

While he was explaining the assignment, he had another announcement for the class. 

Mr. S: "Oh, and before I forget, and in case I forget to mention this on Thursday... So, you know how sometimes your teachers will tell you they feel like they're coming down with something, so they're going to miss school the next day? Yeah, well, I feel like I'm coming down with something, so I won't be here... Monday and Tuesday..."

The class? Crickets. 

I don't know if they got what Mr. S was hinting at, but whatever. I did. I really hope he had something fun planned. 

Then Mr. S went to his planning meeting, which was practically next door to the classroom, and he didn't return at all. (Unlike the teacher I covered last year.) 

The Minecraft Collection

As I mentioned (several times), I went to visit the family in Ohio last week. I brought along the Zombie. 

He joined Enderman...

And Creeper...

With the twins...

Can you believe they're 12 now? Yikes. (Here's the last time their pictures appeared on the blog.) 

And now I have a new project, or rather, projects. Christmas. I asked for requests, and now I have four sweaters to knit. Sigh. (I don't expect to finish them all in time for Christmas, and I told them so.) Of course I'll write about them as they progress. 

I don't know if I collected all the posts for these in one place, so it's about time I did that: 

• Explaining the Project
• New Project Loading...
• A Head in the Game
• And Then There Were Two
• Zombie Time
• Zombie Body
• Crunch Time
• A Finished Zombie

Learning Curve

I didn't do a whole lot of knitting last week. I went from this:

To this:

So, a little progress. 

But what I really wanted to talk about today is Canva. 

I got a new computer over the summer. (It became necessary.) And when I did that, I was not able to import the photo editing software I'd been using--Picasa. Picasa was abandoned several years ago, but it was the thing I knew how to use. It only had simple tools, but it did the jobs I needed it to do.

I had been looking for something similar enough. And online I had heard some people talking about Canva for various online images, so I decided to check it out. 

And it turns out that it does just what I need it to. It's how I've been editing my classroom photos since October. It took me a bit of time to figure out how to get what I needed, but now I can do that fairly quickly.

So, I thought today I'd finally be able to show off that mistake in this dragon pattern. You know, the mistake that made me frog the whole thing. 

Alas, it's going to take me more time to figure out how exactly to do that than I have time for today. 

All I could do was circle the biggest mistake. (The other mistake, the reason that I decided frogging was worth the trouble, is way harder to see.) 

You may need to click on the image to make it bigger. Then look inside the circle. See how that cable snakes like a backward S? If you look on the other side, you can see how the cables all twist the same way, making for a spiral-like thing. That's what that was supposed to look like in the circle.

It's going to take me some time to figure out all the ins and outs of Canva. Hopefully it won't disappear like Picasa did. (I mean, I should probably learn Photo Shop, but that's not happening any time soon.) 

Do you use Canva? Do you have a better way of editing photos?

The Photo Drama, Part 2

Wednesday. Photography, period 5.

Yeah, this was the same class I talked about yesterday. There's a part 2.

For students being out of class to take pictures, I had a very long warning about Calum. I didn't really get it until I realized I had met Calum before. 

A year ago, I was doing a long-term in Success Seminar. (Remember?) Calum was in that class. He had a tendency to wander. He would disappear from class for an hour sometimes. He always had an excuse. I got included in the email from his counselor about how she was to be looped in on his wanderings as it was something they were working on.

Calum had rules for going out and photographing. He had to have a buddy go along. (She was a specific student, and this was a normal thing.) 

Calum asked to go out in the second group. He got his buddy without my having to ask, and I checked him out per normal.

When the rest of the second group had returned, I took a look at the time. Calum wasn't due back. But I kept an eye on the time, and once it had been a half hour, Calum had still not returned.

Deep sigh.

Before I could call security, Kate popped in again. (This was when she was asking about Jerry's health office wanderings. See yesterday's post.) So, I informed her that Calum was due back. She had seen him, so she went and retrieved him.

Upon his return, Calum explained that he needed ten more minutes to get the rest of the photos he needed. (Somehow, everyone else managed to get their pictures in the time frame. I think this might be a Calum problem.) I told him he'd have to do that upon the teacher's return.

I was in this class for three days. (The teacher was at an Adobe conference. Photography has gone fully digital, so the conference was professional development.) I wrote two blog posts about the same period. 

Every teacher has that one class. This was hers. (The other classes went fairly uneventfully. Even Kate said this was the one class.)

The Photo Drama

Wednesday. Photography, period 5. 

In the lesson plans, I had been warned that the students had 25-30 minutes outside of class to take pictures. I only had four cameras to check out, so only a few could go at a time. (With the length of the periods, that translates to roughly three groups every period.) But the previous classes had been fine with the time limit.

However, I had some specific instructions for period 5. I really should have known I'd be in for it.

The first group of students left to go take pictures. Three of them returned well within the time frame. Jerry, however, had not returned.

I really hate calling security. I always feel like a bit of an idiot. "I lost a student." But Jerry (wasn't sure if the student was a girl or boy as the name was on the list of who left) was over time, and it was time. Just as I was psyching myself up to do it, security walked in.

Kate was not happy to see a sub. But I was happy to see her. She asked if there was a time limit on students being out of class. I explained that I had just been about to call security for a student being over time.

We were talking about the same student.

Kate explained. Apparently, Jerry (a girl) is having issues with an ex (unclear if the ex is male or female), and while she was out of class, she was dealing with that drama rather than taking the pictures she was supposed to be taking. 

Obviously. 

When I informed Kate that Jerry was done being out of class, Kate retrieved Jerry and they had a discussion. Jerry returned to class. 

Time passed. Then Jerry asked for a pass to the health office. I was dubious, but she could have actually been feeling ill. So I gave her the pass.

Kate returned a short time later. She had spotted Jerry out of class. I explained where she went. Kate checked. Sure enough, Jerry had checked in with the health office.

Did she meet up with the ex on the way? Considering that Kate came to ask me about her because she was not headed in the right direction? Likely. 

(Jerry returned to class a short time later and did not ask to leave class again.)

Apparently, there's a bit of drama with students in this photography class. They're taking advantage of the permission to be outside. It's too bad. Photo is a great class. We shouldn't have to worry that they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing during class time.

At Home 13

I've been wanting to do this one for a while, but I've never quite gotten around to it before. I stepped out my front door with my cell phone, and I took pictures. 

The plan was to get pics of all the wildlife. Alas, that is not what happened. The turtles were not at their usual haunt (and when I got close enough to one in the water, it dove deeper). The Canadian geese seem to have left already. The butterflies would not alight anywhere, so I could not get a decent shot. The fish were too dark to see. And the ducks just wouldn't pose right for a good pic.

But, I was able to take pictures of the condo complex, and some of the critters cooperated. All of these pictures were taken on July 28, 2022. This is a Thursday 13. (It's a blog hop. Join us.)

1. The dragonflies were all over the place. This one alighted long enough to let me get this shot.

2. This bird has been around a lot lately. I was surprised it let me get this close, although when I tried to get closer, it made like it was going to fly off, so I turned around and left.

3. Once I realized I wasn't getting the wildlife shots I wanted, it was time to find some interesting plants and flowers.

4. I stopped here to get some pics of the fish. You can't see them, can you? So, I figured the lily pads were a nice shot instead.

5. This is near where the Canadian geese liked to hang out. It's blissfully empty now.

6. Another flower. I have no idea what kind.

7. I stopped here to catch a hummingbird that was feeding, but it was gone before I could get the shot. This looks like a good plant to feed from.

8. I was just walking along. This is the sidewalk we use.

9. Tree and plants. At this point it was just because the tree is interesting.

10. The water trickles around the whole complex. It's a peaceful sound.

11. Another tall plant.

12. This is just pretty.

13. And I totally lucked out. I had been seeking this bird all day, and it finally was there. It even stood still and let me get close. (I think it was asleep. Otherwise it probably would have flown off before I got even this close.)

Class Picture

Sixth grade. Science. 

It appears that sixth grade classes rotate in a way that hints at what the kiddos will be doing the next year in middle school. On this day I got the science class. 

After lunch and before afternoon recess, they were to go outside to take the "panorama" class picture. It's just a long image of all the students in the grade. 

All "second period" they had been asking me when it would be time to take the picture. I assured them that I was on it. And then about ten minutes before the scheduled time, the next door teacher poked her head in to say the photographer was ready early. So, we got ready and headed out.

With my limited experience in elementary school, I did not anticipate being there to witness the photographing of a bunch of 11-year-olds. They got arranged loosely by height and lined up accordingly. By the time half of them had been placed on the bleacher-like stands, the bell rang to get the youngers out of class for their recess. 

So, with an audience, the sixth graders all got put into position in direct sunlight with the sun in their eyes. They were not happy about this. The other teacher told them to just deal with it as it wouldn't be for long. 

I stood off to the side to watch. The photographer asked the principal if the kiddos had to remain masked. The principal said they did not, that they could remove their masks for the time it took to snap the pictures. When the photographer informed the kiddos they could remove their masks, maybe five of them did. 

They took several shots, and then it was all over. Alas, because we were early, they did not get dismissed to recess. They had just enough time to go back to class... and then they were dismissed to recess. Sigh. 

It's definitely a moment in time, these pictures. I wonder how they'll look back on this picture. (They could purchase their own copy.) The masks will definitely tell a story.

Still Life

Last week I covered a photography class. They were to read this article and then photograph the items that the article listed. Then they were to watch a video on symbolism, likely to help them arrange their still life images. In case you want to take a look at the video: 

So, why am I telling you all this? Because embedded in the Google Classroom for the class was a link I'd like to save. For me. And the easiest way to do it is to put it someplace I'll find it again. 

Apparently, they've been taking pictures using their phones. When school is in person, they can check out cameras to use. At home, that's harder. (They only have a set number of cameras, so when at school, they work in teams.)

And the link I want to save is for converting HEIC (the format that iPhones now use) to JPEG (the format I need if I want to use the images anywhere else, like this blog). I had been using them via Google Photos. I'm not sure which is easier, but I like having the choice. 

There. Now I can find that link again, even though I did bookmark it. (I never look at my bookmarks. I forget they're there.)

Silent Third

Last week I covered a photography class. They were to read an article on still life and respond to it before taking still life pictures. The teacher had set up a kind of comment page (on something called Padlet) for them to list three things they learned as well as comment on fellow students' lists. 

(Since they can't have a discussion due to the distance thing, this is the next best way to have students communicate with each other.) 

Everything went well first period. At the end of third period, I checked the Padlet page only to find that none of the students had made their comments. Before I dismissed the class, I reminded them that they needed to create posts so that their peers could comment. 

Fifth period. Since things went sideways third, I made sure to start with telling period five about the commenting thing. 

A few minutes later, a student alerted me to a problem. 

For the students to add their comment to the page, they needed to "add a comment" using a plus sign button. The students in period five told me they didn't have that button. 

Upon further investigation, I discovered that the same issue happened to period three. In fact, only one class, period one, had the button to add a comment. 

Deep sigh. 

I won't go into the mess that ensued when I attempted to contact their teacher to let her know. (I'm still rather irked over the incident.) Suffice it to say that the issue never did get fixed. 

But period three... *shakes head* Not a one of them piped up to let me know that there was a problem. 

Usually, there's someone who will chime in with "there's a problem here". At which point I can troubleshoot, or at the very least, let their teacher know that they couldn't complete something due to a technical issue.

Of course, there are some classes that are just quiet. They keep their heads down and don't comment on anything. 

I suppose period three was one of those. If we were in person, they'd probably be the "best" class of the day only to later discover that not a one of them had done any work. 

Mystery Project Reveal

You know the project that I've been working on? The one that I didn't want to talk about, but I managed to write three blog posts about? (The posts: The New Toy, The Tangle, and Frogger.) 

Guess what I finished this week? 

Before I get into the pictures, I should explain the why. I bought a light box a year or so ago. It helps with my pictures. 

But I was having one small, tiny, minuscule problem with it (aside from avoiding using it due to how long it takes to set up). And you can kind of see it in the above photo. I didn't have a good background for my photos. 

It came with a long piece of plastic, but that doesn't cover the sides of the box. If I aim my camera straight in, it works fine. However, I usually like to change angles, and it's easier to do that from my end rather than repositioning what I'm photographing all the time. 

So, I'd been using a piece of fabric to cover the sides, but it was awkward to use. Recently, I bought white cardboard, but that didn't work much better. I thought about pulling out my sewing machine and making something up, but my sewing skills aren't all that great, and I have a tendency to put things like that off. 

Then it occurred to me: why don't I try to knit a backdrop? 

It took me way less time than I expected. 

As you can see, I didn't bother to set the whole light box up for this photo shoot. I think it's easier to see just with the light box frame, anyway. 

Yes, it's a bit smaller than the frame, but that was by design. It'll stretch a bit. I used stockinette stitch for the plainest background, and that's also why I used white. 

Alas, the seams are kind of visible. But still, this is better than what I was using before. 

I even included tabs to hold the thing onto the frame. . .

How well it will work will be determined the next time I need to have a photo shoot. It solved the problems I was having before, but we all know that new problems can crop up with the new solution. 

But I'm happy with it. 

And it was completely a stash project. Those buttons? Yup. According to the packaging, they were 15 cents. The yarn had been purchased for a sweater I was making myself that went horribly wrong, hence the game of yarn chicken. 

Obviously, I won the yarn chicken. . .

Yeah, I cut it kind of close. But it was a great project to use up that yarn that had been sitting in my stash for years. 

The New Toy

I got a new toy... 

Isn't it cool? What is it, you ask? Ah, something I totally need... 

Okay, so that picture isn't great. I was trying to do these photos only on my phone, but using a mirror... 

It's a light that clips on my phone, or what's called a "selfie light". (If that link doesn't work, search "selfie light" or "ring light" to get something similar.) 

The minute I saw it, I knew I needed one. No, I don't take a lot of selfies, but I do use my phone camera a lot to take pics of what I'm knitting. And usually it's at night, and I want to post them to Instagram. So, I have to find a good light, get everything set up, and hope... 

Nah. No more. 

So now, instead of getting this... 

...when I go to take a picture, I get this... 

...(and I didn't edit the picture). 

I took this during the day. At night it's going to be even nicer. Score! 

(The pictures are of my current on-the-needles project. Which I'm not going to talk about right now. It's kind of an experiment, so I'm not sure if it's going to work like I want. If it goes terribly wrong, I'll rip it all out when done. Also, I'm engaged in a round of yarn chicken, so it might be even more of a disaster.)

Photo Editing

I haven't been doing much knitting or crocheting this past week. I did work a little on the purple infinity scarf, but I didn't make enough progress for photos.

What I did instead was some photo editing. I'm still working on listings for my Etsy shop, and these photos have been sitting on my computer for a while. (August. I think the date on these is August.)

When I start, the photo looks something like this...

I do a little tweaking, and it looks like this...

Or I start with this...

And get it to this...

I ended up taking 33 pictures for this listing. I get to use 10. And that's about how many pictures I take for each, so it takes me a bit to go through them.

Hopefully next week I'll have some new knits (or crochet) to share.

(If you're interested in purchasing some of my EOS lip balm holder/keychains, you can find them here.)

My Knitting Whoops

The other day, I posted this on Instagram...

View this post on Instagram

Whoops. Made a boo boo. I’ll have to rip it back to fix. Tomorrow. #knittermistakes #knittersofinstagram #whoops #blunder

A post shared by Liz A. (@zizirho) on Jun 18, 2019 at 10:13pm PDT

...and someone commented that they didn't see the mistake. On a venue such as Instagram, it might be difficult to see. But it's such a glaring error. I'm surprised it took me a couple rows to notice it.

Here's another shot of the knitting in progress (before I've ripped out the error)...

It's at the top.

See it? Just in case, I marked this photo up a bit. In blue I've highlighted the mistake. In black is the way it should look...

And it wasn't even a Friday night when I did this. Sigh. Ah well. It's an easy enough fix.

I finally got a picture of the lightbox in action...

I really like how easy the lightbox makes taking photos. I don't like how long it takes to set up and tear down. But, it doesn't really take that long, so I guess I'm just whining.

Progress is slow, but it is progress. I'll get it done eventually.

Testing with the Walking Purse

I finally broke down and did it. I bought a light box.

I'd been making do with something I'd constructed out of poster board for almost a year now. Initially I wanted to see if it would help with lighting. It did. But it was flimsy, so I spent half my photographing time holding it up.

I bought it about a month ago. I only just got around to setting it up and trying it out.

I figured I might as well take pictures of the second walking purse...

I'm rather pleased with how these came out. And I'm quite happy that all I had to do was set up the light box and not worry about the whole thing toppling over as I shot.

This is my second attempt at this purse. (If you want to know why this is a walking purse, the explanation is here.) I made a few modifications. Mainly, I changed out the border...

I have not lined it yet. As I finished the putting together of it just before the cold hit, I'll blame illness (although "just" before is rather stretching things).

I plan to write up the pattern at some point. I'll add it to my ever growing list of published patterns.

The bead that I'm using as a button rather looks like a soap bubble...

I'm rather pleased with the purse. And the light box. I still have a ways to go before I feel comfortable with it, but it feels way more comfortable than how I felt when I got the new camera. So, progress.

The Purple Problem

I've been whining quite a lot about my new camera. First it was the lighting. Then it was getting things in focus. Finally, it was the purple problem.

It's kind of an issue when colors, like purple, don't show up and look like they look in person. This is especially troublesome for items I'm selling in my Etsy shop.

I had been flummoxed as to what to do. In desperation, I did a random Google search. I got no good answers, but the various blog posts and articles I found jarred something loose in my head. I could sit down and experiment, couldn't I? So, that's what I did last week.

I made an EOS lip balm holder with a mermaid tail in a variegated yarn that had purple and my other problem color, teal blue, in it. If I could get that to look pretty close to true to life, my problem was solved.

At first, the colors came out looking like mud...

Looks blue, doesn't it? That's the problem. Yes, there is blue, but there's also purple and teal. It's a beautiful yarn. Great colors. But they don't show up here.

And this is an improvement over where I started. For lighting, I fashioned a homemade lightbox. The focus issue eventually solved itself. I have no idea what I was doing wrong before, but now things just focus for me.

For the purple problem, I went into the camera's settings. Things like DRO, ISO, focus, and metering didn't have an impact on color detection. What did end up making a difference were the white balance and the exposure compensation.

Those were white balances that don't work. But...

You can kind of see the purple in those. Why are they so dark? Because someone *ahem* had the exposure compensation dialed down into the negatives. Which in retrospect is stupid, but at the time, I didn't quite know what it meant.

Once I dialed up the exposure compensation, suddenly things were looking up...

(I put away my lightbox at this point thinking I was done for the night. But then I wanted to take just a few more shots.)

And now that I had settings that worked, I could take some time (on a different day) and get some pictures that actually kind of look like the actual colors.

I did a little sweetening with photo editing, but this gets so much closer than I had gotten before. (The colors are a little deeper in person.) In fact, I'm happy enough with it that I finally listed this lip balm holder in my Etsy shop. (Click on the link to find the listing.)

Now, fingers crossed, hopefully this doesn't throw other colors into confusion. It's looking pretty good so far.