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Generally speaking, these pictures are used to tell a story, regardless of quality.
The Journal
is probably 90% text, with photos added to show what I'm talking about. At the other end of the scale, the various Series collections, such as “
Rejuvenation”, “
The Fight”, etc., are probably 90% photos, with captions added for clarification
In the Windows operating system, a folder can be set to show thumbnail images instead of file names, so every photo is visible in that folder. After a new batch is moved from the camera to the computer, the images are distributed to various folders according to the primary subject matter of each. Where an image fits into more then one category, a shortcut (aka: pointer, or link) to that image is dragged to each relative folder. Hence, a photo of the trailer roof goes into a folder named
“Roof”. Since the photo also happens to show some of the tools used, a shortcut is dragged into the “Equipment” folder. If there is a puddle on that roof, the “Rain” folder gets a shortcut
However, before the images are distributed, snapshots are taken of the original thumbnail collection, one for each scrolled page of the folder that contains them. Each snapshot is called a “capture” because the software used for this purpose, ByLight's “20/20”, captures whatever is in a defined rectangle. Before the capture is taken, the folder is narrowed left to right so that only 5 thumbnails show left to right, as you will see below. A maximized folder shows 11 thumbnails left to right.
These captures are then concatenated vertically in pairs using Adobe Photoshop Elements, two at a time because that is what fits nicely on the screen, top to bottom, when reduced to approximately 1/3 (144 pixels wide) their original width (440 pixels wide), as depicted below. The same concatenated pairs are also saved at twice their original size for full-screen viewing left to right (880 pixels wide), which is what you get when you click on a smaller image below. If your display is set to “1024 X 768”, as it should be unless you have very poor eyesight, then you will notice that when you open the double sized full screen rendition, there is no horizontal scrolling; you can see them all at once left to right. That is why the original folder was narrowed to 5 thumbnails wide. If your display is set to something less then “1024 X 768”,
click here to fix that
Frequently I found myself searching endlessly and repetitively through every folder looking for just the right picture to say what I wanted to say. The primary folder just did not have the one that would make the desired point. Often, I found what I was looking for. In other words, I had not initially thought to drag a shortcut of that image into a particular folder
That is why I created this index. In the Table Of Contents, it attempts to describe the assorted themes of each photo batch. A click on the relative Batch number or Date Range takes one to a miniature capture of that batch. The images in these depictions are small, but one can usually tell what they are about. A click on that depiction opens a full screen rendition of the batch
To begin with, we are not talking about any real quality here. The original shots were taken with a “1 megapixel” camera generally set at its highest quality selection. A 1 megapixel camera can produce a pretty good 4 X 5 printed photograph. The full screen rendition of that shot, about 4 times that size, will be somewhat blurred and/or grainy. Hence, virtually every photo used in a story or series required some reworking in a photo editor, usually Adobe Photoshop Elements. Some required only a slight enhancement of contrast; others required hours of detailed adjustment. The originals remained as they were; the enhanced versions were saved under a different name. The index displays the original (.jpg) images and any Photoshop (.psd) interpretations that were kept because they might be useful down the line. The enhanced images (.jpg and .html) are what one sees online in a finished story or series, or hanging on my wall
I have also filled in the empty spaces below with enhanced versions of shots that I found interesting or pertinent
The current 2002 technology is now producing “4 megapixel” cameras at a fairly reasonable price. They can provide a pretty good 8 X 10 photograph. I hope to get one of them pretty soon
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