[SI] Mandate reminder/update & new mandate!

On 10-04-17 10:15 , tony cooper wrote:
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:02:18 -0400, wrote:

Glad to hear you like the Wallpaper mandate. I wasn't sure what kind
of reaction I'd get with a mandate geared towards a use rathen than a
subject. And I'm anxious to see what people submit, and if they
account for the "practiality" of the image. You know, leaving room for
icons, not too busy, etc.

I don't object, at all, but I don't think I really understand the
mandate. Other than aspect ratio, what's different about a wallpaper
image?

I don't use wallpaper on my PC, but I do have an image of the
grandchildren on my laptop. My conception of a wallpaper image is
either a family photograph or one of those bland and soothing
waterfall or forest scenes.

If you waltz through a typical office you'll see all manner of
wallpaper, some that are refreshingly non-PC. Some guys like their cars
('cause they're not allowed to have bikini'd or less women up in the
office) , ladies like their beaus, you'll see kittens, dogs, puppies,
flowers, and ...

IMO a good wallpaper image for a monitor has a subject of interest that
occupies a smallish percentage of the frame (say 25% or less) and to the
extreme left or right. The balance of the image should be flat,
little-detail, smooth - an area to place desktop icons etc. Variations
include the subject at the top or bottom or corners. I suppose, for
bonus points, that it should not have text in it such that it can easily
be mirrored left-right according to the taste of the user.

--
gmail originated posts are filtered due to spam.

On 4/16/10 6:27 PM, in article
2010041616273557944-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, "Savageduck"
wrote:

On 2010-04-16 16:13:45 -0700, Robert Coe said:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:12:32 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Just a reminder about the next mandate: Facescape. It's due May 16th,
: so find those faces full of character and send some shots.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/facescape
:
: Next, the new mandate announcement: The Wallpaper Project. Here's what
: this means: I use a few of my shots as wallpaper on my PC; we all
: probably do. This mandate will challenge the shooter to produce the
: best wallpaper in wide screen format so other users can download and
: use the shot as wallpaper on their PC. All submissions must be 1920 x
: 1200 pixels to fill a wide monitor. Shooters are limited to ONE
: submission for this mandate only, so make your wallpaper a good one,
: and make sure it looks good at large sizes (like a 24" monitor). You
: may include your "signature" on the photo, as well. Lastly, the 300K
: file size limit is waived for this mandate.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/wallpaper
:
: Flame on!

It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if events haven't passed it by. In
Windows 7 you can have a slide show as your background, and they finally
allow
you to specify that the picture must fit within your screen dimensions while
maintaining its aspect ratio. The practical effect is that some shots fill
the
screen left-to-right and some fill it top-to-bottom, but pictures that fill a
1920 x 1200 screen exactly are rare (since no camera of which I'm aware uses
the 5x3 aspect ratio). I've cropped a few shots to 5x3, but usually to rescue
a shot that would have been discarded otherwise. Most of my (and my wife's)
best shots are 3x2, which I'll bet is true for most SI submitters. (Is 1920 x
1200 common? My Lenovo W500 uses it, but I don't think I've ever seen another
display that does.)

Bob

I have 1920 x 1200 on my 17" MacBook Pro.

Just curious. If your are at 10.5.x or later, have you ever used your
"Pictures" folder for a Screen Saver, using the 'Mosaic' option? I find that
it is quite entertaining.

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:15:08 -0400, tony cooper
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:02:18 -0400, Bowser wrote:

Glad to hear you like the Wallpaper mandate. I wasn't sure what kind
of reaction I'd get with a mandate geared towards a use rathen than a
subject. And I'm anxious to see what people submit, and if they
account for the "practiality" of the image. You know, leaving room for
icons, not too busy, etc.

I don't object, at all, but I don't think I really understand the
mandate. Other than aspect ratio, what's different about a wallpaper
image?

I don't use wallpaper on my PC, but I do have an image of the
grandchildren on my laptop. My conception of a wallpaper image is
either a family photograph or one of those bland and soothing
waterfall or forest scenes.

What makes good wallpaper is what the person sitting at the PC likes
to see. For me it's a good scenic with ample "white space" for icons,
and an image that doesn't get so busy that it hides icons. Or it could
just be a shot that looks really, really good on a high quality
calibrated 24" monitor. It's all up to you, really.

On 2010-04-17 08:37:07 -0700, George Kerby said:




On 4/16/10 6:27 PM, in article
2010041616273557944-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, "Savageduck"
wrote:

On 2010-04-16 16:13:45 -0700, Robert Coe said:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:12:32 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Just a reminder about the next mandate: Facescape. It's due May 16th,
: so find those faces full of character and send some shots.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/facescape
:
: Next, the new mandate announcement: The Wallpaper Project. Here's what
: this means: I use a few of my shots as wallpaper on my PC; we all
: probably do. This mandate will challenge the shooter to produce the
: best wallpaper in wide screen format so other users can download and
: use the shot as wallpaper on their PC. All submissions must be 1920 x
: 1200 pixels to fill a wide monitor. Shooters are limited to ONE
: submission for this mandate only, so make your wallpaper a good one,
: and make sure it looks good at large sizes (like a 24" monitor). You
: may include your "signature" on the photo, as well. Lastly, the 300K
: file size limit is waived for this mandate.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/wallpaper
:
: Flame on!

It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if events haven't passed it by. In
Windows 7 you can have a slide show as your background, and they finally
allow
you to specify that the picture must fit within your screen dimensions while
maintaining its aspect ratio. The practical effect is that some shots fill
the
screen left-to-right and some fill it top-to-bottom, but pictures that fill a
1920 x 1200 screen exactly are rare (since no camera of which I'm aware uses
the 5x3 aspect ratio). I've cropped a few shots to 5x3, but usually to rescue
a shot that would have been discarded otherwise. Most of my (and my wife's)
best shots are 3x2, which I'll bet is true for most SI submitters. (Is 1920 x
1200 common? My Lenovo W500 uses it, but I don't think I've ever seen another
display that does.)

Bob

I have 1920 x 1200 on my 17" MacBook Pro.

Just curious. If your are at 10.5.x or later, have you ever used your
"Pictures" folder for a Screen Saver, using the 'Mosaic' option? I find that
it is quite entertaining.

I am running 10.5.8.

I did the Pictures folder thing some years ago on my iMac. Now I use
the iTunes album art work mosaic as a screen saver, alsso quite
entertaining.

For desktop images I use a variety of my images. Right now I have a
Yosemite Valley shot up.

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 4/17/10 1:40 PM, in article
2010041711404727722-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, "Savageduck"
wrote:

On 2010-04-17 08:37:07 -0700, George Kerby said:




On 4/16/10 6:27 PM, in article
2010041616273557944-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, "Savageduck"
wrote:

On 2010-04-16 16:13:45 -0700, Robert Coe said:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:12:32 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Just a reminder about the next mandate: Facescape. It's due May 16th,
: so find those faces full of character and send some shots.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/facescape
:
: Next, the new mandate announcement: The Wallpaper Project. Here's what
: this means: I use a few of my shots as wallpaper on my PC; we all
: probably do. This mandate will challenge the shooter to produce the
: best wallpaper in wide screen format so other users can download and
: use the shot as wallpaper on their PC. All submissions must be 1920 x
: 1200 pixels to fill a wide monitor. Shooters are limited to ONE
: submission for this mandate only, so make your wallpaper a good one,
: and make sure it looks good at large sizes (like a 24" monitor). You
: may include your "signature" on the photo, as well. Lastly, the 300K
: file size limit is waived for this mandate.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/wallpaper
:
: Flame on!

It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if events haven't passed it by. In
Windows 7 you can have a slide show as your background, and they finally
allow
you to specify that the picture must fit within your screen dimensions
while
maintaining its aspect ratio. The practical effect is that some shots fill
the
screen left-to-right and some fill it top-to-bottom, but pictures that fill
a
1920 x 1200 screen exactly are rare (since no camera of which I'm aware
uses
the 5x3 aspect ratio). I've cropped a few shots to 5x3, but usually to
rescue
a shot that would have been discarded otherwise. Most of my (and my wife's)
best shots are 3x2, which I'll bet is true for most SI submitters. (Is 1920
x
1200 common? My Lenovo W500 uses it, but I don't think I've ever seen
another
display that does.)

Bob

I have 1920 x 1200 on my 17" MacBook Pro.

Just curious. If your are at 10.5.x or later, have you ever used your
"Pictures" folder for a Screen Saver, using the 'Mosaic' option? I find that
it is quite entertaining.

I am running 10.5.8.

I did the Pictures folder thing some years ago on my iMac. Now I use
the iTunes album art work mosaic as a screen saver, alsso quite
entertaining.

For desktop images I use a variety of my images. Right now I have a
Yosemite Valley shot up.

I guess I'm not as adventurous. I keep an 18% middle grey for my desktop
because it helps keep my photographs that I am working with appear to be
more 'neutral', if not for a better word.

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:04:24 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:47:03 -0400, Robert Coe wrote:
:
: On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:09:08 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: : On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:20:56 +0200, Robert Spanjaard
: : wrote:
: :
: : On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:12:32 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: :
: : Just a reminder about the next mandate: Facescape. It's due May 16th, so
: : find those faces full of character and send some shots.
: :
: : http://www.pbase.com/shootin/facescape
: :
: : Next, the new mandate announcement: The Wallpaper Project. Here's what
: : this means: I use a few of my shots as wallpaper on my PC; we all
: : probably do. This mandate will challenge the shooter to produce the best
: : wallpaper in wide screen format so other users can download and use the
: : shot as wallpaper on their PC. All submissions must be 1920 x 1200
: : pixels to fill a wide monitor. Shooters are limited to ONE submission
: : for this mandate only, so make your wallpaper a good one, and make sure
: : it looks good at large sizes (like a 24" monitor). You may include your
: : "signature" on the photo, as well. Lastly, the 300K file size limit is
: : waived for this mandate.
: :
: : http://www.pbase.com/shootin/wallpaper
: :
: : Flame on!
: :
: : This is the one I'm using as my own wallpaper at 1680x1050. The blurry
: : left side is a nice place to put your icons. :-)
: :
: : http://www.arumes.com/temp/Arumes-CRW_4987wp.jpg
: :
: : Good wallpaper. I thought it might be a good idea if the mandate
: : suggested shooting for a specific use rathen to specific subject
: : matter.
: :
: : Unfortunately, your photo above is disqualified. Resolution is too
: : low.
: :
: : heh, heh....
:
: Be careful what you wish for, Bowser; you may get it!!
:
: Bob
:
: And I fully expect you and Marth to send me some nice scenes of
: Massachusetts that I'll display on my work PC and take full credit
: for.
:
: Nah, just kidding. About taking credit. But send me some MA scenes!

We'll try. I'm starting to go through our stuff to see what workd at the 8x5
aspect ratio. It's sort of breaking new ground, since I have only one laptop
that supports it. Our home machine is 4x3, and at work I mostly use two 5x4
monitors side-by-side. But I'll come up with something.

Bob

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:06:58 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:13:45 -0400, Robert Coe wrote:
:
: On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:12:32 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: : Just a reminder about the next mandate: Facescape. It's due May 16th,
: : so find those faces full of character and send some shots.
: :
: : http://www.pbase.com/shootin/facescape
: :
: : Next, the new mandate announcement: The Wallpaper Project. Here's what
: : this means: I use a few of my shots as wallpaper on my PC; we all
: : probably do. This mandate will challenge the shooter to produce the
: : best wallpaper in wide screen format so other users can download and
: : use the shot as wallpaper on their PC. All submissions must be 1920 x
: : 1200 pixels to fill a wide monitor. Shooters are limited to ONE
: : submission for this mandate only, so make your wallpaper a good one,
: : and make sure it looks good at large sizes (like a 24" monitor). You
: : may include your "signature" on the photo, as well. Lastly, the 300K
: : file size limit is waived for this mandate.
: :
: : http://www.pbase.com/shootin/wallpaper
: :
: : Flame on!
:
: It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if events haven't passed it by. In
: Windows 7 you can have a slide show as your background, and they finally allow
: you to specify that the picture must fit within your screen dimensions while
: maintaining its aspect ratio. The practical effect is that some shots fill the
: screen left-to-right and some fill it top-to-bottom, but pictures that fill a
: 1920 x 1200 screen exactly are rare (since no camera of which I'm aware uses
: the 5x3 aspect ratio). I've cropped a few shots to 5x3, but usually to rescue
: a shot that would have been discarded otherwise. Most of my (and my wife's)
: best shots are 3x2, which I'll bet is true for most SI submitters. (Is 1920 x
: 1200 common? My Lenovo W500 uses it, but I don't think I've ever seen another
: display that does.)
:
: Bob
:
: Monitors that use a 16:10 aspect ration are the norm now.

I hadn't realized that. I've only ever used one wide-screen monitor, and
that's built into a laptop. At work I use only pairs of 5x4 monitors.

: Maybe not all use the full 1920 x 1200, but the aspect ration is the same,
: so if you have a smaller screen, the pic will rez down but retain its
: proportions. My HP 2475w is a 24" S-IPS monitor, and presents a very
: nice 1920 x 1200 image. Even good P&S cams can produce a decent shot
: at that resolution.

Yeah, if you happen to plan for the 8x5 aspect ratio when you take the
picture. It isn't native to any camera, P&S or DSLR, as far as I know.

The point I was circling, but never really got around to making, is that in
Windows 7 the incentive to carefully craft a wallpaper picture that exactly
matches the monitor is diminished, for two reasons: 1) You can now specify
that the background picture fit within the available space without being
stretched or truncated, and 2) the background can be a slideshow. In a
slideshow you're apt to have pictures of various aspect ratios, and you can
include them all without worrying that they'll get mangled if their aspect
ratios don't match that of the display. I used to be a stickler for matching
the background picture to the display; now that the computers I use regularly
at work are Windows 7, I don't bother.

Bob

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:02:18 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Glad to hear you like the Wallpaper mandate. I wasn't sure what kind
: of reaction I'd get with a mandate geared towards a use rathen than
: a subject. And I'm anxious to see what people submit, and if they
: account for the "practicality" of the image. You know, leaving room
: for icons, not too busy, etc.

In pre-Vista Windows OSes you could substitute a background picture for the
bland Microsoft screen to which the computer booted up. I've been known to
shoot a picture with the subject deliberately displaced to the side, so that
it wouldn't be interfered with by the logon window. The capacity of the human
brain to invent ways to waste time is boundless.

Bob

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:39:15 -0400, Alan Browne
wrote:

On 10-04-17 10:15 , tony cooper wrote:
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:02:18 -0400, wrote:

Glad to hear you like the Wallpaper mandate. I wasn't sure what kind
of reaction I'd get with a mandate geared towards a use rathen than a
subject. And I'm anxious to see what people submit, and if they
account for the "practiality" of the image. You know, leaving room for
icons, not too busy, etc.

I don't object, at all, but I don't think I really understand the
mandate. Other than aspect ratio, what's different about a wallpaper
image?

I don't use wallpaper on my PC, but I do have an image of the
grandchildren on my laptop. My conception of a wallpaper image is
either a family photograph or one of those bland and soothing
waterfall or forest scenes.

If you waltz through a typical office you'll see all manner of
wallpaper, some that are refreshingly non-PC. Some guys like their cars
('cause they're not allowed to have bikini'd or less women up in the
office) , ladies like their beaus, you'll see kittens, dogs, puppies,
flowers, and ...

IMO a good wallpaper image for a monitor has a subject of interest that
occupies a smallish percentage of the frame (say 25% or less) and to the
extreme left or right. The balance of the image should be flat,
little-detail, smooth - an area to place desktop icons etc. Variations
include the subject at the top or bottom or corners. I suppose, for
bonus points, that it should not have text in it such that it can easily
be mirrored left-right according to the taste of the user.

Until a few months ago I spent two thirds of my time sitting in front
of my computer. Wall paper photographs formed a large part of my life.
As a result I tried various wall papers but eventually concluded that
the best are something you can live with for a long time.

I don't believe that putting up your best photograph is the right
thing to do. After a while, your familiarity with it will have reduced
it to just another 'ho-hum' in your eyes.

It should not be so complex that screen icons tend to disappear within
it. What you want is an uncluttered photograph that is easy on the eye
and does not provoke you into wanting to change it (again) for
another.

Even if it's not a wildly spectacular photograph there is no reason
why such a wall paper should not provoke visitors into saying "That's
nice. Where was it taken?" or some such.



Eric Stevens

On 2010-04-17 12:13:11 -0700, George Kerby said:




On 4/17/10 1:40 PM, in article
2010041711404727722-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, "Savageduck"
wrote:

On 2010-04-17 08:37:07 -0700, George Kerby said:




On 4/16/10 6:27 PM, in article
2010041616273557944-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, "Savageduck"
wrote:

On 2010-04-16 16:13:45 -0700, Robert Coe said:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:12:32 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Just a reminder about the next mandate: Facescape. It's due May 16th,
: so find those faces full of character and send some shots.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/facescape
:
: Next, the new mandate announcement: The Wallpaper Project. Here's what
: this means: I use a few of my shots as wallpaper on my PC; we all
: probably do. This mandate will challenge the shooter to produce the
: best wallpaper in wide screen format so other users can download and
: use the shot as wallpaper on their PC. All submissions must be 1920 x
: 1200 pixels to fill a wide monitor. Shooters are limited to ONE
: submission for this mandate only, so make your wallpaper a good one,
: and make sure it looks good at large sizes (like a 24" monitor). You
: may include your "signature" on the photo, as well. Lastly, the 300K
: file size limit is waived for this mandate.
:
: http://www.pbase.com/shootin/wallpaper
:
: Flame on!

It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if events haven't passed it by. In
Windows 7 you can have a slide show as your background, and they finally
allow
you to specify that the picture must fit within your screen dimensions
while
maintaining its aspect ratio. The practical effect is that some shots fill
the
screen left-to-right and some fill it top-to-bottom, but pictures that fill
a
1920 x 1200 screen exactly are rare (since no camera of which I'm aware
uses
the 5x3 aspect ratio). I've cropped a few shots to 5x3, but usually to
rescue
a shot that would have been discarded otherwise. Most of my (and my wife's)
best shots are 3x2, which I'll bet is true for most SI submitters. (Is 1920
x
1200 common? My Lenovo W500 uses it, but I don't think I've ever seen
another
display that does.)

Bob

I have 1920 x 1200 on my 17" MacBook Pro.

Just curious. If your are at 10.5.x or later, have you ever used your
"Pictures" folder for a Screen Saver, using the 'Mosaic' option? I find that
it is quite entertaining.

I am running 10.5.8.

I did the Pictures folder thing some years ago on my iMac. Now I use
the iTunes album art work mosaic as a screen saver, alsso quite
entertaining.

For desktop images I use a variety of my images. Right now I have a
Yosemite Valley shot up.

I guess I'm not as adventurous. I keep an 18% middle grey for my desktop
because it helps keep my photographs that I am working with appear to be
more 'neutral', if not for a better word.

Since my photo work flow is set using my bizzare system;
1. RAW copied to outboard Hard drive in folder labelled with shoot
date, or other identifier.
2. Imported to Lightroom on MacBook Pro & converted to DNG.
3. Post processing in Lightroom, and/or CS4 via Lightroom.
4. JPEG output from LR exported to desktop folder, or saved from CS4 to
the same folder.
5. JPEGS sorted into labelled sub-folders. I set the color field for
the folder so that it isn't too harsh.

So for me things currently look something like this:
with no folders open;
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/Desktop-01.jpg

and with two open;
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/Desktop-02.jpg

--
Regards,

Savageduck