araemzee Photo Blog

..::eye kendi::..

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:51:00 +0000

Shadow Of A Lonely Man

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Look at me now, a shadow of the man I used to be

Look through my eyes and through the years of loneliness you'll see

To the times in my life when I could not bear to lose, a simple game

And the least of it all was the fortune and the fame

But the dream seemed to end just as soon as it had begun, was I to know?

For the last thing of all that was on my mind, was the close at the end of the show

The shadow of a lonely man, feels nobody else

In the shadow of a lonely, lonely man

I can see myself

(Looking out of nowhere, looking out of nowhere)

But the sound of the crowds when they come to see me now, is not the same

And the jest of it all is I can't recall my name

But I'll cling to a hope till I can't hold on anymore,

And for all the acclaim I am all alone and I see as I look through the door

The shadow of a lonely man, there's nobody else

In the shadow of a lonely, lonely man

I can see myself

Look at me now, a shadow of the man I used to be.

poem by: Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons

Sad Love Letter - How do you heal a broken heart?

In our life there comes a time where we feel so much pain and loneliness, some can move on as soon as they shed their last painful tears, some don't even cry that much, some just smile the pain away yet there are some who can't barely even take a step to move on and still hold on to their last hopes even if it's nearly impossible to have him/her back. We all have choices and risks to be made we can either let go and take the risk of losing him/her or hold on and endure the pain. For many, letting go is the best choice but there are few who holds on, hopes, and endure the pains of holding on.. The question is, how long will you hold on?.. days? weeks? months? years? how much will you risk?... Holding on is like hanging on a tree, holding on to it's branch, giving all your strength, enduring every muscle pains so that you won't fall.. falling on the ground is not the painful part.. it is the pains you feel while holding on to that branch, just like the pains of holding on to something/someone you can't afford to lose, doing your best but it seems it wasn't best enough to make him/her stay and all you can do is hold on and wait... risking the fact that in the end you're just waiting for nothing but great pain. sad but true...

Diary of broken hopes and dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:38:00 +0000

I am aware that many of us have been through so much in our respective lifetimes. Some have endured things others could never imagine themselves handling. I have written my story that entails a man's search for love and the pain that he has come to know from it. One woman in particular is the main focus, though his journey has seen him through many relationships. Just because the main character is a man it does not suppose that this situation couldn't easily be reversed. In fact I have heard more stories of woman in this position than any other; perhaps that is because men are too proud though. Anyways the purpose is to express this pain i feel inside for i don't have anyone to talk to and let those of you who can relate know you are not alone.

I've tried everything one can think of to erase these feelings and see the good in this person but the pain is so strong. I have tried praying for this person until I am blue and I have begged with tears for something to please happen to make these feelings disappear but I can't seem to break through it. I spend way too many hours of my life in tears and in emotional pain..

I don't know why this person can make me feel so miserable inside and out about myself! How they can make me feel so unimportant, insignificant, useless and just plain awful! It makes me so sad that even when this person is mentioned my heart tears want to burst out. I hate that I always feel trampled on and despised whenever they are around or when someone talks all wonderfully about them. I don't like how it can depress me and hinder my life..

Just like the sayings of Ryan Owen that goes "I am in my own prison; I have built these walls up around me from the beginning." You search your entire life for that one special someone, the one, who will strengthen you in your weakness. One who will see past all your faults and still love you, not for who you might be, but for who you are. It seems an endless quest though. I have been through so many relationships I have become numb. I always find myself asking, "Why does it never work out?," and always wondering if true love is only a myth.

You end up in a relationship you think is right, so you took the all the risks, exert too much effort and sacrifices, Only find out that she gave up on you and tell you that she realizes it could never work out. You find yourself to be the cause of pain, and also the bearer. Then it's over. For years, loneliness becomes the norm. Though you still search, it is with doubt and more meaningless relationships come and go. Finally you become so disenchanted you stop looking and settle for whatever is there at the time. Even though you are unhappy it is better
than being alone.

And that is when she comes back into your life; you met her once long ago. There was always something powerful there, but circumstances were against it. As, you quickly realize, they are now also. Yet, there is this strange connection, beyond anything you have experienced before. It is not Lust; you're all too familiar with that. No, this is something else indeed. This is not a figment of the imagination. When she looks into your eyes, you completely melt and the numbness you've known for a long time vanishes in an instant. That whole time all you can do is steal glances in her direction, hoping your enduring looks will not be discovered by the one she is with. Then somehow, the two of you end up alone, and you discover to your amazement that she too feels that connection. As if you were drawn together by some strange cosmic power.

In that moment you find a glimmer of hope, that perhaps it does exist after all. Though you know you must be deluding yourself, for her heart belongs to another. How could this be true love? You step back because you don't want to be the cause of pain in her life. You don't want her to go through the things that you have. The night passes into the next and you feel the numbness returning. You tell yourself, "that it is ok," because at least it is familiar. Then one day she says "Hi", and it starts. It is so subtle at first but by the time comes you know that you are hooked. Every night for days, weeks, months, this goes on. Then she says you two should hang out. Your heart leaps inside your chest for a chance to see her again and though you know what is at stake, you agree.The sight of her brings you such happiness and hope. Like the world was only black and white before, and now you can see in color for the first time. You talk and have a good time.

Soon though, the atmosphere changes as does the conversation. You feel drawn to her and before you know it your lips on hers. Fireworks, the whole world fades and there is nothing but that moment. Even your heart stands still. You know in that moment that you are undone.Of course, it only grows and soon you realize that you are madly, head over heels inlove with this person who's love is not yours. There is no denying it and you wouldn't change it even if you could. Then she says to you one day "I am in love with you." WOW! she feels it too. You can't believe it. What about the man he ? You feel so rotten inside, and that is something new also.

You come to think what about the man he always love? Did her feelings for that man fades? What a strange mixture of emotions of hope and doubt.. Weeks have turned into months, and you are in the midst of a full blown affair. She comes to see you everyday even if it is only for a moment. You tell yourself that as long as she is in your life it doesn't matter. Though the longer you are with her the more your feelings grow and soon the moments become less then enough. You are filled with envy because you can see and feel that she still love the guy from her past. You start to wonder if she really does love you, or if she is only playing games with your heart.

Those thoughts disappear though when you see the way she looks at you. There is something that she does that boasts of love, so how can you not believe her? You have nothing more than yourself to offer. So you hold on to the belief that she loves you and that soon she will forget him. She says that it is you she truly wants.maybe she needs time to totally forget him. "Yeah, time?" You think to yourself. Then once again she leaves, to go home to him.

Everything in you is screaming to tell her not to go though. "Ask her to stay," your heart says but you do nothing even though you know you cannot endure this much longer. You just watch her walk away so elegantly, each step full of grace. She turns to look at you and there is a look of utter devotion in her eyes that says she is yours. Her mouth forms the words but you are so mesmerized by her eyes, that you don't even hear when she tells you, "I love you." She kisses you and then leaves you and is gone.You feel your heart fall into the pit of your stomach and you almost feel sick, because the emptiness she has left in her wake.

You come to realize that it could always be this way. She might never forget him. You feel the anger and jealousy rise inside of you at the situation you have put yourself in. No matter how convincing she sounds, there will always be something holding her back; some event, some crisis, some silly excuse or another, always keeping her there. So you ask yourself, "Is it possible to see past your own hopes?, to see the truth for what it is?" For it is clear to those not caught up in the midst.

How much of your life are you willing to give up on a dream? How much time are you going to sacrifice before you realize the love you ever wanted will never be yours? Perhaps it is easier to deal with the loneliness then it is to face the fact the one you were truly meant for will never be yours, at least not in this life. How long are you willing to suffer this heartache instead of letting go and moving on? I mean really, what do you do when the one you love can't tell the people in her life that she is in love with you? Do you just hold on in hopes that someday soon the lies will disappear? What else can you do?

Now you might be asking yourself, "Is this guy a fool?" Of course I am but I have seen my life without her and it is dark and empty, my friends. I have never felt so free to be myself, and how can you measure the importance of not needing to keep up the façade? How can I give that up? It is true though that my heart breaks anew upon every reminder of that fact. I don't know what to do though, for she alone holds the key to my heart and my mind can focus on nothing else but her... :'( *tears*

16 Inspirational Portrait Photography Techniques

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:43:00 +0000

1. PHOTOSHOP

If you’re good with post-processing and manipulations, use it to your advantage. Get crazy with the adjustments, try some new Photoshop techniques, and maybe even a composite image.

Photo by Paul Moody [CC by-nc]

2. TEXTURE

If texture is a big part of your subject, make it stand out and make it obvious. Match up the textures between your subject and your background. You might even try texturizing the entire photo for additional impact.

Photo by Sukanto Debnath [CC by]

3. OVEREXPOSE

Blowing out the highlights or making a high-key image makes a nice soft portrait with kind of a light airy feeling. Another advantage of high-key photos is that the smaller details and defects are blown away, making the image look much smoother.

Photo by sam_samantha [CC by-nc-sa]

4. UNDEREXPOSE

A dominantly dark or low-key image will naturally draw your eyes to the lighter parts. These tend to have a grittier and harder look to them than the high-key images.

Photo by ConfusedVision [CC by-nc-nd]

5. BACK-LIGHT

Hair lights up like crazy when it’s back-lit, so if hair is a big part of your subject make it stand out by placing your subject between you and a light source. You could also take this a little further and push the image to a silhouette.

Photo by Caleb Sconosciuto [CC by-nc-nd]

6. POSING

Get crazy with the pose and positioning — extra points if it looks uncomfortable. Not only with the poses, but also with your own positioning — shoot from different angles to achieve different impacts.

Photo by Socar Myles [CC by-nc-nd]

7. CULTURE

Capture the local culture — what’s mundane to you is exotic to us. Culture is everywhere, even in your own town. Just image you’re visiting from a different country — what things would then seem more interesting to you?

Photo by vodkamax [CC by-nc-nd]

8. REFLECTIONS

Make use of different surfaces to add that extra dimension — windows, mirrors, and water are all very good reflective surfaces that give a different result and texture.

Photo by Gary H. Spielvogel [CC by-nc-nd]

9. SHADOWS

Make the shadow an important part of the image. Sometimes the shadow can even be more prominent than the actual subject casting the shadow.

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

10. GET CLOSE

There’s no rule against cropping out most of the subject’s face. This draws more attention to the parts that are left in the frame.

Photo by Phil Hilfiker [CC by-nc-nd]

11. (UN)FOCUS

Out-of-focus subjects can be more interesting than the in-focus subjects. It kind of adds some mystery to the image because you can’t quite make out who that person is.

Photo by a bout de souffle [CC by-nc-nd]

12. MOVEMENT

Use movement to show action, even if it blurs out the subject entirely. In cases like this, think of the person as a means of creating the subject rather than being the actual subject.

Photo by ArtWerk [CC by-nc-nd]

13. CAPTURE THE MOMENT

Catch somebody doing something they love, even if it’s not staged. Street photography is one of my favorite genres because it captures life as it happens — unstaged and unposed.

Photo by Mireia [CC by-nc-nd]

14. COLORS

Use vibrant and contrasting colors to draw attention to parts of your subject. This could be makeup, clothing, accessories, or whatever else you can get your hands on.

Photo by TNT Photo [CC by-nc-nd]

15. GET SERIOUS

Not all portraits need to have a smile, capture the serious emotions too. Some of my favorite portraits have no hint of a smile in them, and they’re highly emotional.

Photo by Saad Akhtar [CC by]

16. PROPS

Use the props and tools around you to make the setting more interesting. Find things to place your subject in, on, under, around, etc.

Photo by Bachellier Christian [CC by-nc-nd]

About

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:57:00 +0000

araemzee.blogspot.com is a collection of photos, tutorials, ideas, concepts and other informative stuffs that's used for entertainment and/or educational purposes.

Design a Glossy Button in Photoshop for Web 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Looking to design some glossy looking Web 2.0 button? Here’s a Photoshop tutorial that gives you step by step how to get a red glossy button you see above.

1. Creating the base

Fire up a new canvas and adjust the following settings (marked in yellow) according to the image below. The rest should come as default. You might want to double check with the defaults too.

Create a new layer call ‘Button’

On layer ‘Button’, select the Rounded rectangle tool

give it a radius of 7px

and draw a rectangle similar to the image below.

2. Red button

Right click on the Blending Options for ‘Button’ layer

and tweak the following settings for

Drop Shadow

Inner Shadow

Bevel and Emboss

Gradiant Overlay

Your button should look something like this

3. Glossy and a little tweak

Create a new layer call ‘Glass’

Select Retangular marquee tool, make sure you are selecting ‘Button’ layer. HOLD your key and click on layer ‘Buttons’’s layer thumbnail. Your button should now be highlighted.

Select ‘Glass’ button now, hold the key with Retangular marquee tool selected. Draw(cut) across the lower half of the button like the image below.

Fill the selected area with white color #ffffff using Paint Bucket Tool

Adjust the opacity to 18%

and you should have glossy button looking like this.

4. Pattern Overlay

Let’s give the button some slight pattern overlay. I’ll be using the custom stripe5px created earlier. Click here to read “How to create custom pattern“. Create a new layer call ‘Pattern’ in between ‘Button’ and ‘Glass’ and proceed with Blending Options.

Select Pattern Overlay, choose Stripe5px (or any pattern you’ve created) and click OK then close the dialogue.

Make sure you are still on Rectangular Marquee tool, hold and click on Button’s layer thumbnail to get the buttons shape. Fill up the selected area in ‘Pattern’ layer with Paint Bucket tool and adjust the layer opacity to 5%

5. Inserting Text

I’ll throw in some random text in white #ffffff color with the following settings

and the following blending effects on my text’s layer.

Drop Shadow

6. Final Output

You should get an image like this.

Download this tutorial.

source: http://www.hongkiat.com

Sweet Collection of Photoshop Textures from Smashing Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Photoshop users can save themselves a great deal of time and end up with better results by taking advantage of readily available freebies, such as brushes, patterns and shapes. And Smashing Magazine has just posted a great collection.

View Collection

20 Things About Photoshop You Have to Know

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:16:00 +0000

These are some of the tools and features that I find myself using on a regular basis when creating images for the web. These include using the slice tool on images to decrease page load times and using pre-set effects that save time when creating forms or menus for your site.

Photoshop is, undeniably, one of the greatest software applications around. It has been around in one version or another for the last thirteen years, which is longer than I’ve known what CPU stands for. Currently in its eighth version, it has so many functions and features that I simply couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t explain the 20 most important and useful ones to you.

Layer Sets

These are a way of organising or categorising common or linked layers in the layers panel. To create a new layer set, expand the Layer menu and select New -> Layer set. The new layer set dialogue box will appear and prompt you to enter a name for the new set. Once you have OK’d this box, a folder icon will appear in the layers panel; just drag and drop related layers into this folder. This is useful to organise your working environment and to apply styles across ranges of layers. This functionality extends to slices in Imageready.

The Slice Tool

Residing in the toolbox that appears to the far left of your workspace, and denoted by the knife icon, the slice tool is essential for creating clickable rectangular regions of your image. It is powered by Photoshop’s sister product Imageready (which comes bundled with the latest release of Photoshop), and needs to be used in Imageready to make the most of its potential. Nevertheless, Photoshop lets you add actions when the region is rolled over or clicked, and can be extremely useful in the creation of roll-over image-swaps or expanding menus on image-driven web sites. To create a slice, select the slice tool and drag a rectangle across the appropriate part of your image. That’s it. You can right-click the slice and select Edit Slice Options… to add URL, ALT and other information to the slice. Slicing an image also decreases page load times; a couple of slices download quicker than one large image.

Image Maps

Image maps are very similar to slices in that you can use them to create roll-overs and hyperlinks. The main differences between slices and image maps are that slices must be rectangular, but image maps can be any shape. They are used only in Imageready, and have no effect on image download times.

Web Photo Gallery

This time-saving function can be found under File -> Automate -> Web Photo Gallery… and can be used to quickly put together a high quality, gallery of images in HTML format. You simply select a source directory, a target directory, and let Photoshop do the rest. It creates as many web pages as needed to include all of the pictures in the source directory, which are presented in a tabular layout of thumbnails. Additional parameters such as page titles and ALT text can also be specified. It even makes each image clickable and loads the full size version of the image in a page of its own when the thumbnail is clicked! This can be used to quickly create a product catalogue or portfolio.

Paste Into

Accessed via the Edit menu, this function inserts an image into another image, and crops the inner image to make it appear as if inside the outer image. For example, you could draw a rounded rectangle 100 pixels wide and 20 pixels high and then draw another rounded rectangle 40 pixels wide and 20 pixels high directly on top of it. You could then use the magic wand tool to select the area inside the smaller rectangle, and paste a photograph into the selected area. Now only the area of the photograph within the smaller rectangle is visible. Combined with some text, this makes an excellent web page heading.

Perspective Function

This is grouped with other similar functions under the Edit -> Transform Path menu and is used to add, surprisingly, a perspective effect. It works best with angular images, but can also be used to add the appearance of movement. To use it, select the image you want to add perspective to and choose the function in the above menu. Your image will acquire a border with handles around the edge. Drag these handles in the appropriate direction to add the required amount of perspective. Click the tick at the far right of the tool bar at the top of the screen when done.

Plugins

Plugins are like applets that can be installed in the plugins directory and used to add functionality to Photoshop. If there’s something you’re trying to do in Photoshop that is remotely difficult, there is probably a plugin that will help you do it more easily. They can be downloaded from numerous sources on the Internet and are often free.

Styles

The styles panel is a repository of pre-set effects; if you draw a shape and then double-click one of the styles, those effects are automatically applied to your shape. There are a number of different categories of styles which can be selected by clicking the right-facing arrow at the top of the panel. There are a number of web styles including push buttons and roll-overs, and they can save you huge amounts of time when creating forms or menus for your site.

Vector Graphics

For all of you out there who don’t know what vector images are (and I didn’t before I started playing around in Photoshop), they are basically images that can be endlessly scaled up or down with no loss in quality. Absolutely none at all. In Paint, or any other basic bitmap imaging application, draw a circle. Unless you have a monitor that supports an extremely large resolution, it will look a bit blocky anyway, but now magnify the image by as little as ten times. You no longer have a circle; you have a polygon, or many-edged shape.

This does not happen with vector graphics. In Photoshop now, open a new image that is 640pixels wide and 480pixels and draw a circle. Now select Image -> Image Size… and change the width to 16400pixels wide (the height should automatically adjust) and click OK. Find an edge, and it should appear just as smoothly as it did before the size increase. This is the essence of vectors, which makes them useful for images that are likely to be required in a range of sizes, such as logos.

The Preferences Dialogue Box

Located under Edit -> Preferences the preferences dialogue box is home to the environment settings that control how Photoshop behaves. You can control various settings, including; General, file handling, display and cursors, transparency and gamut, units and rulers, guides, grid and slices, plugins and scratch disks, memory and image caching and the file browser. If you wanted to change the colour of your guides, or allocate more memory to the application, this is where you would do it. Take a moment to have a look through all of the options available to you.

Shading with the Dodge and Burn Tools

Highlights and shading can be added to shapes with ease using the effects menu in the layers panel. But what if you only want to add shading to only part of your shape, or add highlights without lowlights? Open a new page and draw a rounded rectangle, rasterize it, and select the burn tool (the one with the fist) from the toolbox. Click and drag the pointer over the bottom right of your shape to create instant lowlights. Now select the dodge tool (the lollipop), and repeat the process over the upper left of the shape to get some highlights. You may be a little sketchy to begin with but after a bit of practice, you’ll be able to add precision shading to images without even thinking about it.

The Window Menu

The Window menu is all about customizing your workspace and managing your panels. It’s about making your life easier. You use it to switch on available tool panels such as the layers panel or the character panel when they are needed. In addition to switching on or off tool panels as and when they necessary, it is also where you access the Workspace submenu. If you find yourself constantly closing certain panels and opening others as soon as Photoshop has loaded, you can save yourself the bother by saving the current workspace. Your saved workspace then on appears in the Workspace menu. You can also customise existing panels using the tabs at the top of each panel; if you wanted the history tools to be in the same panel as the layers, you simply click and drag the tab with History on it into the desired panel.

Scripts

Another time-saving tool here: the scripts function of Photoshop can be used to perform automated repetitive tasks, such as exporting all of your layers to PDF in order to produce a slideshow. Photoshop also contains its very own script debugger and will let you write your own Visual Basic or JavaScript scripts. Photoshop comes with many pre-written scripts that can be accessed via File -> Scripts -> Browse. The scripting tools are supported by a number of PDF reference manuals in the Photoshop CS application folder so before taking on anything big, I suggest having a quick read through these.

Actions Manager

Similar in some ways, but nowhere near as powerful to the scripts function, the actions manager can be used to record and playback a series of menu or tool selections and actions, very much like the macro feature of Microsoft products. It comes with a vast library of pre-recorded actions which can be applied with a simple double-click. The actions panel should load into your workspace by default, and to record your own actions simply click the new action button and do whatever it is you need to do. You can set a name for your action and it will from then on appear as an action in the actions panel.

File Browser

The file browser is like a built-in Explorer that shows only pictures. Well, mostly pictures; it also shows PDF files and zip files, but the PDF is obviously produced by Adobe and can therefore be used natively in Photoshop, and zip archives may well include pictures. It is accessed by clicking the folder and magnifying glass icon at the top-right of the screen.

The Layers Panel

It’s hard to imagine using Photoshop at all without having the Layers panel present. Located at the bottom right of the workspace by default, it is home to all of your layers and some of the layer tools. Layers can be switched on or off, making them visible or invisible respectively, or their opacity can be changed to alter their transparency. Both of these features are extremely useful when creating roll-overs or animations. Also, the layers panel is essential for adding effects to layers (see below).

Effects

Effects are very similar to styles in that they can uniformly change the appearance of your layers. The main difference between effects and styles is that effects are linked to the layer contents; when you change the layer, the effect changes with it. There is a pre-set selection of effects available to you, ranging from shadows and strokes (outlines), to gradient and pattern overlays.

Animation

Unfortunately, Photoshop cannot produce animated gifs; luckily, this is another area in which Imageready steps in and takes over. In Imageready, open a new file and draw a shape. Now select Window -> Animation to open the animation panel. By default this should contain 1 frame, which is your image as it stands now. Click the new frame button and the move the shape to the right slightly. Keep adding new frames and gradually move your shape to the edge of the page. There are some control buttons beneath the frames, click the play button and your shape should move across the screen. That is as simple as animation can be, but not nearly as complex. To save your animation, go into File -> Save optimised as… and save it as a gif.

Defringe Tool

Ever notice how an image with a transparent back can sometimes have a white edge, or fringe, around it? This can be removed by selecting Layer -> Matting -> Defringe and ok’ing the default of 1 pixel. This is not always 100% successful, and any minor discrepancies can usually be overcome by adding an inside stroke to the image, in the same colour as the edge of the image.

Save for Web

The save for web dialogue box, accessed via the File menu can be used to optimize your image for the web as much as possible. Combining the settings at the right of the dialogue box, it is possible to shave precious seconds off of your image download times. Lowering the amount of dither and increasing the amount of web snap both reduce file size, as does reducing the amount of colours and increasing the amount of lossy (when working with GIFs). Be warned however, image size goes hand in hand with image quality, the smaller the image, the lower the quality.

Conclusion

These are some of the tools and features that I find myself using on a regular basis when creating images for the web. Some of them you may embrace and use every time you open the program - others you may not find any use for at all. Rest assured however, Photoshop remains of the industry standard when it comes to graphic and web design.

Source: devarticles.com