I've been designing websites more in Notepad++ than in Dreamweaver lately and found myself in need of an on-screen straightedge. At first I used the screen itself by pushing the browser window off the edge - works, but not great. A slightly better solution I found is to use the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del). Since it's "always on top" by default, you can move either the browser or the Task Manager without losing your straightedge under a stack of windows.

Craig Selander, Architect, LLC: http://www.selander-architect.com

Objective: Design and build Craig Selander, Architect, LLC's architectural firm website to establish an online resource for their clients and potential clients.

Town of Trade Lake: http://www.tradelakewi.com

Objective: Design, develop, and implement the Town of Trade Lake's online presence.

I've used several methods over the years to convert digital photos to black & white. Here's what I've learned. And don't worry if you don't have Photoshop (PS), I’ll discuss a solid free software option as well.

Starting out, the Desaturate tool in PS was the obvious choice. Using that in conjunction with the Contrast and Levels controls offered some tweakability control beyond the basic desaturation operation. While these methods may suffice for some applications, I learned a better (and more fun) way to pop some fantastic black and white photos by digging a little deeper.

]]> you@yourdomain.com (Administrator) frontpage Wed, 06 May 2009 14:37:42 +0000 http://www.vantageptdesign.com/photography/6-a-better-path-for-black-and-white-photo-conversion http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vantageptdesign/~3/j7R-726pbfQ/5-vector-portraits Andrew Bush, Jack of all trades extraordinaire, has a fascinating photo series called "Vector Portraits, 1989-1997, Photographs made while traveling at 50-70mph in Los Angeles and other parts of the Southwestern United States".

An entertaining take on that momentary glimpse of your fellow motorist delivered with a minimalist page layout, equally minimalist narration, and interspersed with wonderfully dry humor. I'm a bit of a car aficionado, so it was fun to see a throwback to the automotive landscape of my formative years.