OPP - Other People's Photos

I've taken a bunch of new kaleiodphoto-able pictures, I really have. But my most recent kaleidophotos were inspired by pictures my friends took. In each case, I shamelessly stole their photo, played with it and sent them the kaleidophoto back. And in each case, they were thrilled with the result.

Here's my friend Laurie's photo of Monument Valley, Arizona. I was just itching to get my hands on those lines and shapes. And those colors!!

From Kaleidophotos

I made two, and I can't decide which I like better.

From Kaleidophotos

From Kaleidophotos

Then today, Jake posted thsi great picture of an old barn at his parents' house. (And now I SO want to go photograph their barns, too. Thanks a LOT, Jake.)

From Kaleidophotos

And the resulting kaleidophoto was this little charmer.

From Kaleidophotos

I saved the slice, so I'm sure I'll be revisitng this barn and its buddies soon.

Zoo Fun

OK, so my worst nightmare has come true. Now I'm on a constant lookout for kaleidophoto worthy shots.

We took my daughter to the zoo last weekend and there were so many fun angles, textures and animals to photograph. I've *just* started turning some of them into kaleidophotos, and I'm happy to post the few I've got done.

I started with this grand gentleman:


And the first attempt looked something like this:


And I was kind of "eh". It was OK. Not spectacular or anything. So I tried again (and here is where I confess to being so bad at math/geometry/figuring out angles that I printed the pieces and arranged them by hand before attempting them in PhotoShop).


Much better. Now it kind of looks like one of those Maori shields, no?

Then I moved on to the giraffes.


The picture was cute by itself, but that baby captured my heart.


Then I spotted this cool thing in the tiger enclosure. I'm sure it's some kind of training tool, but I liked its juxtaposition of a natural element (bone) and a man-made one (tire).


Again, the original picture was pretty cool by itself, but it gets transformed under a kaleidophoto:


Enjoy! To see the large versions of these, check out the photobucket album.

Someone else's turn

In case you're brand new to this blog, Hi. I'm Missy, Hank's daughter. Hank passed away in November, 2008. He was my dad and luckily for us all, he left behind instructions for making his gorgeous kaleidophotos. So I guess it's my turn now.

Here's what I worked on today. This is my very first digital kaleidophoto. Isn't it pretty and green? I just love how the flowery bush looks like it's BURSTING out of the center of the frame. So pretty and spring-y. (Original photo here.)

Then I spent a little time playing with this gorgeous dogwood tree. (At least I hope it's a dogwood tree. A botanist I am not.) I was trying very hard not to make a cross. So I didn't.

I also wanted to see the snowflake using the same slices and oh, crap, there's the cross. Right in the center all tiny. But pretty nonetheless.

I even got brave - really brave - making a 30 degree kaleidophoto from this picture. I meant to make a 60 degree one, but I guess I used a different part of the slice. I like it anyway. My friend told me it looked like a campsite. I always think those green centers look like a nice place to land.

Check out the flickr stream for big copies of each kaleidophoto.

Simple Reflections

My assistant took this picture; Luray Caverns in Virginia. I just took the original reflections, and put four quarters together. These were 90 degree slices. I like it because it's reflections of reflections.

Picture from a Playground

Played with this picture taken in a playground. It's part of a shot that shows the people who belong to the legs and sneakers.

I just concentrated on the lower part of the picture, and cut a 30-60-90 triangle from the table legs and the little plant. In the resulting triangle, the 60 degree corners are in the center; in the resulting hexagon, the 30 degree corners are in the center.

The triangle only needs six slices; the hexagon requires twelve.

Taught Another Class

Just back from a long weekend in Sarasota, at the Florida Creativity Weekend. This is run by friends of mine, one of whom taught me Kaleidophotos in the first place. This year there were two keynote speakers, and four sets of concurrent work sessions. Plus a day of pre-conference sessions.

I had a chance to teach "Kaleidophotos in PhotoShop" to a group of about five participants. It was well received, I think. (Nobody fell asleep!) I'd taken twelve sets of the instructions, and by the end of the weekend I'd given away six sets to people who didn't attend my little class.

The kaleidophoto at the top of this message appears in the book that I've published. Send me an email hank@new-directions-inc.com or leave a comment here if you'd like to know more.

In Print!!

It's a day earlier than I'd expected - the first set of books arrived from the printer. I'm officially an author/illustrator. The book has twenty-four kaleidophotos in it, plus one more on the front cover. The back cover has the instructions for using the kaleidophotos as a reflection or contemplation tool. Write to me at 27 Twin Pond Lane, White Plains, NY 10607 if you'd like a copy ($26.00) or send me an email at hank@new-directions-inc.com if you have any questions.