Do a collage

I am always on the lookout for something unique to do with my photos and recently, a patron asked me about websites that might help her make a collage for a project she was working on. I came across a fun site called Shape Collage that allows you to download your photos and choose a shape or even a letter and make a fun photo collage.  You can manipulate dimensions, color, shape, size and a host of other functions to make a fun collage.  Here is an example of one that I did with  photos from storytime.

The software is fairly easy to work with once you realize what they are asking for and the result is great!  Try it out if you’re looking for a new way to display your photos!  Thanks, Sarah, for the incentive to find this!

Sometimes, we just want to read

I came across an adorable and creative little blog that tells stories (of teeth, mind you) with just a series of photos.  This little tale, which begins above, is called “Some Afternoon Mellow”. Take your time and scroll through the pictures.  They are simple and yet so charming that you can’t help but smile.  The blog and photos are the wonderful work of artist Inhae Lee who tells the story of the little tooth that just showed up at her door one day. Please take a look at the rest of her site while you are there.  Very creative!

What are you doing with your pictures?

I take an awful lot of pictures at the library, mainly during storytime or other events with the kids who visit our library.  I’m not a professional photographer and sometimes the pictures don’t turn out as great as I’d like them to, so I need a little help editing.  We do have a photo editing program on one of the computers at work, but I would have to go and work on that computer, edit the pictures, then come back to my computer to finish my work, so I opt for online photo editors.

I must say that recently, there have been some wonderful free sites to pop onto the web to help people edit photos and I really don’t know why anyone would spend money anymore to purchase photo editing software.  These sites have some options of purchasing upgrades to allow even more options for your photos, but really, the average person can create without the need to spend anything.  Here are a few of my recent favourites:

#1.  Picnik

This site is especially easy to maneuver and it has a HUGE array of options to edit your pictures.  It allows you to do all the usual things like cropping, colour editing, fixing red-eye and rotating your photos.  But it also has wonderful, creative editing features like creating vignettes, making mock Polaroid shots and adding different focus lenses on your photos.  The whole layout is really beautiful with lots of green grass, just like a real picnic and I especially love the loading icons which tell you the site is growing grass, blooming flowers or mowing the lawn while you are waiting for a photo to load.

#2. Pixenate

Pixenate was my first favourite for editing pictures at work (until I found Picnik) but I still is one of the easiest photo editors to use anywhere.  The pictures upload quickly and they show them in almost full screen mode so that you can really see what you are trying to edit. (Nothing worse than a thumbnail sized photo to edit!)

#3.  TiltShift Maker

This is a new one for me and one that is so fun and creative I had to share it!  It takes your regular pictures and uses a creative technique to make your photo look like everything is miniature.  Take this picture of mine, for example.  I took this photo in Appleton, Ontario.  Picture number 2 is the tiltshift version.

And here is my tiltshift photo:

#4. PhotoFunia

Or how about putting your picture into another in a variety of crazy ways.  You’ll have a fun time with this site and it is well worth visiting if you are looking for some creative gifts!

So have a little fun with your pictures and find your inner photographer!

What was your yearbook photo like?

Does anyone really want to relive their yearbook photos? Probably not, and yearbooks are one of the books that we don’t take as donations at the library because really, what are we going to do with them? Do you think someone would actually buy an old yearbook?

Here is a fun site though to help you relive your high school days, or just see what you might have looked like back when your parents went to school.

http://yearbookyourself.com/

I want to go to these libraries!

I’ve just discovered the wonderful photos at Flickr, if you can believe it! This is a fantastic photo sharing site where you can upload your own photos as well as search for fantastic pictures taken by other people all over the world. Thought I’d share a few of the wonderful library pictures with you here.

Vatican Library

Photo by Giorgios at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintzileos/498324039/

New York Public Library Staircase

Photo by T.S. Carlisle found at :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tscarlisle/175131998/

New York Public Library Grand Staircase

Photo also by T. S. Carlisle at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tscarlisle/175131800/

Photo by Erik Van Hannen at :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikvanhannen/2226449288/

Manchester Central Library

Photo by Stevacek found at :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevacek/345277443/

Thanks to all of the amazing photographers on this page!