Outside the box, inside the frame . . .

[flamin lib]

So I'm browsing my new favorite arts supply store (used/resale shops) and find a pair of new 18x18 inch square frames. You'd be surprised at how many brand new, unused items you'll find there. For frames it's usually the sizes that fit 8x10 and 5x7 photos. Most of the smaller stuff isn't that high quality but there are exceptions and many times there are great finds like half a dozen brand new matching items. The down side is that if you're planning a show it's impossible to find enough identical style items but for personal use there are more than enough with very similar styles to fill a wall.

Anyway, back to the large square frames. Can't pass them up so I take them home not knowing what I'll do with them as I've never shot square and see the world through a rectangle. Back in the archives I found a single lotus blossom I shot out on Caddo Lake in the 80s.



Then I found a single Bougainvillea that cropped nicely to a square.



That got me thinking, what else do I have that doesn't fit neatly into a 4/3 rectangle? Found this neat sea shell:



I found a really nice 8x16 frame for it. Sorry, haven't figured out how to resize for the screen . . .

And this razor clam:


It fit neatly into a 6x12 frame.

So what started out as a lament that I couldn't find an off-the-shelf 13x17 inch mat to fit a 16x20 frame that netted me a custom mat cutter has lead to a whole new way of looking at the world.

I'm FREE! (of the rectangle)

[alfredo]

1. I love the 1:1 format, I use it when 4:3 just doesn't work.

You can make your own frames too.

I really like the black background you are using.

[flamin lib]

2. I looked into making my own frames but found it to be prohibitively expensive.

By the time you buy the frame stock, hardware, glass and figure in scrap it's cheaper to just buy from an art supply store. Resale shops on the other hand, while sometimes a challenge to find real quality, will sell an 8x10 for $2 and a 16x20 for $6. Mat blanks in 16x20 from ebay are about .65 each.

The two shells started as an aesthetically cropped skinny rectangle for which I searched for a matching frame that I found in the desired size, aspect ratio and quality on my first or second stop. Living in a metropolitan area I have 5 non-profit resale shops within 10 miles. My motorcycle gets 60 mpg highway/40 city and with enough bungee cords (motorcycle equivalent to duct tape) I can strap a refrigerator on it if I need to. Besides, it's fun to ride.

The background for the shells is black velvet. I like using it because of the whooshing sound it makes when it sucks up all the light you put on it. For the flowers it's the result of using flash to over-ride ambient light. Set ISO to low, aperture to f22 and use a light box up close and even noon day sun succumbs. The IR remote flash control is ideal for that.

[alfredo]

3. How do you clean the velvet when it gets bits and pieces on it?

[flamin lib]

4. With Paintshop Pro . . . nt

[alfredo]

5. Ha!