Picture Frames Express Blog

Posts Tagged ‘picture frame’

February 9, 2011

Valentine’s Picture Frame, The Perfect Gift

Well it’s nearly that time of year again when for one day, and one day only, everything in the world becomes love. Valentine’s Day is one of the most romantic days of the year and we are here to help you get a perfect gift for that special person in your life.

While red roses and chocolates are old favourites, they don’t really offer much to remember that special day by?

How about creating a more permanent gift? A beautiful picture placed in the perfect picture frame could be the best Valentine’s Day gift you’ve ever given your partner. Pictures alone are great but choosing that perfect picture frame can make your photo that little bit more special.

Imagine a gift that lasts, a gift that keeps a fresh memory in your mind of just how special your partner is to you: A quality picture frame made to measure for your perfect photo together.

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January 27, 2011

More panoramics

Continuing from our last post’s theme of ridiculously big photos – we present to you another fantastic find from across the internet.

360 Cities.net are the proud owners of a mind boggling 80 GIGAPIXEL fully interactive three-hundred-and-sixty degree panorama of London city!

Amongst several other brilliant city panoramas of course; but as of November 2010 – the London panorama is the biggest panoramic photo, EVER TAKEN!

 

Click here to visit the London 80 gigapixel panorama.

 

If that hasn’t completely blown your mind, then you really do need to see this.

A brochure of fully interactive, 360 degree… VIDEOS.

Incredible what we can do with technology, isn’t it?!

We hope you enjoyed this short but hopefully mind blowing post, we’re off to see if we can get the London panorama into a picture frame for our wall!

Until next time,
The Picture Frames Express Team

December 30, 2010

We need a bigger picture frame

We’ve covered a number of digitally concieved images and styles here on the Picture Frames Express blog, even several ways to digitally enhance an average photo.

We’ve seen how combining several elements for different photographs can create surreal landscapes or even realistic caricatures.

But what if we were to take several photos of our subject from different angles and digitally stitch them all together?

We end up with a…

P A N O R A M A

Just incase you didn’t notice, this image scrolls left to right.

Feel free to click the image itself to open it in a new window and experience it in full resolution.

This wonderful effect is achieved by carefully aligning several photos either horizontally, verically or even both; to create the illusion of one great seamless image!

One that is way too big to frame!

Below is a useful tutorial from YouTube, incase you are interested in how exactly these awe-inspiring photos are pieced together.

Or maybe even make your own!

Happy Panoramas!
The Picture Frames Express Team

April 20, 2010

Photoshop Series – Part 2/4

Just to round off todays earlier post, we’re back with another of ‘Richard Harrington’ A.K.A rhedpixeltv. This one continues on the theme of blending, but also introduces the brilliant Photoshop feature of – ‘Filters’!

Watch this space for more useful Photoshop tutorials to help you spruce up those dull photos, making them worthy of framing!

Until next time, The Picture Frames Express Team

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April 20, 2010

Photoshop Series – Part 1/4

Here at Picture Frames Express we love pictures! Originals, replicas, manipulations and  all kinds of photos.  As long as it can be framed of course!

We believe that image manipulation programs like Adobe Photoshop for example, are the perfect aid to help you enhance any lifeless photo, to one that is more than worthy of one of our frames! In light of this, we will be featuring a number of photoshop tutorials for all you amateur digital artists and photographers out there!

So get dug in and start making your photos worth framing!

Part 1 features a simple tutorial on Photoshop blending effects, very well explained by ‘Richard Harrington’ A.K.A rhedpixeltv of YouTube fame.

This video is number 156 of a long running series – “Understanding Adobe Photoshop”.

Feel free to look it up and pick  up a few extra skills!

Until next time, The Picture Frames Express Team

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April 19, 2010

How to frame a landscape.

Landscape photography is arguably the most common form of photography, showing wide open spaces, most often devoid of life to express the vastness of area pictured. The only time people are involved in landscape photography is normally for scaling purposes, to convey the size of an object, or to add depth to the photo by giving an idea of distance.

Prior to the California Gold Rush, which gained momentum around 1848, explorers headed west. They brought cameras with them. Beginning around 1860, photographic prints were developed and became widespread. – Source: www.ehow.com

Areas like ‘Monument Valley – Utah’ in the American mid-west are hailed as being the beginning of landscape photography and who could blame them for taking cameras, with immense shots like this just asking to be captured. An endless sprawling desert broken only by huge sand mesa’s. Natural skyscrapers jutting out of the ground in such an unbelievably sparse environment… Beautiful!

Monument Valley

The sprawling desert landscape of 'Monument Valley' - Utah

(more…)

April 6, 2010

Reflective photography, mirrors & frames

The use of mirrors and reflections varies from the simple use of checking one’s appearance, to deceiving even the most trained human eye with complex illusions. In photography however, if used correctly – a reflection can double the perceived size of any object or area; so shiny surfaces like water, mirrors or clean glass are powerful tools for photographers.


Example of reflections in photography

Extending a space

This technique is most commonly used in landscape photography, focusing around large masses of water like lakes and ponds etc. A good example of this is the photo below, the use of the water helps to double the sense of space in the photo by extending the open sky in both directions. The land edging the water is no longer isolated from the sky, but acts as a divider, suspended in-between 2 alternate and reflected worlds.

Reflections from water used to extend the reach of the open sky in both directions.

Objects or landmass isolated in the water are no longer lost in an image, but become the central focus of the photograph. As demonstrated here, the building shown would only be half the size and lost amidst a field of grass; if it wasn’t for the clever use of the water! Now it appears as a huge castle-like structure floating between two huge layers of cloud and blue sky, no longer lost in the landscape – but the focus of your eye. (more…)

March 31, 2010

Life, in miniature – The wonders of tilt-shift photography.

Today’s post will be looking at the wonders of “tilt-shift” photography and the brilliant effects that can be achieved by using this technique. The most common use of this technique is known as “miniature faking” and so will be the focus of this article!

Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model.

Below are a few featured examples of “tilt-shift miniature faking” in action, you won’t believe your eyes!

Playground Scene

A full size kids playground, visually tweaked into an ant's playground

Hard to see it as a 1:1 scale, full size and distant shot, isn’t it?

(more…)

March 30, 2010

Banned! Curtains, picture frames and pot plants put pensioners at risk

Curtains, Picture Frames and Pot Plants are just some of the items putting pensioners at risk, according to Thurrock Council.

Residents at Rookery Court, in West Thurrock, are furious after receiving a letter from the authority saying all personal belongings in their verandas must go, even the carpets and ornaments on windowsills, because it presents a fire hazard.

Resident Peter Goldsmith, 63, said it has upset everyone there.

He added:

This is smacking us in the face. We feel like we are being treated like schoolchildren or geriatrics, which we are not.

We all know this is about the fire in a London tower block which killed six people, but our verandas are not communal areas.

The council built the verandas 12 years ago so we could sit on them and enjoy them. Now they will be unusable because we can’t have a chair and table, carpet, or even a picture frame on the wall.

As you can imagine the banning picture frames doesn’t sit too well with the PictureFramesExpress team!

Original story Banned! Curtains, picture frames and pot plants put pensioners at risk by the Echo News

March 29, 2010

Fantastic frames!

They encase our photos and keep them safe from dust, scratches and other potential mishaps. Picture frames are available in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common. They are designed to keep our printed memories alive and well.

One of the most popular gifts to give is a photo and picture frame combination. A couple celebrating a milestone anniversary may enjoy receiving a retouched image of their wedding photo or a special moment captured on film from their earliest days together. Today’s technology allows old photos to be restored with the touch of a button, but that’s not the only way to restore an old image. Many gift givers present an artist’s rendition of a photograph, which may be either oil or acrylic. And, what is the best way to present this beautiful memento? In picture frames, of course.

If you are giving the gift of a photo, select the perfect picture frame to go with it. If you envision the picture being hung above the fireplace, purchase a large photo and picture frame. The border should be bold and would preferably match something in the home’s decor. If the photo is small and better suited as a tabletop gift, a regular picture frame will suffice. No matter the size, a picture frame is often too awkward to use with gift wrap. Most opt for a large decorative bow in the top corner, which is simple but outstanding.

There are a number of other ways to use picture frames in gift presentations, including baby photos or a collage of special memories, graduation photos, wedding memories or even a special pet memoir. Many have heard of novelty companies who offer a star-naming service. In exchange for a fee, individuals can name a star after a friend, relative or other acquaintance. These are popular gifts because not many people can say they have a star named after them. Upon receipt of the star kit, a large certificate is included. Even though the service usually offers a choice of picture frames to go with the star kit, any individual can do the work themselves for a lot less money.

If it weren’t for picture frames, our photos would certainly age much faster than we would like. Discoloration, scratching and unwanted bending would most likely be a problem. Thanks to the sturdy help of picture frames, however, our memories no longer have to remain in our minds because they can forever live on in our photos. And best of all, we get to enjoy them every day.

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