A Haven for Vee

Monday, July 15, 2013

Note Card Party Reminder

Saturday afternoon, I decided to get ahead of things a bit by gathering my note cards for the party scheduled for Wednesday. My post with link-ups will go up tomorrow afternoon between two and two-thirty.

At first, I was looking for flowers because it is July. In the end, I hope that I'll surprise you. I don't know how you look for your blog photos, but I wander around in Picasa Web Albums. If you Google that, you'll come right to your very own blog without even trying. It's pretty neat.




I was pleasantly surprised to look down at the bottom of my page and see that I have used only 1.37%. When I first began whittling away at my storage, it was 40%. How did I get it so low? Simply by removing header photos that I no longer use and by resizing any mosaics that were a little too large. Just for the record, I usually size my photos at 650 by 488.


Lest you think that I care nothing for quality, I save photos at a 300 resolution at the greatest quality (on my program this equals a 12) and a 384 Kpbs despite the fact that I am saving them at 650 by 488. If this is gobbledly-gook to you, don't fear. We all have our own methods. The point I'm trying to make is to save the photo at a reasonable size with the greatest quality IF you are concerned about photo storage. Even at PicMonkey, there are options as you save your photo. I always save it at the highest quality allowed. By the way, if I choose a png image over a jpeg, I don't have to think about saving it at 384 Kpbs. A png image has greater quality than a jpeg. (For an opposing and valid viewpoint, read Donna's comment. Donna also emailed me this link titled What Resolution Should Your Images Be?)

Yes, I do lose quality (sizing at 650 by 488) when a person wants to see a clearer, larger picture by opening the photo in a larger size in a new tab. (BTW, Picasa allows you to size photos up to 800 without penalty.) I think of my smaller photos as keeping a little footprint on the WWW. ☺☺☺ No, I don't. I'm just yanking a chain. I really think of this as not ever having to purchase photo storage space. This is not, after all, a big blog with big, beautiful photos. (You may find tips about deleting photos from Picasa *here.*)


Lest your head is spinning, I'll move on...


~~~

In case I want to do barns in August, I'm going to pop in a couple right now.



Until very recently, the barn above was falling down. The roof was caved in and the entire end was gone. How surprised we were to find it looking so fine. I'm thinking that this is not going to be used for a barn anymore with that wall of windows. It overlooks the White Mountains of New Hampshire and so has a lovely view.


Further down the road, this large old barn is covered in vines. It always looks well tended, but never in use.


~~~

In case I want to go with flowers after all... ;>




~not sure what kind this will be~

The bee balm is blooming. The daylilies, too. All's right with the world.

See you tomorrow afternoon...

32 comments:

  1. Thank you for telling the size, which you use, to post your pictures!!!

    I am getting suggestions, all over the place. Which is wonderful. Eventually, I may even get to knowing exactly what I am doing, and what I want to do, with my posted pic size!!!!

    "Auntie"

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  2. Now I have to do my Check-My-Pic-Size-With-Vee's-pic-size. ,-) I figure that both our blogs, fit on the same blogging "foot print." Etc.

    So I make my blog use the same amount of space on my screen, as your blog uses (blogging "foot print")... Then I compare the look of and size of, our pictures. :-)

    I do this with Susan Branch's blog too, although her blog does take up a wider blogging "foot print." :-) And oh wow, the looks of her blog is like ........ Wow! Far above mine!!! More wow's!!! Etc. -sighhhhhhh-

    But we learn by looking, and trying to emulate. "Auntie" sezzzzzz... :-)

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  3. Thanks Vee, for your lovely Sunday post! It sure hit home with me...I have that same daily requirement for spiritual food. You put it into words beautifully.

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  4. I could live in that barn!!! Great photos as usual...you are looking like a pro here...hugs
    Sandi

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  5. The barn with the wall of windows is lovely! I can only imagine the gorgeous view from there.

    I also love seeing your bee balm.

    Wishing you a very nice Monday, Vee.

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  6. I love your photos, especially the barns. It kind of cracks me up that you are putting photos up there "in case you want to use them".

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  7. Thanks for the timely reminder Vee. I was wondering if it was about time for it. I wonder if that barn makeover is for an event venue. It looks like a huge deck being attached. It would make a great party barn for weddings, etc. I appreciated your info on the photo size but wish I new what all the gobbligook means. I know mine are too large and taking up too much space. I need someone with me to figure it all out. I use Picasa Web Albums too. See you tomorrow for Note Card Wednesday. Oh. It's going to be in the mid-90's here today!! I wish I was at the beach today. Stay cool.

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  8. Beautiful barns! I've seen articles with barns that have become homes. Wouldn't you love to see inside?

    Flowers are so lovely ~ not enough time here to enjoy them long.

    How do you keep your bee balm from taking over? I've read that it can be planted in a tub which is dug into the ground and has a few drainage holes drilled in the bottom. I've not tried it because I think they also germinate from seed. Love the bee balm blooms, though.

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  9. Thanks for the reminder. I have my post loaded up and scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We're going to have a very busy week, so I'm trying to work ahead.

    A couple of years ago, I started a Flickr account, put my finer photographs there, and do a web link in my posts. For snapshots and headers, etc., I upload using Picasa. I have less than 1% on Picasa, so I will safely outlive the capacity there, LOL.

    There isn't a need to save your files out at 300 dpi resolution. That is print quality. For screen quality, the industry standard is 72 dpi. However, there are some large monitors (like my 27" Mac) that can go up to 110 dpi. So I save my files at that screen resolution. I purposely don't save at 300 dpi because people can then download my photos and get nice, clear prints, thereby stealing my creative work. There isn't anything wrong with saving them as jpegs either. It's resaving jpegs that creates artifacts within the pixels. So I purposely save them as jpegs so that people who click and save my files (shame on them) get a worse image than the original jpeg. Tiff file extensions are also a good alternative to png, by the way. There is a whole art and science to saving image files!

    For the past couple of years, I have saved the vast majority of my images at 1024 pixels along one of the edges. That is a standard size over on Flickr. It is large enough for a viewer to see the important details, but small enough that it is generally unusable by a photo pirate that steals the image for commercial uses.

    Enough of all of that! I love your barn and flower photos!

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    1. I don't care for those Flickr accounts. Just a matter of personal preference, I guess. Do you pay for your account or is it free? If anyone is stealing my work, they're welcome to it. You, on the other hand, are a different story altogether! ☺

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  10. Oh yes an early reminder is always good for sure. My head is spinning with the picture size info. I'll have to look into that after my cup of coffee. Sounds like things are good and buzzing along at your place.

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  11. It just can. not. be. the middle of July already! Although, for me, that is the good news. It means that I have managed to get through half of the summer months. Oh dear, that doesn't sound very cheerful, does it?

    Love your barn photos! Here's hoping you'll choose barns for one of your future parties!

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  12. That 4 weeks went by quickly! I'd better get my thinking cap on!

    Smiles,
    Carol

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  13. I pay for my Flickr account. But there used to be big differences between free accounts and ones with membership (e.g., limit of 200 uploads for free account) . They recently changed the terms across the site, so now there are few advantages to paying. When my subscription period runs out I will have to decide whether to go to a free account or not. The big disadvantage to the new free accounts is they are littered with ads.

    Flickr has been a community for a lot of serious photographers, so I have found it very helpful from a personal growth perspective. I've met a lot of great photographers on there, and I have learned quite a bit through interactions and studying the work of others. Whether Flickr will continue to be that kind of place remains to be seen. Recent Flickr changes are geared toward the instagram 20 years olds who don't care one flip about what they are doing. So many serious photographers are walking away from it now. I may end up going to another online photo sharing site too, but not at the present time with all the turmoil in my life.

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  14. Your photos are always beautiful regardless of size. I did purchase space on picasa, mostly because of the MGCC blog. I have plenty of space now and never think of but once a year when they notify me that it is time to renew which they do without me. I do remember though the angst of watching my space dwindle down.
    Happy Notecard planning.

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  15. A month has certainly flown by again. It must be because I'm having such a fun summer. Ha! I'm not sure I can round up 4 decent photos that I haven't already used, but I'll try because I do like to party here at your place. :)

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  16. The barns are fabulous and your day lilies and Bee balm are gorgeous. My gardens need serious weeding but having to recover from being hit by a semi and bronchitis took priority. On the mend now so no more excuses. I must go weed. LOL

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  17. Thanks for the reminder. The red barn looks like it might become living quarters and although the weathered one is not is use, it must be special to someone to keep the grounds up.
    Doesn't matter what size your photos are, if someone has a mind to steal them they will - as was done with so many of my blog posts. It was unnerving to see my dog staring out at me from someone else's blog, but that's all history now.
    I'll put my thinking cap on my for note cards.
    Judith

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  18. Hmm- didn't know about the Picasa limits at 800, I'd better tone mine down a bit! I love to see barns remodeled- I think it would be a fun challenge, and just gorgeous if done right. Have a great week Vee!

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  19. not being a photographer, i couldn't understand all of this,
    but i did get the awesome barn shot! well, you got it, i
    just enjoyed it.

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  20. Thanks for the invitation. I plan to be there!

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  21. I always love your pictures!! I have a post scheduled to publish tomorrow afternoon for the note card party .... I am crossing my fingers that my husband can link me up as I will be flying and in Jamaica. This is a huge task for my very non-techinacal hubby. LOL So hopefully I'll be joining your party. If I am fortunate enough to have wireless in our hotel, I'll try to stop in and visit several blogs as well!

    Happy Monday!!

    PS... I'm glad John liked the post on Stone Mountain. =)

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  22. I hope you will do barns, I just love those country barns, almost as much as I love a little country church. Your flower shots are amazing Vee... my camera would be in shock if it delivered anything that fine!

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  23. It definately looks like someone will be living in that old barn. Nice to see this one saved instead of torn down. I have a post for tomorrow about just this subject.

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  24. Oh I love the barn photos! The flower pictures are lovely as well :) I hope your week is going well so far.

    Hugs to you!

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  25. Barns and flowers - both beautiful subjects for your photos, Vee. Thanks for the Note Card Party reminder. I was thinking about it last week, but that's as far as I got. How to choose? Hmmmm.

    Have a wonderful Tuesday (since Monday is nearly over).

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  26. I love your bee balm! The color is great! Daylilies too! Mine are all yellow or gold.

    I have always thought it would be great to make a barn into a house! The space would be amazing! I think maybe your first barn is going to be a house! Keep us informed! LOL!

    I can't believe it is time for the Note Card Party already! Thank for always reminding us! I'll work on photos tonight while the olders in the family watch movies.

    Deanna

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  27. I am now going into my Picasa account and begin doing some housekeeping, thanks for the tip. Hopefully I will be joining the party, thanks for the reminder

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  28. Believe I will do the same house cleaning in my Picasa...(I didn't even know I had one...:(
    I have my box of cards waiting in the wings...I need to make a special file for my cards as I seem to forget from time to time WHICH photos I''ve already used. Oh, the woes of olden age......

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  29. My day lilies have just started to bloom. They're such happy flowers! :) Beautiful barns ... I'm glad they were able to save the first one. Too many have sadly fallen down due to neglect.

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  30. Thanks for the web photo's tip and the size that you use here. I'm never consistent - now I can make an effort:)

    xo

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  31. Okay...once again I need to learn because I actually needed to buy space and I never have that many photos. Thanks for teaching again, now to come back when I am not brain dead and can understand.
    Thanks!

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