b&w Archives - We live in a flat

If you like me, live on this earth, shadows will be cast. It’s the law of nature. But what if you really want a bright white floor or an even coloured floor in your picture?

First thing first, plan to take your picture against a white or plain coloured background. You may remember these recent examples:

The previous how-I-did-it photo editing post dealt with overall brightening of the image, and how I converted the image to high contrast black and white with few shades of grey in between. I got a harder image with a more graphic quality that way.

In this post, we will look at how to brighten or even out specific areas of the photo, rather than the whole photo.

Here’s how I did it on my iPhone for the picture used in Look what I found hiding in the study!

How I converted this dull photo to high contrast black and white photo

By weliveinaflat

On October 3, 2013

In Photography

Dull colours in the living room on a cloudy afternoon turned high key black and white image.

An image, no matter how well composed with expressive subjects can fall just that little bit short due to the dull light of that cloudy day, especially when taken indoors. But with the use of a few mobile photo apps, a little bit of time, the mood of this photo has lifted from drab and dull to spare but eye-catching.

Here’s how I did it on my iPhone for the colour to black and white conversion of the recent A third black, two thirds white post.

A torture rack of toys :O

By weliveinaflat

On July 9, 2013

In Dog & You

If you visit now and then, you may have met Donna’s pink hippo and blue dog soft toys. Donna generally amuses herself with them by spreading them all over the floor or giving them love bites and shaking them into submission. So yes, the human is very much relieved that dogs do not show their love for their humans in the same way. *phew*

Over the weekend I needed something calming to do so I started mending her many grimy plush toys before washing them. So here are the cuddly toys hanging out to dry.

Blue dog: You can torture me all you like, my lips are sealed!!

Toys hanging outside on the balcony to dry

In the flat, a couple of her stuffed toys escaped the wash for her amusement.

Toying with some less used apps and filters and serendipity found me creating a mutant of a cuddly toy bear butterfly with clothes peg feelers, that has caught a duo of evil-doer defaced teddies! Can you see it? :P

Picking cuddly toys for dogs

Avoid choking hazard
1. toy should be bigger than the dog’s head
2. toy should not be filled with small pallets or beanies
3. always mend rips or remove damaged toys to avoid dog swallowing toy stuffing
4. dog-proof by removing all loose/attached decorative details like buttons, ribbons and other small detachable pieces that can be chewed off
5. supervise the dog’s play with any cuddly toy containing a squeaker, remove damaged toys with squeaker exposed
Maximum fun!
1. small/light enough for dog to carry around
2. consider providing a variety of cuddly toys – one to carry, one to kill, one to baby
3. run second-hand toys through a wash so that any smells unattractive to the dog is removed
4. choose cuddly toys made with fleece or plush material which retain the dog’s smell and is more attractive to the dog
5. dog toys not childrens’ toys (tougher and safer materials for dogs; dependent on manufacturer)

To be honest, we don’t practise all of the above. We have bought a couple of $2 stuffed dog toys with squeakers or bells within from Daiso. But all of Donna’s cuddly toys in the photos above are hand-me-downs, regular stuffed toys from home/office spring cleaning and also $1 second-hand soft toy listings from classified ads. But I made sure to dog-proof them and only buy stuffed toys that are not filled with beanie pallets. They don’t look too shabby do they? I do confess I am particular when it comes to toys that I have to see spread across the floor everyday, so no hideous toys for me! :P

Dogs aren’t particular and they are happy to reuse toys, so good for wallet, good for earth :D

Sources:
– http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/dog_toys.html
– http://www.safemadepet.com/what_is_safe.html