Journal of David Atlee @ Frozen Designs

David Atlee designs and builds websites, takes photos, plays with digital design and writes stories about odd things.
 
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    Stage 6 And so it launches…

    Monday, February 15th, 2010

    After a month of many long hours over numerous days and nights of designing, coding and getting over excited with the results, Frozen Designs version 7 is now live. Beyond the already blogged path of designing from content upwards, I have learned alot and it has helped push my skill sets. I have used alot of Javascript and I give thanks to those wonderful folk out there who provide the scripts to plugin and amend.

    I think my biggest gain has been going through alot of my old photos and giving them a polish and shine using HDR (high dynamic range) logic. What is HDR I hear you ask? Well when you take a photo it can only capture a certain range of light (and in turn colour and detail). So often to get a good balance of the main subject matter you lose detail in the darker and lighter areas. So true HDR, is to take 3 or more photos capturing the correct exposure for the dark areas, the medium areas and the light areas. Then using some software such as Photomatrix you combine the images to give you a final image that shows the detail across it and with it some fantastic results. You can read more about HDR here, I will admit that alot of my images are only using one image and some digitial magic in Adobe Lightroom, but this was due to the fact I did not take the photos with HDR in mind and so did not have the range of exposures required. Even so it is amazing what you visual information a RAW image contains and the results have been amazing compared to the now quite dull originals, please go see yourself. HDR is something I will have in mind with future photo shoots and I will set up the bracket exposure on camera.

    The design page I am very proud of, I still feel it needs some tweaking visually, but then in the words of Leonardo da Vinci ‘Art is never finished, only abandoned’ and a deadline for launch is proof of that. It was a chance to play with unique navigation ideas to view the imagery, again it allowed me extend my coding knowledge through image maps and CSS which is great way to create some fun interaction and still have accessibility in the framework. From here I want to work on design skills and improve what I can create visually using Illustrator and photoshop, maybe one day be featured in those design feeds I keep tweeting or passing on via my google reader shared items.

    Anyway, if you are reading this I hope you are at my website already, if you are viewing this through a rss feed, then go have a dig around.

    So with the website project relaunch at an end, what is next I ask myself. Well I have a new website to build for a client, need to get my creative writing back on track with posts to Imagine Tales along with a novella. Alongside these as mentioned, more photography and desiging of which the result will be posted up at my website and written about here. And I really do need to get out on my mountain bike.

    Till next time.

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    Waking the Dead and the Glass Wipeboard

    Saturday, November 21st, 2009

    So anyone out there know ‘Waking the Dead’? The UKs answer to ‘CSI’ minus the endless budget (both for the show and the investigations), strippers and the non sense of realism. So in-fact whilst I like CSI alot, Waking the Dead is far more realistic and substanial.

    Waking the Dead Copyright BBC

    Waking the Dead Copyright BBC

    Anyway the programme itself is just a side product, the glass wipeboard is the juicy bit of hardware I want to blog about with you today. If you watch ‘Waking the dead‘ you know the glass wipeboard is a marvellous thing, it is where words are added, photos are stuck on, deep and meaningful looks are made through and of course the case is solved.  Since then I always wanted one, no real reason except it was cool!

    So a visit to IKEA for the glass table top cover, a trip to B&Q for some mirror wall mounts and wet chalk pens from the stationary store and I have my glorious wipeboard. I never expected how useful it is in my life now.

    The Wipeboard in all it's glory! (Ignore the reflection, I never invited him)

    The Wipeboard in all it's glory! (Ignore the reflection, I never invited him)

    Beyond the strange scribbles and messages from my girlfriend as she drinks her coffee in the morning, it has helped me construct storylines for my stories on imaginetales.co.uk, brought the chaos of job applications and interviews into some sense, reminded me to buy coffee, pack for a journey and even keep my girlfriend sane getting ready for a night out in London.

    I like to think it even has a small sense of style, whilst clear of scribbles and doddles it looked odd, but once you add content it has purpose and looks perfectly fine.  Either way it looks better than plain old whiteboard.

    Geek Corner with the wipeboard alongside industrial music giants

    Geek Corner with the wipeboard alongside industrial music giants

    My glass wipeboard is a wonderful thing and anyone who has to organise and easily get those wondering thoughts down before they get lost, I really recommend one!

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    Unexpected Lease of Life

    Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

    Well it has been a while since I posted to this journal and to be honest I was about to bury it. But then from out of the blue my friend is hassling me and google analytics tells me people are visiting, so I was thinking maybe I should carry it on. To understand why my journal almost died I have to start at the beginning.  OK well not the beginning but about a month and a half ago.

    This journal started as an experiment in blogging and as part of a drive to get more traffic to my site. But I soon realised that my journal had little direction, no real specific subject matter or concept beyond me going on about stuff in my life. I wanted an outlet for my photography beyond my Frozen Designs portfolio, I wanted to give my photos more purpose. Along with the photography I was writing and coming up with lots of little bits of fiction as ideas popped into my head.  So I decided to combine the lot of it and gave birth (in a manner of speaking) to Imagine Tales.

    Imagine Tales - David Atlee's tales of imagery

    Imagine Tales is a new web venture for me, whilst frozendesigns.co.uk has been invaluable to me, I knew it was not suitable as it has always been a portfolio website and what I needed was more of an online book. So I ordered the URL, got a new wordpress installation ready and so it began. Hence why I have neglected this journal as my efforts have been directed elsewhere along with poor viewing statistics meaning I lost some motivation to update it.

    But now I think about it, this journal does have some purpose it is an chance to blabble myself about stuff that is going in my life, whilst few may read it, it is something to go look back over and remember what makes me me! Not to mention; be able to tell you about cool stuff and also it is another avenue to promote Imagine Tales. So please go check it out,  have a read and subscribe to be notified of new tales being posted.

    So what else is going on?

    Well I have ventured into the world of motorbikes, passing my CBT a little over a month ago and buying a Yamaha SR125 to zip around on. I gotta say it is fun and traffic no longer seems much of an issue nowdays! I am already feeling the urges for a bigger bike, but that will have to wait till I can afford the big bike test in a year or so. Until then I shall have to feel inadequate at the lights when the big bike pulls up next to me being ridden by a cute blonde chick; like this morning. Still at least I won’t be wrapping myself round a tree from getting too much power too soon.

    Mythical Creatures stamps from the Post Office

    Mythical Creatures stamps from the Post Office

    Today I purchased my first ever stamps for the purpose of collection, it is a new level of geek for me. But let me explain and who knows you could be buying them yourselves tomorrow, especially if you are a fan of the Sandman comics. It is the last release from the UK post office, and it celebrates the mythology of Britain, the artwork is by David Mckean and with it some sort pieces of creative writing by Neil Gaiman. You can get the Mythical Creatures stamps from the Post Office online or by queueing up, which is a feat of human endeavour in itself.

    Neil Gaiman has wonderful angle on everything, it’s a little bit off to the side of the typical perspective and in that unique. You will have more than likely seen his latest creation in the guise of the animated movie Caroline, whilst I have not seen it personally I have heard great reviews.

    So with the evening drawing near and I must embark upon my iron horse, well iron donkey anyway. I sign off for now and whilst I can not promise regular updates here, I will try to keep posting when I feel the need to shout from the roof tops. In the mean time go read some of my stories at Imagine Tales.

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