Vital Imagery Blog

Hello Tipper!. 

This salutation is delivered by at least one, well generally the same person, with her arrival in the office.  Tipper is a visually pleasing,  often auditorily annoying, cockateel, a sort of workplace mascot.  The colleague who steadfastly greets him each day has developed a friendship with him that most of us have avoided.

It's not that I don't like birds. I do. Outside. In the wild. I've  just never enjoyed them as pets. I like personalities and for the most parts birds don't have the kind I'm looking for.

This is not to say that Tipper lacks personality. Primarily white with feathered tones of black and vibrant yellow,  what purity Tipper exemplifies on the exterior masks a slightly darker interior.  After squawking endlessly for more sunflower seeds, there's nothing Tipper likes better than to quite literally bite the hand that feeds him. His chatter sparks many a conversation with clients who phone in.  And the times when he bursts…

The world is agog this week with the arrival on Monday of a baby boy.

July 22, at St. Mary's Hospital in London,  Prince George Alexander Louis, son of England's Prince William and his wife Katherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, made his arrival. The wee royal is third in line to the British throne.

Since the couple announced the baby's name on Wednesday, there was plenty of speculation and chatter on what the newest addition to the royal family might be called.  There have been six previous King Georges in England, most recently the new prince's, great-great-grandfather, King George VI. 

Now, I couldn't by any stretch of the imagination be called a monarchist. I don't generally even have a passing interest in the British royals.  I do however, have to admit to being quite impressed by Kate Middleton and how she has lived the life as the Duchess of Cambridge to this point.  There are just some things you notice.

And let's face it.  A new baby is certainly …

Remember the days when you took a picture and it was what it was? There was the lovely autumn landscape that didn't do justice to the reality of the colours. Or the blue sky that didn't appear quite as blue,  the sunset not quite as vibrant, the ocean not quite as pure.

Then along came Photoshop and its counterparts, and not only were we able to enhance the colours of the pictures we took, but we could change them too. Always wondered what you'd look like with blue eyes? As quickly as you can say contact lens, it could happen.

Learn more with these great tutorials that explain how to change or enhance colours in your photographs:

DPS Changing Colour in Photoshop

Photoshop Tips Replace Colour

mcp actions Use Photoshop to Change Colour of Objects in Photos

PhotoshopEssentials Changing Eye Colour

PhotoshopEssentials Changing Hair Colour

PhotoshopEssentials Tinting and Enhancing Colours

DPS Turn Ho-Hum Colour in Wow with Photoshop

There is a scene, in one of my favourite movies  that tickles my taste buds every time I watch it.

It happens in Sleepless in Seattle when the widowed Sam, played by Tom Hanks, has decided he's ready to begin dating again and as it's been a while seeks some advice. The helpful friend, played by Rob Reiner, concludes a list of how things have changed in the modern dating scene by asking Sam if he knows what tiramisu is.  Hanks, who doesn't, responds: "You better tell me. Some woman is going to want me to do it to her and I'm not going to know what it is."

It's hard to believe that once upon a time this tasty Italian dessert was a trendy new part of North American cuisine. Little wonder, however, that it's caught on.

It was this past Sunday afternoon at my son's that got my mind wandering this direction. Following a delicious meal, we were served his home-made tiramisu, guaranteed to make only a good deal of restraint and what little class I have, k…