Vital Imagery Blog

Handling customer service and communications in the image business is seldom predictable. Questions are as varied as the people using them and the projects they create with them.

There are, however, some we get asked on a regular basis. For example, what the differences are between the web-ready files (JPG, PNG, GIF).

Sure, life is about choice, but from time to time it can be a little intimidating when you're moving into unfamiliar territory.  Generally, though, if you're a novice, you can pass the buck on that aforementioned question.  If you are using a professional designer or printer for your project, ask them what image format they prefer.

However, if you're ready to  take on the world of graphics on your own, then it can quite simply come down to preference.  Here are some points to begin your education. JPGs are the most familiar of the formats. Actually, when it comes to photographs, rather than illustrations, they are the only option.  Also, they will have a …

Privacy and personal time are important to me. Sometimes just being away from everyone and everything is all that's needed to recharge the battery.  The problem with that is it's almost impossible these days.

Several years ago when our daughter was married at a lodge on the beautiful French River, it didn't take long to notice the peace and quiet — not just a result of the area's rugged naturalness, but also because there was no cellphone service.

Stepping out of the car the first day we could feel the seclusion lift our shoulders as our deep, contented sighs whispered over the quiet.  For three days, there was no ringing or buzzing, no music, no vibrating. People had no alternative but to talk face to face and re-acquaint themselves with pastimes that didn't involve technology.

What is it with cellphones? Since when does every message need to be answered immediately? When I'm away from home my answering machine fills without me giving thought or care to how …

It's Wednesday, sometimes known as Hump Day, that mid point in the week when we have climbed to a figurative apex. Now we begin down the gentle slope, ever closer to our reward and respite for a job well done — the weekend. 

Ah, yes, there's something to anticipate. Two  days of catching up with all of the household chores and labours you can't find the time to do during the other five days.

My husband and I do plan to have less to do on our days off.  Week nights we cram in appointments and smaller odd jobs that can be accomplished relatively quickly in the dying hours between supper and bedtime. This week for example there's been so much on the schedule we've barely seen each other.  Yet, it still looks like we'll be fast forwarding through a weekend full of plenty to do.

For reasons I don't quite understand, we seem to live a rather hectic existence for empty nesters. We've tried to think of ways to get off the treadmill, or at least slow it down…

So, I started taking yoga classes a couple of weeks ago.  The creaking and cramping going on in my body seemed a good indication that life wasn't going to get better if I didn't take some steps to slow the physical downslide.

The problem, however,  was what to do as many of the activities I had been doing to try and stay heart and weight fit, actually seemed to be contributing to the problem.  My feet and hips were sore from walking, my calves tight. Life in front of a computer too had resulted in a weak back as well as shoulder and arm problems that made motion difficult.

Ultimately I decided that yoga, with its strengthening and stretching, plus focus and concentration, would be the right choice. Also, I thought with its cool Eastern vibe it would be a good fit for the old hippie in me.

I love it. The class is compromised of, and led by, women of a certain age  — mine. It's a small group so there are fewer people to feel intimidated by.  So far, while I have been challe…

Autumn is here. The lush verdant foliage fades, replaced by the bold vibrancy of the season's crimsons and golds.  That beauty is short-lived, however, and the leaves' impending descent will be the precursor to the barren landscape of snowy winter.  We can already feel the future in the chill of the lengthening nights.

Yet, though I love the bursting heat of summer, the glorious colours of life that emerge and thrive in gardens,  my heart is in a happy place at this time of year. The reason? Family and so much to celebrate.  With the exception of my oldest,  who's a July baby,  my other three kids, my husband and myself are autumn birthday celebrants. 

Though some might question my enthusiasm for being another year older, birthdays have been and always will be a big deal for me. How can you not celebrate your arrival into this wonderful life? And the annual revisit of the days on which each of my children entered the world means more to me than it does to them I suspect. …