Desktop and Home Screen Photography

Its Sunday. The weather outside is pretty terrible.  I’m sick and still injured and out of sports.  So I’m sitting around all bundled in blankets with a cup of tea sitting at my computer deciding what to do, and then blam, it hits me.  I decide to completely overhaul my dated computer desktop.  I’m a bit of a tech geek so in order to do this you need to have some computer skills and a little knowledge in tweaking code in notepad.  There are tons of forums and info online to help you through the process, but Ill give you a quick rundown of what I did.

First you’ll need to install a program called Rainmeter.  Its fantastic and lets you do amazing customization to your desktop.  Then from there you can install Rainmeter Skins.  There are tons!  Then you can pick a theme and select various skins to work within that theme. In order to edit a skin, you’ll need to tweak settings in notepad, so read up on that before you start.  But once you’re finished you can come up with something like this

I used about 10 different themes and skins to finalize this.  I wont post them all, Ill just let you come up with your own, its fun that way.

 
I also have customized my Android phone, and love how beautiful and functional it is

Now for the wallpaper photograph.  For the Desktop and Phone I found the images online.  But this brings me to the photography challenge.  Shooting a photo specifically for your desktop or phone home screen.

I thought it would be easier to have a photo already, something you either shot or didnt, and set your screen up around that photo to get an idea of how your screen will look and how you will shoot the photo.  So when you add it to your Desktop or Phone Home Screen it’ll work with the layout you already have.

I’m not sure when I’ll have time to go out and do this, but thought it was a cool idea.  I’ll definitely post my self shot Desktop Wallpaper and Home Screen photos when I have them.

Mock Mens Magazine Ad

So I was a little bored today at home.  Ive been unable to play sports or do much else due to a bad knee injury.  So I decided to take some photos.  Challenged myself with a Mock Mens Magazine Ad shoot.

I laid out some of my favourite items I take with me when I head out and arranged them nicely.  Then I chose to shoot from over top facing straight down for a cleaner look.  I used my flash but had it turned all the way around 180 degrees to bounce off the ceiling so it wouldnt give a harsh look on some of the reflective items.

I cropped the image and boosted the contrast in Lightroom.  But here is my final version.

Then my snake Tobias came along and had to get in on the action, so here is a snap I took when he came over to play

Tobias photo bomb