I love to use my laptop, to play around with different programs, to
surf the web, and to edit photos. Today I have been doing that for
hours. Now that my app has come out in iTunes, I have been trying
to design a really good photo for it. The existing photo of a red
cup with flags on it is fine, but I wanted something a little more
elegant. So, I have been playing around with a little tea set that
I inherited from my grandmother on my father's side. It is a 'tea
for two' set which is extra small. It is what we call 'fine bone
china', and hand painted. It has a lot of sentimental value for me,
as it is my only connection to a grandmother who died when I was
just a baby. The idea of a cup of tea is a theme for my work for
several reasons. First, I come from a tea drinking nation, England.
Secondly, I love the stuff, and even though I try to avoid the
stereotype of drinking tea in the afternoon, it is exactly what I
do! Thirdly, I love the idea of filling up a cup with knowledge
until it overflows. So, the tea cup image will always be in my
work. To make just the right photo, I bought a large sheet of red
paper, placed the cup and saucer on it, arranged some extra
lighting, and held the tea pot over the cup. It would have been
perfect if I had had an extra hand, but I just about managed with
two. After taking the photo, I then had to edit it. I started by
sharpening the picture. That means that I selected a button which
adds strength to the edges in a picture. There is a feature in the
program that I use which allows you to add text (or writing). What
I hadn't realised before is that after writing the words, you can
turn them to point in different directions. Perfect! I wrote and
arranged lots of words on the photo. The 'look' that I was after
was that of English pouring out of the tea pot into the cup. It
took me ages to finish. I couldn't bend the words, so I had to
reposition the words part by part. When I finished, I was relieved.
It had taken a long time. You must check out the new photo and tell
me what you think. It should replace the old one on the app in a
couple of weeks.
Grammar notes.
Practicing the past participle with related verbs: to edit, to
design, to arrange, to select.
1. The photographer edited the wedding photos and made everybody
look much younger.
2. The architect designed a beautiful park for the center of the
city.
3. The florist arranged the flowers carefully in the vase.
4. Select the undo button in the program if you want to erase what
you just did.