The Background Counts!

A couple of days ago, there was a question posted on etsy forum about how to capture the colors of theme objects accurately on photo. There were suggestions of types of light source (natural light works best), brand of cameras (quality isn't really proportional to price), camera settings, computer monitor settings... That set me off thinking about my experience with seaglass photography. I believe the choice of background colors is very important too.

Our eyes work differently from a camera - a piece of seaglass on a white background may look the same to us in natural or artificial light, but not so for the camera.

For example, I find it very difficult to capture the blue-green colors of teal and turquoise seaglass if I used a white background. This is because of the subtle fluorescence in bleached white paper or fabric. The camera picks this up as a diffuse blue tone, resulting in the turquoise / teal being comparatively greener than they really are.

I've overcome this by using a beige background or one with a yellow undertone, or white material that has no fluorescence - eg. ceramic.

These are the same batch of turquoise seaglass, taken under the same lighting condition (diffuse sunlight) with the same camera and same camera settings. The only difference is the background: white paper and beige paper for the first and second photo respectively.

White is another problem I had. The exposure is never quite right when shooting white seaglass on a white background. White on black background is sometimes too contrasty either. Then I've found that a pale shade of grey or goldtone works wonders!

I still do not have a working principle for matching background colors with subject colors, but the there's always nice surprises in the process of finding out!

Diffuse sunlight gives us the most balanced color spectrum to work with. But I just love the way the setting sun lights up my seaglass!

Well, most of the time, I just use different backgrounds for interesting results!

Coke Bottle Seaglass

It's so exciting to find well weathered seaglass that still has the characteristics to be identified as what it used to be! For that, I love coke bottles. Though the colors of coke bottle changed over decades from clear to seafoam with blue or greenish tinge, their ribbed surface are unmistakable. I've found a couple of ribbed pieces that I could put my finger on immediately, other well weathered pieces blew their cover as well because of that unique color!

Have a look through your stash again and watch out for it - anything looks familiar?

Merry Christmas!

Christmasy jewelry and charms - fun to make and wear, but would you wear it all year round? Here's my idea of a versatile pair of Christmas trees earrings: you could wear the posts and 'trees' separately after Christmas! These will become a pair of star posts, and another pair of 'water droplets' dangles if worn with another pair of posts!

I love to make balls of seaglass in many color combination - these holly and mistletoe balls are especially lovely. Use them as cellphone or handbag charm, cute all year round!

Seaglass Clusters

Seaglass tinies, in many different colors...so pretty like little flowers! Inspired by the flower hydrangea, I have made balls of seaglass with different colors. All shades of blue like the sea on a calm sunny day...light blue and green in colors of the seafoam waves...teal, honey and amber in colors of the temperate forest in autumn...in any color combination I could think of!

I am collecting even small seaglass to make some cluster earrings and rings too!

Christmas SALE

This year I'm starting early - Christmas sale for the whole of November and December! Thanks to the very efficient Hong Kong post office - it usually took ~1 week for my items to reach almost all international destinations! So if you have your eyes on anything, start grabbing now to guaranteed everyone get their presents before the big day!

There are still room for discount in most of my jewelry - afterall, the satisfaction is not entirely monetary! But some item prices are so low that if still no one's buying, there must be something wrong with the style/design! I will know which are the unpopular ones by the end of this shopping season!

I have been making all kinds of different styles and designs, providing a wide range of choices for anyone who care to stop by my little seaglass corner. But it is always difficult for me to design men's jewelry - would men voluntarily wear jewelry, or made to do so by their girl friends/spouses?

Happy Christmas shopping!

Rainbow, anyone?

My favorite beach has been very generous to me. It has given me seaglass of all the colors of the rainbow, and much more! Believe it or not, I have actually found more than 20 different colors on this fantastic beach!

Unlike beaches in North America, lavender is the rarest color here. But I seem to find more turquoise than my jealous American friends, LOL! Have you wondered about those seaglass in my front page? You bet they are authentic, I found each and every piece!

I have made 'rainbow themed' jewelry from some of these colorful seaglass. Though I really had a hard time parting with these jewelry, it is my greatest satisfaction to know that somewhere in the world, someone will always treasure and wear them proudly!

English Seaglass

I love the seaglass that I've collected from my favorite local beaches, but I have fallen desparately in love with the English sea glass multies. For thousands of local seaglass I've collected, I could find maybe one piece with two colors in it, being a marble fragment or flash glass. But English seaglass multies have many colors in stripes, layers and swirls! And hard to find colors like red, yellow and purple in the same piece as well!

I used to sit on my hands whenever I saw the English seaglass auctions on ebay, telling myself one day I'll find something like that. But my yearning have become so intense I could bear no more. I striked out and won some. When I scoped my hands at the hard earned bounty, I never felt better! English seaglass is the best seaglass, I still can't get enough! But oh yes, seaglassing at the local beaches is still very enjoyable and I still find lots of good glass. Buying seaglass will never take away the fun of finding my own seaglass!

Seaglass Collectors

I have almost neglected my blog here since I joined the seaglasslovers community at ning.com. I am so at home amongst seaglass lovers and collectors all over the world, as much addicted to the hobby as I am. My beachcombing behavior is no longer odd: there are indeed thousands who beachcomb under more extreme conditions!
We show off our best finds and admire each other's collections, put in our two cents' worth in identifying odd beachcombed objects, exchange seaglass philosophy, and found strong bonding in our friendships.

Also a member of the seaglass collectors and seaglass artists, I have found great joy in viewing and admiring seaglass creations of many great artists. Posting my own creations there, I am overjoyed to received genuine approval and encouragement! Without the aggression or competition of a commercial site, here is a perfect place where artists gather and exchange ideas and skills.

Now, logging onto these sites has become one of the most important thing for me everyday!