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Kathryn and Murphy.  Right - original.  Left - oval feathered crop. Photoshop, Elements, and a few other pixel-editing applications allow you to feather a crop.  Well, that's all fine and dandy, but what is feathering and what is a crop? Feathering involves producing a soft edge to an image.  The left image has hard, sharp edges.  Pixel density is the same throughout the photo, from corner to corner.  The right image has soft, gently reducing edges that fade to nothing.  This is called feathering, and it produces a photo with a dream-like quality that enhances overall appeal and removes background clutter. Cropping is the term used to select only a part of the entire image.  Cropping often involves selecting dimension (length and width), and number of pixels (dpi, pixel density, and resolution are all related).  When cropping an image, I always consider the size I want and what the cropped image will be used for.  This allows me to figure out the overall size of the image, how many

If you live in North America, you know what a robin is.  The ubiquitous bird that frequents lawns and hunts worms.  Yet, there are many things about robins that many people don't know.  Below are some of the more interesting facts about this oft-sighted bird. Although males and females look similar, they do exhibit sexual dimorphism.  Males have a deeper shade of red for their breast feathers while the females are duller.  Males have a darker head and more conspicuous eye ring as well - see image above. Robins eat more than just worms.  They are significant consumers of berries, insects, seeds, suit, and take shelled nut meats. - see image (a) below. Robins engage in a behaviour called "anting."  They find an ant colony and land next to it and open their feathers.  Ants will come, crawl over the bird, and remove the parasites on the robin's skin. - see image (b). Females typically incubate the eggs and tend the young, but males may occasionally incubate and may bring

There are many types of bees, Insects that are most humble. Mason, sweat, and honey bees, And even types of bumble. They fly from hive to flower, Collecting delicious treats. Pollinating as they go, Performing tremendous feats. A thousand blooms they visit, In just a couple of hours. Getting pollen and nectar, Going to all those flowers. Back to the hive they travel, Laden with precious food. To feed the queen and young, All the developing brood. We collect their life's deposits, That they store inside their hive. Leaving just enough for them, Winter's surplus to survive. Pollinating trees and crops, And providing ample honey. You'd think we'd be thankful, For making all that money. We kill them by the millions, Poison chemicals galore. There must be another way, Please search for it, I implore. For without the humble bee, Most food crops, they would perish. The poisons, our own demise, The bees, we should really cherish. Thanks for reading. Eric Svendsen      www.erics