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Discussion Board -> Desktop Wallpaper, Art, etc. -> Off-center placement of photos on wallpaper

Off-center placement of photos on wallpaper

::regmar
11/15/05 3:23 PM GMT
Several months ago someone uploaded an image composed of a vertical photo superimposed on a hrizontal backgroud and shifted to the right, so when it was used as a desktop the image wouldn't be blocked by the inevitable cluster of icons on the left side of everyone's screens. I thought this was a good idea and have done the same with many of my own images. What I want to know is, how do people like this off-centered placement? Can we get a (peaceful and civil) vote on the issue?
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ж Regmar ж

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::philcUK
11/15/05 3:39 PM GMT
personally I hate portrait aspect images in the desktop but sometimes they are a necessary evil - the off centre method certainly seams to work best if for no other reason it looks like some sort of effort has gone into it rather than your system just dumping a small image in the centre of the screen.
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"Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps"
::regmar
11/15/05 3:42 PM GMT
So do you think people should just not upload portrait-aspect photos? That does eliminate 50% of the images, doesn't it?
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ж Regmar ж
::kjh000
11/15/05 3:54 PM GMT
I sure hope so. (Regarding that last point ((edit:) in the first post).) I'm all for off-center compositions of photos. The main reason is because it usually creates a visually more interesting piece, IMHO. I'm not always in the mood for big hunky borders though but that's just my personal preference. Off-center is always better for me at any rate, also considering borders. That's just my personal modus operandi. I guess it's rather much a matter if you are a mac user or windoze guy. We who are blessed with using Macintosh (:P) have our icons sorted from the top right corner as opposed to windows icons starting from the top left. It's not such a bad idea to leave room for the icons anyway.

So, in short: aye!
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::philcUK
11/15/05 4:04 PM GMT
Sorry no - that’s not what I meant. Its unavoidable on occasions to not use the portrait aspect so I was agreeing with you if that is the case - the off centre style is much more preferable. as a preference I would always rather have images fill the screen entirely. not a huge fan of letterbox shots either but again, sometimes the photo demands this.
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"Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps"
::Morwyn
11/15/05 5:27 PM GMT
I like it and use it frequently..
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One bead at a time
&prismmagic
11/15/05 6:11 PM GMT
I really don't like them, but for the desk top image I quess it can work well. It can give the veiwer tha ability to see an image with out the Icons disturbing the image.
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Art is the perception of the creator. Meaning is the perception of the viewer. acceptance is the perception of society.
.monkeypuzzle
11/15/05 6:21 PM GMT
I also prefer the off centre images,mainly to the right. but i always think of how most languages, with the obviouse exception of japanese & chinese & korean which work in vertical dimensions, read from left to right. my reasoning for the off centre alignment is due to the conditioning that we have about reading from left to right. so our eyes automatically look at images in the same fashion. text is also image so therefore it works the same..i think. ur question i think should be posed to them mac users(:p to Klas & co) & those brought up in a language that functions in other dimensions than left to right. i have a friend who might be able to shed some light on this so i will ask his preference & let u know :~) but on the whole i'd like to think that it works better like Klas & Phil said, the image seems a bit more dynamic as oppose to an image dropped square in the middle of the overall picture,when aligned so.
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Beware the anti-cinnamon stare!!!
::verenabloo
12/02/05 1:27 AM GMT
Well, I guess I'm the oddball as usual..but I like the whole screen filled with the image..I leave a small border automatically on my monitor sreen on the left and right, and I put my icons there..I like the feeling of the whole screen being full of beauty at one time! And even if I dont use the small blue border on the monitor...I still prefer seeing the icons on top of something nice and not something just one colour..but thats just me..
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My part is to improve the present moment.....
::regmar
12/06/05 1:49 PM GMT
Hi Verena. I was actually referring only to those images taller than they are wide when I say, "vertical photos". Of course when it comes to any photo the more useful content you can get into the frame the better, but when you have a beautiful vertical photo, do you center it or place it off-center?
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ж Regmar ж
.KEIFER
12/06/05 2:51 PM GMT
I think if your just going to plop it into a "black" screen .. then you've already admitted defeat .. but .. if you do as fotobob has done and create a motif .. with framing and texture above and beyond the call of duty ... then you've taken what would normally be 'black' and brought it into the image and made it a part of the whole

the short version, if you wish, is .. center it if you don't care to think anymore on the creative possibilities ... place it elsewhere and I will know you gave it some thought and that I am seeing it where YOU, the artist, wants me to see it (unless, of course, you WANT me to see it in the center .. then i'll be confused) .. ;o)

In the past I have vocally complained about 'cropping' to a 'fake' wideangle dimension .. it still bugs me, but I try to hold back on voicing my dismay .. this comes from, ultimately, wishing the image filled the screen .. and "taking away" image with a hoity-toity upperclass wideangle crop job centered on a sea of "black" just robs me of color
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wookin pa nub
+mayne
12/06/05 3:43 PM GMT
Mayne photo supplies sells a 90 degree bracket that quickly allows the reorientation of your monitor to veiw portrait oriented images...someone suggested Tall Screen
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Darryl
.KEIFER
12/06/05 5:03 PM GMT
ahh yes .. the "Mayne Re-Planer" .. gives you a little more Y than you X for .. at a low $$ price point
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wookin pa nub
+camerahound
12/12/05 8:26 AM GMT
The most pleasing landscape oriented aspect ratio is 1.78 (also known as video widescreen 16:9). This is because our natural sightlines are about the same proportions. The proscenium arch, which the Greeks considered desirable for their plays of four thousand years ago, is an example of this perspective. Nothing changes. As for the center-right placement, I've always been a fan of that technique, especially for computer screens. But opera fans might disagree.
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I think, therefore I am. I think.
DrPepper89
12/13/05 3:03 AM GMT
I like the off-centered photos...I like to use them on my own desktops with more personal pictures. But I also purposely center most of my images on the right so that the icons don't interfere.......goodness knows what will happen if everyone starts a new trend and they put their icons on the right!
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Start a trend! Instead of saying "Thanks for commenting" on someone's personal page...say thanks by commenting on an image!
::anderbre
12/23/05 3:04 PM GMT
I keep very few icons on my desktop (at most 2 or 3) so I prefer wallpapers that fill the entire screen. Many of my submissions were originally shot vertically, but then cropped to fit the usual dimensions. This sometimes makes the piece feel completely different than what it originally was - and that's not always a bad thing. In the end, it's all up to the artist as to what they feel would make the best format for their image, but kudos to those folks that put in the extra effort for those vertical images :-)
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Know your subject, focus attention, simplify.
+photoimagery
12/28/05 12:00 AM GMT
As most of you know I shoot and display vertical images all the time and I use a black background with a small boarder around my image. I always move the image off center and to the right third juncture.
I guess it’s just a personal preference that I do it that way. I like the negative space to place my icons in because they stand out better against a black background. They (the icons) in and of themselves add all the color I need plus they never get lost in the background.
I’m not exactly fond of having the whole screen covered with an image and having the icons on top of the image. When I care enough about an image to use it as my desktop I ALWAYS resize it and give it enough room to add my icons around the image. To me the image is spoiled with icons covering part of it.
Being able to enjoy the image, be it fractal or photographic isn’t a matter of seeing the image blown up to cover the entire screen, but large enough to see the image in all of its glory.
I like my images and desktops simple. To me MOST images superimposed over another simply detracts from the main image.
I also use the “long narrow” format because I like letting people see the best part of an image. If the area surrounding the subject adds no value to the image, it goes. Go to any photographic art show and you will see most of the images cropped in some manner. I believe that if an image is worth showing it’s worth showing it at its best and not just something to fill the screen with. As an example, tonight I’m going to upload the full, screen covering version of “Last Light” one of my images that I have already uploaded. Let me know which you like best, I would really like your input.
Thanks.
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=Piner
12/28/05 1:45 AM GMT
Some of us don't keep shortcuts on our desktop. Mine shows only the hard drive and a CD (if one is in the drive). Sometimes I will save my work to the desktop until I am done with it, and then it is soon put away. So having a full screen image works well for some people.
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The work of art may have a moral effect, but to demand moral purpose from an artist is to make him ruin his work. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - 1832)
+photoimagery
12/28/05 5:40 AM GMT
I can understand how that is. Some people are very tidy and like to keep uncluttered desktops and can appreciate that. That is why most of my images are horizontal and cover most of the screen. But then there are some of us who keep quite a few shortcuts on their desktops and that is why I give some of my images different croppings. I also do not like wasting a good vertical image just because it doesn't fill the whole screen.
When I post images I try to make everyone happy, as well as myself the artist. It's too bad that it doesn't please everyone but I do try.
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::verenabloo
01/16/06 6:25 AM GMT
Hello MIchael..I completely agree with waht you have said about the placement of a photo..as far as framing. I am just now learning that I dont have to "waste" a photo where a part of it excellent, but the rest is "so so"...I can well understand using the long narrow to show the best part of an image. I do like to 'zero in' on that at times. With this particular phto of yours "Last Light" I happen to like the larger image because I was enjoying the way the water flowed "towards the front" of the photo and so filled more of the photo itself and therefor more of my screen. I am learning to crop lately, and not just lose my whole image just because I think the whole picture isnt so great, but then I search and try to see if part of it us very enjoyable and usable...and most of the time I am shocked that there really is a good part so to speak...I have always liked the way you crop and your photos are what is teaching me right now. I study all the photos on caedes to learn...you are a good teacher not only by the wonderful photos you post here, but also by the different types and sizes of framing you do. Its that way when a person chooses a literal frame to put around a photo, and the matting etc..all fits. Sometimes a person might take a very small photo, place it in the center of a huge matted area, and it brings out the picture wonderfully. Thank youfor your input Michael....this is a very interesting discussion....
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Simplicity is Elegance..Thoreau
::Hottrockin
01/16/06 11:40 AM GMT
Icons? Who keeps icons on their desktop? I don't, I personally use the toolbars to only show desktop and quick launch in the taskbar arear, then I auto hide the taskbar so when you see my desktop it's just 100% full screen of ya'lls wonderful submissions, no distractions. So I like seeing full images vs. cropped.

I may understand desktop icons in a work environment, but, for home use I like it neat 'n' tidy. :)
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Picture Purrrfect
::Morwyn
01/16/06 7:21 PM GMT
I like icons on my desktop.. Makes working much simpler.. I have always liked the off center placement of vertical images as I keep icons on both sides of my desktop..
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One bead at a time
.jacked
01/23/06 2:54 AM GMT
Icons can hit the road, i want to see everything up close and personal. Dwight.
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The emotions, the tears, of wasted years, wash over me like a cold wind out of the north. I tremble and shake, with each breath i take, and there's no one around me that cares. Dwight.
.June
01/25/06 4:29 AM GMT
For me, as long as the image is clear and of tasteful subject, the placement doesn't really matter. I like all kinds of desktop varieties found here in Caedes. Vertical, Horizontal, full screen, framed, unframed, coloured, black and white. It is ok to diversify and have a variety in your gallery. Try new things and that way you will reach a broader range of viewers.
Hugs to everyone from the JuneBug
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"A picture is worth a thousand words"
.hernoor
02/05/06 4:00 AM GMT
Try copying the pic to Paint and then you can easily shift it anywhere or resize it.
I hate any clutter on my desktop. I have almost 2000 files from 1999-06, and it's all in one big folder on my desktop, organized into 70 more folders. I even created another folder for all those program shortcuts. So now I only have like 5 icons on my desktop..When I download a background, it's all cleared up..
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Live like there is no tomorrow. When you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything - Doc Brown

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