Peeking Back in Time by alophoto

Peeking Back in Time

I am such a fan of window shots, love love them. But I can't take one straight for the life of me. I shoot windows like I am a drunken sailor early in the morning. What is the trick to get them straight? Do you need a compass and a protractor, does one need to test the wind speed and measure trajectory? I need the trick, because my windows always always always come out crooked, like I shot standing on my head or on one leg or??? To help fix this one, I employed my now frequently used white vignette. If you hate it, forgive me, I'll try to use it less often, but I had to salvage this shot because I liked it so much.

Last night, we went to dinner at the Schoolhouse Restaurant, a local place that was actually an old schoolhouse back in the late 1800's. Speaking of the 1800's and long ago, my son often mentions that I lived back in the 1900's like that is such an ancient time ago. What's with that?!:)

Here is some of it's interesting history: Built in 1863, at the end of the Civil War, the school was one of the first schools in the Midwest with a second story. The place still boasts a home-spun appeal, from the goats and geese roaming around out back to the family-style dining: the menu, like the rest of the place, relies heavily on simple, all-American charms. Traditional entrees like fried chicken, roast beef, meatloaf and baked cod are accompanied by balanced-meal choices like fluffy mashed potatoes, vegetables, freshly made salads, and corn bread served family style.

If you come for a visit, I'll take you here. Such a great fun place for special occasion. We were there for Clara's birthday, and the whole place sang her a hearty Happy Birthday. She was beaming from ear to ear!

Check it out for photos inside: http://www.theschoolhousecincinnati.com/index.html I love that the menu is on the old chalkboard.

Anyway, I post when I have time or when I am so inspired, so I am posting early for tomorrow as the weekend gets so busy with everyone home.

Thank you soooo much for all of your great response to my earlier posting of the dogwood blossoms. I don't think that I have had that much great response so quickly for quite awhile. I am humbled.

Hope that you all have a wonderfully happy and photogenic weekend. Be well!
Great Pov
April 25th, 2014  
This looks very sweet and homely.
April 25th, 2014  
So charming! fav
April 25th, 2014  
@dh Once my husband described ME as homely, not realizing the connotations. Ugh. Men;-). He meant well. Thank you. It is.
April 25th, 2014  
Awesome shot
April 25th, 2014  
Love the faded edges, suits the shot
April 25th, 2014  
Aw, it is a gorgeous shot.

As for getting window shots straight - it's all a matter of maths. :-) Yeah, you have to be directly in front of the window and at the same height. Personally, I think a bit of an angle to the shot is great. And it can be from an angle, but still straight... I always line up my one side of the camera with one side of the window.... ugh, none of that makes sense. Oh well... keep playing, I enjoy your shots anyway!!! :D
April 25th, 2014  
Technically, you have to be looking straight at the window to get it fully straight. If you are below the window, looking up, that will skew your sides making the window wider at the bottom than top. There's a word for the effect, but I don't remember it. Same thing will happen if you happen to be a smidge to the left or right. Lightroom can help fix it...
April 25th, 2014  
@cmc1200 Parallax? Thanks. No wonder they are always jacked.
April 25th, 2014  
Wonderful shot, love the red window and the vintage style curtains, beautiful shot, very homely. However, windows always make me want to see more of what is inside, I am a bit nosy that way :-)
April 25th, 2014  
@roseolivia Check the link above. It shows what it looks like inside. I liked the peek of the flowers and the sweet curtains. Thanks, friend!
April 25th, 2014  
I should have read through the entire link, getting a bit tired :-). That looks like such a great place, food sounds nice too :-). Have a great weekend!
April 25th, 2014  
Lovely photo evokes nostalgia.
April 25th, 2014  
Ben
I like this image, gets you thinking... What's going on in there , what's that person up to? cool colours and reflections.
April 25th, 2014  
Love your photo and the whole scene oozes with charm. Your narrative made me hungry. I love places like that .... they had a lot of country style homes that served just plain YUMMY old-fashioned home-cooking when I lived in Ohio. That's one thing I miss.
April 25th, 2014  
@cimes1 Ohio sure does have some yummy food. Not so Much in the health food market. all about comfort food here!
April 25th, 2014  
@lynnz Thank you soon much. I loved this one.
April 25th, 2014  
A quaint, homely looking window.
April 25th, 2014  
What happens behind those windows?! This shot makes you curious what's going on inside. Lovely place, I had a look at their website. And I use Picasa for straightening.
April 25th, 2014  
maybe it's not you It's the windows that are crooked .
You window stalker you... have a great weekend....
April 25th, 2014  
@overalvandaan I straightened in editing the best I could. Sides and bottom were straight and the top wasn't. Oh well. Too hard to get just right so I fix it with the vignette:).
April 25th, 2014  
Love this shot, leaves you really intrigued as to what's inside and I'd love window frames that colour. Straight lines? Over rated if you ask me!
April 25th, 2014  
isn't that what quirky old buildings are all about - non perpendicular lines?! nice capture
April 25th, 2014  
And here I thought you were going for an artistic, asymmetrical look, rather than the drunken sailor edition! Your narrative always makes the image even more interesting, too!
April 25th, 2014  
@jyokota :))) Yes, artistic. That's it. I've been singing the drunken sailor song all day long.
April 25th, 2014  
This capture is great. I agree it's hard to get a straight shot.......
April 25th, 2014  
Creative capture and it looks fine to me.
April 25th, 2014  
Sometimes I can fix the distortion with photoshop, but the best thing is to stand directly in front of a window or door at eye level -- of course that isn't always or even often possible.
April 26th, 2014  
Mac
You're entitled to have phases of vignettes, horrifying your children, capriciousness in the dark of night through the neighborhood.
April 26th, 2014  
Sweet capture :)
April 26th, 2014  
Very charming window shot. I like windows shot from an angle but you can always straighten things in picmonkey.com very easily.
April 26th, 2014  
very nostalgic with the checkered curtains
April 26th, 2014  
@amandal -- don't you wish there was a "like" button for responding to what someone says? :)
April 26th, 2014  
Very cool! I'm on my way!!! Love the shot, colors, flowers in the window, reflections and that I can peek in and see someone!
April 26th, 2014  
What a sweet shot! I'm bad at getting things straight too. Luckily Aperture has a levelling button. I use it frequently!!
April 26th, 2014  
LOVE!
April 26th, 2014  
Love the tones. How you been Amanda? Been awhile since I've checked in.
April 26th, 2014  
Charming shot, Amanda!
April 26th, 2014  
What a charming window shot!I suck at straight shots too..just go fir the straightening tool..but I like your vignette way better.Very cool!
April 26th, 2014  
Cool window shot the vignette and the mysteriousness of what lies beyond the visible
April 26th, 2014  
I've had good experiences using Lightroom 5's auto perspective correction. You still have to be sorta close to right to start with. Then again, sometimes it's nice to be crooked.
April 26th, 2014  
Such a wonderful shot, Amanda. I love the color of the frame and those curtains open as they are. I learned something above about straight windows that I can apply to some of my photos that are not straight. Sure helps to get tips like this and to know I am not alone and it is ok to be a bit crooked sometimes.
April 26th, 2014  
Sweet shot!
April 26th, 2014  
Such a pretty colour combination and I love the finishing. Beautifully captured :-)
April 26th, 2014  
I love this shot and I can't take a straight shot full stop!
April 26th, 2014  
The tips above are right on. Nice reds here and I like the slightly worn wood.
April 26th, 2014  
Such a charming window. Lovely shot.
April 26th, 2014  
Love the vintage feel of this shot. Great composition. fav
April 26th, 2014  
@edie @jamibann I loved this one a bunch, too, ladies. Thanks for agreeing with me. Appreciate your kind comments and faves!

@michaelelliott Me, I'm good. Thanks for asking. Grateful to have survived a very cold and very stressful winter (we moved locally around Chirstmastime!). And those polar vortexes!! Nice to be thawing out and greening up around here! How bout you?
April 26th, 2014  
looks like a great and fun place, I've seen the photos on your link ;)
April 26th, 2014  
Nicely processed and captured!!
April 26th, 2014  
lovely little shot....love the red
I can't take a shot straight to save my life, but I am now trying to use the viewpoints in the viewfinder to use as a ruler!!!!
April 26th, 2014  
What is there about looking in a window that's so appealing? A charming and evocative image.
April 27th, 2014  
Oh I love window shots too and this one is lovely. I guess I must be cockeyed too because it looks straight to me! Love the way you added the white vignette ...and always love your stories and commentaries!
April 27th, 2014  
You found a great window, too! Love the red and the checkered curtains! So charming!
April 28th, 2014  
@pflaume Yes, but I shoot like I'm drunk;-). Thanks, lady!!
April 28th, 2014  
a touch of whimsy! that's what came to mind as soon as i saw this. lovely shot!
April 28th, 2014  
Wonderful shot! It has such charm
May 3rd, 2014  
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