Hi Andrew,

In regard to your final question, I believe your composite image
consists of layers. After you edit the composite image to look the way
you want, merge the layers and then you should then be able to save the
image as a compressed file.

Hope that helps,
Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Andrew Grebneff
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2003 7:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Background for images: velvet


Black velvet (the geniune thing) seems to be a great texture-free
background for images. Film cameras don't pick black velvet up at all,
so the specimen seems to be hanging in space. Digital cameras are more
sensitive and do pick up a little reflected light from the velvet's
surface.

Other colors would be good too. Velvet is expensive. I found some by
perusing secondhand shops for velvet items eg curtains. What turned up
was a dress, which has been cannibalized. Cost about $2.00US...

I have been told that black is a memory hog. However I have compared an
image of a sinistral/dextral Clionella pair I was sent, with a
light-blue background, with the same image which I ran through
PhotoShop, removing the background and replacing it with black. the
original, converted to a PhotoShop file, is 160k; removing the blue
shrank this to 36k. From this I take it that my boss was wrong, and that
black (effectively inactive pixels on-screen) means no activity and so
no memory used.

With a black background it is far easier to merge images to make a
composite, too, though so far as I have been able to work it out,
composite images refuse to become a single image (try to select all and
you only get one part selected) and take a LOT more memory than single
images. Anyone know how to join 2 PhotoShop 5.0.2 images by pasting so
that the image isn't a composite? (I don't have the manual).
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
64 (3) 473-8863
<[log in to unmask]>
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh & VW/Toyota van nut
I want your sinistral gastropods!
-----------------------
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