(no subject)

[camwyn]

I need to start getting to bed earlier. I'm having one of those 'I'm awake and this is an achievement' mornings.

I tested out the process of patinating copper by using crushed salt and vinegar potato chips and a bit of white vinegar the other day. It worked out rather nicely, I thought, although honestly I think it might be simpler to just soak the piece in a salt/vinegar solution next time and let it air dry- I'm going to have to make another one to compare. For now:





Quick question, btw- does the alt text help at all? I don't know if I'm putting it in the right field for people who use reader software or not.

Comments

[telophase]

You're using the correct element for the alt text!

If you'd like advice about the description itself, as we are going through a large project at work to bring the websites into accessibility compliance, I have learned about proper descriptions. The description should be tailored to the purpose of the image, and leave out things that are not necessary. Which means that the same image could have vastly different descriptions depending on how it's being used.

So you'd look at the image and decide what the important info is here. I'd say that since you're talking about patinating copper, the background and the skin color and maybe even the fact that the ring is on a finger is of minor importance, and I'd probably condense it down to focus on what you're illustrating.

However, that's the guideline I'd be following if I were putting this post up on my work's website, and this is a personal blog where it could be said that your hobby/work of jewelry making, the fact that it's probably your finger, and the photograph itself may all be equally important. I would defer to the opinions of any regulars here who use assistive technology on the importance of the elements.

This is what I'd do if I were editing this for work:

ORIGINAL (which I'd use if the photo were an art piece and not an illustration): Against an out-of-focus background of leaves, a pale-skinned hand wearing a ring on one finter. The ring is a mottled bluegreen in color with spots of coppery brown showing through. The ring is shaped like an infinity symbol made from two side-by-side wires, with the ring's band made of much smaller, finer wires. The metal is faintly shiny, as if it were coated in clear lacquer.

EDITED: Copper ring covered in a blue-green patina with spots of brown metal showing through.

MAYBE (if part of the purpose of the photo is to show the ring itself off, not just the patina): Copper ring covered in a blue-green patina with spots of brown metal showing through. The ring is shaped like an infinity symbol made from two side-by-side wires, with the ring's band made of much smaller, finer wires. The metal is faintly shiny, as if it were coated in clear lacquer.

(Also, if the purpose of an image is solely decorative and it supplies no additional information, it should be marked in the code as decorative so screen readers skip it entirely. The drawing of Mello on my DW's home page would be an example of that.)