Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day!

OK, I know it's almost over already but for now, here in the UK, it's still Mothers Day and I've just spent an hour or so looking over some photos I took recently, adding watermarks and borders, downsizing them and now I'm putting them up here - all 4 of em!

I've done a couple of posts lately on a fabulous ebook by Katie Evans called 'The key to taking pictures like a professional photographer' and so I put some of that 'newfound knowledge' to the test with these piccies.


This first one is my daughters Buzzard, Darla (yep, she went through a Buffy stage many years ago lol). This poor bird was a rescue case and had been kept in a small razorwire cage, this resulted in her looking more like a chicken than a Buzzard when she got to us.

These next two are of the Camelias that are blooming in my polytunnel. I would so love to get this shrub outside where we can see it from the house but sadly it won't survive and I don't want to risk losing it, especially as this is its first year of flowering.

This next one is Huntly my Great Dane, he just luuuuurves his teddy bears. (I played around to make this one more of a HDR effect).

Thanks for looking and Happy rest of Mothers Day!

'The key to taking better pictures'.

Please click the link on the right hand side bar.

Please click on link on right hand side bar.

How many of you, like me, own a digital camera but you're so bewildered by all the buttons, settings and modes that you stick it on Auto, shoot away and then deal with the over/underexposed image in your camera software?
And who, like me, is so bewildered by ISO, F stops and shutter speeds in their individual elements let alone how one should be used with the other that instructions fly right over your head and out the window?

Well guys  until recently I too  had come to terms with the fact that 'auto' is just going to be my best friend from here on in - what a complete waste of a DSLR.

So what's changed?

I read an Ebook by Katie Evans titled 'The key to taking better pictures', (click link on right to see it) it's as simple as that.

So why is this Ebook so special and who is Katie Evans?
Katie Evans  began her photography career as an assistant, took the opportunity to be trained by a talented professional photographer and now runs her own small photography business. Her website 'Katie Evans Photography'  is a mine of information, tutorials and workshops suitable for all photography enthusiasts from beginner to professional.

The first thing that struck me about Katie Evans' Ebook was that her style of writing was easy to read and easy to understand, but what I found a real breath of fresh air is that Katie doesn't insist that you need every lens available or a fancy fandangled, multi dimensional, brain of its own Tripod to take professional looking images. In fact Katie takes professional images using 1 of 3 lenses only and doesn't use a tripod at all. 

FStop...............did you shiver?
ISO...................shaking all over yet?
Shutter speed..................... cold sweats now?
Finally I can honestly say that I understand those terms. Plus I am confidently learning how each individual one interacts with and defines the outcome of the other and I cannot even tell you how suprised I am by that. They suddenly seem to make sense thanks to Katie Evans ebook - cool huh!

Over 7 chapters Katie clearly explains the concepts and actions she uses in her own photography and covers everything from those dreaded ISO, Fstops, shutter speeds and all other shooting modes (including auto) to 'Lighting', 'The Shoot', 'Composition' and 'Editing'. All chapters and sub chapters are detailed, clear and very informative.
Just from reading the first chapter you get the feeling that this is a lady who wants to teach you how to take better pictures and that she is more than happy to share her experience and help you to get there and once you have 'got there' Katie then takes you through some of the editing techniques you may still want to make use of.

Before reading this ebook I  spent many a time trying to get a photo of a diary that belonged to my GreatGrandmother detailing her journey to Scotland in the early 1900's, but no matter what I did I just couldn't get the image right. Yes CS5 would do it for me eventually but I want to be able to spend more time taking good images and less time editing them.
Well this is it now:

 

Well, I know it's still not fabulous BUT the only thing I have done to this in my editing software is to reduce the image size, normally CS5 would have had to rectify everything for me.
The fake flower is a bit naff  as composition is soooooo not my strong point but that pencil is the exact one my Gt Grandmother used so I wanted to get that in the shot. You even get a sense of how pencils were cut to be sharpened rather than using sharpeners as we do nowadays.
If the image looks a bit blurry it's because I used those screw on lens filters that screw onto your usual lens and +1 or +4 or +6 the image. It's a cheaper option than a proper lens but it means you have to focus in a weird way, but at least there is a point of focus there now.

Here's the Lichen that covers all the trees here (apparantly it's a sign of clean air - which I know we have).

Again not perfect BUT all my previous attempts before reading 'The key to taking better pictures' resulted in either under or over exposed images and I just couldn't get the tone right without going RAW and editing it. This has only been edited to reduce the image size.
I'm going to spend some time getting a fabulous Macro image of the Lichen now I have my ebook to help me get it right.
So now I can continue to improve on these new found skills and use them to take better pictures for my blog. Who knows maybe I'll even take something that is printable or could be used in postcards or note books - now THAT would be super cool!

So if you want to improve your photography skills and get the most out of your camera. If you want to take better photos for your blog, your business, crafting printables or even family portraits then you should click the link over on the right, head on over to Katies blog and get your own copy of  'The key to taking better photos'. You will not regret it.

Linked up with

'Somewhat Simple'
'Nifty thrifty things' 
'The Southern Institute'
'My 1929 Charmer' 
'Under the table and dreaming' 
'Keeping it simple' 
'Sew can do' 
'Three mango seeds' 
'C.R.A.F.T'
'The Girl Creative' 
'Sew chatty' 
'I'm along for the ride'

'Creative Jewish mom' 

ColourMe weekly #6

Leavesnbloom ColourMe weekly #6.

I am fortunate enough to live by the coast and while this location may be in the very Highlands of Scotland (hardly tropical weather conditions) the scenery and especially the Flora & Fauna can be stunning.
Birds of prey can be seen everywhere and we have Buzzards, Goshawks & Tawny owls all in the woodland to the boundary of our land.
But one of the most amazing sights is the seal pups that inhabit the coves twice a year while they prepare for their life in the ocean.
A few years ago we were lucky enough to come across a seal colony only a few miles away and the opportunity for fabulous shots just couldn't be ignored - despite the freezing weather conditions as it was November.
As long as you respect the fact that these are wild animals and keep a suitable distance they can be pretty accommodating and it's one of these images that I chose to link up with Rosies Colour Splash wk.

 

This guy was pretty happy to photographed from a distance but I made sure that mum was nowhere closeby beforehand as these cute looking mammals can be amazingly vicious if the need arises.
This little guy was made for posing though. I guess he knew we were no threat and he just stayed put, gave me some fab shots and then fell asleep.

Thank you for looking, hope you enjoy the image. Feel free to leave a comment, I love getting them and always respond if a return email address is available.

Thank you also to Rosie, I'm really enjoying these Coloursplash weeks.

Colour splash

I think I may have a new crafting addiction - like I need another one of those lol.
I was checking out the blogs I follow today and happened across Rosie of 'Leavesnbloom photography's    'Colour splash tutorial' for her Colour splash weekly challenge.
I kind of just glanced at it the other day and figured  it was probably beyond my capabilities, even with Rosies brilliant tutorial.
Today however I thought I'd give it a go and I have to say I'm quite chuffed with the results - they're not brilliant, but for a first attempt surely this can only get easier and better?

Here's my colour splash palette

How darned cute is that and who'da thought these things were so easy to do!

I basically just followed Rosies tutorial for this.
I did  download some watercolour brushes from 'here'  (I used the 'watercolour splatters') and the rest I did exactly as Rosies tutorial and all of it in CS5.
The whole file size thing goes over my head so I simply made my new file size the same size as the image I wanted to use but added an extra couple of inches to the width for the splashes. I'm sure that's probably not the correct way to do these things but hey, it worked!
Seriously once I'd read Rosies instructions and had downloaded the brushes (which were free by the way) the whole thing took me maybe 15 minutes. Obviously you can spend much much longer and fiddle and faff to your hearts content but I just wanted to see what a basic colour splash would look like.
Loving it!

What do you think? Have you done any of these and have some handy hints for those stunning finishes?
Thanks for looking.