I miss warm weather and colour. Sure, I can take a few snaps of pretty snowflakes or post-process pictures from more dulcet days during the winter but really, the winter is a dry desert for me in terms of pictures.
Meh.
Here’re a couple of shots that I’ve worked on lately to remind myself that spring is really not that far away…
*sigh* I cannot wait to be shooting pics like this again!
Now that I have Photoshop CS4 installed on a new computer, I’m finally equipped to go nuts with the post-processing. The ever-awesome Raceytay of I Brake for Bokeh has a whole bunch of fantastic Adobe Camera Raw presets available for free download (some created by harold lloyd, I should not neglect to mention if I’m going to be giving credit where credit is due), and I went and snagged them all on the weekend.
I also re-downloaded and installed The Pioneer Woman’s two sets of Actions as well.
If I had my way, I’d be hunkered down over my computer right now playing with my new toys, creating my own presets, tweaking actions… emerging only to eat, sleep and go to the gym. Oh the decadence!
But, well, I have a life that include both other obligations (think “work”), and other pleasures (think “family”).
So I did what I could in terms of tinkering around with them, and I ended up printing test prints of four different interpretations of one image. Of those four, here are the top two:
So, which one do you like better?
The holidays are coming, and I’ve written a photography entry on Kids in the Capital about getting good pics for your holiday cards, so I’m going to cheat is what I’m going to do, and cross-post it here. Can I get a YAY for content? Read it after the chung chung.
Also, because I know you come here for some value-added and I’m all about giving you what you want, I’ve got to mention…
I am finally selling things on Etsy! I know! I didn’t think the day would come either. It was like I was putting in all that work and taking all that helpful advice and the goal started to become views and hearts and treasury-inclusions, and front page viewings, and I no longer really expected to actually, you know, sell anything. And what am I selling? I’m so glad you asked:
Calendars! Little ones! I sold quite a few of these babies on Etsy over the course of last weekend. Big ones, however, are apparently better appreciated in person, because I’ve placed them in an actual bricks-and-mortar store here in Ottawa, plus have had a few people enquire about buying one directly from me (hey, you can too if you drop me a line via email or in the comments section; I don’t discriminate). They’re a smokin’ good deal too: one 5×5 would normally run you at least $10 on sale, but this way you get 12 of them for only a few bucks more! Just cut off the date part of the page when the month is over and you have a 5×5 ready to frame.
I’ve also sold two actual prints! This one and this one!
Want to get in on the action? I’ve got sales running until the end of this Monday for those wanting to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. 15% off some things, a dollar value off others. And once those sales are done watch this space because I’m going to be trying out Etsy’s new coupon code option some time over the next couple of weeks and I’ll be posting more info here.
You know what that means? Even more content a-comin’! Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy the entry below, cross-posted from Kids in the Capital.
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Even if you’re an office-dwelling hermit and don’t see the decorations up at the stores and the ads on TV, it’s hard to fail to notice: CHRISTMAS is coming! (And Chanukah, and the Winter Solstice; Diwali is already here!)
Those of us that celebrate Christmas and have young children know that this is the perfect excuse to foist pictures of our beautiful offspring onto all the relatives and friends that must be dying for an up-to-date pic to replace that one that’s gotten grimy on their fridge over the last year. After all, it’s not just accepted, it’s expected. And with the proliferation of high-quality, low-cost digital cameras and free photo software, it’s never been cheaper or easier to do.
If you’re like most parents of young kids, you probably have hundreds of photos on your hard drive to choose from. And, if you’re like me, that probably won’t stop you from trying to take “the” Christmas photo again this year. You know the one: every person in the picture dressed in something nice, smiling, and looking at the camera. And while that is a lovely goal, well, let’s just say it’s not bad to have a Plan B. (And maybe C.)
(D wouldn’t hurt either.)
So, if the photo session involving you setting the timer on your camera and dashing to get into the frame didn’t turn out, here are some other ideas:
Idea #1 Individual photos of each child.
The more kids you’ve got, the harder it is to get them all smiling at the same time. There’s nothing wrong with taking photos of them one at a time. Photo printing isn’t very expensive these days and I’m sure Grandma and Grandpa would be thrilled to get more than one picture.
Idea #2 Collage time.
With the most utterly basic of software – much of which is available free online – you can stitch several photos together. Sure it’s a bit Brady Bunch to have rows and columns of smiling faces, but hey, everyone looks good and you can throw in shots of pets or seasonal items to fill any spots that would otherwise be blank.
Idea #3 Take advantage of friends.
We all know someone who likes to take pictures and would be flattered to be asked to take some of your family for the Christmas card, so ask already. They might have more luck than you at capturing everyone’s attention when it’s needed.
If you’re lucky enough to be attending a wedding with your family at this time of year, you may be able to hit the jackpot – just wait for a lull after all the “official” photographs are taken, then ask the photographer “Hey, can we get one of the group of us?” and then make sure your friend sends you a copy after the wedding. It’ll be a good photo (or should be if they’re shooting a wedding), and you’ll even all be dressed up for it!
Idea #4 If all else fails, use what you’ve got.
There’s no rule saying a photo has to be Christmas-themed. Halloween, beach vacation shots… all are fair game. Peruse your already-taken photos from the last few months (the only rule is that it has to be more recent than the one you sent last Christmas, right?). Do you see a good one of you all? Or at least of all the kids? (Let’s face it, while it’s great for us to have a photo-record of ourselves for ourselves, we stopped being the most important ones the day our first kid was born.) Chances are, when there was no pressure on achieving the “perfect” photo, a beautiful one happened naturally. After all, the best photos are the ones that show you’re happy during the normal course of your life, not the ones which prove you can smile on demand.
Tune in for later posts on the theme of family Christmas photos. Our intrepid Kids in the Capital bloggers will be talking about some great places/ways to take them, as well as what to do with your pics once you’ve selected the one(s) you want to use!
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*This is a “chung, chung”, à la Law and Order.
Remember this post? Well here’s something cool that’s come out of it: I got an email letting me know that they’re trying to put together a book of the posts and images from the Voices of the Year Gala. They don’t know for sure if it’ll go ahead because publishing fees might be too costly, but if they can they’ll use all the profits to raise even more money for the Nature Conservancy. Thinking positively, they’ve started gathering releases from all the writers and artists involved.
I’m very excited to be involved in this project, and not just because it’s an honour to have one of my images included. In my other professional life, my work history include working with NGOs that are involved in land conservation, including the Nature Conservancy. With degrees in biology and botany, this is a cause that’s very near and dear to my heart.
If it does happen, I am totally buying a copy! That would be one of the most awesome things on my shelves
I just dropped in to let y’all know that I’ve entered into a collaboration with Polarity on Etsy.com! You can now buy a locket that has three interchangeable magnetic lids, each with a different image of mine on it. How cool is that? Check it out!
So the Gala. How to describe walking into a room full of art done by bloggers and spot yours first? Especially when you haven’t had a chance to see it printed because of the tight deadline, and there it is all large and shiny and richly-coloured?
Pretty awesome comes close, though isn’t really very descriptive. At the moment though, it’s the best I’ve got.
Tomorrow I’m heading to NY for BlogHer. If you’re reading this after Thursday morning…
If you’ve just met me, or perhaps have one of my cards in your hand right now, there are a couple of things you should know:
I’ve directed you here because this is where I blog under my own name, on my own site. I contribute to an Ottawa parenting blog, Kids in the Capital, from time to time, have written the odd piece for other blogs, and I’ve had a personal blog for about seven years, but you can’t get there from here without asking me for the URL directly.
I’m friendly. If you’re at BlogHer and know no one, I’m always happy to strike up a conversation with anyone who’s interested. If you’re interested, give it a try! I look like this:
Only I’m in colour. And maybe you’re looking at me from a less-flattering angle, but I promise that’s a recent pic.
If you don’t want me to shut up, ask me about my two young kids, or about the house I once had built, or, of course, photography.
Of course, if you’re not in New York, you’re still free to get in touch – drop me a comment or an email!
I spent the last week coming up with different concepts, photographing, and editing images to embody a blurb from one of BlogHer’s Voices of the Year. I ended up with three different approaches, I uploaded them on Saturday night and they chose one for printing and framing. My image, along with a whole bunch of other art pieces, will be displayed at BlogHer’s Voices of the Year Gala and Art Auction, where they’ll be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Nature Conservancy’s efforts to help with the Gulf Coast cleanup.
I can’t actually post the blurb because the Voices of the Year haven’t been announced yet, but once they have I’ll throw the images up here for you guys to check out and judge for yourself which one you would have picked.
Kirtsy has managed to pull off the curation for this mammoth project by organizing volunteers who they reached through their blog.
The internet is a powerful thing, my friends.
1. Shawna Cameron, 2. Preeti Desai
I took my tripod to the Canada Day fireworks this year to try to capture something suitable for this week’s theme: patriotic. I think I got lucky – this pic on the left is one of my first captures of the night.
The latest in the diptych project with Preeti Desai, and the first in the Summer series. Mine is on the left; hers is on the right.
