Fisheye 2

I am so excited to start using my new Fisheye 2 camera Scott bought me for Christmas!  It has been a long time since I have used a plastic film camera.  Believe it or not, he actually bought this at American Eagle (not online).  In store, they had four plastic cameras to choose from.  I had seen them in the store before, but had not actually stopped to check them out until a few weeks before Christmas.  I decided that lomography would be a fun hobby and a plastic camera would be an interesting addition to my two digital cameras.  The cameras, including film, were 50% off that day, so Scott bought me a Diana Mini & Flash Petite Noire, which I will blog about soon, to open on Christmas.  The Fisheye 2 was a surprise on Christmas Eve!

The Fisheye 2 offers several features to enhance photos.  You have the option to turn on or off the internal flash.  There are three different exposure modes.  One locks the shutter; another takes a picture a set aperture and shutter speed; and the third setting is for long exposures.  An external flash can also be attached!

I can't wait until I use up my first roll of film and get it developed.  First, I need to get our scanner to work so I can share my lomography on my blog and facebook.

Crafty Christmas Gift



I made a second set of coasters as a Christmas gift for my mom.  My mom is very crafty and really enjoys sewing and knitting.  I happened to find a set of scrapbook paper (60 sheets) from Hobby Lobby called Yarn and Thread Emporium that I used for the coasters.  I chose four prints- two somewhat "busy" prints and two tone-on-tone type prints.  The set will be great for her to use in her sewing room as she crafts and drinks her sweet tea.

Bindi and Lillie



Both of these photos were taken with my Canon Rebel T3i on the automatic setting and with my Canon Speedlite.  The top photo shows Bindi- one of my aunt and uncle's cats.  Bindi used to be much larger and fluffier.  However, she is much smaller now and looks like a completely different cat.  The vet believes it is possible that she has pancreatic cancer.  Although, when this photo was taken, you wouldn't know she possibly had cancer.  She loved the attention on Christmas Eve and purred and purred.  I love the clarity of her beautiful blue eyes in the photo.  Look closely and you can even see her tongue sticking out.  The bottom photo is of Lillie- also one of my aunt and uncle's pets.  Lillie is a mix of Basset Hound and Beagle.  At first she was not so sure about the camera and flash, but soon got used to it and showed off her sweet, yet pitiful looking expression.

Dreaming

The kitties were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of cat treats danced in their heads.

I love the way the off-white sheets on the bed make Mia's cute face stand out and make the photo look dream like.  I used my Canon Speedlite and my camera's Automatic setting to take this photo.

Halloween Decorating

I was in need of a Halloween touch to our apartment, so I picked out a couple of small pumpkins.  I wanted to add some interest to them, so I painted them and added stickers and bows.  At Wal-Mart, I bought metallic silver and champagne colored craft paints in the Folk Art brand, as well as gold and silver ribbon and loose glitter.  I already had Mod Podge, sponges, and stickers.  Here are the steps to creating these cute pumpkins:

1. Apply paint to each pumpkin with a paint brush or sponge.  Add more coats for desired color.  Let dry.
2. Add stickers.
3. Apply Mod Podge to small area of pumpkin and sprinkle on glitter.  Repeat until whole pumpkin has been covered in Mod Podge and glitter.  Let dry.
4. Add bows.

Second Craft Project

While I was making my scrapbook paper coasters, I decided to make matching magnets since I already had the supplies out.  I used the same materials (plus magnets and Gorilla Glue) and process to create these as I did the coasters.  However, I only applied two coats of Mod Podge and one coat of clear spray.  On one of the magnets, I added a scrapbooking monogram sticker that almost appears to be painted onto the magnet.  I found a large package of circle magnets at Michaels for only six dollars.  These two projects would make great gifts or a matching gift set!

 

First Pinterest Inspired Project

I recently got hooked on Pinterest.  The first board I created is entitled My "To Make" List.  I found several simple craft projects that I couldn't wait to create.  The first project I made was a coaster set and I thought it would be great to show it off on my blog. The idea came from the blog, Two Girls Being Crafty.  All you need to make these cute coasters are ceramic tiles, scrapbook paper, pencil, scissors or paper trimmer, Mod Podge, clear acrylic spray, sponge/paint brush, and felt pads.  When I made the coasters, I used 3-4 coats of Mod Podge and then two coats of spray, and I also hot glued the pads even though they had adhesive on the bottom.  Now that I have let them set a couple days to ensure everything was completely dry, I can't wait to use them! 

Safari in the City #2

I have been busy lately, so I have not posted in almost two weeks.  We recently visited Indianapolis for a Muse concert, and, beforehand, went to the zoo.  It was a fun way to kill some time and get some photos.  I do not believe the Indianapolis Zoo has as many animals as the Louisville Zoo, but its White River Gardens are lovely to see.  So, take another Safari in the City with me.

And the Winner Is...

Canon!

With a whopping 5 votes, Canon beat Nikon in the preferred camera brand poll on my blog.  Look for other polls in the future on the right side column of my blog.

Texture

Today, I decided to try something I had never done before:  Adding texture to a photo.  I'm living on the edge!  Haha.  I have seen some beautiful photos with very unique textures, and wanted to try the technique.  However, this is not something I would want to use all the time because I do love photos with limited editing (cropping and contrast, for example). 

First, I found a simple texture on TextureKing to download for free and save on my computer as a JPEG file.

Then, I chose a photo already saved on my computer to try this new technique.

I used Photoshop Elements to decrease the texture saturation and increase contrast.  I clicked and dragged the texture over the dogwood bloom photo and decreased the opacity.  Drum roll, please... 

I enjoyed learning about this new technique and will continue practicing.  I would appreciate any tips and tricks you can give on adding textures to photos.

Safari in the City

Sunday, my husband and I visited the Louisville Zoo.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and it was a great opportunity to photograph animals I don't see in everyday life.  We saw animals from Africa, South America, and North America, including lions, tigers, and bears...Oh My!  I was pleased with the photos I took, especially considering some were taken through dirty glass walls or cages.


f/5.6; 1/250 sec.; ISO-1000; 200mm

f/5; 1/3200 sec.; ISO-3200; 100 mm

 f/5.6; 1/200 sec.; ISO-100; 116 mm

f/5.6;  1/250 sec.; ISO-6400; 250 mm

After we walked through the zoo, we stopped by a small butterfly garden beside the parking lots.  I spotted one butterfly.

I hope you enjoyed the brief online safari. 

Patience is a Virtue

Sometimes, it takes time and patience to get a good shot.  I stood outside for at least thirty minutes to capture a few good shots of hummingbirds.  The photo above is my favorite.  My camera was on the Auto setting, and there was still enough sunlight outside to prevent the flash to pop up.  During the editing process, I cropped the photo, increased contrast and midtones, and added a vignette.  You can also view this photo on my Flickr photostream.

Next Project

I came across this fun way to capture interesting photographs on Beyond the Campfire blog.  It's very simple.  Sit in one spot for a while and take pictures of the small things you normally would not take a picture of.  I can't wait to try this and blog about my experience. 

Rebel on the Road

When you are bored on a road trip, get your camera out!

I used different special effect settings in the camera that I applied after I snapped a photo.

Birthday Rebel

July is full of important dates for me.  First, there is the anniversary for when my husband and I started dating, my sister's birthday, my birthday, and my wedding anniversary.  It sure makes remembering dates easy.  My husband, Scott, decided to get me one, big gift for my birthday and one year wedding anniversary.  He let me pick it out.  This is what I chose:

I decided on the Canon EOS Rebel T3i, which has only been out a few months.  My parents have a couple of Canon DSLR cameras that I had used before, one being a T1i, which has very similar features.  Some upgrades from older models include more megapixels (18.0) and a wider ISO range (6400).  So far, I love this camera, and I have been very busy filling up my 8GB memory card.

The photos above were taken with my Canon Powershot G9 camera using the macro setting.  This is also a great camera and an excellent companion to my new DSLR camera.

This photo was shot with the T3i using the AV setting and 6400 ISO.

New Blogger

I never thought I could get into blogging, but my mom recently created her own blog JanMade and it seemed fun.  I love photography, so that will be the main theme of my blog.  I created the collage found in the header of my blog in Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 using some of my favorite travel, pet, and floral photographs.  I am self-taught and hope to not only share my photos with others, but also learn new things about this great hobby.

The first photo I'd like to share is one of my sister's birthday cake.  She turned 20 yesterday.  I turn 23 today!  We celebrated our birthdays this past weekend.  The cake, made by my mom, looks great and it tastes even better!  Hungry yet?