I'm the Guest Photographer of the Month over at "A String of Pearls"!

Yes, that's right - the lovely @JaneofAustralia asked me to be Photographer of the Month over at "A String of Pearls". Click on the above image to go and check out my first post :)

Week 32 ~ Trees

If you've been following this blog, you'll be tapping your feet and crossing your arms as you wonder why it is I drag my feet and not post the weeks as I upload the photos. You're probably thinking, goodness me, just how hard is it to open up another tab, open up my blog, type in the heading, write up a few lines in the body and then hit "publish"? See? See how easy that was?  That's what you're thinking, isn't it. And yes, it sort of is easy to do all that, but this is the internets, and you and me both know just how easy it is to get carried away when you venture into that rectangular shaped screen you have before you. One minute you're grabbing the links you need for the post, when you spy new blog posts from blogs you follow. So you go and read a post or two, perhaps even comment and most certainly read some of the other comments; then an email comes in that needs an immediate response; then that reminds you of a photo from 2010 that needs editing right this minute; of course, that's not before you laugh at some of the tumblr blogs that have just updated their content; then you go back to flickr to grab the code for the link, but you spy on the right hand side of the screen the latest people they think you should follow, so you go and check them out and while there you click on some how-to blogs they've linked to and so you read those - well, you're here, so you may as well, it would be rude not too - and then you're sent some funnies  via email and of course you can't help it, but you then look at the other funnies on that site and then forward those back to the person who sent you to the funnies in the first place. And before you know it, you haven't updated your blog, you haven't even tweeted, you haven't facebooked, but you have seen some cute kitties and watched the most hilarious youtube clips. Yes, people, we are all developing internet induced short-attention issues... in fact, I'll be surprised if you're still here hanging around and reading this far into this post. You're probably onto your third website right now, and I bet you've just liked a clip on youtube too. If you are still here, take a look at some trees. That was the brief for week 32. Trees. In nature. Relaxing. Calming. Take a deep breathe in and hold and then release. Nature. Trees. Ahhh....

 

Oh, and if you've read this far, I'm pretty excited to announce that I'm guest Photographer of the Month over at "A String of Pearls". Look out for my posts!

Procrastinate the Weekend Away

Here it is Sunday night and I have managed to procrastinate the entire weekend away. That doesn't mean I didn't achieve anything. On the contrary, it was a most productive and social weekend. What I mean is that my long list of things to do (which is still in my head as I didn't get around to actually writing out the list) is no shorter now than it was at the start of the weekend. Or, the start of last week if I must be frank.

And I'm not going to berate myself over not getting done all the chores that need doing, as I know I will get them done. Sometimes I tend to leave things to the last minute, feel the panic, meet the deadline and then enjoy the sense of relief of another job well done, and ticked off the list, even if it is only in my head. Imagine not having the urgency that deadlines bring. Imagine just breezing through them. Pfffft...to that.

So, what does this pear image have to do with this post? Well, that's one of my little drawings I sketched using the Procreate app and then textured in Snapseed app. How fabbo is that Procreate app!! I drew the pair of pears today when I really should have been doing at least one of the many other jobs in my mental To Do List. Never mind. There's always tomorrow.

Oh, and I'm testing the Blogsy app with this post. I have no idea if it's possible to add links, or where that pear image is being uploaded to, in fact, I don't even know if this will post correctly to my blog. I'll soon find out when I hit send....

Have a great week doing whatever it is you choose to do :)

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week 31 ~ Books

 

Late again in blogging about The Project and now of course my mind is formulating Week 33 (which is proving trickier than I had thought). The theme for week 31 was "books" and you would think I'd have plenty of them at home to choose from, but I wanted to include lots and lots more books - and without having to empty the shelves and stacking the books nicely in just the right position. That would involve dusting  the shelves at some point and I'm pretty sure that's not part of The Project.

So it made sense to go to a place that has oodles of books, stacked floor to ceiling and in piles on the floor. There are quite a few second hand book shops here in the Blue Mountains and they're run by people who are passionate about their books. For this particular week's photo, I chose "Blue Dragon Books" located at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Diane is the owner, and Blue Dragon has been in Glenbrook for about 4 years, it's tucked in a little arcade and you know the doors are open by the big trolley full of books stacked by the door. I've been in a few second hand bookshops over the years and I have to say that Blue Dragon is well laid out, beautifully stocked and well lit. You can also read a great review for it here.

I set up my little corner, and tried to visualise what I wanted the final image to look like. By the way, I think this is really important  - to be able to visualise what it is you're trying to create. In my case, if I didn't do this, I think I'd still be sitting, pondering in the Blue Dragon, working out how to shoot "books".... anyway, while I was setting up, customers came and went and chatted with Diane about various titles and the merits of reading. What a great way to spend the day!

The book I'm holding up, and weighs a tonne, is titled "Faces - A Narrative History of the Portrait in Photography" by Ben Maddow. What a serendipitous find! I had asked Diane if she could think of any large book she may have in stock that would have a woman's face on the cover - and she came up with this. Not only is it perfect for the shot, but I now own it, as it's just what I had been looking for. The original owner of the book was Colleen, and her parents had given it to her for Christmas back in 1982. I'm sure she pored over the pages in the same way I am.

Camera details for the shot - I used the nifty fifty lens with the 430 exII flash mounted and bounced on the ceiling. f5.6 and iso200.

Week 30 ~ Something Funny

 

Indeed. Something funny is definitely going on in the reality TV and modelling world. Why, you ask? Well, it seems that no one, but no one is willing to give the talented and gorgeous Ivana B. Downwright-Glamma a chance. She has sent out millions and millions of copies of her head shots to ALL of the agencies and to ALL of the reality TV production houses around the world (yes; yes she has...) and has not received one single reply. No. Not one. And I think you can see from her portrait shots I've included here, each image is a winner. To be honest, I don't understand it. I've seen a smattering of reality TV. I've seen the adverts for the Kardashians, for Jersey Shore, for that Essex mob and I've even seen tweets about The Shire, and Ivana B. can offer so much more. Viewing tastes have changed, they are less sophisticated than they once were. Perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps Ivana B.'s days of being in the spotlight were over before they even began. Not all is lost though, she is still a favourite at the Doomsbury Retirement Home for the Photogenically Challenged where she gives up her time sharing hair and make-up techniques with those who lack the skills and finesse that she so clearly has by the bucket-load. *

* Ummm...none of this is one little bit true.