Showing posts with label general blog chat. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

A Eureka moment

Have you ever had one of those "Ahhhh...." moments that have suddenly completely changed the way you look at something? I had one today and I am feeling pretty excited by it!

Its all to do with the dreaded MANUAL MODE (dun...dun) on my camera. Its a big deal to me to get the most out of things I have and for the 2 years that I have had my prized DSLR I have been pretty much stuck in the safe auto/preset modes. About a year ago I did venture into the uncharted territory of the A, S and P modes and had a fairly successful and pleasurable experience, but I have never quite had the courage (or ability) to go "commando" and try M mode. I have read so many blogs that say once you go manual you'll never look back, so I figured hey what the heck I can do this........ha little did I know this meant I had to use what little knowledge I had about photography to get photos AHHHHH!

For weeks (well months actually) I have been clicking away in manual mode, adjusting aperture, tweaking ISO and fiddling the shutter speed to achieve the perfect portrait or landscape only to be faced with either hideously blown out over exposed shots or completely black photos with no recognizable shapes in them what so ever. Why? What am I doing wrong? This is not what the other bloggers describe when they said the using manual mode was the best thing they ever tried (I am hoping this was photographically speaking and not in general or else they must live fairly sheltered lives?!)! I was at a loss and had resigned myself to only ever being able to go as far as semi-auto- a place I was not happy to stay!

Then I stumbled across this site this morning and I finally had the "Ahhhhh...." moment I had been searching for. http://cameras.about.com/od/Advanced-Camera-Modes/a/Using-Manual-Mode.htm the most informative section for me was not to do with f-stops, shutter speed or ISO but to do with exposure compensation...who knew it could be that simple?

Achieving the Correct Exposure

Fortunately, knowing whether you have the correct exposure is not completely reliant on guesswork. All DSLRs have metering and an exposure level indicator. This will be represented both in the viewfinder, and either on the camera's LCD screen or the external information screen (depending on what make and model of DSLR you have). You'll recognize it as a line with the numbers -2 (or -3) to +2 (or +3) running across it.

The numbers represent f-stops, and there are indentations on the line set in thirds of a stop. When you've set your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to what you require, press the shutter button halfway and look at this line. If it's reading a negative number, it means your shot will be under-exposed, and a positive number means over-exposure. The goal is to achieve a "zero" measurement, although I tend not to worry if it's one-third of a stop over or under this, as photography is subjective to your own eye.

So, if your shot is going to be vastly under-exposed, for instance, you'll need to let some more light into your shot. Depending on the subject of your image, you can then decide whether to adjust your aperture or shutter speed ... or, as a last resort, your ISO.

It all seems so simple now, I had wondered for a while what that little line of numbers was for and how it would effect my pictures, now I know. I have had a bit of a play this morning and I am starting to get the hang of this manual mode thingie and have gotten some reasonable results. I will post a few photos soon to show the results of my M mode experience. Feeling pretty happy with myself now and not a moment too soon really as I am taking photos at a friends wedding (eeekkkk) in 2 weeks and I had hoped to be out of auto by then!

A couple of other sites I have visited on my M mode quest that I have found helpful.

http://etierphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/basix-primer-on-manual-settings-dslr.html

http://photo.net/beginner-photography-questions-forum/00Zuub

http://www.nphotomag.com/2012/06/03/how-to-shoot-in-manual-mode-on-your-nikon-dslr/

Has anyone else had the same M mode experiences. I'd love to hear form anyone who has mastered it and can give any helpful advice to a willing student.

I have started a 365 photo project on Instagram #oskandoly365. I'd love to hear from anyone about what you think about my photos, it's always nice to get a little critique from people (be it good or bad).

I hope you are all having a lovely Tuesday and happy snapping.

xx P xx

Tuesday, 17 July 2012

Charity shop finds!

I love charity shops! The awesome finds, the untold stories of the little knick knacks you find in them....I could think of nothing better than spending hours looking through charity shop after charity shop (Op shops for my Southern Hemisphere readers) trying to find hidden gems. I am yet to brave the clothing side of charity shops although I have found a few great bits, I am more for the housey treasures at the moment.

I visited one of my favourite local charity shops yesterday and whenever I do go there I usually find something or other I just simply must have! This time was no exception and having only spent £2.70 (bargain!) I walked out with a small collection of goodies.

I am more than a little obsessed at the moment with crocheted doilies and when I found a bundle of 3 small round ones and 1 long, quite large rectangular one for only 20p (!!!)... well as you can imagine died and gone to doily heaven jumped to mind!

I have been looking everywhere for a small dolls bed for my daughter but have not yet managed to see anything I liked the look of or that was suitable, until....out jumps this wooden magazine stand, woot woot!I removed the middle bar of wood and gave it a good clean up and I will easily be able to paint up and make into a little cot-bed for her baby. She got it out of the bag and started playing with it pretty much as soon as we got home, so it gets the seal of approval from her.

Baby seems to approve!

I also spotted this cute little guy and for some odd reason just had to have him. I am not a collector of ornaments/weird animal toy things but this was so cute and fuzzy and strange I couldn't leave it there. I have no idea what it is or who made it, but you never know in years to come it may become a collectors piece worth millions HAHAHAHAHA wishful thinking!

I love this weird little bunny thingie-ma-jig!

How cute is he!!!

This weekend we have decided to brave what ever the wonderful English summer throws at us and get up early and go to one of the local boot fairs. It isn't something we have done as a family but I am really looking forward to seeing what bargains we can dig up, my husband has been well trained in bargain upcyclable furniture spotting so here's hoping we find something great! And here's hoping it's dry!!!! Watch this space.

Are you a charity shop/boot fair fan too? What's the best bargain you've found?

Well I hope your Tuesday is going well- off to do some house work now....it never ends! Thanks for stopping by.

xx P xx

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

The last of my June photo challenges and hello July!

Why am I finding time just slipping away? I didn't feel 100% yesterday so didn't feel up to blogging my Monday shouts and today I have all of yesterdays chores to catch up with so am not sure when I'll get time to shout out for the wonderful blogs I have discovered.

I will post my photo updates from the photo a day challenge. I have a few June ones to share and also the new July ones (am still having a ball with this!)

June 26th- Where I shop. I got a skateboard for my son for his 6th birthday.

June 27th-Bathroom

June 28th- On the shelf.

June 29th- Soft. Well it is fairly self-explanatory...my baby boy's soft curls!

June 30th- Friend. This may seem like a strange thing to have as
a friend but I was slightly seedy from indulging in too much wine the
night before...so these babies were definitely my besties!

And so the July photo challenge begins!

July 1st- Self Portrait. I am still trying hard to get as many photos of me as I can.

July 2nd- Busy. I kind of cheated on this one as I couldn't get inspired on this day so I
used a photo I'd taken ages ago in Calais, France of a busy bumblebee.

July 3rd- Best part of my day. We had the school's olympic torch relay coming to our school and I had
organised a special Maori welcome for the other school. There was flag waving and singing and Oly was given the NZ flag to wave. She did it with such vigor! It was fantastic to see my wee "pommy" daughter getting back to her roots and waving the flag with so much excitement!

July 4th- Fun. As part of his birthday treat Osk and I went to Lakeside Shopping Centre
for shopping, lunch and a film. It was nice to have some alone time with him without the monster!

July 5th- On the floor. I was covering in a Year 10 History lesson... this is my camera and handbag on the floor under my desk.

July 6th- Chair. A collage of my fave chairs from around my house, technically one is a couch but I love snuggling up on it so felt it should be part of the photo!

July 7th- Garden. I am feeling quite pleased with my garden at the moment, everything is starting to bloom and the fruit is ripening. I managed to pick enough currants to make some home-made Ribena!

Well that's it so far, it's so much fun to look back at all the photos I've taken since I started doing this challenge in April. I am thinking of making a big canvas picture using the printsgram.com service to make a huge collage.

I hope the day is treating you well...I am off now to get stuck into the housework...ewwwwww there is a huge pile of ironing beckining I HATE IRONING!

What is your most loathed household chore?

xx P xx

Friday, 6 July 2012

Olympic Torch Relay Fun and Lazy Susan project completed!

Well Olympic fever has well and truly hit here now...it was the Torch relay through my town today so on mass everyone lined the streets to cheer on each of the torch bearers. The weather, in true English fashion was appalling, but despite the ever constant drizzly rain (and one or two torrential downpours) and my Bah Humbug attitude towards the whole Olympics hoohar, the day was actually a lot of fun and enjoyed by all I think (even me!). I am feeling pretty shattered now actually and am looking forward to settling down in front of the TV tonight and then early to bed...my Rock and Roll lifestyle is so enviable!

The Olympic Torch passes us going up Chalkwell Avenue.
Just after this photo was taken the heavens absolutely opened up and we had the most torrential downpour- I'm glad I got to see it and get this photo beforehand.

I missed doing my Monday Shout outs as this week being nearly the end of term is a mad one at work and I have been in everyday this week so shout outs will have to wait til next Monday, but I have finished my Lazy Susan craft project so thought I'd share that with you.

I purchased a pine Lazy Susan from IKEA about 3 weeks ago for the bargain price of £5.39! I couldn't resist such a bargain and while I had no need, or for that matter desire, to own a Lazy Susan I thought if I could make it look pretty I'd find a use for it .

SNUDDA

Lazy Susan, solid wood birch

£5.39

It was very plain and boring so I started by sanding it right back to bare unwaxed wood and staining it using strong coffee and coffee grindings.

I then drew a design on it using a French sign I got from The Graphics Fairy...but ended up not liking it so sprayed it with a very light coat of semi-gloss white to cover the design.

You can kind of make out the design I had originally put onto the board, but wasn't happy with.

All sprayed and ready for podging!

I found an old piece of wrapping paper I'd gotten from a French Art Exhibition I'd seen at the Tate Modern a few years ago and used that to cover the whole board. Using my trusty Mod Podge I spread a layer over both the board and the paper and placed the paper on top and lined it up. I smoothed out the paper to make sure all the air bubbles were out and I left to dry completely.

When it was totally dry I noticed that in a couple of places it didn't completely cover the the board and sides so I got a small piece of very fine sandpaper and lightly went over the whole top smoothing and "ageing" the edges and centre of the paper.

I sanded the edges so they blended into the sides without harsh paper lines.

I also sanded the centre of the board to give it an aged, "lived with" look.

I then gave it 3 good coats of a clear acrylic varnish to make sure it was protected from any spills or things that were placed on it. I am really happy with the way it has turned out and I am sure if I had to buy it now I'd pay a lot more than the £5.39 IKEA charged for it.

Voilà the completed project!

I trust you are all enjoying your Friday, I am now going to go out into the garden to catch the last rays of sunshine (it decided to make an appearance in the late afternoon) before the Gnats descend and it's too bitey to be outside anymore.

Did you manage to see the Olympic torch relay in your town?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I hope it's a good one for you.

xx P xx

Monday, 2 July 2012

A frantic day!

And breath....... ever needed to have several willing clones to be in the 5 million places you need to be all at the same time? Well I wished that several times today! Never enough of me to get around though so unfortunately my Monday shout outs have to be done tomorrow- I had promised myself I'd not do that but here I am...doing exactly that... grrrrrrrrr. I just have time now while I feed the kiddlets to frantically type this quick post.

I have finished my Lazy Susan so will post about that tomorrow as well. I am off to my school prize-giving tonight so have to get all poshed up now and leave in .....ah half an hour and I'm not even sure what I'm wearing yet!

Until tomorrow.

xx P xx

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

My baby boy is 6!

It hardly seems like yesterday that I was waddling round grumbling about how nice it would be to see my feet again, and was this heat ever going to go away as I was too fat and not enjoying being sweaty and puffy! I guess my baby boy was listening and being kind to his Mumma because he decided enough was enough made his appearence 5 weeks early!

That was 6 years ago today, oh how time has flown. I look at him now and can't believe he is the same teeny tiny little bubba boy that was in such a hurry to arrive.

He has really grown-up into a proper boy now, still mad haired and still Mummy's little guy, but a proper grown-up boy, into all the strange things little boys find so fascinating.

1 year old eating his greens.

Skateboarding is his new craze, it's what he really wanted for his birthday, so when I picked him up from school yesterday I surprised him with a new "deck". Wow who knew a skateboard could have made him so popular. All the way out of school and along the road we were greated with envious remarks of 'oh wow you have a skateboard...COOL!' He was mobbed at the park so held court and showed off his boarding prowess (and sustained his first boarding injury too). It's off to the skate-park tonight to practice some tricks, I am sure it won't be too long before he'll be telling me about his latest ollie, being a goofy, his primo stack, fakies and k-grinds speaking in a language I'll never hope to understand and there'll be no more kisses for his Mummy in public!