In a World of Their Own
Out at Grandpa's Lazy M Ranch there is so much room that you can really do whatever you imagine. From visiting pigs and cows to archery and swimming- the expanse makes little minds dream bigger than they ever have before. Hours spent with a stick and a hat playing cowboys and Indians or a rope with suffice to keep them trying to lasso the dog until he lays down and goes to sleep. Most of the time our lives are way too clogged up with scheduled events and designated ways to entertain our children- but really they are their own best entertainers. To let them imagine, play, dream...that is the stuff that childhood should be made of.
Here in Oregon the rains are coming soon and at that point we'll have to move indoors for much of the fall and winter. Now is the time to bust the seams and enjoy the dry grass and last warmth of summer. I think I have just as much fun as the boys do.
Do you have memories of places and wide open spaces when you were a kid that made you feel that urge to run free? Play fort?
The Summer of Backpacking: Siltcoos Lake Trail
The Husband has been excited all year about this summer, and to an outsider it could look just like any other summer- but to our family it is known as 'The Summer of Backpacking'. The boys have been admiring the dream of camping, packing in, and fishing all throughout the rainy and cold winter Oregon months. The time has now just come so at the first hint of good weather we set out to conquer (or admire if that makes you nervous) the great outdoors.
For more photos go to my Nature Adventures Flicker set
Did you go backpacking as a kid? Any good memories to share? What plans do you have outside this summer?
Photography Tips: How to Get Great Pictures in Bad Weather Conditions
How to Take Good Pictures in Bad Weather Conditions:
1.) Be prepared at all times: Bad weather can, but it may not give you a warning. Being prepared to shoot in poor conditions will allow you to capture that shot that you would have missed had you not been geared up and mentally prepared for.
2.) Protect your equipment. Don't sacrifice your camera to get that shot. This is why rule #1 is very helpful.
3.) Many times when weather is at its worst, photography is at its best. The sky is brighter, darker, the fog is like a blanket- all those situations make for some great shots. The key is being willing to get outside when you don't want to, to leave the warmth of your couch and put on your rain gear.
4.) Don't pose people- they will all look miserable. This no posing rule is especially important in cold, windy, wet conditions! Shoot people doing what they want to do, some will turn out others won't. Don't worry about that.
5.) Be ready, be quick and then be done. Take the time you need, but then go home.
I always love answering questions for readers. I’d love ideas on future Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips sessions if you have them. Leave me a comment, I love hearing from you!
Previous Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips Posts:
The Basics
Capture Real People, In Real Life Shots
Work That Thing! How to Get the Best Shots
Tips for Group Shots: How to Shoot a Group Session Like You Know What You’re Doing!
Photo Editing, Fixin’ Your Images
Taking the Best Black and White Photos: What to Look For
What does the ISO Do For You?: Learning more about the ISO
How to Take Good Pictures in Bad Weather Conditions
Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips: I am going to do several of these posts, I am not a professional photographer by a long shot, but I love taking pictures and seeing beautiful pictures so I want to share what I have learned with you.
Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips: How to Take the Best Black & White Photos
1.) B&W Shots Are Forever. There is so much to love about shooting in black and white. It makes the people stand out- you aren't distracted by the colours, so if the shot has a strong focal point your eyes will have no problem heading there. Black and white is more intimate, more whimsical, and much better at showing the on-looker the detailing in the shot. If you aren't convinced that black and white photography is for you, read on my friend.
2.) Learning from Black and White. Shooting in B&W gives you more of an opportunity to see what is really good (or not good) about your shot. The detailing either will stand out or not depending on the contrast you have set up in the shot, sure you can edit and change some things, but you will be able to see more of the raw detailing and therefore learn to take better shots. Therefore learning from mistakes, the best of teachers.
3.) Beat The Gray! May your blacks be black and your whites, white. This was a tip from my old photo teacher in high school when we were developing our own photos from film in the toner and other smelly chemicals. I still remember the tip though. When you are shooting, your light meter is set right when there is a range of "colours" from the darkest of blacks to the whitest of whites. Also, as always try to use the lowest ISO possible to reduce what is known as noise.
4.) The Biggies in Black and White. What matters in black and white shots? Learning to shoot for texture and contrast. That is what makes an excellent shot stand out in black and white photography. You will start to know the amount of contrast you are looking for. When you are a well trained black and white photographer you will see contrasts, textures, and be able to ignore the distractions of colour and tone. The best way to do this is to practice!!
5.) Never Shoot in Black and White! Yeah, strange I know...but there are several reasons to shoot in colour and edit the images on your computer in a photo editing program. The first is that then you'll have the image in colour if you ever need it that way, or happen to like it better. If you shoot in black and white you are limiting yourself and your options with that shot. The second reason is that when you tell your camera to shoot a digital image in black and white it shoots it in colour and then edits it into black and white inside the camera. Cameras don't have as good of image converters as your regular computer photo editing, so it will be a lower quality image that you start out with.
There are exceptions: if you are shooting in the RAW format than just go for it, your camera will load the colour data on to your computer when uploading so switching to colour will be an option. The second (and last) exception that I can see is if you are really wanting to see how it will look and you want to see it in black and white on your LCD screen, then switch over to shooting in black and white.
I always love answering questions for readers. I’d love ideas on future Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips sessions if you have them. Leave me a comment, I love hearing from you!
Previous Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips:
The Basics
Capture Real People, In Real Life Shots
Work That Thing! How to Get the Best Shots
Tips for Group Shots: How to Shoot a Group Session Like You Know What You’re Doing!
Photo Editing, Fixin’ Your Images
Taking the Best Black and White Photos: What to Look For
Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips: I am going to do several of these posts, I am not a professional photographer by a long shot, but I love taking pictures and seeing beautiful pictures so I want to share what I have learned with you.
Drinking Coffee, Dreaming of Brooklyn.
I haven't even been to this store, but my sister and brother in-law live in Brooklyn New York and so family goes to visit them sometimes (not as often as we need to) so for different gift giving events we have gotten some of the benefits of their travels. We love these dishes, made by Fishs Eddy, designed by Jordan Awan, the set is called Brooklyn. Sketched after the ever-growing-in-popularity city, this design is so plain and pretty that when I drink from the stuff it makes me smile. Possibly too because it makes me think of my family over there when I use it, but still, I just had to share how cool these items are.
I love the lip, I love liped mugs, it makes my mouth happy when I am drinking some precous hot beverage, or just milk too. And the salt shakers are fab, at first the boys just could not keep their fingers off of them, they were sure that there was a castle in the drawing somewhere!
Other dish sets from Fishs Eddy that are excellent:
Nursery Set
Alice in Wonderland Dinnerware
Alphabet Mugs
Polka Dot Dinnerware
Do you have a favourite set of dishes or mugs? Do you find their value is more sentimental sometimes?
I was not paid, bought or asked to do this post, and I will receive no benefit in return other than sharing a good place and product with some friends. I hope you love it!
Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips: Photo Fixin’ (Editing)
1.) Don't Get Lazy and think you'll fix it later. try to take the best images you can in the moment, not leaving the dirty work to do on the computer. I have a theory that no matter how amazing digital cameras are, they are breeding a generation of lazy and tech heavy photographers. Don't trade good technique and hard work for technology.
2.) Free photo editing online. I have fallen deeply in love with Picnik, it is a photo editing program that I have used for many an image. I just use it online. I paid the extra enabeling me to edit and change all that I please, but before I paid for the Picnik Premimum the freebe served me well too.
Here is the image you may recognize as my header image for the Dreadlock Girl main blog, with some changes and fixin's done. With photo editing, you can do so much, you can make your own header, work with your own images by putting text in them, or the year on your kids shots.
Below is a screenshot of the final Dreadlock Girl header image, I love playing with Picnik! Make sure you check it out, you surely don't want to be in the dark any longer. And you no longer have the excuse that you don't know where to find the software. Picnik is excellent and very much pop-up free. There are small adds up at the top if you have not purchased the Premium Picnik, but they are not annoying. Picnik on!
3.) Don't toss your shots too soon! switch them to B&W or sepia and that really can hide many mistakes, saving some photos from the rubbish bin, maybe even having them end up some of your favourites. An error with the light meeter, bad colouring and so many more unpredictable blunders may be blended and made invisible in B&W, as long as the image is good and sharp...try it!
4.) The more you edit, the more your image quality decreases. Yes, sadly this is true, unless you are working in RAW. I don't work with RAW because they take so much more space than any of the other formats, and because I don't like to edit that much it really doesn't matter. So with every colour change and edit, just beware of your image quality.
5.) Try not to mess. This last one is all personal opinion, maybe because I am a little old school, maybe because I like to try and get it right the first time, but it is how I feel. When I take a shot, if the sky is white, it is white, if I am lucky it will be blue, but I don't input a blue sky into my picture to make it better. Maybe more than anything I don't like messing around with those kinds of details. I like taking pictures, editing is probably my least favourite. I only try to fix my mistakes, salvage some shots...and besides that: nothing.
Make sure you check in next Wednesday for Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips!!
I always love answering questions for readers. I’d love ideas on future Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips sessions if you have them. Leave me a comment, I love hearing from you!
Previous Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips:
The Basics
Capture Real People, In Real Life Shots
Work That Thing! How to Get the Best Shots
Tips for Group Shots: How to Shoot a Group Session Like You Know What You’re Doing!
Photo Editing, Fixin' Your Images
Dreadlock Girl Photography Tips: I am going to do several of these posts, I am not a professional photographer by a long shot, but I love taking pictures and seeing beautiful pictures so I want to share what I have learned with you.
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