Made It, But Missed It!

It's been over a year since I opened shop on Etsy. There are so many sellers that it can be difficult to compete at times, and I have been logging on daily to do what I can to increase visits to my shop. It seems to be working - to some extent atleast - since my work has been featured in several treasuries lately. This is always exciting, as it is satisfying to have my photography recognized.

Every day, I check the home page of Etsy, wondering how in the world people have their work shown there. Then, yesterday, I had a message from another seller (thanks, Julie of Such a Pretty Dress!) and she had put together a treasury that was picked for the front page. And one of my photographs was in it! I was a mixture of disbelief at having missed the treasury and excitement at having made it to the front page. Mostly excitement, though!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bffb64f07196d919aca8c41/a-punch-of-red

Make Some Noise!

There are certain "rules" of photography... Several of which I no longer follow.

One of these has to do with noise. Ideally, photographs do not have noticeable grain. I have found, though, that increasing the noise in my photos often gives them more interest and softness. It also allows me to be creative with my post-processing, lending my pictures more of an artsy feel, I believe.

These photos may not be stock quality or be desirable for some publications. The noise is also more obvious the larger the prints are. However, from the moment I turn on my camera to when I finish editing, the creative process is mine and the finished photo speaks to the way I feel about the subject.

Besides, who says I have to follow the rules?

Visual Literacy

A strange coincidence happened a few weeks ago...

I received an e-mail from an unknown sender, and was surprised to read that they were looking to use one of my photographs in their online publication. So I checked out their website, and was both surprised and pleased to find out that not only were they an educational site (I am a teacher), but one that promotes visual literacy (the main focus of my photography project last year).

Needless to say, I happily provided permission for them to use my photo.

And I have been making great use of the site in my classroom!

Check it out: www.literacyhead.com

Many thanks to the creators of this site for such incredible material!

My Perfect Day

Of course, it would have to be sunny and warm.

And there would be no cooking, cleaning, or laundry. But especially no cooking.

The coffee would be made when I woke up and I would have it curled up in bed with a good book. A breakfast of hot oatmeal, fresh fruit, and bacon. A long, steamy shower with no one knocking on the door.

Then I would spend the morning out picture-taking.

Lunch with my family at a good restaurant, kids on their best behaviour.

An afternoon shopping with a coffee break (with chocolate).

A relaxed supper with my husband in a nice restaurant, followed by a romantic movie.

A massage to end the day, then curled up in bed with a good book.

Sounds good to me!

Blooming Begonias!

My goal, each time I take out my camera, is to make photos that are better than the ones before. I am really excited about these ones... I think they speak to how I felt when I first saw these gorgeous blooms at the garden center today.

It Started Last Night

Some mornings I would rather take pictures.

I am up, getting ready for work, but feeling the urge instead to get out my camera. Last night on my way home from picking up my son at Beavers, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sky. It had rained off and on all day, and the clouds were lifting just ever so slightly where the sun was setting. Smoky gray clouds streaked across the sky, intermingled with puffy rain clouds.

Then, this morning, I glanced out my kitchen window and was met with the saturated colours that only happen when the sun lights the trees after a night of rain.

The light was right; my camera waits.

My Camera has a Shelf Life?

Wow - I can't believe an entire month (and then some) has gone by without adding a post.

I read something a couple of days ago that made me panic a little. It's about actuations and DSLRs. Scary to think the shelf life of my camera is limited, so unlike my manual SLR that could possible take pictures forever. I'm glad to know it, though - I'll be much more thoughtful in the images I create knowing this. That could be a good thing.

Here's the link for the article:

http://networkedblogs.com/3f95H