I was at a friend's house and he had some zoom lenses. I noticed that I could focus through them at either end to make little upside down intense pictures. That's all. Just something random :)
experiments
the breakfast idea
I have had this idea (that I admit might be a bit cheesy) of trying to come back from holiday with a short list of new things to try when back home. I think this could also help stave off those post-holiday blues too?
My two ideas that I brought back from Berlin were:
1. Be nice to my feet. I used to do stuff like go on huge walks in just some ballet shoes but these days I am 90% of the time in shoes that are better for me.
2. Have better breakfasts. We were given the best breakfasts by my family in Berlin, a spread of interesting rolls fresh from the bakery and all kinds of fruit, jam, and cheese. My usual breakfast is a quick bowl of Oatibix eaten in 10 seconds before I run out and jump on my bike. Or else I wait and get a multiseed bagel from work and have it at my desk.
This may have already been on my mind before I went to Berlin as a watercolour that I bought from Amy Borrell arrived on the day we left. It is from her One Day project and the title for this one is 'put more effort into breakfast'. How apt!
I am going to frame it and put it by the dining table to remind me.
So this was my attempt since we got back to up my game as far as breakfast goes...
Thursday breakfast:
I almost ran out of time but I was determined not to fail on the first one so I quickly got together some berries in a bowl with yoghurt. No time for tea or anything. Had to cycle faster so as not to be late.
Friday breakfast:
Again a bit of a rush as I was sorting out the laundry. Rye bread with Quark (a low fat creme cheese that they like in Germany) and Cooper's Oxford marmalade. This actually wasn't so great on rye bread, better on something plainer. Green tea, I only had time to drink a third of this. I took some berries and yoghurt to work to have as a snack later. I know the Hello Kitty is not very mature but it was to hand. The picture colour may be a little bit funny because I had the light on as it was so dark and rainy.
Saturday breakfast/brunch:
At last some time to do things more slowly. It was really nice to lay things out properly. We had this at about 11ish so it was breakfast and lunch.
So far it has been a success but I need to get up earlier on weekdays so it is not such a mad rush! Maybe even I could get a chance to read in the mornings, like the cute cat book that has just arrived from ai. Thanks ai! :)
animated
I have been trying out making animated gifs in Photoshop CS3. It is really easy and quite fun :)
day 7: new camera
Look what arrived today in a shoe box wrapped up in brown paper. An old film camera! It is a very nice object and I hope it works :)
in moonlight
It is getting lighter in the evenings already. For my January light experiments I am looking out for different light sources. When I got home yesterday I noticed that the evening light had a different quality to it so I took some pictures using this new dusky moonlight and a little toy deer. I used a long exposure and I zoomed out a little during the exposure to create the soft blur coming outwards.
First go at Bokeh
Just a quick post to show today's experiments with making my own Bokeh shapes. I used these instructions. The lights I took pictures of are Christmas fairy lights. The result is quite sweet isn't it! Definitely a technique worth knowing about.
January - Look at Light
I took this picture in a pub. For my January experiment I have decided on the topic of 'look at light'. Where this will lead I am not sure as yet but something I certainly would like to try out is playing around with Bokeh. I have made a set on my flickr for my pictures to go in and will share any that are any good on here too :)
