I’m still working on my rain photos… but my daughter and I had fun doing these this afternoon.
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Category: Photography
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Rainy Day Pics
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Just a Lovely Afternoon (not) Knitting at Knit Group
I always have a great time at knit group, and today was no exception. Except, for some reason, I didn’t knit a stitch. Often it happens that I knit very little at group time, because there’s always food, and conversation, and patterns to search for on the iPad, and all that sort of stuff. Today I think I was more focused on photographing knitting than working on knitting. It wasn’t my goal to show the projects in progress from a technical standpoint, so that you can really get a sense o the project. Instead, I was after the art of knitting, and the beauty of stitches. I only snapped a few today, but I will get more next time. These are the ones that caught my eye today, though…
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We also welcomed Kayla and Lily to our group today. Kayla just moved here from Hawaii TWO weeks ago and was already seeking out the company of knitters. I hope she’ll find a home with us! And Lily? Miss Adorable, she is! As you can see in the photo she loves to help her mama with her knitting! (Don’t worry, Kayla, Aunt Marie will have Lily knitting in no time!)
Sometimes, it’s less about the thing, and more about the people. Today was one of those days for me. I am glad to have my knitting friends, and I’m already looking forward to next time.
In the meantime, I’ve got lots of knitting to do! Catch you later!
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Photo Geek Moment
I’m a little peeved.
Ever since Adobe has moved from a per-product pricing system to a subscription-based system for its professional-level products, I’ve pretty much been done with Adobe. I’m pretty mad at them, that their products are now out of my reach. I know Elements is their “consumer” product, and frankly I might have to go there. But I have a little more knowledge than the average consumer, and have, in the past, bought versions of Adobe’s Creative Suite of products for my needs. I just can’t hack the expense of an ongoing subscription. But, herein lies my problem. You see, this week, I met this little flower:
Buttercup photo as shot by my camera This first photo is how the flower looked as it came out of my camera. It is easy to see that the white areas are over-exposed, and “blown out.” So, I hadn’t posted the photo anywhere, because I wasn’t happy with it.
I own a copy of Corel’s product, After Shot Pro, which is I guess supposed to be their answer to Adobe Bridge for processing of Camera Raw files. But, while focusing on the white areas of the flower only, and trying to get the detail to pop out, I just couldn’t do it, no matter what I tried. And I ended up with a sort of dark, ugly result. Anything else, and I was right back to the blown out white flower.
buttercup photo processed in Corel AfterShot Pro And of course, here is the same flower in Adobe Bridge:
Buttercup photo processed with Adobe Bridge software I give up, Adobe. You win. I still hate you, but you win. Poop.
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Just Jayne ‘n’ Me
I don’t really have a lot to say tonight, but my camera’s been put away since Saturday and I had the urge to dig it out. With no people, or animals, nearby for shooting at this hour, it’s just the yarn and me. So here is a progress photo of the Jayne Hat:
Jayne hat in progress Exciting, huh? I knew you’d think so.
Truthfully I am not a huge fan of orange, or yellow. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you know what my favorite color is. But I’m liking the way the yarns are combining to create a richness of bright color that doesn’t feel too “crayon-y.” Am I making sense?
Only about 10 rounds to go, then on to the earflaps. I know most knitters could probably finish up in an evening, but I’m shooting for the weekend. Wish me luck.
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I’ve Seen the Light!
I’m going to geek out a little in this post.
If you know me, you know I love my camera almost as much as I love knitting and yarn. I’m always striving to take better pictures. I am not a photographer, nor will I ever be, though very rarely my photos do get used in the context of my day job. I like it when opportunities to be creative present themselves.
There is a problem, though, in that I have always hated working with flash. When possible I prefer natural light, or nice, bright indoor light. However, in today’s energy-conscious world, fluorescent lighting is the norm, which, if you take pictures, you know, is the definition of UG-ly.
I never use my camera’s built-in flash. About three years ago my husband very generously gave me a Speedlite for my birthday, which was a huge improvement. But, I still hated the harsh shadows often produced. So right away I started looking for ways to get the benefits of using flash while at the same time, softening the effect. I can’t remember how it was that I stumbled upon the Gary Fong Lightsphere
, but it made a huge difference for me.
The only problem was, the thing was bulky, a little hard to get on and off quickly, and its rigid form took up too much space in my camera bag.
Then I discovered the Lightsphere Collapsible. It folds down into a nice, flat shape and doesn’t demand too much of my gear bag. It’s a lot easier to take on and off, and it produces such a wonderful light that is not too harsh and produces wonderful color, something that my energy-saving, but ugly-as-sin light fixtures can no longer do. Want proof?
Photo of orange yarn taken without flash The above photo was taken in my dining room, which is fairly brightly lit with a nice, off-white ceiling. The colors in this image are soft, but a little muddy, and kind of all run together. Not bad, and certainly better than i would have gotten with plain flash. But then, look:
Photo of orange yarn taken with flash This photo was taken with the Collapsible Lightsphere in place. Yes I can see a slight shadow, but it’s not harsh at all. And best of all, guess what? The photo is showing you the actual colors of my yarn. Not too bad, eh? I think after all my years of using flash only begrudgingly, I am finally starting to make peace with it. I’ve even gone so far as to realize that natural light isn’t always best, and there are situations where having nice, soft light from the flash will really improve the photo.
I love it when my love for yarn and my love of photography converge. Look for lots more bright, happy project photos from me.
That’s my husband’s Jayne Hat in progress. It’ll be done in time for this spring’s round of nerd conventions.
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Springtime at My House
Everything’s blooming at my house. Achoo! That means I’m sneezing a lot, but some things are worth it. We’ve been in this house 18 years, and we’re not exactly avid gardeners here, but luckily, the previous owners left their mark on us! I just had to snap a few photos today before blooming time is over:
After the blooming season we’ll hack down the pink azaleas so they can re-grow and we can shape them. For now, they just give our home that fabulous, Addams family touch!
For now, I’ll go back to sneezing, and enjoying the beauty… while it lasts.