Becoming a professional photographer

Day 30

2012-01-31T23:49:00.004Z

Robyn

Tohyas last day

January list

2012-01-31T23:49:00.001Z

This is what I have managed to do this month

Day 27

2012-01-27T23:47:00.000Z

Robyn:

Tohya:

Days 23, 24, 25 & 26

2012-01-26T23:18:00.000Z

Oops I have been bad for uploading the daily shot.

Robyn:

Action shot

2012-01-23T13:49:00.000Z

I managed to get the action shot tested out today.

I am pleased with what I have done. I think the best way to perfect this technique is just to get lots of pratise (but then again, I suppose that is the same with everything)

I used my objects of the day as test subjects.

A slow start

2012-01-22T22:14:00.000Z

I have had a slow start to this year with my tasks.

However I will set myself the challenges of learning this photography skill:

How to use zoom blur to add action in your photos

For photoshop I want to relearn how to use color selection and how to use textures in pictures.

Day 22

2012-01-22T21:59:00.001Z

Robyn:

Robyn decided to cook me some dinner today. It did tast very good.

22/366 22/01/12

Tohya:

A Tohya Jigsaw.

22/30 22/01/12

Day 21

2012-01-21T23:55:00.003Z

Robyn:

Robyn thought she would celebrate the start of the astrological sign Aquarius with a ritual.

21/366 21/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya - What is this.
Me - It is a chart for the different cycles of the moon for this year.
Tohya - Ahhh, why do you need this?
Me - The moon cycles are important with Paganism and influence when certain spells are cast.

21/30 21/01/12

18, 19 & 20

2012-01-20T23:23:00.000Z

Day 18

Robyn:

Tohya:

Day 19:

Robyn:

Tohya:

Day 20:

Robyn:

Tohya:

Day 16 and 17

2012-01-17T23:51:00.003Z

Day 16:

Robyn:

Robyn thought that the frost made even wild flowers that have died look beautiful again.

16/366 16/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya had fun playing and hiding in the leaves in the back yard.

16/30 16/01/12

Day 17:

Robyn:

Robyn decided that she would join in with the fun at the tree house party.

17/366 17/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya helps Luke Skywalker escape the Wampa cave.

17/30 17/01/12

Day 15

2012-01-15T23:58:00.001Z

Robyn:

While Robyn had fun playing in the frosty trees, after a while she did get cold. I think she needs gloves, a hat and a scarf.

15/366 15/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya thought the grass looked pretty covered in frost.

15/30 15/01/12

Day 14

2012-01-15T00:00:00.004Z

Robyn:

Robyn - What has happened to you Kindle?
Me - I have no idea, I switched it on yesterday and it was like that.
Robyn - What are you going to do?
Me - I will have to get a new one. I am so glad that I got the extra accident insurance which will mean I will get a free replacement.

14/366 14/01/12

Tohya:

Feng Shui meets pop art.

14/30 14/01/12

Popart creator

Day 13

2012-01-13T14:02:00.001Z

Robyn:

Robyn was impressed with what my youngest son and his friend created.

13/366 13/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya was impressed when I created a trading card of him.

13/30 13/01/12

Trading Card creator

CS5

2012-01-13T12:50:00.001Z

Yes I have got CS5 back on my computer. i have missed it.

I have also been out taking pictures for the photography competition at the club I go to. I did not realize that last night was the hand in for it. I decided that I would get some pictures this morning, edit them and get them in.

This is what I managed to get:

Day 11 and 12

2012-01-12T23:52:00.002Z

Day 11

Robyn:

Robyn - What happened here?
Me - The neighbor wanted me to cut down the tree as he was fearful that with the windy weather we have been having that it would fall down on his home. I was not happy when I first saw him as I did not know he was planning to do this (the landlord did not tell me he asked) I managed to keep the tree to hedge level. Hopefully it will start growing again in the spring.
Robyn - I hope so too as I love trees.
Me - It was after this tree was cut that I did the work in the back garden as it was from the neighbor that I borrowed the saw.

11/366 11/01/12

Tohya:

Like Tohya, Charlie my Gargoyle protects me.

It is nice having them both around.

My Gargoyle is special. I got him when I went to Seattle in 1997 (I was very releived that she did not make my suitcase too heavy when I brought him home) Bless him though, he needs a wee bit of repair work.

11/30 11/01/12

Day 12:

Robyn:

New Years resolutions - Workout

Me - I have found a solution to your workout problem.
Robyn - Yes, something that is Fairie sized, thank you.
Me - You're welcome. Have fun.

12/366 12/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya discovered one of mymini broomsticks and thought it would be fun if he could take it for a test ride.

12/30 12/01/12

Going far back

2012-01-12T21:51:00.000Z

I did not realize how far I would have to go back to start sorting through my pictures and get rid of the duplicates.

I suppose it is a reflection of how long my photographic rut has been going on for. I thought I would look at some pictures from 2010. I thought I had sorted through them, but I had not.

So not I am going to sort through the pictures from 2010 before I finish off 2011 (I have been making good progress with that year)

Thankfully I have made a good start this year as I am sorting as I go along.

I really need to sort through the pictures though as I have over 500GB of stuff. I bet most of that can go

Day 10

2012-01-10T23:51:00.000Z

Robyn:

I went out for a coffee with my friend and I shared it with Robyn. She really liked it.

10/36 10/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya likes my Shinto Shrine so much that he says that he would like to move in there.

10/30 10/01/12

Day 9

2012-01-09T22:00:00.001Z

Robyn:

Robyn - Why are you cutting this down?
Me - I am afraid that it had grown far too big, so it needed to be cut sdown. But do not worry it will grow back.
Robyn - Ah that is good then.

9/366 09/01/12

Tohya:

With a little bit of help, Tohya was albe to admire his reflection in the mirror.

9/30 09/01/12

Day 8

2012-01-08T22:33:00.001Z

Robyn:

New Years resolutions - Working out

Robyn - What are these for?
Me - You hold them on your hands and squeeze them together.
Robyn - Am I right in thinking that once again I have found something too big for me.
Me - Yes, better luck next time

8/366 08/01/12

Tohya:

There is a man on our street who parks his van in front of our house. we have asked him threee times to move it. He does for a bit, but then starts parking there again.

Tohya and I want him to move his van and put it somewhere else (where I cannot say ;) )

8/30 08/01/12

Day 7

2012-01-07T23:46:00.000Z

Robyn:

Tohya:

Day 6

2012-01-06T23:50:00.000Z

Robyn:

Robyn helped me pack away the Christmas decorations (my younglings helped as well)

That made the job so much easier. though sadly the living room looks so bare now that the decorations have gone.

6/366 06/01/12

Tohya:

Looking out

Tohya looks out to make sure that he keeps me protected. Bless him.

6/30 06/01/12

Day 5

2012-01-05T23:22:00.001Z

The weather has not been great recently to get out and take pictures and the lighting is not great indoors either (I really need to build my own light box)

However thankfully now due to my projects I am still getting shots (I could have got out today, but I really did not want to)

Day 5:

Robyn:

New Years resolutions - working out

Robyn - It is time to work off some of the weight that I have put on over the Christmas period.
Me - Erm don't you think those are a wee bit big for you.
Robyn - No I will use my fairie magic to help me.
Me - Don't you think that defeats the point of working out then?
Robyn - Oh...I think I had better find something better then.

5/366 05/01/12

Tohya:

And then there were two.

Tohya was very happy to see that the postman had brought with him another Feng Shui cat.

I think they will become good friends.

5/30 05/01/12

Day 3 and 4

2012-01-04T23:57:00.001Z

Oops I forgot to upload yesterdays pictures.

Here is day 3:

Robyn:

After being shy yesterday, I said that maybe Robyn would feel better if she used the camera instead. I managed to get her to take some shots with my partners camera.

She had fun and told me that she is feeling better about getting her picture taken.

3/366 03/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya was ready for his close up today.

3/30 03/01/12

Here is day 4:

Robyn:

Robyn - When Are you going to take down the decorations?
Me - Soon, I am still happy for them to be up.
Robyn - I am happy for them to be up, but I will help you take them down when you are ready.

Awe bless her

4/365 04/01/12

Tohya:

Tohya like climbing trees, Especially Christmas trees as he thinks they are pretty.

4/30 04/01/12

Day 2

2012-01-02T23:44:00.001Z

Here is what I have done for my two projects:

Robyn day 2:

Awe bless, Robyn is feeling a wee bit shy today. She was fine, however as soon as I reached for my camera she would fly away and hide. This time though I managed to catch her as she was peeking out from behind the curtain.

02/01/12 2/366

Tohya Day 2:

Tohya has found himself a lovely bed to sleep in with some nice soft feathers in it.

2/30 02/01/12

One object 365 days et al

2012-01-01T21:47:00.004Z

Well this year it will be 366 days.

I decided to start my second project at the start of the year.

I think this will be good for my photography motivation. Since I stopped doing projects and challenges I have not had the motivation to improve my photography skills or even try anything new.

This will be the first of various project and challenges that I set myself this year.

Here is a link to my 365 project on Flickr ( One object 365 days - Robyn )

I will also post the picture here each day.

This is day 1:

This is Robin. follow her adventreus for the next 365 days

Happy New Year ^^

Day 1/366 01/01/12

I have also decided to do a 30 days one object projuect as well (it is fun and will not take long)

I have decided that I will take a picture of my Feng Shui cat Here is a link to my Flickr set ( 30 days one object - Tohya the Feng Shui Cat )

This is day 1:

Hello I am Tohya and I am a Feng Shui Cat. I hope you enjoy following my adventures over the next 29 days. I will also be warding off evil as that is my special ability as a Feng Shui cat.

Happy New Year ^^

1/30 01/01/12

January list

2012-01-01T18:07:00.003Z

This is what I plan on doing in January:

Learn a new photography skill and photoshot skill once a week.

Plans for 2012

2012-01-01T18:07:00.000Z

Happy New Year

My plans for 2012

Complete a one object 365 project.
Read the PDF's on becomming a professiona photographer.
Sell a photograph.
Improve my photography.
Improve my photoshop skills.

Bye 2011

2011-12-31T23:54:00.001Z

Another year gone

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T23:43:00.000Z

Happy Christmas

Today I managed to get some shots of the wee ones, though they were mainly snapshots. Though I think they managed to captured the chaos that is Christmas morning (I am so thankful that they calmed down by the afternoon)

Happy Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T23:24:00.002Z

Happy Winter Solstice.

I have managed to make some progress with my sorting through photographs. I have been through January's pictures and I have managed to get rid of 8GB of photographs.

I still have a lot to do as I need to sort through last years pictures as well.

The big challenge that I need to face is deleting pictures with my wee ones. I have done it before, but now there is a mental block. It will sound silly, but I feel that by deleting pictures with them in, I am not valuing their presence, and by deleting their pictures something bad will happen to them as a result.

For now though as long as I can get rid of the other pictures then that is good enough.

I am also going to start another one object 365 days project. I think this will be great for me as it will get me using my camera ever day and thinking of new photographs that I can get.

I am also thinking of getting a light box as well. I think that will open a lot of possibilities for my photography.

It is the start, but I am really feeling hopeful about getting my mojo back.

Really have to get something done

2011-12-20T13:31:00.000Z

For various reasons my photography has really taken a back seat. I have been struggling to make any progress.

I really must do something, so the next step is that I really need to set up a plan of action and do something about it.

It really became apparent to me how long my lapse has been when I see what others have achieved when we started off at a similar time. It made me realize that I need to start doing something now instead of just plodding along. I know that I too can achieve, I just need to get the motivation back.

Another thing that I am going to do is go through the photographs that I have taken this year and delete the pictures that are not good enough and do something with the ones that are.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T23:29:00.001Z

All the elevens :)

Getting shots

2011-09-07T22:14:00.000+01:00

I have started builing a good collection of shots that I have been happy with.

It has been good to do that, as for a while I was not happy with the shots that I was getting. Though that was understandable as I was not finding any decent shots.

As soon as I have got myself organised I am going to start spending time each day to developing my photography skills.

Getting focused again

2011-06-07T21:15:00.000+01:00

While the best time for me to get focused will be when my wee ones start school I need to start getting my mind back on track. I have wandered along without a goal.

I need to work out what I want to do and then work out my plan of action.

I do know one thing. I will not do wedding photography. I am not going to dismiss portrait photography, but I do not think I will go for that either (I think if I am going to go for portrait photography I would go for candid shots rather than posed shots)

I met up with a friend that I met through Flickr recently. It was really nice to meet her and we went out for a trip to the beach. I love going to the beach. Here are a couple of shot I got that I have managed to get to edit:

Boat club: (I love buildings that are interesting shapes)

Church window:

Getting out and taking pictures

2011-05-13T23:49:00.001+01:00

After seeing the pictures that I am submitting for the gallery, I have been inspired to get out and take more pictures. I have been noticing the flowers again this year (I was not last year) and I am happy with the shots that I have been taken. I think I am getting ready for when the wee ones start school and I will have more time to really apply myself to my photography.

Here is one of the shots that I have got recently:

Happy Star Wars day

2011-05-04T22:50:00.000+01:00

May the fourth be with us all.

My prints arrived today and I have decided that as I was given six frames that I will be putting in six pictures.

It looks so funky seeing my pictures framed. I am really happy with how they look and I will be getting a picture of them before I hand them in. It is the first time that I have seen one of my photographs in a frame.

Exhibition

2011-05-01T19:21:00.000+01:00

I have decided to submit five pictures to the exhibition. I am cutting it fine though. I am so lucky that I will be given five picture frames and I have ordered the prints for them. Hopefully they will arrive in time.

Supermoon

2011-03-19T23:07:00.001Z

I was worried that I would not be able to get any shots of the full supermoon tonight, but thankfully the sky cleared and I was able to get some good shots of it.

Here is what I managed to get:

It does look really funky, so I feel very lucky to get the shots that I have done.

Photography competition

2011-02-10T23:50:00.000Z

I did not do so well in this photography competition.

He said that two of my photographs did not fit the set subject. I can see how he decided it, however I know that it did fit into it.

Though he did say some good things about the picture that I submitted that did fit the subject. He said that he liked the angle that I worked at and liked how I had tried to be different and that it did work. He also complimented the composition of one of the pictures that did not make it in and I can understand when he pointed out something in the background. I will edit that to see how that changes it.

Entered another competition

2011-01-24T23:07:00.000Z

Yestreday I should have gone out to take some new pictures for the next photography club competition, but I forgot all about it.

Thankfully I had not left it too late and I was able to get some shots taken today. I edited and E-Mailed them off tonight. I am not sure how they will do, but i enjoyed taking them and I am happy with them.

I think I will try to get some printed ones submitted as well before the end of the season.

These were the shots that I took (the competition was urban decay)

Very pleased

2011-01-14T23:57:00.000Z

That I got the shots that I did of the flooding as today it was back to normal.

I think tonight I will have a read through one of my photography books. I might have a look at the cs4 book. Hopefully not that much has changed.

Flooding

2011-01-14T02:37:00.001Z

As the ice and snow has been melting, this has produced a lot of water. As I was walking to collect my eldest son from school I noticed one area that had flooded. I have not seen it this bad, so I made sure that I got a picture of it.

Posted again on flickr

2011-01-09T23:00:00.000Z

For the first time this year. I have manged to upload a picture onto Flicks. I really need to make sure that I do this severeal times a week. Even if I just manage twice a week then that would be good enough.

This was the picture that I uploaded. It was a picture that I took in early December. (I really need to go through my pictures and delete the duplicate pictures)

Cancelled

2011-01-06T11:05:00.000Z

Well I have cancelled my Digital Photo subsctiption.

Now I need to sort through the unread magazines that I have got and keep the articles that will be useful to me and get rid of what I do not need.

I also need to start going online and finding articles that would be helpful for me.

Here is one site that I have found that gives tips for photography.

Digital Photography School

I have quickly found some CS5 help as well:

CS5 tutorial

Russell Brown CS5 tips

Goals for 2011

2011-01-01T22:11:00.000Z

These are my goals for 2011:

Learn more about CS5
Create some interesting images using CS5.
Cancel my Digital Photo subscription.
Find some photographic techniques online and compile them for easy access.
Read the Photography newsletters that I have been sent to my E-Mail address.

2010 challenges

2010-12-31T14:24:00.000Z

Here are the challenges that I set for myself. Once again I did not check on them throughout the year so I will find out how well I have done.

Go on another photography course

I have not done this.

Enter a photography competition with the photography club

I have done this.

Look for a Photoshop course and if there is one available put my name down to attend it.

I have not done this.

Read my Photoshop book and set aside times when I learn a new Photoshop thing each day for a week.

I have not done this.

Find ways in which I could become a professional photographer.

I have not done this.

Get on Flickr more often. Set aside days when I post pictures and comment on pictures. Days for posting are Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

I have not done this.

Buy a domain name for my websit

I have not done this.

Oh dear. I have not done well at all this year. I know that it really did not help that I lost all motivation in the summer. I have only started getting it back, but I really have other things that I have to sort out before I get back to my photography. What I really need to do is when at night I need to stop browsing the Internet and looking at the rubbish celebrity gossip that I have become addicted to but spend at least half an hour on improving my photography.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-25T20:20:00.000Z

But sadly no snow showers to take pictures of. I did have some fun taking some pictures of the wee ones opening their presents.

I need to find a place online that will give some tips about using CS5. I do not want to buy the book just yet.

Full moon lunar eclipse

2010-12-21T23:30:00.000Z

But darn it I was not able to get any shots of it.

However I did manage to get some shots of the full moon later on. It does not matter how many times I take pictures, I still love taking shots of the moon.

I did take some pictures of the sky this morning. Maybe I can see the eclipse in it after all. I will have to look later.

Broken lens

2010-12-21T00:50:00.000Z

Darn it my Nikon lens has broken. It is strange as it has broken in exactly the same way as my other one. I am not happy about this at all.

Thankfully I have got anther lens that I can use with my Nikon (50 - 200mm) and I also have my Olympus (it has become mine now after my partner said that he wanted to sell it after he realized that he does not really like using it)

I will be getting another lens for my Nikon in the New Year though. I will just have to try and find the least expensive lens that I can.

Making cards

2010-12-20T22:00:00.000Z

I would like to make cards using the pictures that I have taken to send to people.

I can either use a company and pay for them to print them for me:

Moo

My cardmaker

Another way is that I can print off the templates for a card and add my own image:

Free printable greeting card templates

Mirkwood designs templates

Another way is that I create the card in Word and then I can add the image at the start and then print them off at the same time:

Microsoft office.com word-help - make your own greeting cards

Ehow.com How to make a card in microsoft word

This is for an older version of Word, but it should still be helpful:

Dummies.com - How to create greeting cards in Microsoft Word 2003

Computor companion - Making cards using Word

I also came across one that could be useful for me when setting up my home business. A guide on how to make my own business cards using Word:

Barrelofcrafts.com - How to create business cards using Microsoft Word

Nirmaltv.com - How to create and print business cards with Word 2007

December goals

2010-12-01T23:40:00.000Z

I will not set myself this month:

I need to find out ways I can make cards from the photographs that I have taken.

November goals

2010-11-30T23:43:00.004Z

Oops I must confess that I have not done any of them.

Oops my bad. I will do a much better job next time.

I have got lots of shots of the lovely snow that we have had recently. I am really pleased with them. I love the snow, it is so pretty.

November Challenges

2010-11-01T23:49:00.002Z

These are my challenges for November:

I should see if there are any online guides to using CS5.

I should finish editing the wedding pictures.

October Goals

2010-10-31T23:33:00.001Z

This is what I have managed to do this month:

Get out taking pictures. (I have done this)

Sort through the wedding photographs. (I have done this)

Learn more about CS5.(I have not done this)

I think I have done pretty well. I have not done them all but I have done the majority of them. Another thing I have done is start posting on Flickr again. I have not posted for a while so it will be good to get back into the habit of doing so.

Sorting through the wedding photographs

2010-10-26T00:04:00.000+01:00

I have really made good progress with the wedding photographs tonight. Hopefully it will not be too much longer before I finish them.

I think I will spend time on them each night and work toward getting them finished in the next week.

At least the CS5 is working again. It is a bit of a performance to get it to work for me but at least we have got it (it will be invaluable when converting the images)

Darn it

2010-10-21T23:35:00.000+01:00

My Photoshop is not working on my computer again. I do not know what my daughter has done to it but it is not working.

I have asked my partner to take a look at it tomorrow to see if there is anything that he can do.

If the worst comes to the worst though I will have to take what is left of the program off and then reinstall it.

Sorting through the wedding photographs

2010-10-19T23:35:00.001+01:00

I have started sorting through them again. I have had a couple of set backs when I became ill and then through one thing and another I just have not got it done. But for the next month my main photography priority is to get them sorted out.

At least I have made a re-start.

I do not think that I am...

2010-10-10T23:18:00.000+01:00

Cut out to be a competition photographer. the two pictures that I submitted to the latest competition did not do very well. they scored 13 and 14 out of 20. I was one of the lowest scores.

I do not think the judges like my style of photography. I love a shallow DOF but it seems that judges do not.

Ah well I will just keep submitting them just to see how they do.

Though I really need to upload the pictures that I have got recently and go through the pictures that I have got as well. I really need to start uploading onto Flickr again.

October Goals

2010-10-01T23:57:00.004+01:00

These are my goals for October:

Get out taking pictures.

Sort through the wedding photographs.

Learn more about CS5.

Photoshop working again

2010-09-30T23:14:00.000+01:00

I have been quiet on here but to be honest I have not really done a lot. I have managed to get CS5 working on my computer again (though I am now getting problems with my computer)

Hopefully I will be able to get back on track with my photography.

I need to build up a database of useful information. I will start printing out stuff from the Internet. I might scan in some of my articles that I have got.

I will start learning how to use the studio at the photography club that I am in.

The last thing that I need to do is work out what I would be able to make money from. I will not stop doing other types of photography, but I will be able to specialize in the area that I have chosen.

Drastic action

2010-09-01T21:14:00.000+01:00

I have been thinking about the pile of magazine articles that I have got and I have been seriously considering just putting the whole lot in the paper bucket. It has become disorganized and I doubt I will ever sort through it. I will keep the booklets that they do from time to time.

Once I have done that I will just start from scratch. When I start getting the magazines again I will make sure that I am organized from the start so that I can avoid this happening again.

I know that if there is anything that I really want to learn about there will no doubt be soething on the Internet that will help me.

Getting there

2010-08-31T22:11:00.000+01:00

I have been getting my camera out and taking more pictures. Sometimes though I have been taking any shot indoors at the end of the day. But then again that could also be an opportunity to expand the type of piuctures that I can get. I will have to look at the pictures and see how they look.

I do like taking shots of lights at night time. You get the light which is the only thing that is lit and the reflections of the light can create some interesting effects.

I have edited these shots that I got of some mushrooms.

Getting out and taking shots

2010-08-10T23:58:00.002+01:00

I managed to get some shots taken on my birthday.

Wedding photographer

2010-07-16T21:28:00.000+01:00

Today I went out with a friend to discuss his daughters (also a friend) wedding.

The both of us will be doing the photographs for it. He will be taking the more traditional shots while I will be taking more unusual shots. I am nervous about it though as I am not used to taking portraits. I am going to have to start reading up about it.

There will have to be some shots that I will need to take using a flash and traditionally but I have got a list so I know what shots that I will need to be getting.

But I have come to the conclusion that while I am not sure what kind of professional photographer I will be I do know that I will not be a wedding photographer.

We did not have time to look at the wedding venue so we went to a castle near to where we live. I managed to get a lot of shots there. But then again I do like getting shots of old buildings.

Photoshop broke again

2010-07-02T23:22:00.003+01:00

Eek my Photoshop broke again. Thankfully though this time I fixed it again as soon as the error message came up.

I think my challenge for this month will be to find new challenges for me to do. I am not sure that I will get on another college course this year so I need to do the work at home instead.

The one thing I can think of that I would really like to improve on is my editing. I have got a Photoshop book but I have not really read it much and I have not used anything from it. I need to start reading it and trying out what it says.

I got a shot of a pretty flower I saw as I was going on my way to the shops. I am really pleased with how it turned out as getting flower shots when it is windy can be very challenging. Today was pretty windy at times.

It has taken a while...

2010-06-26T22:48:00.000+01:00

...but I have not only managed to get my Photoshop fixed but I have also sorted through my pile of magazines.

I should have fixed the Photoshop as soon as it developed the problem as it did not take long to get it sorted. I will make sure that I am more prompt next time. I am happy to get my Photoshop working again though and I will have to find the time to read through my Photoshop book that I have got.

I am also glad that I sorted the magazines out. I have also got a better system. The last time I went through them I did not really keep them together that well and they have become all mixed up. I have found some card and I will use that for a folder. I then put holes through the paper and bound them all together with string. I will have to look through them again to sort out the pages into order and make sure that what I have is what I want and what will be useful for me.

Now that I have got my Photoshop working I can now start to edit picture better.

Here are some shots that I got today:

My daughter the photographer

2010-06-25T23:55:00.001+01:00

I have not had a lot of enthusiasm for photography for the last week or two. I think that is because I have had so much to do that something had to be left off until I have the time for it. I have been managing to get pictures taken. Some days are better than the others. At least I am still getting pictures taken every day. I just need to keep ticking over while I am getting through this tough time. It has been pretty challenging this year but I have to keep at it as I still would like to become a professional photographer.

I have not even fixed my Photoshop yet. I really must get that done tomorrow.

My four year old daughter has started taking pictures with a camera that I do not use. It is a bit hit and miss as all she is doing it pointing and clicking, but I think she has done a great job with some of them. when taking pictures of the doll (she calls that her baby) you can see that she has set up the picture. There were some other shots and I thought they were a cute set up. It was a shame that they were blurry. The battery ran out before she could get more. She was upset when it ran out.

Still not fixed Photoshop

2010-06-13T21:54:00.001+01:00

Oops.

I have been so busy with getting my home tidy and organized that I have not managed to fix my Photoshop.

Thankfully I have found a way of converting my RAW files into JPEG. I cannot properly edit them like I could in Photoshop but at least I am able to do something. It gave me the chance to print off a picture for something that I wanted to put in my younglings PLP.

I went out on a day trip to Aviemore and while I did not really get the time to get any pictures I was able to get a copy of Digital Photographer. I have not got that for a while and I have not got around to subscribing to it. I will have a read through it tonight but there is a section about wedding photographs. I am very pleased as I will be needing to take good photographs at my friends wedding. I can take unconventional shots but for a few I will need to take them properly. That should be an interesting challenge for me.

I saw a really funky fungi recently. Because it had been raining there was a puddle in the middle of it. It was a challenge to get the shots of it but it was worth it.

When I was in Aviemore yesterday I went on a steam train. The stop that we got of on had a really cute station and in that station was the greatest looking waiting room that I have ever seen. So much nicer that the modern waiting rooms (I really am going to have to fix my CS4 so that I will be able to convert it into sepia nicely)

Broken camera

2010-06-06T23:17:00.000+01:00

Thankfully not as bad as it sounds.

I was at the beach yesterday when part of my camera broke. The card slot.

I changed cards as normal but when I put in the new card to use it would not click into place. I looked on the sand and found something to wedge it into place. thankfully that worked so I am still able to use it.

I will see if I can contact Nikon and see what they say about what can be done about fixing it.

My Photoshop has stopped working again. I am not sure if it is the same problem that I had before, but I will have a look on the Internet tomorrow to see if I can fix it.

June Goals

2010-06-01T22:51:00.002+01:00

I will not set myself much for this month.

But I must sort through my photography magazines, they are taking up too much room.

I must also order a back edition of one of the magazines that I cannot find.

I must apply for an ILA so that I can get on another photography course.

Quiet again

2010-05-31T23:15:00.000+01:00

I am going through a lull at the moment. It is mainly lacking direction. I have got so much going on at the moment that my photography has suffered.

I have even found that I have not been taking that many pictures when I have been out and about.

I have been getting shots every day as I had set myself in the goals at the beginning of the month, but there were days when I only took the 30 day project pictures.

I have not looked through the magazines that I need to go through.

I need to find something that I can aim toward and make a profession out of. There must be something that I can use to earn some money.

Found the cable

2010-05-20T23:18:00.000+01:00

I managed to find the cable. It was by the Playstation. At least I have got the cable and was able to get the pictures off my camera.

I was also able to catch up on uploading my pictures onto Flick.

I got some shots of some Fungi yesterday and today. I think Fungi is great as every one looks different. There are so many varieties even with the same kind of Fungi.

Still no cable

2010-05-17T22:53:00.000+01:00

I have not had any joy finding the cables to get the pictures off the camera, and my partner sadly has not been much help in finding it.

He was the last one that had the cables but sadly he was drunk at the time and cannot remember where he put them.

I have had a look through some pictures that I have already got on the computer and edited them.

Here are some shots of tree blossom:

I like this shot in color and in black and white. Though I do prefer the black and while shot.

Pictures stuck on camera

2010-05-15T23:56:00.001+01:00

I have been taking pictures but unfortunately I am not able to get them off the camera as the cable has gone awol.

Hopefully I will find it soon.

Walking into the sun

2010-05-09T23:18:00.000+01:00

My daughter can be eccentric at times and last week she wanted to take her umbrella out even though it was sunny. I got a shot of her walking into the sunlight with her umbrella. I am really pleased with how it looks (especially as I did not much chance to get the shot)

I also got this shot of my youngest son when I was at the park. He was at the bottom of the slide when I got this shot. I love the look of pure joy on his face and I also like the sun beams that are cutting across his face as well.

Pretty flowers

2010-05-04T23:18:00.000+01:00

There really is a lot that happens at this time of the year. That is why it is the best time for me to get out and about getting shots. At the moment I have not been getting much chance once the younglings are home or even when I am walking with them as I have to be vigilant.

I did get this shot this morning of some flowers that I saw on a bush. The flowers do not stay for long so I need to be quick to catch them.

I am really happy with how the shot turned out though.

New pine cones

2010-05-02T23:51:00.001+01:00

When releasing a mouse today my son noticed the new pine cones growing. He thought they were nuts. They looked really funky and I have never seen them at this stage before. Well I have never noticed them before that is.

Goal for the month

2010-05-01T23:45:00.000+01:00

I think I will set something for this month.

I need to get out and about every day taking shots of the spring. Things are really starting to grow and now is the best time to catch it.

I also need to sort through my magazines and put any useful tips into a pile.

First bee

2010-04-30T22:09:00.000+01:00

I have managed to get a shot of my first bee of the year. I think it was low in energy at that point as it was not moving much. It was a great opportunity to get a quick shot of it while the younglings were on their way home from nursery.

I did not get much time to get a shot of it but this it what I managed to get:

Been busy

2010-04-29T21:34:00.000+01:00

Once again I have been very busy so I have not been able to get many pictures taken apart from the daily pictures that I have been taking for my projects.

I think what I will have to do is set off to collect the twins five minutes earlier so that I will be able to get some shots. It is not much time but it will be wirth the extra effort.

I took this picture when taking pictures of my son. I did not use this for the daily shot but I like it. I am not sure why but I do.

New fern

2010-04-19T23:00:00.000+01:00

I love spring and seeing new life to photograph.

I especially love seeing new fern. I think it is great how they uncurl before they open up. when I first starting taking photographs I was not able to get the shot that I was after. Ever since then I always try to improve on my fern shots. I was able to get the kind of shots that I was after once I started getting better cameras. I think I will always photograph opening fern though as I think I will continue to learn new things and improve on each shot.

I spotted my first opening fern today when I was taking the younglings home from school. This is the shot that I got. I was really happy with it.

Action shot

2010-04-17T21:23:00.001+01:00

I managed to get a couple of shots of my daughter on the trampoline today. It has been the first time that I have got a good shot of one of my younglings jumping up and down on the trampoline. I am pleased with how the shots look.

Spring is here

2010-04-17T00:41:00.000+01:00

It is nice to see the new flowers coming out so that I have got something new to photograph. It has also nice getting brighter days so that I have been able to get the shots.

One of the good things about doing the 30 days projects is that it gets me looking through the pictures that I have taken and sorting out the shots that should be kept and the ones that should go.

Here are a couple of shots that I got of some pretty pink flowers:

This month

2010-04-01T22:44:00.000+01:00

I think I will just set myself the challenge of getting vback into photography.

Starting off small. Getting out and getting the shots. I should also dedicat time to looking through my magazines and seeing what I can test out.

Better month next month

2010-03-31T23:55:00.000+01:00

This month has not beena good month photography wise. I have not had much time to get anything done or uploaded at all.

It has not helped that I have not had much time to get on the computer and that I have not had much time to get the shots during the day as well as not seeing anything that has inspired me.

I think in the next few days I need to work on getting my project pictures edited and uploaded. I am planning on working on another project for this month so I need to get the pictures sorted tomorrow morning.

Returning enthusiasm

2010-03-24T19:37:00.000Z

I have recently become really lethargic and have little enthusiasm for getting things done. I have been continuing to dop m,y photography project (though not uploading it onto Flickr) but I have had no energy to take pictures or even look at my photography magazines.

I think that this is due to my over eating chocolate recently. Today however I feel like my energy and enthusiasm is returning (I have started to drastically cut down on the chocolate that I have been eating - I only had two bars today)

I went to see my friend today and her new daughter looked so cute as she slept. I took lots of pictures of her and I really enjoyed taking the pictures.

Another thing I realized was that I have not been wanting to take pictures as I have not seen anything that I want to photograph.

Editing with new computer

2010-03-01T22:57:00.000Z

My compute is still out of action so I am having to get used to editing with the laptop. It is not that good but I have been able to get by for now. I must find the disc so that I can fix my computer.

I have started a project today that will run for the next 30 days. I will take a picture of the same object for the next 30 days. I have not done one of these projects for a while and I think it will be fun to do.

This is what I will be taking a picture of every day for the next 30 days.

I also got a funky picture of the younglings when they were walking home. They all decided to hold hands. It was lovely to see.

Natural lighting

2010-02-23T21:51:00.000Z

I will have to investigate the different ways that I can experiment with lighting toget different effects.

There is of course natural light (which I have best access to) I love being able to capture the suns rays.

I saw a tree branch covered in snow and I thought I would get a shot of the sunlight reflecting off it:

Experimenting with light

2010-02-21T22:11:00.000Z

I think is is fun to experiment with lighting conditions.

I discovered that if I took a picture of a cooker burner then it looked like a blue flower to me. To take advantage of this I cannot use the flash. I think it is interesting to see the different shots are affected by light. I think I will have to experiment with different kinds of light. I like taking shots of the sunlight.

Here are some shots I took of the lamp in my kitchen. I prefer the black and white version.

More frost shots

2010-02-20T23:56:00.002Z

I managed to edit a couple more shots from the frosty days.

Here is when the frost was beginning to thaw.

Thankfully...

2010-02-19T23:21:00.000Z

The camera seems to be working fine and the pictures look pretty good. I have also noticed that the black spot also does not look so prominent.

I am just relieved that I did not make a big mess of my camera. I still need to give it a proper clean at some point but I know that I will still be able to get shots between now and then. I do not have a back up camera as I cannot find the Olympus at the moment.

Here is a cute shot I got of the younglings today:

I really must

2010-02-19T10:45:00.000Z

learn to leave things alone at times.

I decided that it would be a good idea to clean the lens inside the camera. I thought at one point that I had really made a big mess but thank fully I was able to repair what I had done. I think I will have to get a proper kit to properly clean it now.

I am not sure how it has affected the pictures that I take at the moment. I took some pictures of some snowdrops and a really funky looking sun. I think I can see how it has affected the sun but that could also be because I cropped the picture. Only time will tell. But at least the pictures look fine to me at the moment.

Snowdrop:

Funky looking sun (it is the best sun I have ever seen:

Another frosty day

2010-02-17T22:35:00.000Z

There was another frosty day. I really took advantage and took over 400 pictures. I know a lot of them will be deleted but I have looked through them and there are a lot of really good shots in there.

The frost lasted longer than yesterday so I was able to get a few shots later on. I got most of the pictures in the morning when I took the younglings to school and nursery and when I was walking back home.

Here are a couple of shots I got of some barbed wire (I love how frost can make something that is sharp appear furry and soft)

Frosty day

2010-02-16T22:56:00.000Z

Today was a nice frosty day. I managed to get some shots before it melted (sadly the frost did not last long) but I am happy with the shots that I did get.

I always find frost to be so beautiful. So delicate and always looking different.

Frosty twing:

Frosty post:

Scotlands last duel

2010-02-14T14:27:00.000Z

Near where we live there is the spot where the last duel in Scotland was fought.

I took the younglings there and it was an opportunity to get some shots there.

Here is another shot that I got of more discarded posessions. I really find it sad that people do things like this.

Getting the shot

2010-02-13T23:53:00.001Z

There are times when getting the shot means going to some interesting places. Nothing exciting though but sliding down a slope to get a shot.

It was worth it though. Though it is sad that the things were there in the first place. I would sooner them not be there than there to get the shot.

This was where I had to slide down to get to get my shot:

This was the shot that I was able to get:

Picnic time

2010-02-11T23:48:00.000Z

I took my younglings out for a walk today. It gave me a good opportunity to take some shots around the wood and take some pictures in parts of the wood that I do not get the chance to go to.

I enjoyed getting out and taking pictures. It was a nice day for it.

Here are some of the pictures that I got:

Capturing sunlight

2010-02-09T23:08:00.000Z

I have recently had a few opportunities to take some shots of the sunlight. I have been really happy with the shots that I have been able to get.

Today I managed to get a shot of the sunlight and a reflection of the sunlight in the stream that goes through the wood.

A lazy day

2010-02-07T22:16:00.000Z

I decided that I would have a lazy day and by the time that I got out the lighting was even worse than what it had been at its brightest (which was not that bright)

It has given me a good opportunity to look through some of my older pictures and see which one I could edit.

Here are some that I got from when I was in Cornwall:

Once again bad lighting

2010-02-06T23:20:00.000Z

The damp and dark weather is back again, so the lighting conditions are yet again not that good. Thank goodness for Photoshop for being able to help lighten up the pictures. I also edited the picture using picnik (that really brightened up the picture)

This is what I ended up with: