24

Well. It has been months since my last  update. Have just created a new facebook page for my photography and also art/crafts (which will make an appearance soon). I prefer the layout and easiness of facebook, so I end up neglecting blogspot and flickr. Sigh.


So, please go and visit then like my facebook page. If/when I have 100 likes, I will hold some sort of competition/give away so tell your friends and family too!


www.facebook.com/LibraMoonArt

This is what I want to do. Creative portrait. I love everything about it. I have quite a few photoshoots planned so expect to see more over the coming months. 


That is all. Now don't forget to go like my facebook page! www.facebook.com/LibraMoonArt

17

It's been over a month since I last posted here. I have taken photos here and there but have been kind of preoccupied, albeit with nothing in particular. Thought another premature midlife crisis was brewing, but crisis averted I think - phew!

The almost crisis has been a sort of catalyst, though. Time to stop dicking around, for lack of a better term. It would be really cool if I could get some sort of career off the ground in the not too distant future. I can but try.

With that in mind, today I have been attempting to create something between a logo and a watermark. The reason I would like one is as a way of advertising online. Bloody difficult it is though, to get it right. Have had offers of help from designer friends, but 1) I am stubborn and like to do everything myself and 2) I do not want anything too polished and professional-looking. Am grateful for the offers though!

Here are some photos with what I have so far. I'm tempted to leave it as is for now. Deciding on what opacity to use was a chore. I think it is still a little distracting but I do want it to be noticeable for the purposes stated above. 

In hindsight, I should have been more careful with which photos I tried it out on. As in, not using pole dancers and children in the same post. Oops.

In other news, I have started a facebook page for my photography. But as yet, it is entirely untouched. So when I've sorted that out, will be a total spam bot with it. Apologies in advance.

Oh oh, something that I am excited about... there was a sale on at the body painting shop. And so I have all sorts of things en route to me in the post. Once they have arrived and I have experimented with the various products a bit, I will be on the look out for volunteers willing to be painted and photographed for my portfolio. In exchange for your time and agreement to let me use the photos, I will give you a CD of the images and a print of the best image.

Think that's all for now...

16

So, this blog has been viewed 500 times. I'm not sure who is looking. Maybe it is the same person looking over and over again, in which case, thank you for your enthusiasm, whoever you are.

On Friday I went to my friend's house for an evening of musicians, turtles, a giant bunny, an impressive feast and not forgetting the rat with canary wings who wears a wedding dress. It's not every day that you get to experience live music in a living room, it was fun.

In other news, another friend of mine has just fostered a hedgehog. After seeing the photos, I now officially have hedgehog envy. Hoping to go round and give it a jolly good cuddling sometime soon. Can you cuddle hedgehogs? I suppose you can only try... while wearing gloves. 

The Joker & The Thief:

Arnie, the rabbit the size of a small child. How can you not fall in love with this face? He has the most squeezable cheeks ever:

13

Watermarks. I have been thinking about these. Should I start using one? Maybe. Something stops me, though. For a start, it feels pretentious, considering that photography is a passion of mine as opposed to a profession. Are watermarks just for professionals? Some day I hope it ends up a profession though, so the exposure of a watermark would be handy. Perhaps I shall create one and see how it goes. 

Here, have some old photos of cakes and cafés, just because.

11

I missed an opportunity today. Saw it, right there, the moment. Felt the pull and the pang. And then walked away.

We shouldn't pass up the opportunity to do something or know someone. But we all do it, right, yeah, we all do it. 

Sillyyyyyy me.

07

BRRRR, it is cold.

Things keep breaking. Malfunctioning electrical appliances serve only to make me feel like a grown up.

Using towels from an airer instead of the tumble dryer is like using a piece of toast. Exfoliating.

On Sunday I went to my cousin's 7th birthday party. It was a beautiful day out and fun to see the family. I took photos but didn't realise just how many until I arrived home. I shall be sparing, here.

Little children are amazing. When you point a camera at an older person, they immediately pose or smile or say they are having a fat day or are looking too pale. Children though, they look straight into the lens and just... are.

06

It's been a while.

Last Friday I ventured into Kilburn armed with my camera, the address of a music venue and a vague idea of a band who were playing there. It turns out that they, Hero and Leander, were really cool - ear plugs were not required. The venue was nice (albeit not exactly accessible... I'd like to mention here how accomodating everyone was, both the band and the staff at The Good Ship) and Kilburn was not nearly as violent as its name might suggest (unfortunately, anytime I refer to it, I accidentally exaggerate the pronunciation and so it becomes Kill-Burn).

It was my first time taking photos of musicians and as suiting as the lighting was for such an event, it was difficult from a photographic point of view. You end up with a catch-22 of wanting a low ISO and fast shutter speed in order to crisply catch the action, yet needing a high ISO and relatively low shutter speed so as to actually allow light into the camera. As a result, the images I captured were more grainy than I'd hoped, not to mention the noticeable blur. Oh, and while I'm being critical, I think I need an eye test. Seriously, my focus is way out most of the time... even using auto-focus! But I digress. The next time I am in a low-light/event situation, I'm going to try using my 50mm 1.8 lens. This would mean trading zoom for a wider aperture, but it's a worth-while one, I think. Plus it would be so much lighter/discreet.

Anyway, a few of the photos:

 When I arrived home, I downloaded their EP from itunes (no idea why I even use itunes when the only apples I have reside in the fruit bowl).

Here, go see:

 In other news, I cannot stop saying awesome. The strange thing is, I lived with an American for many years and did not utter it once... now though, now I am unstoppable. A British alternative is urgently required. 

Super? Jolly good? Bloody marvellous?

Or, maybe not British, even. 

Bravo! Magnifique!

I don't know, suggestions please.

04

After a few weeks without wireless internet, I have returned.

Over the weekend I visited a local Mind Body Spirit show after hearing about it from an acquaintance. It was in aid of Little Haven's hospice. Although all things new age do no massively appeal to me these days, I like the atmosphere and people that can be found at such an event, so I went, taking my camera with the intent of practicing my bravery - taking photos in crowds makes me nervous. 

It was the first event that I have tried to photograph and there were some definite learning curves. Now that I have done it once though, I am going to keep my eye out for other local events as it was fun in spite of the challenges. 

In the centre of the room where the show was held, an area was being used by various performers. My favourite were the Akula Tribal Bellydancers:

 Their response to the photos has been really positive and they are going to use some of them for their website, so that is exciting!

Now I need to find some sort of music event - I really want to try my hand at some shots of live musicians.

Fun times.
 

03

First things first, I have made a discovery – I need to invest in a monitor for post-processing photos. The display on my laptop is very vibrant and so when I see my photos on another screen they look a bit flat. It’s basically misleading trying to PP photos on such a vibrant display – they will inevitably look better to me than they will to others. This explains why prints come back darker than I anticipate.

If anyone reading this can recommend a good but reasonably priced monitor with this in mind, then it’d be much appreciated if you could leave a comment. In the meantime, I have tried to compensate but it is difficult to do. So for now, I will just have to accept that all images are going to be a bit offish. 

Several times a month, I go and stay in Southend-On-Sea, for that is where my mum and the majority of people that I know live. Between the train station and my mum’s house, there are quite a few office buildings – some in use, some not. The whole area from A to B is a mini concrete jungle. As imposing as it all is, I find something quite beautiful about it. I’ve been meaning to take photos there for quite some time and finally got around to doing so on Thursday:

Southend's answer to Stonehenge.

"There's a little bird that somebody sends / Down to the earth to live on the wind."

As I mentioned during the last post, I am not a fan of water. I make an exception at sunset though. When I eventually upgrade my camera, I look forward to getting some decent sunset photos. As much as I have loved the Canon 450D, it gets so grainy in low-light situations and my hands are not steady enough to keep the ISO set below 800 in such lighting – grainy is at least better than blurry. Still, my photos would be improved by being able to up the ISO and shutter speed as and when required. Yes yes, I would carry a tripod if it were practical. I should probably try spot metering also – that I can do with the 450D.

My mum as a silhouette.

Aside from blabbering about cameras, I can tell you that my router has died. Thus I shall be spending a lot less time online until it is replaced. Not a bad thing at all. Perhaps I will have an epiphany. Or at least make a start on the book pile that sits here beside me.