Onto today’s post….

DAY 21: TABLE

The Christmas table is usually a site to behold. It is something we probably don’t pay much attention to documenting with our cameras. Today is all about the table! It is where conversation flows freely. Hopes and dreams are shared, as well as heartbreaks and disappointments. Games are played, crafts are made and desserts eaten! So much of our lives are spent at the table. It is an important part of our memories.

When taking pictures of your table it is important to  change your perspective often. Place your camera on the table and shoot straight across all the plates. Stand on a chair and take an image straight down, taking one place setting or the whole table. Sit on your chair and take the perspective you see there. Try to take pictures that capture the details as well.

I didn’t change my lens for any of these pictures but by varying your focal length and retaking your images, it will give you a completely different set of pictures. Also adding mood to the setting changes things as well. By adding a little candle light to the table it changes the look of the pictures. Also don’t be afraid to move things to make a better image. (like the green ribbon in the lower left corner of the centerpiece in the image above!)

Remember if you are shooting digital it doesn’t cost you any money to fill your card. Try taking lots of different angles. That is how you will learn which you like the best!

Now that the table is set Dolly and I are off to sit and have a girls breakfast!

{hugs}

Enough talk from me…I will get onto some images!

Momma Temp rolls a mean piece of Lefse

Dolly waits for her share of the sample plate after we finished the first batch

Momma Temp took on Big Nik and got a picture of Dolly and I at the end of our day. Dolly was played out by the time we left. She fell asleep in the car on the way home and when I carried her in the house she was mumbling for me to not forget her prized piece of dough in the car.

It was a good day. Full of memories! I look forward to the next week and spending time with family.

DAY 16: TREE

I figured when I was driving into town that I had shown you enough images of my own tree to last a lifetime. While on our way home from lunch mom and I popped into a few of the local stores here. I pulled out my camera and snapped a few images of the trees the stores had in them.

This tree from A’s Unique Boutique is Dolly’s favorite. She said it’s perscet. (perfect) Her most favorite color is purple. How could she not love it…

This tree is from Voila! Momma Temp likes this one. I think it is the Scandihoovian in her. It is a very Scandinavian looking tree.

I like things a little more subdued than Dolly. Purple is not my favorite color. I do however find myself drawn to blue. This little guy and his tree were my favorite. I didn’t have the right lens on to fit this whole tree in, but I think you know just how the whole thing would look.

Make sure if you are local that you stop by both stores over the weekend and see what beautiful things they have to offer.

Since it is the weekend, this is the last December Daily Image post until Monday. I will have some tips for you next week on capturing images of your family and festivities. Have a great weekend!

{hugs}

The pull towards those old time images always gets me. It is hereditary,  I think. Step into momma Temps house and you will see at various times of the year, different “friends and family” tucked here and there. Mom collects those old pictures. You know how some people bring back a post card as a souvenir from the places they have traveled? Not mom, she finds some tucked away treasure of a store and finds a vintage photograph.  We imagine who they were and what they did, getting lost in the romance of the image. It is no wonder I am a photographer! lol  Being my mothers daughter I have been on the hunt. Literally. Every thrift store and antique store I can get into has me crawling the floor, peering up on shelves that require me to stand on my tippy toes, searching. Always searching. Someone has a treasure waiting for me to find.

Yesterday, I found one. While looking at a Canon film camera, complete with 3 lenses and 3 flash units, the owner of the store started to bargain with me. He offered me a deal to take the box of “junk”. I was hesitant. The camera wasn’t as old as I wanted and I am not a Canon girl at all. He then started a sentence that started with the words Rollei…I tried not to show my excitement. I am sure he thinks he got the best of the love sick girl who handed over her hard earned money….all for the love of a camera.

I love the camera. I was like a kid last night. I took it with me from room to room…just so I could sneak a glimpse across the room at it. It is not the camera that I hope to one day have. I did however get an amazing deal on it. I am beside myself with excitement to get film for it. Yes I ordered a roll or two last night, how could I not! I hope it is here before Christmas!

Sigh…see my new baby…isn’t she beautiful….

DAY 15:WHITE

Is it not disappointing that we have no snow for today? I will take frost though! It was really cool to wake up to this morning! I quickly took these images of the white outside before it went away.

Image Settings: ISO 640   f/2.8   SS 1/320

I am off to have lunch with Papa Jim, Dolly and Grandma. Then it is lefse making time!

See you tomorrow!

DAY 14: BAKING
Tomorrow is our actual Christmas baking day. We are making lefse with Grandma. I can’t wait! I love lefse….did I say I can’t wait? Lefse is a tradition in our family. It makes me think so fondly of my Grandparents. Grandpa was and expert “lefse flipper”. When I was little I can remember watching as Grandma rolled and he flipped. He would always tell me that it was perfect when the lefse had “Chinese” writing on it.(brown marks from cooking)
Memories are such a strong part of us, aren’t they?
It is with the thought of memories that I will get onto my images for baking. Dolly loves to bake. Yesterday she made Dolly’s pancakes. I try to let her do everything on her own. That includes making mistakes. So when she missed the mixer with her flour and had to scoop it off the counter I thought how these moments are the memories I will have of her baking.

Image Settings:ISO 2000   F/1.4   SS 1/200

 
Today as you take your image of baking I want to encourage you not to take images of just what it is you make. Take the details, the little things that form your memories. Details that may in time fade away, like your precious little ones hands as they fumble with the heavy measuring cup. Or the look they give you as their eyes,big as saucers, peer at you over the mixer paddle while they lick it clean.
Enjoy your day!

DAY 10:JOYFUL
For me seeing my children’s laughter gives ME a joyful feeling. My image for joyful is one of Dolly laughing.

Image Settings: ISO 1000 f/1.4 SS 1/80

DAY 11: FRIENDSHIP
For friendship I wanted to get a picture of Raceboy82 and my friend Sherry. We tried to meet up this weekend but it just didn’t work out. Please keep Sherry in your thoughts and prayers today as she is having eye surgery.
Since getting baby Sparrow and Flea cat they have become inseparable. They are the best of friends. While in the kitchen I looked over and saw these two cuddled up together…in a way only friends could.

Image Settings: ISO 640 f/1.4 SS 1/200

DAY 12:GAMES
While browsing for Christmas gifts, Raceboy82 was eager to point out a few games for his PS3 that he wouldn’t mind under the tree. I took the opportunity to snap a quick picture of him as he browsed.

Image Settings: ISO 640 f/1.4 SS 1/60

By now you probably are probably finished your shopping and as we count down the last two weeks until December 25 I thought I would start your week off with a fun tutorial you can do with a piece of black construction paper. For the purpose of this tutorial I used blue. My desk is black and I didn’t think it would show up very well as I snapped away in the wee hours of the morning. The intended outcome of the tutorial will make the lights in your image turn into shapes.

For this image I just flipped my focus to manual and spun the focus ring until I had the desired size of snowflake I wanted.

If you want to add a subject to your image simply bring the object you wish to have as your focus a fair distance away from your tree. Like Flea cat as she walked towards me. I plan on taking some more today during the day when there is more light. This is a fun way to take pictures of your tree….or any lights!

To build your Bokeh Hood simply do these simple steps. It doesn’t need to be pretty…it is the resulting pictures that will have your family and friends ooohing and aaaahing!

Have fun and get creative. Remember you can put any shape in the middle that you want your lights to be!

{hugs}

Last night as I walked around the house deciding what decoration to take for my post this morning I was at a loss. Everything I thought of or took was so much like the rest of my images. I wanted something different for today. I left it, hoping this morning I would have a moment of brilliance and think of something different. It didn’t happen.So I sat down on the couch with Dolly to watch a little Tinkerbell. While we were sitting there Baby Sparrow and Flea Cat ( a rescue who had fleas when we found her…Dolly named her. We have tried to change her name but Dolly likes it. So Flea Cat she remains.) were playing with a piece of garland on the floor. I grabbed my camera and snapped a quick picture of Baby Sparrow. I liked it. This is the state of a lot of the decorations here with a kitten in the house!

Here is my image for today, Baby Sparrow playing with a piece of gold tinsel garland.

Image Settings: ISO 2000   f/1.4   SS 1/100

Today as you take your image of a decoration I encourage you to try and think outside the box. We all can take an image of a decoration hanging on the tree or the Santa on the table. Part of taking an image everyday does build your arsenal of photography skills so I encourage you to push yourself to take something not so ordinary.

{hugs}

DAY 7: LIGHTS
As I said yesterday I have a lengthy post today on lights. The first thing I did was go and dig out Raceboy82′s Rebel. I wanted to show you what an image taken on Auto looks like.
So here you have it. When I took the camera and pointed it towards my tree, the camera chose to use the flash to light up the scene. This is a pretty standard picture, you probably will see lots like this on Facebook before the holiday season is over.
Image Settings: ISO 400 f/4.5 SS1/60 Flash Fired
Now some of you might not want to take your camera off of auto, so I am going to give you a little trick to help you make your images a little more beautiful…to match that gorgeous tree you so carefully trimmed. Take the little dial on the top of your camera, move it OFF of the green auto button, turn the dial to the little circle with the line through the flash. This still gives you a fully automatic camera setting, only your flash will not fire. The result? Magic!

Image Settings: ISO 1600 f/4.5 SS 1/20 no flash fired

I am going to give you a word of caution here. See that little SS 1/20 in the image settings? That means that the shutter to the camera is open for a longer period of time, to allow more light into your camera. It is compensating for the flash not firing. That also means that if you do not use something for your camera to sit on, other than your hand, your image will most likely be blurry. Setting your camera on a tripod, a table or even the floor will help to ensure you have a crisp image.

Now back to my camera…
If you take your camera off of auto and choose the settings yourself, you can get the same image, only with less of the room visible. This brings the focus onto your tree even more.

Image Settings: ISO 640 f/1.4 SS 1/100

And when I was getting really fussy about the image I was taking I turned off the lights and moved so I could get the whole view of the tree in.

Image Settings: ISO 640 f/1.4 SS 1/100

Personal taste also comes into account with the last two images. Since I am choosing the settings I am going to set them how I want the image to look. I like it dark with just a little of my tree showing. If you want to show more of your tree, simply bump up your ISO OR bring down your Shutter Speed(just remember to stabilize your camera if you go to low).

And if you want to add a little creativity into your image, flip the switch that auto focuses your camera and put it on manual. Spin your focus dial until you have the amount of blur in your image that you want. You have a beautiful image with lights.
With a little blur…

and lots of blur…

The tree with lots of blur would be really pretty if you had a big fat tree, not some skinny bean pole like mine! lol

I hope you find these little tips useful and fun. I look forward to seeing your lights and your trees!

{hugs}

Today your assignment is love. Love is all around us. I thought of it yesterday while Dolly was putting some money in the Salvation Army’s Red box. Taking a picture of love should be easy. To love someone is to give of yourself, and during this time of the year we are reminded to give a little more than we do at other times of the year.
Your picture of love can be two people in love, like my mine. It can be your family members and those you love. It could be an image of someone giving of themselves, like Dolly while she put her toonie in the box yesterday, or if you are in a larger center and you have a soup kitchen or someplace where you volunteer. Perhaps your child with a pet they love, or if they have a blankie or a stuffie they have with them at all times.
I will see you here tomorrow with a long post on taking images of lights….but for now I am off to get crafty!

{hugs}

My album pages over the weekend are mostly journal bits about our time spent together. As well for day four I put Dolly’s hand print, since she is 4.

DAY 4: SEASON

When I think of season I think of Winter, and to me winter means snow. I had planned on getting a snow image with my horses all cozy in their straw but when I saw Dolly making a snow angel I knew that was much better.I quickly snapped a picture of her laughing as she did. It is not perfect but neither is life. It shows the joy of the moment, and I remind myself that is much more import than a perfect picture. I hope that you were able to capture something from the season as well. Season could be something from Christmas, Winter or even this time of your life. Whatever you choose will be perscet, as Dolly would say!

Image settings: ISO 200    f/4   SS 1/250

DAY 5: GLISTENING

One of my favourite things about this time of the year is that we can incorporate glitter into our daily decor. LOTS of glitter! I have said it before and I will say it again now, I love light. My eyes soak it in like it is a sweet nothing being whispered in my ear, and glistening glitter makes my heart flutter. I have  Be Merry, covered in glitter hanging from a frame above my couch. It is minimal but the message has great impact. When I walk by and see the glistening words and feel the stirring in my soul, I am reminded to Be Merry during this busy time. So today I am giving you my Be Merry. Not as a close up of the glitter that shimmers and glistens, but as a message to Be Merry yourself, so that those around you see you as a glistening soul in a busy time of year.

Image Settings: ISO 1250   f/1.4    SS 1/100

Glistening can be anything that shimmers. You no doubt have lots of Christmas decor that glistens. It could be glitter like mine, or the shimmering lights of your tree. It could also be the sparkle in your children’s eyes as they day dream about what is in the presents under the tree. So today as you go on your way, Be Merry, and capture an image that glistens so much it makes your heart flutter.

Here is a peek at my December Daily Album from yesterday.

DAY 3: RED

We all associate red and green with Christmas, so I thought it was an appropriate thing for us to capture. Red can be found anywhere. On your tree, on the mantle or anywhere you place decorations. We find it in our baking and in Christmas sweets (candy canes!) It can be seen in our yards, as many of the trees have red berries. Some of the birds even have red on them. Of course the most common place we see red is on Santa Clause. Today would be a great day to capture your kids on Santa’s knee!

My intention for today’s post of something red was to show pictures of Dolly in the tub with some red glow sticks. I discovered that red glow sticks glow pink…and I couldn’t have that! So instead today you will get an image of a bird that sits on the tree.

For this image I bumped up my ISO as I had all my lights off to ensure the glow from the tree was the prominent light source.Since it was so dark I had a low shutter speed. If you find yourself going below 80 you may need to use a tripod or set your camera on something sturdy.  I also used a macro lens. If you do not have one and are trying to get a close up of an image and find your camera just won’t focus…try backing up. It could be that you are to close to your subject. Also bring your f-stop to the lowest possible setting on your lens. That allows for you to let more light into your camera and gives you that creamy background you see behind the bird. If you are trying to take pictures of your tree, or any of your Christmas Decor with lights and are having a hard time, I have a full post coming next week to help you get the kind of “capture the glow” image we all desire. Look for it next week.

Image settings: ISO 1600   f/3.2   SS 1/60

Enjoy your weekend, I will see you Monday with your post for tomorrow ( season- an easy one for a Sunday afternoon).

{hugs}