Day 15 " Someone You Love"

Day 15 "Someone you love"  - well this is easy right? My family! I chose to take photos of my loved ones shadows and to try and capture them in motion but in separation from the subject. Harder than I thought!

My favorite one is baby on the swing the one where hubby is holding her hand. It was hard because depending on the sun and where one stands the shadow can either look in proportion or warped. Was a fun experiment nevertheless!

Day 14 "Reminder of Blessings"

Day 14 "Reminder of Blessings" - so for this topic I chose books. I love learning and I love to see kids reading books and soaking in what they read. Only this week baby started saying animal sounds like quack quack, moo and snorting. She is absolutely obsessed with books. She would rather pull all the books off the shelf and bring them to you one by one to read to her than play with her other toys.

I love the motion in this pic

Paolo Freire once said this

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” 

I think this is really important because we either rope learn and do things automatically when reading and learning or we could choose to digest the information and learn to think for ourselves. Knowledge really is power. It has the power to subjugate and the power to free you. 

Day 13 "Something To Look Forward To"

Day 13 "Something To Look Forward To"

So if you know me at all you'll know I love celebrating holidays, especially christmas!!! However all I could find was one decoration I recently bought so I decided to try and put different textures in front of the camera and see how it would come out.  

So the photo on the right was my model. Santa cookies and milk set. Hubby ate all the cookies and baby all the milk!Sorry!

Alright so I grabbed a texture close at hand and that was the privacy curtain. This is having the focus on the curtain and that meant stepping back/zooming out a far bit

I really like how this one turned out. It looks like its snowing!!! Kind off.... in this shot the curtain is pressed up against the lens 

Here I used a tennis racket and I tried to focus on the model. Hard though as the racket dominated most of the shots. I had to centre the model in the middle of the lens and have the racket relatively close 

The next two photos are relatively similar to the above just different degrees of thickness (of racket brackets) and focus 

Santa Claus is coming to town   

♪♩             ♫♬         ♭♩    ♫♬

Here obviously the racket dominates and I like it!

 

OK so here is the last one...hmmmm don't like it. Used a piece of plastic. I did want to try using cellophane but didn't have any on hand. Never mind! Always fun experiment with what we have

Day 12 "Something That Overwhelms You"

Day 12 "Something That Overwhelms You"

When I look at how many toys baby has I feel overwhelmed. Not only do I have a lot to clean up but actually there are too many for her to play with and that thought niggles away at me.

photo taken with privacy curtain pressed against lens

What niggles away at me even more is the thought that billions don't even have pre-made toys that are easily available at a store near you. This picture to my right is what many call toys and the reality is they probably find more enjoyment out of them than our children do here in the western world...(and no I didnt take that photo! but it serves to make my point)

Shopping overwhelms me. Each week I have to battle the crowds, dodge the walkers and fork out money for food that we may or may not eat but need (and want), veggies that will probably spoil and processed foods that are bad for us and yet week after week I go shopping.

                                                                                 

And yet this picture to my left (which again I did not take) is the reality that billions face each day. Not knowing where their meal is going to come from, when they will get to eat again and when will their stomachs stop hurting from the hunger.

         

My pantry, my belongings, my mess, my house overwhelms me. I have to clean something each day to keep on top of things. I hate that I have so much when little would suffice. I hate that I think I need the amount of things I have. I hate that when I look into the pantry I register it as empty when clearly it is not. 

This picture to my left (again not mine!) is what hundreds rely on: A soup kitchen to feed their hunger, the generosity of a stranger. 

My point? The things that overwhelm us in life are often our biggest blessings. We have a roof over our heads, food to eat, money to buy the food we eat and our children have toys to play with and nice clothes to wear. We are so blessed and yet we complain so much!!!!! 

When I was working full time I gave to organizations such as Oxfam and World Vision. When I go back to working more I intend to give more again because I believe that although I cannot go physically to India and Africa and help feed, clothe and give to the needy my money can. So I encourage you, though the worlds problems may seem overwhelming there are things you can do and although your world may seem overwhelming, think about what billions of impoverished people are facing day after day, even though most wont make it past today. 

Day 11 " Something That Makes you Smile"

Day 11 "Something that makes you smile" - I always have fun with baby so I thought today would be about her but then again everyday is about her!

I think its funny how much she loves her blanket and dummy. When she wakes up I say "Say goodbye to blankie and dummy" then she takes it out of her mouth and gives me them both and waves goodbye as I put them back in her cot

I think its funny how she picks up items and takes them around the house with her. She likes to put them away in strange places

I thought it was funny how she was playing with the laundry today. This photo looks less offensive in black and white lol

I think its funny how I toldbaby to put the card in her mouth and walk around the house and she did it. In this photo she has it in her mouth and dancing at the same time

Basically all she does is funny! lol. Anyway! that's all for now!

Day 10 "Photo of Home"

Day 10 "Photo of Home"

Well this was an easy one! Sorry I didn't flog yesterday, was too busy. Anyway! This is a picture of my most favouritist house in Venezuela, where I grew up. I can still remember every room in the house and some of the stuff we had. It doesn't quite look like this anymore as I found out on my last visit in 09. But to me its still beautiful and I have a lot of happy memories there.

 So I thought...I'm never going to be able to find such great angles as Libbee Dove did with the outside of her house so I thought what else is home to me....my family!

 This is a photo I took at sunset on Piha beach. I live pictures of beaches and sunset. They just take such nice photos and you don't even have to try! It was too far and too cold to go today so all you get it a photo of a photo

This is our front door of our most recent home. I think I've lived in about 11-12 houses so far and I just love how baby always sits at the front door and bangs her heels against the frame to make music

This is my dad outside his place with baby. She's his number one fan. He looks after her when i go to work or university and he's such a wonderful Abuelo to baby

And here is Abuela. I thought it would be funny to take a photo of her reading baby's book while baby read her book.

Day 9 "Someone You Call Friend"

Day 9 "someone you call friend". I had this idea to go around to my sister-in-laws house this morning and take photos of her but after I had gone to visit my mum where she works guess who I saw walking down the road! Yes! The very same sister-in-law! God definitely wanted me to photograph her then.

I love my sister-in-law to bits and she's been there for me a lot. I'm so glad I got a best friend and a sister all wrapped up in one pretty bundle. Give a hand to Libbee everyone!

Now this later experiment was a flop! It was such a cheesy idea we couldn't stop laughing during it. I love that Marcel got in on the action too. It was quite a dotty/pixally picture and I discovered through research that this is called noise. This has something to do with the electrons (blah blah blah) or the sensitivity level (blah blah blah) or a high ISO setting which gives off more background interference.

How to reduce noise you ask? Shoot at a low ISO, reduce the shutter speed, utilize the in-camea noise reduction feature or post process your photo which is what I did. I think it looks kind of funny, almost airbrushed and very smooth but looks much better than the dotty look.

Right! Off to stop procrastinating and finish my essay due thursday. Nobody try and stop me! unless you bring coffee...

Day 8 "A Gift From Someone"

Day 8 "A Gift From Someone"
This took me a little while to think of as I've had a lot of gifts from loved ones over the years but today's gift topped the list! lol

Yes, thats right! Baby left me a gift! Actually the fact that she didn't scream and try to get off the change table was probably more of a gift from her. This was the first shot I took and I was pretty pleased with the result. Its hard to find a good angle!

For christmas two years back hubby gave me a sewing machine so that meant I had to learn how to sew! Its been fun learning a new skill. Thank you hunny!

Night all!!

Day 7 "A Guilty Pleasure"

Day 7 "A guilty pleasure" - sorry about not posting this yesterday! Was too tired in the end.
For lunch yesterday (and in fact all day) we indulged in yummy but terribly bad for you food. Its definitely a guilty pleasure for us because we always feel guilty after spending money on indulgent food when it is probably best used elsewhere.

This pizza place is relatively new in NZ and it is enormous! so is the price by the way!
Anyway along with eating out I like to get my hands on America products. I've always loved America and going back a few years ago just fed my obsession. Now I try to find America in NZ wherever I go. lol United Sweets of America is another example

My second and last guilty pleasure for today is a combination of Guess (sigh another American brand) and heels (that I can only wear for about 5min at a time).
This was a purchase I made a few years back that I never told Nathan about. They live at the back of my closet way up high in the corner in their original box and packing. I have worn them but to be honest they are very uncomfortable! Still I cant bear to part with them yet....

This photo was just for fun! I like taking photos of close up images. I find the amount of detail than can get into the background distracting. Mostly with inside scenes. It's funny because when you are outside in the middle of beautiful scenery you want to capture as much as possible but inside our own homes where we spend most of our time we try to capture as least as possible. If we only de cluttered and simplified our lives this wouldn't be such a big deal.

Day 6 " A Sacrifice"

Day 6 "A Sacrifice". I'm sorry but today had to be a quick one. I was out all morning with Savanah and then only had a very short window while baby slept and before I had to go to work.
I thought about taking a photo of my husband lying on an altar waiting to be sacrificed to the gods but I didn't think that would have been appreciated lol and practically too hard.

 I tried to take photos of time using different props, surfaces and angles.

So I came up with time. Time is always a big sacrifice. I go to work a few days a week and that means I sacrifice the time I could be spending with my family but the positive side of the sacrifice is that I have more to spend on my family.

The other thing us mum's sacrifice our time for is our loved ones. Baby needs most of my time because she isn't old enough to do things for herself.

I like using iPhoto effects to edit my photos. I really like the blurred edges effect and I use the boost color option quite a lot.

However, nothing I photograph or sacrifice can ever be as great as the sacrifice our Lord gave us, that of His Son, Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins so that we may enjoy eternal life if we receive him as our savior 

ta ta for now! Happy Saturday everyone. 

Day 5 "Things I Take for Granted"

Day 5 "things I take for granted"....well that's not hard. I probably take most things for granted! Might as well start compiling my list and let my shame show for all to see

1. The Holy Bible. I should be reading this every day but often I make the excuse of "I'm too tired", "too busy", "its too early", "it's too late", "blah blah blah". We are so lucky that we can freely own and read our bibles in this country. We are so lucky we don't have our churches blown up by haters. We are so lucky we don't get imprisoned for our faith. Yet I still put off reading the bible at times and use lame excuses. I don't see past my facade and I know for sure God doesn't.

2. My marriage. It's easy to get comfortable in a marriage and take the other for granted. My husband is wonderful! He helps to clean, washes the dishes every night, baths, dresses and puts baby to bed, let's me sleep in on a Saturday, never stays angry for long, lets me rant, doesn't hit me or abuse me etc etc. But do I always remember to say thank you or tell him how wonderful he is?....I'm not going to answer this lol.

3. A good comfortable pair of shoes! Imagine having to walk around barefoot all the time. Our feet would be cut up, calloused, infected with worms and parasites and dirty. We are so lucky we can just walk down to the shop and get a pair for under $10 if we want to. I often take the small things for granted

4. My beloved cat Marcel. I have taken his presence for granted ever since baby was born. It often gets to around 9pm before we realize we haven't seen Marcel for a while and we begin to get nagged by guilt. He's always there, he puts up with Savanah pulling and hitting him. He puts up with not being fed for a few hours or misses out on cuddles because we are too tired or have our hands full. Yet I never expect him to run off or go to the neighbors for food. I definitely take this cutie for granted

5. Nappies (or diapers for you Americans)! oh how I take these for granted! Until they run out that is and I have to urgently call mum for replacements....another thing I take for granted...but imagine no napppies! I watched the babies movie and in one scene the african baby does a poo and the mum simply wipes away the mess using her knee....hmmmm....thank you Lord for nappies!!!!

OK so here is a small list of my shames. I cant display them all or I would be severely depressed and not function at work later on. What did I learn technically? Angles today. My camera didn't take photos willingly if I got too close even if in focus so I found out that if I step back slightly and I mean slightly and slowly, once the camera was happy it would take the photo. At first I thought maybe the battery was flat, but after charging it and still not working I realized the problem wasn't the camera refusing to do what it was told but me!It was really hard to take the bible shot. It took me ages to balance the lens. I took other photos that were better but then realized you could see the lamp cord at the back. Also if you look closely at the rings photo you'll see a grain of salt. I should have checked the photos as I went along...

Ta ta for now! its off to work I go, ho ho.