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The Sunday Creative: Nostalgia

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I've only played along with Sunday Creative once before, although I enjoy going through all the wonderful entries each week. This week's prompt was "nostalgia," and I had the perfect object to photograph. Just a week or so ago, I found a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera at an antique shop in Corning. This is the fourth vintage camera I've picked up, but this one is the first that has any meaning to me. My very first camera was a Kodak Brownie. How I wish I still had it! The first roll of film I ever remember taking was of Niagara Falls on a family trip. It was black & white film (of course) and even as a kid, I was dismayed when the film was developed to discover that nearly all the photographs looked exactly the same. It was many years before I learned to vary the composition of a subject. So here's a look at my cute "new" Brownie, although regular blog readers will recognize it from yesterday's post on ISO.

KodakBrownie 

Once again I played around with some textures in PSE. I used Kim Klassen's Light Paper 4 at Soft Light, then Cinnamon at Soft Light, and finally decreased the saturation to -32.

Playing with ISO

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Although I've read a good deal about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture (even whole books on one of the subjects), I've never read a better explanation of ISO than Darcy has on today's 31 Days to a Better Photo series. She asked us to take the same photo starting at our lowest ISO and then doubling it while we watched the shutter speed. It's a very rainy, cold day here, so I opted to take an indoor shot of the vintage Kodak Brownie I picked up a week ago. All the shots were taken at 2.0 aperture with my 50 mm lens. As expected with every increase in ISO there's a corresponding increase in shutter speed.

ISO100
ISO 100, Shutter speed 1/10

ISO200
ISO 200, Shutter speed 120

ISO400
ISO 400, Shutter speed 1/40

ISO800
ISO 800, Shutter speed 1/60 (Inside on a gray day, this is the ISO I typically have to use if I want to hand hold my camera, which I did today.)

ISO1600
ISO 1600, Shutter speed 1/100  (With this ISO you typically see a lot of noise, although I don't seem to be able to distinguish much on the computer. If I were to print this series, it might be much more noticeable.)

I'm enjoying these exercises even though I've done similar ones in the past for online courses. Every time I do a series of these, I understand the concepts better.

Playing with Shutter Speed & Studio Pics

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Today's post for 31 Days to a Better Photo dealt with shutter speed. It seems to me from my reading that most people understand shutter speed before they understand aperture. I had the opposite experience. Before I started shooting in manual this year, I almost always shot in aperture priority. Occasionally I would play with shutter speed, usually while shooting water in a fountain or a waterfall, but I rarely got what I hoped for. After today's exercises I feel more comfortable with shutter speed, and know that one of the problems I've always had in the past is not using a tripod.

I've been planning a post about my new studio for a while, but have had trouble getting the shots I wanted, primarily because of the lights in the studio. Although this room has more light than my last one, our house is generally dark, and we need artificial light most of the time. Today I put the camera on the tripod, and practiced two techniques (in addition to changing shutter speed) that I picked up on Kent Weakley's blog:  depressing the shutter button with almost no movement with your index finger, and using the self-timer set at 2 seconds. Although I got good results with both, I much prefer the self-timer. So here are the photos from the shutter speed experiment.

1:125_2.8w
Shutter speed 1/125

1:30_2.8w
Shutter speed 1/30

1:8_4.0w
Shutter speed 1/8

0.6_4.0w
Shutter speed 0.4

The best of the lot is #3, and I would never be able to get a sharp picuture hand holding the camera at that speed. Although the last photo is very washed out, it has an artsy feel to it that I don't mind. These photos show the main work space in my new studio. The corner desk actually divides the room into two area. The TV in the corner in on a wooden stand Tracy made years ago to hold my wooden stamps. The shelves hold paper, supplies, notebooks, embellishments, alphas, and paper pads. Using lots of baskets maximizes the space there.

This room also has a built-in desk. I gathered all my books from around the house and brought them all into the studio so I have a shelf of books about scrapbooking/cardmaking, a shelf for photography, writing, computer manuals, and a few favorites. I also have room to display some photos and special treasures I've picked up in our travels. My sewing machine has been set up in this room for over a year. The drawers now house all of my sewing supplies as well as some office supplies.

SewingDeskw 

DeskBookshelvesw
At the same end of the room is a reading and die cutting station. I've had my Cuttlebug and dies in this room for nearly a year as well, but I purchased a lateral file that matches my desk to create a die cutting table. My Slice sits on top, and the Cuttlebug, dies, impression plates, and embossing folders are on the open shelves. In the file drawers are all my paper scraps filed by color, alpha stickers, and some patterned papers. In the corner is my wonderful red chair from LL Bean that folds out to create a single bed if needed.

ReadingCorner
Behind my desk and between the door to the room and the closed door is my fold-up table from IKEA. It was one of the best $19 I ever spent. It's mounted to be counter height so if I want to stand to put together a layout I can, but it doesn't take up much room when collapsed against the wall. Above it is a printer's drawer I refinished a year or so ago where I house most of my wooden sentiment stamps. The table isn't centered under it because I wanted to be able to open the closet door when it's up. I now have an Ott clamp light for the table, and keep it up most of the time.

Printer'sDrawerw
Really, I can't believe I fought this move for so long. I absolutely love everything about it. It's so easy to find everything, and very quick to put away the terrible mess I always make when creating. The best part is that both Tracy and Matt come in here to visit much more frequently now. It really is a very inviting place.

World Card Making Day & Caardvarks C&S Challenge

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It's been the second day where everything I do seems to take twice as long as I allotted. I needed a wedding card, so I did get one card made during World Card Making Day. This fits the Caardvarks Clean & Simple Challenge as well.

WeddingCard2

 

Supplies: Cardstock: from stash; Dies: Diamond Impression Plate
(PTI); Scrap-Mart Exclusive Square/Oval Nestability; Pearls: Zva
Creative; ribbon: Midori; Stamp: Delightful Dahlias (PTI)

Today for my photography project, I set up my new tripod and ball head. I think I'll enjoy using it. I ended up getting the lighter of two tripods I considered, giving up some stability. I know myself well enough to know I'm not going to want to haul a heavy tripod out in the field. I also got out the neutral density filter and figured out how to get it on the camera. Friday we're planning a little photography road trip so I can put some of this into practice.

I also spent too much time this morning reading photography tips and watching videos on Kent Weakley's Blog. It is definitely worth checking out. His explanations are clear and his photography is wonderful. I particularly liked a series of five videos on getting sharper focus. I'll be trying all of them soon, and the tips are good for any camera. Another great post was the Top 5 Reasons for Getting the Shot Now. Great practical advice here.

Green Leaves

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I know it's fall, and there are lots of places where leaves have really turned color, but not yet on our street. I was sitting at the kitchen table after dinner tonight when, all of a sudden, the sun came out, striking the leaves on our red bud tree. I ran up and got my camera and took some shots. Looking at the LCD display, I didn't think I had anything worth saving, but once I uploaded them to the computer there were a few I liked. I had my 50mm 1.4 lens on  the camera, set between 1.6 and 2.8 for all of these shots.

Leaf1w 

 

Leaves1w 


Leaf2w
Right under the tree is a hydrangea bush, so while I was there . . .

Hydrangea1w
Here's a very similar shot, but on this one I use the Pioneer Woman's Boost action.

HydrangeaBoostw 

Although I decided not to take Picture Fall, I have decided that October will be Improve My Photography month. I just bought a new tripod and have ordered the Tamron 60mm macro lens since there is a huge rebate offer now until October 10th. This is the last of the lenses I've been wanting, and I almost ordered it this summer when the rebate was half what it is now. So glad I waited. I got an extra discount at Beach Camera as well, so I'm very pleased.

Through Lee's blog, I found Darcy's blog. Darcy is doing a 31 Days to a Better Photo series, which started today. Kim Klassen is also offering a free e-class on Photoshop Elements. You can find out about it and sign up here.  I'm going to do both, as well as finish watching the instructional videos on Lynda.com.  I also have a list of things I want to learn or relearn or practice this month. I'm going to post it as a way to hold myself  more accountable.

  • learn to set up and focus the camera quickly on the tripod
  • review and practice using Auto Exposure Bracketing
  • learn how to use back button focusing
  • try out Photomerge and Recompose on Photoshop Elements
  • learn how to use Gradient Maps on Photoshop Elements
  • practice using my neutral density filter which Tracy gave me over a year ago, but is still in the original packaging
  • practice using the circular polarizer
  • read Bryan Peterson's book Understanding Close-up Photography and get out a try some of the techniques

I've also signed up for a "Day of Fall Photography" with two local professional photographers on the 31st. It was very affordable and includes a day of photography at Conesus Lake and Stony Brook State Park as well as  pre-trip and post-trip gatherings. I figure that will be the icing on the cake. I've really felt like I've been treading water (so to speak) with my photography and this all seems to have come together to encourage me to step it up for awhile.

Moxie Fab #2 & Papertrey Pixie Challenges

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Here's another card for the Moxie Fab Off-Set Scallop Challenge as well as for the Papertrey Pixies September challenge. As usual, I'm getting this in just under the wire for the second challenge! Pat's inspiration piece was an ad from a Macy's catalog. It was truly a challenge; so much going on here. 

September Challenge - Inspiration

Pat identified six Papertrey colors she saw in the ad: white, kraft, Ocean Tides, Terracotta Tile, Orange Zest, and Plum Pudding. There are, of course, florals, diamonds, and repeated patterns as well. I finally decided to go with just the colors. They aren't ones I would typically put together, but I incorporated all of them and am pleased with the outcome.

AutumnWishes 

I started with a Kraft base, used the Woodgrain Impression Plate, and coated it with the Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink. The image, colored with Prisma colored pencils, and sentiment are from the Friendship Jar Fall Fillers. The cork tag came in one of my Scrapbook Circle kits. and the border punch is an EK Success punch. The purple twill from my stash is a bit more purple IRL.

Just Playing Around

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I had some time today to play around, and started with some photos I took recently. I love the textured photos I see on some of the blogs, but haven't come up with a lot I like when I try myself. Today I did. I'm quite happy with this photo.

BottleFlowersLight4w
I bought this bouquet at the Ithaca Farmer's Market on Saturday. I added Kim Klassen's Light Paper 4 with a soft blending mode. Here's the original:

OriginalBottlew

It made a nice card as well.

PhotoCardBottle 

There's plenty of room to add a message directly to the photo, so I think I'll try that as well. I purchased Kim's e-book of Photoshop Recipes, and this texture was part of a preview pack she sent. I realized that I need to learn about Gradient Maps in PSE which I have never used. Tracy has a subscription to Lynda.com so I've started watching the PSE instructional videos there. I haven't gotten to gradient maps, but I've learned quite a few new tricks in just a half an hour or so. The videos go for nearly 7 hours!! PSE 9.0 is coming out in November. They've added some very nice new features, so Tracy is going to upgrade it for me as a late birthday gift. He offered to buy the full Photoshop, but I know the learning curve there is greater than the time I want to spend on it. Hopefully, Lynda.com will do a video series on the new additions when 9.0 comes out.

I also got inspired to make a card with some supplies I've had around for ages.

HappyDayw
I've had a pack of these Happy Day journaling cards from Webster's Pages for ages, as well as the floral rub-on and gems from Basic Grey. The papers are also Basic Grey, the Origins line. I scored the card in the wrong place, but instead of starting over I just went with it and rather like the two layers. The sentiment is from Papertrey (Simply Stationery & Take Three: Summer) and the ribbon is from Paper Source.

CPS 186

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It's been a long time since I participated in a CPS challenge. They've always been one of my favorite challenge sites. This week's sketch is a bit challenging, but I had some new Jillibean papers on my desk and a new Spellbinders Nestability so I decided to take it on. Here's the sketch:

186 

And here's my take on it:

CPS186
Cardstock: Chartreuse (Papertrey) & Core'dinations Core; Patterned paper: Pasta Fagioli (Jillibean); twine, canvas flower, journaling sprout, cardstock sticker: Jillibean; button from stash

Papertrey September Blog Hop Challenge

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Bloghoplogo

I love the Papertrey Blog hops and feel lucky to have gotten this card done in time! Here's the challenge:

One of the most fun things about this hobby is the people you meet,
whether in person or online, and the things you learn from them.  Now is
your chance to show off any skills you might have learned from a fellow
stamper, and perhaps even give them a little shout out to thank them
for the inspiration they have provided.  Create a project using one of
your favorite learned skills and perhaps after a little blog hopping, we
will ALL learn some new tips and tricks and continue to pass on the
love of this hobby!

Nicole Heady, one of the owners of Papertrey Ink, inspires me every month with her creations for the monthly release parties. One of the techniques she uses frequently  that I have always admired is drawing a frame around her main focal image. I have tried occasionally to master this technique, but my ability to draw a neat, well connected frame around an image is far from masterful. Now with the new "Framed" set of stamps, I can replicate this look with ease.

BirthdayWishesPTI
For this card, I stamped the leaves from "Turning a New Leaf," masked some of the leaves and then stamped the frame. The butterfly is from "Butterfly Dreams" and colored with Twinkling H2Os. The sentiment is from an old PTI set, "Faux Ribbon." One of the things I love the most about Papertrey stamps is how they can be mixed and matched. Sentiments from this older set fit beautifully into the break in the frame of this brand new set. The cardstock is Select White and Enchanted Evening, and the gems are from Creative Imaginations.

Fall Excursion #1

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We have several short trips planned for the fall. This week we spent three days in the Adirondacks with good friends. Bob and Tracy spent two days backpacking to Phelps and Tabletop Mountains. Cathy and I dropped them off at the Adirondack Loj on Sunday about noon and picked them up late Tuesday morning. Their views were much more colorful than ours. Here are two of the many photos of the stunning scenery Tracy captured on their hike.

TOW1w

TOW2w 

Cathy and I had much nicer accommodations than a backpacking tent, but we didn't have views like this.  We had a great time, nonetheless, shopping, eating out, and a wonderful visit to The Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

 

WildCenter3w

The Wild Center is a natural history museum of the Adirondacks. They have wonderful interpretive displays,  several river otters, and a collection of birds that are being rehabbed. We enjoyed seeing this small falcon and hearing about the falcons in the area.


FalconClosew 

We also listened to a talk on loons . . .


LoonTalkw

and took a walk with a naturalist down to the Racquette River.

RaquetteRiver2 

I loved the details on the bridges.

BridgeDetailw

About a year ago I saw (but wasn't able to get a good photograph of) a Wood Duck at a local pond. They are so beautiful and I had no idea why they're called Wood Ducks. Now I know. They actually have claws that allow them to climb into trees and to find food on shore. It's hard for me to imagine these ducks sitting in a tree.

WoodDucksw 

When we picked up the guys, I walked down to Heart Lake by the lodge. In the two days we were there the colors became much more vibrant (though not to the extent they had changed at the higher elevations). Here are a few of my favorite images.

3Chairs2w

RedLeavesw
Daisiesw 

LojLakew

Tomorrow we're off to the Finger Lakes and the Ithaca Farm Market. We're meeting Tracy's cousin and her husband at the market, hope to visit Cornell's ornithology lab, and then do a bit of antiquing on our way home. It was very hot here today, nearly 90°, but tomorrow's high is expected to be only 62°. Fall and its erratic temperatures is here!

Paper Pieced Posies

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I did a paper piecing project for the blog at Scrap-Mart and thought I'd share them here as well.

SMHappyBirthday
I really enjoy paper piecing. I can cut the pieces out while I watch the news and feel like I got two things done at once! All the papers on this card are Sassafrass Lass. The flowers are from Unity's Material Girl stamp set and the heart from their "Stitched Greetings" set. The label is a Scrap-Mart Exclusive die from Spellbinders that's quickly becoming a favorite. The sentiment ("Birthday Bash Sentiments"), cardstock and twine are both from Papertrey Ink. 

SMBirthdayWishes
This is another Sassafrass Lass project. I didn't realize at first that the scalloped border was little owl images. Quite the surprise, but they seem to work just fine. The posie on this card is one from Jillibean's "Sending Thoughts."  A little layering, two layered buttons, and a tag finished it off. The cardstock and sentiment are Papertrey Ink, ribbon and buttons from my stash. Years ago a friend gave me a tool that cuts off the shanks of buttons. It's the best little device and allows you to layer buttons like the fancy metal one.

Moxie Fab Offset Scallop Challenge

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I love scallops and Moxie Fab issued a challenge for
projects with offset scallops. It was a perfect opportunity to get our my
Papertrey Ink scalloped border dies. 
I started out hoping to use some of my new Teresa Collins papers, but
ended up with just cardstock and a chipboard star from her Celebrate
collection. I also used my Tin Type Impression plate for the first time and
just love it.

MoxieScallop
Cardstock: Spring Rain
and Pure Poppy (PTI); Chipboard start: Celebrate (Teresa Collins); Stamp:
Fillable Frame #5 (PTI); Dies: Medium Scallop and Mat Stack #3 (PTI);
Impression plate: Tin Type (PTI); ribbon from stash; white Filigree Embossing
Powder (Superior)

Here's a layout I did for our California album that also uses scallops. These remind me of Minnie Mouse, although we don't have any photos of Minnie.


DisneyFunw

Cardstock: American
Craft, Chipboard alpha: AC Thickers "Sprinkles;” Patterned papers: Chicken Noodle "Dried Egg
Noodles" & Soup Staples "Red Sugar" (Jillibean)

More Cards from Bits & Pieces

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In the little bag of goodies I found the other day were several partially colored images or pieces of projects that had never been completed. Here's another round of cards from my "Finish It Up" session.

DaisiesinJar
This card is a total lift from Maile Belles. I loved her card and reproduced it pretty closely, just changing the color of the daisies and adding some Judi-Kins Expresso Speckles to the centers. All the rest of the supplies are from Paper Trey Ink. The ribbon is their off-white silk ribbon which I colored with a Copic marker.

PumpkinThankYou
The picnic basket was in the baggie, so I stamped the pumpkins from the same set (Vintage Picnic by Papertrey Ink), used my Tin Type Impression plate (for the first time!) on the Paper Source card, die cut the Spiral Notebook page and stamped it with lines from It's Official (both PTI). The ribbon's from my stash, and the sentiment from Communique Sentiments (another PTI set.) Must say I have lots of Papertrey stamps and I love the way they can be combined so easily.

MumsThanks
The mums (Autumn Abundance–PTI) had been colored on this image at one of my crafty sessions with my friends, so I finished coloring the vase with Copics, die cut it with a Nestability Labels One and layered it onto two scraps of paper from the scrap drawer. I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the bottom and a sentiment from the 2009 Autumn Tags set (PTI).

Feels good to have some finished cards and a few less scraps laying around!

Bits & Pieces

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I had a little time the other day and found a baggie filled with bits and pieces of stamped goodies and some tags from Make & Takes at CHA. I decided to turn them into some cards. Here are the cards I made from the CHA projects.

AppleHi
The orange dotted tag and the ribbon were both from a Make & Take at CHA that came home in pieces. I don't remember where I was or what the finished project was supposed to look like, but I had saved those two pieces. The little gift card and envelope were in my stash, and I think they came from Paper Source. I added the letter stickers, stamped "For You" on the inside of the gift card and then a get well message inside the card.

IppityMake&Take
This tag was done at the Ippity booth with my friend, Eva. All I did was put it on a Dark Chocolate(Papertrey) card. It could be a birthday card, thinking of you . . . I'll do the inside message when I decide to use it.

HAMake&Take
The circular tag was a Hero Arts Make & Take at CHA. I layered a piece of A Muse gingham paper on New Leaf (Papertrey), and have a quick Christmas card ready to send.

And a bit of happy mail to share. In July I was a winner in a Zva Creative Blog Hop, and my package arrived this week filled with brand new releases.

ZvaPrize

Cards

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I had a card published in the most recent Cards magazine. I thought I'd share it here along with a few others none of which I've posted before. This is the card that was picked up for the Cards magazine. I subscribe
to the digital version and haven't received a hard copy yet, though a friend sent me a digital copy of the page.

SewSweet 

Cardstock: Terra Cotta Tile, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Patterned paper: Material Girl (Cosmo Cricket); Rub-on: American Craft; twill: Scenic Route; Tag punch cut to size.

Here are two birthday cards . . .

MakeLifeSweet 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Kioshi (Basic Grey); stamp: cupcake (Hero Arts) & sentiment (A Muse); Doily (Martha Stewart); silk ribbon (Ellen Huston); glitter pen (Copic); pearls (A Muse)

HappyBirthday

Cardstock: Bazzill; Chipboard flowers: Lily Bee; Doily: Martha Stewart; die: Ribbon Trio (Spellbinders); Patterned paper: Lily Bee; Button: Sassafrass Lass; stamp: Savvy.

A baby card . . .

BundleOfJoy 

Cardstock: Lavender Moon, Scarlet Jewel, & Vintage Cream  (Papertrey Ink); Patterned paper: Bitty Dots (Papertrey Ink) & Making Memories; pearls (A Muse); stamp: Baby Button Bits (Papertrey Ink); Nestability die: Labels Four; brad: Making Memories.

A "just because" card . . .

OctAftHi

Cardstock: American Craft; Patterned paper: Go Fly a Kite (October Afternoon); Slice Basics 2 and Calendar cartridges; button: Sassafrass Lass; twine from stash; DMC floss


And a get well card . . .

 

WishingYouSunshine
Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink); Patterned paper and die cut: My Mind's Eye; stamp: Blooming Button Bits (Papertrey Ink); flowers: Prima; brad: Making Memories