Sunday Walk

I finally managed to force myself to go for a Sunday walk today. It's not that I don't like walking. On the contrary, I love going for walks, especially in the woods (and of course on the beach, but that's not much of an option here). But I just usually end up having too many other things to do instead. Or rather, making different priorities. In order to help me get back into a Sunday walk habit, I made a list of benefits, to give it some purpose, such as looking for inspiration for sketches and paintings, and capture beauty in the ordinary with my camera. I've been neglecting my DSLR camera far too much since I got my iPhone, usually using it mostly for holiday pictures. So today, I decided to use my little 50mm lens instead of my everyday 17-70mm zoom lens, in order to get a different perspective. 

With it's option of an aperture of f/1.8, the 50mm lens allows you  to capture a terrific depth of field, and, according to light, some fabulous bokeh.

I walked along some beautiful flowering meadows. Who would have thought that common little wild flowers can be so fascinating?

And trought the woods. Unlike the woods in England, where many of them are filled with carpets of bluebells at the moment, the woods here are rather bare of flowers, and instead present mainly a lush green.

The weather kept changing from minute to minute, but except a very short little shower, the weather stayed dry, and there was even sunshine as well! It was rather windy, though, which made focusing rather challenging at times.

Some of the rhododendrons (or azaleas, I never really quite know what the difference between them is) in some front gardens where in full bloom and just totally amazing.

And I even found some bluebells in a grassy patch outside a block of flats.

To capture this little fellow, my allround zoom lens, which has quite a good macro function as well, would of course have been perfect. But then that's the challenge; to work with what you've got, and make the best of it. I think he turned out rather well.

What I love about photography is how it allows you to chose how you look at things. Some of the pictures were taken at places that were not exactly the most picturesque. The gras strips between the pavement and the main road, road, on traffic islands etc. But even in those places, beauty can be found, if you care to look for it. And your camera allows you to focus on just that beauty, and to block out there rest. It allows you to capture and elevate the ordinary, to decide for yourself how you want to look at things, what perspective to choose, and on what to put your focus on.

I really enjoyed my little walk, and 'll definitely try to go for a little Sunday walk again next weekend, and make it a regular habit. But I'll better try not to take 220+ photos again - or I'll end up spending all day with downloading and editing them, and won't have any thime for painting, or anything else, at all.

Shine your light

...and sparkle

Happy Sunday!

Busy Bumble Bees

I just love all the bees busily buzzing around collecting pollen. And I love when I manage to catch them with my camera. But I don't always do, they're just soooo fast! And most of the time, I just get a bee blur :)

Happy Birthday To You...

...dear little plastic box, and happy anniversary.

It's one year now, since I got my little beginner's DSLR, and it's been one year of exploring, experimenting and learning. It's been a great journey so far, into this wonderful world of (digital) photography. When I first got my camera, I didn't have a clue about how to use it. I used the "beginner's modes", i.e. landscape, macro, portrait etc. in the first few weeks until I was ready to move on to aperture priority mode after a National Trust photography working holiday in the Lake District last May. The firts thing our tutor made us do back then actually was to shoot in manual mode and trying out all the different settings, especially white balance. I found it all rather confusing and overwhelming, and so confortably settled for aperture priority for the next 8 months, ignoring all the other settings and taking my time to discover all about depth of field, focusing and how everything worked together (it's really not much use having someone explain it all to you, you just have so see it for yourself).

Macro mode, 135mm, 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 100, WB: auto. Taken 29/04/2010 (processed 09/04/2011)

By the end of last year, I decided that it was time to move on and signed up for an 8 weeks e-course on how to shoot in manual mode, starting in February. I must admit that when the course began, I was sort of secretly convinced, that it was nice to know all about manual mode, but that I really would go on using aperture priority mode and maybe just pay more attention to ISO and white balance. However, after the 8 weeks, I must say that I quite enjoy shooting in manual mode. It does mean a lot of settings and adjusments to do before you can actually take your picture, but I quite like the feeling that I'm in control of all the settings and decisions. It needs more time but then, all this fiddling with aperture, shutter speed, white balance, ISO etc. really is what a DSLR is about, isn't it. And although I haven't been doing it very long, I do feel that there have been times, when I'm quite sure that I'd never managed to get a satisfactory picture if I had just used aperture priority mode and nothing else. There are, of course, still pictures that go straight into the bin, but that's the limitations of photography. There are certain conditions, where it just isn't possible to get a good picture, and that's another thing one has to learn by experience and trial and error. But I don't think I'll go back to aperture priority mode as my main mode of picture taking, but stick with manual mode and continue on the learning path.

As it's now a year since I got my camera, it means that I'll now be able to compare my pictures with those from last year. I like to believe that I've made some progress and am getting a bit better at it (though when looking through my old pics, they aren't all that bad). Of course, photography is more than just the settings on your camera. It's as much about seeing, about composition, colours and catching moments that mean something to us, that tell our story and our way of looking at and seeing the world. But knowing something about the technical stuff certainly doesn't hurt, and in fact can help you to achieve better results.

Manual Mode, 50mm, 1/1000, f/1.8, ISO 100, WB: daylight. Taken 09/04/2011

Another thing I've started to learn about in the last 12 months is post processing. I got PSE8 almost three months after I got my camera and really started using it about another two months later, mostly doing a bit of levels and saturation adjustments. I also used the straightening tool a lot because I seemed to be absolutely unable to take a straight picture (something I've managed to get much better at). I also used Picnik a lot for my post processing, because it was so easy to use, but I was also often a bit frustrated about its limitations. I felt that I didn't have much control about the processing and I really wanted to learn to do it myself. I found some e-courses (what a great thing they are!!) and learnt first the basics and then all about working with textures, which I really enjoy. I processed the top image with a lovely Kim Klassen texture, the one in the middle using a close-up of one of the blinds in the living room, and the one below with a number of adjustment layers and cross processing. The possibilities really are endless.

Manual Mode, 50mm, 1/1000, f/1.8, ISO 100, WB: daylight. Taken 09/04/2011

So that has been my first year with my little camera. I'm still at the beginning of my journey, having taken only some small steps so far. There's still so much to learn and to practise. Portraits, for example, is something I'm no good at at all but would like to do more often. And there's still a lot to learn about all the settings, most of all about white balance, which I often find very confusing and probably really the most difficult thing of all. But I'll write a separate post about that, I think. All I can say is that I enjoyed the journey so far and I'm looking forward to many more months and years of following the path, and keeping practising, practising, practising... :-)

{Day 14} ~ Beyond the Chill

Prompt for Day 14 for Picture Winter: "Beyond the Chill"

These bright pink blossoms are everywhere at the moment, bringing a splash of cheerful colour into the rather dull and snowless winter days at the moment.

Texture by Kim Klassen

{Day 13} ~ Controlled Chaos

Prompt for Day 13 for Picture Winter: "Controlled Chaos"

I wouldn't part with my beloved red and green wardrobe dating from 1737, even though it's rather impractical as it is really far too small. Inside it all's more or less under control. It's outside where the real chaos is, with all the piles of clothes, and other stuff you'd usually keep in a wardrobe, that don't fit in lying around.

But it is so beautiful and has so much history and character that a new, modern, big wardrobe simply isn't an option. Just the lock is a piece of art and craftsmanship in itself and I'm so happy that in all the time the wardrobe was in use, the original never got lost.

Another glimpse into my wardrobe. I do wear black and grey most of the time. But there's some colour as well :-)

This picture reminds me of a book I read the year before last. I decided to read a modern book for a change and to read one from the Booker Prize Shortlist. I picked The Clothes On Their Backs by Linda Grant, admittedly mostly because I liked the cover, but I really enjoyed it a lot.

Texture by Kim Klassen and borealnz

{Day 298} ~ A Toast

All things considered the past few years havn't really been my best ones and 2010 in particular has been a pretty rotten year. Let 2011 be a really good one for a change!! :-)

Textures by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations

Merry Christmas

{9 Muses Musing} ~ Day 3: Bells

The sweetest Christmas bells are those attached to a deliciously yummy chocolate St. Nicholas :-).

The focus isn't very great here, made worse by the fact that I had to crop the image as my blue fleece blanket in the background turned into a great ugly dark spot and it was far too late for starting all over again... But I like the light on the bell. And I'm so looking forward to eating this chocolate Santa tonight! :-)

Texture by Pareeerica

{9 Muses Musing} ~ Day 2: Lights

What a great surprise awaited me yesterday morning, when I opened Mortal Muses to get the prompt for Day 2 of 9 Muses Musing and saw a very familiar picture appearing before my eyes! The prompt was "Light" and Kat had chosen one of my pictures to feature on the blog. The photo was taken a week ago and I was trying out my new lens, a Canon 50mm f1.8, which I had very spontaneously decided to buy the day before. This is one of my favourite spot in Zürich. Looking up the Limmatquai with its Christmas lights, the typical blue trams of Zürich, the old guild buildings, the river. To the left is my favourite bridge, Münsterbrücke, a old, small cobblestone bridge connecting the two big minsters Grossmünster and Fraumünster. There seem to be new kind of benches in town and they provided great spidery shadows and the people walking by just helped to add the whole scene into one that reminded me of the dark, gloomy mood of Carlos Ruiz Zafóns novels, which I loved reading, exactly because of their mysterious mood.

I was also trying out my new bokeh kit with various shapes, which fits this lens perfectly. I chose the star shape as I thought that fitted the Christmas season best. Zürich's got a new Christmas lighting in Bahnhofstrasse, replacing a cold and much hated one. The new is sparkly and colorful and I get the feeling that each time I get to tone, it sparkles even more! The new lens and star bokeh turned it into a sky full of bright cheerful stars :-). I have posted this photo earlier already, for Picture the Holiday's prompt for Day 10, "Twinkle, Twinkle". But decided to use it again for 9 Muses Musing because I really quite like it :-).

I love my new lens!! :-)

{9 Muses Musing} ~ Day 1: Giving

Yesterday, the Mortal Muses' project  "9 MUSES MUSING - 18 Days of Holiday Prompts and Daily Giveaways, December 15th - January 1st" started. I had been looking forward to it and marked the day in my diary but still managed to miss it completely. So I'm already behind, but I still intend to try to keep up now. So yesterday's prompt for the first day was "Giving". I had taken a few pics of presents earlier this week, which suit this prompt perfectly. And although I'm too late to post my picture on the Muses' blot, at least here on my blog I can start with Day 1 :-).

The Joy of Giving: Wrapping them up is at least as much fun as unwrapping them :-)

Textures by Kim Klassen and AlicePopkorn

{Day 10} ~ Twinkle, Twinkle

Prompt for Day 10 of Picture the Holidays was "Twinkle, Twinkle". I took my new 50mm lens and my equally new Bokeh Kit from Photojojo to town after work and got completely carried away with twinkly bokeh blurr. I decided on the star bokeh for my Christmas city lights bokeh and just set my lens on manual focus and never focused on anything. All I wanted was bokeh, and lots and lots of it and nothing really had to be in focus at all. Just a happy blurry twinkly starry Christmas lights in the city bokeh effect.

Maybe gone a bit too far, maybe a bit ove the top - but actually, I quite like it :-) It's all about experimenting, especially if you're a beginner :-).

Above Zürich's new Christmas lights "Lucy" in Bahnhofstrasse, getting more and more twinkly. Below right one of the many huge Christmas trees in Zürich, this one is at the tram stop at Paradeplatz.