Via Flickr:
halo halo. I can see your halo halo hay-loooo-ooo-oooooooo... Okay I'll stop now.
But guess guess GUESS (!!!) what arrived today :D
Not one but TWO flashes :) heheheheheeeee
And I got to play play play play play. Okay, not so much of the playing, more of the reading manuals and saying to mum "You know, now that its sitting in my lap I'm nervous - what if I suck!" :S
I have to say that of the two flashes I bought (the Metz mecablitz AF-1 and Lumopro LP180 but I know you don't really care), if I had to judge them purely based on the manuals then the LP180 would win no contest. It is just obviously written by someone with a geeky sense of humour. I think my favourite line was on the warranty page where they made sure to note that
"damaging the flash inside a time vortex is not covered by warranty"
OR maybe it was the section where they leave you with this message
"We had extra room at the bottom of this page, so we're leaving you with a haiku about the LP180...
Oh LumoPro Flash.
Photons explode from your head
And light up my life"
LOL! Sorry, it just really entertained me :D
Anyway, todays photo is one of a set I made for myself this evening with one of the flashes to teach myself about the effect of different lighting angles. I'll be posting a grid in the future just to remind myself but right now its 10pm, and I have 5 hours worth of lectures to sit through tomorrow so I think I'd better call it a night.
--------------------------
Lighting: Lumopro LP180
Settings: 1/32? and... nope, don't remember the zoom (got to write these things down!)
Position: directly behind and 45ยบ above subject
--------------------------
Much love,
D.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
211/365 Cause I can see your halo
210/365 And we're back...
Via Flickr:
Its that time of semester again. We're back and since the weather was acceptable I thought it best I go say hi to the geese that live down by "the lake."
(Have I mentioned that in my imagination its a lake even though its really just a large-ish pond? Well anyway, its a lake because then we have a lake and people play Quidditch so by definition it must be Hogwarts and therefore there is also magic and creatures of fantasy. Which is just how I like it really :-P and no I doubt that I will ever grow out of these imaginary games. I figure once you hit 10, if your still living a fantasy world in your head it is unlikely to ever go away)
Anyway, the geese say hi :)
Much love,
D.
Monday, July 29, 2013
209/365 Wood Grain
Via Flickr:
I feel good :)
I've been getting out and about and taking photos in daylight. Uni is about to go back. There is colour in the world. And with this photo I FINALLY CATCH UP!!! :D
Life is good.
Now back to organising my journal articles for tomorrows classes...
Much love,
D.
207/365 Evil night bird
Via Flickr:
What? You don't think its fun to colour your skin in with black lipstick and then paint luminescent goop on your face and take a photo of it? hmmm...
Much love,
D.
206/365 All looks and no functionality...
Via Flickr:
You know when you buy a new toy and you obsess about it and imagine how your life would change once you had it and you research and research until you know almost everything it is possible to know about it without ever having actually touched it and then finally the day comes where you go out and buy it and everything else os import is unceremoniously shoved aside so you can unwrap its packaging and play play play!!!!
Anyone?
... Well yes, on this day... that was me. With one minor missing detail - no flash units. THEY are still in the mail. Shipped from somewhere in asia and Melbourne respectively. So I have all of this new gear and an entire weekend free and there is nothing I can do with it. Fail.
You see I was so excited! I just HAD to set them up NOW! Even though there was ABSOLUTELY NO POINT!
It was like just before I bought my DSLR. It was the Autumn of 2009 and I had just paid the deposit for the European bus tour that my bff and I had been planning since well the last europe trip in 2005. So I needed a new camera you see. Simultaneously we were both working at a news-agency which basically meant that for the last year I could/had been/continued to get my hands on, read and devour EVERY SINGLE camera / gear / photography tutorial magazine ever made. I mean (in theory at least) I knew everything there was to know about the aperture/shutter speed/ISO relationship and the various artistic and practical effects of changing them; I knew all of the pros and cons of the majority of the digital interchangeable lens cameras on the market (both in and far exceeding my financial capacity). I could tell you specs and talk crap for hours on end (and I did if you were ever silly enough to ask so most of my co-workers learnt pretty quickly to avoid the subject). And yet, I had never actually held one... because every-time I walked into a camera store, armed with my copious hours of reading, tutorials, spec sheets and reviews, all it took was one "Hi, can I help you" from one of their sales people, to send me freaking out and running back to the hills / safety of those glossy pages.
Anyway obviously I got over that eventually.
My quest to delve into the realm of of camera flash was somewhat similar in the sense that I spent copious hours researching my options. Then plenty more stressing over my decision before finally, in a moment of reckless abandon, purchasing a damned flash! Then of course I needed accessories and since shipping is do damn ridiculous I actually ventured into a brick and mortar store to do so... which is why I end up with all looks and no functionality. Flash not included.
Sigh
Much love,
D.
205/365 Pink shoes in the bush
Via Flickr:
Now imaging the looks I was getting as I went bushwalking in 10cm hot pink heels... enough said.
Oh, except that I had forgotten all about these shoes until I discovered them in the boot of my car. Unfortunately the constant sun and heat have left them discoloured on one side :(
Just trying to get all of my 'ditz' out before the new semester starts ;)
Much love,
D.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
203/365
Via Flickr:
I must admit, I don't really like this photo. Actually if I am really honest, I don't really like many of my photos as soon as I am done with them. Most of the time I have to post and walk away from the photos for a few days before I can look at and appreciate them with new eyes. But this one... I just had no idea what I wanted to do with it :S
Much love,
D.
202/365 Chux
Via Flickr:
You know what is funny? I actually really like the auto square crop that Flickr does for this image in some preview screens... but I am too lazy to go back and change this image myself. Anyway, this is the image I edited myself so I guess I can just chalk it up to experience... or something.
Uni goes back tomorrow so I have sat myself down in front of the Mac and am not allowed to leave for food or water until the last 7 images are edited and uploaded and i am FINALLY up to date... well except that there are 8 images I need to upload but one of them (todays) hasn't been taken yet so I can't exactly edit it can I?
Much love,
D.
201/365 Tension
Via Flickr:
Hmm... a concept to work on, didn't quite turn out the way I had planned but then again that is probably because I was impatient and frustrated with getting the framing right.
Much love,
D.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
198/365 on the way to comfort eating
Via Flickr:
The blues lost this night. There wasn't much time for a photo earlier in the day and I was feeling lazy after the let down... so I dumped my camera in the fruit bowl and took a few photos of me having a late night snack from the fridge...
Much love,
D.
Monday, July 22, 2013
195/365
Via Flickr:
Okay so I have liked this little theme that's been going on lately but I am also glad it's almost over... The editing gets a little repetitive.
Much love,
D.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
193/365 No words
Via Flickr:
I don't know what we were thinking but I remember laughing a lot...
Much love,
D.
192/365 Throwing rocks
Via Flickr:
Images aside, I had fun stomping around the park in my gum boots :P
Lesson also learnt that I don't play well with other photos - at least ones I don't know - there was this other guy around the place taking photos and that was quite intimidating... okay so I still have some social things to work on, but at least I am aware of them.
Much love,
D.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
191/365 Irregular triangles
188/365 Birds of a feather
Via Flickr:
Sorry about the dodgy photoshopping up in the top right corner there... I just couldn't stand the colour of the wall any longer. :S.
Much love,
D.
187/365 Hair styling
Via Flickr:
So, as is to be expected, the moment I mention my catch up target it is immediately thwarted by well, life. This time in the form of a very important but ultimately disappointing final in the football series known in these parts as "State of Origin". It has been 9 years since NSW beat Qld and it'll be another whole year until we have the opportunity to change the tide.
Anyway, thats my excuse for my silence last night and I am sticking with it.
Much love,
D.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
186/365 Halo
Via Flickr:
Aren't I just so angelic ;P
One day, one day soon hopefully... I will remember to HIDE THAT GOD DAMNED REMOTE!!! grrrrrrr
end rant.
Much love,
D.
185/365 Chillin' before work
Via Flickr:
Okay, so on this day I did discover that there is one good thing about winter... when the sun does, surprisingly decide to show its pretty little face it arranges it so that the golden light is still shinning at an hour conveniently just before I start work. So for two whole days I actually got to take some photo's outside in the sunlight :) and now my life is complete :D
Much love,
D.
184/365 floating on black
So... I probably should have added a user warning a few days ago: photo-stream may contain regular traces of nudity for the next few weeks as I regularly missed all daylight hours for shooting and had to shoot in my make-believe studio. Plus, hey! I just like them.
Today, as is common in this project so far, I have an affinity with both the colour and B&W versions so they both get a shout out.
P.S. appropriate safety level for this would be moderate right? I'm always paranoid about getting that wrong :S.... and yet all of my groups only accept "safe", sigh
Although I swear this didn't look quite so orange in the original version before I posted to flickr... will have to do something about that later but I've already had enough of PS for one night
183/365 Cascade
Via Flickr:
So close yet so far away from catching up... in case you haven't noticed I've been forcing myself to post between 3 and 5 photos everyday. At this rate I should be caught up by Saturday. Of course its always a bad omen when I start talking about the fact I intend to do something... here's to hoping I can stick it through.
P.S. totally over winter already. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the weather but this whole sunset at 4:45 thing is driving me nuts! :@
Sooo... as a result, I think I am going to get a flash. Nothing to flashy but you know, something that works... but that also means I have to do more gear research... thank goodness its tax return season and I always pre-pay waaaaaay too much tax :D
Much love,
D.
Monday, July 15, 2013
182/365 Headless
Via Flickr:
A dear friend recently broke off her engagement with her bf of 7 years. So on a day when she didn't even want to get out of bed, I dragged her for a walk in the sunlight and forced her to take part in my photo of the day. My only promise - your head won't be in the frame.
To her salvation though, my batteries went dead just after this photo was taken... so I graciously accepted defeat and we went on our way.
Much love,
D.
181/365 Recycling
Via Flickr:
I was cheeky and went through the wardrobe in mum's craft room where all of the 'special' dresses (ie those that Em and I don't want to keep in our wardrobes but that are too good to throw away) to see if any of them still fit me. This beautiful concoction was my sisters First Holy Communion dress which my mother painstakingly spend months hand embroidering. The photo doesn't so it justice, it really is stunning. Anyway, it fits! Well kind of... I took certain artistic licences when trying it on to compensate for the fact that it was orifinally created for a nine year old. Such modifications include only doing up the zipper to the bodice line (how dare my sister not grow breasts before this beauty was created) and tying the 3/4 length arms around my neck effectively creating a halter dress out of it... hey, I was pretty impressed with myself :-P
Much love,
D.
180/365 Sad face
Via Flickr:
As far as I remember, I got home from Perth on the Sunday and then it proceeded to rain on and off (mostly on) for the next 7-10 days with so much cloud cover that it barely felt like the sun came up at all... :( sad rainy day face.
Much love,
D.
178/365 Close-up
Via Flickr:
I'm really sad that I haven't had much to say recently... but I will again one day... maybe.
Much love,
D.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
177/365 Army Crawling
Via Flickr:
Continuing with the lines and shading theme of yesterday (ie the day before this photo was shot). I think I'd like to play around with more photos like this. We shall see...
Plus the its winter and my garage/ studio/ dance arena is cold and the many uses of the space are warring with each other. After all, we all know that I am loath to do the extra leg work of cleaning up after a shoot... especially in the less lived in areas of the house.
I am ashamed to admit that after 2 months of sequins from my birthday photo-shoot getting spread randomly throughout the house on the bottom of my feet due to the fact that I didn't vacuum the garage/studio after I was done... well mum had enough and did it herself :S
Sorry.
Much love,
D.
176/365 Shading
Via Flickr:
What can I say? I was sick and tired of taking "portraits" and wanted to play with shading and lines... and what better way than to strip away all of the distractions and get back to basics?
I was playing around in PS and just happened to accidentally find this effect that although not my plan for this photo was nevertheless pleasing to my eye... :)
Much love,
D.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
174/365 Ray Ban Wayfarer
Via Flickr:
Okay, okay, so here is the photographic evidence of the purchase I mentioned a few weeks ago... yes for once I am being a brand whore, so sue me ;)
I promise this is the final iphone selfie for a while... after all we go back to Sydney tomorrow (that is "tomorrow" the day after this photo was taken rather than tomorrow the day after this photo was posted...)
Much love,
D.
173/365 Millie!
Via Flickr:
Yeah, I'll admit that there are a few cheesy iPhone selfies in this weeks section of the 365 project. Consider it the part where I use it as a visual diary rather than an artistic endeavour... plus its very hard to find time to set up a self portrait session with some kind of decent light when its the middle of winter and your spending all of your days ferrying people all around Perth.
And yes I could have taken a better quality version of this photo but I decided not too... I find that the movement in the frame reminds me of the fast pace of the week that was.
Much love,
D.
172/365 iphone selfie
Via Flickr:
Yeah I kind of bought a new hat with I was visiting my sister and then proceeded to get semi obsessed with it ;)
Much love,
D.
170/365 Reflecting
Via Flickr:
Umm... I don't actually have anything to say. Thats unusual ;)
Much love,
D.
Monday, July 8, 2013
169/365 waiting
Via Flickr:
Yup, lets just say that on my most recent trip to Perth I absolutely, certainly and without a doubt over-packed. Basically what this means is that I packed my entire winter wardrobe (you never know when you're going to need that extra jumper) in addition to not one but 2 formal dresses (for which their entire purpose was to be photographed as I had no event to wear them to) and far too many pairs of shoes. So much for the pride I usually take in my ability to pack light :S.
Much love,
D.
168/365 From little things big things grow
Via Flickr:
I just really loved the pot plants in the little courtyard of my sisters place in Perth.
Much love,
D.
167/365 family portrait
Via Flickr:
Mum, Em, auntie Madeleine and me at the beach in Perth :D
Much love,
D.
166/365 Suspense
Via Flickr:
Hmmm... Picture this, its my first full day in Perth visiting Emily and I am walking around town (supposedly) window shopping with mum mum and aunt. I walk into a shop where I end up buying 3 knitted jumpers and the older sales woman tells me she LOVES my 'style', all except the stockings... "you shouldn't walk around like that, guys will get the wrong idea"
LOL.
Okay, so when I take a photo of them like this you could maybe understand where she was coming from but I swear to you, I am short and so people don't tend to look at me from crotch height. They really aren't THAT scandalous, just a little scandalous. And its a high/low dress to the back goes down to almost my ankles, its positively demure! :-P
Okay so i know that now I am just making excuses but had I been walking around with bare legs no one would have noticed a thing, somehow the addition of MORE clothing/covering up manages to make the outfit LESS publicly acceptable - go figure.
Anywho, I liked the outfit, it entertained me, and while I wont be wearing it to work or any interviews... I will be wearing it again. :D
Much love,
D.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
165/365 Skirts
Via Flickr:
Another in the green fairy dress series... Its really funny, I am technically on holidays but I feel like I have even less time to just sit and be. I feel like I need that time out to stay sane.
Much love,
D.
164/365 Blegh/exhausted
Via Flickr:
Yeah, thats about all I have to say. Taken after my final assessment was handed in... which takes me back considering I have already received all of my marks back :S
Much love,
D.