Meet my Troll.

I read a blog recently that had several suggestions on small things a photographer could do every day.  One suggestion involved having a small item, that would be carried about all the time, and could be photographed daily.

I tried the daily photograph thing and there are just some days where there is literally no time - and on those days my brain doesn't feel anything positive just because I shoot any photo.  For me, I find that I enjoy the process of trying to photograph a scene or subject that interests me.  That doesn't mean they're all good, and some are downright bad, but for me I decided the daily photo was something I was not going to aim for.

That said, I loved the idea of having something along with me that might inspire me at times I wouldn't normally be inspired.  What to choose?

I have lots of Lego minifigures but those seem too small.  I wandered around toy aisles and saw lots of cute figures - like Monster's Inc or Toy Story characters - but I don't have any kids so how long would they really interest me.  The one evening I glanced next to my TV and realized I had the perfect characters already at home.

Trolls.  (I have two, but I'm going to work with my favorite one first.  His hair is a bit wild so we'll see how he does getting carried about in a backpack, but if he starts looking worn I have an all wooden troll too.  He also has quite a long nose, although you can't necessarily tell from this photo.  But his information card said he's unbreakable so hopefully the nose will be fine.  If it breaks, I'll glue it back on and it'll be okay.)

First stop was my Christmas tree.

He doesn't have a name yet, but what do you think?  Cute and original is what I was going for.

Merry Christmas.

See on,
Julee

My Christmas Tree.

Today my husband and I put up our Christmas Tree.  First I had to run out and buy a Christmas tree, plus light, plus decorations, but most of it was half off so that was nice.

We are happy with how it turned out.  Small, but pretty.

And the same tree with the lovely blurred lighting effect. 

Happy Holidays!

See on,
Julee

Nice day for skiing, Lego style.

The busy holidays are basically upon us.  Both my husband and I have work Christmas parties this weekend, plus we need to clean and wrap and figure out those last few gifts.  But the sun was out so I had to get outside and photograph for a few minutes at least.

I already got one of my Christmas gifts - because 'Black Friday' became 'Merry Christmas to me' when a long desired Nikon D7100 went on 'Lightening Deal' at Amazon. 

The stars aligned for me to even know lightening deals existed, since my first visit to that part of Amazon was only two days prior.  Then during an attempt to see how it all worked I tried to click on something and was immediately 48th on the waitlist - so some stuff goes fast - lightening fast - what were the chances I could remember to be at my computer at the right time?  (During a couple of other items of interest I proved the chances of me remembering was very low).  But there was an 'unknown Nikon deal' coming up in four hours and somehow I actually remembered to sit down at my computer 2 minutes before the sale started.  Then when it turned out to be the camera I had wanted I clicked fast and it was in my cart.  Just like that.

(Then I had fifteen minutes to chat with my husband about "should I really buy"?  He kind of shrugged - probably knowing he really wasn't going to affect my decision making process.  The camera was 33% off - probably won't see that again until the camera has been upgraded once again - so a pretty good deal - why wait until March and pay full price?)

So then it arrived two days later - I love you Amazon Prime - you and your fast shipping and free streaming TV shows and movies.  There was, of course, a lovely blizzard which meant I stayed in the town where I work rather than drive through ice on the interstate - so it was an extra two days before I could open the box and admire my camera.  It took another day for me to connect the camera strap and charge the battery.  It took almost two weeks before I took my first tests shots.  (I also got a 'how to' book and the buttons are all different than on my Nikon D5100 - so I have to figure out how to do everything all over again.  Even in my half hour today, I ended up shooting all in 'auto' exposure because I couldn't figure out how to change my focal point.)

But it was a lovely day for skiing, and since I did not get out for any skiing, I let my Lego Minifigures out top play. (Picture composition is a little off, but it was the cutest shot of the bunch).

I think they had fun. 

Now I'm going to go learn about my new camera.

See on,
Julee

Winter Wonderland.

I saw an announcement last week for a 'Winter Wonderland' light display right in Watertown.  The location of the event was in a city park that has camping during the summer, so it would be a drive through type thing.  I have to admit I was pretty excited since I love holiday lights.  The display is only lit Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and luckily I remembered tonight around 7 pm, so we had time to make it tonight.

I also captured a beauty of a shot of one tree just down the block from my house.  (This first photo was taken using a tripod, but the rest were handheld - from inside the car.)

 

Lit up tractors - how awesome!

 

All in all such a fun and colorful evening.

 

See on,
Julee

We Wish you a Merry Christmas.

It was a brisk -15 degrees today, and while I did venture out once for a few groceries I did not stay outside for long.  So I got out my Lego carolers and one of my sparkly ornaments and shot a few photos. 

I played around with lighting using a worklight, flashlight, and colored gels.  I got around the reflection issue by having the light point away from my scene and by having the focus point of the camera about a foot in front of the ornament.  I didn't manage to get a shot I totally loved, but my cat, Ellie, got really jealous and jumped up knocking everything over - so I took a break to post.  Poor kitty.  (Not really, she gets PLENTY of lap time on the weekends, it's simply her desire that 100% of our time at home be lap time.)

See on,
Julee 

Redlin Art Center campus, a bit of hometown beauty.

Today I visited the campus of the Redlin Art Center.  Terry Redlin is a local artist whose paintings have beautiful highlights of light and often rural Americana.  Last winter there were holiday lights on the trees around the museum, and I was looking forward to photographing those lights, but it appears this year the lights weren't put up. 

 

But despite the -5 degree temperature, I hopped out of my car for a few minutes of shooting anyway.  The lights on the bridge and the lights around the museum are quite pretty at twilight.

 

 

I liked the shot below because you could see the moon.  (The moon wasn't quite bright or low enough to be truly spectacular, but hey, I liked it.)

I am not sure what the weekend will hold photographically.  The below zero temperatures are supposed to remain until Sunday when we get some snow.  Maybe I'll brave the cold or maybe I'll aim for shooting something interesting on my dining room table/photo studio.  (Thank you accommodating husband who is happy eating at the coffee table - I'll put my 'studio' away come spring.)

See on,
Julee

Holiday lights.

Tomorrow I start my first photography 'class'.  It's an online class where I will learn about photographing holiday lights, ornaments, wrapping paper, and more.  I am totally excited.  But during my journeys this weekend I came across a lighted holiday tree and I couldn't resist trying to photograph the lights.

 

 

You can still tell it's a tree - wahoo!  (This was taken with my 28 - 85 mm lens with intentional out-of-focusness in order to give the lights a lovely and large blur.)

 

See on,

Julee