Ideas to Help your 365 Project be a Good One

Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin
Playing

The other night I had one of those nights, where I just laid in bed and couldn’t stop tossing and turning and my mind was just flying and made it impossible to sleep. I for some reason got on the subject of the 365 project, trying to think of things to take pics of. I’ve tried doing the 365 project for the last several years and eventually I get burned out. I actually started coming up with ways to make it more exciting.

Fragile Goods

I got up and started writing….

  • Experiment with lighting, focus, angle, aperture, bokeh, depth of field (DoF), sun-flare.
  • If you have a tripod, use it!
  • Make a list of things you would like to take pictures of.
  • Find inspiration through others.
  • Don’t like what you came up with? Try editing.
    If you don’t have photoshop, here’s a list of free, online aps that you may wanna try out.
Shriveled Fingers
    • http://www.picnik.com – I use this one when I’m on a computer other than mind that has Photoshop on it.
Baby Gator @ Dauphin Island Estuarium
  • Turn the mundane into something beautiful or eye-catching.
  • Each and every picture does not have to be something earth shatteringly amazing!
Swimmin'
  • Take pictures that reflect your daily life.
  • Look for items/scenes that tell a story. Remember a picture is supposed to be worth a 1,000 words, right?
  • Bring your camera everywhere.
    This is something that I’m bad about, because my camera is big and clunky and I’m always concerned I’ll drop it or it will get stolen, but with that comes all the shots I’ve missed. I’m really working on remembering to bring it. I want one of those camera bags that looks like a purse. That would help with a lot my worries.
  • Get out of your comfort zone.
  • Keep an open mind and open eyes.
    Be more aware. I’ve found the most mundane things can turn into amazing pictures!
  • Keep a running list of ideas you come across and as your out and about or just around the house, look for them.
    • shadows
    • things in nature
    • reflections
    • items in your purse
On campus
    • items in your car
    • patterns
    • pets
    • trash
    • inside of your fridge or freezer
    • interesting finds (like interesting products at Wal-Mart, etc.)
    • people
    • streets
"Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer” --Henry Lawson
    • parts of your car
    • parts of your house
    • your neighborhood
    • your work
    • your desk
    • your hand-writing
    • landmarks in your town
    • gas pump
    • light posts
    • signs
    • odd objects

What are things are things you can add to the list? What motivates you to continue to shoot?

Posted in Me, Myself, & I, Photographer Chick | Tagged | 3 Comments

33/365.2011 {Vintage Bracelet}

Posted on February 2, 2011 by admin

Antique Bracelet

I was looking around this morning for something to take a picture of. I collected a few things and this was one of the things I picked up. I’ve had this bracelet for awhile. I believe it was my great Aunt’s. Not sure I would ever wear this, but have thought about taking much of the old jewelry that I have and take the stones and jewels from them to make into something else. Has anyone ever done that before?

I liked all the different angles and different DoF, so made a collage.

Also, I added the google/blogspot thingy over on my sidebar and it’s pitiful that I’m the only person following me. Would love to see your face on there! 🙂

Posted in 365 in 2011, Pics Pics Pics | Tagged , | 7 Comments

32/365.2011 {Dandelion…the backside}

Posted on February 1, 2011 by admin

I always love when I’m just shooting pictures of stuff and really not thinking it’s going to turn out to be worth looking at. Then, to my surprise something like this one ends up being something different that catches my eye. Makes me happy.

32/365.2011 {Dandelion...the backside}

Posted in 365 in 2011, Featured, Pics Pics Pics | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Update on Life {a post with NO pictures}

Posted on February 1, 2011 by admin

I’ve been wanting to update on what’s been going on. I’m enjoying so much doing the 365 Project, but this blog wasn’t meant to be mainly a photography blog. Although, this blog has turned into much more that I had originally planned, which was to chronicle the lives of my family, the good, the bad, and sometimes even the ugly!

Life is starting to rev back up again. Teenager starts back to soccer practice this week. He’s already returned to his weekly scout meetings and D-group sessions. He’s thinking of trying out for the JV track team. This weekend he’ll be attending his first Winter Retreat. So excited for him! He’s had tons of projects due lately, so we spent much of last weekend trying to get those knocked out.

Monkey is planning on playing baseball again this season. He’s enduring 1st grade. Before Christmas, he was getting “straight faces” and a couple “frowny faces” so I emailed the teacher about some concerns we were having. After Christmas he was doing so good. He got smiley faces for a good 8 or so days, then got a couple frowny faces. I’m hoping that we don’t have a long stretch of those again. I may write more specifically about this later.

Rob attended a Walk to Emmaus this past weekend. His good friend Ben was his sponsor and encouraged him do this. The kids and I survived the weekend without him. We really didn’t do anything exciting. I had wanted to take them to do something, but I was just exhausted. We hung out and cooked a yummy breakfast on Saturday and a yummy dinner. They played Wii and took Daisy for a walk, which was the first one she’s been on since hurting herself. Needless to say, I think she was pretty sore afterward, but she had a blast running around with the kids. I watched a

Now that Rob has experienced the Walk, he is encouraging me to go. A good friend of mine, volunteered to be my sponsor, so I contacted her about doing it. There are 2 Women’s walks coming up very soon, but if I don’t get into those, I’ll have to wait till September. I’m praying I get in to walk scheduled for the first weekend in March.

So that’s just a quick update on life. Hope yours is good!

Posted in Alex, Drew, Mama Drama, Me, Myself, & I, Mr. Mag, The Fab 4, The Furballz | Tagged | Leave a comment

31/365.2011 {Dandelion}

Posted on January 31, 2011 by admin

Last day of January…where does the time go??

Dandelion

Posted in 365 in 2011, Pics Pics Pics | Tagged , | 6 Comments

365 January {Month 1}

Posted on January 31, 2011 by admin

Pics from 365 January

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30/365.2011 {Following a Shadow}

Posted on January 30, 2011 by admin

Following a Shadow

Teenager wanted a new picture for his profile on Facebook. He wanted one with his practice jersey on with just his back. I did a few to please him and then did a few to please me. 😉 Here’s one I did for me and then I edited it with a Midnight Sepia action. Kind of dark, but dreamy.

Posted in 365 in 2011, Drew, Featured, Pics Pics Pics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

29/365.2011 {An Apple a Day}

Posted on January 29, 2011 by admin

I don’t think I’ve ever talked about my kids’ eating habits. They are both grazers. They would eat all day if I let them, especially fruits. Grapes, strawberries, oranges, bananas, apples…you name it, they’ll eat it! They would both eat 3 apples a day if I would let them, but it could be worse, right?

honeyretroapples

I’ve been going through my Photoshop actions, so I’ve been trying some out and deleting a bunch. On this one, I used Honey Retro from the Coffee Shop Blog. If you haven’t checked out that site, you’re really missing out! Go see all the wonderful free actions and tutorials.

Posted in 365 in 2011, Featured, Mama Drama, Pics Pics Pics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Easiest Way to Cook Bacon

Posted on January 29, 2011 by admin

About a year ago, I discovered the easiest way to cook bacon. 4 reasons I love this way of cooking bacon is:

* Cooks the bacon nice and flat.
* Don’t have to tend to it like you do when cooking bacon on the stove top.
* Can cook a lot of bacon at one time.
* Much easier to clean up.

Easiest Way to Cook Bacon by Magnolia Mom

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Get 2 cookie sheets and make sure they fit together like a puzzle.
3. Spray the bottom of the pan you plan to use as the top with cooking spray.
4. I line the bottom cookie sheet with foil for much easier clean up. Spray the foil with cooking spray and then lay out the bacon.**
5. Cook for 10 minutes or until bacon reaches the crispiness you want.

Missus Wookie‘s comment reminded me that I didn’t explain what I do after the bacon is cooked! I actually get a paper plate with a few paper towels and put it on a plate. To make sure the grease it soaked up, I sandwich the bacon by placing the bacon on the paper towels and then paper towels another paper plate and another plate to help weigh it down. I leave it there until it’s time to eat.

**As if bacon wasn’t good enough. An extra little something you can do is after spreading out the bacon on the pan Sprinkle each piece with a little brown sugar. Very yummy!

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Pics Pics Pics, Pork, Tried & True | Tagged | 3 Comments

28/365.2011 {Look Towards the Sky}

Posted on January 28, 2011 by admin

lomoactiontree
One of the many trees in my backyard.

This has been edited using a Lomo Action. I’m actually not sure where it came from, but if you google Lomo, it’ll show you tons of options.

Posted in 365 in 2011, Featured, Pics Pics Pics | Tagged , | 7 Comments