31.5.11

tat-tuesday

remember when there used to be 9 planets in our solar system? love her space tattoo, flame red hair, and bohemian style.


birds love cupcakes too

this girl's swallow tattoos look very similar the ones on my back

i'm a sucker for all things with vintage owls... i have a salt shaker that looks like this little guy


three elephants


aauuuuuggghhhh tyrannosaurus rex tattoo... dinosaurs rock

30.5.11

linkin logs | photography tips


i'm always in search of ways to improve a couple of things in my life. photography is ALWAYS the number one thing i want to improve on and the second is writing. this post is all about photography, but keep your eyes peeled because i will be posting some great resources, information, and inspiration for writers too.


Ten Photo Tips That Can Change the Way You Shoot via FotoWala
1. Start working on a long term project. I think that every photographer must be engaged in a long term personal project. When you work on a long term project the subject stays the same and you can slowly start noticing how your style changes around it.

2. Choose a subject that is close to your heart. Concentrate on something that you like and is accessible. If you are not a volcanologist don’t start a project about volcanoes. Your family can be a great subject to start with. Decide what you want to say and start shooting regularly, at least once week. Keep your mind open to see how the project develops beyond your initial ideas. A personal project could be a three-month-long project that will result in a series of 8-12 images, or a much longer one that might even become a book.

3. Study the work of other artists. Watch movies about the masters of photography and how they work. Study the history of photography and the techniques that were used before the digital age. Study Ansel Adam’s zone system. Start going to book stores and sit with books to get inspiration.

4. Try shooting with both eyes open. this will give you the ability to see beyond your frame and be prepared for changes. This might prove a bit strange at first but you will get used to it very fast.

5. Shoot from the hip / shoot without looking. Break the way you see the frame and let yourself be surprised by what you shoot. This will also enable you to shoot people form up close without making them look into the lens. Don’t be afraid to get bad results. If you don’t take risks you will never get great images.

6. Pattern plus. Look for patterns and break them. This is a simple exercise but will help you open your eyes to patters around you. A mountain of green apples and one is red is a simple example. Try to find others.

7. A+B=C. is a technique of using an ironic juxtaposition of two elements in the composition (A+B) and the relations between them to tell a story and lead the viewer to understand the subtle statement (C).

8. Frame inside a frame. Create frames inside your composition and position your subject inside it. Open a window into another world that lies beyond the two dimension of the photograph and emphasize your statement.

9. Change the settings in your camera menu to use two separate buttons for the AF and shutter release so that you focus with your thumb and release the shutter with your shooting finger. This is a simple trick that will help you frame better and prevent your focus from changing when you shoot.

10. Use rear-curtain flash sync

11. Smile and have fun. A smile will get you out ofBlockquote almost any tight spot, especially while shooting in foreign countries where you do not speak the local language.


Relevant Links:
  • 31 Days to a Better Photo Series - this is a good guide to understanding the different manual controls. basically the textbook things that i learned in my photography 101 class available for free.


You Might Also Be Interested In [by yours truly]:
please post any relevant tips, tricks, inspirations, or links that you might have below. like i said, i'm always looking for things to improve my photography and to motivate me to get out of the house and take more pictures.

27.5.11

the friday editorial | corps & lames








from vogue paris | february 2005


model: gemma ward
photographer: mario testino
stylist: carine roitfeld

26.5.11

tilt | things i love thursday

[via karly]

peonies:


black and white photos of statues:



words:
  • the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. | albert camus
  • tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? | mary oliver


  • the more i see, the less i know for sure | john lennon
  • your handwriting. the way you walk. which china pattern you choose. it’s all giving you away. everything you do shows your hand. everything is a self-portrait. everything is a diary. | chuck palahniuk
  • don't cry because it's over. smile because it happened. | dr. seuss


arrested development:


pet appreciation:

24.5.11

summer reading giveaway | the almost moon by alice sebold


"When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily."

So begins The Almost Moon, Alice Sebold's astonishing, brilliant, and daring new novel. A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this unforgettable work by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky.

For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined.

Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers; the meaning of devotion; and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.


this week i'm participating in the splash into summer giveaway hop [click for the full list of over 300 blogs participating in this giveaway - all book related]. the winner gets a hardcover copy of the almost moon by alice sebold. open to u.s. residents only. you must be a follower to enter.

how to enter:
leave a comment letting me know where you follow my blog [google, bloglovin, etc] and your e-mail address.

the winner will be announced on june 1!

maggi may


betsey johnson maggi platform pumps in nude leather and floral denim

the clip is from lords of dogtown featuring heath ledger... every time i hear rod stewart's maggie may [or even the word maggie in this case] i think about this scene.

20.5.11

oddballs










hmm... karly is right. i never end up posting more than a handful of photos from each roll of film even though i always mean to post them all. here are some oddball film photos that i've taken that don't really match up with any blog posts that i have queued up in my brain. :] thanks for the inspiration karly!

i will try to do more posts and stop storing my photos away in a box never to be seen again.

most of these were from a double exposed roll, once through my canon elan iie and also through my holga 135 on kodak 400 film. i was a little disappointed that the results weren't more dramatic.