New Blog

Hey Everyone!

I decided that I'm going to start up on a new blog. =) Just because this one is so specifically for photography only, and I wouldn't mind having a blog that I could talk about other stuff on also. =) Anyway, I just thought it would be fun to try out. =D So if you wanna take a look, you can find the new blog here:

http://dianaanndaydreams.blogspot.com/

Leia ...

Autumn Days

Hey Everyone!

So, I don't know about everyone else, but we are having some kind of amazing weather right now for fall where I am. Normally in the fall, we have to start bundling up right away, and the change from warm to freezing is so fast that a lot of the times the leaves on the trees don't really change... they just fall right off. =P But this year has been amazing! =D It's the middle of October and we're still getting +20 degrees Celsius for the highs. =) It's been really great.

Anyway, in celebration of this wonderful weather I decided to take a trip to a large public garden in my area and see what kind of shots I could get this late in the year.

It was awesome! =D They still even have some flowers in bloom. I was so excited! And the leaves on the trees were just beautiful! It was really exciting. =) Anyway, these are some of the shots that I got that I really liked. =)

Leia ...

Adobe Lightroom

Hey Everyone! =D So I just recently downloaded the free trial for Adobe Lightroom (like, yesterday) cause I saw a video about it on youtube and figured it'd be worth trying. =) I'm already madly in love with photoshop, but I've heard that this can kind of enhance you photoshopping experience. =P So I figured it'd be worth a try. =) Anyway, I'm going to kind of play with it over the next few days, and we'll see if it turns into a 'must have' kinda thing. =)

I already know it's good for editing pictures quickly and in batches. I'm not entirely sure if it gives you as much freedom and control as photoshop does, but it seems to be very quick. I think if I got good at using it my editing times might go down. =P (Which I think everyone can agree is awesome!) Anyway, if anyone has/likes/ knows about lightroom leave a comment below just saying if you like it, what you think, or even your favorite feature!

Cheers!

Diana

Leia ...

New Lens and New Photos

Hi Everyone!

I hope everyone is handling the transition to fall well. =P I personally like it. ^-^ I love when the trees change colors, and walking on the crunchy leaves. =) So, I realized I never blogged about my new lens! >< It's a 50mm f2.8 EX DG Sigma Macro, and I love it. =D It's a really good, solid feeling lens, and the focus ring is so smooth. I've been having so much fun with it. ^-^ I've wanted a macro lens for such a long time, and I'm so glad to finally have one!

Anyway, I thought I would give you a sneak peak of some of the pictures soon to be listed in my photography shop (DianaAnnPhoto.etsy.com) and at the same time, I'll show you some of the pictures I took with my new lens, seeing as all these pictures that I'm about to list were all taken with that lens. =) Hope You like them. =D

Leia ...

Natural Light Portraits

Hey Everyone! =D So the other day I was kinda bored, and putting off making supper. =P (We were having stir fry! Why was I putting it off?! ><) Anyway, I was actually on my way to the kitchen, seriously considering starting supper when I noticed that the light coming from my window was hitting my tiny rose plant really nicely. =) Of course, I had to take a picture. =P Well... that picture was good... but there isn't even any blossoms on my poor little plant, so it was kind of boring also. =P

And then I was thinking about how I've been trying more and more to get some creative lighting and background ideas for portraits, and I thought this could be a super fun experiment. =D I've never actually taken a portrait with the light from a large window, so I thought I'd have some fun with it. =)

For these photographs I only used the light from the window. I think next time I'll probably try using a reflector to help fill in the shadowed side of my face a little bit, but the shadows weren't too strong, so I didn't worry too much about it. =P Which I'm realizing is pretty lazy now that I'm actually typing it out. =P

Well, that's it! I hope you like them. =)

Cheers! Diana.

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I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Audrey at Audrey's Country Crafts and have been asked to answer 8 questions. =) Sounds like fun! Here I go. =)

1. What is your favorite song?

Hmm.... I'm really loving "Mine" by Taylor Swift right now. =D It's a really great song. =) I swear I just about cried the first time I heard it. =P

2. If you were a flower - what would you be?

Hmm... Well I really love like, orchids... but I don't think I could be one... probably a rose. =) because they're good for so many different occasions, and can bring so many different emotions. =D They're just a pretty awesome flower. So, hopefully I'd be a rose. =)

3. Summer, winter, fall or spring?

Well... where I live, winter is unbearably cold some years. ><>< And then summer this year had like, whole WEEKS where it was like, +40 and you couldn't go outside without getting heat stroke... I guess fall. =) It's crisp and fresh, and I love all the beautiful colors! =)

4. Do you collect anything? If so, what is it?

I think the only thing I really collect is hobbies. =P I've tried pretty much anything that even just might be fun to try. =P Scrapbooking, card making, stationary printing, crocheting berets, making amigurumi toys, candle making, painting, sewing, Glass Blowing, and Photography. =P That's all I can think of. =P

5. Do you have a hobby?

While I've tried lots of things, the only hobby that's really stuck with me, and I don't think will ever stop being fun, is photography. =) It is definitely my favorite thing to do. =D I love it. =)

6. If you could go anywhere for a winter vacation, where would it be?

As long as I got to spend Christmas and New Years at home, I would probably want to spend the rest of winter, if I could, somewhere like, Mexico, or Cuba, or Hawaii. =) Somewhere fun, and WARM! (Very important. ><)

7. What color is your purse?

Lots of shades of blue. =)

8. What is your favorite TV Channel?

Whichever one Grey's Anatomy comes on. =) I can't remember which station or channel that is right now though. =P I just flip through the guide 'till I find it. =P

So that's that! I've answered all the questions. =) That was lots of fun! Thanks for the opportunity Audrey. =) I hope everyone is having a good long weekend!

Leia ...

Why Do I Have Computer Paper in my Camera Bag?

Hey Everyone! So this is just a short post about a stress saving idea that I had. =) When I first got my camera and started taking artistic photography I sort of leaned on the pre set white balances programed into the camera. =P I soon learned that while they work okay, I had to do a lot of color correcting in Photoshop. =P and even then... that doesn't always work...

So one day I'm in my friendly neighborhood photography shop picking up some new light bulbs for my lights and I was trying to decide between the different kinds (Like tungsten etc) and temperatures so that my pictures will come out white. Upon hearing that it not only depends on the location and lighting in my home, but that it also depends on the time of day, and pretty much how my camera is feeling right at that moment. >< I was pretty stressed out. Fearing that I will never be able to take a picture with the actual correct white balance, the incredibly nice sales person told me that I could just do a custom white balance. =P Something I just never thought of doing before for some reason. =P

As it turns out, with my camera, all I have to do is make sure my white balance setting is in "Custom" then take a picture of something white, (like a white background) hit Menu, select the second menu screen, and then hit "Custom WB" then it'll pull up the last picture I took on the memory card (so the white background) and you press "Set" and it'll ask if you want to use the information from that picture to set the white balance. Hitting "Okay" again, your custom white balance is now set!

This entire process takes about 10 seconds. =P and is incredibly handy! The only problem I ran into was when I was spending the day taking pictures in a public garden and the white balance was all wrong! And I couldn't find a single white thing to take a picture of to change it. >< And the preset ones weren't working at all. =P

The minute I got home I folded a regular, white piece of computer paper and put it in my camera bag so I will always have something white to use to set the white balance. =P

Thanks for reading!

Leia ...