Blue revamp sweater- birds take flight

Hello guys and gals, this is my really bad before picture (with no makeup and uncombed hair! yikes!!) of a top I found at the used clothing store. I had already cut it in the front. I am not as good at taking before pictures as I am at afters!!! :) Probably because my mind is so busy designing it that I can’t think of anything else. When an idea gets into my head, it’s there to stay until it’s finished! lol

AFTER

I am so excited!!! I just got my lighting kit in the mail and so now I can take some semi-professional photos and I mean semi but I have fun doing it!!!! lol I got it at Amazon.com and although it is inexpensive it works fairly decent! Not professional grade but the next best thing!! Worth every cent for me!!! great for doing small photo shoots but only good up-close as the lights are not bright enough for far away, but I just love it!!! Now I can take indoor photos without having to wait until the sun is out to get enough light or go outside and freeze!!  I can also get even lighting and it makes everything look a lot nicer! Here is the link if you want to see what the lights look like…Lighting kit from amazon.ca
I also recently bought a canon 50mm lens and this is my first photo shoot with it!!! I really like this lens for the fact that it does not distort your features in portraits!!! My other lens that I have make my face look longer than it is and I hate when it does that, but this lens looks more like my natural face proportions and I like this way better than the other one for portraits!!

Could the flower that I bought a while ago match any better??

It was time for tea and would you believe that my mug matched my outfit…I didn’t choose it consciously but since I had it in my hands I thought, why not….. :)

Yes, I crochet too!!! I’m sorry but it’s not my fault, I come by it honestly!!! lol  My grandmother on my fathers side was very talented and she won all kinds of awards for her crafts, cooking and she was a really good gardener,and I was told by my uncle and aunts that she had a great voice and that I sound just like her. My father also had creative things he would do although I never really knew exactly what he did other than make furniture I believe.

My mother was very creative, she would crochet, knit, paint, draw and quilt and sing alto. My mothers family were known in my village to be singers and guitar players.  My maternal grandmother also was a quilter and did knitting and crochet, so you see, I have no choice in the matter!!! Now I’m left “stuggling” on how I am supposed to use all these talents and gifts!!! hehehe   I tell ya, I actually have to pray about this at times! It can be overwhelming and sometimes, a lot of times, I have to discipline myself into NOT getting into too many things!! I would do it all if I could because I have so many desires to do all kinds of different things and I have to say NO to myself. sigh lol  I guess it could be worse….and it has been!!! haha

These above are actually my practice shots, even before the sweater was finished… you may see some stray yarns hanging around in these! ;) I was trying to decide whether the sweater was finished or if I should add some more crochet to it on the bottom. I wasn’t sure if I really liked the black and white cotton fabric from my leftover bedspread fabric or not but I think it’s ok. This is just a sweater I would be wearing around the house basically, just to keep warm. I love to be warm!!

I used my leftover eyelash yarn from my see it here: Hair Hat Also used blue yarn that I had kicking around for a while

The back detail, I smocked it!!

My make-shift background. A roll of plastic type wrapping paper that sticks to the wall. I have to get creative and figure out some nice backgrounds to use!

I adjusted the lights to different closeness and it effects how the shot comes out, this is very close and I can feel the warmth of the light, which are fairly cool considering the wattage.

Here is my girly puss, Minou Marie, always wants to take pictures with her mom, whether inside or outside, one of my cats will always find us :)

 

Having fun with birds!!!! lol

Matthew 6:29

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

James 3:7-12

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

 

Psalms 55:6

I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

This verse reminds me of a song I wrote quite a few years back when I was really feeling in a bad way and it comforted me to read and write about these psalms!!!  My inspiration was Psalms 55, 56, 61 and maybe another one but cannot remember which one. All the psalms and songs of Solomon are inspiration for me!

From Wikipedia
The Book of Psalms (Hebrew Tehillim, תְהִלִּים, or "praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is the first book of the "Writings", the third section of the Hebrew bible.^[1] The English title is from the Greek translation, psalmoi, meaning instrumental music and, by extension, the words accompanying the music.^[2] There are 150 psalms in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition (more in the Eastern Christian churches), many of them linked to the name of King David, but his authorship is not accepted by most modern Bible scholars.^[3]

Listen to my prayer, Oh God, Do not ignore my plea

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

at the voice of the enemy                              

My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death assail me,                                          Fear and trembling have beset me

Terrors overwhelmed me,………. but I said

(Chorus)

“Oh that I had the wings of a dove, I would fly far away and be at rest

I would fly far away and stay in the desert, I would hurry to my place of shelter

far from the tempest and storm.” x2

Here my cry, Oh God,

Listen to my  prayer                                                                                                                 

From the ends of the earth I call to you, as my heart grows faint

How long shall you assault a man?

Would all of you tear him down?

With their mouths they bless but in their hearts they curse, will it ever end? Will it ever end? Will it ever end???…….

and I said 

(Chorus)  

 

I am missing a verse because I can’t remember it right at the minute and I have no idea where my song is right now because I moved around some things and I’m too lazy to go and find it!!! lol Hey, at least I’m honest!! Maybe I’ll sing it for you someday ;) 

 

 

 

Luke 3:21-22 ESV

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Do you think that these birds were really in my house? ;)

P.S. Until next time, see you later

Mother and daughter photo shoot in BC

 

This lovely place is Kelowna, British Columbia

Water is so clear….cold too!

Trees draping into the water

Relaxing, warm and beautiful!!! Who wouldn’t want to take pictures here??

I have been teaching my daughter Cara, how to take better pictures… not that I am a pro but at least I know the basics and I am getting better. lol

Here is our fun photo-shoot, I think she did really well and she listened and tried to do what I told her.  We took turns being photographer and model! That’s a lot of work! hahaha

Cara with her $100 dollar Guess sunglasses! Must be nice lol  I must be cheap because I don’t think I would spend that much money on sunglasses…. Unless I was rich…like a billionaire!! Then I might buy some and then you could all have a pair too!!! hahaha  Now if it was fabric I’d probably and have spent more!!! but I’m still not rich…..not in money (my day is coming) anyhow but I am rich in all sorts of other things!!!

 

 

The trees are beautiful in B.C.

Do not always have your subject in the middle of a picture but slightly off to the side is nicer.

Also try to keep a fairly equal distance from the top and bottom of subject

Always keep your arms away from your body and do not totally face the camera unless you are rake thin and want to look bigger.

Try to have “room” in front of the way the subject is facing.

 

Do not cut off subject at waist, knees or ankles.

 

Imagine lines in thirds crossing the picture horizontally and vertically and place eyes around the top line.

 

 

 

This one is my favorite that she took. I love how the focus is on me and the right side branches and blurred in the background

I also like this one where I am not totally in focus but the branches in front of me are. Was this planned this way? Nope lol  She doesn’t know how to work my camera but it still turned out really nice!

 

Very amazon!

 

This one could be better if it was centered in the middle I believe but I didn’t do it. There seems to be too much space in the back. If it was cropped to where the leaves are bright and blurred on the left it would look better and cropped as a taller photo instead of a longer width it would look better but still I like it this way.

Enough of my modelling on to my photography with Cara being my model

This one I did center because she is looking head on and not turned left or right and so it seemed fitting to center her in the middle.

 

 

All editing is done by me by the way, I do as little editing as possible to make the picture look good. I prefer a natural look. In this one I added a lens flare and I think it added a great touch to the pic. I then readjusted the levels again to get the depth of colors again as it makes it a bit washed out when you add the flare.

She’s going to laugh at this one but she didn’t wear earrings and so there were two lonely holes without anything to cover them and so I made her a leaf earing!! lol That’s what mom’s are for. hehehe

 

I absolutely love this one!!! Her eye color is NOT edited!!! (Neither is mine btw)This is the color that was reflecting off of the water and trees into her already greenish eyes!! I love the expression in them too!!!

a bit amazon also

 

 

Cara beeb in the jungle!!

 

I added a lens flare on this one also for effects.

 

 

Lens flare on this one too. This one is  a bit brighter and I did not adjust the levels much.

 

Sometimes if you do not like your picture much you can bring it in an editing program and do something like this. This is called colored pencil and I really like it like this!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here Cara, take a picture of me climbing the tree! lol  I didn’t get very far

 

With my crazy arm and not being able to lift it for 7 months I lost my muscles!! I have got to do something about that soon!! Let me get my shovel out and start digging!!! lol

 

We had to have some together too!!

These are my favourites because it’s a memory of my daughter and I together.

 

Such a beautiful place, the pictures doesn’t do it justice.

 

 

The end. Very picturesque for sure and we had a beautiful day to enjoy it and  our photo-shoot!

P.S. See my fingers see my thumb coming up next post lol  Oh and my toes too!!

Catch you later