laying low

My 5/52 photo and a perfect mirror of myself these last few weeks. I am really starting to miss the light. It’s been on the news that this past January has been the dullest (in terms of sunlight) in about 50 years. I crave a sunlit afternoon so bad.
Instead, I turn to the next best thing: sleep. Me and the couch and the hot water bottle, we’re close in winter. Come 8pm you’ll find me fast asleep nearly every evening of the week.


So hard to get anything done when you’re sleeping all the time. Some socks, coming along very slowly. A new skirt, waiting for the finishing touches for weeks. Lots and lots of research for the business (exciting stuff in the works this year!).

Planning and dreaming and waiting for the light.

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4/52

A portrait a week.

The old mare at our barn, enjoying the quiet of a snow-blanketed world.
This challenge is so good for me.

autumn glow

Just popping in very quickly on a tired week night to quote the amazing Alicia:
“This week, I have noticed that the light has changed, much gentler than the bright summer light. The autumn glow is here…”

The change in the air is barely perceptible here, we’re still having wet, stuffy days and at night are kept awake by thunder and lightening.

But the light…she’s right. The autumn glow really is here.

blackout

I’m 26 and scared of the dark. It’s silly and childish but I don’t like it when it’s dark. Which probably played a role in my becoming a photographer, who constantly looks for and works with light and sees light in many different ways. For me there is never ‘just’ light, it can have so many different colors and forms and feelings.
But back to the dark. We had a power outage the other night that lasted for about 40 minutes.
The kitties and I were home alone because my boyfriend was out with the guys.

The whole block was out of power. It’s funny to see how people react to power outages in the city. There is the stage of confusion, the searching for the fuse box, the going out on the street to see if others have the same problem, the talking excitedly with neighbours. Then, when it becomes obvious that the power will be gone a while, everyone settles down. Candles are lit.

You’re suddenly out of things to do and wander aimlessly about the rooms (or in my case, start listening to every sound in case an axe murderer is trying to break in).

I sat down on the couch and watched the candle and when the light went back on all of a sudden it was glaring and startling and harsh.
While I am very thankful for electricity, I do wonder what life was like when the day was defined by sun light or lack of it. Our evenings sure would be a lot different, a lot calmer and a lot less hectic, by candle light.
We have candles in every nook and corner, but I simply forget to light them. I resolved to remind myself more often.

happy blue

The unintentional theme in yesterday’s pictures.


Though blue is the thing farthest from me this week. Do you know that feeling of just being deliriously happy without cause in totally random moments? Of suddenly being so full of happiness you feel giddy and almost like starting to cry? So far 2011 has been full of that (ok, 2011 is only a week old but so far so good).

I don’t think I realized how much 2010 weighed me down until it was over. I am ready for a new year, new plans, new challenges, new garden, new job and a newfound lightness when many stray threads are finally coming together.

It is raining and I love it, I love to be rid of all the ice on the roads, I love the patterns on the streets at night. I love that 10°C feels wonderfully warm and I love the change in the air that ever so slightly hints at spring and green and sun.

evening out

relishing

days at the barn, gorgeous light, fresh fall air, no cell phone reception.

I read a very interesting article the other day about how we have forgotten or unlearned to really let go and relax (I am just realizing there is no english equivalent for the german term “Muße”). That we are always tense, feeling the need to do stuff, to get things done, to answer the phone, answer emails and text messages.
I am guilty of that too, although we do try to slow down our lifestyle. Have a little experiment: Turn off the TV, the radio, the cell phone for a week or two. You’ll be amazed how you start noticing high noise levels elsewhere and how annoying they are, how glaring TV ads and how stupid most shows.

You’ll be amazed at how happy simplicity makes.


My weakness of course is the internet, but I’m working on it 🙂

golden hour

I don’t really need to comment these, do I? Except to say that, no matter how stressful the day at the office was, what could be better than to come home to light as glorious as this:

And a peaceful sight like this:

And suddenly, everything is good again.

light and shadow – photography tips II

I’m feeling like another photography tips post today, this time on using light and shadow effectively. Not that I’m the expert (far from it!) but there are some very simple things to keep in mind in photography.
One of those is: shooting in direct sunlight is hard! As in: so difficult I hardly ever attempt it.
You will get nicely lit, nicely coloured results much more easily if you stick to shadow!
And because this is illustrated more easily in pictures here’s an example. These two shots were taken within minutes apart and are both SOOC (straight out of the camera, zero processing except resizing):

direct sunlight: brilliant colours but harsh shadows, hard to avoid blown out areas, looks like an average snap-shot.

the same object, taken in my own shadow (with my back to the sun): evenly coloured, no areas drowned by shadows, looks bright yet dreamy. It’s a little dark, so my first step in post-processing would be to lighten it up slightly.
Shooting in the shadow can mess up your white balance, so your photos might look a little bluish. Check if your camera has different white balances to choose from. With mine ‘shadow’ or ‘cloudy’ work best in these situations.
That said, sometimes direct sunlight and the harsh contrast it provides can be used as a tool itself. I’ve seen professional photographers take breathtaking shots in which light and shadow play the predominant role.
Try it out some time on a sunny day and look for the shapes and opportunities direct sunlight presents:

It may only be a purple wall on your way to the bus station which you’ve passed a hundred times before and never noticed 😉

waiting for summer

and sun, and warmth.