Monster creations, sunsets and a last minute dog photo!

How is it Monday again already? Although I think a more important question is how this week managed to both fly by and drag at the same time. Positively baffling. I should stop thinking about it though or else I'm going to get sucked into a mental vortex and I'll never complete this post.

I have had a mondo busy week so again I allowed my laziness to overcome my urge to take photos. I've been sleeping in because I can; I'm still kind of on vacation, I think? Everyday I have visited someone, driven to a few places and I believe that more days than not I was at my storage unit hacking away at the enormous task of packing all of my possessions.

The good news is that I have quite a few photography project ideas beginning to brew in my mind. Little still life things here and there that I'm excited to put into motion. Unfortunately this week won't see the progression of any of those ideas because this coming week is going to be even busier than the last! Shopping, moving, family gatherings and a wedding. I really believe that my calendar has never been more full.

Now that I've rattled off my excuses for why I have little content for the second week in a row, here's what I do have for you!

 This guy still needs a name. He was supposed to have arms, but his feet ended

up looking like flippers and Andrew liked it, so I left the arms off.

First off is a preview of some Weird Little Monsters that I've made. In a nutshell, Weird Little Monsters (trademarked name, I think? I'll have to double check with him!) is a business idea that Andrew has had for a few years and has experienced a few stop/start attempts at getting it going. He asked me if I'd be interested in helping him get the venture off the ground and I gladly said yes. I really enjoy sewing and the thought of creating and assembling original monsters is very exciting.

The first little guy came together extremely sloppily; a combination of unforgiving slippery fabric and me being severely out of practice. Also really just poor attention to detail and a total lack of measuring. I suppose I could be obnoxiously negative and continue talking about what's wrong with him, but I'm going to stop. I'm proud of the fact that he's together in one piece and doesn't look like an Ugly Doll. He even has some flipper-like limbs that are firmly attached! I'm excited to make this same monster again with some different fabric and a greater attention to detailing for the eyes.

Glamor shots of Rohmer from my new camera application. I have yet 

to take any real photos, but I plan on it!

Monster number two, my favorite (and very first original) design, came together much more smoothly. My choice in fabric really helped with the aesthetics, I believe. The muted blues look much more comfortable. I'm glad that I still have so much canvas to work with as well. His pants just feel so sturdy and I like it! The only thing missing from Rohmer (named by Andrew) is the monocle that I drew in his original sketch. I'm still brainstorming possibilities on how to best construct it. I have some ideas in my head involving internal magnets, so we'll see what happens next time I make another Monster of this style.

When I first bought my new phone I spent a good amount of time researching interesting, free camera effects applications. I found two that I like (one for a wide range of edits and one that has a tilt/shift feature. LOVE tilt/shift) and I've been working with them for the past month. Just a few days ago I decided to take another look and see if I had somehow overlooked something particularly good. To my delight I found a free application that includes a fisheye filter, as well as a rather fun polaroid filter. It's easy to accidentally overuse these sorts of things, but I think they definitely have their place in the world.

There's just something about those two photos (fisheye and polaroid of Rohmer) that I enjoy. I look forward to more opportunities to explore and experiment with my various applications. It'll be some time before I have a real tilt/shift or fisheye lens. I'll take it however I can, and free is perfect for the time being. I hope to have a lensbaby lens sometime soon, they open up the door to creative freedom in similar ways to film, but with the easy and enjoyability (for me anyway) of digital. And as far as I know they offer the most affordable tilt/shift lenses for digital SLRs.

 It looked so much better at first! Some really great rays piercing through the

trees! Also, had to zero in on the mountain there. The views here are spectacular.

On Saturday evening I arrived at Andrew's parents and was greeted by a rather wonderful sunset. They live in a highly advantageous area for sunsets, so I stood in front of the house and enjoyed it for a few moments. Then I remembered that I'm a photographer and I have a camera and I needed to move my butt into the house and get the camera. Of course by the time I got back outside (roughly 45 seconds later) the sky had shifted to something much less spectacular.

I snorted in irritation at the inconsiderate nature of the sunset, exhibiting such a lack of concern for my interest in capturing its beauty. I did what I could. It wasn't a total loss.

 Shot of her lovely engagement ring, as well as their carving.

Happy smiles all around :]

I have to apologize for not having any photos of Slinky. I'm taking them tonight, so that doesn't really line up well for this earlier entry. I wish I could promise that they'd be in next week's blog, but next week I'll be in the car with Andrew on our way to California! I anticipate blogging from the car entirely with photos that I've taken with my phone. I'd better keep that in mind while I'm snapping away with the Canon this week.

So much to look forward to!

Oh, also, I included a few more photos of Rachel and Zach. They are from their choices. I spent a lot of time coming up with some new editing ideas and styles that I'm feeling pretty proud of. As a result it took me quite a long while to complete them, but Rachel is thrilled with them and so am I. Mission accomplished, I'd say!

EDIT:

Slinky! Sweet nine year old dachshund. 

Snuck in a photo of Slinky :D He is an extremely camera shy dog, so this was an exercise in patience and creativity. I'd say probably 90% of these photos he is a blur or it's the back of his head. Harumph.

-MJ

-Miranda

Back in Washington and shooting like crazy!

I've been back in Washington for almost a week now and I've had many new photo opportunities! Unfortunately, I have zero portraits. Serious bummer. It's not for a total lack of trying; last Monday night I was too sleepy to take pictures of Andrew, and when I saw my friends I ended up photographing the dog instead. OK, so maybe I didn't try that hard. I'll do better this week!

 Hiro is a shiba inu and he just turned a year old this month! He's a saucy 
little thing who loves attention and thinks he's a cat.

He also likes to be sassy toward Jacki, his owner. Hehe.

In positive news, I have successfully (and fairly quickly!) learned to use the new Canon flash that I bought. Right from the start there were so many things that I missed about my sb-800. Canon may have superior body technology, but Nikon does it right with the external flash units. Gah. It took me about forty five minutes or so, but I was able to get the 430exII to act as a slave to the pop-up flash on the 60D. There were a few frustrating and tense moments where I thought the 60D couldn't act as a master to the 430exII (because many Canon models can't do that!) but I read some tutorials and figured it out. If I had remembered to bring the instruction booklet for the camera and not just the flash it would have gone smoother, but oh well!

From an outing to Walmart with James. Would you buy this stuffed
 animal for your child?! It's supposed to be "sleepy" but... wow.

My first subject with the 430exII was Hiro, Jacki's dog. I took some photos of him last fall after my return from Ireland and I certainly had a good time! He's a friendly, cute dog with a very expressive face. A good backup to my lack of human subjects!

 Adorable pups at the farmer's market! The one on the left was three months 
old and was an absolute fluffy puff ball. The one on the right about had 
a heart attack when it saw me. Such a friendly little guy! I want a dog >.>

So far I have very few complaints or issues with the way the Canon functions. Other than button layouts confusing me because of how long I used my Nikon, it's a breeze to use. However I really hate the multiple pre-flashes that come off of the popup flash. I've explored the camera menu fairly in-depth, and off the top of my head I don't recall seeing any sort of... red eye reduction, or other feature that would call for the flash going off multiple tiny times before triggering for real. It is extremely obnoxious! It seems as though it's a focusing aid, but I can't tell. Makes for difficult animal photography though, I can tell you that! More experimenting is necessary.

The cuticle ointment that my sister makes. It was selling like hot cakes at 
the market! People were asking specifically for a cuticle cream and 
after testing it out they were sold. I helped myself to it a few times. It's so fabulous!

In other interesting and fun news, on Saturday I went to the Poulsbo farmer's market with my sister! (her computer is broken right now so she's MIA on her blog, but she'll be back soon!) This was her first time attending a farmer's market, and it was a lot of fun. She's been to a few craft fairs, but the farmer's market is more her style. She was selling her Earthtastic! wares, really fantastic natural, handmade (by her!) lip and body care products. Check out her etsy shop. I love her stuff :D

A wagon wheel outside one of the many restaurants downtown Poulsbo.

Also, a silly sign on the door of what used to be an antique shop.

But anywho, I took some photos of her sellin' it up at her booth; those are for her facebook page though. We were the only people there without a tent over our heads! We received a few comments about it, ha! It looked like rain for the first part of the morning, but the sun broke out as we went into afternoon and it was a successful day overall. I wanted to take some more photos of the wares at other people's booths, but I didn't want to hover too much without buying anything. I was surprised by the extensive variety from little ol' Poulsbo. Keep it going, people! Also, keep bringing your dogs because they are ADORABLE.

A clock that stands downtown Poulsbo, and a model  airplane that's
 in the front window display of a nautical shop called Cargo Hold.

On Wednesday I spent a few hours in downtown Poulsbo, a most beloved place to me. I've only been gone for four months, but for some reason it feels as though it has been years. I frolicked and explored and marveled at the things that have changed and what has stayed the same. I drove up and around the high school, junior high AND elementary schools. I passed through neighborhoods of old friends and sat and stared blankly at the water, then I went and had an obligatory Sluy's donut. I really wish they had a website so I could link to it. So delicious. So amazing.

 I've never noticed how many great brick buildings there are downtown! 
The doors on the right lead to a building that has been abandoned for 
as long as I can remember. How curious.

It was wonderful to wander downtown at my leisure. I spent about two hours just walking back and forth and taking photos. I've spent a lot of time photographing downtown before, so this time I really tried to focus on things that I hadn't personally shot before. It was fun and challenging and made me feel that much closer to the town. I love Poulsbo!

Moar brick!!

This week has been incredibly busy and full of wonderful friends and family. Everyday I have spent in the company of one of my best and most beloved friends or my sister, and each morning and night I have been with my mom. I have also had the fabulous pleasure of finally seeing Unjuy again, the softest kitty in the world! I've seen my niece and nephew, which has been great, and it would appear that Emily is getting used to me again. Hopefully I can make a good impact while I'm here that way she doesn't forget me again D: As soon as Cass gets a working computer again we'll be able to webcam it up and I can keep in touch with the kids more :]

Poulsbo was a lovely place to grow up.

Today sees the start of my storage unit adventures. I expect my next few entries will contain cellphone pictures of the memory-ridden things I'll be finding. Hold onto your pants people, it's going to get nostalgic up in here!

-MJ

P.S. Don't forget that my etsy shop is back up! I've added more prints since last week's entry. They're all from Ireland last year so there's nothing new yet, but I'll be adding new prints soon! :D

Inspiration struck.

Yesterday I took a whole bunch of pictures. It was one of our first truly beautiful and pleasant summer days so far in the season and I did a pretty good job taking advantage of it.

First order of business was a walk around the yard! My sister is working on some projects for her Earthtastic! shop and our mom's house happens to have an abundance of lavender growing around it. She cut away while I took pictures.

Many lovely water droplets all over the bushes.

A lady bug friend.

Elijah's interested was piqued by the lady bug.

Really, really piqued. He loves bugs.

Unjuy, handsome fancy feline, was enjoying the sun and our presence outdoors.

Some surprise lilies are growing near the front porch! We all love lilies.

A walk into the large backyard yielded some excellent photo opportunities. Cassidy brought me back there especially for these beauties!

It was very easy to take a lot of pictures.

I picked just three to share, but I have a lot more.

And finally, some peaches. Our yard is a treasure trove of flora!












My outdoor sunshine enjoyment continued into the late afternoon. I visited with a friend I hadn't seen in some time and nabbed some shots from downtown Poulsbo.

Here is Danny skipping or throwing (I wasn't really paying attention) some rocks at the Sound. I didn't follow him down the embankment because I had my camera.

A walkway from the small boardwalk that goes from downtown to a little park in the woods next to the water. I have taken photos of this cement stretch before!

Under-ripe berries? I'm not really sure. Yesterday is  the first time I've really used my flash in conjunction with nature photos. It was a great experience. In the words of Joe McNally, "It doesn't have to be human to light it". That may not be exactly what he said, but it was very close to that. I had never thought of using my flash for subjects that weren't people. I feel it has really brought my photos to a new level!

Obligatory historic shot.

A pub called Hare & Hound opened up downtown not terribly long ago, and then suddenly this 100% genuine, but non-functioning, British phone booth showed up outside of it! I was just tickled when  my Grandma came home about a week ago and told me about it. I had to stop and take a picture. I'll be able to get photos of ones in London soon!

So this concludes my inspirational day of photography. I hope to be struck again soon.

-MJ

Viking Fest

This weekend was Viking Fest, a celebration of Norway's Constitution Day. Poulsbo is referred to as "Little Norway", so festivities are in order every May. I have never gone to Viking Fest with the intent to photograph, or document the happenings. I haven't been in a few years because parking is always a complete disaster. When I was younger my family lived in the hub of downtown so we were always within walking distance. That is not that case any longer. This year though I was really interested in capturing Viking Fest so I made it work.

As an adult I have decided that it's not as fun as it used to be. I don't know if I have greater entertainment expectations now than I used to, or if perhaps as a child I was much easier amused. There's even a chance that the festival has gone downhill, although I do hope that isn't the case. I don't regret going, at least I had company for both visits and that definitely made up for the lack of inherent fun.

The biggest thing I was interested in photographing was the Saturday parade. I was incredibly disappointed. I think the parade needs a new coordinator because it was severely lacking in the organization department. I think it could use some more music too. There were very frequent gaps between one showing and the next. Parade watchers were pretty restless and kept spilling into the street to go and find something else to do. I got a few photos that are sort of OK, but overall the parade was unable to keep my attention so Jacki and I wandered elsewhere.

My best photos came from the carnival portion that contained rides and crappy games. That's where the people were most interesting. The people running the booths were extremely aggressive and made it difficult to want to approach the tents to take some up-close photos. I tried to hang back and wait for a customer to pre-occupy them so I could sneak to the other side of the tents and take pictures of things. I didn't bring my camera bag, it was way too hot and I was doing a lot of walking, so I was unable to change lenses to get closer. I had my 24mm on the whole time which ended up being a pretty good decision. I'm happy with the few up-close photos I did manage to get, so all was not lost.

When it came to editing I was so thankful for all of the technical knowledge I've been acquiring this last school year. I now shoot in RAW mode to take the most advantage of post-work, and I do almost all of my work through the RAW editor in Photoshop. I didn't bring any flash or diffusion material and it was a very sunny day. As a result a lot of the photos I took had severely blown out highlights. Thanks to the miraculous technology of RAW I was able to bring those highlights down (and the shadows up!) to create a more uniform picture that was pleasant to look at. I just made me so happy to know how to do it and to have the capabilities.

So here are a few more images from the weekend. Some from the parade and a few of Jacki! Also, one of Jake and me before we headed back home.

-MJ