march 31st, 2012

It's Saturday March 31st, 2012, and on this cold, rainy, and semi-snowy last day of March, I'm sitting here feeling gross, sick, and exhausted. I've babysat nearly 20 hours since last Saturday and came down with an awful cold on Wednesday which caused me to miss Thursday and Friday of school.

I haven't had much time to pick up my camera this week (I think I've taken somewhere around 4 pictures) so I just decided to share some pictures from the happy and warm days of last summer.

If the weather's nice where you are could you please go run barefoot in a field for me? Thanks.

xoxo - hope

that's me

I'm a thinker. I question unquestionable things, wonder why some things are the way they are, and over-think situations, relationships, and feelings.

I'm a sentimentalist. I cry often, am dumbfounded by the beauty in life and try to save every little memory I have in one way or another which results in thousands of pictures, some journaling, and a huge tote that stores a ton of random things that most people would likely call junk. 

I'm a photographer. I take thousands of photos a year, have - at the moment - 14 cameras, and am constantly fascinated at the sheer brilliance of capturing a moment with the click of a shutter. 

I'm a traveler. I love plane rides, hotels, language barriers, wandering cities that are so alike, yet so different from my own, and experiencing whatever the country has to offer.

I'm a grand-daughter, daughter, niece, sister, and friend. I cherish my friends, and love my family. I'm a lover of life, and try not to take anything for granted. 

That's me. 

xoxo - hope

corbin {a wordless post}

xoxo - hope

a glimpse of summer

Every year around this time, when the school bags get packed up again and a bedtime is reinforced I'm reminded of what the coming months of summer will be like.

Breaks are what get me through the school year- winter, spring, Easter, then finally summer vacation are always being counted down to and crossed off the list when they finally arrive.

My spring break was perfect though- late nights, sleeping in until noon, trips down island to see friends, babysitting, and three movies in a span of two days is what I've been up to!

Oh, and we fed the ducks at the pond behind our house- a job we take very seriously! ;)

xoxo - hope

ten years from now

Dear Future Self, 

If you held off reading this for ten years like you promised yourself, that would mean that you are twenty-five. A quarter of a century. Wow, just thinking about it makes me want to cry, because at fifteen you were (and maybe still are) a crybaby and didn't want to grow up. Maybe you haven't. Maybe you're still living at home and working at the nearest grocery store, but I'm hoping that your life goes at least somewhat like you planned, which would leave you married, hopefully with a few children. But maybe things are different, maybe your engaged, or maybe even single. Maybe you have a child, or two, one on the way, or none. Maybe you went to college after all and have started your own childcare center, or maybe you decided that after a year off, you would take some more time to figure out what you want to do, and that's just fine. 

I hope you still write on this blog of yours, but maybe life got in the way. I hope you are still head over heels in love with photography and have learned more than you ever expected. I hope you have traveled as much as you planned, and I hope that you took thousands of pictures of said trips and documented them well. I hope you're still close with the friends you had in high school, and I hope you have stayed in touch with them since you have known them since fifth grade. I hope you have met one of your blogger friends in person, and I hope that the blogging conference that all the bloggers talk about will happen. Basically, I hope you're happy. After all, that's all that really matters. 

Whatever happens, I hope you stay yourself. I hope that you cherish your family, and enjoy everything life has to offer.

Sincerely,

Your Past Self

xoxo - hope

film

It's strange that now, in a world so crowded with fancy new electronic gadgets we find all things vintage so entertaining. Vintage clothing, vintage typewriters, vintage bowls, cutlery, pictures, rugs, pianos, telephones, and the most interesting I think, is vintage cameras.

I was given an Olympus OM-1 film SLR a couple of weeks ago. It was originally my grandpas, but when he passed away it was given to my uncle, who then gave it to me. I was obviously thrilled, because A- although I have a grand total of thirteen vintage cameras, not a single one of them work, B- it wasn't just the camera itself, but also 3 other lenses, a flash, some filters, a remote, and several different little things that I have no idea how to use, and C- it belonged to my grandpa who is no longer with us.

I'm pretty happy with how some of the pictures turned out, but I'm still learning how to use this thing. I did buy the cheapest film just to test it out, so next time we'll probably get a little better quality, but I kinda like the grain because it adds to the whole film ordeal. Check it out;

Have you ever tried film? 

xoxo - hope

one year

One year ago today I walked into Future Shop empty handed and came out twenty minutes later with my beloved Canon Rebel T2i in a bag around my wrist. I assembled it in the car on our ride home, and was excited beyond belief to test it out. This is the very first picture I ever took with my camera, and I remember squealing with delight at what I, at the time, thought was the most magical bokeh ever. 

In one year I learned how to shoot in manual mode, gained two lenses, some lens pens, two camera bags, lost two lens caps, took probably somewhere around 5000 pictures, learned that having breaks are okay, had many photo shoots with friends, dropped my camera two times (two very scary times), and even braved being in front of the camera instead of behind it.

It has been one wild and crazy year of expressing myself in a new way, and I'm not even close to kidding when I say that my camera strap has been a near-constant fixture on my neck, which now that I think of it may explain some of the neck problems I've been having! ;)

I hope to learn just as much this year as I did last, and I'd like to wish my beautiful camera a happy first birthday!

xoxo - hope

i'm baaaaack

When spending fifteen days away from something that you're so accustomed to doing you realize how long fifteen days really is. While this time away was much needed, it also made me realize how much I love writing, sharing my pictures, reading comments, and connecting with people who live in countries other than my own. 

I'm still not one-hundred percent inspired, but at least this time away has rejuvenated me and made me realize why I loved to blog in the first place! 

I want to thank the wonderful ladies who accepted the offer to guest post while I was off gallivanting with no deadline for posts. I hope you guys enjoyed their posts as much as I did, and I am so happy to be back! :)

xoxo - hope 

the thinker | a guest post by jocee

ever found yourself lost in thought? staring at something and wondering how it's made? pondering on the many ways to start a conversation? wondering how fabric is made, how thread is made; anything? quite frankly, if you don't think, there's something wrong with you.

i often find myself lost in thought. whether thinking out loud {which is why my friends say i talk too much} or quietly. and for the most part, i think quietly. in volleyball, during school, reading, watching the tele. my mind can't stay in one place because it has so many other places to go. for example, last minute i was thinking of the delusional ways of a blackbird. right now, i want to know what the above dishtowel would look like if it was made differently.

what would happen if i looked to the left next and not to the right? if i started the conversation this way and ended it that way? why do the days get longer and shorter even though it's still a twenty-four hour day? these are some things that run through my mind constantly.

do you ever find yourself lost in thought?

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dark amber brown eyes, brown hair, dreams with emerald green eyes, sees life in the color vintage, cupcake enthusiast, lover of British accents, left-handed, traditional coca-cola bottle lover, lavender vanilla bubble baths, sea shell collector, avid believer in Narnia, Wonderland and Middle Earth, dictionary reader, quill and ink writer, supporter of chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream, profound quote creator, despiser of capital letters, your personal imagination station, inspired by rainy days, aspiring photographer, bubble blower. blogs at cupcake dictionary. pretends she's fashionable.

six tips to help you on your photography journey | a guest post by courtney

There is so much to learn on your photography journey. Honestly, I’m not quite sure you will ever be done learning. I know, I am constantly learning new things after over 2 years of shooting on manual mode.

Here is a list of things you can do to improve your images when you are starting your journey.

1.   Composition

This is such an important part of your image. The way you compose your photo can draw your viewer in or it can distract them. You want to lead the viewer into your photo and have them see what you want them to see.

A few things to try:

Rule of thirds - this is when you place your subject in one of the thirds of your image

Straight horizons - it is very easy to hold your camera crooked so be sure to correct this in post processing

Leading lines - this is one of my favorites.  You use the natural lines of the image to draw your viewer into your subject

Negative Space - leaving some negative space on the top, right, left, or bottom of your image is a dramatic way to really show off your subject

2.   Choose your focal point

I can’t say this enough how important this is. You want to pick what your camera focuses on. Don’t let your camera pick it for you. What if you are shooting a newborn and only want their feet in focus. You need to be able to change your focal point. You will need to go into the menu of your camera to change this setting.

3.   Shoot in Manual mode

Honestly, this is where it gets fun and you can really take control of your photography. If you aren’t already shooting on manual mode, I challenge you to take it off the green box and switch it to “m” for one week. You must force yourself to practice. 

When learning manual mode you need to understand the exposure triangle:

Shutter speed - how quickly your shutter button closes. This affects how much light is let in to your image as well as how sharp it will be. If you are shooting at 1/30 and photograph a moving toddler your subject will be blurry. When photographing a moving subject, I would not go below 1/125.

Aperture - this helps decide how much of your image is in focus as well as the amount of light. If you are shooting at f/2.8 then a small portion of your image will be in focus and you will be letting in more light. Shooting at a lower number aperture (wider aperture) will help you achieve those blurry backgrounds everyone loves. If you are shooting at f/22 then almost everything in your image will be in focus and less light is let in.

ISO - this has to do with the amount of light let in. If you are shooting during the day time, keep it low - around 200 or so. If you are shooting indoors without a lot of light you may want to bump it up to 800 or 1600. Remember though, the higher the ISO the more grain/noise your image may have. However, it is better to raise your ISO and have a properly exposed image than to keep it low, have an underexposed image because the grain/noise will be a lot more noticeable in an underexposed image.

4.   Meter off the skin

You may have heard this before. When setting your exposure (using SS, aperture, and ISO) you want to get them all to meet so that your ticker is on the zero. To find what spot is best to set that exposure, you should put your red box or circle on the subject’s skin. This will make sure their skin is properly exposed which is the most important thing.

5.   Adjust Your White balance

This is the tint of your image. Have you ever taken a picture inside and it has a yellowish tint to it? I know I did and had no clue how to fix it. This is your white balance and it is off if your image is too yellow or too blue. You can adjust your white balance by going into your menu and using the preset ones or you can do custom white balance.  I use the Kelvin’s method for white balance these days. Some cameras don’t have that option though so be sure to check out what your camera can do. Play around with your white balance because if you can nail it in camera you can save yourself so much time in editing.

6.   Learn about Light

I could write posts upon posts about light. Honestly, light is so important in photos. I’m a huge fan of natural light and when shooting indoors I want to make sure my subject is near a window. You want to capture catchlights and shadows on your image. You can achieve this easily by having them turn at a 45 degree angle.  Make sure their eyes are facing the light source so you can capture a bit of light in their eyes.

I hope these tips help you on your journey. Please let me know if you have any questions.  I promise I have had the questions as well and love helping people. Thanks, Hope for allowing me to guest post on your blog!

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I am a former elementary school teacher turned stay at home mom. I have two fantastic little girls and another one on the way. Married to an amazing man in the military, we are currently living in Japan. I blog at Click it Up a Notch where I write about photography tips, inspiration, equipment and editing. You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter (@clickitupanotch).

those pretty blurry dots | a guest post by gracie

you know what i like?

i like those little blurry dots of light normally found in the background of photos called bokeh.

i especially like dedicating a whole entire post to photos filled with bokeh.

and i really like it when those photos filled with those pretty little dots were taken at night on the ride home after a baseball game.

i find night-time bokeh enchanting and sweet. there's just something about those colorful balls of light glowing in the dark that make me so happy. call me weird, but bokeh does make me giggle like a little girl at random. bokeh even makes my non-photographer-geek sister happy. we can sit and stare for hours looking at bokeh shots on pinterest and not get bored.

what's one little thing that makes you super happy?

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hi-oh, my name is grace. i'm just your typical awkward fourteen year-old homeschooled photographer, choir singer, live-theater actress, blog post writer, and bookworm. i really love the performing arts, and blogging, and taking pictures (obviously). i blog over at lollipops & cupcakes. stop by and say hi, if you want. i would love to meet you :)

thanks Hope, for letting me guest post here on your super-wonderful blog!