Christmas Still Life - Mostly Decorations

  'Christmas Still Life' Photo Series

This post is about a series of photos featuring Chrsitmas decortions, How I shot them and some of what I learned while doing it.

It's one of the few times I though the process of setting up a full shoot with lights & backdrop etc.  for items from around the house.

This series started last February 1st, as I was putting away my Christmas decorations.  I was late putting them away and part of me wasn't too enthusiastic even then. As I was getting out the boxes and taking things down it occurred to me  "this stuff would make good photos to post next year around Christmas".

So, I decided to get some photos as I put away the last of the Christmas decoration.  Initially the plan was to snap a quick shot of a few items and put everything in a green totes. It soon turned into a a case of "If somethings worth doing it's worth doing right".

Before I knew it I had a backdrop, key light, a few fill lights, and a host of modifyers along with all the gear to get them in position all set up & ready to go. Along with that where a couple of prime lenses, a set of macro tubes along with camra & tripod. To complete the arrangement there was a pile of decorations on one side & a group of boxes on the other to put away the decorations after they'd been shot.

Still life & studio lighting are things I don't get to do too often. So, I was excited to get started and get more experience with type of shoot.  I started with the brand new set of macro rings that Santa had dropped off at Chrsitmas.  After a few test shots the macro tubes went back in the box and became a project for another day. I wasn't getting what I wanted/expected and I realized needed to do a bit of research to get what I wanted from from them.

At this point I realized a few things  simultaneously 1) it's 11 pm  2) I have to work in the morning 3) I have a a bunch of stuff set up that has to come down before I go to bed (I'm in a pretty tight space)   4) I'm about to teardown thsi setup with out getting and good shots and haven't put away a single Christmas decoration.

It became clear that when I restarted this process tomorrow it wouldn't be as quick or as easy as I first thought. As it  turned out that it would last another three evenings, but it did end with all of the decorations put away for next Christmas and a few hundred images on my hard drive, also awaiting next Chrsitmas.

Over the 3 evenings I learned a lot and jsut as important I got some practice.  It's one thing to know how things should be done.  It's something else to be able to set things up quickly and in the right order with out having to take two steps back before taking one forward.  recreating almost the same setup 4 nights in a row went a long way towards my aquiring that ability. I'm still not a professional light tech, not by a long shot.   But, I have felt better about  doing a basic light setup since then.

What Else Did I Learn?

I learned a little bit about ligthing faces.

How to accentuate things by hiding other things in shadow. Leaving empty space (AKA negative space) and using techniques in post to further change or enhance the viewers perception.

How hard it is to fill in all the shadows and how unneccisarry/boring it can be when you finally achieve it.  Some times shadows are your friend (see above)  and sometimes they're not (below -left)

I was repeatedly reminded once again that "good enogh" rarely is and that if you say "I'll fix it in post" while shooting you usually curse yourself in post & rarely end up with what you where hoping for. As an example, use tripod or some other camera support system. Camera support systems aren't just to get more gear out on the floor. They really can give you more options and better results.
When when "sharp focus" and "blurry mess" are seperated by fractions of a centimetre hand held might not be the best option. It can create some happy accidents, but mostly,  it creates stuff that 's frustrating in post & often wholely unusable.


I'll save the joys and advantages of Hand Held photography (of which there are many) for another post.




I'll wrap up todays post with a link to my FLICKR ALBUM where the photos from this shoot are being posted from November 15 right into the New Year.

Click Subscribe and never miss a post.
You can get my "Pic-of-The-day" in your Twitter feed by following @rumimumesf on Twitter.

Want to see more?   I'm also on  Flickr, Vimeo,  YouTube.

The Dog Days.

Have I mentioned I'm doing a Podcast ?
Well I am.  It's part of the Dog Days of podcasting,  which is a group of people that challenege themselves to make a podcast everyday during August.
I heard about the Dog Days when it was mentioned on one of the podcasts that I regularly listen too.
I though "that's a cool odea, I should try that"  and then didn't.  Not that year or the next. Finally this year as it was approaching I was determined to give it a try.

I thought about a few different titles and formats and went back and for , then decided on the title "My Commute" using the idea of talking about commuting while, commuting as a loose framework to really talk about what every I want.  But, it's usually connected to what I'm doing.or what's going on. Each day's cover art is also a photo I've taken.  Often taken on the parkway &  usually on the same day of the recording.

The Dog Days Of Podcasting Challenge ends at the end of the week. Most of the participants will wrap up their Dog Dags shows and some will go back to  their "regularly scheduled podcasts".
I don't have a regular show to go back to or continue with, but I don't really want to stop doing shows.

So, what I'm hoping to do is transition from the dog days into a new podcast. Sort of transform this show into something I can do once a week through the fall and winter and see how I feel about it in the spring.

That about all I can say for now about the new show is that it will have a new name, probably have  a weekly(ish) schedule and is likely to be at least a little longer than the 5 minutes long.

There's still lots to figure out & try out before I commit to any of the defeatist.
The immediate plan is the keep doing "My Commute" Daily into the first week of September (maybe a bit longer)  while I figure out what the new show will be like.

If your interested in the "My Commute"  Podcast there are links below.   It's a first attempt and ti's all on location at the side of the road & river.
So,  it's pretty rough.
But,  I think it's become almost tolerable.

RSS Feed

If not, at least it's short.

Show Page on SoundCloud

Click Subscribe and never miss a post.
You can get my "Pic-of-The-day" in your Twitter feed by following @rumimumesf on Twitter.

Want to see more?   I'm also on  Flickr, Vimeo,  YouTube.

How I Halloween | #2 - Podcasts

Podcasts

For the 2nd Post in the series "How I Halloween"  I'm covering podcasts. To be fair, only one of them is specifically a Halloween podcast.  Therefore I have split them into 2 groups. The first is more closely connected to Halloween, Mostly in a ghostly sort of way. The second batch of shows can & do have episodes on ghosts, supernatural creatures and other things closely connected to the holiday. But, they also have lots that are general mysteries and Fortean Topics.

My suggestion, follow the links and try out some free episodes. Then go back and get more episodes of  the shows you like the most.

Closely Related to Halloween & Ghosts

1. The Campfire - As described in the 1st post people call in and tell their stories. From Ghosts, and UFO's to Strange creatures and "head scratcher" there all kinds of campfire stories.
2. Halloween Haunt - A short cast made for only one month a year. It covers various Halloween topics from Vampires to candy statistics.
3. Anythng Ghost - Another show where people tell their stories. This time only ghost stories & some are sent in writing and read by the host.
4. The Folklore Podcast - A more scholarly show with each show being a look at a single topic in folklore.

General Paranormal & Mystery

1. The Paranormal Podcast
2. Created by the same person as the campfire, it is more of an interview show with guests that are mostly writer about paranormal and unusual topics.
3. Blurry Photos - A show that cover legends and  mysterious stories with a mandatory debunking at the end.
4. Expanded Perspectives - This show also covers legends and the unexplained but, is more open to the idea that something strange could be going on. 
5. Gralien Report - Mysteries & Conspiracies from an under ground bunker deep in the heart of Appalachia.
6. Mysterious Universe - Many podcasts have subscriber version where, for a fee, you can access additional or extended shows and other material. MU is the only one I pay for, I say this to demonstrate how much I enjoy their show. They cover a large variety of topics. They can be funny, sarcastic and  informative all in the span of 10 seconds. I can keep trying to explain it but, the best thing is to listen to an episode and see for yourself.

Bonus: CBC Radio Archives  (not really a podcast but too good to leave out) 

CBC Archives have lots of neat stuff from radio & TV, & not just for Halloween but for just about anything you might want to search for.

How I Halloween or Sharing what I like about Halloween | #1 - An introduction

This is the first in a series of  posts about how I celebrate Halloween.  I'm hope to get a new Halloween post up a little more often than once a week. 

I love Halloween and have a a big store of media & info to help celebrate the season.

My plan is to share lots of media along with some more 'real world' stuff like local events, recipes and who knows what.

Virtually everything mentioned will be low to no cost. Mostly because I firmly believe that a home-made Halloween is the most fun.

Let's start with a bit of a sampler. Each Category should eventually get it's own post with more examples, suggestions & links.

Follow the links below to start getting into the Halloween mood.

1) Librivox Recording - Famous modern Ghost Stories

Librivox is a cool project (as they say) "To make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet." .   What that means to us is free audio books of anything that's not copyrighted.  One of the  cool things they do is create collections and anthologies around topics, genres & even seasons.

2) OTR Show - Nightfall - Info - Episodes

OTR stands for Old Time Radio. It usually covers radio broadcasts from a time it was the only game in town and into the the early years of TV when  some popular shows had both Radio and TV versions. 
Today's example isn't really old enough to be called OTR , but it's almost 40 years old & it's really cool.

Nightfall was made by CBC  starting in 1980 and aside from being a bit dated or "of the time" it's really well done and when I read the following review I was sold. "Holy wow, who knew Canadians could be so scary? Seriously, though - this is a very well done horror series from the early 80s. Really creepy stuff!"

3) Podcast - Jim Harolds Campfire

We have finally reach a point where almost everyone knows what a podcast is, so no explanations needed.  podcasts are great, everyone loves them and I'll share some of favorite spooky & Halloween casts.

Today's podcast is the campfire. The premise is that people call in in tell about their experiences, like they where sitting around a campfire. Due to the fact that everyone tells their own story some can be a little generic and others are so full of details it can be a bit hard to follow. Then you get the story you've been waiting for. Weather you can see yourself in the situation, or it super creepy or just really well told. You've heard a story that's going to stick with you, the kind of story you'll want to retell a friend.  Instead of retelling it, tell your friend where they can listen to it too.

4)Flickr Photo Group/Pool - The Vintage Halloween Pool

Halloween, & Christmas,  seem like a good opportunity to look into the past.  Some times our past & sometimes much father than that. I love the the old photos in this group. The decorations , ads and especially the costumes. They run the gambit from some old clothes and a paper bag mask to very elaborate costumes that are the antithesis of a store bought plastic mask and smock.  
There are more groups or photo pools from flickr coming up in another post. One thing about flickr, if someone has a topic they're interested in, someone else has gathered a group of photos about it.

5) Local Event - Fort George Ghost Tour

Of all the ghost and cemetery tours this is the one I like the best and the one I keep going back to.
Of all the categories I've set up for myself, I think this will be the hardest. There are ghost tours, cemetery tours, & fort tours. Once those are out of the way it gets a little harder to come up with events that aren't just another temporary fun house.

6) Recipe - Pumpkin Fudge

If there is any holiday that's synonymous with sweet treats Halloween is it. So it only makes sense to have pumpkin Fudge as the first recipe.  There are tons and tons of recipes for anything and everything. My plan is to keep the ones I pass on relatively simple and to have tried them before sharing them. There are some pumpkin pancakes & warming adult drink I'm really looking forward to.

Tune in Again

That's the sample pack of how I Halloween. I'm not sure if it will be representative of the rest of these posts, but hopefully you found something you enjoyed. If you did check back soon for more Halloween fun.

2016 My Christmas List

Christmas List

Here is this years Christmas List
Just like last year, I have a range of things from Easy to Unlikely. But, it's Christmas so why not dream a little.

New this year I've divided the list into two parts.

First there are things you don't have to buy, but are very valuable & very much appreciated.

• Follow me on: Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo, blogger, twitter, G+
• Post, Re-post, forward, share or tell someone about something I made/posted
• Consider being in something or helping to make something (video, podcast etc.).
   

Second are things that have price tags.

1. crocks - $Store
2. toques - $Store
3. Edison bulbs - $ store
4. headphones - from $ store
5. Hot olives from Roman cheese or Lococos
6. finger gloves
7. pillow
8. Red & Green Totes
9. Book: The Old Magic of Christmas – Yuletide traditions for the darkest days of the year.-linda raedisch  
10. Podcast subscriptions.  I'm a bit of a Podcast junkie & several of the shows I listen too have paid (monthly) subscriptions that allow access to additional content. 
11. Christmas records (real vinyl records) almost any Christmas record but the one I really want is Firestone Christmas album #4 (Firestone Presents Your Favorite Christmas music). It's a 7 record set & I have them all except #4 (below). So, if your at a second hand store or a garage sale & see Firestone #4 you have found the perfect gift!

I think that's about it for now,  Merry Christmas!

Red Letter Day/Links of The Day - Happy St. Patrick's Day

We'll get straight to the links

Info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

Free Downloads of Marc Gunn's Pub Songs Podcast featuring the latest episode Fun St. Patrick’s Day Songs.

 Another Free Download from Marc Gunn is The Great St. Patrick's Day Music Playlist Extravaganza , from the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast

Special Note:  For everyone near Niagara  Falls on today (17th)  It's Growler Club tonight at taps and they are releasing their Imperial Pilsner.  I've been told to expect good things from this one and yes, you can even get a green one.