lizziebelle

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I've been inspired to go back and play with some older photos that I like a lot, but could've been better. I really like the Snapseed app, which I got for free when it was the app of the week, or free from Starbucks, or something. It has an HDR filter, which you can control the level of so the pix don't look too unreal. It's kind of fun to see old favorites in a new light.

So I guess, for now, this is my new photo project. Since the weather's been pretty gloomy lately, getting out to take new ones has been unappealing, to say the least. Today's weather was really strange: warm (for January) and periods of fierce downpours, with a weird bright yellowish sky just before sunset. Still, better than it would've been if it had been colder; all that rain could have been a lot of snow. That would have been even less fun.

It was a strange year for me. Lots of ups and downs. Things accomplished, and things left undone. Actually, that's fairly typical for me.

I started out the year with a new project, taking a daily self-portrait. I didn't get anywhere near 365, and it was challenging to find new and different ways of making them, but I really like how a few of them came out, so it wasn't a wash. Sometimes it was even fun.

Here are a few of my favorites ( behind a cut )

I had a lot of fun playing with them in different apps, especially Aviary and Snapseed. I took them all with my iPhone, and most of them were spur-of-the-moment and not planned. I'll probably continue to experiment with self-portraits when inspiration hits, but it won't be a focus for me this year. I need to find a new project to stretch myself. Any suggestions?

I got an email last night letting me know that my workshop proposal for Sirius Rising festival was accepted. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, so I'm very excited (and nervous). The workshop I wanted to do was Nature Photography for the point & shoot camera, but we had to propose three (!) workshops so I also proposed Creative Selfies and Photo Journaling. As far as I know, all three were accepted (!) so now I have to get to work on fleshing out my ideas. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome! Wish me luck!

Even though Flickr doesn't seem to be doing a "Best of" group this year, I've been thinking about which photo I'd choose as my best of 2014. I don't know if this is my best, but it's my favorite. It's just a bowl of fruit, sitting on my kitchen table, with the sun coming through the blinds. I didn't set it up, I just noticed how nice it looked and took the picture with my iPhone. I've played with it in the Aviary app, entered it in a Getty Images "Best of Month" request (and it was accepted!), and just smiled every time I look at it. Simple, great light, nice lines.

Of course, then they asked for my "Best of year," and they'd already accepted that one, so I went with this one, which I also took with my iPhone, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem:

I took a bunch of pictures of this staircase, looking for the best angle, and this one I took out of a little window at the top. They liked it, and it got accepted, too.

I don't really put a lot of planning or thought into my pictures. I see something that catches my eye, I take a picture of it. Sometimes I get something really good out of it. Most of the time I don't. I'm working at planning more, making photo ops rather than just stumbling on them, but nearly all my favorites are products of being in the right place at the right time, and noticing them. I guess that's my talent. ;)

I've decided to try another 365 photo project. It's been a while, and I'm ready to try something new. I wanted to do something different, and to make them all iPhone photos. What came to me is to do a selfie project, but I don't want to make the usual selfies; that's boring to me. So I will do 365 photos of me, but different and unusual points of view (all G-rated). Today's photo is of my ear and jaw, with an Aviary filter. It should be fun to come up with ideas, and hopefully I won't run out of them too soon. Any suggestions?

In other news, I had two more photos accepted by Getty Images. That makes nine all together. It's a nice feeling to have pros validate my photography like that.

I've tried a few photo apps on my iPhone, most of which I've abandoned after playing with them a few times. They just weren't different enough, or easy enough to figure out, to keep using.

Yesterday, my cousin

shortysugarplum posted on Facebook that the app Aviary was giving away all its effects packs for free this month, so I decided to give it a try. I actually like it quite a lot; the effects are easy to apply, they're pretty nifty (and different from others I've tried), and there's a really good variety of effects and other fun things like frames and stickers you can apply to your photos.

So of course I immediately started playing with it. One of the photos I played with was of the library in Bolton; I made four different versions using different effects layers. This one jumped out at me, though:

It's just begging to be on the cover of the novel I'm writing.

dishes, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I've been trying to remember to take pictures of different things, and semi-succeeding. Here, I liked the shapes and patterns of my dishes drying in the dish drainer. Not something I would normally think of as lens fodder, but it caught my eye the other day.

It's been a bit of a rough week. Tummy troubles, compounded by the bitter cold, have made me one unhappy kitty. Even though it's supposed to be relatively warm tomorrow, it's also supposed to rain quite a bit, so I plan on spending the day resting. Maybe by Sunday I'll feel up to getting outside. I sure hope so; I'm getting a bit of cabin fever. It's only January 10th and already I'm tired of winter.

I started a new story today, and it's a vampire story. I keep telling my brain I don't want to write vampire stories, and it keeps giving them to me. This character really wants his story told. I am helpless against it. And don't you worry: there's nothing sexy about my vampire. That's just silly.

bridge, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I was looking back through my Flickr stream from the past few months, and nothing was popping out at me as really different. It was just more of the same thing, over and over. Sunsets, cats, the river, the pond, trees, flowers, cemeteries. All things I love to take pictures of, but nothing extraordinary.

I need to step up my game, find new subjects, new techniques.

I thought about joining one of those weekly challenge groups on Flickr, but the last time I tried, I didn't find it all that helpful to me, and then my life went kablooie right in the middle of it so I just dropped out.

But I do want to do something, anything different. Most of the pictures I've taken lately are of things I was doing anyway, i.e. I took a walk and took my camera with me. Even different places I've been to, like the art walk, I didn't go to just to take pictures.

It hasn't helped that the weather has been most uncooperative lately, not being very conducive to getting outside and walking around.

I'd also like to be able to do more with my photos, but Photoshop is out of reach for me right now. There's an app someone suggested to me, Pixelmator, that I'd like to get when I get a little extra cash. It's supposed to be similar in what it can do. iPhoto just isn't cutting it.

A lot of the pictures I've really liked the past few months are ones I've taken with my phone. That's the main reason I wanted it. I've been having fun with Instagram, and I like how convenient it is, as I always have it with me anyway. But it's limited in what I can capture, and a bit slow; I've trashed many pictures of cats who moved as I pressed the shutter.

Any suggestions for interesting subjects would be appreciated. And crossed fingers for better weather!

I finally got it together and made a calendar on Lulu. Sorry it's so late, but there was stuff, and I couldn't. You know how it is.

Here (hopefully) is a preview:

If that doesn't work, this link should.

They lowered the price a bit this year, which is a good thing because last year's was a bit pricey. So if you enjoy my photos, I hope you enjoy my calendar!

Another thing I've found the iPhone to be really handy for (besides taking fabulous pictures) is taking notes for writing. I've been using the Evernote app (which someone, I don't remember who, recommended to me way back when I got the iPad) to keep writing prompts. What I like about this app is that it syncs with the iPad and the MacBook, so I have those same notes on all three devices. Ye gods, I'm becoming a tech head.

Before this, I put things in little notebooks and promptly forgot about them. Now I have them all in one place, so to speak, and since I use it often I am reminded they are there, and I actually use them. Pretty neat. I do love this technology stuff.

I was thinking today, as I was walking around at lunchtime in the glorious autumn sunshine, about how much how I think of myself has changed in the last few years. If you'd asked me ten years ago what I was, I would have said "Witch" or "Wiccan" first, because that was pretty much the most important way I defined myself, and had been for a long time. Now, I'd probably say "writer" or "photographer" first, because those are the things that take up more of my consciousness now. I'm always thinking about writing, always looking for the next photo. It's how I express myself creatively.

I no longer define myself by the Craft, because it no longer defines my lifestyle. I am more of a kitchen witch than a Wiccan priestess, which suits me fine. It was the right thing at the right time; I learned so much and met so many wonderful people (who are still an important part of my life). These days, however, I'm much more likely to be out wandering the woods taking pictures or sitting at the computer writing than I am to be at a ritual. How I connect with the gods has little to do with ritual and a lot to do with how I live my life every day.

I guess I have become, in the immortal words of Joss Whedon, a Techno-Pagan.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: the aerie

tonight's sunset, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Sorry I haven't been around here much lately. I just haven't had many interesting things to talk about. I have been reading my flist, though.

One interesting thing that happened was that I signed up for something called Photograph Westfield, which is a project to photograph, you guessed it, Westfield for the archives at the library. I went to a meeting this week at the library, where I got instructions, release forms, and a spiffy name tag with a lanyard and everything. It should be fun. What I'd like to do is photograph houses, porches, and apartment buildings; my theme is "Where we live."

Today, I went down to the Colonial Harvest Day festival, also at the library. You can see my write-up of it here. I ran into one of the organizers of Photograph Westfield there, and we chatted about scouting out shots around town.

Other than that, I've had a pretty boring week. At least there have been some nice sunsets.

tonight's sunset, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

My forays into portraiture made me want to get out and do more with my camera. I've been mostly falling back into the same old habits lately. I had a stroke of inspiration on the ride home from Binghamton; I was driving, so I made my niece write it down for me so I wouldn't forget. *g*

What I thought would be really cool is to make images inspired by music. What inspired the thought was the song that was playing on the iPod at the time; I was thinking that it would be cool to take a picture that evoked the song, and wouldn't it be cool to do that with other songs, and... so the wheels started turning.

So I need suggestions for this assignment. It can be a song title, or a line from a song, or music that inspires the imagination. What song or line would you like to see me illustrate with my camera?

Current Mood: creative

Current Mood: creative

I had my monthly review this morning, and not only was my boss in a good mood, but I'd had a good sale just before I went in. That always helps. ;)

I took no chances with exploding lunch today, and had hummus. I nearly finished my book too, which is good because I have another one I have to start as it is a 14-day book from the library, and I can't renew it (it's on a waiting list).

My coworker was talking with a customer, and I overheard her say she had a stable in Westfield, so I popped out of my cubicle and asked her where it was. Turns out it's not far from me, so I asked if I could come over sometime and take pictures. She said sure, and gave me the address. I showed her the pix I had up in my cubicle, and it turns out we share a love for Stanley Park. Woo hoo! New photographic opportunities. :)

I tried taking pictures of the moon, but I really need a tripod. They were very fuzzy. Oh, well. She was beautiful. This is my favorite phase, and it's often too cloudy to see her.

It's noticeably lighter out now when I get out of work. That's heartening, too. :)

gritty, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

OK, so yesterday, stinabat was the first to take up the challenge of giving me an assignment. Her suggestion was "something gritty/ something with lots of texture/ something very urban." I think this photo captures all of those, yes?

( also... )

That was fun! It took me out of my routine, had me checking out alleys and places I don't normally look for lens fodder, and gave me some exercise. Thank you for the great suggestion!

I will be working on the other suggestions/assignments in the weeks to come, and it's not too late to make more. Keep 'em coming!

Oh! And on the computer front: a Mac tower and monitor are coming home with me today, thanks to our Mac guru and the boss man. Yay!

Current Mood: creative

gritty, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Current Mood: creative

lineup, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I've taken this picture before. Granted, this one is much better than the other one that I took with my old camera, but it's nothing new. I've been finding myself in a bit of a rut lately, taking mostly the same old things, trying to get a better shot of the familiar and time-worn favorites.

My picture of the day set is starting to get boring. I need to shake things up, which is one of the reasons I started this project. It wasn't too hard in the winter to find new and different things, because I was searching for new and different things to photograph.

But now it's summer, and there are flowers everywhere, and of course I want to take a picture of each and every one, but I don't want my photo a day project to be three months of flowers in the middle. Ya know?

So I want you to give me an assignment. Think of something interesting that you haven't seen me post before. Something out of the box. I will do my best to fulfill your requests. Help me to stretch my photographic muscles! I'm thinking I might do a contest later, and you'll get to vote for the winner. And of course win a prize. :)

Current Mood: bored
Current Location: the cube

lineup, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Current Mood: bored
Current Location: the cube

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lizziebelle

My photos on Flickr

May 2019

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