30 Days: Day 29 - Gem

It's always fun when you find gems like this on your camera.
When your brother takes your camera and takes selfies.
Major bonus of this one is that it is in my favorite spot on Kauai, the Napali Coast.

When I say it's the most beautiful spot on the planet, I'm sure you can't tell from this photo.
But those cliffs make your jaw drop when you see them for the first time.
Or the 15th time.
They are that spectacular.
 
You also can't tell from this photo, but the wind could blow your camera out of your hand.
This spot was an overlook on a hike we did that has the beach on the right and the cliffs on left and nothing but miles of ocean in front of you.

I miss all the hiking we did in Hawaii.
Living in Kauai would be so perfect because there are cliffs to hike and beaches to swim.
A dream.

Anyway, I love this photo.

Enough rambling.

30 Days: Day 27 - Printing photos

(a snippet of my growing magnet collection)

Photos are a big deal to me.
I need reminders of those little snippets of life.
We don't have to print photos out now that actual film is out of the photo taking process.
But I say that there is nothing like have a photograph in your hand and around your house.

Here are a 5 simple ways that I've gotten my photos off of my hard drive and into my hands.

1. I can't get enough Instagram magnets from Sticky9. The hardest part is whittling down which photos to print.  The quality is superb and size is just too cute. These would make adorable gifts to family who live far away.

2. I've also had great luck with prints from MPix. Their colors have been spot-on for me, which is my biggest gripe with lots of photo printing these days.

3. Printstagram also has super cute mini prints that I've used as tiny note cards for friends.

4. Blurb makes beautiful photo books of all types, shapes and sizes.  I've used them many times and the quality is great.

5. Postagram is the easiest way to send a note complete with your own personal photo from your phone.  I've used this app countless times to send fun, personal thank you notes.


How have you gotten your photos off your computer and into you hands?

30 Days: Day 7 - Seeing

It was so surreal to stand on the beach (Waimea Bay Beach) where one of my favorite photographers frequently shoots. We arrived just after the sun had disappeared over the horizon because we had been watching it set at another beach just up the road.
...just up the road.  Hawaii is a magical land of beaches galore.  And as crazy and traffic ridden as Oahu is, I just love the North Shore.  I could go to Oahu and never go to Waikiki or Honolulu (except to fly in, of course) and just spend every day watching the surfers on the big waves.  Those deep sandy beaches of perfection.

As soon as I saw that clock tower, I kinda geeked out and looked around at this place that I had only seen on tiny squares on my phone for years.  I just stood there.  I stopped shooting photos mostly because it had gotten too dark for my iPhone camera.  But also, I just stood there because I wanted to see it.

When I go to a beautiful place, or I stand in front of something that thrills me like a piece of art or a perfect bloom on a tree, I am guilty of trying to freeze it/stop time around it.  I don't simply stand before it and enjoy it.  Partially because I want to have a record of it to enjoy for years to come, which isn't wrong.  Also because I'm afraid I'll forget it.  I have a terrible memory.

But, I've noticed my obsession to record and save and not enjoy in the moment.  It's something I'm working on changing.  Putting down my camera.  Stopping.  Breathing in deeply.  Staring and drinking it in.  Living in the moment.  Smelling the salt in the air.  Watching the colors change in the sky with my own eyes and not through a view finder.  Feeling the sand on my feet.  Hearing the giant waves roll.

Now, when I look at this photo, I can see, feel and smell that spot.  I remember living it and not just recording it.  And that's what taking a photo is really all about anyway, isn't it?  A small moment frozen in time to guide our memory back to everything that it entailed.

Anyway, this beach was beautiful, even in the (almost) dark.  And if you want a daily ocean fix, follow CL on Instagram.  His photos are stunning.

30 Days: Day 5 - iphone o'graphy

I rarely ever take photos with an actual camera any more.
It's sad.
I have a nice (although old) DSLR sitting in my closet that only gets pulled out for special occasions like vacations or family functions.  And by family functions I mean my sister saying "bring your camera  when you come visit and take some pictures of my kids".  I had to have my brother remind me how to use it when we went to CA last fall.  I couldn't remember how to do simple things like change aperture in manual mode.  Gracious!

My go-to camera has become my iPhone.  Truth be told, 95% of the reason I wanted an iPhone and coveted it for years was for the camera.  It did not disappoint. The minute I turned that baby on, it became a constant photo snapping machine.  Right at this moment, I have 3,393 photos in my camera roll.  It's a bit ridiculous.

The main things I love about my iPhone camera is that I can take the photo, edit it with my favorite photo editing app, upload and share it all within a few minutes.  Done and done.  And the results are so amazing to me.  Such a beautiful photo from a tiny camera on the back of my phone.

Here are my 3 super simple essentials/favorites for iPhone photography:

1.  VSCOcam.  I think it is, hands down, the best photo editing app out there. The filters are understated (in the best way) and light.  It turns a good photo into a magical one.  Easy to use.  Fun.  It can be customized to your specifications and needs. Pushes my photography to new places.  I can't say enough how much I love this app.  I have tried a lot of others and many of them are good, but this one is the one that I always go back to.  No fuss. No silly things I never use like light leaks or film grains.  Just simple filters that make my photos look like they do in my head when I hit the shutter.

Cost: Free (with in app purchases available) I purchased the Launch bundle when it was on debut sale a year ago.  If you aren't interested in spending $6, I personally love the F: Mellow/Fade collection, the K: Analog Classic collection and the Legacy Collection (which has been offered through VSCOcam since the very beginning).  These are my go-to filters for those of you that follow my photos on Instagram.   Ninety-seven percent of my Hawaii photos were done with K and F.

2.  Square Ready. It's my favorite way to send my rectangle photos to Instagram with that white border on the top and bottom.  I like how easy it is and how it uploads directly to Instagram.  Cost: Free

3.  Instagram.  It's my favorite, most addictive social networking site.  I really don't like Facebook.  Twitter is fun for following others.  But Instagram is my addiction.  I'm a photo girl and always have been.  This is how I share tidbits of my life, through pictures.
Not to mention that once you upload to Instagram, you can now access dozens of great apps and sites that will print out those photos and turn them into fun things like magnets or prints or books or postcards (all of which I have done through the companies in the links).

Honorable mention:  Flickr.  I've had a Flickr pro-account for years, but have only recently begun to use it for my back-up photo storage.  The latest app update has auto-upload which means that all my newest photos will automatically upload to my Flickr account if I just open the app.  It's like a mental sigh of relief.  If I lose my phone, I won't lose all my photos.  Cost: $24/year for a pro-account.  However, free accounts now have 1T of storage!  Definitely worth it if you need another place to back up all those memories.

California Road Trip: Post 2 Bodie

We were supposed to head to Yosemite after Lake Tahoe.  Wonderful, awe inspiring Yosemite.  We had intended to rent one of their tents and camp out.  Now that the government had shut down all the national parks, we had to change our plans. 

The night before we were supposed to head to Yosemite, my brother was hunting around on the internet trying to find things for us to do the next day.  "This ghost town looks cool" he said as I looked up to see what he was talking about.  "It's called Bodie" 

It just so happens that Bodie has been on my list of places to see before I die for years (these were some of the first photos I saw of Bodie, still squirreled away in my Flickr Faves) .  I had no idea it was so close to us.  I instantly put a YES vote in and off to Bodie we went the next day.

Bodie is a ghost town in the middle….of….no…..where.  Literally.  10 miles off the main road.  And then 3 more miles past that on dirt roads.  In a shallow valley at 8,000 ft.  It is stunning.  The town in kept a state of arrested decay.  In other words, they don't let it deteriorate any further than it already has.  It was known for being a place of wickedness, bad man and "the worst climate out of doors." Lots of killing, robberies and stage fights.  It's heyday was in the 1880's.  About 10,000 people lived there.  It was a gold mining town.

Do you now have about 35 stories complete with no-good town sheriffs running through your head like I do?  Kids running around with straw filled dolls and ribbon tied braids? Muddy streets and wooden heeled shoes clopping around?  Basically an episode of Young Riders.  I'm there right now.

About 5% of Bodie is still in existence and is now a CA state park.  You can wonder the streets, peek inside windows and doors, imagine the ghosts that wonder the lanes.  It is a photographer's dream. The deep, wood brown against the bright blue sky and white clouds…

Bodie was a big highlight on the trip for me.  My imagination was running a mile a minute.  If you ever end up near Yosemite, you must go.  It's worth the long drive out there.

California Road Trip Part 1

California Road Trip: Part 1 South Lake Tahoe

I went on a road trip all over California this month.  It was, no doubt, one of the highlights of my year.  I saw some of the most beautiful sights I have ever, ever seen.  I think, somehow, California is in my blood.  We get each other.  Our personalities connect.  I could move there in a second.  

I have dreamed of visiting the coast of CA for years.  Big Sur captured me from the very moment I saw a photo of it.  And I must say, that the rest of the state turned in a beautiful flip book of the magical places.  

I went on this fantastic adventure with my little brother.  We both flew into San Francisco, rented a car and spent the week driving over 1,200 miles up, down and all over the place together.  It's the first time I've seen him since last October.  Any time we get to spend together is always a treasure now that we live 1,000's of miles apart.    

Our first spot on the "list of fun" was Lake Tahoe.  After spending a few hours with a friend of his in San Francisco, we headed out of the city late and ended up in the mountains the next day.  (after staying at a super sketchy motel that first night.  Sket-chy.)

Unfortunately, our trip took place during the time that the government of the United States decided to shutdown.  That meant that every single National Park, Forest, camp ground, bathroom and hiking trail was CLOSED.  Disappointing.  Very much so.

But we did our best to find state parks and places where we could sneak onto pathways and hiking trails, us and 100's of other tourists.  Many of them from other countries.  How embarrassing, right?  "Sorry you flew thousands of miles to come see our beautiful country and now you can't actually see these things because we can't get our act together and act like adults."  Sheesh.

Anyway, we loved South Lake Tahoe.  It was charming and stunning all at the same time.  We ended up at Emerald Bay and did a short hike there.  I got to see my first redwood.  A baby one. 

Vickingsholm was at the very bottom of the hike to the lake.  It was like we had stumbled upon a hidden castle.  So beautiful.  It was locked up for the winter season, but still fun to wander around.  

We stayed at the most beautiful hotel in South Lake Tahoe.  I had actually found it on Pinterest when I was hunting around for cool spots for our trip.  It was called Basecamp Hotel.  The details and decorations were exactly perfect.  Cosy and thoughtful.  Several outside gas fireplaces (you can buy s'mores to roast).  Blues and greens and wood and metal.  I couldn't have picked anything more perfect.  And I could have stayed here for a week, happily.  My brother was mocking my love and excitement over all the details.  I was gushing. 

As we were leaving the hotel for dinner, it was just about sunset.  We decided to drive down a road behind Basecamp and happened to find the most beautiful sunset and the most perfect place in South Lake Tahoe to see it.  Right over the lake.  The colors were unbelievable.  It just about beat some the of the best I've seen at camp (which I think has the best sunsets on the planet).  

A couple things I didn't get a photo of…

*This stretch of road that was like a ridgepole of building.  Cliffs on both sides (no guard rails!) with views of the mountains and the lake.  I can still close my eyes and see it.  

*The trees and cliffs and homes that looked like they were dropped from the sky.  How did those people get TO their houses?

*Mountains rolling with patches of gold.  The Aspen trees were in full golden yellow fall colors.  

*The yummy pizza we had in South Lake Tahoe.

*The cold, fresh mountain air.

*Gate after gate after gate locked and barricaded off.

*Searching for a restroom that wasn't locked while my brother grew more and more frustrated that I wouldn't just go on the side of the road.  I'm a girl, okay.  I want a toilet.  Even a pit toilet is fine.

To be continued....

Return

(Julia Pfeffier Burns State Park, Big Sur)

I've returned from my West Coast vacation with hundreds of photos to share.

I think this one may be my favorite.

This spot was enchanting. I couldn't stop staring at it, which was unusual.  Most of the time I was snapping photos every single second.  But this spot...I was mesmerized.  I could have stood there for hours and just drank in every single detail.  The colors were perfect at that time of day.  The water crashing on the shore.  The waterfall falling onto the sand and instantly disappearing.  The trees on the rocks.

Magic.

I'll be back soon with stories and photos and maybe even a tip or two on inexpensive road trips. Amazing vacations are possible on a tight budget, friends.  They really are.

Goodbye, week

(by the fantastic Nan Lawson.  A forever favorite artist of mine.)

I'll be glad when this week is over.

Anyone else?

Just one of "those weeks", you know?

Here's a few pieces of randomness for you on this Friday...

>>>  I've been watching It Happened One Night again, hence the above artwork.  

>>>  Joss is doing a big ol' bus tour with the cast of Much Ado on their way to SXSW.  Love it.  Can't wait for the movie.

>>>  The new Divergent book comes out in October.  Oh-so-long-to-wait October.  I've been thinking about Tris lately and wondering how this story will end.

>>>  David's Tea.  Oh, good gracious.  I could spend way too much $$ on their deliciousness.  My current favorite it Read My Lips.  It came as a sample with my order and now I need more.  It's crazy delicious.

>>>  Finished Bunheads and now I must wait like the rest of America for the new season to start.  It definitely fills that Gilmore Girls hole.  I love the dancing.  LOVE.  

>>>  Loved this post from Elsie about lifestyle photography.  I find myself gravitating to this style 90% of the time.  Very few moments that are posed or "look at the camera".  I like the little moments and details, the bits and pieces that catch my eye while life is happening.  

>>>  I've found myself looking forward to Tuesdays thanks to You Are My Wild.  Several photographers post 1 photo of their kids from the past week.  I want to soak in all the light and perfection in each shot.  This is crazy inspiring to me right now.  

>>>  Speaking of inspiring...does it get any more inspiring than a shoot like this one from the great TW?  For years now, I just drool over the light she paints with in her photos.  

>>>  Another post from a blog I follow.  The third photo...I want to live inside those perfect colors.  

And so on and so forth....

What's caught your attention lately?

lots of photography babble

(antique shopping treasure bought last month while visiting my sister.  photo taken with my iPhone)

After a year of using my iPhone as my main camera,
I have found a few tried-and-true photo apps that are my favorites.
These are the ones that are the most frequently used.
The ones that are my "go-to's"

If' you don't take photos with your iPhone,
you can skip this post.
Truly, I won't even know.

However, I always really appreciate when other share what works for them,
and what is worth their hard earned cash.
So, I am writing a list of the apps that I can't live without.
(okay, I can live without them.  that's a slight over-statement.)


1. Instagram
This is probably my favorite one of out all the apps on my phone, not just the photography apps.  I check it way too many times a day.  It gets used A LOT.
What I like: You can choose who you want to follow, so your feed is only filled with people that you want to see photos from.  It has a great selection of filters that are included.  Comments to and from fellow users. Very user friendly.
What I don't like: Not much.  Most of the recent updates have improved the most frustrating things.
Cost: Free

2.  Afterglow
My favorite editing app at the moment.  Most of my recent photos on Instagram have been edited with this one.
What I like: So many options for filters, sizing, editing, uploading and fun shapes too.  You can keep a photo as a rectangle and upload it to Instagram with white borders.  The filters are adjustable, which is the biggest perk since most apps don't have this option. There are lots of filters made by amazing photographers.  The "Russ" filter is my favorite.  It was made by one of my very favorite photographers ever.
What I don't like: There isn't an undo button if you just want to go back one step.  If you don't like something, you have to start all over again.
Cost: $ .99

3.  VSCO CAM
Until Afterglow was released in late 2012, this was my favorite editing app.  In fact, I stopped using Instagram filters the day this app was released in the middle of last summer.  The tones in the filters are beautiful.
What I like: The black and white filters are the best of any app I've used.  Color filter #5.    The FILL adjustment for light.  It's the best.  It's light handed and doesn't make your photos look too processed.
What I don't like: It's slow.  Saving and uploading takes a long time.  It also saves all the photos you edit in the app itself.  Seems like a waste of space.  The filters are not adjustable.  Many of the filters are quite dark, so unless you have a very well lit photo, you will have to crank up the exposure a bit.
Cost: $ .99

4.  Diptic
I tried quite a few collage apps.  Most of them were free (and I think this one was too, when I got it a while ago) and I got what a I paid for.  This is the one I kept coming back to.
What I like:  You can adjust just about every aspect of the collage at any point.  The photos, the boarders, the width of the borders, the color.  And there are so many SO MANY different shapes and sizes to choose from.  There are also options for the size of the file you save it as. No adds!
What I don't like:  Not much.  It's pretty fantastic at making collages.
Cost: $ .99 (Picture Frames Free is a decent free alternative)

5.  Squaready
Before Afterglow, this was how I got my rectangle photos uploaded into Instagram with white borders.
What I like: Easy to use. You can manipulate your photo in lots of different ways to get the framing you want.  I still use it to crop my photos because it can be so precise.  You can upload directly to Instagram.
What I don't like: The adds.  But hey, it's free!
Cost: Free

6.  Phonto
I used this app to add text to all of my #campsummer14 photos.
What I like:  Using more than one type of font on a photo.  Changing the size, shape, position, transparency, color and a bunch of other attributes of the text is easy.  User friendly from the beginning.
What I don't like: Wish it had more fonts.  Add, but again, it's free.
Cost: Free

7. Flickr
This wouldn't have even made the list until a few months ago when Flickr did a major overhaul to their app.  I actually used a second party app to upload to Flickr because it was so bad.  But now...it's a night and day difference.  They've added on filters too, but I haven't used them yet because of my love of Afterglow and VSCO CAM.
What I like:  So easy to upload multiple photos to my Flickr account (where I upload all my photos that I use on my blog).  You can even add them to sets and add titles and tags, etc.
What I don't like:  The upgrades have taken away all my complaints.
Cost: Free


Honorable Mention:
Postal Pix (print out your photos straight from your phone.  Ridiculously easy and convenient   Quality is not perfect, but good enough.  App is free.  Photos are a little pricey, but the convenience of not having to upload to other places or go to the store, it's not that bad.)

Postagram (Send a postcard with your iPhone photos.  I used this to send my parent a thank you note after a trip we took.  It was so easy and the quality was fine.  Love that the photo pops out for the receiver to keep if they wish. App is free.  Postcards are $1.)

Fotomecha (Got this when it was offered for free and was kinda shocked at how great it actually was. It takes rapid-fire photos.  You can change so many of the settings, which makes it all sorts of awesome. App is $1.99)

TimerCam (It's a timer for your iPhone camera.  Simple.  Easy to use.  Does what it's supposed to do.  App is free.)


If you are iPhone camera obsessed as well, what are your favorite apps?
Do you constantly have to download your photos because your phone is full like me?

365 complete

I finished my 365 project on January 15, 2013.
Actually it was a 366 because it was a leap year, so 3 cheers for an extra day!
And not only did I finish my 366, but I completed each and every single day.
Didn't miss once.

My goal was to take one photo every day with my iPhone and then post it to Instagram.
It was a lofty goal and one that I was nervous about completing.
However, about a month in, I was hooked.
I loved how easy it was to do with my iPhone.
(the main reason I wanted an iPhone in the first place was for the camera.  true story)
Now, that isn't to say that some days it wasn't a chore.
There were a few days when it felt hard and there was no inspiration.
But those days were few and far between.

(taken with Fotomecha app, which I stumbled upon when it was offered for free.  Totally worth $1.99 though.  It's well designed and easy to use and takes great shots!  The kids were jumping up and down the entire time I took this, and I purposely made them partially blurry to capture the movement.)

And now, I have an entire year's worth of photos.
A visual journal of life for the year 2012.
I can flip through it on Instagram any time I want.
And I will probably print them out in a Blurb book eventually.

I did take a ridiculous amount of photos of the water that is in my backyard.
Ridiculous.
But truth be told, I stare at it several times a day in wonder, even if I don't take a photo.
So, I guess it is just a snapshot of my daily life.

I ordered several sets of StickyGrams through out the year which now stick to my kitchen wall (it's magnetic).
I was reminded how amazing it was to have my photos in printed form.
(something I haven't done in years)
Little snippets on the wall that catch my eye when I walk by.
I wouldn't have any of these magnets without my 365 challenge and the hundreds of photos to choose from.

And then there are favorite (or at least a few of them cause I have too many favorites) photos that I just can't get enough of.

1. Hillsong concert 2. the river at sunset  3. Color explosion at the Color Run  4. My grandfather's old Polariod Land Camera and my first time using VSCO cam  5. The neighbors lily pond with a perfect ray of sunlight 6. Another sunset  7. Me and The Bro playing with the mirror lined escalator at the National Aquarium  8.  Jefferson Memorial during the Cherry Blossoms  9. Sledding with the family at my sister's over the holidays

It was an amazing challenge.
One that I haven't totally given up on because I've still been posting every day.
It has become a habit.
A habit I hope to keep.

This past year was a great year for making (and keeping!) goals.
I already have one or two lined up for this year.
Practical, challenging and fun too.
And I must say that completing this goal was a highlight of my year.

What about you?
Any goals that you have for 2013?
Are you keeping up with them?

A whole new year

(sledding at my sister's during the holidays)

It's a whole new year.
Whew.
2012 was rather uneventful in this little corner of the internet.
Kinda makes me sad inside.

On a happier note...
it's a whole NEW year!
I love new beginnings.
Starting all over with a clean slate.
Brand new.

Here are a few things that have been on my radar lately:

Downton Abbey.  It's back.  And it's better than ever.  Won't say any more because no one likes a spoiler.

ESV Study Bible in a Year Plan on YouVersion.  I haven't done the whole Bible in one year since college.  Randomly at the end of 2012, the Lord told me it was time to do it again.  I'm really loving this plan.  Loving how easy it is on my phone too.

365.  I'm less than a week away from finishing my Instgram 365.  I can't even believe it.  A whole year of photos.

The Impossible.  I loved this 200% more than I loved Les Mis (so disappointing).  It was hauntingly mesmerizing.  Seriously.  Go see it.  One the big screen.  And try your hardest not to cry, but I bet you will.

Divergent.  One of the most fun books I've read in a while. I could not put this down on my long road trip over the holidays.  I have the second book waiting on my shelf right after I finish The Age of Miracles, which I am completely engrossed in.

365 update

(my brother and my niece washing dishes at my parents.  melts my heart)

I'm about a month away from finishing up my 365 photo project.

What an experience.

I'm so glad I decided to do it.
On a whim, no less.
No forethought other than...
"Take a photo today and one tomorrow and the next day"

(the Winnie dog completely puzzled by the sounds from the record player.)

That turned into 11 months.

I will say that I don't think I would have done it without my iphone.

I just know that if my photos depended on lugging around my DSLR everywhere, it would have ended on week 3.

(pretty fall colors)

But my phone, I have with me everywhere.
When I go running.
When I go to the store.
When I'm sitting in my room playing with yarn or glue.
When I go on adventures.
It's right there in my pocket, getting pulled out dozens of time to capture something.

(my view while running this morning.  so crazy beautiful. no filter either.)

It will be exciting to finish up mid January (I started the day I activated my iphone).

A Blurb book should be in the works to commemorate it.
It can go along with my #campsummer14 book.

A year of photos.

A year of my life.

So much fun and just a little bit of work.