Exploring My Backyard with the Boys!

I wanted to break up my routine and I haven't taken any pictures in a long while.  Probably since my trip to Wisconsin. So I went exploring in my backyard. It's really amazing that you do not have to go far from home to capture some beautiful images. I haven't picked my camera up in a long time, other than to take my Etsy Shop product pictures because I felt like I always have to go somewhere in oder to have a photo shoot. Anyway, here are the images I took with my dogs in tow.

 I have had this Aloe plant for about 6 years now. It was a tiny little plant when it was gifted to me but now it's nearly growing out of it's pot!

 Cheechie under the big tree.

 Kooper sitting pretty for the camera. He is so handsome!

 Banana are starting to grow on my trees!

 Musa flower on my Banana Tree.

 The natural palm thatch work.

 A little bug landed while I was capturing this one!

 My dad conveniently lives next door and he built this wooden trellis walkway in his side yard. Here you can see it peeking over his fence. I need to buy him some ivy seedlings so we can plant them and take over. It will be so beautiful!

 This little guy was growing out of a tree stump! It's amazing where life manages to thrive!

 The trees are starting to flower.

 Black and white tree trunk!

 Peek-a-boo I see you!

 Really cool black and white image. I tried to edit it so that it took a minute to figure out what it might be if you were looking at this picture all by itself. Here you can see that it is similar to the image above.

 The neighbors flower bushes are growing through the fence, but I don't mind one bit!

 Hibiscus plants flowering in the sun light.

 Close up.

I love my cactus!

Cheech loves to sunbathe!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures! I hope to make my backyard even more beautiful soon and cannot wait to share it with you!

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Google

Featured Artist: Garden Blues Photography

Shop Name: Garden Blues Photography

What you like to go by: just Jocelyn!

When did you start your shop? 
I started my shop in October 2011. It was a long time before I decided that I should try selling my photographs. I'm very critical of my own work, and opened the shop after a bit of encouragement from friends and family.

Is this your only job? 
No. I work full time for the Public Health and Human Services agency in my county as well. It's a demanding job, but I like to think of my time working on my Etsy shop as relaxation time. I also try to make time for developing my blog (www.GardenCorner.net) and other websites when I have time.

When did you realize you had this talent? 

I think that I'm still realizing my talent; it's something that is a constant process for me. On the other hand, I realized how much I loved photography when I was quite young. I got my first camera at the age of six, and used up 2 rolls of film before my birthday party was even over! I've been hooked ever since.

Where do you find your inspiration? 
I find my inspiration in the little things. I've realized that when I'm being mindful of things that bring me joy throughout my day, I suddenly have much more to photograph! Unfortunately, it's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of a busy lifestyle, and many people miss out on a lot of life's little pleasures. I suppose that's what I consider my goal; to bring an appreciation for the simple and beautiful things in our lives that often go unnoticed.

Who has been the most supportive of your work? 
My family has always been very supportive and encouraging in regards to my photography.

What is one thing you would like to accomplish that you haven't yet? 
I would love to grow my websites so that I'm earning enough passive income to quit my day job and fully focus on photography. 

What are your other hobbies? 
Gardening is my favorite hobby aside from photography. If I could make a living just gardening and taking pictures, I would be so incredibly happy. 

What are your words to live by or favorite quote? 
Strangely enough, when I'm feeling down or unmotivated this quote from Richard Dawkins really puts things into perspective for me:

"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here."

Where is the farthest you have traveled? 
I've traveled as far away as Paris, France. It was only for a few weeks during college, and I would love to go back. I never got to the Louvre, and I've decided that going back even if just for that, would totally be worth it!

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Google

Confessions Of An Amateur Photographer

Google
Confessions Of An Amateur Photographer by Ellen of VeroBeachGal


A few years ago I bought my first digital camera, a Kodak EasyShare M1063. Yes, I bought it way after digital came out, but you don’t fix what isn’t broke, and I loved my Olympus old school camera with film you have to load (for those of you born after 1997). Lighting, placement of the sun vs. subject, artistic impression, those thoughts never occurred to me when taking pictures. I got people in a group – snap. I saw a pretty flower – snap. Gorgeous sunset – snap. You get the idea.

Now I have a shop on Etsy and all of a sudden, I have to turn myself into a professional photographer? Aaaagh! There seems to be so much pressure to make sure what you’re selling looks terrific. Obviously, you want to sell what you’re advertising. But if you take great pictures, you could get featured in a treasury, which could in turn, make it to the home page of Etsy, which is great exposure, which could mean sales! Yay!

As a non-professional photographer, my advice is to keep it simple. For most items, a white backdrop works best. Take a look at Etsy’s home page and it’ll give you a good example of terrific photos. Determine what you want to sell and take a look online and see how others have photographed them. For me, I sell shells I’ve collected for people who like to craft with them. I also sell coastal décor items I’ve made myself. I’ll give you a couple of good examples and a couple of bad examples of what I’ve done.

First the bad example. In the photo below, I took this picture during the middle of the day on my patio table with the umbrella open for shade. It made everything look yellow. I need to reshoot these shells and repost the listing.

In the next example, I made the photo look too busy and detracted from the item I was trying to sell, in this case a shell necklace. I have a lot of beautiful plants and flowers in my garden and went wild with my artistic license. Remember, less is more. Use a simple background and maybe one prop to make things visually interesting.

Since I sell shells and live in Florida, I wanted a tropical feel to my photos and not just a white background. Therefore, I use a beachgrass mat as my background and either a pretty shell, a hibiscus flower or an interesting beach stone as my backdrop. I have learned that taking photos in the morning or late afternoon yields the best results in terms of natural light. If you take pictures indoors, try using some strong lamps pointed at the subject because the flash on the camera can cause an ugly glare. It can also make the colors of the item look different. That’s not what you want if you’re selling jewelry or clothing.

In this picture, I got up nice and close so buyers can really see what I am selling. I also make sure I take at least 3-5 pictures, from all different angles, and post them in the listing. The more the buyer can see what it is you’re selling, the more comfortable they’ll feel about their purchase.

Not only are close ups important to show the detail in what you are selling, but a good overall shot is important too. Also depending on what you’re selling, adding a ruler or a quarter to show size reference is strongly advised. Here I used my beach mat as the backdrop along with a gardenia for interest. I added a quarter to show the relative size of the shells.

As I continue selling on Etsy and adding listings, which means more impromptu photography lessons for me, I’ll be happy to share my mistakes and triumphs in the hope I can save you time and aggravation as you photograph all of your wonderful creations!

Featured Artist: sadieolive

  Sara has a most lovely home and collection of items in her shop. Her talent exudes into her living space and her shop making them both very wondered things to lay your eyes upon. Learn more about Sara, her shop and her website by reading the interview below!

Shop Name: Antiquity, by Sadie Olive.

What you like to go by: Sara

When did you start your shop? Our main boutique, sadieolive.com was opened in early 2007. I started the vintage only Etsy shop in September 2009.

Is this your only job? I do web design, photography, and am a boutique owner (all of which fall under my shop name Sadie Olive).

When did you realize you had this talent? I sort of took a leap of faith in 2007 when I opened my online shop, and when my blog and shop were well received, it gave me the confidence I needed to pursue my other passions, design and photography. By the end of 2007 I was doing it full time.

Where do you find your inspiration? All over really. Flea markets, other shop owners, magazines.

Who has been the most supportive of your work? My husband. It was a struggle financially in the beginning, and still is at times, but he has never lost confidence in me or asked me to pursue other options. He supports my work completely.

What is one thing you would like to accomplish that you haven't yet? I would love to be a regular contributor to a magazine. I adore photography, and love to write, so it would give me great satisfaction to get paid to do both!

What are your words to live by or favorite quote? I think the words I live by are "put yourself out there". Believe it or not, it was my blog and my very personal journey I shared on it that opened so many doors for me. I don't believe I would be where I am today had I not shared myself so openly and honestly.

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New Look!

I redesigned the site! How do you like it?

New featured artist interviews coming soon as well!


Also I started an Etsy Shop for my photography! You can check it out here:


http://www.etsy.com/shop/misanthropyphoto

Happy Crafting!

Featured Artist: SierraPhotoNV

More info

Shop Name: SierraPhotoNV

What you like to go by: As in my first name? Deanna :)

When did you start your shop? November 5th, 2011

Is this your only job? SierraPhotoNV is a collaboration between myself and my fiance, Daniel. Both of us have full time jobs, I am a receptionist

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and he is a dispatcher for a car service department. He also freelances for the major metropolitan newspaper in our area, and I am attending school.

When did you realize you had this talent? I started taking photographs as a teenager, and honestly, I wasn't very good. But I kept working to get better, and I realized that other people found my work beautiful a couple of years ago :) I can't speak for Daniel, but he has been an art photographer for quite a long time. I imagine he realized he was talented before he went to college, as his major was Photography.

Where do you find your inspiration? Everywhere! There's something worth

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photographing in every environment. Daniel's photos tend to be more urban and mine tend to be more nature, but both of us find that photographing urban and nature coming together is extremely fulfilling.

Who has been the most supportive of your work? Our friends and family have been extremely supportive. However, I think that we have been each other's biggest supports, even before we fell in love. Daniel has certainly been the most supportive of my work, as he was the one who inspired me to create art through

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photography.

What is one thing you would like to accomplish that you haven't yet? Personally, I would like to have my work displayed in a gallery. Daniel has already accomplished this goal, so I believe that what he would like to accomplish would be to become a staff photographer at a major newspaper.

What are your words to live by or favorite quote? One of our favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt. It is "Do one thing every day that scares you,". Living by that quote is something that brought us together-many risks we took early in our relationship were because of it. It's also why we were able to open our Etsy shop and take our work to the next level. Even though opening the shop is scary, we decided that the risk would be worth it :)

Excerpt from Profile:
Sierra Photography consists of a two person team, Daniel Clark (of DanJClarkPhoto.com) and Deanna Jones (that’s me, I’m website-less). Photography has been in both of our lives since childhood. My mother is a photographer, so I was exposed to cameras as soon as I could hold one. In my favorite family video of Daniel, he is around two years old, lifting a plastic camera toward the videographer and saying “Cam-mer. Cam-mer.” He jokes that clip will be featured on his E! True Hollywood Story someday.

Daniel and I met in our early teens. He had been making art, including photography, for a while by then. As I was admiring his work, I offhandedly mentioned that I wished I was able to take photos as beautiful as his. He said “Why don’t you, then?” Without a good answer, I went home and began to photograph with my mother’s equipment.

After high school, Daniel and I went separate ways. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno and graduated with a B.A. in Photography, minor in Journalism. He now photographs for the major metropolitan newspaper in our area. I attended university for X-Ray, and maintain photography as a hobby. A bit before Daniel's college graduation, we came into face-to-face contact for the first time since our teens. The short version is that we fell in love, and are going to be married in May of 2012. I like to think we are a true story of how art brings people together.

Photography is our passion, and we are lucky to be able to work together to share it with you. Thank you so much for stopping by!