drum roll.

It's the end of the year, it's 11.43pm and I have done it! here is December!

click to make it bigger

opps. a photo is stuck behind a photo, oh well it will do.

Sneak Peaks!

I've been working hard (not hardly working) this month, and that is why I haven't updated as often as I would have liked. Updating the blog was on the lower end of my list of priorities.
But now that my sessions have finished for the year (I am taking bookings for 2011), I figure it's time I give you some sneak peaks.

These Sneak Peaks are not in the order I shot them, the are just they way they uploaded to photobucket. Click on the images to make them bigger.

The G Family

This was a 2 session shoot, a Family session and then a smash cake. Master O however was not interested in cake, and preferred to eat his cookie, still make for some very cute shots. This sneak peak is of the family. You can just see the love. 

The T Family (again)

I few weeks before this shoot, I shot the T family (Grandmother and her son, and their son), so again the T family but the other son. I took lots of photo's on this day. But that's to be expected when you have lots of people. Master A is in green and Master Z is in blue (they are the twins), then there was Master M, who was cheeky in his own way. 

The A Family

This photo shoot was done in 30 minutes (i normally allocate 45 mins to an hour). However because I was not dealing with kids under 5 the shoot ran really smoothly. 

Miss C - Cake Smash

This was suppose to be an outdoor cake smash, but it decided to rain that day, and lots of rain. However by the time the shoot came around the rain stopped, but everything was too wet. So we did this indoors. Shooting indoors has been a really learning curve for me but I still captured the moment. 

Project 365 - Days 304-334 - November 2010

I missed 1 day in November. I don't know how it happened, I just didn't take a photo. Oh well, at least I have only missed a handful of days.

click to make it bigger.

Project 365

New I'm aware I have to update November and December, it will happen. I just thought I would give you and update on how I think I went this year.

It all started with talk on a forum that I visit (go here.) It was December 2009, and I was eager to tackle this project. A photo a day for an entire year, doesn't seem hard, but let me tell you, it's a lot more work than you think it is.
Don't get me wrong I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the project. I had plan to do a photo book of all the images. But I have decided against that. I'm still going to do a photo book but it wont be of every photo of the year. Why? Well for the following reasons:

1. I missed 4-5 days 
2. Approx 150 are ripper/excellent/hang on the wall images
3. Approx 100 are snap shots
4. Approx 50 are crap, had to take a photo for the day shots. Shots that I'm not really impressed with. 

So My 365 day project photo book will be the best off the entire year. 

Doing this project I have learnt a lot about my camera. I mean I'm still learning now (i just learnt something new the other day). 

I've also learnt a lot about editing, and finding my editing style. 

So will I be doing a 365 day project for 2011. Well that would be a BIG FAT NO!!!!! But I've already mentioned this before. I plan to do a 52 week project, and I also plan on having themes. I think I have mentioned these themes before but I will mention them again, also for my reference. 

1. Miles
2. Kayla
3. Me (self portrait)
4. Macro
5. Random

Why these themes? Because they suit my lifestyle, and that more me is what is going to make it work. 

Wow moments - tech side

Yes I have a BA of Visual Arts. My major being photography. That was 10 years ago however.  Ten years ago digital was only just being introduced. So when I studied photography I studied technique but I also studied in black and white, and in a dark room.
I remember in my last year we had to take digital studies as one of our subjects. The teacher wasn't a teacher but a photographer, which was great, but he was not a teacher.  So when he taught us photoshop, I just could not understand it at all. His instructions to me were not making any sense. I passed the subject but I never touched photoshop again.
Flash forward 7 years. I just had my daughter and was getting back into photography, and photoshop. I came about wanting to learn photoshop because I wanted to make my internet signatures aka 'siggies'. So my husband (at the time), got photoshop for me, but I had no idea what I was doing, so he also got me Lynda.com tutorials. Zeke the guy who runs the tutorials, was so funny, it was fun to learn, and that's exactly what I wanted. (By the way he also writes all those photoshop books, so he knows ALOT!)
So making siggies really helped me to learn photoshop, as well as the lynda.com tutorials.
Flash forward 2 years. In October 2008, I got an early Christmas present, a dslr camera. I was so excited! I mean who wouldn't I had a new toy to play with. So the rest of the year was learning the camera again. I was mainly shooting jpg's just I could get use the camera and its' settings. Then I made the move, to RAW!
Editing with raw is different to editing with jpg's. Sure the files are huge, but there are more options when it comes to editing.
Still I know a lot more now than I did in 2008 or even in 2009. So what are the wow moments?
One wow moment was finally understanding histograms. I have no idea why it didn't click, and then I was doing some reading (online), and the way they explained it made so much more sense - editing wise that is.
Another wow moment was white balance. When I studying photography I studied black and white.  Sure I did colour, but I sent my work of to a commercial printer and got them to do the printing. The concept of colour was a whole other world to me then, and a lot more complex than black and white. So I never had to learn white balance when it came to printing in black and white. However with colour it's important to know. I had a basic understanding when it came to white balance just from editing, but what really did it for me was this video. Which you should TOTAL check out.

Needless to say, I will be getting a grey card. 

MaMiKa - Extra Large Insert

The MaMiKa extra large insert aka "professional" is currently on hold.

I'm still perfecting the fitting of this particular insert. The one I have is good, but it could be better. So I'm making some modifications to it.
I'm going to have 2 lens sections side by side, and then separate sections for the camera's. So until it's perfected, I'm taking it off the market.

Goals... Did I get there.

At the start of the year I set myself some goals to achieve. Now a lot has happened in this year, and yes I'm aware the year is not quite finished, but I figured I will give the progress update.


One of my goals was to loose 12 in 12 months. So essential a kilo a month. At the start of the year I was about 78k. Well I got down to 70k at some stage, but now I'm hovering around 73-34. So i didn't quite make it. But I do plan to make some changes in my life. I going to motivate myself more with weight and cardio fitness and try to cut down on the carbs. I'll be happy if I can get in the 60's. Ideally 65-68k. But even if it's 69 I'll be happy. 
So I have started a food diary (again), I have to stick at it for 3 weeks. If I can do that I can really see what I'm eating, and where and when. I am pre-pregnancy weight (being Kayla). Which is good. Now to loose that little bit more. 


My other goal was to read 12 books in 12 months. So  a book a month. Doable? Well I didn't read 12 books. But before you go "told you so". I read: 16! Ok Technically 15 1/2 but i will explain that. 

Books

1. 2nd life of Bree Tanner
2. 3rd night the frost
3. Darkness be my friend
4. Burning for revenge
5. Women who love too much
6. Fallen
7. Shiver
8. Evernight
9. The shadow thief
10. the hollow
11. Stargazer
12. Hourglass
13. my sisters keeper
14. cleo, how an uppity cat helped heal a family
15. torment
16. mad about the boy 1/2

 Now the above books I read with my eyes! Below are the books I listened to with my ears! So I'm counting those too!

Audio

1. Twilight
2. New moon
3. Eclipse
4. Breaking dawn
5. Life swap
6. Annie May black book
7. Recipe for disaster
8. troubled waters
9. at a time like this
10. gucci mama's
11. mad about the boy 1/2

I did not read/listen to these book in the order that they are listed, if you are wondering. 

Now what is this 1/2 book and 1/2 audio book. Ok well let me explain. I borrowed "mad about the boy" from the local library online (you can now borrow audio books yay!). During the loan period, my ipod shat itself. So I listened to 1/2 the book and no more. Then the other day when I was browsing books to read over the 'holiday' break I saw they had it, and thus I borrowed the book (with pages). Hence the 1/2. 

The year hasn't finished just yet, so I might be able to get another book/audio in. If I do I will list it. 

So they were my 2 main goals. One of which was really successful and the other one, not so much. but here is to next year!

U Family

I had the U family sitting about 2 weeks ago now. My goodness how quickly that has gone by.

They were a wonderful family and Master J was just adorable. He turns 2 in Feb and is a smart little cookie (knows more words than my Miles, but Master J is child number 1, not child number 2, like in my case). He just ate up the camera.

So here is a little storyboard of images from the day.

Giggle Pets

Lens Pets, Lens friends are other names of these products.

What are they?

Well Giggle Pets go on your lens. They help little ones look directly at the camera. So you can capture those moments and put a smile on their dial.

Giggle Croc or maybe Giggle Frog

Giggle Octopus

Giggle Bunny (my fav)

Giggle Moo

These will go up in my made it store. Some will be limited editions. Will sell for $8, postage extra

Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)

This is the song that is playing in my itunes at the moment.

This song is special to me because I first heard it the year I graduated from High School.

The lyrics are extremely powerful and thought I would share them with you.

Everybody's Free  (to wear sunscreen)

Mary Schmich Chicago Tribune

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97... wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are NOT as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you. Sing. Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone. Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.  from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet  music from the House of Iona, Something For Everybody

I can't find the version i have on itunes, but you can get this version Sun Tan just not to the music of Everybody's free of Quindon Tarver/Lee Perry

On Made It

As of 1st Jan 2011, I will list all my MaMiKa products on my Made it Store.

You can visit my store here

I'm doing this so I can track my products easier. And also to have them located all in one spot. There will also be a small price increase to my range from 50c to $1. This is to cover increases in postage, handling and paypal fees.

MaMiKa

My camera accessory line MaMiKa now has their own page!

To view go here

Project 365 - Days 273-303 - October 2010

Click the image to view it bigger.  It wont make the individual images bigger however.

Things I have learnt about doing project 365.
1. I have learnt a lot about my camera and the lens.
2. a lot of my images are fluff images (for example the baby shot),
3. it's very handy to carry around your camera everywhere, but sometimes it's not so handy
4. i wont be doing a 365 project next year.

That's right in 2011 i wont be doing a project 365. There are many reasons behind this, one of which is that 25% of my shots are crap shots, shots where i have just taken a shot for the sake of taking a shot, and really they are crap. And also I have missed approx 4 days in this project, days where I have been so consumed in my everyday life, or have had no inspiration.
So in 2011 I will be focusing on a 52 week project.  I will still shoot, just not every day.  My best image will go into the a photo a week project.
This will be more doable for me, and i will produce much better images.
I also plan to do themes.
Week 1 - Miles
Week 2 - Kayla
Week 3 - Myself (self portrait)
Week 4 - Macro
Week 5 - Misc

Why these themes why this order.
Well Miles was born on the 3rd. So if I take a photo of him at the beginning of the week I will essential have 12 photo's of him in a year. And I can see how much he has grown. Same applies for Kayla, she was born on the 7th. Same applies to me (13th).
I figured Macro would be good to get the creative juices flowing and to also learn more about macro.
And well there are not going to be a lot of months that have 5 weeks in there, but the weeks that do have 5 I will do something miscellaneous, something along the lines of around the house, buildings, etc.

Epiphanie

I started making my camera inserts for handbags because I could not find any Epiphanie camera bags in Australia.

Well today a fellow photographer of mine posted about a giveaway!

Yes a giveaway! But best of all, it's for an Epiphanie Camera Bag!

OMG I'm in love!  So i'm entering.  If I don't win, I don't win, but to be in the chance to get one of these bags would be fantastic!

To see about the giveaway go here Colorinc Epiphanie Giveaway

Image Updating

I've been updating images on my website.

Thank you to all those who signed releases so I was able to do so.

More changes will be coming. Will be updating my gallery with new images.

In other news, I did a family portrait sitting for the T Family. Three Generations. Out on a farm!  I love farms. I was blessed with weather.  Shoot was at 11am.  I don't usually like shooting during the middle of the day, but it was overcast and the light was just perfect.

Here is a sneak peak storyboard of the T Family, Baby L being the focus. He was 14 months, and very cute.

More Cheeki

Well my little miss was happy to be a model for me for more Cheeki Babi wear.

The angle of this shot doesn't show the details of the flower, but if you go to Cheeki Babi's made it page you'll be able to see it in better detail there.

I must admit this one looks much better on than it does on the cardboard or even in your hand. I just love it!

Subtle but very cute, would look really cute on a baby girl with little to no hair, now to get a baby girl to model this one again for me.

Cheeki Babi

I purchased some wonderful hair accessories from Renee at Cheeki Babi (on made it and on facebook).

Well here is my daughter Kayla modelling one of her wonderful headbands.

I have some other hair accessories to do product shoots on, but it also depends on my daughter if she wants to be a willing participant. 

But I think she looks super cute with her headband, and they were such a good price and very well made. So go check out Cheeki Babi, Links above. 

Miss G & Miss J

I have been meaning to post these images for a while, but I have been flat out! Which has been great, but I miss doing my blogging.
Also I had no net for a while, as I was changing over providers. (I'm now with iinet if you are wonder, and let me tell you so far excellent customer service).

The Twins were wonderful and here is a storyboard I made up for you to enjoy.

A Studio

Ok so an update:

I've been working out some more photoshop templates in different sizes. I'm just working on sizes that are compatible with printing. Sometimes I get stuck with different patterns, and sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. I did a template with a heart in it, and I don't like it, but then again someone else might.
All Templates use clipping masks i <3 clipping masks.

SoldSmart is the company that I bought my portable studio from. Not really impressed with their service.  After blasting them, they tell me that it has been shipped, yet I had no shipping number.  I needed it as I have a photoshoot on Monday and I really did not want to reschedule. Well it came yesterday (Friday). Of course I was very excited that it came. So I started to put it together, then I realised, wait something is not quite right here. The horizontal bar (that holds the backdrop) did not connect to the stands. and I couldn't figure out how it would fit. So I call my friend Krissi from KeJa (she was the one who told me about the studio, she has the same one too), and she helped me out. Now why would I call someone? Why not look at the instructions? Well SoldSmart did not supply ANY INSTRUCTIONS. Yes that's right, none, nadda, zippo, zip, zero! I mean I'm pretty cluely, and usually don't need instructions,  but this was a joke! After about an hour I searched the bag, and hidden in a side pocket, yes an obscure side pocket, were the missing parts. So yay, studio set up!

Here is a test shot from the studio, excuse the crappy lighting etc, this is just a test shot, but at least it gives me an idea how it all works.

What we are not

I've been up since stupid o'clock (that being 2am, thanks to my son, who is not sick, he was just being random!) Well I have had a lot of time on my hands, and well one of my fellow photographer friends, posted this link on facebook. And I thought I would share!

Four things your Photographer is and is not!

And it is very true.
Photography is not just about pointing and shooting.  It is about being patient. It may also mean that I might have to get a bit (or a lot) dirty, just so they can get that perfect shot.
I'm also a mum, so being a mum is also a job in itself.

When many people ask about pricing, sometimes they get a shock.  they think "Wow that much". Well yes THAT much.  Some places 10 times as much. It's not just about taking the photo, editing takes it's time as well.
So if you want your 100+ photo's in 24 hours, well then you will pay for it n $$.

I have more to say, but my head can't communicate with my hands atm, i'm too tired.

Project 365 - Days 243-271 - September 2010

Post the images monthly is a lot easier for me than doing it daily/weekly.

I've also decided that I will continue with my project in 2011 but it wont be a 365 day project. Don't get me wrong I love photography and I love what I do, but some of my days are seriously dud photo's, photo's that are boring dull and of nothing. So it will be a 52 week project, with 52 outstanding images. Ok well that's the plan.

So here are the images for September

clipping masks

I thought about doing a tutorial about using clipping masks, but the awesome power of google, I came across this. Uses of Clipping Masks - Tutorial

Easy to understand, and gives you different examples of the uses of clipping masks.

Clipping Masks are my friend :D

2 more

Free Storyboards.

One is 16x20

To Download go HERE



the other one is 30x20

To Download go HERE

edit* have fixed the images. and links.

Free StoryBoard

I use storyboards all the time in photoshop, they really help to tell stories.

So here is a 20inx30in storyboard.

All you need to do is place your photo's where you want them, and then create clipping masks, so they fit into each section.

To download please click HERE

Please comment below if you are going to use it or have used it.

More will be up in coming days.

Please credit me where credit is due.

Enjoy and Thank You

Miss T

I had my first photo shoot this week curtsey of the Urban Promotional book.

Miss T was energetic and very adorable. She had very beautiful eyes, she reminds me of Miss C a friends youngest daughter.

So here is a storyboard of some of my fav images of the day.

MaMiKa

What is MaMiKa?

MaMika is what I've called my camera accessory line.
<--------------------- is a link to like it on facebook. The reason I have given my accessory line a new page is to separate the two. But MaMiKa is apart of the MiCreations umbrella. I offer 4 different types of inserts. Beginner - Extra Small. Fits just DSLRIntermediate - Small. Fits DSLR and extra lens/speedlightAmateur - Large. Fits DSLR and 2 lens/speedlightsProfessional - Extra Large. Fits 2 dslr, and 2 speedlights/lens. Then there are my camera strap covers. Packages are available. The more you buy, the more you save. If you would like to order please contact me at