Love Your Camera

I recently did a Love Your Camera workshop with Angie Baxter and I can't even begin to tell you about the journey I went on that Sunday. I've been trying to write the post for almost two weeks now and I'm still not sure if I'll be able to share what I learnt in just one post, but I'll try. First and foremost, Angie is really nice, I mean super nice. She's bubbly, friendly and totally approachable. She was in amongst the 'students' and got hands on with each of us, she didn't just stand up the front and preach to us with a powerpoint presentation.

That said she did compile a great presentation of key images, examples, reference links and easy to learn tricks. The first half of the day was focused on the technical side of photography, getting to know our cameras better and finding out what all the buttons and dials do. I was quite embarrassed at this point because although I knew and studied photography and understood ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed, I had trouble locating the manual controls on my camera and getting used to them was weird. I'd gotten lazy and relied on Auto for so long but I'm proud to say it's been set to manual ever since and that's the whole point to the workshop. I'm also a bit sad to say I didn't have my "blogger" hat on and forgot to take photos of the little details of the day, I was too caught up in being a student.

The workshop was conducted at Rydges Hotel in Parramatta which was great as it meant I didn't have to lug myself all the way into the city. The workshops are conducted right around the country, see the website for details. They put on a great lunch for us too but it didn't last long as we were all so caught up in the mood of the day, we just wanted to get our cameras out and learn new tips. We spent some of the day outside, practicing what we had learnt. Angie came around to each of us individually which was really nice and we got some one on one time, no one felt left out.

We practiced with our own special 'babies' the ducks. We concentrated on lighting, backgrounds, composition and our own artistic flare. Everyone in the group was really nice and friendly, all helping each other out and talking about their gear and aspirations. Two of the girls there owned my highly desired camera bag, an Epiphanie. After having a closer look at it I've decided that Santa will be bringing me a "Belle" for being such a good girl... I can hope anyway. It was great to hang out with people just as passionate as me about what they do, whether it was from a professional stand point or just purely domestic. 

This workshop was exactly what I needed to boost my confidence, in my photography as well as how I handle business and clients. I was inspired, informed and quite possibly have made a new friend in Angie, what more could I ask for?

If you're interested in her upcoming workshops they are $225 (includes lunch and a DVD copy of her workbook) you can check out her newly revamped website HERE.

Are you missing out?

We're having big discussions over at the Danimezza Facebook Page, today we're talking about Toddler Beds. Come on over and join in on the conversation...

Polly Dolly

Welcome back for week 17 of the Polly Dolly weekly Polyvore challenge!

Every Thursday I'll post a new Polly Dolly Theme Challenge, then you toddle off and get creative. You can credit the items if you want and add a bit of an explanation of why you chose the pieces or you can just share your clipboard... it's up to you. When you're done maxing out your imaginary credit cards, simply add your link below using your blogs name as the "title" and a direct link to the specific blog post. Note: As Polyvore only publishes to Twitter or Facebook, I've found the easiest way is to click on your set, and go to 'view details'. Then go to 'embed on your blog' and copy the html (you can chose to have just your picture, or the item info as well). Paste it into your post in the html section. Easy!

At the photography workshop last Sunday there were only three people with Nikon cameras, the rest had Canon's, and one of those ladies inspired this weeks Polly Dolly. She was super tall and wore harem pants in a khaki colour, a white singlet and a leopard print 3/4 sleeved cardigan. I didn't notice what shoes she was wearing, I couldn't get over how great she looked in the pants. I thought I hated them, when I saw the pants in magazines I would just cringe, I thought they looked like a pair of old grandpa pants that were originally worn up to the armpits... oh how wrong I was. Besides the pants I liked how she managed to work animal print without looking like, well, a hooker. So, what would your Dolly wear if her wardrobe was...

Even though I would never put my chunky thighs in them, I just had to include a pair of harem pants. I'm all about puffy shoulders at the moment and I love the colour of the cardigan. I'd wear a slimline leather belt to make the outfit feel polished. I couldn't resist the leopard print peep toe pumps they'd make my ankles look super skinny with the pants. I'd smother myself in coconut body butter (not tested on animals) and protect my peepers with a pair of retro tortoise shell glasses. To add a bit of glam I'd pin on the sweet little owls brooch and pop the topaz ring on my finger for some bling. To keep myself feeling totally kissable I'd wear my favourite lip gloss and stash it in my white leather purse.

Do you ever...

... send gifts, letters or cards to special people for no reason at all?

Celebrate!

I bought Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule last year and I loved the projects inside it, highly recommended. One thing I wanted to do was make a bunting flag, not for Aidan's room, but for his birthday party. The bunting could be used for 'all' my kids' birthdays and even for mine and Steve's, it would become a sort of heirloom and no birthday in our house would be complete without it.

I had plenty of scraps left over from the baby quilt so I got cracking. I liked that the quilt and the bunting would be made of the same fabric, just made it so much more special. I bought some simple white fabric and some iron-on adhesive stuff which made fusing the letters on a breeze. If I remember the name of it I'll post it on facebook. It made it so much easier, especially when it came to sewing, which I didn't really need to do after adhering it but did so for looks.

Ok, so maybe my curve lines aren't magnificent but I think I did a darn good job. I printed out the word I wanted on Word and just drew the letters freehand, copying the style. If you wanted you could print them out the size you wanted and traced them but I couldn't be bothered.

I bought this really cute table top ironing board from my local op shop for $4 and it's just perfect. We got rid of our ironing board when we bought the Tobi but I still kept the iron for craft and usually ironed on top of several towels, hardly precise. I like that the table top one is really small and completely out of Aidan's way... plus it's a really cute colour.

Once my letters were all out out, adhered and stitched in place, I made a backing for the bunting triangles out of blue polka dot fabric. To make the template I just cut a triangle out of cardboard and sized the letters to fit nicely. Once that was done I turned the sewn flags inside out and ironed the edges flat.

I bought some tan coloured binding and pinned all the flags in place, making sure I'd put all the letters in the right place. It was nice to see it all coming together.

Then, once all pinned in place I sewed it all up. I was getting really excited by this point, I love it when a project is almost complete, it means I'm one step closer to starting another!

Here it is, the finished project, I'm really happy with how it turned out. I decided not to do "Happy Birthday" because I wanted it to be used anytime the family got together, anytime worth celebrating!

Tower of Yummy

I wouldn't say I love pancakes, I don't might them but pan fried cake batter in the morning never really appealed to me. Maybe it's because I can't make nice ones, my sister can but mine never come out fluffy enough, they end up more like crepes.

Every now and then I'll feel like them for afternoon tea so I'll buy a shaker bottle mix from the shops. Of course the Aldi one is nice and if I feel like whipping some up that's what I'll use but I saw a different one in Coles the other day and I just had to try it.

I'm a HUGE fan of Betty Crocker Cake Mixes and had to give the Buttermilk Pancake one a try. Instead of mixing it with water you mix it with milk and can I just tell you now, they were delicious!

I served them with fresh strawberries and cream with a sprinkling of icing sugar. I only just realised how good honey would have looked dripping down the sides, oh well these were yummy enough on their own. 

No matter which way you looked at them, they were so good. They came out light and fluffy with just a hint of crispiness, I'll only be buying this mix now, sorry Aldi, you know I love you xx

Note: This is not a sponsored post, they were just so good I had to share. Oh and I didn't eat the whole stack, I shared with Steve and Aidan and then put the rest in the fridge lol.

Polly Dolly

Welcome back for week 16 of the Polly Dolly weekly Polyvore challenge!

Every Thursday I'll post a new Polly Dolly Theme Challenge, then you toddle off and get creative. You can credit the items if you want and add a bit of an explanation of why you chose the pieces or you can just share your clipboard... it's up to you. When you're done maxing out your imaginary credit cards, simply add your link below using your blogs name as the "title" and a direct link to the specific blog post. Note: As Polyvore only publishes to Twitter or Facebook, I've found the easiest way is to click on your set, and go to 'view details'. Then go to 'embed on your blog' and copy the html (you can chose to have just your picture, or the item info as well). Paste it into your post in the html section. Easy!

Everyone loves dressing up for the races. I honestly think I get more of a kick out of selecting the outfit than watching horses race about. I'd wear a simple silky dress and fabulous accessories like the emerald ring and the layered necklace, whilst hiding my eyes from the glare of the sun with over sized black glasses. I'd wear lace heels and carry a matching purse with sweet little bows on them. I'd wear my hair up and curly with a magnolia pinned in place. I'd cover my pout in a light tinted gloss and sip champagne and take photos of all the lovely dresses on my iPhone.

What would your Dolly wear to the Races?

Work it Baby

 {image}

Over the next few weeks I've signed myself up for a number of photography workshops, the first one is this Sunday and I am beyond excited! I've studied photography, I've studied business and my official title is Freelance Photographer but most of it was via correspondence and I just felt like I was a bit disconnected, I wanted some hands on help, I wanted to be with people who shared my passion. I wanted to check out their gear and see how they work. Most importantly I wanted a bit of refresh, to maybe look at my photography a little different, remember what ultra creative skills I have and get some feedback. I also felt like I'd gotten lazy and wasn't using my camera to it's full advantage. 

So this Sunday I'm heading to Parramatta to partake in a portraiture workshop with Angie Baxter. It's quite exciting because an empty position only became available today and I was lucky enough to snap it up, gotta love facebook! It's $225 including lunch and a workbook Angie made, she holds workshops all over Australia throughout the year. I love her style of photography and I think it will be great to see how she conducts herself during a shoot and get an inside look at her tips and tricks. It will be nice to meet other enthusiasts too who live locally. The course doesn't focus on the business side of things which is a bit of a shame but if you have a DSLR and want to learn how to use it like a pro then her workshops might be worth a look.

I also plan on going to workshops conducted by GM Photographics (Wedding & Business), Visible Light Masterclass (Studio Lighting) and I really wanted to go to the Nikon Event on the Sunshine Coast but it's the same weekend as the wedding I'm shooting so I'm going to do a couple of courses through The Australian School of Wedding and Portrait Photography instead. I wish I had the time to do more study (Uni online) but I don't (maybe once Aidan's in Preschool), for now I'm happy to seek out a few days of inspiration and business advice here and there and be more available to my son.

NOTE: I wasn't given any kickbacks for this post. I've been sent lots of emails from readers asking about what courses are worth doing so I thought I'd share what I'm up to now. You don't have to be a pro to do them, just have a decent camera and know your way around it. If you want to talk cameras feel free to email me anytime :)