Lost Aussie on the loose

Make Your Own Music

Sometimes, as much as you might wish otherwise, you just have to make your own music.

(Thank Heaven I can play the Piano!)

Oh and I am posting across at Vision and Verb today if you care to hop across!

My Favourite Things

"Land and Sea"
© 2012 Marie Otero

Anyone who knows me know well that the beach and my garden are two of the constants that bring me some of the greatest pleasure in life.  (Though these days my camera is a tough competitor to beat!)

My Peonies are 12inches tall already and soon it will be time to plant for Summer ......

Backbreaking at it is, I can't wait!

 

Sometimes...

...  you have to dance like no-one else is watching....

and I did!

The Other Face

For me, no trip to anywhere would be complete without the requisite "grunge" shots and in that regard Venice was no exception.  Whilst it was full of history and ornament there were also the trademarks of 21st century artists, tags and stencils.  Lots of which found their way into my camera viewfinder and duly snapped!  Probably 15 or so of which I have collaged together here.

I especially liked the paste-ups of flyers advertising Hope and another for Love - you could tear off a strip if you needed some.  By the time I found them, the strips were all taken ...... enough said I guess!

We all need Love and Hope!

Some Musings on Picture Taking

Our model Julia (SOOC)
© Marie Otero

Clearly going on a rather expensive photography trip and learning how to use your camera in the company of professionals gets you thinking a bit about how and why you take your photos.

I have always been a kind of point and shoot gal, coming to the world of photography from the back end via my experiments in mixed media and photoshop.  Pictures were always a means to another end for me and I never worried about what was in the frame, the camera's shutter speed, aperture or any of that kind of "techie" stuff.
As my friend Nancy can attest, it was always about grabbing some sort of snippet that could be crafted into something fabulous in Photoshop.

Now after spending a week with a bunch of crazy A**ed pro' photographers, learning lots more about my camera and how it can take really rather nice pictures :-) .... I am beginning to see the other side of the equation, where a nicely framed shot (yes I'm watching my edges Gerri!), properly set exposures and some nice depth of field, generated by well thought out aperture and shutter speed settings can be quite rewarding to look at.

I can't say that I've achieved any miraculous level of expertise at taking pictures, I still have a lot to learn but I'm thinking that there is going to be room in the future for some "perfect" pictures now, as well as the on the run "auto" shots.

I can play with them ALL, regardless, in Photoshop - right?

 ..... and here's the creative version! :-)

So what about you? How do you like to snap your shots?  Are you a manual maniac or an auto baby?

Back Down to Earth

Safe and sound back in Long Island and enjoying (not) a reality check!

As the visual queue might suggest I am otherwise occupied today - doing laundry and catching up on domestic chores.  I keep glancing longingly at my computer, itching to get to work editing some of the 3000 or so images that I snapped in Venice.

It was indeed a trip of a lifetime. Carnivale was just fantastic.  I learned lots, made some nice new friends and have come away with plenty to think about!

I'll let you know when I am back up for air :-)

Coloring Your World

The soul
becomes dyed
with the color of its thoughts.
Marcus Aurelius

Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than just playing with colors.  A bit like in Kindergarten, where the content was irrelevant.  You could just pick and play with ALL the crayons on the table, without considering the consquence.  You knew your Mother would stick on the Fridge and love it.

Posting Over At Vision and Verb

 

I'm posting over at Vision and Verb today.  Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Lying In Wait

 

Still no word from the Apple Store on the welfare of my laptop.  I'm beginning to wonder if they have it hostage to read the daft emails and peruse the artwork and photos at their leisure.

Is it time to post a snarky Customer Service alert on Facebook in the hopes of having some sort of action?  As it seems that that is the most expedient way of getting any response from anyone these days.

It's one of the rare companies that does nothing to reward loyalty purchasing and heaven knows, we have given them enough money in the last few years, you would think they could be a little less haughty and a lot more accommodating.

Trouble is that I've had this "lappie" for 4 years and saved on anti-virus software, a machine that turns on and does what I want, when I want and aside from having iTunes rule my life, has been as reliable as dirt.

I've no doubt the hostage crisis will endure - in some form or another.

Winter's Chill

Winter has been here for some time but it really only seems real when the snow falls. 
We have 5 inches of fluffy white stuff on the ground and the efforts to clear the garden paths and driveway have left me with the snuffles and a wretched cold.  I can't complain for I usually only garner one cold a year at most and my firm belief in the power of veggies in my diet usually see me relatively "bug" free!

I'm still waiting for Apple to diagnose my laptop computer.  They seem a lot quicker to lift your money for new products than to fix the old and I fear the (anticipated) replacement logic board for my 4 year old laptop will not be a wise choice.  However it will be a strain on the purse strings to shell out for a new machine at this point.

Perhaps a fire sale is in order?  Or perhaps more appropriately, a snow sale?