Camera Advice

I get asked all the time for camera advice... People of all experience levels want to know what the best camera is for the money.

Recently, I have recommended this Canon body and lens to many people, as it seems to suit the widest variety of users (from amateur stay-at-home DIYers and small business owners to semi-pros).

Here, a great deal on a great starter camera from the always great amazon.com:

*For specific questions on how to adapt this gear to your personal shooting situation, please contact me via my photography website, www.leiajobe.com*


Purchase this camera:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-T3i-Processor-Vari-Angle-Body/dp/B004M170YC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334754410&sr=8-2

With this lens:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1334754499&sr=1-2

And you are all set to start photographing almost anything. (High speed professional sports and wildlife, however, might be a bit out of this camera's "range"... but you know, sometimes incongruities are awesome. So just keep shooting.)

Orchids

I am completely fascinated by orchids.

This gorgeous example now lives with me, and I took some pictures of its lovely face... (the text is from my blog project, www.dailythanks.org)

Rayon, Modal, and Tencel, Too

Recently I have been on the hunt for a reasonably priced, high quality, fitted t-shirt, and, much to my chagrin, most of the shirts I found were either partly or fully made out of modal. For me, modal seems a bit too see-through, and although the color is often vibrant, the draping and lack of structure is extremely unflattering.

I wanted cotton.

http://www.theory.com/neon-tee/cinel/883591635642,default,pd.html?start=84&cgid=womens-shop-all

And so today, I found this lovely neon t-shirt for sale on the theory site, and got all fired up about the lack of "natural" fibers in every market, from high to low. And so I googled rayon, modal, and tencel.

I read this article, expecting the author to be equally frustrated about the pervasiveness of these crazy non-cotton fabrics.

http://www.yesitsorganic.com/rayon-modal-tencel-environmental-friends-or-foes.html

And yet, somehow, I came away from the article feeling strangely sympathetic to tencel. Maybe I should give it half a chance...

But then again...

I wonder if people ever felt this way about polyester.

York Peppermint Patties

Okay, so even though I have food allergies, I still sometimes sneak a few bites of a York Peppermint Patty... It's one of my favorite little treats!!

And... as if I didn't love the peppermint-y, chocolate-y stuff enough, they launched this totally adorable commercial that is really hard to stop watching...

On a larger note, I think commercials like this will become more and more en vogue. In a world where it's hard to find a moment of silence, this quiet little gem stands out, and is a really powerful advertisement. Ad agencies, take note. We like this. We like this stuff...

New Girl

So I've got to say one of my favorite shows on television at the moment is "New Girl"... Zooey Deschanel is quirky and hilarious, and I'm not ashamed to admit that more than one of my fashion choices this week has been inspired by her colorful wardrobe on the show.

I found this yellow jacket at a thrift store and combined it with a fluffy hat of my own creation and some quirky pink satin gloves for a recent photo shoot, and I'm kinda loving the nerdy, bright, sweet, totally out there feeling of dressing for oneself (and on a budget, too!) versus actually matching and looking trendy.

Because these days, being yourself is the new trend, anyway.

© Mark Nelson

Post-Christmas Pinks

So you know how some people get post-Christmas blues? That sadness that comes with the loss of the happiest time of year? Well, mine are pink. It's kind of a rosy glow, a post-Christmas happy feeling. I get nostalgic for the Christmas season, and sometimes, in the cold, sweet air of February, want to wrap myself up in it. And so I listen to music like this:

Photo Tip of The Day

Hi everybody!!

Today's photo tip involves one of my favorite things: COLOR! It's my personal opinion that the world looks better when it is very colorful, bright, and a little out of focus... which brings us to these photos:

These photos were posted today (by me!) on www.dailythanks.org, a gratitude project website. The first is a close up of a glass vase, taken with a handheld Canon 50D, indoors, at noon, with only window light. (Settings 1/10 second at f5, iso 100).

The abstract shine of the window light on the textured surface of the vase reminded me of a nebula, so I shot handheld and got a little camera shake to add to the "galactic" feel. I imported into Lightroom, ramped up the vibrance about 35 points, added text in photoshop, and voila... Gorgeous, darling.

The second (red/orange/purple) photo is shot similarly using a different glass mosaic vase, as is the third photo... The only difference being that I added a few light paintbrush stroke starbursts in yellow to the final shot to imply raindrops.

So that's my color tip of the day: Find something bright, gorgeous, and shiny; Shoot it slightly out of focus; Ramp up the vibrant color. Done.