A bokeh experiment

 Last year, I came across this amazing bokeh tutorial by Amanda of kevinandamanda.com.  I'd always wondered how photographers created this incredible effect...but at the time, I didn't have 1) a 50mm f/1.8 lens 2) a DSLR camera.  This year, I'm lucky enough to have both, so I decided to have a go at creating my own custom bokeh before my Christmas tree came down. 

I almost exactly followed Amanda's instructions to create this effect.  I would, however, recommend using the 'manual focus' setting on your lens if you have one...focusing on a particular object and then moving it at the last minute was pretty challenging (and I had a lot of botched photos).  If you do alter the setting, just make sure that you very gently push your custom hood over the lens after you have manually adjusted the focus...I found that even the lightest touch could reset it and lose the overall effect.

Of the four punches I used, I think the stars were my favourite.  I'm looking forward to trying this again next year with some different punches (maybe some more Martha Stewart ones?) and perhaps even my Slice (although that might be a bit ambitious).  I loved how pretty the multi-coloured fairy lights looked, but I'm excited to try it with white lights next year...I think they look so very romantic.  And a little less '80s disco.           

Amanda also suggested using a tripod or resting your camera on a flat surface for this kind of photography, but I snapped away by hand without too much camera shake.  And the best part of this tutorial?  As a scrapbooker, you can pretty much use everything that you already have in your supplies!  

Let me know if you're a bokeh fan, too...

Have a wonderful start to the week :)

December Daily/JYC Day 2

Webster's Pages and American Crafts papers, Bazzill cardstock, Fiskars punch, number tag from every jot and little

On Thursday morning I peered groggily through the gap in my curtains....and there before me was a winter wonderland.   I spent most of the morning snapping pictures before my parents and I risked a walk to the station to investigate the train situation (I had a presentation in London on Friday that I couldn't miss).  As we plodded down the lane towards the centre of town, we were overtaken by a small group of kids chattering away whilst hauling their sledges along behind them.  For me, that almost timeless moment pretty much epitomised everything that I love about this time of year...and just for a minute, I wished that I was 8 again.    

I wanted my page for day 2 to capture that sense of nostalgia, so I used what turned out to be the perfect piece of scrap paper from the Dear Lizzy Christmas collection alongside my photo of the retreating backs of the kiddos and their sledges (edited with the Pioneer Woman's PSE actions - it looks a lot more sepia in real life!).  It also helped to tone down the busy pattern on the foundation page, which I felt detracted a little from the photo.  Also for that reason, I decided to let my journaling stand alone on the adjacent page:

I also included a divided page protector to accompany this prompt.  I'm going to do a bulk order of 4x6 prints from Photobox once Christmas is over...but in the meantime, here are two of the pictures from Thursday that I will include:

And on the other side (from Friday):

Even London had to get to grips with snow and ice!  I took a detour through Trafalgar Square on the way to my seminar on Friday afternoon and snapped these photos on my phone.  It was freezing....

And here's a look at the original:

Thank you so much for looking!  I'll be back soon with day 3.  And I hope you're having a fabulous weekend...perhaps you've been working on your December Daily too? 

It's a relationship thing...

{Click to enlarge}  

I often get asked what it's like to live in London.  Usually I come up with a fairly generic response...something along the lines of "it's amazing."  Short and to the point, etc. etc.  You'll find that most Londoners will say something similar...or they'll simply start complaining about tube strikes, which is fair enough.  But after Keshet asked me this very question a couple of months ago, I started thinking....and a layout was born (thank you, Keshet!).  I have a feeling that you might think my answer is a little unconventional, but that's ok :) 

By the way, iPhone/iPod Touch 4 users, have you tried out the new Dali Museum Goodpak for the Hipstamatic app?  I love how surreal and unexpected each photo is: 

Piccadilly Circus, the BT Tower, Big Ben

 {click to enlarge}

The film has a canvas-like texture and looks awesome printed on cardstock.  I'm starting to wonder how I ever lived without Hipstamatic...is anyone else a convert?

Only 24 hours until the start of JYC!  Already there are some seriously inspiring projects appearing in the forum...I can't wait :) 

Nothing beats....

....A gentle nudge from the nose of a familiar furry friend.