Camera Experiments - Apertures and Shutter Speed

I topped up my rose vinegar jar this morning and noticed the way the morning sunlight made patterns through the liquid. Definitely deserving of a photograph....and then I thought I'd take the opportunity to muck around with apertures and shutter speeds.


First I set the apertures and here's a sample of my results

The angle the photo is taken from can also affect the outcome. No yellow in the colour behind the jar.

Then I fiddled with the speed for some interesting results

I should have been trying this a long time ago instead of using auto most of the time and I haven't even tried playing with the white balance yet. In the future I'll use the tripod as I want to photo moving objects. LOL, I must find the "safe place" I've stored the operational CD for the camera and study it a bit more.

My thanks to Saffron Craig for the link in the inspirations section of her newsletter to Bijou Lovely's tips for better blog photos and also to Holly of bijoulovelydesigns for the link to The Pioneer Woman's  easy to understand, and sooo funny, posts on aperture and shutter speeds and how to use them.

I should be able to post much better blog photos soon and my scrapbooking layouts should also improve :D


Cheers,
Robyn xo

Unnatural Sunset

I noticed this sunset and thought I'd snap a photo of it as this is coloured by smoke from either a controlled burn or, more likely, another bushfire on the other side of the ridges to the west.

Pretty, yes, but it can be pretty awful too when you see these. The sun was actually a red colour, like the aura around it but I couldn't capture it with my automatic camera.

Cheers,

Rob xo

Weird weather

Yesterday was a miserable day like being back in the middle of Winter, icy winds, cloud cover but not much rain, we even lit the woodfire last night. Not very conducive to doing aything crafty and though I checked the vege garden I decided watering could wait as it was more likely that I would be the one becoming wet.

Today is a turning out nice as the air is still and there's no clouds. The dogs are having a nice run and I think I'll sit outside and soak up the sunshine and warmth while I have a cup of tea, then I'll water the garden.

Cheers,
Robyn xo

Hello Possum, it's raining now!

 Hello Possums, my other little possum showed itself the other night (9Oct) though it's been rousing on us from the pencil pine next to the house frequently. This time the rousing was a bit more distant, and my dog jumped up and down the River oak trunk, so it wasn't difficult to know where Poss was.

As Poss is posh and wears a white dinner vest with his suit and tail(s) he's easy to spot :D.


The rain finally decided to arrive so when it stops there's a new vege bed being constructed because now I won't end up with back ache and sore muscles trying to level it up. The vege beds here need to be terraced because of where the garden is. I must remind DH to finish fencing the paddock area adjoining the garden so I can plant the zucchini, pumpkins, melons and any other vines I fancy or it will be too late to bother as the hot weather will be arriving in a few weeks.


I love the patterns the falling rain makes on the water.

Cheers,
Robyn xo

DTE-ers..possible Christmas card swap creations!

If you are thinking of being in the Down To Earth Forum Christmas card swap then it may be advisable not to scroll down or you could see a card you may receive.

The school hols may be over but it's not peaceful enough for me to be trying to sew a pattern I've modified. So I decided to fiddle around with my scrapbooking stuff as I've put my name down for the above mentioned swap. This swap is a little different as we are receiving a list of 9 names of swappees, that is our group, so we post a card to each of the swappees and receive one from each in return.

I googled "handmade Christmas card" then clicked on images for some new ideas and then put my own twist on them and this is what I've made so far.

Not a wonderful photo as it was taken tonight but it shows the glittery bits, even though the star on top of the tree is gold not multicolour sparkles. I would have put a multicolour sparkly star on it if I had one :). It's been a while since I've played with my scrapbooking supplies so I'm quite enjoying this. 

Hope you are enjoying them and the Blogtoberfest too!

Cheers,

Robyn xo

Aprons and Show clothes

Lol, so much for posting every day! I thought I'd set up the post for the 5th October to automatically post  itself  but it didn't happen, so much for thinking I was becoming better at blogging :(. So here it is.....

I need to make some goodies to sell at the Annual Anglican Church markets at the end of this month and aprons will be some of the items. A lot of the pre-loved fabrics I've acquired have come from the Anglican Op-shop and the pillow slips I'm making this apron out of are Sheridan brand and are hardly used. You can see how things become a bit messy when I start sewing and I'd barely begun!


This is the pillowslip with the sides seams cut off and laid out flat. I love that it has the same pattern in  slightly different colours on each side. Sorry about photo quality as the colours are more intense than this.

Making sure I have everything on my fold out cutting table and the fabric with the adjusted pattern pinned on it.

I hope to sew this together today but it may have to wait as DD returns to school tomorrow and I will be able to work uninterrupted then.

Yesterday I had to be out all day as DD needed some new cattle showing garb and the town that had everything was 2 hours drive, each way, from home. We had difficulty finding the boots and that was the item she needed the most as her old ones are beyond repair. The hat is needed as the first Akubra was purchased in a hurry, cheaply as it is a second, and it doesn't fit quite right. A big problem when the hat is held on by stuffing newspaper under the brim and it falls out every time you take it off - especially when you need to rush to the next class. She spied the showy shirt too and had to have it as her current ones are looking a bit used now. All the new gear was paid for by DD out of the money she's saved. As it went into the hundreds of $$ it paid to travel elsewhere as it would have cost over a hundred more to buy locally and she would have had to order the boots in.

DD graciously offered to pose for a photo this morning. Ginger decided to run in and help her at the last minute but you can still see one of the cowboy boots :D. The kid looks pretty good all smartened up and she had to make sure she was wearing her belt with the cowboy buckle she bought last year. Apparently it's not the same without the belt and the buckle!

Hope all the Aussies are having a nice first day of Daylight Saving. Personally I hate it as I figure the summer days here have quite enough daylight without messing with the clocks.

Cheers,
Robyn xo

The 7 Year Itch

About every 7 years or so I become tired of having long hair so I have it cut - very, very cut.


This is what it looked like before

This is, mostly, what was removed as there was a little more trimmed to shape it and add a couple of inches to straighten out the waves

And this is the result

Much cooler for summer! Now if I could just trim the body as easily as you trim hair....??


Cheers,
Rob xo

Beanz Meanz...

.....a different type of meal for us.

Yesterday I made a bean and rice salad from a recipe on one of the threads at DTE. I had some for lunch with a can of Thai green curry tuna and some home grown buttercrunch lettuce.

What do you think of my table decoration? LOL!

Last night we had vegetarian rissoles for tea and, after the usual whinge from Miss13 about suffering my vego food fads, she liked them so much she had extra and she’s taking some for lunch tomorrow at an Ag prac at her school :D.
I’m very pleased as they are tasty, cost around $3 for ingredients and will feed 3 people for 2 meals. They are also very filling. This “vego food fad” could become a weekly habit in this house.

Hope you enjoyed sharing our meals :).

Cheers,
Rob xo

Views of the Week

So, I've been a bit slack posting but I have had my camera with me and these are a few highlights of my week.

I was in a potholder swap on DTE and my first partner let me down but I'd put my name down to be a swap angel as well so I was given someone else who hadn't received their swap to make a set for. They also made a set for me.


Potholders I sent (yes the yellow dot on the edging is a pin!)

Potholders I received - front

 -back

I love the FME!

My new partner did receive the potholders from her original swap partner so she now has 2 sets :).

A colourful, cheeky orange chewer

 A bit of a size difference....

 ...but they love to play together!

 It's bad when you have to find your own dinner.....

..and even worse when others expect you to share.

Reflections on a moonlit night

 A night prowler after her day's hunting

Cheers,

Robyn xo