Showing posts with label bokeh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bokeh. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2011

Picture the Holidays--Week 3

I'm in the homestretch of the Picture the Holidays photo prompts.   This week I found it a little tough to keep my momentum going with all of the holiday commitments on my plate (school party, our own holiday cocktail party complete with 50 guests, kids being home from school, finishing up holiday shopping, etc.) but I plugged away.  After all, the whole point of this project is to take time out for myself and enjoy a few moments with my camera.  So that I did......

Anyway here is a recap of week three......

Day 15:  Got Gifts?
The idea here was to shoot an image that you would use as a gift tag.  I have not had a chance to turn this into an actual gift tag yet (I better get on it).  This ornament is special to me because not only does it signify love but it was made by my mom using lace from my wedding dress (which she also made--yes, she is amazing!).


Day 16:   Season of Lights
Here was our chance to capture some intentional bokeh.  I never really tried to do this before and found this to be a fun little exercise.

Day 17:  Warm Glow
There is nothing like the glow of lights during the holiday season.  Rather than photograph candles, I decided to capture the glow of the lights through my tasty champagne cocktail.


Day 18:  Recharge
Today the prompt involved taking a moment to recharge your batteries.  The holiday season can get hectic and feel rushed and sometimes all you need is a nice hot bath, a diet coke and your favorite magazines to unwind.


Day 19:  Make a List
I love making to do lists.  I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment every time I cross off an item.   For this photo,  I decided to make a list of my hopes and dreams for 2012.  I used the inspiring texture from Kim Klassen to give myself a few extra reminders.....


Day 20:  Wrapped with Love
Here the idea was to find a gift adorned in its holiday best.  Typically, I find wrapping a presents a bit of a chore.  But taking a few moments to wrap even just a few gifts with extra special touches was actually a great way to spend time this afternoon.


Day 21:  Attitude Adjustment
Here we were asked to have some fun.  Capture something that would help you lighten your mood.  This photo was taken earlier in the month (on a girls' trip to San Francisco) but it makes me smile every time I look at it.  I love my zany friends (and the unsuspecting tourist who was willing to take our photo in the wee hours of the morning).

Friday, December 9, 2011

DIY Bokeh

by Tina

With the many lights of the season it's particularly fun to play with BOKEH.  Bokeh is a word which is derived from Japanese which means "out-of-focus."   My daughters found a fun site called Color Me Katie.  Both her blog and this wonderful YouTube link below show you step-by-step instructions for creating your own bokeh shape.



I played around with it and these directions from YouTube were super simple.  Once you get the hang of it, it's easy and fun. I like the way Bryant Truong designed this so you can interchange shapes rather than making a whole fitted cover for each shape.

Here's an example of what I did, do you see the tiny sparkles in heart shapes - appropriate for this gift?


I also played around taking photos of the moon and the planet right next to it.  It happens to be the planet Venus, appropriately named after the Goddess of Love.


Next I took photos of our Christmas lights (or do I need to be politically correct and say Holiday Lights?) and got this image:

If you are looking for some fun ways to play with bokeh, try this out!