Archive for Month: June, 2010
About White Balance
Ever take a picture and it turns out way too yellow or a really bright blue? Well, there’s a way to take a picture and not have either extreme as an outcome. That’s done by controlling the white balance. Getting the white right means producing a picture with the correct color temperature.
Some of your camera’s white balance presets
Auto: The camera decides what kind of lighting it’s in, and adjusts itself. It works, for the most part, but sometimes it’s still off.
Daylight: Not all cameras will have this white balance setting, but it is best used in (drum roll please) daylight conditions.
Shade: Tends to warm up the temperature of pictures taken in this setting.
Cloudy: Like, the shade setting, it also warms up the temperature.
Tungsten: This is the setting you would use if you were indoors with incandescent bulbs lighting the room. It tends to cool down the temperature of the picture.
White Fluorescent: This is the setting you would use if you were in an area lit by a fluorescent. It warms up the temperature.
Flash: Since pop-up (or hot shoe) flash can make a picture very cold, this setting warms things up.
To change your white balance settings, look for the “WB” on your camera or in your menu. Remember, though, all cameras are different, so, wait for it….wait for it….pull out your manual and read the section about white balance and how to change the settings on your camera.
How to manually set white balance
Often times you can use one of the preset white balance modes and get a very true to white temperature, but other times it’s just not going to happen. Unless you set the white balance manually, that is. Most dSLR’s and high end point-and-shoots allow for manual white balance. It’s actually as simple as taking a picture of a white piece of paper. You have to know how to set that picture as your reference, but once you do that you’ll never have to tinker in post production to get the white right ever again. It’s worth learning how to do it on your camera.
Weekly Winners {I <3 Faces Photowalk – Atlanta, GA}
I had the pleasure of participating as a co-leader in the I <3 Faces Photowalk Across America! Ours took place at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, GA. The group was large, and I was thrilled that a few of my friends were able to make it out to the walk; I also enjoyed making new friends!
After the walk we had lunch across the way at Six Feet Under. We re-hydrated, enjoyed some great food, told stories, laughed, and simply had a great time.
The photowalk was a success. And, I was proud to be a part of it!
You can check out the whole set on Flickr!
You can also check out the Photo Walk
Across America Group on Flickr, too.
Animal Attraction
Today marks one year without our Sadie girl. We think of her all the time, often recanting an old memory. Honestly, a day doesn’t go by without a thought about my big, chocolate, original baby. I miss her. We miss her. I don’t think that will ever change.
“We’re like chocolate in the sun, and in this heat we are melting into everyone.”
Last week I was invited to see an actual music concert. The kind where it’s loud, and dark, and really cool to tell your friends all about. I thought about who I would ask to accompany me to the show, and ultimately decided on my very own, music loving, eleven year old daughter Olivia.
When I told her about it I could tell that she was really excited by how wide her eyes grew. It would be her first concert. I knew she would absolutely love it.
I listened to the self titled, debut album, One eskimO, from the critically-acclaimed English band, a few days before learning of the concert opportunity, and I immediately fell in love with their infectious sound.
I wanted to create a sound of my own: magical, ambient, filmic, acoustic, beautiful and meaningful. I wanted to write about how I felt about life, love, losses and failures, highs and lows, even heartbreaks. But also about how amazing human life is and how mind-blowing our very existence is.—Kristian Leontiou, lead singer
Leontiou set out to create this beautiful, atmospheric sound, and he totally succeeded.
A live show can make or break a musical group. If their album sounds great, but their live show sucks, I am instantly turned off. One eskimO’s live show was incredible. All four of the band members contribute to the creative structure that makes up this band. There’s a talented acoustic guitarist, Pete Rinaldi; an insanely wild drummer, Adam Falkner; an amazing percussionist/bass guitarist, Jamie Sefton; and—of course—the dreamy voiced lead singer, Kristian Leontiou.
Here’s a little snippet of video from the concert we attended at Smith’s Olde Bar. (Yes, we were that close.)
I’d like to extend the opportunity to win One eskimO’s CD and a t-shirt! All you have to do to be entered is leave me a comment in the comment section telling me what the last live show you saw was. I’ll announce the winner a week from today!
[Disclosure: I was provided with the CD and tickets to the show, and by doing the review I am entered to win one of six gift-cards. I was not paid otherwise, and all the opinions are purely my own.]
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