Bokeh and You!

Recently I asked my fans what they wanted to see more of in my photographs - was it portraiture? Was it fashion? Was it landscape.. etc. One of my good friends suggested bokeh. Now, I've seen other photographer friends try bokeh before and I never really "got" it. So my immediate response to Jeff was: "sell me on it, and I'll give it a try." He proceeded to give me multiple links with examples, "best of" and even suggestions on how to create your own bokeh photograph. Needless to say, I was sold...and immediately started to play with my camera to see what I can come up with. It's a whole new world of possibilities - seriously! And now that I've opened my mind to this 'new' style, I am seeing it everywhere. For example, a co-worker of mine recently took this photo (don't hesitate to check out the rest of her photographs! She's amazing). The results are stunning.

Have you tried it before? Do you like it?  Check out Day 59 of my Three Sixty Five Photo project to see my results for that evening.

Dots
 

New Camera, New Inspiration

I finally did it - I got myself the 7D. It's not quite the Marks but it'll do in a pinch ;). I am so extremely excited to start getting out there and using this beautiful new machine...but what to do with my old camera? I'm considering selling it, but the cost would be such a blow to how much I paid for it originally. Do I keep it as a back up? I have been attempting to also keep up the 365 blog - which you can find in my posts below. It is coming along nicely - check it out!

.:Dots

365 Project

Well, my ThreeSixtyFive project is well under-way for the first two days! Check it out here to see my results. So far it has been an easy project as I've been taking pictures of everything and anything that comes in my way - the next week will be tougher as I am back at work - but I'll be doing my best to take at least one worthy photo a day. This is so much fun!

Day 1 of 365

Today, I was able to capture my first photograph for the 365 project (A photo a day).  Can't wait to have a chance to upload it and post it for the world to see - although I think I will create a separate blog for this project and connect the two pages together. I should have that posted tomorrow sometime ;) Meanwhile, here's the link to the blog where things will be posted!

Wish me luck and motivation to keep this up for a whole year.

Photography Slide

Hi world - I haven't forgotten about you. It has been crazy busy in my life and I *gasp* let my photography slide. I'm thinking of starting a 365 project - where I take a photograph every day and document my life that way. What do you guys think?? It seems like every one is doing it ..  ;)

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Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I think this is such a brilliant idea - and I support this wholly. I've been on a mission for a few years already to cook healthier, wholesome and fresher meals so I feel like this "movement" of Jamie's hits close to home for me. This year I'm growing my own tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, chillies and chives. I hope to expand this one day when I actually have a "garden" to call my own, but so far so good!



Check out Jamie's Revolution and try to do the same in your kitchen!

Fireside Grill - Review & Photos

Today we tried Fireside Grill - one of the many restaurants on the Dine Around Town, Victoria  which has $20.00 and $30.00 menus. We tried a bit of both. (Also, we already tried Smuggler's Cove last week - but it wasn't worthy of a blog - the food was nothing more than typical pub fare and while it tasted great, it didn't blow me away). I apologize in advance about the quality of photos, I tried to be quick. The locale was amazing, with beautiful and warm atmosphere.

First of all, here is our $20.00 Menu (for the $30 Menu, check out the website above):

 

Our choice of food was:

Saanich Carrot and Camembert Soup

Followed by my Duck Confit:

 

Alex's Veal (from the $30.00 menu):

And Kory's Braised Lamb:

For dessert I played around with the menu and chose from the $30.00 section for a few extra bucks...

Hazelnut Burlee

Kory's choice was the Raspberry Tart

All in all, the meal was extremely filling, flavourful and amazing. The only "complaint" I would have is pairing the braised lamb with tomato sauce. I find lamb has enough of its own yummy tastes without needing to mask it with tomatoes - it's not a choice I would have made in my kitchen. 

Highly recommended from the bottom of my heart. <3

Spring in British Columbia, Westcoast Style...

Only in B.C. ... Only in Victoria can we have spring this early in the year! I hope the sleepy bees can keep up. Check out what I came across today on my stroll in our back-yard.. <3 love this town.

 

  

  

 
 

 

 

Olympics 2010

I have stayed pretty quiet about the 2010 Olympics here in Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond. It's not that I don't care about them - it's just that I was too busy cheering for Poland and Canada! But in the end, I managed to make it down to the chaos and beauty of patriotism in the heart of Vancouver - and even got to see the Closing Ceremonies.  Saying goodbye to the world athletes was hard, and I'm not going to lie...I woke up feeling fairly empty the next day thinking "Now what?"... But here's a quick summary of my amazing stay and what I got to see:

 

  

 
 

  

  

 

Seattle by Night

These photos are a little bit dated, they're from September 2009. I haven't had a chance to go through and edit them - so since I was in bed this morning with a sore back I thought I would do something a little more useful rather than just stare at the ceiling! We walked about 4km from our hotel downtown toward the famous Space Needle. We kept our eyes on the destination since we could see parts of the needle the whole way there. It kept us going despite the blisters on both mine and my mom's feet. (A shoe exchange solved the problem for a few short steps, but did not help in the long run).Seattle is beautiful. I hope to go back there again this summer with some friends! The bottom photo is a ceiling on our cruise ship in Seattle - just thought it had a really fun composition :)

 

Beauty All Around Us...

I love this weather we've been having! I just can't get enough of it...

 

Spring is here!!

Happy New Year of the Tiger and Valentine's Day!

Based on how today is going, I'm going to go out on a limb and say SPRING IS HERE!!! What an amazing day to celebrate such wonderful times! I had the privilege to check out the Victoria Tea Festival today - unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me (what the heck right?), but I highly recommend it to anyone who might want to go next year or the years after that... I hope it'll only get bigger and bigger from now on, and while doing my exit-survey I made sure to let them know that we'd love to see MORE!

My favourite pick from the Tea Festival: 
If you want to try something yummy for a cozy day at home, then may I suggest a fairly-traded black tea from India called "Madhupur". It is naturally grown, hand-picked and crafted and it tastes amazing! It has a really nice, smooth, smoky taste to it. You can read more about these wonderful teas and people here. (the blog doesn't seem all that up to date, but it has all the info necessary to get the gyst!). I am drinking my cup of Madhupur with milk and sugar right now! (This particular picture was not taken by me - I borrowed it from the website above).





Meanwhile, our garden is starting to feel a lot more spring-y! Check out my Crocuses that are in full bloom already! I took these pictures as soon as I got home from the festival :)

My roses that I received from Kory <3 They are gorgeous. The weather was so beautiful outside that I had to take them out there and photograph them in the natural light. The photo does not do any natural thing justice, but this will do in a pinch!

I even had a visitor while I was taking pictures of another bouquet of flowers I received from Kory yesterday! (I know, he must really love me or something!!).

Yep... spring is definitely here!!

My dedication to Alexander McQueen

To someone who had guts in the fashion world, where everyone else remained "beige". To someone who created a bond between art and fashion. To someone who's genius mind and creative spirit were taken away from us much too soon.

Alexander McQueen

1970-2010

 

  

  

  

  

And let's hope that Gaga keeps his art displayed for many years to come

 

iPhone applications worth mentioning..

Lately, I have been trying to find applications (apps) for my iPhone that will encourage me to use it more for what it really is, rather than just a phone or music player. I have narrowed it down to a few apps that I think everyone should have. I tried to keep this on the topic of photography, but ... as you see... it's a variety of things.

The apps that everyone should have, or at least, try once:

1) Iron Camera - a camera simulator, that allows you to zoom-in/out, add vignette, set a timer and choose your own size. And all that BEFORE you even take the picture. Once the picture is taken, you have the option to choose a frame, a filter, add blur, or even some cute little stamps. The reason I liked this app was because it takes a picture MUCH faster than the standard camera on the iPhone would. The processing takes longer, but the snap is much faster (perfect for fast moving subjects

Here are some examples of photos I've taken with this app:

 

 

2) Histamatic  - another camera app that simulates old school cameras out of the 50s and 60s. Each photo is completely different - and right from start you have the option between three different lenses, and three different types of film (you may purchase other "hisptapaks" allowing you to have more options with film and lenses..) Each film and lens combo produces a completely different result - making this camera completely unpredictable and extremely fun. It even has a "flash" button, which makes the winding real sound, and adds a little bit of brightness to your photo. Here is the same subject, taken with two different types of lenses:

 

vs.

3) Stanza : an electronic book reader for your phone. Would not give this up for anything. I've already read about 4 books this way and it cannot get more simple than that. This app is free with the iTunes App Store and gives you access to hundreds of classics for free! The pages turn with just one touch, and you have the ability to change font size, style, choose chapters, and best of all: define words that you're unsure of RIGHT THERE AND THERE~! Love this app. I have also been able to find some torrents with e-books that Stanza is compatible with (yay free books). The picture below shows what it looks like, and the bars on top and bottom disappear after about 5 seconds

4) Loseit: a nutritional database that allows you to track your calorie and exercise intake. They have an EXTENSIVE list of foods and exercises, allowing you to do this accurately. I love it because it has made me aware of portions and how many times a day I eat. Also, for people who are into it, the app allows you to track your nutritional intakes as well: sugar, cholesterol, fat, etc. Not just calories.

 

5) Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals: How amazing is having Jamie Oliver PRACTICALLY in your kitchen while you're cooking? Well that's what this app feels like for me. There are lots of videos, step by step instructions, hundred's of recipes to choose from, ability to make shopping lists based on your choice of dish, and voice-overs from Jamie as you're cooking. Love it. Jamie Oliver took his time making this one - adding personal videos teaching us everything from: how to choose your herbs and cut them properly, to how to stock up your fridge, and how to cook your pasta. Apparently the app is constantly updated with new recipes and videos, so there is no possibility of getting bored of his meals! Highly recommended.

 

 

I hope my reviews and information has given you guys some food for thought! These kinds of "secrets" just need to shared. LOVE IT.

 

xoxo

Dottie