My Favourite Photograph

This picture really speaks to me ... 

not sure why, or what it says, but I simply love it!

With Luv, For Jamie Ridler

Jamie Ridler is celebrating the second anniversary of her website's launch by holding a video contest. This is my entry ...

With Luv, For Jamie Ridler by Roxanne Galpin on Vimeo.

A Bedtime Story?

A Clever Reminder ...

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do I Wish to Take a Stand For?

I wish to take a stand for my story ... 

for the written word 

and all stories contained therin.

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do I Wish For My Home?

[Read my 3rd piece on Life As A Human ~ here.]

Peace

Love

& Toilet Paper, always a ready supply of toilet paper.

I'm Here Tonight

If you look, you'll find me here indulging in a little tumblr. Here's a little taste that may explain why I luv tumblr so much. And, know what? My tumblr blog has more followers than this blog does. HAHA.

From the Clear Centre of My Heart

Hearts Like Toothpicks by Tinkerbell the Bipolar Faerie 

"from the clear centre of my heart, there are no edges to my loving you."

My son turned 25 today. Wow, seems like only yesterday I watched him as a 10 year old boy.

I have felt as though in some sort of mild funk today. So, I hibernated and gorged myself on television and reading. My heart bears the weight of a strange restless, listless fog. I rearranged my room, in an effort to pierce through the monotony. I have attended only 1 meeting this week. I should have attended three. I could not bring myself. I find the energy of others exhausting and somewhat annoying. Sleep provides a satisfactory escape.

... And What Have You Done ...

“I watch how foolishly man guards his nothing—thereby keeping us out.  Truly God is hated here.”

On This, Our Anniversary

image credit: Raipun

image credit: Richard at UK

I Love You, Wulftin.

Happy Christmas

How I Feel About Christmas in Five Pictures

image credit: ~ geisha ~

image credit: kudaker

image credit: front porch republic

image credit: dangeri

image credit: seeit_snapit

The Skinny on Macro Shots

Digital technology has certainly made photography more accessible, enabling the average person without any formal training in photography to take  progressional-grade shots without the massive expense of a professional lab. Gone are the days when a camera served me only as a device I used at weddings, and family gatherings. I have become a serious photography afficianado, like many of my blogging colleages out there. I've discovered macro as one of my favourite styles of photography.

Through trial and error I have discovered what conditions produce the sharpest shot at a very shallow depth-of-field ~ meaning how close can I get to my subject so that a small area takes up the entire frame and still produce a sharp image? All this talk about aperture, f-stop, depth-of-field, resolution, exposure can seem unwieldy, complicated, confusing, overwhelming to the untrained photographer. Here's what I've learned along the way ~ what works and why.

First of all, let's talk about the sunny 16 rule. What's that? Essentially, it means that, on a sunny day, an aperture of f/16 and a shutter speed equivalent to the the inverse of the ISO speed of the camera's film, will suffice. Digital cameras use image sensors and so ISO refers to the light sensitivity of the camera's image sensor.  An ISO of 80 suits our purposes for a sunny day. This means low light sensitivity, minimal visual noise ~ fast  shutterspeed, short exposure.

A close-up shot requires a shallow depth-of-field, which decreases with f number. This implies a smaller aperture. Sunny conditions produce the best quality close-up shots. This makes sense because we need a smaller aperture for our shallow depth of field. As we reduce the distance betweem ourselves and our flower subject, with a smaller aperture, so that small details fill the frame, we need maximum light. NATURAL LIGHT WORKS BEST. The highest resolution possible will also reduce the depth-of-field. So, we want an f-number smaller than 16 ~ as in somewhere in the range of 4.5 to 8. A longer focal length also helps achieve a shallow depth-of-field ~ an effect we want in macro shooting.

I hope this makes sense and helps to demystify the science behind macro photography. I leave you with an visual example from my photo gallery.

Camera:	Nikon Coolpix L110
Exposure:	0.013 sec (1/76)
Aperture:	f/4.5
Focal Length:	15.1 mm

Cry of the Monday Morning Minions

It's 3 am. I have to pee in the worse way. I can smell that giant piece of shortbread that's sitting on my laptop. I really could use a coke right now. It's raining outside, I think. The cat smells like a meat plant. [anal glands .... yuck]. Does dirty laundry breed? I think it breeds. Prolifically breeds. You know, like germs proliferate. Welcome, yet another Monday.