The same day I bumped into Milli who blogs at Arts and Graces. We always end up passing like ships in the night when we’re out and about, so I made sure I actually said hello this time around. That night I was in a cab back to my hotel when I got an email from Rafflecopter to say that my birthday giveaway had closed so I drew the winner there and then. Who should pop up but Milli?! I was so excited at sending her the ‘congratulations’ message the next day and seeing her lovely reaction. 🙂
My friend Marcus had recommended using a photography light box after I mentioned to him that I find it really hard to take pictures indoors without shadows or reflections. Over the Bank Holiday N decided to make me a DIY one from a cardboard box, masking tape and an old fitted sheet. It was all done in an hour. (Work stopped temporarily when Mr Darcy claimed squatter’s rights and curled up for a nap.)
With my super handy lightbox in place, I decided to switch my camera settings to full on manual controls for the first time.
Oh. My. God.
Why have I not tried this before? A couple of little tweaks to my ISO and aperture settings and what a difference – here’s a completely unedited shot that I took the other day using my light box and manual settings. I took this at 8.30 in the evening! Obviously it’s not perfect and I’m still learning but it’s so much fun experimenting.
Last time I did a happy list I mentioned in the post that some sad things had happened that month. One of these things was the passing of my parent’s beloved dog Archie, who had been a part of our family for 14 years. He left behind a big empty hole and we have been missing him terribly.
You can never replace a loved one, but welcoming in some new family members to share all that love you still have is no bad thing.
I’ve been shortlisted in the Bloggers Blog Awards!
Please vote for me as the Best Up & Coming Lifestyle Blog.