Cory Aquino: You Will Be Missed

They say pictures mean a thousand words so here it is: MY TRIBUTE TO THE PRESIDENT WHO FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM! She will always be remembered. May she eternally rest in peace.








Read more about her in her Wikipedia Page: Corazon Aquino

peace out

charity shop, originally uploaded by kaylovesvintage.

it's hot, here on the west coast this weekend....stay cool

Dan Winters / WIRED Behind the Scenes

Apologies for the double-tap on WIRED, but Andrew Hetherington over at WTJ just dropped in a behind-the-scenes piece on maybe the coolest set of photos I have seen all year.

It's Dan Winters, shooting Brad Pitt for the current WIRED in a "New Rules" issue that is wrapped in the theme of Inglourious Basterds. It's a great walk-thru of just what all is involved in pulling a shoot like this together -- very quickly, I might add.

Link: what's the jackanory?

We Were Ring Flash When Ring Flash Wasn't Cool

I nearly spit Diet Mountain Dew all over my keyboard tonight when WIRED.com, who purports to write for reasonably normal people, uncorked a review of four different ring flashes.

What is the world coming to? Have we gotten... mainstream?

I certainly hope not.

I spoke to Jonathan Snyder, who shoots for WIRED.com and did the review. And he said since they use them all of the time, he decided to do a quick review.

Notably absent:

The Orbis (seriously, James, you gotta send them one) and Jedrek's DIY Tupperware version. Just sayin'.

You can catch the review here, and see more of photog Jonathan Snyder's work here.

One more tidbit from Jon -- WIRED has just started up a photo blog.

Sweet.

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And Who Says Heathrow isn't Efficient?

(RSS and email viewers may have to click on the title to see the embedded video.)

Have you seen that giant "glad to see ya again" poster up at Heathrow Airport in London?

So, what kind of lighting goes into something like that -- Profotos? Broncolors?

How about a few speedlights.

Nick Turpin's snooted Nikon SB-800 street photography caught the eye of an ad agency in London who wanted to replicate the same look in a controlled, studio environment.

Only problem is Nick's fill light is normally the sun. But it turns out with a budget like that, you can rent the sun, baby!

The speedlights only get a cameo in this video. But it shows pretty much everything from casting (just soft boxes) to shooting, to the over-the-shoulder-looking-beverage-swilling AD, to installation of the actual, rather largish poster.

Hit the jump for a 13-min BBC 4 Radio interview with Nick, set to a slideshow of some of his street images.
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You can see more of Nick's work at his website.

catch me if you can fundraiser- this weekend in LA

What a COOL idea for a fundraiser! Catch Me If You Can is a mystery bike ride benefiting the Pablove foundation, {children's cancer research} Everyone meets on Sunday at Orange 20 Bicycles – 4351 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029, and follows a flat bed truck through the city.

So what's the big mystery? The after party and it's where abouts to be announced at the end of the ride. There'll be give aways, raffles and more!

more info here

Jardins en Fleur

Not long ago, I was told about designer Simon Scott's site, Jardins en Fleur. The exact words were, ' Jardin en Fleur? You need to know'. First of all, if you've just jumped over there for a peek...how cute is that Banner?? adorable.

ok, back to business,
If you love a little pagoda in your pieces or a nice bit of 'bamboo' thrown in to the mix, you'll love everything about Jardins en Fleur.

Currently I'm stalking this bed {in that I have it up on my screen at all times, look at it several times a day, stroke the glass of the monitor in which it sits behind....and will be purchasing it very soon}

I was even more excited to see it on my friend Liegh's beautiful and noteworthy blog, Papillion Linens. coincidentally Leigh and Simon are great friends and have used one another's wares to show off their own, at trade shows. wow, I had no idea until I saw Simon's work on Leigh's blog. Double makes me like the bed. So here is a shot of the coveted bed, in a room, donned in sumptuous linens by Papillion.

A marriage made in heaven if you ask me. And now I'm in such a quandry...do I go with the "Blanc de Chine" Soliel bed or the natural bamboo, color. hmmm.They're both stunning and beachy.

And just to give you an idea of the further greatness that is Jardins en Fleur, check out these pieces...and mind you these are just a few of the many pieces in the collection...

accessories? yes, a lot of beautiful accessories..

I love the color of this garden stool. I don't think I've seen one like this before.

a beautiful collection of lamps

beautiful silk panels, give glamour to any space instantly.

Jardins en Fleur.

'you need to know'

John Robshaw, new for autumn '09

Be still my heart, LOVE John Robshaw textiles. Love the ethnic, organic quality while bringing the beautiful polished sophistication. Every bit of his line is bed heaven.

A seek peak for autumn '09:

What Are We Really After?

Lately I had been very busy increasing my "authority" in Entrecard by dropping (that's the term when you visit a site) at least 300 a day. Entrecard for those who are not familiar is a community of bloggers and advertisers helping one another in building traffic. And it did! Entrecard has brought back a good number of traffic to my site. Taking away a time for me in making sure that I post a devotion on the Word of God daily =(.

On my way to the church this afternoon, I was thinking about this and asked myself: "What am I really after?" Is it just traffic and increase in my blog ranks (the site remained #1 last week) that are important? Or is it about people being able to read God's Word and be brought back to God and be led to love God even more which was supposedly the very reason why I started my site?

That made me realize something. Sometimes in our lives/journey, we can be caught up in chasing pretty rainbows and great rewards this life can offer. I mean great traffic and high blog ranks are good, right? But that's NOT the main purpose of this site. In our lives, pretty rainbows are pretty and enjoyable but "is that the purpose why we're here?" Let's take this day as a time to check ourselves once again: What are we really after? Who are we really living for? What on earth are we really here for? Is it just about job promotion, financial success or even recognition? Isn't it about bringing glory to the LORD everytime anywhere?

Let's join David in his Psalm;

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." Psalm 139:23 (NIV)


Let's ask God to search us and if possible discipline us for us to just be brought back and be "pinged" into fulfilling His purposes for us.

After all His purpose and will for us is good, perfect and pleasing.

So now go ahead and seek God and get back on track to the journey He has prepared for you! And remember He originally created us to bring GLORY to Him.

And about the Entrecard, I'll possibly continue being a member but I just need to make sure Time is managed correcty and pretty well!

Anna Spiro of Absolutely Beautiful Things, joins us on The Skirted Round Table

Don't miss this week's installation as the multi talented Anna Spiro of Absolutely Beautiful Things, speaks to us {in the most lyrical, sparkly accent ever} about her cheerful, modern style that always makes one full of joy. Her love of family and life is the evidence behind her successful blog. Not to be missed.....

the loaded trunk

Thanks to Anne at City Sage I've been introduced to The Loaded Trunk. A one stop shop for ethnic textiles, jewelry, tabletop treasures and more.

Don't forget to, hop on over to City Sage for a chance to win that $50 gift certificate.

Boot Camp II: Assignment #3

For assignment number three in Boot Camp 2, your job will be to use light to create an interesting architectural interior shot.

And if you are as creative as this entry in a previous Boot Camp, you won't even have to completely make the bed. Details, inside.
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I expect that this one will bring a lot of entries. The introverts don't have to talk to anyone and the single-flash folks will be able to use other, ambient sources to augment their lighting. Then there are the cool prizes, of course. We turned this one up a notch in that category.

And for the amateurs, this will be good practice for what could very easily be your first $5-digit assignment.

How so? Let me 'splain.

How can I put this delicately, other than to say that the vast majority of real estate photography is a fetid, pile of steaming excrement?

I mean, why would you bother to take nice photos when all that is at stake is the first impression of the single most valuable transaction you will ever make?


My Experience

When we sold our house last spring, I spent a little time shooting the rooms and setting up a website showcasing the house. Not a lot of work, and zero expense. It also was kinda fun, and left us a nice package of photos to remember the house by.

To be fair, we still have no way to remember Ben's room as it really was because we had to clean it up to shoot it. Kinda like an overenthusiastic mortician. ("Wow, uncle Bob never looked THAT good ...)

But the upshot of going to this extra trouble was that in the spring of 2009 (The Great Potato Famine of Real Estate) we sold the house in three weeks for the full asking price -- twice.

(The first contract fell through on finances and we turned right around and sold it again.)

We priced it accurately, which you absolutely have to do to sell a house these days. And we put it out there with house shots that were far-and-away better than any other house in its price range. Which, believe me, was not hard to accomplish.

The result was an insane amount of buyer traffic from the moment the house hit the market. We basically could not go home except to sleep there. I am absolutely convinced the photos generated much of the traffic, as there was a huge inventory of houses in our price range on the market.

Shortly after that, I shot real estate pics for some good friends of ours, too. Their house also sold very quickly, for close to the asking price. In this market, that's a pretty big coincidence if the photos had no effect.

But then, it is hard not to look better then direct, on-camera nuclear flash in the other house photos...


Your Assignment

For Boot Camp 2, assignment #3, you'll only need to shoot one room -- any room -- but try to light it in a way that makes it look like something special. Light can create a moment, a sense of place or a feel. The photo at the top of this post is an excellent example.


[UPDATE: Someone asked in the comments if this can be a commercial space. In the sense of keeping the playing field relatively level for everyone, let's keep it to a residential space. -DH]


Try to go beyond merely recording the room and stretch yourself into making an artful photo. I say this, because you will be up against lots of very well-lit rooms, and the ones that stand out will have that little something extra.

No people in this one -- it's a room shot. The scantily clad eye candy on the couch is not gonna push you over the top.

For basic resources, consider the earlier post on doing my own real estate shots. For the spartan of gear, there is also another post from a ways back on shooting a log cabin (at left) with one SB-800. Lastly, there is the post from the hotel in Costa Rica.

Just some basics to get you started. But again, the ones who rise to the top will have some special sauce that seals the deal. And don't think you have to go over the top on this one either. The special sauce might be a perfectly sparse-but-elegant composition -- as in the photo up top, for example. Make a picture.


How You Can Help

If you are looking for the charitable component from this one, it could hardly be more obvious. If you have a friend selling a house, consider spending a few hours shooting it for them.

It will almost certainly improve their odds over the typical real estate photo dreck. And better yet, it should get you a pass on helping them move.

Besides, you might actually turn out to be good at it. And who knows where that could lead.


Prizes, We Gots Prizes

You can never be too rich, too thin or have too many light sources. So we are going to "plus two" the winner with a full LP120-based multiple-flash Strobist Kit courtesy the folks at Midwest Photo Exchange.

That is a $450 value, and features (2) very versatile, slaved LumoPro LP120 flashes, an 8-foot stand, an Interfit combination boom/stand, (2) white umbrellas, (2) shorty swivels, a Universal translator (to sync the flashes up any camera) lotsa gels, a 16-foot sync cord, gaffer's tape, bongo ties (similar to ball bungees) and a padded carrying case. Hit the link above from more info and pictures.

FYI, the LP120s have proved very popular and the second manufacturing run is expected to sell out within about three weeks. And the lead time on run #3 (in progress) means that they will be out of stock until late September. But as the winner, yours will of course be reserved and unavailable for purchase by the unwashed masses.

But wait, there's more.

As with the other prize packs, we are throwing in a set of Strobist DVDs, which themselves are currently out of stock in the US. (The next US run should be arriving in early September, and EU-types can still get them duty-free in the UK via The Flash Centre.)

And for those of you who clearly are not yet playing with a full deck, a set of Trade Secret Strobist lighting cards.

How's that for some cool prizes?


The Fine Print

Because someone asks in the comments every single time, please refer back to the first assignment post for the basic info on how to enter your photo and where to go if you have Flickr problems questions.

But PLEASE NOTE that the tag is different for this assignment. It is:


SBC2ASSIGN3


So don't screw up and repeat the tag from the first assignment. The photo must also be in the Strobist pool (so remember to add that lighting info) to be entered. If you are successful, your photos should appear in this search within a few minutes. Please, only submit one entry.

If you want to ask questions, or otherwise discuss this assignment, you can do so in this thread.

And you can check out some of the other bloggers following along, here.

The due date for this assignment is end of day, local time, August 14th, 2009. Don't be late.

And for the verification shot (which will be required of the winner to prove he or she took it after the assignment date) reach around that camera and make a second version of the same shot with your hand giving the "thumbs-up" sign in the foreground.

Just to keep it legal.

November 8-15: Workshop in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

I will be teaching a five-day lighting class for the Santa Fe Workshops this fall in the colonial-era town of San Miguel De Allende in Mexico. I am totally psyched on the location, and very much looking forward to going. It'll be my last extended workshop of the year, so c'mon down if you are up for a five-day intensive in a beautiful destination.

Our focus will be on layering flash (single and multiple) with controlled ambient to create sophisticated photos with minimal gear. You can learn more at SFW's website.

We're gonna have fun -- hope to see you there.
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(Thanks Tricia Cronin, who will be assisting in Mexico, for the photo!)

-30-

kg + ab

Porcelain Mixed Nuts! ...$35.00

Assorted porcelain nuts: walnuts, peanuts, brazil nuts, hazlenuts, almond, and pecans. Basically life size, just slightly smaller

Hand made from a vintage mold...

Porcelain bears in love! $75.00

5" high x 4" wide
sold as a pair
inquire for individual bear

Hand made from a vintage mold...

Chihuahua Head for your table top or wall- $40.00

approx. 4.5" high x 5" wide

Hand made from a vintage mold...

Porcelain Ice Cream... the ice cream detaches and is a lid...put your stuff in it- $35.00

approx. 5.5" high x 3" wide.

Hand made from a vintage mold...

Porcelain Owl under glass dome with wooden base- $70.00

Base is painted black, owl is creamy white.

Hand made from a vintage mold...

"kg + ab met in grad school in Ohio and now live in Brooklyn, NY. kg used to design windows for a "major retailer" - she now takes care of their daughter and makes nice things out of clay less often than she'd like. ab makes props and costumes for films and sometimes plays music. Coco is the dog. She has a really good beard."~ etsy

oh my garland

party garland, purl soho

stylist: selina lake

original collage: made by anna on etsy

Paris Burlap flags: funky chic on etsy

party garland, by purl soho:: how-to ::here::

Pink and Blue Beaches

The color saturated beauty of artist, Isca Greenfield-Sanders.

The 30 year old Artist and Brown graduate, is the daughter of New York photographer, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. Greenfield-Sanders uses various forms of mixed media- from oils, watercolors, colored pencil, vintage slides to Mac manipulations, capturing and creating imagery that is at once nostalgic and modern. Their deep juicy colors, warm the cockles of my heart.

the skirted round table-fabrics we love and blogging techy talk

one of my favorite fabric showrooms- raoul textiles

On the newest installment we discuss fabrics we love and technical programs used for blogging.

the skirted round table

You Owe Somebody Your Love

Romans 1:13-14 (New King James Version) 13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

Romans 13:8 (New King James Version) Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

We all know we've been commissioned by God to go and make disciples. We all know all of us are sent out to the ends of the world to tell them the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ! Are doing it?

Yesterday, I was asked by my pastor to lead "The Lord's Supper". It was just the second time ever that I did it. You guess how tense I was. Anyway, I still reflected on God's Word and asked for His guidance on what He wants to tell His church. And here's the revelation:

"It's not enough for us to just remember the Lord's death and sacrifice for all of us and be glad about it. If it was then Jesus could have just died and then that's it. But NO, he didn't just die. He resurrected and ascended to heaven leaving us a commission to do! We are to remember but also we need to GO and tell them what we know."

Based on the verses above (Rom. 1:13-14 and Rom. 13:8), Paul as the apostle to the gentiles didn't just obey this commission but went up a level higher. He chose to be indebted and obligated to bear fruit in Rome.

What do you feel when you owe somebody? If you were like me, I had a time that I can't help myself but worry where to get the money to pay. There was a time that I was panicky because I needed to pay the amount the soonest possible time. You may have different experiences but one thing is common: there is this obligation and responsibility to pay ASAP!

What do we learn from this?

Let's all feel this "force of obligation" to share the GOOD NEWS to other people. Actually these are not really OTHER people because they are our friends, workmates and family. If Romans were entrusted to Paul, the people around us had been entrusted to us as well. Let us not be contented in living our lives without giving these people the chance in hearing/receiving the greatest gift we have received through the Lord Jesus Christ. We owe them our LOVE for them.

A fulfilled life is measured not by the success in career, or to how many places you've been to, or to how many clothes/bags you've bought, but yo how many souls you have brought to God.

Let's all be challenged! Let's all be indebted to love and share what we know.

Charity as Catalyst

When you can use your photography and enthusiasm as a force for good, it's a win-win-win:

Strobist reader Jeremy Sale details how he used a local fund-raising event as a vehicle to practice his lighting skills, while providing cool portraits and raising money for a good cause.

More info, pix, a vid and what he learned, here.

-30-

peace out

photo:: hannah

Naked as we came on a hot summer day

I so miss my little mixed tape Mondays. But my close friend Karen, just posted this video and it made me want to share with you all. So in lieu of the mixed tape I give you this lovely little film by Iron and Wine.

Fyndes monthly give away

I love the site Fyndes, it's like stumbling into a hip, warehouse filled with individual boutiques ranging from funky, vintage finds to fabulous fine arts and antiques. Pretty much the gamut. With prices that make shopping attainable at any level.

If you're on their mailing list you get the regular updates, BUT you also get to be part of their monthly give-away. Sort of like the business card in the fish bowl concept. Only, you don't receive a free plate of fajitas if your name is drawn.



The first giveaway begins today and is a beautiful, brass-cast seed pod from the renowned, Los Angeles floral designer, Krislyn Komarov.

This unique, decorative object is cast from a real seed pod and poured from solid brass. It measures 6.5" long, 4" wide and 3.5" high. The brass pod's retail price is $315.

All you have to do is register at www.fyndes.com and your name will be entered into a drawing. No purchase is necessary. The winner will be selected at random and notified on 15th August 2009.