Merry Christmas!!!!

Hello my dear friends!  How was your week?  First of all I like to say all of you thank you so much for your kind messages about my beloved Nikki last week. It means a lot to me.  Many of you have pets and you know how hard it is to say goodbye from your personal experiences.  But now on to the magical time of Christmas and I will be enjoying it with loved ones.

I opened my Instagram account @LanasArtStudio couple of days ago, and I'm probably the last person to join it :) ... I found all of my friends from FB, Etsy, and Pinterest happily sharing their lovely pictures with the world already!  I have tons of questions and more ideas ahead .... but now hear from the pros how to avoid mistakes there .... so far I found this week:

• An Instagram account I wish I'd thought of: Wenevermet. Pictures of strangers (who aren't facing the camera) and tiny, imaginary caption stories of their lives. Here
• I found a printable (free) WOODLANDS gift tags I may be using for my presents here
• Ultimate guide for my new Instagram adventure here
• Came across this site  for you friends with cats - Top 10 toys for your holiday!

 And, last but not least I would like to sharing my weekend small getaway to a lovely old city St. Augustine with Nights of Lights. This is our yearly holiday tradition and I'm so happy to sharing it with you.

 During Nights of Lights, St. Augustine glows with holiday magic - from the ground to the rooftops. Selected by National Geographic in 2011 & 2012 as one of the ten best holiday lighting displays in the world, St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights feature millions of tiny white lights that create a magical atmosphere in the Nation’s oldest city.

Tracing its origins to the Spanish tradition of displaying a white candle in the window during the Christmas holidays, the spectacular lighting reflects the city’s 449-year history and illuminates the beautiful setting for lasting holiday memories.
 

The best way to enjoy the popular holiday lighting display is to park in the Historic Parking Facility located off Castillo Drive and enjoy the sights in one of many different ways – on foot, by bicycle or pedicab, on the Old Town Trolley or the Ripley’s Red Train, or by horse and carriage. - via  

Christmas only a few days away and I'm looking forward to spend this days with a quiet and restful last minute cooking and enjoying time with my family! Merry Christmas to All and Lovely Sweet Wishes!

With Love, 

Lana

read more "Merry Christmas!!!!"

NIGHT TIME PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND MORE

HELLO MY FRIENDS!  AS I MENTIONED BEFORE,  I RECENTLY ATTENDED A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP.  I LEARNED QUITE ALOT THERE BUT NEEDLESS TO SAY,  I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON PHOTOGRAPHY.   I TRIED TO DO MY BEST AND HERE ARE  SOME OF MY PHOTOS.

Now let’s move outdoors. Outdoor photo subjects include elaborate lighting and decoration on houses, stores, and streets. Again, if you want to capture the lights themselves, don’t use your flash! One other tip for outdoor lights – you’ll get the best results when you shoot at twilight. That way, you’ll capture some color in the sky, rather than the pitch-black tone that will be recorded on film later at night. But what if you want to take a picture of your friend in front of a brightly lit display?

You want to capture both the bright lights and your friend. If you use flash, you get your friend, but you’re in danger of minimizing the bright lights behind. On the other hand, if you don’t use flash, you get better detail of the lights but your friend is reduced to a silhouette.

There is an answer. Many of today’s point-and-shoot cameras both film and digital have a funny-looking setting that looks like a person with a star in the background. This setting tells the camera that you want the flash to fire (which will light your friend in the foreground), but that you also want the lens to stay open long enough to record the lights in the background. In fact, the symbol for this setting on many cameras is sort of a hieroglyph that tries to indicate “person at night in front of lights.” Your solution to getting light on your friend’s face and capturing the light display is to use this setting. The flash exposes the face. The long exposure captures the lights.

Savannah, Georgia 

But, again, watch out here. The long exposure – typically, one-quarter of a second long – requires that you steady your camera to avoid camera shake. Once again, I advise you to use a tripod.

So, This is your summary for today:

• Turn off your flash unless you have a very good reason to use it.
• Use a fast ISO – we suggest ISO 800.
• Avoid camera shake.
• Use a tripod…or, at least, brace the camera. Trust your camera’s built-in meter.

MORE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND GREAT INFO ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY HERE. 

I hope you like my post.  Please leave comments or questions if you are interested in learning about my humble experiences at my SCAD photography workshop :) 

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL!!!

XX, LANA

read more "NIGHT TIME PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND MORE"