Can I Really Be a Photographer?

4 September 2013

It is a question I often asked myself throughout the years and often times I would say no.  I didn't own a big fancy camera with an adjustable lens and a special carrying case and all the other equipment I thought was a requirement to have in order to be a ‘photographer’.  But I love to take pictures, especially of landscapes and historic buildings.  So while I was abroad this year I just took the pictures I wanted, both memory making pictures as well as artistic type photos.

In the Archaeology Museum of Sevilla

And boy, were there a lot of funny pictures.  These kinds of pictures bring me back in time to when the events initially occurred and it allows me to relive those happy and exciting times.  In the past few months that I have been home I have found that I miss being surrounded by the history and the ease of living in a walkable city.  Yet in only a few short weeks I will be returning to Europe and living out another year abroad and away from home.

BY THE WAY I OFFICIALLY HAVE MY VISA IN HAND!

But back to the topic of the blog post, photography.  It wasn’t until I returned back to the States and started to dive into my pictures that I realized I had a few gems in the bunch.  While in my hunt through the mires of the Internet searching for ways to stay afloat financially I came across a website that would take my photographs and sell them as prints.  The site is called Fine Art America and it can take your digital photos and print them in a variety of ways including on canvas.

Palm trees in Sevilla

Here is the start of my profile and portfolio with more work being added as I go.  Part of the process for me is fine tuning the photos I have before posting them to be—hopefully—purchased.  On the recommendation from Kellie I downloaded a free photo altering program called GIMP.  I don’t do that much to the photos besides cleaning up the crop, sharpening the picture, changing to black/white schemes, etc.

I would like to think that so far everything is running smoothly.  Though, I am still searching for that elusive first purchase.  Granted I haven’t put as much effort into marketing as I should, but that is something to continue to build and work on as I go.

Currently I am working on a few photos from my recent trip to L.A. with my sister for her belated birthday/missed graduation gift.  That is in addition to the photos I have from London and Spain that I am also working on as well. 

Big Ben

As I get this photography business under my belt perhaps one day I will buy one of those ‘real’ cameras for photography.  Until then I am pretty happy with my Panasonic Lumix. 

Also, the scarf progresses, if not at an incredibly slow pace.  More updates to come in the following weeks.  Until next time!

Brittani

Circle Skirt- The Cut

The middle two weeks of the month are always pretty hectic for me.  Most of my deadlines as a freelance writer are either mid-month or end of the month, so I've been chipping away at my projects a little at a time.  Thankfully last week Brittani came over and we were able to get some work done on the circle skirt.  I didn't bother to draft a pattern piece for it, simply using a bit of math and a tape measure to mark the curve.  That's a picture of the main fabric- inside out, though, so you can't see the pretty floral pattern!

The lining and waistband are also cut out at this point, but I still need to pick up a zipper for this an then actually put it together.  I'm hoping to have it done by the end of next week!

For the sake of complete honesty, I can't say that I've worked on this skirt in all my spare time.  The truth is, I've been way too busy gaming and painting models.  Upon arriving back from Spain I was itching to get back into tabletop roleplaying.  What I didn't anticipate was my partner having a Battletech starter box.  Turns out, Battletech is pretty awesome.

That is a Bombardier and a Sagittaire, two Battletech miniatures.  I painted them myself, and have a bunch more to be painting.  There's a convention here in October that I may be running some tabletop games at including a demo of Battletech we're providing the miniatures for so between my partner and I, we have a lot of painting to do!

-Kellie

The Start of Something New: Crocheting

8 August 2013

A few years back I had nonchalantly picked up a set of knitting needles thinking I was going to sit down and learn how to knit.  The short story is that they were set aside and completely forgotten.  Many years went by and I had pretty much given up on ever having the time or desire to try anything like that again.  Well the whole returning to the States and having time as well as a need to be more resourceful and profitable in other areas I returned to the idea of knitting.  But a new question arose, to knit or to crochet?

I did a lot of extensive research into what each created and how easy or hard they were to learn.  What it came down to as far as I could tell is that the main difference between the two was the needles used.  Crocheting uses a single needle with a hook that is about 6 inches long whereas knitting requires two needles that can range in size from a few inches to a foot or more depending on what you are making. 

Crochet Hook

The reason I decided on crocheting was because it was a smaller single hook, much easier for travelling with and since I am going to going to England in a few months it made more sense.   So the next step was to acquire some other supplies, namely yarn and needles.  A quick pop over to JoAnn and I had a set of three different sized crochet needles, two balls of yard and two little books about stiches.  In total I spend about $17, with a student discount.

Two stitch books, two balls of yarn and a set of three needles

One thing that was difficult for me to initially understand was the different sizes of needles and yarn and how they corresponded with each other.   What I found out was printed on the yarn packing it says what size needle you need to work with it.  

Yarn Packaging

Needle packaging

 I would say that the most common sizes are between 2.25-5.0 mm or B-1 to H-8.  In my set I have a G-6 (4.0mm), H-8 (5.0mm) and J-10 (6.0mm).  In all of my initial attempts at crocheting I am going to use the G-6 (4.0mm) size with the yarn pictured in my supplies.

So, the first thing I need to do is get something started and for my basics I turned to a website: http://www.anniescatalog.com/pages/stitchguide/index.html?cid=3, starting with how to hold the crochet hook and then on to how to tie the slip knot which starts off your crocheting experience.  From there you create a ‘chain’ which is simply a single strand stitch.

My first attempts at making a chain stitch

From there I worked on the very basic stitches of single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, treble crochet and the slip stitch.  These are all the basics that each come with their own abbreviations that are used in patterns on the internet and in books.  Chain is ‘ch’, single crochet is ‘sc’, double crochet is ‘dc’, half double crochet is ‘hdc’, treble crochet is ‘tr’ and the slip stitch is ‘sl st’. 

Top Left: Double Crochet, Middle Left: Half Double Crochet
Bottom Left: Slip Knot, Middle: Treble Stitch, Right: Single Crochet

What is even more interesting and important to learn, besides just how to create a single strand of a stitch, is how to make that second strand.  That is where knowing how to chain stich is important, that is how to gain height within a stitch to make a double crochet stitch larger than a half double crochet stitch.

Now I have a few basic stitches down I can pretty much start a simple project, like a scarf, choosing one of the simple stitches as the means to create it.  Or at least that is how I think you get started on a scarf.  Haha!  I suppose a little more research is needed.  Well until next time!

Brittani

The Beginning

27 July  2013

On our way to Spain, a quick stop over in London

This tale starts over a decade ago, when we first met in junior high, a time of tumult and uncertain identities.  We met through a mutual friend and in those days we were the weirdest of the weird, nicknamed the Pony Club for our obsession with horses.  Eventually we grew out of that particular weirdness and moved on to other things.  In particular, anime and all the things that go with it.

Japanese street fashion really caught our eye in those days, and after beginning to dabble in cosplay we quickly moved on to making skirts and dresses covered in lace and ruffles, entranced by gothic lolita style.  This new fascination also allowed us to explore the idea of creating for others and we made our first attempt to sell our creations, which also included hair accessories and brooches, to others.

It was more successful than we initially thought it would be, but the end of highschool and other dramatic life changes pushed sewing and creating to the background for a while.  Focusing on school and work we didn’t have the time to set aside for personal crafting hobbies.  As the end of university studies for Brittani drew to a close the indecision and uncertainty of life after prompted a look at living abroad.  After hearing good things about the TEFL school in Granada, Spain, the decision was made.  Spend one year abroad, living in a different culture and supporting ourselves by teaching English.  Plus, we would always have the certification to fall back on if our other plans for life fell through.

A bullfight in Ronda, Spain

So we packed our bags and flew off to another country and way of life.  We obtained our TEFL certifications and learned that teaching was, perhaps, not really our cup of tea.  Still, we made it the full year.  It was incredible.  

Fast-forward to present day.

One month in the States and we were at loose ends.  Brittani is getting ready to go to England for graduate school.  Kellie is trying to make a living writing freelance.  More than that, for the first time in our entire friendship we are going to be living across the world from each other.  So the idea of this blog began.  Document our projects- Kellie’s sewing, and Brittani’s quest to crochet.  And also, use the blog as a medium through which to share our friendship, and keep it strong.

-Brittani and Kellie