One weekend in sunny June....

One weekend in sunny June......... Actually, it was probably in May, I don't think we've had a sunny weekend in June this year have we?! Well, have no fear, I managed to get a photo with rain in it as well, just in case anyone got withdrawal symptoms of the moist stuff.

I don't think I need to explain why I took these photos. But I will anyway; the colours. When the Sun is shining and I'm lying on the decking in my back garden this is what I get to look up to. It's almost like being on holiday when you get to look at these vibrant, rich and varied colours. Until you hear a bus go past anyway!

This photo was inspired thanks to a recent trip to a card shop. Some had random figurines in equally random places. A juxtaposition, if you will.  So it made me think about what random objects I have at home and how can I take them out of their 'normal' habitat. Just a bit of fun really. Having said that, I might make myself a project out of it now, take this little storm trooper out with me and see what random places I can photograph him in........ Although to be fair, this isn't a very random place to put him. In my garden, yes, but on a rock is not that far removed from where he would live if he really was in Star Wars.

And the rain reins supreme once again! But I always like to see an opportunity in any given situation and I just love looking at raindrops on windows. Water can really distort the way you see something but in this photo, it's where the rain drop of is that's clearer. The image doesn't demonstrate just how much it was lashing it down at this point either. If I'd been in a car the wipers would have been on full whack!

So there you have it; ONE weekend, ONE camera, ONE location, FOUR very different photos. Enjoy!

Family portraits

Another first for me, I am trying my hand out at family portraits. Let's face it, it would be silly not to when I meet up with my family so often and there is a new baby around for those picture perfect moments! As I said in a previous post, I didn't want to use my flash with such a young baby but instead use the available light. So, I was really pleased with image below. I hope you like too! This is my brother and our niece. What a natural huh??!

And of course, shots a plenty of the new family together!

I wanted a grainy texture to the images so that they looked more like film, I love using film but unfortunately, at the moment, I don't have the necessary time or equipment to do it nearly as much as I would like to so I adjust the ISO on my DLSR to give me a similar effect. It's the closest I can get to the real deal!

I think it's really important to have a new family in familiar surroundings when doing these shots, everyone is more comfortable and the images look more natural and less staged. And I also don't have my own studio (yet!) so it's the perfect excuse to keep the family at home!

And here are a few of the rest of the family having cuddles! Very, very proud grandparents to the right and an aunty, who also has her own blog (click 'blog' to go to it) and uncle below.

Little Miss Millie

Well, apologies because I feel like I have neglected my blog for a few weeks! All for a few good causes though and with photography always in the forefront of my mind!

4 weeks ago my family celebrated the safe arrival of my very beautiful, first ever niece, Millie! So thought I would take the opportunity to try my hand at some baby portraits. And now I have the perfect little model to practise on again and again, I reckon I still have a few years before she tells Aunty Holly to do one and find someone else to take photos of! Here a few from 4 days old up to 3 weeks:

I love how teeny tiny babies are! You forget just how small they are if you don't see a baby for a while and the size of their tiny hands and nails are just too adorable not to photograph.

 

I've decided to have quite a low ISO on my baby portraits too, I like the grainy, film texture you get from doing it and I think it works well with these sort of images. As I was going for a kind of retro look, I also used Sepia for the photo above. I also learnt from taking these photos that you really have to make the most of the available light because you don't want to be using a flash on a new born baby so that was a challenge I enjoyed too. 

When my niece grabs my little finger, it makes my heart literally melt! It's not my finger Millie has hold of in this shot but it makes my heart melt all the same! And really like the lighting again in this one above on the left. Pretty happy with my baby shots, I learnt a lot and will continue to practise, that's for sure. Watch this space for family portraiture next. And lots, lots more of Little Miss Millie!