solasachanalba: February 2011

Saturday 26 February 2011

Some springtime photos...

I've been posting a daily photo and really enjoy the 365 site. Lots of discussion on photos with other amateurs and with pros. It's helpful to see many photos as it inspires. Also I get many opportunites to see what I like and don't like and why. It's helpful to describe what I like about other people's photos, and hear what they think about mine.
365 project so far

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Allergies & antihistamine withdrawal

I have allergies of unknown origin that last all year. (These are separate from my MCS - multiple chemical sensitivity - age related of course.) Sigh. For a few months I've been taking allergy meds - antihistamines. Earlier this week I ran out of the medicine and decided to stop taking them to see what would happen.

Ha! Antihistamine withdrawal! I didn't realize right away what was going on but I was itching all over. It was pure torture. Itch cream only provided temporary relief. When I decided to soak in the tub to ease the abuse I'd heaped on my skin from scratching, my tongue began to itch. Arrggghhh.....

Finally, I googled antihistamine withdrawal and itching and got many results. Apparently it's a very common reaction, in fact, itching all over seems to be a reaction to many types of medication withdrawal.

Just thought I'd share this as I know I'm not the only one this has happened to as allergies are very common. My solution is to take a pill every other day, then every 3rd day to wean myself off. Guess I'll just deal with the constant runny nose.

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Photography

As I already posted, I have joined a 365 Project (shoot a photo a day for a year) and the benefits are obvious. Being committed to finding something worth capturing every day is challenging. It’s work. And it will help me improve my photos.

The effort to improve my photographs compels me to look at the world more closely, notice the details that are normally overlooked, keep my eyes open, be aware, see beauty or an interesting object I’d never noticed. I hope this will inspire creative results.

A few of the good tips I’ve learned....

Take the camera everywhere!
Use a tripod!
Use a remote shutter control.
When holding the camera, hold breath to reduce shake.
Look at the world from a unique point of view. Get closer, get down on the ground, look up, . Fill the frame. Find a different perspective.
Look for shapes, colours, lines, texture.
Just look!

Sunday 6 February 2011

365 project - photo a day for a year

Instead of posting each photo on my blog every day, I've joined a 365 project which provides a better way of displaying and organizing a year's worth of daily photos.

I have begun my project here:
Annie's 365 project

Photo of the Day - Sunday

Every Sunday I'm going to post a pic of our Gunnera Manicota to track its growth. Believe it or not, this ugly brown mess will become an impressive plant with huge green leaves and reach a height of over 6 feet.

30mm focal length 1/790 sec f 4.4 ISO 1600

Saturday 5 February 2011

Photo of the Day - Saturday

Okay, this is getting harder. I need to get outside or go somewhere!

My newest African mask sitting on some of my Uganda cloth.

50 mm lens 1/13 sec f 1.8 ISO 1600

Friday 4 February 2011

Photo of the Day - Friday

Simply fruit....

50mm lens 1/320 f 1.8 ISO 1600

Thursday 3 February 2011

Danny & Uganda

Danny has returned from his two week trip to Uganda. He had a great time and remarked it felt like he'd come home. He met with many of our friends including our Ugandan daughter Doreen. Between the two of them I got several fantastic souvenirs! The pumpkin gourd is shown in a photo below, also got a wall hanging, and two African masks. Loved them all! I will hang up - or get Danny to - the wall hanging and one of the masks.

No definite plans for a new trip but we are thinking about going to Barcelona for our anniversary in April.