How’s Christmas?
Dec 27, 2009 Everyday
So how was your Christmas? Most of my friends have uploaded and even blogged about their Christmas. I wish to do that, too but I have lots of pre-Christmas photos that I need to upload first. Anyway, our Christmas was simple but a happy one. DS got the gift he requested and he was ecstatic and played with his toys till 2 in the morning. I got some really nice gifts, too. Anyway, it’s back to reality now and I need to have all our payables settled before the New Year as we want to welcome the 2010 debt-free. First on my list is our insurance. Good thing I came across some affordable insurance right here. That’s one thing off my list.
It’s Christmas.
Dec 22, 2009 Etc.
Just 3 more days to go. Which reminds me that I need to have the gifts wrapped and the cash gifts sorted. I am going to do those tonight. I just have to check on order fulfillment for my aunt’s business. And at the same time, I’ll be uploading some photos to Flickr. I have tons of backlog of photos to upload. I wish to blog some more, too.
Last Minute Gift Tags.
Dec 19, 2009 Freebies
I came across these cute gift tags while searching for digiscrapping freebies. So if are in need of last minute tags, you can download these at Sausan Designs.
Enjoy!
Wedding Like No Other.
Dec 18, 2009 Etc.
Every bride dreams of a beautiful wedding. Most brides also wish that they have a wedding that’s different and something really special. A destination wedding is one example of a truly romantic and unique wedding. I came across Riviera maya destination weddings and I must say that these weddings are indeed a bride’s dream. Say I do in a dreamy, tropical setting under a charming gazebo. Or you can tie the knot in a beachfront chapel or on a rooftop deck with views of the sea. And you can enjoy these without stress and worries as a Certified Wedding Planner will take care of all the details of your wedding. Plus you can also have your honeymoon in any of their suites and be ready to be pampered. This is truly a destination perfect for lovers.
Free Printable Gift Tags.
Dec 18, 2009 Freebies
I hope you are not done with wrapping gifts as I have come across some really cute printable gift tags. I haven’t started with wrapping the presents, so these gift tags will come in handy.
Download these cute holiday labels from Orange You Lucky.
This adorable gift tags can be found at Fresh Picked Whimsy.
Download these doodle tags from Inside A Black Apple.
Popular DSLR Lenses.
Dec 17, 2009 Wishlist
I do not have impractical wishes for Christmas and my birthday this year. I decided to spend on things for the house instead of other stuff. However, I came across these list of popular DSLR lenses from Digital Photography School and I’d be bookmarking this one so I can refer to this list when I have some extra funds.
1. Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Lens – this lens makes a great option for everyday shooting with a fantastic focal range which gives both a reasonably wide angle and reach. The vibration reduction makes it particularly attractive and it is a reasonably affordable lens.
2. Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens - Nikons ‘nifty 50? is a much loved lens and similar to the Canon version – for its price and quality it is a must have in your bag.
3. Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens – this lens has had some great reviews and is renowned for being a high quality camera. Again it has vibration reduction, is relatively fast and is great for portraits, weddings, sports. It’s not cheap though.
4. Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens – it is interesting that Macro lenses feature on both Nikon and Canon lists. This one however has vibration reduction making its fast aperture even more useful.
5. Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens – lenses in this focal range featured heavily in both the Canon and Nikon lens and it is no wonder – its a really handy focal range. This one is quite a bit cheaper than the previous 70-200 but you lose Vibration reduction. Those mentioning it in our survey raved about it.
6. Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens – another fast zoom lens with wide angles yet a little length – making it a good choice for every day use if you don’t need lots of reach. On Amazon this lens has 52 reviews and only 3 of them didn’t give it a perfect score of 5 stars (and two of those gave it 4 stars). I guess it isn’t just DPS readers who love this lens.
7. Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens – another zoom with a 2.8 aperture and a reasonable focal range. Those recommending it say its sharp, fast focusing and a joy to use.
8. Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye Nikkor Lens – rounding out the Nikon list is a fisheye lens which looks like being a lot of fun.
Paintball.
Dec 17, 2009 Etc.
A friend of mine told me about ZephyrPaintball.com when I asked him for ideas on what to give my nephew. My nephew did a big favor for me a few months back and I thought of giving him something special this Christmas. ZephyrPaintball offers a huge selection of paintball gear. They have paintball guns, paintball goggles, harnesses, jerseys and various paintball gear and accessories. Not only do they offer very low prices, customers can likewise avail of their free shipping. The Tippmann A5 Packages are ideal gifts since the basic items are all bundled up in a set. They carry popular name brands like PMI, Empire, Tippmann, Kingman Spyder and more. They also have gift cards, so if you are unsure what to get, you can opt for the gift card instead.
Reducing Camera Noise.
Dec 17, 2009 Tips & Techniques
I came across these three simple Photoshop steps to reduce the camera noise in your photos. This can be very helpful as I do have quite a number of ‘noisy’ pictures since I am not so fond of using flash. Most of the time, I would rather use a higher ISO than use a flash. Anyway, for the steps.
Step 1
Duplicate the background layer. You can do this by simply dragging the background layer into the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers window.
Step 2
Change the Layer Blending Mode from ‘Normal’ to ‘Color’.
Step 3
Apply Gaussian Blur Filter from the Filter menu. The amount of blur will determine the amount of reduction. Be careful not to over-blur because adding too much blur will de-saturate the color information in your image.
You can read more about this at http://digital-photography-school.com/.
Project 365.
Dec 17, 2009 Etc.
What is a Project365? While they can take many forms depending on your hobbies, for photography’s sake it’s the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. Many people will then post the photos on their blog, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums or just send them to friends. The format of presenting is not the important part of the project, although it can become a very useful way to keep committed to the project.
The idea behind starting a Project365 is to make photography an every day event, with hopes of improving the art. It also has the added benefit of forcing a photographer to slow down and take a different look at the world around them.
source: http://digital-photography-school.com/.
I don’t know if I can do this. I tried this two years ago and I never got to finish it. Since I stay home most of the time, I ran out of things to photograph. Plus my laziness did get in the way at times. Oh well. I have to see if I can do this one next year.
