Monday, November 28th, 2011 @ 08:30am | Author: Busted

Color Palette Inspirations: o12.

Monday, November 21st, 2011 @ 08:30am | Author: Busted

Color Palette Inspirations: o11.

Monday, November 14th, 2011 @ 08:30am | Author: Busted

Color Palette Inspirations: o1o.

Monday, November 7th, 2011 @ 08:30am | Author: Busted

Color Palette Inspirations: oo9.

Sunday, November 6th, 2011 @ 09:30am | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens Review (26 photos).

I’ve had my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens for over one month now, so I thought I’d let you know how it’s going!

First of all, the camera I use this lens on is a Canon 450D (EOS Rebel XSi). And the lens itself is dirt cheap at about $100 — I couldn’t pass up trying it!

Now I’ve read A LOT of reviews about A LOT of cameras & lenses – on forums, camera sites, Amazon, etc. It gets tiring, because each one is the same — there’s a good chunk that love it, a chunk that hates it, a chunk that thinks the price was good (and another that thought it to be too pricey), ones that always use it, ones that used it once and never again… You get the picture. Which is exactly my point – where are the actual photographs taken with these lenses & cameras?! I absolutely LOVE that people can upload their photos to Amazon. It puts everything I need at my fingertips — information, cost, reviews, & most importantly EXAMPLES!

So while I may throw in some specs or opinions, I’d like to let the lens speak for itself. Here are a batch of the photos I’ve taken with the 50mm in the past month:

(click each for larger image)

50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC*

*Straight out of the Camera (no editing other than resize/watermark) – examples

The very first photo I took with the lens was about 9:30p, in very low light, of my car key on my bedside dresser. The key was on the very edge, and in the background on the left is a glass on a coaster – only about 5 inches behind the key. It was a quick snapshot – my hands were a little shaky – so the photo easily blurred in the low light, but it wasn’t extremely blurred. An excellent low-light lens.

50mm | ISO 800 | 1/8 sec at f/1.8 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5	50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0
50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec at f/2.2	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 160 | 1/4000 sec at f/1.8 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec at f/6.3 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec at f/2.2 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/80 sec at f/2.5 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/125 sec at f/3.2 | SooC
50mm | ISO 800 | 1/25 sec at f/1.8 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/50 sec at f/1.8 | SooC	50mm | ISO 640 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC	50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/2000 sec at f/13 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec at f/6.3

So if you’re a Canon user and considering a new lens, I definitely recommend this one! Although it’s a prime lens, it’s great for a walking-around lens – small and lightweight, and able to capture your “on the fly” photos rather well (it’s quite speedy, and again I say, great in low light). And it’s CHEAP! haha :)

RESOURCES:
Amazon
Google Shopping

Saturday, November 5th, 2011 @ 04:48pm | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Saturday Show & Tell (4 photos).

Good afternoon! It is a beautiful day here in Metro Detroit – bright sunny skies, warm temperatures (for November anyways), crisp smokey smells… I’m a little behind on regularly posting it seems. Halloween seemed to creep up, then it was the boyfriend’s birthday, and today I helped stack a few loads of firewood for the boyfriend’s family. I’ve been busy without actually being busy it seems.

Anyways, this week I’d like to share with you some shots I snapped of my mom’s delicious homemade bruschetta!

Now, I don’t know the recipe, but I do know that she chopped up vine tomatoes, onions, and cilantro and mixed with balsamic vinaigrette and fresh mozzarella. We toasted French bread in the toaster oven and poured the tomato mixture over. Oh so delicious!

Monday, October 31st, 2011 @ 11:08am | Author: Busted

Color Palette Inspirations: oo8.

Rose, Red, Pumpkin Orange, Leaf Green, Cranberry

Amanda Brown’s Austin based shop, Spruce. (Click on images to enlarge…3/4 down for bigger picture of this chair -no direct link to chair.)

Saturday, October 29th, 2011 @ 09:00am | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Saturday Show & Tell (5 photos).

I have a terrible history with my jewelry. I always seem to break it or lose it. I am notorious for having one earring per set in the hopes that the second may appear years down the road… Now that I’ve started making earrings, it’s not so bad – I can repair broken stuff, or disassemble a lone earring to make something completely new. But the culprit is really a poor storage system. I have no consistency – I throw things in my bag, in drawers, on tables, in cups, on the floor… No wonder!, right?

Well, I finally bought a little something something to push me in the right direction. At Michael’s, jewelry stands were on sale, so I picked up these funky stands xD

So far, they’re already helping tremendously — I’m not wearing the same jewelry simply because it’s all I can find! And I feel that I’ll be less likely to break anything if it’s up and out of the way. Yay! Finally! ;)

Friday, October 28th, 2011 @ 09:14pm | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Hearts & Stars blue earrings (5 photos).

I spent some of today getting back in touch with my jewelry-making skills. While they may be at a beginner level, I still enjoy it. I’ve made solely earrings it seems though. To me, earrings can change your entire look. You can be wearing a somewhat grubby outfit, but don some elegant dangling silver earrings, and you instantly play it up. Goes both ways — Dress down fancy garb with some funky studs.

Anyways, while I was making a pair for myself to wear out tonight, my sister rummaged through my beads and oohed and ahhed (and spilt a container of star beads all over – can you tell we’re related?). So I took an earring I had just started and modified to include some things she mentioned, and came up with the following pair:

So I thought I’d finally share a bit of the jewelry I make before I head out for the night. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 @ 03:44pm | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Crochet mishap (3 photos).

I’ve spent the last day immersed in my collection of yarn, trying to figure SOMETHING out to do with it all. I’d pick up one skein, chain a bunch of loops, start an imaginary project, then unravel it all. I must of done this at least a dozen times.

Finally, I just “went with it.” I took two yarns, Red Heart’s Super Saver & Sensations Cello, and chained a length of about maybe 8 inches or so, and double crocheted up. I had NO IDEA what I was going to make…

When I got to a height of probably about twelve or fourteen inches, I was running out of Cello yarn, so I had to figure something out to do with my little swatch. I folded it in half, and single crocheted up the sides to make a pouch/purse. I figured I could crochet a strap, and have my mom sew in a liner.

Well, me being the goon that I am, I stuck the purse on my head. Voila! Instant hat with faux ears!

In other news, it’s quite the shitty day. It’s shitty outside, it’s shitty inside, I’m bored, I’m cranky. poooo. I need a pick-me-up badly.