Art Mode
November 10, 2021
Using the ART mode on the Olympus PEN E-PL8 mirrorless camera. I think I’m in love with the vibrant colors.
Tag: photography
Le Stallion Notebooks
September 22, 2021
These notebooks are honestly beautiful. I love that they have a table of contents and numbered pages. As a writer, these two features are what’s most important to me in a notebook, but the soft and pliable faux leather, metallic charm, and burgundy brown edging of these Le Stallion Notebooks add a little excitement each time I grab for them. I haven’t written in them yet, but they are on the table next to me and I’m always finding myself running my hands over them and flipping through the empty lined pages.
It’s crazy how important looks is…but I would know that as an avid reader and writer. I’m often drawn to pretty looking book covers, and admit, I’d choose a good looking book cover over one that is mediocre. However, this isn’t to say I would never read a book that didn’t have a nice cover. Blurbs are important too and I mostly go by blurbs after gushing over the covers. I think I treat notebooks the same. Looks matter, but what’s most important is what’s inside, and as mentioned earlier, the table and contents and numbered pages sold me.
I rarely use the back pocket but I’m always in favor of it because there may be times when I’ll need a place to tuck scratches of short scenes or maybe even a list of name of characters I know I’ll forget if I don’t jot them down. I often use sticky tabs in my notebooks and have kept them in the back pocket.
It’s hard to capture the true color of the edging but it gives the notebooks a clean look.
There are four colors available: Ariegeois (Ashgray Black), Garanno (Cocoa Brown), Henson (Desert Brown), and Galloway (Khaki Cream) [not shown]. These notebooks are available for $19.95 each on Le Stallion’s website.
To watch my unboxing video of three of these notebooks, click here >> Unboxing Le Stallion A5 Notebooks.
Outdoor Plants and Flowers
May 26, 2020
Took the Olympus to the front yard. The setting was on Shutter Priority Mode. Minor editing were done in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Columbine.
Pine cone from the giant pine tree in the yard. The tree is starting to brown at the top. I hope it’s not a sign that it’s dying.
This is a ground covering flower called a Vinca. They grow so fast and wildly. I want to get rid of them completely but husband wants to keep them.
Aspen.
The peony is stuck inside the branches of a huge bush. When we first landscaped the yard, the bush was tiny so I thought I could fit a peony plant there. Ten years later and there’s no room for it to grow. I’m planning to take it out and plant it in an open area. It used to bloom so beautifully.
Maple.
The giant bush. Its leaves are tiny now but come summer and fall and this thing becomes a beast. I happen to really like this bush. Just wish the peony wasn’t stuck inside it.
I believe these are morning glories. Not sure what the little periwinkle colored flowers are called but they are so pretty.
And last, a lavender my sister gave me for Mother’s Day. It’s inside the house now but I might transfer it outside. Can you see the spider web between the two flowers? We just had a spider egg sac open in the backyard and watched the babies fly off (like in Charlotte’s Web). Some sneaked inside the house and made the plants their home. I think they’re safe so I’m not worried. You’d think I’d be more scared of spiders since I was bitten pretty badly by a Brown Recluse years ago. There are other bugs I’m more scared off, but we won’t go there.
Olympus PEN E-PL8 Mirrorless Camera
May 22, 2020
I purchased this camera on Amazon for $280. The original price was $600. The sale is still going on so if you have extra cash hanging around and want a small camera that can do big things, grab it before it’s gone.
I’m not being paid for talking about this camera. I’m just excited. It’s small and stylish. It’s an older camera but it’s still works wonderfully. The newest one is a PL10 and closer to $700.
I’ve been eying mirrorless cameras for some time now but never really needed another camera. I did some heavy research on other mirrorless and because of the price, I went with the Olympus.
Pros: It’s lightweight and takes pretty decent pictures. It’s not meant for pro photography but more so for stuff like blogging and YouTube vlogs. It’s also a good camera to take on trips because it’s light and small so it’s easy to carry around.
Cons: Not a big fan of the WiFi. It doesn’t work properly so I’m finding myself having to use the USB cord to upload to my computer. One reason why I went with this camera was because I wanted the WiFi but I guess I’ll have to try another camera with better connection. I searched everywhere for answers to the issue but there doesn’t seem to be any.
I’ll be sharing photos from this camera soon.
Winter Snow
February 7, 2019
Yesterday, we were hit with a sort of blizzard. But, like most winters here, they never last. School was delayed for the kids this morning due to the icy roads. Just before noon, most the snow and ice had melted.
Teddy gets excited when she sees snow. She only comes inside after she’s had her fun. Oh, and also because she knows there’s a treat waiting for her.
A Quick Hike at Castlewood Canyon State Park
October 17, 2018
Last Friday, husband’s planned hike to a 14-er didn’t work out, so instead, he and I went to Castlewood Canyon to do a simple hike, something I could handle. It was beautiful with the changing colors of the leaves. Where I’m looking toward in the photo was once a damn built in 1890. The dam broke in 1933 causing a disastrous flood. Now it’s land for homes and pasture for cows. Last time we visited we saw the broken dam, but this time we took a different route, a more scenic route, to appreciate the beauty and peacefulness of the land.
Graduation
May 7, 2018
Over the weekend I graduated with my Master’s degree. I never thought I’d ever get here so I’m pretty thrilled. I started my program in the fall of 2009 and then took a hiatus in the summer of 2010. I had wanted to return but family life was more of a priority at the time. Last summer, the university called me to tell me that if I wasn’t planning on continuing my degree, they would purge my file and I would have to reapply if I wanted to continue later. This would mean I would need to retake some classes. I had put so much time and effort into getting into the university that I didn’t know if I could do that again so I told them I’d continue now. The other thing was that I had wanted to continue a few years back but when I had looked at my program, I thought it had been discontinued. I told them my concern and they said it wasn’t discontinued. It was just under a different name.
At graduation, I learned that I was graduating with honors. I was surprised. I thought I had a B in one of my earlier classes in 2009, but it turns out, I didn’t. I had one A- but the rest were A’s. I know, this is such a small thing but it feels great for me because it was my goal to ace all my classes. In my undergraduate degree, I had so much going on that as hard as I tried to bring my grades up, it just wasn’t possible. So, I am very proud of myself that given the time and opportunity, I’m able to do exactly what I set out to accomplish.
Below, I tried to mimic a photo taken in May 2009 when my husband graduated with his Doctorate. The little girl (who’s not so little anymore, but still is) is my youngest.
Our Trip to Florida
February 12, 2018
Happy New Year! Time is flying by. I can’t believe it’s already the middle of February. Husband and I have been watching the Olympics and I couldn’t believe that four years ago was the winter Olympics in Sochi. It felt like it was just yesterday when that happened.
My oldest daughter competed at a national competiton in Florida last week. We went as a family to cheer the team. This was her first time with her school team so she was nervous. She flew in with her team and stayed with the team at a hotel near Disney World. Husband, our 10-year-old, and I stayed at a different hotel. After competition was over, oldest daughter went with her team to the theme parks in Disney World. The three of us went to Sea World since we’ve already gone to Disney World a few years back and wanted to try something different.
First two photos were taken by pros.
They placed 11th nationally out of 15 teams that made finals. There were over 14K high schools nationwide that participated. I saw a team from Korea, but didn’t know what that was all about. I’m guessing there was an international competition going on at the same time.
A couple of views of the main stage. It was a live event on the ESPN channel. The group performing in the photo below isn’t my daughter’s school but is a school just a few miles from where we live. That was the angle of the stage from where we sat when we watched the competition. When our daughter’s team performed, we got to go up front by the pro-photographers. I only recorded because we were purchasing the pro photos already.
The competition took place at the ESPN Center in Disney World. I was amazed at how big this area was. In the photo below, the shadow in the bottom left is my 10-year-old’s. She took our photo. 🙂
Hiking
July 5, 2017
This was my first hike this year. This was a really easy hike. The landscape was mainly flat so I did’t get much workout in, which is fine for now since it’s been awhile. The views were beautiful and very green.
We laid down a couple of rocks for Kat, the girl who passed away in May from suicide, who was the dance friend of my daughter. We also scattered some wild flowers that was given at her memorial at the top of the hill we climbed to. Maybe we’ll visit this place again in a couple of years and see if the flowers survived.
Happy Fourth
July 4, 2017
From My Corner of the Universe 