(Re)Fresh December 2008
Hello! Life is, at times, the art of practicing of patience. Ironically in this fast-paced world it is patience that still goes along way… from taking great photographs, growing a beautiful garden to reaching your goals. As the saying goes, “Patience is a virtue and virtue is a grace….” My grandfather always use to finish the saying off with, “… and Grace is a little girl that never washed her face.” All jokes aside, patience is a gift, one that I aspire to have more of, and this month’s (Re)Fresh points out how practicing patience could help you achieve some great results.
Photographer Natasha Whiteley explores the art taking great family photographs. It comes down to being patient and allowing your family to do what they do best this Christmas ...and then capturing these precious ‘mucking-about-moments’ on camera. Read about it in Inspiring Festive Photography on page 4. Andrew Mason, entrant of the Digital Photographer of the Year (2008), shares simple photography tips in
Capturing the Great Escape (page 8), helping you capture the landscapes or the cityscapes from your holiday like a pro. Cémanthe Harries, Life Change Specialist, shares the next three Keys to Success (page 12), a continuation from the October edition of (Re)Fresh... just in time to help you plan your New Year resolutions. Gardening requires patience and as Candice Newton discovered, if you don’t have green fingers you could always learn from others. Read her great green tips in How Green does your Garden Grow ? (page 14)
Next month is all about ‘in with the new and out with the old’. It is a new year and a new you. If you would like to contribute your fresh ideas and articles please email refreshednow@gmail.com Until the next edition, I wish you all a peaceful festive season full of love, cheer and memories in the making… and of course, the patience to let each moment unfold just as it should.
Cheers,
Monique Monique Boucher (Re)Fresh Editor and Founder Email:refreshednow@gmail.com Blog: http://refreshtoday.blogspot.com/ Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow. -- Mahatma Gandhi
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CONTENTS Inspiring Festive Photography by Natasha Whiteley
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Capturing the Great Escape by Monique Boucher Photography by Andrew Mason
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Keys to Success by CĂŠmanthe Harries
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How Green does your Garden Grow? by Candice Newton
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Inspiring Festive Photography By Natasha Whiteley , Contemporary photographer It is almost Christmas time, a time of
like the eyelashes, the nose and the lips.
PEACE, JOY, LAUGHTER and FUN and
Details are part of the story, so make an effort to in-
capturing beautiful family memories. But every time you whip out your
clude them.
Stop stressing that the kids do not look directly at
camera your family run away!
the camera. Rather capture them doing what they
Stop torturing them and follow these few simple tips
do, playing ball outside, riding their bike, shooting
to make capturing the festive memories fun and even hoops and jumping in mud puddles. Capture the very create wonderful memories while you are doing it.
moments that make them kids. Try and shoot from different angles whether you lie
Get up close and personal to your subject matter and allow for the personality of your loved one to shine through. Don’t be afraid of chopping off some of the head, it won’t hurt, I promise. Zooming in not only eliminates distracting backgrounds but allows you to capture some lovely facial expressions and details
“Try and shoot from different angles whether you lie on the ground and look up or stand on a chair and look down. There are endless options and the beauty of digital photography is you only print the ones you love …” on the ground and look up or stand on a chair and look down. There are endless options and the beauty of digital photography is you only print the ones you love and delete the ones that didn’t work out.
Be careful of capturing glowing red eyes, especially when shooting indoors. If possible turn off your flash or soften it by placing a piece of tissue in front of it
Above: It wasn’t really raining here. The “rain” is coming from a hosepipe dangling in the tree above her.
attached with a rubber band. You will notice the difference.
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Above: Shooting from different perspectives—this photograph was shot laying on the ground and pointing the camera up.
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Above: You don’t always need to capture the face to get an interesting portrait. It’s the little details that make a story.
Details are so important, in life , especially over the Christmas season. Capture the star at the top of the Christmas tree, the table setting for lunch, the food, the drinks, the kids’ hands as they rip open their gifts, the mess they make with the wrapping paper and the moment a kiss is planted on a cheek. These are the details that make for great pictures and great memories.
“Think about the little things that makes your Christmas special, what makes YOU smile and warms your heart. “
Above: A bucket full of bubbles –enough said!
Right: Photograph children at their level. Sit or lie on the floor to take your shot.
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Think about the little things that makes your Christmas special, what makes YOU smile and warms your heart. Write them down and then refer to this list to ensure that you capture all of these moments this festive season.
Be a kid again; use your imagination, keep things FUN and that joy will show in your photographs, especially when it is just captured naturally. Happy snapping!
Natasha Whiteley specialises in children's photography in the North West and Gauteng area, South Africa. To see more of her work, visit www.natashawhiteley.co.za
Right: Eliminate busy backgrounds by getting nice and close
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Capturing the Great Escape
Photography by Andrew Mason Article by Monique Boucher
“When it comes to photography we know not to put a finger over the lens,” says Andrew Mason, London-based photographer, “but there are more simple tips that will make your holiday photographs, from natural beaches and country fields, to bustling city streets, worth a thousand words.”
The Rule of Thirds “This rule can be summed up as: don't put your subject dead centre in the picture,” says Mason. Apply this rule by imagining the camera screen/viewfinder divided into a three by three grid (some cameras even have a grid display function). “Line up horizontal objects, like the skyline, with one of the horizontal grid lines and vertical objects, like the Rule of thirds: Notice how the London Eye and the city skyline each occupy either a vertical or horizontal third of the image
tree, with one of the vertical gridlines, and draw attention to something of interest by lining it up with one of the four points where the gridlines cross.”
Gridlines are approximated, in other words it is a rule you could be bent. Mason says that if your skyline ends up just above or below a horizontal gridline and you need to fit everything you want into the picture, it’s okay if the skyline running directly through the middle of the picture. “When you look at a picture your brain will process it using the grid, right to left, top to bottom. So the first thing you see in the picture will be whatever is in the top right box and the last thing will be whatever is in the bottom left box.”
Leading the Eye This technique draws your attention to the subject of the picture. Typically the leading object, an unimportant object, starts in one of the four corners of the frame and creates a diagonal path leading the eye to the subject. “Leading objects could be a road disappearing into the distance or a beach curving away, both from the bottom of the picture or the slope of a mountain or a roof from the top of the picture,“ says Mason. “Double the impact by combining this technique with the rule of thirds,
Leading the eye: Although it is in the distant background note how the bridge leads the eye to the dome of St. Paul’s.
positioning your subject where two gridlines intersect.”
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Depth of Field No matter what type of camera you have, an this is an effect you can use to make your pictures more interesting. This technique has to do with what is in focus and what is out of focus in the photograph. “Compact cameras have a shallow depth of field, this is why sometimes the background of an image is out of focus even though it looked in focus through the viewfinder (your eye has a much deeper depth of field.)
“The further away the background is the more blurred it will be and therefore the sharper the focus on your subject, making it stand out.” Mason says you can use this technique by positioning your camera close to your subject, pointing it directly at it and then pressing the shutter button down halfway as you would do to activate the auto focus. “Once the camera has focused, move it so that the subject is off centre and you
Depth of field: By blurring the background the flowers now stand out where they would otherwise have been lost against the foliage behind them.
have more of the background in the picture and take the photograph. The further away the background is the more blurred it will be and therefore the sharper the focus on your subject, making it stand out.” For a different effect, Mason recommends blurring the foreground and creating a sharp focus on something in the distance.
“One could break one of the basic rules and take a photo directly into the light to cast a shadowy silhouette or an interesting halo of light surrounding a person or object...” Simple photography rules can help you capture a moment but these rules can also be bent. “One could break one of the basic rules and take a photo directly into the light to cast a shadowy silhouette or an interesting halo of light surrounding a person or object. This could add an interesting dimension to what would otherwise be another sunrise or sunset photograph.” says Mason.
Photography by Andrew Mason, entrant of Digital Photographer of the Year, 2008. To view Mason’s photography, visit http://www.staticlight.com/
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Keys to Success
Cémanthe Harries, Life Change Specialist of Puzzle Piece – Inspiring Change, helps us re-evaluate the life we really want to be living by sharing the next three of the 10 keys to success, a continuation from the October edition of (Re)Fresh. 4. Take Action Now that you know what success means to you and have goals to achieve in order to be successful by your own standards, the next important step is to take action. Nothing is achieved or gained by sitting around. Many people spend their lives wishing something would happen or that things would go their way… what they don’t realise is that when you want to achieve a goal, you have to take action. It could be a small step every day or a weekly task. Once you have modelled a master ( as in Key 2), you realise they decided on their goals, made the plans and taken the steps to achieve them.
5. Healthy Body / Healthy Mind This is an important point to consider. If you are tired, stressed and overwhelmed the chances are that you won’t get much done. Looking after your body is an important part of being able to make the most of the time given to you. Research what nutrients and vitamins you need each day, drink plenty of water, eat fruit and vegetables and get at least 8 hours of sleep each night on a regular basis. Your brain is linked to your body and how it functions is a direct result of how you treat yourself physically.
6. Quality Time for Yourself This is also related to looking after your body in order to have a healthy mind. It’s necessary to take some time for yourself, especially in today’s world of rushing around and stress. This time should be a minimum of 30 minutes everyday. Use this time to do something you enjoy, like reading, knitting, painting etc, that can be done without needing anyone else to be involved. This gives you some space between your list of daily activities and creates a time to renew and revitalise your mind and body in a rushed world.
For the next four Keys to Success, read the January edition of (Re)Fresh.
Cémanthe Harries, Life Change Specialist, is the founder and MD of Inspiring
Change based in the UK. Inspiring Change on the personal development of individuals and the improvement of corporate culture. The mission of Inspiring Change is to work with you to achieve the life you want. Their unique model, The Change Process, takes you through easy steps to achieving your goals. Contact Cémanthe Harries for a free consultation at cemanthe@InspiringLifeChange.com
Artwork : Light through Leaves’ (Oil Pastel) by Monique Boucher. 2008
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How Green does your garden Grow? By Candice Newton Do you manage to kill any pot plant you come in contact with… even though you have only good intentions? If you want a lush green garden but instead have Yellowing plants and shriveled fruit, these tips are for you… I should be one of the first to stand up and shout “Amen at that!”. My gardening skills are very limited. I use to over-water and fuss over my plants…that’s until they died. My fiancé on the other hand seems to have been born with a green thumb. Everything he plants GROWS! None-the-less, I don’t give up, I am a keen student and have learnt the following from him: Watering - Never over water, even if your plant is looks wilted, only water it with the regular amount of water required. If you over water, you end up drowning your plant. If the instruction is to water your plant three times a week, then do that but use your discretion when it comes to summer and winter. General rule – summer = more and winter = less.
“When replanting try not to damage any roots and do not compact the soil, suffocating the roots of your plant.” Replant — When replanting your plant in a larger pot when it has outgrown its pot, try not to damage the roots. Do not compact the soil as this will suffocate the roots of your plant.
Photography by Monique Boucher. 2008
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Pruning Patience — Pruning your plants, by removing unwanted branches and dying leaves, helps your plant by ensuring attention is paid to the areas that need the water and nutrients the most. You can also “train” your plant to grow in a direction or shape by pruning it the way you want it to grow. Sometimes it is best not “fiddle” too much with the plant if it’s struggling, it may look dead but it could surprise you. Plants I once thought we dead suddenly sprang to life after a month of care. Acknowledge Uniqueness — Watch your pot plants and take note of where do they prefer to be. Do they do better in the sun than in the shade? Or do they prefer a bit of both? Even if the label on the plant says “full sun”, take time to hear what your plant is saying. Each plant is unique, treat them according to their preferences. For example, Fynbos plants prefer sandy, acidic soil, so make sure you buy fynbos potting soil otherwise your plant might not make it. Feed — Feed your plants approximately once every three to six months. NutriSoil is a great liquid plant feed you could try. Your dilute with water and lasts for quite a few feeds. Cactus Care — If you own a Cactus you can share it with a friend by popping off a piece and planting it. Most Cacti (fat succulents) will grow this way. Another succulent that this principle applies to is Sour Fig. We broke off a piece and planted it. Although it looked dead for a while, after just three weeks it’s doing very well and has lots of new leaves. The most important thing is to be patient and “be like a parent”. Plants are like children so if you water, feed, and give your plants some love and attention, they will most likely be healthy and happy!
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