I <3 this! (Via Revlie Schuit's Life is Good Blog)
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
5/31/11
My Swell Life in iPhone Photos
Curled my hair for a wedding. Rockin' the same Revlon curlers since 1992 baby!
I made this doodle starburst frame from a plain mat. Thought Pixie fit it well.
Splurged on myself and got my toenails did.
Someone brought in cherries for lunch! YAY! It's cherry season in the Central Valley!
My friend Scott plays coy at our Wild and Wacky Pizza Night (Wednesday night). It's kinda me, him, and Pattie's thang! We love BC's Pizza in Clovis. And we love Nicole our waitress who always makes us laugh. She's probably one of the funniest people I know!
Came home to find this castle bounce house in the apartment yard. Kids really do have it made these days!
And I'm kinda crushin' on these foil tumblers from Target. They are a part of their summer Calypso line. LOVE!
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
5/30/11
5/24/11
5/23/11
Swell Inspiration of the Day
My week of portraits
If you recall, for the past week, I have been renting a 24-70mm lens from lensrental.com for my Nikon! Just wanted to share a few of the fun photo shoots I did. I photographed my friends Tar'Lese and Erika (and her dog Sebastian), my boyfriend William and my Pixie cat!
I think I'm going to rent some more lenses from this place. I enjoyed the quality of this lens, I just want to do all my research before I make a big purchase!
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
5/20/11
Swell inspiration of the Day
Today I photographed my friend Tar'Lese on this graffiti wall in downtown Fresno. I love the color combos!
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
5/19/11
5 ways to be a better creative observer
Everyday is something new, but it seems like a lot of times we fall into ruts and the days just creep by and we get incredibly drained. All we want to do is veg on the couch! I totally understand and can relate to this; however, sometimes I think part of the reason we feel this is way is because we don't become active observers! Too many times we become passive and don't take time out to really smell the roses (cliché I know!!)
It's actually really fun to stop and observe your surroundings, even if it's little moments at a time. Here's a few cool ways for you to creatively observe everyday and live in the moment. I hope they inspire you!!
5 ways to be a better creative observer
1. Observe light Most of us get up, go to work, stay inside and arrive home just at dark. We don't take a few minutes to observe or even think about the light outside (or the effects of lighting inside). Take a few minutes each day to notice light and the interesting characteristics of it. Notice how natural light creates strong shadows or how it gives skin a glow. Observe how it looks when viewed transparently or as a halo around someone. Even inside, notice how you feel in different kinds of light and how it affects your mood. Be present in the moment and take in light.
2. Observe color Remember the game from childhood called "Riddle Marie"? Well, play this game at an adult level and notice how many things of one color you can spot while sitting in one spot. Your eyes will open to new things in your environment that perhaps you didn't notice before. If you have a digital camera or camera phone, take a walk and capture an object in the same color or make it a point to photograph something in every color of the rainbow. Print out your images and make a fun mosaic or mood board or create a blog post or Facebook photo album dedicated to your color studies. Here's a orange study post I created where I found objects all over my house that were orange and I did a fun color study.
3. Observe textures Scope out and feel various textures in your space. Really analyze and touch them. Take pictures or doodle in a journal how they look as well as use descriptive words to relate to them. Little moments walking barefoot in the grass or touching the texture of a brick wall may spark a memory or emotion that you can incorporate into your art or strike an emotional chord.
4. Observe sounds Be in the moment and close your eyes. What sounds do you hear that are totally unique to your enviroment. Many sounds are incredibly rich and like no other. I recently was in an airport and as I walked from the Starbucks to the terminal, I listened carefully as the music trailed off and the sounds of voices merged. It was quite fascinating to hear little snippets of conversations, different tones of voices, and random noises whiz past.
5. Observe relationships And by relationships, I don't necessarily mean human relationships, but you can go that route if you want! It's interesting to notice contrasts and similarities in life. What signage do you see that is a total contradiction of itself? Do you ever notice a tiny car sandwiched between two giant trucks? What little sequences or patterns do you observe that are unique? Try to find letters or faces in everyday objects or strange juxtapositions that make you chuckle. Remember to take photos of your find and share them with your friends or save them to use in your art!
Hope you found this list helpful! What do you do to make daily observations?
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
5/17/11
Photos using my rental Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 lens
I had been waiting for SEVERAL days via UPS to get my lens I rented for a week from www.lensrental.com (yes, you can rent camera lenses and other photography equipment online!!). No problem of the company, just some UPS hassle. Anyhoo, I haven't had the chance to take photos of people (my main goal with this lens), but I've taken photos of a lot of other things! I plan to do 2-3 human photo shoots with it. It's kinda an expensive lens (retails anywhere from $1500 to $2000) so I want to make sure I like it before I actually save up and invest in one. We'll see what happens!!
This lens is a great overall midrange lens, great for portraits or scenery. It takes very crisp, sharp photos and has a really great focus on the little details. I'm going to have fun this week playing around with it! Here's a review by Ken Rockwell if you want to learn more!
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
5/16/11
Happy 30th William!!!
This weekend my boyfriend William turned 30! We celebrated in a lot of different ways! I took him out to one of his favorite eateries (Golden Corral, classin' it up, I know!) and on Sunday his sister planned (and I helped) throw him a birthday party at the Velvet Grill & Creamery in Modesto!!
I thought on a couple instances that he knew what was up, but honestly he was totally oblivious! It was awesome! I bought some mustaches and made buttons for everyone to wear and his sister hired a balloon guy (Steven's Balloon Art of Modesto). We had a blast. I think it turned out to be a pretty funny and memorable 30th!!!
Here's Sofie and her mustache. Cute, huh?
Here's the gang with Steven the balloon guy and all their creations!
Betty and Billy got a cool bike. They put the penguin on top!
Steven brought this balloon creation with him. His name is Randy!
Nice teef, Randy!
William's cousin Jay got this cool breathing dragon!
He got lots of cool gifts including a couple of really cool tools for him to tinker with!
What do you think? The more that we date, the more we look alike!!
Until next time Swellions!
Alexa
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