Dapple Design Shop will be CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS from December 10, 2016 to January 4, 2017.

Saturday 20 September 2014

Another Busy, Sunny Day

The sun is streaming in through the windows.  Hubby is industriously chopping tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, doing his bit to keep the mound of tomatoes on the counter in check.  This is the mound.  I can't help showing it off a bit:  45 pounds of backyard garden goodness with more to come.



I've been taking advantage of the bright afternoon to take a bite out of my own mound -- all the handmade Christmas goodies that I've been making for the Dapple Design Shop.  Here's your very first sneak peak.


Yes, my Cloth Gift Bags are back for another season.  They're reusable, easy on the planet, and oh-so-pretty.  I'll be listing these very soon, so keep your eyes open.

Today I'm linking up with Angela at Pretty Little Inspirations.  Please drop by and visit a few of the online shops joining her link party.


Friday 19 September 2014

Between

Two weeks ago I spent the morning here.  I was comfortable in shorts, sporting a sun hat and sand between my toes.


The heady days of summer are not quite over, but they're losing interest in us, looking away more often.  Then back.  Then away.


Today I don a sweater in the morning but shed it two hours later.  I watch the garden, exhausted from it's season in the sun, droop and begin to yellow, even as the harvest rolls in.  We're caught between, lingering in one season and looking toward another.

Friday 12 September 2014

A Personal Photo Challenge: Movement

This month's Photo Challenge is all about controlling shutter speed to capture a sense of movement in a photo.  This is all very new and very intriguing to me, so after pouring over Donna's suggested reading I found my camera's Shutter Priority setting and took my favorite moving target to the beach. 



Experiment #1:  Freeze Motion.  
She's just learned to jump and was more than willing to practice in front of the camera.  Here she is in mid-air.  It was a bright day and the picture is overexposed, but the alternative would have been to adjust the exposure compensation and lose that lovely smile to the shadows.  I've been contending with that little conundrum all summer and seeing faces always seems to win.  

Shutter: 1/640  Aperture: 4.5  ISO: 100


Experiment #2:  Blurred Motion.  
It takes 20 minutes walking along a forest trail to access this particular beach.  It's a beautiful walk and a lovely beach -- well worth the effort -- but a certain amount of prioritizing is necessary.  On this day, towels, snacks, bucket and shovel won out over the tripod.  I took this picture by steadying the camera atop a backpack frame.  The objective here was to use a slower shutter speed to blur the waves a little to create a softer image.  I included a bit of bare sand in the foreground for contrast.  When I compare this shot to others taken at the same time at faster shutter speeds, I'm not sure it made much of a difference.  I'm sure a tripod would have helped.  It was also a very still day.  Maybe the effect would work better with more wave action.

Shutter: 1/60  Aperture: 16  ISO: 100



Experiment #3:  Panning.  
Minimal success here too.  I think lack of practice is the main issue and I know what to do about that.  Looking at this picture, I also wonder if the background is too simple -- too horizontal -- to blur properly.  Thoughts, anyone?  At very least, I had a good time directing Little Miss's energies.  Though this picture doesn't look how I hoped it would (with a blurred background streaking past a crisp little girl) it certainly gives a sense of motion.  She's running like the wind.

Shutter: 1/80  Aperture: 16  ISO: 100


finally, A Word of Explanation
This is my first post in quite a while.  I stepped back in an effort to do one thing well rather than many things half way.  It's working too.  My Etsy shop is thriving.  But I miss a few things about this blog, so I'm back in a sort-of-kind-of way.  I'll post when I feel like it and you might see a little more about my shop.  At very least, I'll do this Photo Challenge because I enjoy it so much.

Joining, for the first time in a while, Donna's Personal Photo Challenge.  


Thursday 11 September 2014

New for Fall


I love fall -- the tempering of summer's heat, the lingering sun, the turning inward -- but I have to admit that fall colours are not my favorites.  Too much orange and brown for my liking.  That's why I've let my inspiration for this latest line of table linens come from the golden yellow light that streams in my windows this time of year.

Introducing the Yellow Lattice Table Runner and Place Mats.  Both are now available at the Dapple Design Shop.