Instax Mini 8 Fuji Film images :)

Hi All :)

I Hope your week is going well :)

Remember back when I was raving about this little Pink Camera

(If you don't remember, you can read about it on my blog HERE :)

Well, I did actually buy it at Xmas time but didn't get around to taking any photos with it until March. 

The first image I took was from the plane leaving San Diego but with the flash going off automatically and thru 2 panes of glass this is what I got.

So not bad but I wish I had taken photos with my DSLR camera 'cuz that Sunset was absolutely amazing; I don't know whether you have ever tried to get anything out of a closed bag on the floor under the seat in front of you on an airplane on take off with your seatbelt on and the G. forces at work but it is pretty close to impossible but I tried anyway, I just couldn't pull it free :(

The woman next to me must have thought she was sitting next to crazy, oh well, lol :)

So, here is the first batch of photos I scanned :)

*Note to self - make sure you dust the scanner before you scan photos, oops!!! lol :)

These pesky glossy photos were hard to keep from moving around on the glass surface of the scanner, so rotating and cropping was necessary.

You can see from the images that my first attempts were not too brilliant. The camera is very simple with 4 settings and an automatic flash (but I think it has a mind of its own where the settings are concerned, lol :)

Here are a few of my garden I wanted to share with you :)

I liked the composition on this shot, it was an overcast day, so it needed a little tweak on contrast and brightness to create the image below :) 

This image was me trying to get a close up, lol :) (there is no zoom lens on this camera and I am so used to one on my DSLR) I have no clue what that green splodgy thing is on the image but it makes the photo look worn and old. I cropped the image to the focal point but the resolution was not great :(

I found, that day, most of the images I took were out of focus but I like this image anyway :)

Again I like the composition of this photo but it also need tweaking a little to create the image below :)

This image made me laugh because it is so washed out it looks totally vintage, so in a way I love it (if you can't tell it is at the beach, lol :)

Then I took this one; after I had gotten rid of all the dust spots from the scanner, I played around with cropping and some colour tweaks and came up with these 3 images below; I love the vintage feel and the washed out look of them all :)

As you can see using a different camera and a different film format, than what you are used to, takes time, I am still learning and developing (Ha! Ha! Photo joke :) my skills using this lovely little pink camera, I'm up for the challenge 'cuz it is fun :)

Sometimes not getting that perfect shot you expect makes you more determined to understand the process more :)

I also mentioned (in the previous blog post) that I had found a film to use with my Son's old Polaroid camera but we were messing around with it at Xmas and taking photos inside in dim light and they didn't turn out so great, so I will be buying a new film again soon and we will see if in day light the camera will perform a little better :)

Hope you enjoyed my little experimenting :)

As always, let me know what you think :)

Have a wonderful Weekend :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

The Story About The Little Santa Xmas Ornament :)

Hi All :)

I hope you had a Wonderful Weekend :)

So, back in April when I was sharing with you, My Year in Photos 2013  I mentioned there was a little story behind this cute Dakin Santa Xmas Ornament :)

Well, here is that story :)

Dakin Pompom Santa Xmas Ornament :)

This all happened way back one December in the late 1970's. 

I had impulsively answered an ad. for a position as a Nanny in the back of "The Lady" magazine (basically the British bible for  "Domestic" job postings)

I was interviewed, in England, by an old friend of the family I had applied to work for and obviously, I must have done something right as I was offered the position, only problem was that the job was in Vancouver, Canada and also, one other little point, I had NEVER met the family, oops! Anyway, so I had to start the long process of applying for a work visa and also renewing my passport, .......but I digress. :)

So, there I was a few weeks into this wonderful job and days away from my first Christmas EVER away from home, in a strange land, oh and I forgot to mention I was working for a lovely Jewish family, so we wouldn't be celebrating Christmas. :(

The family were really sweet, 3 little girls, 2, 4 & 5 years old, for me to care for. The Mom could tell I was homesick and had arranged for me to spend Christmas with some of her Christian friends :)

She had had a couple of English Nannies before me so she already had a tiny Xmas tree and little decorations for me to put up in my room :)

One evening, when I had finished working and was upstairs in my room, there was a knock on the door, it seemed weird because the kids would have just walked in. So, I was a little worried maybe I had done something wrong, this was my first gig as a Nanny, but no, all was good :)

I was sitting on the edge of my bed reading and the Mom popped her head around the door and with a big grin on her face she said, "There is someone here to see you". I was confused, the only other people I knew had gone to Disneyland for Christmas, so who could it be???

Then, one by one, the 3 little girls came into my room, each with a big grin on their cute little faces. And one by one they handed me a little hand wrapped gift. :)

As they stood expectantly watching me slowly unwrapping their gifts, the excitement was barely contained by all. I unwrapped 3 adorable little Dakin Pompom Xmas Ornaments. An Angel, A Snowman and The Santa. I was nearly in tears; this was such a thoughtful and beautifully planned Gift of Love. :)

 I still remember that night, it is a vividly cherished memory and every time I hang these lovely little ornaments on our Family Christmas tree each year, I get to remember this wonderful Kindness :) 

I always hang them close together on the tree too! :)

So, I hope you enjoyed the story behind my little Dakin Xmas Ornaments :)

Have a Lovely Week :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Giveaway Winners :)

Hi All :)

I Hope your June is off to a wonderful start :)

I Truly appreciate everyone who participated in my 5th Blogiversary celebration :)

I LOVED the comments and all the positive feedback, it makes a girl feel good about how she approaches her blogging :)

So, without further ado, here are the winners :)

Marsha won the "Ocean Waves"  iphone 4 cell phone cover :)

Then my Dear Blogger Buddy Anna from Almost Precious and 
A Beader's Blog

has won the package of lovely flower cards :)

A BIG "CONGRATS" to the Winners :)

And a BIG "THANK YOU" to all my blogger Buddies for stopping by and making my Blogging experience a fun part of my life :)

Have a wonderful Monday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.