The Notebook: March Edition

This year I am super excited for Spring – it has been a rather easy one since most days are pretty and hovering around 70 degrees. And not much wind either. I can’t stop shooting all the flowers popping up either. And of course we spent most of our days outdoors.  I’m joining in with Leigh Kramer for a recap of the month – my notebook!

Learning

I am trying to soak up everything I can about business since I am pushing myself to move towards a photography business – #scary. It may be my form of procrastination but I have doubts if I am ready and more what ifs than I can count.

Composition!  I’ve really focused this month on going beyond the basic compositional rules, like the Rule of Thirds, and am really trying to push better composition in my photography.  I am reading Michael Freeman’s The Photographer’s Eye and found this great Youtube series on composition that totally breaks it down simply.  Freeman’s book is a little dry but thorough with plenty of visual examples.

I bought another breakout session over at Clickin’ Moms entitled Art and Authenticity.  I am really interested in lifestyle photography so this suited me because it focused on how to create art through photography while keeping moments authentic, not posed. I came away with a lot of thoughts from this one and some technical tips like positioning yourself for an interesting composition or light then allowing your subject to naturally enter the frame.  Anticipation is key to lifestyle photography, which is one of the key points I came away with.

Making 

I designed my first – mini-album!  I’ve also been teaching myself InDesign for album design and went ahead and created this little mini-album as a sample set for a portfolio building session I did with my sister and her son.  

We made our first radiator cover!  We just moved in to a 100-year-old house with radiators that still work.  We don’t use them since it also has central heat and air, but we don’t want to get rid of them either. It may seem small but I really wanted something to drop our keys, mail etc on when we walked in the back door and there really isn’t a good place except right where the radiator is.

Sour Dough Bread – specifically this cinnamon bread because none of us can get enough of it.

Doing

Playing outside, as much as we can! And learning to ride a bike.

Found on the Web

LikeThat Garden Identification App – We’ve used this flower identification app many times so far and only once we couldn’t find the flower we were looking for.  In our yard – because our backyard has a lot of flowering weeds – we identified redbud (actually this is a native tree), henbit, deadnettle, and wild pansies.  

Spring Coloring pages  from What Do We Do All Day

10 Motherhood Truths from Writing Wishing – I found numbers 1, 3 and 8 to be spot on.

The Tyranny of Work/Life Balance – over at Brain Pickings they look at a book by David Whyte on the marriage of work, self and relationships and the balance we always seem to be trying to achieve.

These adorable Spring Coloring Pages free to download from What Do We Do All Day!  And bonus activities too.

Yes, I am a minivan-phobe.  And she hilariously spells out why at the Handmade Home with Death by Minivan.  Though she makes a great case for buying one.

And I am in love with these scenic paintings found over at Creative Boom.

Books

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley – I was really looking forward to this book because I kept seeing it pop up as a good read and the second book, Haunted Bookshop was even better. Yet, I didn’t love it.  I enjoyed reading it but not enough to even crack open the second book.  Maybe at a later date I’ll be motivated to pick it up, but right now I’m not even adding it to my To Be Read pile.  

  The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman – I mentioned a minute ago that I was reading this and it is a little dry but there is so much information.  I would recommend to anyone look for compositional tips, ideas and lessons.  

Favorite Photos of March

Have a happy Easter!