Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for photography

Cameras, White Noise, Packing

January 18, 2017 at 10:05 am by Claudia

I took this shot as I stood at a corner in Hartford, waiting for the light to change. Timing is everything, isn’t it? It was a perfect time of the day to catch the reflections of the buildings across the street in this glass of this more modern building.

My day off was restful. I ran a few errands, hung around the apartment, and rested up for the week ahead. One purchase was a white noise machine by Marpac called the Dohme. A couple of years back, I looked into them, thinking one might be nice for Don when he was on the road. I never did anything about it, mostly because he thought he didn’t need one. But, since my neighbor makes some noise occasionally and I tend to be a light sleeper anyway, I researched ‘white noise machines’ and rediscovered this brand, which, happily, is carried at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

 

Courtesy of bedbathandbeyond(dot)com

I love it. I slept so well last night! I know, of course, that there are many factors that can contribute to a sleepless night. However, this little – and it’s fairly compact – machine will surely help when I’m on the road. It’s a good investment.

What else is new? I’m contemplating packing all of this up in about 3 days and heading back home, trying to use up all the perishable food in the refrigerator, and looking at cameras online.

Don has found a new passion for photography. It’s all been done on his iPhone so far. He has a fantastic eye and he really gets some beautiful and, at times, provocative pictures. (I think he would have been a great photojournalist.) When I was home last, he casually asked me about DSLRs and whether I ever thought about upgrading. To which I responded, “Why? Do you want to inherit mine?” He loves taking photos on the iPhone but wants to explore a DSLR, because though photo quality on phones is pretty good these days, it’s not the same as the quality on a DSLR.

I had no plans to upgrade and I might not. We’re thinking about our options and I have a feeling we’ll be taking a little trip to NYC and B&H Photo to do some research.

But it got me thinking, that’s for sure. Which led me to play around with shooting in ‘Raw’ which is a setting used by a lot of photographers, like my friend Dawn and my friend Elizabeth. Raw is a format that captures all the image data when taking a picture. None of it is compressed, as routinely happens in a JPEG format. It requires more editing, but produces higher quality images.

I have that setting on my camera, so I played around a bit with it on Monday.

I have limited opportunities to experiment in this apartment, so this is what I came up with. I have much, much to learn! Fortunately, Don’s interest has sparked some renewed interest on my part, which is a good thing. I need to expand my everyday knowledge and skill set.

The show is going very well and we’re getting near the point where Darko freezes it and doesn’t do any more tweaking. We’ll probably be there by tomorrow. It’s a truly funny and joyful production.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: camera, On The Road, photography 30 Comments

Waiting

January 23, 2016 at 8:16 am by Claudia

I have had two restless nights of sleep in a row. I’ve slept, it’s not a case of sleeplessness, but my goodness, the dreams, and the waking up and the going back to sleep and the waking up…

Yesterday, my last dream before I woke up was one in which Scout had run away and I didn’t know until I came home and lots of people were there but no one was looking for her. I couldn’t believe it. Then someone told me the Girl Scouts were out looking for her, and I screamed at them that I was the only one who would know where to look. Unsettling, to say the least.

This morning, more dreams that, after two cups of coffee, I can’t remember. But it seems like the last two, no, make that three, nights have been filled with dreams where everyone I’ve ever known has made an appearance.

Enough already.

1-23 colorstoryfilter

I call this Waiting for the Snow. I took it early this morning and posted it on Instagram, but then I played around with some filters on a new app I downloaded called A Color Story. I don’t usually do a lot with filters, but I must say it’s sort of fun. Of course, I can’t remember what filter I used, but it intensified everything in this shot.

I’ve been up since 5:30. It’s now almost 8 and the snow hasn’t started falling yet. But I could sure feel it in the air yesterday as I walked home from rehearsal. Even if I hadn’t been aware of the forecast, I would have known that snow was headed our way.

I’m not called for any work today. I’d head home, but I might be called tomorrow. So I have to stay put. I guess I’ll take a walk when it begins to snow, as long as it isn’t too windy.

1-23 kindle

I gave up on the Cara Black mystery – for a couple of reasons. I opened the book to find it had been damaged by some previous reader. The pages were warped, there were stains, and it was irritating. (The library had noted the damage on the inside cover.) And I also quickly realized that I didn’t want to jump ahead to the newest book in the series, in which the protagonist is now a single mother, without knowing how she got there. So, I put it down. I’ll return it to the library.

Out came the Kindle, where I immediately dug into the other Jane Casey I had downloaded, The Stranger You Know. After I finish this one, I believe I will be all caught up and ready for her newest, whenever that comes out.

Right now, they’re predicting 5-9 inches of snow for this area, with an additional 1-3 inches tonight, which isn’t great, but is certainly much, much less than other areas of the East Coast. It’s supposed to stop by tomorrow morning, so by the time I want to head home, it might be clear enough to make the trip. Might. Again…fingers crossed.

1-23 yarn

Yes, I’m back to crocheting, but slowly, because my hands get sore after having made so many scarves last November and December. This one is almost finished and will go in the Etsy shop. Three more have to be made that are special requests. And then I’m done. For a long time.

If you’re at all interested, keep your eyes peeled on the Etsy widget in my sidebar. This is the only scarf that I will list for general sale. (The colors are a bit darker than they appear to be in this photo. But not much; it’s a really lovely colorway.)

Stay safe. Stay warm.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, crochet, On The Road, photography, reading, snow 20 Comments

Still: Blooming, Dealing with Cars, and Taking Dollhouse Photos

September 8, 2015 at 8:36 am by Claudia

The saga of the dollhouse photos continues. Today is the deadline, so whatever I’ve come up with will have to do, I guess. When I look at all the photos, including many close-ups, I’m struck by how many things I would do differently, that don’t look professionally finished.

The crop tool is a wonderful invention, isn’t it? I’ve sure been appreciating it lately.

I’ll be sorting through them this morning and then sending them on to the editor of the magazine.

Fingers crossed.

9-8 purplephlox

The phlox is still going strong. Not only does it smell heavenly, it’s a real workhorse in the garden. And it self-seeds!

9-8 whitephlox

I have to go into NYC on Thursday and on another day (can’t remember the date) next week. I’m helping an old friend with a new project he’s producing, which is a one-man show about C. S. Lewis. Thank goodness for old friends who extend an offer for some work! Normally, I would be in Hartford right now working on Shakespeare, as early fall is its usual slot in the season. But this year, it’s not scheduled to start rehearsals until right after Christmas because the theater is being renovated. Totally understandable.

First of all, that means I have to be in Hartford in the winter. Yuck. But more importantly, I’m missing out on badly needed income that I’ve come to count on at this time of year and that’s been stressful.

Ah well. That’ll teach me!

So, my friend’s offer of two days of work is very welcome indeed. And I haven’t been in the city for a while…I’d say I’ll get a cupcake when I’m there, but I’m on a diet. Hopefully, there will not be a Magnolia Bakery nearby to tempt me with its scrumptiousness.

9-8 hollyhock

This shot of a hollyhock turned out to be rather Impressionistic in style. The hollyhock is also still blooming.

The newish car has to be inspected this week. The oldish car needs to get two new tires, and then I can renew the registration.

Hopefully, that will be the end of the car chronicles for a while.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: dollhouse, flowers, garden. grass, photography, theater 38 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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