Last night the sky finally ripped open. I was sitting by my computer and when I heard it start a feeling of excitement compelled me to go out and stand on the balcony. I got soaked and it was lovely. The heat is still lingering and the sun is doing its level best to try and burn through the clouds. I'm glad it rained, it was needed.
Yesterday was stiflingly hot. I always feel sorry for black animals & birds not to mention hardcore goths in this kind of weather. The crows in the park looked as if they were about to pass out in the heat. We saved them some grapes and cherries from our picnic.
Ten years ago when I was working at a nursery school nearby Alexandra Place I used to spend my lunch break reading in the park. I usually sat in the shade of a tall tree that also happened to be a favourite hangout for crows. Occasionally a crow would descend to the ground, remain at a safe distance and scope me out. It was summer and I was raw vegan at the time so my lunchbox usually contained a mix of vegetable florets and fruit, not foods that I thought a crow would be much interested in eating. One day however I'd rolled over in the grass a few times reading my book and I was lying far enough away from my lunchbox for the crow to feel brave enough to raid it. I looked over and there he was feasting out on my grapes. He ate his fill and then with a grape carefully held in his beak he ascended back into the tall tree. For the rest of that summer I brought grapes for the crows in my lunchbox.
Curtise mentioned in her last blog post that she's having some issues with deciding what time of day to take outfit pics at the moment. The harsh sunlight is wrecking havoc with most my pics as well and moving into the shade doesn't seem have the desired effect either. Even if the sun is blazing in the sky above and you are sporting more colour than a Rio Carnival float the pics all seem to come out looking a bit like a peeled cucumber, all watery and pale.
I'm sure there is something that can be done to remedy this effect but as it probably involves reading up on some serious photography techniques, I can't be arsed at the moment so watery and pale it is.
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| Handmade crochet top (pressie from my lovely mum), abstract print 90s cotton trousers, silk scarf, flip-flops, straw hat, aviator sunnies, parrot earrings, three necklaces, Leslie Works button bracelet, loadsa bangles and my POP-swatch from the late 80s. |
I was standing against this sun baked yellow brick wall, thinking that it would provide a deliciously intense backdrop that would make the festival of colour I was wearing really pop out, how wrong was I...watery and pale.
You can't even tell that I've actually got the faint beginnings of a tan, I swear I do.
I'll love you and leave you with Counting Crows, enjoy ;)
Take care,
Jennie
xXx
12 comments:
my problem is indoor photos. Tiring to get the lighting right, as my house has a lot of dark spots. Trial and error and thanking the delete button.
Crows are such clever and beautiful creatures :)
The best time of the day to take photos is when the sun is going down, what they call the golden hour
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)
Hugs xx
Crows when I see them, my thought is always how massive they look compared to our common garden birds. How kind you are sharing your fruit. I feed my birds at the bottom of my garden everyday, it's a must! They are now my outdoor pets ;) and on a fashion note loving your crochet and Aztec style today Jennie xxx
We feed our garden birds every day but the cheeky things steal Jacob's fruit from his pen as well!
Love those fancy pants, the mass of beads and that lovely crochet vest. This lovely weather (ignoring the thunderstorms) makes everyone look better, golden tans and pretty clothes galore! xxx
Your mom made that vest? I'm very impressed. As you know my children will grow old waiting for handi-crafts from me. Your necklace jamboree is awesome. I have a love hate relationship with crows. They are annoying to other birds but you have to admire their chutzpah.
Connie,
my mum has struck up a friendship with a pensioner who is a bit of a crochet fiend and she buys these tops off her. I think they are amazing and at £15 each a complete bargain. I will wear these for years to come :)
Agreed: Hot weather is tough!
It's equally hot here and you're right about how hard it is to take good pix in outdoor sunlight. Actually, I wish I could take more pictures outdoors but that's difficult for me. Love your crocheted top: wish my mom would make me one!
I enjoyed today's installment very much. I especially like your photo of the crow and his grape and the way his shadow shows up on the ground.
I usually have to play around with my photos with photo-processing software (I use GIMP which is free) as I have to take them indoors. For ones with harsh light, you could just reduce the amount of brightness and up the contrast, that will make them less watery.
Those crocheted tops are fabulous staples, making every outfit look 'DIY hippie.'
Poor hot birds and goths :(
I'm sending you an email now. I promise.
Oh I love photograph of the crow.....we don't have them here....look how black they are.
It's so lovely seeing you all having a wonderful summer....the rain shower must have been a wonderful relief.
Love V
Our summer was incredibly hot too and I remember looking forward to a rainy day so much! We don't have many crows here, but I grew up with a pet magpie - we taught him to talk and everything, he was pretty cool :) I haven't done outfit posts for the longest time, because I can only do inside photos as its dark when I return home at 5 :(
Yes, we had a big old storm and downpour, but it's back to sunshine now. I've been taking my photos early evening to try and get the best light but they still aren't great, even after tinkering with the exposure. Oh well, they'll do.
We stopped feeding our garden birds when we got our killer cat, it didn't seem fair to encourage them. Great photo of the crow, they are street-fighting birds, I reckon! Love all your beads with the fab print of your trousers. xxxx
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