It has a medieval fortress and a scary dragon, but do not get afraid Slovenia's capital is a safe, lovely, amazing place in which to relax. Ljubljana is sophisticatedly pretty, with its candy-coloured baroque and dizzyingly ornate Secessionist architecture.
Read MoreDuring a short break in the area I went a couple of times to Prissianerhof, I was with my wife once and with relatives a second time
Not only the ambience was very appealing also the price performance ratio was excellent!
The Restaurant, it is also a Pension so has room, has a small nice car park anyway parking is not a problem in Pressiano.
The menu and wine list is well chosen and clearly for everyone.
With my wife we had a fantastic Kaiserschmarrn and a Ravioli with Finferli we also had a nice Strudel.
On the second day in my circle of relatives there were no complains. All were satisfied to the utmost with the food.
Especially noteworthy was the service: friendly, attentive, courteous and unobtrusive, and very professional.
In a next stay in Merano I will definitely visit again restaurant Prissianerhof!
This restaurant is especially recommended.
Many thanks for the pleasant hours :-)
Gasthof Prissianerhof
Via principale, 76 | 39010 Tisens
Tel. +39 0473 920828 | Fax +39 0473 927319
www.prissianerhof.com | info@prissianerhof.com
This post has not been sponsored and I did not get media samples or freebies. For more information, check out my full disclaimer policy.
The Falger is a restaurant situated in the small village of Vollen (Foiana) in the heart of the South Tyrol region, it is very close to Lana and in between Merano and Bolzano
As you enter the place you are welcomed by a really setting, a delightful marriage of antique cut bricks and elegant modernity. Sitting in any table you have a wonderful view of the dining room. They also have a very nice outdoor terrace with grapes,
The menu offers a wide variety of mouth-watering dishes. I had the Ravioli with Mushrooms while my wife tried the Kaiserschmarrn. They were both exquisite. It all was followed by a delicious strudel served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
All the products were fresh and the dishes had the warmth of home-made food. The chefs take great care in selecting the best quality ingredients.
The service did accompany the high quality of the cooking. Waitresses were friendly, helpful and very attentive. One of the owners was always around willing to exchange some kind words with all her clients.
The price is very good value for money I had a pleasant dining experience with food of the most exquisite flavours. For this reason we did went back and I highly recommend going to the Falger restaurant.
ALBERGO RISTORANTE FALGER
Famiglia Tribus - Mayenburgstr. 7
39011 Foiana pr. Lana - Alto Adige
Tel.: +39 0473 568010
Fax: +39 0473 557263
info@falger.net
http://www.falger.net/
This post has not been sponsored and I did not get media samples or freebies. For more information, check out my full disclaimer policy.
I believe you can never have an excess of camera bags and I trust that everybody needs to have an OnaBags. The quality is unparalleled and the look is at the same time advanced and fantastic. While pricey, these sacks will endure forever.
The trendy and cool outline of the new ONA Prince Street camera bag bounce out at you promptly. Upon closer examination you understand it is not just another pretty bag, it is as well an exceptionally tough, down to earth messenger bag for a reduced DSLR or full mirrorless camera pack. It comes in two styles - waxed canvas with full-grained cowhide trim, or full calfskin. In both styles the fine materials and workmanship of the bag is truly evident.
The general configuration is genuinely essential with three dividers (more accessible as extras), two substantial extending front pockets and a back laptop or tablet space. Two front calfskin straps shroud the real metal catches that are effortlessly secured or un-affixed with one hand. The straps are movable to take into account extension.
At $269 for the waxed-canvas model and $389 and in my view the the cost is completely justified by the workmanship and materials notwithstanding the in cool great looks that is going to improve as the bag age.
On the off chance that you are searching for a strong, fundamental travel bag with a great deal of style yet very few superfluous fancy odds and ends, the ONA Prince Street is something to consider for either a little DSLR unit or mirrorless camera framework.
I use mine easily with the two leicas and 2 extra lenses and works great!
Weight: 2.6 pounds
Outside measurements: 12.5"L X 10"H X 4.5"D
Inside measurements: 12"L X 9"H X 4"D
The first hotel to be built along the Adriatic Coast in 1884, Hotel Kvarner Opatija is a historic property often seen as the standard for elegance and sophistication of hotels in Opatija.
Some of the more memorable visions of Opatija are on the grounds of Hotel Kvarner. The Crystal Hall is an awesome architectural sight and the largest of its kind in Opatija. It is an ideal setting for personal events like weddings or business summits. The newly-renovated terrace, situated above the Lungomare promenade, is the perfect spot to hold your outdoor event with its offer of magnificent sea views.
Villa Amalia is in Kvarner's immediate vicinity and villa guests can use all the amenities of the historic hotel, including the outdoor swimming pool and private beach.
Close to the city's most famous landmarks, Hotel Kvarner offers excellent accommodation on the Opatija Riviera.
Built in neoclassicism style, the architecture of Hotel Kvarner really stands out. The façade has been restored to its original masterful appearance. Large windows allow for wondrous sea views. The highly-detailed interior recalls style of the past.
Hotel Kvarner breathes history and class.
It is for me one of the best hotel I have ever experienced! The location is just wonderful, right ON the coast with its own "beach".
The service was excellent and so were the rooms. Air conditioning work very well although it was well above 30 degrees outside. We had a lovely view over the sea from our room, and our own huge balcony. Loved it!
Every night there was some kind of music on the large patio next to the restaurant, lovely to have dinner and listen to great music meanwhile!
Th the dinner buffet as well as the breakfast is great!
This post has not been sponsored. For more information, check out my full disclaimer policy.
The Plansarija Logarski Kot is located in the lovely Logarska Dolina Valley, we were staying in a nearby hotel and went twice for lunch.
Food is fresh, genuine and well prepared and served . Staff is attentive
Has a nice garden with tables and a superb view of the Mountains
They have a very nice terrace as well with a lovely Slovenian Alps atmosphere.
This traditional Alpine dairy is located in the upper part of Logar valley near the road that leads to the waterfall Rinka. From the hut it offers a breathtaking view of the Planjavo, Kamnik Saddle, Brano and Turkish mountain. It has a domestic ambience of a mountain village hut with a nice fireplace and serves traditional delicacies from Solčavsko. The menu offers rustic cold meats, cheese plate, mushroom soup, charcoal kettle, curdled milk with buckwheat porridge, cottage cheese dumplings, rolls .
The hut is open from May to October, for groups but throughout the year. The cottage has 7 rooms (5 / 2, 1/4 and 1/8), with a total of 22 beds. The offer includes overnight stay, half board, bed & breakfasts, lunches, dinners
Planšarija Logarski kot
Logarska dolina, 3335 Solčava
T: +386 (0)59 958 692 | M: +386 (0)41 21 00 17
Located in Slovenia at the head of the stunning Logarska Valley is the 29 room Plesnik Hotel offering quality, comfortable accommodation in an attractive alpine building with outstanding views in the midst of pristine and tranquil mountain scenery. The hotel offers a good restaurant with superb cuisine including traditional dishes of the Solčavsko region as well as international specialities. There is also a wide selection of wines and other beverages.
From the terrace, you can experience first-class cuisine while enjoying a beautiful view of the valley and the mountaintops.
The hotel has a fantastic pool and wellness centre.
The public spaces at the Plesnik are really nice. A beautiful terrace outside of the restaurant that looks onto the mountains, a nice lobby with red leather sofas, and generally well-maintained outdoor and indoor spaces.
We stayed for three days with my wife mid July. The hotel is nicely chalet style decorated and all the staff were quite helpful .
We had a room that faced the mountains, with small balcony. I'd recommend because the view is magnificent.
Breakfast and dinner are served buffet style or you can have a la carte menu they use local and fresh produce, it is very well prepared and lovely!
A wonderful place to get away from it all in comfort.
Ask for Nina Plesnik and mention my blog!
Address: Logarska dolina 10 3335 Solčava
Phone: +386 3 839 23 00
Fax: +386 3 839 23 12
e-mail: hotel@plesnik.si
www.plesnik.si
I'm in a good mood generally, and not going to rant, but sometimes I get the impression that some photos have super shallow DOF because the photographer can get it, regardless of artistic value or purpose.That kinda reminds me of a friend of mine an excellent Scottish Musician that he told me that an awful lot of (usually younger) players, seem to think that playing fast is an accomplishment worthy of wonder in itself.It just isn't music... as shallow DOF sometimes isn't photography.
Consider the irony here. For most its history, among the greatest technical challenges of photography was obtaining even adequate depth of field. From extreme lens movements to big lights, tiny apertures, long exposures, and multiple flash pops, photographers bent over backwards simply to get enough of their subject into focus.
As is often the case, people tend to follow trend so if shallow DOF is "in" then masses are going to follow until something else takes it's place. With more dof, one has to take more care "Arranging all those in-focus elements into coherent form".......definetly adds to the challenge of the shot and I suppose brings out the additional skills of the photographer.
How did we go on before "fast lenses"......we either accepted the BG or simply didn't take the shot!
These days, it's that for "professional looking" photographs they should buy fast lenses and then use them at their widest apertures. I've begun hearing them criticize slower lenses and smaller sensors for their lack of "depth of field control." That term once meant something more subtle now it seems to have become merely shorthand for "Right, let's see how shallow this thing can focus." It's all about blur, baby, blur!
Really low DoF does get tired quickly but a lot of portraits wouldn't be the same without it. When looking through some sets of photos I can't help but think "Yeah, alright, you have bought a 1.4 lens, I get it"
The current photography hobbyist obsession seems to regard minimal depth of field as a hallmark of a memorable image, some of us relics from the film age might argue pretty much the opposite. The richest photos the ones we return to again and again, seeing more each time most often work in layers. They show more rather than less, taking in the full spatial depth of our world rather than just one razor-thin slice of it.
I have blogged before about cretive bock or self confidence crisis.....and If you depend on your creativity for your living, then your most valuable piece of equipment is not your computer, smartphone, camera, or any other hi-tech gadget.“In a modern company 70 to 80 percent of what people do is now done by way of their intellects. The critical means of production is small, gray, and weighs around 1.3 kilograms. It is the human brain.”
So what are you doing to maintain this precious resource? You probably give it plenty of stimulation – books, movies, music, nights out, interesting conversations with offbeat people.
What works for me is daily meditation. Every morning or early afternoon I spend 20 minutes sitting on a mat, focusing on the sensation of breathing, doing my best to be present and aware, and trying not to get tangled up in my thoughts. It makes all the difference for the rest of the day. And I’m convinced it makes me a better visual artist. I also listen every day to meditation music from my iPhone while I am moving around or shooting.
Meditation is a doorway between our inner and outer worlds. Between “reality” (the seemingly solid world that we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch) and an elusive “something else” we sense beneath, between and beyond what those five senses can grasp.
Meditation offers enormous benefits for everyone, and a set of particular benefits for those who are engaged in a creative activity like writing.
Focus. Concentration is essential to outstanding creative execution and performance. The simple act of focusing on your breathing day after day, will gradually improve your powers of concentration.
Patience. Meditation can be incredibly boring. For once in your life, you’re not trying to do anything or think anything, just sit there and pay attention to your immediate experience. And you will encounter all kinds of resistance to doing it. Zen priest Steve Hagen says, “If you can get past resistance to meditation, nothing else in life will be an obstacle.”
Calmness. At first, you’ll be surprised, maybe even horrified, to discover how busy your mind is – a non-stop stream of mental chatter. But if you stay with it, you should gradually find that your mind settles down as the months go by.
Clarity. Like calmness, this can be gradual and intermittent to begin with. But you are likely to notice moments and even periods of mental clarity, when you see things clearly and your mind is sharper than usual – which makes problem-solving and decision-making easier.
Creates conditions for Insight. You’ve probably had the experience of suddenly realizing the solution to a problem, even though you haven’t been consciously thinking of it. Or you may have experienced a moment of inspiration, when a new idea flashes into your mind unbidden. If you’re practicing meditation regularly, expect this to happen more often.
Perspective. When you spend time just being present and observing your breath, thoughts, feelings, and moment-to-moment experience, you start to realize how trivial most of our daily worries really are. Even in the midst of the daily grind, you can let go of the small stuff, and keep the big picture in view.
Getting Started
The kind of meditation I practice is a mixture of concentration (Samatha) and insight (Vipassana). Samatha practice is simply about focusing on your breathing, in order to develop concentration and calmness. It’s the best place to start, given how busy and unfocused our minds typically are. Vipassana is so simple it almost sounds like doing nothing at all – it’s about being very aware and present to your immediate experience, noticing your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the sounds and sights around you.
To learn how to get started, read the Introduction to Insight Meditation by the monks at Amaravati monastery.
Or you can try to listen to one of the Mantra and chant, The one below is westernized and commercialed version but the traditional has been one of my favorites for a long time, Here
The following is my typical full Leica Bag
Ona Bags The Prince Street in Smoke
Leica M 240
Leica M246 Monochrom
Voightlande 21 mm f1.8
Leica 35 mm Summilux f1.4
Leica 50 mm Summilux f1.4
Leica 90mm Summicrom f2
Half Leather case Angelo Pelle
Straps by Peak Design
Think Tank memory cards wallet
Tile Tracking Device
In the pre-Roman era, San Daniele del Friuli was an important Celtic settlement, thanks to its special position en route to Northeast Europe. The surrounding area contains the remains of various “castellieri”, the typical Celtic constructions used as watchtowers.
The Celts, a relatively non-migratory people, devoted to agriculture and with minimal warlike tendencies, were the first to use salt to preserve pork, of which they were major consumers. They built the foundations of the extraordinary rural culture which the Romans put to expert use later on.
In the era following that of the Celts, the oldest San Daniele settlement is Roman, from the 1st century AC: a villa positioned right on the summit of the hill.
The Romans were very familiar with ham: evidence of this can be found in the ancient merchants’ road to Rome, the present Via Panisperna, named after “panis” (bread) and “perna” (“perna sicca”: ham), and in a butcher’s memorial stone found in Aquileia (UD), which boasts a Prosciutto di San Daniele complete with trotter.
[getty src="476988099" width="594" height="522"]
Fast forwards to the 1920 the first ham factories were established: the domestic cellar was transformed into the centre of a true autonomous production activity. At the end of the 40s, the ham factory had become an industry, and from the 60s its development resulted in some of the production companies contributing to the formation of the national and international prosciutto crudo market.
My favorite camera is obviously the Leica, the latest addition to my collection is the M or 240 Type. I shoot most of my portraits, features and reportage using this camera with either the 35 1.4 Summilux or the 50mm 1.5
The Leica M 240 is a digital rangefinder camera with a full-format 24 x 36 mm sensor. As the world’s most compact full-format system camera, the Leica M 240 extends the legendary heritage of the Leica rangefinder M System and unites over 50 years of continuous technical improvements to the system with the best in cutting-edge digital technology.
The Leica M is a digital full-frame 35 mm rangefinder camera. It was introduced by Leica Camera AG in September 2012, and is the successor to the Leica M9 range of cameras. The M uses a 24-megapixel image sensor. The camera is the first M model to feature movie recording, and the first to have Live View—which allows the scene, as seen through the lens, to be composed.The M is compatible with almost all M mount lenses and most R mount lenses (via an adapter). All Leica M cameras are handmade in Portugal and Germany.
The M uses a CMOS 24-megapixel image sensor designed exclusively for Leica by the Belgian company CMOSIS. The sensor contains 6,000 by 4,000 pixels on a 6 x 6 µm² grid, and is made by STMicroelectronics in Grenoble.
The M supports most M-mount lenses, and with an optional R-Adapter, the camera can use almost all Leica R-mount lenses.Live View allows owners of R-lenses to use an optional electronic viewfinder.
The camera uses a MAESTRO image/video processor which is based on the Fujitsu Milbeaut. It has specifically-designed rubber seals (to protect against dust and water spray).
..I have specified I TRY to avoid .... ....
+1. Comparing myself to other photographers
It has happened to me a couple of times covering bad weather in Scotland, to friends and colleagues, even a couple of days ago to one of my Venetian colleague.
Your precious camera meets the water...either in the form of a big splash or heavy torrential rain.
I have managed to recovered my cameras at least 2 times and I have strictly used the following method
After about a week of drying out in the hermetically sealed rice box you should be able to switch on the camera and scroll through all the menus..,.. if this is the case I would place the camera again in the rice for 4 or 5 days or leave it near but not too close to a radiator.
The Leica M3 is perhaps the one camera that does not actually require an introduction. Voted by STUFF Magazine and Ebay as the “Top Gadget of All Time”
The epitome of vintage style, the Leica M3?s modern incarnations are still held as pinnacles of camera design and lusted by photographer all over the world.
Just the fact that since the Leica M3?s introduction 1954, the basic design of Leica M cameras has not really changed is a testament to how well conceived the Leica M3 is. In fact, one could argue that Leica built such a great camera that they haven’t really done much else since.
The Leica MP, introduced in 2003, nearly 50 years after the Leica M3, is just an inferior, and far more expensive, modern copy.The Leica M3 is Leica’s greatest achievement and also a stark reminder of it’s glorious past.
The Leica M3 was in production for 13 years. Do you know how many M cameras Leica has released in the last 13 years? Eight! That’s roughly one camera every 18 months. You have the Leica M7, MP, M8, M8.2, M9, M9P, M-E and the Leica M Type 240. Leica have become just like every other camera manufacturer in the digital world, pumping out a new camera every 18 months to two years. That’s not even counting their partnership with Panasonic!
In 1954 the Leica M3 inaugurated a completely new era of 35mm cameras. Though SLRs had started to appear earlier (e.g. the Exakta system from the late 1940s), the multiple-frameline rangefinder by Leica offered
the smoothest, fastest, most robust shooting experience available, coupled with the then-already optically superior Leitz lenses.
These cameras were constructed to the absolute highest standards of quality and maintainability (everything was designed to be adjustable over a long, long lifespan). As such, as long as the rangefinder optics are clean (the balsam glue of the beam splitter have a tendency to fail after about 40 years on some examples of the M3, fading or completely disabling the rangefinder) this is a very 'safe' camera to buy on eBay.
My copy (a late-model, single-stroke) truly looks and functions like a new camera, despite it's age of 52 years. It's quickest, smoothest, quietest camera I own. Rangefinders are, of course,much more limited than their SLR counterparts, and this could not be considered a "general purpose" camera anymore, but for anybody still practicing the art of developing and printing their own photographs in an analogue manner, the Leica M3 offers arguably the best body to obtain the ultimate image quality possible from the 35mm format.
Being the first "M", the collectivity (value) of the M3 is sure to increase with time, and finally, as an object considered in its own right (not as a tool) the M3 has timeless beauty and pureness of design.
Regarding lenses, nothing fits a Leica M3 better than a Summicron 50mm f/2 - it's small, chromed, and likely the highest-performance M-mount lens yet made (according to several tests). With this lens, you can imagine the M3 being a fixed-lens camera, it's so compact and well-matched. If the light is good, shoot some Ilford Pan F, and be prepared for prints of unmatched quality from the 35mm format.
The Mamiya RZ67 is my medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Mamiya. There are three successive models: the RZ67 Professional (first model
released in 1982), RZ67 Professional II (released in 1995) and RZ67 Professional IID (released in 2004). RZ67 is a modular camera system, meaning lenses, viewfinders, ground glasses, film winders and film backs are all interchangeable. It is primarily designed for studio use, but can also be used in the field. The RZ67 Sekor lenses have built-in electronic leaf shutters which are cocked and triggered from the body. Focusing is performed with a bellows on the body instead of the lenses.
The camera accepts 6x7, 6x6 and 6x4.5, 120 and 220 film magazines and Polaroid as well as Quadra 72 4x5 sheet film backs. Mamiya RB67 backs are also supported via the G-Adapter. The film speed is set on each RZ back via a dial. There are two versions of the 6x7 and 6x4.5 backs, the model II versions have a second film counter to always show the film count on the top. The RZ67 operates on one 6V silver oxide 4SR44 battery, or 6V 4LR44 alkaline battery. It can be used in emergency mode fully mechanically with a fixed 1/400 sec shutter speed. Multiple exposures are possible in the M-mode. Mirror flip up is supported. The body has one standard flash hot shoe on its left side, one plug for a standard remote shutter cable release, and a socket for an electronic shutter trigger. The RZ67 measures 104 mm (W) x 133.5 mm (H) x 211.5 mm (L) with the 110mm f/2.8 lens, and weighs approximately 2.4 kg (5.29 lbs). The flange distance is 105 mm.
The RZ67 name is adopted from the model name of the Mamiya RB67 (where RB stands for Revolving Back), which was first introduced in 1970, thus the RZ67 also takes backs which can be rotated 90 degrees to provide a horizontal or vertical composition. The orientation is shown in the viewfinder with black guides. The viewfinder also hosts LEDs informing of the state of the camera (flash ready, low battery, dark slide not removed, shutter not cocked). In addition to manual operation (photographer chooses aperture and shutter speed), the RZ67 is able to operate in AEF mode with an AE viewfinder (AE being an abbreviation for automatic exposure), which transmits exposure information directly to the body. In RBL compatibility mode, the RZ67 is able to use RB67 lenses. The biggest difference between RB67 and RZ67 is, that RB67 is completely mechanical. The RZ67 has also mechanical couplings between the parts, but the shutter is electronic, and parts are able to transmit exposure information with electronic couplings. In addition, the RZ67 has plastic exterior body, which makes it somewhat lighter.
Former fleet street legendary picture editor Ron Morgans has just posted a quote from the well respected legendary Editor Sir David English. Roy Greenslade take note: Here's what the late, great Sir David English, who created the modern Daily Mail, had to say about newspaper photographers.
" Press photographers are a strange breed. Moody, enthusiastic, temperamental, excitable, humorous, self-deprecating . They are in many ways the most interesting collection of people to be found on any national newspaper. More interesting frequently than the star bylined writers. More interesting than the gossip columnists with their fund of inside chatter. More interesting even than the showbiz kings with their stories of rubbing shoulders with the great and their `all life´s a cocktail party´ philosophy. Photographers are the shock troops of journalism. They cannot muse. They cannot pontificate. They cannot sit in the office and get their stories by telephone. Nor do they pick up their scoops over lunch. They have to be where the action is. They have to be there! "
My fav. at present is The Fujifilm XT1After starting at the top-end with its X-Pro1, Fujifilm has been steadily expanding its X-series mirrorless camera to appeal to a broader audience. With its X-T1, Fujifilm has moved back towards the high-end, offering a fully-loaded mirrorless camera in a weather-resistant, SLR-style body. There's plenty more where that came from - the X-T1 has one of the largest EVFs we've ever seen, numerous manual control dials and, for the first time on an X-series camera, an optional battery grip.
The 'guts' of the X-T1 are very much like those found on the recent X-E2. This includes the 16 megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor (with on-chip phase detection), EXR Processor II, built-in Wi-Fi, and full HD video recording. The main differences between the X-T1 and X-E2 are the LCD (tilting vs fixed) and EVF (in terms of magnification), the maximum burst rate (8 vs 7 fps, now with focus tracking at full speed), a flash sync port and, of course, the design.
The Fuji X series walk-around cameras that can be adapted for wedding work, editorial work heck, even commercial work.
With these cameras I feel unstoppable. Invincible. I no longer need to carry heavy bulky DSLR around all day – with these cameras I am able to carry an entire kit in a shoulder bag and never tire. With these cameras I rarely miss a photo because I have always have a camera with me.
With these cameras I am stealthy, quick, unobtrusive, silent, a rocket for recording the extraordinary in the mundane of the everyday. My photography changed!
The Fujifilm X-Series range of digital cameras consists of the company Fujifilm's high-end digital cameras and is aimed professional and keen enthusiast photographers. It is part of the larger range of Fujifilm's digital cameras. X-Series itself is not unified by a common sensor size, technology or a lens format. Its main differentiating feature is the emphases on the controls needed by an advanced digital camera user.
I have owned or own at present the following Cameras
I have the following Lenses
Here are techniques from 10 artists featured in Krysa's book "Creative Block" to help you get unstuck when you're up against a creative block.
1. TAKE A STROLL AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Often a creative block comes from an inability to stay focused on just one task at hand. Your mind feels overwhelmed or distracted by too many things. "Your brain feels like a big knot, and you only think of your kitchen that needs a cleaning," says German-based photographer Matthias Heiderich in Krysa's book. "It makes sense to stop working then, and to re-sharpen the senses."
Heiderich's solution is what he calls "Once Around the Block," inspired by the name of a song by musician Badly Drawn Boy. Simply getting out of your chair, exploring your own neighborhood, paying attention to the houses and sidewalks and shop windows rather than staying stuck in your head and your workspace, can help reenergize you. "Trying to see the banal objects around you in a new light can be a good brain boost," he says.
2. SET TIGHT PARAMETERS TO PLAY IN
Having endless possibilities to choose from can be overwhelming and ultimately lead to a block. That's why setting rules or parameters for yourself can help you start thinking creatively without getting lost in the wilderness of possiblities.
Mixed-media artist Trey Speegle suggests making a drawing and photocopying it 50 times, then altering each image in as many ways as you can think of. "The important thing is to turn off your brain and just play with a repeated form and let your mind see where no ideas or thought processes takes you," he says. "Create your own tight parameters . . . Then give yourself a lot of room to play."
3. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WILLPOWER
Sometimes getting past a creative block simply means pushing through the resistance you're feeling. It's easy to run from a project that's giving you trouble, but sticking with it when you feel uncomfortable takes willpower.
"There will be one point in every project where I decide that my idea is absolutely stupid," says Kristi Malakoff, a Canadian-based artist who makes large installations using cut paper. "It’s just pure willpower that gets me through these moments."
4. DON'T WAIT FOR INSPIRATION
Inspiration doesn't just strike. It's cultivated. Waiting around for the perfect moment to launch into a project or tackle a creative challenge will keep you waiting for a long time. Just do the work, advises South African ceramics artist Ruan Hoffmann. "Through work comes new ideas, and the spark to either follow and develop, or develop and then abandon," he says.
One place Hoffmann finds inspiration is in the words of painter and photographer Chuck Close when he says:
"Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you."
5. SEEK OUT AN ASSIGNMENT
Getting past a creative block means stepping outside your comfort zone. If you feel uncomfortable, you're pushing your boundaries. And that's where good ideas start to take shape.
Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.
"Ask someone close to you to give you an assignment,'" says collage and mixed-media artist Hollie Chastain. "Make sure it’s not an idea that you have frequented on a regular basis in your work. Keep true to your vision and technique as you work."
6. PUT RANDOM THINGS TOGETHER TO TELL A STORY
What story are you trying to tell? Whether you're working on a design project or trying to come up with a solution to a technical problem, or writing a book—you're telling a story. What is that story and how can you tell it in a new way?
"The human brain seems to want to understand things," says Swedish-based painter and illustrator, Camilla Engman. "If you put two things together, it immediately starts to think about why and what. For me, that makes up a story."
7. DARE TO GO AGAINST WHAT YOU KNOW
We often turn to the same solutions or strategies for solving creative challenges that we've used in the past. "You’ve probably developed a certain style that is unmistakably yours. Your creative muscle has become strong, maybe overbearing. It’s time to stretch," says Canadian-based painter Fiona Ackerman.
Ackerman suggests trying to do something unfamiliar or unrecognizable to the work you've done in the past. "This exercise always helps me break out when I’m feeling bored by myself," she says.
8. TAKE TO THE ROAD
Trying to see your neighborhood or block in a new way, as Heiderich suggests, can be a useful way to train your brain to recognize new details around you, but putting yourself in an entirely new and unfamiliar surrounding can also have the effect of re-energizing you in unexpected ways.
"Taking to the road with my camera never fails to inspire me," says photographer and writer Jen Altman. "Sometimes it’s not only the act of the voyage—however short it may be—but the state of mind that envelops you as the road widens. Some of my best ideas have come as I’m chasing the sun across the horizon."
9. START AGAIN
Often getting out of a rut requires trashing the whole thing and starting from scratch. Instead of trying to untangle the mess you're in, what about setting it aside and creating a new mess using what you've learned from the first attempt. When that try fails, set it aside and start over again.
"Draw something on a piece of paper. Stare at it. Trash it. Draw it again on another piece of paper. Stare at it. Trash it. Repeat," suggests collage and mixed-media artist Arian Behzadi. "Once you feel you’re done, uncrumple all the pieces of paper and line them up in order." Seeing the progress you've made, the attempts you took and abandoned, will help you not only make progress, but also learn from the process you used to get there.
10. GO TOWARD WHAT SCARES YOU MOST
If something scares you, instead of avoiding it, try getting as close to it as you can. Fear can be a powerful motivator and embracing your fears can help you get over a block. Painter Lisa Golightly suggests making a list of the three creative things you're most afraid to try and then forcing yourself do those three things.
"Fear is a big motivator for me," says Golightly. "A college professor once told me that if I was afraid of something, that meant I had to do it. That has basically shaped my life
Today arrived the new firmware for most of the Fuji X series cameras. When you update all the custom settings are wiped out as well as cache memory and frame numberHere are more or less my latest custom settings.
| Name | ISO | Dynamic Range | Film Simulation | White Balance | Colour | Sharpness | Highlight | Shadow | Noise |
| Standard | AUTO | DR100 | Provia (standard) | Auto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Landscape Normal | 200 | DR100 | Astia (soft) | Auto | -1 | +1 | -1 | -2 | 0 |
| Landscape High Contrast | 400 | DR200 | Astia (soft) | Auto | -1 | +1 | -1 | -2 | 0 |
| Portrait Neutral | 200 | DR100 | Pro-Neg Standard | Auto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Portrait Neutral Higher Contrast | 400 | DR200 | Pro-Neg High | Auto | 0 | +1 | -1 | -2 | 0 |
| B&W Landscape | 800 | DR100 | Mono+Red | Auto | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B&W Portrait | 800 | DR100 | Mono+Green | Auto | 0 | +1 | -1 | -1 | 0 |
I have set them according to the subjects I tend to shot so I can change a whole group of settings with a push of the "Q" menu button and a quick turn of the dial. Finer tweaks to color and highlight/shadow tone were done from experience of using the camera and the above are what I eventually arrived at after some months of use.
I tend to play quite a bit with Highlight Tome, Sharpness and Shadow Tone so I change them often. For the ISO thee are times when I like to have in AUTO with Standard 200, Max 3200 and min shutter speed at Focal length I am using x1.8
While I like the more saturated colors and higher contrast in Astia (soft) for landscape generally, I found it tended to clip into the shadows too easily so I somewhat reduced the contrast there by making a -2 adjustment.
For portraits the Provia (standard) or Pro-Neg film simulations work well as they are rather neutral and subdued in colour, so render skin tones well. The Pro-Neg Hi gives the same colours but more contrast. I reduced the contrast at the shadow end as I found it was clipping to black too readily.
The dynamic range settings work really well and allow the camera to record more detail in highlights and shadows than in a normal exposure. For the higher DR setting (DR200 is all I have needed) the camera needs to be set to ISO 400 but the sensor/processor is so effective that there is no discernible noise penalty. It isn't an HDR feature....my understanding is that it works like many other similar features and the camera basically underexposes the image then processes in an exposure and tone curve that avoids clipping at each end.
The Jpeg output is so good on this camera that I shoot Jpeg almost all the time, whereas I only shoot RAW on my Nikon DSLRs. Images from the X-E1 print superbly and have amazing pixel level sharpness. The camera seems to resolve beyond what its 16MP sensor should, probably due to the absence of the anti aliasing filter. Strangely, when 100% images are viewed on a computer monitor, detail can look somewhat mushy due to the unusual colour filter layout of the X-Trans sensor, but images view nicely at normal sizes and print in a very natural way, giving what I would describe as an organic look to textures that look real enough to touch and bitingly sharp.
One of the BestTours on Tripadvisor. Photo Workshop. Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Do you want to become more confident shooting in the streets and learn how to better interact with your subjects?
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