Love makes you do crazy things. (a freebie & a plea)

You know how people always say that love makes you do crazy things?  It's true.  Totally.  For instance, I have this friend who I love so, so dearly.  I've watched her husband struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and I've seen the toll it has taken on him and on his beautiful family.  I love them more than words can express.  I've hated knowing they had to face this horrible thing and feeling like there was nothing in the world I could do to make it any better for them.  That changed yesterday.  I found a way to help.  Okay, it's not an instant cure or a magic bullet, but it's something and I will do anything.  Yesterday, I found out about Bike MS.  A few hours later, I was registered for a 30 mile event with my local chapter.  It wasn't until a few hours after that that I allowed myself to logically consider how woefully under-qualified I am for this event.  I've already said it, but let me say it again.  Love makes you do crazy things.  In a pathetic attempt to educate myself about what to expect during this experience, I spoke to several professional cyclists.  That was dumb.  Really dumb.  Do you know how professional professional cyclists are?  Like...really professional.  There were so many words said that I have never heard before in my life.  So many words.  I just stood there and nodded and tried to ignore the intense urge I felt to either change my name and move to Tahiti or vomit right then and there on the bike man's fancy bike man shoes.  Did you know there are bikes in this world that cost thousands of dollars?  Thousands.  Of dollars.  Did you know that bike shorts with big fat booty pads in them not only exist, but are worn proudly by just about anyone who is even remotely serious about riding a bike?  Did you know that clippy thing that goes on your bike to hold your water bottle isn't called a clippy thing at all?  It's called a cage.  A cage!  Guess what kind of bike I ride.  No, really.  Guess.  I ride this bike:

The only thing missing is the big basket on the front.  Oh no- I have the basket.  It's just missing from the picture.  Yeah.  And what will the "real" bike people look like?  This:

You know what though?  I am in this.  Pink pansy bike, clippy thing and all.  And I am doing this my way- the Shabby way.  It won't be perfect or first or without hyperventilation, but it will be done with all my love.  I'll almost definitely get my non-padded booty beaten like there's no tomorrow, but if that means we are even a spec closer to a tomorrow without MS, I'm in.  If you knew me well, you'd know this is one of the craziest things I've ever done... but it is going to be awesome!!!  Want in too?  Pleeease consider sponsoring Bike MS and my girly pink bike so we can say to this amazing family and to every person who suffers from MS that we've got their backs.  It would mean so much.  Even if it's just a dollar or two.  And, to add to the awesomeness, I will randomly select at least three Bike MS sponsors to receive free ad space on this blog for one full month.  I will also give whoever makes the largest donation free ad space on this blog and ShabbyBlogs.com for two months.  My event is on June 11th, but I will run this very special giveaway through the end of June and announce random winners along the way as the mood strikes me.  (That's how I roll.)  And, just for good measure, here is a post pretty I created for you in honor of adventure, hope, and crazy love.  Enjoy it!!!

{click image for full-sized version}

Photography with Jessica - Focusing

Hello again! Let's get into the topic of focusing... Some purist photographers are of the opinion that to be a true photographer, you must manually focus all your shots. But let's be real here! That is pretty much impossible if you're photographing people who are, well... alive! And since I love to capture spontaneous and natural moments, it's highly impractical for me to use manual focus. I use the Auto Focus mode 99% of the time, and I'd like to teach you how to really use it to your advantage!

With the default camera settings, the camera will decide for you what to focus on. The results are not always what you would want. Of course, it would be much better for you to choose for yourself what you'd like to focus on!

First of all, there is a little switch on your lens that needs to be switched from MF (manual focus) to AF (auto focus).

Then take a look inside the viewing area of your camera and you'll see a set of focus points that looks more or less like this:

You're going to set one of those points as you "go-to" point. I almost always have my set as the center point, just because that way I always know where it is and it's totally a habit for me to go right to it whenever I need to. I suggest you start out with the center point chosen, and then after you get comfortable, you can decide if you'd ever like to change it.

On a Canon camera, there should be a little button that looks somewhat like this:

If you push that button you can scroll through all the focus points to choose the one you want. You will be able to see the little squares light up red in your viewfinder so you know which one to select. Or, some camera models (like mine) will show your selection in the top screen next to your shutter button.

On a Nikon camera, once you're ready to shoot (touch the shutter button to get the camera in "shooting mode") you can just look through your viewfinder and use your arrow buttons to select your focus point.

Now you need to choose a focusing mode. On a Canon, look for a button (or a menu selection) called AF Drives. Then you can select one of the following (on Nikon look for the AF button):

One Shot (called AF-S for Nikon) is good for stationary subjects such as inanimate objects or people who are not moving (adults/older children who are posed). With this setting, you look through the viewfinder and place the center square directly over the subject's eye and press the shutter button half-way down to lock the focus. Now as long as you keep your shutter button half-way down, the focus will stay locked on the subject's eye and you can move the camera to recompose the shot the way you'd like (you probably don't want their eye right in the middle of the frame). Press the button all the way down when you're ready to take the picture.



The other focusing mode is called AI Servo (or AF-C for Nikon). This is used for moving subjects (sports, fidgety kids, interaction/candid photos). With this setting, you place the center square directly over the subject's eye and push half-way down to focus and do not recompose. As long as you have the button half-way down, the camera will stay focused on whatever is in that center square, even if it's moving. Press the button all the way down when you're ready to take the picture.

If you don't want your subject directly in the middle of the picture, you can always crop it to your liking later.



Or if you'd like to avoid having to crop your images, this is a situation where you might want to choose a focus point other than the one in the center.



There you have it! Now you know how to focus like a pro! Here are some things to keep in mind...

Some lenses are faster-focusing than others so they'll perform better when using AI Servo (AF-C).

A person's eye is the most important part of the picture, so unless you're going for a creative, selective focus shot, always focus on your subject's eye, whichever one is closer to you. If the person is far away, just focusing on their body is usually fine.

There is a third focusing mode (AI Focus/AF-A) in which the camera goes back and forth between the other two modes as it determines is appropriate. But the camera is not always correct, so I prefer never to use this setting.

When shooting at wide-open apertures with a very shallow depth of field, accurate focusing is very important! With practice using these techniques, you'll do great!

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Chalkboard Pretty

I don't know about you, but I am ALWAYS going to ♥ Chalkboards!
I remember entering Jr. High (aka Middle school), and to my horror ALL the lovely vintage chalkboards had been replaced by dry marker white boards! :( Sure they are less messy and easier to write on .. BUT still.. Nothing can replace that nostalgic feeling you get like writing on an old school chalkboard.

 Click small image to download original PNG file

 clip art credit: Vintage Catnip

This vintage beauty can be used for lovely blog announcements, blog buttons, incorporate it into a blog banner or even (and this is my favorite one) put a Picture in it! Don't know how? Use this awesome tutorial Meg did a while back! Enjoy!

xo,
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Adorable Bluebird Banner

A few posts back, some of you lovelies left comments saying you would like to see more banners that matched Shabby Blogs Backgrounds. Well, your wish is my command! :)

click here to Download original PNG file

This little cutie matches perfectly with this divine blue polka-dots background Megan is so generously providing!

Basic Dots Blue

I totally LOVE, Polka-dots, vintage bluebirds and flowers, so this little combo is a total match made in heaven for me! I hope you Enjoy  it too!

xo, 

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - RAW vs. Jpeg

So you've learned the photography basics and now you're a whiz at taking perfect pictures... What's that? Your pictures are not turning out perfect every time!?! Well, it's time to let you in on a little secret. Nobody's pictures turn out perfect 100% of the time. But as you get more and more practice, your ratio of "wow" pictures to "ooppps" pictures will keep getting better all the time!

I thought it would be a good idea to address a question I get asked all the time. What is the difference between a Jpeg file and a RAW file? Is one better than the other, and which should I use?

RAW files are very large because they hold a lot of information without losing any details or quality. A RAW file is basically the pure image taken directly from the camera's sensor before any settings are applied such as exposure and white balance (in-camera settings are still applied when you view your picture, but they are not set in stone and you can adjust them later). Jpegs files are condensed by your camera so they are not as large as RAW files. They take up relatively little space on your memory card and on your computer. But they have already lost some detail and quality right at the start. So later when you go to alter that image, you are altering something that has already been altered and you lose even more quality. It's kind of like when you make a copy of a copy and the quality is not so great.

Here is an example illustrating their differences... I took a photo that was too overexposed, and is especially bright in the highlighted areas of the subject's face. In a Jpeg image, the camera sees the very bright areas and thinks, "well, these areas are pretty much like a super light yellowish color, so I'm just going to record them as yellow (very light)". With a RAW image on the other hand, would retain the correct color information which would be a very light flesh color. So later if you darken the Jpeg image, what happens? It darkened to the incorrect yellowish color instead of the proper skin tone. But if you shot the image in RAW, it would still retain the proper light skin color and allow you to darken it with a much more natural look. (click on image to enlarge)



Keep in mind that RAW files are not compatible with all versions of Photoshop, so it may be necessary to upgrade and/or download additional software in order to process them. And this may be different from camera to camera as well. When I purchased my current camera, I had to upgrade to the next version of Photoshop because my old version couldn't handle the RAW files from my new camera.

If you don't have a lot of space on your memory cards or your computer, you don't plan to make any enlargements greater than 8x10, and you don't do a lot of post-processing, then you can shoot in Jpeg mode without any problems.

If you have the space and the proper software, I would shoot in RAW.

Either way, make sure you always save your original files so you can go back to them if you need to! In other words, always choose "save as" instead of "save" after you've done your post-processing (and then save your finished product as a jpeg since RAW files cannot be printed).

Hopefully all this information will help you decide if you want to shoot in RAW or Jpeg! Now go take some pictures!!

Floral Frame Freebie

I am so beyond thankful to be a mom.  If I'm being totally honest, it's my favorite thing about myself.  I'm thankful for the courageous and loving birthmom who tearfully placed our daughter in my arms almost exactly eight years ago.  I'm thankful for the women I have known who have loved, befriended, and inspired me in spite of myself.  I am thankful for my own mom who is one of the most amazing people on this planet and for my mother-in-law who raised the man I love and continues to bless my life.  And, as long as I'm listing things this mom is grateful for, let me also sing the praises of big fat naps, take-out, Tylenol, date nights, Oxiclean, chore charts, Sesame Street, and really long baths.  To moms and amazing women everywhere: Happy Mother's Day!  Women are awesome!!!  (Yes, I just caught how weird that sounded.)

In honor of Mother's Day, I've whipped up a little blog goody for you.  Fill it with lovely photos of your kids, fill it with pictures of the women who inspire you, or just fill it with pictures of food.  Totally your call.

 

Floral Frame Freebie:

Download

*Also, I just want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my previous post.  Totally made me cry.  You guys are beyond wonderful!

Just Say NO to Blog Envy

So it's late at night and there's nothing good on TV so you decide to catch up on some of your favorite blogs.  Sure, you could catch up on the laundry, but come on!  I'm trying to keep it real here.  :)  You bounce around from blog to blog, just minding other people's business, when you notice that you've been sinking lower and lower in your chair...and sighing an awful lot.  You may even feel a little sick to your stomach.  Sure, there's a chance its indigestion, but I bet you twenty bucks it's something else.  Blog envy.  If love strikes from a cute little arrow shot by a chubby cherub, blog envy strikes like Tanya Harding with a keyboard to the knee...and then maybe a mouse-turned-nun-chuck to the throat.  It's a brutal game.  Once blog envy hits you, everyone else seems more and you seem suddenly much, much less.

Maybe you envy the blogger with 362 comments on a single random post.  Maybe you think you don't measure up to the blogger who transformed an old purse into a pair of shoes for the homeless using nothing but her bare hands and some glitter glue.  Or, maybe you see that blog with a gazillion followers and all of a sudden your left eye starts to twitch and you feel overwhelmingly compelled to raid your child's holiday candy stash.  We've all been there.  I have over 13,000 registered followers- and I am so grateful for that.  Still, the other day I came across a blog that was the epitome of style and success and I thought to myself:

I hated feeling that way, but denying it doesn't do anyone any good.  So I let myself feel it...and then I may or may not have eaten most of a box of Fruit by the Foot...or is it Fruit by the Feet if you eat more than a foot?  You should really never eat more than a foot of anything.  The point is, I let the awesomeness of someone else make me feel like an idiot.  I could be crazy, but I have a feeling I'm not alone in this.  It's not that I didn't like this person or that I didn't want them to be awesome.  I just didn't want myself to be so much less than them.

I've thought a lot about this and how silly it is to compare ourselves to what we think someone else is or isn't.  When it comes to blogging, who knows who or what a blog author really is in real life?  The person we think we know and we admire so much could be a shameless nose-picker or have 14 toes and live under a bridge somewhere.  Or, they may be brilliant and talented with a dazzlingly clean house and 42,000 hours of service to the community in their back pocket.  Either way, it has nothing to do with you (or me) and the amount of value your (or my) life possesses.

I love my shabby bloggers so much.  That may sound silly to you, but I honestly do.  I've met so many amazing women who have made such a difference in my life.  I don't want a single one of you to ever let blog envy (or any other kind of envy) make you feel insignificant or less-than.  So, having said that, here is a list I have compiled that I hope you will find helpful.  Take it for what it's worth, but these are my tips for making the most of your own blog and kicking blog envy to the curb:

1. Be original.  You know that saying "There is only one you?"  I know that I, myself, have gagged on the sheer cheesiness of that statement at least once before now.  Even so- it's the truth.  There IS only one you...and that is a very cool thing.  Do you know how many times I have seen the same photos from Martha Stewart or Country Living posted over and over and over and oooover?  Yes, that kitchen is cool, but not as cool as your thoughts and your photos and your life.  Know who YOU are.  Embrace who YOU are.  Blog who YOU are.

2. Respect the originality of others.  To be an honest and original blogger means putting yourself out there.  It means sharing a piece of who you are- even if it's only a small piece.  Whether you are sharing a photo of your latest vacation or your own personal views on global warming, what you are really sharing is a piece of you- of your life, your heart, your story.  We must respect the things others share.  We can love it or hate it, but we must be kind.  This means we cannot, under any circumstances, take from others without their consent.  My best friend is the most amazing artist I know.  She blows my mind with her incredibly unique style and leaves a trail of beauty behind her wherever she goes.  Naturally, people want to be like her.  Even though I understand that, it hurts me to see people copy the things she does that are so special and unique.  There is room for all of us.  We must be original and let others be original too.

3. Blog blindly.  Yes, we want people to read our blogs.  Yes, we love it when people leave us comments.  Those little comments tell us we are heard and that we matter and that we are, perhaps, even a little bit rad.  We want to see our numbers go up and our followers go up and our incomes go up.  Having said that, if you are blogging for numbers, it's going to be really hard to stay true to yourself.  Besides that, if you allow yourself to feel good when your numbers go up, you have to also allow yourself to feel bad when they go down.  Why do that to yourself?  If you are constantly looking at the number of comments, the number of followers, the number of visits you get and everyone else gets, you're going to end up like the crazy lady downtown who zips around on roller skates while holding a stuffed animal and talking to herself.  You are more than a number.  The people who come to your blog are more than numbers.  Be true to yourself and blog what you love without looking over your shoulder.  At the most, you will become an overnight sensation and all your wishes and dreams will come true.  At the worst, you will leave behind you a legacy that is a true representation of who you are.  Let someone else worry about the score.  (I literally put my husband in charge of that from the very beginning of Shabby Blogs.  I have no idea what my numbers are and I don't want to know!)

4. Be kind.  Don't you just love nice people?  I love nice people.  I love it when people aren't afraid to genuinely compliment others because they recognize that pointing out the good in someone else does not take from the good of oneself.  If you come across a blogger who inspires you, tell them!  Leave them a comment or email and let them know the good you see in them.  Share their blog with your friends.  Do whatever you can to encourage that blogger and build them up.  Isn't that what you would want people to do for you?  In high school, I always used to hear girls talking to girls about other girls and saying things like, "Isn't she beautiful?  I hate her!"  For goodness sakes, why do we do things like that?  What a waste!  I am genuinely drawn to people who are kind to others and who are always looking for ways to lift up those around them.  Those are the blogs I want to follow and the bloggers I want following me.

5. Blogging isn't everything.  Gasp!  I know, right?  Shabby Blogs is all about...well...blogs and here I am saying it isn't everything.  That may seem strange, but it's the truth.  I've seen so many people whose lives have become what they do to have material to blog about.  Please don't get me wrong.  Blogs matter.  But the best blogs are written by people who live their lives to the fullest...far away from laptops and hard drives.  If you want to know that you are special and you are valued and that you have something to offer the world, the best thing you can do is turn off your computer.  Read to a child.  Volunteer at a hospital.  Go for a walk on the beach or in a forest or up a mountainside.  Never lose sight of what matters most.

You can download and print this beautiful quote designed by the ever-inspiring Alisa Holland here.