What Inspires You Wednesday: How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall?

Practice, Practice, Practice

There is always room for improvement. At least, in my world. I'm always looking to get better at things, including photography.  There is so much to learn.  There are also so many kinds of photography from portraits, nature, landscape, food, product, travel, interiors.....the list goes on and on.

I came across a great blog post over on design*sponge- Photo101: 5 Tips For Shooting Interiors- and it inspired me to give at least one of the tips a try.

Shoot Straight

According to contributor Maxwell Tielman, with regard to photographing interiors 'when it doubt, it is always best to shoot straight on'.  Use a room's wall as a guide to establish a grid for your perspective.

via design*sponge

Here's my attempt at putting this rule into action.

Welcome to our lounge.

 

Like Maxwell, I'm not a big fan of rules per se. However, it's nice to learn some go-to techniques that you can fall back on should all else fails.  

I think I'd have to compare some photos taken at angles to explore the difference. I can see how shooting straight keeps things looking cleaner and more intentional, even in the most cluttered interiors.

Have you been inspired to improve on anything lately? 

Ciao for now,

Ode To Orange

Last night's moon is my inspiration of the day.  It was a lovely sunset, but as I pulled the covers back and was set to hop into bed the moon caught my eye. A bright orange crescent.  It was so pretty I had to go back outside to snap a shot.





Copyright Pamela J. Bates, 2011

Pretty cool, huh? Worth going back outside in my Pj's.

 
I've always liked orange, maybe it was growing up in the 70s when pops of orange were common place. Regardless of the reason, I still like a pop of orange here and there. It's a happy color and there are so many hues, it doesn't have to remind you of Halloween.

When we were decorating our addition, and specifically our lounge, we needed a chair that would fit in one of the corners. We wanted it to be comfortable and the right size. Gar and I hadn't even discussed color. We walked into a local furniture store and lo and behold, a chair we were both drawn to immediately. You gotta love a guy who can, not only handle a chair this color, but who actually loves it. Made in the USA-- right on Cape Cod! It was ours. Now, I'll admit, this chair flirts both on the orange side and the pink side. Is it watermelon? Or is it persimmon? Call it what you want, we call it comfortable, well made, and perfect.





Copyright Pamela J. Bates, 2011

Orangey crushed velvet. An unexpected pop of color. Sweet. Plus it went perfect with our Dollar Tree dishtowels that were the color inspiration for the lounge.

  
My friend Sylvie gave me a felt purse in a wonderful burnt orange color. It's bead work was so pretty, I decided to put it where I could appreciate it everyday. I've never carried it on an evening out. It hangs on the side of our game cabinet in the lounge, and it seems very happy there, so that is where it stays. 





Copyright Pamela J. Bates, 2011

A gift from a friend, this bag hangs on a cabinet instead
of in my closet waiting for the right occasion.

 
Our Tiger Lilies have popped!  Just like I knew they would, just in time for 4th of July.  These were transplanted from my sister Dianne's yard, and each year I have to conquer and divide. They are prolific spreaders and their bright orange color really add to any garden. Easy to maintain and care for as well. A gardener's dream.





Copyright Pamela J. Bates, 2011

This morning's sun really shows off the beauty of this Tiger Lily. Gorgeous.

   
I realized I had even more pops of orange in the house beyond the lounge.  We came across this beautiful print on one of many trips to Ireland, in a little restaurant in Cork. It was hanging on the wall and for sale. It came home with us. The artist is Val Byrne of Wicklow, but this painting is somewhere in the West of Cork.   It used to hang above the mantle, but right now I'm still trying to figure out where to put things on the wall after painting the front rooms. So, for now, it sits on the mantle.  Alongside Bates Mercantile Co.'s 'Be Happy' Pennants printable wall art available in our etsy store.





Copyright Pamela J. Bates, 2011

A wonderful color explosion in this signed Val Byrne print.
Love the little orange house vying for attention amongst the bigger buildings. 

 
Orange makes a regular appearance in our sunsets. This is one of it's more brilliant nods at dusk this past May. Glorious.




Copyright Pamela J. Bates, 2011

How absolutely beautiful.

 
Isn't it time you added at least a little orange to your life?

Happy Wednesday. Make it a good one.

Does anyone else miss Domino Magazine the way I do?

I used to wait for it to arrive in the mail, read it cover to cover, ogle at the pictures, drool over the designs, dream about how I could make a design work in my own home………the list goes on. I still have them all, which will have to suffice I suppose, since Domino suffered a quick death in 2009 when Conde Nast shut it down, along with other longtime favorites like Gourmet.  Apparently, Domino now appears- incognito to say the least- under the Brides online masthead, but I think the publishers would be smart to start……well, publishing it again.

I mean, just look at this built in bench!! ***Design Love***

As an ode to the now defunct Domino magazine, I’ll take a cue from one of their regular features 10 Things That Make Me Happy.

I now present to you on this first Friday of our blog....

5 Things That Make Me Smile:



Our lounge could nearly count for a few of the things that make me smile, including: a great spot to play dominoes; flokati rug;- LOVE;  the beautiful painting we bought from a wonderful artist, Nicola, in Piazza Navona and had one of my high school teacher (Rob Devantery in Newfields, NH) frame, a chaise that actually fit the way we needed it too;  my $1 bargain dishtowels that rest on the back of each couch cushion and served as the inspiration for the room. I warned you this picture alone could
have been the entire 5 Things That Make Me Smile post!



New York City's Grand Central Station (officially Grand Central Terminal).
Simply magnificent and awe inspiring.

Warning: Gratuitous Stanley Cup Post!! Michael Ryder, holding the Stanley Cup above
his head and my Boston Bruins going all the way when nobody
thought they could or would (except me).
Sorry Vancouver-ites. It was a great series.
That bunch of guys REALLY know how to make me smile!

Our new living room curtains........ah, burlap.....full of texture,
earthy good looks, and yes, VERY inexpensive. 
Beyond that, I didn't even sew these. Just cut,
strung some lovely ribbon through them and hung them up.
This was partly out of necessity as my sewing machine
was killed in a basement flood last spring.

Have a great weekend all. We are sure to.......we celebrate our 23rd anniversary tomorrow, and we get to do it in fantastic style, as we are attending the 50th Anniversary celebration of a couple of wonderful people - The Harrolds!