markus schwarze

German photographer, Markus Schwarze has begun the delightful project One Picture Every Day. I love his photos. I love the idea. 

Photo: Markus Schwarze

the gallery: outside my front door

Week five of The Gallery over at Sticky Fingers, and, this week, Tara asked for photos of outside our front door. I've been inside busily editing pictures so far this week, so this is my interpretation: outside my front window. Most of our bulbs were dug up or damaged by naughty squirrels this year; the hand-full that have come up are a real treat. The sun came out and bee buzzed past right as I got there!

Photos: Heidi Adnum

leather oyster/credit card holder

Handmade by London-based designer Dee Hewitt.

etsy UK - meet up

The lovely Amity (Etsy's UK blogger) has arranged an informal meet up on Thursday 8 April, 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey, SE1 3XF. Everyone is welcome - even if you're not an Etsy seller/buyer and simply want to learn more about what opportunities Etsy might hold for you - entry is free but space is limited, so please RSVP ASAP!  I'll be there to share some tips on photographing your items. Can't wait to meet you!

Photo: Heidi Adnum

happy monday

Photo: jwlphotography on Flickr - fabulous pictures with some clever special effects.

recipe competition: results!

Hooray for Irrum! She's the winner of our little design a recipe competition with Dorset Cereals. Irrum's delicious entry was 'Chocolate Granola Delight'. 

Yum yum! Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
200g plain chocolate
50g unsalted butter, melted
4 Rich Tea biscuits, broken
125g Dorset Cereals Chocolate Granola
Method:
1. Melt chocolate with butter
2. Add biscuits and granola
3. Mix until all dry ingredients are coated evenly
4. Scoop into muffin cases
5. Top with more delicious Dorset Cereals Chocolate Granola

Rob also crowned three fabulous runners up:
Melanie's Fruity Nutty Chocolate Granola

Afsha's Rice Pudding Galore

 

Faria's Chocolate-Topped Granola Hearts

The recipes may feature on DC's website soon. Huge thanks to everyone who entered, it was super cool of you, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

the gallery: me

I've only just picked up on The Gallery - a great idea from Tara over at Sticky Fingers. Tara suggests a theme and invites us to submit a photograph or blog post with a photograph that meets the brief. A nice way to enjoy photographs online and to find more fab blogs, too. So, I've missed weeks 1-3 but better late than never, right? This week the theme is 'me', which made me giggle as I had only recently emailed this picture to my mum in Australia. She and dad were on a wonderful holiday (cruising from Sydney to Perth, then the Indian Pacific back to Sydney) and, whilst they stayed a few nights with an old friend in Perth, emailed me to make sure everything was OK and ask if the postcards had arrived. This was my reply: a Photo Booth photo of me with all the postcards and photos and a nice cup of tea.

optimism

Last week I attended Optimism, one of the Wellcome Collection's Packed Lunch events. Tali Sharot, a neuroscientist, spoke to us about 'maintaining optimism in the face of reality'. Tali is looking into the mechanism of optimism, and said that, on average, most people have a mild optimism bias. We even got a free apple. You don't have to be in London to attend, you can listen to it online for free. You can also subscribe to the iTunes feed. I also visited Identity while I was there - highly recommended. May I also say that the Wellcome Collection's cafe run by Peyton and Byrne is stellar!

Photo: Heidi Adnum

4am project

Anyone keen enough to rise at 4am on 4 April can take part in the 4am Project. They're looking for photos from all around the world and all you need to do is take a photo of what you see on that day at that time and upload it to their Flickr page. I hope a photograph of what's out the lounge-room window counts?

Photo: getgood

moviepeg

What a great idea! £4.99 per stand and they deliver worldwide.

Thanks to swissmiss for bringing Stilsucht's post to our attention.

committed

I've just finished reading Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert. Mel gave me Eat Pray Love for my birthday in 2007 and, like millions of other people, I absolutely adored it so couldn't wait for Committed. Read more about the book its reviews here. I loved it (as expected!) - did you? 

When Keo presented us with his hen and her cardboard box, he did so in the manner of a gentleman farmer, with a proudly outstretched arm: "And this is our chicken!". Elizabeth Gilbert, 2010.

a positive view

On the topic of free, daily exhibitions that close on 5 April, have you heard about A Positive View at Somerset House? Enjoy over 100 pieces, including one from Henri Cartier-Bresson and all of these artists:

Photo: Text on A Positive View's website

destination tsunami

Last week I attended an RPS meeting at the Guardian/Observer's offices in N1 to hear from Roger Tooth, who is Head of Photography there. In the foyer of the building (otherwise called 'The Guardian Gallery') is an exhibition well worth your time: Destination Tsunami: Stories and struggles from India's southern coast, by Sohrab Hura. The collection of black-and-white images explores the effect of tourism on the tsunami-effected areas of southern India, four years after the disaster. Visit the exhibition until 5 April. Open 10:00 - 18:00 daily and admission is free.

Photo: Sohrab Hura

sandy puc

I really enjoyed reading about US children/family photographer Sandy Puc in Scott Kelby's 'Guest Blog Wednesday' last week. Sandy seems lovely and it was great to read about her career and business success, especially her charitable work. Fun videos, too, especially the 0:50 second mark in this one:

Video: Sandy Puc

more kenya for charity and new spring

Over the weekend I added more prints from personal projects to my Etsy shop: seven new Kenya for Charity images and a new collection of pretty spring blossoms. I hope you enjoy them! Some to sample now; Clothes Line and Three Men and a Bike:

And for spring, Blue Moon and Pink Roses:

Photos: Heidi Adnum

jeongmee yoon

I was browsing lovely New Yorker Joanna Goddard's blog earlier this week and found an article I hadn't noticed before: The Pink & Blue Project. Just over two years ago, Jo introduced us to Korean photographer JeongMee Yoon, the creator of The Pink & Blue Project, started in 2005 inspired by JeongMee's own daughter's obsession with pink. The amazing project continues today and JeongMee has revisited some of her little models, years on, to repeat the process. The photos are very powerful and all that pink and blue is really quite shocking! 

Photos: JeongMee Yoon; SeeWoo and Her Pink Things, Jeonghoon and His Blue Things

recipe competition: less than one week to go!

Enter now! More info here and here. 

Photo: Dorset Cereals

céleste boursier-mougenot

Talk about a must-see! I had the pleasure of visiting Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's exhibition in 2008 and it really is hypnotising. See it for yourself at the Barbican Art Gallery until 23 May. Free admission. 

Photos: Heidi Adnum

new service

I'm so pleased to welcome a new and complimentary (and optional) inclusion to my photo shoot package: a post-shoot consultation and image presentation service. This has been a natural progression as many clients have been so eager to see the images (and had questions about them, too, e.g. maximum print size, gift ideas, framing and grouping options, etc.) and I absolutely adore seeing the children again and my clients' reaction to their fancy new CD of pictures. It's been so enjoyable that I now want all clients to know that they have the option, too. The service is available to all clients within London, Zone 3 and the alternative is still to have the CD sent by Royal Mail 1st Class Recorded post at no extra cost. 

good time ring

My clients receive the images from our shoot together on CD. With their CD, they can enjoy the pictures digitally by uploading them to their computer, email, digital photo frames, Facebook and online storage and display websites such as Flickr. There's also the option of those fun photo products that you can order using the digital file (mugs, calendars - the list goes on). Well, here's another idea! The Good Time Ring from Yellowgoat's lovely shop on Etsy. It's made from sterling silver and is designed to make a tiny picture look like a polaroid right there on your finger. All you do is print out your picture to size and slide it in. So much fun and a great gift idea. 

Photo: Yellowgoat

recipe competition: less than two weeks to go!

Here's a sneak peek at one of the delicious entries for our design a recipe competition, which closes Monday 22 March - yum! There are fun prizes for the winner and runners up and thirteen days left to enter.

infusion camera bag

I shopped around for months to find the right camera bag for my shoots (Lowepro CompuRover AW), which also doubles as a great carry-on bag when I'm shooting abroad or taking the camera/laptop on holidays. But I find the in-between bag - more than a camera case, less than a hand-bag - really tricky to find. Often they're still too big or too small, uncomfortable or just too black and nylon-y! Well, thanks, once again, to Etsy for connecting us with a world of clever and creative people who can help. Etsy shop 'Infusion' (almost two years old, almost 1000 sales) from Oregon, USA, offers made-to-order camera bags in natural fibres. The lovely and stylish grey bag pictured sells for $69US (+$10.50US shipping) and is designed to fit a small point-and-shoot, along with a spare battery, memory card, etc. Looks like you could fit a passport, room key, purse/wallet and mobile phone in there, too. If you like the look but need a larger size, you only have to ask.

 Photo: Infusion, Etsy

humphrey

One month ago today our beloved family pet, Humphrey, died. He was almost fifteen. My favourite picture of him was taken during when he was a few months old during his first winter in 1995. Tiny and fluffy with razor-sharp puppy teeth, he was bounding out of his kennel to meet me early one morning. It's scratched - the camera was old and chewed up the film as I rewound it - but I am just so glad it wasn't ruined altogether. It's precious. The gorgeous video afterwards reminded me of him.

Thanks to SwissMiss for the video. 

smilers

Put a smile on Granny's face with Royal Mail's Smilers stamps. Select one of your digital images and away you go. Available in 1st Class, International Europe and International Worldwide from £7.58 plus p&p. 

Smilers photo: Heidi Adnum

hello darling! vintage

Hello Darling! Vintage is now open at Etsy! Mel and I have been working on a fabulous collection of vintage pieces from in and around London and it's now ready and waiting to meet you. The collection is an eclectic mix of clothing and accessories for women, men and children, and pieces for the home. We dispatch worldwide on Thursdays and will add more pieces regularly. Our bangles have already made their e-debut on LilithEvy.

Photos: Heidi Adnum