A Prayer

 

 

By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me –
    a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:8

Always There- Don Fransisco

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Blessings to your week, 

Nina


Here's a printable
of Psalm 42:8 for you 

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Still Life Photography - Snail mail & "From above"-perspective

 

This weeks promt in Frugal Still Life Photography-course is inspired by our guest teacher Barb Brooksbanks beautiful setting "From Above". I chose to photograph Snail mail - postcards and letters received in envelopes with real stamps. It's a pleasure to receive "an old fashioned" letter ... to open it, to read it first quickly with curiosity - and then, aften a moment, in slow pace, tasting every word, reading between the lines etc. E-mail is a fast and great way to communicate, but there is just something else opening and reading a real letter.

 

To the left: Edited in Pixrl: Layers - To the right: Texture Sepia desaturated by Cheryl McCain

 

I have received this pretty vintage postcard from my cousin and his pretty wife from France. I used twine to bind a bow around the card and two letters. I chose a linen tablecloth, where I sat both "the snail mail" and a vase of tulips. I was standing on a chair to get the "from above"-perspective, trying to hold the camera still (A tripod would be useful in situations like this!) 

Textures: Dive by Kim Klassen & Sepia by Cheryl McCain

Smitten by the vintage postcard, I have edited some of the pictures both to sepia, and black and white photos. I used Pixrl, a photo free editing program, and Cheryl McCains beautiful textures.

In the morning the light best in our kitchen, where I took these pictures. I have used a piece of white cotton cloth as a backdrop, which I fastened with safety pins on a hanger. White cloth reflects the light and and it creates a neutral background. My homemade "reflector" is a piece of white printer paper, that is fastened to a bookcover - you can see it right beside the flowers.

I am looking forward to nest Tuesday, where the next lesson in Frugal Still Life Photography goes online, together with a new promt! Yet ... I need to wait until the weekend, before photographing the promt, since there is not enough natural light, when I come home from work. But, it is worth waiting for - Cheryl's course is very inspiring! I like the frugal principle - Our homes are filled with interesting things to use as motives in photos, we just need to discover them.

Nina

 

 

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Weekly Top Shot

Oat rye granola with almonds, cranberries and pumpkin seed

Oat rye granola with almonds, cranberries and pumpkin seeds is easy to make, and it tastes scrumptious! The recipe is by a popular cookbook author 
Christian Bitz, who has a MSc in human nutrition. 

This portion size fills a glass jar of 05, liter / 15 oz.

You will need the following ingredients: 
0,5 cups (1 dl) of almonds
0,5 cups (1 dl) of hazelnuts
0,25 cups (½ dl) of pumpkin seeds
3,5 oz (100 g) of oatmeal
3,5 oz (100 g)  rye flakes
0,5 cups (1 dl) of honey
2 tbsp. brown sugar
0,5 cups (1 dl) of dried cranberries (or dried blueberries / raisins)
1 tbsp. of chia-seeds (I replaced the chia-seeds with flaxseeds)

• Chop the almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkinseeds rougly with a knife.
• Cover a baking tray with bakingpaper, and roast the chopped almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkinseeds together with oats and rye in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes at 470 fahrenheit degrees (245 Celcius). 
• Mix honey, brown sugar, cranberries and flaxseed together, and pour the mix on the top of the the roasted ingredients.
• Bake the granola for 5 minutes at 430 Fahrenheit degrees (225 Celcius).
• When the granola has cooled down, loosen it carefully from the baking sheet (I experienced that the granola was a bit difficult to loosen - it might be a good idea to grease the bakingsheet just a bit - using coconut oil would give a slight taste of coconut).

Oat-rye granola is a tasty topping to yogurt. I eat sometimes a handful of it as a snack with a cup of tea. Besides the good taste, this granola is healthy: The almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds contain many good fatty acids. 

Next time I will tripple the portionsize - I just realized that you can easily fit 3 baking trays in an convection oven!

This is the only granola recipe I have tried so far - if you have a favorite,
I would like to exchange recipes :)

Nina

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On Breakfast and Watermarks

 

I start my day with tea and breakfast - that is, tea and breakfast are some of the first things that happens every morning. As the rest of our family is sleeping in on Saturdays, I am having my early meal in the kitchen. In wintertime it's often cooked or baked oat meal or yogurt with granola and sometimes berries. I have found this nice and easy recipe on homemade granola (I'll post it here tomorrow) - just 3 tablespoons of the granola gives a nice and a bit sweet taste.

The kitchen window is towards east, so the light is lovely in the mornings ... Thus Sunday morning I grabbed my phone and took a snapshot. I have added one of Kim's beautiful textures, Lisa, first with multiply blendmode 55%, then with luminosity blendmode 7%. Therafter I brushed the texture away from the teacup and bowl.

You may have noticed, that I have watermarked this picture ... Not as "Thoughst and Images Along the Way", but as "Nina Marianna Photo". There's many reflections behind the watermarking ... I experienced this weekend that someone had "borrowed" one of my photos from the blog and set it on their profile on Instagram, as if the person had taken the picture. I had set  a watermark on that photo, but it was cropped away. This somehow made me rethink the issue of watermarking - that motivates me to start to use it again. Well - these things happen - people "borrow" pictures, without maybe thinking about it at all.

The positive reflection, which I want to focus on, is that a few friends have showed an interest in having some of my photos as a print or a canvas on their wall - that makes me happy! So in that sense, I have been thinking about how to "sign" the photos, and also about a possibility for a flexible and easy place on the web, where it would be possible to have a gallery for some of the selected photos, with a possebility that people could order some prints.
Just a few small, tiny thoughts ... But as a start, I thought of watermarking the pictures with either "Nina Marianna" or "Nina Marianna Photo". (Marianna is my 2nd name :)

I would like to hear your thoughts on watermarks in general ... 

Happy Tuesday to you!

Nina

 

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Just who you are - No more, no less

 

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are

—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves

proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. 

 Matthew 5:5  The Message

God Will Make A Way - Oslo Gospel Choir

 

 Blessings to your week, 

Nina


Here's a printable
of Matthew 5:5 for you 

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Photo taken with iPhone 5S, texture with the courtesy of Anna Lenabem

Still Life In- and Outside

 

Some of the unhurried moments this week has been:

 

• Taking photos for Frugal Still Life Photography Class - Framing and negative space has been on my mind. I have used my old silk blouse as a backdrop in the image above.

 

Texture Savor by Kim Klassen, photo veils Rosy Glow and Sunshine 5
from Photo Veil Collections by Love That Shot.

• Rediscovering the sweet pastel potteries  (one in the image above)- I have been using them for salt in the dinner table, and for raising and peanuts in the evenings ... Just the perfect size for a little snack.

 

Photo with iPhone 5S, edited in Glaze, Snapseed, PhotoToaster, PicFx and Afterlight

• The dried roses in the windowsill reminded me of last summer ... warm days with sunshine. The photo above is taken with iPhone 5S, edited in Glaze, Snapseed, PhotoToaster, PicFx and Afterlight.

• We have gotten snow twice this week, and some more is going to fall this weekeend - We might even get some sunshine on Sunday! I have enjoyed the snow and the light during small walks, alongside the fresh air.

• An afternoon with a collega planning a course  together - Cooperating is a wonderful thing, good things come up when having time to go deep with the things, that matter.

Snowy weekend greetings,

 

Nina

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Snowy Leaf

Snowflakes started to fall yesterday afternoon.
I took a little walk outside,
and found this heart-leaf covered with snow!

It was nice to hear the snow under my boots ...
And to feel the snowflakes falling on my face. That reminded me of my childhood, when me and my little brother caught the snowflakes with our mouths and let them smelt on our toungues!

As I woke up this morning, the snow was gone -
... I'm glad that a I captured the moment in this snapshot!

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The photo is taken with iPhone, edited in Snapseed-App - thereafter I have added Kim Klassen's texture 2811Magic blendmode soft light 60% and a texture Wailele blend mode color burn 23 % from Kalani Collection by Love That Shot.
 

Which moment do you appreciate having captured  with your camera lately?

 

 

Nina

 



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Shadow of Your Wings

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
  hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 17:8

 

 

...Praying for everyone caught in the extreme cold weather front.

 

Psalm 61:1-4 Song "Hear My Cry, O God"

 

 Blessings to your week, 

Nina


Here's a printable
of Psalm 17:8 for you 

Sharing with: 

Still Saturday, The Weekend Brew,
Sunday Stillness, The Sunday Community

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Photo taken with iPhone: Edited in Camera+ and Snapseed Applications

Joy and Still Life

 

Photo Nikon D 3200, Texture 2811Magic by Kim Klassen

 

The following has brought joy to my life this week:

 

My husband's thoughtsfulness  - Thanks to him, we always have garlic, ginger and chili at home.

 



Photo Nikon D3200, texture Softly by Kim Klassen

Frugal Still Life Photography Course brings new inspiration to see the old things at home in a new light - it is inspiring to photograph them in different settings. (Did you notice that I removed the garlics and filled this basket with embroidery thread).

Photo with iPhone 5S

 

 

Small walks outside - I did walk twice during my luch break this week ...

Just ten minutes, breathing the fresh air, walking about.

 



Photo iPhone 5S, edited with VSCO Camera App.

Moments with tea - Our older son drinks also tea, so now we made a big pot tea in the evenings. It has been nice to find new flavours, the men in the house ordered lately some green tea, that has a sweet, delicate taste.

Photo iPhone 5S, edited with Repix and Rhonna Designs Apps, texture 2811Magic by Kim Klassen

Family - Our younger son turned 13 yesterday! We celebrated his birthday by eating out in his favourite place (Wagamama, tasty Japanese dishes, nudles in ramah and tapah and much more ... ).

 

I have taken hold of my word for 2014 - unhurried - Its' been a good week!

 

Nina




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When You Care

You’re blessed when you care. 

At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ 

you find yourselves cared for.

Matthew 5:7 The Message

Sister Sorrowsong by Hymns of Niniveh

 Blessings to your week, 

Nina


Here's a printable
of Matthew 5:7 for you 

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Photo taken with iPhone: Hipstamatic-App,  Doris lens, Sussex film. 

Texture with the courtesy of Anna Lenabem

Unhurried {One Word}

Photo with Nikon D3200, Textures 0212, soft light 43% and 2811magic, screen 31% by Kim Klassen & Rennes, luminosity 18 %  from Olde World Collection by Love That Shot

Instead of New Year's resolutions, I have chosen One Word for this year - or maybe the word has chosen me ... The word is unhurried. I hope that unhurriedness will characterize my existence in 2014. Starting with work - keeping the calender realistic, leaving enough space between appointments ... And at home waking up just a bit earlier - making sure that there is time for a pot of tea and a mindfull moment in silence.

I have joined the lovely ladies from the creative team at Love That Shot in doing the 365; that is, to take one photo every day through 2014. I've decided to use iPhone as my main camera, using the Collect-Application, and tagging the photos with #LTS365. The collect application enables you to add one or more photos each day. You can choose a title for each day, and journalize a bit more under the section "notes". What I like most is that Collect-App sends your pictures either to dropbox or Flickr-account, and that you can post and print "a calender"-view of each month. 

Photo taken with iPhone 4S with an extern Olloclip-lens, Camera+, Snapseed &  HandyPhoto Apps

I have enjoyed the hyacints, that I received from my secret elf before Christmas. Now that they are withering, I watch the color change, and I am amazed by the pretty green-turquoise-blue tones of the flowers! When the last flowers have gotten brown, I'll plant the hyacint-onions outside.

The photo-community in Instagram is a source of inspiration and finding like-minded photo-enthusiasts, alongside the blogging community! Thanks to Sharon ( @mamaducktoo ) I have learned about Shuttercal.com , that prints your monthly photos and provides a pretty wooden box, where you can keep the 365 pictures in a neat order. By the way, Sharon has just written her first blogpost her PhotoGraphic Memory-blog - Let us welcome her by sharing some blog-love and saying hello to her!

 Photo taken with iPhone 4S with an extern Olloclip-lens, Camera+ and Snapseed Apps,
texture 2811magic by Kim Klassen 

I was reminded by the poem above by Luca's (@il-luminare) cheerful and encouraging words. Besides taking beautifully composed pictures, Luca has a way of sharing sunshine both through his photos and through the friendly and authentic greetings. He reminded me today about the power of words ... Words being like seeds, that we sow. Let us sow words of light, hope and peace.

Nina

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