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Archive for category Hobbies

White Backgrounds For Commercial Photography

Jul 10

Posted by Eco Friendly in Hobbies | No Comments

One of the most well liked backgrounds for studio photography is a solid white background. One of the most challenging aspects to employing a white background is when the topic is also wearing white or is holding a white product. As the paparazzo you have to separate the white subject from the white background and not tell them they cant wear their choice of clothing. Many photographers appear to never get the separation correct and if you look at advertisements in many mags you will see an absence of detail where the white color blends.

What you could need :

Some say you’ve got to have plenty of space so that there isn’t any reflection from the setting to the subject. Fine if you’ve got the room but depending on your camera settings you could have issues even with 15 feet of space between the white background and subject. This reflection is sometimes called spill, wrap or aptitude depending on where it comes from. No matter what you call it photographers wish to avoid it unless you are going for a unusual look.

What I do is light the white seamless paper from behind my subject. I attempt to allow about 8 feet so I have space for my lights. I use from three to four lights. When using four lights two are on each side. When using 3 I have one on each side and one behind the model concealed from sight. I have used soft boxes and umbrellas with equal results. If using an umbrella be sure to have the black liner attached to prevent spill. A black poster may also be used if you’re feeling more light blockage is needed.

Employing a light meter placed in front of the model slightly under her jaw take a reading. Point the meter toward the camera and fire all of the strobes. If the reading is F11 and you are happy with that setting then move the light meter to behind the model facing the background. Take a reading of the flash and it should be 1 stop under. No more and no less. You can move the model closer or further away for easy adjustment or adjust each of the background lights. At one stop or F8 in this sample you would have total separation of the white background and the white clothing worn by the model being snapped. Whatever setting you need for your subject just make sure the background reading is one under.

A good photographer should be able to picture any color of clothing with any background or light conditions. If you book a photo shoot and your photographer tells you not to wear white because it is hard to snap I recommend that you look for a new cameraman. All that statement shows is a dearth of knowledge about photography lighting.

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Making Your Own Beer .

Jul 8

Posted by Eco Friendly in Hobbies | No Comments

With home beer making made less difficult, lots of people are jumping on the band wagon and either as a hobby, or indeed to save on money, home beer making is escalating in popularity.

Local brew shops and several supermarkets now stock home beer making kits to make things even easier! Having said that, brewing beer is a simple process, requiring only a few utensils, and can easily be brewed from scratch.

Before you begin your home brewing it is essential that all utensils are sanitized properly. Bacteria can grow quickly even though beer is ‘live’ from the yeast and this can result in horrible tasting beer.

To brew your own beer from scratch it’s important to use fresh ingredients. These can easily be purchased from your local brew shop and will make a considerable difference to the final taste of your home brew.

Once you have all your ingredients and have sanitized your utensils, then by sticking with the instructions below, you will be well on your way to making your own home brew.

1. Steep your grains in a large pot with at least 3 gallons of hot water, for roughly thirty minutes or so.
2. To make the ‘wort’, boil for a further 30 minutes with added malt hops/extract.
3. Right after boiling the ‘wort’, transfer the pot into a sink or tub filled with ice cold water. It is important you do not mix this water with the ‘wort’, so please be careful.
4. Your cooled’ wort’ should now be placed into your formentor for two weeks or so, in a cool, dark place.
5. The next step is to make a sugar priming solution and place this into your bottling bucket.
6. To remove the fermented ‘wort’, after two weeks, use a siphon, ensuring you leave the sediment at the bottom of the fermentor.
7. Pour into sanitized beer bottles and cap instantly.
8. Now place these filled bottles of beer in a cool, dark place for a further fourteen days.

Brewing your own beer takes around six hours: four hours or so for the brewing process, then a further two hours on bottling day. With the brewing process taking roughly 4 weeks, you will soon be able to sit back, relax and enjoy your very first home brew beer.

To find out how simple it is to make your own home brew, and tips on home beer making, contact us today.

Thanks

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Recycling Household Items For A Cool Green Craft Project

Jan 20

Posted by Eco Friendly in Hobbies | No Comments

Everyone is looking for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle for their craft project. All you need is some basic art and craft supplies and some imagination and you can turn almost anything into a marketable craft project. There are old items all over your home just waiting to be turned into a cool craft project.

Simple bookmarks can now cost as much as $10 at a bookstore! You can make them yourself by recycling greeting cards you have received. All you need is old cards, some poster board or cardboard, some felt tip markers, and glue.

Cut a strip from the poster board or thin cardboard about 8″ x 2″. Cut strips from the greeting card with the same dimensions and glue them to the cardboard on both sides. If the bookmark is a gift, you can write a message on it. To make the bookmark more durable, cover it with clear contact paper or laminate it.

For added decoration, use a hole puncher to make a hole at the top of the bookmark and thread a piece of bright yarn or ribbon through it. You can use the same process to make beautiful gift tags. Just make the strips shorter!

Your old artificial Christmas tree can be turned into fantastic, special projects that will add beauty to your home. We usually associate wreaths with the holidays but by adding some beautiful dried flowers and colorful ribbon, you can recycle your old tree into a decorative piece of art that you can display in your home all year.

Using tin snips, remove the branches from the center pole. Take a wire coat hanger and bend it into a circular shape but leave the hook intact. The branches will wrap around the coat hanger easily and you can make it as thick as you want.

To cover the wire hook, just wrap it with cloth ribbon and tuck the end into the boughs or tie them in a neat bow. Once you have secured the branches, you can decorate it any way you wish.

You can use hot glue to attach tiny stuffed animals to the boughs for a fun wreath for a child’s room. Or, you can weave silk flowers or artificial berries through the branches for a beautiful hanging in your kitchen or bathroom.

Old clothes are a gold mine if you’re looking for a craft project to work on. If you have kids who love dolls or if you’re a doll collector, then you can turn old clothing into beautiful doll clothes.

Dolls are very popular collectibles, so you can even sell these pieces at craft fair or on Ebay. If you’re looking for new projects for the kitchen, then try turning old sweats into pot holders. For older children who are especially artistic, use a needle and yarn to stitch a face on, and voila!

Being environmentally friendly can be fun as well as responsible. The next time you’re cleaning up the basement or garage, study items before you throw them out and imagine the new projects you could start.

Can that old towel be made into rags for your car? Perhaps an old lamp shade can be transformed into a plant holder. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a craft project and craft fairs to keep you busy. In fact, everything you need is probably right around the house.

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Organic Gardening And The Eco Friendly Lifestyle

Jan 8

Posted by Eco Friendly in Hobbies | 1 Comment

Ecological gardening is a fun, satisfying and inexpensive methodology of gardening. Regardless of the many benefits of this approach few people have thus far been able to fully appreciate the benefits, just because most lack the necessary understanding and experience. What the organic gardener does is, essentially, a form of biomimicry, or emulating nature to unravel problems. When correctly done, organic gardening can produce top quality food and landscapes, enhance the garden environment, protect water quality, and preserve natural resources.

It’s a vital aspect of how to go green.

In a healthy ecosystem, such as a natural grassland or a forest, the living plants, be they evergreens (like the trees) or annuals (like the grasses), drop litter to the soil surface as a part of their annual cycle. Organic gardening is a methodical (holistic) approach that involves a full knowledge soil and soil management, integrated pest management, the life cycles of plants, pests, and the natural enemies of pests.

Pest Elimination

However, the organic gardener approach is way more than getting shot of the utilization of synthetic insecticides and fertilizers. Organic gardeners endeavor to work in conjunction with nature, and view their gardens and landscapes as part of a system that begins with the soil and includes insects, plants, the water, wild animals and humans. Plainly it is to think more longterm, using natural fertilizers to build your soil up. Healthy soil means healthy plants, and healthy plants produce better, offer premium taste, and are better able to battle illness.

Organic pest control requires an in depth knowledge of the pest life cycle, and involves the cumulative effect of many systems, including :

  • Inspiring favourable microorganisms
  • Permitting for an acceptable level of pest damage
  • Using insect traps to monitor and check up on insect populations

Each of these strategies also admits other benefits, for example soil protection and improvement, fertilization, pollination, water conservation and season extension.

Composting An Integral Part

Composting is in some ways the guts of organic gardening. What goes into the soil comes out as pretty vegetables, flowers, shrubs and trees. Composting is becoming quite a thing to do – as itis also one of the ways to prevent global warming – and special composting bins can be acquired or even made quite simply. Your compost will be the most significant source of nutrients which has got to be added to the soil.

Plants grown in healthy soil are healthy and immune to pest and diseases. So, what occurs below the ground is as important as what occurs above. Plant the borders of the garden in native flowers or plants such as clover or alfalfa to attractbeneficial insects such as lady beetles. Avoid planting vegetable crops in massive blocks. Planting trees and bushes in the middle of flower beds varies height and makes your garden more visually engaging. Just be certain to reflect on how tall your trees will grow in say 20 years, as well as where their roots will spread and where there shade will fall.

Organic gardener skills are not a new idea, but does represent an increasingly popular sort of gardening. The climate changes occuring right now more or less prescribe that this is the only possible way to go in the future. And as it is also healthier for you it is truly a win-win suggestion. Here you can find even more resources on organic horticulture.

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Organic Gardening And How To Go Green

Nov 6

Posted by Eco Friendly in Hobbies | No Comments

Ecological gardening is an enjoyable, satisfying and inexpensive strategy of gardening. Notwithstanding the many benefits of this approach few people have so far been able to embrace it, simply because most lack the required understanding and experience. What the organic gardener does is, essentially, a form of biomimicry, or emulating nature to unravel issues. When correctly done, organic gardening can produce high quality food and landscapes, enhance the garden environment, protect water quality, and conserve natural resources.

It is a very important part of how to go green.

In a well-preserved ecosystem, such as a natural grassland or a forest, the living plants, be they perennials (like the trees) or annuals (like grass), drop litter to the soil surface as an element of their yearly cycle. Organic gardening is asystematic (holistic) approach that involves understanding soil and soil management, coordinated pest management, the life cycles of plants, pests, and the natural enemies of pests.

Managing The Bugs

However, the organic gardener approach is much more than getting rid of the utilization of man-made insecticides and manure. Organic gardeners endeavor to work together with nature, and view their gardens and landscapes as part of a whole that begins with the soil and includes insects, plants, water, wild animals and humans. Simply it is to think more long-term, using natural manure to build your soil up. Healthy soil means healthy plants, and healthy plants produce better, offer premium taste, and are better able to battle illness.

Organic bug elimination requires a thorough knowledge of the pest life cycle, and involves the cumulative effect of many techniques, including :

  • Using insect traps to supervise and moderate insect populations
  • Permitting for an acceptable level of pest damage
  • Inspiring constructive micro-organisms

Each of these techniques also allows for other benefits,such as soil protection and improvement, fertilization, pollination, water conservation and season extension.

Composting Successfully

Composting is in some ways the center of organic gardening. What goes into the soil comes out as attractive plants, flowers, shrubs and trees. Composting is starting to become quite a thing to do – as it’s also one of the paths to stop global warming – and special composting bins can be purchased ormaybe made quite simply. Your compost will be the most significant source of nutrients which has got to be added to the soil.

Plants grown in healthy soil are healthy and impervious to pest and diseases. So, what occurs below the ground is as critical as what occurs above. Plant the borders of the garden in native flowers or plants like clover or alfalfa to draw inadvantageous insects such as lady beetles. Avoid planting plant crops in huge blocks. Planting trees and bushes in the middle of flower beds varies height and makes your garden more visually engaging. Just be sure to consider how tall your trees will grow in say twenty years, as well as where their roots will spread and how they will eventually shade your garden.

Organic gardener skills aren’t a new idea, but does represent a more popular sort of gardening. The climate changes occuring right now more or less dictate this is the only way to go in the future. And as it is also healthier for you it is actually a win-win suggestion. Here you can find even more resources on organic horticulture.

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