Back to Reality

After taking a vacation from reality for 2 weeks, I'm back! It's taking me a little longer than expected to snap back into the old routines, but I'm getting there...

Basic summary of my trip:
Vancouver, Canada ~ Cruise to Alaska with ports in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, one day in Glacier Bay (WOW!) ~ One week of driving around and getting lost in the wild Alaska

I just gotta say this was a trip of a lifetime! I honestly had a hard time coming home... but I ran outta money :P I will be going back though... soon!

The trip did start out a little bumpy though, our flight was canceled and we were delayed for 8 hrs.... our luggage was lost up until a few hours before the cruise... then once on the cruise I tripped walking up stairs and fell flat on my face. No worries though, no cameras were injured and only a couple witnesses were "dealt with". But after all that, it was smooth sailing!

I highly recommend, if you've never been or even thought of visiting Alaska... go now! It is an ever changing environment and who knows how long it will stay as pristine and simple as it is today. And really, you can do Alaska on a budget... if it weren't for the cruise, I would have spent the same if not less than on any other trip. Honestly, we hung out with a couple that rented a VW and just drove all over, when they got tired they would just pull off the road and sleep! They packed lunches for the day, and at night ate at a reasonable spot. Showered at the laundromat (which they all had showers!). The costliest part of their trip was the flight & rental! This must be common practice in Alaska though, because we saw a ton of RV's and vans pulled off for a break... and camping was allowed almost everywhere.

So now I have the joy of reliving the experience by going through my thousands of photos! It was a huge learning experience as I've never photographed wildlife before... so don't expect many great animal shots! The major lesson learned on this trip was when photographing an animal, don't be afraid to turn up your ISO. I'm one that is stuck on 100, too afraid of noise to ever venture out of that realm. Well, it cost me a few too many great shots, however by the end of the trip I was getting a little more comfortable with the idea.

I'll be posting my images as I process them. I decided it would keep me the most sane, and organized, if I go through them in the order that my trip went. I'll be posting pretty much everything on my flickr account, and only the "worthy" ones in my shop... please feel free to comment, critique, give pointers... as I am always learning, and always open to new ideas!

flickr ~~~> flickr.com/photos/kimrose/
shop ~~~> KimberlyRose.etsy.com

Leaving on a jet plane....

Tomorrow morning I will officially be on vacation! Headed to Alaska on a trip I've been dreaming about since I was little...

So, if you need me, I'll be checking email as often as I can... Also, my shop remains open and I will be fulfilling orders when I return.

Otherwise, I'll be back to reality in 2 weeks! (maybe...)

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Just a couple updates on my shop:

• Last day for my 50% off sale is today! So get your orders in now!!
• Later today I will be posting my vacation notice on my shop….

✽ ✽ Vacation Announcement! ✽ ✽

I'll be away until 5/23/09 & will be leaving my shop open. Orders made between now and 5/23/09 will not be processed until 5/24/09. I will be doing my best to check convos & emails, however replies may take me a bit longer.

Thank you for understanding!!
✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

What's your default Image Viewer?

Mine... for years now, has been IrfanView. I would recommend this program to anyone in a heartbeat! In fact I was even brave enough to install this program on my parents computer! And they can now use most of its simplest features... they're the type that still call me up because they need help checking email.

So what exactly is IrfanView?
"IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer"

"It is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals."

And how exactly do you pronounce IrfanView?

pronounce "EarfanView" ~ interesting huh!

What is the IrfanView icon, is this a bear or devil or something else?
"This is a red CAT, a road cat. Note, I like cats, but this is a joke ;-) "

Basically, the simplest thing Irfanview allows you to do is view most image formats. Other basics include quickly cropping, resize, batch conversion, etc... I mean really, you just have to get this program, it does everything... I think they're working on a plug-in to make your morning coffee! (I wish)

It really is my favorite little program that I always keep around because it takes up pretty much no memory, so when you need to re-size a picture, and you don't feel like waiting for your memory hog graphics program to open, this comes in handy! Plus, this program is very user friendly... You really don't need to know much about graphics to do the basics... They also have a handy little forum, user created tutorials (in the FAQ section), and it comes in a ton of languages & skins!

Did I mention its FREE?

Print Lab Review - Miller's

New print lab review... Miller's Professional Imaging

If you are familiar with Mpix, your probably familiar with their sister company Miller's. So to get the basics, you can read my Mpix review!

But I do have some things to add that make this print lab unique from Mpix.

First, their paper!! They offer the same basic papers, but also add in textures that you can apply for an artistic look and feel... while at the same time protecting your images from being scanned! Miller's also offers a fine art paper, similar to a watercolor paper, thicker & a little texture with a smooth feel. You can see the wide variety of paper choices once you place your first order... at that time they mail you out a sample kit, a BIG sample kit!





Another nice point to mention is that Miller's offers to print out a few 8x10's for free when you sign up, this is so that you can soft proof... not the best way to calibrate, but still useful! Also, they include a copy of each to show how they color correct if you choose that option. I found my print colors to be right on target, no change with the color correction... pretty much the same as you would expect from Mpix.

Be warned though, I use Miller's strictly for bulk ordering because they do have a $10.00 minimum order or else you are charged that annoying little handling fee. Not that $10 is much, but when you just need 1 or 2 prints and they cost below $1 each... its a hassle. Also, in order to view their pricing, you must be a customer with a login... not a problem for me, just another username/password to keep track off.



They do have a slightly tricky ordering process though. You have to download their software to place orders and as far as I noticed, you have to place similar orders as in ALL metallic prints. Or ALL black & white prints. Another hassle, but well worth it for bulk ordering. Also, their software has frozen up & bugged out on me a few times now so hopefully they will be fixing that issue.



I have printed some greeting cards with Miller's on their linen paper so I thought I'd let you know that while the texture is different and fun, the cards themselves are a little bit flimsy... just so you know what your getting into. I have found that a few people really go nuts for the linen regardless...





And now for the why! Why do I use Miller's?? Free Shipping :) So when I need to print out some greeting cards, or a bulk order of prints (all on the same paper) to fill up my portfolio... I go with Miller's. They are fast, and when they messed up one of my orders I saw a brand new re-print on my doorstep in 2 days along with a few apologies.

So, to review my print labs so far:

• Mpix ~~~> quick orders, when only 1 or 2 prints needed
• Miller's ~~~> bulk orders to fill up my portfolio, or press items (ex. greeting cards)
  

Features on Muah :)

Please go check out these 2 amazing blogs that have featured yours truly!

This first blog, On a Roll created by a very talented knitter, has done a feature on my images, and also made a comment about my work that was so sweet …. “Her images are striking and often dream-like.” So please stop by her blog and leave a comment, and don’t forget to check out her amazing shop!

Couple of my favs from On a Roll’s shop…

This next blog, Autonomous Artisans I’m very honored to be included in… It is created by a few very talented & kind people.

I was interviewed about my thriftiness in photography, focusing on my lighting and light tent… The article as written by the very talented artist Michelle of mkc photography.

So please go check out this very well written article on some thrifty photography tips and leave a comment! And of course, don’t forget to check out Michelle’s amazing art and shop.

Couple of favs from mkc photography…