a little luminous

A couple of basic photography secrets

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Last week I was fortunate to attend a photography basics course. In the past I've done quite a few short photography courses, up to a mid to advanced level, so I was unsure what I'd get out of it. But the simplicity of the teacher's hints was magic. Here are a few I learned...

1. Use your 'big' lens for people photos, and your 'small' lens for landscape photos.

Not sure why this didn't occur to me sooner, but I had it in my head that it should be the other way around. I thought that to shoot a far away landscape, use the zoom lens, of course! To photograph people, the zoom lens was too close for comfort. Well, I knew not.

In fact: the small lens (50mm-ish) is great for landscapes and scenery because it shows a wider view than the zoom lens.

The zoom lens is great for portraits, because a) you are a certain distance away and people will act much more naturally than if they had a camera up their nose, b) you will get some nice, artistic blurring of the background behind them, and c) photography is all a matter of perspective. We are not accustomed to being just a few centimetres away from other people, so pictures taken from that distance are most likely to look uncomfortable and a little warped.

2. Use the multiple shot function on your camera

This is super useful when photographing people, animals or action. Things happen so quickly and using a digital camera means you can snap away without wastage. The multiple shot function can take several images per second and capture priceless facial expressions. Even professionals take lots of photos to get one perfect picture.

3. Use the flash outside and natural light inside

In the daytime, the best place to get a well-lit photo outside is in full shade. If that's not possible, use your flash. The sun casts very dark shadows, for example under the eyebrows and nose, especially in the middle of the day, and the flash will act as a filler to make a more balanced photo. Plus it puts a sparkle into people's eyes!

Inside, flashes can look too stark and they cast harsh shadows. If it is a well-lit time of day, taking pictures near windows with the interior lights on can provide enough light to take a lovely image.

Just a trio of simple tips that might make all the difference to your photographs :)

Eating to help with eczema and allergies (what's helped me)

I've always battled with eczema and chronic allergies, and since I was a kid I've been on steroids, antihistamines, asthma medication, a trillion topical creams et al. Some of it helped, a lot didn't. It wasn't until I became an adult and started looking into nutrition and health that I learned of the food as a pharmacy concept.

After years of reading and experimenting I've come up with a few foods that have helped me to manage my skin and other symptoms effectively. One thing I've learned is the simple but often overlooked fact that everything in our bodies is connected. All my life I've been treated separately for skin problems, asthma, sinus issues, sore eyes, and digestive problems. However, the magical fact is this: each problem boils down to inflammation.

Inflammation itself isn't a bad thing - on the contrary, it's a necessary and important reaction our bodies have when healing. Like when you cut yourself and it turns red and swells. But you don't want to be red and swollen all the time. If your body is constantly sending in the troops, your immunity is going to get worn out pretty quickly, paving the way for illness and other issues. 

What causes inflammation is different for everybody, and it's worth experimenting to see what works/doesn't work for you. Also pretty please note - I've had all the allergy testing done and I am not allergic to any foods per se, so I was able to experiment at will. 

My major symptoms tend to be skin rashes/red patches and cracking in sensitive areas such as behind the ears and lips, itchy scalp, asthma, itchy eyes and sneezing/runny nose. Attractive, right?

I'd say the single most important factor in my skin/allergy improving diet has been adding more 'good' fat - which can seem counter-intuitive, which is probably why I didn't try it earlier. SO, onto the helpful foods:

• Avocado - a total lifesaver! A few months ago when these were in season and super cheap, my rashes virtually disappeared, and I was breathing easy. Now that I can only find one a week, I can really tell the difference. The avocado contains easily digested 'good' fat, vitamin E, potassium, fibre, vitamin B6 and is delicious. 
• Olive oil - easy to add to salads and also yummy. High in monounsaturated fats, can reduce cholesterol, anti-inflammatory, great for skin.
• Honey - antiseptic and antibacterial. There's also a theory that local honey (local to you) can assist greatly with allergies, if you are allergic to something local like pollen. 
• Berries - great in baking or smoothies or raw! Antioxidants, vitamin C, anti-inflammatory.
• Apples - the skins have anti-inflammatory properties, and they go so well with...
• Nut butters! Especially almond butter (OH MY - try it, it is the ultimate combo) which has vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, is anti-inflammatory and an immunity booster.
• Runners up - spinach, tomatoes, cucumber and coconut oil!

The foods I've found are the most inflammatory for me are sugar and dairy. I am usually sneezing and wheezing within an hour, sometimes less. When I'm on my best behaviour, eating less of these and more of the foods above, I see a vast improvement in my symptoms. Which is a great incentive!

Having fun in a rigid workplace

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(My desk is not nearly as cute as this)

My day job is a pretty bland, structured environment, and sometimes it can be hard not to let all that paper pushing and report writing get me down. Timed tea breaks, telephone call logs, no music. A poster that says "Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?" It's got it all!

That poster actually does make me smile a little though, because although it's condescending, it's true. In previous jobs I would get to a certain point when all the shiny learning and fun had worn off and just whinge and moan frequently about how crap things were. And when I wasn't moaning, I was thinking it anyway.

Well not anymore, baby. One of the most important things I've learned is, of course, thoughts become things. You get back what you put out. Where attention flows, grows. All that stuff. Totally true.

I can direct my mood and how happy I am at work (most of the time - still practicing this) just by changing my reactions to things and changing my thoughts to fun ones. And also by being a bit silly!

Here are some of the techniques I use:

• Consciously relaxing my shoulders and taking a deep breath when I find myself becoming tense
• Reminding myself that it's just my job, and only a small part of my life
• Remembering that worry doesn't help anything or anyone
• Creating my own little systems that make me feel better - such as drawing quick cute pictures next to headings of reports I have to fill out all day, and thinking of ways to save paper (makes me feel green and productive)
• Changing my passwords to things that make me laugh or feel happy - then every login is a smile waiting to happen!
• Using PINK to highlight everything
• Dancing in the corridor until I turn the corner into the main office, when I return to my straight faced self, but laughing inside (yes, there are probably cameras, meh)
• Making conversation and jokes with colleagues
• Being chirpy and amiable on the phone with customers - it can feel like a convo with a friend
• Leaving 'HI!' post-it notes on colleagues' keyboards
• Being super helpful - it creates good vibes and people think you're awesome
• Cubicle yoga - I have in fact attempted to do yoga poses while 'picking up paper off the floor'. People rarely notice
• Making a gratitude list.

One day soon I'll be an entrepreneur but for now, a desk job is where it's at. It's so freeing to realise I can choose whether to let it feel bad or good. It's not that there's nowhere I'd rather be, but thoughts are so powerful they can make the best of any situation. I say, you can make a few little sparkly seconds of fun anywhere. Make a face in the bathroom mirror, followed by a Charlie's Angels gun pose. Then go back to your desk and try not to smile. Impossible!

 

April to-do list

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This month I plan to WILL!:

• Ride my bicycle
• Try a new dance class
• Eat more fresh food and love it
• Practice releasing resistance
• Take a photo every day (Think of it as project 30, not 365!)
• Focus on the things I love
• Wear colour
• Create a new product for this site
• Journal
• Make super smoothies
• Be the little ray of sunshine I know I can be <3

Psychics or tarot readers... have you visited one?

About 8 years ago I saw a psychic and a tarot reader within a couple of weeks of one another. Now, they definitely weren't top notch by any means - in fact, I think one of them had a fold up table in a shopping centre - but what they said really got under my skin. The readings were scarily similar - both said I would have two children before I was married at 28, and that I would never find a job I was happy in.

The job thing bugged me. A lot. And I thought I would be married way before 28. But how the years fly by. I'm 28 this year and no babies and no ring! Which is totally fine :) But the readings made me second guess a lot of situations. If I met a guy, I would think, is he the one I'll marry at 28? How soon before 28 should I be having these two kids? Essentially, even though I knew I should have taken it with a grain of salt, I regretted it. It caused me worry! And because of this I don't think I'll see a psychic again.

Also, I have never been one who wants to know what's coming either. I love surprises!

I do have friends that have had very accurate and positive experiences as well. What about you?

Underwater love

Yesterday I was blessed to spend the day out at Seaworld. I love Seaworld, and aquariums, and swimming and snorkelling! I just love being close to sea creatures.

Underwater is so quiet and serene, complex, beautiful and vivid. Snorkelling along a tropical reef is utterly magical. Seeing dolphins playing in the ocean makes me feel hyper alive. 

So why do we have such a primal connection with creatures of the sea? Maybe it's our evolutionary roots. Maybe it's the beauty of the relative unknown.

The connection between dolphins and humans is a well-researched topic. They are intelligent and emotional and their genetic makeup is surprisingly similar to ours. They respond to us and show love.

I am definitely going to make time for more underwater love!

What about you?

Intuition and my higher self

Today I started to realise my 'higher self'. It's a concept that Jessica Mullen talks about frequently on her lifestream and until today, quite frankly, I didn't really get it. I mean, I accepted it, as something other people could have, but not me. I certainly didn't have a higher self  - if I did I would surely be much more self aware, and not stuck in ruts or doing repetitive, unevolved things like binge eating or getting jealous. But today, I realised, it's kind of precisely obvious that I must have a higher self to be aware that those behaviours are repetitive and/or unevolved. 

It started to make more sense to me when I read what Jessica wrote about her higher self being the best version of herself. Rather than thinking of a mythical inner person, I can relate to the person I aim to be, who is also connected to the universe at large. My higher self has her shit together, is clever and confident, she's fitter than I am and less moody. She knows what she wants and fits it all in. She doesn't waste time with silly hangups. She's patient and non-judgemental. She's compassionate and balanced. She's my intuition.

By chasing and doing what makes us happy, we get closer to our higher selves. Being closer to our higher selves innately brings about happiness, because being closer to our higher selves means we're closer to where we ultimately want to be.

We are on the right path.

We are a vibrational match!

From here I plan to pay more attention to my higher self and what she tells me. Tuning in can only make me more aware of what I want and more aware of my wisdom! I can really tell when I am getting close, I feel hyper awake and aware and inspired. It's amazing!

What she's telling me now:

You feel like you're falling off track because you're scared of change and success. Let go of your resistance and believe it's possible. Be open to love and all possibilities. Keep being your true and positive self and abundance will surround you. You know this already!

creating a vision board

(images from all over the interwebs - sorry I didn't keep the links!)

So...this is my current vision board. I LOVE to create a vision board!

A vision board is a powerful way to visually express your wants, ideas and aims. It could be valid for the next 12 months, or just for one event. It might be for what you want to wear, room design, holiday plans, career ideals or yoga goals. Anything you can imagine, you can create a vision board for. 

Because I am a wordy person, I use text as well as inspiring images to sum up how I want to feel. When I put my vision board up on the wall, I feel happy every time I see it! It offers some guidance, keeps me on track, reminds me to take steps in the direction I want to go. PLUS you get to trawl the net looking for pretty things!

This particular vision board is quite broad - some of the images are for a room I am making over, and others are just for me!

Seeing the things you want daily keeps them fresh in your mind. Your mind then subconsciously works at achieving them. So many people have amazing stories about vision boards, including Jack Canfield, who wrote about it in his book The Success Principles (super recommendo, by the way). Jack cut out a picture of an incredible house for his vision board: one day, when he became successful, he aimed to buy a house just like that one. Years later, Jack did become successful and bought an incredible house. He looked back through his old vision boards and found he'd bought the exact house he'd envisaged with his board. Nice!

If you don't feel drawn to compile images into a board format like this, you can use a blog, or tumblr, or pinterest, or polyvore, or cut out pics from magazines, or keep a folder on your computer full of amazing stuff hand picked by you. Or make your vision board your computer or phone background!