new camera!

So, you'll realize that this post should have come after the French Fries post, but I'm so excited that I'll share it anyway!

I have a new camera! A nikon D600, which is a full-frame camera — an upgrade that I should have done about a year ago, but I was lacking on funds. Until now. I finally took the leap and I can honestly tell you that the difference is astounding. 

I had been struggling with sharpness for a while. I looked at everyone else's pictures and I was heartbroken that I couldn't make mine look that clear, that focused. I tried and tried to go over it on photoshop, but it did close to nothing — ending up leaving me sad and frustrated and not even wanting to photograph. 

Until I bought the D600. 

I realized that the problem wasn't exactly mine, but the camera's. The full-frame makes a huge difference — the photos are clear and sharp and wonderful. It's amazing. And here are some of the examples!

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Se lerem bem o post vão perceber que este era suposto vir a seguir ao da French Fries, mas eu estou num entusiasmo tal que não aguento esperar até ao fim da tarde! 

Tenho uma câmara nova! Uma Nikon D600, que é full-frame — e que eu já devia ter há coisa de um ano, mas a verdade é que me faltavam fundos. Até agora! Consegui dar o salto, finalmente, e constatar que a diferença é abismal. 

Há algum tempo que eu andava a lutar um bocadinho contra a falta de nitidez e de clareza das minhas fotos. Eu olhava para o trabalho todo à minha volta e ficava de coração partido ao aperceber-me que não conseguia fazer o mesmo; tentando em photoshop ou na própria máquina, não havia nada que desse aquela nitidez, aquele contraste às minhas fotos. E isso deixou-me imensamente frustrada. 

Até comprar a D600.

Apercebi-me que o problema não era exactamente meu, mas da minha máquina anterior. O facto de a D600 ter um sensor que permite o dito full-frame faz toda a diferença e torna as fotos absolutamente maravilhosas. Eu estou histérica de felicidade. E ficam aqui alguns exemplos!

This was the first picture I took. ||  Esta foi a primeira foto que tirei!

the cat in the woods

the cat in the woods

it's somewhere in this patch of the woods. it's here. It has to be. this is where she buried it and oh my god, she can't have lost it, not now, not when the flames are coming. she needs to find it. mushrooms, plants, small insects. there are bones from the carcasses of small rodents and her finger lingers on the bone for an instant, waits for the soul of the mouse or rabbit to patch itself onto her finger and moves on. one more soul, one more creature. she has almost enough.

her feet are cold against the tree trunk she is standing on. she can hear the men in the back, shouting, asking the women to take the children, take the animals they can. the fire is coming to take the village and there's not much they can do. but she does need to find it. she needs it desperately.

if she doesn't find it, she won't be able to carry the souls of the dead.

she considers dropping the soul of the small animal to leave more space for the humans, but she knows she won't be able to. all souls are alike, she was told. humans or animals, they are equal. neither has predominance.

a small rat makes its way through the wood and stops, stares at her. she hisses. the rat isn't impressed, but the tiny paws come together and she knows it's one of her own. she's probably looking for souls to save, as well. they share a look and the rat moves on.

'take them for me, would you?' she whispers, and she swears she can see the faintest nod. she can go back to searching for the vial. it's somewhere in here.

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I hope you like this. I really, really, really hope you like this, because today I finally feel like I'm telling stories again. this photo feels like a new beginning, like coming home, like doing what I love. I'm actually happy about it. And all I had to do was to get out of the house and shoot. i realized this week that I hadn't taken my stuff and gone into the woods to shoot in almost a year and a half. I forced myself to do it on wednesday, because it was sunny and warm and I wanted to try out my 1.4 in the wild — and this came out. I am so very happy about it. I hope you are too.

And let's hope I'm able to keep up doing this, and not slacking like I have been until now.

Thank you so much for your immense support, dear friends. You guys are amazing.

I am less than fifty followers away from 2,000, on my facebook page! Don't forget to like it and to tell your friends, I am doing a print giveaway as soon as I reach 2k!
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I will keep asking: do not blog my photos without credit AND linking back; do not use weheartit.com to bookmark my photos and please please PLEASE don't instagram my work. Thanks to those of you who respect these requests.

photo dump (aka I made the mistake of letting the photos pile up)

This post could also be known as 'how Lu can spend a week baking and cooking and eating and still act like she's getting thinner'. Oh well.

a ton of pictures after the cut!

I baked several things this week. Starting with brownies! They were so yummy! I hadn't done them in a couple of years, but I felt like I needed something to get me through election night (Yay Obama!). I was up until 6.30am, waiting with America to see who's leading them. And I was so, so happy. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to stay awake for the speech, but my eyes were falling closed and I just couldn't. I woke up at 1pm and Wednesday was basically a lost day. Whatever. I had brownies. 

On the same day of the brownies, I decided to roast some meat I had in the freezer and seasoned it with fresh thyme from my herb garden. It was really pretty, so I had to take a picture. Bear with me.

Cut to yesterday! My sister was with me for the weekend, so what's better than baking cookies to entertain her? Last week I bought some ready-made gingerbread cookie dough from IKEA and I thought that it would be the right time to use it. It didn't disappoint. It was easy to work with and Gabs absolutely loved it. Of course, her batch couldn't even go in the oven, due to the ridiculous amounts of flour she put on it. But I made enough for the two of us. 

(winkwink at my love. I made us cookies!)

Okay. I'm a camera whore. ... sorry?

 

Of course, I have a stupid rule about photographing food: natural light, natural light, natural light. So the cookies only looked decent enough to photograph this morning. That's cream cheese frosting. I had so much of it left from the cookies that I made something else you'll see in a second. 

Also, I have absolutely no talent for decorating cookies. 

Today is November 11th, which means it's Saint Martin's day! It's a tradition here (and I imagine in other countries of the same heritage) to eat roast or boiled chestnuts with the family. We didn't have the traditional bonfire, but Grandma and I boiled some chestnuts and had them after lunch. They were so yummy. And so pretty!

And to end my bake-it-all weekend, I decided to put the leftover cream cheese frosting to good use and make some carrot cake. It's amazing. Modesty aside, one of my best, and ridiculously fast! I loved it! 

I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend, and an even better week ahead of you! Smile! And talk to me! I love hearing from you guys! 

my autumn

I'm not usually a fan of the Fall. I prefer the Spring, when everything feels new, or the Summer, when I can run and take my bicycle and wear tiny dresses. I usually equate the Fall and the Winter with rain, with depression and loneliness. 

Maybe it's because I'm neither. Maybe it's because I'm okay, even with a few mood swings; I'm working as a dessert chef at my dad's restaurant, I'm taking pictures, I have my garden and my 52 Stories and my NaNoWriMo almost starting. So I'm good. And being good allows me to appreciate the things I don't normally do — which is exactly what I've been doing these days. 

I spent my afternoon, yesterday, taking care of my garden. I trimmed the tomato bush (oh goodness!), tied the tallest plants to sticks (I have a cucumber branch that is taller than I am!) and moved things around to give them space to grow. I also picked a handful of tomatoes and chili peppers, as well as an eggplant! I have eggplants!

Today, after having lunch with my friend J, I came home and started my tiny herb garden. I've had a lot of offerings from people around me, mostly for small herbs, like mint or basil, so I filled up a vase with dirt and now I have thyme, rosemary and parsley growing. I'm now waiting for other plants people might give me. *hint hint*

I had some time this afternoon, so I decided to try to knit a sleeve for my new mug. Huh. No. I dropped it after three lines because I got sleepy. That's how lousy my concentration ability is these days. I'm like a fly, looking — OH SPARKLY STUFF.

I think I bought this book when I was in my first years of college. I remember skimming through it, but today I actually sat and read it. It's lovely. Of course, completely outdated and almost whimsical at times. But still cute.

I have a thing for tea. Especially if it's in a pretty mug with a pretty filter. This is cinnamon tea, one of my favorites. All I was missing was a mint leaf, but I guess I'll have those soon enough. 

Have a blessed rest of week! I hope your Autumn days are filled with beauty and wonder. 

the apple pickers

The Apple Pickers

it starts with the fall, the way the applies redden on the tree branches, invading the entire orchard tenaciously.  There were rows of apple trees, of peach trees, cherries and pears. But the apples were the most important of all the land — plump and juicy, they were known to make the best apple jams and pies in the state. 

The twins rose early on harvest days. Their usual sleepiness disappeared as soon as their parents started to call their workers to the Orchard, the metallic bell resounding through the entire plantation. They picked their baskets and ran across the fields: his hand holding his hat in place as she released her braids from the morning confinement of the bonnet, leaving the scrap of fabric between blueberry bushes and the strawberry field. The smiles lit up their faces; the summer had turned to fall and suddenly everything made sense again, the warmth of the clothing, the commotion and the action of making jam and pie and spending days secluded in the kitchen, surrounded by their helpers. 

The songs of the helpers filled the air as they worked. The twins were a stark contrast to their dark skins, and yet, that was the place where they felt more included. They could sing and dance, they could jump and laugh and cry and no one would shut them up; there would be no punishment, no going to bed without dessert. The helpers? They knew what it was like to be without food. They wouldn't take it from them. It had been that way ever since they were children.

Eldora was their nanny, growing up. Replacing the figure of the grandmother that was too busy entertaining guests, she would sit them on each of her legs, hold them close until they were both asleep. They didn't talk much; they didn't need to, with her. She knew what they needed even they couldn't put it into words. 

They stopped as they reached the Orchard, their eyes following the trail of dark skinned people taking stairs, holding up baskets, singing songs of love and longing. And mourning. They were singing a song of mourning for Eldora, and the twins sat on the fence while the men and women gathered in a circle, placing their baskets in the middle. 

The boy threw an apple in the air while they stared, his concentration showing in the way he always caught it, always threw it at the same height. The girl twisted her braid between her fingers, a sign of nervousness. She should be in nursing school and he should be helping Daddy with the sales, at the office: but there they were, the clothes from when they were young teenagers only half-fitting, the hat and the checkered shirts and the skirt too short. And they were exactly where they wanted to be.

they stood still, eyes glued to the spectacle before them. There were colors and music and the smell of apples in the air. 

The servants danced now, a young girl they knew as Ginny singing a song of magic and love and the sacred land of God. And with that song in mind, they picked up their baskets and moved to help.

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Story 1/52

Welcome to my new weekly project, 52 Stories. Don't forget to this blog or Flickr to see the photos and stories posted every Friday afternoon! 

I hope you like the project and that you follow it as enthusiastically as I am making it. These projects are nothing without your words, your opinions and your encouragement, so don't be shy! Talk to me!