Monday, March 23, 2015






















Thursday, March 19, 2015


The concept of taking blurry pictures is hard to grasp and can frustrate many people. This concept is frustrating too many because our minds are trained to view blurry pictures as mistakes while crisp and clear pictures as perfection. Taking blurry pictures is especially hard for perfectionists because they want everything to be perfect and blurry pictures are the complete opposite.

Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman, photographers and bloggers, are two of the few people in this world who find beauty in blurry pictures instead of frustration. In their book, A Beautiful Mess: Photo Idea Book, they describe the beauty they find in blurry pictures, how blurriness can make a picture better, and how to take good blurry pictures.

When taking blurry pictures on purpose you can either set your camera on manual to select how far you want to blur or where you want to blur and if your camera doesnt have a manual setting you can shake your camera a little while taking the picture or later you can blur the image with a photo editing app. While taking blurring pictures keep in mind not to photograph faces because it may turn out unflattering (Chapman and Larson 86). The two photos below and the one above are ones I took trying out the concept:
 
 
Before taking these pictures I expected the concept and technique to be frustrating to try because Im kind of a perfectionist myself and blurry pictures are completely against what I like; as I was taking these pictures it was a lot easier than I expected and I actually liked how they turned out. I think the reason why I like blurry pictures now is the same reason why Elsie and Emma love them so much because like they said,  "When you choose to take a blurry photo, you are trying to capture a feeling more than a specific feature or image" (86). After reading that sentence in the book I said to myself that Im go to take more pictures that conveys a feeling and I realized that not everything has to be perfect to hold beauty.
 
My question for you guys is are you a perfectionist?
 
Citations:
Chapman, Emma, and Elsie Larson. A Beautiful Mess: Photo Idea Book. New York: Amphoto, 2013.
Print

     In my last post I showed you all how to do the profile face and putting the face all together, Im not showing face expressions because with manga drawing you basically draw face expressions based on the story line you are writing or just how you are feeling you draw it on so drawing face expressions is with your preference. With the book it help me learn on how to put the face together and how each eye should look like for each manga character; now moving on we are going to start on how to draw hands with this we will be drawing a girls hand-palm down.


       As you are beginning you want to take " your pencil and draw a square" (Camilla Derrico 54). when drawing the square it does not have to be perfect but, make sure its a little wider at the top(Camilla Derrico 54).  At first your like "what how do you draw a hand like this?" but, dont worry it will come together as you are drawing the fingers you want to first draw" four circles above the square, then add four vertical rectangles extending from the tops of the circles"(Camilla Derrico 54).



with the next 3 steps you want to repeat drawing the second set of circles for the knuckles and should be slightly smaller with the next set of rectangles make sure it is a little more narrower with drawing the 3rd set of circles make sure to draw slightly more smaller circles, with are the final ends of the fingers and fingertips. (Camilla Derrico 55).


As you are drawing it might seem hard but with me its always practice that makes perfect even if you dont get it the first time dont worry keep trying till you perfect now as you are making the thumb part of the hand you want to draw 2 circles " A little one larger than those at the top of the square and draw another smaller one about forty-five degrees slightly above" ( Camilla Derrio 55). Then you see those empty spaces between the circles you want to draw a square between them; add a small triangle on top of the forty-five degree circle ( Camilla Derrico 56).


In this last couple of steps its important that you pay attention now to put it all together you want to take your pen and draw a big outline around all the shapes; extending the lines at the base of the hand to create a wrist (Camilla Derrico 56). You dont want to make it weird with a hand and shapes in between them so what you want to do is " Erase your lines. To draw the fingernails, make a half-moon near the top of each finer, then draw two staring lines down the side to complete the nail" (Camilla Derrico 56).



Dont fret and Dont stress drawing hands take time as well as drawing faces, even though im not the best at drawing at least im trying my best and that is what you should do as well trying your best and not giving up.

Question: Do you ever see yourself as a drawer or do you think that you can only draw stick figures only? and If you do draw already what do you think the most hardest part about drawing is?

 Citations: DErrico, Camilla, and Stephen W. Martin. Pop Manga: How to Draw the Coolest, Cutest Characters, Animals, Mascots, and More. First ed. New York: DErrico Studios Ltd and Stephen W.martin, 2013. Print.

Dear friends,

Once in a while it is nice to have a day off with your friends or just by yourself. While my lovely fiance was away I had time to get the camera out in the world and take pictures a whole day!
I started early in the morning, around 7 am - that is when my shift started. I could take these 2 foggy shots of Krakow in the moment when it wakes up. Not a lot of people on the street and even less cars out and about.
Empty parking places and empty elevators - this is why I love the 7 am shift - not a lot of people around and I get to see the sunset in peace and quiet. I get to open my laptop in time and I begin pulling the reports while the others are sound asleep ;))) and I get to have the first cup of tea of the day fully relaxed (in case no Outages appear and the whole world turns topsy turvy ;) right?!)
As my lovely other half was away for a week he left me some things to do and I fulfilled them honorably - or so I believe :) And I had some business to do in Kazimierz (in the old town) so I managed to get a few shots of the streetart in the area :) The cute thingie hugging the heart was just too adorable to resist ;)
But checking one thing off the list I had to celebrate + I was very hungry as I had not eaten a thing the whole day so I was famished! = a treat was in order. And what better treat than going to a Heavenly Place :) A Heavenly Place with sweets and good tea :) the best place in the world!
And that place is Cupcake Corner Bakery :) You can find them on Facebook or on their Site ;)
Here is what they say of themselves on FB:
"Description:
Cupcake Corner Bakery, is an authentic American Bakery making cupcakes & muffins and brewing fresh organic Fairtrade® coffee with the utmost care. We start out with only the finest and freshest ingredients from Magdagascar vanilla beans to local produce. Our treats are baked daily so that our customers can enjoy them as fresh as possible. We are the first authentic American bakery in Poland that specializes in cupcakes and jumbo muffins using original recipes that have been tested for many years. Please come and have a cupcake, muffin, or coffee to brighten your day."
Basic info
You really need to check them out! If you do not believe me, start with their site! It is so adorable and user friendly! It comes in the Polish & English version so everyone could prance about it and gather more info :) I love their cupcakes (even though they also have awesome muffins and ice-cream) and you can see what type of cupcakes they do daily. They have a schedule for each day of the week and you can select your fav and see in what day they will do it :) They make everything from scratch including homemade peanut-butter cups, vanilla extract from Madagascan Vanilla beans cured in vodka, freshly crafted caramel sauce, and more!!!
You can have Organic Coffee and Tea (also you can take it to go or you can serve it there, on those comfy chairs and couches, or even (I did that!) you can sit at the very nice big table, in that vintage comfy and fluffy bench and pretend you are a queen... having your very own cup of tea... munching on the muffin that your Royal Subjects prepared, for your delight! - hey! a girl has the right to dream/fantasize, right?!).
This Magical Place can be found in Krakow in 3 central locations:
1)ul. Bracka 4, KrakĆ³w
Monday to Saturday (8 am to 9 pm)
Sunday (9 am to 9 pm)
2)ul. Grodzka 60, KrakĆ³w
Monday to Saturday (8 am to 9 pm)
Sunday (9 am to 9 pm)
3)ul. Michałowskiego 14, KrakĆ³w
Monday to Saturday (8 am to 7.30 pm)
Sunday (9 am to 5 pm)
The pictures were taken in the Bracka venue ;) just in case you wanna visit the exact same place :p The ladies who serve are awesome and if you are not decided on the drink to go with your muffin/cupcake/ice-cream you can always count on them to tell you the options ;) I knew I wanted a cheese and fruity (I think it was strawberry/blackberry) muffin, that would keep me warm and cozy for the day (trust me! after it, you will find your tummy quite full!) + something to drink... but I was thinking more in terms of a smoothie...
Yet the ladies told me about this new type of tea in their collection - a fruity green tea type. And they gave me a sample to smell the ingredients and see if it was up to my taste. And , by God! it was positively brilliant!!!
The two of them - muffin and tea - went hand in hand and made my insides warm and happy! I do not regret the choice and I recommend it with all of my heart! It was EPIC! No... wait! It was... LE-GEN-DA-(wait for it!)-RY! ;) The muffin was not sweet. It was more cheesy type than sweet ;) and it actually went like it was real food, not a tasty snack! Well... job well done Cupcake Corner Bakery!!!
Does it not look delicious?!
You must excuse my selfies though - I have a horror of asking other people to take my photo so I always end up taking it myself. It was fine though, as I was alone (at the beginning) in the back room of the venue so I could take all the pictures I wanted :)
What I really liked is this World Map :) You can take a pin and pin the place you are from on the map. Guess what?! There was a pin from Bucharest - Romania - as well! Someone from Bucharest was here and ate cupcakes/muffins in the very place I was! Silly me, I forgot to put a pin for Iasi... I promise to do so next time ;)
Adorable details on the sitting sofa :)
Tell me the truth... would you not stay there for an entire day and feel cozy about it?! I know I would! It is very cozy and simple and minimalistic and yet so very comfortable with its vintage details and white walls and cute artsy details! It is delightful! :)
The history:
"Julie grew up in a family of bakers, and her earliest memory of baking was making cupcakes in her mini- oven at the age of six. Julie brings to the bakery 16 years of baking experience and a repertoire of family recipes passed down through generations. "
Awesome Green Tea With Fruits :)
P.S. I want to have Julies recipes :) They are awesome! Tell me just one - I dont wanna steal all the secrets, but I want to be able to do those magical muffins :)

**I did this post out of love and I have not been payed or offered any muffins (although I would have liked that!) in order to write this!**

Yours truly,
The Muffin/Cupcake Loving LadyBug

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