Q: “What season is your favourite to travel in and where would you go based on your answer?”
Monthly Archives: October 2013
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Platform 9 and 3/4 in London, England
If I was not a photographer this next bit would not have bothered me so much. I am sure many people come every day and never have this view point…or I just love Harry Potter way too much and my expectations got shattered. I usually always have my 50mm on my DSLR because it is a great portrait lens and I was getting nice portraits of my mum and sister with my family while they were visiting. However due to the close proximity of the queue of other HP fans and where the staff members were located there was no way to get a ‘perfect’ shot. I had to shoot off from the side and I could not get back as far as I needed too. For the portraits I took it ended up being okay but for my portraits the family member that took my photo cropped out important parts of Platform 9 and 3/4. Not to mention the lens did not work for our family shot when we had to all look sideways.
The answer for that would be okay I will rely on the photographers they have to take our portraits. They are armed with nice DSLRs and flashes and look all professional with their HP staff badges. Everyone gets their photo taken in time with the guy who fluffs the scarf in the air. You can view your photo at the gift shop and purchase it to take home. So I thought…sure maybe we can get the family one from the store. The gift shop was not the place to be if you do not like small cramped spaces as it does not do well with crowds of people. Then when I finally saw our photo my heart sank. I maybe would have taken it if it was free but I certainly was not going to pay money for that shot. It was horrible.
Here is my thought on purchasing the photos. Right above where platform 9 and 3/4 is located they have huge wonderful skylights. So unless it is nighttime or extremely stormy out you are going to have wonderful natural lighting coming down like you were in a fabulous photo studio. Yet the staff taking photo use their flash for every one. I cannot comment whether they change their settings during their shift but after seeing our photo I would have definitely changed the exposure and better yet taken it without the flash. It was the one time I got really frustrated. It really is hard when you know so much about a something that it kinda ruins the experience when it is out of your control. So we did not buy that photograph and we walked away with photos that despite the weird angle are far better exposed.
My husband reminded me that they also say to you in the queue something to the tune of ‘You can take your own photos but they will not be as good as ours.’
I love Harry Potter and I hope to go again and maybe beat the crowd control during a quieter time. Also cannot wait to go to the Harry Potter tour in London too! Have you been?
*Photography by Bonnie Rose Photography © 2007 – 2013 All Rights Reserved | www.bonnie-rose.co.uk
Weekly Wishes #6: Theatre and You
- Step Up and Volunteer your Services: My local theatre group has a newsletter that goes out every month, to which I am subscribed. I read in a recent newsletter there was a need for a secretary for their monthly meetings. I felt it was a great way to get involved and so far I have really enjoyed it.
- Attend a Script Reading: Most theatre houses and drama groups will have readings through out the year. This is a great way to meet people and enjoy the theatre scene. You may even get to be involved! I was asked to take a part for a rehearsed reading at our local group and found myself on stage once again after ten years of absence from the theatre. If you have never been to a script reading, I definitely recommend it!
- Audition, Audition, Audition: Yes if you really want to be involved you got to put yourself out there. I have been wanting to do this since my kids both became school age but let the ‘american accent’ be my excuse. I finally decided to go and went to my first audition this summer just to try it once. It ended up getting me introduced to one of the local theatre groups and to attend another audition. This one for the Cinderella Panto in January and I got a part. We had our first read through this weekend and I was so excited to meet the whole cast.
- Have a Skill: The theatre is not just about being on stage and acting. There are so many facets to the theatre community and ways you can help out and be apart of the group. From backstage to the front of the house. All you have to do is ask. See what doors open for you.
MOVING | Previously our landlady had decided not to renew our lease which meant we would be having to move days before Christmas again. Between Expat stresses of getting my husband’s visa this month we were also constantly looking at places online and going to viewings in person to find a new ‘home’. Our prayers were answered at the end of last week when we found out our landlady would not be needing the property back and would renew for another six months. So now I can officially plan to be here for Christmas and decorating and put off the house hunt until 2014.
1) Always taking photos 2)The rehearsed script reading 3) My Self Portrait 4)Playing with my lighting 5) Reading my Panto script 6) B.Lux Student badge…keep a look out for it! 😉 |
- War on Girls: a new post in the series yesterday about an inspirational poetry slam.
- Advice: I would love if you could help me break down that fourth wall and share what you love or may not like on the blog so I can tailor this both for you and me.
- Travel Tuesday: I am still doing Travel Tuesday link ups and have changed the button in case you are still using the old one. Hope to see you all tomorrow as I will be mentioning our November theme!
- Self Portrait: Along with my goal of posting every day, doing one self portrait a week is my other. Played around with slower shutter speeds this weekend and had my son help out for a more conceptual piece. Whether you just like to follow along or want to link up it is a Self Portrait Saturday challenge.
The War on Girls: Poetry Slam
Watch the Video via Upworthy |
“You have been taught to grow out, I have been taught to grow in. You learn from our father how to emit, how to produce, to roll each thought off your tongue with confidence. You used to lose your voice every other week from shouting so much. I learned to absorb. I took lessons from our mother in creating space around myself. I learned to read the knots in her forehead while the guys went out for oysters.” – Lily Myers (Shrinking Women)
Self Portrait: ‘Pause’
It must be a ‘self portrait’ and does not need to be an image you took this Saturday. Feel free to link up to past Self Portrait posts in your blog. This link up will be every Saturday so feel free to use that as your motivation to learn more about your camera, hone in on your photography skills, try out new post processing techniques, and let your creative spirit come alive. Join the Self Portrait Saturday challenge!
* Self Portrait: ‘Pause’ by Bonnie Rose Photography © 2007 – 2013 All Rights Reserved | http://www.bonnie-rose.co.uk
Thank You & Your Feedback
- What are your favourite blog posts on ACR?
- Which series have been your favourite?
- Do you like guest posts?
- Which guest posts have been your favourite?
- Do you like the link ups and which link ups would you participate in?
- Do you like occasional giveaways?
- I notice many bloggers share new photos of themselves in every new post. This is not something I necessarily do. Do you feel like not having that aspect makes it harder to connect to me?
- What do you not see that you wish I had more of on ACR?
- Are their things you love on other blogs that I do not do here?
- Are there things you think I could do better at?
- Would you like to see something changed?
- How do you read ACR? On your smart phone or on the computer?
- Do you like following me on other social media sites?
- Which social media sites to you like following me on? (twitter/pinterest/facebook/instagram/etc)
- Do you like the photography portions to ACR?
- What makes you excited about returning to this blog?
- You love coming here…what would be your dream posts to read here?
- What would you love me to blog about?
Answer one, answer all it is up to you. I just started typing questions as they came to me. I really appreciate your feedback as I just to make ACR better for you. I love writing and sharing my photographs which is why I enjoy blogging so much. However I want to break down that ‘fourth wall’ and really hear from you so that I can connect my blog further to my readers. No two blogs can be the same which is why comparing can lead to ruin. Help me instead continue to evolve ACR into what it should become. I appreciate any feedback you can give me.
* Bridal photo up top: Photography © Miriam Pinkston Visual Artist, 2009-2013 All Rights reserved.www.miriampinkstonphotography.com
** Custom graphics original to A Compass Rose by Bonnie Rose © 2005 – 2013 All Rights Reserved | www.bonnieroseblog.co.uk