Think Tank Tuesday

Today's Think Tank Tuesday is all about journaling. I'm personally not a huge fan of journaling, but  I am finding that it is a necessity. I won't live forever and I won't remember every place I have visited in my lifetime. There are already many that I have forgotten and without my photos would have no idea I was ever there! It's a good thing I take photos of signs when traveling as well. I'd really be up a creek without many of them.

So why journal? You can jot down dates and places and faces. We have hundreds of photos in our mountain of genealogy and we have no idea who most of those people are. We're guessing their family, but we have no idea if they're Great Aunt Tildy or Great Great Great Uncle Fred. Why? Because no one took the two seconds to write down who they were! Everyone probably just assumed that everyone would remember. Heck, there are people in my wedding photos who I have no idea who they are and that was only 16 years ago. I will need name tags for everyone in another 20 years! Probably one for myself as well.

People come and go from our lives. With journaling, you can write down so much more than a time, place, and face. You can write the story. Isn't the story why we scrapbook? If we weren't interested in the story, we could simply have photo albums stuffed to the gills on our bookshelves. Scrapbooks don't just hold photos; they tell our story. How we lived our life. Whether we were world travelers, annual Disney vacationers, gardeners, military families who move every few months, come from large or small families, have a house full of pets, built our own house and our homes, made your own clothes or quilts, went to prom and attended graduation (yay for making it!), were born, and most importantly that we LIVED.

Here's my CHALLENGE to you: Journal. Yes, really it's that simple. But do NOT use your computer and a pretty font to type it all up. Write it out with a pen or marker in YOUR hand writing! Hand writing is going way of the typewriter.

So many kids today don't learn cursive and it's an art that has been dying since I was a child. My great-grandmother taught handwriting way, way back when. My grandfather had the most beautiful handwriting. When I was a little girl, I would sit on his lap and ask him to write for me. His name was Earl Ezra and his E's were simply gorgeous. They had about a hundred loops and looked like calligraphy. I always wanted to learn how to write like him. I loved sitting in his lap and watching him wind up to write those loops.

Sounds like a silly memory, but it still fascinates me 30-something years later and I remember it like it was yesterday. He's gone now, but I have that amazing memory and I think of him every time I see handwriting. Little did I know that as a little girl that would have such an impact on me.

This is why handwriting your journaling my CHALLENGE to you. I CHALLENGE you to create a memory for someone in your life. It could be with one of your children or a sibling. Talk about your writing. My mother has nice handwriting. It's not as fancy as my grandfather's, but her handwriting looks like a script font as well. Somewhere along the way our society lost that. That saddens me because it's another lost art form. People took great pride in their handwriting abilities and nowadays we just type everything on a computer and print it out in one the tens of thousands of fonts we have accessible to us at a moment's notice.

You and I won't be here forever. But our memory can live on in something as simple as our handwriting. While we may not particularly care for our handwriting, it is ours and ours alone. It's unique to each of us!

Until next time *

Write. With a pen. Not with mechanical means.

Think Tank Tuesday

Something new I'm starting! Every other Tuesday will be reserved for my Think Tank Tuesday posts. I may post other projects as well, but I will focus on Think Tank Tuesday for the mort part.

What is Think Tank Tuesday? It's all about paper crafting tips! Now that doesn't mean it will actually involve paper. Have something you're interested in? Message me! And I'll be sure to cover that topic.

This week's Think Tank Tuesday is all about photography. Photos truly are the backbone of scrapbooking. Where would we be without our photos? With the digital age, we have hundreds if not thousands of images at our disposal.

What about photography? Take a photography class! There's so much more to photography than point and shoot. You can take your very own photos that look like a pro took them!

I recently took a photography class from Sarah Kristiansen the owner of Sweet Jane Photography who is based out of Providence, Rhode Island. Confession time! I know Sarah from Crop on the Cape. I met her last year while taking one of her classes at the Crop. I was soooo impressed that I started following her business on Facebook and was overjoyed to see her offer workshops.

Shhh. This is Sarah looking glowy as  I
like to say. We were learning about
back lighting and being glowy.

She's actually working on more workshops! I'm so excited about this. I learned so much in just one day. I can't wait to see what else she can teach me and I can learn.

I finally understand aperture! I have taken classes before, but never quite got a full grasp on it. Now, I feel like I get it. I also understand shutterspeed and ISO. Granted, much of this has to do with DSLR cameras, but so many people have them now and don't know how use them to the best of their ability. Sarah really is all about getting you off of the auto built-in functions and into controlling your camera. You're the boss applesauce!

I shied away from having multiple lens once I got my Canon T3I, but after Sarah's class I see what one can do with a different lens. For example, I only have a zoom lens which is great for the landscapes I frequently shoot in my travels. However, it doesn't work well in low lighting unless on a tripod and I can leave the shutter open for days or what feels like days. My photos were all blurry and now I know why and most importantly, I understand why they are blurry! So lens shopping here I come! I also need to get a flash and yes, my camera came with a built-in flash, but it's pretty useless for a lot of shots. I learned a bit about using flash in my class as well.

Ribbons blowing in the wind. Notice
the fan looks like it's barely moving?

So while I may have driven over six - yes, really - hours to take Sarah's workshop, it was so worth it! If you are in the New England area or are looking for a fantastic photography class, I highly recommend Sarah's workshops. She is also teaching a couple of short classes at Crop on the Cape and you can now sign up for the classes without attending the Crop.

It's really amazing what you can shoot once you have the knowledge. Photography isn't all about the equipment. You need to be armed with knowledge as well.

One great place to check for photo checklists and ideas for photos is Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest. I find many monthly photo checklists and challenges. Arm yourself with your camera and get out there!

Until next time *

A photo a day will keep the doctor away....okay maybe not, but you'll get to see the world around you!