I have a FREE download on offer today for anyone who might be interested.  It is a full frame, close up, black and white, photographic image of tinsel which is really useful for clipping to text layers or, indeed, to other elements within your design, to create a sparkle effect. 

If you would like to view the effect in action, click HERE to see how I used it in one of my latest and rather fun Christmas card designs, 'Dog Wearing Tinsel'.

I am happy for you to use this image for both personal and commercial use, including within designs you create for the purpose of being printed onto products that are subsequently offered for sale.  This would include items such as t-shirts, throw pillows, greeting cards etc. But please do not sell or redistribute the image; do not use it totally as is, it should be used as a part of your own design; and do not use it in such a way as the image can be extracted in its original form by third parties. 

If you know of someone who would like the image, please direct them here where they will be welcome to download it for themselves - thanks.

For anyone who would like some pointers regarding how to clip the tinsel image to a text layer in Photoshop, I have recorded a very brief video tutorial about it which you can view HERE Unfortunately I hadn't realized when I recorded this video that it would only be suitable for viewing on a desktop computer as opposed to laptop etc. I really do apologize for that. I'll have to source some better software for recording tutorials.

If you would like to download the image, click on the tinsel image below. Once on the relevant page, click on the 'Download' tab above the image and choose from the drop down menu which image size you would like.

I do hope you find this tinsel image useful and would really love to see any designs you create using it, so please do consider popping back and, in the comments section, adding a link to your relevant work.

Again many thanks for dropping by, should you wish to keep up to date with all of my latest work and special offers please 'like' my Facebook page. And should you wish to make sure that you get all the notifications from my Facebook page, click on the 'Get notifications' option in the drop down menu from the 'Liked' tab.

Natalie Kinnear is the photographer behind the inspired Cutlery Set Series of images

which offers a fascinating glimpse into the art of creative photography.

The Cutlery Set TriptychThis is one in The Cutlery Set series of images. It consists of three juxtapositioned photographs of forks, spoons and knives, placed in such a way as to create an almost floral like visual across the frame

www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk
www.facebook.com/natkphoto

30 Best Selling Creative Fonts (with Web Fonts and Extended Licensing - i.e. you can use them on products that you sell, such as greeting cards, mugs etc) for $39. If you were to buy all of these fonts individually at their regular price it would cost $1150.50, that works out at a 97% discount!  So if you regularly need creative fonts for your design work, this deal is well worth a look.

For full details about the fonts in this offer, further clarification about the terms of the Extended License and where to purchase this deal, click HERE

In the mean time, here's a quick peek at the fonts on offer

Their latest deal - The All Inclusive Design Bundle - includes 1000's of design elements which, if purchased individually, would cost $876, but they are selling it for $29. A saving of 97%! Certainly worth a peek. Their deals are run on a limited time basis and this one ends in six days from the time of writing this blog post.

Among the items in the deal are vectors, brushes, stock photos, actions, textures and a selection of fonts including the super Seaworthy font (a bit of a fave of mine) and a fun children's style font.  PLUS, there are some PDF guides and links to 'how to' videos to help you get started.

The vectors include, banners, borders, swirls, bursts, corners, dividers, frames and catchwords - just so much to play with - and it all comes with an Extended Licence which means that you can use the elements within designs of items that you sell.  

Their exact phrasing for the Extended License is as follows:

Full Deal Terms and Licensing:

This deal includes extended licensing. The means that as well as using these resources within personal and commercial projects, you can also use them in designs/products that you resell. This could be anything from a poster print to a web banner.

The only restriction is that you can't resell these items directly, or as part of resources whereby they can be extracted, but of course, you already knew that

It's also important to note that by purchasing this bundle you're purchasing a single user license. Please contact us for multi-user license.

One thing I did clarify with Design Cuts is that any item used from the deal needs to be a part of your own design and should not be used exactly as is. So for example, if you use, say, an anchor vector, you'll need to use it within a design and not use it as the total design by itself.

However, if you do find yourself still being unsure with regards to what is and isn't allowed, you'll find Design Cuts a really friendly bunch and you can always contact them to ask. 

Now we've got that bit out of the way, let me give you a teeny tiny sneak peek at a couple of the great items available in this bundle.  This really is just the tiniest snippet of what's on offer in this deal so if you'd like to see everything click here.

The Beautiful Seaworthy Font from Make Media Co

The Vectors that go with the Seaworthy Font

The Decorative Designers Toolkit by Nicky Laatz

And to finish off, here's an iPhone 6 Case I had great fun designing using elements from this deal.

Once again, thank you very much for dropping by.  If you have found this blog helpful, please do leave a comment and let me know! I always love hearing from you. And for anyone interested in staying in touch with all my latest images and special deals, please do come and join me on Facebook.

Gerbera Mix Crazy Flower - Orange Yellow sold as a large framed print.

Gerbera Mix Crazy Flower - Orange YellowThis is a contemporary color photographic image of a Gerbera mix flower against a white background, With the petals extending out at many angles this makes for quite a quirky floral image.
Natalie Kinnear Photography

And Blue Dahlia Flower against White Background sold as a medium sized unframed print.

I always feel hugely honoured when people choose my images to hang on their walls, and my thanks go to the two customers of these prints.

Should you wish to keep up with all my latest work and special offers, please do come and join me on Facebook. As you probably know, Facebook are always changing things, so at the time of writing, if you do want to be sure of getting all my Facebook posts you'll need to check the 'Get Notifications' option in the drop down menu attached to the 'Like' button. I don't over post and it's always possible to uncheck that option at a later date if required.

I'll start with my extra favourite design resource, which is Design Cuts who offer discounted design bundles for creative professionals. They are also on Facebook. I know I have mentioned them before but this is for any newcomers to my blog. Two great things about their deals are that 1) their discounts are around the 90% mark, so for example their current deal, mentioned below, is $320 worth of resources going for $29, and 2) they generally come with an extended license which means that, yes, you can absolutely use them to create designs that you sell such as greeting cards, prints, t-shirts, mugs etc.  

Obviously whenever you purchase a design resource it is important to check the terms of use (TOU) carefully, and I find that if TOU's are too complicated it becomes very time consuming, when working on designs, having to sift through purchased resources and work out which ones can be used for what.  Hence, I find Design Cuts TOU's so easy.

Here is an example of a work I created using resources purchased via Design Cuts Keep Calm and Put the Kettle On

All the fonts and nearly all the decorative elements in this design came from Design Cuts. I drew the birds myself in Adobe Illustrator and not being overly familiar with Illustrator, they took me absolutely ages to do! 

Funnily enough, the current design bundle being offered via Design Cuts The Giant Vector Elements Bundle actually includes some vector birds, if only I'd had that before! The birds are only a tiny part of the bundle, there are also some seamless patterns, curly patterns, colourful patterns, vector elements such as party, loving, curls, banners, badges, swirls, flowers, foliage ... and lots more.  I suppose the bad thing about the Design Cuts discounted design bundles is that I find them virtually impossible to resist! lol  I just LOVE having plenty of design elements in my armory, then when an idea comes to me, I'm likely to have everything I need to create the design.  

Moving on now to one of my favourite pieces of photo editing software, the Google Nik Collection. Like many people who are into photography I do of course mostly use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. So, whilst I use the former for all my photographic artworks, I do also regularly use this piece of software as well, as it gives me scope to create a plethora of additional and exciting effects.  I find it easy and intuitive to use and there are lots of options to adjust the preset effects to achieve exactly the look you are after.  It's not the cheapest piece of software but for the amount of creative possibilites it offers, I do tend to feel it's good value for money at $149.

At present the various elements within this software are:

Analog Efex Pro - for retro, vintage, classic camera effects. Color Efex Pro - for color corrections and creative effects. Silver Efex Pro - for some great black and white effects. Viveza - for selective adjustments to color and tonality. HDR Efex Pro - for HDR effects. Dfine - for noise reduction. Sharpener Pro - for sharpening.

I tend to use Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro and Anolog Efex Pro mostly, but obviously each to their own with regards to which parts of the software are most suited to their particular workflow.

Here is a recent work of mine, Summer Time Flowers Peaceful Moments, where I used Analog Efex Pro to create both the double exposure and three sections effects of the image which are really fun to experiment with. I opted for no borders then added my own dividing lines in Photoshop afterwards. 

Again, many thanks for dropping by and I hope that you found this blog post useful.  Should you wish to keep up with all my latest work and special offers, please do come and join me on Facebook. As you probably know, Facebook are always changing things, so at the time of writing, if you do want to be sure of getting all my Facebook posts you'll need to check the 'Get Notifications' option in the drop down menu attached to the 'Like' button. I don't over post and it's always possible to uncheck that option at a later date if required.

If you have any questions about this post or any of my artwork, please don't hesitate to contact me.

For me, an abstract portrayal can give rise to a much more personal approach to an image, allowing the viewer to add their own interpretation and thus create their own experience and emotions from the piece.

This particular image was taken on my youngest daughter's graduation day; such a proud and wonderful day for us all.  By creating a less defined work, it is my hope that it will allow many people to enjoy such a moment in their own way.

This image was taken by setting a relatively slow shutter speed of 1/4 second. The camera was handheld and taken on the move in order to grab plenty of blur and to create the impression of movement and happening.  Post capture editing included work in Lightroom and Photoshop. The adding of grain and conversion to black and white was carried out in the Google Nik Collection Software - Silver Effex Pro.

Many thanks for dropping by, please do feel free to join me on Facebook if you would like to keep up with all my latest images, news and special offers. And if you have any questions about my work, do by all means contact me.

My best seller is without a doubt this one 

featuring our darling little rescue dog, Jack. I don't think a week goes by without this card selling and yesterday one customer from Texas purchased five of these cards all at once.  I'm happy to report that Jack is handling his fame extremely well and will very politely give a paw print to anyone who asks - in exchange for a few treats of course :)  Should you like to purchase this card, just click on the image and it will take you directly to it on the GCU website.

Designing greeting cards is something I have loved to do for many years, long before Print on Demand companies ever started.  In fact, as my late father was a photographer, he created our own family Christmas cards every year since before I was born. He did all the photography and printing himself.

Here is the first Christmas card dad did from 1952 (at least it's the first one I have a record of) and this is him and my mum enjoying the Swiss Alps.

Then when my brothers, sister and I all came along, so we too appeared in the Christmas cards, check out this golden oldie. I'm the youngest at the end sitting with the dog :)  There was no Photoshop in those days of course, so hand made signs to hold up for the photograph was definitely the way to go.  I didn't quite manage to hold my sign up, but who wants to let the world know I was about in 1959 anyway ... ooops looks like the secret's out!  And as you can clearly see my love of photography, design and of course DOGS was born at a very young age.

Although I do have a bit of a preference for designing humorous birthday cards of the doggy kind, I do have many other cards as well.  

Vintage Car

Text 

Hat 

Shoes

And of course, Flowers

If you should be interested in purchasing any of the cards shown above, just click on the image and it will take you directly to the relevant page on the GCU website.

Also, many of my cards, as with the examples above, are available for lots of different people and family members and if you can't find the card you would like, addressed to the specific person that you require, you can always click on the 'Request a Design Change' option that is among the information underneath each card on the GCU website next to the Product ID, and ask me to customize one just for you. Provided it's a simple design change, this facility costs nothing extra.

I can't really write a blog about my greeting cards without mentioning the highlight, and that was when one of my photographic images was used by the Dogs Trust - UK's largest dog rescue charity - for their 2012 Corporate Christmas card. That card was sent out to about 20,000 people and needless to say has a blog post all of its own!  

I'll leave you with an invitation to please do come and visit my store with GCU - Natalie Kinnear Cards - and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about my greeting cards or photographic artwork.  

Should you wish to keep up to date with all my latest images, news and special offers, please join me on Facebook.

Water Droplets Abstract - Lime GreenThis is a lime green abstracted image derived from a macro photographic shot of water droplets on the hairs of a plant's stem.
Natalie Kinnear Photography

'What do you see as major challenges for photographers today, in terms of promoting and marketing their work?'

Interested?  You can check out the interview HERE

Bathroom Stripes AbstractThis is a color photographic abstract image in tones of green, blue and turquoise consisting of vertical stripes and water drops. This might make for a particularly suitable artwork for a bathroom or shower room. It is available as print or canvas wall art. Please contact me if you would like this work in a different color.
Natalie Kinnear Photography
www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk
www.facebook.com/natkphoto

Needless to say my birthday was a busy day, not only because of the roses I needed to photograph and the extra interactions with friends and family but also because of the Wimbledon tennis I obviously HAD to watch :)  Well - it was my birthday I was allowed to treat myself to a bit of day time TV.

Anyway, enough of the chatting, let's get down to the photography. This is the final edited version of the image - slighly textured, colourful, glowing and with a hint of vintage.  I have to say I really was quite pleased with the end result.

I have a terribly disorganized approach to my editing work which results in lots of back tracking in my efforts, lots of trial and error whilst I decide which bits I do and don't think work and the inevitable total lack of any clear record of my editing process which I can then share with others. I do apologize for that. If I get a sufficient level of interest in my editing process I will definitely endeavour to be a little more organized so that I can effectively share how I go about achieving my resultant images. 

I can say, however, that I did once again use the textures that I had purchased through Design Cuts, who put together the most awesome design bundles for creatives at massively discounted rates - well worth a look.  The textures were created by the very talented Denise Love of 2 Lil Owls fame. I absolutely love her creations. 

For the moment however, I will just share with you the start photo so that you can see just how much it changed.

Once again, thank you very much for dropping by, and if you would like to keep up with all my latest news and images, please do join me on Facebook.

Okay, I've got to be honest, I wasn't 'working' so much as just having a really fun time editing this image as the editing included trying out some of the wonderful textures I recently purchased from Design Cuts. The Deal was the 2 Lil Owls Creative Textures and Digital Papers Collection, an absolute snip at $28 for 315 textures and all with an extended licence! And if you're not sure how to use textures but would like to have a go, check out this tutorial on the Design Cuts website.

All the textures used in my image were created by the very talented Denise Love of 2 Lil Owls fame.

So without further ado, here's my latest Before and After.

Before

After

Thanks for popping by and do by all means contact me if you have any specific questions about how I went about creating this image as the textures were only one part of the editing process.

Can you tell that he might just be a teeny tiny tad spoiled lol

Quiet Please - His Lordship is Snoozing

Here's a poster I designed which is almost entirely made up from fonts and items purchased from the wonderful Design Cuts team.  If you're the sort of person who's always on the look out for elements to add to your design armoury, I can certainly recommend Design Cuts with their fantastically discounted deals.  

This poster possibly appeals particularly to us Brits owing to our absolute love of tea.  No matter what the situation, a cup of tea, it would seem, is frequently the first step towards solving the problem. 

H-o-w-e-v-e-r  afterwards, when I had a little more time, I decided to add a wee bit of text, just for a bit of fun, and I couldn't resist sharing the image with you all here. I hope you enjoy! :)

If you would like to read a little more about our dogs and how they starred in the 2012 Dogs Trust corporate Christmas card which was sent out to approximately 20,000 people, you can do so here.

If you would like to stay up to date with all my news, latest images and special offers, please join me on my Facebook page here.

Thanks

You can see the interview here.  

Dartford Crossing Tunnel - Natalie Kinnear Photography - Print and Canvas Wall ArtThis is a black and white, high contrast, grainy, photographic image of inside of the Dartford Crossing tunnel. There is a strong element of being lead towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

Natalie Kinnear Photography
www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk
www.facebook.com/natkphoto

For anyone wishing to stay up to date with all my latest news, images and special offers, you can join me on my Facebook Page here.

Anyone who knows me will know that I am totally passionate about animals, all animals, but have a particular love for dogs. We have four wonderful rescue dogs of our own who I've featured a few times on various blog posts already.

Today I'm here to ask you whether you would consider buying a few of my greeting cards to help this fund raiser?

The long and the short of it is that, IF I can sell another 20 cards by the end of this quarter - midnight Monday September 30th Pacific Time, so not much time! - I will have sold enough cards this quarter to qualify for double royalties. Double royalties means that I will earn an extra $75, and if I can do that, the extra $75 will be donated to Kat 5.

So if you would like to help, please take a peek at my Greeting Card Store with Greeting Card Universe, and consider buying a card or two, that would be a great help! Please remember that the artist of the card needs to be me, Natalie Kinnear, to be included in this fund raiser. Thank you :)

Below is a very small selection of my cards. And yes, I might possibly have got a teeny bit carried away with my sample selection, but it was so hard to decide which cards to choose, so naturally I ended up choosing too many!

Many of the birthday cards are also available for specific family members, people and ages. The anniversary cards are of course also available for different numbers of years. Plus, on the Greeting Card Universe website, under each card is the option to 'Request a Design Change', so there is lots of opportunity to get exactly the card you need!  If you click on any of the images below, it will take you to that card on the Greeting Card Universe website.

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SSP2023-Annie-GeneralDress--223

If you would like to keep up with all my latest news and most recent artwork, please do drop by my Facebook page and give it a 'like'.  If you have any questions regarding my greeting cards or this fund raiser, please do contact me.

So, to start at the beginning ...  the idea. To be honest I can't quite remember why the idea popped into my head, possibly I'd seen a photo, or someone had said something to me, or I'd seen something on TV, I really don't know, but pop into my head the idea did.

And what was the idea? Well it was for a humorous birthday card, where they'd be a photo of a dog dressed in a tutu, with the words 'Happy Birthday ...', then inside the card the words would read '... tutu you!'  I know, I know, it's partly my rather weird sense of humour, but the play on the word tutu just really made me giggle.

I e-mailed the idea out to my husband (at work) and four kids (at work/uni) for a bit of feed back.  I needed to know - was it funny, or was it just me who found it funny?  Fortunately the idea got the thumbs up! Like any form of humour I am always aware that it won't of course appeal to all, so my apologies if it's not quite your cup of tea.

Before I continue let me just add, for anyone who is totally new to my blog and my work, that I am absolutely passionate about animals, especially dogs. We have four wonderful rescue dogs of our own who we all absolutely adore, who are possibly a teeny tiny tad spoilt and who, as it happens, make super greeting card models.  And yes, I am also aware of the controversy about putting dogs in clothes, I too took absolutely ages to warm to the idea, but then I'd see all the greyhounds and lurchers in their coats in the winter and think, wow they really do look so snug and loved.  

For me personally, with our dogs, I tend not to go over the top with the clothes thing. We have a winter coat for Jack (the little white fella on the left), as he really does seem to feel the cold and apart from the odd bit of dressing up for greeting cards, that's about it.  And of our four dogs, it is indeed our Jack, who not only doesn't seem to mind wearing clothes but on the few occasions when I do dress him up a bit, he genuinely seems to love it. He loves being the star of photo sessions, the centre of a great deal of attention and last, but by no means least, the receiver of a plentiful supply of 'good boy' treats. So as far as Jack's concerned it's a win win situation. Jack therefore was my go to dog for tutu wearing!

The next thing to sort out was the tutu, so on the internet I went and the research began. I spent a wonderful morning searching for the best options and ideas and it was this video I found on YouTube that made me decide to make my own tutu. The thing that attracted me to it most was that there was no sewing involved! HOW TO: Make Tutus More Full and Fluffy by Just Add a Bow 

Once I'd decided to make my own tutu, I had to find where to purchase the necessary materials - the 6"width tulle and elasticated crochet headband. The reason I couldn't get the supplies from the shop as mentioned in the YouTube video above is that I am based in the UK. Another little internet search brought me to this eBay store Raindrops Boutique where I was able to puchase both the tulle and the band. I placed my order and waited excitedly. I was in tutu making mode! lol

The e-mail communications and delivery from Raindrops Boutique were excellent and within two days I had the products in my hand!

Now I am not a dressmaker, so I do not have any of the dressmaking cutting tools to cut the tulle into the necessary lengths nor do I have a mannequin, so I had to improvise.

For the cutting of the tulle I used my paper cutter. I decided that I wanted the sticky outy bit of the tutu to measure 9" and as the tutu making process involves folding the material in half, this meant cutting 18" strips of tulle - LOTS of them. I therefore stuck some white paper to the floor parallel to the cutting edge of the cutter. The paper was positioned such that when I pulled the material to the edge of the paper furthest away from the cutter, the tulle length would be exactly 18". This solution was not perfect as when I tried to cut the tulle by myself I found that the tulle snagged a bit when I was cutting. However, when I got my daughter to help me so that I could gently hold the tulle taut, whilst she did the cutting it worked a treat. 

Instead of the mannequin I used a pedal bin.

And so the tutu making progressed.

Until it was complete.

In retrospect I felt that I chose the wrong colour tulle. I chose this colour as I thought it was best suited to Jack's colouring. Also for the purpose I was using the tutu, I really hadn't needed to make it so 'full and fluffy'. And lastly, the band I used was a little narrow I think for such a fluffy tutu. I think I either needed to use this band and use less tulle, or use a wider band for this amount of tulle.  I have done a bit more research on the internet for wider bands and found this also available in black and brown.

The photography session went remarkably smoothly. I set up my lights, kept the photo shoot very short and had LOTS of treats to hand. Jack was, as usual, every bit the superb model. Once I'd got some images to work with I sat at the computer for many happy hours working on designs. It's something that I just love doing, plus it gave me the chance to mess about with the colour of the tutu and add a bit of sparkle.

The end results are as follows.

This is the birthday card - which is now available for purchase from my store with Greeting Card Universe at Natalie Kinnear Cards 

I shall also be doing a series of these birthday cards whereby they are addressed to specific family members and other people such as  friend, neighbor, pet sitter etc.  Also should you like this card with your choice of name added, go to the link to this card, (you can click on the photo of the card above) and then at the link click on 'Request a Design Change' which is next to the Product ID in the text underneath the image of the card. Such design edits can usually be carried out quickly, frequently within six hours or less.

And these are the Christmas card designs. They are not available for sale yet, but should you wish to purchase any of them, please do contact me and I can quickly have them made available for purchase. Please note, the copyright will NOT appear on the finished product.

And there you have it! Thank you so much for stopping by, should you have any questions about the above please do not hesitate to contact me  If you would like to stay up to date with all my latest news and designs, please do visit and like my Photography Facebook Page I'd love to see you there!

Let's get straight to it - Would you vote for this NOSE?  I do hope the answer is YES!  

I have entered this greeting card design of mine into the Greeting Card Universe Design Contest. The star of this card, with the outrageously handsome nose, is Rocky, one of our four wonderful rescue dogs.

It is only a little contest with the winning prize being five free card credits but, if this design does win, the card credits will be donated to DOG RESCUE in honour of our uber super rescue boy :)

Soooooo if you WOULD like to vote for this NOSE, you can VOTE HERE. It is really quick and easy to vote.

When you get to the link scroll down the page a little to the list of names and click in the circle next to my name, I'm the first one on the list - Natalie Kinnear. Then scroll down a little further and click on Vote.  Et Voila! Your vote has been cast!  Voting ends on June 26th.

And Rocky would like to add that if you could also be so kind as to share this blog post on twitter and Facebook, that would be extra ultra PAWSOME and would really get his tail a-waggin'!

You can see all my cards with Greeting Card Universe HERE.

If you would like to read more about our rescue dogs here are some other blog posts I've written about them, click on the titles to access the blog posts.

Dogs Trust 2012 Christmas Card features our Rescue Dog

Our Rescue Dogs ... and their Greeting Card Fame

And for a few funny 'Pampered Pups Funny Dog Quotes' see

Pampered Pups - A bit of Light-Hearted Fun

Pampered Pups Funny Dog Quotes - Meditation

Many thanks for dropping by and if you would like to stay in touch with all my latest images, news and special offers you can so so by visiting and clicking 'like' on my FACEBOOK page.

However one quick thought I could add for any dog mums and dads out there who might like to improve on their dog photography and that is to have your camera at the ready.  Have the camera all set up so that it is ready to deal automatically with different light situations so you can grab those funny moments which I'm sure - well sure-ish - that our doggies just LOVE us to share!

I like to do this. I have the camera with the 50 mm lens on - a nice fast lens - aperture priority - because I particularly like shallow depth of focus - and automatic ISO, so the camera will just increase or decrease the ISO according to the level of light available. With these settings I can just pick up the camera and take the photo.  Time wasted adjusting settings could mean that the photographic opportunity is lost.

Remember though, of course, that despite wanting your camera to be close to hand, it still needs to be placed somewhere safe. I have to confess that I am definitely guilty of getting so carried away with my photography at times, that I've forgotten some of the more obvious things! 

Anyway, thanks so much for dropping by and if you would like to keep up to date with my latest news, images and special offers, please do visit and 'like' my Facebook Page.

So without further ado, I give you our lovely rescue dog, Jack, meditating - apparently! Oh and if you click on the image another page will open showing the other images in this series, there aren't too many at the moment, but I'm working on it.

.

For anyone who would like to read a little about our dogs I have written a couple of blog posts about them on previous occasions here:  'Our Rescue Dogs ... and their Greeting Card Fame' and here: 'Dogs Trust 2012 Corporate Christmas Card Features Our Rescue Dogs'

With this blog post however I only want to share a little light-heartedness in the form of a few quick photos I've taken of our dogs to which I've added a small amount of text for fun.  I have not made any of these images available for sale, but should anyone be interested in purchasing them as greeting cards please contact me.

I have a mixed bunch of dogs with regards to how much they do or don't enjoy being photographed, Sally, hates it, Jack LOVES it, and Rocky and Ollie find it vaguely acceptable if a little tedious. I do hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

Thanks for dropping by and if you would like to keep up to date with my latest news, images and special offers, please do visit and 'like' my Facebook Page.

Looking closely at the detail within nature has always held an endless fascination for me. Little wonder then, to find me pondering how to capture the amazingly intricate designs within leaf structures. I quickly realized that they could be depicted beautifully utilizing macro photography and a lightbox.

While macro photography may not demand the absolute patience required of a wildlife photographer, it certainly pays to take your time over each stage of the process. This is particularly true if you’re considering turning the final image into a large print or canvas for home décor. The larger the image ends up, the greater the chance that dust, damage and blemishes will show. Post-capture editing is an option, but I find that getting as much right in-camera as possible ultimately saves time.

I took time and care over the choice of each and every leaf to be used. If leaves were too thick, they were rejected, as I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get the light to shine through sufficiently. If the patterns were too similar to ones previously used, they too, were rejected.Leaf Lines VIII

Once I found a tree with suitable leaves I then spent quite a while looking for the best possible example of the leaf. I was after a fresh new leaf with no visible damage or decay. Subsequent gentle washing of the leaf helped to rid it of any dust or dirt which, whilst not necessarily visible to the naked eye, would almost certainly show up once examined under a macro lens and extension tubes. Drying the leaf also had to be done with great care. Any excessive pressure during this process could easily have damaged it, creating dark patches which would ruin the design.

The final preparation involved placing the leaf between some sheets of kitchen roll and pressing it for a short time under a book or two. I am a great fan of differential focus, but for these images I was aiming for sharpness throughout. Having the subject as flat as possible, thus enabling the leaf to be photographed parallel to the plane of the lens, would help achieve this.Leaf Lines II

Minimising vibrations during exposure will also help to achieve the sharpest image possible. Pressing the shutter will inevitably cause a degree of vibration; to avoid this it is advisable to use either a remote switch or a self-timer. Also, utilizing mirror lock-up, which locks the mirror up just prior to exposure, rather than during, further helps.

When I shoot macro I use a Canon 100 mm macro lens, and for closer, more detailed examination of the subject I use my Jessops extension tubes. Focusing at such close distances is extremely precise so I find the use of a tripod essential. One of the beauties of this type of photography is the amount of time available to get the composition right.  Not being the fastest of thinkers, I find it an absolute luxury that I can take my time making minute adjustments to the placement of the leaf in order to get the exact composition I’m after. When so much care has been taken to get to this stage, it would be a real shame to rush the final moment of image taking.To facilitate focusing even further, I also have a Kirk focusing rail attached to the tripod which enables me to manoeuvre the camera back and forth in minute amounts. The back lighting of the images was created by placing the leaves on a small Kaiser lightbox. This highlights the leaf’s structure beautifully and strongly distinguishes the veins, creating each leaf’s very distinctive design.

Once I had the images uploaded to the computer I carried out whatever editing was required. For some of the designs in the series, this included selecting areas of the leaf to be darkened in order to give it an additional edge compositionally.

Finally, for the images to be completely up to scratch, I examined each one at 100 per cent on screen. At this point any little specks and marks, spots from sensor dust or leaf defects, which would only have become apparent when viewed at this magnification, were cloned out. 

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I've even realized recently that there is a bit of me that actually prefers the editing process to the taking of the photograph because I just love to see how the image evolves as I gently apply carefully chosen editing options. Some options work well others not so much, whereupon I quickly click on 'ctrl Z' (I'm on a PC not a Mac) to undo my last move and try again with a different option.  I slowly work towards my goal and sometimes even move the goal posts as I go along when different, perhaps slightly unexpected, results appear and cause me to adjust my initial thinking. Call me a crazy arty person if you like, but to me this process really is exciting and great fun.

So today I thought I would share an image as it was before, and how it ended up after, editing. 

Sunlit Sprig of Leaves

When I took this photo I already knew that I very much wanted to isolate the leaves from the background. I therefore chose a wide aperture to achieve a shallow depth of focus and throw the background into a blur.  So I was already on track to create a very simple minimalistic work. A sunlit sprig of leaves, just that, no distractions. 

I adjusted the tonal range to increase the difference between highlight and shadow, to make the image a little more punchy and especially to bring out the sunlit quality of the leaves which was partly what had attracted my attention to that subject in the first instance.

I further reduced the elements of this image by converting it to black and white.  I also lightened the right hand side a little as during editing that slightly darker area seemed to become more prominent and distracting, which I didn't want.

Right at the end I completed the editing process with the tiniest bit of sharpening.

The end result was this

Sunlit Sprig of Leaves in Black and White

My descriptions of the editing process have been relatively brief, so if you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.  Also if you would like to stay in touch with all my new work and special offers on prints and canvases, please 'like' my Facebook page, I'd love to see you there.

Thank you very much for dropping by.

Over time however, as I learnt more and more, I realized that one of the aspects that might endear me to a particular image would simply be its simplicity. Because the subject had been so beautifully isolated, the amount of information my brain had to assimilate whilst looking at the image was greatly reduced and this would make the image very relaxing and pleasing to view. 

My latest image 'Sunlit Sprig of Leaves in Black and White' is one such image. My intention with this was to create a work that would allow a sense of peace and well being in the viewer.  To allow the viewer to simply enjoy a moment with nature.

Whether I've succeeded or not, well, that I would have to find out from you, so please do add a comment if you feel so inclined and let me know what you think.

Many thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my blog. If you would like to keep up with all my latest images and special offers please do 'like' my page on Facebook.

Sunlit Sprig of Leaves in Black and White

I can only give some thoughts according to the way I see it. As with many things in life, different people will have different views, so this blog post is simply my personal view. 

To me, a photograph is an image where the finished work is pretty much straight from the camera. However, this can include basic post capture editing which would be carried out for the purpose of correcting, as far as possible, any shortcomings of the camera's capabilities with a view to creating a more realistic portrayal. 

As soon as the photograph is 'taken' or 'edited' in such a way as to deliberately portray a more artistically optimal or alternative view than would normally be available straight from the camera, then I consider it to be a photographic artwork.

H o w e v e r, from a more general point of view and if you bear in mind the extremely varying levels of effort and expertise any one person might put into capturing and/or editing a photograph, I'm sure you'll understand when I say that I actually think there really is no exact definition between photograph and photographic artwork. The boundaries between the two are not only very blurred but opinions so varied as to render any definition irrelevant. There will always be plenty of scope for discussion and deliberation about this topic which is, of course, part of the fun of it all.  

For a visual explanation on how I personally see which work of mine I consider to be a photograph and which I consider to be a photographic artwork please see the images below.

Here is the image as it came out of the camera or SOOC as it's called - straight out of camera.

Here is the image complete with basic post capture editing to create a slightly more realistic representation of the colour and tone of the subject as I saw it. So this to me is my photograph of the scene despite the shallow depth of focus. 

And here is the image after I edited it to add my own artistic vision and creativity. This version of the image I would  then consider as being a photographic artwork.

Thanks so much for dropping by, please feel from to leave a comment or ask any questions you may have. Also, if you're on Facebook, do by all means swing by my page and give it a 'like'.

Donna's Blog of Friday January 11th 2013, entitled Fabulous Finds #40, includes amongst other 'finds', my Cutlery Set images, so my sincerest thanks to Donna for the inclusion. 

To read more about Donna and her wonderful work, you can visit her website here.

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This is a triptych created from three of the images in my Cutlery Set series.

If there is one of my images that really does grab people's attention, it's this triptych:

The Cutlery Set Triptych Generally speaking people just don't expect something as familiar as cutlery to look like this, so despite the fact that it is not ablaze with colour, it still creates an eye catching presence wherever it is displayed. The Cutlery Set series of images is described as 'creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary'.

There are 12 images in the series and photographing them was quite an interesting challenge. As a very brief outline of the process let me just say that it started with a thorough washing and shining up of the cutlery. In order to keep the reflections in the cutlery to a minimum so that the design would be as clean and uncluttered as possible I used a pop up light tent - which is basically a small tent made of white translucent material. For some of the arrangements I also had to use Blutak so that all the cutlery remained in place. The camera was tripod mounted and achieving the exact correct positioning of the camera when there is only a small hole in the tent for the lens to go through, really was extremely fiddly and I don't mind admitting that I did get a little flustered at times. However I can most definitely say that ultimately all the time and effort I put into creating these images was well worth it.

Images from the Cutlery Set series have sold to hotels in both the UK and the USA, they have sold to many individual customers as well as to Interior Designers for specific projects and I've even sold one or two as greeting cards! 

To see all of the images in the series, please click HERE and if you have any questions regarding these images please do contact me.

If you would like to keep an eye on all my newest work and special offers, please do join me on FACEBOOK

Thank you.

I thought for my first blog post of 2013 I would highlight a SPECIAL OFFER that I am running at the moment via the Fine Art Print on Demand Company, Fine Art America.

I am offering one 36" x 24" stretched canvas of my image 'Forest Abstract in Sepia' at the greatly reduced price of $149 - usual price $259! This is a limited time promotion and the offer ends on Monday 7th January 2013.  Please click on promotional page for more details.

I took this photograph on the Ashdown Forest in Sussex, England. The element of abstraction was created by using a relatively slow shutter speed and then moving the camera very gently vertically upwards whilst the photo was being taken. The end result is this rather impressionistic and dreamy rendition of the scene. I also did a small amount of post capture digital editing which included converting the image to sepia.

This image is also available in color, and black and white and whilst the latter two options are not at present offered at the reduced price, I can arrange this for you upon request, so please do contact me if you are interested.

Please note that when you click on the color and/or black and white links given above the page that opens will show the canvas at the 10" x 6.63" size and price. To see the usual 36" x 24" size and price, please select that option.

If you would like to stay in touch with all my latest news and special offers, please join me on Facebook 

This is a triptych created from three of the images in my Cutlery Set series.

The offer is via Fine Art America (FAA), which is a USA based Print on Demand internet company through which I also offer my images for sale as wall art. All orders placed via my FAA website are handled entirely by FAA. 

Fine Art America offer some cut price canvas print sales through their Limited Time Promotions.  In order to keep their price as low as possible the offer is only available for specific sized canvases. This can affect the crop of some images if the dimensions do not precisely match those of the canvas sizes available.  However, customers always get to see what the canvas will look like prior to purchase, so are able to decide if they feel the crop is acceptable to them or not. FAA artists are able to offer a select few of their images for sale through this Limited Time Promotion option at any one time.  The number of each canvas available is also limited.

It can be very difficult for an artist to decide which of their images they would like to offer via this cut price option. So if you are interested in taking up this opportunity, what I propose is as follows:

1) Visit my Fine Art America website to view the images I have with FAA.

2) If there is an image you think you might like to purchase, pop on over to Natalie Kinnear Photography on Facebook 'Like' the page and let me know which image you're interested in on my Facebook page. 

3) I will respond to your enquiry as quickly as possible on my Facebook page. Once I have set up the Limited Time Promotion for your chosen image, I will add a link to the page where you can access the offer on the FAA website to check out all the details.

4) There is ABSOLUTELY NO OBLIGATION TO PURCHASE so if on checking out the details you change your mind that is not a problem. 

PLEASE NOTE: Because of the possibility of the different crop size, it can be difficult to give an exact price comparison between the usual price and the special offer price, but I will always give as much detail as possible regarding the prices and print sizes.  Also, unfortunately there are no square canvas prints available through this special offer and some other sized images, such as wide format, are also unsuitable for the canvas print sizes available.

If you have any questions about the above, please feel free to ask on my Facebook page and I will answer as quickly as possible.

So I'll start with Rocky, the dog on the left as you look at the photo. Rocky is 12 years old and we adopted him from Dogs Trust when he was a four month old puppy. I'm guessing from his pose for the photo that he's actually none too impressed with that cold white stuff, especially as it has - annoyingly - got itself rather embarrassingly stuck to his butt and his nose!

Rocky is very much the typical terrier type, he has attitude, bundles of it! He lets us know in no uncertain terms what he does or doesn't want. He's very clever and as such always absolutely shone at his puppy classes. He now knows lots of little tricks such as how to 'shut the door', 'put the toy in the box' and best of all, how to 'find the hidden toy'. Hide and seek is most definitely his all time favourite game. Despite being 12, whenever we play hide and seek he becomes like a little puppy again, bouncing and barking around the place, sniffing out the hidden treasure with a frantically wagging tail and as soon as he's found it he brings it back to us and wants to play again, unless the hidden treasure is food of course, in which case he eats it quickly then rushes back to us and wants to play again. He's an absolute star - talking of which, he is also the star of one of my best selling greeting cards - The Dog Nose.

Rocky has a non-moulting coat so we take him to the groomers for a professional hair cut once every couple of months. Here's a photo I took of him just after getting back home from the groomers.

Next up is the delightfully cute Ollie, the scruffy little grey fella in the middle of the Christmas card photo.  Ollie is six and we adopted him from Hereford and Worcester Animal Rescue when he was 10 weeks old and the tiniest of puppies. This is how he looked when we first brought him home. This image by the way is also available as a greeting card which you can access on the Greeting Card Universe website if you click on the photo.

Ollie, as you can see, really is a super cute little guy.  He has the ability of always making people smile. There's just something about him, his looks and his manner that warms the soul and brightens the heart. He's my one dog comedy show.

He is of course also an absolute pickle. For example, he has on occasions sneaked food out of Sally's (top dog) bowl, but it's the way he does it that's so funny. As he's stealing the food he throws frequent glances over his shoulder to make sure Sally's not there, then he fills his mouth up with as much food as possible, saunters nonchalantly away from her bowl, finds a spot that he can claim as his own, spits out the food and then eats it all at his leisure. Only Ollie!

He's the one who'll scratch on the bedroom door in the middle of the night, then, as soon as I get sleepily out of bed to open the door for him presuming he needs to go downstairs and out in the garden, he will, quick as lightening, double back from the door, jump up on the bed, curl up in my nice warm spot and refuse to budge. And of course he knows that he's just so cute that I won't have the heart to move him. The rest of the night I'll spend precariously balanced on the edge of the bed with Ollie snoring contently in my ear.

And he's the one who looks like this when he's running ... go Ollie go ... oh but if only he'd remembered to STOP before he got to me!

The little chap right at the back of the Christmas card photo, that's our Jack. We adopted him from Four Paws Animal Rescue when he was about 18 months, he's now coming up to seven years old. Jack had the horrible misfortune of being born in a puppy farm. I hate puppy farms they are cruel and heartless places. If you don't know about puppy farms, please read the information on the Pup Aid website which highlights their atrocities and the horrific suffering they cause. Jack was bought by a well meaning couple who sadly after a while were no longer able to keep him and reluctantly had to give him up to a rescue. 

Jack, bless him, does have his problems, but having been a cowering wreck of a dog when we first adopted him, over the years he has calmed down a lot, learned to trust us and has become the most utterly gorgeous snuggle bug you could ever hope for. And ... he absolutely LOVES his food. He does look very much like a Jack Russell, but he's quite a bit bigger than the average Jack Russell so he is in fact a cross breed just like the rest of our wonderful muttley crew. I sometimes refer to them as 'The Four Muttkateers' ha ha.

He's a very handsome boy and, as you can see from the photo below, he easily raises 'being handsome' to a whole new level ... and yes, this photo also ended up being made into a greeting card.

And last, but by no means least, we have our precious Sally, the tan girl there on the right of the Christmas card photo. She is now nearly 14 years young and she too was adopted from Dogs Trust. She was between two and three years old when she came to live with us. 

She is such a darling girl and so very well behaved, just a sheer joy to have around. One of her many talents is how she gets people to stroke her. She has a marvelous way of getting that gorgeous nose of hers under your hand and flicking your hand up a little so that almost without noticing it you'll be sat there stroking her. And should you stop stroking her before she's ready, she'll give you a little tap with her paw to remind you that you're not done yet! And who could resist that? Very clever indeed.

Another of her talents used to be a neat trick which we called the kissy kissy trick, where she would jump up and with extreme precision plant the gentlest of kisses on Mike's (my husband) nose. How awesome is that. At 14 she now no longer does this trick but fortunately, surprise surprise, I have a photo.

And there you have it, our rescue dogs, the stars of the Dogs Trust 2012 corporate Christmas card.

Please join me on Facebook to get all the latest news and special offers on my greeting cards and wall art.

This is a triptych created from three of the images in my Cutlery Set series.

The prices are considerably reduced from their normal purchasing price.  The offer only lasts for five days and there are only five of each image available. So if you'd like one of these canvases you'd better get in quick!

The first canvas is a 20" x 16" stretched canvas print of 'Leafy Autumn Woodland in Sepia' which is available for $64.99. I don't usually sell this image with this crop so I don't have a comparable normal price.  However a 20" x 13.38" canvas usually sells at $149.98 and a 24" x 16" canvas usually sells at $185.47. 

The second canvas is a 36" x 24" stretched canvas print of 'Orchid Flowers II - Pink' which is available for an amazing $110.00 - normal price $295.46

If you have any questions about these offers, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I am delighted to say that my latest image is of the most beautiful pink Orchid blooms. The reason I am particularly pleased about this is because I am renowned for not being good with house plants - well any plants really - but particularly bad with house plants.  So to see our Orchid bloom so magnificently this year is most encouraging.

Orchid Flowers - Pink Naturally my thoughts turned to photographing these amazing flowers, not only to create a lovely piece of wall art, but also as proof that I do have some success with house plants.

For this blog post I thought I might also briefly mention my photography techniques to create this image.

We are very fortunate to have a conservatory which is a great room for plenty of diffused light owing to the opaque roof.  I placed the Orchid on a stool in front of the closed conservatory doors and selotaped some white card to the glass of the door. I use a Canon EOS 5D camera and for this shot I used my Canon 100 mm macro lens.  There are three options I utilize for most of my close up photography and did indeed use for this shot, 1) tripod, 2) mirror lock-up and 3) self timer - or remote switch.  All of these options will minimize camera shake and thus create the sharpest image possible.

I tried the shot with several different f numbers as I do so love shallow depth of focus and artistic blur in images, but I decided that this particular image looked best at f9 so that most of the two blooms at the front and the new buds were in focus.

I did do some post capture editing in Photoshop which included cloning out a couple of blemishes on the petals and also perfecting the whiteness of the background. 

If anyone has any questions about this image and/or the way I went about photographing it, please do not hesitate to contact me as I am always happy to help out where I can.

The first two are the same except one is pink and one is blue.

These images were created from a macro photographic image of the flower Schizostylis, also known as Pink Princess. During the editing phase of this image I found myself drawn to creating something with a bit of glow and sparkle to it, to give it a slightly magical feel. I am hoping that the end result is one that will make people smile.

The third image, an abstract, started off as a photograph of the leafy trees in the Ashdown Forest in Sussex, England.

Personally I love to be surrounded by nature, to see the trees and leaves glistening so beautifully in the sunlight. I love to absorb the quiet and the sense of peace and calm, and to let all the hectic of day to day life just melt away. So with this image, what I have attempted to do is to create a work that shares my emotional response to the scene rather than one that shows a literal depiction. 

Abstract art is probably quite a difficult way to communicate and I wouldn't mind betting there will be many people who most certainly do not experience what I have tried to share with this work. However if I have succeeded and this image does evoke a feeling of peace and calm to any viewer out  there, that would truly be the icing on the cake!

Westie Puppy and Santa Hat

I think it would be fair to say that I am an animal lover first and a photographer second. So the day that little Rodders - the star of these images - turned up, all happy and wiggling as puppies are, I could easily have forgotten about the photography altogether and just spent my time playing with the puppy. But unfortunately I had to spend a lot of time holding the camera and not the puppy, which was a real shame I thought.

I had not done an indoor photography session with a puppy before and I was actually expecting Rodders to be anywhere and everywhere in the studio except in front of the camera. But this was not the case, this particular little puppy was astoundingly well behaved.

He came of course with his human mum and dad who had brought a plentiful supply of treats and toys and who worked extremely hard to keep Rodders happy at all times and occasionally sitting perfectly for the camera.  

Westie Puppy and Teddy

We kept the photographic session down to about an hour. This was in fact so that Rodders wouldn't get too tired or fed up. However as it turned out, I don't think Rodders was too bothered about the hour time limit. He was constantly being played with, had more treats than normal and had the full attention of three people who were running themselves ragged around him, keeping him happy. In short, he was having an absolute blast! I think the hour limit proved more of a requirement for Rodders' mum and dad and me. We were most definitely ready for a rest and a cuppa after the hour, unlike Rodders who was still full of puppy enthusiasm.

It is a few years now since I photographed Rodders as a puppy. I still see him occasionally and he really is the most adorable little dog and very much loved too.

As you will see, I off-centered the subject for this set of four prints, but if you would prefer them centered please contact me and I can certainly do that for you.

For anyone who is considering buying the complete set of four, please contact me and I will organize a discount for you.

Westie Puppy and Sunflower

Westie Puppy in Coat

Sally, the tan coloured girl, also came from Dogs Trust. She came into our lives 11 years ago. We were told she was between two and three years old when we adopted her, which makes her a mature lady of nearly 14 now. 

She had not had an easy time of it prior to being rescued. She had been badly treated then abandoned and left as a stray where she must have spent quite some time fending for herself.  Thank goodness Dogs Trust found her and took her on. And now, from the rather timid young lady we first adopted, she has developed into the most loyal and trusting girl, definitely the best behaved of our muttley crew, and a bit of a daddy's girl. And of course, she too is a super star in the world of Greeting Cards.

Then came the teeny weeny puppy, Ollie, adopted about six years ago from Hereford and Worcester Animal Rescue.  When we first got him he was just oh so tiny and he was jet black.  I'm not sure what it says about life in our family, but after a couple of months he'd turned grey!

He's still quite a tiny little fella, and I've lost count of the times I've been out with all the dogs, only to hear passers by say, "Oh look at that scruffy little one at the back", and that of course would be our darling little Ollie.  Everything about Ollie always makes people smile. His looks, the way he runs, his attitude, his unbelievably endearing qualities, just everything about him makes you smile and despite being six years old now, I think he will always be our baby.750_8249

And finally, about five years ago, we adopted little Jack from Four Paws Animal Rescue. He was about two years old when we adopted him and was without a doubt the most traumatized of all our rescue pups. He had clearly experienced some extreme hurt prior to being rescued. He was so frightened and insecure. 

You cannot force an anxious dog to change overnight. It takes a lot of time and patience, and a great deal of love to gradually bring them around and to help them understand that they are now safe and loved and always will be.

I'm not going to pretend it was easy, we certainly struggled at times, however, slowly but surely, our lovely little boy did indeed come around. It was such a joy to see him gradually change, to see him start to realize how much fun life could be. He is definitely the most affectionate of the bunch. They are all very loving, but Jack, well he just likes to be snuggled up the closest most of the time. The chair I use to sit at the computer I rarely have to myself, curled up right behind me will be a gently snoring Jack, just happy to be tucked in and close. The space left for me to sit on leaves a little to be desired, but I'm getting used to being perched on the very edge of the chair whilst I'm working, perhaps it even helps me to stay focused, who knows!

Jack features in quite a few of my Greeting Cards not only does he love the attention he gets when I'm photographing him but the extra treats are highly appreciated too! And of course, he IS such a very photogenic little guy. 

People do ask me sometimes where I get my inspiration from to create the images I do.  The quick, but hopelessly non specific, answer to that is that I find inspiration from all sorts of things.

Today, for instance, a tiny bit of inspiration hit me as soon as I started thinking about writing this. In fact, I have no idea why I hadn't thought of this before, but it took until that particular moment, for some strange reason, for the idea to come to me.

The inspiration came in the guise of a simple question to myself - why offer this print in red only? Now I've thought of it, it's so obvious.  So my blog post changed from just 'Red Shoes' to 'Red Shoes ... and Inspiration'. Later today I will be busily creating and uploading this image in a range of different colours.

In the meantime have a peek at the image below, which I did very quickly for the purpose of this post.  Also if you would like the Red Shoes image in a specific colour of your own choosing, please do contact me and I will see what I can do.

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you have a great day.

My idea of quirky wall art is something that is not necessarily outlandish but just a little bit different. Something that's likely to catch people's eye by virtue of the fact that it is out of the ordinary and stands out from the crowd. Personally, I think that's kind of fun!

I suppose my 'Cutlery Set' series of images could be described as quirky.  Not that cutlery is out of the ordinary, indeed it is something we see every day and barely even notice, but because in this instance it has been used in such a very different way. The result is a series of images that never seem to fail to catch people's attention. It has been described as creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary, a real conversation starter.

Possibly whenever we as artists create a visual that displays a subject in way that it is not normally seen, it will automatically be considered as unusual and therefore quirky. So the next of my series of images I would like to mention is 'Leaf Lines'.

Leaf Lines I It was when I first started using a 100 mm macro lens, that I began to look at my surroundings in an extremely different way, a much narrower and less all encompassing way. Generally speaking when we are out and about we tend to take in our entire surroundings all at once, we don't tend to look at tiny detail. If we did go about our normal lives concentrating hard on all the detail around us, we would most likely bump into things!

A macro lens enables photographers to get up real close and personal to subjects and capture the intricate nature of its structure that we don't normally see. Use this then to create a design for wall art and we have our different, lesser known, view of the subject.

Here is an article I wrote for Photography Monthly on how I went about creating the 'Leaf Lines' series of images - 'Using a Macro Lens to Photograph Leaves'.

It's not only because I think quirky wall art is fun, different and eye catching that I particularly like it.  It's also because it's exciting and challenging to come up with ideas on how to portray subjects in an unusual way such that they do indeed stand out from the crowd and get noticed. I hope the you enjoy some of the results of my endeavours.

As my father was a photographer we as a family have been producing our own greeting cards for well over 50 years. So I guess it was an idea I grew up with.  As a young mum, and when I could find a spare moment, I quickly became keen on learning about photo manipulation software and took great pleasure in producing the odd comical birthday card for various friends and family members.  It was different from what was largely on offer at the time and it was good fun.

And now, having progressed as a photographer and honed my skills with Photoshop over the years, I enjoy creating greeting card designs more than ever.  I am also fortunate enough to be able to sell my cards through the excellent print on demand company Greeting Card Universe who are based in the US but have printing partners in both the US and UK.

My favourite type of cards are funny ones and because I am so passionate about animals most of my funny cards feature one or other of our four rescue dogs. However I do also have many cards which feature other subjects such as flowers, vintage cars and graduation hats to name but a few.

In recent months I hit upon a real winner of a design which has turned out to be extremely popular and is selling very well.  The design is, of course,  the big hairy dog nose one which you probably can't miss there on the right.  I know I am very biased but I absolutely LOVE that nose and I love even more the dog who goes with it. So you can imagine my delight when I realized how much so many others seemed to be loving that nose too. This card, as with many of my designs, is available addressed on the front to many different family members or people.  If you can't find the card addressed to the specific family member or person you require, you can very quickly and easily 'request a design change' which is an option available in the details section under every card on the Greeting Card Universe website.

The super model for the card is our dog, Rocky, who we adopted 12 years ago from the fabulous dog rescue charity Dogs Trust  He is an exceptionally special boy, totally adored and possibly just a teeny tad spoiled.  I can, however, say that he is coping extremely well with his new found fame and generously allows us to share all his extra treats with his doggy brothers and sister.  What a star.

In continuation of yesterday's blog post, I shall now move on to the very popular choice of landscapes.

If there is one thing that I am most definitely not, it is a landscape photographer.  However I do know of several landscape photographers who I particularly admire, so if you would like to see some top rate landscape photography, please take a look at the work of Steve Gosling and Barbara Jones  

Steve Gosling's work I have admired ever since I started learning about photography, which is quite a few years now. He has totally mastered his craft and is a brilliantly talented photographer.  He is the author of the extremely unique, limited edition book Lensless Landscapes which contains 50 of the most awe inspiring images I have ever seen.  They are excitingly different from much of the landscape photography we know and they truly feed the soul, well worth a look.  He also holds regular workshops, two of which I have attended in the past, and I can honestly say I had two fantastic days out on those workshops days, they were extremely professionally run and I learnt loads - great fun.

I have only recently come across the work of Barbara Jones, but from the moment I started to view her website I was immediately transported into her wonderful and beautifully portrayed world.  A genuinely uplifting experience that I can certainly recommend, so please do check out her website.

What is it about landscape photography that so many of us love so much?

Well from the limited amount I know about this type of photography, it is not by chance that the photographers capture the absolute best moments and places that mother nature has to offer.  A tremendous amount of planning goes into each and every image.

One of the most crucial aspects being the time of day that the image is taken.  Landscape photographers don't shy away from early morning starts. They'll be there, at the crack of dawn, waiting for that magical moment when the sun rises and that glorious light is cast that tenderly highlights the surrounds in a warm and inviting way.  Hours, days maybe even weeks or even months will have been spent making sure that they are in the absolute right spot at the absolute right time.  And if the weather lets them down at that carefully chosen moment, then it's 'a wait until tomorrow to try again' situation.

Equally, of course, sunset is another time of the day favored by landscape photographers, for the very special light that it has to offer.  Also, many will endeavor to capture the scene devoid of people, so the image focuses purely on landscape, mother nature at its most perfect and unspoiled best.  Other considerations to create the perfect image will be the composition of all the elements within the frame.  These will have been exceptionally carefully chosen to ensure that viewers of the final image will get the best possible view point. And of course, every photographer works hard to get the correct exposure, which is particularly challenging in landscape photography owing to the brightness of the sky in comparison to the relatively low light conditions of the ground.

Obviously there is so very much more to landscape photography than I have briefly mentioned here, but I just wanted to touch on the efforts to which landscape photographers go to make their images such a favored choice of many.  Naturally, I cannot give a definitive answer regarding what makes people love landscape photography so much, as it will be very different for each of us.  However, I suspect that one possibility might be that it offers a degree of escapism, and the feeling of well being. It is a visual of mother earth, at her very best and in all her perfection which, in turn, brings us comfort that all is well in the world.  Understandably therefore a firm favorite for wall art in our homes.

I am fascinated by what sort of wall art people like.  There is of course no one style, color, subject matter or medium that pleases all.  But what is it, that draws certain people to certain types of work?

Now, if you take my husband - and I'm not talking literally of course, because he is already well and truly spoken for - but, and this is in some ways rather unfortunate considering I am a photographic artist and my work is to produce wall art, I suspect that to a certain extent he does actually prefer blank walls.  Oh the betrayal!  But I do of course understand this preference.  It's the minimalist, uncluttered approach that possibly gives people a sense of calm and peace.  Maybe a haven from the hectic reality of life.  A blank wall doesn't challenge us to view it, consider it, deliberate upon it, it's just there, quiet and unobtrusive.

Next up from the blank space might be the wall art that is itself very minimalist or gentle in nature.  Something perhaps that fills a space on the wall, but adds to the sense of calm rather than demanding attention to itself.  I think this is a very popular choice for many because it is of course extremely beneficial to have somewhere to be able to totally relax in our own home environment. Neutral colors, black and white or a toned image that matches a room's decor might fit the bill for this.  Maybe something like 'Rolling Sea Wave - Black and White'  a visual of the sea shore, the gentle sound of the sea rolling in over the pebbles, the smell of the sea air ... 

And waking from that reverie, let us consider another popular choice for wall art, that of a depiction of something in life that simply makes us feel happy. This can be a place, a person, a pet, a holiday, an activity, a scene  ... all number of possible subjects that hold a particular relevance to us and makes us smile when we view it.  This is a great way to truly personalize our room, to make the space about us, to help us feel comfortable and totally at home in it.  It's also possibly the sort of image that we are recommended to take down when and if we are selling our house, so that anyone who comes to view the house will have an easier time of imagining the room as their space.  You can imagine can't you, how it might be more difficult for someone to view a room with the potential of it becoming their home, their space, if the walls are covered in photos of the ten children, taken every year without fail on their birthdays from age one to 36!

Well enough of my ramblings for today, thank you for taking the time to read this and if you would like to add a comment regarding what sort of wall art you like and why, please do, as I would genuinely love to know.

More on different types of wall art will follow in my next blog post.

In the meantime, please may I direct you to my 'Cutlery Set' series of images, which are without a doubt my best sellers . The images are shiny, intriguing and different.  Enjoy :)

http://nataliekinnearphotography.zenfolio.com/p332429515