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Playing with my new camera

I got my new camera yesterday, and had a play with it. Here's some of the shots I took with it while I was learning how to use it:

Riley

LRH Y B Rojas

LRH Rum Runner wearing a deluxe red and black nylon halter made by Long Road Home

Socks (the pink spot is a corneal graft)

LRH White Lightning wearing a nylon safety halter made by Long Road Home

That's not all the pictures I took while I was playing around, I deleted a ton more. My camera battery needs recharging before I can play some more.

Now I've got a decent camera, maybe I can focus on making some tack for sale. I've got plans for some nylon and leather halters, and possibly some rugs. They won't necessarily be rugs that match with halters, since I only have three colors of ribbon, one satin red, one satin black, and one grosgrain black, and one larger satin yellow, but maybe they'll catch someone's eye anyway :)

My birthday this month

At the end of November, it's my birthday. I've been trying to think how I can share that with people, but I don't really have anything I can give away as some kind of prize. I need good pictures for that, and I don't have a good camera.

One of the two things I want for my birthday this year is a new camera.

So, in anticipation, I've decided to finish a custom that's on my workbench right now in time for my birthday. I have no idea if it's possible. Just when I was ready to put a primer coat on him, he screamed "No! New tail! And how dare you not give me complete stallion parts!" So back to the workbench he went. I've got seventeen days to meet this deadline. Added difficulty: I want to make him a modern Arabian show halter so he doesn't have to be completely naked on his debut. He's a Stablemate, so this could be interesting to puzzle my way through. I bet there'll be snow on the ground by the time he makes his debut, so he'll be the first horse photographed with my new camera, and in the snow.

I'm actually going to show off a half finished model too. Right now, he's chestnut, and actually quite handsome (if a bit creepy with unfinished eyes and hooves), but until I have a better camera, he's stalled and going nowhere. I'm going to document how I turn him into a roan, so people can see how I do roans in pastels and acrylics, but before I do, I want to show off the first chestnut horse I've ever done, because I'm kind of impressed with it.

Hopefully I'll be able to show off my handiwork in a big way. Who knows? Maybe the workmanship might appeal to someone, and I'll pick up a commission or something?

In any case, I'll be putting up a countdown clock on my blog and my new site (it's pretty, go check it out!) Countdown clocks are exciting, and maybe you'll get a kick out of counting down with me to my 26th birthday.

Cats, glasses, and life

The last month and some change has been very hectic for me. My cat had an eye infection, which developed into a dismetocele (a crater in the cornea), which required surgery. The treatment for the infection, and then the aftercare for the surgery put my whole life on hold. He's finally out of his "cone of shame" and getting back to normal, and I have only four more days, including today, of intense medication schedules.

Despite being very busy with my cat, I have been getting a few things done here and there, including constructing a SM scale stall from craft sticks. I've got a lot left to do, and I doubt I'll finish it before the new year, but when it's finished, I'll be showing it off on here. I've also made a few SM scale cross-country jumps, which only need some finishing touches.

The next thing that came up was that I got superglue vapor on my old glasses. It stuck to a smudge on the lens, and that was the end of that pair of glasses. I need my glasses for detail work. My vision isn't bad enough I need glasses for everything, but I can't read, write, or work on tack, painting and other detail crafts without them. My prescription changed significantly in one eye as well, and I'm still getting used to my new glasses. The focal area seems much smaller, because I have smaller lenses than I did before. I have two pairs now, one for general work, and one very narrow lensed pair that are good for keeping my focus on writing (actually why I chose them).

With my birthday coming up toward the end of November, I've decided to put a hold on trying to get good sales pictures of my halters with my bad camera, since I'm going to be getting a slightly better camera for my birthday this year.

I'm going to try assemble a quick how-to guide on photoshowing with a bad digital camera, since I have the example pictures ready. I might be moving on to a new camera, but I'm sure there are a few people out there who might glean something useful from my experience.

I'm still prepping my batch of SMs. Does the prepping phase ever end? I'm so done with prepping, I want to get to the painting, but I think I'm going to hit problems with sealer now that we're in fall and heading toward winter. My sealer doesn't work well in low temperatures, it gets grainy.

I'll still be showing through fall and winter, so it won't be completely dead around here, and I'll still be able to make tack. I have a nice halter design that I'm planning to make a lot of. I stocked up my tack making kit last time I made a trip to Wal-mart, with cheap jewelry making supplies and some grosgrain ribbon. The current set of halters are red satin-backed black grosgrain with jump-ring hardware (including a new no-bend jump-ring buckle design that looks pretty neat), and look pretty spiffy. More on those at the end of November, when I can show them off properly.