unfrown.com » kaleidoscope http://www.unfrown.com Little Things to Make you Smile Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:59:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Through the Kaleidoscope http://www.unfrown.com/2008/12/05/through-the-kaleidoscope/ http://www.unfrown.com/2008/12/05/through-the-kaleidoscope/#comments Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:58:14 +0000 Unfrown http://unfrown.com/?p=312 Back on November 17th I shared with you the joys of shooting photographs through my kaleidoscope.

It has become an addiction of sorts. But, oh what a happy addiction!

On days when the morning sun shines brightly through my living room window, I place the camera on its tripod, position both kaleidoscope and camera within the beam of light, and start shooting. I’ve snapped the shutter well over a thousand times in the past few weeks, resulting in about 25-30 frames that were visually compelling enough to make the cut.

The cut for what? Well, after noodling a bit on how best to display the photos, I decided to create an oversized kaleidoscope wall calendar with some of the best shots. The images have been coupled with inspiring quotes to add another dimension to the project.

Having become quite attached to some of the individual photos, I also placed them on framed tiles and keepsake boxes, as well as throw pillows and a wide variety of holiday ornaments.

There are 18 ornaments available to date, and these are a few of my favorites:

As I mentioned previously, I’ve become quite enthralled by the colorful moving shapes in my kaleidoscope, and I’m even happier that I can now combine my love of color and light with my love of photography in a way that captures an ephemeral instance for all to share.

So what is your passion? What do you absolutely love to do?

Finding something that you are passionate about is a fabulous way to increase happiness. If you make the time to do something you enjoy, you nurture your soul and enrich your life. And when you’re happy, everyone around you is a little happier too. :-)

As the holidays approach, make sure to carve out a little time just for yourself, to do something you truly enjoy.

]]> http://www.unfrown.com/2008/12/05/through-the-kaleidoscope/feed/ 0 Kaleidoscope http://www.unfrown.com/2008/11/17/kaleidoscope/ http://www.unfrown.com/2008/11/17/kaleidoscope/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:30:15 +0000 Unfrown http://unfrown.wordpress.com/?p=48 It started innocently enough last week as I looked at my two-month-old camera sitting next to my old Corki Weeks kaleidoscope. I decided to see if I could shoot a photo inside the ‘scope, and I began the most ridiculous set of gyrations (the tripod was in the car and I was too lazy to run out to get it) as I balanced the kaleidoscope between my knees while holding the camera against the little hole in the ‘scope, all the while trying to focus and adjust the camera settings!

I managed to fire off a few shots before my muscles gave out, and what resulted was a set of blurry images that were unevenly lit – but I saw that the concept could work.

Yesterday I decided to try again – this time with a tripod holding the camera and a step-stool stacked with phone books holding the kaleidoscope. Success! :-)

I’m a sucker for beautiful things, so I shot of hundreds of frames. Some of them even came out pretty good! These are some of the very best:

Three Kaleidoscope Images

Who knew?! I’m pretty excited by how cool these look. So if you have a kaleidoscope hanging around your house, you may want to try shooting a few photos through it!

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