Tag Archives: blanket

Proceed to Pack

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Packing makes all of this a little more real. We’ve started boxing up the house a little at a time to make the task of moving our lives across the country a little less daunting. Up to this point we’ve only been talking about the move which sure seemed like fun when I described it optimistically all those times. But fitting it all in a truck is another story. And all I can think about lately is where I’m going to find more boxes and I’m tempted to steal my neighbors junk mail just so I have more packing paper.

Because I need a strategy for everything, I’ve decided I’ll move from one room to the next clearing out each and probably save the kitchen for last. The kitchen frightens me with all that heavy, breakable and not to mention expensive stuff behind those cupboard doors. I’m putting the oddly shaped items in our dining room for now because frankly, I don’t know just how to move them yet. Some stuff just wasn’t meant to be moved I think.

Once we’ve got a box full and taped shut, we put it in Bailey’s old room (not sure she approves). And speaking of approval, one thing we did discover over Christmas is that Bailey loves snow. Phew!

Packing: Day 1

(A modest three boxes completed. Baby steps.)

Packing: Day 2

Today I found Bailey’s old blanket in an unused dresser drawer that she used to sleep on as a puppy, too. And if you’ve kept up with B’s blog posts (such as Old Friends Die Hard), then you know that her “puppy love” occasionally turned into the need to annihilate. It was mildly shredded and mangled when I found it, so I thought why not let her do the honors of finishing it off. I set it down for her to smell, and her tail went wagging immediately with joy. She remembered her old friend. B would never tear up a good blanket of ours, but this one she knew was hers. I quick snapped a photo because I knew this would be the last time she saw it, and it made me think about how this move will be sentimental for everyone involved- even B.

Who knows what will turn up next.

How to Set Your White Balance

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This tutorial will answer your questions about why some of your photos have that yellow or bluish, or even green tint to them. And it will explain what that little “white balance” button does on your digital camera!

First, you must know that white balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo.  To achieve the correct color or lighting in your photos, the camera needs to figure out the “color temperature” of a light source being used, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. Different lights emit different light temperatures. Our eyes are pretty good at picking out what is white under different light sources, however digital cameras often make mistakes when using the default setting on your camera called Auto White Balance (AWB).  An incorrect WB can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green color casts, which are unrealistic.

This photo was taken with the Auto White Balance setting on, and you can see that the camera had a hard time judging the true colors of this blanket due to the Tungsten (household) bulb nearby. This type of bulb usually casts a yellow/orange color over everything.

And sometimes without a natural light source, or when you’re shooting in the shade, your images can have a bluish tint over them (above). I had this issue with a couple of my images when shooting Bailey at the dog park in the shade (below). But this can be fixed by setting your White Balance on your camera to “Shooting in Shade.”

But you can easily correct this by choosing the setting on your camera which best suits your situation. By making these adjustments, I could get the correct lighting and coloring on my blanket (above).

The White Balance settings are normally found under the “White Balance” menu options. Your choices typically are:
- Shade
- Cloudy
- Flash
- Daylight
- Fluorescent
- Tungsten
- Kelvin
- Custom*
- Auto White Balance

Usually by choosing one of these settings, you will correct any color issues you’re having.

*I would recommend learning how to set your Custom White Balance (CWB) setting on your camera to get the best and most natural results. You’ll first need to find something in your shot that is either white or gray and use that as your target to set the CWB, but the best thing would be to use a gray card, which are usually inexpensive. You hold the gray card in front of the lens and either an image is taken of the card or a button is pressed that causes the camera to measure the card and set the balance. Note: Position the card so the light hits the card at an approximate 45 degree angle. This is to minimize the specular reflection from the surface. And if you’re shooting in one main area, then you’ll only have to set your White Balance once.

Learning how to use your White Balance settings will definitely save you a lot of time trying to fix your photos in the end!