Books, Art & Movies

The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini

I have been itching to read this book ever since it came out.

Years ago, I read an inspiring interview about Khaled Hosseini and his childhood memories of Afghanistan. It invoked in me a desire to revisit my own childhood memories, even though they are worlds apart.

The novel is set in Afghanistan, then later in America, focusing on the lives of two boys and an event that changes their lives forever.

I don’t know anything about Afghanistan, save what I hear and read in the news – wars, political turmoil, hardship. But this story was amazing in that it opened up this new world to me; that I could see the fairy lights sparkling in the trees, set against the rocky hills, like in a scene of a movie; I could hear the rocks and snow crunching beneath boots, echoing off empty walls in the streets; and I could smell fresh the naan breads and spices wafting through the air in the markets.

The story is very well written. Very easy to read. No dull bits, there’s something happening and engaging in every chapter. All the characters were suitably developed and straightforward, which made the narrative easy to follow.

It deals with issues like friendship, betrayal, a father and son relationship, unravelling of a secret past deed… but I didn’t find it too emotionally “heavy”.

I was captivated the whole way through. I read it in 3 days! An excellent read!

The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory

Considering that I usually read science fiction and contemporary literature, this is the first “historical fiction” novel I have read, and I have to say that I enjoyed it.

In fact, I read it in a week.

(OK it’s not pure historical fiction at all. It was more like chick-lit-trash!)

So if you put aside historical inaccuracies, the book is well written, easy to read, and it’s an intriguing and absorbing story of two women competing for the love of a king.

It’s full of extravagant encounters, bitchy princesses, tasty characters, betrayals, sex, evil plotting, and it’s no wonder it’s been turned into a movie.

I recommend it, especially if you like trashy chick-lit, and you don’t usually read historical fiction.

All my life, I’ve loved zines. The idea of someone putting together their own magazine – a bunch of sketches, some poems, some big ideas, some spelling mistakes, photocopying and some staples – all for the love of it – makes my toes twinkle with excitement.

There’s something really inspiring about grassroots publications with real voices and real ideas!

Anyway, there’s a cool little zine on sale at Etsy, called Mixtapezine.

It’s about making time for the small things – full of craft, tips, articles, tutorials, eco-stuff, recipes and pop culture kitsch. It’s so cute and super cool.

Plus I’ve got a contribution in this issue!

Last week I introduced the topic How Busy People Take Great Photos and how you don’t need an expensive professional camera to get outstanding results.

This week I’ve written up some tips to help turn an average photo into a great photo!

1) Get in close to the object – fill the picture with the object, play with the camera’s macro setting.

Example 1 : During our recent camping holiday, we stopped by the side of the road to take a picture of a termite hill. It was bigger than I was! It was huge!

In the left photo, I stood some way back and took a standard profile photo of it. Very plain. In the right photo, I’ve gone right up to the object and stooped down low, resulting in a more dramatic photo. I also wanted to bring out the texture of the mound, so I made sure the sun shone at an angle that allowed the lumps to cast shadows.

2) Lighting – as a general rule, natural diffused lighting is always best. Look at how the way the light falls on the object carefully in order use it to your best advantage. Try not to use the flash. I wrote about turning off the flash here.

Example 2 : Left photo with flash – harsh shadows, too bright and lots of glare. Right without flash – crisp and natural image.

3) Composition – Try interesting angles, don’t always put your object in the centre, add some depth, be mindful of how your eye will move through the image.

Example 3 : Again, during our holiday, we stopped to take a picture of this amusing road sign.

In the left photo, although the subject fills the whole frame, it looks very plain. In the right photo, I put the main subject in the bottom left of the frame and added depth by including the striking perspective of the long straight road.

4) Focus on the essence of the object / story – whether it’s the texture, or the strange form, or the eyes, choose one and run with it.

5) Design your photo – Before you take the snap, try rearranging some objects, change the background, add props, or change the position to change the shadow and light.

Example 4 & 5 : The other day, I wrote about Sean’s New Bike and wanted to take a picture for my post.

It was a very sunny day, and after taking a few photos of the bike – by itself – I realised that a boring photo of a bike won’t actually ADD anything to my story. Plus the sunlight was too strong, making lots of distracting shadows, and the colour of the bike got lost against the green grass and the pattern of the brick paving.

So I brought the bike to the deep shade (ie: indirect, diffuse lighting) of my gazebo, set the bike up against a light and plain coloured insect screen, and sat my smiling son on top of it! Although only half the bike appears in the photo, I believe the photo focuses much more on the essence of the image and narrative.

6) Know When To Stop – Sometimes too much changing, experimenting and playing with this and that, can distract you from the essence of the image and make it look fake or staged, rather than capture the natural beauty of the moment. Plus it take a lot of time.

In my experience, I’ve often found that my first or second photographs were the ones I end up choosing, even if I took a hundred snaps!

Lots of people email me to ask, how do I take my photos? What kind of camera do I have?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some techniques I use for getting great images, and also tips and tricks in Photoshop to enhance dull photos.

If you have any more photography questions, let me know and I’ll try to answer them in my upcoming posts.

Firstly. I do have a professional design background, and having an indepth understanding of photography is part of the job – so I know about lighting, shutter speeds, apertures, composition etc. That helps a lot.

But, I’m also a mother – a busy one! Everyday I rush about here and there, carting around two boys, so I don’t have enough room in the pram for expensive, bulky camera gear, lens and tripods, not to mention time, or extra energy or brain space.

So how do I go about getting cool shots that defines THAT beautiful moment?

I’ve had to come up with various photography methods that work for me.

1) Find a camera that works for you!

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on pro camera gear and gadgets. I use a cheap, simple, compact camera, and carry it everywhere. So when the mood takes me, or a magic moment happens, the camera is there.

I currently own a Canon Powershot A700 which I throw into the bottom of the nappy bag. It rattles around with the water bottles, sun cream and sandwiches. It does get bashed around a bit, so owning an expensive pro camera is completely out of the question for me.

It’s also nice and compact, so when I’m out at a party I can pop it into my handbag.

The previous camera I had was a Canon Powershot S45 – but it mysteriously stopped working one day. The repair guy said that it had been “subject to wet conditions” so I presume my kids must have spilled something on it. The repair bill was more than a new camera.

My current camera was 6 weeks old, when I smashed the front of the lens casing. But it still takes pictures and it works just fine!

2) Turn off the Flash!

This is my number one tip for good looking photos. Most flashed photos produce a stark, over-bright, red-eyed, dark-background look.

I recommend going with natural, diffuse lighting. Pro photographers spend a lot of time getting strong diffuse light. Of course, when I’m out and about, I don’t have a strong diffuse light, so my images may blur a little.

For example – this is one of my favourite photos.

It was an overcast day (producing a nice diffuse light). I was panning the camera with the boys on the bike, so they are quite sharp, but Callum’s legs are blurred, as is the background. But it works, because you get a great sense of speed, and the effort Callum’s making. Flash would have ruined the moment.

This is a more recent photo.

I simply passed the camera (with flash already turned off) to my friend, with clear instructions “TRY not to move when you press the button!” Plus we stood very still.

Since the flash wasn’t set, the camera shutter had to be open for a long time. So the people moving past ARE blurry, and we were not. It has a nice soft light, and a cool effect in the background. This would have been a very ordinary picture with flash. It doesn’t always work, but I love the results overall.

To be continued…

I’ll be writing more about How To Take Great Photos – The Basics of Photography and Photoshop Tips and Tricks, and more!

I am first to admit that I don’t know very much about Australian Indigenous Art – its background, meaning and stories.

But I do know that there are some art pieces that completely blow me away. Dorothy Napangardi is definitely my favourite. Her works are all absolutely stunning and incredible to get lost in. The stories behind her paintings tell of adventure and wonder in the land she grew up in. Plus she has a string of national art awards and art works with whopping price tags!

Ah. I have fruitlessly coveted for one of her works – and unfortunately I don’t have a spare $39,000 sitting around.

Being part of an art exhibition has really rekindled my passion for art. In fact, one of my most secret dreams is to begin an art collection!

Imagine a house full of beautiful, inspiring and breathtaking pieces of original art, collected from around the world, each with a little story, each that nudges at my heart in a different way. What a dream! When I win the lottery! Ha!

Anyway, I found this beautiful hardcover blank notebook the other day. It had a print of Dorothy’s work on it. I instantly noticed it from across the room, and we fell in love.

My group art exhibition starts today, and it is my pleasure to invite anyone in Perth to come and visit!

The Old Royal George Gallery
Corner Duke St & George St, East Fremantle.

5 – 16 October, 2007

Thur – Fri : 11am – 7pm
Sat – Wed : 11am – 5pm

…

Read more about my preparations for the exhibition :

The Official Exhibition Write Up

The Opening Party

How it all started (Confessions and Committments)

My Art / Design Background

How To Start Oil Painting : The Studio

Oil Painting Process for “Watching Waves”

Signing a Painting

Cold Feet – Keeping Things in Perspective

The exhibition opening party was a COMPLETE SUCCESS! It all went down perfectly. I’m over the moon!! I’m completely jittery with happiness and excitement and I’m still prancing around the place with a huge smile on my face.

We had about 200+ people turn up. It was huge!

We had so many wonderful friends and family members help out with setting up, making food, serving drinks and managing the sales. I really want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone.

Most of all, I want to give a large proportion of credit to Marnie and Wendy – who did SO MUCH work to organise the event. I love you guys!

The team in front of Jane’s celebrated Have You Ever Kissed A Garlic? painting. Left to right : Karen Cheng, Marnie Beissel, Jane Kos, Wendy Tweedie.

My husband gave a speech on behalf of us – and made us all tear.

Paintings were sold! Woohoo!

The moment has come! I’ve put fixtures and rope on the back of all my canvases. I’ve wrapped them up, stacked them up and they are all ready for delivery!

They’ll be taken to the gallery, where Francis, our professional exhibition installer – our saviour – will do all the really hard work of sorting out all the paintings, working out which paintings go where (taking into account the exhibition area, wall space, visual flow, features), THEN he’ll hang each painting, making sure they’re all level and adjust the lighting.

He was adamant that we – the artists – were not allowed to be present during the installation. He was, after all, a professional. And fair enough too. I couldn’t imagine doing that job with 4 artists telling me what to do!