Happy Halloween!

October 30, 2020 Carol Vipperman

Every year I look forward to Halloween because my neighbors get very creative with their decorations, which makes my walks more interesting. Although trick or treating is not happening in many places this year, I was happy to see that my neighbors were in the spirit!

I enjoyed playing with my Lensbaby Sweet 50, Burnside 35, and Sol 45 to capture the spookiness of the season. I hope you enjoy what I captured.

Although we might not see kids out trick or treating this year, at least we can enjoy the spirit of the holiday thanks to my good neighbors who take the time to decorate their homes. If you are curious about Lensbaby lenses, take a look at their website, and if you are inclined to take the plunge, use my Lensbaby Ambassador code (WVIPPERMAN) for a 10% discount on all lenses except sale and new release lenses. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

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Capturing the last of summer's flowers

October 12, 2020 Carol Vipperman

This is always a bittersweet time of year for me. I love autumn and can’t wait for the color changes, the warm autumn light, and crisp air. But I love capturing images of flowers and they are fast disappearing. Fortunately, there are still a few hearty ones blooming. Over the last few weeks, I have made a conscious effort to go out looking for them and capturing images with my different Lensbaby lenses: Sol45, Sweet50, and Burnside35. Here are some of my images - hope you enjoy!

Although I will miss taking photos of flowers, autumn is here with its own fun images to be discovered. If you are curious about Lensbaby lenses, take a look at their website, and if you are inclined to take the plunge, use my Lensbaby Ambassador code (WVIPPERMAN) for a 10% discount on all lenses except sale and new release lenses. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

If you would like to receive my blog posts, please send me your name and email. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

Sweet 50 - Expanding My Comfort Zone

August 20, 2020 Carol Vipperman

This time of year, I find myself using my go-to lenses: Velvet 85, 56, and now the new Velvet 28 to take images of flowers. I just naturally reach for them and forget about my other options such as my Sweet 50 optic. It captures wonderful photos of flowers, portraits, and landscapes and it has a “sweet spot” of focus surrounded by blur. Since I enjoy close-up shots, I add macro diopter filters to help me get closer, so this past week I decided to use my Sweet 50 for a change. It was a learning experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone, but it was worth it! The following images were taken with either a +4, +6 or +10 diopter filter.

Although I primarily focused on taking images of flowers, the Sweet 50 is a fun lens to capture everyday scenes, which I did along my walk. Here are a few of my photos.

Kathleen Clemons told me a year ago in her workshop that she wanted to make me fall in love with the Sweet 50. I wasn’t able to do that then, but now that I have taken it out for the past week, I must admit that I do love the effect and will take it out more often. If you are curious about Lensbaby lenses, take a look at their website, and if you are inclined to take the plunge, use my Lensbaby Ambassador code (WVIPPERMAN) for a 10% discount on all lenses except sale and new release lenses. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

If you would like to receive my blog posts, please send me your name and email. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

Lensbaby Ambassador

July 20, 2020 Carol Vipperman

Recently I was selected as a Lensbaby Ambassador! I am thrilled to be one of about 100 photographers from around the world who love Lensbaby lenses and the wonderful images they create. The Ambassador Program is brand new and the team at Lensbaby are currently working on ideas. As most of you know, I have been promoting Lensbaby for years in my blog and social media posts, but now I can receive a small commission on purchases made through my affiliate link. If you are inspired, check out their lenses or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com with your questions.

Since it is now the season for flowers, I have been searching for them on my daily walks. The images below were taken with a either a Lensbaby Velvet 28 or Velvet 85. Both of these lenses can be used for many purposes - from landscape to portrait to close-up photos. That is one of the reasons that I love taking images with them. They bring a different perspective to each subject.

Thanks to Lensbaby for creating this program and selecting me as one of its ambassadors! I look forward to a fun, creative, and inspiring partnership. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

If you would like to receive my blog posts, please send me your name and email. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

Being an Artist in Residence

April 26, 2020 Carol Vipperman

“On the bright side, I am no longer calling this shelter-in-place. I am now an artist-in-residence.” That is what someone posted on Facebook a few weeks ago. Although I laughed when I read it, I decided that it was a good way to see the situation. I am fortunate that I can work from home and am healthy, but the restriction of how much we can go outside has been tough at times. I decided to find ways to get creative inside my home, as well as when I go out for my walks.

Although I am primarily a natural light photographer, I decided to buy a portable light box so I could capture images of flowers regardless of weather. I had to learn how to get the lighting and exposure right to not blow out the highlights. I continue to play with this and consider it a good option when I am stuck at home. I also enjoyed buying flowers and having them around.

Then after watching a video that Kathleen Clemons did on shooting flowers on a lightpad, I added one to the mix. Again, I found myself having to learn about exposure and light. Not all flowers worked, but I am still experimenting. Fortunately, there are many videos on You Tube with ideas on how to create interesting images.

But then on April 21st, Lensbaby announced a new lens - the Velvet 28! I was beyond excited. My first Lensbaby was a Velvet 56 that I use to capture flowers as well as take portraits and landscapes. I added the Velvet 85 some years ago and it has been my favorite Velvet until now. Although I have many different Lensbabies, this new lens is not going to be leaving my camera for some time. I can take an image just two inches away from a subject and since it is a wide-angle lens, I can also take landscape images! Shooting wide open creates a beautiful glow on the photo, but yet it can be stopped down to f22 for tack sharp images. It is perfect for walking around my neighborhood. The first morning out with the lens convinced me that this was a keeper. Take a look at some of my images below.

Wonderful clouds over Elliott Bay taken at f5.6.

My creative juices have been flowing since experimenting with my new tools. I like learning and growing my skills, so the lightbox, lightpad, and definitely the Velvet28 are helping me along. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com.

If you would like to receive my blog posts, please send me your name and email. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.