This week I start a new feature – Tuesdays I will list fun, creative, interesting content that I found interesting from the week before.
- The picture above is new this week in my portfolio at Dreamstime.
- Have you seen the couture de jour features on lillyella? Every day she features a complete outfit (with shopping links!) including accessories – submitted by readers. Many of the items are handmade or indie artists as well. Fabulous for those of us who are fashion impaired!
- Trent at The Simple Dollar gives tips for handling all those extra garden veggies many people end up with around this time of year. There are some pretty typical ones on there – canning your extras, for example – but he also offers some other really fun ideas. What about having a harvest party? What a great idea! Or make your own salsa and give it away as Christmas presents … some creative and frugal ideas for you!
- I recently discovered the blog Simply Hue – I can’t remember how I stumbled upon it, but I have been following for a month or so now, and it is filled with lovely, inspiring finds! Last week she ran a series on inspiring designers, and a few weeks ago she ran a series on lovely photographers. Go visit!
- The White Hot Truth – a fascinating blog that I just discovered this week. Written by Danielle LaPorte – writer, blogger, spiritual diva, business guru. Very thought-provoking.
PS – don’t forget to go enter the photo giveaway at Akane Designs! Only three days left!
So, PetaPixel had an article the other day about ways to motivate and inspire yourself in your photography. One of their ideas was to Get New Gear! And you know, I’m broke and all, so I can’t afford to Get New Gear! every time I am feeling a little blah. BUT – did you guys know that you can RENT lenses and even camera bodies? Online? How cool is that?!? I cannot afford a Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS lens … but I have been shooting with one for the past two weeks thanks to BorrowLenses.com. I know there are a few others out there, but I tried BorrowLenses.com and so I thought I would tell you all about how fabulous they are!
I have ordered from BorrowLenses twice now, and both times I have had an exceptional experience. I rented a Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro several months ago (This pic was taken with that lens, as an example) and had lots of fun experimenting. The rental was very reasonably priced and easy! You place your order online, they ship it to you, and you receive it in 2 days generally (unless you pick super important overnight shipping). I got my lens the day it was scheduled … and instead of returning it on the day that I was supposed to, I emailed them and asked to keep it another week. They were super nice and agreeable, and just charged me for an additional week. When I was done, I packaged it up back in the prepaid box it came in, and sent it on back! Easy as pie.
I mentioned that I currently have the Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS and I love it. I don’t want to send it back. I want to keep it forever and ever and sleep with it under my pillow at night. Unfortunately I don’t have an extra few thousand dollars laying around, so I will be sending it back shortly. Again I had a great experience with Borrow Lenses – there was a bit of a mix up with my order – I requested to get it before they could actually get it here … and then the one I requested was returned to them broken. So they upgraded me for free (I originally ordered the non-IS version) AND got it here earlier than I expected. And every person I have ever spoken too or emailed has been incredibly friendly and helpful.
So, in short – I highly recommend them! If you are looking for a little creativity boost; if you want to try out a few lenses before you decide which to buy; if you have an important event that you want to photograph – try renting a lens! They also have camera bodies, tripods, lighting … lots of options. Lots of toys to play with and drool over.
Picture from last week with my new toy:
Check these out:
Go visit Madsen bikes and find out how to win a lovely new bicycle of your own!
Did you lose your camera? Have you found someone’s camera or memory card?
This site posts pictures from found cameras (or memory cards) and attempts to reunite them with their owners. What a great idea! I have left my camera behind several times (a little too much to drink at the bar and I start leaving my possessions all over town) but luckily always found it right away. If you think your camera is lost forever, check this site. They have happy endings posted of cameras reunited with their owners …
This page gives instructions – basically email a few pictures to them, and they post orphan pictures on their site every Thursday.
