cherry blossoms, chocolate fix and peaceful places

what was i doing while blogspot was down for 20 hours? weeping? actually, i was eating away my sorrows with these delicious treats. the magnum double caramel ice cream bars. they were 7.19$ for a package of 3. a little bit on the pricey side but, after all, these are "luxury" ice cream bars. needless to say, i got a little nervous when i noticed that one of my posts was missing. all that was going through my mind was "really? i have to write that all over again!"

on thursday, i found myself at a virtually untouched dock area that i found. there was no one there and it was super quiet. i wish i had brought a lawn chair and had set up camp. nothing sounds better than sitting lakeside with a good book and a tall glass of iced tea. i was even tempted to just sit and fish. i'm such an outdoorsy girl. i can't wait until camping season. nothing appeals to me more than fishing all day then going back to the tent and sleeping on the rock hard ground.

all of the trees are in bloom, so that also added to the beauty of my drive. i'm planning on going to the botanical gardens this weekend to take some more shots of the gorgeous spring flowers. cherry blossoms are by far my favourite. their scent isn't really that strong but they look amazing. there was a tree in my front yard and my camera was practically begging me to take photos.

speaking of taking photos, i've been getting loads of questions on how i shoot my flower photos (and photos in general). here are a few of my tips and tricks that i live by:

• always shoot in natural light. it is your best friend. whenever you have to use the flash, the quality of the photo decreases. unless you have a lot of equipment to decrease the glare and things, you should really try to shoot in natural lighting.
• pick a time to take your pictures and always take them during that time. for me, it's around 1-2 in the afternoon when the sun is nice and high. 
• if you aren't sure what you're doing, don't mess around with the settings on your camera. take a basic photo in no flash mode (or preferably, macro mode if you have the option) then edit it using a photo editing program.
• always edit your photos. rarely, will you have a stunning photo that comes straight out of camera. even if it's just upping the contrast or adding a little sharpness here and there. it makes a world of difference. 
• lastly, try using actions if you have photoshop. they are downloadable colouring things. all you have to do is push a button and watch as the action plays out and colours your image. you can find them on deviantart or just by googleing "photoshop actions".