Category Archives: Inspiration

Travel Photography: Landmark Buildings

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Yesterday was the anniversary of the Empire State Building’s dedication (1931). It was also the anniversary of the opening of the Great Exhibition in Britain (1851), which is known as being the first World’s Fair. The Crystal Palace built for the occasion, was home to the Great Exhibition and was followed by a line of great landmarks; all specifically built for World’s Fairs, such as: the Space Needle in Seattle, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and many more.

Eiffel Tower at Night

Earlier this week, the still unfinished One World Trade Center crept past the Empire State Building and now holds the record as tallest building in New York City and if it isn’t already a landmark, it soon will be.

And so during this week of iconic building anniversaries and record settings, it should come as no surprise that today’s blog is about…landmarks.

When traveling, I take hundreds of pictures of a landmark. Yes, it takes longer to see the sights, and my family usually gets annoyed, but I find it to be worth it.

I start by taking pictures at a variety of different angles—both cliché, to humor my mother’s need to document the trip, as well as angles I find new and interesting. Once while in Rome, I laid down on the street to capture a specific angle of Coliseum.

With each shot, I also take a few photos with different lighting adjustments. I find this to be crucial, as when you’re shooting outdoors weather and lighting changes are beyond my control. Often just snapping picture after picture provides me a few gems – when the elements and my shutter come together perfectly. At the end of the day, I look through all my pictures and keep the best.

Upon returning from each trip, I once again go through all of the photos I took and choose the best. I then turn those photos into a photo book and share them on my Facebook page and blog.

 

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Photo Book Inspiration: Easter

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Every family has its own special way of celebrating Easter. Getting up early to attend sunrise service together is the most important event of the day for some people. For others, grandmother’s famous ham with a side of candied yam casserole is the highlight. And some competitive types might wait all year to have the opportunity to tackle siblings and cousins in the annual down-and-dirty Easter egg hunt.

This year, get out the camera and take a basket’s worth of pictures and then make an Inkubook that’s as unique as your family’s traditions.

  • Build an album of Easters throughout the years.
  • Collect favorite Easter recipes in a cookbook.
  • Make a step-by-step manual about egg coloring.
  • Compile a portfolio of your children’s Easter-themed doodles and drawings.
  • Create a “Where’s the Bunny” picture book for your toddler.

Whatever the inspiration for your book, Inkubook can help you get it done.

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Share Your Story with other Inkubookers.

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We are interested in hearing from you about the amazing books you’ve made for yourself or as gifts as we want to share great ideas with all current and potential Inkubookers. We want to hear:

  • How you found Inkubook.
  • About the occasion, holiday, or other creative reason you made a photobook.
  • About your creative process (How did you go about making your book?).
  • If your gift brought tears or fits of laughter.
  • If you’ve used your book for business purposes.

If you’re interested in sharing your story, we’d love to interview you and publish your story on our blog. Please send us a direct message on Twitter and we’ll follow up with you.

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A Fairy Tale Book: Starring Your Kids

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For National Tell a Fairy Tale Day, we’re asking our members to post a fairy tale on our Facebook page.

To break away from the usual Cinderella and Snow White adaptations, I wrote my own narration of a lesser-known fairy tale: Mother Holle (pronounced “holl-ee”) by the Brothers Grimm. I hope it inspires you to find and post a fairy tale that is new to you. Or even write your own fairy tale.

I’ve taken my version of Mother Holle a step further by having had my friend’s kids act out the story so we could make a children’s book with the photos instead of illustrations.

What will you do with your story?

Family Fairy Tale

 

Mother Holle (holl-ee):

Once upon a time, a kind serving girl lived on her father’s farm with her stepmother, the Widow and Stepsister. The Widow spoiled her daughter making her very selfish, lazy, and unkind; and it left the Serving Girl to do all the chores.

One day when the Serving Girl was spinning on the spinning wheel she pricked her finger and got blood on the thread. Worried about how angry the Widow would be, she rushed to the well to wash it off.

However, the Serving Girl dropped the spindle into the well and when she went to reach for it, she fell in! She went tumbling down and when she finally reached the bottom, she found herself in a new magical land.

Searching for the spindle, the Serving Girl came across an apple tree. “Shake me! Shake Me!” said the tree. “We apples are ripe.” said the apples, “If we don’t fall soon we’ll rot!” And so the Serving Girl shook the tree so that the apples would fall.

The Serving Girl then came across an oven with bread. “Help us, Help us!” yelled the bread. “If we don’t come out soon we’ll bur!” and so the Serving Girl took the bread out of the oven.

At last the Serving Girl came across a cottage where a good witch lived. “Hello” the Serving Girl said. “Can you help me? I’ve lost my spindle.” “I can help you find your spindle, but you must also help me” said the good witch. “You must help me clean and cook, and you must shake my pillows until the feathers fly.”

“Why must the feathers fly from your pillows?” the Serving Girl asked. The good witch replied, “Because my dear, I am Mother Holle, and when my pillows shake until feathers fly, it snows on Earth.”

And so the Serving Girl helped Mother Holle with the cooking and cleaning, and shaking the pillows until the feathers fly. “Good news!” exclaimed Mother Holle one day. “I found your spindle! Now you can go home!” “But I don’t know how.” The girl replied. “I can take you there, and to thank you for all our help, I will send you with a reward.” said Mother Holle. And with the wave of her wand, Mother Holle sent the Serving Girl home.

When the Serving Girl arrived home, she was covered in gold and jewels. She told her family about the magical land, and the good witch who lived there. The Widow was so angry that her stepdaughter had this newfound wealth, when her own daughter had nothing.

So, she told the Stepsister “Go to this magical land, and find Mother Holle. Then you will have gold and jewels too.” And with that, the Widow threw the spindle down the well, and kicked the Stepdaughter in after it.

In the magical land, the Stepsister came across the apple tree. “Shake me! Shake me!” the tree said. “Turn us loose! We apples are ripe!” added the apples. “No!” exclaimed the Stepsister “I don’t want to scratch myself on the branches.” And so, the apples rotted.

The Stepsister then passed by the oven. “Let us out!” cried the bread. “Or we will burn!” “No. I don’t want to get dirty.” said the Stepsister. And then the bread burned.

When the Stepsister arrived at Mother Holle’s house, she banged on the door loudly. “I’m looking for my spindle.” She stated. “I have not seen your spindle.” Mother Holle replied. “But I will help you find it if you help me with my chores.” “Fine.” the Stepsister wined. “And don’t forget to shake the pillows until feathers fly, so that it snows on Earth.” Added Mother Holle.

The Stepsister did very little to help Mother Holle. She ignored her chores and was very rude. When Mother Holle returned the spindle to her, she demanded her reward. “Don’t worry you’ll get what you deserve” replied Mother Holle.

And when she returned home, the Stepsister was covered in ashes which could not be removed for the rest of her life.

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Beyond Paws and Bones: Making Use of Other Backgrounds for a Pet Photo Book

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While creating a photo book of my Corgi, Pepper, in honor of “Love Your Pet Day,” I started to overdo it with the paws and bones background. To give my photo book a variety of backgrounds, I had to think outside the box.

Puppy Love

In terms of inspiration, it helps that “Love Your Pet Day” comes shortly after Valentine’s Day.  I used some of the hearts backgrounds when showing pictures of my family giving Pepper hugs and kisses.

Dog Days of Summer

I also branched out by using backgrounds that match with what Pepper is doing in each photo. For the pictures of her hanging out by a lake—and swimming in one– for instance, I went with one of the Summer backgrounds Inkubook offers.

Pet Photo Books

And, let’s not forget that for most of us, our dog or cat is our baby. So, there is always the option of using some of the Baby backgrounds in your photo book.

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Researching a President for Presidents’ Day

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President James Madison

Presidents’ Day is observed the third Monday of February. For me, it’s more than a day off, it’s a chance to learn more about my ancestry.

You see, I have a lot of knowledge on the fifth Vice President of the United States: Elbridge Gerry—as I am one of his descendants. I and the rest of my family however, know very little about the president under which he served.

Part of why we know so little about the president VP Gerry served, is we can’t remember which president it was. You’d think it would be easy to match VP to President. Gerry was the fifth Vice President but served under the fourth President. Furthermore, the fourth and fifth presidents are similarly named “James Madison” and “James Monroe”. So to make Presidents’ Day more than just another day off, I  sat down and read about James Madison. At the very least, I’ll know my family history, and maybe I’ll be the person my family turns to when they want to learn more about our heritage.

Through my research, which you can read below, I decided I would combine this information and photos into a photo book to have on hand for any family questions that may arise.

 James Madison

Before being elected into office, James Madison served in the Continental Congress and the Virginia Assembly. He contributed to the earliest drafting of both the United States Constitution and the Virginian Constitution. He later took great part in the Constitution’s major ratification and helped frame the Bill of Rights.

Madison served as Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of State and thus had the responsibility of negotiating with France and Spain the purchase of the land west of the Mississippi River, which became known as the Louisiana Purchase.

Madison was elected President in 1808. In his first year, the U.S. had prohibited trade between Britain and France, due to the two countries’ conflicts with one another. However by May of 1810 Congress authorized trade with both countries as long as they respected the U.S.’s wishes to remain neutral.

This did not go well. Napoleon only pretended to agree and British ships stopped American trading ships and seized American seamen. Later, Britain was blamed for causing resistance from the American Indians in regards to settlements in the western region.

The United States declared war on Britain June 18, 1812.

Madison commanded American troops on the field—the only president to do so while in office.

While he was away, the British burned the White House and the rest of the nation’s capitol. They then attempted (and failed) to launch a naval assault on Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The battle was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s poem, The Star Spangled Banner, which of course, would become the National Anthem.

The War of 1812 ended on December 24, 1814 when both sides agreed on terms of peace.  It is said that the war set where the United States stood as a nation in relationship to the rest of the world.

In April 1812—just before the start of the 1812 election, Madison’s Vice President George Clinton, died. After an intense period of “election-eering” by potential VP candidates, Madison announced Elbridge Gerry as his running mate for his re-election campaign.

Vice President Elbridge Gerry

When Madison’s second term ended in 1817, he and his wife, Dolley Madison, retired to the family estate: Montpelier, in Virginia. He stayed active in politics, finding the American Colonization Society, which was dedicated to freeing slaves and transporting them to Africa’s west coast; He served on the board of visitors at the University of Virginia. In 1829 Madison came out of retirement to attend the Virginia Constitutional Convention.

Madison died at the age of 85 in 1836.

The signers of the Constitution. Gerry and Madison are depicted 3rd & 4th to the left of Washington.

Sources:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmadison

http://montpelier.org/explore/james_madison/

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_George_Clinton.htm

 

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Sick days can be a gift.

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My kids gave me a gift this weekend, though at first, I didn’t see it as a gift. Why? Because they gave me something that was given to them, the flu.

When illness hit Saturday morning my first thoughts were “but I have things to do today and a big pile of laundry.” By Saturday evening, firmly planted on the sofa with my laptop providing much needed heat, I realized the gift I was given – time. Time to organize my photos and upload them to Inkubook to make my Fall-Winter 2011 photo book. On Sunday, day two of the gift, I was able to tweak photos, play with backgrounds and add in comments. As soon as I’m clear-headed (which I hope will be today), I’ll give it a final review, then order. I wonder who I can pass my gift on to (I mean the photo book, of course)?

“Time does not change us. It just unfolds us.” Max Frisch

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Celebrate and Snap a Pic Each Day in February

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February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s long on holidays. Whether it’s a common celebration or a bizarre observance, there are plenty of reasons to take some pictures this month and enough occasions to fill a photo book.

You know there’s Valentine’s Day and President’s Day and you likely remember Groundhog’s Day and Mardi Gras, but did you know February also holds these observances:

 

American Heart Month

Library Lovers Month

Black History Month

Hot Breakfast Month

Relationship Wellness Month

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

World Nutella Day

Read in the Bathtub Day

and Tooth Fairy Day?

 

I can think of a photo or two to take for each of the above and this is only a fraction of the observances. What will you celebrate and snap a pic of this month?

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Keeping up with the challenge?

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It’s been one month. Have you been able to take one picture per day?

I’m doing pretty well. I’ve taken 143 pictures over the past month. While many of my photos are from the same event like Disney On Ice or the drum circle birthday party my 2-year-old attended, there is also at least one photo per day that capture the little things in life from my first time making white chicken chili to my college acceptance packet (once wasn’t enough for me) to taking a picture of an amazing light fixture I saw in a restaurant I just have to get for my house.

As the month has gone on, I’ve started thinking of the daily photos as the squares that make up a quilt. These photos are like the squares of a quilt that tells a story or the cherished memories made into quilts from old dresses, bedding and the fuzz from cherished stuffed animals. By the end of the year, my photos will tell my story and I’m excited to see the story unfold for my family.

What story will your photos tell about you?

KEEP UP ON THE CHALLENGE!!!

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New Valentine’s background – Send a sweet card to those you love.

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Photo + Card + Candy = A sweet greeting they won’t forget.

Candy Hearts Photocard

Find this new background by creating a new project and choosing the Holiday theme, and then select Valentine’s Day. Choose a layout. Insert a picture and type a message. Review, order and send a smile.

But hurry, time is running out to get them by Valentine’s.

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