Have you ever noticed how homes look different in one part of the country than in another? Or how they vary from one country to another?

Perhaps even more pronounced are the differences inside the homes. Each country has its own style of interior décor.

When I travel, a special treat is to be invited into people's homes. Each house is a reflection of both the culture and its owner.

Because I've visited Ukraine several times, I've been inside quite a few Ukrainian homes. I'm fascinated by the rugs on the walls, the embroidery, and the bright colors.

The homes shown below have a distinctly Ukrainian character. But sadly, with the flood of American movies, Western magazines, and, of course, the Internet, more and more Ukrainians have begun to imitate Western decorating styles. Charming homes like these are destined to lose their distinct personalities.  











Although these are just views of rooms, each picture evokes memories of time spent with the dweller of the home - a shared cup of coffee, a meal, an overnight stay. It's not just the image, but the associated feelings that make each picture precious.

In every photo Cole takes there is more than meets the eye. Cole uses unique perspectives and the background to tell the story. Sometimes as a viewer you need to look a little closer to really see what is going on. Sometimes Cole likes to portray a puzzle for you to piece together.

What do you see in the photos on our homepage? What is their story?

 

Interested in learning more about Cole? Here's a little background:
He has been photographing since the age of thirteen. He is known for his snowboarding images. Cole enjoys shooting with both film and digital. You can see his work in Nike Snow, Oakley, and Transworld Snowboarding Magazine. Last year Photo District News selected him as one of the 30 emerging photographers to watch.

Cole provided tips for shooting winter sports which can be found in our Tips & Project Center.

Still want a little more, read Cole's blog and web site
www.ColeBarash.com
ColeBarash.blogspot.com

Let me set the record straight right from the start - I do NOT live in the country.

That being said, we live in a house that backs up to some woods and we seem to be a magnet for all kinds of wildlife and I am not talking about my kids and their friends.

I use my Z980 camera to take pix of our various visitors and thought that I would share them with you. Most of these photos were taken through our kitchen window using the 24x zoom on this camera.

First up - birds. I could do a whole series on this alone but here are just a few; a finch, small woodpecker, and a titmouse.

There is a rabbit that stops in from time to time as well.

Raccoons have been known to walk up on our deck and look in the windows. I wonder what they are thinking. Dang! Why aren't they watching that show I want to see on Animal Planet?

A newborn deer. I should send this one to Cute Overload. And another that is a little older but not much.

The deer make their way through our yard quite often. A big buck even showed up the other day.

We had a surreal moment recently. We have seen wild turkeys before but not 20(!) of them at once. It was just after Thanksgiving and Christmas so they must have thought that the coast was clear.

Here is a video (also taken with the Z980) of them ambling though. Do turkeys amble?

This Bengal tiger really surprised me. Okay, I didn't really see a tiger in our backyard but given the track record it is only a matter of time. My kids are hoping for a giraffe.

I took this picture, also using that 24x zoom, from a safe distance at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

So, that is the report from my backyard - chirp, gobble, tweet, etc.

This past Christmas, I decided to give a little "greener" by making gift bags instead of using gift wrapping paper. "Reusable" gift wrapping is even better than recycled or recyclable gift wrapping paper! I went to the fabric store in search of some holiday fabric, but in the end, I opted for festive fabric that can be used for any occasion. I pulled out the sewing machine and got to work. Although I created drawstring style bags, I preferred the look of tying the bows lower and creating a "neck" on the bags (see pictures below). I used close-up pictures of the recipients to create simple yet personalized gift tags. I also decorated a few of the gift bags with flower hair clips - a gift + wrapping embellishment all in one!





If you're looking for other ideas for using photos for personalized "green" gift wrapping, here are a couple of suggestions: photo gift bags and photo storage boxes. For a photo gift bag, you can create a bag like the gift bags pictured above, but use a solid cotton fabric as the material (white or cream-colored would work best). You can then use your inkjet printer to print a photo onto iron-on transfer paper. You can typically find such paper at your local office supply or craft supply store. Follow the instructions that came with the iron-on paper to transfer the photo onto your fabric bag. Presto, you have a personalized reusable gift bag! If you don't sew, you can purchase a blank canvas bag at a local craft supply store and use that instead.

Photo storage gift boxes are easy to create and can later be reused as personalized storage boxes by the recipient. You can purchase a cardboard box at your local craft supply store. Most craft stores carry inexpensive, solid colored boxes, about the size of a shoe box, for storing photographs. They also often carry larger sized cardboard boxes, if a shoe box size is too small for the gift you want to wrap. Print your favorite photo(s) of the recipient and glue the photo(s) to the top of the box. I like to print wallet-sized photos and whimsically place them on the top of the box. See the example photo below.



So you see, eco-friendly gift-wrapping can be fun, practical and personalized!

Almost four years ago I wrote a post about attaching a Kodak digital camera to my dog Oscar, setting the timer and letting him take pictures. Now that we make pocket video cameras, I thought it was time to see if he could shoot videos too.



To create dog videos, you need 1. a dog... 2. a pocket video camera (used here - the Kodak Zi8)... 3. a Kodak helmet mount (attached to the bottom of the Zi8) and 4. lots of treats.



Just as he did with the digital still camera, the moment I attached the Zi8 to Oscar, he assumed a pathetic "Why me?" expression. Ok, so on the first try I attempted to attach the Zi8 to his head for optimum capture positioning - but really, he doesn't have to look so defeated.



I ended up attaching it to Oscar's harness rather than his head. The head was not a stable attachment point. Quite honestly the harness didn't do so well either. Pugs are too roly poly and rock when they walk - resulting in a nauseating video capture. You can see for yourself in this video - but be warned. If you get motion sickness you may want to skip the video. When he decides to shake, it is especially off putting.



Note however, when Oscar stops to stare aimlessly at a tree or whatnot - how crisp and amazing the video looks! Ahhhhh.

So dog videography may not be the best idea. No amount of image stabilization is going to help a 21 lb pug bouncing his way down the sidewalk.

Then I spotted my cat, Stewie. Well, why not?



I attached the Zi8 to Stewie and sat back. And waited. And waited. Turns out there is no point in attaching a video camera to a cat. They don't move around enough to create an interesting video. Dullest... video ... ever.

If you don't believe me you can watch the clip for yourself.



No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.