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Photo Walks are a wonderful opportunity to be with other like minded people and learn more about how to get the most from your photography experiences. I teach my participants to use a contemplative approach and develop a more creative way of seeing. There will be opportunities for you to develop your eye while becoming increasingly aware of the role these play in visual expression: light, perspective, tonality, contrast, lines, shapes, symmetry, patterns, colours, and textures.
During the two hour interactive walks you will learn ways to take your photography to the next level.
Register at http://mccristall.eventbrite.ca
Private photo walks can be arranged if you have a small group that is interested.
If you're in the Vancouver area, it would be wonderful to meet you and make some images together.

Hi Everyone,
I'm so pleased to announce the launch of my Photography Tour in Portugal, March 2014
I fell in love with the Sintra area and Lisbon when I was there in March 2012 studying photography with Jose Antunes.
I have created a fabulous week long photography holiday that will inspire photographers to take their image making to the next level in incredible surroundings with a bounty of photo ops.
Please contact me if you're interested, (hello@marionmccristall.com) and pass this information along to your friends who love photography.
Information about itinerary, accommodations, and registration is on my website www.marionmccristall.com

It's exciting to finish a couple of slideshows to share with you.
The first one is a short collection in sepia of the streets of Marrakech. http://vimeo.com/43273685
The colours in Morocco were so vibrant and lush that I wanted to tell the story of life within the medina of Marrekech without the distraction of colour.
The second slideshow, "The Charms of Sintra and the West Coast of Portugal" is just a little sampling of some of the gorgeous seascapes and village scenes I saw when I was there in March. http://vimeo.com/43288246
You can see more of my images from my photographic experiences at www.marionmccristall.com
Thanks for taking a look.

I was so surprised and excited to have my blog post on Photographing Glass Blowing on the front page of Wordpress.com last week. They only choose 10 out of hundreds of thousands of posts to showcase each day. I had over 8,200 viewers and was thrilled when so many people took the time to leave a comment, "like" the article, and/or chose to follow my blog.
You can see more at http://everythingneat.wordpress.com

I am very pleased to tell you about my new photography website. I have included a Portfolio with several galleries of my images as well as links and resources you may find helpful. http://www.marionmccristall.com
Please take a few minutes to visit my site and look around. Let me know what you think. Your comments are always appreciated.

I've attached links to Facebook and Twitter. This is my first venture into using Social Media and it would be great if you would "like" me on Facebook.

You can view photographs I took on my safari in Kenya at www.vimeo.com/36309038

Enjoy.

Even though I got back the end of September, it seems like only yesterday that I was on a Toyota Land Cruiser with five like-minded photographers in the wilderness of Kenya. I have finally developed enough photos to put on my site and share with you.
The safari was lead by David Rogers, a renowned South African photographer. (www.davidrogers.co.za) It truly was a trip of a lifetime. I have so many stories to tell and images to share and must admit that I am still on a high from the whole experience.
I have never taken pictures of animals in the wild before so seeing them in their natural habitat in exquisite landscapes was an incredible photographic experience. We spent time in Amboseli National Park where elephants and giraffes abound and the Masai Mara Reserve where we saw the Big Five in one day. We were out before dawn and back after sunset in order that we could photograph the animals in the best light.
I hope you enjoy my images.
I plan to post my safari slideshow on vimeo in the near future.
If you're interested in a photographic safari, take a moment to check out David's website. He runs them in various countries in Africa and he was a superb guide and teacher.

I'm preparing to head to Kenya for a photo safari and was looking over a slideshow I created of some of my images from Tuscany.
I took a photography course with Julian Hyzler in May of 2009. Three of the participants worked in various mediums such as watercolour and collage. Julian did a great job of meeting us where we were on our artistic journeys and I was filled with happy memories when I looked at my photos again. If you're interested in taking an art holiday in Italy I would highly recommend Julian's courses. His website is www.artistinitaly.com
My slideshow can be found at http://web.me.com/mmccristall/Tuscany/Photos.html

It was exciting to get the news that two of my photographs won awards. I entered the Canadian Association for Photographic Art, (CAPA,) annual competition for greeting cards. They award a first prize and four honourable mentions in each category.

I received honourable mention for "Waterlilies Monet Style" in the Note Card category. In the Greeting Card category, I won honourable mention for my "White Lavender" image. Both of these photos can be found in my "Flowers" gallery.

I wrote a post on my blog about making greeting cards using photographs last week. You can check it out at www.everythingneat.com.

I was very pleased to win four awards at the annual photography competition held by APAC, (Abbotsford Photo Arts Club,) on the weekend. Every year they put on a wonderful two day photographic seminar with excellent guest speakers and workshops. This year's keynote speaker, Bryan F. Peterson, was inspirational and offered techniques, tips, and wisdom with a delightful, witty style. He has written many excellent books on photography and also runs an online training program at www.ppsop.com. The seminar was attended by over 400 photo enthusiasts from around the province and Washington state.

My images that received honorable mention can be viewed on this site. They are "House in Pujols France" in my Travel Gallery, "Just Us" in Black and White and Sepia Gallery, "Raindrops on a Rose" in Flowers, and "Back Side" in my Animals and Birds.

I find it so encouraging to receive feedback and recognition from others that enjoy my photographs.

Today I am absolutely thrilled to have my blog post on using the Rule of Thirds in composition chosen for the Wordpress page called "Freshly Pressed". It has generated a lot of interest and many encouraging comments.

Wordpress is one of the leading open source blogging platforms on the internet with over a million posts created everyday. They choose 10 posts to feature each day so I was very surprised to see my post appear there. Apparently these choices are not made randomly but must meet a certain criteria set out by the editor.

I enjoy writing for my readers and include everything from photography tips to recipes.

You can check out my blog at www.everythingneat.wordpress.com