A couple of useful books...

image from Amazon.co.uk

image from Kindle store

I've recently bought a couple of books to help me expand on my writing skills- and hopefully earn a little bit of money!

Both of them are easy to read, straightforward and very good value for money.

Easy Money for Writers and Wannabes by Maggie Cobbett. (£1.53)

If you've ever looked at fillers in magazines and thought you had something that would be ideal, then read this book.

I know I certainly read a few magazines that have slots for readers contributions- a letters page, household tips, funny stories, and photos.

With examples of her successful fillers, Maggie shows the reader how varied the opportunities can be; and if you don't know how to start then this is the book for you.

By the time I'd finished reading it, my brain was ticking over with possible ideas...

The second book I've bought and found very helpful is:

Photography for Writers: Using photos to sell more of your words by Simon Whaley.
(Paperback £7.99; Kindle version £4.32)

As you know I've recently replaced my camera.

Quite a few writers bought this book when it was released and recommended it, so I opted for the paperback version for easy reference in the future.

You can find out what sort of markets you can use your photos in- not just fillers, but articles, research and non-fiction books.

Simon's clear explanations on shutter speeds and aperture finally made sense to me, so I now understand how to use it when needed.

It's a book that you can refer to for quick reminders, or when you need helpful advice once you've got your images.

Chapter 5, on managing your photographic library, will be helpful to anyone who takes a lot of images. That is now something I will be doing with my existing photos- before I add any more.

Both these books have now been added to my essential writing reference shelf.

I'm studying the markets, and honestly my OH can't complain about the number of magazines lurking around the house when they're work related. :D

Do you have any recommendations from your reference shelf?

Expanding Talents...

I've been looking to replace my digital camera for some time, but have been frustrated by how small many of them are.

April Evening Sky

Now my hands are not slim- they are quite wide, so I have quite a bit of trouble holding a compact camera securely and pressing the button without getting my fingers across the image somewhere.

So I went to my nearest camera shop- a small chain, and explained what I needed, what I wanted to use it for, and what I'm able to do so far. I came away with a bridge camera.

A Bridge camera is a mid-point between a Compact and a DSLR. If you haven't ventured beyond a compact then have a look at this link to find out a little more.

Hawthorn in Bud

I've been trying out the different settings, attempting to familiarise myself with everything. I've not tried the manual adjustments yet...

Now my trip to Bath is booked, I want to be able to take some reasonable photos to capture all I see there.

I have images in my memory from other short visits, but I've never been able to see the city at different times of day- how light falls can give completely different impressions to places.

It will be used for a story one day...

Here's a few images from my first attempt, with no
 image adjustment.

Me

I even took a shadow selfie - deliberately (in case you thought it was a mistake) because I liked the evening light falling on the brickwork. It wasn't intended for anything, just an experiment, hence the window ledge, washing line and the pipe in view...

There is a world of potential images and memories ready to be captured with a camera; whether it's on your phone, tablet, or other device.

Not sure how many images I'll end up taking in Bath, but the memory card will be more than enough for what I'll need... :D