Reviewing Calendars for Christmas Gifts

Calendars can make great gifts, particularly if you find a subject that resonates with the person that will be receiving the gift.  Do you have a bird lover on your Christmas list, then the calendar listed above may be just the thing.  The calendar above was created from photographs I took in my backyard of eastern bluebirds throughout the year.  It can be purchased at this link on Zazzle Bluebird Lovers Calendar

Lighthouses

I love lighthouses and after I retired my husband, and I traveled the country photographing lighthouses.  I have created calendars from many of those photographs.  Here is a page from my calendar on Michigan lighthouses.

You can find the above calendar at the following link. Lake Michigan Lighthouses

Travel Destination

I really enjoy traveling and sharing my travel with others through my photography.  Calendars are a great way to share places you have visited.  Here is one I made after our visit to Quebec City in Canada.  It is such a great place to visit and the old town was a great place to capture some unique photographs.

Here is a link to the above calendar, where you will be able to see 12 months of different scenes from Quebec City. Scenes from Quebec City

Covered Bridges

In our travels another subject that caught our interest was covered bridges.  These bridges are becoming a thing of America's past, but there are still many scattered around the country that give you a wonderful feeling of days gone by.  I have read that bridges were first built covered so that the horses that traveled over the bridges would not be scared by the rivers below.  In the calendar above, I have captured photos of the bridges of Madison County.  You can find a link to the calendar on Zazzle at this link Bridges of Madison County

Sports Teams

Sports calendars are favorites for fans of many teams.  Whether your team is MLB, NHL, NFL or college teams you are sure to find a calendar on Amazon.  Here is a link to a calendar of my favorite team the St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinal Calendar

More Calendars on Review This

Here is a link to more calendar reviews on Review This.

Photographs on Calendars

Reviewing A Folklore Calendar

Inspirational Calendars for Women

Happy Shopping....Best wishes to find a perfect calendar or everyone on your shopping list!!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Happy Thanksgiving from Review This

 

Today is a day of Thanksgiving in the USA and I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving on behalf of the entire staff of Review This.

I have many things that I am thankful for, but on this post I'd like to share my thanks for my hobby of photography by sharing with you several of the photos that I have taken this fall.  I always see Thanksgiving as the end of the colorful fall colors and the start of the winter holidays.  

Fall  Photography

In the photo at the beginning of this post, I have shared a photo that I took down on Main Street in St. Charles, Missouri.  They always decorate for each holiday and fall is no exception.  I loved this box of fall flowers set against the wood railing.   Another place I visited to take some fall photos was our Missouri Extension gardens.  Fall is really the end of the blooming season, but there are still some great flowers to photograph.  The photo below shows some bright purple flowers peeking out of an old wooden fence.

I love the beautiful shades of colors of the leaves in the fall.  Here are a few of my favorites from this year.

One of the views I particularly enjoy all year round is the view from the sliding doors in our kitchen.  It looks out past our deck to the trees in a subdivision below us.  It is interesting to see how this view changes with each season.  In the photo below it is a early fall morning and the trees are just beginning to change colors.  The sky is full of color in the early morning light.

As I look at nature and my photographs, I thank God for this beautiful creation He has giving to us.

May you and your family be blessed with a thankful heart!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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The Best Affordable LED Light for Selfies, Social Media, Zoom Calls

The Newmowa 60 LED High Power Rechargeable Clip Fill Video Conference Light is a versatile and portable lighting solution designed to enhance video quality for video conferencing, selfies, vlogging, TikTok, and more.

With its compact size, front and back clip options, adjustable brightness, and three light modes, this LED light works with a variety of devices, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and more. This makes it ideal for anyone looking to improve their lighting for virtual meetings (professional or family get-togethers) or social media content.

Whether I'm on a Zoom call with my family members on the other side of the country or just snapping a quick photo or selfie, getting a decent picture requires good lighting. That nearly always means a supplementary light source vs. just ambient lighting. Recently, frustrated with the need to lug my large, folding, rechargeable LED lamp around to light my shots or video calls, I decided to order a clip-on LED light recommended by a friend who is a beauty influencer on social media.

I couldn't be more pleased with the Newmova Mobile Phone LED Light (model SL-60AI), for which I paid a little more than $30 on Amazon.

Here are some examples of photos I took using only ambient room light and then with the Newmova clip-on LED light on different color temperature settings so you can see the difference it makes.

Photo of bowl of potpourri - ambient room light only

Photo of bowl of potpourri - with Newmova LED light cool setting

Photo of bowl of potpourri - with Newmova LED light warm setting

Photo of bowl of potpourri - with Newmova LED light daylight (mixed cool/warm) setting

The difference in the detail, color, and picture quality of these simple photos taken with an iPhone 11 Pro Max phone is striking, isn't it?

Design and Features

• Compact and Portable: This clip-on LED light features a sleek design that is small enough to fit easily into a drawer, pocket or bag, ensuring that your lighting solution is always accessible and making it ideal for on-the-go use.
• Front and Back Clip Options: The included front and back clips allow for easy attachment to smartphones, tablets, and laptops, ensuring a secure and adjustable fit. This dual clip system enhances its versatility by allowing it to be mounted on different devices or even standalone setups. Both jaws of the clothespin-style clip are lined with rubber for a secure attachment and to avoid marring your devices. The jaws also open wide enough to accommodate even very thick phone cases as well as mounting on a laptop screen.
• Rechargeable Battery: This clip-on LED light is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, eliminating the need for external power sources and providing freedom and convenience. A full charge offers several hours of usage, depending on the brightness level you choose.
• Adjustable Lighting Modes: The light offers three lighting modes with three different color temperatures: warm light (3200K), cool light (5600K), and daylight mode (mixed), allowing users to adapt the lighting to different environments, preferences, and skin tones. So, it’s easy to get more flattering selfies or look better in Zoom calls.
• 10 Brightness Levels: Within each lighting mode, you can easily adjust the brightness to achieve the desired level of illumination and light intensity, ensuring that details are highlighted without overexposure in photo and video applications.
• Durable Construction: The light is built to withstand everyday use, with a sturdy construction that ensures long-lasting performance.

The Newmowa SL-60AI clip-on mobile LED light comes with two mounting attachments, a USB cord for charging the rechargeable battery, and an instruction leaflet.

Performance and Usage

• Bright and Even Illumination: The 60 high-power LEDs provide ample brightness, effectively illuminating subjects and reducing shadows. The light distribution is generally even, ensuring consistent lighting across the scene to ensure clear visibility during video calls or content creation. I have been extremely impressed with the brightness of this small, compact, clip-on LED light!
• Battery Life: The rechargeable battery offers a decent battery life, allowing for extended use on a single charge. However, the exact battery life may vary depending on usage patterns and environmental factors.
• Ease of Use: The light is simple to use, with intuitive controls that allow for quick adjustments to the lighting settings. As you can see in the photo, there is a power button that not only powers the light on and off, but can be pressed repeatedly while the light is powered on to rotate among the three color temperature settings. There are also two smaller buttons to turn the brightness up or down. The clip mechanism is also easy to operate and provides a secure hold on devices.

The Newmowa Mobile Phone LED Light control buttons are simple and intuitive

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Compact and portable design
• Versatile clip for easy attachment
• Rechargeable battery for convenience
• Adjustable lighting modes and brightness levels
• Durable construction

Cons:

• Color rendering may vary slightly
• Battery life may be limited for heavy users

A Great Gift for Anyone

Since most people spend a considerable amount of time on their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops and sharing photos and videos (of themselves, others, products they love, etc.) on social media or by email, the Newmowa clip-on mobile phone LED light would make a welcome gift at an affordable price.

Newmowa 60 LED High Power Rechargeable Clip Fill Video Conference Light with Front & Back Clip, Adjusted 3 Light Modes for Phone, iPhone, Android, iPad, Laptop, for Makeup, TikTok, Selfie, Vlog

Conclusion

The Newmowa 60 LED High Power Rechargeable Clip Fill Video Conference Light is a valuable tool for anyone looking to improve the quality of their photos or videos, especially on the go. The compact size, light weight, versatile clip/mounting options, adjustable lighting modes and brightness levels, and rechargeable battery make this clip-on LED light a very convenient and effective choice for a wide range of applications. The overall performance and ease of use make it a solid pick for someone who wants to enhance their photo and video content quickly, easily and affordably.

The Best Affordable LED Light for Selfies, Social Media, Zoom Calls by Margaret Schindel

Read More Product Reviews by Our Review This Reviews Contributors

Read More Photography Reviews by Our Review This Reviews Contributors

Read More Gift Reviews by Our Review This Reviews Contributors

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Review of Fun Facts about Sunflowers

Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers.  Each year I look forward to the time when the sunflowers will be in full bloom.  Not too far from where I live, there is an area near the Missouri river and the Katy trail where farmers plant fields of sunflowers each year.

This year my husband and I drove to the area in the spring to see how the sunflowers were coming along.  To my dismay there didn't appear to be any sunflowers in the fields.  In fact, it didn't even look like anything was planted.  In early August I started seeing posts online about the sunflower fields and wondered where they might be planted.  As it turns out it was in the same area, the farmer had just rotated the fields and last year's field had corn and soybeans and just a bit further down the road there were several fields of sunflowers.  I was delighted and made several trips down there to photograph the sunflowers at various times of the day.  The photos on this page are from an early morning trip when the sunflowers were in great light.

Fun Facts about Sunflowers

• Young sunflowers track the sun from sunrise to sunset.  This is called heliotropism.  Once the flowers are mature they all face east.
• Sunflowers are valuable for growers, both commercially and ornamentally.
• Sunflower oil has an anti-inflammatory effect.
• There are two types of sunflower seed products.  The oilseed type are good for birds and they are the most commonly farmed.  The non-oilseed are good for human consumption.
• The oils in sunflowers can reduce cholesterol levels.
• Sunflowers are native to the United States but are now planted worldwide.

More Fun Fact about Sunflowers

• To be healthy sunflowers require at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.
• There are thousands of tiny flowers that compose a sunflowers head.
• The tallest sunflower grown was over 30 feet tall.
• Sunflowers started out being grown as a food source.
• Sunflowers can be made into sunbutter.
• Sunflowers are not just yellow.  They can be red, brown, and even purple.

In the photo below you can see a bee working on the sunflower and see up close the structure of the sunflower head.

Zazzle Products from my Photos

 

Sunflower Field Mug
by mbgphoto

Sunflower Beauty Thank You Card
by mbgphoto

References and More Sunflower Reviews

Here is the website where I got the information for the sunflower fun facts. www.proflowers.com

Sunflowers are a popular topic on Review This.  Here are a few more you may want to check out.

This is one I wrote in 2018.  It gives you tips on photographing Sunflowers.

Photographing Sunflowers

In this review that I wrote in 2021 I share the stages of a sunflower and my photos from that season.

Sunflower Facts

Fellow reviewer, Olivia, shares this review on sunflowers being the flower for the year in 2021.

Hope for the New Year

Missouri River

A bonus to our early morning outing was to catch the sun rising above the Missouri River.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Japanese Garden-Missouri Botanical Garden

 

When I visit the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the area I always gravitate to is the Japanese Gardens.  In this post, I will be reviewing my last visit to the gardens and sharing the photos that I took of this beautiful, serene garden.  The scene above shows the Japanese Bridge as it goes over to Teahouse Island.   It is what you see as you enter the path the goes around the lake in the garden.

The garden at St. Louis is considered to be the largest Japanese strolling garden in the country. It covers 14 acres in the Missouri Botanical Garden.

My Visit to the Japanese Garden

I visited the garden on a beautiful day in early July.  My sister and I took the tram from the entrance of the botanical garden and got off on the stop for the Japanese Garden.  From there we took the path to stroll around the large lake and enjoy the serenity of the afternoon.  I stopped to photograph many of the historic lanterns that were found around the path.  One near the entrance was from the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904. It is the first one in the photos below. Others were gifts from various cities in Japan.  You can find out more about them at the link I list at the bottom of the page.  Here are a few photos of the different lanterns.

The lanterns were placed within the beauty of the garden and add to the peaceful setting.

The garden also has some wonderful waterfalls that give you a peaceful feeling.  The one below is one that I have photographed often in the past.  The foliage around it gives it different feels, depending on the time of year you visit.

An interesting feature of the garden is a bench in the shape of a flower.  It is an Anemome and is the favorite flower of Courtney Bean Obeta, a St. Louis artist.  It was designed in her memory.

Another interesting bridge is this crooked bridge that goes out into the water.  It is a favorite for children (and adults) to walk.

I hope you have enjoyed my pictorial review of my visit to the Japanese Garden in St. Louis.  To learn more here is an Amazon book you might like.  https://amzn.to/4cscM3v .

I have written other reviews on the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  Here are some links to my reviews.

https://www.reviewthisreviews.com/2023/10/review-of-missouri-botanical-garden.html

Review of Origami in the Garden (reviewthisreviews.com)

I invite you to read more about this beautiful garden at the Missouri Botanical website on the Japanese garden page. Japanese Garden

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Using Lightrooms AI and Preset Features

Forest Park Bandstand

 I thought I was pretty good at keeping up with the changes in Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom, but it seems like there is always something I missed.  At our last photo club meeting the speaker introduced me to some features that have been there for months, and I was unaware of all the advantages they had.  

Presets

The subject was on making your own presets in lightroom and while that was a great topic, while I was listening to the speaker, he mentioned a few features that I had overlooked.  Lightroom, through the powers of AI, now gives you the ability to edit one section of a photo at a time with a single click.  In the masking feature you can select sky, background or subject and then edit just that portion of the photo.  In addition to this when you find a look that you like you can turn it into a preset and use the same editing for future photos.

One of the things that I had overlooked was the Lightroom in their latest update had added three groups of presets for you to use.  They are for portraits, sky, and subject. This is a real time saver when one of the presets works for the photo you are editing.

Adaptive Presets-Sky

Here are the presets that are available for your use in Lightroom.

• Blue Drama
• Dark Drama
• Neon Tropics 
• Storm Clouds
• Sunrise
• Sunset

The photo at the beginning of the review is one that I took while on a visit to Forest Park in St. Louis.  It is of a historic bandstand, that has been a favorite of people visiting the park since the 1920's.  In this photo I used the 'Blue Drama' preset to add a bit of drama to a rather dreary sky.

Another tip I learned from the speaker at photo club, is that there is a slider above all the presets and when you use this slider you can alter the amount of the preset that can be used on the photo, anywhere from 0 percent to 200 percent.  Here are two examples using the same photo and using the 'Neon Tropics' preset.  This first example uses the preset at 200 %.

This version is interesting, but I think it is a bit too dramatic, so here it is using only 50% 'Neon Tropics' preset.

I do think I like the 50% use a bit better.

Adaptive Presets-Subject

For subjects Lightroom has six different presets added in and in addition you can always make and safe your own presets.  

• Pop
• Warm Pop
• Soft
• Cool Soft
• Vibrant
• Glow

To demonstrate the subject presets built into Lightroom I will give you a few examples below.  You will first need to select your subject in the photo using the masking feature and then select your preset and add the percentage of preset that work for your photo.  In my examples I will again use the Forest Park Bandstand photo.

The first one is using the Glow setting.  It is very subtle, but I like the look it portrays.

The preset used int the photo below is the Pop setting at 200%

Like I learned at my last photo club session, there is always something new to be learned in Lightroom, even for those of us who are seasoned users.  Here is a book that is sure to teach you a few tricks.    Lightroom for Beginners and Seniors  It can be purchased on Amazon.

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Review of Smart Bird Feeder Camera

For Christmas this year, I received a Smart Bird Feeder Camera.  This feeder has provided my husband and I with hours of fun, watching birds up close.  Every time a bird lands on this feeder the camera takes a ten second video and then sends it to my phone. 

Features of the Smart Bird Feeder Camera

• HD Image Quality
• Two-way Audio
• Waterproof and Dustproof
• Infrared Night Vision
• 145 degree Wide Angle View
• Ai Bird Recognition
• WiFi
• Cloud Storage

Features I Particularly Enjoy

One of the features I really enjoy is the ability to share my photos with family and friends.  When the camera sends the video to my phone, I then have the ability to share that photo with family and friends.  There are numerous ways to share the video but two of the ways I use most often are by posting the video on my Facebook page or for a smaller audience I can message or email the video to the person of my choosing. The video below is one that I emailed to myself and then downloaded it on my computer.  It shows the camera captured a Tufted titmouse.  These little birds are quite quick, and I am not often able to capture them on camera, so I was really excited to see them on the feeder camera.  You will also notice at the end of the video a little chickadee approach.

Here is a photo that I was able to take of the Tufted titmouse sitting on the feeder.  I had a camera set up inside my house to take this photo, but it gives you another view of the bird feeder.

Another great feature of the camera is that the bird feeder has solar panels on the top so there is no need to plug it in or continually recharge batteries.  I have now had it for a month, and it is running great.

Easy Set Up

I found the bird feeder camera easy to set up.  It came with easy-to-follow instructions and after unpacking everything from the box and making sure I had everything, I proceeded to download and install the Vicohome Ap on my phone.   Next, I followed the instructions to sync the camera with my WiFi.  I then had to determine where to place the camera to receive good connections and my deck post worked great so that is where the bird feeder is hanging.  In less than 30 minutes that feeder was ready to photograph the first bird.

Birds Find Feeder

It did take a couple of days for the birds to find the feeder but once they did, they kept coming.  I am surprised by the wide variety of birds that have found the feeder, so far, I have had the following birds posing for the camera.

• Eurasian Tree Sparrow
• House Finch
• Tufted titmouse
• Chickadee
• Northern Bluebird
• Carolina Wren

Bird Feeder Camera's on Amazon

Amazon has several varieties of feeder cameras for sale.  Here are a couple that are similar to mine.

Smart Bird Feeder Camera 

Bird Feeder Camera

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Reviewing my 2023 Photography Journey

 

I consider every year to be part of my photography journey, where I learn some new techniques, enjoy new photographic opportunities, and hopefully increase my knowledge and skills.  2023 was no exception.  During the past year, I got out of my comfort zone and photographed four big events, I attended a photoshop summit where I learned a lot of new techniques and I even went back and reedited some old photos using what I have learned in the past 17 years since I started this journey.  The photo above is one of my past photos taken in 2010 and reedited this year.

Education

I always try to take a class each year either in person or online.  There are so many available, along with many You- tube instructional videos.  This year I listened to many free videos I found online and this fall I attended a Photoshop Summit online that had five days full of speakers all instructing us on various aspects of Photoshop.  They were very interesting and informative.  One of the subjects I found most interesting was about the new "generative fill" feature in Photoshop.  By just circling an area in a photo, you can remove an item or add something new.  Here is an example of a Halloween photo where I used this feature.  The first photo is my original photo.

In the next photo you will see that I first used generative fill to remove the mailbox and then added several additional items to the photo.  See if you can find all the additions.

I also used what I learned in the seminars to redo some older photos.  In this one the original photo had lots of people on the sidewalk leading to the lighthouse.  I used generative fill to remove them.

Special Events

Sometimes I find I learn more when I take myself out of my comfort zone.  This year I was asked to photograph four major events.  Two of them were weddings of family members and two were events at church.

Both of the weddings were casual.  The first was held completely outdoors at my brother's home and the second was held at a small historic chapel with the reception being an outdoor event.  I was a little apprehensive at first, but the casual settings helped to put me at ease.  I carried two different cameras each with a different type of lens and settings and I was pretty pleased with the results.  Here is a photo from each of the weddings.

The church events included the ordination of our newest pastor and a 20 year celebration of our senior pastor.  For these occasions I sat in the balcony and was able to photograph the ceremonies from above.  I used my camera that is a Sony mirrorless one that does great with lower light and inside photos without using a flash.  Here are two photos from those events.

 

Group Support

I find photography groups to be a great way to meet people with similar interests and share ideas.  I belong to two different groups; one Create 52 is an online Facebook group and the second is an in-person photography club in our town.  

    Create 52

This online group challenges us to be creative in both our photography and in our post processing.  We are given a topic each week and then we create a photograph to match the topic.  An example of this is during the week before Christmas our topic was Christmas card.  For this topic, I took a photo of our Christmas tree and then took it into Photoshop.  In Photoshop, I added an artist filter and placed it on a textured background.  I then added lettering and finally used generative fill to add stars around the lettering.  Here is my result.

    O'Fallon Photo Club

Our in-person photography club meets once a month.  In this group we share ideas with other photographers, and we also bring photo files to get constructive criticism.  We share ideas for places to go for photography and we take a few field trips each year.  At the end of each meeting, we are given a topic for the month, and we post photos of that topic in the clubs Facebook page.  This fall several of the club members met at our local botanical gardens on an evening photographer's night, where we were able to bring in our tripods and capture some low light photography. There was a Chihuly exhibit going on at the gardens so there were lots of great opportunities for nighttime photography.  Here are a couple of photos I took.

Mentoring

I volunteer with a group called Willows Way that provides support for challenged adults.  This group has a photography club and I serve as one of the mentors for the group.  Each month we take several of the participants and their aids to a different locale to photograph.  We have gone to local parks, museums, and farmers markets.  I love to work with these wonderful people and find I get as much from them as I give.  It is a wonderful opportunity.  This summer we went to a farmers market that also had a sunflower field.  We talked about unique ways to capture the sunflowers.  Here are two of my photos.

As I close, I Wish You and Yours a Very Happy New Year.  May your year be filled with joy and peace and lots of new things to learn.

Here are a couple of my favorite photos this past year.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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