what sweetness is this?

The happies from almost a year ago,
back in October of last year!

Another piece of happy photo news!

Remember back in the day when my photo was featured on the Redbubble front page?

Well, a mini return has been made - I just received notice that my work has been featured in the most recent Redbubble blog post highlighting inspirational travel photography!

I'm really happy and honored to be included in such a beautiful collection of photos:



Guess something about the giraffe stuck. But I have been posting up new photography from my recent trip to Europe, so be sure to check my site for new photos. :)

olio friday #3: happy st. patrick's day come sunday!

A.k.a. Don't forget to wear your piece of green come Sunday, March 17th!

As a day of green, I say go out and enjoy fresh food and fresh air, even as you indulge in a few spritely shenanigans.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here's a little snippet on the origin of the holiday via the History Channel website, followed by some gorgie pictures that makes us all wish we hailed from Éire - anyone want to give me some Gaelic lessons?:

St. Patrick and the First St. Patrick's Day Parade

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.    

Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. Interestingly, however, the first parade held to honor St. Patrick's Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

Picture time! Click through to view full-size:

Kilkenny, Ireland. (c) Edward Dullard
Gorrrrgeous picture that deserves to be viewed full-size.

Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland
(c) Alex Hare Photography

Cork City, Blarney Castle
via Frommers (c) Ray Lawson

Howth Pier, County Dublin, Ireland
(c) Declan O’Doherty

Glendalough, Ireland via Blue Pueblo
Can't find the original photographer :( Send me if you know!

Summer daisies at the Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare, Ireland.
(c) Gareth McCormack

 

Ballybunion Castle
(c) Polly x

Idyllic Ireland
via this page I can't read...

 Now some tunes to carry you all away. Enjoy!
(For those who want to look further, you can check out these playlists: AOL's Top 10 for the rock-oriented, Irish Central's Top Ten for a well-rounded assortment of YouTube videos and reasons of relevance, BHG's 9 Irish Songs for the traditional.)

I've Been "Found" and Featured on RedBubble!!!

Okay, so I'm kind of toward the bottom, practically in October 17th territory. Still jubilant!!!
via RedBubble.com

 

Yes, I've been "found" and featured on the RedBubble front page!

Or rather, my giraffe has.

My original photo, Stiff Sentinel ( Giraffe in Profile ) © emiliewho 2012

BUT I'M SO EXCITED AND FLATTERED AND A BUNCH OF OTHER HAPPY FEELINGS. 

Really, when I found out at 3 a.m. last night, all these e-feelings just bubbled up and rose inside me and I basically rolled around on my bed, unable to contain myself. Ecstatic. Elated. No shortage of rolling!!!

(And yes, 3 a.m. This is what my body does when it does not have boundaries! I should feel a little more chagrined, but right now I'm rationalizing with the fact that I got to see the RedBubble e-mail about being featured as soon as it was sent to me. So timely.)

I was SO surprised and SO thankful, because in reality I've done very little marketing or connecting on RedBubble, which I've read is as much a community site as it is a selling site. I've really just been spending my time working on trying to get enough things up - going through my thousands of images, selecting the best ones, going through those again, and then all the minute editing and readying. The whole process takes me a really long time, which is why I only have twelve or so things up in my RB shop! I still don't even have a profile user icon up yet!

So I've no idea how my picture got to the higher RB powers that be, but I'm super gratified and thankful. What a feeling! It's amazing to have one's creative work given a little "official" nod. I was actually getting a bit discouraged about my photo art, but now I feel like all the hours I've put in have been acknowledged. Thank you God, and thank you interested RB staff viewer!

Btw, for those who don't know, RedBubble is a free, online site where anyone can make an account and sell their artwork. It's a "Print on Demand" site, which means you upload your image files, and they take care of the rest, all the production and distribution. They sell a bunch of things, from T-shirts and stickers to iPhone cases and calendars; most of my work is available as cards, prints and posters. To get details on what exactly you're buying (what's the paper, the ink, the quality? etc.), you can just click on the little, encircled question mark that appears in gray with text like "Posters Info," right below the big, red "Add to Cart" button.

I've only got things up in my Tanzania collection, but I'm working on images from Asia and America too. To see more of my work or purchase something, please visit my RedBubble Shop (the shop shows a random assortment of items, but you can click on any image to see all the product options available for that specific image): 

My stuff on RB, currently only the "Out of Africa" Collection.

 My personal favorite out of the photographs that are currently up is probably this one:

Won't Back Down ( Baby Zebra in the Wilderness )  © emiliewho 2012

Upcoming

If you've read this, thank you for taking a look and sharing this happy moment with me!

Other than putting up photographic work on RedBubble, I also plan on putting up art illustrations on Society6. And I plan on doing a post explaining what I've found out so far for other people interested in sharing and selling their artwork, so you can look out for that as well. :)