About Yamhill County, OR

The holidays are upon us in the West Valley. This year the Chamber of Commerce purchased new decorations and they really brought in the spirit of the season.

Willamina kicked off the season with their annual Light Parade on Saturday, December 6th, 2008.

Full of fun floats and cherished by the community, this is a great event! You can really feel the small town charm of this quaint community.

Floats from local businesses like Skyberg's Hardware, The Wildwood Hotel and Eddy's Trucking rode alongside churches, children and people just wanting to have fun! We even saw a sheep and an alpaca!

Ok a pre note, I should call this blog a blog by a grammatically challenged person, as I'm sure you will notice, punctuating and spelling are NOT my strong point and spell check can only go so far my fingers seem to find other keys lately as well , so In stead of stressing over it I'm just going to embrace it and just say, well I cant spell worth a darn so I hope you get a chuckle out of what I'm sure to be many errors and just accept that if you chose to read my blog.

Let's talk a little about cameras

I'm not a professional photographer nor have I taken any photography classes since high school a long long time ago! But I am an avid photographer and armature graphic designer, I have shot somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 pictures in just the last 3 years alone, I have helped advise with listing photos, shot a few weddings, a few events, some senior pictures countless family photos and more, so I thought id share some tips and give some advice from the perspective of a self taught everyday person.

Now if you're a realtor you know a listing book doesn't sell the home, or does a listing flyer but it does project an image and look and in a web sight or mls listing the right pictures can help to give a look that might keep someone from ruling out looking at you listing off hand.

Your camera can make all the difference , the new compact cameras can do a very good job but there are so many its hard to pick and they just don't have that wow factor , although they are good cameras they just don't have that thing that makes the difference between a good picture and great pictures.

I'm a fan of Nikon, I have a Nikon D50, I also like the Cannon Rebel, the automatic settings on these cameras can make you look very good you don't have to know what every setting does, the fully automatic will do wonders, the smaller compact cameras are more so set up to shoot portraits they don't compensate for light and other features as well, with a full size camera you get such a better picture.

Now I know cost wise can make a huge difference, if you know where to look a professional camera isn't that much more than say the power shots that seem so popular today & I do have one of those too (great for just having a small camera to shoot some for fun pictures) , Ill give you an example when I purchased my camera 3 years ago it was almost $2,000 at the time and was a gift from my loving wife or honestly I would have thrown up! I know you've heard of the sites but often times we forget or don't feel it's safe. Craig's list is great for deals and you can see most items locally if you narrow your selection- www.craigslist.com , EBay is also great look at the ratings and for a power seller and read carefully the description and use a safe payment method like pay pal- www.ebay.com  , overstock is also a great one- www.overstock.com   , My camera (used) today can be purchased for between $300 and $500 and you can get a new one with multiple lenses (which Ill get back too) for around $500 to $700 and depending on the model it can be less or a little more for a major step up. Also once you have one you can replace the body and use your lenses for even less, the Nikon D40, D50, D60, D80 are all great cameras.

 

I would recommend picking up at least a wide angle lense as well, those sites have some good ones very cheap along with great deals on zooms (if you do get a powerful zoom get one with stabilization unless you plan to use a tripod )

Set you camera at the very best setting possible:  don't worry about file size the MLS can take up to a 2M picture now the main reason is its quality is so much better and it gives you options for cropping and keeping a great sharp look, and well they just look better especially in print projects and home books , postcards and more .

Shoot a lot of pictures:  shoot away you don't have to use them you won't be printing them so use that memory card, the more you shoot you have a better chance to get that wow picture out of 500 pictures I'll usually get 10 that rock! , my Nikon will shoot about 500 flash pictures on one battery.
You never know what you will get.

Crop: this is also why we want to set at the best quality, when you crop and blow something up it will still look good, look at your pictures does a part or something in the picture stand out or look good, keep that and toss the rest, this will give you some great pics and some neat sizes, most of the time you aren't printing them to photo size paper so on your web sight or presentation and odd sized photo can add something.

                                         

Lenses - I recommend getting a wide angle lense its very cheap,  this can help and get a great look,  but really for what your using it for the lense that comes with the camera will do a great job, but if you want a more powerful zoom those 3 sites are great and if you look Nikon sells display models for a fraction of the cost of a new one , now a side benefit is if you have the lenses you can easily upgrade for a fraction of the cost later and just get a camera body.

When you shoot use that zoom try different distances, when you shoot is there something in the room or on the house that stands out? Shoot that it doesn't have to be the whole room, but if you are shooting a small room that's where a wide angle can help.

Shoot form inside the room out, this is great with bathrooms

Bring a small step ladder a down angle can look very cool from a corner,

Shoot from the ground sit down and shoot up it changes your perspective

 

Turn off the flash - you'd be surprised what these cameras can pick up without a flash, that morning light through the window, the view outside through that bay window, and shoot with your flash on and off.

                                                                                  

Get close- a nice close up shows some great details

Shoot that kitchen counter from the roof facing down it's a great angle and makes the kitchen look bigger, set the camera right on the counter it picks up great details of the granite and makes the counter look long

Turn on all the light and try it with them off

Try holding your camera level- shoot the cabinet's straight on and other fixtures

Don't be afraid to move stuff around a little

Take Vertical pictures - this totally changes the look and captures floor to ceiling and can grab a part of a room and cut out what you don't want

Change you focus point - this will make some stuff blurry it can be a great shot

Move the center of your picture off to one side or a corner - try not centering that fire place

Watch the suns light if it's a sunny day look where that ray of light is coming through the window and capture that.

Cant afford those flyby shots here's an easy way to get some great shots,  take a $25 extend-able tree trimmer cut the top off get a mini $8 tri pod pocket size,  duct tape it to the top , attach your camera extend out the pole focus push your button and hold the camera up , you can even combine it with a short step ladder , this will give you some great down shots, and even better with a wide angle lense ,  if you have multi level home try shooting that master bedroom deck from out side looking down , this is also great for big land shots .

Well this seems to be going on forever so im going to stop here
I hope this has given you some useful tips.

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This is my first post this is some great information I read and wanted to pass on ,

Have you ever walked into a home, readied for an open house and smelled it? Or what about when you enter the proud new abode that has just received "the works" by clients, now beaming new homeowners? We have all smelled it. In fact, it has become a calling card of a well-maintained cottage, recently updated rambler, or niche condo with "the works"- it is the new paint smell. But have you ever wondered why paint has that distinct smell - what is it? Well, it is the by product of volatile organic compounds. Hmmmm...organic, good, right? Not so much.

Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs, for short, are emitted as gases from common everyday solids or liquids. The kicker is that VOCs are comprised of a variety of chemicals, some of which "MAY have short- and long-term adverse health effects", according to the Environmental Protection Agency. More and more in real estate, neighborhoods, communities, and even cities are working desperately to show their true colors - GREEN. While promoting environmentally superior conditions, access to the environment in all its forms (mountains, beaches, lakes, valley, etc.), and even the health benefits of living in one of these distinguished areas, according to the EPA "concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors."

So after you sell a potential buyer the environmental benefits of a new area, you walk them right into a new home overflowing with VOCs, emitted in paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings.

There is a better way? It is time look at the environment from the inside out.

A great product on the market (the product of some pretty revolutionary technology) has the potential for application in every home you show, sell, build, or rent - it is "The Freshaire Choice^TM" paint, and it contains NO VOCs. Freshaire Choice paint claims to be the only tinted paint on the market (now available in 65 different colors) with NO VOCs. Although other paints claim to have no VOCs, these chemicals are put back into the paint once color tints are added. Freshaire Choice paints are truly VOCs free, and certified by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), a well-respected industry-independent, non-profit organization that provides verification for low-emitting products.

How it works
Typically, when tint is added to a base paint, about 150 grams of VOCs are added back into paint. You get your nice "Nairobi Dusk" hue, but it comes with some bagage - VOCs. The Freshaire Choice paints use a pre-measured ColorFresh^TM colorant pouch, which dissolves into the paint base without expelling any chemical odor - eliminating that "just painted" smell.

For more information about The Freshaire Choice Paints visit www.freshairechoicepaint.com

That fresh paint smell, might be telling you something about the home, but now you know a little bit more about what it might be saying.

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Every year over Thanksgiving weekend Oregon'w wine country open their doors to visitors from far and wide to enjoy their wines and grounds. Find a list of all the wineries at Willamette Valley Wineries Association along with their hours and pertinent information. This year the hours are 11-5 pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday November 28,29, and 30th, but not all wneries are open all hours and days.

I will be showing my artwork at Carlton Wine Maker's Studio from 11-5pm on Friday and Saturday. This is the first year they've had an artist in house, and I am honored to be part of the event. This is a great opportunity to visit their facilities, the first to be registered with the US Green Building Council and designed to be compliant with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Not only is it sustainable, but it's beautifull too.

And then you have the wines! Over 30 different wines from 10 differtn wineries under one roof. Admission is $20 which includes a Riedel glass. If you miss this opportunity, you can still visit their tasting room anytime; hours are 11-5pm daily March-December and Thursday-Sunday in January and February.

My art is made from cut paper which I painstakingly cut with an exacto blade. After painting, gluing and cutting multiple layers, I hammer tiny nails into the images to attach them to my plywood backings. All works are clearcoated and framed with my unique custom framing. .I'll have a variety of small items priced around $50 to large works in the hundreds. Please visit my website to see more of my work and learn more about me.

Buy some art, drink some wine and kick off the holidays! 20% of all art sales are being donated to help fight hunger this season, so you can feel good about the art you purchase.

Sheridan isn't a big city, but it does have its own park in Sheridan City Park located right in the center of town. I would say, as small as this town is, that you could walk to this park from almost anywhere in the central part of the city.

Here are some pictures from the park.

Below are the baseball fields and basketball court.

Here is a picture of the skate park. It's a relatively new addition from what I understood from the people that I was talking to at the park.

There are two sets of playground equipment and right in between the two are the public bathrooms. That's great place to put them if you ask me!

Being this is just less than a mile off highway 18 on the way to the coast, it is a great place to stop with the kids to let them get the wiggles out and maybe help save your sanity.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739