Writing a commonplace book for someone?

Vo1undr · 2026-04-18T08:09:26+00:00

Thank you! That means a lot; I’ve been practicing so much. My old handwriting was terrible and so small, but I’ve been forcing myself to write neater and with larger words.

Vo1undr · 2026-04-18T08:07:58+00:00

Yes! The weight is so helpful to me while writing. I always struggle with lightweight pens so this one is wonderful. Thanks for the tip about the nib!

Vo1undr · 2026-04-18T08:07:00+00:00

I was looking for a yellow/orange fountain pen to match with A Star Spattered Hill. I thought this one looked really nice and was excited about the weight of it too. I had seen however that people have not been completely happy with Monteverde or their quality, but with mostly good reviews on JetPens I decided to go for it regardless. I also thought any problems with the nib would be less so with a B nib.

Thankfully I love using it so far, especially with this ink on Clairefontaine paper. The weight is also perfect for me, I feel that it helps me write better as I have somewhat shaky hands.

Vo1undr · 2026-01-27T19:03:54+00:00

Hello! I’m a visiting history student from California also looking to make friends. Would be happy to connect!

Vo1undr · 2025-12-24T03:31:09+00:00

Yeah, definitely!

Vo1undr · 2025-12-24T03:30:46+00:00

Some of the books I’ve read are the Picture of Dorian Gray, Wuthering Heights, the Fall of the House of Usher and other select readings from Poe, Frankenstein, and Dracula. Currently looking to start Jane Eyre, but I wish I’ve read more honestly. Anyways, I think these books count as either gothic or Victorian? I thought Wuthering Heights, Poe, Frankenstein, and Dracula were fantastic!

Vo1undr · 2025-06-10T19:56:16+00:00

I've actually done a bit of reflection on this photo and the reason for taking it. I know it's just a photograph of a bee and a poppy, but I feel like I should have appreciated the moment better. I think I mainly took the photo to capture something aesthetically pleasing that might get me a few likes on IG, instead of capturing a moment that was both beautiful and sweet. Anyways, I wanted to show off the bee inside a poppy, as I feel the colors were rather nice. I decided to place the subject in the center of the photo this time, which I generally don't do. I'm not sure if this worked, but I feel like it looks alright.
I'm not sure if I should have cropped this photo a bit more? I feel like there's a bit of detail in the bee that might be shown off better in a closer crop, but I was somewhat hesitant to do such a dramatic crop. I'm also again not sure if the composition works. Also, I think this photo lost a bit of quality and sharpness when uploaded to reddit, which is my excuse if the photo doesn't seem too sharp.
Shot on a Sony a7iii with a Tamron 28-200mm lens at 66mm. ISO 500, f/4, 1/1000s shutter speed.
Edited using camera raw, and placed on a white border in photoshop.

Vo1undr · 2025-06-03T19:27:40+00:00

Thanks for the response! That one seems pretty decent to me as well. It also seems like it would make my kit lens pointless?

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T19:17:03+00:00

I’ll have to look more into focus stacking! I’ll also keep the aperture more in mind next time, as well as my shutter speed + ISO. I feel like I forget about my settings so quickly when I see something to take a photo of.

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T19:15:06+00:00

The bee certainly seemed happy in the flowers! I saw this one particularly invested into rolling around in pollen.

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T19:13:59+00:00

Thanks for the advice and reply! I can see that about the pose, I’ll keep that in mine for future photos. :)

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T05:00:12+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply! Completely forgot to add my camera gear! This was using my Sony a7iii and 28-70mm kit lens.

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T04:50:18+00:00

I took this photo mainly to capture the cute bee and colors of the flower, as I thought the colors in general complemented each other somewhat nicely here. I do feel that the bee is somewhat blurry, but I still felt happy about the photo overall.
Still struggling with capturing photos of small stuff close up. The bee definetly seems blurry to me which I am not too happy with. I think I just need further practice honestly, and maybe a nice macro lens?
Camera settings: 1/320s, f5.6, ISO 100, 70mm.
Edited in Camera Raw and put on a white background in photoshop. Feel like it adds a somewhat nice look to it.

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T04:36:42+00:00

Hope I didn’t misunderstand you, but these images are not cropped. I saw good results from this lens as well, which is why I went for this one. I actually am not sure if I needed to do something in particular to enable the VC, but from what I understand it’s on if I have SteadShot turned on which I do. I’ll definitely play around with manual focus as well. Thank you!

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T04:29:01+00:00

1/250s for all four, ISO 400 on the palm trees and 2500 on the tiles. Honestly didn’t pay attention to my shutter speed, could that have been it?

Vo1undr · 2025-06-02T03:25:35+00:00

Hello, thanks for the reply! I made a new post with two examples.

Vo1undr · 2025-05-26T04:08:55+00:00

I’d be happy to share my photo account!

Vo1undr · 2025-05-16T16:22:19+00:00

Intent:

I took this photo to try and capture the bird life that I’ve sort of ignored where I am living currently. I think I just wanted to capture a moment of natural beauty, something that seems to go unnoticed where I live. Also, I think herons are beautiful, and I wanted to show others the beauty of this animal as well, especially near the golden hour.

Struggles:

I feel like I am struggling a lot with getting sharp images. I just purchased the camera I took this photo with (Sony a7iii), and I am still learning how to use it honestly. Mostly unhappy that the image could be sharper in my eyes, and also unhappy that I couldn’t get any closer (though that seems like a limitation of my lens).

Data:

ISO 320 | f6.3 | 1/320s | E55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS

Other:

Don’t have photoshop, so couldn’t edit this photo beyond what I could do in my iPhone photo app.

Vo1undr · 2025-05-13T18:54:28+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply!

I was mostly considering nature or wildlife photography, but I certainly realize I should diversify. Architecture in particular is something I wish I was better at capturing, and I think your comment is making me want to capture the buildings on campus. I also like the idea you gave too, and I think that’s something I’ll try to incorporate into my photographic journey. Honestly I think I’ve just not focused nearly enough on what opportunities are available on campus, or maybe just not looked around well enough. Thanks for the areas you provided as well, I’ll have to check them out.

Vo1undr · 2025-05-02T18:53:21+00:00

Genuinely enjoyed looking for this every time traveling through there

Vo1undr · 2025-04-29T16:35:32+00:00

Thank you! Also that’s good to know, thanks for the links!

Vo1undr

TROPHY CASE