Beyond Beyond 22

We were challenged in this lesson to go outside and shoot some photos with blurry backgrounds. This type of photo is what got me to purchase a DSLR in the first place.  I had tried and tried to do this with my little Canon Powershot- but to no avail.  After I had my DSLR a couple months, I bought a 35mm 1.8 lens, and then EVERYTHING had a blurry background! It is still my favorite way to shoot.

Here are a couple shots from my backyard yesterday afternoon. The lavender photo has Kim Klassen’s sybil texture added.

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Melinda11 Comments

A Friday Find

Kim Klassen started a new link-up a while ago called Friday Finds. I hadn’t planned to participate, but I found fresh lavender last night at Trader Joe’s- does it count if you find it on Thursday?

lavender layout

I used a matte edit- not my usual style, but I think I like it here.

 

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At the Door

I had my third photo session with my friend, Tra today- this time at her magnificent home. OMG- there was a photo op in every corner of this amazing house. Tra’s home reflects her love of art, beauty, and spirit.  I tried to not put on my paparazzi hat and photograph EVERYTHING, but I did manage get some photos of a few special items and her beautiful orchids (which I will use in future posts).  I love every inch of her home!

This was my favorite shot of the day- Tra looking out the front door at her gorgeous tree shaded front garden.  Don’t even get me started on how much I love her front door!

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And I love the message on the plaque beside her door- BIDDEN OR NOT BIDDEN, GOD IS PRESENT.

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Berry Berry

No idea what kind of berries these are- but they are part of my bouquet of roses. Last minute macro and Texture Tuesday edit:

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Editing notes: Desaturated and split-toned in LR; 2 layers of kk_anne added; desaturated a bit more with a black and white layer.

 

Excuses, excuses:

Our house is on the market (gasp!). Potentially, we could be homeless by August (a good thing. . .).  Then . . . time to rent for a bit and find a new house to buy in Arizona. We are looking at it as a Big Adventure!  But in the meantime, my photography and blog may be neglected occasionally. But, I’ll try my best- and I’ll be back with photographs of red rock and cacti!

 

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Through the screen door. . .

For the last few weeks, I’ve spotted this little hummingbird at the feeder- and in the trees watching the feeder.  Yesterday he buzzed me a few times after I refilled the feeder, but, when I took my camera outside yesterday, he patiently watched me from a tree until I went inside.  The only time he ventured near the feeder was to chase another hummingbird out of the yard (at least that was my interpretation of what was happening). But as soon as I went inside, back to the feeder he would go.

I took these shots after dinner last night- through the screen door.  I was way too far away- and had to use ISO’s ranging from 900-1250 to get usable shots.  I think I should have gone higher, because all were underexposed- and lack clarity. These are cropped- I hope to get a lot closer next time.

hummer layout

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Beyond Beyond 20

We were challenged to edit a photo three different ways- experimenting with the tone curve, split toning, presets, whatever.  I had just bought some gerbera daisies last night, so the choice of the subject was easy.

 

gerbera layout

The first photo is my basic clean edit shot with a little cloning/healing in Lightroom 5 (love the updated tool!). You can see my walls are yellow.

The second is desaturated quite a bit- I really like the tones in this.

The third I took into Topaz Simplify- to give it a bit of a painted look.

And the last I edited with Kim’s kk_anne and kk_1301 textures.

I did several other versions as well, but these are probably my favorites.

 

 

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Red Glass

My children went in together on a birthday gift this year- one to always remind me of Benicia, since we are getting ready to relocate.

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Isn’t it beautiful? Benicia is known for its glass studios, so this gorgeous red vase will always remind me of my 26 (and counting) years in this wonderful little town (and of my two grown up children collaborating on a gift!) as we prepare for our next big adventure.

Melinda5 Comments

Beyond Beyond- Day 19

My whole family left today, and I’m alone in a very empty house- which will go on the market soon.  Endings and beginnings.

I’m strangely un-busy and am using the time to edit and organize the 1700 PLUS photos taken over the last two weeks during my daughter’s family’s visit, as well as catch up on my blog and last week’s assignment for Beyond Beyond.

One of our Beyond Beyond assignments was to use a beach photo taken by Kim Klassen and edit it however we wished after watching a video on using the tone curve to bring out different tones in the image. I decided to use one of MY recent beach photos, which is similar to hers except for having my grandson and son-in-law in it.  I attempted to make a cold day at Bodega look sunny and warm by adding magenta and yellow with the tone curve, as well as some split toning.

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Another part of the lesson was using layer styles in Photoshop.  I added a sepia layer (at reduced opacity) to this photo of Henry and then added type with a metallic style added to echo the metallic background.  The photo reminded me of an illustration in a children’s board book, so I used a primary looking font.

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The main part of the assignment was to create a photo using your own style.  I thought the above photo showed my background as a first grade teacher; however, clean editing (often in black and white) is really my style for my family photos. So I decided to go with a family photo for the assignment.

My daughter was at a conference all day Friday, and my husband was working- so I had the kids from the time they woke up until bedtime.  We did laundry, worked a bit in the yard, blew bubbles, and then it was time for lunch- a PIGGY PICNIC in the backyard!

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Bubbles

My daughter bought some special bubble blowers so that I would have something fun to do with the boys when I was to take care of them the next day. In the morning, Henry woke up demanding a hair dryer; we kept asking him why, but he was so insistant.  Finally, we realized he wanted the BUBBLE BLOWER, which looked to him like a hair dryer.  He was so adamant about needing his hair dryer, that we ended up letting the boys play first thing in the morning- still in their jammies.

bubbleslayout

 

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Cooperation!

Henry WANTED me to take his photo today! Most images I have of him are when he’s in motion, in the tub, or confined to a high chair.  Here, he is actually smiling and looking at the camera- hurray!

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Melinda4 Comments