Author: Melinda

Today is supposed to be my Photoshop Friday- the day I edit in Photoshop instead of Aperture 3.  We’re talking basic editing here- no fancy textures, effects, or actions (I do have a few from The Pioneer Woman, but want to learn the basic stuff first).  I exported this image to Photoshop from Aperture 3.  It went straight to Adobe Camera Raw, which told me that I had accidentally kept my Aperture preferences set to TIFF for Photoshop export.  I had been playing around with this last week and had discovered that I needed to change my preferences to PSD for the changes to be synced with Aperture. Oh well- I could always save the changes and just reimport.

So I worked on the image for awhile in Camera Raw, doing the kind of things I do in Aperture 3. Then I opened it in Photoshop and played with blend modes (overlay, multiply, and soft light ). Truthfully, I could not see any differences with these blend modes. I turned them off and on and adjusted opacity in each- and was not impressed. Maybe it was just this weird image..

Then I hit SAVE and closed the file.

Oooops.

It saved it in some weird temporary file place, and I couldn’t find it to reimport it into Aperture.  I had forgotten that it wouldn’t sync automatically because it was a TIFF. Darn.

So I just re-edited the original photo in Aperture- and called it done.  And I didn’t realize until afterward that I could have reopened it in Photoshop (it shows recent files) and just saved it to a different file on my hard drive.

I am very sick of this photo.

f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 1250, 300mm (why did I set my shutter speed so high?- no clue. . .)

What is this image anyway? I took a zillion photos of branches of a dry arrangement reflecting in my hall mirror. I had the front door open so that I could 1) have enough light and 2) stand back far enough to zoom in at 300mm with my temperamental long lens.  The bokeh is light reflecting off a bench on the porch.

BTW I was in my bathrobe. But it was OK because I am retired. . .

 

 

On this dreary, drizzly day, I decided to stay inside and take photos of something in the house.  Like most teachers, I have a collection of all things APPLE. One of the glass apples by my desk caught my eye.  I couldn’t decide which photo to use- so here are two.

Both are at f/4, 1/160, ISO 1000, 35 mm

When I started this blog, I knew that I would photograph some of my Blue Ridge dishes eventually.  Ten or fifteen years ago, I was introduced to Blue Ridge pottery through my friend, Nevin, who has a BIGTIME Blue Ridge collection. I fell in love with these gorgeous plates immediately and agonized if I was being a copycat by buying some for myself. There is no logical reason for me to collect dishes. I have my mother’s china as well as my own- and really have no room for these.   I rationalized that I would be hanging them on the walls (I did) and that they perfectly matched my navy and red color scheme in the living room (they do. . .). I just love them!

Blue Ridge was made in the late 1930’s to 1950’s in Erwin, Tennessee by Southern Pottery.  It’s hand-painted  with a distinctive look and a ZILLION patterns.  I started buying them in antique stores but quickly moved on to eBay. I have several favorite patterns- this beautiful one is called Spring Glory and is relatively difficult to find.

f1.8, 1/500, ISO 1250, 35 mm

It is Day 60- MARCH!- and I am still doing this! Yay me!

Stay tuned for more Blue Ridge throughout the year. . .

There has been so much excitement on the weather scene this week- it might SNOW!  This is definitely BIG NEWS in the Bay Area.  We’ve heard it could snow at sea level or in the surrounding hills.  Anticipation is building!  There was a big (rain)storm last night, and there is possible snow early tomorrow. For now, it is sunny.

f/1.8, 1/250, ISO 400, 35mm

I am trying to learn Photoshop. I have watched training videos online through kelbytraining.com and feel like I have a beginning understanding.  I decided yesterday, after watching the last video of my subscription, that I would edit today’s photo of the day in Photoshop (specifically Adobe Camera Raw, which is so similar to Aperture 3, my Apple photo software). Aperture has a great feature, in which you can edit with an external editor and the changes will be reflected within Aperture. Sweet!  This would keep all my photos organized within Aperture, but I could also edit with Photoshop if I chose.

Problems!!!

The editing went fine- pretty basic- but no changes were reflected in Aperture! The magic dot appeared in the lower right corner indicating that it had been edited with an external editor- but no changes appeared.  I eventually saved the file from Photoshop onto my hard drive and reimported it into Aperture.

Guess I need some more one to one training at the Apple Store. . .

I snapped a few photos this morning, trying to get my 365 project out of the way, but nothing seemed to work.  Then I spotted a grouping of candles on my counter and knew that I had found my photo of the day. I hoped there would be a reflection, but I couldn’t see one until I snapped the shutter.  And then there was the added bonus of a little bokeh in the background!

f/1.8, 1/100, ISO 400, 35 mm

We planted our plum tree over twenty years ago.  I’ve always loved seeing it bloom as the first sign of Spring, but it wasn’t until I started Project 365 that I noticed how pretty each blossom is.   I am amazed at how the discipline of looking for a photo each day compels me to intensely look at my surroundings! I have photographed the first buds, the first blossom, and now blossoms when the whole tree is in bloom.

f/4.8, 1/800, ISO 500, 195mm

I shot this looking up into the tree, zooming in to almost 200mm, and then cropping the image.  I am wondering about depth of field- so shallow when zoomed in.  I am already thinking of trying this again with a smaller aperture. . .

We are in recovery mode from the German Chocolate cake, so this week’s grocery trip involved a lot of produce- fresh fruit, GREENS (for smoothies as well as to eat with dinner), and the ingredients for soups and salads.  Antioxidants, omega-3’s, phytochemicals, lycopene, whatever- we’ve got it covered!

f/1.8, 1/100, ISO 1000, @35mm