i Heart Faces-Fix it Friday

So, I really like this picture. The girls dress and boots with the bridge are great. I got ride of the yellow signs cause they were distracting. I cropped out the other distractions.Mirrored the image cause I tend to like my subject on the left side of the picture when I cut it in thirds. I did my best to restore pixels that were missing. Adjusted the curves. Cross processed it, and threw a mask(that I have been itching to use) on with the same tint as the bridge. Truthfully, I could have easily quit after the curves adjustment and would have had a beautifully balanced, properly exposed picture. Then again, where is the fun in that??!! :) Happy fix it Friday. Go to iheartfaces if you want to try.

Hail

Today it hailed. Twice actually. Big icy balls of frozen water coming down and bouncing off my black driveway. It was beautiful. As I lay flat on the cold concrete outside my house, I knew what my shot was going to look like. I was going to set my aperture to about 14 and my shutter speed to about 1/25. I had my camera flat on the ground, cause that was the composition I knew would look amazing. I was going to have blurred action of the hail bouncing off my black drive. What did you say? Where is this amazing picture? Heck if I know, I couldn't get my settings right. It was all blown out and looked like I did a macro of a solar flare. (not the look i was going for). By the time I messed with my settings and was  tttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssss close to getting it, the hail stopped. I was not happy and...I was dirty from laying on the ground. So, what I want to know is....how do you know what settings to begin with on a shot like like??  Anyone, Bueller, anyone.

So, I will leave you with these pictures of flowers by husband brought home for me this evening. Today was a bit of a heart breaking and disappointing kind of day for me and he was very kind and understanding. It felt lovely.

Polarization

Thanks to Kira I know I don't need to buy a polarization lens. I think I may have went a bit overboard utilizing it on the fallowing photo. Couldn't help myself. I took this picture on one of The Girls field trips last year and I loved it. However, I didn't know how to boost the color so that it was more the way I saw it behind the lens. I'm not sure what kind of negative effect over polarizing would have on a printed picture. Anyone know?! Anyway, Kira has been a great friend and source of "Photography for Rhiann the Dummie" check out her website if you want to know what a real photographers pictures look like.

                  

Wordless Wednesday

I heart faces photo challenge: Smiles

Well, I'm attempting a photo challenge at iheartfaces. The theme is Smiles. I had a hard time picking one for it since I am constantly surrounded by smiling children. If you want to see more entries, check iheartfaces website.

Happy Birthday Huddy!!

Last night was Huddy's Birthday party. He is my BF's little three year old man! We were fat and preggo together. Don't blink, don't breath, don't be in a hurry. Time will go by fast enough.

(note the finger sneaking in. Its not his)

Have I grown?

I took this picture last October at the Corn Maze. Loved the picture, was so disappointed in the exposure. Today I decided to look back at some pictures and see if my editing had improved. Last October, I passed this picture off as a failure. While the new one isn't contest material, I believe it is an improvement. An improvement I couldn't have accomplished 6 months ago.

Spring through my new eyes

As strange as it may sound, I truly do not see things the same way I did a year ago. Colors are richer, details are finer, moments are more amazing and the world around me is more delicate. Generally I take pictures of nature to hone my skills when my children wont hold still. Here are some of my favorite images that declare Spring is here.

Lighting should be my friend

However, I just don't get it at this point. In the first photo I was less concerned about background and more concerned with lighting. Its still uneven with hot spots.( I didn't use a flash.) I'm not real big on these kinds of staged photos. I find them dull and boring. No personality. But, I was practicing.


I love this picture of Luke cause it captures the adventurous little boy that he is. I like the light coming through from the right, his face is to dark. What a handsome little boy!

i Heart Faces-Fix it Friday

Friday is here again(insert happy dance). Here is the original and then my edit. Loved the amount of texture in this picture and the turquoise. Please visit iheartfaces for more fun.

Wordful Wednesday

Yes, this is my daughter. Yes, she is stuck in the laundry basket. Yes, she called for help and I came running. Yes, I left her there while I went to get my camera. Yes, she was unhappy about that part. Yes, I walked away, forgetting to help her, after I took the picture. Yes, she reminded me that I forgot to help her. NO, I have no idea how she ended up in the hamper, in the corner of the laundry room, between the wall and the dryer. Yes, she will kill me when she finds out I posted this. 

Sir J

Did a little shoot with one of my lil' boys I watch. For the most part it turned out alright for a second attempt at a purposful shoot. I need to learn and understand lighting more. Understand the use and set up of reflectors. How in the world do photographers shoot their subject with the sun in the background without getting just a silhouette?

     

i Heart Faces-Fix it Friday

There was no fix it Friday last week and I began to have withdrawals. Thankfully it is back & I can stop freaking out. :) The first pic is the original and the second is my edit. If you want to try your hand at it, go to iheartfaces.