Artistically Amy

Texture Tuesday -

2012-01-31T08:57:00.000-05:00

For Kim Klassen's Texture challenge today, she wants us to use her new texture, simplicity.

My layers:
-simplicity linear burn 50%
-simplicity soft light 43%
-black to white gradient map on 30%
-haze 30%
-duplicate - screen 74%

Condo Update

2012-01-29T14:42:00.000-05:00

So, Jon and I have officially lived in our little condo for over a year now. We've been here for one year and 2 months.

And I have only decorated one room - the 2nd bathroom.

I need to get moving on this! I have all these grand plans, but none of them have been set in motion.

I decided that 2012 is my year, and I want to finish decorating during the first quarter. Starting with the master bedroom. I had a late start because we left our Christmas decorations up until January 10, but I have made some small progress. I ordered a love wall quote (Love like you'll never get hurt) for above our bed, and I am in the middle of a project that will feature our last name. Here's a teaser:

Here's the flickr collection so you can find letters for your own last name.

We are skipping curtains in the bedroom, so I just have 3 other goals: hang Jon's autographed Yankee jersey, hang a bridge photo that I won in a giveaway, and figure out how to display my inspiration quote (Life is not about finding yourself; life is about creating yourself). I will definitely post photos as I go!

Edit Me: Week 4

2012-01-27T11:48:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Ashley Sisk

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps were somewhat complicated this time. First, I opened in pse8, resized the canvas, and stretched the left side. I cropped the canvas to cut off the uneven edges, and resaved. Then, I opened in LR3 to do some tweaking: increase warmth, decrease exposure, increase fill light A LOT, and increase blacks slightly. I also upped the clarity and vibrance a bit. I resaved again, and brought it back into pse8. I used Amanda Padgett's action to remove hot spots, ran Amy McMaster's Olive Juice Color (lots of tweaking), duplicated the background and smoothed out his face, and applied PW's Seventies at 50% (brushed softly off his face and eyes). I didn't apply any sharpening to his eyes, since they were slightly out of focus. Lastly, I finished off with a haze, a soft vignette, and some NR.

If you couldn't keep up with all of that, I'm sorry! I know that this much editing is time consuming, but I had this look in my head. Unfortunately, it took a lot of steps to accomplish. I am so happy with how it turned out. Too bad I can't write an action to do it all much faster.

Sweet Violet Photography Challenge

2012-01-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

The theme for the Sweet Violet photography challenge this week is Something Different. I've been wanting to try something different with my editing for awhile, and here was a push to do it now!

Faith herself had posted a tutorial a few weeks ago (I would link back, but I can't find it). In pse8, she used a black to grey gradient map, rather than a black to white gradient map. I loved the idea of it! Here is my result:

After processing in LR3, I put a duplicate layer of the background on screen at 25%, and then put the black to gray gradient map on top of that. I like how it turned out! It needs some tweaking before I am fully satisfied, but it's definitely a different edit than what I normally do.

Tutorial Tuesday - Lightbox

2012-01-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

Branson from My Reflection of Something and Ashley from Ramblings & Photos have started a new meme! This link-up is called Tutorial Tuesday. They will give us a challenge or a new tutorial, and we post our results.

The challenge this week was building a lightbox. I was so excited about this! I had been looking to make one for so long; this was exactly the nudge I needed to go through with it. I used the empty box from my pretty KitchenAid mixer, and some tissue paper for the windows. I took this photo with my iPhone right after I made the box. I ended up adding more white board, since my original piece was not quite wide enough.

I don't have ANY portable lighting, so I had to shoot some photos during the day. I used sunlight streaming in through the top and left side windows to get this photo:

My hubby's corsage from our wedding. ♥

Awhile ago, I found a setting on my point and shoot where I can adjust exposure somewhat. It's not quite the same as manually setting shutter speed and aperture on a DSLR, but it's better than nothing. That's why this photo is a bit darker than I would prefer. Additionally, I should have used some of my whiteboard on the right side to eliminate the shadows. Before I play with this lightbox more, I want to get my hands on some portable lighting. What I am happy with: the seamless background and lack of distractions.

This week's theme doesn't really include a focus on editing our photos, but I wanted to show off my edit anyway:

Steps don't matter, but my basic gist is that I cropped and straightened, adjusted WB using the eyedropper, and did a quick color pop with rounded corners. That's all!

Story of A Sunset

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

The theme for Kim Klassen's texture challenge today is Story. I had wanted to use a photo of Nicholas reading a story, but that didn't work out, as he was eating the book in all my photos. (Nicholas is my friend's baby. I took his 6-month photos. See them HERE.)

So I went with this photo of a sunset. I used one layer of KK's texture just stitched on soft light at 100%. I also added a Gaussian blur to the texture.

A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.
~Ansel Adams

This is the story of my life.

Monday Photo Dump

2012-01-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

More photos of Katniss!

Well, that's her scratching mat and one of her toys.

Here are some photos of her:

That cardboard box in the upper right corner (of the above photo) is a little house that I made for her. It has 2 windows and a door... See:

One more:

See the black and white version of this photo HERE.

*le sigh* She is just gorgeous. She really waltzed into our little family of 2 and took over... She took over our condo and she took over our hearts. ♥

6 month photos of Nicholas!

2012-01-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

One of my bridesmaids had a baby 5 weeks before my wedding. That baby recently turned 6 months old, and she asked me to take some photos to commemorate.

It was a fun experience! We did the shoot at her parents' house in mid-afternoon.

This one is my absolute favorite:

And this one... There is so much technically wrong with it, but it's honest. And it captures the love between a mother and her son. You can't fake that.

Edit Me: Week 3

2012-01-19T14:07:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Marilyn from The ArtsyGirl Connection

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps in LR3:
-crop
-move tint slider to the right
-increase blacks, vibrance, clarity
-sharpen boat with adjustment brush
-my own preset - Twilight: New Moon
-tweak greens
-sharpen preset from Pretty Presets

Texture Tuesday 1.17.11

2012-01-17T12:50:00.000-05:00

The theme for Kim Klassen's challenge today is Open. I'm finding myself uninspired a lot lately, and I'm not sure why. I think part of it is my camera. My point and shoot just irritates me all the time these days. I find myself deleting most of the photos I shoot, and then begging my dad to let me borrow his D80.

Another factor is the weather. We haven't had ANY snow yet this winter. We had almost a foot in October, but nothing since then. Where is my winter wonderland?!

For open, I went with these bare branches. I think I might be reaching a bit with this.

My texture layers are simple: a black to white gradient map at 50% opacity, and one layer of Annabelle on soft light at 100%. Done!

Sunday Photo Dump

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Can I tell you how much I love to take photos of my cat?

I looooove to take photos of my cat!

And she loves to sun herself.

OH, and do tell me what you think of my new signature below.
It matches my header... Imagine that!

Edit Me: Week 2

2012-01-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Tara from Wild Ginger Photography

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps:

In pse8, I stretched the left side of the canvas to cover the window in the corner.

After importing to LR3:
-crop and rotate
-add touch of warmth
-Sarah's Clean Edit
-decrease contrast
-decrease blacks a smidge
-Romantic Era preset from ILP (tweaked)
-add slight vignette

I'm not good at the editing part of newborn photography. Please let me know what you think of this edit! Thanks.

Dark Green Grass

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

For today's Texture Tuesday, Kim challenged us to use her texture embrace. I used this same texture last week, and loved my photo, so it was truly a challenge to find another photo to work with. I ended up using a photo from Reflections 2011.

Here are my layers:

i heart faces Challenge - Best Face of 2011

2012-01-09T10:09:00.001-05:00

This is my friend's son. I took this shot at his Christening because she had asked me to take some photos for their Christmas cards. My first time ever getting a Christmas card that had MY photos on it! What a great feeling.

Exploring the Deck

2012-01-08T15:06:00.000-05:00

If you remember, last week, I introduced you all to Katniss, the calico cat that Jon and I are probably keeping. (Click here if you missed it.) We have been figuring out the best way to have a cat in a moderately-sized condo on an upper floor. This cat was used to coming and going, inside or out, at her own leisure. Unfortunately, our complex doesn't allow pets to run loose on the property. Jon has tried "walking" her with very little success.

So, yesterday, I brought her out onto our little deck. It gets a good amount of sunlight, but the railing has large gaps on the bottom. She easily fits under it, so we were nervous that she would try to jump off. After bringing her out, almost immediately after her paws hit the wooden planks, she walked straight over the railing and slipped underneath.

But she didn't jump off.

I think she realized that it was too high up for her to jump.

Smart kitty!

We stayed out there for a short while, maybe 20 minutes.

While I played Tiny Tower and did sudoku, she

walked back and forth across the deck.

She would sit under the railing at one end, keeping watch for a few minutes,

then go across and sit under the railing at the other end.

And she seemed satisfied with this activity, so I let her go.

Just before we went back inside, she gently kissed our tortoise goodbye.

*Not a real tortoise, although Jon wishes it was.

All of these photos were taken with my brother's Nikon D3000,
and processed in LR3 using my own preset, Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Yes, I made presets based on the Twilight movies.

Insta-iPhonography 1.6.12

2012-01-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

When my point and shoot camera decides not to work (which is more often than not), I turn to my iPhone to capture the little things in my life.

I am a bit behind with sharing my iPhone photos here on the blog, so here is a mostly wordless photo dump!

InstaFriday at Life Rearranged
iPhonography at One Mom's Perfect Imperfections

I'm also linking up with the Sweet Violet Photography link-up
because Faith wants to see our holiday photos.

Edit Me: Week 1

2012-01-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

I am so happy that the Edit Me challenge has returned!

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Sarah over at Naptime Momtog

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps:
-crop
-preset from Seim - Color Year
-my own HDR preset
-noise reduction
-adjustment brushes to darken spot on hood, darken face, and sharpen/brighten eyes

Texture Tuesday - 1.3.12

2012-01-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

I shot this photo with my Samsung point and shoot in October 2011, and processed in LR3.

Here are my layers in pse8:

Macro Friday - Red Ribbon

2011-12-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

My brother's girlfriend wrapped all her Christmas presents with big red bows. I loved how the ribbon looked in front of the tree.

New Year

2011-12-29T11:09:00.000-05:00

Another new year is approaching. One that will be filled with good times, smiles & laughs, tears, memories, dreams, challenges, and new beginnings.

This cat will certainly be a challenge for me! Jon and I have "temporarily" acquired her while his parents are away visiting family. There's a good chance we will be keeping her, which means I have to learn how to take photos of her. My SOOC photo was very dark (see here), so I had to lighten it up in LR3 as best as I could. I know it's not great, but it's the best I could do.

Meet Katniss!

And if you know why we named her that, then you are awesome.

New Year SOOC

2011-12-27T15:25:00.002-05:00

I know it's not the new year yet, but it's only a few days away! Hard to believe that another year has passed. And it was a big one for me, mainly because of the wedding and honeymoon. Some other memorable events from 2011:

-Jon and I spent a week in FL and a week in TN in January. We were able to spend lots of time with family, and we still squeezed in a couple days with friends.
-My family threw a big party for my grandma's birthday in February. We tried to take a family photo, but we didn't fit in one room.
-My younger brother started playing baseball, which provided lots of great photo ops.
-My younger brother also went to his senior prom, and graduated from high school. It was a big year for him, too!
-My friends and family surprised me with a wonderful bridal shower in June.
-I went down to NJ with my family for my cousin's graduation party.
-Some friends and I went to NYC to the American Museum of Natural History.
-We also went to the Maritime Aquarium in CT.
-My parents remodeled the master bath and bedroom in their house.
-One of my best friends/bridesmaids had a baby boy!
-I finally made it to the Renaissance Faire.
-I participated in Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk.
-Jon and I both turned 26, so we are in our last year of saying "mid-twenties."
-Another best friend had a baby girl! Jon and I were given the honor of being the godparents.

I'm hoping for another big year next year! The good times are what make me stronger during the bad times.

New year, new challenges.

f8.0 | 1/10 sec | iso 1000
New year, new beginnings.

f22 | 1/60 sec | iso 100
New year, new dreams.

f5.6 | 1/15 sec | iso 800

Come back on Thursday to see my edits of these photos.

Holiday Traditions Edited

2011-12-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

On Monday, I posted a SOOC photo of one of my many holiday traditions: Collecting Barbie ornaments. I had been messing around with the custom Kelvin WB on my dad's camera, so this photo was WAY too cool! (Look here. You'll agree.)

Here is my photo after some quick processing in LR3:

My step is always to crop. Then I did auto WB, but it was too warm, so I had to decrease the warmth. (of course, I probably decreased it a bit too much.) Then I did auto tone, and decreased exposure and brightness. I also increased fill light, blacks, and recovery. I did some noise reduction right in LR3. I used a sharpen preset (set not available anymore) from Pretty Presets. I finished with the It's Good For You preset from naptime momtog for some color pop.

I also did a black and white edit:

Holiday Traditions SOOC

2011-12-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

My grandma and mom started a holiday tradition for me when I was in 4th grade. I played with Barbie dolls, so they started getting me the collectible Barbie ornaments. I went through my collection last year, replaced a couple that I didn't have (1993 and 1997), and am proud to say that I now have a complete set! That is, of course, if my mom buys me this year's ornament.

f5.0 | 1/10 sec | iso 250

My plan so far for processing is to crop and adjust WB; I'm not sure what else yet. Come back on Thursday to see my edited photo!

Color Splash Sunday - Spider Plant

2011-12-18T09:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to THE LAST Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

This is our last link up ever for Color Splash Sunday. I have to thank the few participants who stuck with me until the end. I'll miss CSS, for sure!

My photo for today is my spider plant.

Your turn to link up!

Macro Friday 12.16.11

2011-12-16T13:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't linked up with Macro Friday in so long!

I was going through all my 2011 photo folders to find pictures for Memories, Dreams, & Reflections 2011, and I found some old photos that I never got around to processing.

This series of photos is perfect for Macro Friday.

When I took these photos, I had been using my dad's D80 with the kit lens. He uses old projector lenses as macro attachments.

This is the projectors lens:

This is showing you how much closer I can zoom in using the projector lens:

And here is the comparison. First photo is zoomed all the way in without the projector lens; second photo is zoomed all the way in WITH the projector lens.

I used to shoot with these "fake" macro lenses all the time when I borrowed my dad's camera. It creates a very deep DOF, so it's a bit harder to get those crisp shots that most people love. It's just so much fun to play with it!

Holiday Bokeh - Edited

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

A few days, I posted some SOOC bokeh shots. (Click here to take a peek.) I imported some of those photos into LR3 to do some quick edits. I kept it simple by cropping, smoothing the noise, increasing blacks and vibrance, and increasing contrast. That's it! I love simple, colorful bokeh, so I didn't use any of my creative presets.

You can see more of my edited bokeh photos over at my facebook page.

2012 Holiday Bokeh Party!

2011-12-14T15:35:00.001-05:00

This bokeh party is hosted by Darcy over at my3boybarians.com. Click on the button below to go check out all of the other beautiful bokeh photos! (And, of course, all of the cool prizes.)

I SO wanted to enter last year, but I was too busy with wedding planning and moving from my parents' house into a condo with my husband (fiance at the time).

This year, I was much more prepared! I borrowed my friend's Rebel and spent a day running around capturing bokeh everywhere. I had some set-up shots and some natural shots. For this challenge, I went with one of my set-up shots, but I hope to share some of the others at some point.

Holiday Bokeh - SOOC

2011-12-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

If you've been following my blog for more than a few days, you know that I am a Nikon lover. It runs in my family! My dad has a D80, my dream (for the past 2 years) is a D90, and my brother now has a D3000. I borrowed my brother's camera the other night and sat outside with my dad to capture some pretty bokeh photos.

The aperture range on the D3000 is not as wide as the D80 (edited to add - using the kit lens), but I made it work.

Here are some SOOC shots:

f/5 | 1/8 sec | iso 1600

f/5.6 | 1/10 sec | iso 1600

f/5.3 | 1/10 sec | iso 1600

f/5 | 1/10 sec | iso 1600

f/4.5 | 1/10 sec | iso 1600

Okay, so, I shared more than I expected. But I just love bokeh! Especially colored bokeh. Come back on Thursday to see the edited versions of some of these.

Color Splash Sunday - Green Lettuce Teacup

2011-12-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

**Announcement: This will be our second-to-last link up for Color Splash Sunday! I still love blogging, and I still love selective coloring on photos. However, I can't seem to keep up with this anymore. I've known for the past few weeks that CSS was slowly drawing to an end, so I decided to speed it up. With the holidays upcoming, and big plans already set in motion for next year, CSS has unfortunately dropped very low on my priority list. So, please link up today, and plan to go all out for next Sunday (December 18th). You can post as many selective coloring photos as you want next week! Old ones, new ones, red ones, blues, etc. Have fun with it.

My photo for today: My mom loves tea sets. She has teapots of all shapes and sizes all over the house. These mini tea sets were so much fun to play with when I was younger. Now, they are used as seasonal and holiday decor.

Your turn to link up!

Texture Tuesday - Celebrate Living

2011-12-06T17:39:00.001-05:00

Here I go again with another late edition of Texture Tuesday... Although, technically, I'm not late to the party, since it doesn't end until Saturday. I'm just late in my own book, since I like to have these posts scheduled and ready to go.

The theme this week is Celebrate, and I had ZERO inspiration. Again. However, after visiting some of my bloggy friends and seeing all of their beautiful interpretations, I knew I had to come up with something. I used a photo of a sunset that I had edited in LR3. After pulling it into pse8, I put one layer of KK's warm sun texture on soft light at 60%. I copied the background layer, dragged it above the texture layer, and put it on overlay at 41%. I added a quote, and I was done!

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living. -Syndey Smith

Make Christmas Count....

2011-12-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Today is Sunday. I usually put up my Color Splash posts and photos on Sundays.

Today will be different. I've been sitting at my laptop for about 2 hours now, trying to type up my CSS post, but a teeny voice in my head kept saying, "Not yet."

After I had put it off as long as I could, making use of almost every single one of my favorite procrastination tools (facebook, Bejeweled Blitz, pse8, LR3, twitter, goodreads, etc), I clicked back to my firefox tabs. Life Rearranged has been sitting open on my laptop since early Friday morning. I went there to link up with Insta-Friday, and was distracted by a cute face. A blue shirt. Pretty colors on a blog button. The words, "Make Christmas Count."

I clicked it. I read. I cried. My heart ached.

Rather than break out into song and dance and tell you the personal reasons behind my heartaches, I am going to focus on that little face in the blue shirt and the blog button and "Make Christmas Count." This is a fundraiser going on to raise money for that cute face in the blog button so he can be adopted.

Anyone who has been blogging (and reading blogs) for more than 2.5 seconds has read a blog about a parent who adopted after feeling heartaches. And chances are, your own heart ached when you read a story about a child who had no forever family. But maybe you already have a handful of children. Maybe you can't afford the astronomical costs of adoption. Maybe you have a career that prevents you from devoting time to expanding your family. Maybe the state you live in has hoops that you can't physically or psychologically jump through to be approved for adopting.

That doesn't stop your heart from aching when you read about those children who don't have forever families. I know my reasons don't stop my own heart from aching. Nothing does.

The only thing you can do is donate. It won't make the pain go away, but it might help a little. Knowing that one little child WILL have a forever family, is better than living with that pain and doing nothing about it.

Please please PLEASE go over to Life Rearranged and, at the very least, read the post. I dare you not to tear up, whimper, cry, or feel your heart ache.

I dare you.

And if you really don't, that's fine. You can come back here and yell at me for wasting your time. But, please, if you happen to tear up, whimper, cry, or feel your heart ache, then donate.

Insta-iPhonography Friday 12.2.11

2011-12-02T09:30:00.000-05:00

When my point and shoot camera decides not to work (which is more often than not), I turn to my iPhone to capture the little things in my life.

Oops, I put my mac & cheese and wine photo in there twice!

I particularly like to remember my cooking adventures each month:

I haven't DLed any new apps lately, but two that I enjoy are TiltShiftGen and MoreNoel. The free version of TiltShiftgen doesn't allow you to use photos from your camera roll, so you have to open the app to shoot a photo before applying the effect. After you click the shutter, the menu opens up the Blur, Color, and Vignette options. In the Blur option, you can use a line, circle or oval shaped focus, and increase/decrease the blur. In the Color option, you can adjust the overall saturation, brightness, and contrast. In the vignette option, you can darken up the corners of the photo. Then, you can save to your camera roll and/or export to twitter, facebook, and email. I like using this app to take photos with creative focus.

I found out about the MoreNoel app through another blog. (I would give credit, but I can't remember who wrote about it on her blog!) This app is so much fun! You can use the in-app camera, or you can choose a photo from your camera roll. When you have your photo, you tap on effects. You can either apply a star filter or night glare, and each effect has 3 levels - light, medium, strong. You can't apply both effects at the same time, but either effect does wonders to glam up a photo. I'm excited to use this app with photos of my Christmas decorations!

InstaFriday at Life Rearranged
iPhonography at One Mom's Perfect Imperfections

Texture Tuesday - Rain Bokeh

2011-11-29T13:42:00.001-05:00

I almost wasn't going to participate in Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday challenge today. The theme is Gratitude, and I was seriously uninspired.

When I was going through my google reader yesterday, I was catching up on all the blog-reading I missed last week due to the holiday. So many, many bloggers posted quotes about gratitude and giving thanks. So, I decided to do up a photo last minute using a gratitude quote.

I found this photo of bokeh created by raindrops shining in the setting sun, and I thought it fit this quote perfectly:

Gratitude is an art of painting adversity into a lovely picture.

After processing in LR3, I used one layer of subtly yours on multiply at 69%.

i heart faces Challenge - Bust a Gut

2011-11-28T13:06:00.001-05:00

For this week's challenge, no shy smiles. The judges want to see our captures of people laughing those big belly laughs. I'm using an outtake from my photo shoot with Zander at book club.

Click on the button to see more entries!

Color Splash Sunday - Camp Sign

2011-11-27T09:30:00.000-05:00

Your turn to link up!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American bloggy friends!

This past month, many people I know have been making an effort to acknowledge the blessings in their lives. I found a trend on facebook in which you post one thing each day that you are particularly thankful for. I started this on November 6, when there were 18 days until Thanksgiving, and added one things to the list each day. Here is my list of things that I am thankful for:

18. I am thankful for my husband. I could go on and on about how much he means to me. Just having him, and knowing that he will always be there for me, shows me how blessed I am.

17. I am thankful that my goddaughter was born last night (11.6.11)! She is gorgeous and healthy, and it seems like the new mama and daddy are doing well.

16. I am thankful for the basic necessities: food, clothing, shelter. I'm sitting in my warm hotel room, eating dinner, while there are so many people who are hungry and homeless. Counting my blessings.

15. I am thankful for my family. They were so helpful and supportive during the wedding planning process. No matter what tries to tear us apart, it only makes us stronger.

14. I am thankful for my friends. All of the birthday messages were very much appreciated!

13. As it is Veterans' Day (11.11.11), I am thankful for all the men and women who have served, have given their lives, or are currently serving in our country's armed forces. They have fought for our freedom, and they deserve this country's appreciation more often than just one day a year.

12. I was unsure what I am seriously thankful for. Then, I thought about my day. I did laundry, watched a movie, and relaxed. So I am thankful for a quiet day with the luxuries that we all take for granted: washer/dryer in my own home, a tv and a dvd player, a couch to relax on.

11. After spending most of the day at work, I am thankful that I have a job. One that I enjoy, provides medical insurance, and earns me a paycheck to pay bills & put food on the table.

10. I am thankful that I scored some sweet deals at small businesses! I love to save money and support the local economy at the same time.

9. I am finding myself thankful for a multitude of things. I'll share just one right now: I am SO thankful that my travel season for work is OVER!

8. I am thankful for music. My life would be so quiet and boring without music. I just wish I could find more small businesses that sold contemporary cd's!

7. I am thankful for the simple luxury of having a dishwasher! It allows me more time to spend with my hubby... And it means that he'll clean up after dinner once a month or so.

6. I am thankful for Sweet Leaf sweet tea! I just found 15.5 oz cans at a local mart for 99 cents each! Sweet deal for organic tea! Ingredients: filtered water, organic cane sugar, organic black tea, and citric acid. However, I prefer the bottles, because there is no citric acid.

5. I am thankful that I inherited just a smidge of my mom's love for tea. The smell of tea leaves is simply therapeutic.

4. I am thankful that we finally have our wedding photo dvd! I am so excited to look through all of the photos.

3. I am reflecting back on 2011 and what a great year it has been. I am so thankful for this year's memories, and excited about next year's possibilities.

2. I am so thankful that my job allows me to be home for the holidays. I can spend Thanksgiving with my husband and our families. I also get a 5 day weekend!

1. I am thinking about all of the experiences I've had growing up, everything that has led me to where I am today. I am so thankful for the values I learned from my family, the quality education that my parents sacrificed much for, the love and fun times from my friends, and all of the lessons I have learned in the past 26 years.

Today, on Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful that our country has this tradition of taking the day off, spending time with family, and enjoying some good food. This is what our country needs more of: less work, more time to relax, and more time with our loved ones.

Please, everyone, have a safe and happy holiday, and cherish your family above all else!

Texture Tuesday - Old Building

2011-11-22T09:30:00.000-05:00

For this week's Texture Tuesday challenge, Kim Klassen gave us another open theme. We could use ANY one of her beautiful textures. I chose this photo of a beautiful old building, and used the chamomile texture from KK, as well as an old tone texture from Shadowhouse Creations. I did a clean edit in LR3, then brought the photo over to pse8 to add texture. My layers can be seen below the photo:

Additionally, here is a collage of my various takes on this photo, all from LR3:

Color Splash Sunday - Birthday Cake

2011-11-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Your turn to link up!

Edit Me - 11.18.11

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Alita over at Alita Jewel's Treasures

SOOC:

My edit:

I processed this with 2 steps in LR3:

-crop
-Seasonal Winter (my own preset)
-sharpened branch with adjustment brush.

Okay, so, it was 3 steps. Sue me.

Anyway, I've been creating my own LR3 presets, and seriously having fun with it! I've made 13 so far, and I've considered making them available to all of you, if anyone is interested. My only problem is that my photos aren't professional quality. I've tested some of my presets using photos from the Edit Me challenge (as above) and i♥faces' Fix It Friday, but I'd really feel more comfortable doing more testing on professional photos WITH the photog's permission. Anyone want to offer up some photos for me to use?? Email me at yma367 at hotmail dot com.

*If you offer up some of your photos for me for preset testing, credit will be given for all online use. JPEG and RAW files are acceptable, SOOC preferred with some minor editing (blemish/spot removal).

Texture Tuesday - A Rainbow

2011-11-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

For this week's Texture Tuesday challenge, Kim Klassen wanted us to use her new texture, Phoebe. It's a beautiful texture, so soft and sweet. I processed a photo of a rainbow in LR3, and brought it over to pse8 to add the texture. After I added the texture layers, I still felt like it just wasn't done yet. It sat, unfinished and unsaved, in my work bin for 3 days while I pondered. Out of the blue, I decided to add a quote. And I knew exactly which quote to add!

Here are my texture layers, but I can't remember my blending modes:

I love how this one turned out! I've added it to my etsy shop; CLICK HERE for the listing.

Color Splash Sunday - Green Asparagus... And Pure Honesty

2011-11-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

I honestly can't remember if I visited any of last week's participants. I'm going to assume I didn't, for which I am very sorry. I haven't been putting as much thought or care into this link-up as I should be. I've actually been considering ending it. I usually forget to plan a post, and then I have to rush to get it up late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. I don't like when I don't have time to go visit everyone who links up. I'm also running out of photos to edit or add selective coloring (since my point and shoot camera usually doesn't work).

This week's photo is not a good one. I took this photo of asparagus in my parents' kitchen with crappy lighting, so the coloring was all off. I did my processing and my selective coloring in LR3, but my heart wasn't in it.

I'll keep going as long as I can; however, to my regular participants, please be prepared, because this meme will eventually cease to exist.

Edit Me - 11.11.11

2011-11-11T19:16:00.001-05:00

I wanted to post today because it's 11.11.11 and that only happens once per century. I just couldn't decide what to post about. A life update is not really needed because, let's face it, my life is a bit mundane. I work, I eat, I sleep. Occasionally, I see my husband. The only exciting thing that has happened recently is that my friend had a baby, and we are the godparents!

Besides that, though, we are just enjoying married life when we are together, missing each other when we are apart, and that's about it.

So, I decided to make a post for my edit of this week's Edit Me photo. I have only been posting these photos on flickr for the past few weeks because it's much easier than typing up an entire post. I'm doing it this week because I love how my edit came out, and I need some blank space to explain how I did it.

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Kristy over at Through a Photographer's Eyes

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps in LR3:

-crop and straighten
-auto wb, add warmth
-auto tone, add brightness/fill light/blacks
-sharpen preset from Pretty Presets
-Color Years Xi preset from Seim
-export to save my clean edit
-my own aged photo preset
-export again to open in pse8

I used an aged postcard texture from Shadowhouse Creations. Here are my texture layers:

Just wanted to say...

2011-11-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've all noticed that I've been posting more often lately. I've been in the office a few days here and there (thus having more reliable internet), and I've also been able to work out better timing with scheduling posts.

However, I've noticed myself also paying more attention to
my facebook page and my flickr photostream. It's much easier to post a quick note and/or upload some photos on both of those.

If you enjoy seeing my photos and hearing more from me, I highly recommend that you head to either one of the links above and follow me there! And today (11.10.11) would be a good day to write happy birthday on my wall.

Texture Tuesday - 2

2011-11-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

For Kim Klassen's Texture challenge today, the theme was 2. So I chose a photo of 2 flowers, and I used 2 textures, stained linen and sweet treat.

Before adding texture in pse8, I used LR3 to crop and fix WB issues. I had tricky lighting when I shot this, so the coloring was all off. Here's a before-to-after image:

And here are my texture layers in pse8:

i heart faces Challenge - Black

2011-11-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

So, I was THISCLOSE to using a black and white photo for today's challenge... It's a good thing I checked the rules before I posted it! Straight from www.iheartfaces.com:

Nov 7th – Black

We enjoyed our white photo challenge so much that we decided to have a theme just for black. Please Note: You must enter a color photo that features black in it this week. B&W photos entries will not be passed on to the judge! As always, a human face must be clearly showing in your photo entry as well.

Instead, I decided to use this photo from a Hanson concert back in 2007. I shot it with my friend's point and shoot camera. The flash on that camera is sweet.

Click on the button to see more entries!

Color Splash Sunday - Blue Lights

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Your turn to link up!

Insta-iPhonography 11.5.11

2011-11-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

I take photos with my iPhone constantly... Anywhere from 2 to 22 photos every day. So, you'd THINK that I would post them here more often.

Alas, that is not the case. And, as a result, prepare to drown in September's iPhone photos. Here is a collage of random moments:

I learned to mix filters in instagram:

I had some fun cooking & baking adventures:

I haven't been posting photos on instagram for the past couple of months because I have been too busy. I do hope that will change once my work travel season is over. Also, I hope to post some new apps next week! (Don't hold your breath, though... Just in case I forget.)

InstaFriday at Life Rearranged
iPhonography at One Mom's Perfect Imperfections

Our Honeymoon Cruise

2011-11-03T13:30:00.000-04:00

My husband and I chose to go on a cruise for our honeymoon because I've never been on one, and he had only done it once before. We picked a 7-day journey that left from NYC, sailed down to Florida, and stopped at the Bahamas before sailing back home.

I've only posted 2 photos our honeymoon cruise so far (here and here), which is pretty sad, considering the hundreds I shot. My dad was nice enough to let me borrow his Nikon D90. That, plus the upgrade to a balcony room (from Jon's parents) and some pretty new dresses from my mom, seriously made this trip much better.

See, we sailed on August 27th, coincidentally the same day that Hurricane Irene blew up the East Coast and ravaged New England.

Hurricane winds + 8 to 12 foot ocean swells = no fun for anyone.

Honestly, though, we still had a great time! We were together for 7 days with no work, no interruptions, no chores, no laundry, no cooking, no responsibilities, no cell service. And not many couples can honestly say that their marriage vows (for better or for worse, in sickness and in health) were truly tested just one week after the wedding.

I put together my favorite photos and had them made into a photo book, and I also thought I'd share them here in some collages. I was going to try to put some descriptions under the photos, but there are too many words. So you get to enjoy the photos, and maybe someday I'll share the stories.

And while most people would get turned off from cruises after the experience we had, we know we want to do it again! We now know that we need to sail from a southern port, because many veteran cruisers told us that the waves in NYC ports are usually pretty rocky. We also want to avoid sailing on a ship that is "family-friendly," as there were always kids EVERYWHERE. Especially on the pool deck, which was definitely geared more towards children, what with the waterslide and all the N!ckolodean activities.

All in all, while it wasn't what we were expecting, it was our honeymoon. It was a learning experience! We thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and appreciated having that time to ourselves. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Zander!

2011-11-02T12:30:00.000-04:00

I had the honor of hosting Zander back in late July. About 3 weeks later, I got married, went on my honeymoon, and then started traveling for work. Thus, I was never able to post some photos of my adventures with this traveling sock monkey. Better late then never, right?!

We started off our week by going bowling with my younger brother and his friends. Zander was happy to hang out with them, and do some reading with my dad.

Back at the condo, we had some coffee and did some laundry, but Zander just wanted to play! I also brought him to my office to get some work done.

The next day, we made sure to check out the view of the beautiful Hudson River, as well as the chapel where my husband and I got married (although we were still only engaged at the time).

Also, we stopped at book club to see my younger brother again, and make more new friends!

On our last day together, we had my dad snap a few more photos to remember our time together.

You can read the entire story of Zander and what we are working towards HERE. You can also track his travels and see more of his adventures HERE. To see all of my Zander photos full-size, go to my facebook page!

Texture Tuesday - Stairs

2011-11-01T10:30:00.000-04:00

The theme for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday challenge today is to use her new texture, And Then Some. The photo that I used is from the Worldwide Photo Walk on October 2. My dad and I walked with a group in a little town in Connecticut. This old railhouse is where many of us stopped for a good long while to shoot various things. I'm pretty sure everyone took a few photos of these stairs. I also fell and busted my knee, and it was kinda funny, but that's a story for another day.

I don't have a screenshot of my layers today, just a list of my steps. I started in LR3 and then switched over to pse8 to add the texture.

-crop
-auto wb, add warmth
-auto tone, decrease brightness
-increase fill light, black, clarity, & vibrance
-sharpen slightly
-my own preset - seasonal autumn
-add vignette

-Diffuse Hotspots from Amanda Padgett
-one layer of texture on soft light @ 100%
-one layer of texture on linear burn @ 100%
-desaturation layer mask, brushed off all red
-decrease brightness, add contrast

Color Splash Sunday - Pool Deck

2011-10-30T09:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

I'm sorry I didn't get to visit anyone last week. I am almost done traveling for work, so I have been trying to wrap up all that my "travel season" entails. Transitioning back to being in the office is just as difficult as going back on the road. Additionally, we were given cell phones this year to keep in touch with our prospective students, which means I am "on call" much more often than in the past.

Anyway, my selective coloring photo for today is another one from our honeymoon cruise. (I had posted one photo from our cruise HERE. That happens to be the only photo I've posted so far.) The pool deck on our ship was huge! There was 2 pools, a waterslide, several hot tubs, a bar, a cafe, a stage, and a poolside casino. Honestly, though, we didn't spend too much time on that deck because there were so many kids running around.

Your turn to link up!

Texture Tuesday - Inspire in B&W

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't been around here much lately. I have been incredibly busy with work, and then I like to hang out with my husband occasionally.

Luckily, I managed to edit a photo for Kim Klassen's challenge because, well, let's be real here... Texture Tuesday is my favorite link-up. Ever.

So, the theme today is '2 textures.' I used canvas magic and 2 layers of just stitched.

I was feeling rather uninspired when editing this photo, until I remembered KK's beautiful brushes. I used the Inspire brush to finish this off, and I feel like it really pulls it all together. Here are my layers:

Color Splash Sunday - More Bling!

2011-10-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

I have a selective coloring photo for you all today! Now, I know I already showed off a photo of my bachelorette bling here, but I found another pretty shot when I was editing self-shot photos of my rings. (I say 'self-shot' because I am not a professional, and probably never will be. So they are not high-quality. I also didn't want anyone to think I was illegally editing photos from the professional photog who shot my wedding.)

Anyway, here is my photo for this week:

Even though the subject -my bachelorette bling- is the same, there are two major differences between this photo and my previous one: This one was shot with my dad's Nikon D80 (which I borrow constantly... I want my own.) and edited with LR3 (which I got as a gift just after Jon and I were debating buying it for me during their sale a couple weeks ago). The previous one was shot with my Samsung point and shoot camera, and edited with pse8. I seriously love this photo SO. MUCH. MORE!

Before you all link up, I want to thank the 6 of you who participated last week! It was so great to see all of your selective coloring photos. I know I said that I would pick a Top 3 anytime we had 6 or more participants, but I can't leave anyone out! I really tried, but it's too difficult. No one minds, right?!

And one more thing... I have a giveaway going on right now over at my book blog. I am giving away a finished copy of Traci Houston's debut novel, Blood Drive. It's a vampire novel, and it's not for kids/teens. It's got blood, gore, and adult activities. My husband and I both read it, though, and loved it! Click HERE for more info. Low entries, high chances of winning!

Okay, now you can link up. :)

Color Splash Sunday - 10.16.11

2011-10-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

Texture Tuesday - Red Wagons

2011-10-11T15:55:00.000-04:00

The theme for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday challenge today is Red. I took this photo of some red wagons when I went apple-picking.

And my layers:

Sorry, no time to stick around today. I forgot to schedule this post ahead of time like I usually do, so I had to pop over here quick to get my photo up. Back to work tasks now!

Dreamy Stream

2011-10-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

Last week, I was able to be a guest judge for Branson and Kathryn's Edit Me challenge! It was tons of fun, but oh, so difficult! Picking only 3 of my favorite edits, out of all the amazing entries... There are some very talented photoshoppers in this group!

I couldn't help but do my own edit. Here is the SOOC again:

And here is my edit, called Dreamy Stream:

Ooh, I love this one so much. I didn't write down my steps like I normally do; however, I do remember that I used a combination of the Orton effect (Rita's tut) and Coffeeshop's Sunkissed action, plus some tweaking of my own.

Remember to head to either Branson's blog or Kathryn's blog tomorrow to see who I picked as the winners!

Color Splash Sunday - Pink Sash

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's hanging on my dresser mirror. My dresser has my jewelry box plus some trinkets on it. You can also see my husband's dresser in the mirror.

My TOMS shoes

2011-10-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

I love my red TOMS shoes so much! My mom bought them for me as a wedding present because I wanted them for the reception. I knew I wanted a flat, comfy shoe for dancing, red was one of our theme colors, and I fully support their cause. There is a child somewhere on this planet that needed shoes, and that child was given a free pair when my mom purchased my pair. Awesomesauce.

Moving on, I mentioned last week that I had photographed my TOMS at the beach.

Well, I put together a little collage of my favorite photos from that mini beach photo shoot:

Here is a fun Before & After collage for Kelly's link-up:

Here's a shot that could be so much better, if not for my point and shoot camera's limitations:

And here's one that I decided to use for Laura's link-up:

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Quotography - Simple Things

2011-10-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to share a photo I recently edited, and fell in love with!

Linking up with Nicolasa and Deb Duty.

Edit Me - 10.5.11

2011-10-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

I won't be participating in the Edit Me challenge this week....

Because I am guest judging!

Click on either Branson's button or Kathryn's button above to go to their blogs and read all the details. Here's the basic timeline: the linky is open now, it closes on Saturday, I'll post my own edit of the photo on Monday, and then the winners will be posted on both Branson and Kathryn's blogs on Tuesday. Now go do some fabulous editing!

Texture Tuesday - Children's Books

2011-10-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

The theme for Kim Klassen's texture challenge today is Gratitude. Just after I read the theme last Tuesday, I had a brief conversation (on facebook) with my husband's SIL about her local library. At the end, I stated how thankful I am that years ago, I started collecting children's books for my personal library. Going to college first for elementary education and then for literacy meant that I spent more on children's books than I did on textbooks or clothes. In my college dorm room, I had children's books strewn everywhere! They were stacked up in laundry baskets, interspersed with my YA and adult novels on my bookshelf, and usually scattered on my bed, as well.

With the price of print books going up, libraries charging membership fees, brick & mortar bookstores disappearing every day, and e-readers becoming the new fad, I'm always grateful for my personal collection of children's books. I am so excited about the days (WAY off in the future) when I'll be reading these books with my children. My parents, especially my mom, instilled me with a deep love for reading, and I hope I can do the same for my kids.

After adjusting sliders in ACR, I added a haze and a gentle vintage look. Here are my layers with KK's texture love:

EDIT: So, when I was reading Kim's blog just now to see next week's challenge, I realized that I didn't add 2 layers of texture to my photo, as instructed. I only have 1 layer. Oops. I was going to try to add another layer on top of my saved photo, but I kinda feel like it might ruin it. I am going to leave it. Just don't tell Kim!

Color Splash Sunday - Pink Beads

2011-10-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note...

2011-10-01T17:00:00.001-04:00

I posted my entry for the September Still Life Standout challenge. It is a beautiful sunburst photo... You can see it HERE!!

Edit Me - 9.29.11

2011-09-29T16:18:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Kala over at The Wishful Lamb

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps in pse8 after adjusting sliders in ACR:
-levels
-Baby PowderRoom
-Faded Daydreams (tweaked)
-added a texture from My 4 Hens - one layer on soft light @ 90%, brushed off baby's skin.
-vignette

Texture Tuesday - Shoes I Love

2011-09-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

The theme for Kim Klassen's Texture challenge today is Love. Rather than beg my husband to let me take photos of him (which he hates), I decided to use a photo of my Toms shoes, which I love!

I stopped at the beach last week in between work appointments. I couldn't help but photograph shoes that I love at a place that I love. Plus, I love taking photos. Is that enough love??

And my layers:

The gradient map is red to green for a vintage tone. The Hue/Saturation layer is a slight desat, painted off the shoe. Both texture layers are on multiply, although one is only 33%. And the top overlay layer is the brushed on quote (from Kim Klassen).

i heart faces Challenge - People's Choice Summer 2011

2011-09-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

Click on the button to see more entries!

Color Splash Sunday - A Reminder

2011-09-25T10:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

I don't have a selective coloring photo for today, unfortunately. Please don't let that stop you from posting your own color splash photos for today!

Before you link up, please be sure that you use the permalink to your Color Splash Sunday post, NOT the main url of your blog. Also, please only link up your selective color photos. I know a lot of you also participate in several other Sunday link-ups, and that is fine! Just be sure to have at least one photo with selective coloring. If you don't know how to make a photo with selective coloring, please click here to read my CSS main page.

Edit Me - 9.22.11

2011-09-22T11:31:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Deb Duty

SOOC:

My final edit:

My steps: I did my usual thing in ACR, which is "adjust sliders until I see something I like." In pse8, I cropped, and then ran a few actions. I loved my third edit using the Cozy September action (tweaked) and a texture (nature's beauty from Kim Klassen), so that's the one I decided to post here. To see my other edits, click here.

Texture Tuesday - Autumn Buds

2011-09-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

That title is kind of a lie. I took this photo in spring. But with the texture, it really looks like it was autumn!

Oh yea, there was no theme for KK's Texture Tuesday challenge today. I was really eager to use her autumn burst texture, and I just knew this photo would be perfect. The SOOC version, as well as my ACR clean edit, can be seen here.

Here are my layers:

The autumn burst texture is on soft light blending mode at 87%. The Hue/Saturation layer is a slight desat. The gradient fill is my soft vignette. And the seemingly blank 'layer 1' is actually those little white spots on the left side of the frame. I selected them off the texture, copied into a new layer, pulled it to the top, and added a drop shadow for that 3D effect.

Color Splash Sunday - My Favorite Summer Drink

2011-09-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

**Please note that the inlinkz list will close on Tuesday at 12noon EST. This is a permanent change.

Edit Me & Macro Friday - 9.16.11

2011-09-16T11:00:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Kathryn from Our tiny BIG Life

SOOC:

My ACR edit:

And my final edit:

To get the vintage feel in ACR: increase warmth/fill light/brightness/vibrancy, slide tint to the left, and decrease contrast/exposure.

After that, I opened in PSE8 to run a high pass filter. I also added an artistic watercolor filter and a texture from My 4 Hens (one layer on overlay @ 30% and one layer on soft light @ 90%). Lastly, I used the CoffeeShop Web Color Block It action to add the color block.

And here is my photo for Macro Friday:

And an update on my life... ?

Sure, why not?!

Umm, let's see: I started traveling for work 2 days ago, although my body refuses to accept it. The long days, the hours spent in the car, the insane amount of coffee I am drinking, the increased pressure on my feet/hips/back from standing... I guess my 5th year of this lifestyle will be the hardest one to acclimate to. Don't get me wrong; it's still oodles of fun and I love it. It's just that transition period that's kicking me in the booty. I spent the past 10 months sitting in my comfy chair, in my little office, getting lazy. Now I have to get back in gear for 2 months of a completely different life. For those of you who don't get it, I mean life as a college admissions counselor. I plan on capturing 'A Day in My Life' at some point this fall, which will give you a much better understanding of it.

Speaking of fall, it's definitely starting here in southeastern New York. The leaves have already started changing color. I splurged at Old Navy the other day and bought myself a new fall jacket, just in time, too! The days are less humid; the nights are cooler. I'm ready to turn the AC off and throw open the windows, although Jon is not too keen on the idea. It seems that nerdy gamers don't enjoy fresh air like crazy hippies do.

Speaking of Jon, I love referring to him as "my husband" or "hubby." Looking at his ring makes my heart giggle. We are truly enjoying married life together! It took awhile to get to used to being married; however, now, we are embracing it. We're cooking-dinner-together, clothes-strewn-on-the-floor, lazy-Saturday-TV-on-dvd-marathons married. And we are planning to enjoy this period of lives as much as we can. For a certain period of time. Before changing it up with babies or houses or the like.

I know you all want to know, because that's what happens when people get married. Generally, they have babies and/or buy a house. And yes, we want babies and a house. Just not yet.

Well, that was kind of a lie. We love babies (and houses) and want them now. Except that we don't want them yet. So we're waiting. And while we kinda sorta have a plan for the future, we're more inclined to go with the flow for now. We want to see life has in store for us.

Oh wow, I just previewed this post and realized it's kinda long. I'll end it with just one more thing: I updated my 30 by 30 list! Go check it out.

Quotography - Reflections

2011-09-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Originally, for this theme, I wanted to use a photo of a lake with a reflection of a bright blue sky. However, when I saw this quote, I knew I had to use a photo from the honeymoon. We had 2 wonderfully sunny days at sea during our cruise, during which I took lots of photos! I just love the glittery reflection of the sun on the water.

Texture Tuesday - DO what you can...

2011-09-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you about today's challenge for KK's Texture Tuesday. The theme is the verb, "do."

I was so lost when I read this! I didn't have any ideas. Finally, I grabbed a random photo of some water droplets, slapped a random texture on it, and used KK's brush to paint "Do what makes you happy" on it.

I didn't like it.

So I scrapped it. I just deleted it. And I mentally bookmarked the challenge to work on another day.

When I was ready to tackle it again, I Googled "quotes about doing your best" because I wanted an inspirational quote that wasn't too concrete. A quote from Theodore Roosevelt popped out at me right away, even as I clicked through several different pages of quotes. I jumped over to pse with a vague idea of what I wanted, and found this photo of some lavender. This photo has been resting in my "to be edited" folder, just waiting to be rediscovered and processed to its fullest.

Here is my end result:

When I opened this photo in ACR to adjust sliders, I specifically decreased the saturation to -100. I knew I wanted a black and white photo. I then increased the exposure, brightness, and contrast, as well as adding in more blacks. When I switched over to pse8, I adjusted the levels quickly, but then got disgusted by the noise in the background. (I usually run noiseware BEFORE editing, but this noise was created when I increased the exposure in ACR.) After resaving and reopening, I added 2 textures - golden and aurora, both by KK herself. I neglected to write down my blending modes or opacity for these. I do know that the Hue/Saturation layer is a slight desaturation. And then I added the quote, the one that inspired me: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Here are my layers:

And now that I look at it again, I think I switched the possible blending modes. I think the golden layer is actually linear burn, and the aurora layer is soft light. But I'm not positive. I guess I am not entirely 'with it' right now. It took me much longer than I would have liked to get back into the swing of things after the wedding and honeymoon, and I start traveling for work tomorrow. After increasing my travel territory last year, it's been decreased again this year, but I have more in-office responsibilities. As of right now, I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to devote to blogging, although I was able to manage my time efficiently enough last year that I am confident I can do it again this year. Additionally, I won't be planning a wedding!

As much as I love you all, I must end this post sometime today. I'll be back soon!

Color Splash Sunday - Red Inside A Flower

2011-09-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

There will not be any top 3 favorite photos during the summer.... However, summer is pretty much over at this point. Everyone is back to school, the nights are getting cooler, and the stores are proudly displaying their Halloween inventory. So, shall we start doing the top 3 photos again? Honestly, though, it's been much more enjoyable for me to just appreciate everyone's color splash photos without feeling pressured to pick "the best" or "my favorites."

Please let me know what your thoughts are in a comment! Or you can email me at yma367 at hotmail.com.

Here is my photo for today:

**Please note that the inlinkz list will close on Tuesday at 12noon EST. This is a permanent change.

iPhonography 9.10.11

2011-09-10T09:30:00.000-04:00

How cool is today's date?!? It's 9-10-11!!

Simple pleasures.

Anyway, here is last month represented in instagram photos:

And here are some wedding photos that I took with my iPhone:

Clockwise from top left: my ring & band, Jon wore a kilt!, hairstyles of 2 bridesmaids, my tiara that used to be my grandma's, hairstyles of 2 more bridesmaids, 4 of my girls at their last dress fitting, my girls in the limo, my hair is long!, a gift, 2 of my girls at the last dress fitting, my dad in the limo, relaxing during cocktail hour, my bridal bling from the bachelorette party, and my hairstyle.

Linking up with the following blogs:

iPhone Photo Friday at Adrienne Rose Photography
iPhonography at One Mom's Perfect Imperfections
Phonography at Pasando
InstaFriday at Life Rearranged

And I have to end this post with a message for my husband ~~even though he will only read it when I show it to him~~:

Happy birthday, Jonathan! I love you more than you think, and I can only hope to somehow be able to express it to you at some point in the future. I'm glad we have the rest of our lives together, because it really might take me that long to find the right words to truly explain how much you mean to me. I am so happy that we have officially started our married life, and I am uber-excited for all the possibilities that the future holds for us. ♥

Edit Me: 9.8.11

2011-09-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Jill Samter

I used to put my Edit Me posts up on Fridays, but due to a few different factors, I am now going to put them up on Thursdays.

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps:
When I opened in ACR and started adjusting sliders, I added warmth but actually slid the tint slider back to the left. After doing some other adjustments, I also decreased the contrast, which is unusual for me. It just felt right.

After opening in pse8:
-straighten
-crop
-Hue/Saturation layer to adjust vibrancy of reds and greens
-PW Boost tweaked, to add some extra zing
-Ashley Sisk's Debonair tweaked
-2 rustic textures from Shadowhouse Creations, both on overlay @ 100%
-vignette

My thoughts: I like it! A lot. I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to put more creative focus on the barn. Also, I can't recommend Jerry's textures enough. They just work wonders on photos.

Texture Tuesday - Lavender & Green

2011-09-06T14:09:00.000-04:00

I love that color combination, lavender and green. When I was first starting to plan my wedding, I looked at pages and pages of color combinations until they all blurred together. Lavender has been my favorite color since I was 12, so I knew I wanted that for one of my wedding colors. I ended up going with a combination that is not used often, but looks much better than I expected: red and lavender.

Anyway, for today's texture challenge for Kim Klassen, we were supposed to use her new texture, crackerjack. I also used a bokeh texture from Shadowhouse Creations.

You can see the SOOC shot here.

Here are my layers:

I had the bokeh layer, then a warmer duplicate of the background, then a slight desaturation, then the crackerjack texture, and then a soft vignette. I had also done a Gaussian blur on the crackerjack texture.

Color Splash Sunday - Orange Life Preserver

2011-09-04T06:30:00.000-04:00

I was having issues with camera lens condensation because the sea air is much more humid than I am used to (living in New York), so I knew this photo could ~~just barely~~ be saved by using selective coloring. I love the bright orange color, and therefore couldn't delete it.

Your turn to link up!

Guest Post: Kelly-Marie

2011-09-02T07:30:00.000-04:00

Becoming a mummy

Hello, It's Kelly here from Our Footprints On The World in the UK and yes I would love for you all to visit me on my blog. I just wanna say thanks to the lovely Amy for letting me guest post on her blog while she is busy getting married and having fun on her honeymoon. I'm also getting ready to marry my fiance Matt in just a few days, I can't wait it's all so exciting.

Anyway the reason I'm here is I wanna tell you all about the biggest most special part of my life is my little boy Joshua, I'm totally new to this mummy thing and although sometimes it's hard work and I don't know what I'm doing half the time, i'm absolutly loving it!

We tried for quite a while to have a baby and when I finally did fall pregnant it still felt like such a shock to me and then I suddenly had to think to myself "well, what do we do now ?!" It was all so scary and I tried to prepare myself for being a mum by reading so many things on the internet, in magazines and watching programmes on the telly but honestly nothing can prepare you at all, even talking to others that had been there before didn't really help as everyone's experience and feelings are different.

From the moment he was born though I just couldn't believe how perfect he was and how much I loved him and wanted to protect him from everything bad in the world. When Matthew and I got him home and were left to look after this tiny little person who depended on us completely 100%, instincts just kicked in and we got on with it all as if we had been doing it for years. Okay so we had the basics covered, changing nappies and making up bottles to feed him, everything else you just sort of pick up as time goes on and you learn along with baby, like I've now learnt which cries mean he's hungry, tired, needing a change, bored or just that he needs a mummy cuddle and I may know most of the time what he wants, there are still times that I dont and I have to just let him cry for a bit.

It can be such an emotional rollarcoaster, as sometimes I feel really great and get loads done during the day like all the cleaning and washing, or we go out for the day and get some good old fashioned fresh air as that always helps us to feel great. Then other days when I'm stuck in doors because of the good old British rain, I can just sit there and cry and sometimes it's for no reason at all other then the fact i'm tired because I do feel so tired most of the time even though baby sleeps really well. I hardly get time for a shower anymore and spend probly two days of the week in my PJ's, which also means the way I feel about myself has taken a knock. I feel a mess with spots on my face, stretch marks all across my belly, dirty from not getting up, ready and showered. I don't wanna put any one off as it is the best thing in the world because even if i'm having the most rubbish day, Joshua only has to smile up at me and it makes it all better.

I was definatly not prepared for all this, and no one ever is even if they think they are. So you can listen to what other people say when they give you advise on how to bring up a baby but at the end of the day your the mummy and you know whats best for your own little one.

Here's a few helpful tips for all new mummy's to be;

Get as much sleep as you can before the baby comes and when the baby arrives sleep when baby sleeps, trust me you'll need it.
Stock up on several boxes of nappies, this really helped us as we didn't realise how fast he would go through them.
When packing for the hospital pack as if your gonna be in there for 2-3 days as I only packed for one but ended up staying 2 night so Matt had to bring extra in the next day.
When in labour try and stay calm and relaxed and you'll get through it alot easier. Get your birth partner to massage your feet as this really helped and I hate people touching my feet so that's saying something.
If anyone offers to help with any thing like watching baby for a while you sleep, washing up or cooking for you let them do it or even ask them to, they will understand and i'm sure will be glad to help.
When you need to go out for an appointment always try make it for the afternoon because where it used to take an hour or so to get ready and leave the house, it will now take you 2-3 hours.

I hope I haven't rambled on too much.
Thank you for reading
x x x x

Guest Post: Leslie

2011-08-31T10:43:00.000-04:00

Howdy Y'all, I am Leslie from Leslie Ann Photography. When I saw that Amy needed people to be guest bloggers for her while she is away on her honeymoon, I thought it would be really cool to do it. I have never done a guest blog post before, so bare with me.

Amy said that I could talk about whatever I wanted that had to do with photography, something about myself, etc. so I chose to talk about pictures with quotes or lyrics.

I love country music. There are several songs that have lyrics that get stuck in my head. So when I take pictures, they sometimes remind me of certain song lyrics.

Here are a few pictures that I have edited with song lyrics.

Song: "Like My Mother Does" - Lauren Alaina

Song: "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" - Justin Moore

Song: "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" - Toby Keith

Song: "Where the Green Grass Grows" - Tim McGraw

Song: "I Love You This Big" - Scotty McCreery

Song: "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" - Alan Jackson

Song: "Long Black Train" - Josh Turner

Song: "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" - Keith Urban

Song: "Life is a Highway" - Rascal Flatts

Texture Tuesday - Summer Sunset

2011-08-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today's theme for KK's texture challenge is orange. My husband's favorite color. (Side note - It's weird referring to Jon as my husband.) However, rather than photograph one of the 3,498,657 orange objects in our condo, I went for something else. A sunset.

Because that's really unique. [/sarcasm]

Actually, I chose this sunset photo because I had been using it to practice adjusting sliders in ACR, and I liked the glow of the clouds. I used the Hue/Saturation adjustment in pse8 to make the orange tones more vibrant. Click here to see my photo before I added texture.

Here is my end result:

Here are my layers in pse8:

I ended up moving the Hue/Saturation layer up to the top to ensure that the tones of the textures weren't overpowering. I also added a Gaussian Blur to both layers of the warm sun texture.

PS - I am on my cruise right now! This post was scheduled, and I have NO internet access. Will somebody pretty please take a moment to check the list over at Kim Klassen's blog and add my link in? Thank you!

Color Splash Sunday - Oops!

2011-08-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

There will not be any top 3 favorite photos during the summer.

I'm sorry to admit that I don't have a color splash photo to share with everyone today. I was so overwhelmed last week, what with going back to work, trying to sort out cards and gifts from the wedding, and getting ready for our honeymoon. I didn't even get to visit last week's participants, which makes me very sad. The internet on the cruise costs an arm and a leg, not to mention the fact that I left my laptop at home. (This post was scheduled.) I won't be visiting anyone this week, but please do still link up and visit each other's blogs! I will be back next week, hopefully with a photo from our cruise.

Cruising on Our Honeymoon!

2011-08-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's what Jon and I are doing right now. We are sailing from NYC to the Bahamas on a 7-day cruise, and I couldn't be more excited! This will be my first cruise, and his first real one (long story). I plan on relaxing by the pool (I have 3 books in my bag), doing some cool excursions, and getting horrifically sunburned. Oh, and spending some quality time with my husband.

Photo credit goes to my dad.

I have some posts scheduled for next week, but I'll officially be back to real-time posting (and tweeting, blog reading, facebook-ing) on Sunday, September 4th. I hope everyone on the East Coast of the US stays safe during the hurricane!

Edit Me: 8.26.11

2011-08-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer:
Jamie from Mommy's Camera

EDIT ME ANNOUNCEMENT: Kathryn over at Our Tiny Big Life is now co-hosting this weekly challenge with Branson!

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps:
When I opened in ACR and started adjusting sliders, I added lots of warmth and some more brightness. I also decreased the contrast.

After opening in pse8:
-ran an action from Isabelle LaFrance. I think it was Little Ballerina.
-tweaked the action layers a smidge.
-added 2 different bokeh layers - one on screen @ 80% and one on lighten @ 75%.
-added a soft vignette, my own secret recipe that I am trying to perfect.

My thoughts: Even though I forgot to crop, I LOOOVE it!!!!!! The "fairy garden" effect* was perfect for this photo. Plus, my vignette recipe is getting better and better each time I tweak it.

*THIS is the tutorial that I use for the "fairy garden" effect. I don't always follow it exactly, of course, but it's a great place to start learning so you can develop your own style of fairy garden.

Guest Post: Ana

2011-08-24T07:30:00.000-04:00

Today, while I am transitioning back to real life after my wonderful wedding weekend, Ana from Wonderland is visiting my blog!

I highly recommend that you visit her blog; you can also read her tweets via @anashanti or buy some of her beautiful prints on etsy.

hello dear Amy's readers :)

I am really pleased to be here today. this is my first ever guest post and I was thrilled with the opportunity when Amy accepted me. I feel so honoured! I'm a hobbyist photographer and I find real pleasure editing my photos so I thought it would be fun to share some more tips with you on the subject. I'm going to edit three photos I've never shared at my wonderland, just for you. it will be something artistically new ;) and I'm going to teach you how to do the mouseover effect, which is really cool.

* mouse over to see the before *

I use Elements 9 to edit my photos and here I started with a 'gaussian blur filter' to highlight the flowers and blur the background even more. then I added a layer mask and removed the blur from the flowers. I decided to use French Kiss textures in all of these photos (if you sign up for Leslie Nicole newsletter you'll get some textures freebies). so finally I added the texture to the photo and removed a little bit where it was necessary. HERE Kim Klassen teaches how to use textures in ten minutes. it's a great tutorial!

* mouse over to see the before *

I also love creating some effects on Picnik to give an instagram look to my photos. I like to 'soften', add some 'cross process' and 'film grain'. it's a free and resourceful photo editor online for those of us who don't have an iPhone and dream about it. these two photos had that treatment before I added a texture on Photoshop. don't they look vintage? so neat :)

* mouse over to see the before *

last but not least, here is the secret to do the mouseover effect. is pretty easy!

it's a simple javascript function that anybody can use, so here are some quick instructions on how to achieve it. choose the picture you want to display as the permanent image. do all the editing you wish and save for web. then select the original picture you want to use as the mouseover image, make sure you crop it to exactly the same size as the previous one and save for web as well. (if you used a 'frame' of any description make sure that that frame is also used for the original image). upload both images to your blog and get the url code that is returned. add the pictures url's to this javascript:

disclaimer: change the 'http original image jpg' and the 'http edited image jpg' by your own url codes. it is important you make sure that the quotation marks that surround the url links are single ( ' ) and not double quotes ( " ), as this has a relevance on how the script is executed. and that is it! have fun :)

dear Amy, thank you so much for having me here. I hope you've a blast on your wedding and a memorable honeymoon. xoxo

Texture Tuesday - One Room Schoolhouse

2011-08-23T07:30:00.000-04:00

When Kim Klassen said that this week's texture challenge was Back to School, I immediately knew which photo I wanted to use.

I took this photo of a one-room schoolhouse back in April, but I just couldn't ever decide how I wanted to process it to the fullest. Then, I saw KK's newest texture, which is called 123. After playing around with it, this is my end result:

And here are my layers:

The bottom gradient layer is a black to white gradient map to desaturate a smidge. The next layer, the red to green gradient fill, is to add a vintage tone. (And HERE is the tut that taught me this.) The 123 texture layer is soft light, focused on the sky. The last gradient fill layer is my vignette, VERY soft. Lastly, I used KK's bent edges texture on pin light (specifically above the vignette and focused on the grass) to add that finishing vintage touch.

PS - If you are interested, HERE is a link that explains the history of this particular one-room schoolhouse and why it is so special to the Constitution State.

Color Splash Sunday - Zander!

2011-08-21T09:43:00.000-04:00

Your turn to link up!

August 20th, 2011

2011-08-20T12:01:00.001-04:00

I am getting married today! To a wonderful man. The man who turned my life around, helped me find myself, and taught me how to be comfortable in my own skin.

As of 2:30 pm, I will be, forever and always,
Mrs. Jonathan Gallagher.

Edit Me 8.19.11

2011-08-19T13:17:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer.

SOOC:

My edit:

I opened in ACR first and adjusted some of the sliders. Usually, I just play with them until I see what I like. This time, however, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So I specifically focused on increasing the contrast, clarity, blacks, and vibrance.

My steps in pse8:
-crop
-slight levels adjustment
-selective coloring. It's my thing.
-texture Old Whisk from CoffeeShop - overlay @ 50%
-vignette

My thoughts: LOVE it!

Guest Post: Branson

2011-08-18T10:37:00.010-04:00

Today, while I am running around getting things ready for my wedding that is only 2 days away, Branson from My Reflection of Something is visiting my blog!

I highly recommend that you visit her blog; you can also read her tweets via @bransonlee, visit her on Facebook, browse her photos on flickr, or buy some of her beautiful prints on etsy.

Sometimes I forget just how powerful photography can be. It always amazes me how a single photo can create such emotion, and stir up feelings that have been long hidden. Sure, it is easy to become attached to, and engaged in, event photography or portraits, but can a landscape or still life photo be equally powerful?

I was going through some photos the other day for a blog post where I wanted to include some shots from my "archives". After all, my love for photography wasn't born at the same time as this blog. In fact, I spent a good deal of time studying and shooting a few years back. I had an old photoblog where I met some of the most amazing people. They pushed me, and encouraged me, and brought my passion to life. Now, looking back, I realize how very much they were a part of my daily life.

When I look back at photos from that time, I am almost paralyzed as the memories come flooding back. I remember when it was all about the photos. When every day I was excited just to post the beauty I had captured. I looked forward to the encouragement and inspiration from my fellow photographers, and I let that motivate me to get out and search for shots I wouldn't normally take. I explored, I grew, I lived in the moment with my camera in hand.

I realize now how much I miss those friends who initially created that excietement and passion for what was once just a random hobby. The site we all used is mostly abandoned now, at least by our little group. After my prolonged absence from the world of photography I have lost touch with most of them. However, when I look at this photo, I feel connected to that time and those people. I feel a sense of freedom, as I remember breathing in the fresh Missouri air. I feel homesick for the place where I really "grew up" and the friends I wish I could visit more often. I feel inspired by God's creation, and reminded of just how diverse and amazing the works of His hand are! The common element in all of this? I feel...

I think too often lately I get caught up in wanting to create a beautiful photo. What this photo reminds me is that the true beauty of photography does not lie in the technical execution or the number of views a photoblog post gets. Instead, it lies in the ability to create an image that captures a moment in time that will never be repeated, and all of the emotion that goes along with that. Sure, some viewers may see a landscape. I see that, and so much more...
Branson

Quotography - Colorful

2011-08-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

Tuesday is usually "Texture Tuesday" on my blog for Kim Klassen's link-up. However, the theme this week is "a movie." I thought and I thought and I thought... And I just couldn't come up with anything that worked. Not to mention the fact that my wedding is 4 days away. It came to a point where I couldn't take any more time away from other priorities to think.

So I decided to link-up with Nicolasa over at My Perspective for her Quotography challenge instead. The theme this week is colorful.

Re-Post of Proposal Story

2011-08-15T15:15:00.001-04:00

Today, being only 5 short days away from my wedding, I thought I'd re-post the proposal story (with a handful of minor edits). It is so sweet and perfect, so us. And all of the photos in this post are from that day! (As a bonus, you can even see one of my first few ugly attempts at a watermark in the corner of each photo.)

The college campus where Jon and I both went to school, and where I used to live, is utterly gorgeous. It has sweeping views of the Hudson River, scenic areas with beautiful trees and flowers, and quiet gardens full of romance and charm.

On June 15th, 2010, Jon and I were lounging in my dorm, getting ready to meet some friends for dinner. He was in an exceptionally affectionate mood. A little while before we needed to get in the car and go, he says to me, "Let's take a walk." Sure, why not? It wasn't hot out, we had time, and campus was very quiet, due to it being summer break.

So we meandered around campus, me with my camera taking pictures everywhere. We were slowly walking up around the small building that I work in, and I was chatting with a coworker that was passing by. Jon started to get a bit... pushy, but not in a bad way.

He nudged me up the hill and up some stairs that I knew led in a couple different directions. One little trail off the stairs led to a quiet garden tucked away behind another small building. He pulled me into the garden and I promptly got distracted by some flowers. So, I squatted down on the trail and starting taking pictures. I was facing away from him, and he was suddenly very quiet behind me, while I chattered on about the flowers and how pretty they were and how awful the light was.

After a few minutes, he says, "Why don't you come take pictures of these blue and purple ones over here?" Immediately, I got so excited! I thought, Jon is seeing photos like I do! I quickly turned around and walked over to him.

Hang on... "What are you talking about?? There's no blue flowers! They are pink and purple!"

"Look closer."

I practically shoved my face in the flowers, and then almost fell over. There, nestled inside the flowers, was a black box with a ring.

I started sobbing and laughing, all at once.

The rest is a bit of a blur. I know I shot right into his arms, and we hugged and kissed a lot. I know we both said some stuff, but all I remember is staring into his eyes and seeing myself, my future, my love. I never knew how amazing this could feel. With that little ring, our relationship took on a whole new level. Our love for each other strengthened and deepened to become something new, something magical; I never could have imagined it would feel like this, not in my wildest dreams.

Since then, I've felt myself changing and developing as I take on this new role - "fiance," soon to be "wife." Even through the wedding stress and disagreements that we are already having, I know my heart has doubled in size. Rather than making room for him, I've designated him as my sole love, and made room on the side for everything and everyone else. No matter what we go through, I know he'll always be there for me, and I'll always be there for him.

Color Splash Sunday - Red Toy Boat

2011-08-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

Show off YOUR photos with selective coloring!

SOOC Saturday & iPhonography

2011-08-13T12:15:00.005-04:00

So, my wedding is only one week away now! I know I haven't done a legitimate wedding update in a couple months, but let's be honest here. You don't need to know all the details, right?! You just want to see photos after it's all over and done with.

You'll have to excuse my awkwardness right now. I spent most of Thursday preparing and scheduling blog posts for next week, so I can focus on wedding prep in the last few days. I just don't feel up to writing any more posts. So, for today's iPhonography, all you get is one photo and a brief explanation.

Nikon flash + iPhone camera =

This photo is from Matt's graduation back in June. I inadvertently clicked my shutter at the exact moment that the flash fired on my dad's DSLR. However, because the shutter speed on the iPhone's camera can't be adjusted, the result was this freakishly cool capture. This is SOOP (straight out of phone), all I did was resize and watermark.

And I lied earlier. You get more than just one photo; you also get a collage of Matt's graduation:

I covered up the name of his high school for privacy's sake.

Edit Me 8.12.11

2011-08-12T10:25:00.005-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer.

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps in ACR:
-crop
-adjust all sliders to my liking (which basically means "increase almost everything")

My steps in pse8:
-levels
-Ashley Sisk's Nice and Easy (tweaked)
-OJS Daydream (heavily tweaked)
-aged texture from Shadowhouse Creations, multiply @ 100%
-slight Gaussian blur
-duplicate background, screen @ 15%

My thoughts: I spent entirely too much time editing this photo. It just didn't feel done at any point, so honestly... I duplicated it a few times and ran random actions. I liked this combination of actions, and then the only thing that I knew I wanted to do was add the texture.

What are YOUR thoughts?

Texture Tuesday - Little Flowers

2011-08-09T09:11:00.000-04:00

For Texture Tuesday this week, KK wants us to use the theme of "It's the Little Things." I decided to go with this photo of little flowers.

To see the SOOC of this shot, CLICK HERE.

After adjusting exposure in ACR and adding a vintage feel in pse,
(tutorial from Amanda at Everyday Elements)
I used KK's textures aurora and bent edges:
The Hue/Saturation layer is just a slight desaturation.

Color Splash Sunday - Orange Berries

2011-08-07T09:50:00.000-04:00

Before you link up, I have a quick announcement:

I know I am going to be busy during the week leading up to my wedding, not mention that I'll be gone for a week during my honeymoon. Thus, I am looking for guest bloggers for the weeks of August 15th and August 29. Please let me know if you are interested!

Okay, now you can link up your own color splash photos!

iPhonography - 8.6.11

2011-08-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

Before I get on to my iPhonography post, I have a quick announcement:

I know I am going to be busy during the week leading up to my wedding, not mention that I'll be gone for a week during my honeymoon. Thus, I am looking for guest bloggers for the weeks of August 15th and August 29. Please let me know if you are interested!

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Here are last month's instagram edits:

I found a new free photo app called Abstractions Lite. Basically, all you do is upload a photo, tap the Abstract button, and it spurts out a nifty texturized photo.

The only drawback to using the Lite (free) version is that you cannot control the specific abstract effect that is used. However, you can take a photo in-app, or choose one from your camera roll, and then you can email your abstract photo after you save it. Pretty cool for a free app!

Edit Me - 8.5.11

2011-08-05T08:52:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer.

SOOC:

My edit:

My steps in ACR:
-increase exposure, temperature, contrast, & clarity
-decrease brightness
-increase fill light

My steps in pse8:
-crop
-add blue sky in the corner
-use Hue/Saturation to change the blue toning
-add an aqua solid color fill and brush off all skin
-Lemon Drop retro action, tweaked
-add more contrast
-add sharpening to baby and daddy
-cool retro overlay from Isabelle Lafrance - one layer darken @ 44% and one layer soft light @ 69%
-add even more contrast
-soft vignette

My thoughts: I added the blue sky originally because I wasn't sure which direction I was going to go. You can't even see the sky that I added because the overlay basically covered it up. But I love the retro feel of it.

Your thoughts?

Texture Tuesday - It Kinda Looks Like A Hand.

2011-08-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

For KK's Texture Tuesday today, there is no challenge or theme. Any textured photo is fine, as long as it has been edited with one of her textures. Easy enough!

After processing in ACR, here are my layers in pse8
using Life's Good and 2 layers of Dream: