Beauty & Light Photography

I have a New Photoblog!

2008-11-10T22:05:00.004-07:00

Hello, hello!! I have a NEW photoblog, so head on over to my new site! It's not 100% complete yet, but it's showable. :D My Blogger blog will continue to stay up for a little while in order to direct people to my new site.

www.beautyandlightphotography.com/blog

Beth & Dana ~ My First Clients!

2008-11-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

This past week has been quite exciting for me as a photographer! As the Lord would have it, I was contacted by two separate people (friends from my homeschool group) who asked me to photograph their weddings. Yes, I said weddings! Yeah, I know...are you kidding me??? :D

I am sooo honored to have been asked, especially given my novice experience. I agreed to do both ceremonies and photographed the first of the two weddings this past Saturday! Below are some of my favorite pictures from Beth & Dana's ceremony. It was actually a wedding vow renewal for them as they celebrated their 20th anniversary. It was very intimate and totally casual. A lot of fun! I am so thankful for this experience. I learned a lot! THANK YOU Beth & Dana for this wonderful opportunity! You guys ROCK!

Click image below to view full slideshow!

I have to mention that their ceremony was at a state park and the weather on this day was a very cool 90 degrees! LOL. When I say I learned a lot, I wasn't kidding! This was my first official photo shoot ever, outside of sessions I've done with my family. So I had to learn about positioning subjects, working with the lighting (which was during the least favorite time of day for a photographer -- midday!), and trying to interchange my lenses without missing an important shot. (I don't have a second dslr)

Oh, I almost forgot....I did have my 10yo son with me with his camera as my "2nd photographer"! LOL! It wasn't planned, it just turned out that way. He was great! I loved that we were working together as a family. Actually, 3 of the shots in this slideshow are from his shots! I'm such a proud mama! :D

Tip: Star-shaped Sun Effect

2008-10-29T08:51:00.006-07:00

Have you ever wondered how to get that star-shaped sun effect that you see in many pictures?? I have! Well, I stumbled across a DPS thread yesterday that shared this exact tip. So, I am passing this tip along to you! :D

You can achieve this look directly in camera by simply changing the size of your aperture to its smallest opening (largest f-stop, such as f22). After learning of this, I immediately went outside and tried it. And lo and behold, it does work! The above shot was taken yesterday during midday with an f-stop of 22.

Now how simple was that???? Try it with both a small aperture and a larger aperture and see the change! :)

Btw...according to the thread, this would not damage your sensor if you use a very high shutter speed.

DPS Assignment: Headshot

2008-10-27T18:06:00.005-07:00

Here is my submission for this week's DPS assignment, "headshot" - from the neck up, making the face your feature... it can be a self portrait or a portrait of someone else. I guess it's no surprise who I would use for my subject! LOL. This shot was taken just this morning at our breakfast table. I used my "nifty-fifty" lens. (This len has not come off my camera since it arrived almost 2 weeks ago!)

How Cute Is He???

2008-10-25T22:32:00.020-07:00

Now isn't this little fellow just adorably handsome??? I could not resist taking a few shots of him during our homeschool PE class on Friday. What a great subject to test taking portrait shots with on my new lens! :D These are my first official portrait shots with my "nifty-fifty". Not bad, if I do say so myself. LOL!

FYI: These shots were shot wide open. Meaning, I shot at the lowest f-stop to get a shallow depth-of-field. Therefore, only a small portion of the photo is in focus. I wanted the deep bokeh for these shots! When shooting wide open for portraits, be sure you are focused on the eyes. Click images to view original size.

Oh, I almost forgot...Did y'all notice my new (watermark) logo? I just created them this evening. I needed something that I could use for shots where my other logo would not fit right. So, I got to designing again! :D

Photography Students: Final Class!

2008-10-22T22:00:00.011-07:00

Yay! Here are photos from last week's "downtown CG shoot". This place had so much character! It definitely was a fun location to shoot at. :) You will notice that the boys ended up being the models in a lot of the photos. LOL! They were such good sports!

Since this was our final photography class, I decided to post 2 photos submitted by each student. Enjoy! They all did fantastic! Our Photoshop class will be starting the first week of November. So stay tuned for more photos from these wonderful students!! :D

by Taran

by Natalie

by Hope

by Jordan

by Hollen

by Nate

by Natalie

by Rachelle

by Hope

by Rachelle

by Taran

by Nate

by Hollen

by Jordan

Shots with new 50mm 1.8 lens!

2008-10-19T16:28:00.008-07:00

Here are some initial shots with my new prime lens! Totally fun! Now keep in mind, I just got the lens on Thursday so I am still learning how to effectively use this lens ~ especially since on the D40, I am forced to shoot in manual mode with it. I've only shot in manual once before, so this is all very, very new to me! But, I must say....manual mode is not that difficult at all! I am totally loving shooting manual. :D

So now that I've had it for a few days, what are my initial thoughts on this lens?? Well, let's see.....it's AMAZING! Talk about deep bokeh! And the sharpness is great! The only thing I need to get used to is not having a zoom on it. A prime lens only has one focal length, so you must move in closer or father away from your subject. With a prime lens, you sacrifice the zoom for more sharpness. Fortunately, I do have a zoom lens for those times I can't get in closer. :D

Lastly, one of the biggest reasons I bought this lens was because of the wide aperture (f1.8), which makes it a great lens for low light shots. We went to a tractor pull on Friday evening and I was able to take some great shots in very low light without a flash. I was quite impressed! I didn't post any of those because unfortunately, my focus was off on all those shots. LOL! Oh well, it's all part of the growing process, right??

All in all, I highly recommend this lens! For only $109, this lens packs a lot of power and flexibility for the money.

Downtown Photoshoot

2008-10-16T23:20:00.020-07:00

Fun, fun, fun! This afternoon we went downtown to do our street photo shoot for our photography class. It was awesome! (Couldn't resist using that word!) I didn't realize how much character there was in this part of our own hometown! Where've I been?? :D Here are some of my favorite shots from this shoot. I couldn't wait to get these posted! Enjoy!

The kids will be submitting their shots from today by next Tuesday. I will post their shots Wednesday, so stay tuned! I can't wait to see their work! :D

Okay, I need to mention how excited I am of this last shot (below). Except for a defog, this shot is SOOC. Can you believe how deep of a blue the sky is??? Wowzers! I didn't even have my polarizing filter on. I am soooo in love with my D40! Color, color, color. Gotta love it! LOL! :D

Oh! For those who are following my photography journey, I wanted to share something exciting.....

I ordered a new 50mm f/1.8D lens last week and it just arrived this afternoon!! Yippee!! This is a prime lens and is super sharp, even in low light. This lens has been recommended for portrait shots and low light shots (because of the wide aperture). Can't wait to show some shots with this. Btw...it does not autofocus on the D40, so I am forced to shoot in manual mode. And guess what?? I am LOVVVIINNG it (manual mode, I mean -- of course, the lens too)!! :D

Photography Students: Week 4

2008-10-15T20:39:00.001-07:00

Last week's class I discussed the exposure triangle. Oooohhhh! And for their assignment, I gave them a fun, themed assignment. Can you guess by looking at their photos what the theme is?? LOL. You guessed it...HATS. What an intelligent group you are!

I gave them more liberty with their shots for this assignment. They could submit post edited shots, and also b&w/sepia colored photos. They all did such an amazing job! This Thursday's class will be our last class and we will meet downtown to have them do photo sessions there. Can't wait! I think it will be a lot of fun.

by Hope

by Hollen

by Natalie

by Taran

by Hannah

by Jordan

DPS Assignment: Bubbles

2008-10-13T23:38:00.003-07:00

This week's DPS assignment is "bubbles". Fun! I could've opted to do the traditional blowing bubbles shot, but..... nah! :D

These shots are of a glass "bubble bowl" in my home which is filled with potpourri. I particularly like the angle and how the color of our wall accents the photo in the first shot. The top photo is my submission.

Photography Students: Week 3

2008-10-08T00:01:00.004-07:00

I am so impressed by the submissions again this week! Week 3's assignment was on the same topic as this week's tip -- flash & light. I challenged the kids not to use their flash and to shoot either early in the morning or later afternoon/evening, which are the ideal times of the day to shoot.

Great job everyone!! Keep up the awesome work! :D

by Nate

by Rachelle

by Hope

by Natalie

by Taran

by Hannah

by Hollen

Tip: Flash & Light

2008-10-07T00:05:00.014-07:00

Ah, the core of photography -- LIGHT. The word 'photography' comes from the greek words 'photos' - light and 'graph' - to draw. Basically, photography means "drawing with light". A great photographer knows how to capture light in a way that will create a beautiful, captivating image. Personally, I have a ways to go in mastering it! But I am excited to keep learning and growing! :)

Okay, the tip of the week (I taught this to the kids during our last class): Do NOT use your in-camera flash! Yep, that's it for this week's tip. Easy, peezy, right??

I particularly love what Pioneer Woman Photography has to say about flash:

And while we’re on the subject, I never use flash. This is one huge difference between the casual point-and-shoot user and the more serious enthusiast. Flash—at least the kind that hits the subject dead-on—almost always washes out the subject and eliminates the interesting shadows and details that make photos really fabulous. I never use my flash. Ever, ever, ever. If I don’t have enough light to take a shot, I just don’t take it—I dislike flash that much. Oh, and don’t use the flash. Lastly, whatever you do…avoid using your flash.

To reiterate, in-camera/direct flash produces harsh, unflattering light on your subjects. Use available light as much as possible (natural light, candlelight, lamplights, etc). And also, learn the various "temperature" of light (ie: Kelvin scale). This is helpful with regards to white balance!

If you can afford one, use an external flash that can bounce light off a wall. Or for those on a budget (like myself!), I would recommend purchasing a pop-up flash diffuser. I use a Lumiquest Diffuser and have found it very nice to use when I absolutely need extra light. But I must say that I RARELY ever use it -- because I try to take advantage of available light. :) Another great product I am looking into is Prof. Kobre's Light Scoop (only $29.95)! And lastly, one of the best photography websites for light is Strobist.com. (warning: due to possible inappropriate image content, parents please moderate for your younger photographers!)

Below are shots I took for a "fine china" product session. Last week, a friend of mine asked me to photograph one of her fine china settings. I was so challenged by it that I took out my own china to shoot some photos of mine. LOL! I am showing these shots as examples of how light affects your image.

Tip: De-fogging

2008-09-30T22:49:00.018-07:00

Tuesdays have now become my official tip-sharing day on my photoblog! You know... "T", for tip and Tuesday. Clever, I'd say. :) I thought of trying to give it a cute name, but the only thing that came to mind at this hour was "Tipsy Tuesday", and that isn't going to do! So, I guess I'll settle for just "tip". Yeah, I know...unique and so exciting. :D

Well, onto the tip of the week, DE-FOGGING!

Unless you own an expensive lens, this is a very important tip to learn and will add some punch to your photos from the get go. From what I've learned, most digital cameras give off a "haze" in photos. Removing this haze is called de-fogging. By de-fogging, you will increase the contrast in larger parts of the picture (not sharpening the details), in effect giving it a more clean, vibrant look.

De-fogging is the first thing I do to my photos after I've downloaded the originals to my computer. Here's what you do. It will only take a minute!

In Photoshop, go to Filters -> Sharpen -> Unsharpen Mask and enter these numbers:

Amount: 20
Radius: 60
Threshold: 0

Click OK and you're done. Yep, that's it. Easy as pie!

Below are a couple of examples. The top photos are the originals. The second photos are de-fogged. You will notice that the de-fogged photos are more defined and not as flat. You may need to view them in full-size and next to each other to better see the difference. Believe me, it's quite noticeable. :) HTH!

Family Camp 2008

2008-09-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

We attended our church's annual Family Camp in Prescott, AZ over the weekend. Fun, fun! It was held at Friendly Pines Camp and as usual, it was a great time. Below are some photos I took from the weekend. I took close to 400 photos! Legacy & Heritage families, I plan to eventually put all my photos in an online (password protected) gallery. I'll keep you posted once it's up.

85% of my shots during this trip were taken with my telephoto lens (55mm-200mm). I am soooo loving this lens! I just love the bokeh it gives! The first 2 shots below are actually taken with my 18mm-55mm lens to get a wide angle shot. :)

The main "Legacy campsite" :)

Our cabin (the one on the right - bottom level)

Getting ready for tug-of-war (families against families)

Our guest speakers - Pastor & Mrs. Ovid Need
(What a precious Titus 2 couple!)

How cute -- sack races!

My favorite shot of the whole trip!
Pastor Young's baby boy - isn't he so adorable??

Photography Students: Week 2

2008-09-24T18:03:00.012-07:00

This week's assignment was all about "Composition" - a visual process of organizing the elements and individual details of a scene into a balanced and pleasing arrangement. There is no right and wrong way to compose an image. It is quite subjective. However, there are some composition rules to help give photographers some guidelines. The article I shared with the kids explained 7 composition rules:

Rule of Thirds
Simplicity
Leading Lines
Natural Frames
Contrasts
Point of View
Rhythm

As you view their photos, see if you can identify the rule they chose! They all did a fantastic job with this assignment. I'm excited to showcase their work! In no particular order....

by Hannah

by Jesse

by Jordan

by Hollen

by Taran

by Rachelle

by Olivia

by Natalie

by Hope

Photoshop - to edit or not to edit...

2008-09-23T23:01:00.012-07:00

....that is the question!

So, what do many photographers think about using a photo editing software to edit their pictures?? Opinions run from being a "purist" (getting it right in camera from the start and no need to post edit) to believing that photography is an art form; and using a tool such as Photoshop is okay by them to enhance their artistic creativities and style.

I am one of those photographers who fall into both camps. To me, a good photographer must know how to get the fundamentals of photography right. No amount of post editing can fix an image if you do not have a good picture to start with! But, I also believe that Photoshop does have its place and can definitely take your photography/artistic skills up a level.

As a beginner photographer, I am continuing my focus on the the basics. Although, I must confess....I do utilize Photoshop often. :D In the end, it's all a matter of personal preference. Had I not been already using Photoshop for years (web designing) prior to getting into photography, I don't think I would be utilizing Photoshop into my photos as much as I do already (it has a high learning curve). :)

Above are before/after photos to showcase how post editing can take up your photos a notch. Isn't this young maiden such a beauty??? She is the eldest daughter to one of our dear friends at church. This was taken at a House Warming-Birthday-Adoption celebration at our other dear friends' home several weeks ago. It was a totally fun time!!

Slip & Slidin' Away....

2008-09-19T01:43:00.003-07:00

Yes, these were taken TODAY. Yes, it is STILL warm. Yes, that is a another photo of our son. :D My son and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the home of our dear friends, the W's. I just had to take pictures to showoff our warm weather (in the high 90's). Although, I am soooo ready for it to cool down! At least the mornings are starting to get cooler. Yay!

The kids spent almost 2 hours slippin' and slidin', while us two moms did what we do best...talk and laugh. :) Totally fun! Oh the beauty of Christian fellowship....

Glistening Beauty

2008-09-18T08:00:00.005-07:00

Isn't she just adorable?? This cutie pie is the granddaughter to a dear friend of mine. I took this shot during our homeschool group's P.E. class last Friday. As you can tell by her glistening face, the weather here in AZ is still quite warm. Btw, as a side note...men sweat, but us ladies, we "glisten". LOL!

Photography Students: Week 1

2008-09-17T09:00:00.003-07:00

I was asked to teach a beginner photography and Photoshop class to our homeschool group's yearbook staff (12yo+) this year. I am so excited and honored at this opportunity, especially since I'm such a newbie myself! The photography class began last week, with the photoshop class starting in November. Both are 6-week long classes.

As part of the assignments, I will be showcasing some of the kids' work here on my photoblog. Every Wednesday for the next 12 weeks or so, you will see a lot of their work here. So fun! :D

The assignment for Week 1 was to photography something or someone you love. Until we begin the photoshop class, most of the shots will be SOOC (straight out of camera). A majority of the cameras used are p&s digital cameras. The kids did a great job for their first assignment! I was originally going to showcase only 3 photos per week, but they all did so great for their first week that I HAD to showcase all of their photos this first time. LOL!

by Natalie

by Olivia

by Jordan

by Hollen

by Hope

by Jesse

by Taran

by Hannah

Feel free to comment on their work, as you feel led. I'm sure they would enjoy reading your comments and feedback on their work. :D

Assignment: Morning

2008-09-16T10:01:00.007-07:00

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;

in the morning will I direct [my prayer]
unto thee, and will look up."

(Psalm 5:3)

This week's DPS assignment is "Morning" - anything that deals with the early part of the day, sunrises, work commutes, breakfast, etc.

The above photo is my submission. The photos below were extra shots I took as I was taking photos for the assignment. Although, I must confess, these photos were staged for the assignment since everyone was up and dressed by the time I was ready to take pictures. LOL.

In The Yard, Hard At Work

2008-09-13T23:30:00.006-07:00

::::singing::::

"Clean up, clean up....Everybody do your share.
Clean up, clean up....Everybody everywhere!"

Today was yard duty for my two men. Thought I would take some photos of them hard at work in the hot Arizona sun. What champs! :)

Showing Work: Gallery Print

2008-09-12T15:28:00.001-07:00

There are a wide variety of ways to show your work, be it clients, friends, family, etc. One fun way is creating gallery prints of some of your favorite photos. As you would imagine, this can be done using Photoshop and is very easy to do.

Creating a gallery print involves changing the canvas size and using the marquee tool around the image and changing the stroke width using a white or light grey color. The final touch is to add your logo or text to name your gallery print. Voila!

The above photo is another photos taken during the LaRose Tea Party. It is a shot of the table we sat at. So cute! Click photo to view larger size.

The Castle Lamplight

2008-09-10T20:29:00.005-07:00

Hello, hello! I've been MIA for a little while, I know. It's been quite a busy time for me lately and I've been trying to stay focused on my priorities, especially here at home. As a SAHM, it's so easy to get distracted. And photography is a hobby I most easily get distracted with!

I've also been posting more on my personal blog, which I've neglected. I think I need to combine my blogs or something. Well, not to worry (not that I think anyone would actually worry about lil' ole me and my photo blog! LOL)... I'm back. :D

I've not had any motivation lately to take any new photos, so I am posting another photo from my archives. This was taken during the LaRose Tea Party I attended last month at The Castle. I'll hopefully have more (new) photos soon!

Pima Air & Space Museum

2008-09-01T21:41:00.008-07:00

Today, we went on a last minute trip to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson in honor of Labor Day. We had a great time and were surprised at how large this museum was, especially the amount of aircraft they carried. I took over 160 pictures! As you can imagine, I had a difficult time choosing what photos to post.

How cool is this -- we were on the actual
Air Force One that operated during the
Kennedy & Johnson's administration (1961-1965)

Just taking a reflection photo of myself on the stairway
heading up into Air Force One

My two men had a great time together!

Moving Toward Manual Settings

2008-08-27T23:31:00.009-07:00

If you have not tried shooting in manual mode before, you are limiting yourself as a photographer (IMHO). I personally do not (yet!) shoot in manual mode on a regular basis. As of this writing, I've actually only shot in manual once since I got my D40 in July. My personal goal is to be comfortable shooting in all modes. I've started with program mode, then moved to aperature priority (where I'm at now -- totally loving AP!) and will work my way through shutter priority then up to manual. Or maybe, just maybe, I'll be adventurous and daring and try manual next. Oooh!

The purpose of this post is to share with newbie photographers a great tutorial series on getting into manual mode. DPS has just recently posted a series titled "Moving Toward Manual Settings (a beginner's guide)", written by photographer, Natalie Norton. She has a great photoblog, btw!

Checkout this series at the links below:

The above photo was taken on 7/24 and was my first time ever using manual mode. Actually...it was a lot EASIER than I thought it would be! So why don't I continue using manual, you might ask?? I've read great tips from many veteran photographers who have all expressed the importance of becoming familiar with all the modes in your camera as you are starting out, primarily the semi-manual & manual modes (Program/AP/SP/Manual). This also helps you better understand the relationship with the "exposure triangle" (aperture/ss/iso) since you are able to control more of the settings yourself.

So....ENJOY moving toward manual! I'll be there alongside with ya!

Assignment: Weathered

2008-08-21T22:31:00.005-07:00

Here are my two assignment submissions for this month's Christian Photographer's assignment, "weathered" - worn, stained, or warped by or as if by exposure to weather; seasoned. These shots were taken just today in our backyard, specifically for the assignment.

The top photo is a shot of an old wooden ladder from a monkey bar-type play set that my husband built when our son was just a toddler (8 years ago now, wow!). We tore the playset down last summer and have yet to get ride of the scrap wood. :) The second shot is the rusted rear bumper of my husband's old 1979 Ford F250 truck.

I had fun post processing these!

Tip: In Camera Settings

2008-08-20T12:01:00.012-07:00

I felt led to share some tips that have greatly helped me in the beginning stages of my photography journey. So, here's my first photography tip! Woo-hoo!

To get beautiful, warm, and vivid colors straight out of your camera (SOOC), I would encourage newbie photographers to look into utilizing the custom "optimized image" settings on their camera. Since I own a Nikon, I will share my current settings from my D40. Canon and other users, I would suggest googling "in camera settings" for your particular model and see what you find. The DPS forum should also have some great posts on this for a wide variety of camera models.

Keep in mind, these settings may still have to be adjusted a bit depending on what you're photographing (especially when it comes to low light), but this is a great starter point. I learned about the following setting through a member in a SOOC Flickr group I belong to. He also was a D40 user.

Color Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Saturation: HardSharpening: 2
Contrast: AutoWhite Balance:
Auto -1 (for a warmer tone)
Exposure Compensation: Right around +0.3 or -0.3, depending on the light

This setting has worked beautifully for me. The above photos are examples of this setting and are SOOC -- no post editing at all. They were all taken indoors. Ken Rockwell's custom settings are great as well! I used his settings when I first bought my camera.

I hope many find this tip helpful! Enjoy! :)

Ladies Summer Tea - part 2

2008-08-18T23:23:00.001-07:00

More photos from the Summer Tea Party! Enjoy! :) Oh, I can't forget to mention that the top photo is a shot of a "Cupcake Chandelier". Doesn't it look soooo scrumptious? She had a ton of cupcake flavors! Yum-o! And the beautiful young maiden here is the youngest daughter of a dear friend of mine. She was dressed so adorably!

Ladies Summer Tea

2008-08-17T23:59:00.006-07:00

Yesterday, I and 6 other lady friends, had the opportunity to attend a very sweet and beautiful formal summer tea held at The Castle @ Ashley Manor in Chandler. Wow, talk about a gorgeous location! It was a photographer's paradise for picture taking. Oh, how I wish I knew more about how to take better shots at a formal gathering! But it all comes with practice, right?

The tea was hosted by LaRose Parties and she did an amazing job with food, decorations and the program. We all had a wonderful time. Here is one of my favorite shots from this event. More photos to be posted shortly.

PP: sharpened, adjusted the colors to tone down the yellows, added a bit of contrast.

Standing

2008-08-15T11:16:00.010-07:00

"Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem."

(Psalm 122:2)

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! Time sure does fly. I've been consumed this week trying to redesign and update my HIP site/blog (this is my personal site). Well, here is a photo taken from last week's portrait photo session with my son. At first, I didn't think I could do anything with this shot. But I was pleasantly surprised at the result. :) It gives me the feel of standing in a rural field or meadow. But it's really our backyard -- with dying grass. LOL.

This shot really looks better viewing it at its original size. Click on the photo to view. :)

Portrait Session (photo #2)

2008-08-10T23:35:00.004-07:00

I couldn't resist! This is another photo of our son during last week's portrait session. I decided to take a more minimalistic approach, without any "color-pop" processing to it. I really like the natural look to it. :)

Shower: For King & Kingdom! (part 2)

2008-08-06T21:09:00.007-07:00

Here are a few more shots from the baby shower for our pastor and his wife. Remember the theme -- "For King & Kingdom!". Many came dressed in royal attire. Aren't these two beautiful young maidens just so....well....beautiful?? :D As I've mentioned before, our church is so blessed to have in our midst great examples of virtuous maidens who are pressing on towards biblical womanhood.

What a joyful time of fellowship!

Color-pop Portrait

2008-08-04T23:05:00.007-07:00

I'm so excited! I learned how to "color-pop" portrait shots this evening. Woo-hoo! Here is my first try at the tips I learned from the Amy-Rose Inspired (flickr) group.

I wanted to get more practice with portrait photography this afternoon, so I had my son dress in semi-casual attire and took him to our backyard for a mini-photo shoot. He was a good sport! This was a fun shoot. I had the perfect lighting (during sunset) and tried various angles and portrait tips I read from the DPS blog. I can't wait to practice more! So who wants to be my next guinnea pig (I mean, model!)?? LOL!

Shower: For King & Kingdom! (part 1)

2008-08-03T20:32:00.008-07:00

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good;

and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly,

and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

(Micah 6:8)

Here are some photos from yesterday's baby shower for our pastor and his wife. They are expecting a boy (woo-hoo!) and are naming him "Micah". We cannot wait to meet this precious gift from God in person!

In keeping with the theme, many came dressed in royal attire and also acted accordingly with old english/scottish accents and using proper etiquette in addressing one another. Totally fun! More photos to come shortly in part 2. :D

Assignment: X-tych

2008-08-02T22:21:00.007-07:00

"Knights of the King"

This is my submission for this week's DPS assignment ~"X-tych" (diptych, triptych or anything up to 7 pictures formed into a single image with multiple panels -- think about the individual images and the overall story created by how they relate together).

This is another assignment I really enjoyed working on. It was a first for me to do! I am calling this "Knights of the King". :)

These photos were taken today at a baby shower we attended for our pastor and his wife, who are expecting their 6th child. The theme of the shower was "For King and Kingdom" -- totally fun. Lord willing, I'll be uploading several more photos from the shower tomorrow!

Tea Party Archive

2008-08-01T23:43:00.002-07:00

I've been so busy since Wednesday, I haven't had time to take new photos. Back to the archives I go! This photo was taken during the "Taking Dominion Tea Party" I blogged about earlier this month. I actually uploaded this photo to my Flickr account several weeks ago, but not here on my blog. I really like the perspective and vintage action I used on this shot.

Vintage action: I used Aly's vintage action set. You can download it free for use on Photoshop [here].

Color-pop Florals

2008-07-31T22:54:00.005-07:00

Browsing through my archive of photos to find something to post, I came across this cute photo. This was taken during my friend's baby shower a few weeks ago.

PP: I saturated the colors a tad, defogged, adjusted the curves & contrast, and also added a vignette using the lomo tutorial on the DPS site. Voila!

Assignment: 10 Minutes From Home

2008-07-30T00:06:00.005-07:00

Submission: "Mailboxes with Character"

This week's DPS assignment is "10 minutes from home" ~ walk, bike, drive or fly exactly 10 minutes from where you live and shoot what's there. No 9 minute or 11 minute trips. On my way to a friend's house today, I came across these rural mailboxes exactly 10 minutes from my home. I pulled over and took several fun shots.

Yesterday, I had also taken some pictures for this assignment. Here are a couple photos from that shoot. I was actually debating between the fire hydrant and the mailboxes for my submission. I drove 10 minutes the opposite direction from today's shoot. It took me to the new Fry's Marketplace center that just opened last week. I really enjoyed this assignment. :)

Creative Exposures

2008-07-28T22:47:00.007-07:00

I learned the phrase "creative exposures" by Bryan Peterson, author of Understanding Exposure. Here are a couple of shots that showcase the different creative exposures one can get by varying, in particular, the f-stop (aperture) and focal length. Basically, the higher the aperature (lower f-stop #) the more shallow the depth of field and vice versa.

These shots actually do not differ greatly in aperature value, but the big difference is in focal length. Compare the bokeh of both shots as a result. I took these shots today while I was out shooting for the current DPS assignment -- "10 minutes from home". Details on this assignment tomorrow, along with my submission.

Assignment: Music

2008-07-26T00:36:00.008-07:00

The current assignment in the Christian Photographers forum is "music". We're allowed up to 4 submissions. I entered 3. The bottom photo I have previously submitted for another assignment with DPS, but it was appropriate for this assignment as well. The top two are current, specific for this assignment. :)

PP work varies with each photo which includes my basic pp, toning b&w conversion, vignetting, and adding a gaussian blur layer using overlay mode.

A Lazy Day of Summer

2008-07-24T21:49:00.009-07:00

Well, it wasn't all that lazy of a summer day for us. This shot just reminds me of one. :D We were quite busy, as a matter of fact. I decided to take our son to Tempe Town Lake for lunch to do more photography practice. :) After several minutes of chasing after birds, our son needed to rest. So, here he is....resting and enjoying the shade. Aaahh! More photos from today to come.

PP: My basic pp work has now become defogging and adjusting the levels layer as needed. I also increased color saturation slightly and added a vignette.

Glory in the Heavens

2008-07-24T00:05:00.009-07:00

"...O LORD our Lord, how excellent [is] thy name

in all the earth! who hast set thy glory

above the heavens."

(Psalm 8:1)

Taken in our backyard last week, this is our neighbor's home situated directly behind us with the sun setting behind it. What a glorious sunset!

PP: Ken Rockwell's "toning b&w images" tutorial is what I used to convert this photo during post processing. I also defogged and added a little more contrast.

Making Cookies

2008-07-21T23:58:00.004-07:00

So my son and I were in the mood to make chocolate chip cookies this afternoon. :) Thought I'd take some shots to keep practicing with indoor lighting and to see if I could get a shot for the current DPS assignment - "food". I still had some slightly underexposed shots, but I was able to more quickly know what I needed to adjust and understand why my shots resulted the way they did. So I'm slowly starting to get this! As far as the assignment goes, nothing really caught my attention to submit, so I will either miss this assignment or see if I can get a better shot by Wed. morning.

For the second shot, I also wanted to practice getting some macro shots and focus on a more shallow depth-of-field. I used the Aperperture priority mode for this shot. I actually like the way this turned out. :D I love the bokeh! (term used for out-of-focus background, or the blurry part of the photo)

Homeschool Convention

2008-07-20T21:10:00.010-07:00

Friday, we attended our state's annual Homeschool Convention & Curriculum Fair at the Phoenix Convention Center. AFHE celebrated its 25th anniversary! As always, we had an amazing time and came away greatly encouraged and ready for the upcoming school year.

All of these photos, with the exception of the b&w have been minimally post processed. My focus right now is pushing myself on consistently getting proper exposure in camera -- without a lot of manipulating with a photo editor. So you may notice that some of these shots do not have the best composition. My focus was on exposure. :)

These shots were actually a challenge to take because of the various indoor light sources that would affect exposure. If you read my last post on light metering, I was (still am) having a hard time trying to fully grasp this concept. Indoor lighting is one of the toughest environments to shoot if you're not familiar with how artificial light affects light metering. Many of my shots were actually underexposed and I had to constantly adjust the shutter speed and aperture values. This was a great learning experience for me!

Light Metering - help!

2008-07-17T00:23:00.009-07:00

I posted a question on the DPS forum regarding light metering. I'm not fully understanding how it works yet. I've read my manual and also some articles from Ken Rockwell's sight and I'm still not totally grasping it when I try to apply it to taking shots. I will be checking out an exposure & lighting book from the library tomorrow so I'm hoping that will help. But in the meantime, this gave me something to post about on my blog. :D

The shots above were taken around 5pm today. The lighting was exactly the same for both shots. What's interesting is when I took the shot from directly above one of the lit candles, the background was completely black. But yet, the top photo shows more lighting! I know it has to do with the light metering, so I just need to understand better how it works and how it affects my shots. :)

Btw, these shots are mostly SOOC (straight out of camera) -- except for doing a quick defog to reduce the digital haze (that is in most photos).

DPS Assignment: Sunny Days

2008-07-14T23:10:00.007-07:00

Here is my submission for DPS' current assignment - 'sunny days'. We were to submit photos showing things that can be done on a nice sunny day out. In AZ, going to the pool is THE thing to do on a hot, sunny day. :) This was taken at our church's 4th of July get together at our Pastor's home.

This cutie pie is our pastor's youngest daughter. Isn't she just so adorable?? Wish I had used the flash to avoid the shadow on her face though. Nonetheless, this shot is so cute! I couldn't resist submitting it.

PP work: typical processing (defog, adjusting layers). I tried to use the shadow/highlight feature to lighten up the shadow on her face, but too much of the green from the pool showed up. So I opted to keep it as is. :)

Baby Blue Eyes

2008-07-13T17:48:00.009-07:00

I LOVE this shot - especially since it's my first baby photo with my D40. Isn't she just absolutely adorable?? And how about those amazing blue eyes?? This shot was taken at yesterday's baby shower. I had taken several cute shots of this beauty, but this one is my favorite.

Post processing: I did my typical basic pp work (defog, adjust various layers). I also learned how to make eyes "pop" through a tutorial by Amy-Rose King Photography.

Baby Shower

2008-07-12T23:08:00.005-07:00

I attended a baby shower today for one of my good friends from our homeschool group. She is expecting her third child/daughter in August. It was a great shower!

Post processing: All shots were "defogged" and I adjusted the hue/saturation. I also added a vignette (top photo) and used the burn tool to add a soft dark frame around the photo (rest of photos). Top photo, I converted the image to b&w using Stacy's b&w conversion tutorial. Third photo, I also added a "memory lane vintage" action.

Photographer In The Making?

2008-07-09T23:40:00.007-07:00

Since I got my D40, our son has been having fun with my old ultra zoom camera. He's so excited to learn photography and videography (since it can also take short videos). Of course, once the novelty wears off, we'll see just how interested he really is. :D But it is fun having him alongside me taking pictures. He's my cutie-pie!

Here's a shot I took of him taking a picture of me. :) As soon as we get his computer setup with the necessary Panasonic software for the camera, I'll feature him as a "guest photographer" to showcase some of his work.

Post processing: defog and "virtual photographer" filter (halo effect)

Watermarked Photo

2008-07-08T17:21:00.010-07:00

Thought I'd test out "watermarking" my photos. This was a lot of fun to do in CS2 (creating a "brush" with my watermark logo). I realize watermarking doesn't guarantee anyone will not copy my photos, but I think it helps. I will start watermarking more. This photo is of our handsome soon-to-be 10yo son. I took it yesterday while he was resting on his bed. This is one of my favorite photos I've taken of our son.

Post processing: converted image to b&w using Stacy's "b&w conversion" tip and added a vignette. I also cropped it, just a tad, for better composition. I also used Stacy's tip on watermarking.

You can visit Stacy's photography tips page here. Her photos are amazing, especially with a Nikon D50 (which has been replaced with the D40). So you CAN get pro-like photos with an entry level DSLR! I'm so inspired!

More Tea Party Photos

2008-07-07T21:25:00.010-07:00

Here are a couple of more photos from the Tea Party....

Top photo: My first official "portrait" shot with my D40 and I love the way it came out! This beautiful young maiden is the eldest daughter of one of our church families (and also dear friends). She is such the sweetheart, isn't she? I did my typical post processing with (my new favorite technique!) "defog" with unsharp mask, adjusting contrast/curves, and adding a vignette. Lastly, I cropped the image for better composition.

Bottom photo: Same post processing as above but without any cropping. I really like the angle and perspective of this shot.

Btw, have I mentioned yet how much I'm enjoying my dslr camera? LOL. DSLR's are a totally different breed of cameras. They're just amazing -- the richer colors, levels of sharpness and depth of field!

Taking Dominion Tea Party

2008-07-06T23:46:00.010-07:00

Photos from a "Taking Dominion Tea Party" I attended yesterday with several friends and their daughters from church and our homeschool group. More details about the tea party can be found on my main blog. [ click here ]

Post processing: defog via unsharp mask (learned "defog" from Stacy's blog at The Land of K.A.) and also adjusted the curves and contrast a bit.

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T23:58:00.005-07:00

Taken last week with my Lumix DMC FZ-18 camera
A Phoenix church does its fireworks the Sunday before the 4th

We enjoyed a wonderful Independence Day celebration with several families from our church ~ a BBQ potluck at our Pastor's family's home. Below are some pictures from our fellowship time together:

Our pastor grilling hot dogs, kabobs, and burgers

2 layer (red/blue) Jell-O Stars! Mmmm....
Couldn't resist taking a shot of this!

Terry Productions: An Independence Day Puppet Show

Having Fun With New Camera!

2008-07-02T23:08:00.006-07:00

I can't believe the difference in the quality of shots with a DSLR from a P&S camera! I've been playing around with the various settings and took these two shots today. Ken Rockwell's site has been a great help to me, especially in setting the exposure compensation and optimized image settings. I love the color saturation from Nikon images!

I did not do any post processing, with the exception of a tiny bit of sharpening -- only because I wanted it as clear as possible. Even if I didn't sharpen it more, the shots were still quite sharp. Amazing!

New Camera & Assignment: Feet

2008-07-02T11:42:00.008-07:00

I am so excited! I purchased my first, new DSLR camera yesterday -- the Nikon D40. Woo-hoo! The D40 was the most affordable, and with enough features that I wanted for a beginner photographer like me. Also because I was too impatient to wait to purchase the D80 or D300 (and because my dh didn't want me to buy a used or discontinued model). :D

I've already taken some pictures and it is so awesome. Of course, I have a lot to learn with this camera. It's a lot different from the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 I was using (an ultra zoom p&S). Our son now has the FZ-18 and is excited to learn as well. I'll post some of his shots in the future.

The purchase came in time for me to take shots for the current DPS assignment: "feet". I had a difficult time finding a creative shot for it -- maybe because I was too enthralled at all the new features to learn on the D40. :) (Gabe, I even tried your suggestion but it wasn't working for me. LOL). So I opted for the traditional shot.

The above photo is a shot of our son's feet dangling from his loft bed. I had to do some post processing to get it a little sharper (remember, I just got my camera? ;) ) and also to add a vignette. But not bad for a first DSLR shot, I think. :)

Off to have more fun with my new camera.... :D

Scottsdale Train Park

2008-06-28T23:27:00.003-07:00

These are photos I took today at our visit to Scottsdale Train Park. What a beautiful park! But it would have been a more pleasant trip if the weather wasn't so hot. The price you pay for living in the desert, I guess. :)

PP for top photo: texture layer, curves layer, sepia photo filter, sharpened
PP for middle photo: monochrome channel mixer, sharpened, vignette
PP for last photo: sharpened, vignette

Summer Rain

2008-06-26T21:06:00.006-07:00

What a nice surprise to our scorching hot Arizona weather -- a summer rain! It showerd for a brief time this afternoon, wind and all. The best part? The after effect.... cool, breezy weather. Ahhhh!

I decided to take pictures of the rain on our front walkway. I added a texture layer and adjusted the sharpness/contrast. Btw, if you can't figure it out (my DH couldn't!), the red thingy is a small fallen flower. :D

CPF Assignment: Motion

2008-06-23T23:23:00.004-07:00

I almost missed entering this week's CPF (Christian Photographers Forum) assignment! We went to Canyon Lake today with one of our church family friends, the Conklin's. Totally FUN! They have a boat and all the fun water toys -- wakeboard, water ski's, "hot dog", tube, inflatable trampoline. This is our friend's husband. Both him and his wife are pros at water skiing and wakeboarding. This shot was taken from the boat (obviously), about 50 feet away!

But more about our trip later. We just got back this evening around 9:45 and I am exhausted. I wasn't going to submit anything until tomorrow, but Gabe was so gracious to remind me via email that the deadline is today! Thanks Gabe! :)

Natural Framing - Can't decide!

2008-06-20T23:49:00.003-07:00

I need some help! I cannot decide which of the two I should submit for the current DPS assignment - "natural framing". The guidelines are as follows, according to DPS mods: basically borders, nature paths, windows, all of these setup a nice natural frame outline for the focus of the subject.

Would love to get your feedback on what I should submit. We have until Tues/early morning Wed. to get our submissions in. Oh wow, I totally forgot...I'll take some shots over the weekend - at Canyon Lake! - and may find an even better shot to submit from those. We'll see! But for now, I'm thinking of either of these two. :)

My Mom

2008-06-19T23:52:00.000-07:00

My beautiful mother, whom I love dearly! She is so amazing and full of joy! What a blessing to have such a mother in my life. I've been waiting to post this photo since we returned from our Legoland trip, but completely forgot about it until this evening. (Sorry, mom!) :D

I love my mommy!

DPS Assignment: Sharp

2008-06-18T09:18:00.007-07:00

Here is my submission for this week's DPS assignment - sharp. Talk about procrastination, this was submitted at the very last moment. LOL. There are a lot of creative submissions (ie: using sharp objects, looking "sharp", and my favorite - God's Word as being sharper than a two edged sword), but I opted for the traditional sharp focus route. :)

This photo was taken at one of our church families' home. Our church was invited to come an pick apples from their apple tree. They have a beautiful flower garden.

Below is another photo I was thinking of submitting -- "sharp" blades of grass. But something about it didn't feel right to me. I don't think it was sharp enough. So I chose to submit the sunflowers intstead. :)

Father's Day Tribute

2008-06-15T21:46:00.013-07:00

Children's children [are] the crown of old men;

and the glory of children [are] their fathers.

(Proverbs 17:6)

What a precious picture of my beloved husband with our son - a vision of Biblical Fatherhood. Words cannot express how much I love, adore, appreciate, and respect this man that the Lord has given me as my perfect complement. As I look at him in his role as a father, I see a man who, as imperfect as he may be, strives with all his might to be the kind of godly father he has been called to be by our Heavenly Father.

His love for our son, our family, is sacrificial and unconditional. He is always there for him (us!) and is faithful to his commitments. Yet, he is also humble before us when he falls short. He has purposed in his heart to lead this family for the glory of Christ! He is a man of VISION. He is a great provider and protector. All in all....he is the BEST! God knew the perfect man for me to be married to and to be the father of our child(ren).

We are not a perfect family -- we are, of course, sinners saved by grace! But His miraculous and all powerful hand is most definitely upon us. And most especially, upon my husband as He continues to transform his life in ways he (or I) could not have ever imagined.

Our journey has been joyful, challenging at times, but above all, greatly blessed. All glory is to Christ Jesus, our one and only King, Savior, Redeemer, and Lord! Apart from Him, we are nothing and in Him is life everlasting.

Beyond measure, I love my husband and our son loves his father! Happy Father's Day, honey!

Assignment: Clashing Colors

2008-06-11T10:22:00.007-07:00

I missed the deadline to submit the last DPS assignment - "clashing colors". Nonetheless, here is what I would have submitted. This was taken at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill this past Saturday. It's been so busy for me lately and I was struggling to find shots for this assignment. Then lo and behold -- we entered a Mexican restaurant! LOL. :)

I enhanced the brightness of the colors a bit in CS2 using the curves adjustment layer.

Speaking of assignments, I have 3 fun assignments to work on over the next couple of weeks for DPS and Christian Photographers forums. So stay tuned for my upcoming submissions - natural framing, motion, and sharp!

Virtuous Maidens

2008-06-07T23:51:00.013-07:00

Raising up maidens of virtue towards Biblical Womanhood,
for the glory of Christ and for His Kingdom!

Post processing: Texture layers, unsharp mask, photo filter, vignette, noise reduction. Below is the original photo I took. I accidentally shot the photo with the wrong (higher) ISO, so there is a lot of noise. I continue to be amazed at being able to salvage a shot post processing in Photoshop.

Cactus Flower & Texture Layer

2008-06-04T23:50:00.002-07:00

Can you believe these beautiful, pink flowers grew from cacti?? I still can't believe it myself. This was taken back in April, during our trip to the Sonoran Desert Museum. I'm loving how vivid the color of the flowers turned out!

The two shots show the difference in appearance when a texture layer is added. I've posted several texture layer shots before, but what I just learned is how to remove the texture on places I don't want it to show (ie: faces, flower petals, etc) and still keep the tone of the texture on those areas.

The first shot has a texture layer applied to it, but notice the texture does not show up on the petals. And yet, the tone of the texture is still kept throughout the entire photo. I'm so excited to learn this! :) The second photo is the original.

In Our Garden!

2008-06-03T00:39:00.007-07:00

Look what's growing in our garden - squash! This is the first visible "fruit" of our garden. Woo hoo! We're a bit excited about this since this is our first garden ever. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think this is squash. LOL. It might be cucumber. You think? I'm sooo not a gardener. But, by the Lord's grace and for the sake of our children's children, I will be. :)

Well, we can't wait to taste all of the fruits and vegetables we've planted!

New Violin - "Tartini"

2008-05-29T23:13:00.012-07:00

Our son outgrew his violin (again!) and has now upgraded to a 1/2 size violin. This is a photo I took of his new violin ~ a Tartini Strad. The sound is so beautiful and so much more rich! Our son loves it and plays quite handsomely on it too. (I'm such the proud mama). :)

This photo was also my submission for DPS forum's last assignment ~ the "Five Senses". Obviously, I was focusing on the sense of hearing in this shot. The assignment allowed us to capture either all 5 senses or just one. This isn't the best shot I would've liked to submit for this assignment, but it was well enough due to lack of time. :) Hope you like it!

Btw, did you notice the "gallery print" I created for the shot? I love the look of it with the large white border. I learned this from my new favorite photography book: Photoshop CS2 for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby. Totally fun!

My First OOB!

2008-05-27T15:20:00.007-07:00

Isn't this image effect so (if I must say).... COOL??? :) I just learned about it and could not wait to try it. This effect is called "OOB", which stands for "Out Of Boundary" images. I'll definitely be trying this effect on other shots. :)

If you're like me, you're probably dying to know where the tutorial is. Well, here it is....
http://www.logicscape.com/oob_tutorials/

Enjoy!

Visiting A Friend @ SHH

2008-05-26T23:58:00.008-07:00

Yesterday after church, we visited a dear friend of ours at Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital. Our friend, Ron, has had severe health issues since his car accident over 20+ years ago when he was hit, head on, by a drunk driver. By God's grace he survived the near fatal accident and became a believer in Christ! Even though his health is an up and down roller coaster for him, he praises the Lord for the work in his life and for His sovereignty. We had such a precious visit with him! Praise the Lord he is recovering well from his recent surgery.

The photo for this post is the entrance to SHH. The original shot was rather bland (over exposed). In addition to sharpening and adjusting the exposure, I also added a "neutral density gradient filter" on it.

An ND filter is a filter that can be attached to a camera lens, which intensifies the color of the sky (among other things). Since I do not own an ND filter for my camera, I learned how to create the same effect in Photoshop. Here's my first attempt... :)

My Precious In-Laws

2008-05-24T17:55:00.010-07:00

I love my in-laws! And today we were blessed to spend some time with them, as part of a belated Mother's Day celebration. We ended up going to Mimi's Cafe for lunch.....

...then we came back to our house so they could rest a bit before their hour-long drive home to Peoria. Our son also entertained his grandparents with a mini-concert with his brand new 1/2 size violin (more on that soon!). As usual, it was a lovely time with family!

A Stroll with Lola

2008-05-24T03:17:00.017-07:00

I love shots like this! There is something about photos taken from this perspective that stirs up the heart. At least, for me it does. :) This is such a sweet photo of my mom with our son during our recent trip to CA. It is one last stroll with Lola ("grandma" for you non-filipinos, heh heh!) before heading back to AZ. This is multi-generational vision in action!

I couldn't decide which photo I liked best, so I uploaded both! The only difference is the first photo has a texture layer.

Cloudy & Blustery Day

2008-05-22T23:58:00.002-07:00

Yesterday's strong winds gave way to a blustery day today! This photo was not taken today (it didn't dawn on me to take one!), but it represents well the day's cloudy weather prior to the heavy rain in the afternoon. I actually shot this photo during our son's track meet last month.

Our Fallen Tree

2008-05-21T23:55:00.002-07:00

I just had to take a shot of our poor tree that fell over during the strong winds we had today! Actually, the photo above was taken after my husband came to its rescue and had it upright again. But this time, he did not attach it to a single wooden stick like before. He had it staked to the ground with 3 wires. (Can you tell I'm not a gardener?? I don't know the lingo! LOL)

Post processing: unsharp mask, overlay layer with gaussian blur

A Princess at Rest

2008-05-17T23:28:00.010-07:00

Our friend's youngest daughter getting a little rest by a fountain before we all made the drive back to Arizona from CA. Even tired, this precious little princess looks so cute! Why can't I look that cute when I'm tired?? :)

I played around with the brush tool for the border effect, as well as slightly angling the photo. I also did my typical post processing in converting the color image to b&w, with a sepia photo filter.

An Apple a Day....

2008-05-17T03:28:00.007-07:00

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,

which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree,

in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed;

to you it shall be for meat.

(Genesis 1:29)

Can you believe this apple is actually a tiny baby apple?? Taken at my aunt's house during our CA trip, this apple stands only about 2" tall! The only PP I did was to sharpen it a bit. We're big on the importance of organic, raw food, so I wanted to keep this photo as "pure" as possible, and in its raw photographic state without a lot of post production in Photoshop.

Makes me hungry just looking at it! :)

Just Plain Cute!

2008-05-14T23:40:00.007-07:00

Okay, this is one of my favorite shots and post processing work thus far! Ain't he just the most darling little guy you've ever seen (next to my own son, of course!)? :) This shot of my cutie pie nephew was taken over the weekend during our trip in CA.

Post processing: The original photo had the focal image (nephew) slightly blurred with a very sharp background. I was able to sharpen the focus point and blur the background, which included adding several layers with varying blend modes such as overlay and multiply. I then added a texture layer and vignette to finish it off.

Trip to Legoland!

2008-05-13T23:28:00.004-07:00

We just got back from our trip to LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, CA! It was "homeschool day" and all homeschoolers received a significant discount on admission tickets. What a fun trip this was. We went with my sister and her precious family......

...as well as with our good friends the Ward's and Eaton's. The only downside to it all was the cloudy and very cool weather (high in the mid-60's!). But nonetheless, our time with family and friends was worth it all.

I took over 400 pictures on our 3 days trip. As you can imagine, I had a hard time choosing which photos to include in this post. I think I'll just have to do a "Part II" post!

A Bug's Life

2008-05-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

One of God's precious tiny creatures in the midst of golden floral beauties! If only I had a macro lens to get an even closer shot. Another photo from our trip to the Sonoran Desert Museum, I was excited to get my first "bug in action" shot.

Femininity in Dress

2008-05-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

As the addage goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". The words this lovely photo expresses to me are femininity, grace, simplicity and purity. And that is exactly how to describe this precious young maiden, a daughter of one of our church families.

It is rare to see such beautiful qualities in young ladies in today's society, but I praise the Lord for raising up a remnant of virtuous daughters! And our church is blessed to have a large handful of such daughters in our midst.

Post processing: sharpen, photo filter with sepia tone, and vignette

Jumping for Joy

2008-05-06T10:51:00.019-07:00

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous:

and shout for joy, all [ye that are] upright in heart.

(Psalm 32:11)

This was such a fun picture to shoot! This was taken at the baby shower we attended a couple of weeks ago. I am laying on the grass with my camera facing upwards towards the sky. I used the burst (aka: action) mode on my camera and kept taking pictures of the boys jumping as high as they could. Totally cute!

It's a little on the dark side, but it's because I forgot to change the ISO. I had it at 400 ISO, and it should've been at 100. Ugh! For newbies like me, higher ISO numbers are better for darker shots with low light. Unfortunately, this was a big lesson for me because most of my outdoor shots at the shower were taken at 400. I forgot to check that I was on the right ISO sensitivity.

Live and learn! LOL... I still could not resist posting this photo. :)

Post processing: sharpening with unsharp mask technique, added vignette, added warm photo filter.

Assignment: B&W (#2)

2008-05-04T23:15:00.002-07:00

My second submission for the B&W assignment on the Christian Photographers' forum. What a precious little princess! I couldn't resist taking a photo of my friend's daughter. This is another photo taken at our homeschool p.e. class.

Assignment: B&W (#1)

2008-05-03T18:09:00.014-07:00

"Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the

fruit of the womb [is his] reward."
(Psalm 127:3)

The Christian Photographers forum's next assignment is "Black & White", which also includes sepia tones. We are allowed to submit up to 4 photos, which is nice. So, here is my first submission which I am titling "Kids at Play". I've given it kind of a vintage look, as well. This is another photo from my homeschool PE class photo shoot! :)

Post processing: converted color image to b&w, added sepia photo filter, added a texture layer.

Assignment: Converging Lines

2008-05-02T18:05:00.010-07:00

Well, here is my official submission for this week's "Converging Lines" assignment on DPS. This photo is the outside of a tennis court. It was taken yesterday during my homeschool PE class "photo shoot" (lol).

Post processing: I sharpened it a bit using the lab color/unsharp mask technique and added a sepia color filter to it.

Homeschool PE

2008-05-01T23:44:00.013-07:00

Our son had P.E. class today with our homeschool group. The theme for the last two classes of the year is "wacky water games". Yes, it is already warm enough here to do water activities!

In trying to find a photo for the converging lines assignment, I decided to take some pictures during the class. I got a lot of great shots! The above photos captured best the overall feel of the class.

Converging Lines

2008-04-30T23:37:00.002-07:00

The next DPS assignment is "Converging Lines" and is due by next Tues. I have not officially submitted anything for it yet, but I needed a photo for today so I thought I'd try to come up with a possible submission. This shot (taken at the Sonoran Desert Museum) has a lot of converging lines: the stairs, the hand rails, and also the shadows on the right side of the wall. But as much as I like this photo, I'm not thrilled enough with it to submit for the assignment. So, onto more photo taking!

So, what exactly is meant by converging lines? Lines that run parallel into the distance or that actually converge at some point.

Post Processing: converted color image to b&w, added sharpness, and also a vignette.

Assignment: Angles

2008-04-29T16:53:00.007-07:00

My submission for this week's DPS assignment - ANGLES. Picture frame angles! These are frames from around my home. I thought this shot turned out quite cute. :) Heh, heh.

Post processing: Photo was taken in RAW, with an added vignette. Click on photo to view larger and more clear picture.

Mama Bird

2008-04-28T18:17:00.009-07:00

"Where the birds make their nests: ...O LORD, how

manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all:"

(Psalm 104: 17 & 24)

This photo was taken outside of our house this afternoon. Mama bird is protecting her newly hatched baby. She built her nest on top of one of our outdoor lights. I tried to get a picture of the baby, but was unsuccessful.

So, what new technique did I use here? Not really a technique, but it was taken in the RAW format. My first uploaded Camera RAW photo! I can totally see a difference in quality. It's a lot more sharp than JPEG and you have more flexibility in adjusting the various elements. It's great and I'll be trying to take more photos in this format.

Prayer Warrior

2008-04-28T00:07:00.011-07:00

"Pray without ceasing"
(1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Our pastor's son during our prayer time at yesterday's baby shower. What a fine example of a godly young man living for Christ and for His Kingdom.

Baby Shower

2008-04-27T00:08:00.005-07:00

We attended a family baby shower today for one of our church families. It was such a joyful time in fellowship! Our friends are expecting their first boy in about 3 weeks and this is their fifth child. Children are a heritage from the LORD. Amen and amen!

I will try to post a couple more pictures from the shower when I have more time.

Uncut Grass

2008-04-25T22:50:00.012-07:00

Because we have been busy almost every weekend this month, my DH has not had the time to mow the lawn. Thought I'd take a few photos of our 3 week-old uncut grass. LOL :)

The only post processing I did was unmask sharpen (on both photos) and then adding a glaussian blur with an overlay setting to the first photo. This gives it a little bit of a dreamy feel.

Floral Beauty

2008-04-24T22:52:00.009-07:00

The glory of the Lord is evidenced in His creation!

This beautiful geranium was taken outside my mother in law's home a few weeks ago. My MIL has the most beautiful flowers! The focus of this photo was on texture layers, brush layer, color fill, and the photo filter.

Just Boys....

2008-04-23T23:10:00.007-07:00

"As arrows [are] in the hand of a mighty man;
so [are] children of the youth."
(Psalm 127:4)

This photo was taken in our backyard earlier this week with two of our son's friends. I used a sepia photo filter layer and also the distort/lenscorrection filter.

Although I think this photo turned out great with the effects, I'm particularly not liking the shadow of the roof overhang interrupting the flow of the wall upwards. Oh well, that's okay! I loved the candid photo.

Assignment: Circles

2008-04-22T11:24:00.010-07:00

This week's DPS assignment is "CIRCLES" and the above photo is what I submitted. I'm learning more about various elements and I tried to incorporate as much as I can with this photo. What I focused on was composition, depth of field, and rule of thirds.

The only post production I did was sharpening the image a bit using the unmask sharp technique. The photo is a floor lamp that's in our guest bedroom.

The Love of a Mother

2008-04-21T22:45:00.006-07:00

My good friend, an example of a godly & loving mother

I learned a new technique today - "cross processing"! It is the procedure of deliberately processing photographic film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film (Wikipedia). In digital photography, this is done through photo editing software such as Photoshop.

Living Water

2008-04-20T19:20:00.006-07:00

"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
(John 7:38)

Another photo from our Sonoran Desert Museum trip last week.

Run the Race

2008-04-19T20:30:00.014-07:00

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."
(Hebrews 12:1b)

Original photo:

My first attempt at "antiquing digital photos" via another DPS tutorial.

Today, our son and his friends ran in a track meet. They did a great job! I thought this was a cute photo to try the tutorial on. Although, now I'm not so sure. The modern shoes don't really give it an authentic antique look. LOL. Oh well.... :) I achieved the look that I wanted, nonetheless!

This was another fun tutorial.

Evidence of Spring

2008-04-18T16:07:00.010-07:00

Spring is definitely in the air here in Arizona! Actually, summer is already peeking around the corner. This photo was taken at our latest trip to the Sonoran Desert Museum. The post edit technique I used is from DPS' Photoshop CS2 tutorial, "Mono, with a Dash of Colour". I then added a deep inner shadow around the edges.

New Hobby for a Lasting Legacy

2008-04-17T00:43:00.020-07:00

"Precious Joy"

Digital photography - my new hobby! I am a total novice with this but am so excited to learn. Aside from the creative & fun aspects, my primary reason for getting into photography is to help fulfill our family's vision in leaving a lasting and godly LEGACY for future generations.

As I grow in this hobby, my photoblog will take you along my journey. May the glory of the Lord be visible in all that is seen!

The above photo was post edited in Photoshop CS2. It's my first attemp using the blur/overlay technique I learned on DPS' "Post Production Techniques and Tips" page.