I was serious but everyone laughed.

I have been busy and I have been taking photos almost daily but I feel that my creativity has been a little lagging lately. I want to give myself a shot of energy but I’m not sure what I could do that without feeling like it’s another obligation.

So I will do nothing. I think that’s the best medicine.

The husband and kids are at yet another hockey game tonight. I volunteered to stay home because I wanted to put my new “do nothing” commitment into action. I looked through my photos this one makes me laugh. It’s been said that Austin couldn’t make it through airport security without beeping even after taking off his belt. I say that he’s the most fun guy in the room.

This photo edited with MCP Actions, a mixture of what is in Jodi’s Bag of Tricks. It makes editing portraits so much easier.

Off to do nothing now.

I’m going to play . . . here’s the SOOC.

Before Due

I’m Feeling Retro

Antique action by doveelydesigns. I particularly like this one with this photo.

Vanilla Sky

Almost Exclusive

I found all of these on a nice design blog called Vandelay Design. It was recommended by a friend of mine who also happens to be a fantastic graphic artist. If you veer toward graphic design, this is a nice site for you. There’s also some fun things for photographers as well.

Enjoy!

This may not be a solution for everyone but I find that running the Soft & Faded Action by the Pioneer Woman really “calms” down the color and just makes it beautiful.

Here’s a before SOOC. Get your sun glasses on!

And here’s the after.

Another SOOC…

And the after.

And all together makes a beautiful mosaic.

I added a sparkly bokeh texture to some of the photos to mirror the dewdrops.

Christina of Soul Aperture has the gorgeous rose photos. I would love to learn her “secret.” In the meantime, I just enjoy!

Posted on Mosaic Monday.

I love all the opportunities that are offered around the internet and here’s another great one. The lovely ladies at Love That Shot are offering a $100 Florabella Gift Card. An opportunity to showcase your creativity, learn some great photo tips, and a chance to win? No down side what-so-ever.

Which means you should enter too. Click here for the very minimal requirements in order to link up.

This photo of my little girl was taken at a pool party at the beginning of September. She was relaxed and having such a great time. I love this shot of her. It’s so casual and candid. Sometimes it’s hard to get teens to smile – that’s all I’ll say about that for now.

Even though I love her expression, her the whites of her eyes were not white, they were blue for some reason. To whiten them, I used PW’s Bring Out the Eyes action and reduced the opacity to 65%. I know she would want me to photoshop out her freckles but they are such a part of her.

Go to Love That Shot to link up. Thank you Misti and Michelle for this wonderful opportunity!

I’ve learned a lot from their posts and I get very inspired. As I am today.

This is the sky before Hurricane Earl came through a few weeks ago.

It was really neat, you can clearly see the bands from the storm as well as the contrail from an airplane that just went by, as my children are cleverly pointing out here.

When I point my camera and metered at the sky I can see the bands, but it was getting dark so when I point at the kids, the sky is blown out.

No storm bands, no contrails to be seen. Maybe your camera can handle it, but mine can’t.

So I decided to add the sky into the picture. Using the move tool, I moved the sky picture as another layer onto the picture of the kids. Then I changed the layer palette to “Multiply.” I then masked out the kids and left the sky.

And I get this. I rushed it so it’s really not a great job but if you do it carefully you can get a really cool effect.

Here’s another example.

Cool huh?

And another…

Please ignore my kids.

This one was very dark and underexposed.

So I lightened it but it really blew out the sky.

And voila! Instant sky! I know it could use more editing but I won’t today. I just wanted to illustrate this fun editing technique.

The purpose is not fool anyone with your photoshopped photo. It is to enhance your photography. That is all. It’s a tool and if used judiciously and carefully, I think it really makes documenting your life a thing of art and creativity.

See more useful and fun tips at Love That Shot!

1. Duplicate layer – blending mode soft light, reduce opacity
2. Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Brightness Contrast  – increased brightness
3. Masked out the boy
4. Still not quite right so I ran MCP Action – Magic Fill Light
5. And even after all of that, I ran TRA’s Pool Party – reduce opacity
6. Added a vignette. I used TRA’s Burn Out but there’s a plethora of them out there.

The boy said last week over dinner, “Mama, I have something to ask…”

I looked at him expectantly.

“Nah, forget it.”

“No, ask, go ahead.”

“No, forget it.”

The husband said, “Well now you really need to say it.”

The boy, “It’s weird to ask you dad.”

“Okay…”

I said, “Go ahead bud, really.”

“Ok, am I cute?”

We stared at him. I wasn’t trying to parse my answer, since he obviously is cute, I was trying to choose my words carefully.

I said, “Yes, you are very cute. Why do you ask?”

He said, “Girls are treating me differently.”

The husband said, “You are very handsome.”

The boy, “See, I told you it would be weird to ask you.”

Not weird at all.

I love this perfect moment where we settle into a routine. Both the boy and the girl have started school and for the moment at least, seem content in their classes and their teachers. After much suspense the girl has made the field hockey team – it’s a big deal and a big dent in our schedule. I have worked out a carpool with our wonderful neighbors so that will really help. I encouraged her to step back from riding. She can’t handle this fast-paced schedule and lets face it – I can’t either.

I won’t post the photo edit this morning. Rather, I will give you a link to a favorite black and white action, B’s Vanilla Black & White. I used it to edit this photo. It is a tinge warmer than a high-key type of black and white. I really love it. It is a free action and though there is a lot to be wary of on the internet, I downloaded this particular action with no problems (or bugs.) You can find it at atn central, a plethora of free actions – some are really great, some not so great, but it’s fun to look.

Update: This is my entry for iHeartfaces “Photojounalism” theme this week.

My perspective has changed since beginning my love affair with the art of photography. I now find myself looking things from every angle, trying to find the best one to tell the story. I look through my view finder only half the time, preferring to also have the joy of discovery if there is something wonderful captured from the hip.

Here I see things from the perspective of a baby in a rocker on the floor. What a wonderful and weird world it must be for them. I put the camera right over Little Ashlin’s head and snapped. This is what I think she sees.

And if you are wondering, that’s not a cigarette in Little Ashlin’s hand.

I’m going a little crazy today with the mosaics. I’ve found a great way to do them and I want to tell you how.

But first here’s another Las Vegas mosaic. As much fun as it was to wander around and look at beautiful hotels and eat good food, the reason we went was to attend a reunion of great fighter pilots and navigators. There were people we hadn’t seen in a long time and many that I’ve heard of over the years but just had the honor of meeting last week. It was sentimental and fun at the same time.

This one has more faces in it because this one will be entered into the iHeartfaces collage contest.

So here’s an easy and free way to do this…I learned it from Mary at Little Red House.

First you should get yourself a Flickr account. It’s free up to a certain number of photos. I have a free account and it’s a huge source of great photography and photography resources.

Then go to Mosaic Maker at Big Huge Labs. You can choose your layout, the number of columns and background colors. It’s a hoot, I’ve been there all night playing with it and watching Dancing with the Stars at the same time.

p.s. I like Pamela Anderson and I never thought I would. Moving on…

Once you have your layout and colors set, click on the blank thumbnails to upload your photos. After you hit the Create button on the bottom you can always go back and edit your mosaic if you aren’t happy with it. When you are done, click Save at the top and you can download the photo to your computer.

There you go! Easy! Thank you Mary!

There is also a free collage on Jodi’s site. I’ve used that a couple of times. All photos were edited with Jodi’s Bag of Tricks prior to putting the mosaic together. After the mosaic was together, I used the Pool Party action (my favorite) from TRA’s action set.

So happy mosaic making!

It rained yesterday…

The textures are from Shadow House Creations. I don’t know the man but he’s a genius. These textures were applied to a gorgeous photo and I ran outside to find a subject that would work with them. I think it works just fine.

Here’s the SOOC. I know…I know…I have to clean my sensor again.