theme: innocent wonder
theme: shoes
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
puppeteers
whenever we have a couple-hours to kill, i go to the alex giant busy box
for a craft project for the kids. they LOVE it when i get the box down. they always try to look in and pick out the next project - but i do try to pick out something that they can both do (similar project) that won't involve any fighting over pieces nor that will make a mess and that we can do in the time frame that in know is available.
a couple of weeks ago, we got out a pile of tissue paper and made lots of balls. then we stuck those balls onto a ready-sticky piece of paper shaped like a parrot. no mess at all and the kids loved it.
today, they stuck stickers to paper bags while i made dinner and then i glued on the eyes and arms while they ate their dinner. kendal made a frog and holly made an elephant. they LOVED their puppets. i'm actually surprised they didn't ask to sleep with them tonight! :)
here they are showing off their new project. this was taken with my cellphone which is why it is such a crappy picture...
for a craft project for the kids. they LOVE it when i get the box down. they always try to look in and pick out the next project - but i do try to pick out something that they can both do (similar project) that won't involve any fighting over pieces nor that will make a mess and that we can do in the time frame that in know is available. a couple of weeks ago, we got out a pile of tissue paper and made lots of balls. then we stuck those balls onto a ready-sticky piece of paper shaped like a parrot. no mess at all and the kids loved it.
today, they stuck stickers to paper bags while i made dinner and then i glued on the eyes and arms while they ate their dinner. kendal made a frog and holly made an elephant. they LOVED their puppets. i'm actually surprised they didn't ask to sleep with them tonight! :)
here they are showing off their new project. this was taken with my cellphone which is why it is such a crappy picture...
paper mama challenge: friends
well, i told myself i was gonna stop using old pictures and start taking new ones (hence the point of a "challenge") but when i saw the topic of "friends" at papermama, i knew this one was perfect to submit. heck, i look at this picture all the time as it is printed and hangs right over our mantle!
this isn't the best picture in the world and it sure won't win any awards, but i love the way they look in it. kendal and holly act like this all the time, smooching and hugging all over each other... ever since she was born, he's loved her more than anything in this world.
so, anyway, to me this was the best picture for the topic of "friends" because my children are best friends. i hope they are best friends - forever. (a mom can dream, right?)
this isn't the best picture in the world and it sure won't win any awards, but i love the way they look in it. kendal and holly act like this all the time, smooching and hugging all over each other... ever since she was born, he's loved her more than anything in this world.
so, anyway, to me this was the best picture for the topic of "friends" because my children are best friends. i hope they are best friends - forever. (a mom can dream, right?)
black and white
i suppose this blog title could mean hundreds of things but what i'm talking about is one thing in in photography, rather processing, i feel i need the most work.
today, i was making valentines for kendal and holly (for their classes, for the family, etc.) and i realized that i have yet to print grammy christmas pictures as she requested almost a month ago. so, in efforts to "de-holiday" them, i decided to make them black and white.
problem. i hit a road block, big time. i love our christmas pictures, one of the things i love most about them is all the color and the way they were processed - IN color. i did not process them with the intent on converting them to B&W - and i did not save the raw files. so, i am left with the color images to desaturate somehow. i know that sounds simple, but it is not.
i have several "action" sets that do it in several different ways, plus photoshop has about 7 options for converting to black and white - and all of them are different.
so let me give you an example here of one i'm sorta stuck on. i think the rest turned out OK but the ones that were the hardest were the ones of just holly. and, that would be because she had on a "loud" dress. it isn't loud until you desaturate. i realize these differences are subtle, but they are huge to me.
[oh, and to give credit where it is due, i didn't take this picture. Rebecca Gilliam did during our "christmas trade portrait session" (where i took her family and she took mine). we did our own processing.]
here is the color version:
the first one here is my attempt - from scratch - to convert it. it is my least favorite of the four.
on this one, i used one of kelsey anderson's actions. it is a wonderful action but it did not do well on this picture.
this one is the pioneer women's black and white action converter. this one is usually my "fail safe" black and white converter.. but, in this case, holly's face appears overexposed still.
this one ends up being my favorite, if i can have one (the color version is still my favorite). i think her face doesn't appear to bright, and her dress is ok too. this is one of MCP's actions.
which one do you like the most?
today, i was making valentines for kendal and holly (for their classes, for the family, etc.) and i realized that i have yet to print grammy christmas pictures as she requested almost a month ago. so, in efforts to "de-holiday" them, i decided to make them black and white.
problem. i hit a road block, big time. i love our christmas pictures, one of the things i love most about them is all the color and the way they were processed - IN color. i did not process them with the intent on converting them to B&W - and i did not save the raw files. so, i am left with the color images to desaturate somehow. i know that sounds simple, but it is not.
i have several "action" sets that do it in several different ways, plus photoshop has about 7 options for converting to black and white - and all of them are different.
so let me give you an example here of one i'm sorta stuck on. i think the rest turned out OK but the ones that were the hardest were the ones of just holly. and, that would be because she had on a "loud" dress. it isn't loud until you desaturate. i realize these differences are subtle, but they are huge to me.
[oh, and to give credit where it is due, i didn't take this picture. Rebecca Gilliam did during our "christmas trade portrait session" (where i took her family and she took mine). we did our own processing.]
here is the color version:
the first one here is my attempt - from scratch - to convert it. it is my least favorite of the four.
on this one, i used one of kelsey anderson's actions. it is a wonderful action but it did not do well on this picture.
this one is the pioneer women's black and white action converter. this one is usually my "fail safe" black and white converter.. but, in this case, holly's face appears overexposed still.
this one ends up being my favorite, if i can have one (the color version is still my favorite). i think her face doesn't appear to bright, and her dress is ok too. this is one of MCP's actions.
which one do you like the most?
Fix it Friday - I heart faces
i'm a day late, but i'm still gonna do the i heart faces fix it friday.
here is how i "fixed" it (using PE9)
first, i used florabella sharpen defog, then i flattened.
next i cropped trying to get him in the "third".
then, i applied florabella sapphire action, but turned off the sapphire gradient and vignette layers because they gave a grey color to the edges. and, flattened again.
the sapphire action made his shoes really pop, so i saturated to 18 trying to really get his shoes to pop out a little more.
next, i used MCP's texture applicator to add kelsey anderson's texture # 37 on "multiply". and, well, that's it. nothing hard or complicated. the texture #38 also looked good but the 37 made the sky blue, which i liked.
what do you think?
first, i used florabella sharpen defog, then i flattened.
next i cropped trying to get him in the "third".
then, i applied florabella sapphire action, but turned off the sapphire gradient and vignette layers because they gave a grey color to the edges. and, flattened again.
the sapphire action made his shoes really pop, so i saturated to 18 trying to really get his shoes to pop out a little more.
next, i used MCP's texture applicator to add kelsey anderson's texture # 37 on "multiply". and, well, that's it. nothing hard or complicated. the texture #38 also looked good but the 37 made the sky blue, which i liked.
what do you think?
Friday, January 21, 2011
the mess
my kids can make a mess. most people aren't "privileged" enough to see my house like this (mainly because it isn't like this long) but saturday night when i was sick, nathaniel kept the kids quiet by letting them play play play. playing, in this case, meant tearing down everything (clearly).
often, we get them to help us clean up. i think on saturday, he did all the cleaning up (after they went to bed). either way, check out the kind of mess two kids can make in about an hour or two!
and, as he reminded me "i took these pictures!" so, photos courtesy of nathaniel, though i did process them (since he doesn't officially know how yet - not that it is THAT complicated.)
**notice how most of the lower level bookshelves are bare - that is where these toys usually live!**
**guess i should have gotten rid of those toys at the kids exchange! i can see exactly which toys they don't play with anymore!**
**even toys under the couch!**
often, we get them to help us clean up. i think on saturday, he did all the cleaning up (after they went to bed). either way, check out the kind of mess two kids can make in about an hour or two!
and, as he reminded me "i took these pictures!" so, photos courtesy of nathaniel, though i did process them (since he doesn't officially know how yet - not that it is THAT complicated.)
**guess i should have gotten rid of those toys at the kids exchange! i can see exactly which toys they don't play with anymore!**
Doctors Thornburg and Thornburg
Dr. Kendal looks quite stunning in the surgeon's outfit, don't you think? And don't be fooled by Holly's chef outfit (Dr. Chef Holly). Both kids know how to play doctor! (I really was sick that day - with a migraine!)
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