52/365 - Day 150

52/365 - Day 149

52/365 - Day 148

52/365 - Day 147

Anyone...any takers? I thought this sign was funny!

Tracy Joy Bags

They are cute cute cute! And Tracy & iHeartFaces are giving one away. Go check it out. I definitely want one! It's the perfect bag for a momma photographer!

52/365 - Day 146 (iHeartFaces - Silhouettes)

I have had a hard time getting a photo for this week's Silhouette Them over at iHeartFaces. There has been nothing but rain and clouds for the last 10 days (at least)...so my opportunities for a new outdoor photo have been limited. So, I have used an older photo...and unintended silhouette. But, I will be getting out and trying to purposely create a great silhouette photo in the near future! I have always been one to avoid this type of photo b/c I like to see the person (the face), but after seeing all of the gorgeous entries this week, I see the beauty and power in this type of photograph!

52/365 - Day 145

You could click the photo to see it larger...b/c her face is priceless...but for those of you who just won't do that...here's a close-up.

We were in West Palm to meet friends for dinner...quite a long way to drive for dinner, but it was worth it! No change of clothes for the ride home...so a diaper and a blanket made for one comfy and happy toddler!

52/365 - Day 144

52/365 - Day 143

Chubby Little Hands are so cute! I couldn't help but take this picture.

52/365 - Day 142 (Random Picture Challenge)

It's Saturday and time for the Random Picture Challenge. Here are the rules for this week's Random Picture Challenge over at 4 Little Men.

16th picture folder
28th picture

or

August 2008 {my 16th picture folder}
28th picture

Mine comes from the "OR" - August 2008 - 28th picture. This was a photo taken shortly after "A" turned 1. She was playing with Daddy on an ordinary night at home. It's amazing how much she has changed in such a short time. Look how bald she was! And, believe it or not...those are the same PJ's she is wearing tonight! Still a peanut!

52/365 - Day 141 (Fix It Friday)

It's Fix It Friday over at iHeartFaces. This week's little doll is called "Ponytail Princess." It's such a precious photo and there isn't much to change about it...but it gave me another chance to practice my PSE skills.

This is the original image. As you can see, she is a cutie patootie. No spots or blemishes to fix on the face. Most of my fixes revolved around lighting and cropping. The only thing that bothered me (and it was slight) is the dark distraction of the the furniture in the corner of the photo. So I tried to deal with that a little too.










Here is my first fix. All I did was play with the color curves and lighten the furniture a little...just to make it not so dark. The last thing I did was sharpen her eyes to make them pop a little.
Fixes 2 & 3: Used Fix 1 as the base and cropped two different ways.

Fixes 4 thru 6: Again, I used Fix 1 as the base. This time I played with light and contrast. For #6, I used picnik to add a vignette.

For Fixes 7 & 8: Using Fix 1 as the base, I wanted to add a texture/background. Since she is wearing white and I am sick of the sticky hot weather here, I decided snowflakes were perfect. For Fix 8, I used Picnik for the vignette.

52/365 - Day 140

52/365 - Day 139

Poinciana Beauty

52/365 - Day 138

52/365 - Day 137

iHeartFaces (Amateurs) - Week 19

This week's contest over at iHeartFaces is for submission into a Blurb book. I am entering in the Amateur's Category! Maybe someday I can call myself a professional.
And, I have to add: I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

That means permission is granted for this photo ONLY to Blurb and I ♥ Faces ONLY!

52/365 - Day 136

52/365 - Day 135

52/365 - Day 134

The Guest of Honor

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52/365 - Day 132

Here is another one from a First Holy Communion party that I had the opportunity to shoot this past weekend.

52/365 - Day 131

It's been a crazy week...so now I am playing catch up on the POTD! So enjoy a few rapid posts. I am on my way out of town for the weekend. Will post more when I get back.

52/365 - Day 130

A Boy and His Rock

52/365 - Day 129

This was taken yesterday at a friend's First Holy Communion party. She loves Ms. Christina. Not a technically great photo...I am still trying to figure out the whole perfectly crisp focus and depth of field think on the new lens. But I just love the sentiment.

52-365 - Day 128

It's Random Picture Challenge day over at 4 Little Men. I am combining the POTD with all these challenges now...I think it will be easier to keep up.

So this week's rules are:
.July 2004.

or

.7th folder closest year.

.22nd picture.

I went with the 7th Folder and 22nd picture. I just don't have digital files as far back as 2004. This photo was taken at my sister's wedding in 2007. This is the husband dancing with some of the bridal party girls.

52/365 - Day 127

I tried cloning and it was just too much...I didn't want to lose the hair. Then I tried blurring the background and that wasn't making me happy. So, I cropped more...still don't like the leg in the background, but it is less distracting. So, until I become a photoshop genius, this is the best I can do.

Constructive Feedback Friday

Instead of Fix-It Friday, this week is Constructive Feedback Friday. I am asking all the other people out there that I better than me on Photoshop Elements to give me some suggestions on how to make this photo better.

Here is a recent photo. I like the photo because of her smile. Here is my problems with it. First I don't like the background distraction (foot and leg). I tried crop on the photo and this is the best I could do to remove the other body parts. If there are other problems, I would appreciate being told and be given suggestions on how to fix those too.



EXIF Data - SOOC
f/5.6
1/500
ISO 400 (which I should have had set lower)
50mm
WB - Fluorescent (was set wrong & corrected the RAW image - gotta love RAW

52/365 - Day 126

52/365 - Day 125

Freebies

Yep, we all love them! And it is give-away time over at iHeartFaces again. This time they are giving away really cool PhotoShop Actions from MCP Actions. Make sure to check it out and enter yourself for a chance to win.

52-365- Day 124

52/365 - Day 123

Today's photo fulfills the "walking" theme for this week's photo hunt. Want to play too? Check it out here: PhotoHunt

The Freedom of Those First Steps

I love this picture. She started walking right before her first birthday, but it was so hard to catch it in a picture. I tried and tried. About a week later, I got this one. The look of "WOW - I am walking - total freedom!" on her face is priceless. She hasn't stopped since.

iHeartFaces - Week 17

It's time for this week's photography contest over at iHeartFaces. I was so excited about my Top 10 finish last week, that I couldn't wait to get started on this week. Thanks again to the Angie, Amy, and the judges for making this contest possible each week. I truly believe it is making me look at my photography much more closely.

This week's theme is "Hats." I am submitting my kid entry and my adult entry in on post this time. So here goes...


I just love this photo...it is one of my all time favorite photos. The toothless grin is absolutely priceless. Generally, especially at this age, she was such a serious baby...so capturing a huge smile was like winning a huge prize.



Here's another self-portrait. I really cheated one this one...I just had nothing of an adult wearing a hat. And I had no creative ideas to go out an shoot a new one. But I love this picture because it is me wearing my new Barry Manilow hat at a recent concert (and mind you I am wearing it with pride!).

52/365 - Day 122

Reflective Window at Boone Hall

52/365 - Day 121

I Am So Excited

I can't believe it...but my "Reflection" photo for the kids entry won 10th place this week. I am jumping up and down. I can't believe I made the Top Ten. My little Top Ten button should be added to my blog later this week so I can show off.

Anyway, here's a link to the entry photo & here's a link to the winning photos over at iHeartFaces.

Thanks to iHeartFaces (Amy & Angie) and the judges...I am honored!

52/365 - Day 120

This old building housed the Cotton Gin at Boone Hall in South Carolina.