Fix-It Friday

It’s that time again over at iheartfaces…and this week’s photo was a lot of fun to work with.  It screamed texture and allowed for cloning practice.

Here is the original:Here is my fix:  Using PSE 5.0, I did some basic fixes [lightened the photo just a little].  Then I cloned out the yellow & black signs and all other distractions.  Then a crop.  Here is the result of that.Then for some texture…I used two.  Once I had my textures the way I wanted them, I sent the photo for some text over at Picnik [to me it screamed for some Robert Frost].  And here is the final edit. Make sure you check out some of the other fixes over at iheartfaces….lots and lots of interpretations!

The Perfect Frame

Don’t you just love this!!!  Those eyes and those cheeks!  And the pose is so natural and one of my favorites!

Water Wednesday

Here are some photos from the Spring ISR lessons here in sunny South Florida.  These are from last Friday.  Hope you enjoy…I just love looking at all these tiny swimmers!

Smiles!

This week over at iheartfaces, the theme is smiles!  I had so many to choose from that were compositionally and technically better than this one…but the pureness of the smiles…the pureness of the joy…made me choose this one over the “better” ones!  I did a little editing to add to the photo…increased the flare that was already there and added a bit of blur to enhance the motion [while erasing it from their adorable smiling expressions]!  Hope you like it!

Make sure you check out the other entries over at iheartfaces…there sure are some precious smiles this week!

Newborns are so….YUMMY!

Who can resist beautiful, tiny newborns.  And I was lucky enough to get to photograph this little angel today.  There are so many great shots…so this is just a sneak peek.  More coming…

Isn’t she absolutely gorgeous!!!  And she was so good!!!  She tolerated me, my silly daisy hat and all the other stuff I brought with me.

Fix-It Friday

It’s Fix-It Friday over at iheartfaces. This week’s photo was submitted by Allie. She wrote that she’d like to “bring out her eyes more and brighten the colors just a bit.”

Here is the original:

Here is my fix:

The first thing I did was crop the image and slightly tilt.  Then, the snowflake blur bothered me, so I took it away.  Then, I applied “Perfect Portrait” from CoffeeShop and played with the adjustments until I got it the way I wanted it.  I think it definitely adds a color pop and emphasizes her eyes.

Make sure you head over to iheartfaces and check out the other fixes.  

Tree of Life

Water Wednesday

Due to traveling and catching up upon our return, I am a day late [will back date]…sorry for the delay. Here are the ISR swimming photos from last week. Shooting more tomorrow with even more new students! Can’t wait!

Just had to include this one…even though it’s not in the water…this is the kind of love and encouragement ISR kids getting during and after swimming! Love this one!!!

Hiatus

We are going out of town...and believe it or not...I don't have a laptop...and no internet where we are staying anyway...

So, I'll see you later next week...with lots of pics to share!

Water Wednesday

Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph ISR lessons again [which I will be doing once a week through the Spring Season]…but this time, I donned a mask and snorkel…and a swimsuit [the horror!]. The perspective below the surface of the water is totally different….for many reasons! Anyone that knows anything about ISR knows that the program is amazing! And those of us that are ISR parents know that some kids cry…some scream…some so much that we parents might develop some anxiety. But we also know, those that have experienced the entire cycle, that our children and babies are not scarred and LOVE the water! Look at these faces under water and tell me they don’t look peaceful…there is no fear in these faces!

Amazing…and these kids [ranging from infants to 4 yr. olds] have water survival skills. They learn to float and wait for rescue as babies, learn the swim float swim series as toddlers, and learn advanced swimming skills as they get older. My 2 yr. old can float, swim-float-swim, follow verbal and non-verbal cues and so much more…she wants to do things she isn’t technically ready for…such enthusiasm…and as an 8-month old infant [when we first started] she screamed…ear piercing…she pulled her hair…actually had a bald spot…threw a fit just about every single day. Only behaved this way at lessons…never while playing with Mommy or friends in the pool at home…she clearly wasn’t scared…she was expressing her independence and the fact that she only wanted to do it her way…she didn't want to work! Too bad little one…you learned and excelled and know how to save yourself in the water!!! Now, at 2, she can’t wait to get in the water at lessons each and every day!