018|365: He sleeps

In art school, most of our photography work was black and white film.  Lately, I have been admiring the black and white portraits of a flickr friend and fabulous photographer.  I think black and white truly does capture more mood, more soul.  So, I'm hoping to capture my kids in black and white more often.  This is my son, Wolfie, and I loved how the morning light was coming in through the mini-blinds.  We sleep late so often around here, it's a light I don't often get to enjoy.

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Another attempt at levitation.  This is a combination of many shots.  At least 7 for the hair alone, which I, obviously, require a lot more studying.  The legs are one shot, and the feet are each a separate shot.  The cat is at least two, maybe three, and Drew's jumper outfit is 2 separate shots.  Of course, the background is a completely separate shot as well.  We took a series of picture with Drew sitting, and then several of her standing and leaning forward with kitty (who, by the way, is not at all interested in a modeling career either).  Added textures and filters and tah da!

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This is my take on EJ Bellocq - this was really fun!  Although I can't bring myself to do a full on nude, and don't know if I ever will; it's only because I've got 5 children (4 of them boys) and they would be, understandably, traumatized (to say the least) at the site of me in my birthday suit.  Otherwise, I am an artist who believes in the beauty of our nakedness and have enjoyed many a nude artwork. 

I don't mind my take on Bellocq's photo, but I would definitely like to try it again this time incorporating more of what I actually see in my mind of it (ie, different clothing and wall scribbles).  This was part of a 365 I was attempting this year but seemed to have abandoned.  I would still love to continue this project, but my schedule is very tight and I was putting a lot of pressure on content and quality, and then dissatisfied with the final product, because I didn't have the time to spend on it and produce a work I was proud of.  All this, and I have had to deal with several deaths this year.  Consequently, I went into a funk and taking pictures, as I may have said before, is obviously going to revolve around my mood swings.  Ugh!

013|365: l♥ve you

"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love."  (Goethe)

Another portrait of my daughter, Drew.  I needed a quick 365 shot and this was all I could come up with.  I like the dof (depth of field) on this, with focus on her hands.  She was a bit preoccupied with her toys and I interrupted her; she wasn't too thrilled with me.  This shot was actually day 13, and today is the 16th; so I've missed a few days now.  I've been in a sort of funk and my creativity is stumped right now.  I am hoping to put something together tomorrow.  I am also hoping that I haven't bit off more than I can handle with this 365; wondering if a 52 (weekly) project would have been more reasonable with my schedule.  For now, I will trudge forward with my best intentions for this project.

012|365: Stolen Crowns

Models and sisters, Candice and Samantha, showed up at my house ready and willing to do a photo shoot for my 012.  Donning their quinceanera dresses, I worked in yesterday's Harley Davidson boots and my cowboy hat for a bit of humor.  These girls are just so beautiful, I'm hoping you will be seeing many more shoots featuring them. 

Processing included burning out the background, obviously, as well as the carpet some.  I still need to work on my burning technique.  I stretched the dress out to look bigger and poofier, and also decreased the size of the HD boots as they were a little overwhelming in the original.

011|365: Puss on Boots

My knobby knees, the hub's HD boots (which I will likely try to confiscate because I love 'em so much now, haha), and ol' man Robin tops it off!  I arrived home after work yesterday and began picking up around the house.  I came across my hub's Harley Davidson biker boots pushed way back underneath a side table in the family room (go figure).  Curious about how they came to be stashed back there, though I really have no reason to be surprised, this is how the above pic occurred to me.  We've had Robin (the cat) since we bought the house eight years ago.  He's been coming across kind of achy the last year and with the cold weather blowing in now, he never misses the opportunity to scutter around us when we open the front door.  We brought him in for a bit last night and propped him up for a photo shoot.  Surprisingly, he did not fight it too much and, as you can see, got comfortable after a while. 

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My daughter, Drew.  Initially, I was taking the picture of the earring because I loved them so, and they belong to my son's (Aaron) sweetie pie, Candice.  But then, I saw the photo and now, I believe the picture is of my daughter as much as, or more than, the earring. Hmmmm...

009|365: Buffy

This is Buffy.  She was given as a birthday gift to my son, Aaron, by his mema while we lived with her.  When Aaron and I moved into our own place, Buffy stayed behind with mema because we felt she was so comfortable with mema's big yard (it was home for her) and our new home would not be nearly so accommodating.  Her namesake is Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", because Aaron had such a big crush on her at the time.  I'm always taken with her emotional expressions, she is so precious.  Today, camera in tow, I was so compelled to make her my 009.

Buffy is getting up in age now and it shows on her face.  I'm so glad I did this shoot, I could stare at her all day. ♥

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Again, this is a series of shots pieced together.  Several of just the closed door without the hands, and then many more with the hands in different positions.  I had to bribe my daughter with pizza to get her to do this for me (she is getting much too pricey for me).  Each hand is cut from two separate photos and then photoshopped into this one.  Obviously, the key was not in the picture, and, obviously, I am not too pleased with the way the key came out.  The angle I received it in was not accurate so I had to cut it apart, manipulate it, and put it back together again.  I found the picture of this skeleton key on DeviantArt, which is a great place for stock photos, but, remember, if you decide to utilize that website you must be certain you only use those photos that specify it is free for your use.  Finally, I added a couple of textures on top (my door is not really that dirty).

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So I wanted more practice on shoot and processing a levitation.  I'm not real happy with this final product, but I was running out of time to post (I believe I had only 15 minutes to spare).  Initially, I had completely different plans for todays shot, but it fell through, or rather, never showed it's face.  I wanted a white on white shot today, but couldn't find anything that excited me.  I had entertained the idea of the shot above, but in another perspective.  Ah well...

Drew's little body is pieced together with parts from each of the 5 following shots.

When piecing body parts together, it's important, of course, to match your skin tones, and this may take some adjusting of brightness, contrast, maybe using color filters, or using the adjustment for skin tones feature (again, I am using Photoshop Elements 7).  After getting them as closely matched as possible, use your eraser tool with the blurred circular brush and an opacity setting between 20-50%.  Erase the hard edge of each layer so that the skin blends together.

She wore this cute little top, but it's more of a shirt than a dress, so I extended the length to cover her bum a little better.

I first intended to surround her with bubbles from my own photography shots, but time fell short to get todays 365 uploaded; consequently, I used a layer of stars instead.  The star layer was set for a "lighten" layer and full opacity.  I moved some of the stars around using the cloning tool and adjusted the contrast.  Over the final product, I added another texture layer, found free on flickr.  And, voila!

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My model is my 12 year old son, Wolfgang a/k/a Wolfie, and as you can likely imagine, this was a very painful project for him, though I do believe I have gotten the thumbs-up on my finale.

This is a manipulation of 3 separate photographs.  Can you see each of them?  The first was the reflection in the mirror, a second photo was Wolfie looking away from the mirror, and the last was Wolfie's hand, in the mirror that is.  I didn't like the original hand in the reflection, so it was replaced with this one.  Once everything was combined and tweaked just so, I added 3 textures on top to darken the edges but still compliment the fogged mirror.  Speaking of fogged mirror, I ran the shower on full-blast hot for about 15-20 minutes to build up the steam.  A white sheet was hung on the wall opposite the mirror so I wouldn't get my (seriously) ridiculous flowered wallpaper in the reflection.  Using a spray bottle filled with (cold) water, we wet Wolfie's hair thoroughly (like I said, completely painful for him).  My tripod wasn't tall enough to get at the angle I desired, so I wasn't able to give him hands on instructions like I would have prefered.  Instead, we did a few practice runs in our second bathroom. Would liked to have put some dark make-up around his eyes for more drama, but that might have pushed my luck too far.

Hugs and kisses to my darling Wolfgang, xoxo - I love you!

005|365: Rise and Shine

So, I really didn't feel like searching out or putting together a photo today.  Consequently, I shot about ten takes of a roll of toilet paper with about 5 squares left, and then opted for the above.  A view from my perspective first thing each morning.  This is my bedside table, complete with various medications, a soda to down them with, my external hard drive, some dusty miscellaneous, and, last but not least, my happy Buddha.  I'd thought about shooting this on previous dates, but suppose I was inspired elsewhere instead.

365 Project

004|365: The Induction

A friend told me I should do some selfie's, though I'm not sure that this is what she had in mind.  I laid in the wet street, running back and forth between the spot and the camera.  Hiding behind my jeep from passerbys and curious neighbors; not well enough, as a woman and her male protector from down the way came to check on the crazy lady jumping around and then laying down to rest in the street.  I screamed when they found me hiding behind the jeep, but believe I may have frightened them even more!

I'm sure this was some sort of induction for me.

I finally titled the above "The Induction" because after writing and re-reading my above comment about it, I really felt it defined the piece for me (in more ways than one); and I went in to 004's photo without intentions of creating a piece with symbolisms or story.  Simply, I wanted to do my very first levitation shot. 

This shot was created with three different photos.  The first of myself laying on the (wet) road.  I don't like taking photos of myself, so I believe there was well over 50 of me lying in different positions (ugh!).  I took at least 10 of just the area without subjects with the expectation that I may need one.  This is when the nosy cats crept in, simply checking out the area where I kept laying, but I was not in that shot, they were just being curious.  The third shot was one of me in "floatation" mode or levitation.  Of course, I manipulated this layer (third photo).  I chose a "screen" effect in Photoshop (Photoshop Elements 7) and then adjusted the opacity so that I became a little more see-through.

I've included the three series shots below, so you can see what I was working with.

A few other minor adjustments to accomodate my cropping and - there you have it.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

003|365: Peace, Love, and Bunny ears

"Be careful what you pretend to be, because you are what you pretend to be" (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)

It was getting pretty late and I still had no idea of what I was going to shoot for this 365 project. 
My daughter, Drew, self-entertained by riding her brother's skateboard up and down the hallway.  She probably got in a good hour of play before taking a nasty spill, hince her colorful chin.  Breaking for a half hour to cry it off, she got back on her "horse", only now she was re-dressed head to toe this time in bright, happy pink and donning her bunny ears to boot!  She is such a darling, I had to memorialize the moment as my 003.  Always my unwitting muse, I did have to guilt her into letting me use her as my model (again), though you wouldn't know it from her bright grin (I love you baby girl!).

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Our newest family member, Max.  He's a hot mess and we are really getting a kick out of him.  I'm especially enjoying how trainable he appears to be, as we have, in the past, never been successful at potty training.  Go Max!

So this shot was actually taken with Max standing on a canvas which was thrown over a tall, skinny recycle bin, and a white door in the background.  As much as he was distracted with trying to find a way down, it's surprising I got this shot at all (and so thankful he didn't take a flying leap).  I finally got my "assistant", Drew, to help distract him with some wet puppy chow.  There is some texture layered over the canvas he is standing on, as well as the clouds added to the background.  I also added a couple of textures on top as well.  One of Max's ears has a pretty strong curl in it and that looked funny so I photoshopped it as well.  Finally, I applied my "Bright Eyes" technique (outlined in a previous post dated 11.07.2010).

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My daughter, Drew, makes bubbles with our liquid hand soap.  Keeping it stocked is a real chore, but I can't bring myself to spoil good clean fun for just a buck fifty.

Fun in the sun

So, I've got a secret.  Rather, I am a secret, a secret admirer of this photographer, Esther Hernandez, who is just so fabulously talented.  All of her work is stunning and I especially love her series entitled "Canteras Beach".  All of the images in this series are intentionally blurred causing a dreamy effect, and she frequently applies texture which creates a painterly edge. 

So, anyway, these images included in this post are my beach scenes from Rockport, Texas, and my homage to Esther.  Thank you Ms. Hernandez for your inspiration.
 

The photo above and below are of my beautiful daughter, Drew.
 

At the beach

I'm up late tonite, probably because I slept all day.  Watching my favorite show (It's Complicated) and working on some old shots.  I've also listed these on my etsy shop for purchase.

Bright Eyes (How to)

There are several ways to brighten the eyes in a photograph.  I'm going to show you how I do it, and I am currently working in Photoshop Elements 7.

First, of course, you'll open up the desired photo.  This processing works best if you choose a photo of someone with a good reflection of light in the eyes.

Enlarge the photo so that you can easily work with the eye areas.  Choosing the lasso tool, draw around the first eye.  Then, hold the Shift key down while you use the lasso tool to select the second eye (shown below).  Keep in mind that your selection does not have to be perfect.  Right click on the photo and you'll see a drop box appear; select the Feather option and set it anywhere between 5 and 9.

Now go to Enhance on the toolbar at the top of the screen; it drops down and after selecting Unsharp Mask you will see a pop up box appear.  For this shot I've set the Amount to 160, the Radius to 9.0, and the Threshold to 0, but your settings may vary a little depending on your photo and preference.

Select OK, and voila! 

Below is a before and after for your reference.

Well, I hope you find this tutorial useful.  As I said before there are several techniques for enhancing the eyes, so I may post other methods later as well.  Until then...enjoy.

Bree and the Great Pumpkin

Baby Bree came back to see me again for a holiday portrait.  She is just so delicious, I look forward to many more shoots with her.

I decided to include more before and after shots again.

We got in a mommy and me portrait as well (above).