Mt. Rushmore - Before/After

I usually do not like to process my photos this heavily but for some reason, I liked the effect I got with this photo.

Here is the SOOC (straight out of camera) version:

I used PS Elements 7.

- Opened the image in RAW and made corrections for exposure, contrast, vibrance and clarity.
- Applied two textures from ShadowHouse Creations:
     - "Ruffed up 7" in Hard Light mode at 75% opacity
     - "Tone Texture 4" in Linear Light mode at 100% opacity
     - Slightly masked out a little texture on the faces of the monument
- Slightly adjusted Saturation for the individual color channels
- Flattened, resized for Web, and converted to Jpeg

And here is a side-by-side comparison:

I Heart Bare Feet

This week at "i ♥ faces" the theme is "Bare Feet." Johnathan loves playing outside barefooted!

Be sure to check out all the other great photos of Bare Feet at the "i heart faces" website!

This week "i heart faces" is working in conjunction with Soles4Souls Charity Organization.

The Toys at Grandad's

    Johnathan had a great time playing with these "antique" toys at his great-grandparent's house in Oklahoma.
    I remember playing with these round, stackable building toys, but  I don't know what they are called.  Do any of you remember what they are called and, even better, where I could buy some?

I Heart Faces and Flowers

This week's theme at "i ♥ faces" is "Faces and Flowers."   I just had to enter this photo of Johnathan playing peek-a-boo in the flower garden.   I also ran CoffeeShop's "Butterscotch Vintage" and vignette action on it.

Be sure to check out all the other great photos of Faces and Flowers at the "i heart faces" website!

Progression of a Sneeze - PhotoStory

  I was able to capture the progression/evolution of one of Johnathan's sneezes the other day.  I love the satisfied look at the end!

Aaah -  Aaaaah . . .

CHOOO!!!

Whew!

Aaaah!

Fix-it-Friday #54

   This week's "Fix-it-Friday" photo was a fun one!

Here is the Original:

Here is what I did:

1.  Healed the scabs on his chin and cloned out the fence on the bottom right.
2.  Duplicated background and set to Screen Mode - Masked out the highlights
3.  Used Easy.Filter's SmartCurve for a Slight S-Curve Adjustment Layer to increase light and contrast
4.  Sharpened his eyes, hair, mouth, and tie
5.  Added Textures:
ShadowHouse's Latte - Soft Light @ 100% opacity
ShadowHouse's Poster1 - Multiply @ 90% opacity - Masked out select areas

6.  High Pass overlay on Eyes and Mouth.

Then I used my edited photo and:
7.  Added a High-Contrast B/W Gradient Map
8.  Added a warm grey layer in Color Mode

Then, for my final edit, I went for a higher contrast look.  I took this B/W photo and:
9.  Duplicated the Color background layer, moved it to the top in Color mode 100% opacity.

Which edit do you like best?









Go to the "i heart faces" to see more edits on this photo!

I Heart Mother's Day

   As you could expect, this week the theme at "i ♥ faces"  is "Celebrating Moms."  I am so proud of my wife; she is such a wonderful mother to our son!  Be sure to see my whole Mother's Day Post.   I took this photo of my wife and infant son in the hospital soon after his birth.

Be sure to check out all the other great photos celebrating mothers at the "i heart faces" website!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to My Wonderful Wife! Since our son, Johnathan, can't write yet, I had to write this post on his behalf!

What an "adventurous" time it was as we were expecting our son! We knew so many changes were about to take place, yet, we could never have imagined all the joy this new baby would bring to us. Throughout the pregnancy, Tracy's loving motherhood expressed itself in the way she cared for the baby she carried. Changing her lifestyle and diet were only a few of the things she did to protect her unborn baby.

Immediately after Johnathan's birth, Tracy cherished every moment she had to hold our new son!

What a Precious Baby God Brought into our lives!

No baby ever had a better, more loving mother than Johnathan does!

As he continues to grow, he knows that his mother will always take time for him.

And now, as she caries his sibling, Johnathan wants his mother to know that he loves her with all his heart and is so thankful that he has the best mother in the world!

Tracy, we love you so much! You are the best mother (and wife) in the world!

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

This week we went to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  Yes, that is the real name of this beautiful little town that sits right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean!  Yes, the water really was that blue; we were absolutely amazed by the rich blue colors of the ocean here!   Carmel Beach is an amazingly beautiful coastline just south of Pebble Beach and we would definitely love to go back when we have more time to enjoy it!