Weekly Edit | Blends and Type

This temple picture was an absolute miracle.  I happened to finally figure out how to set my camera at the perfect moment when the light peeked through the clouds and I caught a nice HDR.  I then moved my pictures into photoshop and used the overlay blending mode to blend in a picture of river water that I had taken last week.  I masked around the temple to make it more visible.  At first, I had the mask clipped right around the temple, but opted to fade it into the edges, which gave it a crystalized look.  The text was created using a text mask with outer glow and a linear burn blending mode.

Rexburg Temple | 5.1.2011 6:35 pm | f/32 1/15 | Pentax K-x
Tripod. Automatic In-Camera HDR Programming.



River Water | 4.24.2011 6:00 pm | f/5.8 1/6000 | Pentax K-x
No Edits.  



Weekly Post | Color Study

For my color study this week, I was thinking about how much I love the color gray.  As an automotive junky, I love things that are all chromed out.  I decided to take my color study one step further and focus on things that are chrome.  It turned out to be a challenge, because I wanted to make sure I was photographing true chrome and not silver or stainless steel.  I wanted my pictures to have lots of light, so I utilized the automotive labs for some of the pictures, because I liked the look of the garage door in the background.

Line Wrenches | 5.1.2011 6:12 pm | f/5.6 1/640 | Pentax K-x
Cropped

Handles | 5.1.2011 6:16 pm | f/5.6 1/400 | Pentax K-x
No edits

Alternative Lighting | 5.1.2011 7:08 pm | f/5.6 1/15 | Pentax K-x
Cropped

Let The Good Times Roll | 5.2.2011 8:14 am | f/5.6 1/100 | Pentax K-x
Sharpened

Weekly Edit | Cut-outs

Sweet Treats | 3/13/2011 4:30 pm | Rigby, ID | f/7.1 1/13 | Pentax *ist DS
Vibrance +, curves -, saturation +

Rapunzels Tower | 3/13/2011 4:30 pm | Rigby, ID | f/5.6 1/50 | Pentax *ist DS

Vibrance +, curves -, saturation +

I have to admit that the biggest challenge in this assignment was selecting a picture. After that, the cutting out was pretty easy.  The cupcake picture was the least challenging.  Having a front-on perspective, and a partial cutout made it easier to make a believable image.  On the tower picture, I used a feature called smart edge, I think.  I thought it was helping me blend the edges, but now that I look at it a little closer, I'm not so sure.  Other than that, I used the basic marquee techniques.

The Groundwork | Past Photos

 

Ladies and Gentlecars,
This is some of my favorite work (so far...)

Thermal Dragonfly | 8.7.2010 6:30 pm | Thermal Flats, YNP | f/9 1/320 | Pentax *ist DS
Cropped.  No other edits performed.

This little dragonfly, although clearly dead and well... broken, is a mini miracle.  The same thermal water that makes the colors in this picture devastatingly rich will preserve him on the flats for a surprisingly long time.  I had to lay on my stomach on the boardwalk, with the camera out at arms length to get a direct bird's eye view.





Last Signs of Summer | 9.24.2010 6:00 pm | BYU-Idaho Gardens, Rexburg | f/8 1/320 | Pentax *ist DS

No edits made.

This picture was taken during a desperate attempt to capture a photo for an assignment in a class.  I was determined to end up with a floral macro, but unfortunately, most of the flowers were already gone.  This was mostly just a lucky shot, but I really liked how the composition turned out.

 


Over West Yellowstone | 10.15.2009 | West Yellowstone, MT | f/4 1/100| Fuji FinePix

Added slight bokeh at edges, saturation + and exposure -.

I was headed over this rise and I just couldn't believe my eyes.  The colors were incredible!  I only had a small point and shoot with me, but fortunately I was able to edit it up a bit.  I ended up hiking down this trail for a bit, and then crouching to get the right perspective.  If I could go back in time and re-do this shot, I would love to try it out with a nice DSLR and HDR.  This is one of my favorites.





Just Like You! | 6.11.2010 6:00 pm | Jessica's House | f/3.7 1/85 | Fuji Finepix

I adjusted the curves in this picture away from Kallen's face so that his face would be a more striking focal point. Vibrance +++, Saturation ---.

This was just a snapshot, but I loved many parts of the composition so much that I couldn't help playing with it a bit on and off.  It still has some work to be done, but I really like the mildly editorial feel that it has.




Reve Marshall | 1.22.2011 5:00 pm | El Paso, TX | f/5.6 1/125 | Pentax *ist DS

Curves -, saturation +, vibrance +, and exposure-/+.

This was a really marvelous opportunity that I had to take a few portraits of my brother's kids when I went to visit him in Texas.  This was my very first portrait session, so I'm rather proud of them

  


Lexi May | 1.22.2011 5:30 pm | El Paso, TX | f/5.6 1/60 | Pentax *ist DS

Curves -, saturation +, vibrance +, and exposure+.

Another great result from my photography adventure in Texas.  Lexi was very upset at us for making her fuss with all of this, so we got very few decent stills.  I finally gave up and alternated placing her a few feet from where I wanted to shoot, and capturing her trek back to her mother.

  


Tangled Taylor | 3.13.2011 4:30 pm | Jessica's House | f/5.6 1/50 | Pentax *ist DS
Curves -, saturation +, vibrance +.

It only took watching Tangled once for Taylor to become completely obsessed.  It made sense then, for her talented mother to make her a beautiful Rapunzel's Tower out of cake for her seventh birthday.  The second it came through the door, I knew that I needed to photograph it.  The natural light streaming in from the window made the editing process easy.

 

Morning Glory | 8.7.2010 4:30 pm | Morning Glory Pool, YNP | f/13 1/1000 | Pentax *ist DS
Exposure +

The sun streaming through the clouds caused my shutter to be open for too short a time, so this picture has had the exposure adjusted to make the landscape in the foreground more visible.