Heather Combs Photography

P52:5 Simplicity

2012-02-09T09:46:00.003-05:00

As I sat this morning thinking about this week's Project 52 theme I realized I had totally forgotten to post last week's theme (I had posted it on Flickr but not here on my blog). Oops. Anyway, last week's theme was Simplicity.

For me its all about the simple things in life - like a nice hot cup of coffee... yum

P52:4 Imperfection

2012-01-30T10:11:00.002-05:00

A little late, as I have been very ill.

The theme for this week (in the My Four Hens Project 52 group) was Imperfection. Now I really struggled with this one. I mean "imperfection" can be so subjective. I didn't know if the subject was supposed to be imperfect, if the photo was supposed to be imperfect, etc.

Well I certainly don't think of my subject as imperfect, no way. He's perfect in every way. The photo is a bit imperfect. There's some noise, the clothing is bunched up towards his face, but all in all not too bad. He does have some lip bubbles - I think they're kind of cute.

Hopefully I'll do better with next week's theme.

P52:3 Inspiration

2012-01-22T15:26:00.000-05:00

This week's theme over in the My Four Hens Project 52 is Inspiration.

I find inspiration in the every day things. My kids, a field of weeds (yes weeds) drenched in the morning sun, on Flickr, definitely on Pinterest, the tree in my front yard, and so much more.

P52:2 Life

2012-01-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

Week 2 for my Project 52. I'm playing along with the My Four Hens Project 52 group and this week's theme was life. At first I wasn't sure how the heck I was going to portray what "life" meant to me. I took other photos - artsy ones, soft focus dreamy ones... and then this one. I just kept coming back to this one and the more I look at it the more I realize it IS my life.

A little bit messy, a little bit upside down, not always in focus but ALWAYS surrounded by those who mean the most to me. That's my life - perfectly imperfect.

I Heart Faces: Best Face Photo from 2011

2012-01-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

www.iheartfaces.com

It's time for the "Best Face Photo from 2011" over at I Heart Faces. The idea is to choose what you feel is your best face photo from the entire year. I have chosen a photo of my daughter. It was an impromptu shoot in an effort to get some updated photos (and play around with my camera of course). Without further adieu here it is...

Join in the fun and share your best face photo from 2011 and be sure to head over to I Heart Faces to see all the other gorgeous entries.

Project 52 (P52:1 Resolution)

2012-01-03T11:09:00.001-05:00

I've decided to do a Project 52 this year and have joined in the My Four Hens Project 52 group. Each week a theme will provided (which you can follow but do not have to). This week's theme is "Resolution". Very fitting for the beginning of a new year. I've decided that my resolution is to get my tennis shoes off the rack and on my feet... leading me out the door and into exercising. So far so good. Yesterday I completed week 1, day 1 of the Couch to 5k program.

So without further adieu here is my first P52 submission:

If you are interested in participating in the project head on over to the My Four Hens Project 52 group on Flickr and join in on the fun.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T09:04:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #124

2011-12-09T14:15:00.001-05:00

I haven't been participating in Fix-it Friday for quite some time but I decided to jump back into it this week.

The original photo was provided by Pamela Doughty.

Steps taken:

Coffeshop's Baby Powder action - slightly softened under eye area, brightened eyes, and sharpened eyes.

My Four Hens Golden Hours action - tweaked

Flattened

Duplicated background layer - set to soft light, 15% opacity

Navy exclusion layer, 10% opacity

Chocolate brown solid color layer set to overlay, 10% opacity

Cropped

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out the community forums for I Heart Faces to see more edits.

Happy Birthday!!!

2011-12-08T11:29:00.001-05:00

We just celebrated my youngest's birthday. He is now the big 3!!! We went low key with a family only party this year but he had just as good of a time. Here's a few of my favorites from the day.

And a bonus "then and now" dippy

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2011-11-28T10:44:00.001-05:00

It's about that time again... time for lights and trees and red and green!!! I love love love Christmas. This past weekend we went to the tree farm and cut down our tree. Yippee!!!

Actually we make our daughter cut it down. But don't feel bad for her, she actually likes cutting it down. Okay okay so we made her cut down like four trees but she enjoys it just the same.

Here's a bonus "ginger" pic - my youngest waiting ever so patiently in his wagon

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I am so looking forward to the coming holidays.

Sunglasses

2011-10-11T12:36:00.003-04:00

My lil' man does his own thing. He likes what he likes - doesn't matter if its upside down or right side up. Here he demonstrates the proper way to wear your shades.

FREE storyboard from The Coffeeshop Blog

Trying my hand at French bread

2011-10-07T21:19:00.000-04:00

I am a bread lover. I mean obsessed with, eat any kind, nom nom nom bread lover... I received a bread machine as a Christmas gift last year and have used it quite a number of times. I've made white bread, oatmeal bread, Amish bread, butter roll dough, hamburger roll dough, pizza dough, bread dough, and even strawberry jam. Yup, my machine does that too.

I'm always scouring the internet for new recipes to try. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to food and recipes. Today I came across one, from Steamy Kitchen, for homemade French bread, in fact its titled "Baking the Perfect Loaf of French Bread". The recipe itself is fairly simple and straightforward. Nothing too intimidating for a bread novice like myself. Easy, simple ingredients that I had on hand. I decided to go gung ho and do this one by the books - no mixing it all in the bread machine and letting it do all the work. I pulled out the big guns, my trusty ever faithful Kitchenaid stand mixer. I mixed and mixed and rested and kneaded and rested and shaped and rested and finally baked. The final result? Oh my goodness tasterific deliciousness!! Thin crunchy crusty outside and soft chewy moan inducing inside. Yummy.

This bread would be perfect for snacking, serving sliced with hot dips, sliced and topped with spreads or bruschetta, cubed and made into croutons, cubed and made into stuffing or bread pudding... in other words this bread would be great for ANYTHING. Seriously, its good stuff.

Now, I mentioned above that I'm a novice. As you can see my shaping skills need some practice, but hey for my first ever hand formed loaves I can't complain. It's a learning process and trust me the shape has no effect on the taste - thank goodness. Here's a pic of what they'll look like with someone who knows what they're doing:

Big difference huh?

photo from Steamy Kitchen

If you're into baking your own breads I definitely recommend this recipe. I think both beginner bakers and more advanced bakers would enjoy the end result and hey if you have or know of any good recipes link 'em in the comments.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Brianna

2011-09-19T15:34:00.000-04:00

I did a shoot with my daughter over the weekend. I'm just a hobbyist but I really wanted to try and make this feel like a real shoot. We stayed close to home but still managed to come up with three different locations (no outfit changes though). I tried to get enough different poses and enough images to make it feel like I could present a real gallery (he he, even if the gallery was only being presented to myself). Here are my favorites from the day and yeah she syled herself. The hat, the ripped tights, all her...

Some of the images got cropped a bit when I added them into the templates but you get the idea.

Now I just need to get my toddler son to stay still long enough to get some updated pictures of him. Let me know what you think about my first "real" shoot. Thanks!

So I've been totally absent for quite some time...

2011-09-15T10:25:00.000-04:00

I realize there has been a substantial lack of posts here. I don't really have any excuse other than lack of motivation and proper material to post. Let's see, since my last post we've gone on vacation (a week in Myrtle Beach that was absolutely wonderful), back to school, a visit to North Carolina, and just life in general. Lately I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed and like I'm at one of life's forks in the road... oh the age old question, "which way do I go, which way do I go"...

The following photo pretty much sums up my feelings as of late... I like to think of it as a "what do you want, what do I want, what did you say, I don't know, aww come on" kind of look...

As I said, we did have a wonderful beach vacation. I will work on editing the pics and posting some of my favorites. Hang in there with me. I always overcome and I'll get back into the swing of things.

Heather

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #105

2011-07-01T11:50:00.000-04:00

Every week I Heart Faces offers up a photo for some editing fun. It allows the members/followers to edit the same photo but in their own unique way. This week's photo was provided by Angie Arthur and the "project" is being hosted in IHF's community.

Original

My final edit

And as bit of added fun, I thought I would share a snapshot of the stages in between

Steps taken (in CS4)
My Four Hens Little Meadow and Woodsy actions from the Inspired action set
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action
Duplicated background layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity
Curves adjustment
Slight crop

Be sure to stop by IHF Community to see more edits. As always, thanks for stopping by.

-Heather

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #103

2011-06-17T13:17:00.001-04:00

It's Friday and we all know that means it's time for "Fix-it Friday" with I Heart Faces. This week's photo was provided by Susan Keller and is a photo of her own family (from 2008).

Original

My edit

And sharpened for the web (just in case)

I did so much to this photo and I didn't write it down as I went. Here's a brief synopsis - Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action, My Four Hens Red Velvet action, a few curves adjustments, solid color layers in dark charcoal grey and chocolaty brown (maybe even a navy exclusion layer in there somewhere), color balance adjustment layer, duplicated background (set to soft light), more curves and cropped. I'm sure there are a couple of steps I have forgotten.

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more edits.

I Heart Faces Challenge: Bright & Vivid

2011-06-13T11:09:00.000-04:00

I Heart Faces site

This week's challenge is "Bright & Vivid". Here's the description from the IHF site: Show off a photo that illustrates “Bright & Vivid” to you! This could be through the colors that are in your photo, the personality that is shining through or any other way you choose to show off the theme. I knew right away which photo I wanted to enter. It's a shot of my son in the ball pit at Port Discovery. Fun, fun fun.

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more bright and vivid entries.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #102

2011-06-10T14:13:00.000-04:00

Friday Friday Friday!!! Time for I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday assignment. This week's photo was provided by Angie Arthur. What a sweet baby girl!!

Original

My edit

I have to be honest and admit that I can't remember every step that I did. I went back and forth with this photo and edited it a few different ways. In the end, the one I included was my favorite one. Let's see if I can at least remember the basics.

Curves adjustment
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action, tweaked
Album Cafe Eyes that Pop action, tweaked
My Four Hens Amber action, tweaked
Radial Gradient layer, set to soft light, 60% opacity
Brown solid color layer, set to overlay or soft light (can't remember), reduced opacity
Curves adjustment, reduced opacity
Cropped

Let me know what you think and be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more great edits.

Tween 'Tude

2011-06-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

It's something all parents go through - that inevitable stage of "tween 'tude". Those couple of years when your tween age child swings from happy to mad right back to happy again. Case in point:

OK so maybe she doesn't look so much like a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in these specific pictures but I assure you, she has those moments. My impromptu shoot was quickly followed with "are you done"... See she can only tolerate so much.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #101

2011-06-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

I'm a couple of days late but better late than never!!! This week's photo was provided by Angie Arthur. It's a super cool "red riding hood" interpretation.

Original

My edit:

Steps taken:
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action, tweaked
My Four Hens Red Velvet action, tweaked (from the Fable collection)
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
Brown solid color layer, set to soft light, about 65% opacity
Cropped (I really wanted to leave that great tree in there)

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces Community to see more great edits.

I Heart Faces Challenge: Best Face Photo from May

2011-05-31T09:55:00.000-04:00

I Heart Faces

This week is a special "people's choice" challenge over at I Heart Faces. The participants get to vote on their favorite faces from May. Here's my entry:

Be sure to check out I Heart Faces for more great face photos.

Splashes, Sand, and Smiles

2011-05-23T11:28:00.000-04:00

We went to Ocean City for the weekend (for an annual Cruisin' Classics car show). No I didn't take a single picture of a car. I did; however, take the kids down to the beach. I figured they'd walk around and maybe get their toes wet. Within seconds they were in the water and soaked from the waist down. Here are my favorites from our impromptu beach session (there's quite a few)...

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #99

2011-05-20T11:34:00.001-04:00

It's Friday. Woot, woot. I haven't participated in the Fix-it Friday Challenges in the past few weeks but decided to give it a go today. This week's photo was provided by Andrea Riley.

Original

My edit

Curves adjustment

Gradient layer (radial)

Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action - tweaked

My Four Hens Amber action - tweaked

Duplicated background layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity

My Four Hens Pop My Backlight action - tweaked

Before and After

Bonus Black and White edit

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more awesome edits.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #98

2011-05-20T11:29:00.000-04:00

I totally missed last week's Fix-It Friday challenge but I'm going to post my edit anyway. The original photo was provided by Angie Arthur.

Original

My edit

Processed with Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action and My Four Hens Sun and Sand Facebook freebie set. Thanks for looking!

New blog / second blog?

2011-05-11T12:38:00.000-04:00

I recently purchased a new book, The Art of iPhoneography, and now I find myself wondering if I should start a second (sister) blog to this one.

I've been having fun playing around with various camera apps on my iPhone and have periodically shared some of the photos here. I kind of like the idea of having all the photos available for viewing in one place. I do have an Instagram folder on Flickr but it might be nice to also showcase them on a blog (devoted only to photos taken and processed with my iPhone).

What do you think? Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm open to ideas... Do you know of any cool blogs devoted to iPhoneography - or just camera phone images? I'd like to check them out.

above photo taken with iPhone, processed with Diptic app then Instagram app (Brannan filter)

Editing Example

2011-05-04T11:19:00.001-04:00

I haven't had much oppurtunity to get out and shoot anything. I've been a bit uninspired and lacking in the motivation department. There's so much going in the next several weeks so it doesn't look like I'll be slowing down anytime soon. I've decided to show the "power of editing". Now I'm not a pro and do not profess to be, I just want to show what kind of impact editing can have on a photo. I will admit, I use actions. They're a lifesaver as I am still learning the ins and outs of Photoshop. So, let's get on with the show...

SOOC - straight out of the camera

Basic Editing - Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action (tweaked to my liking). It's starting to look a little better. Here I focused on brightening things up a tad and sharpening the details (mostly the eyes)

Further editing - My Four Hens Facebook Freebie - Amber from the Sun and Sand set (tweaked to my liking). Looking even better. More brightening and color adjustments. I could have stopped here but it's a little cool (blue) and I wanted to brighten and warm things up a bit more

Final Edit - My Four Hens Facebook Freebie - Pop My Backlight from the Sun and Sand set (tweaked to my liking). Ah, now we're talking. Nice and bright and he's not looking so blue. I'm happy with this.

Before & After Diptych

I didn't break it down step by step but if that's something you'd like to see then I can also do that. I'm a huge huge fan of actions. They're so easy to use and great for editing beginners and those of us that have yet to learn the ins and outs of Photoshop.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

-Heather

National Zoo

2011-04-23T22:28:00.002-04:00

My husband and I attempted to take the kids to the National Zoo in DC this past Thursday. The weather was perfect and we had high hopes of a good time. Well... almost as soon as we got there things went downhill. It's kind of a long story that I really don't care to rehash - basically our stroller was stolen and it kind of ruined our whole visit. Since we were caught up in the stroller issue we didn't really get to enjoy ourselves. We were only able to see a few of the animals. Here's the best of what I was able to capture.

All in all, I guess it wasn't so bad. It was a beautiful day spent with family. You can't sweat the small stuff right?

Sprouting sprouting everywhere

2011-04-17T17:14:00.000-04:00

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #94

2011-04-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

Original photo provided by Amy Locurto. For some reason my photo won't load to the IHF Community page. Weird.

Original

my edit

before & after diptych

Steps taken in CS4
Curves adjustment
Radial gradient layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait 3 action, tweaked to me liking
Navy exclusion layer, reduced opacity
Duplicated background layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity
My 4 Hens Pretty Hazy action, tweaked to my liking
My 4 Hens Red Velvet action (from the Fable collection), tweaked to my liking
Curves adjustment
Slight crop

I am silly, oh so silly

2011-03-28T09:56:00.000-04:00

My son. He loves to be sans clothes (but with a diaper). He runs around the house clearly enjoying his nakedness. In these photos he's lounging in his wagon playing with his plastic sharks (his latest obession). It's never a dull moment around here.

I Heart Faces Challenge: Slice of Life

2011-03-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

I Heart Faces

This week's challenge is all about a "slice of life". A slice of life story is a category for a story that portrays a "cut-out" sequence of events in a character's life. It may or may not contain any plot progress and little character development and often has no exposition, conflict, or denouement with an open ending. It usually tries to depict the everyday life of ordinary people, sometimes but rarely, with fantasy or science fiction elements involved. Basically it means simple real life instances. A look into the natural everyday occurrences. Here's my entry:

"giving Daddy raspberries"

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more entries.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #92

2011-03-25T18:15:00.001-04:00

Fix-it Friday time. This week's adorable photo was provided by Angela Riley. Again this week IHF is hosting the Fix-it Friday in their free community instead of their blog. The community is free and has lots of stuff to see. Check it out!

Original photo

my edit

diptych

Steps taken (in CS4)
lots of curves adjustments
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait 3 action
I fixed the white line across the face but admittedly didn't try as hard on the white line across the back/body (fixing the face was a task in itself)
Color balance adjustment
Cropped

Be sure to check out the IHF community for more edits. Let me know what you think of mine.

Heather

My new camera bag

2011-03-24T10:51:00.000-04:00

The Kelly Moore b-hobo bag in Almost Black. My processing may have thrown the color off a bit. In real life its definitely black - a dusty black not a deep black. The lining is purple which just so happens to be my favorite color. It's a win win for me. I love it. It's functional but super stylish. I'm already eyeing up some other colors - wonder if I can convince the hubs that I need more than one camera bag... hmmm.

Finally...

2011-03-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

'Nuff said.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #91

2011-03-18T16:18:00.000-04:00

Friday, Friday, Friday. This week I Heart Faces is again hosting their Fix-it Friday in their online community instead of on their blog. This week's photos was provided by Dana Suggs.

Let's see if I can remember everything I did...

Black solid color layer set to soft light, reduced opacity

Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action, tweaked

Navy Blue exclusion layer

Duplicated Background layer, set to soft light

Color Balance adjustment layer

Curves adjustment

My Four Hens Pretty Hazy action, tweaked

Vanilla solid color layer set to color, reduced opactiy

Cropped

Be sure to check out the I Heart Faces (free) community for more edits.

Insta Insta Instagram

2011-03-17T09:26:00.002-04:00

Yup, I'm still happily obsessed with the Instagram app for my iPhone. I play with it all the time and have even downloaded other camera apps that I can use in conjunction with the Instagram app. I think I take at least one Instagram photo a day. Here's some of the latest.

I took this one on pool night. It's totally blurry but for some reason I love it

Bri actually took this one at the aquarium

mmm, Dr Pepper. I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper... you know the song

frosty tag - Buy one for $1 and you get a FREE Jr Frosty every time you show it at Wendy's (with another purchase). It's good til the end if the year.

sweet sweet nectar - this is what gets me going most mornings

and last but not least - St Patty's Day!!!

As you can see, these are not high quality images. They are pure fun. I'm not worried about sharpness, clarity, or whether I can frame and hang these images. It's just a way for me to incorporate photography into my every day life. Whenever, wherever. Point, shoot, choose a filter. It's a simple as that.

Here's a list of the photo apps I've been using:
Instagram - free
Retro Camera - free
Diptich - $1.99
Labelbox - free (this one lets you put different types of labels on the photo, like the ones in the St Patty's photo)

Oh by the way, my Instagram user name is feather314 (if you're interested in following). If you have any favorite photo apps let me know. I'd love to check them out. Or if you use any of the above apps put your user name in the comments and I'll check out your stream. :-)

(Photoshop) Actions

2011-03-14T10:51:00.001-04:00

I love using Photoshop actions on my photos. It's quick and easy and a little bit addictive. I don't always use them but there are some that I go back to time and time again.

There are so many places out there to find both free and paid actions. For free actions I totally love The Coffeeshop Blog. She probably has the largest selection of free actions, tutorials, and presets available.

For paid actions I'm partial to Paint the Moon and My Four Hens. They both offer fabulously gorgeous actions - and they do offer freebie / try me actions from time to time. They're typically available on their blogs and/or facebook pages.

I just purchased a new set of actions, the Fable set, from My Four Hens. I did a test run with them today. In stating a test run I mean I basically just ran each action on an unedited photo. Normally I would process the original photo and then run (and tweak) the actions. This time I just wanted to get a feel for what each one did. There is little to no tweaking - nothing other than resizing the image. So here's what we've got:

I can already tell that fox cub, fiddlesticks, virtue, red velvet, and possibly dove are going to be my favorites from this set. Obviously not all the actions will work on every photo but that's part of the fun of playing with actions. You get to try them out and see what works for you. Fun, fun fun...

And just in case anyone is wondering. No one asked me to blog about these actions. I purchased them for my own personal use.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #90

2011-03-11T13:59:00.000-05:00

It's Friday so that means its Fix-it Friday time. This week I Heart Faces is doing things a little differently and they are hosting Fix-it Friday in their free community instead of on their blog. I kind of like it this way as it allows you to see multiple edits in one place. This week's photo was provided by Michelle Johnson from Love That Shot.

original

my edit

Steps taken in CS4
Curves adjustment
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait Action - tweaked to my liking
Navy exclusion layer, reduced opacity
Duplicated background layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity
Color balance adjustment layer
Curves adjustment
Increased contrast
Slight crop

Let me know what you think and be sure to stop by I Heart Face's community to see more great edits.

Swim with the fishes...

2011-03-07T13:52:00.001-05:00

OK, so we're not really swimming with the fishes but we're about as close as we can get without some scuba gear. We recently purchased a membership to our local aquarium and I'd been itching to break in our new cards. So yesterday we packed up the kids and hauled ourselves downtown. It was a gray rainy day and we were kind of hoping that weather would have kept people away but nope, the crowds were there as usual. What is it about fish behind glass that makes people line up in droves?

We arrived just prior to 12:30 and got tickets to the 1:30 dolphin show. We thought, "sure we have enough time to mosey our way through some of the exhibits before the show". Nope. It was rather crowded and easily making our way through the exhibits was out of the question. Halfway into the main exhibit area we see that its time to head over to the dolphin show area. Ever try high-tailing it through an aquarium with a two year old in tow? Poor guy - as he was being dragged along his head was whipping back and forth from side to side desperate to take in as much as it could.

We arrive at the dolphin show and manage to get some pretty decent seats. Almost center stage and not too far up. Our daughter decides she wants to sit in the splash zone. More power to her, we sent her off on her way. I prefer to stay dry. Don't worry she's not the two year old and, we could see her from our seats. But speaking of the two year old. We thought he would enjoy the show. Nope. Tiredness and crankiness decide to set in just before the show starts. He's not interested, he doesn't want to watch the dolphins, and he just wants to go. You know, back to the "fishies". We make it through the show somehow and decide it's time for a break. Mmmm, this means lunch. Everyone seems better now.

We head back to our original starting point and go through the exhibits much slower this time. Allowing time to actually stop and look at them. It's amazing how much a difference a few hours can make. At 3:00 pm the crowds were considerably smaller. Much more navigable. There was no waiting, no jockeying for position, no trying to shove your kids to the front so they can at least have a chance of seeing anything. If you're going to visit the National Aquarium in Baltimore I highly recommend going at 3:00pm (if your schedule allows). And it seems like they feed the fish around this time too because there were scuba divers in a couple of the tanks. Pretty cool to see.

I tried my best to get some good photos. Between the darkness and distortion from the glass and water it was a difficult task. Here are what I consider the best from the day.

Well there it is, our trip to the aquarium in a nut shell. And guess what... since we have a membership now we get to do it all over again. Every day if we want to. For the next 15 months. Maybe I should have thought about that membership a little longer...

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #89

2011-03-04T13:00:00.001-05:00

It's Friday so that means its time for another Fix-it Friday with I Heart Faces. ~~Unfortunately their server is down and I'm not able to link this post to them but since I already edited the photo I'm going to go ahead and share.~~ Server is back up! Yay!!

*this is not my photo but was one provided by I Heart Faces specifically for Fix-it Friday*
original photo provided by Dana Suggs

Original

color edit - I really wanted to bring out the great colors in this photo

chocolatey black and white edit

Coffeeshop's Color Palette Template

2011-03-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already, you should check out Coffeeshop's new color bar color palette template. It's super easy and FUN. I can see so many ways to use this. Check out my first one.

Imagine the possibilities!! How much easier would this make choosing colors for your storyboards, cards, even home decor? Sweetness!! The absolute best part? It's free, like all of Rita's other fabulous goodies. Check it out.

More Instagram

2011-03-01T11:42:00.001-05:00

I posted in a previous post about how I had finally discovered the Instagram app for Iphones. I'm still loving it and find myself playing with it all the time. I take photos of just about anything to see how they turn out. I keep some, toss most. Just wanted to share some more recent Instagram photos.

birthday dinner at PF Changes (Beef a la Sichaun) - super yummy - used the Hefe filter

life is a highway - taken on the way home from said birthday dinner - used the Lord Kelvin filter

birthday self portrait (I think this one is my favorite Instagram photo so far) - used the Earlybird filter

If you have an Iphone and have downloaded the Instagram app, I'd love to see some of your pics. Put in a link in the comments.

Thanks,

Heather

I Heart Faces Challenge: Head, shoulders, knees, and toes...anything but a face

2011-02-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge at I Heart Faces is all about everything but the face. I had two photos I was considering but ultimately decided with this one: my little one taking a nap (which also gave me a chance to play with my 50mm 1.8 lens).

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more "non-face" photos. Best of luck to all who enter.

Instagram

2011-02-25T12:00:00.001-05:00

I have discovered a new favorite app. Yesterday I downloaded/installed the Instagram app on my iPhone. It's awesome!!! I'm taking pictures of everything just so I can play with it. Basically you take a photo with your iPhone (although I have a sneaking suspicion that many of the photos in the group were taken with regular cameras then sent to a phone and edited from there) then choose one of 14 filters. Easy peasy. I'm really trying to stick with photos that were taken from my phone but we'll see how that goes. Wanna know the best thing about the app? It's FREE!!!! Woot, woot. Here's a photo I snapped last night at the bar.

Pretty cool huh? I used the Kelvin filter.

If you have an iPhone, check out this app. It's fun!

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #88

2011-02-25T11:35:00.001-05:00

Fix-it Friday time!!! This week's gorgeous photo was provided by Angie Arthur. Such a wonderful photo of a beautiful girl.

Original

color edit

before and after

black and white edit

Steps take (in CS4):
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action (I use this on EVERYTHING)
Duplicated background layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity
My 4 Hens Strawberry Jam action
Cropped

Black and white edit includes all of the above with the addition of:
Black to white gradient layer
Black solid color layer, set to soft light, reduced opacity

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more great edits.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #87

2011-02-18T14:18:00.001-05:00

Friday = I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday Assignment This week's beautiful photo was provided by Andrea Riley. Original

color edit

black & white edit

Steps in CS4:
Radial gradient layer set to soft light
Curves adjustment
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action
Selected black areas and placed them on a layer of their own
Levels adjustment
Navy exclusion layer
Duplicated background set to soft light
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
Color balance adjustment
Warming filter layer
Opened a new project in PS, black fill color
Placed edited image on top of new project (this allowed me to add some space on the sides of the photo - so the arms weren't so close to the edge. And it also allowed me to move the image a little further down so is wasn't dead center), changed blacks to match the edited photo
Flattened

Black and white edit includes all of the above steps with the addition of:
Gradient layer (black to white)
Brown solid color layer set to soft light with reduced opacity

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know what you think of my edits and be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more awesome edits.

Heather

February Faces

2011-02-14T11:48:00.001-05:00

Well we're halfway through February and I don't have too much to show for it. It's been rather cold here and I just haven't had the time to really get out and go anywhere. Mostly I've just been taking photos of my kids. I'm really hoping that the weather will warm up soon so we can at least get outside and get some fresh air. We've been battling some sickness and I'm really starting to think its from being cooped up in this house for so long. The hubs says we need some plants - but I'm a plant killer so I'm not so sure that it would help much...

I'm anxiously awaiting some moolah (in the form of a tax refund) because I have my eye on some photography equipment. Nothing too fancy just some things to move me in the right direction. A flash, maybe another lens, stuff like that. Anything you can recommend for an amateur? I have a Rebel T2i (if that helps). I currently have the kit lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm) as well as a 50mm 1.8. I do this for fun - mostly taking photos of my own kids and other family. While I would LOVE some L lenses I don't think I need to invest that kind of money. If you could suggest some other lenses or equipment I would be happy to check them out.

On to the pictures:

she wanted purple hair so she got purple hair - I admit I will not be doing this at home next time, it was a nightmare. A trip to the hair dresser will be the way next time!

he was home sick - obviously not too sick to make this goofy face

nap time

giving Daddy some raspberries

fresh from the tub - love love love his mussed hair

nap time diptych - I couldn't resist

So as always, thanks for stopping by and be sure to let me know if you have any equipment suggestions for me.

Thanks,

Heather

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #86

2011-02-11T11:46:00.000-05:00

This week's super cute photo was provided by Rachel from Savor Photography. I love it!!! Original

Color edit

Black and White edit

Before and After

I admit I didn't realize the hat was really pink until I checked out the original photographer's blog. It's like a fuchsia/magenta/hot pink type color. Even though I wasn't able to get it back to its original pinky-ness I still like my end result.

Radial gradient layer - soft light

Curves adjustment

Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action - tweaked

Duplicated background layer - set to soft light, reduced opacity

My 4 Hens Pretty Hazy action - tweaked

Curves adjustment

Cropped

Black and white edit includes all of the above with the addition of:

Black to white gradient layer

Contrast adjustment

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more fun edits.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #85

2011-02-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

Yup, you guessed it. Time for Fix-it Friday. This week's photo was provided by Julie Rivera.

From the I Heart Faces website: "We have received many requests for more “difficult” photos to fix up so today we’ll be using a cute shot that Julie captured of her little gal the might have been a throwaway image except for that adorable face she loves so much! Julie wrote: The morning sun comes in through her sister’s bedroom window…through the pink curtains and splashing off the yellow walls. The result is some crazy skin coloring. And, to boot, the shot might be a bit out of focus".

Original:

my edit:

before & after:

Steps taken:
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
Color balance adjustment layer
Coffeeshop Perfect Portrait action
Color balance adjustment layer
Curves adjustment
Levels adjustment
Cropped

bonus black and white:

Steps taken:

all of the above with the addition of

Radial gradient layer, soft light, reduced opacity

Gradient black and white layer

Brown solid color layer set to overlay, 50% opacity

Hope you like my edit(s). Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more cool edits.

Thanks,

Heather

I Heart Faces: Best Face of January

2011-01-31T11:54:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge at I Heart Faces is all about the best face of January. It's a "people's choice" challenge which means WE (the participants) get to vote for and choose the winner!! I had a few favorite photos from January but was able to narrow it down to this one:

I love this one because it's my little boy showing some attitude. He and his big sister had been out playing in the snow and he kept taking his gloves off. His poor little hands were red and oh so cold. He kept coming to me and saying "hurt, hurt". I made him come inside to warm up a bit and, as you can tell by his sulking, he wasn't too happy about it. Kids - it's a never a dull moment with them around.

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more fabulous photos. Hey, you could even enter your own photo!!!

Random Recent Pics

2011-01-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

I struggled with a name for the post and I admit I took the easy way out with "random recent pics". These are just a few shots of my youngest. Some are from a recent snow day and one is just one I took while he was napping.

playing in the snow

this is his "sulking" face - I made him come inside to warm up

chillin' in the sunshine

napping (I love snapping pics while he's napping. He's so peaceful and angelic)

Want to win an awesome new camera bag?

2011-01-27T09:11:00.000-05:00

MCP is giving away two Kelly Moore bags!!! Sweetness. Stop by their blog to enter (and see other great stuff). Good Luck!

The Inner Harbor

2011-01-21T18:57:00.001-05:00

Today I had a chance to spend some one on one time with my "not so little" girl. Ah, they grow up so fast. I picked her up from school and we headed down to the Inner Harbor. It was a bit cold, ok it was really cold - at least to me. We just walked around, took some pics, and window shopped. There were only a handful of people out and about but that's to be expected due to the colder temperatures. The place is really hoppin' in the summer. They have street performers and everything. Well, at least they used to. Admittedly I haven't been down there during the summer in quite some time. I guess it's one of those things where you live so close to it that you kind of take it for granted. Kind of like NYC. I'm sure people who live there aren't hauling their cookies to the Statue of Liberty every weekend. Anyway, this is a photo blog so I guess we better get on to the photos.

Federal Hill - if you look really closely, just below the flag you can still see the Baltimore Ravens symbol that they painted in support of the team during their playoff run.

And a fun one - Captain Bri - she said she wasn't cold but I don't believe her.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

-Heather

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #83

2011-01-21T11:22:00.000-05:00

It's Friday so it's time for some Fix-it Friday fun. Every Friday (or nearly every Friday) I Heart Faces provides a photo for its followers to edit. This week's awesomely cool photo was provided by Angie Arthur. It's one of the shots from a recent senior session. Check out her blog to see more from the session. There are some super cool shots!

Original

my edit

before and after diptych

The deets (edited in CS4):
Curves adjustment to lighten
Color balance layer
Vibrance layer
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action
Duplicated background layer, set to soft light
My 4 Hens Pretty Hazy action
Coffeeshop's Simply Vintage action
Curves adjustment to increase contrast
Curves adjustment to lighten

I thought about cropping the photo but I really liked the curve of the trees. I felt like it lost a little something without out. Well, let me know what you think of my edit and be sure to stop by the I Heart Faces site for more.

-Heather

Escape

2011-01-20T15:27:00.000-05:00

If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain... just kidding! My keyboard and I need a little escape. Or at the very least my keyboard needs a bath!! Ewww!! Talk about dusty. You don't realize how bad it is until you get down in it. Guess I'll be finding some compressed air or Swiffer duster or something.

I've just been feeling down lately. Guess I've got the good ol' winter blues. Here's hoping to some brighter days.

This and That: photos, processing, actions, etc

2011-01-18T11:02:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share some photos that I took recently. Things are still busy for me but hey, that's the story of my life. I'm still using and loving my 50mm 1.8 lens but am already drooling over other lenses. I guess that's one of the things that comes along with being into photography.

I am a fan of both Paint the Moon and My Four Hens. Both have amazingly gorgeous actions and both are super generous - they offer FREE, that's right FREE, actions and/or templates to their followers on Facebook. Both also have a "freebies" section on their websites. It's a great way to try out their actions before buying.

I'm also a big fan of The Coffeeshop Blog. She offers free actions, templates, tutorials, presets, and more. I use her Perfect Portrait or Perfect Portrait 2 on nearly every photo. I definitely recommend checking out her website/blog.

Let's get on to the photos.

processed with Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait, Simply Vintage, and Web Rounded Corners actions

same photo but this time processed with Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait and Paint the Moon's Jubilee actions

processed with Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait and Paint the Moon's Jubilee actions

processed with Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait, My Four Hens Pretty Hazy, Paint the Moon's Jubilee, and Coffeeshop's Triptych actions

processed with Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait and Paint the Moon's Jubilee actions and Paint the Moon's before and after frame template

If you use actions, what are your favorites? I'd love to check them out. As always, thanks so much for stopping by. I have some ideas for some future posts - themes, freebies, craft ideas. We'll see what makes it into the blog.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #82

2011-01-14T11:24:00.001-05:00

It's Friday so that means its time for another one of I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday assignments. This week's beautiful photo was provided by Rachel Durik.

I really didn't have an issue with the composition of the photo so I worked on brightening it up a bit and bringing out those gorgeous eyes.

Original:

My edit:

Before and After Diptych:

Let's see if I can remember everything I did - Photoshop CS4:

Gradient layer, Radial, Soft Light, 60% opacity
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action - tweaked to my liking
Navy Exclusion layer, 15-20% opacity (can't remember exactly)
Duplicated background layer, soft light, 20% opacity
Warming Filter layer, 30% opacity
Curves adjustments
My Four Hens Pretty Hazy action - tweaked to my liking

I think that about sums it up. Let me know what you think of my edit and be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more awesome edits.

Thanks

-Heather

What a girl wants, what a girl needs

2011-01-12T14:17:00.001-05:00

I've been fighting the same cold/illness since November. I start to feel better then... bam, it's right back in full force. There are days that I just want to crawl back into bed and bury my head under the covers but I resist. Thank goodness for my Keurig - its so good to me :-)

I think I just may be hauling my cookies back to the dr again tomorrow. I think its time for some prescription intervention.

I Heart Faces Challenge: Smile

2011-01-10T11:52:00.000-05:00

It's I Heart Faces 2nd birthday and in celebration they are having a smile themed challenge this week. The rules are simple: one photo per entry/post, there must be a face in your photo, and your post must have an "I Heart Faces" button.

I was going through my photos trying to decide which photo to enter and ultimately decided on this one of my niece:

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more smile photos. Good luck to all who enter!

Bread (and a recipe)

2011-01-09T15:34:00.001-05:00

One of the many awesome gifts I received for Christmas was a bread maker. I've been working my way through the recipe book that came with the machine and each loaf seems better than the one before. We've tried traditional white, country white, apple walnut, and oatmeal so far. Of those I think oatmeal was my favorite. While all of these recipes have been good, my family and I were still longing for something similar to the bread that we purchased at a local Amish Market - soft white bread with just a touch of sweetness.

Well... I searched the internet yesterday and found a super simple recipe. We made it this morning and I must say this is my FAVORITE recipe so far. It's the perfect texture, softness, and balance of flavor and sweetness. There are only 6 ingredients but the results are ahhh-mazing. It's almost a match to the Amish bread we love so much.

Amish bread (recipe for bread makers) - 1.5 lb loaf
18 tablespoons (equal to 1 cup and 2 tbsp) of warm water
1/4 cup canola oil
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dry active yeast

Put the ingredients into the bread maker in the order that the manufacturer recommends (mine is liquids first then dry - except for the yeast). I add the liquid, then all the dry (save the yeast), then make a small well in the dry ingredients. It's in this little well that I place the dry active yeast.

I set my machine to the "basic" bread setting, 1.5 lb loaf size, and light crust. Your machine may vary but should have similar settings. Press start - the machine does the rest of the work. In just over 3 hours we had super yummy fresh homemade bread. Awesome! We will definitely be making this recipe again (and again).

FYI - I have an Oster bread maker.

Let me know if you try this recipe out and what your thoughts are. I'm off to enjoy some more fresh bread.

-Heather

Splish Splash, I was taking a bath

2011-01-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

It was my husband's turn at bath time the other night and as usual, when you leave a man and a toddler alone, silliness ensues:

(this is the cropped version. I have a more "full length" version that I like better but I think this one is better for sharing)

Iffles Monthly Themes: Best of Trees

2011-01-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

Last Year, iffles.com had a monthly themed competition. I'm sure some of you may have seen my posts here and there about it. November's theme was "Trees". I submitted a photo of my nephew, from a day we spent at the park, and it was chosen as one of the month's best!!! Awesome, sweetness, happy dance!

This is the third (or possibly fourth) time one of my photos has been chosen as "one of the best of the month". I am just as excited this time as the other times. Really, I love to see that people enjoy my photos. So without further delay here is the photo:

this is quite possibly one of my favorite photos ever!!!

See this photo (and more fun park photos) in the original post. Please also be sure to check out both iffles.com and her Flickr group. Themes for 2011 have been posted. January's is lines - so jump right in and have some fun.

Square Valentine: free template

2011-01-06T08:34:00.000-05:00

Good morning all,

This is the last free template in the Valentine's Day series. It's a little fancier than the others but still simple and easy to use.

Details:
Created in CS4
Front and Back
5x5 WHCC specs
Customizable layers
Easy photo insertion

front

back

Click here to download.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of free templates. Maybe you were able to find something you can use. It's always nice to get a freebie every once in a while. Have a great day!

-Heather

"Love" Valentine - free template

2011-01-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Here is the third in a series of free Valentine templates that I am offering. It's not super fancy but it's easy and simple, and hey its FREE!!

Details:
Created in CS4
5x7 WHCC specs
Front and Back
Customizable layers
Easy photo insertion

front

back

Click here to download.

There will be one more free Valentine's Day template in the next couple of days. Check back for it.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

My Blue Valentine - free template

2011-01-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

Had some more spare time to work on another template, so here we go...

Details:
Created in CS4
5x7 (WHCC specs)
Customizable layers
Font - Minya Nouvelle (available at Dafont.com - click here)
Front and Back
Easy photo insertion

front

back

Click here to download.

Enjoy!

Free Valentine Template

2011-01-02T16:42:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. We just got through Christmas... but I had some spare time and wanted to start working on some Valentine's templates. I'm hoping to design a couple more but here is the first one.

Details:
Sized 4 x 5.5 (WHCC specs)
Created in CS4
Customizable layers (including text and background)
Clipping mask for easy photo insertion

Front

Back

Click here to download.

Enjoy, and check back for more designs.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T21:22:00.000-05:00

My own personal Frosty...

2010-12-31T12:24:00.002-05:00

Well we were hoping for a white Christmas and we didn't get it. It flurried but nothing stuck. Since we couldn't make our own snowman I had to move on to the next best thing.

Here's a cute little guy from one of my Hallmark snowmen series.

Really I'm just trying to play around with my new 50mm lens and the snowman gave me an excuse :-)

Maybe we'll get some real snow in the coming months...

Oh December...

2010-12-30T15:18:00.001-05:00

My how you flew by and got away from me. I'm totally disappointed in the fact that I didn't post ANY holiday photos. Things just didn't work out for me I guess. Oh well, life goes on. I'm at least thankful for the time I was able to spend with my family and I really enjoyed the kids get caught up in the wonder of Christmas.

Santa was kind to me this year and I got lots of new toys. It's hard to say which is my favorite because I like them all so much. They're all different so I think they can co-exist together and take turns ;-)

One of my new toys is a 50mm 1.8 lens. I am super stoked to have this and have already been playing with it. Here are two of my recent favorites:

(its a little tightly cropped but this is definitely one of my fave photos of my man)

(these are my son's little piggies - captured during nap time)

Thanks to all those who are still hanging in there and following my blog. You are appreciated.

-Heather

First Snow

2010-12-11T23:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had the first snow of the season. It was actually just a short flurry but it was still pretty. Almost immediately after I noticed the falling flakes I grabbed my camera and rushed outside. I captured quite a few shots but these two are my favorite:

I hope we get more snow in the next couple of months - perhaps not as much snow as we had last year but definitely more than just a flurry.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #80

2010-12-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

You guessed it, time for Fix-ix Friday. This week's photo was provided by Jessica Paige. I love the whole frame within a frame thing.

Original

My edit

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more fun edits. Click here or on the button at the top of the link.

-Heather

December

2010-12-08T11:25:00.000-05:00

We're 8 days into December and I just now realized that I haven't picked a theme for this month. I told y'all I was going to be busy these next few weeks! Let's see I've already taken some photos for a friend, designed my sister in law's baby announcement, finished a class for work, ordered my holiday cards, and celebrated my son's 2nd birthday and there's still more to do. Eh, it all goes hand and hand with this time of year. I actually love the holiday season and I am so excited about Christmas. Yeah, the gifts are nice but I really just enjoy spending the time with family and seeing the happy faces of my children. The food is pretty good too...

So with the business of the season and the easy accessibility I am taking the easy way out and declaring December's theme as "the Holidays". This means anything that has to do with the holiday season - decorations, lights, food, gifts, etc. I will post photos as soon as possible. There's some minor construction going on in our house and sadly we have not had the chance to decorate yet. I've told the hubs that he needs to be done with his project by this weekend.

While we are on the topic of the holiday season I thought I would like to share this: Isabelle LaFrance's 12 Days of Christmas. Each day Isabelle is offering wonderful freebies. There's overlays/textures, a card template, papers, a bookmark template, LR presets, and still more to come. You can still access the freebies from days 1 through 7. Be sure to check out her blog.

As always, thanks for stopping by keep checking back.

-Heather

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #79

2010-12-03T20:16:00.000-05:00

It's Friday so we all know what that means... I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday. This week's super cute photo was provided by Dana Suggs.

Original

Edit #1

Cropped

Edit #2

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out I Heart Faces for more fun edits.

-Heather

A Very Merry Christmas: Week 1

2010-11-30T11:08:00.000-05:00

Sereina Charise is doing something totally fun this holiday season. She's having a link up with a different holiday theme each week. This is the first week and the current theme is "Christmas Decor". I'm going to go a little outside the box here and post this:

Why did I choose a brand spanking new tree with no decorations? Well... the tree is THE foundation for Christmas decor isn't it? At least I think so. This is my hubs carrying our tree of choice at the tree farm. It will be up soon and I will post more pics once it actually has decorations on it.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the decor photos as well as those in the upcoming weeks/themes. Be sure to check out Sereina's blog for more!

-Heather

November: Fall (5) & an apology of sorts

2010-11-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

First the November photo. This was taken at a local Christmas tree farm (with my awesome new Canon T2i):

Second - the message/apology:

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog. I've been ill for the past several weeks and this time of year is busy for everyone. My monthly themed project hasn't been going quite as well as I would have hoped. I don't know if I'm not choosing the right themes or if I'm just too busy right now. I guess that's part of trying a photography project - seeing what works and what doesn't.

I have several more plans in the upcoming weeks - between birthday parties, the holidays, classes for work, and just normal parenting and life - I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post. Things will surely slow down and return to a normal pace for me after the holidays. I guess my point is this - I realize my blog is fairly new and not always exciting but I do appreciate every follower I have. Hang in there, I promise there is more to come. I'm still going to post here and there as time allows but after December I'm really hoping to get back into the swing of things. I want to post more, offer more freebies, etc.

Thanks for sticking around and here's looking to a bright future.

-Heather

November: Fall (4)

2010-11-23T12:12:00.000-05:00

Time for those long promised "park pictures"... We had taken the kids to the park in an attempt to get photos for some holiday projects. While they're not necessarily "fallish" they were taken in November so I'm going to include them in this month's theme.

Here are my favorites from the day.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed these pics of my kids and niece and nephews. I will be trying to capture some Thanksgiving moments this week :-)

-Heather

November: Fall (3)

2010-11-21T13:45:00.000-05:00

This was taken earlier this month but it still falls within November.

"fragile"

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #78

2010-11-19T16:55:00.001-05:00

It's Friday!!!!! Time for another one of I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday assignments. This week's photo was provided by Susan Keller.

Original

My edit

side by side (or top to bottom)

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out I Heart Faces for more fab edits. Click here or on the button at the top of the post.

-Heather

November: Fall (2)

2010-11-15T08:23:00.000-05:00

Time for another photo from November's Fall theme. I've been terribly ill and haven't been able to get out too much. I still have some photos from a trip to the park that I need to finish editing and will post soon. In the meantime here's some leaves for ya...

Thanks for stopping by. I'll get those park pics up as soon as possible.

-Heather

I Heart Faces Challenge: Orange

2010-11-09T14:09:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge/contest at I Heart Faces is all about "Orange". I've decided to submit a photo of my nephew. I was attempting to get photos of all the grand kids so that I could work on some Christmas gifts. Let's just say this little one wasn't always a happy camper. Still I couldn't resist his little face!

And since this was taken this past weekend I'm counting it as one of my November Fall pics. :-)

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more orangey fun! Click on the button at the top of the post.

Stoked!

2010-11-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

My shoe photo was selected as one of iffles.com "best of monthly themes". Awesome!!! This is the second time one of my photos has been chosen as a monthly favorite. I'm so happy! I would just like to say thank you to iffles for choosing one of my photos - again.

Please check out her website here for great tips, processing tutorials, and other fab photos.

Here is the photo that was chosen as one of the "best of shoes"

And for those that are curious here's the photo that was chosen as one of the "best of mono(tone)"

November's theme is trees (perfect for fall) so stop by the iffles.com monthly theme group on Flickr and join in the fun!

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #77

2010-11-06T20:11:00.000-04:00

Time for a new Fix-it Friday from I Heart Faces. I wasn't able to participate in the past couple of weeks because I was busy with work. I'm glad to be back in the mix this week.

This week's super cute photo was provided by Michelle Johnson.

Original

My edit

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces to see more awesome edits. Click here or on the button at the top of the post.

-Heather

November: Fall (1)

2010-11-06T19:36:00.000-04:00

Here's the first post for November's theme of Fall.

More to come...working on some editing. As always, thanks for stopping by.

-Heather

Fall

2010-11-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

As you know I have been attempting a monthly themed photo project. October fell a little flat but its a new month and a new theme. I have decided November's theme is going to be fall. I figure it will give me the chance to capture changing leaves, rich autumnal colors, even a holiday. And since this month will be all about Fall what better way to start off than with I Heart Faces "My Story: Fall" theme this week. For now we'll take a look back at one of my favorite Fall photos from the past (and move on to ones from this year in my subsequent posts).

This is not a great photo technically speaking, its not crisp and sharp, and its not "textbook" but its real. Its my kids and my niece and nephew enjoying a cousins play date in November of last year. Its pure kid fun and the silliness that ensues when you get a group of kids together. It was just a wonderful day and a cute moment to capture.

and since we all know how kids are... just like that the moment was gone:

I'm really looking forward to Fall this year and of course the holiday season. There's a new nephew to add to the mix and I can't wait to see them all together playing and acting silly. Check back throughout the month to see more Fall photos.

And don't forget to stop by I Heart Faces for more Fall fun!! Click here or on the button below:

Thanks and have a great day!

Heather

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-29T19:45:00.000-04:00

and... a little fun with Picnik

October: Open, 2nd post

2010-10-25T18:44:00.000-04:00

So I've been totally busy and totally MIA. I wasn't even able to participate in this weeks Fix-it Friday with I Heart Faces. Oh well, such is life. I was able to get out today and snap a few pics. Since October's theme is "Open" these qualify...

"berries"

"seen better days"

"curled leaf"

"got paint"

"rear view reflection"

As always, thanks for stopping by. Hang in there... I'm hoping to be able to have more time in the next few weeks. More time means more pics!! Woot, woot!!

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #74

2010-10-15T11:53:00.000-04:00

It's Friday!!! That means the weekend is upon us and its time for Fix-it Friday. This week's photo was provided by Dana Suggs.

Original

Edit

Curves adjustment
Gradient layer (radial) set to soft light - 60% opacity
Coffeeshop's new Perfect Portrait 2 action
Navy exclusion layer
Duplicated background layer set to soft light - 20% opacity
Curves adjustment
Isabelle LaFrance's Warm Autumn Spicy October action - tweaked to my liking
Slight crop
Vintage frame by Sugar Lime
**I'm pretty sure that was it... there may have been an additional curves adjustment in there somewhere...

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out I Heart Faces for more awesome edits. Click here or on the button at the top of the post.

Signs of Fall

2010-10-14T11:59:00.000-04:00

Crisp air, chilly nights, changing leaves... must be FALL!!

New name, same blog

2010-10-12T19:42:00.000-04:00

Howdy all! As you may have already seen, I’ve updated my blog a little bit. I’ve been working on some self branding and other various projects and decided that my blog should reflect the same name/theme. You’ll still find the same kinds of topics, photos, freebies, etc. I’ll still be participating in all the various assignments, challenges, and more. Keep stopping by to check out any new posts. Here's my new logo:

As always, thanks for stopping by.
Heather

I Heart Faces: Constructive Feedback Friday

2010-10-08T13:11:00.004-04:00

This week I Heart Faces is doing something a little different. Instead of the standard “Fix-it Friday” assignment they’re doing “Constructive Feedback Friday”. That means instead of fixing a photo provided by IHF we’re supposed to offer up a photo that we’ve been having trouble editing. Kind of cool if you ask me. Everyone has their own way of editing and someone else might see something that you just can’t “see”. I’m offering up a photo of my niece from her birthday party – it has all the “trappings” of an indoor photo – bad fluorescent lighting, color casting, etc. I’ve tried editing and re-editing and just can’t seem to get it right. Either the skin tone ends up off, or the other colors end up off…

Here’s some exif data about the photo:

taken with a Sony DSC-H50
Exposure: 1/80
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal length: 23.4mm
ISO 400

**forgot to mention that I use Photoshop CS4

download photo here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hlcombs314/5062295537/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I’d love to see what you fellow IHF followers can come up with. Be sure to stop by IHF for more photos and to see what other people need help with. You just might have the result someone is looking for. Click here or on the button at the top of the post.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

-Heather

Before & After

2010-10-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

I haven't been able to get out this week to get any new photos so I thought I would share a sampling of "before & after" shots. Most of these are of my own kids. There is one of my nephew and a couple of random shots. I think its cool to see SOOC pictures then what they look like post processing. Now I don't necessarily think that processing can make a bad photo a good photo but I do think the right processing can bring out the best in a photo or add interestingness (he he a Flickr word). Here we go...

If you have questions about any of the processing let me know. I'll try to remember all the steps or whatever was done. A couple of the photos were from some time ago. If anyone has a similar post include a link in the comments section. I'd love to take a look.

Sites I've been loving / Sites I frequent

2010-10-06T14:07:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would share some of the sites that I frequent. Each offers their own unique resources but as a whole they are undoubtedly helpful. Many offer free products!!!

And here are a few more that didn't have buttons:

Dafont - for free downloadable fonts

Sarah Gourdie Designs - for beautiful templates

My Photoshop Brushes - for patterns, brushes, etc

brusheezy - for patterns, brushes, etc

My Four Hens Photography - for beautiful Photoshop actions

Amy Rose King Photography - just love her work/images

Pixels and Ice Cream - for brushes, patterns, etc

Etsy shops:

Tracy Ann Digital Art - awesome papers and other elements

Prettiful Designs - papers, templates, clip art, etc

If you have any favorite sites please share them. I'd love to visit.

October: Open, week 1

2010-10-03T15:28:00.001-04:00

So here we are on the first Sunday of October and I'm still undecided as to what my theme will be this month. For now I'm just going with "Open" - meaning anything goes. If I can pinpoint something more specific in the coming week then I may change it, we'll see. If you've been reading my other posts you know that I've been busy with well life I guess. I've been taking some classes for work - passed them all so far, phew! I have two more classes before I'm done (one in October and the last in December). I have alot of other things going on in addition to the classes - travel, personal stuff, and holidays of course. I can't believe it's already that time of year! I was at the mall yesterday and saw Christmas stuff one aisle over from the Halloween stuff (it was the same story at Target last week). Why do they want to rush us all the time? I like to enjoy one holiday at a time. I have enough going on in my life that I don't need constant reminders of how quickly its all rushing by me. Anyway, I digress... back to the task at hand.

Our daughter was on a day trip with her grandparents yesterday so my husband and I took our youngest to the playground. The weather was beautiful and the kids were running around everywhere. Whats cool about this playground is that its right in the flight path of the planes. You get a somewhat up close and personal view of the planes as they come in for landing - way cool, especially to toddlers.

Here are my favorites from the day:

Here are some "seconds" - nice but not perfect:

Thanks for stopping by - hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Heather

September: Around Town, week 5

2010-10-01T17:57:00.000-04:00

This is the last post for September's theme "Around Town". October has already started and I haven't even thought about a theme yet. Oops... anyway here are pics from this past week:

crane @ the BMI

boats

more boats

roof of the pavilion at the BMI

come sail away, come sail away

pour some sugar on me

Now I just need to get cracking on a new theme for October. Hopefully I'll think of one soon.

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #73

2010-10-01T17:07:00.000-04:00

TGIF! Time for I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday. This weeks adorable photo was provided by Keli Hoskins. What a cutie!

Original

Edit #1 - curves adjustment, Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action, navy exclusion layer, duplicated background layer set to soft light, curves adjustment, My Four Hens Stone action, more curves adjustments. (there may have been a low opacity warming filter layer in there somewhere...)

Edit #2 - curves adjustment, TRA's Bitchin' Black & White action, another curves adjustment

side by side by side

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more fun edits. Click here or on the button at the top of the post.

Free: Blog Header

2010-09-29T13:22:00.001-04:00

I just made a new blog header for myself so that prompted me to also make a blog header "freebie" to share. Sizing is based on Blogger - not sure how it would fit into other blogs such as Wordpress, custom, etc.

Notes about the template:
Layered psd file
980 pixels wide x 440 pixels high
Created in CS4
All layers are editable - change colors, text, wording, etc
Text for blog title is Pea Devon Caps - available from kevinandamanda.com
Text for "the blog" is Pupcat - available from dafont.com
Pattern by ZeBiii. Click here to get your own (and find other cool stuff for Photoshop). You don't need to download the pattern for the template to work. I was just giving credit where credit is due.

**in the psd file there is a layer named "texture" - this is really for the pattern layer. I had initially had a texture in there and changed it. I forgot to go back and rename the layer.

Here's what it looks like blank

This time with photos

Alternate color (color changes are easy with the addition of a hue adjustment layer above the background layer). You can also change the color of the text as shown here:

Click here to download.

As always - if you have any issues with the download or questions about the template itself please let me know.

Thanks and enjoy,

-Heather

September: Around town, week 4

2010-09-26T13:50:00.001-04:00

Well, as usual I didn't get to take as many photographs as I would have liked. I've been busy with some classes for work and spare time is pretty slim these days. I'll be in class again tomorrow and Tuesday - then things slow down class wise for a little while. I still have a thousand other things going on - trips to the ocean, a half marathon, more class, playoffs for my pool league, Halloween, etc -and this is just for September and October! . This is my crazy life, but I'm used to it. I've also been working on some more templates. If any of you have downloaded the ones I've already posted please please please let me know if there are any issues. This file sharing thing is new to me so if there is an issue just let me know and I will work to fix it. Now on to this week's photos:

"lonely"

"butterfly" - NOT noise or pixelation on his wings - they really look like that. Cool huh?

Once again, I will be out and about this week. Going to a new area - hoping to be able to get some pictures. I will try try try!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

-Heather

I Heart Faces: Fix-it Friday #72

2010-09-24T19:57:00.001-04:00

Friday! Friday! Friday! That must mean its time for another one of I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday assignments. This week's photo was provided by Julie Rivera. The photo captures a great moment and I felt like it didn't need much in the way of processing - just some subtle tweaks. The composition didn't bother me so I didn't worry about any cropping.

Original

Edit

Before & After

Bonus Black N' White

Editing -
Curves adjustment
Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait action
Navy Exclusion layer
Background copy later - set to soft light
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
Curves adjustment
I felt like the baby was too bright in comparison to the man so I added a black solid color layer - set to soft light, reduced opacity, and masked out everything but the baby
Sharpened

Black N' White edit -
includes all of the above plus
TRA Bitchin' B&W action
Brown gradient layer

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by I Heart Faces for more awesome edits. **you can click here or on the button at the top of the post.

Free: Halloween card template

2010-09-22T14:23:00.000-04:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I have been working on templates. Since Halloween is just around the corner I thought I would share a Halloween template. I've already ordered my cards from WHCC - can't wait til they get here - but I didn't use this particular template. This one is pretty simple and straightforward. It would work for a boy, girl, family, pet, etc. You get the idea!

Template specifics:
Created in CS4
Sized 5x7 - WHCC specifications
All layers are editable
Font is Pea Heather's Doodles - can get from kevinandamanda.com
You can add another text box for personalized greetings (I kind of forgot to include this)

front

back

Click here to download.

Enjoy! Please let me know if you have any questions or issues with the download. (I'm still new to all this fire sharing stuff).

-Heather

I Heart Faces: Week 38; Smirk

2010-09-20T21:01:00.000-04:00

It's time for another one of I Heart Face's weekly challenges. This week's theme is "smirk". Webster's defines smirk as "to smile in an affected or smug manner" but I think sometimes a smirk is just silly smile. I Heart Faces is leaving it open for participants to decide what constitutes a smirk. Wow! I feel like I just said smirk about a hundred times... eh I just did it again. He, he its not exactly a word you get to work into your everyday conversations. Anyway... on to my photo:

This photo (of my son) was taken while we were waiting for the fireworks to start on the 4th of July. Not sure that its a smirk by definition but I think its close enough. And well, I like the scrunchy nose too.

As always, thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out I Heart Faces for more entries.

-Heather