Fun with Photoshop!

I've been using Photoshop for quite a few years for cropping and fixing little things here and there, but I've never used it to completely alter anything before. I've been looking through my NYC photos and thinking they were a little boring, so I decided to give my filters a try. I never knew how much fun filters could be!

This is the original shot. A kind of boring picture of the Chrysler Building. I love the building, but there really is no good way to get a shot of it from the ground.

And here are some things I made. I don't really remember all the filters I used, but some of them came out pretty neat!

I think this one's my favorite.

This one is really different. I could totally see something like this on a graphic t-shirt!

Week 4 Portraits

This week's assignment was portraits and I keep only the best models on staff, of course. I've been wanting some nice pictures of Cameron in his gi and black belt. I've been wanting to take him to the beach all week to get some pictures, but these tropical storms have been putting a damper on things. I finally got him out there lastnight after the storm and the clouds made a great backdrop!

This is the picture I submitted for class. I love his serious expression. Makes me proud to see him so grown up. :)

I turned it B&W so I can add it to my B&W photo collage. I might do some tight cropping of his face too. If you click on the picture it will get bigger and you can see the detail and catch lights in his eyes. Love it!

Here's another pic I took of him playing out in the rain. He was using the umbrella as a parachute for his skates rather than keeping the rain off himself. Boys...

And of course I couldn't leave Joey out. Notice the bright orange Crocs. HA! I WIN! There's a backstory to the shoes. Joey has refused to wear anything but blue Crocs for almost an entire year. I finally had enough and we took him out of the house kicking and screaming with orange shoes on. I thought it was a compromise. At least he still gets to wear Crocs.

Photography 101 - Week 3 (photos getting even worse!)

This week's assignment was to take a marketing picture, which is pretty vague in my book. Well, to be honest, I think all the assignments are pretty vague, but I suppose he wants us to use our imaginations, which I lack.

So of course I waited until the very last minute to take my picture and then I couldn't decide what a "marketing picture" would be, so today I'm selling my lovely NYC coffee cup and the coffee in it. Unfortunately, I'm selling it at work in an office lit by fluorescent lights and about half of them are burned out. I've tried just about every setting I can think of and I just can't seem to get this white balance thing worked out. After about 50 tries, I gave up and this is the picture I submitted. :( I'm not thrilled with it and did I mention that our pictures are shown to the entire class on a big screen TV? Yeah, even less thrilled now! What the heck did people do before editing?

Just for my sanity, I edited the color a little bit. This would be a much better shot if we were allowed to use Photoshop! I guess that would defeat the purpose of this class though, huh?

Week 2 Photography 101

Week 2's pictures are complete. I wanted to do a night shot and the St. Pete Pier lights up so pretty at night, so it was the obvious choice. I have friends who live on the 29th floor of a beautiful condo overlooking the pier and this was shot from their balcony.


All 3 of these pics were shot at F22 and if I could only remember what shutter speed, I would tell you, and an ISO of 100.

This is the picture I submitted for class.

I actually like this picture better, but I managed to cut the boathouse out of the picture somehow, so I chose the first one.

This isn't the greatest picture, as the parking garage is really blown out, but I still like it. It's a great view!

Week 1 Photography 101

I started a photography class a couple weeks ago in hopes to be able to take some better pictures of the boys and vacations. Each week we have a photo assignment and this week's was to take a picture of our job or hobby if we don't work. I thought about taking a picture of my calculator and I did, in fact, take a picture of my calculator, but I decided it was pretty boring. So I ventured out into the shop and snapped about a million pictures of things I have no clue about and this is what I submitted; a picture of jack stands. And now my classmates probably think I'm a mechanic, but that's okay. At least it's more exciting than being an accountant! This picture was taken in "P" mode, which must stand for "Pretending not to be using automatic" because it's definitely still automatic. This coming week's picture can't be taken in automatic or "P" mode, so we shall see how that turns out!

Savory Butternut Squash

I usually don't make my own recipes, but this one actually turned out so good that I wanted to share it! Most butternut squash recipes are sweet like a pumpkin pie, but I wanted this one to be savory... so if you're looking for pumpkin pie type squash, this isn't the recipe.

1 large butternut squash peeled and cubed

1 medium onion diced

1 tbsp. fresh minced garlic (I buy the jar pre-minced)

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. seasoning salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of red pepper

3/4 can of vegetable broth

Add olive oil and garlic to a soup pot and saute until garlic is starting to brown. Add in the onions and saute until they start to get soft. Add in the squash and saute for about 5 minutes stirring every minute or so. Add in the vegetable broth and seasonings. You can adjust the seasoning to taste. I like to taste the broth and add a little more at a time. Let the broth boil down until the squash is tender when you poke it with a fork.

There will be a bit of sauce in the bottom of the pan that makes a really good vegetarian gravy! I put it over mashed potatoes and it's awesome!

1st Dan Testing & Candle Ceremony

Cameron tested for his 1st Dan Black Belt on Friday. This will probably be his last testing for a while as more training, hours and new weapon skills are required for each additional dan.

After the testing, they had a traditional candle ceremony for the new 1st dan and probationary black belts. It was really neat. Each person lit a different color candle and read a little passage about the color.

After the candle ceremony, Master Lee prepared another ceremony where Master and student share Sake (apple juice for the little ones) and the student takes an oath of respect and dedication.

Master Lee pouring Sake (apple juice) for Cameron.

Master Lee drinking the Sake Cameron poured for him.

Cameron giving up his probationary Black Belt.

Master Lee giving Cameron his 1st Dan Black Belt.

His new belt. I find it funny that they embroidered his name as "Cam" instead of Cameron. When I named him, everyone told me that he could go by Cam when he was older. I remember telling them that he would go by Cameron because that's what I named him. I suppose the truth is, kids will go by whatever they want. In this case, it's Cam.

Cameron and his two role models, Johnny and Johnny. They are both very talented young men.

Cameron and Master Lee.