Clickin Walk: Freemont Peace Sign 10.08.11

Today was the day of the Clickin Mom's Clickin Walk in the Freemont neighborhood of Seattle. It was a fabulous day of photography, learning and meeting others who share the same passion. I was out of my comfort zone as much of the time was focused on portrait photography, but with a little help I was able to even get some shots of the fabulous models that I will share later in the week. Along the way I also was able to take the scenic shots that I love. The first shot I took was of a sign hanging above a storefront. I loved how it was hidden among the leaves and how the leaves contrasted with the yellow wall.

In post processing I wanted to warm it up a bit and somehow remove the awning that was in the left side of the frame. I also wanted to make the sunlight pop more. The warming up and sunlight pop were achieved by altering the basic settings in Lightroom and then using Pioneer Woman's Sunshine action in Photoshop. The awning removal however was a bit tougher. Luckily some of the other Clickin Walk participants were talking about Content Aware feature in Photoshop. I found a tutorial and after two fills and a tiny bit of work with the healing brush. I am proud of the results and amazed by the power of the Content Aware Fill. Thank you Clickin Ladies :o)!

SOOC

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/50, f/5.6 (full manual)

EDIT

Edited with Lightroom and Photoshop

"Nobody can bring you peace but yourself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson 


Linking up with SOOC Saturday and the edit with Better than the Best. Check out the other photos!

Good to Wow SOOC: Orange Plant 09.30.11

I wish I knew how to put into words how blessed I feel this week. One of my photos is up for two different recognitions. The edit of the photo is up for I Clicked It Up a Notch - September and the SOOC is up for Best of September at Jill Samter Photography for the Good to Wow Challenge. The photo is of the Seattle Skyline and I was so proud of how it turned out. To have it recognized is amazing! And to have it recognized by two photographers that I admire and respect makes it even more amazing! When I started this journey, I did not set out to win anything. I set out to become a better photographer. To know that others see something in my work makes me feel like I am on the right track to become the photographer I would like to be. If you have a moment and would like to vote for me or your favorite you can click on the links above or in the announcements section to the right. Thank you!

For today's post, I am posting my SOOC shot for the Good to Wow Challenge - Orange. Last week I took pictures of leaves that were very orange so I wanted to go a different direction this time. I saw this interesting plant on my walk in the woods on Friday and liked how some of it was orange and some of it was red. I am not sure what kind of plant it is, it almost looks like a tomato (if you know I would love it if you shared :o). I like to depth of field, but with the edit I hope to bring out the orange a bit more. This was in very low light, but I think I like the lighting. The imperfections on the plant I think adds something to the feel of the shot. What do you think?

Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss0.4sec, f/7.1 (full manual on tripod)

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered." - Ralph Waldo Emerson


Linking up with Good to Wow! Head over and check out the other SOOC shots.

I Learned: Clark Lake Berries 09.24.11

*I found out today that my sunset photo is in the running for Favorite Photo of the Month at Through A Photographer's Eyes. I would be honored if you would vote for me, or which ever is your favorite. :o)*

While there is no I Learned from Click it Up a Notch this week I find that reflecting on what I learned can be a powerful experience so I decided to do it any way :o). This week I learned that the community of photographers is not only talented, but generous as well. When I first started blogging and getting to know other bloggers I felt out of place. Most of the photographers I follow, link up with and interact with have kids or pets and take beautiful portraits. I have no kids or pets and I take landscapes. However, the language of photography seems to be a great connector and everyone is so kind and accepting.

This week I was lucky enough to have two encounters that lead me to this realization. One - Melissa who have mentioned is one of the people who led me to start this blog was kind enough to make a video explaining the Lightroom adjustment brush and give me some great information about sharing my photos. It was so helpful and I still can't get over how nice it was of her. Thank you Melissa!

Two - Misty at Through A Photographer's Eyes was kind enough to trade ad space with me. Her blog gets a great deal of traffic and mine is still growing. I really feel like I am getting the better end of the deal and yet she was still willing. If you have not visited her blog, you must. Her photos are AMAZING! Thank you Misty!

And thank you to all of you for reading! I am so happy to have you following along on this journey and welcoming me into the community. I can't wait to get to know you more :o).

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/80, f/5.6 (full manual)
Edited with Lightroom - warmed up white balance, adjusted basic settings and used the adjustment brush to reduce the exposure on the fence (Thanks again Melissa!)

"I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself." - Edward Steichen 


Linking up with these fabulous link ups! Check them out :o).