Good to Wow Edit: The Holidays Begin in Anacortes 12.04.11

I am still not back on track with my posting being that I missed yesterday :o(. Slowly but surely I am making my way back to my previous success with a post a day. On a more positive not however, I am feeling more and more in the holiday spirit and I think that is due in large part to seeing all the amazing holiday photos. I am inspired not only to take my own holiday pictures, but also to embrace the holiday spirit. You see, I am usually slow to fully commit to Christmas when I am still working. Once Winter Break starts at school and that stress is removed, I feel like I can turn my attention to Christmas. This year is different and I am enjoying feeling like I can do both. Thank you to all of you for inspiring me :o)!

Now for my photo edits this week I wanted to go with a vintage feel for the first one and to emphasize the stained glass colors in the second one. For my holiday lights photo I lighten the photo and put the vibrance all the way down so the red popped. Then I worked with the contrast, saturation and brightness and followed this with a creamed colored graduated filter using Cedar's guest tutorial this week. For the church stained glass windows, I cropped and upped the blacks all the way. I then played with the saturation and vibrance to add some depth to the colors in the window. Very different intents and products for my edits, but I really like both of them. What do you think?

Thank you for stopping by!

SOOC Shot

Settings: ISO 200, 30mm, ss2.0sec, f/14 (full manual, tripod, tungsten wb)

Edited in Lightroom

SOOC Shot

Settings: ISO 200, 32mm, ss1.3sec, f/6.3 (full manual, tripod)

Edited in Lightroom

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." - Agnes M. Pharo

Linking up with Good to Wow: Edit. Check out the inspiring Thanksgiving photo edits!

Good to Wow SOOC: The Holidays Begin in Anacortes 12.04.11

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a great day of shooting on Orcas Island! To get there we had to take a ferry from a town called Anacortes. On the way back home the holiday lights were shining and I was excited to have something to photograph for this week's prompt at the Good to Wow Challenge. The prompt is Holiday - Christmas and believe it or not I have not decorated the house yet. My family tends to wait for a time when we can all be together to do it (one of our traditions), which often comes later in the month of December than I would like. So right now for me the holidays are about watching the lights go up around town and enjoying them that way :o). Below are my two SOOC shots, one of a store front of a cute little shop called "A Little Bit of Everything" and the other of beautiful stained glass in a church window. For the store front I went with a high aperture number to get some starbursts on the lights and for the church shot a slow shutter speed to showcase the softness of the stained glass. I love that these two shots represent different facets of the holiday and seem to call out Merry Christmas!

Settings: ISO 200, 30mm, ss2.0sec, f/14 (full manual, tripod, tungsten wb)

Settings: ISO 200, 32mm, ss1.3sec, f/6.3 (full manual, tripod)

"Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles." - Author Unknown

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