THE PERFECT WEEKEND

MAN OH MAN it has been a while since I have posted on my blog, but have no fear! 

IM BACK :)

The best part of summer for me is spending time at my family's beach cabin, and nothing beats a freshly caught crab salad. Now that is what I call delicious!

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL:

Now this is something that I have never done before, 

and most photographers would not want to show you their before and after Photoshop images. 

But I thought this would be an interesting way to show everyone out

 there what I do to my images in Photoshop. NO SHAME HERE :)

I'm proud that I have the skills to manipulate my images any way I want. 

1. This is what my image looks like without any changes.

2. I straighten the verticals in the photo so that it does not feel like it is leaning.

3. I brighten up the doorway and right side windows with a Curves layer.

4. I darken the upper left side of the building with a Curves layer.

5. I remove the sign and car with the Clone Stamp.

6. I remove the Orange cover on the ground using the Clone Stamp.

7. I remove the large white graffiti from the box above the door using the Clone Stamp tool.

8. I Brighten and Add Contrast to the photo with a Brightness/Contrast Layer.

 9. I add a Black and White Layer.

10. Using a Curves Layer I brighten the Door and Windows.

11. I Sharpen the entire photo using a High Pass Filter.

12. I add a Gaussian Blur and Mask it out so it only affects the 

right and left side of the photo.

WOW, what a difference!

If you liked this, please let me know. 

That way I will know to do more blog posts similar to this one.

Oh, and once again don't steal my images :)

FLUORESCENT PORTRAIT #2

Fluorescent Portrait #2

I am just so in love with this lighting pattern right now. 

 So in love that I'm thinking about possibly starting a series with this kind of lighting pattern. Ohh and another thing I just got some new gear, so look forward to some product reviews in the next few days!

My apologies for being a little bit unreliable at times with posting new stuff on Sundays, but its for a good reason....I just started a beauty blog: http://youaresodamnbeautiful.blogspot.com/

If you haven't checked it out, 
what are you waiting for? :)

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

This Sunday I thought that I might try something a little different...

Here is a peek into my life over the past few days and the amazing things I saw and experienced:

1. Please Always Love, Something that has been on my mind lately that I wished more people practiced.

(This was one of the most interactive and engaging art pieces at the Art/Not Terminal Gallery in Westlake this Saturday.)

2.Blue Skies. The weather in Seattle has been amazing over the past few days and I feel like everywhere I look I see blue skies.

3. Flowers. Coinciding with blue skies it looks like spring has finally started to show with the blooming of all the beautiful flowers.

FLUORESCENT PORTRAIT

LIGHTING WITH ALTERNATIVE LIGHT SOURCES:

Fluorescent Light Strips

After going to school for 2 years I have learned quite a few techniques to achieve some pretty awesome lighting using different Light Sources. Such as those ugly fluorescent lights that you always see in office buildings...

Not only are fluorescent lights cheap and easy to assemble and disassemble, lets us not forget about all the cool reflexions you can get in your models eyes.

I've included a few behind the scenes shots to show you how simple the set is for these shots.

Below is a shot from the models point of view:

And this is from the photographers view point

MMMMM BREAD

Despite the fact that this is my last week of class this quarter

YAYYY for finals...*not*

I didn't want to use that as an excuse not to post on my blog.

So with that out of the way, I present to you:

Rosemary Bread

I will have you know that this bread is as good as it looks like.

Thank you Trader Joe's :)

CUPCAKES!

As of lately I have been trying to get out and take

advantage of the delicious Seattle restaurants.

And of course I just couldn't resist Yellow Leaf Cupcakes.

The different flavors I bought were:

Simply Vanilla and Lavender White Chocolate Chip.

Now I wouldn't normally think that lavender would be something delicious in a cupcake, but thankfully I was wrong. Not to mention having White Chocolate Chips inside the cupcake was a perfect compliment of sweet to the fragrant lavender.

This would be amazing with a cup of Earl Grey Tea!

The Simply Vanilla Cupcake was just the right amount of sweet.

You can always tell how good a restaurant or bakery is by how well they make a simple recipe. And boy did they pass the test!

All in all I was impressed by the selection and quality at Yellow Leaf Cupcakes and would recommend everyone to try out this delicious sweet spot in Seattle.