Fix It Friday – iHeartFaces

This week’s image is just gorgeous, so didn’t need much done to it to make it pop. 

I added a variety of layers.  First I cloned out the little bit of pink to the left of the yellow sign.  I also found the bridge sign on the right to be a bit distracting, so I got rid of it.  (I kept on trying to read it but the blur hurt my eyes a bit).  I placed an unsharp mask layer to sharpen everything a little, then a levels layer just to bring out a bit more contrast by bringing the darks and lights in a bit.  The colour balance layer was next, moving the greens a bit to the magenta. 

 

I used a black and white layer to create a monotone image (with a tint), then played a bit with the channel mixer to get the right kind of colour. 

Lastly the crop, just to be different.  Hope you like it!  (Click on the image to see it larger)

(My Friday being nearly over, this has gone up a little earlier than the rest who are still sleeping on the other side of the world!)

Winter Weather

The winter cold has started, with clouds covering the sky most evenings.  Tuesday it cleared a bit, making sunset wonderfully soft over Melbourne.

 

By Wednesday evening the dark clouds were back.  I love it though, makes me think of evenings cuddled up with a huge mug of steaming hot chocolate, rain dancing on the windows while watching something suitably romantic on tv…

 

**Update on my daughter:  The tests came back clear, so the lump seems to be a cyst of some sort (sorry, all the terms just flew right over my head).  It will have to be removed, so we will be seeing the paediatric surgeon in a couple of weeks.  Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.

Joy of new life

I haven’t been able to post much (or take many images) over the last two weeks.  My mother came to visit, but she is a bit ill, so time for myself was a little in short supply.  In the middle of the visit, Michelle called to ask if I would like to take some photos of her pregnancy.  Time was a little in short supply, since her due date is this week!  I was ecstatic to have the opportunity.  She is such a glowing, beautiful mother!

So here are some images of her and her gorgeous little girl.  (This was my first maternity shoot.)

 

Hopefully we will get back to our normal routine from this week on.  Just one more hurdle.  We found a lump in my daughter’s throat last week.  The long weekend made all the doctor’s appointments a little problematic.  The blood tests were done, we are going for a scan today.  Hopefully nothing serious.

Gondolas on the Yarra

Time is a bit on short supply here at the moment.  My mother is visiting from overseas, so the blogging ended up being pushed down on the priority list.  By next week I should be posting more regularly again.

I was late for class last night, because my train got cancelled and I had to wait for the next one.  Running over the bridge on the Yarra, I had to stop to capture the gondola coming past.  It just looked so awesome!

Can you imagine floating serenely down the river watching the lights of the city?

So at the end of class it was time to run back to Flinders Street Station

And wait for my train…

Fix It Friday – iHeartFaces

This week’s challenge is an image of a gorgeous girl, though a bit dark. 

I played around a bit with the settings, changing the crop, exposure and so forth.  Aren’t her eyes striking?

I then tried three different versions, using some of Pioneer Woman’s actions on a slightly different crop.

Sunshine	Old West	Old West & Vintage

 

 

Hope you like the edits.  Be sure to check out more on iHeartFaces.

I hung the moon …

“Experimenting, I hung the moon from various branches of the pine”

So what would you imagine from a brief like that?

Night Time on South Bank

Our assignment was a night time shoot.  We got a brief, then had to walk around for an hour trying to get an image to fit our vision of the brief.

Of course I took the chance to take some extra shots of the area!

The light reflections looked so much like trees in autumn…

Some teenagers were playing (exercising?)

Weekend Workshop

This weekend was our class workshop, so the days were long, but filled with information.  On the first day we went to Selby, learning to use natural light (and any other available light).  By the end I had a ton of fun, learning so much!

Sunday was a first for me, using studio lighting.  We had to model for each other.  I was blessed to get a gorgeous classmate!

Happiness…

These two just have it in spades!

Total naturals in front of the camera.  I mean, look at those gorgeous eyes!  Matt and Shiann are intelligent, funny and super special.  I know they are going to have a wonderful life together.

Thank you both for spending a whole morning with me to capture the love you two share.  It was a wonderful day!

PS more images are on the Facebook Fan page  - Click here

Sneak Preview – Shiann and Matt

I got the wonderful opportunity to do an engagement session for Shiann and Matt this morning.  They have been together since high school, a perfect couple who complement each other so well.  I couldn’t wait to share a sneak preview of these two!

Both love to read.  We chatted about books for ages!  Shiann loves the classics and both like fantasy.  Matt is a serious, quiet guy, but you can see how much he adores his bride to be.  The two are as magical together as the books they read.

Aren’t those red shoes absolutely scrumptious?  Shiann knew she wanted to wear red for her  engagement party, the shoes came along at a perfect time for her.

 

We just had SUCH a ball today!  I could easily have photographed this beautiful pair all day.

I will post more images of this session as soon as I am done.

A Holiday Outing

I am sorry I haven’t posted the last few days.  Seems one of the large crowd of guests at the wedding passed along something that made me ill enough that my husband insisted I stay in bed for a few days.  My voice still sounds a bit like a duck being strangled, but I am almost back on my feet.

The kids have been really patient, with us not really going out much these holidays.  We went to the Melbourne Museum today with a friend of my son’s.  The kids had such a ball!  So many new exhibits…  The museum so is magical to the kids, with fabulous interactive displays aimed specifically at their age group.  And where else can you experience such a blissful scene in the middle of the city?

We started in the section about the mind.  All three lay down to experience ‘dreaming’.

The section is really intriguing (and a little scary at times).  There are sections about the history of mental research

To how the mind works in solving puzzles.  The kids loved the puzzles and illusions especially.

The dinosaurs are of course always a hit

but they all loved the new section about mammals.

I just loved this beautiful quote.

The kids spent ages chasing this light lizard across the floor.  I thought it was gorgeous!  Really had a three dimensional feel to it.

I will post some more images tomorrow.  We went into the Australian history section for the first time today and the kids really loved it!