Not So SAHM

Joy and Wonder

Judging on the photos surrounding this one in the sequence, in this photo she is watching her sister dance or do something else imaginative (she loves her big sister).

The original was a little busy with the background. Going black and white almost always helps with that. I straightened and cropped the photo to make her the focus. I decreased the clarity and increased the exposure just a touch. I used a couple of adjustment brushes on her face and hair and used a graduated filter to lower the exposure of the area in front of her. I ended with a small vignette. Here’s the original:

26nov

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Brightening the urban night

The city that never sleeps.

There’s an energy in NYC that I feed off of when we visit. Being there makes me feel youthful and full of potential. Like when you just graduate from college and your whole life is before you. I wonder if the magic would fade if I were to live there. Would the energy sustain me or wear me out?

A street photo of NYC and Radio City at night. Not So SAHM — Brightening the urban night – ProjectEdit365 – 25 Nov

The original photo was pretty dark. Technically, there’s not a lot of great things about this photo. I know I was walking when I took it. It does have energy though, and it’s easier to see after running the HDR preset in Lightroom. I lightened the blacks just a touch because I felt the preset made them a little to dark for what I wanted. I also reduced the noise a little. Here’s the original:

25nov

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Big imagination

She can take a leaf and create a whole world with back story, intrigue, good guys, bad guys, and no ending – because the story always continues.

Girl walks with leaf with NYC skyline in background. Not So SAHM — Big Imagination – ProjectEdit365 – 24 Nov

The original was too dark. I increased the exposure only a little. I think what helped is moving the tone curve line up. That also matted things a bit, which I wanted for this pic. I didn’t want the buildings to be too distinctive. I used an adjustment brush on her face to lighten it up and another brush to increase the contrast and clarity on her hair. I also decided to clone out the men, but I didn’t even think about cloning out the buoy in the water. I increased the vibrance and moved the tint slider towards magenta. I sharpened and decreased the noise and added a small vignette. Here’s the original:

24nov

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The rebuilding of WTC

One World Trade Center is now complete and it’s so beautiful. I desperately want to get back to NYC to see it. This was taken in 2011, standing near the Statue of Liberty.

One World Trade Center in the middle of construction. Not So SAHM — The Rebuilding – ProjectEdit365 – 23 Nov

The original was hazy. I increased the contrast and clarity and reduced the noise. I used a graduated filter over the buildings to warm them up a touch. Here’s the original:

23nov

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Weathered Wood

As we were driving along the Avenue of the Giants we drove across a very cool looking bridge over Elk Creek*. Just after the bridge was a pull-off, so we parked and walked a path down to the creek. There aren’t a whole lot of deciduous trees, so there weren’t many changing leaves. I took some pictures of what yellow leaves I could find–took pictures of the girls playing in the stream–took pictures of the bridge overhead–then I noticed this wood. I fell in love with this wood, or at least, was fascinated by it. It is so beautiful.

*Google Maps is amazing. I didn’t remember what the creek was called (this trip was two years ago), but I had taken a picture of the distinctive bridge. I searched along Avenue of the Giants and found the places where a stream crossed the avenue under a bridge. I then zoomed in with the little person for a 360 view and was able to find the exact stream and bridge where we stopped. Maps has helped me many times find places we’ve previously visited.

The original photo was dull. I wanted to bring out the texture. Even though I liked the coolness, I decided to warm it up ever so slightly (that really makes the moss pop). I increased the contrast and clarity, and I lowered the highlights and brightened the shadows. I sharpened and then reduced the noise. I used adjustment brushes to further increase the contrast and clarity of the exposed wood pieces, and reduced the exposure just a touch on the top wood. Here’s the original:

22nov

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Washing away

After her first Nutcracker recital, she came home and washed the night’s makeup off her face. An 8-year old standing in the bathroom, but I’m sure if I had looked in the mirror I would have seen a teenager. Washing away the years.

A young girl looks in the bathroom mirror as she washes her face. Not so SAHM — Washing away – ProjectEdit365 – 21 Nov

The original had a lot going on around the edges. I cropped to get rid of that and turned it black and white to keep the focus on Ash. I increased the contrast but decreased the clarity. I used a graduated filter to lower the exposure just slightly on the mirror part of the picture. I used an adjustment brush on her hair to increase the clarity on it. I sharpened the whole picture and, as almost always, added a vignette. Here’s the original:

21nov

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