Not So SAHM

2017 Calendar – Done!

The photo website, Shutterfly, had an offer recently (ends today, 21 Nov – get there before midnight!), for a free 2017 calendar. I chose to make the “easel calendar”, which is a set of 5×7 cards that sit in a small wooden stand.

I love the easel method of displaying photos. I’ve ordered many square photos from Artifact Uprising and had my dad make wooden easel stands for them. Here’s what they look like:

So here is what my calendar 5x7s are going to look like, and you can imagine them sitting in a wooden easel. I can’t wait to get them!

My theme for the calendar is famous places around the world (that I’ve visited, obviously).

January: El Capitan in Yosemite, California
February: The cherry blossom trees in Washington, D.C.
March: The Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica
April: Garden of the Gods and Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado
May: Perrine Bridge and the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho*
June: Amboise, France
July: Cloud Gate at Millennium Park in Chicago, IL
August: Beach on the Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
September: Thingvellir, Iceland
October: Traben-Trarbach along the Mosel, Germany
November: Central Park, New York City
December: Avenue of the Giants, northern California

*It’s a stretch to say it’s a famous place, but it’s the 4th highest arch bridge in North America – and I’ve seen three of the top four!

Happy 2017!

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Nature’s Giants

We drove through the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County, stopping whenever we wanted to walk through the woods and explore. Whether the trees were standing or had fallen, their massive sizes left us awestruck. The tallest tree we saw on our trip was “Giant Tree”, which is 363 feet tall (111m) and has a circumference of 53 feet (16m). To put that in perspective, a football field is 360 feet long (including the end zones).

Walking amongst the giants, I got a sense of how awesome God is. These trees have been on this earth for hundreds and hundreds of years. Some of the oldest were growing when Jesus walked the earth. They have quietly stood the test of time. Peace and wonder almost overwhelmed me and I became completely engrossed in this otherworld that I had the privilege of being a part of for a short time. They have so many stories and secrets to tell. Maybe that’s why I was quietly and reverently winding my way through the paths. Would they give anything away? I left their sanctuary not smarter, but wiser perhaps.

The girl in the picture below is my then seven-year old daughter. You can also see my husband. Use them as a reference point to get a sense of how massive these trees are. And these are not record holders.

Two girls are dwarfed by the giant redwoods surrounding them. Not so SAHM — Nature’s Giants – ProjectEdit365 – 20 Nov

The original was too cool for the feeling I was going for. I warmed up the picture and increased the clarity. I decreased the contrast, exposure, highlights and lightened the shadows. I used a graduated filter on the bottom third of the photo to bring the exposure up just a little, to get a little more detail in the bark. I finished with a small vignette. Here’s the original:

20nov

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Magical Woodland

If you ever have the chance to visit the redwoods in Humboldt County, California, DO IT. Put it on your bucket list. This shot doesn’t even do justice to the grandeur of the trees themselves (because these redwoods are on the smaller size). The giants of the natural world really have to be seen in person to understand their size, and to feel their magic.

A pathway cuts through the underbrush in a redwood forest. Not So SAHM — Magical Woodland – ProjectEdit365 – 19 Nov

The original was just drab. I warmed it a little, increased the exposure, and lightened the black. I adjusted the tone curve to make it just a little matte (which I’m loving right now). I used a graduated filter to slightly warm up just the sunlight; a radial filter to sharpen the path and soften the surroundings; and some adjustment brushes to slightly increase the exposure on the pathway. I sharpened the whole picture and added a vignette. Here’s the original:

19nov

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

New York or France?

We left Central Park, wandering around and heading towards FAO Schwarz (when it was still open). This building took our breath away. It’s at the corner of 58th and 7th. I had to google it tonight to get info on it. It’s called the Alwyn Court, and it was built in the early 1900s using various French styles. Check out the wikipedia article if you’re interested. But for now, take as long as you need to stare at all the various detail!

An intricately carved building, the Alwyn, stands in the midst of modernity in NYC. Not So SAHM — NYC or France? – ProjectEdit365 – 18 Nov

I cropped in and straightened the picture just a little. I also reduced the saturation of blue to take away the distraction of the awnings and increased the contrast and clarity. I used an adjustment brush on the windows to warm the temperature and make them more golden, and a different brush on the brick to the left to increase the contrast. Here’s the original:

18nov

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Straightening buildings

Another beautiful fall day in Central Park.

Tall buildings pose as the backdrop to Central Park. Not So SAHM — Straightening buildings – ProjectEdit365 – 17 Oct

One of the awesome things Lightroom can do is straighten buildings. My 17-55mm lens can distort tall objects, and with buildings, that’s not a good thing. So, I went down to the “Lens Corrections” and clicked “vertical”. I had to crop after that because it distorts the photo to make the vertical things straight. I added some warm light and adjusted the contrast and clarity. Ugh, I also tried to eliminate some of the sun flare on the building to the right and didn’t do a great job. Here’s the original. You might not even notice how much the buildings are leaning until you look at the edited photo:

17nov

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel

. . . and it’s the moon. My telephoto lens needs repairs so all I had to take a picture of the super moon with was my 17-55mm lens. I propped it onto the tripod and went outside.

And there were clouds everywhere.

I was so disappointed. Until I realized the clouds add a lot of drama and dimension to the picture. It’s nowhere near a great shot of the moon, but the editing makes it pretty dramatic. And you can almost pick out a fibonacci spiral in the clouds.

The super moon peeks out from behind the clouds. Not So SAHM — There’s a light at the end of the tunnel – ProjectEdit365 – 16 Nov

I lowered the contrast and darkened the shadows while increasing the clarity and the saturation. I was thinking about going black and white, but like the nebulous look the color in the cloud gives the photo. I used a radial filter to help separate the moon and cloud opening and give it a little more dimension. I sharpened it and reduced the noise. Here’s the original:

16nov