Not So SAHM

Liberty’s Torch

Visiting Ellis Island was a great history lesson. I don’t know that I have any direct ancestors who passed through here — so many families do.

At first, I was working on editing the whole picture. Then I zoomed in to the torch for some reason and realized I wanted to focus on that. There’s so much detail! I decreased the contrast and increased the clarity. I also lightened the shadows. I used adjustment brushes on the underneath of the torch and on the bottom tip. I decreased the noise a bit and added a vignette. Here’s the original:

15nov

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

Mini pies

I’m sad to say that I don’t even remember making these mini pies – I made them back in 2011. That means one of two things. I’m either at the beginnings of dementia, or our lives are so busy that my brain can’t hold all the awesomeness. They look so delicious, I’m sure they tasted just the same!

The original was a little too warm for me, even though it is fall and pies, and crusts are generally warm. So I cooled it down and moved the tint slider more towards magenta. I sharpened it and decreased the noise just a little. I used an adjustment brush to to sharpen the pie in focus just a little bit more. And I used a radial filter to lighten the exposure just a little on that pie. Here’s the original:

14nov

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

Somewhat Selfie

Moms are rarely in family pics because they’re behind the camera. Every once in a while I’ll set the camera up on a tripod and try to get some shots with me in the frame. This was taken in 2011 – we all look so much younger!

Mom sits with her two daughters, all looking at a computer screen. Not So SAHM — Somewhat Selfie – ProjectEdit365 – 13 Nov

And editing definitely helps with skin tone! I cropped in and turned it to black and white to take away the color, which can be distracting. I increased the contrast and clarity. But women usually don’t need any clarity added to their skin, so I used an adjustment brush and decreased the clarity on my face. There was also a blemish on my nose that I cloned out. Here is the original:

13nov

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

Potting Shed

One fall weekend, we attended a wedding on a beautiful piece of property in North Carolina. This potting shed was part of that.

I wish I hadn’t have gotten that modern building in the background of the pic, but this challenge is about working with what I’ve got. I did a lot to this picture just playing around to get a look that I liked. I warmed the temp and moved the tint slider towards magenta. I increased the contrast and clarity and adjusted the tone curve slider to make it more matte. I used an adjustment brush on the “potting shed” letters to sharpen them, and I added a small vignette. Here’s the original:

12nov

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

Wild mushrooms

Small, unassuming

Never to gain much stature

Nestled with giants

Tiny mushrooms grow in a forest in Humboldt County California. Not So SAHM — Wild Mushrooms – ProjectEdit365 – 11 Nov

We found these little guys in Humboldt County, California while we were visiting the redwoods. The minuscule and the majestic in a symbiotic relationship. I cropped the original photo to focus more on the mushrooms. I lowered the highlights and increased the shadows. I used a radial filter to decrease the exposure around the mushrooms. I also decreased the noise just a little. Here’s the original:

11nov

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

All the candy!

I’ll just take all the suckers.

Girl stares at Tootsie Roll Pops in River Street Sweets in Savannah Georgia. Not So SAHM — All the candy – ProjectEdit365 – 10 Nov

Kid in a candy store (River Street Sweets in Savannah, GA). This is so classic! The original photo was harsh with no feeling and a little yellow. I’m still enjoying the matte effect so I went to the tone curve slider and made it matte. I also cropped to delete some of the distracting light in the upper right. I increased the contrast and clarity and moved the tint slider more towards magenta. I sharpened the picture and used a small vignette. Here’s the original:

10nov