Not So SAHM

Back at the fair

Candy colored everything – it’s what the fair is all about.

Two sisters hug at the fair in front of the ferris wheel. Not So SAHM — Back at the fair – ProjectEdit365 – 29 Sep

The original was a little dark, and after adjusting several aspects I decided that a preset would finish it off beautifully. I try not to use presets all the time, because I want to make sure I can do adjustments myself. But sometimes they’re the best. I had decreased the clarity and increased the vibrance and exposure just a little. I had also added a small vignette. I used adjustment filters on their eyes to sharpen them. I then ran the preset. Here’s the original:

29september

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Plantburst

Sort of like a sunburst, but with a plant. This one happens to be spiky: agave angustifolia.

Looking down into the center of a spikey plant. Not So SAHM — Plantburst – ProjectEdit365 – 28 Sep

Taking away the color helps to see the texture better. I didn’t do too much with this photo: decreased the saturation; increased the contrast and clarity; and lightened the shadows a bit. Here’s the original:

28september

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First Taste

This may be the first time she tasted coffee. It’s definitely the first time she’s tasting strong Greek coffee.

Girl holds styrofoam cup tasting strong coffee. Not So SAHM — First Taste – ProjectEdit365 – 27 Sep

I love capturing everyday moments, but I don’t do it often enough. I’m so glad to see these as I flip through previous years’ pictures on my external. They’re really what the good memories are made of. I wanted to take out the color to keep the main focus on my daughter. I also cropped to eliminate a lot of the dark table on the bottom. I adjusted the sliders a bit and then added some grain. Here’s the original:

27september

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Ice Plant Path

Ice plant is not native to the Monterey Bay area, yet it grows like a weed there. I know it’s a nuisance to naturalists or plant nativists, but I think it’s pretty.

Ice plant grows almost everywhere in the greater Monterey Bay area. Not So SAHM — Ice Plant Path – ProjectEdit365 – 26 Sep

I did so much to this picture because the original was so dark. I didn’t want to introduce too much warmth with yellow light because I’ve been doing or seeing so much of that recently. So I adjust various controls, including the individual red and orange controls; and used a graduated filter on the sky to give it an overall cool tone but warm with the plants. From the shadow, it looks like I was shooting at midday so the sun is not flattering at all. Here’s the original:

26september

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Eye Spy

Girl peeks through trees and all you can see is one eye. Not So SAHM — Eye Spy – ProjectEdit365 – 25 Sep

The original was so dark but thankfully her eye was in focus. I ran a preset and then adjusted different aspects. Her face was pretty red so I went to the individual colors and decreased the saturation of red and orange just a little. I increased the luminance on red which seemed to help as well. I used an adjustment filter on her eye to sharpen in and give it clarity. Here’s the original:

25september

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The Making of Mercury

Ash loves doing hands-on crafts and experiments. I like them in theory, but when it comes to it, and I have to gather all the supplies, and find the room, and find the time, . . . I’d just rather not. Horrible, so that’s why I’m just forcing myself to get over it. And now she’s old enough that she can clean up after herself.

She’s learning astronomy for science this year, and this week she’s learning about Mercury. What better to do than make a salt dough model of the pockmarked planet. She’s using a pencil to create the asteroid strikes.

Girl works with salt dough in the kitchen. Not So SAHM — The Making of Mercury – ProjectEdit365 – 24 Sep

Being a mom who likes to collect memories and a photographer on top of that, it’s sad that I almost forgot to get the camera out for this artsy craftsy time. I did horrible composition-wise, so I had to crop quite a bit for that. There’s just too much going on in the photo. Turning it black and white helps to get rid of the various color distractions. I softened the clarity and increased the contrast a touch. I decided to blow out the lights in the window because that helped take away some of the visual distractions in the background. Here is the original:

24september

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