Not So SAHM

Name this architecture

I missed yesterday’s post, but with good reason. We headed out into the Everglades of South Florida last night to try to catch some of the Perseid meteor shower. We saw about a dozen between us, but I don’t think any were actually from Perseid. Either way, they were amazing and beautiful!

So, here is the photo edit for August 12th. Can you guess where I was at when I shot this?

This famous structure stands somewhere in Europe. Not So SAHM — Name that architecture – ProjectEdit365 – 12 Aug

As a hint, my pictures lately have been from Europe. . .

When I took the picture, I’m pretty sure I wanted it to be black and white. Here’s the original:

12August

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The Headless Saint

Saint Denis – Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. I learned that, in art, those who are carrying their heads are called “cephalophores“.

The statue of Saint Denis holds his head on the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Not So SAHM — Headless Saint – ProjectEdit365 – 11 Aug

The original was dark with too much going on. I cropped in and lowered the saturation to zero to make it black and white. I increased the contrast and clarity. I increased the exposure and whites and lightened the shadows. I used a radial adjustment around the head to lighten it just a little bit more than the rest of the photo. Finally, I added a small vignette. The original:

11August

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Schloss Hohenschwangau

The childhood home of King Ludwig. Looking out from Neuschwanstein you see this view.

Just imagine that the roads and parking lots aren’t carved into the forest.

Looking out from Neuschwanstein, you can see the childhood home of King Ludwig, Schloss Hohenschwangau. Not So SAHM — Schloss Hohenschwangau – ProjectEdit365 – 10 Aug

With the sun setting in the upper right corner of the picture, it made it hard to lower the exposure of the sky without making the clouds look fake. So, I didn’t worry about it too much other than cropping in a little to remove some of it. I decreased the clarity and highlights and increased the contrast, vibrance, and saturation (just the tiniest bit). I also lightened the shadows. I used a graduated filter in the sky to warm that color up a bit. I used a radial filter around the castle to make it stand out just a little. I used an adjustment brush on the lake to try to deepen its saturation a little, and another brush on a sun spot to try to lessen its severity. I decreased the noise of the whole picture. Here’s the original:

10August

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Fairytale Castle

And when you think of fairytale castles, you think of this one:

King Ludwig’s Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria with its bucolic backdrop.

Schloss Neuschwanstein sits atop a hill with a bucolic backdrop. Not So SAHM — Fairytale Castle – ProjectEdit365 – 09 Aug

The original was good, but I wanted to give it more of a fairytale book look. I immediately went to my Lightroom presets that I have loaded and chose CoffeShop’s Velvet Butter. Because sometimes editing is knowing which presets will work and heading straight for those. 🙂 The original:

09August

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Festwoche (festweek)

The Germans know how to party. This was during Partenkirchen’s Festwoche when everyone makes their way to the fest tents. Traditional dress is optional, but as you can see, popular with the younger set. I *loved* catching all these guys sitting next to each other. They weren’t still for long!

PROST!

At least six young men sit side to side in a German fest tent, all wearing traditional suspenders. Not So SAHM — Festweek – ProjectEdit365 – 08 Aug

The original was pretty much just as blurry, but a little lopsided. I cropped in a little to remove the distracting sign on the table. I increased the vibrancy just a little and decreased the contrast and clarity. If the picture is already blurry, might as well decrease the clarity a bit to make it not so obvious. . . I also added just a little vignette. The original:

08August

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Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Or maybe Garmisch, at the base of the Alps, is what you think about when you hear German countryside.

The original was flat and dull. I used several adjustment filters to work on the mountains in the distance, the green trees in the distance, and the trees in the foreground. Overall I upped the saturation just a tad and decreased the shadows to get rid of some of the dullness. Here’s the original:

07August

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