Week 3: Adjustment Layers and Smart Filters

1. Smart Filter: Angled Strokes

2. Emmett: 9/24/2010; 9:22 PM; Home; f/4.5; 1/13 Sec; Sony A330

3. Adjustment Layers: Rainbow gradient, Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Warm Layer Filter

4. Rainbow Flower: 9/26/2010; 7:13 PM; Temple; f/5.6; 1/15 sec; Sony A330

To edit the picture of Emmett I experimented with different smart filters and chose angled strokes. I then masked through with a low opacity to give his face and body some color. To finish I cropped the picture. I just loved his little smile in the picture and had to use it. For "Rainbow Flower" I added four adjustment layers (listed above) and played with the opacity on the gradient so the rainbow was a little translucent. Then I masked the flower completely so the rainbow only appeared behind it. I learned a lot by just experimenting with all the different options. 

Week 3: Flora and Fauna

1. Mirror Image Flower: 9/27/2010; 8:49 AM; Temple; f/5.6; 1/640 sec; Sony A330; Slightly adjusted hue,saturation,vibrance on flexible layers.
2. Random Peppers?: 9/27/2010; 8:46 AM; Temple; f/5.6; 1/500 sec; Sony A330; Slightly adjusted vibrance on flexible layer.
3. Thorny Purple Path: 9/27/2010; 9:16 AM; Nature Park; f/22; 1/50 sec; Sony A330; adjusted vibrance, brightness, contrast on flexible layers.
4. Cow Days: 9/19/2010 6:42 PM; Rexburg Outskirts; f/5.6; 1/160 sec; Sony A330; Slightly adjusted vibrance on flexible layers.

I love that this class helps me stop and notice the beauty all around me. I enjoyed trying different angles and light on the same flowers to see how different the end product could be. The "Random Peppers?" were in a flower bed on the west side of the temple. I'm not sure if they really are peppers, but I was shocked to see this lone plant of what appeared to be peppers. All of the pictures involved very little editing (listed above). I tried to take most of my shots in the evening or morning.

Week 2 Edits: Blending Modes and Type Effects



1. Brothers: 9/19/2010; 5:35:10 PM; Fence by our apartment; f/5.6; 1/50 sec; sony a330; no flash

I am from a family for five girls. I have never had a brother and just love watching my sons bond. Bridger (my 2 year old) has loved Emmett (3 month old) since the day we brought him home. Bridger squeals with excitement with everything Emmett does. I wanted to capture a moment. Bridger was showing his new toy car to his little brother while helping him sit on his lap. To add the type effect I created two layers of text, with a mask for each, with words describing brothers. I changed the size, color, leading and opacity on each layer. Then I added the word "Brothers."

Original Images:



3. Original Temple: 9/19/2010; 7:13:52 PM; Field; f/22; 1/15 sec; sony a330; no flash

4. Erected 2008; 9/19/2010; 7:21:46 PM; temple; f/4; 1/20 sec; sony a330; no flash

5. Holiness: 9/19/2010; 7:23:14 PM; temple; f/4; 1/30 sec; sony a330; no flash

Blending was fun...but there are way too many options. I blended parts of the temple into the main picture of the temple. The "Holiness to the Lord the house of the Lord" is hiding in the bottom left. I wanted it to be hidden and not pop out. To blend the pictures I drug them onto the main image of the temple and did a "normal" blend. I adjusted the opacity on the different layers to make the original picture more visable. With a little cropping and brightness/saturation adjusting I was done.

Week 2: Color Study in Yellow

1. Bee flower: 9/19/2010; 6:42:34 PM; front of apartment; f/7.1; 1/100 sec; sony a330; no flash
2. M&M: 9/17/2010; 12:39:38 PM; back porch; f/5.6; 1/250 sec; sony a330; no flash
3.Sunflower Sunset: 9/17/2010; 7:25:56 PM; front of University Village; f/22; 1/80 sec; sony a330; flash
4.Straw Stacks: 9/19/2010; 6:35:02 PM; road to Sugar City; f/22; 1/60 sec; sony a330; no flash
5.Tractors: 9/18/2010; 7:11:23 PM; campus construction zone; f/20; 1/10 sec; sony a330; no flash

I really enjoyed searching for yellow. The "Bee flower" and "Tractors" have no editing. The other three have slight alterations of saturation, brightness, contrast or a little color. I tried to take most of the pictures during the best hours of lighting in the evening. As for the bee, there are these annoying bushes out our front door that attract tons of bees. I was so excited I caught one landing. For the M&M picture my son kept eating the M&Ms before I could take a picture! It took a little work...and a handful of yellow M&Ms. He enjoyed it.

Week 1 - Past Photos

1.Walking: 5/6/2009; 6:51:54 PM; West Tisbury; f/4.5; 1/640 sec; Kokad V603

2.King of the Rocks: 8/16/2010 PM; 2:21:14 PM; Rupert; f/4.5; 1/1250 sec; Kodak V603

3.Camping: 9/2/2009; 8:02:03 PM; Beaver Dick; f/2.8; 1/60 sec; Kodak V603

4.Emmett Brand New: 6/16/2010 PM; 9:09:06 PM; Hospital; f/3.4; 1/80 sec; Kodak V603

5.Music Moment: 11/25/2008 PM; 8:27:12 PM; Grandpa's House; f/3.4; 1/80 sec; Kodak V603

Most of the pictures I take are of my children (Bridger and Emmett). I love capturing fun moments. Honestly, I didn't think about any photographic elements while taking these pictures. I simply took them to catch the moment. The two that were edited in photoshop I edited just after I took visual media. I altered the hue and saturation and placed a mask on the photo (to the best of my recollection). I really need to practice photoshop again to refresh my memory.