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It’s been another blissfully busy week at work and every time I got close to this blog I got pulled away by something that needed my attention PrOnTo.
By “it” I mean this weeks I heart faces photo challenge. The theme was Dramatic Black and White and I just love editing Black and Whites. Ansel Adams is one of my favorite photographers.
Here is my Dramatic B&W.. Hope you enjoy it
If you would like to see some amazing B&W’s head over to Iheartfaces and have a look at some of the entries (some that actually made the deadline!)
Are you reading this?
I miss you 😦
At 7:30 the candles were lit.
Ben helped… He thought the city was going to shut the power off at 8:30
Cody shut down the computer and sat with us in the living room.
He worked on his school project on the laptop (battery powered)… Even Earth Hour couldn’t stop him (that’s another story)
Benjamin laid on the couch and played on his iPod (battery powered)
Ken and I laid on the living room floor and fell asleep.
I was worried about the power surge at 9:30 when everything came back on but now I wonder how many adults did what we did.
We went straight to bed.
It was supposed to be Easter desert.
I decided to try it out before hand on the off-chance it didn’t turn out.
As it was baking and filling the air with the smell of warm goodness Cody came down and asked what it was.
When I told him Lemon cake I was sure he was going to hug me and ask for a piece as soon as it came out of the oven.
Instead…. he gagged and said he doesn’t like Lemon baking
Back to the recipe book.
I have always had a thing for Birch Trees. I love the white bark and the little green leaves. I love how they look different from all the other trees in the forest. I’m guessing this love started when I was a little girl and I played under the Birch tree in our front yard. I used to rake the leaves into lines on the lawn forming a make-believe house and played “house” all day in the front yard. I would swing from one of the branches and sit in the space where the trunk opened up into 3 limbs while waiting for friends or family to come over or while waiting for my dad to get home from work.
The one thing this tree is most well-known for in our family is its presence in so many family photos. It became the backdrop to yearly back to school pictures, first communion pictures and wedding day pictures.
Birch trees will always have a very special place in my heart.
P.S. That little cutie in the brown velour suit is me!
This Friday’s picture on I Heart Faces was too adorable not to play with.
I only used PhotoScape for this edit. This perfect little face didn’t need any fixing, I just wanted to brighten the background and bring out the color in her hat and gloss in her beautiful brown eyes.
Here is the Original:
Here’s my Fix:
Here are the steps I took….
Step 1 – Correct white balance.
Step 2 – Darken and Deepen the tones
Step 3 – Added a low level backlight
Step 4 – blew the background out of focus (.5 / very little), just enough to smooth the fur on her jacket and the corner on her lapel.
Step 5 – Added a curl border
How cute is she?!?!?!
We are so much the same.
We are a little shy at first but once we get to know you we’re pretty fun.
We have the same affection for junk food and candy.
We are incredibly sensitive…. We may pretend to have a thick skin but it’s really quite thin.
We love to hug…Nothing beats a squishy squeeze from someone we love.
We have the same freckles, the same lips nose and face.
We have a bond that’s different from any other.
Can I just say how much I LOVE these challenges? I find that during the hustle and bustle of day to day life I can go weeks without picking up my camera or I can easily fall into a rut of taking basic uncreative pictures.
This week on I Heart Faces the challenge is to use new / different angles. Here is Sabrina… looking as regal as ever!
So this week’s topic on You Capture is “reaching”. This picture represents my son’s inner strength to reach his goals. He started playing Lacrosse later then most of the other kids and through his first year the coach played him when he could but it was clear that his floor time was second to the more developed players. Instead of being defeated or feeling deflated, he continued even harder, he practiced harder and played harder each and every game. After that first season he made up his mind… he was going to continue with Lacrosse and he was going to be a top player. He carried his stick around with him and practiced all the time.
The next year when he went back to tryouts, even the coach was amazed, my boy had found his confidence and with that confidence came some amazing game play and in my opinion (of course it’s biased) an incredible degree of sportsmanship.
Last year he and his team placed first in Ontario. Although he’s a defense player; during the provincial championships he defended his team against some of the biggest and best players in the league, he shut down top scorers and he managed to score 4 goals himself.
My boy not only reached his personal goal to be a good player and contribute to his teams success, he reached a level of sportsmanship and competitiveness that I know he will carry into his daily life forever.
I wonder if this post should have been saved for the topic of “Pride”?
“POLO!”
So it’s been a while, what can I say. I’ll catch you up really quick but then I have to get back to work!
1. Work has been pretty hectic and by the end of the day the thought of sitting at my laptop for another minute makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth. (sorry to be so graphic but it’s how I feel).
2. Spring has sprung in our small town!!! The ice on the lake has melted, the roads are dry and the house and car needed a good Spring cleaning! The only downfall of Spring organizing is the spring wardrobe assessment… Am I really going to fit into last years clothes after a winter of self indulgence? There will probably be a combination of dieting and spring shopping posts to come.
3. The kids have been registered! Lacrosse season is here! While I appreciate my down time from November – April I usually start getting pretty antsy around now. Starting April we completely switch gears and instead of elaborate sit down meals and leisurely weekends we enjoy during down time, we transform into a well oiled efficiency machine. I love the hustle and bustle and the spirit of competition it brings…. GO Wolfpack GO!
4. I started a new hobby business. I was looking for a Camera Strap cover and had seen a few really cute ones on Etsy.com. After doing the math I realized that although I’m no Suzy Homemaker, I did take sewing in 9th grade and knew how to operate a sewing machine. How hard could it really be to make my own? A little googling and $60 later I had all the materials I needed to make dozens of Camera Strap Covers. Check it out by clicking here!
Who am I?????? Not in a million years did I ever think sewing would satisfy my creative urge. It’s strange how our interests change as we get older.
How has your Spring been so far?
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