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Monday, December 27, 2010

Some of my Favorites from Christmas!!

CHRISTmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

Also, the day kiddies throughout wait for Santa to bring them their toys...only if they've been nice (and not end up on the dreaded naughty list). I remember when we were growing up my mother would struggle to get all the kids their presents from Santa. We were seven kids and it wasn't easy for them to get everyone equally and of course the little ones would always get the most since it was mostly about them. But somehow she always managed to make it amazing for all of us. I remember one year my mother wanted to make sure the kids behaved themselves throughout the year and laid out a bag of coals for my brother Tito (she was a humorous lady and one of many tricks). Of course my brother and I were prevy at that point in time to the the scheme and he sure did play it up. I don't quite remember if the kids behaved themselves or not that year, but the memory of that day still is vivid in my mind as it was yesterday.

This year we spent Christmas part at my daughters and part at my sister's home with family, some old friends and some new ones, and I loved every second of it. Making memories is what it's all about. From putting out cookies and milk for Santa with the grandkids to taking silly photos in front of the Christmas Tree at my sisters. It's a time for love and being thankful that we can be together (and missing those who weren't there).













Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Photo Contest - Pet Faces

This is Palo Gold Gun, my Dad's Palomino. He was born in 1983 in Preston, GA to champion parents, One Gun Jr. (sire) and Palo Gold Rush (dam) and went to live with my Dad in August of 2000. He is an absolutely beautiful horse and is truly a part of our huge family. This last August my husband and I visited Amarillo, TX and stopped in at the American Quarterhorse Association. There we requested his records and got his history going back eight generations and brought this information back to my Dad. My Dad knew that he had champion in him but did not have all the history. Palo Gold Gun placed in reining for a couple of years until he got hurt and had to be retired. He lives very happily at my Dad's and shares stables with other ponies. He is a very happy old guy.






Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

To edit or not to edit......

Questioning whether a photo should be edited, whether through Photoshop or any other means of many amazing software that is out there, is I suppose a matter of opinion or how much you want to perfect your craft.

I for one will never let a photo leave me without some form of processing/editing to make it the best that the photo itself can offer. Is that a bad thing? Ask any professional photographer if they edit their photos and the answer will be yes. Now, I don't classify myself in the category of those professionals that have perfected their craft with many years of blood, sweat and tears, but I consider myself to have a good eye for how I want my photo to look. Also remember that having the best camera and best lenses does not always guarantee best white balance, best lighting, best settings. So editing a photo is not a bad thing, in my opinion it makes you a photographer who wants the best looking photo out there for their clients, friends, family or just for yourself.

So for those of you out there who think that SOOC (straight out of the camera) photos is the way to go, I will demostrate the most simplest of editing/processing to one simple, very colorful photo.


Equipment: Canon 50D
Lens: 24/70mm f2.8L series
Settings: 52mm / ISO 3200 / f3.5 / 1/640
No flash / shot indoors under kitchen lighting


Editing Program / Adobe LR3
WB, auto
Add blacks to 25
Vibrance to 70
Noise reduction 49 and detail to 76

That is it and it took 30 secs!! (Click on photos to enlarge for a closer look)








Just the slightest editing to what would be considered a perfectly fine photo, now makes that photo Pop!!

So next time someone ask you why you edit your photos, just say "why not??"

Happy Editing!!!

Dec 2010

Monday, December 6, 2010

Photo Contest - Self Portrait

I loved this weeks challenge. Although after snapping a bunch of pics I have to say I that I probably shouldn't have gone with anything this close up!! Where did all those lines on my face come from? I swear they weren't there twenty years ago!! LOL Oh well, it is what it is and here is my contribution to this weeks Self Portrait (after applying a little {hehehe] softening!!!)







Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Scenic Black and White Photo Contest

This was (of course) taken at the Grand Canyon on our last visit there. I particularly loved this family (mom, dad and son) sitting on this huge rock way out there just taking in all the beauty that the Canyon offers. I just loved that they were brave enough to take their young son our there and let him experience such an event. I love this photo. :)






Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Photography Contest | Paper

This week's challenge is Paper at I Heart Faces. So I searched and found this preciousness of a little boy (my Grandson) with his party hat and a face full of frosting from his cake. Although this photo is now a little over a year old it still remains a favorite of mine and still hangs on Grandma's fridge.









Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.


Thursday, November 18, 2010

Married in Vegas

In less that one month my husband and I will celebrate our 7th Anniversary. The very best man on this planet is my honey. He is thoughtful, caring, compassionate, sweet beyond belief, very loving and handsome to boot.

We are one of those couples that "Got Married in Vegas". It was not our first marriages and the opportunity arose that we were going to California to visit the new grandbaby and "voila".....Chapel of the Bells here we come. FYI...Chapel of the Bells is were Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos got married. Yup!!! Famous couples get married there....like us!! :)

I tell him all the time that I loved that day. It was just the two of us, very private, very personal moment in our lives. I tell him all the time that I want to do that day all over again. He has made me happier than I could ever have imagined. He is, and always will be, my Sweetie.









Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Vintage Looks.....

So excited I just got Florabella Vintage Frames. They are amazing and I couldn't wait to try them out.





Monday, November 15, 2010

Week 46 - Silhouettes

A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black.

This week at I Heart Faces its all about silhouettes. All we have to do is include a person in the photo. I have taken sihouette photos before but I wanted something new. So, I grabbed some props and my very willing (or unwilling..not sure LOL) hubby and we came up with these (thanks to that little nifty device ... the timer) I ran back and forth so many times that I think I will sleep really well tonight!! I let my husband pick his favorite and this is the one he chose. I hope you enjoy.










Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Photography Contest | Orange

As soon as I saw the theme for this week, I knew that this was the exact photo I wanted to display. This was taken up in Ohio at my brothers home. I love this picture of him.








Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

As is tradition.......

Quinceañera (sometimes also called Fiesta Quinceañera, or simply quinces) is the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday in parts of Latin America and elsewhere in communities of immigrants from Latin America. This birthday is celebrated differently from any other birthday, as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood.

I remember having my daughters photos taken at this same park 16 years ago, when she turned 15 and here I am all those years later doing the same for this beautiful young woman.






















Monday, November 1, 2010

My Story - Fall

I've lived in Florida all but 6 years of my life and lived in South Florida until 13 years ago that I moved to Central Florida. So, even though I have seen changing of the leaves when I've traveled on vacation, I've never experienced it. The task of capturing beautiful fall images in Florida is a bit more challenging since we don't have the beautiful changes in the leaves. But, I found this one photo that encompasses fall for me this year.

This is my grandson, who fell in love with "Jack" (as he affectionately calls all pumpkins). We visited a pumpkin patch (while the weather was scorching hot) a couple of weeks ago, and captured this image of him, just loving it! I just adore this photo of him.







Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.


Friday, October 29, 2010

Fix It Friday #76 - Photo Editing Fun

It's Fix-it-Friday over at I Heart Faces. This week we were given permission to edit this beautiful photograph from Susan Keller Photography. Here is the original and my two edits. :)




Original


My Edit #1



My Edit #2

Make sure you go and check out all the other amazing entries at I Heart Faces.



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Just for Fun Today.....

Had a little bit of fun today with this. I commissioned a bunch of my family and friends to vote on five photos, picking their favorite, for this weeks challenge at I Heart Faces. As everyone knows, this is Breast Cancer Awareness month and everyone who participates enters a Pink Photo.


This was a lot of fun and here are the top three winners. I have entered the First Place photo in the contest. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote and help me choose from such great subjects.
Thank you especially to Sam, Tati and my handsome brother Eddie for being such great models.

First Place




Second Place



Third Place



Make sure you go check out my Project 365 (a year in photos)

http://myphotographiceyebyirela.blogspot.com/p/mpes-project-365.html