Rainy Day in NY Series - Last one!

Sorry for the long break in posting! I decided to do one more 'Rainy Day' post. I had so much fun taking and editing these photos I just wanted to share a few more before we move on to other things. Enjoy!

Reflections - A Rainy Day in NY Series

So here are a couple more shots from NY :) I hope you all are not getting tired of this series, because I am still having a lot of fun processing!!! Can you tell what Broadway show is reflected in the street in the image below?

Goodbye Kiss - A Rainy Day in NY Series

This shot was taken in Union Station. Enjoy, and I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Yellow Umbrella - A Rainy Day in NY Series

This shot I actually processed two different ways and I am having a hard time deciding which one I prefer... I will post the other version below and you can tell me which one you like! The one above is using Topaz B&W and the one below is using SnapArt Impasto filter. I really like the colors of the SnapArt version, but I really like the Vintage feel of the Topaz one!

The Shops - A Rainy Day in NY Series

So this past Thursday I spent the day in NYC on a photo workshop with Karen Messick and 7 other photographers. It was a rainy day, but it was great and I am really happy with the photos I got. I have been having so much fun playing with them, I have been having a really tough time deciding which ones to put on here!!! I may just have to create an online album. Todays images are from these shops they were setting up in Bryant Park. There were some really cool and quirky shops, I loved it! Enjoy the photos!! (all the images were edited using Topaz BW Effects and Totally Rad Photoshop Actions.)

Susquehanna State Park

These are just a couple more shots from Susquehanna State Park. I edited them using my free trial of Topaz adjust. Not really a whole lot to say this evening, I am just relaxing and watching my Ravens play Monday night football. Thursday I go back to NYC on a photo workshop with Karen Messick, I am really looking forward to it, look for the pictures on here! Enjoy tonights photos and I hope you all have a good night and, of course, GO RAVENS!

Which is Better?

I am going to do something a little bit different today. This image is actually a reflection of the trees in the water. I ran it through Topaz Adjust (I am trying out the free trial, so far I really like it!), then I made a couple more adjustments in photoshop. I also flipped the image upright. The non-flipped image, the way it was oriented in the camera is below. So here is what I ask of you.. Which is better? The flipped image above or the original orientation below? Feel free to leave comments!!

I really like the way the spots on the water give the image a "spacey feel" :)


Just for a reference here is the SOC version - no editing. (it is amazing what photo software can do!)

Wine Anyone?

I love fall, the colors the flavors, the holidays! It is the perfect time of year for wine festivals! Today's image is from Boordy Vineyard in Baltimore County. I went there to a wine festival with some  girlfriends. It was a beautiful day, and the wine was tasty! Enjoy!

Day in DC

Yesterday was Jason's and My two year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has already been two years, it seems like it was just yesterday! Since we were going to the Washington Capitals game in the evening, we decided to go down early and spend some time in DC. We just happened to come across the Taste of DC festival that was going on, that was a lot of fun! We got to try lots of great food and do some wine/beer tastings as well. There are two photos below from our day. The first one is of a group of dancers that we saw performing on the street. The second is a shot of all the protesters tents that were set up by the festival. Enjoy!

Fall is Coming!

Nikon D3100  f 5.6 1/80 ISO 100

Processed in CS5 and SnapArt2

As the weather is starting to get cooler, I am really looking forward to fall. The leaves will be changing soon and there are a couple NYC trips to look forward to as well as pumpkins and Halloween!

The opening image is the back of the sunflower, I really liked the detail and structure of the green leaves. The image below is of a budding sunflower, with the bloomed ones in the background it just looks like it is striving, just waiting for its turn to shine! Enjoy!

Shot with the Lensbaby Composer

Processed in CS5 and TotallyRad Photoshop actions

Sunflower Fields!

Nikon D3100   f6.3  1/6  ISO 100

Edited in Photoshop CS6 and SnapArt2

So it has been a while since I posted anything.. a long while. I will try not to get in that habit!

I was determined that I was not going to miss the sunflowers this year so I went up there 3 times (so far). The first time was way to early, so I waited 2 weeks and then they were great! So enjoy the photos!

Nikon D3100  f5.0  1/40 ISO 100  

Edited in Photoshop CS5 

Zoo Day!

I have been procrastinating this morning, I should be cleaning up the house, but I lack the motivation... so instead I started processing some of my zoo photos. These are a few of my favorites! Enjoy!

Hot Day!

What a scorching hot few days we've had! Hopefully it will cool off soon.. In the meantime I have been enjoying a nice 4 day weekend. I got to spend some time with family at a cookout on Saturday and today my cousin Mandy and I braved the heat and took her kids to the zoo. It was a pretty good day! There were very few people there (probably because of the heat) so we got to see everything with out fighting crowds. I will probably post some of those photos in a later blog post.

In this post however I am still sticking with the Miami pictures. The opening image is another of the starfish (got a theme going here!) I was playing around a bit with the photoshop actions from the Totally Rad plug in. The image below is from our balcony view of the canal with downtown Miami in the background. Enjoy!

A Lazy Evening

Jason and I are just enjoying a quiet evening at home watching "The Proposal" while I play around with some photos. So.. I guess I don't have a whole lot to say this evening. Hope you all enjoy the photos!

Miami Beach

It has been crazy busy lately! Miami Beach was so much fun (once I finally got there!!) The water was beautiful and so warm, and the relaxing on the beach was very much needed. I was able to wake myself up for one morning sunrise... it was just ok as far as sunrises go.. there was not a single cloud in the sky, no waves, and the horizon was so hazy that you really couldn't see the moment the sun rose.. but I still think I got a few good photos :)

The Miami weekend went by a little to fast.. I got home late Tuesday night (no flight issues, thank goodness!). We got up early Wednesday to go to Hershey Park.. that was a great day with Tiff and Dustin. Thursday night I was one of those crazy ones that went and saw the midnight show of Harry Potter... (I was dead on my feet at work the next day!) Friday and Saturday evenings were filled with family and cookouts!

So I am now finally getting around to playing with some of the photos I took in Miami. The opening image is just a starfish and I ran it through SnapArt2 watercolor. The image below is a wide shot of the beach that I edited using the Totally Rad photoshop actions. Enjoy!

While I'm Waiting....

So I am sitting at the airport.. my flight to Ft. Lauderdale has been delayed a couple times now due to these bad storms we are having all along the east coast... I had plans for tonight to have a few drinks on the beach with Joy and Kathy... guess that is not happening now!! So I figured while I was waiting I would play around with some pictures and do a blog post. The image below is from my NYC trip last March.. I made some photoshop adjustments and ran it through the SnapArt2 Oil Paint filter. Hope you enjoy and I hope I make it to Miami!!!

Photo Contest

So I entered my first photo contest! I found it in Outdoor Photographer Magazine, it is the Sony Art of Expression Photo and Video Contest. I entered in the expressive portrait theme. I chose two photos that I took of Aaron last Easter. I was browsing through some of the other entries, it looks like I have some tough competition! I guess we will just cross my fingers and see what happens! Below are the two photos I entered. Enjoy!!

Happy 4th Everyone!!

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July! 

Thanks to all of our Troops for keeping our Country free!

We have been having a very fun weekend! (despite the fact that I had to work Saturday and Sunday) Saturday night we had a UFC fight night party and then played some Rock Band. Last night we had a fun neighborhood party and we set off some fireworks. Basically a great weekend with some great people! Looking forward to the Bel Air fireworks tonight!!!

The opening image was taken with the lensbaby and edited entirely on the iphone using various apps. The fireworks image was edited using the SketchMee app on the Mac.

A Day Off

Today I am enjoying a nice day off :) I caught up on some TV shows this morning while Jason was sleeping off the midnight shift and now I thought I would play around with some more pictures. I revisited some from my trip to Annapolis a few months ago. I have been having fun playing around with the SnapArt 2 filters. I hope everyone enjoys them!!

Friday!!

We had some crazy weather this morning with all the rain showers passing through. I got to see a rainbow briefly, unfortunately I was on the highway in pouring down rain so I couldn't take a photo of it. So I thought I would share a couple more sunrise beach pictures. The opening image is a straight from the camera shot with some levels adjustments in Camera Raw. The image below I used a couple photoshop actions from Totally Rad! I am really liking that program there is so much fun stuff to do with your photos. Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Oc Sunrise

I got to celebrate my birthday with Jason and and a few great friends at Ocean City for a weekend. It was a really great trip (despite Adam's sprained ankle!) We had some great beach weather and I got to go out and watch the sunrise on Sunday morning. You couldn't actually see the sun rise over the horizon because of the clouds, but it made for some neat skies. I played around a little with the processing, I am really liking using textures like in the first image here, and using the Totally Rad Photoshop Actions (right now I just have the limited free actions, I plan on purchasing the whole program soon) The images below were processed with SnapArt2 that I now have. Thanks to Mom and Dad for my birthday present :) Anyway, enjoy!

SnapArt2

I have been having a blast playing around with the SnapArt2 plug-in for photoshop! Too bad my free trial runs out in 14 days... Guess I will have to break down and buy it! The top image 'Reflections' is from NYC (yes, another NY photo! What can I say? I love that city!) First I ran it through Camera Raw to adjust the exposure and then I used the Oil Paint filter for the painting effect. The second image is one I took outside my front door one night while it was snowing.. I used the Color Pencil filter on that one. The last image is from my trip to Punta Cana a couple years ago. I love the palm tree and the effect the Impasto filter adds to it.

This weekend is shaping up to be a big one! I have a lot to do around the house, gotta start getting ready for our cruise to Bermuda! Saturday we are going to the Caps game in DC and I am trying to talk my wonderful Hubby into going down early so we can see the Cherry Blossoms. Hope everyone has a good rest of the week and weekend!!