Week 8 Good to Wow "self portrait"

Week 8 of the Good to Wow photo challenge. This week's theme is Self Portraits/couples.  I chose the self portrait because I don't know if my hubby would humor me. LOL!

I set out with some trepidation and feelings akin to extreme vanity.  What am I doing taking up time taking photos of me?  I rationalized it thinking that I have very few photos of me, few photos of me looking good and nearly no photos of me with my hair down - which my hubby would very much like.

These are my SOOC shots.  However, taking photos of me was a bit of work: jumping up and down trying to get it just right.  And then the house is warm (set at 75 degrees by a LA born husband who has vowed never to be cold) I'm having hot flashes and did I say my hair was down?

So I worked up a bit of a sweat.  Finally I whirled up my hair and finally I handed the camera over to Blondie who took the last few photos of me.

 I had some trouble getting focused.

I'm also not sure what I'm doing that causes that haze over some of my photos.

Week 7 theme "pink" edit

 This week's Good to Wow photo challenge was "pink".  Today is the edit with Ashley.  Since Blondie just happened to be wearing her pink sweats I took advantage of her.  She is always (almost always) willing to pose for me.  I edited three shots. Once again I cannot tell you what I did.  Things I played with were hue and saturation, shadows and highlights  and a color channel.  Other than that... ?  Guess I'll always be an amateur!

Week 7 theme "pink"

This week's "good to wow" photo challenge is on "pink"  Blondie had just posed for the Day 22 Joy of Love challenge for "portrait" and as she was wearing pink sweats I just kept her posing!  These are my SOOC shots - not sure which I'll choose to edit.

Joy of Love Day 22 "portrait"

Day 22 of the Joy of Love photo challenge.  Today is "portrait"  - a head and shoulders shot.  This is Blondie taken by a living room window.

Joy of Love Day 21

Joy of Love Day 21 is "hands".  I had the perfect photo for today: my husband's hands resting as he was pondering paperwork.  This is straight from the camera - no editing other than adding my signature.  Couldn't think of a thing I wanted to change.

lashes

edit of Red and sis

SOOC of Red and Grace..

My edit....

Joy of Love Days 17 and 19

Day 17 and 19.  I didn't forget 18 - just isn't here yet.

Day 17 of the Joy of Love photo challenge is "Staying in".  This photo was taken several years ago.  As you can see Red is still on the plump side which means he hasn't been walking much yet.  :)  I think this was a Saturday morning just crashing and watching TV.

Day 19 is "when they're gone" and we're to post a photo to evoke what is the overall feeling in the home when they're gone.

This photo was taken, again,k several years ago on a rather un-snowy December.  It is empty but with the expectation of the arrival down the drive.

Week 6 Love/Romance edit

This is Week Six of the Good to Wow photo challenge.  This week is the Love/Romance Edit.  This is my SOOC shot.  Actually my daughter's shot - and a very nice one.

And this is my edit. Cropped and I messed with the highlights.  

Joy of Love: day 16, 15, 14

Why is it that I can't keep up with this?  Oh yeah... I have an adhd kid.  Just one.  That's all.  I have another kid - a very lovely daughter.  Not that Red is not lovely -he is when he is sleeping :).  When he's awake he's a DYNAMO!

 Day 16: Joy of Love "Us"

And my little dynamo is a charmer.  Here he is for Day 15 " all about smooching your loved ones."  Okay - I have Red and sir loving on each other.  This photo was taken this last summer at a wedding.  












Day 14 is Joy of Love - Wedding Bands - very difficult to take a photo of my own hand!

from Good to WOW photo challenge

This week’s prompt/theme is ♥Love/Romance♥ from the Good to WOW photo challenge.  Today is a photo of my husband and me taken by my lovely daughter.  I like this particular one because I have very few photos of us together, and fewer still of me looking rather fine!

Joy of Love Day 12 & 13

 Day 12 of the Joy of Love  photo challenge.  The focus is on eyes. Here is my little guy.  He will be 6 yrs old on Tuesday.  He's excited - there will be lots of pictures that day!

Day 13 of Joy of Love photo challenge is "routines".  Here is Blondie brushing out her hair. I gave her the blogging name of "Blondie" years ago when her hair was blonde.  It has slowly darkened over the years and here she had just colored it to cover a bad perm that, in addition to the sun, did a real number on her hair.  She was very please with the results.

Week 5 Shoot and Edit Hearts - the edit

This is Week 5 of the Good to Wow photo challenge.  This week was a challenge for me.  I took a photo specifically for this (rather than go into my computer photo files) and edit it  I didn't have a lot of fun with it-but I did learn a few things and that is the point of doing this: learning.  I surely see the benefit of learning to use the camera more effectively.  Will try more of a stretch next week with developing camera skills.

This is SOOC

This is the edit.  I tried so many things I don't know what I ended up with. LOL!  It looks pretty fakey and I lost the depth.

Second edit - this was added after Ashley's comment.  I think I'll go back to photographing my kids :)

Day 10 Joy of Love "spaces"

This is Day 10 Joy of Love.  Today is "spaces".  I took this photo during a choir practice.  The girls were up front and I was shooting pictures from the balcony.  The empty rows of pews struck me - the way the light played on them, etc.

Week 5 Shoot and Edit Hearts

 Week 5 of the Good to Wow weekly challenge.  This week's theme is  ♥Hearts♥  These are my SOOC shots - a pink cookie cutter on top of a red styrofoam plate.  For this week I actually took a photo instead of searching my computer.  I had the camera set to automatic.

Joy of Love day 08

What could I do? Last spring I was looking forward to the first blooms in my garden.  I particularly loved the orange tulips.  I discovered that Red liked them, too.  He came to me with a triumphant smile and my tulips clutched in his little hands "Here, Mommy!  I picked these for you!"

What a clash of feelings!  Indignation that my flowers had been picked was pushed aside to not squelch the joy in my son's face.  As I hugged him and kissed his little face I said "thank you, Sweetie"  and then another hug and a whisper in his ear "but let's leave the rest of them alone."

This post is part of the Love of Joy challenge.  Today is Day 08 and we are to post a picture showing "Love from the Heart."  I've had little time to take new pictures but found this "gift" that my son gave me.

Joy of Love 06 & 07

Continuing with the Joy of Love class.  I'm having little time to take new pictures and so am delving into my store of photos on my computer files.  I need to learn a lot more on enhancing faces.

06 who THEY love

Hubby on his birthday with his adoring children.

07 generations

 Red with Sir's father.

Red with my father.

cheesecake red

Oh I think I like this!

Shoot and Edit: Red

This is week 4 for the class - and week one for me :)
I must preface this and say I really don't know what I'm doing. I'm visiting others in the class and they are doing such a fine job of explaining what they did.  I keep moving adjustments until I see something that I like.  I am hoping that some of the professional jargon will start sinking in and I can be more purposeful in my edits. As it is I can't tell you what I did.
The program I used was Picasa 3 and Piknik.  I also have Corel Paint Shop, Paint, and Photoscape.  These are all I have to work with unless someone knows of a freebie program out there that would be good.

I like this edit - I know it doesn't look natural but I'm getting a kick out of the colors.

What I really wanted to do was have b&w with just the red coop.  But I haven't figured that out yet.

UPDATE: second edit:

A third edit (Thanks Kathleen)

joy of love: day 03

The Joy of Love:  Day 03   There are some very fine photographers in this group.  I'm such a newbie! LOL! I am having fun :)

Today's theme is "Then and Now".

 I can't take credit for this photo - taken by my uncle.  I love this picture of our hands.

My husband's hands as they rested while he was pondering an invoice. Taken this summer.