Southern Composition

I now have 10 possible entries for the county fair in August but I can only enter 6 images- Help me!!!! I'm not sure which to keep & which to toss- Leave a comment here, on f'book, or flickr & let me know which are your favorites & not-so favorites!!

Save the Redwoods League is having their annual contest again!! I entered a few photos last year but didn't expect to win anything- So this year I'm goin big! I have almost met my limit for entries (8 outta 10 ain't bad!)- I did some pre-planning & research on which groves to shoot- & It seems they are having participation issues (out of the 200+ images submitted so far I can count less than 25 that I think even have a chance).
See the Group Pool of the entries on Flickr

I even got some surprises along the way: 1. We found an awesome new river spot; 2. Most of the grove was pretty empty; 3. I have some new fair entries from the trip (Yay! for killin two birds with one stone!)...

Rules: 
The image has to be taken within the last 2 years (no problemo!); limited editing only- ie burning, dodging, and HDR only (this was more of a challenge as I don't use those tools too often).

Judging: 
Entries are being judged in a two round system: Round 1 each judge picks 12 images (50% emotional quality & 50% Technical) Round 2 the judges picks are voted on by the public with the winner announced Aug. 25!!

MY ENTRIES
So without further ado, Below are my entries (starting with my favorites to least favorite) for the contest (keeping fingers & toes crossed for at least an honorable mention):

Location: Grieg French Bell Grove outside Pepperwood, CA
Date/Time: Sunday 6/19/11 @ 11-3pm
Subject(s): Redwoods, Redwood plants, forest floor, forest canopy, paths & trails

I needed to create a simple poster for the store to hang up & put online so people would know we are having a sale to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. So the first place I looked for tutorials was Smashing Magazine (if you don't read this you should- its got great articles & tips for graphic designers)- & BAM there it was
60 AMAZING POSTER AND ADVERTISEMENT TUTORIALS

I just picked one I liked the look of & set off on another tutorial adventure~!

Here's the link to the tutorial I choose: CLICK HERE!
It took some messing around with fonts & font sizes for a minute since I didn't use the font in the tutorial but i never follow the tutorial 100% anyways- how boring would that be!!

And here is my final product!

I am thinking about trying out some self-portraits lately. I recently read an article about how practicing with self-portraits can help increase both your portrait knowledge and confidence so I figured I'd give it a go...

I just wanted to make a quick post with some creative and inspiring self-portraits to help get my juices goin!

- Multiple Exposure (showing a domestic action, showing pole positioning, self interacting with self, etc.)

Techniques/ Things to try not pictured: 
- Skin overlay (tattoos, textures, colors, cracking, peeling, words, etc.)
- Artsy Fartsy (partial nudes, selective coloring, natural light portrait)
- Diptych/Triptych
- Jumping/ Floating

        I was on my way out to Willow Creek last weekend when I noticed this absolutely stunning sunset as we were coming over the mountains. We were in a hurry but a sunset like that is impossible to pass by without at least stopping for a second... I took a few pics but nothing serious as I really just wanted to capture the beauty & not take too long (it was getting chilly yo!!) I kicked myself in the ass when I got home & looked at the pics b/c every single image had hugely blown out skies but the grounds was dark as all get out- like this one:


ORIGINAL- SOOC

Location: Vista Point off HWY 299 between Blue Lake & Willow Creek, CA
Date/Time: Wed. 4/27/11 @ 7:30pm
Subject(s): Sunset, Rolling Hills, Clouds, Sun rays
Notes: used polarizing filter & edited in photoshop

I was out on my lunch break the other day taking photos of textures to use in photoshop and in graphic design. I need to start working on a website for the store so the more textures and backgrounds I have to choose from the better!  Anywhoo.. I stopped at some blooming cherry trees for a few minutes. I took some cherry blossom photos last year but I wasn't too happy with ow they turned out so I was excited to give it another go... And pleased with the results of my 5 minutes...

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ORIGINAL
mildly edited- Strong SCurve & Contrast & Clarity...



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 STEP 2
cloned out the weird wrinkly raisin looking thing in the upper right of the blossom








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STEP 3
green fleur de lis paper overlay (as a new layer on top) with low opacity

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STEP 4
layer mask (use the paintbrush tool- black to hide, white to reveal) painted over the flowers to keep them clear of the overlay (feathered)
















DIFFERENT CROPS
I wanted to try a few different crops to see what fit this image the best. I'm trying to get a better understanding of how subject matter relates to the crop selection so this was kind of a neat quick exercise to see how it played out...



AND.... I am having a hard time choosing between the 16:9 HD crop and the 5x10 crop....

I need an external hard drive for all this STUFF!!!


Location: 7th & I -- Eureka, CA
Date/Time: April 14, 2011
Subject(s): Cherry Blossom
Notes: