... on raspberry lane

danbo want to color {13/365}

2010-12-29T23:18:00.000-05:00

baby baking {12/365}

2010-12-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

not ready to let go of christmas {11/365}

2010-12-27T14:46:00.001-05:00

christmas balls are fun {10/365}

2010-12-26T21:06:00.002-05:00

my new buddy danbo = best christmas present ever {9/365}

2010-12-25T23:35:00.001-05:00

christmas eve in hershey, pa {8/365}

2010-12-24T23:35:00.002-05:00

sharing christmas {7/365}

2010-12-23T09:26:00.002-05:00

prettiest little jingle bell

2010-12-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

magical cookies

2010-12-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

that's my kind of christmas color

2010-12-18T23:41:00.001-05:00

a christmas tree on raspberry lane

2010-12-16T22:49:00.001-05:00

today....on raspberry lane

2010-07-01T15:04:00.002-04:00

and as i took this photo, a snake slithered by just inches away, unbeknownst to me! until my son hopped off the stump he was climbing, wandered over and exclaimed "snake!" just in time for it to disappear into the tall grass.

my sweet loves

2010-06-28T11:18:00.000-04:00

summertime on raspberry lane

2010-06-28T11:04:00.001-04:00

fix it friday #60 ~ i heart faces

2010-06-25T12:21:00.003-04:00

i heart tie dye

here is the original photo by Susan Keller

here is my edit

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
open in camera raw ~ crop, increase saturation to 15
open in photoshop
ran noiseware very lightly
sharpened features ~ smart sharpen
hollywood glow action ~ kubota actions
added textures Bokeh Flare 24%, Beach Glass (vivid light) 24%, and Bokeh Touch 61% ~ Patti Brown texures
lens flare ~ lens flare filter, 50-300mm 75brightness
added warmth ~ color balance adjustment layer, +10red -11 yellow
removed distractions in background ~ clone stamp
daily multivitamin action ~ kubota actions

fix it friday #58 ~ i heart faces

2010-06-11T16:35:00.006-04:00

i wish i heart faces had make it better mondays instead of fix it fridays! fridays are too busy! nevertheless, here's my #58

here is the original photo by susan keller of short on words

here is my edit

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):

opened in camera raw ~ crop, white balance (off her teeth!), increase saturation to +15

opened in photoshop

brightened faces, deepened background ~ touch of light/touch of darkness action ~ mcp actions

sharpened features ~ smart sharpen

daily multivitamin action and kiyoko punch action ~ kubota actions

for the sky, added a "texture" called twilight ~ patti brown kaleidoscope textures

enhanced the sunflare with two "textures", bokeh bunch glow and sweet light ~ patti brown kaleidoscope textures

the last step i did was run noiseware, but this was an oopsie. i meant to do it first, but forgot, and just noticed as i was finishing up that it needed some polishing.

first love on raspberry lane

2010-05-10T15:45:00.008-04:00

for me, before there was a dslr, before there was photoshop tutorials, actions, and textures, before there was photography books, rules of thirds, exposure lessons, lighting, blah, blah blah! ... before all of those was my first love = SCRAPPING!, digital scrapping to be exact. so instead of taking pictures the last few weeks, i've gone back to my first love, scrapping up the ones i've already got. here's some of what i've been doing.

and what the heck? the shabby shoppe blog awarded this one layout of the week!

i am soooo thrilled because there are some very, very talented folks over there at shabby shoppe ~ i just LOVE their style .... cuz it's...you know... shabby! AND...they gave me a gift certificate i am going to use very quickly to buy more scrapping goodies! sa-weet!

you can get the template for this layout FREE on their blog here!

fix it friday #52 ~ i heart faces

2010-04-30T21:25:00.006-04:00

wow, it's almost not going to be friday anymore by the time i get my post up for this week's fix it friday on i heart faces! my link will be hidden way at the end, lost and lonely, where not a soul will see it ~ but better late than never, i guess! it was too cool a photo to pass up. there were some distractions in the background of this photo, but i thought the yellow and black signs were cool so i left them in.

here is the original submitted by Angie

here is my edit

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
cropped
cloned out background distractions
brightened girl slightly, darkened edges slightly ~ touch of light/touch of darkness ~ MCP Actions
sharpened features ~ smart sharpen
velveteen light action at 100% opacity ~ kubota actions
smoke 3 texture at 50% opacity ~ patti brown textures
pool 2 texture at 24% ~ patti brown textures
golden sun texture at 15% ~ patti brown textures

fix it friday #50 ~ i heart faces

2010-04-15T23:23:00.008-04:00

what a great photo to work on this week for fix it friday on i heart faces! beautiful girl, great texture on the background, fun color, cool angle.....yep, it was a little dark obviously, but nothing a little levels adjustment can't handle! great fun, great photo :)

here is the original submitted by debbie from 50 cent of your love

here is my first edit ~ crisp and clean:

here is my second edit ~ artistified!:

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3, kinda wishin it was cs5!):
open in camera raw ~ white balance, crop
open in photoshop
reduced noise on girl only ~ noiseware
levels adjustment
manipulated light ~ touch of light/touch of darkness action~ MCP actions
sharpened features & brightened eyes ~ smart sharpen, curves adjustment
cleaned up face ~ spot heal
reduced under eye shadows ~ patch tool
popped color on barn ~ channel mixer
daily multivitamin action (crisp & clean version only) ~ kubota actions

artistified version only:

moulin rouge action ~ kubota actions
fireplace texture on background only ~ jessica drossin textures
sharpened background slightly to bring up texture ~ smart sharpen

in bloom on raspberry lane

2010-04-13T13:04:00.002-04:00

dogwood & lilacs are blooming this week ~ my favorite week of spring!

fix it friday #49 ~ i heart faces

2010-04-02T00:06:00.007-04:00

i don't have much to say about this edit ... the photo was lovely to begin with, so there wasn't necessarily much to "fix". so i basically just wanted to add a little depth and richness.

here is the original submitted by jessie of the lucas zoo.

here is my edit:

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
cropped
darkened just about everywhere except her face ~ touch of darkness ~ MCP Actions
sharpened features ~ smart sharpen
brightened eyes ~ curves adjustment
softened skin ~ doll face ~ kubota actions
increased contrast of hair ~ curves adjustment
removed hairs on pants ~ clone stamp
blurred edges ~ edge blur modified ~ kubota actions
dustclouds texture ~ patti brown

and now some green

2010-03-30T11:14:00.006-04:00

occasionally, i like to throw one of my pics in Pioneer Woman's photography assignments. in case you've been living under a rock and don't know, the current assignment is green photos. i just happen to have a favorite photo that is very, very green so i tossed it into the ring. babygirl looks so darling in green, big bald head and all.

and since i think it's fun to see the before & afters, here's the SOOC:

dramatic black & white ~ i heart faces

2010-03-26T22:55:00.010-04:00

the theme for this week's challenge on i heart faces is dramatic black & white. i've been doing alot of vibrant color lately, so it was kind of nice to revisit some b&w for this challenge and really focus on the black and white aspect being significant and meaningful in the photo. i loved the way the black & white played up the texture of the lane and field in this photo as well as the lighting.

about this photo: with the days stretching a little longer and the weather warming up, we've been able to enjoy a little time outside after dinner. i like to walk down the lane with babygirl and watch for deer in the field. to the left where she's watching there are about twenty deer in the distance. they come out around dusk, as do we. and it's beautiful every single time.

go catch some more desaturated drama at i heart faces!

fix it friday #48 ~ i heart faces

2010-03-26T00:57:00.007-04:00

i REALLY missed fix it friday last week! i need my weekly editing fix! so happily, i present this week's fix it friday for i heart faces. this one was a pleasure to work on. i love close ups of faces, all the details, especially the eyes!

here is the original submitted by Natalie P.

here's my edit.

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
open in camera raw ~ white balance, crop
open in photoshop
levels adjustment layer
brighten face ~ touch of light/touch of darkness, MCP Actions
sharpen features ~ smart sharpen
brighten eyes ~ levels and curves adjustment layers
remove redness in eye & discoloration on nose ~ clone stamp
lighten under eye shadows ~ patch tool
Lord of the Rings Everyday ~ Kubota Actions
bump saturation ~ hue/saturation adjustment layer
bump contrast ~ soft light layer
darken edges ~ touch of light/touch of darkness, MCP Actions

bundled up ~ i heart faces

2010-03-15T00:00:00.001-04:00

the theme for this week's challenge on i heart faces is bundled up. we had a pair of snow storms a few weeks ago that got us all plenty bundled up! babygirl was not impressed with the snow at all ~ i can't blame her since the snow was about as tall as her! we had to sit her on a garbage can lid just so she wouldn't sink into the snow! nevertheless...she's so darn adorable she can still look this cute while sitting on a garbage can lid!

spring is almost here....so grab a final cup of hot chocolate and snuggle up with some bundly goodness on i heart faces before it arrives!

fix it friday #47 ~ i heart faces

2010-03-12T02:13:00.005-05:00

this week's fix it friday on i heart faces... i must admit this one was quite challenging. i wanted to really focus the attention on her face and show the connection with the pinball. also when i looked at the original i felt like the lighting should be sort of dramatic, almost as if the light on her face was coming from the pinball machine. noise was difficult ~ note to self, must purchase noiseware!

here is the original submitted by Amy Pinney

here's my edit:

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):

opened in ACR ~ cropped slightly, adjusted white balance, reduced noise

opened in photoshop

midbright ~ kubota actions, on face & arm only

touch of light/touch of darkness ~ MCP Actions, lightened face, arm, and pinball/darkened edges

cloned out distractions in background

sharpened features of face & brightened eyes

removed shadows under eyes

powder soft ~ kubota actions

angel glow ~ kubota actions

bumped up saturation slightly

increase contrast with curves adjustment

vintage velvet & painterly textures ~ florabella

first signs of spring on raspberry lane

2010-03-11T20:51:00.002-05:00

i saw these little beauties popping up in the last few days ~ most people would probably be excited that they mean spring is upon us, but i was just excited to get to take some pics of them! flowers are a nice departure from my usual subjects, little kiddos running around like nuts! the flowers stay where i put them, always look beautiful, and give me a chance to play around with the editing. here's a step by step of the fun i had turning simple crocus from my yard into a beautiful, artistic looking image.

first of all, the setup for the shot, a peek behind the curtain...prepare to be amazed! ...um, or not:

and here's the magic of photography...from that to this...the sooc shot:
(click on any of the screen shots to view larger)

i cropped the image in ACR and then opened in photoshop:

and then, the first thing i do on almost any image is to manipulate the light. my favorite tool for this is MCP Actions Touch of Light/Touch of Darkness. i added light to the center bloom and darkened the edges of the image.
next i stamped the layers and sharpened this layer, then applied a layer mask to reveal the sharpening only on the center bloom.

ok, that was the basic stuff...now for some real fun! i ran the Velveteen 23 action ~ Kubota Actions. this really enhanced the light manipulation i did earlier and added some drama. it's a bit much straight up, so i lowered the opacity to just 25%...perfection!

now to punch up the color and contrast, Punch Lite ~ Kubota Actions

now, i really could've stopped right there if i wanted a realistic image, but with flowers i like to go dreamy and very artistic. so for the dreaminess i turn to Little Ballerina ~ Isabelle LaFrance.

and finally, some texture. i used Painterly ~ Florabella, applied straight up, overlay blend mode at 24% opacity.

tada! before & after:

a sunset over raspberry lane

2010-03-08T23:29:00.003-05:00

with the weather shifting from winter to spring, there have been some really beautiful skies around here in the last few weeks. i've never really been big on shooting skies or landscapes ~ people have always been my thing. but we live in such a beautiful place, i'm challenging myself to branch out a bit and capture some of the surroundings that make me so happy every day.

tonight, playing with the kids outside, walking/riding bikes in the lane, watching for deer in the field, beautiful sunset.

ok....now for a reality check...i am not this amazing of a photographer! i am a decent editor. here's the sooc shot.

there's a winner on raspberry lane!!

2010-03-06T20:43:00.007-05:00

WHAT?! one of my photos was chosen first place in the hilarious outtakes challenge on i heart faces! ... i would just like to thank all of the little people who made this great honor possible! namely, my little nephew for being so darn hilarious! seriously, thanks to Melissa at Spoiled Mommy for recognizing my photo.

and here's the photo in question ... kind of bittersweet winning something for a photo that went wrong! ...eh, i'll take it!!

fix it friday #46 ~ i heart faces

2010-03-04T11:30:00.020-05:00

this week's fix it friday on i heart faces.

here is the original photo submitted by Sarah Halstead at Loving My Life.

here is my edit: version 1, a basic edit

version 2: got a bit more artistic with it

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
cropped & cleaned up face in acr
combined two exposures
touch of light/touch of darkness ~ mcp actions
softened shadow on nose ~ gaussian blur
smoothed skin ~ doll face ~ kubota actions
sharpened features & brightened eyes
punch lite ~ kubota actions
smokeless burn ~ kubota actions
dream burst II ~ patti brown

version 2: added colorshift texture ~ jessica drossin
nostalgic retro action ~ isabelle lafrance

the intakes

2010-03-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

so you've seen the outtakes, but when no one was chewing, feeding, falling, eating, or being sniffed....there were actually some nice shots! here are some of those.

hilarious outtakes ~ i heart faces

2010-03-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

i am very fortunate for this week's challenge on i heart faces ~ hilarious outtakes ~ as my family provides me with PLENTY of those! i've had a really fun time choosing photos to post and i can't wait to see what everyone else will have to show! i'm going to be doing alot of laughing today!

#1...my nephew (could he be any cuter!) ~ we were trying to do the mommy's feet and baby's feet shot, but the little guy must have been hungry! he would not lay off of the toes!!

#2...omg, this one makes me crack up every time!! my mom thought it would be fun to feed the seagulls on the beach...she underestimated their love of stale hot dog buns!!

#3...the funniest thing about this one to me is the hand on it's way to save the little guy from a slow roll onto a fluffy soft sheepskin (faux!) rug!

#4...got lots of adorable shots of my babygirl in her tutu that day ~ the neighbors dog wanted to get in on this one! i guess the little diva can't take dog breath!

#5...and finally my hilarious sister attacks her ice cream cone with a ferocity few of us can match! but, hey, she was pregnant so i think all the mommies out there will understand!

hahahaha....hehehheeeee...hooohohooooooo...eh, eh hem, whew, ok, let me catch my breath from all the hilarity....then i'm going to head over to i heart faces and check out everyone else's funny funny stuff! join me, won't you?

fix it friday #45 ~ i heart faces

2010-02-26T11:12:00.009-05:00

having some more fun editing other people's photos for fix it friday on i heart faces!

here is the original photo submitted by caroline at frogmum:

here is my edit: in this version i wanted to fix the exposure issues, pop the color and keep things clean and bright. i also added a bit of sunshine. i can almost feel the warm rays when i look at the photo!

here's a vintage version: few photos escape my photoshop window these days without at least trying on a little vintage.

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
cropped photo
opened photo in photoshop at current exposure
lowered exposure in camera raw, laid this copy over original ~ used layer mask to reveal original exposure over girl, darker exposure over sky
softened shadow on arm using gaussian blur
touch of light/touch of darkness action ~ MCP Actions ~ brightened face a bit more
sharpened features of face
brightened eyes with curves adjustment
kiyoko punch ~ kubota actions
sun shower ~ patti brown
vintage version: honey action ~ isabelle lafrance

hands on fun ~ i heart faces

2010-02-22T01:32:00.004-05:00

to be honest, i'm more of a feet girl. i've got many shots of cute little baby toes, adorable shoes, even a baby gnawing on mama's toes. i have a precious few shots of hands, however. i think i've got to start taking more shots of hands, because the few i have are some of my favorite photos. here is one of my absolute favorites from my sister's engagement shoot.

the challenge this week on i heart faces is "hands-on fun". the real fun in this shot was me rolling all over the ground trying to get just the right angle to make the shot, and getting my brand new cords filthy in the process! it was worth it! check out i heart faces to see some more fun.

we heart kisses ~ i heart faces

2010-02-08T13:55:00.004-05:00

i do love kissy photos! i love when photos show something beautiful, and what is more beautiful than love? and what shows love better than kisses? for this week's challenge on i heart faces i chose a photo of my sister & her fiance from their engagement shoot. there were lots of kissy photos that day, but i chose this one because there's something so sweet to me about a kiss on the cheek!

i can't wait to look at all the kissy photos entered in the challenge this week!

vintage snow on raspberry lane

2010-02-05T21:02:00.006-05:00

my edit for last week's fix it friday gave me the inspiration for this photo of my babygirl experiencing snow for the first time. she stood perfectly still where i placed her, in the field next to raspberry lane, as brother trudged around making tracks in the unspoiled snow.

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
white balance in camera raw
lord of the rings everyday & daily multi-vitamin ~ kubota image tools
cozy september & everyday vintage ~ isabelle lafrance
faux (bw) & vintage screen (bw) ~ florabella
added snow with brush

fix it friday #42 ~ i heart faces

2010-01-29T10:34:00.006-05:00

this is a creative edit (i did not take this photo) for fix it friday on i heart faces.

here is the original:

here is my edit:

i wanted to add a slight vintage feel, some dreaminess/softness, and teeny bit of magic.

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
white balance in camera raw
touch of light/touch of darkness action ~ MCP Actions
gaussian blur for softness
curves adjustment
sweet retro action ~ Isabelle LaFrance
dream sequence IV~ Patti Brown
added snowflakes brush
sharpen

texture photo challenge ~ i heart faces

2010-01-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

i am a texture junkie...i admit it. i've collected dozens & dozens of textures. Among my favorites are the fine art textures from Florabella. i just adore the gorgeous, dreamy, vintage feel they give to photos.

here is a photo of my darling daughter, made that much more beautiful by the addition of the Ethereal texture (overlay 24%) and Vignette (overlay 40%) from Florabella.

when i saw the Texture challenge theme at I Heart Faces, i had to join the fun!