just as i'd hoped...

we are spending a lot of time at the beach this summer. We tend to go to the dog beach for obvious reasons, but after today, we will definitely be spending more mornings on the local beach. For starters, we can walk there. Plus it's pretty much deserted, especially now that today marked the end of Christmas holidays for most people. And I'm not sure if it's a bonus or a curse, but I get to/have to push a pram up a steep hill afterwards.

Best of all, we can play with neighborhood friends on the beach. This morning we met Amelia and her dad, so the kiddos could watch the telephone pole repairs. Exciting!

After they went home, a friend, his granddaughter, and his sweet dog wandered past. The granddaughter just turned two and the pair hit it off instantly. It was lovely to watch them play, copy, hug, share, and smile at each other.

A little Photoshop talk. The photo on the left is the original. I was playing around and was very happy with the outcome. To get the slightly washed out look on the right... 1. adjust levels. (always my first step and 99% of the time that's all I do.) 2. duplicate the background layer. 3. convert the background to black + white. 4. change the blending mode on the duplicated layer to screen and keep the opacity at 100%. 5. this washed out the sky and hills too much, so i needed to select the sky and hills (with feathering at 10px) and adjust the levels and curves to get the blue and detail back.

1 + 2 = 3

Sometimes it is necessary to work a little Photoshop magic when your subject is an active toddler.

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I loved the squat in the first photo, but there was way too much foreground and not nearly enough sky. Fortunately I took six gazzillion shots (during which time Jeremy claims to have suffered a mild case of heat stroke), so I had one with a nicer composition that I could play with.

And as for the photo-heavy day on Saturday, Jeremy, I only once asked the two of you to pose. Other than that, I just quietly observed and documented while letting Q do his thing. So there. :)

playing

It's Tuesday morning and I'm using Quincy's morning naptime to have a play with Photoshop. It's been a while since I've had fun with more than just the basic fixes.

Original after adjusting the levels...

Converted to Black & White with the Channel Mixer & contrast and curves adjusted...

Played around with sharpening masks and filters to try to lose the dreaded halo effect. It's still not perfect.

That white space is just screaming for some journaling. Playtime over. He's squealing.