52 weeks - week twenty-seven.

sjd, a photo by melaniegodecki on Flickr.

This is SJ, a former coworker of mine.  The plan for the photo this week was to have her playing volleyball on a beach at sunset.  However, I had never been to said beach before and didn't realize there would be 20 000 people there.  And so, we moved away from the crowd to get some relaxed shots under a tree while the sun set. 
Funny story, SJ was wearing workout gear, but as we started shooting, things had more of a pretty feel and we changed clothes.   This is the dress I was wearing, which I happily purchased at a Target last week. 
As for edits, clearly I did combine 2 photos, then didn't do much.  Here's the original:

 

I did play with colour a bit.  I added a Solid Colour Fill Layer which was golden - at 5% opacity.  I also used my lasso tool at 120px feather, drew around her face, selected inverse and then darkened the background slightly to draw more attention to her face.   I think I played with the Hue & Saturation a little bit as well, though I can't remember how exactly.

Overall the shoot was nothing that we expected, but I really like these shots of her.  (Next time I'll scout the beach.)

CPTOTITW.

Cool Photography Things On The Internet This Week. 

I found this photography cheat sheet the other day - it's such a pretty visual representation of how to manually use your camera.  Check it out at Living in the Stills.

Melissa Jill Photography has a great series on Flash for wedding photographers. 
 I am guilty of not using flash creatively enough, but I'm working on it.  Thanks Melissa for the tips!

Slightly less 'photography' related, but check out photos of carvings made from Oreos, and needlepoint through Chex at Judith G Klausner's site.

I'm thinking about getting another JoTotes bag, a smaller one to use like a purse for everyday outings.  Anyone own the Millie?  Do you like it? Apparently there's a Betsy coming soon.

and lastly - my fave photo I've seen this week.
by Steven Sites on flickr.


What's your fave thing you've seen this week? Please share!

52 weeks - weeks twenty-five & twenty-six.

 week twenty-five.  During Toronto's Pride Parade.  I love how much genuine happiness is in his face. 
I don't know who this is :)

week twenty-six.  NASA Astronaut Kay Hire.  I met her at the Kennedy Space Center the day before the Atlantis Shuttle launch.  

I asked her if the pictures of being in space do it justice. (We were in the Hubble gallery.)  She said no, the images are just two dimensional and as much as you try to capture the beauty of it, it is still just like looking through a straw. 
Can you imagine!? I think pictures of the earth and outer space are incredible, but compared to seeing them first-hand they're like "looking through a straw."  So cool.

It would be amazing to be an astronaut, but I can say I never will.  

I blame motion sickness, mild fear of heights and a distaste for math. 

Would you ever go into space if you could?

Catch All Catch Up

This week was busy,  editing wedding photos of K+A.

Here's another sneak, I'll do a full post of the wedding after they've seen all the pictures :)

 On Wednesday night my lovely friend Esther came over for dinner and we made Strawberry Rhubarb pies in mini mason jars.  They were as delicious as they were cute, and baking the pies in the jars was no problem.  Snap on the lid and take them on a picnic.

Friday was Canada Day, which meant hanging out with friends on the balcony of their penthouse apartment.
(We live in the same building, but have a less impressive view from floor 6.)
I'm sure the fireworks above Lake Ontario were more fabulous closer up, but we could see about 20 firing locations all around the city.  It was sweet.

Speaking of sweet - I got a little festive with the fruit platter in honour of Pride Week here in Toronto.  I'm heading to the parade in a couple hours and will post my photo of the week later.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

One week from today:

I will be in Titusville Florida, watching the Atlantis space shuttle take off. 

I am really excited!
I'm a last minute addition to a team that is making a documentary about it, which you can read more about at Chasing Atlantis.  They even have interviews lined up to meet astronauts. Yes!
I haven't been to Florida since I was 6.  Am packing loads of sunscreen because I burn like toast. 

Photo credit: NASA

Have you ever seen a space shuttle launch? Any words of advice?

What should I wear?  ;)