Adjustment Layer & Smart Filter

Sunset: 1/18/10 @ 5:00 p.m.; Swan Valley, Idaho; f 5.6; 1/200; Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Banana Tree: 1/22/10 @ 9:30 a.m.; Rexburg, ID (BYU-I Greenhouse); f 7.1; 1/80; Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

On the first photo, I used an adjustment layer to lighten the snow, but keep the sky the same. I added the adjustment layer, then used the screen blending mode to lighten the photograph. On the second photo, I created a smart object. Then, I added Fresco and Watercolor filters. I erased some of the mask at about 25% opacity at the bottom of the photo (near the trunk and pot).

Flora & Fauna

Bud: 1/22/10 @ 9:30 a.m.; Rexburg, ID (BYU-I Greenhouse); f 7.1; 1/20; Cannon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Orchid: 1/22/10 @ 9:45 a.m.; Rexburg, ID (BYU-I Greenhouse); f 7.1; 1/80; Cannon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Goosey & Water: 1/23/10 @ 3:45 p.m.; Idaho Falls, ID; f 5; 1/320; Cannon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Goose: 1/23/10 @ 3:40 p.m.; Idaho Falls, ID; f 8; 1/400; Cannon EOS Digital Rebel XS

On each photo I adjusted levels and saturation. In the first photo, Bud, I sharpened the bud a little to make it really stand out from the background. The Orchid photo was taken in artificial light while the other photos are naturally lit. That is the reason for the warmer color in that photo.

Blending & Type

1. Brick: 10/10/09; Rexburg, ID; f4.0; 1/30; Sony DSC-H20
2. Church: 1/18/10 @ 3:30 p.m.; Rire, ID; f4.0; 1/30; Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

I used overlay to blend the two photos. I then used the Custom Images tutorial #17 to repeat and fade type. I used the song "Come, Come Ye Saints" because the old church made me think of something the pioneers might have built when they first settled in their different locations. (Obviously this church was built quite sometime after that...but still...) Back then, it was probably something grand, but now it is run down and often overlooked. The song talks about how life might feel a little run down, but in the eternal perspective, 'all is well.'

Landscape and Still Life

1. Wood: 1/18/10 @ 3:30 p.m.; Rire, ID; f4.5; 1/100; Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
2. Swing: 2/10/09 @ 4:45 p.m.; Rexburg, ID; f5.2; 1/30; Nikon CoolPix L11
3. River: 1/18/10 @ 3:00 p.m.; Heise Hot Springs, ID; f9.0; 1/125; Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
4. Mountains: 1/18/10 @ 5:00 p.m.; Swan Valley, ID; f5.6; 1/200; Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

When I was taking the first photo, I wasn't checking my shots or my settings. So when I got home with the photo, it was super under exposed. But I adjusted the levels and it looked great so I used it! On the second photo I just adjusted the levels and a little bit of saturation.
On the day I went to take landscape photos the sky was very overcast, as you can tell in the third photo. There wasn't very many interesting colors, so I adjusted the saturation in photoshop to give it more dimension. The final photo was taken while sitting in the passenger seat of a moving car! After a full day of cloudy skies, the sun broke through right before it set and I wanted to just see if I could get a good picture. I then adjusted the levels and the saturation slightly and, I think, it turned out pretty well.

Cutout

Lamp Post: 1.11.10 @ 10:50 a.m., Rexburg, ID, f18, 1/1250, Nikon D3000
Lamp Post Cutout: Complete cutout with quick selection tool, placed on white

Study in Color

Jeans: 2. 12. 09 @ 5 p.m., Rexburg, ID, f3.4, 1/369, Coolpix L11
Blanket: 1.11.10 @ 11 a.m., Rexburg, ID, f5.6, 1/60, Nikon D3000
Engine: 10.15.09 @ 11:45 a.m., Rexburg, ID, f3.5, 1/30, DSC-H20
Van: 1.11.10 @ 10:45 a.m., Rexburg, ID, f18, 1/1250, Nikon D3000

Blue is a color I associate with winter. I think the first photo's colors reflect the temperature and the atmosphere of the photograph. It was slightly cropped and levels were adjusted. The blanket shows how blue can also represent something soft and warm. The levels were slightly adjusted to show depth. In the engine photo, levels and saturation were adjusted to make the blue knob stand out from its background. The final photo was slightly cropped and levels slightly adjusted. I wanted to keep the natural blue tone from the original photograph.