Well, beings that it is still pouring down rain outside, I had to resort to something indoors for the foto find Friday this week. And beings that I needed to submit an assignment yesterday for a class that I'm currently taking regarding the ins and outs of flash photography, I thought I'd just use one of the images taken inside our home for the class. Now...here is the kicker...what theme am I after this week you ask? Good question. Considering how my creative juices have been stunted by the rain outside & the walls inside our house, lets say that the theme for this week is going to be "round." Yes, round. Like roundness. Circular, a sphere, a circle, a ball, a wheel, etc. - just anything exhibiting a round shape. How korny, right? Hey...at least we have a topic this week. That is a plus ladies. I promise you that is a plus. Ha ha!
So...my submission this week is centered around the round nautical accessories that I have always loved on our great room coffee table. Due to the rain, I'm feeling beach withdraws. Gasp! Imagine that, eh? Thus where the nautical display comes in. Eleven more days. I just keep telling myself that I need to make it thru 11 more days. Anywho...I used these accessories yesterday for an assignment that I did in my flash photography class. I'm definitely a natural light girl but I'm really enjoying learning the ins and outs of my SB-900 Speedlight flash. Unfortunately the flash unit itself is like learning your camera all over again (yeap, a manual and an auto mode on the flash unit too) but it is so worth it. Not only that but my instructor ROCKS so it really makes the whole process so much fun. Therefore, without further ado, here are my nautical balls...(shhh....don't laugh - I'm trying to remain serious and not crack a smile when I type nautical balls. Wink wink!)
I love product shots. Maybe it is my background with my AGD line and knowing that I have to shoot an object with the intention of "selling" it. I don't know. Either way, product shots are fun for me. I find it a challenge to photograph the subject in the best and most flattering angle possible. Product shots are proof that anything can be photographed and made to appear interesting. It's just all in how you go about the angle, the approach, etc. when capturing its purpose. Just like with humans and photography, the key to product shots are finding that particular products "best side." So...now that I've rambled a bit, how about you join in this week with me? You don't have to do a product shot, but if you want to, feel free. No matter what, just make sure that your submission revolves around something "round." Sound good? For now, I am off to tend to Kenidi. She was home feeling under the weather yesterday and now the school just called and told us to come and pick her up again because they wanted her out for a full 24 hours before coming back due to the H1N1 flu scare. Brent just left to go grab her from school. I look like something the cat drug in and didn't dare go pick her up myself at the moment. :)
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday "round" theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to this weeks theme. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post for this weeks theme (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. We are looking forward to seeing your submissions. Have fun with it! ☮ & ♥, Angie
It's Foto Find Friday and the theme this week is "Before & After." Everyone knows that I kind of have of a 'love-hate' relationship with photoshop. I love the final edits it produces but the time and the non user-friendly approach to the software program is less then desirable in the grand scheme of things. However, in recent months, after an umpteen amount of classes (and one still yet to begin come Oct. 19th), I am finally finding my inner peace when navigating thru photoshop. It no longer makes me cringe as bad as it once did when I log into there. For that means...I am making progress friends. :)
So this week, even though I don't typically care for textures and such on portrait style photos, I thought I'd take a dreary photo of an old red fire truck and spruce it up a bit. I don't mind textures on images like this but for some reason I am not as fond of a texture in the background when the image is of a human being. I'm learning that part of my personal style is clear and crisp images rather then texturized and done up with post edit art from photoshop. Again though, I find that I run across certain non-people images here and there that have no umph. Sort of like the before shot of the red fire truck below. However, with my new "bestie" (a.k.a. photoshop), we are able to go in and give that red truck a bit more spunk and add some character to the image overall. See the before and after shot below...
Above is the "before photoshop" shot and below is the "after photoshop" image...
Needless to say, I like the old, grunged out, retro feel of the the "after" image. Fun stuff. So...if you have any images that you've done a before and after edit on, feel free to share them this week. We'd love to see the magic that went into a fun or favorite photo of yours. And for those who will ask, on my after shot of the truck above, I sharpened it, added clarification, played with my curves a hair, used like three different actions on it, and then added a texture to it all at the end. It sounds like a long drawn out process but it was actually pretty quick and painless.
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday "before & after" theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to images that came out of your camera looking one way but then you did some post editing or some correcting via photoshop or another software program that helped spruce up the original image. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post for this weeks theme (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. We are looking forward to seeing your submissions. Have fun with it! ☮ & ♥, Angie
This weeks theme for the FOTO FIND FRIDAY is "camera pictures." I have so many pictures on my iphone that I've taken over a vacation, day to day life, etc. when I didn't have Big Papa (my regular DSLR camera) around. Well thanks to the app store for iphones, I now have a really cool app called "shake it photo" that acts or replicates old Polaroid cameras. You snap your shot, it makes a noise like a polaroid picture developing, then you shake your phone like you would a polaroid as it is drying. Within seconds, you have a really rockin' image that has an old age look to it - like the polaroid ages anyhow. I love the app. It's fun! Anything to do with photography is fun to me though so I might be a little biased. With that said, these are my submissions for this week's theme. I am sharing some images that a few of you might have seen already if you are one of my facebook friends. These were all pictures that were taken with my iphone. Then, I used the "shake it photo" app on them for added character.
These are palm trees at the clubhouse pool within our neighborhood there in Bonita Springs, Florida. I took the above shot while lounging there one day back this summer. I remember loving the blue skies and the clouds on that particular day.
The above picture is a shot of Kenidi in the back seat of my car - waving - one day. We were at a stop light and she was waving to those next to us. (a usual social activity for her) I decided to snap a shot of the moment with my phone. The "shake it photo" app gives it that polaroid feel with the lighting and all. Love it!
The above image was taken on Bonita Beach one night back in August. It was one of our last and final nights there for the summer I believe.
This palm tree shot above is one of my favorite camera pictures evah! It is actually my wall paper on my phone right now. Brennen and I were coming out of a store one evening over the summer and this was the view when we reached the parking lot. I remember saying to him at that moment that we "just don't have sunsets like this in Indiana." And we don't.
When we left for summer vacation back in May, we landed at the Ft. Myers airport. This particular shot above was of Kenidi the day we arrived. We were waiting for our taxi driver to pull around and take us to the house. She decided to whip our her funyons and begin feeding the birds. I snapped this moment with my camera phone because it was too cute to pass up. When all 500,000 Florida birds/pigeons showed up at her feet wanting her funyons, it was no longer a cute moment. It was quite scary in fact. Ha ha!
This was a shot I took from the backseat car window one night in Bonita Springs. My Dad was riding shot gun with Brent up front and my step-Mom and the kids as well as myself were in the back. It had been raining that evening but stopped after a short downpour. Following normal Florida protocol of course. These sun rays were peering out from a cloud as we came down the street and I decided to capture the moment with my phone. Beautiful!God is amazing!
The above photo were some onlookers there for the show on Bonita Beach one evening. This is the private beach access for our neighborhood there in Bonita. You must live in the neighborhood in order to have access to this area of the seaside. We love it there and go almost every night when in town. The sunsets in Southwest Florida are beautimous. Just beautimous. On this particular night, I captured a row of family members and friends there to take in the stunning beauty as well.
And I believe all of you have seen this last shot shown above. Although it is horrible quality because it was taken with my iphone...I still love it. It was a moment caught on the beach between Brennen and Kenidi over the summer. Very candid but very dear to my heart. This is Brennen at his true form. There is no denying that he loves his sister and protects her with every fiber of his being. Just his body language here shows that he is watching out for her, making sure she isn't about to trip and fall. I love the way that he loves her! And I love the way that she loves him.
As you can imagine, after viewing all of these pictures, I'm dying to get back to the house in Bonita. We leave approximately 3 weeks from now for Fall break. The 21st of October cannot come soon enough. Although it will be just that...fall break...a short stint for the kids away from school...it will be just enough time to rejuvenate the skip in my step. I'm looking forward to sharing more images with all of you from our stay.
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday "camera pictures" theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to images that came from your camera phone. It doesn't have to be an iphone - any camera phone will do. Just blog your favorite camera phone images and share them with all of us. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post on camera pictures (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. We are looking forward to seeing your submissions. Have fun with it! ☮&♥, Angie
This week's FOTO FIND FRIDAY theme is "hats." This is my submission...
This is an old photo that I took of Kenidi back in May of this year. It was taken when we were in Naples, Florida over Mother's Day weekend with another couple friend of ours. At one point, my friend Tamara handed me her point and shoot Canon camera and had me take some shots of Kenidi with it while we were eating at the Tommy Bahama restaurant for dinner. Kenidi is wearing Tamara's sun hat so we were all laughing at how cute she looked with it and her crooked white shades. Tamara had me snap a couple of pictures for her and then I forgot about them. Fast forward to last night when Tamara sent me these copies as she was uploading 600 and something photos off her card onto her computer. She ran across these and sent me the pictures from that evening. Too funny! Thanks Tamara. Love these! I also love that you helped me come up with a last minute theme for today's FFF. Ha ha!
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday hat theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to hats. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post on hats (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. We are looking forward to seeing your submissions. Have fun with it! Much love, Angie
This weeks FOTO FIND FRIDAY theme is "eyes." Here is my submission...
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday eye theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to eyes. It can be human eyes, animal eyes, alien eyes, or whatever. :) We just can't wait to see them. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. Have fun! Blessings, Angie
This weeks FOTO FIND FRIDAY theme is "color." When I see this picture of Kenidi (taken last night), it just screams color to me because of the clothes, bow, and color of her summer tan skin here. This was shot with my 50mm 1.4 lens and I just love how it picked up only her one set of eye lashes and focused on them but blurred the rest of the image out. Oh how I love that buttery blur.
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday color theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to color. We can't wait to see them. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. Have fun!
I was so happy to get the great feedback last week regarding "Foto Find Friday." I am thrilled that you guys liked the idea and will participate as you can. I think it is a fun way to enjoy other peoples pictures and blog hop as well. This weeks theme is WATER. If you'd like to participate, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to water. We can't wait to see them. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post (and not your blog home page) and that your post must include the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. Have fun with it all and let me know should you have any questions in the meantime. We can't wait to see your images and visit your blogs.
With this weeks theme being WATER, I decided to snap some shots of a pond here in our neighborhood. Apparently while we were away in Florida for the summer, the pond got a bit...well...yucky. Hopefully they get it cleared up soon. Either way, the location is still gorgeous. Brent and I love to bike with the kids around these ponds and on the bike trails throughout the neighborhood. They are all over the place and make for a great walk, run, or bike ride late in the evening. It's all just a beautiful back drop. Tonight I had my camera in tow and managed to snap these shots as the sun was setting.
For now, I'm headed out the door this morning to begin my 3 day mentorship with the Indiana photographer I told you about. I'll be sure to update you all when I can. I'm excited to tell you all about her and what she managed to teach me. I saw on Facebook tonight that she was recruiting real life models for our weekend workshop together. I wrote her and said...."Eeeekkkkk - I'm so excited!" I'm totally like a star struck fan - stalker more like it. Ha ha! I can't wait to introduce you to her. Some of you Hoosiers might already know of her due to her awesome work. And my eBay girls - those designer friends of mine who started out designing on eBay with me - I know you'll all know her. More details to come. Until then, enjoy the Foto Find Friday water themed project. xoxo, Angie
Let's face it, bloggers love cameras - and blog readers love pictures. One of the many questions I get asked about my blog when others are attempting to start one themselves is "What do you think keeps readers coming back to your blog and why?" Well my answer to that is always..."The pictures." Even before I followed my passion with photography and began posting somewhat better images (which are still always evolving and have a long way to go) here on my blog, I still posted the small and itty bitty images here and shared tons of them within my posts to you guys. The readers love pictures. Bottom line.
With that said, I've been wanting to implement a new project here on the blog for some time now. Therefore, in an effort to get my camera out even that much more as well as to prompt you to do the same, I thought having a "Foto Find Friday" would be fun. What that means is that basically each Friday we will have a new theme. You then get to find and take an image of a picture that has that theme within it. The theme might be Summer one week, a "red" theme which means it needs to have red colors in it, or how about a birthday theme, an emotional theme - an image showing emotion, etc. The fun comes in when you are on the hunt for the find. You can use old pictures you've already taken or you can use a new picture that you took just for that weeks theme. The images can be of people, animals, objects, landscapes, products, etc. so long as they pertain to the theme announced for that week. The key is participation. The point to the project is to help aide you in the prompting to use your camera more which in turn will also give you a theme to build off of. By using the themes, we will find the smaller things in life at times that are maybe overlooked. My goal is for you to begin to notice those smaller things here on earth that we would typically take for granted. Everything has beauty within it, we just need to find it showcase it.
Lastly, when participating in this photo project, please link back to my blog using the logo above. As you enter your blog address into the McKLinky list below, you must have a post already up for the Foto Find Friday and the link must link directly to that post which links back to here. Unfortunately, if we click your link and it takes us directly to your blog home page and not to the link or particular blog post with your picture for Foto Find Friday, then your link will be deleted from the list below. You must include the logo - gist of the project so others know how to play along - as well as a direct link to your post where you are participating. This will keep everything flowing nicely and that way no one is having to search way back into your blog to try and find the post for the project. Not only is this a fun outlet and something to divert our attention from the mundane, but it is also a huge blog promoter. If you are looking to drive more traffic to your blog, participating in this project and linking to your blog will definitely draw more readers to you. Basically we will be doing a blog hop. It's a great way to visit new blogs that we never have before. Feel free to email me at Angie@AngelicaGraceDesigns.com if you have any questions regarding how to get and paste the logo code on your blog.
So...let's get started...this weeks theme is: FLOWERS (or plants). We are making it really easy for this first week. Now go and find something that revolves around that theme and share the image here. Enjoy the process and have fun. The deadline is next Friday when the new theme will begin. Here is my entry - shown below - xoxo, Angie
