snow

Making this year Christmas Message

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It’s been some time since my last blog, but I have been fighting an illness, and now I am back. I thought I would end 2023 with how I made this year's Christmas message from my wife Lisa and me.

Iphone picture at Bronner’s in Frankenmuth,MI

It all starts with an idea. As I wandered the store, I liked this ornament of the two snow people. This may be this year's message. Out came my iPhone, and I took a few pictures. Next, I went into Photoshop to start the magic. First, I needed to cut it out; next was to pick a background that would work for this image. This is again done in Photoshop. Once I had the two, I had time to make a composite. After making the composite, I made some minor cleanups and color changes. Finally, I added the text. After all, it was a ready product, or at least I thought. :)

I started looking at it, and I thought, why not an animation? Once again, Adobe is to the rescue. I went into After Effect and thought I would add some animation of snow. I don’t know about you, but I think it makes it much more alive.

Now you know how I did it and what my mind thinks. Just think, it all started with an idea and a picture from the iPhone. Here is a quick look at the steps I did.

Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a great New Year. Stay tuned for 2024, for Paul J Zeinert Photography will be changing. It will be a different business model for 2024. (Stay tuned)

Avenue of Angels

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For us that live in the Valley, we know what this means. Downtown Appleton, WI. I have such memories of the downtown. I remember when I was young, taking the bus from Neenah, WI, to Appleton, WI, when it used to be known for shopping. Me, I hanged at the music stores. Then we had a family tradition on Christmas Eve, and we would go and see all of the decorations, including Appleton. So, where did the avenue of angels come from? Back in the day, with all of the shopping, College Avenue had angels on every poll and every intersection. It was so beautiful. Today they do a modification of this. Nothing is more pretty than seeing the angels in the snow. Enjoy this weekend, enjoy family and friends, and don’t forget to consider an angel or maybe two. Merry Christmas.

I Love Christmas Movies

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I recently went down to Nashville and stayed at the Gaylord Hotel in Nashville. What a place to see during Christmas time. While we were there, my wife and I decided to “I Love Christmas Movies.”

We enjoyed seeing the different scene that was used in some of our favorite Christmas Movies. For me, It’s the Polar Express.

Here is a quick video of a few of the things that I saw. I am also learning how to use Adobe Premier and look forward to getting better next year. A fun program, but just like anything, you need to practice.

Here is the video. Enjoy and Merry Christmas