Taking away things you don't like

I hope everyone had a great time during the Holidays. For Lisa and I, we sure did. We got to spend some family time. As with any event, you always want pictures. In this case, it was no different. We went to a restaurant in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, and after we were done, we wanted a quick picture. So you got it, the waiter took it with my iPhone. The picture is great for us. It did what we wanted. A memory.

We got back home, and I looked at the picture, and I thought. I wonder what this would look like if I got rid of the distractions. This will be an excellent picture to practice on. With that said, I opened photoshop and started to get rid of what I call the easy distractions. The easy thing I used is what is called the patch tool. Easy items would be like the glasses in front, the silverware in front. For me, it starts looking good. Next was let’s finish it with some of the hard things. Like Lisa with the napkin. Notice her hand is blocked. With that, I needed to make fingers that looked like they belonged. Out came the clone stamp. I had other tuff things and used a combination of clone stamp and brush tool. I got what I think is a better picture.

Final Image

Practice makes perfect, the old saying goes. I m always practicing something. One to keep up with the new things out there, and second, to be good at anything, you need to practice and, yes, practice some more. That's what this exercise was all about. You see, the first picture will be fine; after all, it's not going to any magazine, but my thought was, what if a client wanted something removed? Can you do it?

Playing and learning

The cool thing about photography is that you can do it anytime. I like to practice and learn and then practice some more. Today I wanted to play with gel lights and practice shadows and highlights. So I grabbed something that would not complain, and I worked with what I had. For I was at a bed and breakfast place, I had no idea I would do this.

I had two lights, one light stand, and my gels. The first thing I wanted to do was light from behind to give it backlight. Using a CTO gel and a MagMod Grid, I set this up first. I liked what I had, but way too much shadow in the front. I knew I wanted to reflect light back into the front but did not have one, or did I. Yep, pillowcase to the rescue. I brought in really close to the left side and got what I wanted. Next was to set up the fill light. I wanted the shadows to fill in with blue—my second light I set up using a blue gel. I had no light stand, so I set the light on the floor and flashed on the ceiling. Yep, I took advantage of a giant softbox with a flash of blue to fill in shadows with blue. It worked and did what I wanted without using Photoshop.

So much playing and learning. Just another thing to put into my back pocket.

Bed and Breakfast in Michigan

Love summertime. I finally get the time to enjoy what I like: water and boats and more. Any time Lisa and I get, we head to Michigan to be on Lake Michigan. As we say, it’s our Florida in the summer. For the past few years, we have been staying at Bed and Breakfast and enjoy them. The hosts are so friendly, and you get a sense of relaxation in a home environment. This year was no different. Lisa and I headed to Saugatuck, MI. This year we stayed at the Sherwood Forest. While we have not stayed at a lot of Bed and Breakfast, this one had a theme in every room. I think ours need no explanation.

Ok, for those who did not get it, here is another clue.

Ok, it’s the Africa Room. Yes, everything is coming from South Africa. You see, our host was from South Africa. Our hosts were so friendly and a pleasure to talk with. We talked about South Africa and the journey to America. Back to our room, it was super large with many memory enables of South Africa. We had a large porch that looked upon the forest.

In comparison, we saw no Elephants, Lions, or Monkeys. We did see deer. Ok, what about the breakfast part?

The breakfast was great. The food was fantastic and well prepared. (South Africa style) I have traveled many parts of the world, and for the first time, we stayed at a place with no TV. What no TV? How do you survive? Then asked about TV, they said this time to talk. Well, that is what we did. What about the internet. We did have internet, but this area is very poor when it comes to the internet. (Verizon) The biggest thing was a lovely relaxing weekend on the Lake and with lots of boats.

Boating Season

Some of my favorite things are water and boating. The combination equals photo time. My wife just got done eating at a restaurant outside. While eating, I was looking around for a possible photo. When we were done eating, I knew that the sun would look great, and great it did.

Sanibel Island

This boat caught my eye, color, and light. Boating has been in my blood since I was a little kid. My father was a boating pilot, and he shared his love with us. Water is always my comfort place, for I have no fear when it comes to water. Not that I don’t respect it, I do but seeing it, being in it, brings me happiness. Maybe that is why I enjoy Florida so much. Especially the Sanibel area. You are surrounded by water. The locals the tourist are so friendly. The food is excellent along with the views. If you have never been there and enjoy the water, this is your place. Thanks for a great time.