It's just mirrors and lights...

Do you remember when magic was astonishing? It takes a lot now for someone to be astonishing. Really. We're so used to being shocked that most of the time what took so little several years ago, is nothing now.

When working with a client, I always ask, "How much magic do you want me to use?" Most reply with, "All you have!" Not many want to see the reality of how age has applied itself. Me? I'm behind the lens for a reason!

Look at this photo of such a beautiful baby. Perfect. Healthly. Active. The mother couldn't be more proud.

I see the little things that would make this picture much more appealing. No wrinkles; remove bugs; where's the eyes; etc.

So, I apply a few magic tricks from Photoshop. Viola! Here's what I came up with - smoother skin, brighter eyes, ironed shirt, debugged, and greener grass.

The mother will love this so much better. All I really did was hide the effects of life and showcase the beautiful structure.

Go ahead. Open that software and explore for help on the internet. I didn't know a thing about Photoshop and it took just a few "googles" to find videos, lessons, and tools to make my work so much better.

I hope it makes my clients' photos better, too!

Until the next one...

A New Day...

Well, here I go again! I said I'd post consistently and look whats happened!

I've been learning so much. Such fun stuff. Like how to use Karo Syrup to make tiny prisms. I love this shot. Thanks to Bryan Peterson & Jon Canfield at ppsop.net for explaining this process. So easy. Lay a printed sheet/fabric/texture under a sheet of glass. Mine was about a foot above. Works best with bright light shining on it.

Add dollups of cold syrup on top of glass then angle the camera to see the reflections. Isn't this cool. I called this one "Woman's DNA" since it's all about shoes, purses, hats, etc.

This tiny little flower revealed such humor. You can't see it with your naked eye (since when do we put clothes on eyes?) but with close-up lenses (I used all three extension tubes on a 28mm lens) you get to see such amazing details. This reminds me of little people just peeking over the edge to see who's entered their kingdom.

They really should have names...like Burt, Olley, Pete, Hank, & Tom.

This little flower blossom in about the size of a green pea. Can you understand how tiny these seeds are? Really fun discovery.






Now this one really made me giggle. Like wet my pants funny. I've had this star fish in my bathroom for years.

Never felt like I was being watched until one day, while dusting it, I noticed this cute guy. What a show he's been catching every day!

The textures were so nice and up close you can see the pattern emerge, but his little face was the prize.


Hope this encourages you to look at things in a whole new way. Maybe it's for a photo, or maybe it's that part of life that is boring, painful, or taken for granted.