Happy Holidays

Tweak the Antique

I'm fairly new to Adobe Lightroom (my new BFF photo editing program) so I’m still working out my system. The whole post processing thins can be overwhelming to say the least, especially when you take as many photos as I do. I’m thinking that we’re all in that same boat of shooting gazillions of photos so I know you can relate.

One of my favorite presets right now that Lightroom offers is aged photo. t first when I click on it my images looks totally overexposed but when I take down the exposure slide (is that what they call that thing?) it starts to work it’s magic. The photos look nostalgic in an interesting, not sappy way. I will admit that I thought I was so over that antique tinted look but with the options this baby gives you, you can totally revamp the look of it.

In the shot above I got it too look just as I liked it just by playing with the exposure slide (I hope that's what they call it). The only thing that was missing was more color in the magenta flower so I cranked it up a little. I used the magenta slide and upped the saturation and my work was done. I love the way the warm pinkish cast works in this image and the flower is just tinted enough to remain a subtle but beautiful focal point. That against the color of the little girl’s skin captivates me.

Have you used aged photo or something like it? Do you use it as it comes or do you tweak your antique?

What I Remember

For many of us, taking the photos that document our lives is just a part of our daily routine. I shoot pictures of my children just about every day, but it wasn’t until the other night that the importance of each of these seemingly effortless images I snap away came into clear focus.

On the eve of my oldest daughter’s tenth birthday, I watched her pull from our family albums, her favorite baby pictures for use in her fifth grade auto biography. She mused over what she liked about each one and embellished with the details she remembered about them. It dawned on me that there really wasn’t anything she vividly remembered about the actual moment these photos were captured. How could she when she was just a baby? I imagine that what she was remembering were the photographs themselves. Revisiting the baby pictures she had grown up looking at stirred the memories of the photos themselves and the stories I have shared with her about them.

I listened as she reflected, I remember this one, I used to wear that orange outfit all the time, we called it my carrot suit. I loved that quilt, didn’t I? I remember Grandma made it for me. Oh, remember that I used to snuggle with that bunny. I love this picture. I heard her recalling her life as these photographs have narrated it for her. I too have photos like that--images of my young life that take me back to a moment in time that although may have slipped from my memory, is stirred up by both the picture and my mother’s stories. I guess it doesn’t really matter if I can remember these details or not, but I do have the photos as tangible proof that I had a grand first birthday party with a gazillion guests, that I wore my favorite Minnie Mouse dress on Easter and that I was “such a good little traveler” when my parents and I drove across the country in a Volkswagen Bus.

Hearing my own daughter speak of her baby days like that, like she actually remembers those days reminds me that when I am taking pictures I am doing something important. I am creating for her a visual treasury that she will have to help her remember her life. That I love doing it is just icing on the cake.

A Few Common Threads

I was immediately drawn to the color of this grapefruit and so of course, I had to get some photos of it. My poor kids, waiting for me to shoot pictures of their breakfast before they can eat. What kind of mother am I?

As I lay it on the table and shoot across the top, I found myself drawn beyond the color, to the curve of the glorious circle that the round fruit boasts. I feel that this is what I must capture; even if it’s just enough of the shape to lead your eye around it as your mind fills in the blank.

I was reminded of a few other images in my everyday life collection. Looking through these photos, I recognize a trend. How curious that there are so many similarities in what I am choosing to capture and then how I compose my shots.

So tell me, do you find a common thread among some of your photos? What is it that you are compelled to capture?