Free & Easy Edition

* please mouse over to see the SOOC shot *
This morning, one friend on Facebook posted this status:

SISTER WEEK: Real sisters aren't perfect - they wont always fit the mold. They aren't bound by blood alone, but by love that flows through and through. A real sister has made you laugh, hurt you, stuck up for you, drove you crazy, annoyed you, hugged you, watched you succeed, saw you fail, picked you back up again, cheered you on, wiped your tears, calmed you down, made you strong and is someone you are proud to have in your life. I love you, sissy!

It made me miss my sister so much. She started her training for her new job this week, and even if we get to see each other everyday, I just miss our sister moments - attending events, cooking/eating, walking.

This image wasn't the last time we went out for a morning walk, but this was one of my favorite images. It's quite difficult for us to be in the same picture, so when I saw our shadows, I just asked her to stop so I can take a picture. She's the one on the left, by the way. Soon, my shadow will be as small as her's. :)

How I did the edit:

• Scaled image to 480x640.
• Added a layer of Kim Klassen's "Music Lovin" texture, blended to Hard Light at 50%.
• Added a layer of Kim Klassen's "Water Stained Frame" texture, blended to Multiply at 65%.
• Ran the SOV:Light script, set to default.
• Ran the "Summer Heat" action, then adjusted the levels.
• Ran the Van Gogh (LIC) filter, set to default.
• Ran the National Geographic script, using my preferred settings.
• Ran the Manny Librodo sharpening script, using my preferred settings.
• Added watermark, flattened and saved image.

Last week, I added a texture with border, and I used another one this week. I am slowly loving that border thingy! :)

My Gratitude Renew Itself Daily

This picture may be taken last February, but ever since went back to doing my morning walks, I have always hoped to see a great sunrise at Colinas Verdes again. I really am a morning person, and each morning, I am always thankful to the wonderful gift of life for me to start anew.

Sure, everyday can be a struggle, but as long as I am breathing, I'd be grateful for everything that comes my way - be it good or not.

Silhouette

Oh wow! Thank you so much, Lori for choosing my picture as this week's photo! Such an honor to be chosen, really! :)


This week's theme is "Silhouette," and I chose a picture taken last year - at the Surfing Break. It was so difficult to take pictures of the surfers enjoying the waters and cool weather at sundown, but I sure enjoyed clicking the shutter and document the event.

It was sad that I wasn't able to travel this year and watch the event, but hopefully next year, I can travel again.

B&W Zinnia

Lately, I have been taking pictures after pictures of flowers. I want to compile flower pictures and print them and place them in an album, so when I saw this flower from my August file, I knew I had to include it.

This was originally taken in color, but I edited it using GIMP and some actions I downloaded online. I wasn't able to jot down the steps I made, but it was a simple edit - thanks to the actions and scripts available for users.

The Phoebe Edition

* please mouse over to see the SOOC shot *

A picture I took last Sunday, I found this mini roses way too cute, but a bit difficult to photograph because the flowers were even smaller than my fingernails! Anyway, I did have a lot of fun photographing the flowers because even the roses were itty bitty small, it did have a great pattern.

Editing this picture, I did:

• Scaled image to 640x480.
  
• Added a layer of Kim Klassen's "Phoebe" texture, set to Burn at 70% then processed it using the Vintage script (no grain, with vignette), blended to 30%.
  
• Added another layer of Kim Klassen's "Phoebe" texture, set to Multiply at 25%.
  
• Ran the Vintage script (no grain, with vignette), blended to soft light at 75%.
  
• Ran the National Geographic script, set to my own preference.
  
• Ran the "Summer Heat" action, then adjusted the levels.
  
• Added my watermark, flattened image, then saved.

When I started giving more time post-processing my images, I still haven't tried creating or using frames. With the Phoebe texture, the frame / border around the image made the edited image look as if it's a greeting card or something. :)

Believers, Look Up!

Yesterday was a very awesome day for me because I got to see my fitness buddy, Pipoy in person. I first got to meet him online (at a forum), and since then, our friendship has been steady and going stronger.


I took this picture at the Flower Garden of the Quezon Memorial Circle - where we spent time relaxing after some rounds of walking around the park. It was a great way of relaxing... taking pleasures in the beauty of Mother Nature. Moving from one flower bed to another also gave us chances to move even while on a "resting stage."

I have long heard of the tip that one shouldn't just photograph flowers looking down, but whenever I take pictures of flowers, I would always do that - either look down on it or photograph it with my camera lens at the side of the flower. My fitness buddy brought his camera, too, and while he was taking pictures of this little white flower, I was reminded of the tip I seem to have forgotten.

I applied that tip when I took pictures of this gerber daisy. Looking down on it gave me a very pretty shot, but taking my camera down and look up on it gave me not just a pretty shot - but quite dramatic as well.

All along, I thought I am on this weight loss journey alone. Meeting my fitness buddy is like meeting an angel.