Welcome To Our World... ~ BW Wednesday

Our newest additon was born yesterday (21.12.10) @ 04.13

Solomon Zephaniah

9lb 8.5oz (4.32kg)

Linking up to BW Wednesday :D

Welcome To Our World...

Solomon Zephaniah ~ 9lb 8.5oz (4.32kg) 

Born 21.12.10 @ 04.13

He is beautiful ~ Peaceful by name and nature so far!! :D The best Christmas gift a family could ask for :D
The other siblings simply can't get enough cuddles and he doesn't seem to mind to much...

Fix-It Friday #81- Love Birds!

Original this week ~ so lovely!!

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Quick Fixes in Picnik this week 

(also done on my laptop, where the colours are less vibrant, so may look different to my usual edits)

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Fix 1

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Fix 2

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Fix 3

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Fix 4

(for a seasonal flavour!)

For more wonderful edits and to link up with your own head on over to iheartfaces :)

Communal Global ~ Tuesdays Around the World!

In the absence of snugly warm pictures of a new arrival (simply not arrived yet) I get to share frosty pictures from last week with you instead ~ it didn't get above freezing ALL WEEK, day or night, and at times was down to -9C! ...

Link up to Communal Global to share your TODAY, from your part of the globe!

FIX-IT-FRIDAY - NO.80- "Framed Beauties"

Original from HERE.

This original was AWESOME! Seriously, I couldn't find MUCH to fix in all honesty!

I thought...maybe a little too warm (orangey) and dark?

...maybe pull their eyes up a little & ??? sharpen JUST a touch?

...maybe put some sky back?

...maybe try some BW effect?

So that's what I did!

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Basic Edit in LR3

The brush strokes are iris enhancement, sharpening (just around eyes) and teeth whitening (very slightly).

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Edit #2 (into PSE7)

• Placed a sky background, changed to overlay, created layer mask and erased from everything but the sky areas (just realised I should have left the bit of sky inside the frame!)
• Added a blue gradient (layer) to the sky area using a 'smart fix' ~ faded that down significantly.
• Created duplicate of base layer, set it to 'screen', created layer mask and erased lightly from inside the frame and their hands and fully from the background & sky. This lightened them and the frame itself really nicely.
• Flattened everything and saved.
• Then back in LR3 I added a very slight vignette.

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Fix #3 (LR3)

From basic edit (duplicate) used WOW-antique 09 + auto tone! LIKED!

That's it for today folks. Hope you like :-)

PLEASE comment! :D

Hoping (SO HARD) for my baby to arrive this weekend ~ he's now almost a week late!

When you're done here if you want to have a go yourself, download the original, do your thing and then link up to FIX-IT-FRIDAY. 

(don't forget to read the rules though!)

Communal Global ~ "Around the World"

I haven't had my baby yet, so instead you get to see some snowy picutures...It's been snowing on and off here all last week (which of course is when I took these pictures).

The children had lots of fun...

And I took lots of pictures ...

whilst avoiding their snowballs!

There wasn't quite enough for sledging really (about 2" in total I reckon)...

...but just enough for small snowmen!

It was VERY cold...

...although I think my teenager was more interested in his appearance than his temperature!

The frost topped trees in the mornings were very beautiful ~ it was -8 when I took this at 10am.

Today we have freezing fog, which is also very picturesque.

And just so, you have some idea how cold it STILL is, here is one of Doogle/Brian's shots of our Holly tree today (SOOC). I can't wait to see his edits of these.

Me... I've not even ventured out there ~ but I still might!


Time to link up to Communal Global everyone :D

FIX-IT-FRIDAY - NO.79 - "Princess!"

Here is this week beautiful original.

 (click to go to the download page if you want to have a go at 'fixing' it)

My only thoughts are; it's a little cool, it needs a touch of sharpening (most SOOC shots do) and I want to loose the path because it doesn't add anything to the picture. I also thought a close up of her adorable little face might be lovely...

So using LR3 here are my edits;

I'll just add here that discovery of the ALT key when adjusting the sharpness has been my BEST friend lately! 

Check this tutorial out ~ it's such an AWESOME thing! ;

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcfplT4DbDM

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I liked my basic edit, but thought she'd look lovely BW too...

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Same as above, only cropped tight and square.

(it really helps to have a really good quality, high resolution image to begin with when your are cropping THIS much!)

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Same as edit 3, but with MP Delicate Vintage V2 applied and then tweaked (see screen shot).

I also applied a colour adjustment brush to her eyes to bring them back to blue.

I'm posting this a little early in the hope that maybe, just maybe, my expected baby might come on time!! 

Due date ~ tomorrow (Friday)!!

Please leave your comments ~ I'll be sure to read them and I might even get chance to visit and see yours!

To join in the fun of Fix-it-Friday, hop on over to iheartfaces tomorrow and link up your edit :D

I ♥ Faces - Photo-Challenge – Scenic B&W

I had quite a few pictures I could have chosen from today and it was a tough choice to make, but this one just reminds me of lazy summer days ~ a far cry from the deep frost that surround us right now! 

As this weeks challenge doesn't require faces to be clearly in view it works :D

I took this one day when the kids and I went for a long walk. I loved the way they laid down in the grass for a short rest, just in front of this beautiful old farmhouse. 

To join in with this weeks's challenge, head on over to ihearfaces.com and link up with your best 'Scenic BW' :D

Communal Global: Tuesday's Around the World ~ In The Eyes of BRIAN!

I just want to put my 13yo son's photos 'out there' ~ I think he is getting a BIT good and I'd love it if some of you photography folks would hop on over to Flickr and befriend him. 

His name is not Brian, but it's a name he uses around the web a bit (amongst others) ~ who knows the working of the teen' mind!?

Enjoy..!

Black & White Wednesday # 10

It's been a few weeks since I joined in here, but I wanted to share these shots with you ~ taken at the end of last week, whilst Stitch was absorbed in Peppa Pig on the Wii!

It's hard to get shots indoors this time of year ~ there are so few hours of bright enough light to get away without using a flash (and my on-camera flash is seriously horrid), or drastically ruining the picture by ramping up the ISO.

Thankfully Lightroom3 is pretty clever with noise and I love the way these turned out.

He looks so very serious, but he really is a major mischief, always with a cheeky grin on his face ;)

To join in head over to Lisa's blog, as check out her beautiful new daughter if you haven't already..! :D

Communal Global ~ "Around the World"

This month on CG we are documenting the things we are thankful for.
Today I am thankful for where I live, but as I'm not really going anywhere much these days (just simply too painfully uncomfortable at 38/40), I'm sharing a few images from this time LAST year.

This is my home, zoomed in from about half a mile away as the crow flies, but you can't walk straight that way, as the ground between where I stood and my home is not safe to walk on ~ it's a floating peat bog (Wybunbury Moss)! I took this last autumn ~ I just LOVE the colours.

This is alongside our lane.

This is the entrance way to the 'inner moss' ~ the peat bog itself. There is a safe-path around part of it.

Part of the walk around 'the moss' that we take on a regular basis (when I can).

A view of the 'inner moss' ~ the peat bog.

As you can see, nothing much appears to grow here (except bull-rushes), as the actual surface is not very deep, but it is a hive of rare wildlife and some 'exclusive' species of insects and plants. The trees that surround the bog blow down on a regular basis, as the soil is simply to shallow to support their weight. Underneath the bog is a deep lake!

Our Village pub ~ delicious grub served here!!

Another little bit of the walk.

And the 'feel' of the place :D

I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into my world ~ now show us a glimpse of what you are thankful for in yours :)

Link up below and to Communal Global.