Blending Images [Edit]

BLEND 1

For this photo, I blended 2 images. One was a texture that you can't really see, but it helped to brighten the icicles. I placed the texture image over the ice photo, and then used overlay. I also changed the texture to black and white so that it went better with the colors in the picture.

Originals:

Sparkling Ice. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 8:43 a.m. Cabin in Tetons.

F-Stop: 13 | Shutter Speed: 1/320 | Nikon D5000

Tin Can Texture. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:18 a.m. A cabin in the Tetons.

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/640 | Nikon D5000

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BLEND #2

I added a texture image to this photo as well. I used the same technique as the one above, using the overlay. I lowered the opacity of the texture. I also used a layer mask and used the paint brush to lessen the texture on the piano keys. I also brightened the image in photoshop and edited the levels.

Originals:

Old Piano. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:15 a.m. Cabin in the Tetons.

F-Stop: 3.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/60 | Nikon D5000

Cement Texture. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:15 a.m. Tetons.

F-Stop: 3.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/60 | Nikon D5000

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Text:

I followed tutorial #18 for the text on this photo. I also edited the levels on the original picture.

Original:

Peaceful Snow. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:06 p.m. Tetons.

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/4000 | Nikon D5000

Color Study [Natural Brown]

Sweet Plant. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:19 a.m. A cabin in the Tetons

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/640 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo outside a cabin that I stayed in for a life skills retreat this past weekend. It is some sort of dead plant. :) I liked the colors and the detail so I decided to use it in my color study. I cropped the photo a little bit, and I edited the levels and contrast.

Brown Field. Taken on 4/28/2011 at 12:56 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 22 | Shutter Speed: 10/1250 | Nikon D5000

For this photo, I used a small aperture because I wanted everything to be in focus. The sky was really cool, so I took the picture a few times to get the cloud detail. I tried to use rule of thirds when I set up the shot as well, making the ground one third of the photo and the sky two thirds. I edited the levels and saturation in photoshop.

Tree Rings. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 5:38 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 7.1 | Shutter Speed: 1/100 | Nikon D5000

This ancient tree trunk was really cool, and it matched my natural brown color so I snapped a shot. At first I had a larger aperture, but I put it up to 7.1 so that there was some texture to the ground beneath. I think it adds to the photo. I edited the blacks in camera raw, and then edited the saturation in photoshop to give it a sepia tint.

Beautiful Barn. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:26 a.m. Tetons.

F-Stop: 16 | Shutter Speed: 1/125 | Nikon D5000

The wood on this barn was beautiful and full of natural contrast, so I decided to use it for this assignment. I would have liked to take a picture of it head on, but there were people standing all over in front of it, so I tried to make the side angle interesting. I did quite a bit of editing on this photo. I straightened and cropped it, and I also edited the levels to make the sky show more. I used a layer mask and the paint brush to hide the levels adjustment layer.

Railroad! Taken on 4/30/2011 at 5:36 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 2.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/250 | Nikon D5000

When I brainstormed cool places to find brown the railroad was my first idea. I set of this shot to create cool focus on the rail road nails. I edited the levels in Photoshop.

Chain. Taken on 4/30/2011 at at 5:49 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 5.6 | Shutter Speed: 1/400 | Nikon D5000

I used my zoom lens for this picture, which helped with the blur. In photoshop I edited the levels and used saturation to give it a sepia color. The chain was brown, but since it was silhouetted it looked black.

Pictures From The Past

Erica, Or Tyra? Taken on 4/12/2011 at 11:15 a.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-Stop: 2.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

The sun was shining really bright the day we went out for this photo shoot, so we found shade next to a pine tree. I used a large aperture to blur the background, and tried to focus on her eyes. I made minor changed in camera raw & photoshop, adjusting the exposure, levels, and a little contrast.

Baby Julius. Taken on 1/3/2011 at 10:27 a.m. Helena, MT

F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/300 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo a few days after my nephew was born. I had just gotten my new 50 mm lens for Christmas, and was learning to use it. It only has manual focus, so I had some issues with focusing correctly. This is one of my favorite shots from the shoot. In photoshop I edited the levels, and changed it to black and white. After that I gave it a little more contrast.

Baby Blue Eyes. Taken on 3/2/2011. 9:41 a.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

I did a photo shoot of baby Madison in March, and she was the perfect model. The window light was great, and she was happy the whole time. I tried to focus on the eyes on most of the pictures. I edited the levels, and the contrast in photoshop.

LOVE. Taken on 1/14/2011 at 5:41 p.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/40 | Nikon D5000

It was dark in the apartment, I used the light from my kitchen to create the cool shadows, but I left the lights off in the living room. I took lots of pictures until the focus was just right, making the love stand out like a sore thumb (or maybe it should be called a sweet thumb?). I set the camera on the edge of the ledge to avoid camera shake. I edited the levels in photoshop, and also used a blue photo filter adjustment layer to get rid of the yellowish light from the kitchen.

Water Bubbles. Taken on 2/17/2011 at 11:40 a.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/3200 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo in my kitchen sink. I plugged it up and ran the water, trying to capture bubbles in a new way. I changed the metering (I think that's what it's called) so that what was in motion would blur a little bit, but tried to make it fast enough that the bubbles would be in focus. I really like the way it turned out.

I'm A Little Tea Pot. Taken on 2/10/2011 at 1:39 p.m. Colorado Springs, CO

F-stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/10 | Nikon D5000

I didn't have very good light for this photo, so I had to use a big aperture and a slow shutter speed. I rested the camera on the counter to avoid blur. I focused on the reflection of the kitchen in the teapot. I wanted the photo to represent my love for herbal tea, and the kitchen. I tried to set up the photo so that people would get lost in the reflection, and then after a while realize that it's a picture inside a picture.

Drip Drop. Taken on 2/12/2011 at 11:34 a.m. North Cheyenne Canyon Park, CO.

F-stop: 4 | Shutter Speed | 1/2000 | Nikon D5000

As my husband and I were on a hike, we found some melting snow on the side of the trail. I composed the shot trying to use rule of thirds wanting to take the picture when the drop was in position. I took lots of pictures, at a fast shutter speed so that it would be in focus. I used a large aperture for shallow depth of field, making the drop the focal point. I love that you can see the reflection in the water drop. I did have to crop it, and I edited the levels.

Big Wave. Taken on 2/9/2010 at 4:04 p.m. On coast of Haiti.

F-stop: 11 | Shutter Speed: 1/500 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo on a cruise that I went on with my husband. I got really lucky because right when I set up my camera, this giant wave came. I stayed there for at least 15 minutes waiting for another big wave, but none came. I edited the levels, and added some contrast. I also saturated the rocks to make them more orange, so that they compliment the blue sky.

Mexican Bliss. Taken on 2/12/2010 at 11:01 a.m. Tulum, Mexico.

F-stop: 4.4 | Shutter Speed: 1/640 | Nikon D5000

When I saw this view, I knew I had to get the shot just right to capture the beauty of the scene. I used the rule of thirds to make a focal point, and used the plant in the right corner to create good visual pace, keeping the eye moving around in the photo. In Photoshop I edited levels, contrast, and I saturated the greenery a little bit.

The Sky is The Limit. Taken on 2/12/2011 at 11:08 a.m. 

North Cheyenne Canyon Park, CO.

F-Stop: 14 | Shutter Speed: 1/100 | Nikon D5000

I tried to get a unique perspective with this shot by setting the camera on the trunk of the tree looking up towards the sky. I tried to focus on the branches at the top. I edited the levels and contrast.