San Francisco is one of my favorite American cities, I adore it. We went a few times this past summer and each time we weren’t able to visit Alcatraz island because of the tours being booked months in advance. This is a shot from across the bay at the spot of the aforementioned sold out tickets. I’ve never been to Alcatraz but I think it would be an interesting tour.  The thing that surprised me the most about its history when I was doing a little pre-tour research is that people (other than inmates) lived on the island, families. How odd it must of been to grow up on an island that was home to the most reviled criminals of the era.

I had a lot of fun with the last giveaway, you?  I decided to do another one or three! Yes, three custom postmark stamps will be given away on the Ritzy Bee blog, visit here.  I am such a fan of The Hive and wish I lived closer so I could beg my way in.  It seems like such a creative mecca, doesn’t it? I will be back later on with my edit, but the interim I would like to wish you a very happy weekend! I would also like to thank my client Ms. Schattle who graciously allowed me to shoot her custom (and creative) stamp which I have featured above, I loved her customization so much that I immediately gave it it’s own shoot.

 I will be editing a photo a day for the remainder of 2012::Project MMXII, this is my ‘after’, you can view the ‘before’ here.

I don’t always get the results that I aim for whilst tackling these edits. I wanted to change the colors on this image, but even with masks, selections, this/that and the other I was not able to fulfill my  end vision.  It’s day five and I am wondering what I got myself into (again) by trying to take on this project.  I won’t give up just yet. I still have many, many (eyes roll back in head) images to choose from.  I don’t think I mentioned this prior, but not all my photographs are as terrible as the ‘before’s’ I have been showing in this project.  I can and sometimes even do take pretty ‘okay’ photographs, that being said I would highly recommend to try to take a great photograph in camera (practice makes perfect). Speaking of photographs I am waiting with bated breath for a macro lens that I rented from Borrow Lenses.  Tune in next time when  I discuss how I rented a lens that I may or may not know how to use (that’s what happened on my last rental). Can you believe it’s almost the weekend?  I can’t. Hooray for the 4 day work week!

 I will be editing a photo a day for the remainder of 2012::Project MMXII, this is my ‘after’, you can view the ‘before’ here.

The before should be nice and cringe worthy just the way you like them. I don’t own a wide angle lens that opens up to let in a lot of light.  I have a small 50 mm lens and I am blessed with a sort of wobbly balance (I have small feet for my body, I think it makes me sway), when it comes to hand holding in a low light situation. I took this photograph in a room at the NYC Natural History museum that is very neglected.  I would think for a city as wealthy as New York and as invested in their museums that there would be no exhibits that needed attention. This room was a little more than an after thought–elephants stood sentry with thick layers of dust (and not exhibit planned dust either), scratched glassy eyes abounded and moth eaten fur coats were de rigeur.  This exhibit is certainly not the one you want to spend the most time in, but I did.  I wanted to make up for all the other museum goers that rushed past this room in a huff. I wish I could give you the name of the exhibit, especially since I spent a couple hours there, but all I have are my photographs.  The lighting was horrific, a naked bulb hanging from an exposed wire would have been more flattering. From the ‘before’ image you can gauge that it wasn’t the most optimum photo-op.  I liked the solitude, as I often do, crowds make my head buzz. Being alone in a room of stuffed animals felt strangely comforting. I liked that I didn’t have to push small children out of the way to get a photograph (not that I would, but I am glad that I didn’t have to). I used textures from Shadow House Creations to assist in the ‘after’ image, you’ll find it a wonderful resource for high quality free textures.