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.

I promised a set and here is one. I know you probably are looking for a set a with a little more oomph, I have TWO that I hope will knock your socks off that I will be revealing next week, which you will have an opportunity to win.  I am very excited about them both but especially one of them as the wood box doubles as future stamp storage and is in a word-awesome (in the figurative sense, in the literal sense that descriptive wouldn’t work as well as it is more on diminutive side). The above offering is close to my heart though, it may not be visually as appealing as a big box of stationery accouterments but this paper, imported from Italy is the bee’s knees, truly. It is lush, the perfect subtle white hue, with a deckled edge that gives it the perfect amount of pomp and circumstance. It takes the Besotted Brand hand stamps and ink gloriously. I haven’t had the best experience running it through my printers as the fibers catch on the rollers in a way that makes me recoil, but I assume it’s because the paper calls for hand-crafting start-to-finish.  It requires your minimum of efforts to make it sing. I love this paper, I almost didn’t want to offer it, but at the urging of the Besotted Brand stamp collection I humbly obliged.  If you want a card that feels like it was created for royalty, than I would suggest you stock up here.

 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.

Don’t worry friends, I won’t just be featuring the edits, there shall be other fodder here, but I know not everyone is back to work yet (that is where you read your blogs isn’t it?, our little secret…). I hope you don’t mind that I am continuing with a theme here, let’s call it ‘Natural History’, I want to have a series of edits that have some continuity. As for new things, I do have new sets that I will be putting in the shop that I am pretty excited about (I love a good set), plus some other favorite items that I will be sharing this week.  I started exercising the other day, or should I say I went one day and the next three days that followed I felt as if I had been run over by a large vehicle. Maybe the suped up Pilates class was a little too ambitious for me?  I am renown for being too ambitious like the time I promised a future bride that I would letterpress her wedding suite free after taking one (and my only) letterpress class. Who does that? Obviously someone that is co-dependent and is aiming to please.  It back-fired, I couldn’t do her suite because of timing (I was leaving one job and starting another), although I did give her the files gratis to have her suite printed. Timing became a moot point as I got fired a couple weeks later from my job, coincidentally (or not so coincidentally?) one of her bridesmaids worked at my new job and must of read my blog post where I admitted to being sad about my new job and I got fired. So, that’s what happens when you are too ambitious and think you can do more than is physically possible.  I failed on both counts, sincere apologies to both the bride and my body.  I am going to go back this week to try again, I may bite off more than I can chew, but I don’t give up that easily.  I should probably send the bride an apology note as well.