We Were On TV!

So they didn't name us but some of our photos were on TV during the local news cast from the zoo!  Very exciting for us.

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The Blizzard of Oz

Today is day 3 of being in the middle of winter hell.  Monday we had icey rain that kept me from going to work. Tuesday brought about a lot of snow and today is supposed to be so far beyond cold it's not even funny and winds blowing a gale.  The last two days both of us have been home.  Here are some photos of me out measuring the snow.

This was at 3 in the afternoon Tuesday. 7 inches of snow.  This is from my iPhone so not a great quality but it gets the point across.

When I headed out three hours later the hubs decided to go out and document that one. 

This is me with my tools, a yard stick, cell phone, and my mini LED light.  He had the larger one on the camera.  I must have be crazy.




Here is the total at 6:00 PM 9 inches.  I didn't head back out again after this.

On that last outing I was doing my 3 measurements, that is what the weather guys tell you to do, and at one point the hubs asked if we could go in and just measure the line on his jeans.  :)  Well on my short legs it was up to my knees.  It snowed until almost midnight here.  Let's just say I'm tired of the snow.  I want to get out of the house.

You can see the rest of the photos he took here http://www.flickr.com/photos/lightweaver1/sets/72157625957628440/

New Flickr Group

I love Twitter and the fun things that can come from there.  The discussion started last night about the area artists getting together in a Co-Op / Tweetup kind of thing.  Well from that a new Flickr group was formed.  If you are in the Topeka, KS area I urge you to join and share it with all of your friends in the area.  Topeka Artists

Can't Live Without.....

No this isn't the start to a 90's rock song (Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection ..... Nelson..... Oh come on I know I wasn't the only one listening to it).  It's what I have in my camera bag that I love to pieces.  This isn't lenses or the camera body but the other stuff that makes taking photographs easier, better, etc.

First up Reynolds Oven Bag, Turkey size.  Please don't stop reading!  We like to take weather photography and this is the greatest thing for it.  You cut a hole just large enough for you lens to see out of it.  You can stick your head and camera in the big part and keep the rain away.

Next up is pony tail holders.  Not only is it great for keeping my hair out of my face when I'm shooting but, you can also use them to attach your turkey bag to the camera lens.  This will insure that the bag stays in place.

18% Gray Card.  This is a must if you are shooting indoors, in my opinion.  Taking those few extra minutes to set your white balance with one of these saves hours later adjusting your white balance.

Microfiber Cloths - They do a good job at keeping things clean and they are cheap enough that if you lose one it's not a big deal.

Giveaway Winner and Other Stuff

I know it's Sunday and I was supposed to announce on Friday.  I know, I know, I know bad me. :)  So here's the deal, the weather was finally nice and well I've been enjoying that before another round of the white stuff hits.  I've also been working behind the scenes to bring you guys a more enjoyable website.

Now the winner of the month long sponsorship............. I HEART NAP TIME    I'll be contacting you soon so we can get it set up for you.  Thanks to everyone who sent a ton of people my way this month!

Photo Workflow

I get asked a lot about my workflow.  My workflow is completely different from the other half's workflow, neither is right and neither is wrong.  It's just what works best for each of us.

First off I take my card and battery out of my camera.  The card goes into my computer and the battery goes into the charger.  Key thing to remember here is put both back into your camera when you finish.  I learned the hard way. lol

I use Adobe Lightroom to import my photos.  This does three things at once for me, it copies the photos from the card and puts them in my RAW folder, it organizes the files by date, and it puts them into Lightroom for me. I use Lightroom for my basic developing.  It works better for me than Photoshop.  I would have had a cool screen shot for you but I forgot to make one. :(

Now when I started with Lightroom, I was totally lost.  I didn't have a clue what I was doing.  So what did I do?  I took an online class with Nathan Holritz from Photographer's Edit.  It's called "HOW TO PROCESS A PORTRAIT SESSION IN AN HOUR OR LESS! "  It's worth the hour in front of the computer.  Then go find the podcasts for Killer Lightroom Tips from Scott Kelby.  Now it's time to get to work!


Today we are going to be working on a photo of a hot air balloon.  So what does it look like?

Not great is it?  Kind of flat, nothing special at all.  But this is what a RAW file looks like.  Now it's time to develop it.  That's even what this section of Lightroom is called.  So we are going to adjust the settings and get it looking fairly well.

So now the balloon is looking pretty good, the grass is nice and green, but the sky is totally without color.  Now I have a choice to make, do I dodge and burn in Lightroom or in Photoshop.  For this photo I'm going to move over to Photoshop.  I don't always do this but for this one I've got some other things I want to do.  Follow Scott Kelby's tips on how to do this, he, in my opinion, is the expert.

So here we are, one thing to double check before getting started is that you are in 8 bits not 16 bits mode.  Now I'm going to burn the sky.  

The sky looks better but this might be as good as it gets due to where the sun was when I took the photo.  At least there is some color in it now. I think I'll add a little blur to the sky.  I'm going to use the quick select tool, select the sky, do a layer mask, then add just a little gaussian blur.  Then I'll click save and it will send it back to Lightroom.  From there I'll export it to the folder that I want it to be in, and then I'll upload it here for you to see. 

Not a bad ending if I do say so myself.

You Made It - Now Share It

Let's share our ideas with each other!  The only rule is you had to create what you are sharing.  Other than that go for it!  Since this is the first week there is nothing to spot light but, next week I'll be featuring some of my favorite ideas.  Show me your best! Be sure to grab the button on the right hand side.  Next week's Iron Craft challenge is coffee cup sleeves.  I've got a couple of ideas floating around in my head and I can't wait to try them out and share them with you next week.

I didn't forget about the giveaway either.  Here are the totals so far I'll announce the winner next Friday so we have time to get the sponsorship up and in place.

1. I Heart Naptime 15 referrals  NEW LEADER!!!

2. The Idea Room with 10 referrals

3. Crafty Life and Style with 8 referrals

4. For the Love of Blogs with 7 referrals

5. Someday Crafts with 7 referrals

6. Sew Much Ado with 5 referrals

7. Be Different Act Normal with 4 referrals

8. Strawberry Freckles with 3 referrals

9. Sew Dang Cute Crafts with 1 referral
10. Blue Cricket Design with 1 referral
11. Crafterminds with 1 referral
12. Iron Crafts  with 1 referral