Slides and rides...

Another two-fer today, one shot just for fun, and one that I set out as a project for myself.

First, day 125, and a day that I just wanted to shoot something silly. Once again, my daughter's toys came to the rescue here, and along with a gelled flashlight I put together a little picture telling the story of Mickey's drug-fueled flight from the law and the tragedy of Pluto's untimely demise:



Even the mystery Mousketool couldn't save Mickey's bacon at the trial. If you don't get the joke, you don't have a 4 year old who is addicted to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. I consider you the lucky ones.

For a slightly more serious shot, I took some pictures at the local school playground with my daughter. I wanted a chance to work on post-processing some natural light shots, so this was a great opportunity to do that.

Here's the day 126 shot:



This shot has a few simple effects applied to it, including blurred duplicate layer, soft light blending at about 40% opacity, and then a 30% black layer over that which is selectively deleted away to provide a more natural looking vignette than my previous attempt. Compared to the shot straight out of camera, it's a simple effect but very effective.

I plan to keep working on my post processing, as it is going to be key for me actually make an effort at the portrait business. Also, I am now hunting around for a used 70-200 f/2.8L IS because clearly I need to spend more money on this, right?

Thanks for reading!