Three photos plus a chance to make fun of me

[Webzter]

Been processing a few more old shots... thought others might enjoy.

This was from the fire department's practice burn behind our townhouse.

I normally don't go for these stylized photos, but I like how this all came together. I took the shot to show the flowers looking away from the camera. I felt the coloring sort of emphasized this. Could be offbase.

This is a larger version of my avatar. This is our dog Bandit from about when he was 2. We adopted him when he was 6 months old... he'll be 7 soon. The story of how we got him is kind of cute too, just like him!

And now... bring it. This is me showing off my spiffy summer outfit. Sure to impress the ladies and wow your friends. Unfortunately, I've since sold my kayak (wife still has hers). I plan to rectify that soon... depending on where we end up retirement-wise.

p.s. My new spray skirt that I was modelling there worked out very well.

 

[TargaDave]

Great pic's. How do you do the color foreground and black-and-white background. Sorry, daughter looking over my shoulder says Bandit wins the beauty contest hands down. [says she always runs away from older men in skirts]. What else is on the trailer? just kayaks?

 

[Dreamer]

Nice pictures-you do a great job. I like all of your pictures, but Bandit is especially cute! You can't tease us-how did you get him. Did he steal something from you? I have never kayaked yet, but hope to in the future. The water would need to be peaceful for me. My DH used to be a firefighter and I have some pictures of practice burns, but none as good as yours.

 

[Sandy]

I really enjoy your pictures. You have a great eye -- except for fashion.

 

[justin]

Nice skirt. So I guess your wife wears the pants in your family?

 

[Outtahere]

Great pictures, I love the fire pic and Bandit of course stole my heart.

 

[FinanceDude]

Nice hat!

 

[REWahoo]

p.s. My new spray skirt that I was modelling there worked out very well.

Don't tell me...the tag says, "Do not remove under penalty of law." It was attached to your skirt, right?

 

[Webzter]

How do you do the color foreground and black-and-white background. ... What else is on the trailer? just kayaks?

I can only give you some guidance based on Photoshop. Basically, I copied the one flower out to a new layer. You can do that by using the lasso tool and tracing around, just get most of it on a new layer and then erase the bits you don't want, select a region by color (this works great if you want to change the color of one thing, like a shirt), or a combination of all of those. Once you have your subject on it's own layer, then you're free to mess with the other layer however you want. In this case, I applied a gradient map to turn it b&w, then a channel mixer under to tweak things, then I put a blue filter over the whole thing to give it that blue cast. If you have photoshop, I'd highly recommend Scott Kelby's book, Photoshop for Digital Photographers.

Just kayaks on the trailer. It was too bulky to store and we ended up selling it the first time we were planning to move. I'm regretting that sale for sure! Bar none, that Slick Rydr is the best trailer I've ever owned. We picked it up from the guy that makes them... lives in the middle of Wisconsin. Seriously, it's built for kayaks and it shows; nothing smoother on the road, period.
I owned a Perception Eclipse 18.5 and my wife runs a Perception Shadow 16.5. They're perfect for big water, that's for sure. They track beautifully and have a very generous amount of storage fore and aft.

I like all of your pictures, but Bandit is especially cute! You can't tease us-how did you get him. Did he steal something from you?

Thanks! We love him to death. The story isn't quite as cute as that.

About 6 months after we were married, my wife started trying to talk me into going to "look" for a dog. Now, I don't catch on all that fast, but I knew that "look" was code for "get". I resisted for a few weeks but finally relented. The pet stores here (PetSmart and PetCo) have pet adoption days on certain Saturdays. When one of those rolled around, we started visiting. It's a sad experience when you're an animal lover.. but, in spite of everyone we visited with, nothing clicked. Then, we walked into our last stop of the day. Bandit was sitting right next to the door. My wife knelt down to pet him. when she did that, he climbed up on her lap and put his head over her shoulder. Right then, I went and started picking out a leash and collar. He's been part of the family ever since and we've all had some great adventures together.

Don't tell me...the tag says, "Do not remove under penalty of law." It was attached to your skirt, right?

It does say "do not remove under penalty of law." However, it is not attached to my skirt... you know, you just can't be too safe these days.

 

[Moemg]

Love the pictures .Especially your dog !

 

[haha]

Webzster, you are a great photographer and a pretty good story teller too!

Ha

 

[CuppaJoe]

Great compositions; it puts a new spin on "camera shy." Thanks for sharing them.

 

[TargaDave]

I can only give you some guidance based on Photoshop. Basically, I copied the one flower out to a new layer. You can do that by using the lasso tool and tracing around, just get most of it on a new layer and then erase the bits you don't want, select a region by color (this works great if you want to change the color of one thing, like a shirt), or a combination of all of those. Once you have your subject on it's own layer, then you're free to mess with the other layer however you want. In this case, I applied a gradient map to turn it b&w, then a channel mixer under to tweak things, then I put a blue filter over the whole thing to give it that blue cast. If you have photoshop, I'd highly recommend Scott Kelby's book, Photoshop for Digital Photographers.

Just kayaks on the trailer. It was too bulky to store and we ended up selling it the first time we were planning to move. I'm regretting that sale for sure! Bar none, that Slick Rydr is the best trailer I've ever owned. We picked it up from the guy that makes them... lives in the middle of Wisconsin. Seriously, it's built for kayaks and it shows; nothing smoother on the road, period.
I owned a Perception Eclipse 18.5 and my wife runs a Perception Shadow 16.5. They're perfect for big water, that's for sure. They track beautifully and have a very generous amount of storage fore and aft.

Webzter,
Thanks for the info. I do have an older copy of Photoshop from work but never messed with it beyond the very basic stuff. I'll have to get cranking. Nice yaks. Never saw a dedicated trailer but it makes sense.