I'm Back!

Ok so I tried to do this two nights ago but it would not load my pictures, and what is the point of a picture blog if there are no pictures? So these are ones that I was working on Monday night. New Year's Resolution: Be better about this blog.

The window in my room during the fall. I fiddled with the colors and contrast.
A piano in a palace. I turned it black and white except for the purples and pinks in the flowers. I then added a violet filter and a matching vignette.
My jewelry on my windowsill. Messed with contrast and colors, burned the color, and put a film grain filter over it.
A random person's laundry. I put a blue filter over it after enhancing the colors, then added a vignette, which is my new favorite effect.

And 4 Months Later...

So I'm a terrible person and I haven't posted on here in months... Hopefully these will make up for my failure a little bit... I'm pretty proud of them!

Brugge: The side of a little house by the river. I upped the contrast and really emphasized the red in the photo. The side of the house was a bit shiny, so the shadows turned red and add a cool effect.
Brugge: I have this weird obsession with lamp posts...
Brugge: Courtney with fries. The colors are a little faded in this picture, but the graphics are clear, making it magazine-worthy. And of course, Courtney is just a gorgeous subject!
Brugge: What a street sign. Turned it black and white, with an emphasis on the gold, the only color. Upped the contrast and definition.
Brussels: The Galler window at Christmas. What window displays! Used Photoshop filters to give it more intense color and a poster effect with a slight vignette. Beautiful finish :)
Bike path in Fumal: This is from wayyy back but I came across it today in my Photoshop frenzy. Cropped it down, and then "burned" the colors, giving the bike an extra layer. The rest was just intensified and added a vignette.
My room: I was struck with inspiration today when I saw my two bears sitting on either side of the heart. That's right, this was an accident. It signifies the love I have for my family, who gave me the Bonjour bear, and my friends, because I received the other from Ryan. I put a film grain filter over it after fiddling with the color intensity and contrast, and then added a vignette for a nice touch.
My room: The second version of the bear picture. This is the "torn paper" filter, with a hand made torn border from different brushes and blending.

In the changing room of a small palace: I was struck by these eighteenth century pieces and was taken by the vintage photo they made. I used Aperture on this one, rather than Photoshop, making use of a vintage filter, vignettes, and fiddling with the contrasts and intensities of the colors, along with effects such as burning.

Bruxelles

I attempted to post these last night but I guess it didn't work... I went to Brussels with Rotary and a whole bunch of other exchange students and we walked around and saw all of the important buildings in Brussels. The architecture is just incredible! With some color tweaking on Photoshop, the things that matter really stand out and details are wonderfully accentuated. Enjoy! I think it's great work for the day!

Full Moons and Happy Hearts

Today was a tough day for me, but it ended up a high note, especially looking out over the Belgian landscape, which is beautiful to begin with, and seeing this wonderful full moon. I made sure to grab my camera before it got too dark and shot a few photos. They turned out lovely and I didn't even have to edit them :) Ahhh the wonders of natural beauty...

Ahhh Brugge...

This is a picture from the lovely city of Brugge and the giant cathedral that stands tall and proud in the middle of it. I was just standing at the base and when I looked up, I realized that the lamp post was in a perfect place so I shot a couple pictures in the middle of the busy streets of Brugge. With some color enhancements, I think it makes for a very nice picture :)

Pretty Belgian Pictures :)

So here are my first pictures that I shot and edited in Belgium. These are all from around the house that I'm staying at. I took some time today and shot about 60 photos. Which, for me, is not very many, but I didn't have a whole lot of time. I came out with some beautiful pictures and editing them really made them special. My favorite is definitely the top one with the ladder. I am satisfied with what I have done today :)

Photos From Belgium!!! Sorta...

So I was all ready to post my first pictures from Belgium when Blogger decided that it wasn't going to let me post my new ones. Oh well I think this one is pretty cool :) This is from the plane (obviously) just before we started our descent into Brussels (or Bruxelles en français). The clouds are incredible from overhead. Too bad I was so limited by the size, and cleanliness, of the plane window. But I think I came out with a pretty good picture!