Autumn Beauty

As I have mentioned before, I ♥ Faces is a photo blog dedicated to the beauty of faces. Every week they hold a photo contest, and I decided to join in this week.

This week’s challenge is “Autumn Beauty”. My entry is of my beautiful sister, Katelyn. This photo was taken on a lovely Autumn evening just as the sun was setting.

To see more Autumn Beauty photos, stop by I ♥ Faces.

.

© 2009 by Erica Lea

6 Responses to Autumn Beauty

1. Krysta 
   November 16th, 2009 at 12:51 pm Moderate
   Welcome to the contest! They’re pretty addicting :)
   Your entry this week is great. I love the serene look on her face.
2. Erin 
   November 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm Moderate
   She is beautiful. Gorgeous shot!
3. Shana Putnam 
   November 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm Moderate
   I love this. It is very subdued. Gorgeous.
4. Ruth Ann 
   November 16th, 2009 at 4:26 pm Moderate
   gorgeous shot! I love it Erica!
5. Hayley 
   November 16th, 2009 at 7:49 pm Moderate
   Gorgeous.
6. Paula 
   November 17th, 2009 at 1:42 pm Moderate
   WOW! I love the bokeh you captured on this! And the light on her face – so soft and beautiful. Wonderful shot! One of these days I will get there! :D Thanks for commenting on my photo. :)

Indian Summer

.

For the past week or so we have been enjoying an Indian Summer. It really was a nice break from the cold and gloom we experienced in October.

.

One fine afternoon, Mom insisted that we all take a walk. We ambled down to the beach and found many birds on the lake.

.

Elinor loved playing in the sand; she tried to stuff some of it into her mouth.

.

Now I’m just waiting for the snow to fall so that we can begin winter sports: ice skating, x-country & downhill skiing, sledding, etc.

,

~ Psalm 96…………………

© 2009 by Erica Lea

1 Response to Indian Summer

1. Rachel 
   November 14th, 2009 at 12:21 pm Moderate
   We have had the same weather until today… the weather is starting to feel quite festive!!

Fingerless Mitts for Janna

When I found three skeins of pink fingering-weight yarn at a thrift store, I just couldn’t help myself. That yarn NEEDED to be bought. However, baby pink is not really my color.

So, as my sister Janna (who loves pink) read two novels aloud to us, I knit her these lacy fingerless gloves.

This pattern is available for free through Ravelry.

With the leftover yarn I am knitting this lovely hat for Janna, which is also available for free through Ravelry.

P.S. If you like to knit or crochet, I highly recommend joining Ravelry.

© 2009 by Erica Lea

Vibrant Sunrise

On Tuesday, the sun rose a vibrant orange-pink.

This was a “Hey, photographer!” moment:

“Hey Erica, you have to take a picture of this!” my brother John informed me as I was reading Monday’s paper. I managed to snap off a few shots while the colors were still vivid.

© 2009 by Erica Lea

1 Response to Vibrant Sunrise

1. Ruth Ann 
   October 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm Moderate
   WOW. . .those colors are STUNNING, Erica! Amazing job. . .makes me want to take some sunrise and sunset pictures sometime soon. . .need to find a good location!

Snow in October

1 Response to Snow in October

1. My Year in Photos | Simple Days 
   January 13th, 2010 at 7:38 pm Moderate
   [...] Snow in October [...]

Fix-It-Friday #31 ~ October 9th

Have you ever heard of I Heart Faces? It is a blog devoted to the beauty of capturing faces and helping readers to improve their photography. Every week they have a photo contest and every Friday they host a fun event call Fix-It-Friday. Every week a new photo is uploaded for anyone who wishes to edit and share. This week, I decided to play along!

For my editing, I used Corel Paint Shop Pro XI.

Click the photo to view the full-sized image.

For edit #1 (center): First, I used the blemish fixer to erase some dirty spots around this young man’s nose, mouth, and cheeks. Then I boosted the contrast and changed the color balance to a warmer tone. Next, I brightened the whites and highlights of the eyes and desaturated the whites and his teeth. Finally, I sharpened the image using unsharp mask and vignetted the edges.

For edit #2 (far right): Using the image from edit #1, I undid the sharpening and vignetting actions and turned the photo black & white. I then duplicated the layer, filled it with a deep brown, set the blend mode to color, and turned down the opacity of the new layer.

I really enjoyed this challenge and can’t wait to “play” again!

© 2009 by Erica Lea

4 Responses to Fix-It-Friday #31 ~ October 9th

1. B 
   October 9th, 2009 at 8:11 pm Moderate
   Great edits! Love the second…. not overdone at all. You did a really nice job!
2. Regina Normandy 
   October 9th, 2009 at 8:47 pm Moderate
   Nice! when you put the pictures on your blog, is that three sep. pictures, of did you put them all in one? If you did put them all as one jpeg, how did you do that? they’re all great! Love the last one.
3. Erica Lea 
   October 10th, 2009 at 8:19 am Moderate
   Regina: They are all one picture.
   To do this, using Paint Shop Pro, I created a new, blank project slightly larger than my final photo (e.g. my photos were about 400×600 pixels, so the new project was about 1235 x 615 pixels). Next, I copied the images onto this project as new layers and moved them around until I liked how they were positioned. I then filled the original layer with black, merged all, and saved.
   I have only recently started merging pictures like this, so I have a lot to learn!
4. Autumn Beauty | Simple Days 
   November 16th, 2009 at 12:40 pm Moderate
   [...] I have mentioned before, I ♥ Faces is a photo blog dedicated to the beauty of faces. Every week they hold a photo [...]

Thrifted Knitting Needles

Look what Mom picked up at a rummage sale for only $3! Included are straight, circular, and double pointed needles, plus three stitch holders, all contained in a flour tin. What a find!

© 2009 by Erica Lea

1 Response to Thrifted Knitting Needles

1. Janey 
   October 10th, 2011 at 11:59 pm Moderate
   And by the looks of the type of needles those are – all I can say is that they are like knitting with butter!