The capturecincinnati.com "contest" has me more motivated to explore Cincinnati. I've lived here something like....ten or eleven years, and there are so many parts of this town that I've never seen. Like Clifton. There's a cool fountain with a statue on the corners of Clifton and Ludlow, and I've never seen it.
So, I decided to get out my map and do some exploring today!
While my hubby was at the lake sailing, I packed up Mr. Nicholas and my camera and headed for parts unknown. Our trip started out in Eden Park, and I discovered the butterfly show is going on at Krohn's [so, guess where I'll be taking the kids NEXT weekend]....
Then, we cut across town on Taft, drove around the University of Cincinnati campus briefly and found ourselves on Clifton Avenue. And voila -- we found the cool fountain on the corner of Ludlow and Clifton. Sadly, I didn't stop and take a photo! Too hard with just Nick, but now I know where to find it.
We did explore a small part of Burnet Woods by driving down Brookline Drive until it's blocked. There's this Nature Center there, and the building reminded me of this place in the Iao Valley on Maui. Nick and I took a little stroll by the lake and then headed home.
Not much for our first adventure out! Next weekend, I plan to check out the butterfly show or go to Union Terminal. All sorts of adventures we can have while Andy is off sailing....
The photography thing is going strong...so, I thought I'd enter a little contest....beyond the basic challenges I've been doing. The winners of this contest can get prizes and money -- and be published!
I'm doing pretty well in several "chapters" and even made the editor's top picks for this past week! Below are some of my images and links to vote:
I love Scott Kelby. Can you hear that, Scott? I LOVE YOU! [Even if you are a Nikon man] Why, you might wonder....? And who is this Scott Kelby cat anyway....? And should my husband be worried....?
From one of his books:
"Scott is a photographer, designer and award-winning author of more than 35 books..." [Personally, I have at least ten of his books]
His website is www.scottkelby.com [who would have thunk?]
Two of my absolute favorite books of his are The Digital Photography Book -- I and II. They have helped me SO much with my photography, so I am thankful that Scott wrote them and that someone happened to give me one as a gift. I loved it so much that I promptly bought the second one.
Today, I was looking back through the first book and was reminded of a cool way to sharpen photos....and I really wish I had employed this trick on SO many photos! Ouch! Perhaps I would have a higher acceptance rate at istockphoto.com.....
For all you full version Photoshop users, it's easy....just convert an image to Lab Color, apply unsharp mask to the "Lightness" channel and then convert back to RGB. Okay, so there's a LITTLE more to it....like, how much unsharp mask [%], etc.
One example:
For people, apply 150%, Radius 1 and Threshold 10. You can try applying it twice, but if it looks freakishly sharp, then fade the second application. If you like the results or need more help, then go buy Scott's book for more tips and tricks....you won't be sorry!
[And I am getting nothing for telling you to buy his book -- not even an Amazon affiliate payment. I just applied this technique and was happy enough to share it!]
