Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Birthday Ocean Photos :)



Hi All :)

I truly hope you are all doing well and enjoying life wherever you are :)

So, I keep promising myself that I will blog more and then that "life" thingy just keeps getting in the way, lol :) I know you haven't heard from me much recently but I will get around to telling you all about the "WHY" a little later on in the year (I know it all sounds so mysterious, doesn't it :)

Well, anyway, as some of you know I LOVE to go to Sunny San Diego every year to get away from the Dark, Cold, Windy and Rainy Pacific Northwest Winter and usually this trip takes place around my B.Day at the beginning of March. :)

Well, this year was no exception and I went to San Diego to soak up some much needed sunshine, the only problem was it was Dark, Cold, Windy and Rainy in San Diego on my B.Day :(

I have never seen this Beach and Ocean deserted esp. on a Saturday, there are usually lots of happy people on the beach and lots of surfers in the Ocean, yep the weather was that bad. No a person in sight.




Of course the view was still gorgeous to look at and reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest (which, BTW, I love too :)

So, I was going to show you my photos of the huge and crazy waves crashing across the beach but they are all so gloomy and dark. Then I had an idea, why didn't I show you just one shot and how I quickly worked on it to make it a "Happier" photo :)

Here goes :)


Click on photos to see larger images :)

Here is the Original Shot :) 
Now, I was out shooting this with my "big" lens and no tripod in what felt like a gale, so a little shaky image but.........




Next, I very slightly brightened the image by 5% and contrasted by 25% to enhance the definition of waves, spray and foam :) 




I then enhanced slightly with an auto "cool" setting which added a much needed blue tone to the Ocean and Sky :)




Then I added this layer from my collection that I have created over the years :)




I laid the layer on top of the photo and put it to about 68% opacity :)


So, I feel I got my Sunshine at the beach on my B.Day after all :)

What do you think? :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.



16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! I can't imagine San Diego like this! Your photos are great, btw!

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Thanks so much for stopping by Liz :)

Yep, I was a little surprised to see San Diego like that too :) T.

Charlotte said...

Well the Palm trees need their water too ;) Great photos!!

lilecreations said...

Popping over from the PDX Etsy Team. What a great tutorial on brightening up a grey beach scene. So glad I read it, thank you!

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Thanks C. :)

Ha! Ha! Maybe I will see you next to the palm trees soon :) T.

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Hi There E. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by :)

LOVE your 365 Hearts project, looks cool :) T.

Cindy White said...

Nicely done!
Stopping by from All About Blogspot on Etsy. :)

Olena said...

Thank you so much! In NH we need some sunshine!!!

Stopping by from All About Blogspot on Etsy. :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful photos!!

Victoria Bennett Beyer said...

That's a good trick - making your happiness! Sorry to hear it was a bit gloomy, but it looks like you made the best of it.

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Hi Cindy :)

Thanks so much for stopping by :)

Glad you like it :) T.



Hi O. :)

Yep, I hear you East coasters have had way too much snow this year, no fun :(

So, glad I could send a bit of brightness your way :) T.



Hi C,

Thanks so much for your sweet words :) T.

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Hi V,

Yep, sometimes we just have to make our own sunshine right?!?!, lol :)

Have a lovely Thursday, cheers, T. :)

Annette said...

Happy belated birthday! I so enjoy seeing your photo editing process. What a difference from beginning to end! I hope life is being kind to you :)

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Hi A. :)

Thanks so much for your B.Day wishes :)

I did think of you when I was working on the photo because I remember how sweet you were the last time I posted about photo processing :)

Have a lovely Friday, cheers, T. :)

Why Girls Are Weird said...

Happy belated birthday, and these photos are amazing!

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

HI K. :)

Thanks so much for the B.Day wishes and your sweet words about my Photography :)

Have a lovely week, cheers, T.:)